Australian Law Reform Commission does online forum and phone-in on secrecy laws, 11-12 February 2009

Media Release 9 February 2009:

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) today announced a national two day phone-in and new online discussion forum as part of its commitment to engaging in widespread community consultation on reform of Commonwealth secrecy laws. 

Anyone who has ever been involved in handling Commonwealth information will have the chance to speak out about their personal experiences and concerns in a national secrecy phone-in on Wednesday 11 February and Thursday 12 February. The ALRC is also launching a new consultation vehicle through its Talking Secrecy online forum.

ALRC President, Professor David Weisbrot, said "Consultation is part of the ALRC's DNA and we are determined to use new technologies to expand that process. The online forum and national phone-in together comprise the next critical steps in the ALRC's consultation process following the recent release of the Issues Paper, Review of Secrecy Laws (IP 34, 2008). This paper seeks feedback about how to balance the need to maintain an open and transparent government, while still protecting some Commonwealth documents and information—for the purposes of national security, for example.

"The ALRC now has mapped over 500 secrecy provisions spread across 173 pieces of legislation and these—associated with a myriad of administrative, civil and criminal penalties—present a complex and confusing scenario of options for individuals handling Commonwealth information.

"Some secrecy provisions—normally pertaining to defence and security—regulate the activities of anyone, including the media, who comes into possession of Commonwealth documents or information, imposing obligations on them. If the individual handles the information incorrectly, he or she may face heavy penalties, including jail."

Commissioner-in-charge of the Secrecy Inquiry, Professor Rosalind Croucher, said that the phone-in will enable individuals to speak about their personal experiences with complete anonymity and will assist in shaping the development of proposals, and ultimately recommendations, for workable laws and practices.

"To facilitate more public discussion about secrecy laws, the ALRC's Talking Secrecy online forum will encourage interactive comments and debate that will run the course of the Inquiry. This is a first for the ALRC.

"The ALRC would like to hear people's views about a range of questions such as: do secrecy laws stop you from doing your job; what information, if any, should be kept secret; how easy is it to comply with secrecy laws; when should you be allowed to disclose Commonwealth information; and have you or someone you know been in trouble for breaching a secrecy law and, if so, what happened?"

To participate in the secrecy phone-in call 1800 760 291 between 8:00am and 8:00pm (EST) on Wednesday 11 February and Thursday 12 February 2009 (calls are free from landlines but calls from mobiles will incur a charge).

The Talking Secrecy online forum can be accessed at http://talk.alrc.gov.au.

More information about the Review of Secrecy Laws can be found in the Inquiries section of this website.

NT Intervention: a case to answer

On or about 24 January 2009 the United Nations received a 64-page submission requesting urgent action be taken, under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination, against the Commonwealth of Australia and with regard to the Howard-Rudd NT Intervention.

14. This Request for Urgent Action arises from the flagrant breach by Australia of its obligations under the Race Convention. While it is expected that the Australian Government may attempt to modify some measures of the Northern Territory Intervention, the Authors consider that it should remain a matter of serious concern to the international community that legislation overriding the Race Convention can be implemented by the State party with impunity. That is particularly the case when it concerns the fundamental human rights of Aboriginal people. .................
46. Over 70 percent of the Aboriginal people who live in the Northern Territory live on Aboriginal titled land within Prescribed Areas.40 Within those Prescribed Areas, it is estimated that approximately 87 percent of the people living in those areas are Aboriginal Australians.41............
47. The Northern Territory Intervention measures directly affect approximately 45,500 men,
women and children.42
As a result, it is apparent that the Northern Territory Intervention was targeted directly at, and has specifically impacted on, Aboriginal people.

Full submission document is at the National Indigenous Times.

NSW North Coast electorates big winners in second stimulus package

The North Coast electorates of Page, Cowper, Lyne and possibly Richmond are big winners when it comes to the number of families eligible for the Rudd Government's $950 cash bonus, according to Possum Comitatus.

Click on image to enlarge

Those seats in the top right corner are the ones that are expected to receive the greatest overall relative benefit from the stimulus while the ones in the bottom left are expected to receive the least relative benefit.
Also remember that electorates aren't homogeneous, in that there is a fair bit of variation within each electorate - so this chart wont tell the complete and comprehensive story, but merely the broad political story of which seats are getting the best end of the stimulus stick.

Along with promised building spend on every NSW North Coast school and money that may be flowing through from additional funding for regional and community infrastructure and roads, this has to be one of the best 'catch-up' financial years our combined communities have experienced if we are willing to get in there and fight for our fair share.

Let us hope that Kevin Rudd does not let the NSW Government distribute the proceeds from this second stimulus package in such a way that it starves rural and regional areas in order to feed the hungry maws of the big NSW metropolitan areas.

In Living Memory exhibition, 5 February - 1 March 2009 Ballina [ATSI community note this post may contain images of people who are no longer living]

The In Living Memory photographic exhibition is now on at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery, 44 Cherry Street, Ballina.

In Living Memory features images from a series of 1000 black and white photographs from the official records of the former NSW Aborigines Welfare Board. Most of the photographs were taken to document the work of the Board and to promote its policies. The exhibition also includes images taken during the exhibition consultation process by renowned Indigenous photographer Mervyn Bishop.

In Living Memory addresses the photographs as living records with compelling histories and powerful connections to the present. The exhibition is helping to create a new purpose and place for the photographs within contemporary Indigenous life.

Some of the images on display are from the NSW North Coast area.

The exhibition will be open between 10am to 4pm, Wednesday through to Sunday each week.
The Gallery can be contacted on (02) 6681 6167 to make group bookings to see the exhibition

Photograph was found at The Far North Coaster online magazine.

More grief for 'Truffles' Turnbull

Last Sunday morning during the ABC Insiders program Chris Uhlmann referred to 'Truffles' Turnbull as having "strapped himself to the tracks in front of the gravy train", because of his somewhat silly threat to block the Rudd Government second stimulus package in Parliament when it was obvious to everyone that he couldn't possiblely mount the numbers on this one (indeed it passed through the House Of Reps and is on its way to a Senate vote in the next few days).

But Mal has other PR worries as well this week:
"Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says he is not the only politician to receive campaign funds from a controversial American billionaire.
Mr Turnbull received $76,000 from Fortress Investment Group director Peter Briger, to help fund the campaign for the Sydney seat of Wentworth, The Sun-Herald has reported.
Mr Turnbull previously held shares in the company associated with predatory lending practices in the United States, but offloaded them in 2007.
When asked if he would re-pay the money, Mr Turnbull told Network Ten: "You could well ask that same question of President (Barack) Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton because Peter Briger was a prominent supporter and donor to both their campaigns."
According to The Sun-Herald, Fortress is referred to as a "vulture company" because it preys on vulnerable businesses and debtors and picks over financial carcasses....."

This is not the first time Peter Briger has donated to the Libs - in 2007 he gave $51, 000 to the Liberal Party in NSW, but nothing to the other major parties.
And, guess what, Mal me old china?
Yep, you appear to be the only Aussie pollie to directly get money from this Yankee billionnaire and former Goldman Sachs shareholder (along with yourself).

In February 2007 The Street.com said of Briger and other Fortress directors/shareholders (and presumably Malcolm Turnbull):
"When it comes to hedge fund company Fortress Investments(FIG Quote - Cramer on FIG - Stock Picks), one thing's for sure: Chief executive Wesley Edens and the other principals didn't get where they are today by leaving money on the table.
Fortress went public two weeks ago and doubled in price on the first day. But what investors may not realize is that the five principals pretty much stripped the company clean just before the IPO.
I don't mean they cleaned up the balance sheet. I mean they cleaned out the vault. Page five of the prospectus shows they withdrew $446.9 million from the company in "cash distributions" last year.
Plus another $409 million in January.
They collected a further $888 million on Jan. 17 by selling a small stake to Japanese bank Nomura(NMR Quote - Cramer on NMR - Stock Picks).
Oh yes, and they pocketed a further $22.8 million in the final weeks before this month's IPO.
A table buried on page 94 of the prospectus shows the remarkable facts. Between January 2005 and this month's IPO, the five principals of Fortress -- Edens, Peter Briger, Robert Kauffman, Randal Nardone and Michael Novogratz -- cashed out $1.04 billion. "That does not include the Nomura transaction," adds company spokeswoman Lilly Donohue.
Total withdrawn in the two years before they took it public: $1.9 billion. Most of that was in the final few months.
This isn't just every penny that the company earned over that period -- it's a lot more. By the time the owners opened the doors to the investing public this month, the company wasn't just out of cash -- it had negative book value. Liabilities actually exceeded assets by $507 million........"

Fortress Investment Group key executives as of 6 February 2009.

Those wonderful Firies and other emergency service workers

It's times like this that bring home how wonderful Australian emergency services really are.
With many people in northern NSW having family spread around the country in areas affected by bushfire or flooding, we all have to rely on those big-hearted volunteers to look after these far away loved ones in times of danger and distress.

But it's not only the Firies and State Emergency Services workers we need to thank for their efforts either.
It is also the South Australian, Victorian, Queensland and New South Wales police, power company workers, local council staff, community groups, the Red Cross network and ABC Radio emergency service broadcasting, as well as countless neighbours and strangers who weigh in to help in times of trouble.
So here's a big thank-you to all these brave people as they continue to battle the worst that nature can throw at them.

The pic I've included is from ABC Melbourne.

Andy
Northern Rivers

Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segment allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents. Email ncvguestpeak at live dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration.

While we wait for Conroy's ISP-level filtering trial.....

Netspace surveyed its customer and nearly 10,000 responded.