Report card on the Nationals 2013 election promises as set out by Kevin Hogan, MP for Page during that election campaign

https://youtu.be/ofD1hA1brSc

This is Nationals MP Kevin Hogan's large electorate:

Excerpts from Kevin Hogan's 2013 election campaign website with annotations in blue text:

 My Economic Plan for The Northern Rivers

Cost of Living

Jobs

Infrastructure

Sustainability

Education

The Nationals Policies

The Nationals have a plan to reduce the cost of living by:

* abolishing the carbon and mining taxes; Done.

* lowering taxes and reforming the tax system; Not done to date with regard to tax system reform. As for lowering taxes: As est. 70% of all incorporated businesses do not pay the full company tax rate. So it was no surprise to find that the Abbott Government's cut in the small business tax rate of 1.5 per cent, along with the ability for companies with revenue under $2 million to claim an unlimited number of tax deductions for items that cost less than $20,000 each, is only thought to have contributed to a brief two-month surge in retail goods and cars sales as an est. 30.8% of business owners splurged, according to the CPA Australia Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey 2015 - presumably for the deductions against future tax liability. While neither the Liberal-Nationals tax increases via the Temporary Budget Repair Levy nor the reintroduction of the twice-yearly indexation of the fuel excise contributed to the promise to lower taxes. Indeed, since the Liberal-Nationals Coalition won government in September 2013 federal taxation has increased from 21.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to an est. 22.3% of GDP in 2015-16 according to Budget Paper 1 for 2015-16.

* restoring the private health insurance rebate; This rebate was never abolished but became means tested in 2012 with thresholds increased annually and, it remains means tested to date.

*making childcare more affordable and flexible; Not actually done to date, with out-of-pocket childcare costs continuing to rise, with low-income families having to find an est. $700pa per child according to The Conversation Fact Check in March 2016. Flexibility is still a work in progress with the principal thrust being allowing private nannies to be registered childcare providers.

* protecting and strengthening Medicare; Not done to date. In June 2014 Kevin Hogan spoke in favour of weakening Medicare by creating a Medicare patient co-payment, which has since been shifted to a reduction in the Medicare rebate received by GPs. In July 2014 he voted in favour of increasing the price of subsidized medicines by increasing the concessional co-payment. and

* paying back government debt to keep interest rates low. Federal Government net debt is higher now than when Kevin Hogan entered  parliament. In September 2013 net government debt stood at $174,577 million and in March 2016 net debt totaled $288,681 million, with net financial liabilities of $518,013 million according to Dept. of Finance figures. In Nov-Dec 2013 he first voted to increase the amount of money government could borrow to $500 billion and then voted to remove the debt ceiling entirely. In spite of higher government debt and a budget deficit in excess of $35 billion in 2015-16, the Reserve Bank has kept the official interest rate at 2% during 2016.

Local families deserve some breathing room between weekly pay cheques. Under a Liberal and Nationals government hard-working families will be able to enjoy more rewards for their efforts. Low wages growth continues to date. According to the NSW  Dept. of  Family  & Community Services, with the exception of Ballina and Byron, all North Coast local government areas had a higher proportion of low income households at the 2011 Census than the NSW average (47.3%), with high rates of both very low and low income households in rental stress in the region. Yet I never heard Kevin Hogan speak out against his government’s December 2014 announcement  that it was abolishing  the $21.13 million Housing and Homelessness Grants program, part of which funds three national peak bodies; Homelessness Australia (HA), National Shelter and the Community Federation of Housing Australia (CHFA). He should have been well aware of social conditions in his electorate as in January 2014 he officially launched the Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013, which clearly states that 1 in 200 of this region’s population are homeless and it has median weekly household incomes which are 62-70% of the State average, depending on where you live - with the lowest in the Clarence Valley.

As part of The Nationals team in Canberra, I will create jobs here at home by:

* helping small business growth and productivity by reducing red and green tape; The Abbott-Turnbull Government's Red Tape Repeal Day (commenced Autumn 2014) was itself repealed this year by the Turnbull Government and appears to have been largely ineffective in relation to both productivity and business growth. National productivity growth in 2012-13 was 3.7, by June 2014 it was 2.5 according to The Conference Board data. In 2015 productivity in the manufacturing, retail/wholesale, transport/logistics, business/property services sectors were below the average productivity of our global competitors in those sectors according to a Deloitte Access Economics analysis.In NSW compared with 2010-11 there were 9,675 fewer businesses at the start of the 2014-15 financial year. Nationally, agriculture, forestry and  fishing  industry sectors have seen business counts decrease by -2.4% from June 2014 to June 2015 according to the Australian  Bureau of Statistics. In Hogan's own electorate in December 2013 there were est. 3,900 local businesses but by June 2014 that number had reduced to 3,863, representing an annual "year to June 2014" growth of -1.5% according to Lawrence Consulting.

* creating a world class 5-Pillar economy building on our strengths in manufacturing innovation, advanced services, agriculture exports, education and research, and mining exports; The 5 Pillars¹ economic goal has not been achieved. The Reserve Bank recorded GDP growth in 2014 as 2.75% and projects GDP will only be between 2.50-3.50% in December 2016.

* investing in local roads and modern infrastructure; A work in  progress in relation to roads, while the Abbott-Turnbull Government's idea of modern infrastructure appears not to have advanced beyond sloganeering and an approx. 90 project-long "rolling" wish list in its 2016 Australian Infrastructure Plan which seems to be confined to roads and railways.

* delivering higher real wage growth and protecting workers’ rights; Not done. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2015 ended with the lowest wages growth on record since it began monitoring wages in 1998. As Kevin Hogan has never voted against his party's policy or position on any matter before the parliament, it is not expected that he would support protecting workers' rights in any move to change existing industrial relations law.

* increasing job security; Not done. Nationally the unemployment rate has gone from 5.6 in September 2013 to yo-yoing around 6 or over and then to 5.7 in March 2016. By December 2015 in Kevin Hogan's own electorate unemployment rates were still above the state average - Kyogle LGA 11.1%, Lismore LGA 10.2%, Ballina & Clarence LGAs 6.7%^2a. The Coalition federal government continues to reduce the number of public service and government agency jobs^2b. 

* providing safe workplaces; Not done. According to Workplace Safety statistics in 2013 workplace fatalities numbered 186, in 2014 they numbered 187, in 2015 fatalities totaled 193 with 2016 to 7 March seeing 22 workplace-related deaths nationwide. In 2013-14 there were 531,800 cases of work-related illness and disease and work-related conditions are reportedly among the top five leading causes of disability in Australia. Data on work-related illness and disease beyond 2013-14 is not yet publicly available.

* implementing workplace law reform to balance the system and reward people for effort;

Not done to date in relation to workplace reform and, as for rewarding people for effort, this appears to be confined to various as yet untested proposals to increase services, cash transfers, subsidies and tax cuts for predominately high income households. and

* providing incentives for tradespeople, professionals and businesses to relocate to regional Australia. NSW Regional Relocation Home Buyers Grant closed on 30 September 2014 & Skilled Regional Relocation Incentive closed on 21 March 2015. Both had a poor take up rate. The Commonwealth  Relocation Assistance to take up a job commenced in July 2014 – it  too  reportedly has a patchy take up rate.  Nationally, agriculture, forestry and  fishing  industry sectors have seen business counts decrease by -2.4% from June  2014 to June 2015 according to the Australian  Bureau of Statistics. 

The Nationals in government will create one million new jobs over the next five years and two million within the decade; To reach the first target an est. 8,333 additional new workers would need to be in employment on average each month until the end of 2018. ABS labour force surveys tell us that in September 2013 there were 11,646,800 people employed nationwide and, by January 2016 the total was 11,909,900 people in work - not the 12,143,224 total is would have been if Kevin Hogan and the Nationals had actually met their election promise. Since the Liberal-Nationals formed government in 2013 the combined unemployed & underemployed rate has ranged from 13.1 to 15.0%, currently at 14.3%. During the preceding two terms of Labor government the underemployment rate ranged from 9.5 to 13.8%, finishing at 13.3% according to ABS Labour Force, Australia, Mar 2016.

The Nationals plan for roads and infrastructure includes:

* delivering on our commitments by making $5.6 billion of funding available to complete the upgrades to the Pacific Highway through our region; Some of the upgrade work since 2013 used funding which was committed under the  former Labor Government’s 2013-14 Budget. During Kevin Hogan’s time as MP for Page Pacific Highway funding was deferred  with  Maclean and Ballina projects delayed and the final completion date put back to 2020^3.

* ensuring that regional NSW roads receive appropriate funding and working with the state to upgrade our major regional transport routes including bridges; Local governments in the Page electorate have successfully applied for funds from the federal  Bridges Renewal Program.

* continuing the successful Roads to Recovery and Black Spot programs started by the Coalition in Government; Current funding (2012-13 to 2018-19 ) for these programs was allocated by the former Labor Government in its 2012-13 Budget when it extended the life of these programs  for another five  years according  to  the  Dept.  of  Infrastructure  and  Transport Annual report 2012-13.

* supporting regional and general aviation by abolishing the carbon tax on aviation fuels, continuing the Remote Aerodrome Safety Program and providing assistance to encourage the expansion of our regional network; In May 2013 the former Labor Government allocated  $1.06 million to the Grafton Regional Airport Upgrade in Round 4 of the Regional Development Australia Fund⁴ – something Kevin Hogan took credit for in February 2014⁵.

* delivering the National Broadband Network quicker and cheaper than Labor while providing users with faster speed downloads than current broadband allows. Readers  in the Page electorate are excused for cynically laughing out loud at this point, but the situation is serious for regional areas like the Page which is being locked out of genuine high-speed broadband at a time when access to a workable NBN will be the principal way to create new & innovative employment the local economy to offset the predicted existing job losses that increased computerization of business and industry will bring^6.

Under a Liberal and Nationals government our roads will be built faster and more fairly without the bureaucratic squabbling between the two levels of government. We will stop the blame game and get the job done. See footnote 3.

My plan to build a sustainable environment includes implementation of a direct action plan which:

* abolishes the carbon tax; Done

* balances the economic, social and environmental considerations in decisions between business, primary industries and nature; Not done to date.

* increases government investment in and incentives for local green projects including soil  carbon storage; Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority received funding of $548,000 ex GST (under round 1 of Action on the Ground from June 2012 to June 2015) to trial & demonstrate multiple farming practices which reduce farm greenhouse gas emission and increase soil carbon sequestration.  At time of writing no local projects are known to  me which were funded  by  the Abbott-Turnbull Government.

* encourages investment in clean green technologies; In 2014 Kevin Hogan voted for the  abolition of  the Australian  Renewable  Energy  Agency (ARENA) and against restoring funding to this agency⁷ after which investor confidence in the renewable energy industry stagnated according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

* refocuses environmental spending on Australian projects, rather than sending money overseas; Not done.  and

* creates a 15,000 strong green army to work on environmental projects within Australia including cleaning up riverbanks and creek beds, revegetating sand dunes, revegetating  mangrove habitats and a host of other environmental conservation projects. In December 2015 Green Army projects were capped at 500 per annum & funding was cut by est. $165.7 million⁸

We need a sensible balance between the environmental, economic and social needs of our regions. Mining and gas extraction continue to generate vast wealth for our country but should not be conducted where there is a risk of land and/or water contamination. In 2014 Kevin Hogan voted for a bill which would allow the handing over of approval  power to the states in relation to large coal  mines and coal seam gas fields ^9.

  As part of The Nationals team, I will work to deliver world class education in our region by:

* working with the states to ensure quality education is delivered to students regardless of  where they live; Neither the Abbott or Turnbull federal governments guaranteed  the full six years of Labor’s Gonski  funding  program and former  Education Minister Christopher Pyne has said the government believes it has a  particular responsibility for independent schools that it doesn't have for public schools^10.

* investing in job skills training; TAFE fee waivers were abolished in December 2014 with TAFE  funding  cuts in the 2014-15 Abbott Government budget and, the cessation of  the Tools For Your Trade (TFYT) program. 

* providing incentives for teachers to relocate to regional areas; N/K

* driving genuine reform to give principals and local communities more power to put students first; Mixed success as reportedly teachers in several  schools have endorsed resolutions for their school to be withdrawn from the Empowering Local Schools, a joint federal-states initiative.

* ensuring our curriculum is rigorous without being too prescriptive or overcrowded; A narrower curriculum focus is now in place & ministers of religion are allowed to proselytize within  the school  system with impunity.

* continuing current levels of funding for schools, indexed to deal with real increases in costs and ensuring that money is targeted based on the social and economic status of the community; Non-government schools will receive  the  same  level of  Federal-State funding  per student as  their public  school  counterparts  by  018. Public schools  are  repoted to be facing  an est. $30 billion funding black  hole  from 2018 if  the last  two  years  of  Gonski  funding  are not forthcoming in the Turnbull Government 2016-17 budget.

 * encouraging and investing in science education at primary schools; National programs are underway. However, Australia's OECD PISA global ranking for science has slipped from 9th place in 2012 to 10th in 2015, with mathematics remaining as 12th in the rankings. Australia's ranking for reading skills has dropped from 8th place in 2012 to 10th place in 2015.

* working with social media operators, schools, parents and children to tackle cyber bullying and other harmful material and behaviour targeted at children online; The Safe Schools program has been reviewed due  to pressure  from far-right Coalition MPs & senators  obviously uncomfortable  with  the existence of  lesbian,  gay, bisexual, trans and/or intersex (LGBTI) school students. Funding for this program will now end in 2017. Kevin Hogan appears to have  never spoken out in support of this  program in the  House  of Representatives.

* reviewing and restructuring government research funding to make sure each dollar is spent as effectively as possible; Research funding was reduced in the Liberal-Nationals 2014-15 and 2015-16 budgets, which saw National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and Sustainable Research Excellence combined funding cuts at est. $674.2 million, however there appears to be no coherent planning by government for research into the future as the National Innovation & Science Agenda remains to date vaguely pie in the sky and potentially open to rorting by business at the expense of established research agencies.

* ensuring the sector, including higher education, has a stable, long-term source of infrastructure funding; Not done to date and

 * growing higher education as an export industry and to support international students studying in Australia. The VET-Help loans scheme was rorted by private ‘colleges’¹¹before the federal government would act, leaving an est. 40% of all these loans to private vocational course students now being considered unrecoverable

^12.

 

My vision is to see every child in Australia given access to and receiving the highest possible quality of education, and the genuine reform throughout the sector that will make this a reality.

The Liberal and Nationals have released 'Our Plan: Real Solutions for All Australians' which outlines many of the initiatives we will be pursuing should we form government at the next election. As to the best of my knowledge Kevin Hogan has never rebelled against the orders of his Canberra masters and never crossed the floor to vote against any Abbott or Turnbull government measures, I suspect that his 2013 grand vision of "Our Plan" faded into nothingness long ago. 

Footnotes

1. Liberal Party Definition of the 5-Pillar Economy: Manufacturing Innovation, Agriculture Exports, Advanced Services, world- class Education and Research, Mining Exports

2a. See https://docs.employment.gov.au/node/34693

2b. See http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/climate-will-be-all-gone-as-csiro-swings-jobs-axe-scientists-say-20160203-gml7jy.html & http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-12/future-of-national-librarys-trove-online-database-in-doubt/7242182 & http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-24/abc-adelaide-television-studios-to-close-after-55-years/5913624

as examples

3. See http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/news/coalition-rephase-70-million-pacific-highway-fundi/2115233/

4. Regional Development Australia Fund — Round 4

5. See http://www.kevinhogan.com.au/grafton-airport-takes-grants-announced/

6. See http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/this-was-malcolm-bligh-turnbulls-nbn.html and
    http://adminpanel.ceda.com.au/FOLDERS/Service/Files/Documents/26792~Futureworkforce_June2015.pdf

7. See https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/page/kevin_hogan/policies/20

8. See http://www.budget.gov.au/2015-16/content/myefo/html/11_appendix_a_expense.htm

9. See https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/page/kevin_hogan/policies/18

10. See http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbotts-school-reform-paper-proposes-cutting-federal-funding-20150621-ghtkkz.html

11. See http://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/this-is-a-blatant-ripoff-of-the-taxpayer-training-colleges-facing-audit-of-predatory-pricing/news-story/b82f5b31b12ccc58755939fbfdb6d66d

12. See http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com.au/2016/04/australian-federal-election-2016-higher.html

Australian Federal Election 2016: the face of private education

A report card on private education in Australia......

The New Daily, 25 March 2015:

More than 40 per cent of Australian secondary children now attend private schools – either so-called independent or religious schools. Australia has one of the most privatised school systems in the OECD….

New figures from the Productivity Commission show that government funding increases between 2008-09 and 2012-13 massively favoured private schools over public schools.

Funding for private schools in Victoria, for example, increased by 18.5 per cent per student, or eight times that of public schools.

Across Australia, the dollar increase for private schools was nearly five times that for public schools. The average increase for private schools was A$1,181 per student compared to only A$247 for public schools.

Other research indicates clearly that the equity gap between our school systems has continued to grow since the Gonski review in 2011.

Each private school pupil now receives, on average, a non-means-tested public subsidy of over A$8000 per year at the expense of the less privileged public school student. So much for the end of the age of entitlement.

In addition, pupils with disabilities in public schools receive A$12,000 of extra support while those in private schools get over A$30,000.

The Conversation, 24 April 2015:

PISA results from 2012 show that independent schools do better than Catholic schools, which in turn do better than government schools. However, when school-level socioeconomic background is taken into account, the differences in performance across school sectors are not significant.

A recent study by researchers at UQ, Curtin and USQ has allowed the simmering educational debate to come to the boil again. Drawing on data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, it finds that sending children to Catholic or other independent primary schools has no significant effect on cognitive or non-cognitive outcomes.

What is interesting is that researchers aligned this study with evidence from the US and UK and were able to draw the same conclusions. That is, for students attending non-government schools the returns are no different to public schools.

The Australian, 6 July 2015:

Taxpayer funding for private schools has grown twice as fast as for government schools, official data reveals.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Author­ity statistics show that federal, state and territory government funding for independent and Catholic schools grew by 23 per cent, on a per-student basis, betwee­n 2009 and 2013.

Taxpayer funding to government schools grew by just 12.5 per cent over the same period.

Taxpayers contributed $11,864 for each student in government schools, $9547 for those in Catholic schools and $7790 for other private school students in 2013.

Private school fees and donations boosted the total net recurrent income per student to $12,548 per government school student, $12,177 per Catholic student and $16,601 per private student, on ­average, in 2013.

The Conversation, 9 July 2015:

The Advertiser,11 November 2015:

ELITE Adelaide private school Prince Alfred College has been found liable for the sexual abuse of one of its students by a boarding master in the 1960s.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 January 2016:

A Sydney private school has been accused of underpaying its employees by the Independent Education Union. 

Reddam House, headquartered in Sydney's eastern suburbs, faced the Fair Work Commission in December over allegations that it had not paid some of its early learning staff overtime, penalties or provided them with pay slips.

The allegations relate to a "state of the art early learning centre" that the 800-student school established on the north shore, last year.  

The Reddam ELS centre for children aged between one and six years features "interactive piazza spaces, critical thinking studios and breakout areas", the Reddam House website says. 

Despite Reddam's promotion of the early learning centre based in St Leonards as "one of the highlights of 2015", the school said the early learning staff were never employed by Reddam itself, a K-12 institution that earned $18 million in student fees last year. 

Reddam's barrister, Christopher Parkin, told the commission that the staff were employed by Crawford Education Pty Ltd and were therefore not subject to the award agreements negotiated between Reddam House and the IEU.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 February 2016:

Thousands of students of at least four colleges have been left in limbo with huge debts following the collapse of one of the country's largest vocational education companies.

At least 500 administration and teaching staff have also been affected by the collapse.

Aspire College of Education, The Design Works College of Design, RTO Services Group and the Australian Indigenous College were placed in voluntary administration on Tuesday. Aspire alone has about 20 campuses around Australia. 

All of the colleges are owned by Global Intellectual Holdings, which is also in administration with debt owing to ANZ Bank.

The fallout follows a federal government crackdown on the scandal-plagued vocational education sector, which included bans on inducements like free laptops and freezing funds to private colleges accessing VET FEE-HELP to 2015 levels.

There has been widespread rorting of VET FEE-HELP, a HECS-style loans system for vocational training students…..

Global Intellectual Holdings made $83 million in revenue in the year to June 2015, making it one of the largest vocational education companies in Australia.

The group's collapse comes despite Global Intellectual Holdings making a profit of $17.95 million in 2015. During the year it paid $14 million in dividends to its directors Roger Williams and Aloi Burgess. The accounts show the company held $19 million in debt.

News.com.au, 31 March 2016:

The Prime Minister said there was “a very powerful case” for giving state governments total responsibility for payments to state schools from income tax revenue, while the Commonwealth funded private education, such as Catholic schools….

Mr Turnbull’s proposal was among suggestions made in the Reforming the Federation white paper delivered to the Federal Government last year.

It’s options included give states and territories complete funding responsibility for education; and limiting federal spending to independent schools while states and territories fully fund public schools.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 April 2016:

On Monday, the Malek Fahd Islamic school in Greenacre lost an appeal to have $19 million in federal government funding reinstated. 

The decision came after a Federal Department of Education investigation found the private school was operating for profit following allegations of six-figure loans to board members while basic services went unfunded…..

The decision from the Federal Department of Education means funding will dry up by Friday, the last day of term. Despite being a private institution, the school and five others operated by AFIC rely on public funding for 75 per cent of their income. 

ABC News, 5 April 2016:

Some of Australia's most prestigious private schools are being sued for millions of dollars by men who allege they were sexually abused by teachers and staff.

Sydney lawyer Ross Koffel is bringing multiple claims for damages in the NSW Supreme Court against schools including The Scots College, Knox Grammar, Waverley College and De La Salle, Revesby Heights.

Mr Koffel told the ABC he had been approached by a large number of men who allege they were abused at private schools around the country.

"It just seemed to me to be the same problem in school after school after school and it surprised us how many schools, how many students are affected," Mr Koffel said.

"It is a systemic problem in the institutions, in the schools. We're alleging sexual abuse of the students during school hours in most cases and on the school premises, and it just really couldn't be worse."

Ten separate claims against The Scots College, Knox Grammar, Waverley College and De La Salle College, Revesby Heights have been lodged and another two claims will be lodged in coming months.

Mr Koffel said he is investigating another eight claims against other schools.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 April 2016:

Twenty of Sydney's wealthiest private schools received $111 million in taxpayer funding last year, new data has revealed, allowing the institutions to subsidise plans for tennis courts, flyover theatre towers, and Olympic pools with underwater cameras. 

The schools, including The King's School, Trinity Grammar and SCECGS Redlands, have offset parents investments through the public purse courtesy of an $11 million increase in combined state and federal funding since 2012, according to MySchool data. 

On Friday, Fairfax Media revealed that the oldest girls school in Australia, St Catherine's in Waverley, had won a battle to build a $63 million auditorium complete with an orchestra pit, a water polo pool, and a flyover tower for state-of-the-art theatre productions…..

It is illegal for private schools to invest recurrent funding in building works, but the public injections allow schools to produce savings in their recurrent staff budgets, and direct school fees and donations towards capital projects, where they can also receive separate dedicated capital funding from the government. 

The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 April 2016:

More than 20 federal police officers raided Australian Careers Network last week after 16,000 students were left in limbo and hundreds of jobs were lost at the company. The action came after the ACCC launched action in the Federal Court in November against one of ACN's colleges to recover $106 million in taxpayer funding,

The ACCC has alleged the college acted unconscionably in enrolling students with intellectual disabilities and preying on people in Aboriginal communities while enrolling them in up to $18,000 in public debt. It also allegedly signed them up to online courses despite not having access to the internet.

The allegations could help to explain why Boston Consulting found ACN to be 224 per cent more efficient than TAFE in its use of physical assets.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 April 2016:

The multi-millionaire chief executive of an embattled private training empire has been accused of running a bizarre harassment campaign against a senior police officer during his former career as a cop on the Bass Coast. Ivan Brown co-founded the Australian Careers Network..... Before Mr Brown was propelled onto the BRW Young Rich List in 2014 with a stake in an estimated $177 million fortune, he worked as policeman in Wonthaggi. But the extraordinary circumstances of his departure from the force have never been made public. Fairfax Media can reveal Mr Brown was the subject of an internal investigation by the former Ethical Standards Department over claims he launched a vindictive bullying campaign against Senior Sergeant Steve Gibson in 2009…..

Australian Federal Election 2016: vote for us or the hospital gets it

Meme found on Twitter

Former Liberal MP and current Liberal candidate for the seat of Indi, Sophie Mirabella, once more demonstrates why she is considered by many to be unfit for office…..

The Age, 23 April 2016:

Those who hold public office in our democracy are vested with the high responsibility of public trust. As elected leaders, they must faithfully determine not just the direction of our nation, our states and neighbourhoods but the funding and delivery of vital community services. Their duty to serve the public is non-negotiable, and it takes precedence over all other concerns. On that, they must be held to account.

The Age raises this in light of astounding comments by the former Liberal member for Indi, Sophie Mirabella, that offer rare and dispiriting insights into dishonourable, cynical tactics that political parties adopt in election campaigns. During a community forum on Thursday, Ms Mirabella declared that the people of Wangaratta had been denied funding for an extension to the local hospital because the independent candidate, Cathy McGowan, had trumped her in the September 2013 election.

Ms Mirabella was responding to a question from Brendan Schutt, a local businessman, who is the chairman of the board at Northeast Health Wangaratta, which operates the local hospital. She said: "I had a commitment for a $10-million allocation to the Wangaratta hospital that, if elected, I was going to announce the week after the election. You know that." (Mr Schutt nodded and appeared to say, "Yes".) Ms Mirabella then said: "That is $10 million that Wangaratta hasn't had because Cathy got elected."

This is stunningly arrogant and remarkably gormless. Ms Mirabella's comments might be infected with rivalry and spite, but they also raise serious questions about how funding allocations are determined by governments and exactly what behaviour Ms Mirabella considers acceptable. Let's break it down.

Firstly, we find it strange that any political candidate would wait until a week after voters had made their decision before announcing they had secured from their party a multimillion-dollar commitment for a much-needed expansion of a busy hospital. Why keep it secret?

Promises such as these are traditionally deployed before an election to garner voter support. It's called pork-barrelling, a term that has become so hackneyed that its use almost normalises the objectionable and craven bargains it depicts.

In this case, a sitting candidate, whose party has promised funds for good deeds in her constituency, loses her seat. By her account, her party – on winning office with a thumping majority – backed away from it. Why would that be?

We suggest it has nothing to do with Ms McGowan being a first-timer MP and an independent, as Ms Mirabella contends. Nor does it have anything to do with Ms Mirabella's networks, contacts and knowledge; the money, by her version, would have been forthcoming from the Coalition if she had won.

No, this smacks of filthy payback by the Coalition. The funding was denied to the people of Wangaratta because the triumphant Abbott government was spited that a longstanding Liberal MP was dumped…..

Manus Island detention Centre declared illegal by PNG Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment

Five judges sitting as the Supreme Court of Justice in Papua New Guinea have unanimously ruled that holding 905 asylum seekers at Manus Island detention centre is unconstitutional and a violation of their human rights.

Excerpts from the full judgment:

The Turnbull Government refuses to consider returning these asyulm seekers to Australian mainland immigration detention centres.

Mr Dutton said refugees at Manus Island could resettle in PNG and those whose claims were rejected should return to their country of origin.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the court ruling was "under consideration" and the detention centre was the responsibility of the PNG government, adding "I can't provide a definitive road map from here".

The Australian Lawyers Alliance is of the opinion that this judgment opens the door for the Australian Government to be sued for damages by detainees.

PNG Supreme Court Decision on Manus Island by Stephanie Anderson

UPDATE

ABC News, 27 April 2016:

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill says the Manus Island regional processing centre will be closed following a ruling from the country's Supreme Court….

Mr O'Neill has now released a statement said that his government "will immediately ask the Australian Government to make alternative arrangements for the asylum seekers".

"For those that have been deemed to be legitimate refugees, we invite them to live in Papua New Guinea only if they want to be a part of our society and make a contribution to our community," he said.

"It is clear that several of these refugees do not want to settle in Papua New Guinea and that is their decision."

Mr O'Neill has also stated that the local economy would suffer as a result and the Government would work with the Australian Government to ease the transition.

Australian Government asks Adelaide businessman to show the money

A look at one rocky road to Anzac Day 2016………..

Meet Chris Fox.

Campgallipoli.com.au:

Chris has a strong background in corporate finance and advisory services. He has advised on numerous business restructuring projects over the past 25 years including one of the country’s largest banks, health group organisations and logistics companies. In addition, he has substantial experience in marketing, media, advertising and event management at a National level. Chris was also the youngest Chairman of Anglicare, Australia’s largest non-for-profit organisation. Chris is the passionate leader behind the Camp Gallipoli concept and model.

Add to this sparse online biography, these past positions held by Chris Fox:

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO) Central Bayside Community Health Services Limited, Kingston, Victoria, 2012

Managing Director and Founder Fox Finance Group of Companies, April 1994 – November 2011 which included positions as:

MANAGING DIRECTOR of Fox Finance Corporation Pty Limited (merged in 2007 with National Merchant Bank). South Australian focussed, boutique Finance Company with over 3000 business clients.
CONSULTING to Chartered Accounting firm.
MANAGING DIRECTOR of Fox Partners Pty Limited (Management buy-out 2005) Integrated Financial Services Business.
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN of H Muecke & Co Pty Limited and Muecke Carrying Company Pty Limited (sold to P&O Ports Corp. United Kingdom in 2005)
Established in 1875, States oldest transport company.
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN of Cartonics (SA) Pty Limited (sold to National retailer Nextbyte in 2005)
Original Telco.

How the media reports the activities of Chris Fox.

News.com.au, 10 October 2014:

AT first flush it is a smart idea for thousands to share the essence of the iconic Gallipoli swag experience — a vigil under the stars, followed by a dawn service — much closer to home.

But to the man behind Camp Gallipoli it is much, much more — a chance for Australians to actively rediscover a positive national identity.

“Australia has lost its identity,” says founder Chris Fox. He adds: “We have gone backwards, we are everything we hated.”

Bandt.com.au, 19 February 2015:

Outdoor media provider APN Outdoor has thrown its support behind Camp Gallipoli, a not for profit organisation that is commemorating 100 years of ANZAC spirit with sleep out events to be held across Australia and New Zealand on April 24….

All Camp Gallipoli events will have spaces set aside for camping and there will be entertainment, guests, movies, documentaries and a special Dawn Service on Anzac day, so people can immerse themselves in the ANZAC legacy. All funds raised will go to Legacy and the Returned Services League (RSL).

A Camp Gallipoli event was held in Canberra on Saturday February 14 with a service at the Australian War Memorial. The RSL ANZAC Flame was passed on for it final journey to towns and cities representing the Camp Gallipoli Foundation.  The RSL ANZAC Flame travelled to Canberra last October, after it was lit in Albany, Western Australia, the city from where troops departed a century ago.

Chris Fox, chief executive, Camp Gallipoli Foundation said, “We recognise the uniqueness of the Australian and New Zealand spirit of unconditional mateship. We feel this was forged at Gallipoli in 1915 where race, background and status meant little and mateship, trust and honour meant everything. We are pleased to have corporate sponsors like APN Outdoor onboard to promote awareness of Camp Gallipoli across Australia and New Zealand.”

2GB Radio, 23 April 2015:

Steve Price is joined by Camp Gallipoli CEO Chris Fox to discuss how the cancelled Camp Gallipoli commemoration in Sydney is now back on.

The Australian, 10 November 215:

Tomorrow, students across Australia will donate a gold coin to restore a dilapidated school in the nearby village of Pozieres where almost 7000 Australians died during a six-week campaign in 1916 — the bloodiest battle in Australian history.

Historian Charles Bean described the site as “more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other spot on earth’’.

Camp Gallipoli Foundation chief executive Chris Fox said: “Billy Hughes once said that Australia was born on the shores of Gallipoli. Well, if that’s the case, then its baptism was Pozieres.”

The foundation is organising the fundraiser to provide a living memorial to the Anzac forces and encourage Australian children to learn about the great sacrifice the village represents, Mr Fox said.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 April 2016:

The chief executive of a charity responsible for controversial Anzac-branded merchandise that has been banned from sale has hit back at social media "snipers", saying the centenary commemorations of the Gallipoli landings are being "bogged down in negativity".   

In the face of the backlash over merchandising, Chris Fox, the chief executive of Camp Gallipoli, has defended his not-for-profit organisation as one that is educating young Australians about mateship and the legacy of Anzac Day at a series of camps.

Three Anzac branded items from a range developed by Camp Gallipoli have been pulled from shelves at Target after Minister for Veterans Affairs Michael Ronaldson deemed they had breached conditions of a permit the organisation has to sell the merchandise.

Mr Fox said all profits from the merchandise were being donated to the Returned Services League of Australia and Legacy.

The investigation is announced.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 April 2016:

An Anzac charity that received millions of dollars from government grants and ticketed events is now being investigated over fears it did not pass on the money raised to veterans associations.

The federal government has ordered an investigation into the Camp Gallipoli Foundation and has stripped it of its permit to use the protected word "Anzac" just days before the foundation stages a series of educational and fundraising events around the country on Anzac Day.

The move by the Department of Veterans Affairs comes after Fairfax Media revealed the foundation's chief executive, Chris Fox, may have personally profited from the foundation by charging "management fees" worth up to $1.5 million a year through commercial companies owned by his family and an associate.

The Camp Gallipoli Foundation, which last year received $2.5 million federal grant, has been unwilling to substantiate its claims that it donated money raised on behalf of veterans' charities despite collecting millions of dollars in ticketing revenue, donations and sponsorships from corporate Australia.

The national leadership of the RSL and Legacy report they have received no financial donations from Camp Gallipoli.

The revelations raise questions about how taxpayers funds were spent on the 2015 Anzac commemorations and the regulation of groups that fund raise on behalf of charities…..

The government did not comment on whether it was aware Mr Fox was a bankrupt as recently as 2013 when it issued the grant and official permission to use "Anzac" for the foundation's activities.

The Camp Gallipoli Foundation ran nationwide events on the eve of the Anzac centenary in 2015, hosting an estimated 40,000 people who paid up to $120 each to camp out "just like the Diggers did".

Events are also scheduled for most capital cities this Anzac Day.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs – through the Anzac Centenary Fund – backed the original program with a one-off grant of $2.5 million.

Another $1 million was contributed by corporate partners such as Target and Woolworths through merchandising deals and sponsorship arrangements.

Promotional materials said any surplus generated by the events – and its membership-based "Camp Gallipoli Club" – would be donated to veterans' groups, Legacy and the RSL.

In the days before the 2015 centenary events, Mr Fox announced Camp Gallipoli was expecting to generate a "surplus" of $900,000. Fairfax Media understands that severe weather at the Sydney event did hurt the finances of the foundation but it is unknown to what extent.

A dispute has erupted between Camp Gallipoli and the veterans' charities about the funds.

"Legacy has not received any money from Camp Gallipoli," national chairman Tony Ralph said.

RSL national chief Samantha Jackman said the organisation had also not received any donation after the 2015 events.

Both veterans' groups say they have no official relationship with Camp Gallipoli for 2016.

But the foundation's deputy chair Graham Ingerson maintains the foundation has "significantly supported" the RSL and Legacy. "The Foundation has invested significantly in many projects to aid and assist these charities."

Despite committing to release a list of these contributions, none was provided by the foundation.

A Fairfax Media investigation has also found that chief executive Chris Fox is apparently trying to turn the event into a commercial venture by charging percentage-based "management fees" through companies owned by his family and an associate.

The companies are entitled to receive fees equivalent to up to 20 per cent of the fixed cost of staging the events.

Mr Fox, who is also employed on a $150,000 annual salary as the CEO, has refused to disclose how much money the for-profit companies have actually made via Camp Gallipoli.

While eventually acknowledging they qualified for a fee worth up to $1.5 million in 2015, Mr Fox said no management fees have been charged because the Camp Gallipoli events did not generate enough revenue.

He later said his company did receive a payment of $100,000 to cover staff costs, as well as received "loans" from the foundation and a $215,000 gift from an unnamed benefactor to cover expenses in lieu of the fee payments. 

Mr Fox, who said he also had not received a salary in six months, eventually claimed he "did not know" what had been received by the companies in fees.

"We're living on scraps, metaphorically. We've run it on an oily rag. No one is trying to profit from it – we're just honestly trying to do something good," he said…..

Camp Gallipoli says Mr Fox's bankruptcy is "historic and finalised" and "unrelated to the work of the foundation".

Australian Federal Election 2016: Tony Abbott sings the 'I did it my way but I'll mend my ways' song again

Remember the promise to be “more consultative” after an “injudicious” knighting of Prince Phillip? Recall the promise of no more captain’s picks and to run a more "collegiate" party room in future?  What about the promise after the first “chastening” Libspill  that “good government starts today”?

Former prime minister and MP for Warringah Tony Abbott has been admitting his mistakes and promising to do better – over and over and over again – and now he’s doing it once more and still expecting to be believed.

His latest siren song has silly lyrics and he is singing off key.

The Australian, 23 April 2016:

A contrite Tony Abbott, in a unique exercise in self-criticism, has conceded a long list of mistake­s and misjudgments in relation­ to policy, public opinion and dealings with colleagues that were instrumental in costing him the prime ministership.

Mr Abbott’s admissions constitute­ a deep personal reassessment. He pledges to try to rectify­ in his future public life the lessons from his inadequacies as prime minister.

He concedes that the Abbott government failed to rise to the challenges of “greater fairness, more thoroughgoing justice and deeper empowerment”.

The litany of admitted failures, large and small, has no parallel as a public confession for a deposed prime minister, even though most are made in hindsight. Mr Abbott says: “I made some unnecessary enemies and left too many friends feeling under-appreciated.

“I can’t let pride in what was achieved under my leadership blind me to the flaws that made its termination easier, even if claims were exaggerated or exploited in self-serving ways.”

He concedes “there were some issues the Abbott government could have managed better or not pursued at all”.

Mr Abbott’s comments are made in an article, obtained by The Weekend Australian, to be published in the May issue of Quadrant magazine. It is the third and last in a series reviewing his government….

Signalling a willingness to remain in public life, Mr Abbott says that he hopes to address his failures “in my future public life”….