On 9 October 2007 North Coast Voices
began to post opinions and observations.
Five years later we are still online.
Thank you to all our readers
both in Australia and overseas
for visiting this group blog so regularly.
Tuesday 9 October 2012
Monday 8 October 2012
Saffin, George and Dowell see Lismore Jobs Market as offering a lifeline to soon to be sacked Telstra staff
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE FROM JANELLE SAFFIN MP, THOMAS GEORGE MP AND CR JENNY DOWELL
Jobs Market offers a lifeline to Telstra staff
LISMORE’S political representatives are calling on all district employers to showcase job vacancies at a Jobs Market on Friday October 19, aimed at keeping Telstra Goonellabah Call Centre’s 116 staff working locally.
Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin, State Member for Lismore Thomas George and Lismore Mayor Cr Jenny Dowell hope the Telstra Lismore Jobs Market at the Goonellabah Sports and Aquatic Centre may offer a lifeline to affected staff.
The event will be sponsored by Telstra in association with the Australian Government’s Building Australia’s Future Workforce Program, NSW Trade & Investment and Lismore City Council.
Telstra Area General Manager North Coast NSW Sue Passmore said: “We are supporting the jobs market in Lismore and will be doing what we can to make it a successful and productive day for our people, as well as other local residents and businesses.”
In a joint statement, Ms Saffin, Mr George and Cr Dowell said: “We are still reeling from the impending loss of the Call Centre jobs, but it’s important for our community to rally around and help these workers so they don’t have to leave our area. We need to show we care for these workers and do all we can for them and their families.”
“This is a highly skilled workforce, and we believed they needed to meet face-to-face with potential employers about real job opportunities close to home, before the Call Centre is due to close its doors on Tuesday October 23,” they said.
“The Jobs Market allows employers to hand out information about their businesses, collect resumes, and potentially even shortlist candidates to interview. Employers who cannot attend the Jobs Market can still post details of vacancies on the Telstra Lismore Jobs Board.”
To register as an exhibitor at the Telstra Lismore Jobs Market, employers should phone the event hotline on 0266 863 972 or visit www.telstralismorejobsmarket.com.au Participation is free for exhibitors and attendees. Telstra employees will attend the Jobs Market in the morning and the afternoon session will be open to all local job seekers.
Taking to the air
Pic from teh googles
7 October
In response to media inquiries, we note that Fairfax Media claim to have an Affidavit admitted into evidence on Thursday but as yet not released by the Court. The affidavit contains the details of all the text messages between Mr. Ashby and Mr. Slipper. It was introduced into evidence to show the full context of the communications between the two men. The Fairfax report does not do that. This affidavit was not given to Fairfax by Mr. Ashby nor by anyone associated with Mr. Ashby. All parties to the litigation, including the Commonwealth, had copies of this document that has now been released to Fairfax. ENDS
Anthony McClellan.
AMC MediaMob: 0433 122 360
Sunday 7 October 2012
The State Infrastructure Strategy 2012 - 2032: Cheat Sheet for NSW North Coast residents and other users of the Pacific Highway
Selected quotes from this document concerning the Pacific Highway upgrade – in which Greiner et al recognise the economic importance of this highway, the safety issues for users** and, then recommend that upgrade funding first go towards that road leg closest to Sydney while pushing out the completion schedule for North Coast sections until 2022 and suggesting drivers might possibily have to pay a toll or similar tax:
Duplication of the Pacific Highway and the Princes
Highway (to the Jervis Bay turnoff) are critical for
economic growth along the coast. Inland, freight access
needs to be improved through a bridge replacement
program and investments to fix identified bottlenecks on
both railways and roads.
2012-17 Pacific Highway and Princes Highway: review scope and costs,
then continue construction*
* Indicates project recommendations that are existing Government commitments.
2017-22 Complete duplication of Pacific Highway and Princes Highway
(to Jervis Bay turnoff)*
A number of major road programs are underway.
These include upgrades to the Pacific Highway
and Princes Highway. Getting the best value for
these major investments is essential. Infrastructure
NSW is concerned that cost estimates for these
programs appear very high.
Major investment has been undertaken in recent years
on the regional road network in Regional NSW. This
has been supported by Commonwealth Government
funding through the Nation Building Program, which
will invest around $11 billion in regional NSW’s roads
over the period from 2008-09 to 2013-14. Projects
have included investment in the duplication of the
Hume and Pacific Highways, and in new routes such
as the Hunter Expressway.
The ongoing Pacific Highway duplication is
one of the largest infrastructure programs in the State.
10.6.2. Duplicating the Pacific Highway
Current Status
The Pacific Highway runs 670 kilometres from the F3 at
Hexham to the Queensland border. It carries over half the
freight task between Sydney and Brisbane, as well as a mix
of long distance and local vehicle traffic. Road safety has
been another major driver of investment in this corridor.
As at April 2012, 52 percent of the Highway
(346 kilometre) had been upgraded to dual carriageway
and another nine percent (60 kilometre) was under
construction. A further $7.7 billion is forecast to be
needed for remaining unfunded works (giving a total
program cost of over $16 billion). The NSW and
Commonwealth Governments are in discussion around
funding options for remaining works.
Scope of Remaining Work
The remaining undivided sections of the Pacific Highway
comprise two main sections:
• Port Macquarie to Urunga
• Woolgoolga to Ballina
The economic merit of the remaining sections is
much lower at 0.8 (Benefit Cost Ratio) than that of the
Highway as a whole31. This reflects the relatively low
traffic volumes on the remaining sections – for example
the traffic between Woolgoolga and Ballina is generally
below 10,000 vehicles per day.
Given competing priorities for NSW and Commonwealth
Government funds, the high cost and relatively limited
benefits of these remaining sections raises questions
about the:
• relative merit of prioritising busier sections of the
Pacific Highway corridor for upgrade sooner,
(in particular from the F3 to Raymond Terrace
40,000 vehicles per day)
• appropriate scope of works and priority for those
sections with relatively light traffic.
Construction costs
Construction costs on the Pacific Highway appear to have
increased significantly as the upgrades have progressed.
The cost of the currently unfunded sections are estimated
to be some 20–40 percent more per kilometre than the
already delivered or committed sections, even after
allowing for normal industry cost escalation32.
Current highway planning seems more focussed on
delivering an outstanding engineering outcome than
on controlling costs. The Ballina Bypass provides a
recent illustration of the consequences of having high
performance standards. For 12 kilometres of new road,
the cost was $640 million – more than twice the cost per
kilometre of previous sections33.
Given the scale of the forecast spending and the limited
resources available, Infrastructure NSW recommends
that now is an appropriate time for an independent review
of the scope of work, with a focus on value engineering
(discussed in section 16). The independent review
should also consider how constraints such as work
practices and planning approval conditions are adding
to the budget.
RMS should also consider options to improve
contracting efficiency. Currently the Highway is being
constructed through a large number of different
contracts, which reduces the scope for economies
of scale and in practice limits potential bidders to
local suppliers.
Lower costs may be achieved if the remaining unfunded
sections were issued as fewer, but much larger
packages, which may attract international suppliers and
increase competitive pressure.
Given the scale of major road programs in
Regional NSW, action is needed to contain costs and
where possible, particularly with the Pacific Highway
and Princes Highway programs. Finite funding means
the alternative is likely to be further delay in delivering
these programs.
In many cases, pinch point upgrades will be sufficient
to meet the transport demands placed on the regional
roads network over the next 20 years.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth funding may augment the funding
options under the State’s control. The Federal
Government has made significant contributions to NSW
infrastructure projects in recent years, particularly the
Pacific Highway, freight rail upgrades and the M7.
Infrastructure Australia has identified a number
of key themes and challenges that are consistent
with the approach taken by Infrastructure NSW. In
particular there is a shared focus on improving the
liveability and productivity of our cities, the efficiency
of our international gateways and the prosperity of
regional areas.
The challenge is to ensure that NSW’s infrastructure
projects are best positioned to secure Commonwealth
support going forward. This requires a more rigorous
approach to planning and selecting projects for
submission to Infrastructure Australia, as well as a
more thorough exposition of their benefits relative to
Infrastructure Australia’s priorities.
Nonetheless it must be recognised that current fiscal
pressures at the Federal level mean that Commonwealth
support cannot be seen as an alternative to the other
funding strategies set out in this section, in particular the
user funding options.
** NSW Parliament Hansard records that there have been 555 fatalities on the Pacific Highway between 1997 and early 2012. The Daily Examiner on 5 October stated that; In the
past year 107 people lost their lives on the road north of Newcastle.
Michael Gawenda makes a bit of an ass of himself over Alan Jones
Michael Gawenda in the Business Spectator on 3rd October 2012:
Er, Alan’s show can only be heard in Sydney? Even though it’s syndicated
and carried by radio stations as far away as Darwin?
Michael
needs to talk with 2GB
which says that Jones can be heard on:
2BS AM 1503 Bathurst
2CC AM 1206 Canberra
2CS FM 106.3 Coffs Harbour
2GB AM 873 Sydney
2GN AM 1368 Goulburn
2GZ FM 105.1 Orange
2LT AM 900 Lithgow
2MC FM 100.7 Port Macquarie
2RG AM 963 Griffith
2WG AM 1152 Wagga Wagga
2XL AM 918 Cooma
3MA FM 97.9 Mildura
4AM AM 558 Mareeba
4CA AM 846 Cairns
4GC AM 828 Charters Towers
4K1G FM 107.1 Townsville/ Cape York/Gulf of Carpentaria
4KZ AM 531 Innisfail
4LG AM 1098 Longreach
4MK AM 1026 Mackay
4RO AM 990 Rockhampton
4GR AM 864 Toowoomba
104.1 Territory FM
5SE AM 963 Mt Gambier
MIXFM 103.5 Maryborough
99.5 Flow FM Kapunda
104.1 Territory FM
4OUR Moreton Bay 101.5
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