Janelle Saffin and Gillard Government deliver! $4 million for a community health centre in Yamba

THE HON WAYNE SWAN MP

Deputy Prime Minister

Treasurer

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP

Minister for Health

THE HON JANELLE SAFFIN MP

Member for Page

MEDIA RELEASE

Friday, May 4, 2012

$4 million for a community health centre in Yamba

The 2012-13 Budget will deliver a vital new health facility in Yamba.

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek today announced that $4.3 million will be provided to build a new community health centre in the town.

“The Gillard Government is delighted to be directing funding toward a facility which will provide important health services to local families,” said Ms Plibersek.

“These capital works will be a major boost for the local economy while they are being carried out, and will provide health care services to thousands of residents of Yamba, Iluka, Maclean and other areas of the Lower Clarence once they are completed.”

Member for Page Janelle Saffin said existing service gaps, particularly in relation to oral health and mental health, will be addressed as part of the project.

“Access to quality health care, which will meet the increasing demand for services and attract doctors and nurses to our region, is the number one priority for residents in Yamba,” said Ms Saffin.

“The funding will go toward new outpatient clinics and facilities for local GP services, mental health and dental services.”

“I would like to pay special tribute to Yamba-based health campaigner, Jim Agnew OAM, who has been lobbying for this facility for many years.”

Funding for the community health centre was made available from the Gillard Government’s Health and Hospital Fund (HHF.)

The application was assessed by the independent HHF Advisory Board.

This centre is one of a large number of projects being funded by the HHF in the 2012-13 Budget to help regional health service networks manage the expected increase in demand for services over the coming years.

Funding for the hospitals will be made available from the Gillard Government’s Health and Hospital Fund (HHF.)

The application was assessed by the independent HHF Advisory Board.

This development is one of a large number of projects being funded by the HHF in the 2012-13 Budget to help regional health service networks manage the expected increase in demand for services over the coming years.

Treasurer Wayne Swan said: “As a Labor Government, we will always manage the economy in the interests of working people, and that means delivering a surplus while making room for critical investments in health infrastructure like the one here in Yamba.”

For all media inquiries, please contact Simon Crittle (Plibersek) on 0466 773 531 or Peter Ellem (Saffin) on 0437 303 875

Clarence community - well done!

Member for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, recognised a number local community endeavours in state parliament yesterday.

COMMUNITY RECOGNITION NOTICES

Mr Gulaptis moved that the house:

PORT OF YAMBA HISTORICAL SOCIETY EXHIBITION

(1) Congratulates the Port of Yamba Historical Society on its success in putting together the Ghosts of WWI-101 Local Heroes Exhibition which opened recently.

(2) Commends the exhibit's architect and researcher, Peter Edmunds, the Society's President, Maria Buist, other society members, and members of the special interest group for their commitment and dedication in putting on this exhibition.

ALLEN WHEELER MEDAL RECIPIENT DON WALDRON

(1) Congratulates Don Waldron, of Casino, on being presented with the Allen Wheeler Medal, one of the NSW Greyhound Racing industry's highest honours.

(2) Commends him on his commitment and dedication to the greyhound racing industry, in particular the development of the Casino Greyhound Club and his service as Secretary/Manager of the club for more than 40 years.

HARWOOD HILTON CRICKET CLUB

(1) Congratulates the Harwood Hilton Cricket Club on winning the Clarence River Cricket Association's Premier League grand final.

(2) Recognises the performance of the runner-up, South Services Club.

(3) Acknowledges the sportsmanship, commitment and dedication given to the Harwood Hilton club over many years by retiring captain, Tim (Ferret) McMahon, and wishes him well in the future.

GRAFTON MIDNIGHT BASKETBALL

(1) Congratulates Midnight Basketball on its successful eight-week midnight basketball program at the Grafton Regional Sports and Entertainment Centre.

(2) Recognises the aim of Midnight Basketball is to give kids something positive to do with their time in a safe environment.

(3) Acknowledges the commitment and dedication of the chair of Midnight Basketball, Grafton, Craig Howe, and his committee members, Alan Grainger, Jackie Milsom, Dylan Parbery, Emma Hannan, Glen McClymont, Deborah Stafford and Pat Hagan.

(4) Recognises the support given by numerous organisations in the Clarence Valley, including Clarence Valley Council and individual volunteers, to enable the program to be conducted.

 PRIVATE MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

 

GRAFTON RELAY FOR LIFE

Mr CHRISTOPHER GULAPTIS (Clarence) [5.52 p.m.]: Tonight I acknowledge the wonderful contribution that the Grafton Relay for Life has made to the New South Wales Cancer Council since the early 2000s, in particular the contribution it made on 31 March last. On the last Saturday in March I was astounded by the turnout at McKittrick Park in South Grafton, especially when it had been raining through the week and the weather on the day was threatening. But that did not deter 107 teams from nominating and 1,408 Graftonians from participating. To put it into perspective, Grafton has a population of about 18,500 people and the total of those participating in that event was 7.5 per cent of the city's population. In any circumstances that is a remarkable turnout and a testament to the dedication and generosity of the Grafton community.

It was a day to remember loved ones who had lost their battle with cancer, celebrate with those who had cheated cancer, and provide support for those who are battling the disease. Whilst the day started out with rain clouds, it turned out to be a hot afternoon. The mood at McKittrick Park complemented the weather—it was joyful and charged with excitement. Teams were dressed in all manner of weird and wonderful costumes and they had a marvellous time as they chatted and joked around the course. But the serious side of the Relay for Life is the reason behind it. Every five minutes another Australian is diagnosed with cancer. While survival rates are improving every day, cancer remains a leading cause of death. That is why it is so important that we raise funds to fight cancer.

Every dollar raised at Relay For Life helps the Cancer Council to help the people living on the far North Coast who are suffering from cancer. Cancer Council NSW is 96 per cent community funded. This year in the far North Coast region more than 1,930 people will be diagnosed with cancer and more than 660 people will die from the disease. Last year 143 cancer patients in the region were provided with financial assistance to relieve them of the high costs associated with treatment and care. This year 590 cancer patients were taken almost 60,000 kilometres to hospital appointments in the region using Cancer Council NSW transport and home support services. Last year 525 people affected by cancer across the region received free, confidential information and support from cancer health professionals through the Cancer Council Helpline.

I sincerely commend the Grafton Relay For Life committee for running such a successful event, which raised $132,178—over double the amount raised in 2010 and with double the number of teams participating. Volunteering and community participation is alive and well in Grafton. Grafton Relay for Life has been so successful because of the hard work of its committee. Rosemary Munro is the chair of the committee and Debbie Brooks, Graeme Hicks, Kay Strong, Brenda Howe, Judy O'Keeffe, Leila Thompson, Kathy Smidt, Narelle Redhouse, Michael Sexton, Elaine Stevenson, Denise and Cec Hyde, Denise Barnier, Vorna Cooper, Roger Green and Gail Brotherson are the other dedicated committee members who have made the Grafton Relay for Life such a success over a long period. I commend them for the work they have done for the local community and the Cancer Council of NSW.

Source: Hansard, NSW Legislative Assembly, 3/5/12

Australian Government Media Convergence Review Final Report: recommendation is that the real blogosphere be free from this new level of officious interference

Content from social media including bloggers and user-generated content should be free from new regulation.

Convergence Review Final Report (March 2012) PDF download here.

Common sense finally came to the fore.........

Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition meets with NSW Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis

From the Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition Inc. website on Sunday, 29 April 2012:

MEETING WITH CHRIS GULAPTIS MP ABOUT COAL SEAM GAS MINING

On 26^th April representatives of the Clarence Alliance Against Coal Seam Gas met with State MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis to explain their concerns about coal seam gas (CSG) mining. The representatives were John Edwards, Irene Daly and Lisa Hunter. Below is John Edwards' report on this meeting.
We started out with my reading a letter (see below) about our concerns about CSG mining.

In response to that Mr Gulaptis tried to reassure us that the Government was "considering" the CSG issue. He pointed also to State Upper House and Federal Inquiries, and that we should all wait for the outcomes of those deliberations. He assured us that the party room discussions on CSG were all about three things - protecting water, getting a better deal for landowners, and protecting our food production. We asked if the "better deal" gave landowners the option to say "no", which he said was a very good question. However, he avoided a direct reply to that saying that landowners need to be better compensated with stronger access agreements in favour of the landowner.

Later I asked if he could add climate change to the Government’s list of priority concerns, but he clearly does not believe that climate change is happening, and stated that no tidal measurements had been taken over time to prove that sea levels were actually rising. I think evidence on this should be presented to him.

In response to the question of when the moratorium on fracking would be removed, he ventured the opinion that it would be extended, quoting party room 'feeling'.

Mr Gulaptis said he had viewed the DVDs given to him, and there were some things he disagreed with, but there wasn't time for him to enlarge on that other than the sea level rise matter. However, he said he felt the North Coast would prove to be unviable for coal seam gas mining because of the small size of the average property. The miners would have to negotiate with too many landowners with potentially lengthy mediation and possibly court processes.

In terms of the issues raised in our statement, he agreed that most of the concerns were legitimate, but claimed he had seen no evidence that any aquifers had been damaged, but he would like to see that evidence if we can give it to him.

Irene spoke very strongly of her mistrust of the system, with which Mr. Gulaptis disagreed, citing that in all the years as a surveyor in the development business he had not seen evidence of it. It would have been good to have had the time to discuss the issue of "vision impaired ecologists" that we exposed over the Shannon Creek dam EIS.

It was really good to have youth involved, in the person of Lisa, who made her concerns for the future clear.

Mr Gulaptis said he would appreciate us sending him any evidence relating to CSG. Again I asked if evidence of climate change would be helpful.

Ha also said he would be prepared to address a community meeting on the CSG issue, but he's booked out for about two months.

In conclusion I have to say that his responses were predictable, and not all that encouraging.

LETTER TO CHRIS GULAPTIS MP

John Edwards read this letter to Chris Gulaptis at the beginning of their meeting. The letter was signed by John (on behalf of the Clarence Environment Centre), Irene Daly (on behalf of the Gumbaynggirr Nation) and Lisa Hunter (on behalf of Clarence Alliance Against CSG)

We are concerned that the mining companies seeking to exploit coal seam gas and other forms of unconventional gas in the Clarence-Moreton Basin cannot guarantee that the following impacts will not occur:

• damage to groundwater resources, including the depletion of aquifers;
• methane leaks from wells during or after use, leading to increased fire hazards;
• emissions of volatile organic compounds that are detrimental to human health;
• escape of salty or toxic waste water into waterways;
• leakage of waste water or other pollutants into groundwater; and
• increased seismic activity resulting from the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

We are also concerned that the mining of coal seam and other forms of unconventional gas:

• will lead to the industrialisation of rural and bushland environments;
• will degrade and destroy Aboriginal cultural sites;
• will cause massive fragmentation of native bushland and wildlife habitat, leading to detrimental impacts on threatened species and ecological communities;
• will impose unacceptable impacts on landowners and their neighbours through increased levels of noise, dust and smells, all leading to social disruption, and physical and psychological health impacts;
• will create downward pressure on land prices, both in the short and long term;
• will disrupt and divide communities;
• will impact on roads and bridges, without paying any rates to councils to repair the damage to local roads;
• will, through increased traffic volumes, have negative road safety implications;
• will put significant pressure on public waste disposal facilities; and
• will not provide a single cent in royalties to the people of NSW in the first 5 years of a well's production and not pay full royalties until after 10 years of a well's production.

The burning of gas contributes to global warming through the emission of carbon dioxide. Fugitive emissions of unburnt methane during exploration, extraction, processing and transportation via lengthy pipelines also significantly contribute to global warming, as methane is potent greenhouse gas, with a higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide (70 times greater when measured over a 20 year period). When these fugitive emissions are considered, burning unconventional gas for electricity is worse then burning coal.

The International Energy Agency has identified that, by continuing to extract and burn fossil fuels, the world is currently on track to be 6 degrees warmer by 2100 (IEA Outlook 2012), a catastrophic level of climate change. And yet the Australian and NSW Governments continue to support the expansion of the gas and coal industries, and fail to plan for a transition to a low carbon economy powered by renewable and zero emission sources of energy.

Given all of the above, we strongly believe that the mining of coal seam gas and other forms of unconventional gas cannot be justified under any circumstances and must be stopped.

We urge you to take this message to your colleagues in the NSW Government.

Luke Hartsuyker, MP for Cowper, told to check his facts

Seems Luke Hartsuyker has been tilting at windmills again. A correspondent to the Coffs Coast Advocate has taken the Member for Cowper to task for mouthing off about the carbon tax.

Time to clean-up act

I suggest Mr Hartsuyker check his facts before he says "no other country anywhere in the world is doing this (putting a price on carbon)".

In his radio debate with Matt Thistlethwaite he came out with the same old Coalition scare campaign slogan which is far from the truth. At least 26 other countries have successfully put a price on carbon and, so far, their economies have not come crashing down. The Coalition's policy seems to be to ignore the fact that emissions from the big polluters have to be dealt with. Whether one agrees with the climate change philosophy or not, isn't it time we cleaned up our act? Australia has the opportunity and the ability to become a world leader in clean air solutions if only we can get past political hype.

Christine Tiley

Source: Coffs Coast Advocate, 2/5/12

Keneally shows her true colours once more

Ever the political opportunist, who despite becoming a citizen has little idea of what Australia is really about……………

Former Labor premier Kristina Keneally says Julia Gillard should revoke or wind back the carbon tax in order to claw back public popularity.

As someone who led her own state government to comprehensive electoral defeat in 2011, one would think Ms. Keneally would refrain from comment.

STATEMENT BY JANELLE SAFFIN MP ON CLOSURE OF BONALBO HOSPITAL 24/7 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT & NURSING SERVICE

Statement by Janelle Saffin MP on Bonalbo Hospital

I express my dismay at the actions of the Northern New South Wales Local Health District’s administration in closing the 24/7 nursing operation at Bonalbo Hospital, and call upon the Board to immediately reinstate it.

I was at Bonalbo Hospital on Saturday with the nurses and I promised them that in addition to my earlier letter to the Chief Executive Chris Crawford and the Board, that I would make a public call for the immediate reinstatement for the 24/7 nursing operation.

I realise it is a matter of state administration, but I take a very strong interest in health, securing much needed Federal funds locally, so I cannot stay silent when a community is left abandoned, as is the case in Coraki as well.

I question what is going on with our local health services?  

I was at the public meeting in Bonalbo last year, discussing how to handle the departure of the local GP.

With the permanent GP gone, it is important to keep as many of the health services as possible, and give the community a sense of security regarding their health.

This also allows them to keep faith in the health service, while attempts to attract another GP or two GPs to the Bonalbo township and district are continuing.

When the decision was taken to cease the 24/7 nurses’ shifts in Bonalbo, without consultation about how things would work with the 11.00 pm to 7.00 am shift axed, I let Mr Crawford know that I was appalled.

I said in my letter to him, that: “There is fear now in our small communities, both Bonalbo and Coraki, that you and the Board are set on closing their hospitals and neither community believes you when you say that you will restore their health services.”

I have now told the nurses, the SOS Action Committee and locals to go to the Board, as they are our community representatives.

 

The current interim Bonalbo model of operation, with doctors brought in from neighbouring towns, has been lauded by health representatives, including Board members, as a good model for  the residents of Coraki and district, who have not only lost their hospital due to the disrepair of the facility, but have been left without alternative services.

I am waiting to hear the announcement that some emergency services will be reinstated there while a health services plan is done.

.

There have been so many calls for the immediate reinstatement of the 24/7 service from concerned community members and key representative organisations.  These include Kyogle Shire Council, the NSW Nurses Association, the local NSW Nurses Association members, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ representatives and all Bonalbo and district residents.

 

The NSW Nurses Association has said that: “People usually only call on health services during the night when things are serious, so it is important that this community has sufficient capacity to respond during the night.”

The local nurses, through the NSW Nurses Association, have asked a list of some 29 questions which raise serious issues that need to be addressed immediately, including that of nurses’ security.

The list includes critical questions such as:

• Who will carry the hospital and drug cupboard keys and how would they be passed from one nurse to the next; for example, to get keys from evening shift nurse to morning shift nurse where the morning nurse will usually be a different nurse?
• Once the nursing night shifts cease, where does the Local Health District plan to keep the key for the alternative helipad if a helicopter evacuation was required through the night as the usual helipad has been flooded four times in the past 10 years? Is the Health District aware that it takes an average of four hours to mobilize helicopter retrieval?  

It is bad enough to axe the 24/7 nursing operations, but to then not manage the process is negligent.

 

Kyogle Shire Council, in its letter to Mr Crawford, has stated categorically that: “The decision to cease the provision of Emergency Services at Bonalbo Hospital between 11.00 pm and 7.00 am will result in unacceptable risk to the health and well being of our community and is completely at odds with previous guarantees provided to the Bonalbo community at public meetings that there would be no reduction to health services.”

It is clearly up to the Board members to ensure that there are no reduction to health services and I am asking them to continue this service of 24/7 coverage with nurses.

Contact: Janelle Saffin 0418 664 001.   

Gender difference in number of hospital inpatient days 2005- 2010

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare HEALTH SERVICES SERIES Number 40  Australian hospital statistics 2009–10 (April 2011):

Between 2005–06 and 2009–10, patient days in all hospitals increased by 9.8% for males, and by 7.4% for females (Figure 7.3). The relative size and direction of change in patient days varied by sex and age group.

Click on graph to enlarge

Poll shows more people now want Gillard Government to run full term

Essential Report* on 30 April 2012:

48% think the Labor Government should run its full term until the 2013 election and 42% think an election should be held now.

10% don’t know.

*This report summarises the results of a weekly omnibus conducted by Essential Research with data provided by Your Source. The survey was conducted online between the 25th and 29th April and is based on 1,051 respondents.

Maccas not winning hearts, minds or money in 2012

In April 2012 The Sydney Morning Herald showed that the McDonalds fast food behemoth is living in hope in southern climes:

AUSTRALIA'S love affair with Big Macs and french fries may be waning, with McDonald's growth in the region sliced by more than half.

The fast food giant's global chief operating officer, Donald Thompson, described the local market as ''challenging'' and getting worse.

To counter the sales downturn across Australian stores, McDonald's has introduced initiatives including the launch last month of its Loose Change menu, which offers a range of items under $2 and its Value Lunch deal.

Releasing its first-quarter earnings results in the US on the weekend, McDonald's said sales at its US stores were up 8.9 per cent for the quarter, while comparable-store sales rose 5.5 per cent in its Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa region (APMEA), which takes in Australia………………….

Only a few years ago, following the global financial crisis, Australia was one of the best-performing regions for the restaurant chain. In 2009 the local operation posted sales growth of 6 per cent, nearly double the global rate of 3.8 per cent.

The stronger performance was driven by an image overhaul, including a revamp of its menu to offer healthier alternatives as well as gourmet-style burgers, such as the Angus Burger, which proved a big hit.

The Australian spokeswoman said the local business had improved in the past two months and managers expected it to match global growth rates as the year continued. McDonald's is estimated to have a 46 per cent share of the quick-service restaurant category in Australia. It is planning to open 35 stores this year to take its Australian portfolio to 900.

One could speculate that its ongoing heavy-handed site development tactics in the face of community opposition contribute to the sales down-turn it is experiencing.
However, customer dissatisfaction, as well as health and safety issues, also may play their part in this marked decline.

A McDonald's social media promotional campaign at the beginning of the year was pulled after two hours  and Twitter 'sanitised' because the company's hashtag #McDStoriese produced tweets like these. While its televised advertorial in the same month fell flat.

Again in January, Perth Now reported that McDonalds was being fined for more convictions concerning food quality and preparation. In NSW the company was fined in August 2011 for Fail to maintain the food premises to the required standard of cleanliness - accumulation of rubbish, food debris, grease and dirt on floor  and in March 2012 for Fail to maintain the food premises to the required standard of cleanliness - accumulation of dirt, grease and food waste, previous warnings given  at two of the fast food outlets it manages itself.

ABC News on 11 January 2012 also indicated that customers were being systematically defrauded by staff:

A 33-year-old man is on trial in the District Court in Perth accused of involvement in a multi-million-dollar card skimming scheme involving customers of fast food company McDonald's.

The scheme led to a total of $3.5 million being taken out of the accounts of thousands of West Australians.
It is alleged Navaneeth Ponnabalam was one of many people who took part in the scheme, which involved swapping EFTPOS pin pads at McDonald's stores with ones that could record the bank details of customers.
The court was told customers who used the drive-through had details of their accounts copied by the machines and then money was withdrawn from their accounts interstate and overseas.

In 2012 McDonalds outlets continue to attract antisocial and criminal behaviour, such as stabbings, robbery, violent confrontation with police and assault.

Talented kids (and parents)

Yamba Public School's traditional annual Easter hat parade was held recently and demonstrated, yet again, there's heaps of talent in the district. (pics sources from YPS Newsletter)

CGS FREE! Northern Rivers. In solidarity with those citizens raising their voices in Sydney on 1 May 2012

Will it be tears before bedtime for Australian Governments lured by SAIC's siren song?

SAIC Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) registered in Queensland since 1990 and located in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. Ii appears to do business with the Commonwealth and state governments.

According to IT News For Business on 16 April 2012 SAIC has plans:

Science Applications International Corporation has revealed plans to create a regional cyber security research and development centre in Melbourne.

The R&D centre will create 50 jobs over the next three years, according to a statement by the Victorian State Government.

The jobs will be in the areas including high-end defence simulation and "related defence areas".

Specifically, the centre will research data mining and analysis systems, such as SIAC's enterprise search tool TeraText, and its subsidiary's deep packet inspection software, CloudShield……

SAIC has an existing office presence in Queensland and Victoria, and 41,000 employees worldwide.

Then there was this potted history of the corporation in The Washington Post on 22 April 2012:

Last week in these pages, The Post ran a profile of John Jumper, the straight arrow former Air Force general who was brought in as chief executive of local contracting giant SAIC in the wake of an embarrassing overbilling scandal involving bribery, kickbacks, foreign shell corporations and a safe deposit box stuffed with $850,000 in cash.

A year ago company officials were publicly denying that there were any problems at all with its contract to build a new timecard system for New York City, which by then was so late and so over budget that “CityTime” had become a frequent target for the New York tabloids and political embarrassment for Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

It was just last June that SAIC executives and directors first informed shareholders that there might be a little $2.5 million overbilling problem with the contract and that federal prosecutors had brought criminal charges against six employees of an SAIC subcontractor. Shareholders had to read deep into Note 9 of that quarterly report to learn that there might be “a reasonable possibility of additional exposure to loss that is not currently estimable” that “could have a material adverse impact” on the company’s finances.

It was just six months ago that SAIC got around to firing the three executives who were supposed to oversee the New York operations and letting shareholders know that the board of directors had formed a special committee and hired a couple of law firms to get to the bottom of things.

And it was a month ago that SAIC, acknowledging its responsibility in failing to detect a bribery and kickback conspiracy going on right under its corporate nose, agreed to repay the city $500 million of the $635 million it had received for the completed CityTime system. The settlement will allow SAIC to avoid criminal prosecution and the almost certain debarment from government contracting work that would follow.

Now with the appointment of a new chief executive, SAIC wants to assure everyone that the problems have been fixed and that the company has regained its “entrepreneurial spirit” and returned to its “core values.”……

This is what SAIC told the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications in a submission on 19 February 2011:

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) was founded in 1969 by Dr. J.Robert Beyster on the premise of attracting creative and pragmatic technical people to solve the world’s most difficult problems. Today it is a diversified technical company with business in energy, health, national security, environment, and critical infrastructure. SAIC’s 43,000 personnel are committed to meeting the needs of our customers and growing technology markets. The company is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and we have business operations in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and Queensland among other locations around the world.

Since the 1990s, SAIC has been involved in high-speed networking and high performance computing initiatives, and through our “spun out” subsidiaries (i.e., Network Solutions, Telcordia, ANXeBusiness, etc.) we participated in the growth of the Internet into its now critical place in global communication, economic, social and information infrastructure. As the Internet has grown, we have worked to develop applications that leverage these capabilities to help government improve service delivery (including eGovernment, education, etc.), and help critical infrastructure industries (energy, health, etc.) enhance their effectiveness. SAIC has also been a leader in the rapid development and integration of cybersecurity systems and components that have become required underpinning frameworks for the expansion of these large scale network architectures.

While this is what Pogo.org is telling the world on its Federal Contractor Misconduct Database:

SAIC

SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) is a scientific, engineering and technology applications company. It works extensively with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, and the intelligence agencies. Founded by J. Robert Beyster, Ph.D., and a small group of scientists in 1969, SAIC and its subsidiaries now have approximately 41,000 employees worldwide.

Federal Contract $: $6861.6m

Total Number of Instances: 13

Total Misconduct dollar amount: $ 533.3m

Can Australian governments afford this corporation?

North Coast Voices in May 2012

Due to a combination of illness, family commitments and travel, most of North Coast Voices regular contributors will be missing for much of this month.
Leaving me to do a daily post or two over this period.
I will try to cover the topics usually written about by my compatriots, however I hope regular readers of this blog will bear with me if I do not manage to explore these subjects as fully as they have come to expect from this blog.

NSW North Coast residents head to Sydney for Anti-CSG Rally on 1 May 2012

Opinion piece Protest hitting its mark**  by The Daily Examiner journalist Terry Deefholts on 30 April 2012, as NSW North Coast residents and Dirtgirl head to Sydney:

SHORT of a war against an invading enemy, it's difficult to recall an issue that has united such a cross-section of the Australian community as coal-seam gas mining.
As the momentum for tomorrow's rally against CSG mining on productive land gathers steam, some other developments are having an equally large impact on the industry.
Websites opposed to CSG are updated several times a day with articles outlining spills, leaks and general bad behaviour from mining companies, but one article stood out in the past 48 hours.
The news, as reported in The Sun-Herald, that the Chinese Government had pulled the plug on $10 billion in mining-related investments in Australia is loaded with questions.
Quoting mining industry sources, the article stated the Shenhua Group, which spent $600 million developing a coal mine in Gunnedah, will no longer pursue plans to spend a further $9 billion across the country.
Shenhua, it said, told the department of the Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson that it would take its money to mining projects in African Mongolia because of "political interference" and regulatory roadblocks it experienced under the NSW Coalition Government in NSW.
While the loss of such a large investment is hardly a thing to celebrate financially, indeed it will have a terrible impact on north-west NSW if it proves true. The NSW Government can hardly be blamed for putting in place moratoriums to protect water resources and land for its constituents. Food and water security should not be negotiable for anyone and they clearly overrule some company's right to a profit.
The Examiner wishes a safe journey to those who are making the effort to get to Sydney tomorrow to have the community's voice heard on this topic.
A special shout-out to dirtgirl, CVACSG members and The Gas Girls, who will be resplendent in gold.

** It is interesting to note that the reported threat by China Shenhua Energy Company Limited’s Shenhua Group (which owns Shenhua Watermark Coal Pty Limited operating in north-west NSW) is apparently not one it has relayed to any other interested parties and, it is going ahead with its community consultations at Gunnedah in May and expects to begin construction in 2013 according to its website. Any theat probably has more to do with the hard-line bargaining position it takes with state governments and any short-term mining activity economizing this multinational corporation might possibly be considering in NSW may have as more to do with its intention to purchase a $7.9 billion energy asset in China.

North Coast Regional Environment Conference, Coffs Harbour 5-6 May 2012

North Coast Regional Environment Conference, Coffs Harbour May 5 and 6

Venue: Cavanbah Centre, 191 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour [admission free – donation requested for lunch]

NCC and conference hosts North Coast Environment Council (NCEC) have announced an exciting regional conference agenda for 2012.The North Coast Environment Council is hosting the Nature Conservation Council of NSW annual regional environment conference in Coffs Harbour on May 5 and 6.

Saturday, May 5, the focus will be on mining. With Coal Seam Gas threatening to devour the Northern Rivers, Coal eating up the Hunter Valley and Antimony and Gold huge threats to the Dorrigo Plateau and the coastal rivers including the Macleay and Clarence... it's time to get a regional picture and plan a regional response.

There will be a range of speakers including Bev Smiles who has watched coal eat the villages of the Hunter; Sue Higginson from the Environmental Defenders Office on legal options to protect land, water and community; and Aidan Ricketts, one of the creative thinkers behind the Northern Rivers Community Strategy to Lock Out CSG.
May 6, the focus will be on creating Healthy Landscapes with a panel discussion on the Canary in the Coalmine... but in this case it's the disappearing Koala in our Forests.

The afternoon of May 6 there will be a couple of options for field trips.

Follow the link below to find out more and register.

http://www.nccnsw.org.au/events/ncc-regional-conference-2012

[By email 29 April 2012]

April 2012: Abbott's month that was..........

 

On 29 April 2012 Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott called for the approximately 93,661 voters in the federal electorate of Dobell in NSW to be immediately disenfranchised after he heard that their elected representative since 2007, Craig Thomson MP, had resigned from the Australian Labor Party and moved onto the parliamentary cross-benches as an Independent.

Again on 29 April Sky News revealed Abbott’s personal reference for then Coalition MP Peter Slipper:

On Sunday Liberal frontbencher Christopher Pyne defended Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's personal reference for Mr Slipper's preselection campaign at the 2007 election which praised the Sunshine Coast MP.

"Tony Abbott has always been famously generous with his colleagues and his friends. It doesn't surprise me at all that he would write a reference of that nature," Mr Pyne told Sky News.

Also on 29 April  the Northern Rivers Echo reported that the highest levels of the Howard Government (in which Opposition Leader Tony Abbott was then a senior minister) had known about and attempted to conceal Peter Slipper's parliamentary travel expense allowance difficulties:

AN ''urgent'' ministerial briefing note to the former special minister of state Eric Abetz warned that as far back as 2002 something was amiss with Peter Slipper's family travel expenses.

The note, obtained by The Sun-Herald under freedom-of-information laws, reveals Mr Abetz and other ministers were advised Mr Slipper had been spoken to ''on various occasions'' about his family travel entitlements, yet continued making expense claims that broke the rules.

Other documents obtained under FOI reveal the Howard government at the time prepared a brief titled ''hot issues'' just in case the matter was raised in an estimates hearing.

The suggested response was to say Mr Slipper had repaid the $5079.40 owing to the Commonwealth but in the background notes, headlined ''not for release'', it said ''Mr Slipper was critical of departmental processes in identifying apparent travel outside of entitlement.......

Elsewhere it was reported that known Abbott ally Senator Santo Santoro had supported Slipper's continued pre-selection in Fisher, before his own ministerial fall from grace in 2007. Abbott later voted for Santoro in his successful bid to become vice-president of the political arm of the Liberal Party in 2011.

The Sunshine Coast Daily on 25 April takes Abbott to task for trying to rewrite his history with Peter Slipper:

Tony Abbott lied on Monday night when he told the ABC he had been in the process of shepherding Mr Slipper out of parliament when Julia Gillard made him Speaker.

How can that be true? Mr Abbott and his then Prime Minister John Howard wrote letters to Liberal members in Fisher urging them to back Peter Slipper in a preselection contest with Glenn Garrick and Harry Burnett.

Mr Abbott's office was the source of the press release Mr Slipper put out explaining his reasons for accepting the PM's offer of the deputy speakership even after he absented himself from the Liberal Party room vote that selected Bruce Scott as its nomination for the job.

On 24 April The Australian carries Abbott's denial that Coalition staffers didn't help prepare the sexual harassment case against Speaker Peter Slipper, but didn't mention the newspaper's previous claim that Coalition political operatives began leaking to it after Slipper's defection or that Abbott had particular friendships with senior staff at The Australian.

News.com.au on 24 April points to Abbott’s troubles with the calendar:

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott was a week out when talking about the cost of borrowing being cut, apparently confusing the release of inflation data with the Reserve Bank's board meeting.

He told reporters today: "Should the Reserve Bank lower interest rates today, that will be welcomed.

"But that obviously is a matter for the bank."

On the same day and at the same news outlet, Abbott the man who became Parliamentary Leader of the Liberal Party and therefore also of the Coalition Opposition by a margin one solitary vote, woke to see this:

"I have been a good friend of Tony Abbott even when he didn't have many," Mr Slipper said on Twitter.

"I even delivered him the key vote he needed to become leader."

On 23 April the Fraser Coast Chronicle snapped Abbott in those red budgie smugglers and accidentally let us all know that this is one pollie who is beginning to pork up:

9 News on 20 April carries Abbott’s attempt to bury Joe Hockey’s bout of truth telling:

The coalition has no plans to abolish any welfare programs, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.

Mr Abbott has again defended comments made by shadow treasurer Joe Hockey, who warned Australia needed to keep an eye on its welfare payouts.

Mr Hockey used a speech in London this week to criticise the "age of entitlement" in regard to social payments in western nations and urge development countries, including Australia, to means test them.

On 18 April one voter did what Australians do best – laughed at the political Abbott:

Tony Abbott has been brooding!
His budget plan’s been dissed! He can’t see why!
He’d billed it as a Magic Pudding!
Claims it’s better than Labor’s flat square pie!“I’ll safely manage Oz finances.
My team Catholic, church-going, good!
With atheist Gillard you’re taking chances.
Where’s her faith in a magic pud?...... (more here)

The Manly Daily outs Abbott on 17 April for coming second last in a competitive ocean swim:

The federal Liberal Warringah MP and Opposition Leader finished second-last in the 50-59 age group, with a time of 46 minutes 59 seconds. 

In The Australian on 16 April Abbott tries to distance himself from his finance spokesperson:

TONY Abbott has distanced himself from Andrew Robb's defence of ANZ's rate hike, saying it is not his place to dictate what banks should and shouldn't do.

In a rebuff to his finance spokesman, Mr Abbott said big banks were “quite capable of defending themselves” .

Gay rights protesters zero in on Abbott on 15 April as he dines with his “friend” Greg Sheridan, foreign editor of The Australian newspaper:

On April 12 The Canberra Times asked:

Is Australia ready for a Prime Minister in red budgie-smugglers, and what will our nation – or the world – look like with Tony Abbott in charge?

Finally, what would a month be without the sight of Abbott in lycra - as in this stage managed AAP One media shot on 1 April: