Southern Cross University to host July 2008 Second Regional Forum on Climate Change and Coastal Communities

The NSW North Coast's Southern Cross University will host the Second Regional Forum on Climate Change and Coastal Communities in July 2008.

 

Organiser Associate Professor Graham Jones said that while progress had been made in some areas since the initial forum, there were many challenges facing the Mid North and North Coast regions.

"We can expect the sea level to rise by at least one metre over the next 90 years and in some places that will have quite a substantial impact. If there's a one-metre rise, this can produce inundation of about 100 metres," Professor Jones said.

"This has major implications for planning of coastal developments."

People from the Coffs Harbour region north to the Queensland border are being invited to attend.

Speakers include Dr John Hunter, from the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre at the University of Tasmania, who will provide an overview of the impact of sea level rise on the northern NSW coastline, and Professor Rodger Tomlinson, from Griffith University's National Centre for Climate Change Adaptation,  who will talk about coastal erosion and the coastal planning that will be required over the next century.-------

Anyone interested in participating in the Climate Change Forum should contact the Centre for Regional Climate Change Studies on 6620 3650, email graham.jones@scu.edu.au or visit the website www.scu.edu.au/schools/esm/

The forum will be held at the Whitebrook Theatre, Lismore campus, on July 3 and 4.

Charting inflation makes me feel soooo safe

TD Securities and the Melbourne Institute have created an inflation gauge to chart the rise and rise of the cost of living for Aussies on a monthly basis.
At over $600 a subscription it way beyond my wallet but I'm sure it will be useful to somebody.
What is interesting is that this gauge appears to heavily rely on the Internet to gather information for many of the 1,000 price lines it charts.
Given the laxity some companies display towards regularly updating their websites, this might really throw a spanner in the works.
Forbes reports that according to the gauge the year-end inflation rate has been running at over 4% for the last three months.

Iemma and Costa determined to give Spivs Inc [NSW] and Developers Unlimited mates a good deal on power privatisation?

With the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption replete with investigative files prima facie linking political donations with favourable actions taken by the NSW Government, one has to wonder whether last weekend's decision by an intransigent Morris Iemma and a 'tired and emotional' Michael Costa to defy Labor Party policy and the electorate, by forging ahead with plans to privatise state-owned power assets, indicates that some big business mates are already preparing to carve up those assets.

The recently created Alliance for NSW Future, whose sole purpose is to promote electricity privatisation, has member organisations which represent many corporations on NSW Labor's donor list.

Morris Iemma has presided over a government which is less than transparent over its dealings with political donors and he appears to have lost the confidence of a majority of voters.
Michael Costa has turned every portfolio he ever held into a public relations disaster and as Treasurer demonstrated this week why it might be unwise for such a mercurial and aggressive personality to continue to hold this ministry.

The Labor Party and Labor MPs need to ask themselves if they can afford to indulge a prima donna Premier who cannot eradicate a perception of corruption and a Treasurer whose emotional balance and judgement is now in question.

Caroline Kennedy backs Obama to the hilt

The Obama for America campaign team emails are coming thick and fast.

Yesterday's email sees Caroline Kennedy calling her father's mantle down on the senator from Illinios.

Though whether the name of a modern day political rogue and womaniser helps in his voter registration and volunteer drives is debatable from an outside perspective.

 

The email.

 

My father called on Americans to ask what they could do for their country.

Those who answered his call built a movement that transformed our country and brought out the best in our national character.

Barack Obama has followed in that tradition -- dedicating himself to public service as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago and then as a state and U.S. Senator.

Now, Barack is calling on a new generation of leaders to get involved and help transform this country.

The Obama Organizing Fellowship is designed not just to help win this election, but to strengthen our democracy by training dedicated volunteers in communities across the country.

Answer the call. Ask what you can do -- for this movement, for our democracy, and for this country.

Apply to be an Obama Organizing Fellow today:

http://my.barackobama.com/fellows

Fellows will participate in an intensive and rewarding training program focused on the basic organizing principles at the heart of Barack's campaign.

Then, in June, they will be assigned to a community where they will receive a minimum of six weeks of real world organizing experience that will have a concrete impact on this election.

Organizing is about more than winning votes. It's an opportunity to help people realize the power they have to change their communities, and this country, from the bottom up.

Barack's experience on the South Side of Chicago transformed his life, and he wants to share that experience with you.

The application deadline is Thursday, May 15th, so apply now to be an Obama Organizing Fellow:

http://my.barackobama.com/fellows

Thank you,

Caroline Kennedy

P.S. -- If you cannot make the commitment required to be an Obama Organizing Fellow, I hope you will pass this message along to someone you know who might be interested.

Now is the time for the party to sack Iemma and Costa

Enough is enough. When both Morris Iemma and Michael Costa publicly stated that they will proceed with their plan to privatise NSW electricity supplies, they not only went against the vote of Labor's state conference and undertakings to relevant unions they also went against the majority opinion of voters.

If the Australian Labor Party wants to see votes in the ballot box in March 2011 it needs to expel both of these arrogant men from the party.

If Sussex Street does not move swiftly to do so it will only encourage Kevin Rudd (who unforgivably supports Iemma in this) to walk all over the states next time he gets a similar stupid idea. 

Nelson discovers infant equality but ignores the obvious tag line

It's hard to take a bloke seriously when his idea of tonsured elegance runs to a limp ferret prone on the pate.

Brendan Nelson made it even harder on Friday when he fronted the cameras to support non-means testing of the $5,000 baby bonus and repeatedly told us that "all babies are [created] equal".

Didn't he stop to think that in front of thousands of tellies people would be roaring with laughter and chanting back at him; "but some parents are more equal than others".

The poor man obviously forgot that during high school Animal Farm was required reading for the tail-end of baby boomer generation.

Premier Iemma is orpheus rocker!

Contemptuous of Labor Party policy, ignoring public opinion, along with his attack dog Costa reported to have threatened ministerial staffers with the sack if they voted against power industry privatisation at this weekend's state conference, defying the 702-strong conference vote against his policy and saying he will privatise anyway - Morris Iemma is showing himself to be less and less a Labor Premier of New South Wales and more and more an arrogant dictator supported by big business and the multinationals.
Orpheus rocker? You bet mate!


NSW Planning Minister Sartor - fair dinkum or fraud?

The Daily Telegraph yesterday reported yet another political donation made to the NSW Planning Minister during the years development proposals by the donors were under consideration.

"The Mariner donation is among contributions of $106,097 that 26 donors say they gave Mr Sartor, on forms where they are asked to name the recipient in their official declarations to the NSW Election Funding Authority.
This does not match Mr Sartor's individual candidate return to the authority, in which he said he received $1800 for the 2007 election from four donors, none of them named companies."

Frank Sartor denies any of the money went to him or his election campaign. [Porcine aerobatics were observed in the skies over Sydney]