Moggy Musings [Archived material from Boy the Wonder Cat]

A doin' a donges musing: In Clarence Valley Council's May 2015 CG&W business paper a favourite ploy has been brought into play by a management eager to get its own way - summarise the 48 submissions received regarding the Coldstream-Yamba intersection roundabout so that the authentic voice of Yamba residents is not entered into the public record. Tsk, tsk.

A taken to the court again musing: In April 2015 it was Kerry Maree Durrington v Clarence Valley Council in the District Court at Coffs Harbour, in May it is Janie Terese Emms v Clarence Valley Council in the District Court at Grafton.

An it's been going for yonks musing: Geoffrey William Good Leviny is back in court on 12 May 2015 for a mention at Maclean Local Court (criminal jurisdiction) in the matter of NSW Police v Geoffrey William LEVINY.

A he said what?! musing: Local government watchers in the Clarence Valley will have no difficulty in recognizing who it was that allegedly said this to a worker exiting the toilet - I don't pay you to pee on my time.

An expensive GM musing: There is a rumour doing the rounds that in 2015 the poor management practices of a certain NSW North Coast general manager have cost the local government council he works for an IR court-approved payout of tens of thousands of dollars in a matter brought on behalf of a member by the United Services Union, the largest local government union in NSW.

An iVote musing: According to the NSW Electoral Commission only 2,491 voters out of 54,474 registered voters in the Clarence electorate used the digital iVote system at the 28 March 2015 NSW state election. Of these, 53 digital ballot papers contained errors and were therefore declared Informal.

A Gawd, not another political party! musing: On 24 February 2015 ex- Palmer United Party senator Jacqui Lambie applied to the Australian Electoral Commission to form the Jacqui Lambie Network.

A did you know musing: The Abbott Government's Commission of Audit wants the Minimum Wage to grow by less than the CPI for the next ten years, so that by 2025 it will be only 44% of national average weekly earnings instead of the 56% it is today.

A new nickname musing: Well that didn't take long! Only nine days since News Corp brought into APN News & Media and north of the Rio Tweed they are now calling these regional newspapers the feral murdochs :-)

A what a load of whoppers musing: Slyvester the tom cat who patrols a section of Yamba Road tells me that his hoomin was telling friends that the Nats Chris Gulaptis must hold the Clarence candidate record for telling the most political fibs over this election campaign. Apparently they flow effortlessly from his lips.

A scary fact musing: In 2014 Facebook gave Australian government agencies information about 1,032 people with Facebook pages.

A wheels of the bus go round and round musing: NSW Industrial Relations Commission Court list for : 16/03/2015 11:00am Report Back and Further Compulsory Conference IRC14/833 - USU & Clarence Valley Council re alleged treatment of member.

A hand me the Jaws of Life musing: I'm still laughing over this description of the Clarence Valley Council General Manager's 'open door' policy - you have to use a tin opener to get in to see him.

An it must be galling musing: I wonder how a NSW North Coast local government general manager feels knowing that a former councillor, who contested a code of conduct complaint and won handsomely with costs awarded, is now living the good life on a fine 1,000ha plus rural property with a large very attractive farm house, while this administrator is facing the prospect of legal action against yet another council which employed him?

A your vote or no bridge musing: This is the position Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis takes on the second Grafton Bridge in the Clarence Valley - The NSW Coalition has committed to building a second bridge in Grafton and we have reserved $177 million from Restart NSW to its construction. The $177 million is currently listed as unallocated on the Statement of Uncommitted Funds released by NSW Treasury. The Coalition would have to be re-elected to ensure the $177 million was allocated to the construction of the Grafton Bridge.

I hope Clarence Valley voters are noticing the admission that there is no $177 million allocated in the 2014-15 NSW Budget or forward estimates. Apart from the $429,275 covering the quality assurance contract won by Geolink this year there appears to be no guaranteed money and any further funding to actually progress and build the new bridge may not be in the 2015-16 budget – or in the budget the year after that or the year after that or the year after that……

An arrogance personified musing: After the first Clarence Valley Council meeting he attended an angry little local pollie, elected by default in 2015 and with a little over one year's past experience in local government 27 years ago, is reportedly "pleased with the overall performance" of his fellow councillors – all of whom have represented their communities for far longer than he. Happy to plead 'new chum' status to avoid sitting on more than one committee, but willing to try and bully the meeting when it went on too long for his liking. Oh, dear. This does not bode well for the future.

A candidate who? musing: Rumours are circulating that former Nats MP for Clarence Steve Cansdell was thinking about standing at the March 2015 NSW election – until the Nationals allegedly threatened him with looking into his false statutory declaration again. Surely not!

A questioning musing: What was one of Adani Mining Pty Ltd's company cars doing parked at the corner of Victoria & Prince streets in Grafton on or about 29 January 2015? Apparently once this car was sighted around 20 metres from Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis' electoral office speculation began about what a representative of this multinational Indian mining company was doing in the Clarence Valley.

A telling it like it is musing: In the Sunshine Coast Daily on 31 January 2015 - “News Corp's biased coverage during the campaign was appalling. Its agenda was clear with the front page headlines claiming bikies were backing Labor, followed up by a front page endorsement of Mr Newman last Sunday. The growth of social media, and alternative, independent news sources meant the paper's view mattered little in the end.”

Port of Yamba Expansion Deconstructed*: Des Euen is running out of timetable very fast

This was Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson in February 2011, on his own initiative, endorsing the heavy industrialisation of the Port of Yamba:

Click on image to enlarge

This was the Mayor in March a year later when approached by a journalist from The Daily Examiner:

Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson was succinct in his opposition to the proposal.

"In the words of Darryl Kerrigan (in The Castle), 'tell 'em they're dreaming' - it's not going to happen," he said.

Referring to the plan and other dubious ideas of diverting the Clarence inland, Mr Williamson said: "They probably want to fill the carriages up with water and take them back."

By then Des Euen appears to have two deregistered shelf companies behind him and was on the way to creating a new one.

Come July 2013 and local sentiment had filtered down to Macquarie Street, with then state treasurer and now NSW Premier Mike Baird having this to say on the subject:

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird has denied speculation the Port of Yamba would be developed to load coal from mines in north-western NSW….

he project was not endorsed by the Northern Rivers branch of RDA, which said the project would be met with community opposition in the Clarence Valley.

Rumours have abounded since.

When the State Government leased ports in Newcastle and Port Kembla to the mining sector, many asked if Yamba was next.

Shenhua Watermark, a mining company owned by the Chinese government, was thought to be a potential buyer of the lease of Port Yamba.

The lease is controlled by the NSW Government corporation Sydney Ports.

But Shenhua confirmed it expects to be able to freight all of the coal from its Gunnedah mine out of Newcastle.

A Shenhua spokesman confirmed an environmental impact statement had sanctioned this action.

Mr Baird's office also denied any offer had been made.

A spokeswoman said the NSW Government's asset transaction program had been very clear; there were no plans to lease the Port of Yamba.

When asked if any approach had been made by the mining sector she gave the following response:

"The port is not for lease," the spokeswoman said.

"The Treasurer does not comment on private meetings, however, we are not aware of any approaches on this occasion."

By August 2013 Mayor Williamson had adjusted his position and was singing a slightly different tune according to The Daily Examiner:

"We would welcome responsible and sustainable development and jobs in the Clarence Valley," Cr Williamson said.

"And any proposal that reflects that should be given due consideration on its merit."

Also in 2013 Euen began to link to material on the Internet such as: http://www.slideshare.net/informaoz/michael-sutton-paper  - a document said to be a presentation at two-day Regional Ports Conference in 2013.

Mr. Euen added at least one other registered company to his personal stable of shelf corporations in 2014.

In May 2014 NSW Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis came out with a strongly worded statement for ABC News :

But Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis says the plans are a pie-in-the-sky idea.

He says a reef at the mouth of the Clarence River has indigenous significance, and the area is plagued by flooding.

Mr Gulaptis says nearby residential and agricultural areas could also be affected.

"There are significant constraints with Yamba," he said.

"Anybody who lives in the local area understands the dynamics of the river, they understand the problems that you need to overcome.

"And those problems, to be quite honest, are insurmountable.

"I don't think that we would tolerate that level of environmental destruction."

"Where he's proposing it is just out of the question to be quite honest."

In that same ABC news item, Mayor Williamson moves back in line with community sentiment:

The Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson says while there is potential for growth at the port, something of the scale being proposed by Mr Euen is unlikely.

"I'm struggling to come to terms with the proposal... there's some issues that certainly need to be addressed," he said.

"Building a 650-kilometre train line for a start is something that I'm struggling to come to terms with, to even service this sort of facility.

Cr Williamson says Y-P-R Australia has had some early discussions with council regarding the development, but the information provided is limited and it is not a realistic plan.

"I don't really know the exact parcel of land that is subject to this development at this stage, let alone the impacts of flooding and river depths and the cane industry, the tourism industry, the fishing industry, the environment and our general way of life," he said.

"The details have been very very scant.. it seems to be a long way off, if ever... and I think there would be considerable opposition".

In 2014 Des Euen placed two more presentations online  and, in June made a presentation to Moree Plains Council on Yamba Port & Rail 2023, followed up by contact with an Inverell councillor who spruiked for him at a September council meeting.

Somewhere along the line Euan launched another two documents into cyberspace:

 http://www.slideshare.net/DesEuen1/des-euen-d-bendall-2?related=1 - and

 http://www.slideshare.net/DesEuen1/the-new-economy-yamba-port-rail.

The public service began weighing in by 20 October 2014 when Nationals Senator John Williams questioned Infrastructure Australia and the Australian Rail Track Corporation at a Senate estimates hearing:

Click on images to enlarge

Alert readers will notice that the completion date for the industrialization of the Clarence River estuary is given as 2023 - less than seven years away as I write this post.

Even some supporters of the 'New England rail trail project' apparently have their doubts about Mr. Euan and his proposal:

“I’d contrast that with what we have seen, where we know that all around NSW and including in Northern Tablelands, there are groups that are putting proposals into the transport and planning office,” Mr Goldstein said. 

“Anyone who is proposing any kind of major infrastructure project in NSW needs to sit down with minsters and with planning authorities. 

“They can’t expect to get anywhere without having those conversations.” 

He said there are still some considerable doubts over the project. 

“It’s a big if,” he said. “I think there are too many ifs to give a satisfactory answer.”

Come early 2015 and another slideshow blipped its way across Clarence Valley radar screens: 
http://www.slideshare.net/DesEuen1/the-new-transport-era-yamba-port-rail.

Sometime in 2015 there also seems to have been an unofficial name change to one of his little companies and yet another appeared allegedly created in Hong Kong.

At one unknown point in this timeline Des Euen has apparently acquired a professional lobbyist, Keith Blythe of Creative Customs Strategies.

Given the collective common sense of NSW North Coast National Party MPs is obviously not that high, it came as no surprise that Chris Gulaptis failed to rule out Euen’s grandiose plans when speaking to The Daily Examiner in June 2015:

A PROPOSAL to upgrade the Clarence Valley's link to the Northern Tablelands has been gaining traction in the corridors of Parliament House, Sydney, says the Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis.

Mr Gulaptis said he has been discussing a proposal to upgrade the Gwydir Highway between Grafton and Glen Innes with the Member for Northern Tablelands, Adam Marshall, with a view to forming transport hubs at either end.

"We're about to have an upgrade north-south link with the Pacific Highway, so having an east-west link to the Tablelands is the obvious next step," Mr Gulaptis said.

"When I began discussing it with the Member for Northern Tablelands, he thought it was a great idea."

The pair has presented their idea to State Minister for Roads Duncan Gay, who has encouraged them to work on it……

He said the east-west link would complete the requirements for a transport hub near Grafton, where road, rail and air links were all close by as well as suitable, available land.

He did not rule out including the Port of Yamba, but said there were still issues to consider there.

At the time it was rumoured that Gulaptis and Euan were in contact.

It is now only two years until 2018 and, Des Euan had told the world that he expected that part of his proposed bulk shipping terminal would be operational by then. 

I can find no evidence that: he has a commitment to his plan from either the federal or state governments; his company has purchased land on Goodwood Island; anyone entered into dredging or construction contracts relating to any port expansion; he has even begun organizing the many proposed development reports/assessments that would be required. 

In January 2016 Mr.Euan himself is somewhat uncharacteristically silent. Perhaps he has been too busy trying to breathe new life into his daydream by cut and pasting mythical new project start and completion dates into the pages of his power point slide collection.

* And yes, I am laughing at Mr. Euen's peculiar theory of port expansion lobbying

The only way Tony Abbott will leave the Australian Parliament is if the voters of Warringah kick him out

Apparently desperate to hang on to his seat, parliamentary salary and entitlements, as well as intent on regaining the prime ministerial position he now recalls he ‘left’ rather than was sacked from – far-right politician Anthony John “Tony” Abbott is renominating in the Warringah electorate as a candidate in the 2016 federal general election.

---

THE HONOURABLE TONY ABBOTT MP

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR WARRINGAH 

RENOMINATION FOR WARRINGAH

January 24, 2016

After leaving the prime ministership, I said that I would spend some time talking to family, trusted colleagues and local Liberals about my future. I have been heartened by the support and encouragement I’ve received to continue to serve the country as a member of parliament. 

Therefore, I am renominating to represent the people of Warringah for another term as their Liberal MP.

I am proud of my work to establish the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust that has done so much to improve the amenity of former military land on North Head, Middle Head and Georges Heights. Should I be renominated and elected, I am looking forward to working with Premier Mike Baird to ensure that the Warringah Peninsula gets better transport links to the rest of Sydney.

It has been a great honour to serve the people of Warringah for 22 years and I hope to retain their trust and confidence.

---

Though I am not sure that the NSW Division of the Liberal Party of Australia or the voters of Warringah are quite as enthusiastic as Abbott about his candidature.

Cartoon by Cathy Wilcox at http://cathywilcox.com.au/

The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 December 2015:

Former prime minister Tony Abbott should quit Parliament at the next election to make way for new talent according to a majority of electors within his own safe Liberal seat of Warringah.

With Liberal MPs and supporters reading the signs of growing disunity within the Turnbull government as Mr Abbott and other malcontents continue to speak out, exclusive ReachTel polling conducted for the Australian Institute, has found most voters in the 65 per cent Liberal electorate believe the ex-PM's time has passed....

The New Daily, 21 January 2016:

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s habit of undermining the Turnbull government means he should quit politics before the next election, former Liberal Party insiders say.

Since being dethroned in September last year, speculation has been rife that Mr Abbott wants the country’s top job back.

Reports emerged this week that he had decided to contest the 2016 Election.

However, despite a distinguished record in federal politics and a formidable run of election wins in Warringah, Mr Abbott is being urged to quit because staying would hurt the Liberal Party.

Former Liberal Party leader John Hewson told The New Daily that Mr Abbott would be harmful to the party if he kept behaving like he had since losing the leadership challenge to Malcolm Turnbull.

“If he used it [his position in parliament] as a platform to criticise the government I don’t think it is terribly helpful to them,” Mr Hewson said.

When asked if Mr Abbott had been destabilising the Turnbull government since being dumped as PM to get the job back, Mr Hewson said: “Well there has been some inspired comments by his colleagues and himself … More or less inspired.”

Political commentator and electoral voting analyst Peter Brent emphatically agreed.

“I think it would be better for the Coalition and the Liberal Party if he bowed out [before the 2016 election] because as long as he is around he is a focus of discontent,” Mr Brent told The New Daily.

“With him gone at least everything won’t be interpreted as part of a push to bring Abbott back [as the PM].

“Every time one of them says something it is seen through that prism [trying to get the PM job back]. It would be in the interests of the party if he went away.”

Former media advisor to John Howard in the 1990s and political columnist for The New Daily Paula Matthewson said his true intention was only to disrupt any government he wasn’t leader of.

“I think it has become fairly clear that his intentions are more than upholding the broad church that is the Liberal Party in making sure there is enough conservative voices in it,” Ms Matthewson said.

“The fact is that he nurses the hope of going back to the leadership.

“Really, his true intention is about destabilising and finally trying to remind people that he should be leader.

“On that basis I would say no, it is not good for him to stay.”….

UPDATE

The Australian, 25 January 2016:

Tony Abbott clearly maintains a “flicker of ambition” to resume the prime ministership and any cast-iron guarantees he gives to remain on the backbench are “worthless”, says Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger…..

The Australian, 25 January 2016:

Tony Abbott’s decision to renominate for the seat of Warringah at the next election carries a twin message for Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberal Party: the former Prime Minister has considered his options and decided to remain in Parliament and conservative Liberals are reacting to what is seen to be a “scorched earth” policy of retribution.

Abbott’s personal decision was tortured and complicated, he could have chosen “anything” within the power of the Turnbull government to deliver and had it. He could have pursued a lucrative conservative international speaking career and made money.

Instead he’s decided to turn it all down and seek to become the local MP for the Northern beaches electorate of Warringah where he started 20 odd years ago and promised to work with the popular Liberal leader - Mike Baird - for the local people.

As far as Abbott’s pysche goes that’s about it. All the talk of him going to an ambassadorial posting or government appointment is gone. He’s probably still not even sure himself but the decision has been made and the challenges arising from it are clear.

The biggest test Turnbull faces, as has been the case from the moment he and Julie Bishop knocked off Abbott, is how he handles the conservative side of the Liberal Party and the growing sense of disillusion and fracture in the Liberal and National parties which could become much more than just being about Abbott’s leadership…..

There were attempts to “flush out” Abbott about his intentions as part of the move against his supporters in NSW - that’s failed dismally and Turnbull now faces a bigger challenge than he did just two weeks ago before the moves against so many conservative MPs got out of hand and took on a Party-wide significance.

On an official visit to Italy in May 2015 Australian Attorney-General George Brandis secretly met with Royal Commission witness Cardinal George Pell in Rome and still refuses to explain himself

No wonder Labor’s Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC MP decided to take Attorney-General Senator George Brandis QC to court in order to see his official diary containing the weekly agenda between 18 September 2013 and 12 May 2014 – appears it’s not just about an alleged lack of consultation over environmental legal agency and arts funding cuts.

The following also suggests more than one motive may lie behind the Attorney-General currently using taxpayer funds to appeal the Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision in the Federal Court, in order to continue to block Dreyfus from seeing his ministerial diary.

This is a snapshot of a 4 May 2015 media release by the Attorney-General’s Department:

This is Ten News breaking the secret meeting story on 20 July 2015:

Brandis' secret meeting with Pell

Victims of child sexual abuse, being examined by the Royal Commission, have slammed Federal Attorney-General George Brandis over a secret meeting in Rome he had with Cardinal George Pell, who's long been accused of protecting paedophile priests.

https://youtu.be/BmaXYN9SilU

This meeting, between the Catholic Attorney-General and the Australian Cardinal-Prefect heading the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, took place over a meal at the official residence of the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See John McCarthy QC. 

It is understood that it was in May 2015 that Cardinal Pell was privately informed that he was to be recalled to give evidence in late 2015 by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

On 25 May 2015 Pell responded by letter to the Royal Commission stating his intention to comply. As the cardinal well knows that anyone residing overseas cannot be summons to appear, the one quote from his letter found in the relevant media statement is rather too 'cute' for words

So it probably came as no surprise to avid followers of these hearings that, on 11 December, five days before he was to attend the Royal Commission, Cardinal Pell plead illness and refused to travel to Australia. 

His appearance in person has been rescheduled for February 2016 during a further Case Study 28 hearing.

Anyone holding their breath as they wait for George Pell to appear in person at the Royal Commission again needs to exhale now, as ceasing to breathe until the Last Judgement Day is necessarily fatal.

A 1.2m x 2.4m view of the National Broadband Network

via @MAL_TURNBULL

The outcome of three complaints about newspaper articles

Australian Press Council dealing with unsubstantiated serious allegations and unfairness, lack of balance and inadequate remedial action:

Adjudication 1659: Complainant/WA Today (December 2015)The Press Council has considered a complaint about an article in WA Today on 9 May 2015 headlined “Bong claims Santa Maria teacher’s job: You’ve got to be toking?”, which was also posted by the publication on Twitter and Facebook.
The article referred to a teacher losing her position at a named Catholic girls’ school as a result of a “social media incident”, said to involve a photograph of her holding a bong . The incident had been referred to in a local radio station’s “Rumour File” segment. The WA Today article was accompanied by a stock image of a person apparently smoking a bong. That article suggested a topless photograph of the teacher may also have been behind the loss of her position.
The Council concluded that drugs played no part in the teacher’s resignation and accepted that no photograph of the teacher with a bong or topless existed. As the article had originated from the radio station’s “Rumour File” segment and the allegations were serious, the publication was required to take greater care to establish the facts. In addition, even after the school Principal's denials, the publication repeated the allegations and the article remained online without sufficient remedial action, despite concerns raised by the teacher.
The Council concluded that the publication failed to ensure accuracy and fairness in the initial article and subsequent revisions or to provide adequate remedial action and therefore found a breach of its Standards of Practice.
The Council accepted there is public interest in highlighting the impact of social media on individuals’ professional lives. However, the inaccuracy in the headline and the reporting of unsubstantiated serious allegations that intruded upon the teacher’s privacy and caused her significant distress were not justified in this public interest. Accordingly, the Council also found a breach of its Standards of Practice in this respect.

Adjudication 1652: Paul Lynch/AAP (October 2015)The Press Council has considered a complaint by NSW Labor MP and Shadow Attorney General Mr Paul Lynch about an article published by AAP on 5 February 2015 headlined “Labor MPs at pro-Russian rebel event” which related to his attendance at the 24th St Sava Youth Festival at the Serbian Cultural Club.
The article referred to the event as “a meeting organised in support of pro-Russian separatists”. It said the meeting was attended by Mr Lynch and others, including Mr Semyon Boikov the “leader” of the Zabaikal Cossack Society of Australia, and that Mr Boikov spoke “calling for a swift victory in Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists”.
The Council considered the description of the event as being “in support of Pro-Russian separatists” was not accurate. The terms used, including the word “meeting”, implied that Mr Lynch was party to the pro-Russian separatist sentiment. The focus on Mr Lynch’s attendance was compounded by the failure to mention the many other attendees and, as a result, the event was not reported with reasonable fairness or balance. The failure by the publication to seek more accurate information about the event from other sources or to provide more time for the complainant to respond resulted in the material not being presented with reasonable fairness and balance. Accordingly, the Council found a breach of its Standards in this respect.
The Council also noted the revised version, “NSW: Anger as MP poses with man on ASIO list”, maintained a focus on pro-Russian separatist elements and described the event as a “meeting” rather than a traditional St Sava celebration. The revised article also failed to correct inaccurate and unfair aspects of the original article. Accordingly, the Council also found a breach of its Standards about adequate remedial action.

The NSW legal system dealing with a defamation claim……….

On 7  October 2010 The Sydney Morning Herald published an article which began; Dozens have been sued, felt harassed to work longer hours or otherwise fallen foul of Australia's richest doctor, writes Natasha Wallace.

In November 2010 the named millionaire doctor sued Fairfax Media Pty Ltd and others for defamation and injurious falsehood. The matter winding its way through the courts to a conclusion in late June 2015 with both claims struck out.

In September 2015 The Sydney Morning Herald published the doctor’s death notice.

Live in the Tweed Valley? Want to help save a vital local women's service? Then read on....

Federal Labor MP for Richmond Justine Elliot on Facebook, Wednesday 20 January 2016, calling for people in the Tweed Valley to door knock a petition to save Tweed Valley Women’s Service and thirteen local jobs:

Here’s the link to my Petition http://bit.ly/1njNOu8 calling for the Nationals to restore NSW Government funding for the Tweed Valley Women’s Service. Please return the completed originals to my office at:
PO Box 6996
Tweed Heads South
NSW 2486

For these Petitions to be submitted the NSW Parliament requires the following:
• the person signing must be a Resident/Citizen of NSW
• NO FAXES of signed petition
• NO PHOTOCOPIES of signed petition
• ONLY ORIGINALS will be accepted
• Every signature must be original hand-writing, and signatures must not be pasted on, photocopied or transferred in any other way.

Text of petition:

http://freepdfhosting.com/879bbcd166.pdf

Just minding my own business - GO AWAY!

Nocturnal Tawny Frogmouth pretending he's part of a Coastal Banksia 

Wilsons Headland, Yuragir National Park
Clarence Coast NSW

Photo taken by Greg Clancy, Ecologist

The LNP jury's still out on Mal Brough

Mal Brough was the Liberal National Party's Queensland sweetheart in the lead-up to the September 2013 federal election and had his preselection locked in by 29 July 2012.....

But in January 2016 with the next federal election less than ten months away it's another story altogether.....

Change your company name, sling the Liberal Party a few thousand, switch tax havens, and you're off and running to receive government contracts valued in the billions

Watching multinational corporations harvest Australia is oddly fascinating. 

Take this example........

Since swimming into public view during the Howard Government years when it made political donations to the Queensland & Victorian divisions of the Liberal Party of Australia totaling $10,000 (2000-01), multinational corporation Accenture Plc (formerly Anderson Consulting) has won government contracts valued at an est.$2.27 billion to date.

Accenture Plc listed on the New York Stock Exchange around 2001 and as a prime contractor in September 2006 quit its £175M UK National Health Service contracts because of cost-overruns and delays in its delivery of the IT programme. Repays just £63M to drop these contracts.

Sometime between 2002 and 2007 two staffers of two former Liberal ministers in the Howard Government appear to found employment with Accenture.

Accenture switched tax havens in 2009 – going from being based in Bermuda to being headquartered in Ireland. None of its principal executives are believed to be based in Ireland, living instead in the USA or Europe.

Also in 2009 it was reported that Accenture's Australian Taxation Office (ATO) contracts were worth an est. $580 million.

According to its own website Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 305,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014.

This was an increase of 5 percent in both U.S. dollars and local currency compared with the previous fiscal year and, gross margin (gross profit as a percentage of net revenues) for 2013-14  was 32.3 percent.

In 2013-14 the Asia Pacific region (including Australia) produced net revenues for this multinational corporation of $3.89 billion.

In Australia according to the 2013-14 Report of Entity Tax Information ACCENTURE AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD had:

Total Income: $1.40 billion

Taxable Income: $170.42 million

Tax Paid: $50.50 million.

So an est. 3.60% of its total Australian income went in taxation in 2013-14 or an est. 29.63% of what it calculated was its local taxable income.

With no apparent sense of irony in November 2013 Accenture made a submission to the National Commission of Audit which concluded with this in the document’s executive summary:

In order to maintain a vibrant level of economic growth to provide rising living standards for its citizens, Australia must restrain the growth of public sector expenditure within the limits of its capacity to fund it.

Citizens want growing public services, but will not tolerate a growth in taxation above the rate of economic growth.

The gap between aspirations and willingness to pay has been recently filled by large and unsustainable levels of borrowing which has left a record level of Commonwealth debt.

In order to deal with this problem in the short term, adjustments to expenditure and revenue will be essential.

In the medium term, however, the government will need to adjust its forms of service delivery in order to maintain and enhance them without cost over runs.

This can be achieved by changing the style of management, the uses of technology and the structure of the public sector to mirror the efficiencies that are widespread in the private sector.

On July 7 2014 Fortune magazine listed Accenture Plc as one of the Top American corporate tax avoiders.

In November 2015 the ATO confirmed Ramez Katf, managing director of products for Accenture A/NZ will take over as ATO Chief Information Officer (IT) in 2016.

In 2015-16 the ATO commences a short-term arrangement with Accenture to use their Philippines Delivery Centre to increase its IT capability in application development for new policy implementation.

Japanese whalers active again in Antarctic waters

Snapshot, Google Earth image of Antarctica, 14 December 2015

Sea Shepherd Australia, Monday 18 January 2016:

Sea Shepherd’s Flagship, the Steve Irwin, has departed Fremantle, Western Australia for the Southern Ocean. The ship’s departure marks the official commencement of the organization’s 12th Southern Ocean Defense Campaign, Operation Icefish 2015-16.

Led by returning Captain, Siddharth Chakravarty, Sea Shepherd will once again defend the pristine waters of Antarctica from poachers, with the aim to shutdown illegal activities in what is the world’s last great wilderness.

Sea Shepherd will employ direct-action techniques to fill a law enforcement void that continues to be exploited by the Japanese whale poaching fleet and the two remaining illegal toothfish vessels, Viking and Kunlun (Taishan), which continue to threaten the survival of the fragile and wild Antarctic ecosystem.

“The Steve Irwin will be the only proactive enforcement presence in Antarctica once again this year. The shadowlands of Antarctica are under threat and we are the only form of protection to the marine wildlife in these unregulated regions. Other than offering direct and immediate protection to the oceans, we intend to investigate and document the illegalities and work with law-enforcement agencies, once again, to aid and close out existing investigations worldwide,” said Captain Chakravarty.

As Captain Chakravarty and the crew of the Steve Irwin depart for the Southern Ocean, Sea Shepherd has called on the governments who are responsible for upholding the laws that protect the Southern Ocean to intervene against these poaching operations.

“Sea Shepherd should not be left to defend Antarctica alone,” said Captain Alex Cornelissen, CEO of Sea Shepherd Global. “For the last 13 years our ships and crews have shone an international spotlight on both the illegal whaling and more recently on the illegal toothfish operations. Now it’s time for governments to step-up and take serious action to address the issue of poaching in the Southern Ocean.”

Managing Director of Sea Shepherd Australia, Jeff Hansen, said, “Sea Shepherd needs reinforcements. 76.9% of Australians want the Australian government to send a vessel to oppose the Japanese whale poaching fleet. Australia has been commended for taking Japan to the ICJ, but now the government needs to take responsibility for enforcement by sending a ship to oppose the whale poachers.”

Antarctic Minke whale

Up to 333 minke whales will be killed by Japanese whalers hunting in the Southern Ocean in 2016. The whaling fleet set sail for Antarctica on 1 December 2015.

Excerpt from Joint statement on whaling and safety at sea released on 12 January 2016 by the Governments of Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States:

Our Governments remain resolutely opposed to commercial whaling, in particular in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary established by the International Whaling Commission. We do not believe that Japan has sufficiently demonstrated that it has given due regard to the guidance found in the 2014 International Court of Justice judgment on ensuring that lethal research whaling is consistent with the obligations under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. On December 7, 2015, our Governments joined 29 other nations to protest Japan’s decision. We urged Japan to respect the International Whaling Commission’s procedures and the advice of its Expert Review Panel and Scientific Committee. The science is clear: all information necessary for management and conservation of whales can be obtained through non-lethal methods.

We note that the final NEWREP-A research plan, circulated to the Scientific Committee members on November 27, 2015, has not proceeded through the International Whaling Commission’s processes, set out in Resolution 2014-5, which requests that proponents allow the IWC to consider the Scientific Committee’s review of special permit proposals prior to their commencement.

Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States are committed to improving the conservation status of whales worldwide, maintaining the International Whaling Commission's global moratorium on commercial whaling, and implementing meaningful reform of the International Whaling Commission.