#CensusFail 2016 continues to erode public trust

Finally it appears that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is admitting to being in a crisis situation with regards to the 2016 national census.

A census for which it had anticipated requiring around 39,000 Australians to help us run the Census. [ABS, Forward Work Program 2015-16 to 2018-19, p19]

One month after Census Night on 9 August and the ABS is now advertising for additional Census Field Officers - presumably to chase up all those households who are reluctant to participate in a national survey which retains names and addresses to assist with future data matching for unspecified purposes or who are now worried about the integrity of data security supposedly safeguarding their personal information.

Successive funding cuts under the last two federal governments may go some way to explaining the workplace situation in Belconnen, as does the leadership role of Australian Statistician David Kalisch.

However it is interesting to note that serious problems in the ABS first made an appearance in the wake of the Abbott Government coming to power and intensified after Prime Minister Turnbull and the Dept. of Prime Minister and Cabinet became involved.

Given the nature of politicians and bureaucrats (and their inability to fully accept responsibility for the consequences of their own actions) I expect that many ordinary Australians will find ABS letters threatening legal action amongst their Christmas mail this year.

All in the possibly vain hope that more than 95.1 per cent of an est. 9,268,673 Australian households [ABS, (March 2015) Household and Family Projections, Australia, 2011 to 2036] will have been successfully coerced into completing the census form, thereby keeping the statistical margin of error low enough to render analysis reliable across sub-populations/populations and save the 2016 census from being ignominiously binned.

Right now I'm betting that the ABS is somewhere between 464,000 and 500,000 completed census forms short of meeting that target.

BACKGROUND

Excerpt from Australian Bureau of Statistics letter to James Smith, 6 September 2016:

The ABS does not profile people who are fined, and as such a single document explaining this does not exist. Rather, detailed case files are kept for each person.

Crikey.com.au, 8 September 2016:

A "crisis" in the rate of returns of censuses has forced the Australian Bureau of Statistics to increase its level of harassment of Australians -- even of people who've already completed and lodged their forms.

Senior Australian Bureau of Statistics officials have warned staff of a “crisis” over the rate of return of censuses and demanded collectors increase the level of harassment of Australians, including those who can furnish evidence they have already lodged it.

Sources within the bureau have told of an extraordinary change in policy yesterday by ABS executives. On Monday, census field officers were told in writing that they did not need to return to a dwelling that had advised that the census has been completed. This included anyone who had produced a receipt number for their online census submission or who said they had done so, or who said they had posted the census form. However, citing a “crisis” in the rate of returns, ABS management yesterday told staff that they were now required to make a further visit. Householders who asked why were to be told that “it is still being investigated and [they are] still on their list requiring a visit”.

That’s despite multiple instances of people complaining on social media that collectors had continued to pursue them despite their having submitted, and even of collectors complaining that their data on who had submitted forms was out of date.

The internal admission of a “crisis” within the ABS about the census contradicts its public insistence that all is well with the census and that, if anything, return rates are ahead of where they were in previous censuses.

Under the Census and Statistics Act, census collectors have extraordinary powers to enter any building except immediate residential premises without a warrant. While there is no legislative power to physically enter residential premises, people have reported on social media collectors trying to open locked doors and, in at least one case, entering a rural residence while the resident was absent……..

Senator Scott Ludlam, on 1 September concerning a matter he will put before the Senate on 12 September 2016:

NOTICE OF MOTION 1 September 2016

I give notice that on the next day of sitting I shall move that -

The Senate -                                                     

1.       Notes

a.       the technical failures of the ABS website on census night - August 9th 2016 - prevented thousands of people completing the census;

b.      subsequent attempts to address the technical failures further added to confusion and impacted public confidence in the census process;

c.       the census website was offline for several days after census night, and sporadically offline in the following weeks;

d.      thousands of Australians were unable to complete the census, and thousands of Australians were reluctant to do so due to privacy concerns.

2.       Calls on the government to direct the Australian Bureau of Statistics to issue a statement declaring that no Australians will be fined for failing to complete the census.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, media release, 5 June 2014:

ABS announces planned changes to future work program

The acting Australian Statistician, Jonathan Palmer, today announced planned reductions to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) work program.

The ABS must reduce expenditure by about $50m over three years. While the ABS has been able to implement efficiencies in its operations, these are insufficient to meet the expenditure target. As a result, the statistical work program will be reduced from 2014-15. 

Mr Palmer said the revised work program, developed after consultation with key Australian Government agencies, will continue to meet Australia’s core statistical needs.
“Our highest priority was to maintain activities that are critical to effective government decision making and deliver the most public benefit.

“While the revised forward work program retains core statistical elements and outputs, we have had to discontinue or reduce outputs in areas that are valued by the users of those statistics. If funding is provided for the work we are ceasing, we will reinstate it.

“The quality, integrity and relevance of our statistics are critical to informing effective decision making and we must not lose sight of that as we plan for the future,” Mr Palmer said.

The work program changes, which will be implemented from 1 July 2014, are:

Discontinue

Environment collections from Australian Households

Waste Account

Measures of Australia's Progress

Australian Social Trends

Survey of Tourist Accommodation

ABS funded component of Culture, Sport and Recreation statistics 

Reduce

Industry statistics research, development and reporting in selected areas

Social conditions statistics research, development and reporting in selected areas

State and territories statistical services engagement and analysis activities

Regional statistics analysis and development

Macroeconomic research and development engagement in international activities

National information and referral services response times

External statistical education development programs

Review

Review the House Price Index, with the view to discontinuing it pending identification of alternative sources to meet the Australian National Accounts and other requirements

Further details of the work program changes will be advised to affected users in due course.

As Australia’s national statistical agency, the ABS provides official statistics on a wide range of topics relevant to government, business, and the Australian population.

Dept. of Prime Minister & Cabinet, PUBLIC SECTOR DATA MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION REPORT, July 2016:

Overview

On 3 December 2015, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) released the Public Sector Data Management Report.

Since then, significant progress has been made to implement the recommendations of the report. This Implementation Report outlines the outputs and initiatives that have been undertaken to date to meet the recommendations of the report and further the public data agenda.

The Australian Government remains committed to effectively managing, sharing and publishing public data as a national resource for the benefit of the Australian people.

As the lead for public data policy, PM&C continues to work closely with government agencies, states and territories, research organisations, industry and the public to maximise the use and reuse of public data across the whole economy……

Recommendation 9

Establish a linked Commonwealth dataset with a domain for secure access by government and researchers, providing:

* a collection of linked administrative and survey data that links across time and across sectors;

* data linkage conducted by accredited integration authorities (ABS); and

* streamlined access to aggregate and individual data, while maintaining appropriate protection of individuals’ records……

Multi-Agency Data Integration Project (MADIP)

The Multi-Agency Data Integration Project (MADIP) is a collaborative cross-portfolio partnership to improve accessibility to, and maximise use of, public data. Commonwealth data custodians are working together to establish processes for sharing and safe dissemination of linked data.

The MADIP partner agencies include the Department of Social Services, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

A 2011 snapshot dataset has been created and is currently being analysed and evaluated by nine partner agencies in-posted to the ABS.

Trusted Access Model

One component of the MADIP is the Trusted Access Model for microdata access.

This model seeks to enable users outside the ABS, such as researchers, to use the data while maintaining the privacy of individuals represented in the data.

A ‘privacy-by-design’ access approach is used, which aims to build trust in the use of public sector data and balance the need for information with the need to maintain the privacy of individuals.

Data integration and linkage projects

The ABS is working on a number of data linkage projects to produce valuable linked datasets.

These projects include the Expanded Analytical Business Longitudinal Database and the Linked Employer-Employee Database.

These enduring, linked datasets combine high value data sources to better support policy development through research and informed discussion.

The ABS has commenced trials of a virtual DataLab with a number of agencies to provide trusted access to microdata. The DataLab is a platform from which to fully implement trusted access in 2016/17……

Little Bird Network, 14 August 2016:

This powerpoint presentation is published by the Public Data Branch of the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet under the CC by 4.0 licence.

This presentation outlines in detail the plans of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to use de-anonymised Census data to integrate with administrative datasets, including that it has already been doing this for some years with a sample of Census data (Appendix 5). This plan was published prior to the ABS public ‘consultation’ (carried out between November and late December 2015) required to determine whether or not Australians agree with de-anonymisation of the Census for the purpose of these data linkage projects which suggests that the decision had already been made by the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet without public consultation to authorise it.

The public consultation that was carried out by the ABS over 5 weeks in late December was not advertised or reported in any media. The presentation also indicates that while the ABS is the integrating authority (the agency with the legislative authority to create data linkage projects), DPM&C appears to be the lead agency. Commentary regarding who is responsible for recent and significant changes to the Australian Census should be considered in light of the information in this presentation.

Power point presentation here.

Computer World, 8 September 2016:

The government is preparing for a major overhaul of its open data portal, Data.gov.au.

The current Data.gov.au site is based on the open source CKAN data portal software. 

The site launched in 2013.

The Data Infrastructure and Government Engagement (DIGE) team within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s (DPMC) Public Data Branch has partnered with the CSIRO’s Data61 for the overhaul. The Public Data Branch is a product of a 2015 fusion of the Department of Finance’s open data team, the Data Policy Branch and the Department of Communication’s Digital Government Strategy.

Data61 is planning to release a first prototype of the new portal later this year. The initial prototype is expected to offer improved searching across multiple data repositories. Further prototypes will be released in 2017 “focussed on data publishing, data quality, better spatial publishing, and integration” according to a blog entry by the DPMC’s Toby Bellwood.

Under the government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda Data61 has been tasked with employing “data analytics to connect disparate government datasets and publicly release them on open data platforms”.

The organisations is currently the subject of a Productivity Commission inquiry. A draft report of the inquiry is expected in November, ahead of a final report in March 2017.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, job advertisements, September 2016:

Media Manager (EL1) (16/EL1Media)

Canberra Office, Belconnen, ACT

Executive Level 1 ($94,933 - $109,741)

Ongoing Position

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is looking to engage an innovative Media Manager who will lead, in partnership with the Director, the Corporate Communications team in promoting the ABS as a world leading national statistical office, and support the use of statistics for informed decision making by governments and the community.

As Australia's national statistical agency, the ABS produces official statistics that inform important decisions made by government, business and the community.

The Corporate Communications Section is responsible for ABS’ enterprise communication internally and externally. The Section manages key internal and external channels, associated content and contributes to strategic external partnerships such as the media and ministerial liaisons.

About the Position:
Working in partnership with the Corporate Communications Director, the successful applicant will manage a team of diverse communication professionals to promote the ABS as a world leading national statistical office and support the use of statistics for informed decision making by governments and the community.

The Media Manager will be accountable, under broad direction, for the ABS’ media activities, including the documentation of communication plans, drafting media releases, producing social media and managing media relations.

The role involves working with both internal and external partners to help achieve the corporate goals of the ABS, and assist in the development of strategies and procedures to ensure best practice communication. This role also involves working with the ABS senior executive on internal and external communication.

Qualifications and Experience:
*Experience in managing media and communication operations and teams
* Highly developed communication, influencing and interpersonal skills
* Ability to prepare high-quality and innovative communication materials
* Strategic stakeholder management and engagement
* Flexibility, initiative and organisational skills to work effectively in a small team to tight deadlines

Relevant tertiary qualifications or suitable experience and skills are essential, including specialist fields such as Journalism, Social Media, Communications, Marketing and or Public Relations.

Application process
Applications open Thursday 8 September 2016, and may be submitted by Wednesday 22 September 2016. For further information please refer to the Applicant Information Kit.

Help and Contact Information
If you require technical help submitting your application, please contact ABS Recruitment on 1800 249 583.

For any questions related to this role, please contact Tasma Vyver on (02) 6252 7968 or email tasma.vyver@abs.gov.au

The ABS encourages and values a diverse workforce. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people with disability are encouraged to apply. The ABS is committed to improving the gender diversity of its leadership.

2016 Census Field Officers closes 11 September 2016 11:30 PM (AEST)

*Various non-ongoing positions available Australia wide

*Salary: $21.61 per hour (inclusive of 25% loading)

*Opportunity to work in your local community

Twitterverse copies of documents coming out of FOI requests :

Image:@ellipsii

Image: 

Image: @unfiler & @seanparnell

Image: @Asher_Wolf

File this one under it had to happen:

https://youtu.be/brOc8LOmjKw

NSW Electoral Commission: Local Government Elections 2016 - vote tally live on the night from 6.30pm

NSW Electoral Commission, Results, 10 September 2016:

Virtual Tally Room - link active from 6.30pm

Results will be available as they are counted once polls close at 6pm on Election Day, 10 September.

The first results are estimated to be available about 6:30pm and most election night results by 10pm.

Results by NSW Local Government Area here.

Mayoral Results

Counting Mayoral Votes

Councillor Results

Counting Councillor Votes

Referendum and Poll Results

Counting Referendums and Polls

Counting Schedule

Counting Schedule

NSW Northern Rivers History - Banyam/Baigham, Lismore

Banyam/Baigham, or North Lismore, is an important place for local Aboriginal people, the Bundjalung Nation and tribes from other countries......For thousands of years the showground site has been a significant gathering place, and the landscape around the Showground is rich with stories from the Dreaming through to the present day. [History Councils NSW]

Australian Bureau of Statistics: the pot of gold that is big data

The privacy concerns arising in respect of big data tend to have two foci. First, there are ethical questions about how private information is captured and subsequently used without the subject’s knowledge or consent. Second, there are concerns that the way governments and corporations store and secure this data fails to reach an appropriate standard, leaving the door open for private individual data to be accessed by unauthorised persons, or otherwise released. [NSW LC, Standing Committee on Law and Justice, Remedies for the serious invasion of Privacy in New South Wales, 3 March 2016]

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has shown an interest in accessing the gold mine that is retail scanner data.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 15 May 2014:

Big data refers to the large volume of structured or unstructured data that organisations generate and store. It is characterised as data that generally contain high volume, high velocity and/or high variety information and demands cost-effective, innovative ways of processing for enhanced insight and decision making .

The opportunity that big data presents to statistical agencies is the potential to produce more relevant and timely statistics than traditional data sources such as sample surveys. As an input into official statistics, either for use on its own, or combined with more traditional data sources, Big data could help position National Statistical Offices (NSOs) to improve the accuracy of their measures or the quality of the statistics produced. It can also help improve the comprehensiveness of official statistics by addressing existing data gaps.

An example of Big data is transactions data from major retailers obtained from the electronic capture of product information at the point of sale. Transactions data contain detailed information about the business name and location of the transaction, date and time, quantities, product descriptions, values of products sold as well as their prices.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 15 October 2015:

ABS innovations will meet new and emerging data needs. For example, the ABS is developing a prototype known as the Graphically Linked Information Discovery Environment (GLIDE), which is a suite of tools using Semantic Web methods to help analysts explore and visualise linked data. GLIDE has linked personal income tax data with business tax data to explore new methods to manage, link and analyse cross-sectional and longitudinal data.

A pilot project to inform policy development through the combination of Census and social security information was established between the ABS and the Department of Social Services.

The ABS is already a user of big data - with considerable potential to use much more - as effective use of this government data reduces our need to collect information separately and directly from households and businesses.

ABS is moving beyond the public data environment to draw insights from retail scanner data, to explore options with other data sources such as investigating the use of satellite imagery to measure agriculture crop yields and new methodological approaches to using telecommunication location information.

The spatial opportunities of big data approaches are considerable and have the potential to fundamentally change how we produce population information - especially the extent to which we can measure temporal dynamics which have generally been beyond the reach of traditional approaches.

And this online article gives a strong clue as to why the ABS would like to link national census data on individuals and households to retail scanner data – it will increase the commercial value of the statistical data products it offers for sale.

Ad News, 5 September 2013:

One of the country's biggest advertisers, Woolworths, said it doesn't need big splashy ad campaigns to launch its insurance offering. Because its database tells it the people it needs to target directly.

Woolworths Limited director of group retail services Penny Winn said the company has been deliberately shying away from traditional mass advertising for its new insurance business.

Woolworths' combined insurance statistics database and frequent shopper database found those who buy milk and red meat are better insurance risks than those who have pasta, rice and liquor in their shopping baskets. As a result, Woolworths are able to target those good insurance risk customers directly with better insurance offers.

“What we've been able to do is take our insurer's car crash database and overlay it with our Woolworth's Rewards database. I rarely see actuaries get excited but they were very excited about what we found because it was so statically significant,” said Winn.

“Because you see, customers who drink lots of milk and eat lots of red meat are very, very, very good car insurance risks versus those who eat lots of pasta and rice, fills up their petrol at night, and drink spirits. What that means is we're able to tailor an insurance offer that targets those really good insurance risk customers and give them a good deal via direct channels instead of above-the-line [advertising]. And it helps to avoid the bad insurance risks.”

It seems that along with an individual’s name, address, marital status, income range, education level, ancestry, personal hygiene regimen, criminal or traffic infringement record, taxation liability and/or welfare payment history, medication and health status, the ABS would also like to have the option of assessing the individual’s alcohol consumption and insurance risk level.

What a treasure trove for those with a malicious heart and refined hacking skills or overly inquisitive police and national security agencies.

Interruptions to water supply in Maclean CBD on Sunday 11 September 2016

Clarence Valley Council, media release, September 7, 2016:

Interruptions to water supply in Maclean CBD

THERE will be interruptions to the water supply for some businesses in the Maclean CBD on Sunday as the Clarence Valley Council undertakes some essential line repairs.

Council’s works and civil director, Troy Anderson, said only businesses in River Street would be affected and it would only be those on the western side of the street between

MacNaughton Place and the Spar Supermarket and then on the opposite side of the street between Argyle and Union streets.

He said supply was likely to be interrupted between 8am and noon.

“There is a fault in the line that needs repair and, unfortunately, that repair cannot be done without interrupting supply,” he said.

“We’re holding off on this work until Sunday as it will reduce the impact on businesses in the area. We will contact all businesses today to advise them of the interruptions.

“There might be some water discolouration after the repairs are completed, so if that happens consumers might like to run their taps for a while until the water clears.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause.”

A matter of trust

An Essential Research survey of 1,041 respondents was conducted online from the 2nd to 5th September 2016 and, in theory, with a sample of this size there is 95 per cent certainty that the results are within 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire population had been polled.

This is part of what this particular survey found:

40% don’t trust religious organisations

49% don’t trust political parties;

          

35% of people don’t trust either the federal parliament or state parliaments; and

24% don’t trust local government.

Total trust has fallen since October 2015 by:

-4% for religious organisations;

-2% for political parties;

-6% for federal parliament and state parliaments; and

-4% for local government.

It would appear that the old first and second estates may have well and truly fallen into disrepute with the Australian populace.

Image: Estates of the Realm

A clearly delusional Kevin Hogan rises to his feet in the 44th Australian Parliament

Nationals MP for Page, Kevin Hogan on his feet in the House of Representatives on a Matter of Public Importance during the first sitting day of the 44^th Parliament extolling the leadership virtues of Prime Minister Malcolm Bligh Turnbull:

Deputy Speaker, I can congratulate you on your election yesterday to the office of Deputy Speaker; I am sure you will be very good—and given that I seconded the motion, I am very confident about that.

I am going to reverse today's MPI, Mr Speaker, to make it much more relevant and much more real. I am going to change the MPI and talk about the Prime Minister's excellent leadership, the excellent leadership that he has now shown for close to a year……. 

If this is the sort of backbench nonsense that will clog Hansard for the next three years we will all be very weary long before the 2019 federal election rolls around.

Barely twenty-four hours after Hogan's paean of praise, the Prime Minister’s leadership failed to keep all government MPs in the Lower House for the full sitting day – resulting in this.

Sky News, 2 September 2016:

The government has suffered an embarrassing end to the first sitting week of the 45th parliament after losing three divisions in the House of Representatives.

Due to several Coalition members leaving parliament before it had been officially adjourned, Labor seized the opportunity to win the vote on three procedural matters on the floor of parliament.

It's believed to be the first time in five decades for a majority government to lose a vote in the House of Representatives.

Since the coalition no longer had the numbers in the lower house, Labor was able to dictate what business the House of Representatives could look at, using the opportunity to move a motion to discuss its proposal for a banking royal commission.

Labor won three divisions in its bid to bring on the debate - with the final vote being tied.

Speaker Tony Smith was forced to use his casting vote - believed to be for the first time - to allow the bid for the debate to be considered.

The Australian, 2 September 2016:

MPs were recalled from airports and turned back on their drives to Sydney as the government lacked the numbers to control the parliament and scrambled to avoid a humiliating defeat on Labor’s campaign to hold a royal commission into the banks.

Scott Morrison was even interrupted live on television as staffers knocked frantically on the door to inform him he was needed for a division in the House of Representatives.

Mr Pyne said those members who had left parliament, including ministers Peter Dutton, Michael Keenan and Christian Porter, had not been given his permission to leave before the House rose.

TONY WATCH (1)

 

Illustration: Eric Lobbecke, with apologies to Annie Leibovitz Source: The Australian

With a bare working majority of one in the House of Representatives the Turnbull Government ended the first sitting week of the 44^th Australian Parliament in disarray.

So it is hardly surprising that former prime minister Tony Abbott was out to draw blood from those colleagues who sacked him on 15 September 2015 finally returning him to the wilderness of the backbench.

Here is the first snippet for TONY  WATCH, an irregular post series recording Abbott’s efforts to bring down Malcolm Turnbull and re-install himself as prime minister.

The Australian, 3 September 2016:

Tony Abbott has clashed with Scott Morrison over his super­annuation changes, labelling them “deeply unpopular” with the Coalition’s base, as support builds for the Treasurer to ­increase the cap on after-tax contributions to $1 million.

In a “tetchy” private meeting with a group of Liberal and ­Nationals MPs in Parliament House on Thursday, Mr Abbott confronted Mr Morrison and Minister for Revenue Kelly O’Dwyer about their proposed $6 billion super package. He ­argued the government was wrong to offer super concessions to low-income earners.

He also argued for the government to abandon its proposed cap on post-tax contributions.

As Mr Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull seek to reach a consensus with backbench MPs on the contentious election policy, The Weekend Australian can also ­reveal that doubling the lifetime cap on non-concessional contributions to $1m would hit the budget bottom line by $750m.

MPs at the meeting said they were “aghast” that Mr Abbott had proposed hitting low-income earners — particularly working mothers — to benefit the wealthy, whom the former leader accused Mr Morrison and Ms O’Dwyer of abandoning.

“He went in there looking for a fight; he wasn’t interested in ­information, he wasn’t interested in listening to his colleagues, he wanted to have a fight,” said one MP present at the meeting.

“He kept interrupting and he wanted to derail the discussion.”

Mr Abbott is understood to have argued that the Coalition should represent lower taxes and smaller government, prompting a retort from Mr Morrison about policies Mr Abbott had put in place while leader that had ­increased taxes. Amid a series of tense exchanges with the man he believed betrayed him in last year’s leadership spill, Mr Abbott said the super changes ­announced in Mr Morrison’s first budget in May “sent the wrong message about aspiration” and he argued that there should be no cap on after-tax contributions.

When he was prime minister, Mr Abbott ruled out changing superannuation, ­saying it was not a “piggy bank” to be raided.

The Weekend Australian ­understands Mr Morrison told Thursday’s meeting that the Coalition needed to focus on its key narrative — the moral ­responsibility it had for budget repair — and pointed to legislation being pursued by the government that cut taxes and spending.

“Scott was very firm, but it was clear from Tony’s demeanour that he had not got out of bed on the right side that morning,” one MP said. Another said: “Tony ­arrived to the meeting cranky, and I think people were a bit shocked that he went for Scott so obviously. It was personal.”

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and those 111 bankers, planners and advisers

Opposition Leader and MP for Maribyrnong Bill Shorten in Hansard on 31 August 2016:

No less than eight members of this cowardly government have previously called for a royal commission, and I am confident that there are many more who now support this move.

What is the case for the royal commission? We just cannot leave it to ASIC, despite what the government said. We need a royal commission. Let me go through the scandal. Whilst one does not presume to be a predictor of the future, let me describe the last few scandals and let's have a guess if it will happen again. The journalists and whistleblowers expose the scandal and there is a public outcry that follows. Maybe even some of the brave hearts opposite are outraged, with their crocodile tears. But then it is characterised as an isolated incident—mid-tier rogue sort of gunmen going off on their own—and not the conduct of the whole bank. There are heartfelt promises that it will never happen again. Perhaps there might even be a special inquiry by ASIC, APRA or a government appointed panel. And do you know what happens a few months later, Mr Speaker? We do it all again because the banks do not respect the government. They are not worried by the government's calls for action because they know that with this mob in power nothing will ever happen.

What we need is real action. Australians are sick and tired of the scandals being investigated after the harm and the damage is done. They are sick of the phoney apologies and they are sick of the speeding fines that this government issues to the banks. We need public scrutiny. The systemic problems of a royal commission require public scrutiny. Since 2009 at least 111 bankers, planners and advisers have been quietly sacked from their companies or reported to ASIC for misconduct. That is more than one a month. Australians do not know what led to these sackings or what any internal investigations uncovered afterwards.

Senate Inquiry into Australian Census 2016: your chance to finally have a say on the ABS, personal privacy, data retention and #CensusFail

On 31 August 2016, the Senate referred an inquiry into the 2016 Census to the Senate Economics References Committee for inquiry and report by 24 November 2016.

The Inquiry terms of reference are:

The 2016 Census, with particular reference to:

1. the preparation, administration and management on the part of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Government in the lead up to the 2016 Census;
2. the scope, collection, retention, security and use of data obtained in the 2016 Census;
3. arrangements, including contractual arrangements, in respect of the information technology aspects of the Census;
4. the shutting down of the Census website on the evening of 9 August 2016, the factors leading to that shutdown and the reasons given, and the support provided by government agencies, including the Australian Signals Directorate;
5. the response rate to the Census and factors that may have affected the response rate;
6. privacy concerns in respect of the 2016 Census, including the use of data linking, information security and statistical linkage keys;
7. Australia’s Census of Population and Housing generally, including purpose, scope, regularity and cost and benefits;
8. the adequacy of funding and resources to the ABS;
9. ministerial oversight and responsibility; and
10. any related matters.

Submissions close on 21 September 2016.

Address for submissions:

Senate Standing Committees on Economics
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Phone: +61 2 6277 3540
Fax: +61 2 6277 5719
economics.sen@aph.gov.au

Online submissions may be lodged here.

Climate Change and Renewable Energy: time to get the finger out Australia!

The Age, 1 September 2016:

Australia was the only G20 nation judged to be "very poor" in four of the seven climate categories, such as emissions and trends, share of renewable energy and overall climate policy. The other three were all "poor".

The nation was signalled out for channelling $US5 billion ($6.65 billion) a year in federal government subsides for fossil fuel production compared with $US150 million for public climate finance.

"Australia has made the smallest pledge to the [UN's] Green Climate Fund of all the G20 countries with climate ­finance obligations," the report notes, adding it had ranked sixth largest in 2013-14. The funds that are being spent include supporting "relatively efficient coal technologies".

The low ranking comes as the Turnbull government seeks Labor's support to axe at least $1 billion for clean energy technologies being developed by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. The loss of ARENA grants will place at risk hundreds of research positions at the Australian National University, the University of NSW, CSIRO and elsewhere.

It doesn’t take a genius to realise that conservative governments in Australia are going to sleepwalk over the climate change cliff if they are not abruptly jolted awake.

It’s time for ordinary citizens to demand that the federal government be opposed on every occasion it tries to reduce or cease efforts to combat global warming.

Send a simple email such as this to make your voice heard in Canberra – make your own choice of political party and MP or senator and ask them to act on your behalf:

From: redacted [mailto:redacted]
Sent: Thursday, 1 September 2016 10:36 AM
To: 'Bill.Shorten.MP@aph.gov.au'
Cc: 'Mark.Butler.MP@aph.gov.au'
Subject: Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) funding

Hon. Bill Shorten MP

Leader of the Opposition

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

1 September 2016

COPY TO:

Hon. Mark Butler MP

Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy

Dear Sir,

Re: Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

Media is reporting that the parliamentary Labor Party intends to support federal government measures to significantly reduce funding to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

Such support would run counter to the best interests of the nation given the inevitability of further climate change impacts and, I respectfully request that you demonstrate the courage of Labor’s convictions and refuse to pass the ‘Omnibus Bill’ whilst ever it contains clauses which reduce the ability of ARENA to function as a mechanism to rapidly increase renewable energy projects and clean energy products available in Australia.

Yours faithfully,

[name & address redacted]

Act now, while your home still has a resale value, your town clean drinking water and the very young and very old in your family are not being placed at increased risk by record heatwaves, storms or floods.

NOTE

To date ARENA has completed 60 projects and is managing a further 200 - 97 of which are in New South Wales.

Moggy Musings [Archived material from Boy the Wonder Cat]

A bob each way musing: The Australian Electoral Commission has released the political donation list for 2014-15 and Google "First Do No Harm" Inc has decided it's a good idea to give money to Labor and the Liberals - $60k for the ALP & $66k to the Libs. So ya'll know who to blame if your team loses click here to search the records.

A let's share musing: Granny Herald let the cat out of the bag on 04.02.15 -Another of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's investments is under scrutiny, with revelations he has a financial stake in the global parent company of the scandal-plagued 7-Eleven empire. Fairfax Media can reveal Mr Turnbull has shares in two international investment funds that invest in Japanese conglomerate Seven & I Holdings. Seven & I's major subsidiary is Seven-Eleven Japan, which is the parent company of 7-Eleven in the United States. The US company in turn licences the billionaire Withers and Barlow family, who own Australia's scandal-plagued stores. As a Senate committee prepares to probe the wages exploitation scandal on Friday, Labor has claimed the investment raises concerns Mr Turnbull must address.

A victorious Gloucester musing: 4 February 2016 - AGL Energy Limited (AGL) today announced that following a review, it has taken a strategic decision that exploration and production of natural gas assets will no longer be a core business for the company due to the volatility of commodity prices and long development lead times…In New South Wales, AGL will not proceed with the Gloucester Gas Project and will cease production at the Camden Gas Project in South West Sydney in 2023, twelve years earlier than previously proposed. Resulting impairments for both projects have included additional provisions ensuring rehabilitation costs have been appropriately provided for.

A political waste musing: I was listening to the hoomins nattering over their coffee (I prefer tea as anyone letting me close to their cup inevitably finds out) and I discovered that the company which empties the garbage bins at my house gave the Queensland Liberal and National parties a whopping $247,750 in 2014-15. Guess they didn’t see much bang for their buck.

A who is that musing: So which Liberal Senator has a URL ending in a strangely inappropriate three-letter word?http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=G0D? Why it’s Senator Oriency Drab.

A blast from the past musing: On 21 May 2015 Tempers flared at a Byron Shire Council meeting today as a crowd of ratepayers turned out to have their say on the $1.2 million temporary rock wall at Belongil Beach. At one point during the meeting, that covered a variety of issues, councillor Rose Wanchap, in response to a heckler in the crowd, threw both of her shoes into the gallery.

A campaigning musing: A little birdie told me that people are prepared to come to New England from as far away as South Australia to campaign for independent Tony Windsor if he decides to run against the Nats Barnaby Joyce.

A January court blitz musing: Look who is taking local government in the Northern Rivers to court this month. Jane Stanford v Clarence Valley Council(District Court), Lorraine Carroll v Clarence Valley Council trading as Clarence Valley Council(Supreme Court),Dawn Mary Allen v Ballina Shire Council(District Court), R v TWEED SHIRE COUNCIL (Local Court),Rory Bruce-Allen by his next friend Karen Anne Bruce-Allen v BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL,(District Court).

A West Yamba musing: So which landowner-cum-developer is rumoured to be suing Clarence Valley Council and others over an approved development application?

A whosa grinch musing: It's not just a sly Iluka DA that turned up on Christmas Eve - on the same day council workers removed 4 picnic tables and seating from the Rotary shelter at Iluka sports oval. When sprung Clarence Valley Council told locals that this outdoor picnic furniture (said to be have been paid for by Rotary and the local fishing club) would be refurbished & returned before 7 February 2016. More than one little moggy on that side of the river has muttered quietly that it's only being returned because they were sprung.

A what's the question again musing: Here is an Independent Australia pop quiz.

Over the last 31 months, since May 2013, 23 state or federal parliamentarians have either been forced to resign from their party or the executive (government or parliamentary) following allegations of misconduct. How many were Labor Party MPs?

(a) All 23.

(b) Eleven, fewer than half.

(c) Only six.

(d) Three.

The footnote added last time still applies: not all stood aside are necessarily guilty. At least one has since been rehabilitated.

Answer: (d) Three

Policy Platforms of Candidates in the Clarence Valley Local Government Elections, Saturday 10 September 2016 - Part Four

North Coast Voices contacted as many Clarence local government election candidates as was possible and issued an invitation to supply their policy positions for our readers.

Here is the fourth post in this series.

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PETA ROGERS

Peta Rogers

My name is Peta Rogers and I am standing for election on September 10 as an Independent Councillor. I have chosen not to nominate any preferences or do any deals. I will work with whoever is elected alongside me for the betterment of the Clarence Valley.

I was raised in Glenreagh and after completing high school in Grafton, I attended university. I have completed graduate and post-graduate studies in Finance and Investment. Before having children, my career revolved around the Financial Services Sector, and I am hoping to use my knowledge to gain a real understanding in regards to Council’s financial position, why it has occurred and thoroughly investigate all solutions before the situation becomes irretrievable. The ‘Special’ Rate Variation is not a long-term solution to debt management.

My motivation in standing for election has built steadily over the past three years. My own questions about the unfair rating structure, articles on Special Rate Variations and whether we are or are not ‘Fit For The Future’, and finally a survey asking me to rank the ‘Discretionary Assets’ of the Council. But a hall is not a discretionary asset to a small community? The saleyards are not a discretionary asset to our Primary Producers? These are not ‘Discretionary Assets’ to the Clarence Valley.

And from this I realised that my Council had lost touch with its ratepayers, the Council had stopped listening to its people? But isn’t the fundamental purpose of a Council, to serve its ratepayers? To listen…..

My vision for the Clarence Valley Council includes the election of Councillors that are ready to work hard and make difficult decisions for our future. A team of Councillors ready to work cohesively and respectfully of each other for the betterment of the Valley as a whole.

I would like to see the Clarence Valley Council known for exceptional corporate governance, of transparency, accountability and inclusive decision making.

I would like to see responsible fiscal management leading the Clarence Valley Council towards being a financially strong Council. The days of spending more than we have must end. We can’t let ourselves get further into debt for shiny new assets when we are unable to maintain the ones we have.

This will better position the Council to be able to serve its Communities more effectively and efficiently once again, while being able to support the development of long-term sustainable industry, both new and traditional.

I would like to see our approach to the Tourism Industry become more aggressive and structured with ‘out-of-the-box’ ideas capturing more of the tourism market for us. Geographically we should be thriving – located between Brisbane and Sydney, between the ocean and the mountains – we have everything and the best of it!

My name is Peta Rogers – I am young, educated and passionate about moving the Clarence Valley in the right direction.

I ask for your support on September 10 to do this.

Text and photograph supplied by Peta Rogers

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RICHIE WILLIAMSON

Richie Willamson

Now is the time for strong, stable, local, leadership; My Priorities for the next term are;

Local Road Funding, Environmental Sustainability, Tourism Services, Economic Development Planning.

Major improvements to Council road network, this financial year Council is investing a record $23 million into maintenance and capital projects on the network. The current condition of the local roads needs to improve; the next four years will be critical - Council can provide a much higher level of service for our residents.

Continue the work that being done already to make the Clarence Valley’s environment more sustainable, our Council should continue to invest in programs that lead NSW in waste management, build on the relationships built with Dirt Girl, put the right thing in the right bin. Increase the number of solar systems on public buildings. Continue working on the Coastal Management plans for Brooms Head and Wooli.

Tourism Services; with the Pacific Highway project starting Council must now review its tourism strategy, to ensure we have an understanding of what it means to be a few short hours from Brisbane and the Gold Coast and encourage them to visit and stay in the Clarence Valley, ensure signage is correct, make sure we are marketing ourselves to the correct audience, attract visitors to National Parks, The Clarence River, Beaches, towns and villages, boating and canoe trails, sporting events, more river access points and pontoons.

Economic Development; I will be pushing for a full review of the Clarence Economic Development plan funded in next year’s budget. The game changer of the Clarence is the Pacific Highway upgrade, along with the Grafton Jail, Grafton Bridge and the roll out of the NBN network. The Clarence valley needs to continue the planning for the “finished” projects now. Plan for the village boom that will be coming for towns like Ulmarra, Brushgrove, Wooli and Maclean.

The second stage of the Maclean Riverside precinct plan will be started with a $1.8 million commitment from the Federal Government and the next stage of the Grafton riverside plan will start in the next term, opening up access to the might Clarence river is a major draw card for our Valley.

New playgrounds are being developed in Grafton, Maclean and Yamba and the next stage of the Iluka walk is planned.

I have never and will not support the “mega port” proposal for the Clarence River.

Vote 1 for Richie Williamson to allow the community work to continue.

Text and photograph supplied by Richie Williamson

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Previous posts in the 2016 Clarence Valley local government election candidate profile series:

http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com.au/2016/08/policy-platforms-of-candidates-in_26.html Ellem P, McKenna, Clancy, Toms

http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com.au/2016/08/policy-platforms-of-candidates-in_30.html Hagger, Novak, Wells, Baker

http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com.au/2016/09/policy-platforms-of-candidates-in_2.html Hughes, Bates, Tunks, Saunders