Australia's voting intentions polled between 10-16 September 2012

Click on graphs to enlarge

The Australian 17 September 2012:

According to the latest Newspoll survey, taken exclusively for The Australian on the weekend, the ALP's primary support went up three percentage points to 36 per cent as the Coalition's crashed five points to 41 per cent - its lowest since March last year.
On a two-party-preferred basis, calculated on preference flows at the 2010 election, Labor and the Coalition are even on 50 per cent each. At the 2010 election, in which Labor lost its parliamentary majority, the two-party-preferred vote was 49.9 per cent for the Coalition and 50.1 per cent for the ALP, with the Greens on a primary vote of 11.8 per cent.

The Age 17 September 2012:

*PREFERENCES FOR AREA AND AGE WERE ALLOCATED BY HOW PREFERENCES FLOWED NATIONALLY AND BY STATE IN 2010 ELECTION. ALL FIGURES ARE IN PERCENTAGES. THE ACNIELSEN/AGE POLL IS CONDUCTED ON THE TELEPHONE NATIONWIDE. INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED ON SEPTEMBER 13 - 15 WITH 1400 ELECTORS. THE MAXIMUM MARGIN OF ERROR TO APPLY TO THIS SAMPLE IS APPROXIMATELY 2.6%. UNCOMMITTED VOTERS (4%) WERE REDISTRIBUTED. FIGURES MAY NOT ADD TO 100% DUE TO ROUNDING.

The Essential Report 10 September 2012:

Q. If a Federal Election was held today to which party will you probably give your first preference vote? If not sure, which party are you currently leaning toward?

Q. If don’t know -Well which party are you currently leaning to?

Sample size = 2,077 respondents

First preference/ leaning to	Election 21 Aug 10	4 weeks ago 13/8/12	2 weeks ago 27/8/12	Last week 3/9/12	This week 10 Sept 2012
Liberal		46%	46%	44%	44%
National		3%	3%	3%	3%
Total Lib/Nat	43.6%	49%	49%	48%	47%
Labor	38.0%	32%	32%	34%	34%
Greens	11.8%	10%	10%	9%	9%
Other/Independent	6.6%	8%	9%	9%	9%

NB. The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived from the first preference/leaning to voting questions. Respondents who select ‘don’t know’ are not included in the results. The two-party preferred estimate is calculated by distributing the votes of the other parties according to their preferences at the 2010 election. These estimates have a confidence interval of approx. plus or minus 2-3%.

Cansdellgate: one year down the track and we're still waiting

Yes, one year ago today The Daily Examiner informed its readers their local MP Steve Cansdell was resigning from state parliament.

Ok, so what has happened since? When will someone in a position of authority bite the bullet and have this matter addressed?

Image credit: The Daily Examiner, 17/9/12

David Hill asks politicians: Which part of NO CSG do you not understand ?

Email received on 15 September 2012:

ONLINE PETITION  - Which part of no CSG do you not understand?

David Hill from Southern Cross University has started an online petition in response to the NSW Government's latest cave-in to the CSG industry.  If you are concerned about the refusal of politicians to take seriously community concerns about this industry, consider signing the petition and sending details of it on to others who have similar concerns.

http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/which-part-of-no-csg-do-you-not-understand-politicians

Apologies for cross-postings.

Leonie Blain
Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition Inc.

Tony Abbott's character revisited

It’s hard to look at this deliberately posed photograph and not wonder if the person depicted is likely to be a violent bully who makes life miserable for anyone who opposes him and, sadly, there is some foundation for that worry in the continuing reports of what Australian Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott was like in earlier years.

Michelle Grattan writing in The Age 13 September 2012:

A SYDNEY barrister, David Patch, has corroborated a woman's claim that Tony Abbott behaved in an intimidatory fashion when she beat him in a vote for Sydney University Student Representative Council president in 1977.

Mr Abbott has denied the account from Barbara Ramjan - published in David Marr's Quarterly Essay, ''Political Animal: The Making of Tony Abbott'' - that he came within an inch of her nose and punched the wall on either side of her head.

But Mr Patch, who won the SRC presidency in 1975, said he had been Ms Ramjan's campaign manager in 1977, and she had told him about the Abbott incident immediately after it happened.

He writes in today's Age: ''I did not see the incident, but I was nearby. The count had just finished. Barbara found me. She is a small woman, and Tony Abbott was (and is) a strong man. She was very shaken, scared and angry. She told me that Tony Abbott had come up to her, put his face in her face, and punched the wall on either side of her head.

''So, I am a witness. Barbara's immediate complaint to me about what Abbott had just done had the absolute ring of truth about it. I believed Barbara at the time, and still do.''…..

The wall-punching event was not an isolated one, he writes. ''As President, Ramjan chaired SRC meetings. She did not want to be called 'Mr Chairman', but preferred 'Chairperson'. But for an entire year Abbott called Ramjan 'Chairthing' whenever he addressed her at SRC meetings.

''The gender-based disrespect for her office and her person is remarkably similar to the disrespectful way that Abbott treats the Prime Minister, and her office, today.''….

Mr Abbott told Marr he had no recollection of the wall punching and said ''it would be profoundly out of character had it occurred''. It was later that he hardened this up to a complete denial. He also denied a claim made this week by a woman who ran against him for the Democrats in 2007 that when she was handing out how-to-vote cards he put his face an inch from hers and grunted…..

Abbott aspires to be Australia's next prime minister. On 30 June 2012 in an Address to the 56th Federal Council of the Liberal Party of Australia he stated:

So ladies and gentlemen, I am not asking the Australian people to take me on trust but on the record of a lifetime and an instinct to serve ingrained long before I became opposition leader: as a student president, trainee priest, Rhodes Scholar, surf life saver, volunteer fire fighter, as well as a member of parliament and as a minister in a government.

I intend to take him at his word and consider his entire life before going into the polling booth.

Meet the new Mayor of Coffs Harbour City Council

Cr Denise Knight – Mayor of Coffs Harbour City Council, September 2012.

Elected by a margin of 992 votes.

Elected to Council: 2008

Elected Deputy Mayor: 2010

Profile Summary
I have lived in Sawtell with my husband and 3 children Katherine, David and Amy for the past 25 years. I am a Registered Nurse by trade and am currently working at a hospital in Coffs Harbour. I have been actively involved in current health issues, local theatre and many fund raisers for the community. You might say I am a bit of an all rounder: I am interested in sport and promoting tourism in this wonderful area. I would like to work for the community by providing a different dimension to Council. I am keen to get an entertainment centre into the city.

Committee Membership
Represents Council on:Access Advisory Committee
Australia Day and Special Events Committee
Coffs Harbour Arts & Cultural Development Advisory Committee
Jetty Memorial Theatre Advisory Committee*

*Biographical details from Coffs Harbour City Council website on 13 September 2012

Is Campbell Newman Tony Abbott's illegitimate half-brother?

Newman in the full flight of a political lie during the
Queenland state general election campaign of February-March 2012.
The similarities with Abbott are uncanny.

Culture and arts the focus of a Clarence Valley Council survey - participate now!

This media release is posted at the request of one of North Coast Voices’ regular readers. He would like to see Lower Clarence residents in particular participate.

Clarence Valley Council Media Release: 3 September 2012

Culture and arts the focus of council survey

Clarence Valley Council has launched an online survey to allow residents to voice their opinion on where the Valley’s heading on cultural and art issues.

As a part of council’s aim to revise its Cultural Plan, the survey urges communities to voice their opinions about what interests them culturally, and where they would like to see improvements.

Council’s General Manager, Scott Greensill, has urged all Clarence Valley residents to complete the online survey.

“The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and is an opportunity for residents to tell council what is important to them when it comes to arts and culture in the Clarence,” Mr Greensill said.

“The survey will be available online until Monday September 24. Hard copies of the survey will also be available at libraries and council customer service centres.”

To access the survey, simply go to the CVC website www.clarence.nsw.gov.au and select the link.

“Council adopted its inaugural Cultural Plan in 2007,” Mr Greensill said. “A review of the current Cultural Plan is underway to assess the progress that has been achieved over the past five years. The revised Cultural Plan will be launched in early 2013 and will cover a period of four years.”

Release ends.

Authorised by: Scott Greensill General Manager 02 6643 0212  

For further information contact:

Des Schroder Deputy General Manager (Environment & Economic) 0447 430 261 or 02 6643 0203

Interested residents can take the survey here.

So the Kingdom of the Netherlands objects to how the Commonwealth of Australia protects its sovereignty ...

..as well as its environmental, social, cultural and economic interests within its own marine territorial waters and economic zones? Tough.

The media reports that the Dutch Government has raised concerns about Australia’s proposed new legislation strengthening the precautionary principle in relation to fishing activities of super trawlers, in light of the planned fish take of Parleviet & Van der Plas B.V. and its freezer trawler RV Able Tasman.

I also read that the Canberra-based Dutch Deputy Head of Mission, Nico Schermers, has expressed these concerns at a recent meeting of senior diplomats at the delegation of the European Union to Australia.

It would be interesting to know just how he couched his complaints at this meeting, when sudden changes in the structure and function of marine ecosystems and fish stock collapse due to overfishing are a feature of certain marine areas where Parleviet & Van der Plas (among others) has traditionally fished since the 1960s and, the European Union is well aware of this problem as seen by the first link below.

European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies, POLICY DEPARTMENT B, STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES: Fisheries, November 2011:

Overfishing has been shown to seriously affect the ecosystems of the world oceans. In addition to direct fishing effects on target stocks, ecosystem effects are increasingly reported as a result of unsustainable exploitation levels. There is now compelling evidence that fishing-induced changes at the top of the food web can have profound indirect effects on all trophic levels and hence change the structure and functioning of the whole food web. Such trophic cascades involve a top-down (i.e. consumer) control view on ecosystem functioning, which opposes the traditional bottom-up (resource) control view that existed

for marine ecosystems……

prominent examples of ecosystem regime shifts in the North Pacific and

the Eastern Scotian Shelf off the East coast of Canada, as well as the North Sea, the Baltic and the Black Sea...

The world is also aware of the dangers of regional overfishing.

The Spatial Expansion and Ecological Footprint of Fisheries (1950 to Present), December 2010 :

In the late 1980s, global catches ceased to increase and peaked at 90 million t when account is taken of systematic over reporting of catches by China [9]. The slow decrease of about half million t per year which then ensued has not been reversed since [7], and is not likely to ever be [10].

This decrease occurred, essentially, because the rate at which new fish stocks (for example of deep sea fish; [11]) were accessed, from the late 1980s on, failed to compensate for the rate at which ‘traditional’ stocks were depleted. Moreover, the number of new stocks has been decreasing linearly over time [12].

European Parliament, Committee on Fisheries Meeting 6 September 2012  - video in which Northern Hemisphere fisheries management and overfishing is discussed.

UPDATE:

September 15 2012

OMBUDSMAN BUSTS AFMA - WILKIE COMPLAINT UPHELD

The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, has been advised by the Commonwealth Ombudsman that AFMA did in fact fail to comply with the Fisheries Administration Act when it set the quota relevant to the super trawler.

Over the last two months Mr Wilkie has lodged a number of complaints with the Ombudsman regarding AFMA’s conduct when setting the quota. She agreed to investigate and this became central to Environment Minister Tony Burke’s condemnation of AFMA and Independent Rob Oakeshott’s decision to support banning the vessel.

“This is a dramatic development and a thumping win for proper process and the rule of law,” Mr Wilkie said.

“No less than the Commonwealth Ombudsman has agreed AFMA has acted unlawfully, and this should rule a line under the whole sorry super trawler saga and compel the Senate to kill the project forever next Monday.

‘‘Moreover the Ombudsman has informed me she is investigating ‘other matters’ which adds to the case that AFMA is in serious need of reform, that the Government’s decision to stop the boat is entirely warranted and that the House of Representative’s passing of legislation was the right thing to do. It’s up to the Senate now to finish the job.

“Super trawlers stink, but even worse is government agencies thinking they’re above the law. Hopefully this will lead to changes which might give us much more confidence in future that our environment as well as recreational and sensible commercial fishing is protected.’‘

No NSW National Parks jobs to go from Clarence Valley until next year's state budget?

Although the O’Farrell Government in Sydney is committed to cutting the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage job numbers by 350 statewide, Clarence Valley residents have managed to forestall any immediate National Parks and Wildlife Service losses according to The Daily Examiner on September 13, 2012:

THERE has been a victory for our region's national parks after plans to shift the responsibility of Iluka and Woombah peninsula to the Richmond Valley were axed.
Karen Toms, the manager of Woody Head Camping Area and chair of the Iluka Consultative Committee, said the move may have saved six jobs and it was "fantastic news".
She said National Parks and Wild-life Services had planned to amalgamate Clarence North and South and shift Iluka and Woombah out of the Clarence North, which could have meant job losses for the region.
"They changed their mind and are leaving it as it is, which is great news, but I'm not sure whether there will be more budget cuts later," Ms Toms said. A spokesman from NPWS said boundaries of management areas had been changed in the Lower Clarence, specifically on the southern side of the river, but that the Iluka peninsula will "generally" continue under the current reporting arrangements.

With most of the Clarence Valley coastline covered by national parks, keeping these areas adequately managed and manned is vital.

Map from Clarence Tourism

My big fat apology

I've been flogged round the field and sent to the dog house by North Coast Voices admin who told me that I had made a blooper that I should apologise for - and I agree. So a sincere apology to The Daily Examiner for attributing a line on one of its contributor pages to a working journo.
I haz shames!

Greedy Telstra and Thodey receive another bagging for Northern Rivers job losses

Telstra in Commonwealth Hansard transcript on 10 September 2011:

Ms SAFFIN (Page) (22:13): I am still struggling to understand how Telstra can continue with its plan to close its Lismore call centre, which is based in Goonellabah, axing 116 jobs. I recently spoke in this place about Telstra's lack of corporate social responsibility and its lack of corporate conscience. Yes, it offers community awards and does sponsorships but, really, jobs must come first, not the other stuff. Corporate social responsibility is affected if you do not care about your own workers first.

A few things have transpired since I last spoke in this place. One of those is a community campaign that has seen over 5,000 people—I think it is now up to about 5½ thousand—sign a petition that reads:

We the undersigned citizens of the Northern Rivers call upon Telstra Business CEO Mr David Thodey to intervene immediately to halt any plan to axe up to 116 jobs of employees at Telstra Call Centre in Goonellabah.

We further object to Telstra abandoning its workforce in country Australia and moving jobs offshore, while recording massive profits ($3.4 billion) and awarding generous salary increases for executives.

With the community campaign for the petition a whole lot of people have been involved, particularly my husband, Jim, who has been out coordinating and doing the work on the ground, and I thank him for that.

But guess what? Two other things have happened that really, really rile me to do with Telstra. One is that in the midst of axing jobs not only in Lismore but also in Townsville and other places mooted around Australia—and who knows where else?—Telstra bosses gave themselves a pay rise. One local online comment in the Northern Star newspaper likened it to 'a reward for inefficiency and incompetence'. I had this to say about it:

… Telstra demonstrated this week that it does look after some on the payroll.

"Today local union members and community members organised a sausage sizzle outside the Telstra Call Centre in Goonellabah to protest against the closure.

"Telstra is proposing to close the centre next month with the loss of 116 jobs, and so far about 5000 people have signed petitions calling for Telstra to keep the centre open and save local jobs.

"I have complained to CEO David Thodey about the cruelty of the cuts, and asked him to treat staff well.

"I did not realise when he promised we would look after Telstra people that he meant to start at the top.

"In what is impeccable timing, Telstra's lodged its annual report with the Australian Securities Commission this week, and it includes the news that Mr Thodey is to receive an extra $247,000 in his fixed salary starting 1 October.

"The report shows that Mr Thodey's salary package, including shares and incentive payments, went from $5.1 million in 2011 to $7.69 million in 2012 and now it is to go up by about a quarter of a million.

"In fact, Telstra has found more than $7 million to increase the pay of its type nine executives in the past 12 months.

"And yet they say they have to make this difficult decision of cutting 116 jobs here in Lismore.

"The sad point is, it appears that the executives' incentive payments and share packages rise the more jobs they cut.

"No wonder so many people are outraged at this corporate heartlessness.

Today we also found out—I read it online in various places and also in the Sydney Morning Herald—that Telstra is getting another windfall, pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars in future years due to the competition watchdog effectively cutting the price paid for each minute a phone call spends on another mobile network, from 9c to 6c. This 3c reduction gives Telstra $18 million. Did they pass it on to us customers? No. Maybe they used it to top up the CEO's and executive's salary rises.

Also, Telstra has increased mobile calls on basic phone plans from 35c to 36c. I also remember reading that they are increasing landline costs. There are two things I want to say. One thing about Telstra is that it is almost like it needs an independently funded ombudsman—a Telstra watch—maybe run through CHOICE or something like that so that it is transparent and we get good access. There are a lot of things happening there that we just do not know about. I have said to locals that it is hard when you are contracted with them. Start demanding that we get serviced by locals and that they have local jobs. It will not happen overnight— (Time expired)

A few idle observations at the end of the week

“The cruel internet world of Facebook” was how one Daily Examiner journo described this social networking site last Tuesday.
Such a sweeping generalization for a site on which the newspaper has proudly plonked itself. See My big fat apology

Has anyone ever seen those intrepid Valley recreational fishers Graham Mackie and Dan Frogan in the same room together?

Which female face was supposed to be in this candidate line up until she allegedly refused to pre-commit to voting for one of the blokes as Clarence Valley’s deputy mayor if she was re-elected for another term?

The Clarence Valley Review on 5th September 2012

Can anyone find any real evidence of "the 189 new full-time jobs" for Grafton that Nats MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis was bragging about down in Macquarie Street on the 5th of September 2012? I know I can't.

Which Clarence Valley Review journalist ran a comment string on social media during the recent council election campaign urging ratepayers, residents and business owners not to take on board the views posted on North Coast Voices?

Mouse Gif from Google Images

National MP for Clarence spinning faster than a new top

The O’Farrell-Stoner Government announced a $1.7 billion cut in education spending on 11 September 2012 and Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, told local media on 12-13 September that a) he wasn’t aware of these cuts before the minister announced them, b) fought against the cuts in the party room and c) he’s working to stop these cuts impacting on regional TAFEs.

Yet in down in Macquarie Street, Sydney, Gulaptis moved as one with the rest of government to stifle debate……

   v Motion before the NSW Legislative Assembly on 11 September 2012:

That this House opposes today's unprecedented funding cuts to New South Wales public schools, Catholic schools, independent schools and TAFE colleges.

Chris Gulaptis votes not to accord this motion priority at approximately 3.34pm and it was not debated.

>                 v Motion before the NSW Legislative Assembly on 12 September 2012:

this House calls on the O'Farrell Government to reverse its unprecedented $1.7 billion in funding cuts to New South Wales public, Catholic and independent schools and TAFE colleges.

Chris Gulaptis votes not to accord this motion priority at approximately 3.36pm and it was not debated.

As successful candidates in 2012 NSW North Coast Local Government Elections become known....

Clarence Valley Council Chorus adapted from Pro Sound Effects

Clarence Valley Council is the first local government area to go to the dogs.
Soon to be dominated by the right-wing political interests of two men, the pro-development commercial interests of a third and the slick sycophancy of yet another. Any councillor of genuine goodwill will have a hard time during the coming term.

Richmond Valley Council is coming a close second in the third-tier race to the bottom as Ernie Bennett is now the mayor-elect. Mr. Bennett has a history of marching in step with the harebrained ideas put forward by wannabe water raiders and far right politicians.

Roxon supporting the Tele's anti-trolling campaign is a tad hypocritical

Not only do pollies of all state and federal political stripes tear each other to sheds with full legal protection during Question Time, they all but bow down before the super trolls in mainstream print, radio and television.
It’s very convenient for the current mob in power in Canberra to pour petrol on the hot-housed outrage about social network ‘trolling’ because it takes a little of the heat out of their push to cyber-surveil the entire country.
See! Netizens are so naughty they just can’t be trusted. Why these little terrorists will blow up the outside dunny next!
The reality is, that anyone can at the click of a mouse block or report hate speech, sexually explicit or racial slurs, defamation or just plain nastiness, and tweeters who aren't drama queens do just that.
Just to show how silly the entire uproar over Twitter trolling is, here’s one of those same tweeters who recently complained of receiving the trolling treatment:
“ Robbie Farah, the NRL star who has called for tougher laws to fight internet trolls, last year tweeted that Prime Minister Julia Gillard should be given a noose for her birthday.
The Wests Tigers captain has this week called on the Prime Minister and the police to put an end to vicious trolls online, after he was the target of an offensive message about his late mother, Sonia.
But it has been revealed that, in September last year, on Ms Gillard's 50th birthday, Farah responded to a tweet from former league star, now Triple M radio host, Mark Geyer, asking "what would you buy the PM for her birthday? It's her 50th today" with "a noose".

Later that day he tweeted: "Some people on twitter obviously can't take a joke. Lighten up people"…".

That's right - the very same people happy to dish it out are the first to complain.

People power brings the super trawler to a halt

France 24 International News

After Seafish Tasmania the Dutch-owned operator of super trawler FV Abel Tasman, formerly known as the FV Margiris, had indicated it would still fish around the east coast despite the toughest conditions Mr Burke was able to impose under existing environmental law (having previously draped itself in a flimsy undertaking research as we fish veil) thousands of ordinary Australians appear to have been motivated enough by the precautionary principle to contact the Australian Government over the issue and demand action.

The Federal Member for the NSW North Coast seat of Page, Janelle Saffin, also deserves an honourable mention for approaching Minister Burke when the potential for localised fish stock depletion and destructive by-catch first became apparent - telling him that if he did not currently have the power to halt the vessel's intended fishing activities then people expected him to resolve the situation by changing the law.

This is the government response.

The Hon Tony Burke MP, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities:

Gillard Labor Government Acts to Stop Super Trawler

Media release
11 September 2012

Environment Minister, Tony Burke, has announced plans to legislate to extend his legal powers over the super trawler FV Abel Tasman, (formerly FV Margiris), to prevent the vessel fishing in Australian waters.

“If we get this wrong there are risks to the environment, to commercial operators and to everyone who loves fishing and they are risks I am not prepared to take,” Mr Burke said.

“There has never been a fishing vessel of this capacity in Australia before and the EPBC Act needs to be updated so that it can deal with it.”

The 142m super trawler is currently docked at Port Lincoln in South Australia.

Mr Burke acted after first raising concerns over the potential for harmful by-catch of dolphins, seals, seabirds and threatened or protected species.

“Last week I used all the powers available to me under the EPBC Act, (Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act), to ensure that all legal steps are being taken by the super trawler to limit its impact on any listed species, but I want to do more,” Mr Burke said.

“There is a lot of uncertainty in the community about the environmental, social and economic impacts of a fishing vessel of this size.

“At the moment there are no general powers in the EPBC Act to prevent new fishing vessels like the FV Abel Tasman from fishing while further scientific assessments are undertaken.

“I have been lobbied for some time on this issue by a large number of Labor MP’s.

“It was my view that legislative change should not be pursued until we knew how far I could go under current law.

“Once it was clear that my legal powers under the EPBC Act were constrained I commenced working with my department on these changes.

“That is why I directed that urgent legislation be drafted to amend the EPBC Act to stop the FV Abel Tasman,” he said.

The amendment will prohibit the super trawler engaging in a declared fishing activity in Commonwealth waters while a further assessment is undertaken by an expert panel that will report directly to the Minister.

“If the amendment I am proposing is passed by the parliament I will be able to work with the Fisheries Minister to set up an expert panel to conduct an assessment of all of the potential impacts of the FV Abel Tasman before it can be given approval to fish in Commonwealth waters.

“Until this expert panel has reported to the parliament on their assessment, the declared fishing activity will be prohibited.

“It is important we undertake an open and transparent assessment process to help restore the public’s confidence in our management of our Commonwealth waters.

“We are not in the business of taking big risks with the ocean which is why Australia has the best-managed and most sustainable fisheries in the world,” Mr Burke said.

On the same day:

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig, has today announced a major review of Australian fisheries policy and legislation, the first of its kind in over twenty years.

UPDATE:

On its website PARLEVLIET EN VAN DER PLAS BEHEER B.V. states that the home port of the newly renamed Able Tasman is Brisbane, Queensland. In April 2012 this Dutch company appears to have registered a second entity for SEAFISH TASMANIA PELAGIC PTY LTD in Brisbane.

UPDATE:

 

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Declared Fishing Activities) Bill 2012 - C2012B00148

Passed the House of Representatives on 13 September 2012

Crime statistics and the NSW North Coast, June 2012

From the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research June 2012 Quarterly Report on Recorded Crime Statistics:

• Richmond-Tweed: Steal from retail store (up 12.7%) and steal from person (up 35.7%)
• Mid-North Coast: Robbery with a weapon not a firearm (up 88.9%) [These regional percentage figures in point form cover the 24 months to June 2012 and are taken from a 6 September 2012 media release]

Violent offences include: murder, assault - domestic violence related, assault - non-domestic violence related, assault police, robbery without a weapon, robbery with a firearm, robbery with a weapon not a firearm, sexual assault and indecent assault / act of indecency / other sexual offences

Property offences include: break and enter dwelling ,break and enter non dwelling, motor vehicle theft, steal from motor vehicle, steal from retail store, steal from dwelling, steal from person, stock theft, other theft and fraud.

An explanation of the uses and abuses of crime statistics for those with an interest in the subject:

http://youtu.be/VkfLa_zOtak

Baker's council chain saw

This quote in The Daily Examiner on 4th September of Andrew Baker, Clarence Valley councillor-elect, all but passed unnoticed until an acquaintance put it under our noses yesterday.

"Divisiveness within council is even evident in the seating arrangements in the council chambers of Grafton and Maclean where the mayor and council managers sit separately to the councillors. Until all councillors and management can sit together at the same table, at the same eye-level, no team approach to council governance is possible."

We hooted with laughter at the thought of the very expensive carpentry required to bring the mayor and general manager down a few notches to councillor height, making them almost impossible to see properly from the visitor gallery seats.

What turns this desire to take a chainsaw to council's architecture into the truly absurd is the fact that meetings are not always held in the same place or in the same rooms and sometimes it's a case of generic tables and plastic chairs for councillors, management and visitors alike.

Council can't get more democratic that that!

Lower Clarence wags are suggesting that door heights in all council chambers should be increased at the same time – so that inflated egos can pass though without bending those swollen heads.

Anony-mice
Yamba

* Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segment allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents. Email ncvguestpeak at gmail dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration.

Honi Soit recalls Tony Abbott

Honi Soit not so fondly recalls the Abbott era in an article on its website containing this reprint:

A Day in The Life of the SRC President

March 27, 1979

I arrive at the SRC to be immediately confronted by a garbage can on its side and papers scattered all along the SRC corridor. However, this does not seem as dirty as one might think, as the walls themselves have been covered in obscenities. A clean floor would seem almost incongruous.

I notice that the front office wall has been decorated with homosexual posters by one of the front office staff who stares sullenly and uncooperatively, especially when I take them down and ask him not to replace them with others of a partisan politico, socio, sexual bent. He complains to the Hon. Sec./Treasurer, the Honi editors and anyone else who will listen.

I walk down the corridor to my ‘office’. It is finally time, I decide, to remove the condom which has been pinned on my door. It rather clashes with the lesbian posters that have been plastered there. A notice I had placed on the door reads “Tony (confidentially) you are a fuckwit”. It has now been slashed for good measure.

My first phone call is to someone who has been trying to ring me for days. Messages are often strangely mislaid at “our” SRC.

Finding a copy of Honi, I check on a feature I had suggested containing photos of SRC graffiti, an article of mine condemning such vandalism, and one defending it as “art”. Photos and articles are almost indistinguishable on a blurred grey-spotted background, and the page is dominated by a daubed slogan. It seems the paint brush is at work even on the pages of Honi. Perhaps it is just as well – the pro-graffiti article is three times as long as mine. The Honi editors apologise profusely, but no, they will not reprint the feature.

Returning to my office I am troubled by the thought of the SRC’s utter irrelevance to the daily academic grind of most students. These thoughts are not dissipated while I remain for several hours, not receiving a single call, letter, or visit from any student, except occasional abuse from the “welfare” officers across the corridor.

I console myself with the thought that at least I haven’t had to remove candles, placed so as to jut obscenely from the front office wall, or try to stop payment on cheques disappearing from the front office.

WHY DO WE ALL CONTINUE TO TOLERATE PAYING FEES TO THIS ORGANISATION? I HOPE YOU WILL HELP RESOLVE THIS QUESTION BY VOTING IN THE FORTHCOMING REFERENDUM ON THE SUBJECT.

Yours,

TONY ABBOTT

SRC PRESIDENT

Now that North Coast council elections are over we can expect to find a lot of airborne pokers being reported by the media with a straight face.....

....as new councillors test our credulity.
So just to remind everyone what mockery for slipshod reporting looks like, h-e-e-e-e-e-r’s Aunty ABC's Media Watch:

Why is "our" Luke being overlooked?

A piece in today's Sydney Morning Herald examines the prospects of Barnaby "Loose Cannon" Joyce moving to the House of Representatives and replacing Warren Truss as leader of the Nationals.

If the coalition wins the next election Joyce, or whoever leads the Nationals, would become Deputy PM and, heaven forbid, Acting PM when that blokey bloke (sorry, Julie Bishop, but you ain't in the hunt for the top job ever, ever!) takes leave to go OS and visit such places as the Vatican which would have to be near the top of his list of must-visit places and check with his Boss that church and legislators are sleeping securely in the same bed.

But, as a real "insult" for Luke Hatsuyker, the Member for Cowper on the NSW north coast, and his supporters the Herald looks at who else might lead the Nationals after Truss's demise and Luckless Luke didn't rate a mention.

The Herald piece stated, "Darren Chester, from Gippsland, Michael McCormack, from Riverina, Fiona Nash, the senator who is still considering her own lower house tilt by running for Hume, and even Richard Torbay, drafted to take on Tony Windsor in New England, are all mentioned as potential candidates."

See!! There's no mention of Luke!!!

C'mon Luke, show some gumption, develop a backbone, and make a run for the Nationals' top post.