Who gave Michael Clarke the all-clear fitness wise to play in the First Test? If he/she is a registered medico he/she should be struck off. Clarke struggled all the way as he dribbled to a grand total of 9 measly runs while he occupied the crease for an excruciating 81 minutes. An in-form Clarke is a delight to watch, but his performance at the Gabba causes one to recall, "They shoot horses, don't they?"
Truly, Clarke was pathetic.
And, honestly, head honcho Punter Ponting, who preceded Clarke, wasn't much better. Ponting, who scrambled to 10, was never in tune and it was only a matter of time (34 minutes - 26 balls) before he fell over.
Marcus North, who specialises in ducks or tons, did his level best to maintain that record, but failed miserably. He managed a mere solitary single, occupying the crease for just 6 minutes (8 balls).
Honours for the day went to Mr Cricket (aka Mike Hussey), who was 81 not out when rain and bad light forced umpires to call an early halt to the day's proceedings. Second in line for Oz honours was opener Simon Katich (50).
The Pom's bowling attack was, overall, efficient but not something to write home about. Broad extracted a lot of bounce, but was too short too often to pose any real threat. Swann, who went for 30+ off his first 4 overs, finished with 1/59 off 20 overs but it must be noted that his single wicket was that of North whose tenure on the number 6 spot must be under review. (I heard a wag sitting near me at the Gabba suggest Australian Cricket ought to call for tenders for the position.)
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Political opportunism continues in relation to loose talk concerning any Clarence water diversion
From A Clarence Valley Protest on 26 November 2010: Fringe parties still making hay with Clarence water talk August and November 2010 sees political opportunism continue......... # The following is on the website of the fledgling political party the Citizens Electoral Council of Australia: Newly elected National Party MP for Riverina, Michael McCormack, described the plan as "a guide to depopulate inland Australia". Although this was said in passing, it reflected our material, and was the most truthful thing any Federal MP has said about the implications of the plan. He also asked what effect this is having on our kids, as they hear their parents talk about the meaning of the plan…………………….. What we lead with in one meeting, we find is raised more in questions at the subsequent meeting, ie repealing the Water Act, or the Wentworth Group. Circles discuss it, and raise it at the next one. An Italian farmer talked about the Clarence River scheme, and had our leaflet from Griffith on him when he asked the question. The LYM spoke to a Hay councillor who recognised the CEC, and was very responsive on water projects, the Clarence and Bradfield, saying we should've done this a long time ago. All of the MDB Fraud DVDs were distributed, to a very good response. * Michael McCormack is on the parliamentary committee currently inquiring into the regional social/economic impacts of the proposed Murray Darling Basin Plan and probably looking at interbasin water transfer. # The Agmates website indicates that another fringe political party Climate Sceptics Party of Australia is also out in the Basin stirring up support for interbasin water transfer: Climate Sceptics candidates Steve Davies (Barker) and Leon and Nathan Ashby (Senate) will tour Murray river towns early next week explaining their policy on water. The party believes there is plenty of water in Australia and it would not support a water buy back policy for the River Murray but rather support diverting water from Northern Australian rivers as the solution for extra water to SA. It would be a vastly improved Bradfield scheme something proposed over 70 years ago by the designer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, John Bradfield. Lead Senate candidate Leon Ashby says "Rivers such as the Clarence, Tully, Herbert, Burdekin, and Flinders in northern Australia have vast amounts flow into the sea during floods. # The Murray Darling Basin Authority is noting this discussion: The Authority heard:
These floods could be diverted to flow to many places inland including down as far as Murray Bridge via gravity fed pipelines and channels."
•That the MDBA should consider the need for extra dams.
•That the Lake Mejum scheme should be reconsidered as an option for storing water for irrigation.
•Support for building the Clarence river scheme.
•That the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme being built to generate power but also for irrigation and to look after the environment – it was straight forward, why are we moving away from this?
•There is a need for real works and measures to water the environment.
•Concern that vast amounts of water are lost to evaporation.
Under "Abbott" in the 'Nothing Would Surprise Me' File
Something of a rake’s progress appears to be underway in Abbottsville and it's being reported from Sydney to Alice Springs to Darwin to Brisbane and onto Canberra (sometimes, perhaps).
The Sydney Morning Herald on 3rd March 2010:
"Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott got lost in the central Australian outback and was forced to send a text message to his press secretary: "WERELOSTNEARFOSSILCREEK".
While Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was gearing up for a big health announcement, his opposite number was yesterday contemplating a cold and uncomfortable night, lost and sleeping rough, before being saved.
Just before lunchtime yesterday, Mr Abbott set off with a small party on "quad" four-wheeled motorbikes to ride deep into Watarrka country in search of Aboriginal sacred sites.
Six hours later, separated from his "guide and guru", local Aboriginal entrepreneur Ian Conway, and with sundown approaching, Mr Abbott and his companions were seriously concerned about their situation: stuck in unfamiliar country, with no idea of the way out and no way of communicating with the outside world."
While Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was gearing up for a big health announcement, his opposite number was yesterday contemplating a cold and uncomfortable night, lost and sleeping rough, before being saved.
Just before lunchtime yesterday, Mr Abbott set off with a small party on "quad" four-wheeled motorbikes to ride deep into Watarrka country in search of Aboriginal sacred sites.
Six hours later, separated from his "guide and guru", local Aboriginal entrepreneur Ian Conway, and with sundown approaching, Mr Abbott and his companions were seriously concerned about their situation: stuck in unfamiliar country, with no idea of the way out and no way of communicating with the outside world."
"Back in October last year, I promised a group of Aboriginal stockmen that I would soon return to observe progress in the re-establishment of an Aboriginal cattle industry in the Northern Territory. It was not a promise that I considered I could break just because I now had a different job. The problems of indigenous Australia need to be taken seriously by Australia’s leaders and not just by the ministers and shadow ministers with special responsibility for them.
That’s how I came to be on a quad bike, low on fuel, following tyre tracks in the gathering dark earlier this week."
Alice Springs News on 19th August 2010:
“Country Liberals heavies appear to have been scheming to sacrifice Leo Abbott – highly unlikely to win Lingiari – to get at Labor’s Damien Hale who is on a knife’s edge in the seat of Solomon (Darwin).
This is suggested by an email exchange leaked to the Alice Springs News……
The apparent schemers behind the attempted dumping include former Chief Minister Shane Stone, CL director Peter Allen and treasurer Graeme Lewis.
Mr Lewis said to 10 addressees: “I doubt that disendorsement is a legal option – voting has started.
“But we need to put petrol on the issue to fix Hale right up.”
Eureka Street on 8th November 2010:
“But there is something I find deeply disturbing in the way he carries out his public role. Charming and disarming as he can be, I find myself wondering wherein lies his moral core. Not long after his election as leader of the Liberal Party, Abbott was trying to explain away statements from his past claiming that he sometimes makes 'unreliable statements' in the 'heat of discussion.' At that time I thought that the way to get a handle on Tony Abbott was to realise that he was like a high school or university debater. He would say anything to win an argument, confident that there would be no consequences to his actions.”
ABC Darwin on 12th November 2010:
“We know that pollies are prone to bending the truth, but if you want to believe that sometimes they straight out lie....read on. Our Territory can be pretty daunting, mysterious and foreign for those who don't know her well...and it seems that Tony Abbott exploited those ideas to generate a bit of publicity. In fact, the allegation from one person in the know, is that this story was a complete beat up! Lies!”
Audio clip http://blogs.abc.net.au/nt/2010/11/tony-abbotts-territory-lie.html?site=darwin&program=darwin_drive
Alice Springs News on 18th November 2010:
“Former Country Liberal Party (CL) candidate Leo Abbott would not confirm nor deny that he was offered a government job, if the Liberals won, on condition that he withdrew from the candidacy.
Mr Abbott was standing in Lingiari in this year’s Federal election amidst a bitter party dispute over allegations against him of domestic violence.
Despite a boycott from members of his own party, Mr Abbott made significant inroads into the votes of long-term sitting member, Warren Snowdon, in the formerly safe Labor seat.
Reports of the job offer come from well informed sources.
The offer is alleged to have been made by NT Opposition Leader Terry Mills and his Federal counterpart, Tony Abbott (no relation to the candidate). Tony Abbott’s office said the story “is totally incorrect”.
A spokesman for Mr Mills said he “won’t be feeding the rumour mill on this matter”.
The Sydney Morning Herald on 25th November 2010:
“The Northern Territory's attorney-general is seeking an investigation into claims Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and his NT counterpart tried to bribe a candidate not to run in the 2010 federal election.
NT Attorney-General Delia Lawrie has tabled in the NT parliament her letter asking the Australian Electoral Commission to investigate allegations that Tony Abbott and NT Opposition Leader Terry Mills had offered Country Liberal candidate Leo Abbott a job if he withdrew from the election……
She wrote that she was "very concerned" that "inducement was offered to the Country Liberal candidate for Lingiari Leo Abbott to withdraw his candidacy".
"It is asserted that this offer was made by the Leader of the Federal Liberal Party, Mr Tony Abbott, and Leader of the Northern Territory Country Liberal Party, Mr Terry Mills," the letter said.”
Club Troppo on 26th November 2010:
No doubt governments frequently make such offers to induce lame-duck MPs or candidates to walk away quietly, but they’re invariably done behind closed doors with only loyal insiders present. However in the current situation there’s a disaffected former CLP Management Committee member by the name of Steve Brown who apparently claims to have been present during the phone hookup when the offer was made. Brown is gunning for the political carcass of the party’s current parliamentary leader Terry Mills and seems prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve it. Brown is rumoured to have significant support within CLP ranks in Alice Springs though less so in Darwin.
The possibility that these yokel machinations might even inadvertently pull down Tony Abbott as collateral road kill should not be completely discounted. Some may remember that former NSW Liberal Premier Nick Greiner lost his job in not dissimilar circumstances in 1992, though corruption charges against him were later dismissed. Terry Mills has kept his head down to date, and as far as I can tell the story hasn’t yet registered with the Canberra Press Gallery so Abbott hasn’t been questioned.
Friday, 26 November 2010
Gabba hat-trick - Siddle's ace performance
 |
| Broad falls LBW to Siddle, providing the birthday boy with his magic hat-trick |
Aussie bowler Peter Siddle celebrated his 26th birthday in style at the Gabba in the Ashes First Test, taking a hat-trick. Siddle's hat-trick wickets were Cook (67), Prior (a duck) and Broad (a duck).
Earlier, England had been travelling reasonably well at 4/197 before Siddle struck and, in the wink of an eye lid, they slumped to be 7/197. Not long after Siddle took his hat-trick, Swann (10) also fell to Siddle giving the Victorian pace bowler his sixth wicket. Siddle finished with the impressive figures of 6 wickets for 54 off 16 overs. He was easily Oz's best bowler. Oz test debutant Xavier Doherty wrapped up the innings with the wickets of Bell (76), who was England's best batsman, and tailender Anderson (11), who fell playing a shot that would, at best, be described as somewhat unorthodox, and is something Anderson ought not to attempt to replicate any day soon - it was a shocker.
Playing before a crowd of 35,389 (although some media reports reckon 46,000 tickets were sold) Australia ended the day at 0/25 after dismissing England for 260.
After winning the toss and electing to bat on a Gabba track that has no real demons England should be licking their wounds and wondering why their wheels fell off. Honestly, the Poms should have gone on to get 350-plus runs and be in the box-seat.
Image: Personal effort of the author (yes, he ought to undertake a photography course!)
Skewed Australian response to climate change - fight coastal erosion not carbon pollution
YESTERDAY:
URGENT action to cope with the impact of rising sea levels needs to start now, including improving evacuation routes for coastal communities during extreme storms and flooding.
As well, a sweeping federal parliamentary report calls for an overhaul of the building code to make homes more resilient and for the legal liability for future property losses to be sorted out.
Warning that ''the time to act is now'', the bipartisan report brought down last night states that thousands of kilometres of coastline have been identified as at risk from the threat of rising sea levels and extreme weather events caused by climate change.
The committee, led by Labor's Jennie George and with the Liberal Mal Washer as co-chairman, wants the Government to take a far greater role in preparing coastal towns and cities to adapt to the impact of sea level rise.
Their report recommends a new intergovernmental agreement on the coastal zone to be worked out between Canberra, the states and councils to set out actions and guidelines on the enormous coastal challenges from climate change. [The Sydney Morning Herald on 27 October 2009]
Climate Change Risks to Australia's Coasts report released with prediction of 1.1 metre sea level rise for New South Wales in ‘worst case’ scenario. [C’wealth Dept of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency on 14 November 2009]
The Labor government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) was defeated for the second time in the Senate. Under the new coalition rule of Tony Abbott, only two liberal senators crossed the floor and voted with their opposition for the ETS legislation - they were Senators Sue Boyce and Judith Troeth. At 33 votes for to 41 against, their votes were not enough to pass the bill. [Sustainability Matters on 3 December 2009]
TODAY:
More than 90 residents took part in a meeting in the Wooli Hall on Saturday afternoon to plan submissions to Clarence Valley Council protesting against a council draft proposal to allow the sea to flood around 45 houses on a section of land between the Wooli beach and river. [The Daily Examiner 19 October 2010]
The Federal Government has committed to a national strategy to help communities affected by coastal erosion.
The Independent member for Lyne Rob Oakeshott says it is a landmark initiative for the North Coast.
Mr Oakeshott says the government has responded to 47 recommendations from the bipartisan 'Jennie George' report on the impact of climate change on coastal communities.
He says the government recognises the need for national leadership and coordination to manage coastal erosion issues.
Mr Oakeshott says key government commitments include establishing an Intergovernmental Agreement on the Coastal Zone.
A proposal will also be developed with the states and territories to investigate insurance-related issues for affected stakeholders.
The government has also agreed in-principle to an inquiry regarding legal issues, including liability concerns for property owners, councils and governments. [ABC News on 24 November 2010]
TOMORROW:
Threatened species, wildlife crimes and marine protection
The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) came into effect on 23 November 2010 after the Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Secretary-General of ICPO-INTERPOL, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the President of the World Bank and the Secretary-General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) have signed a Letter of Understanding which includes this:
HEREBY agree, within the context of their respective responsibilities, capabilities, and priorities to:
- highlight within their institutions the importance of the fight against wildlife crimes and other related violations and promote ICCWC among governments of States, through inter alia, relevant international fora;
- assist countries in reviewing their current responses to wildlife crimes and related violations, facilitate national multi-agency interaction and cooperation, and encourage effective responses throughout the justice system;
- develop a joint work program that will include joint activities in the fields of capacity building, operational support and coordination of transnational interdiction efforts;
- disseminate existing, and jointly develop new, capacity building materials and tools to enhance the knowledge and skills of national agencies in combating wildlife crime and related violations;
- undertake research into the causes, nature, scale and value of wildlife crime and related violations and propose innovative ways to prevent and discourage such crime and related violations, for example, through the provision of socio-economic incentives which encourage local communities to use natural resources in a lawful and sustainable manner and to participate in related monitoring and control efforts;
- assist in promoting best practice in the fields of natural resource conservation and management; and where appropriate, seek donor support to enable the provision of such services in the form of joint projects and programmes.
We further agree that our agencies, when collaborating together, will work under the title, the ‘International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime’.
Meanwhile this month, the Gillard Labor Government’s Fisheries Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2010 finished wending its way through both Houses of the Australian Federal Parliament.
According to the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry this bill will:
Also in November the ever hypocritical Government of Japan began its 2010 Antarctic whaling season and once its government-funded 'research' fleet reaches the Southern Ocean it is expected to kill for commercial sale at least 1,000 whales, including an endangered cetacean species and possibly for the first time since the 2007 agreement, humpback whales.
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Saffin explains where it's at in the keeping Telstra jobs in Grafton campaign
Federal Labor MP for Page Janelle Saffin's media release on 23 November 2010:
Page MP Janelle Saffin said she notes that Telstra has made some efforts to retain jobs in Grafton, following the local campaign against the closure of the call centre.
“I welcome the personal involvement of CEO David Thodey, following my representations and meetings with him on this issue.
“I understand that he visited Grafton and faced the workers last week, which I had requested he do, to see for himself the local situation and what might be done to support jobs in Grafton.
“When I met with Mr Thodey in my Parliamentary office last month, and had Clarence Valley Mayor on the phone as well, we made clear the strong local reaction to the planned closure of the Telstra call centre.
“Mr Thodey also said at that meeting that when some NBN services were available he would consider what more could be done.
“At this stage I understand there are 18 positions to be maintained in Grafton until at least the middle of next year. I am hopeful that they will become ongoing positions.
“I have kept in touch with the union to discuss the latest situation for the employees who have lost their positions and how many are still in the area looking for local jobs,” Ms Saffin said.
“I feel for the workers losing their jobs, and extend my thanks to those local employers who have hired Telstra workers, starting with The Daily Examiner which was the first cab off the rank.
“It is very disappointing that many jobs have been lost, but I have to be gracious and acknowledge Telstra’s latest developments, as our concerted community campaign did achieve some positive results.”
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