Don't look for openess and transparency from the HoR Standing Committee on Regional Australia

After the selective (and still incomplete) publication of submissions ahead of rather hurried interim findings being presented to the Federal Water Minister when there are at least seven more days of evidence still to hear, the House Standing Committee on Regional Australia is beginning to look less like a body conducting a genuine inquiry and more like an example of parliamentary match fixing.

So on a day when the Inquiry into the impact of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in Regional Australia only had a NSW state minister and various senior public servants on its official witness list for a public hearing held in Canberra, it was hardly surprising to find this statement appearing in the transcript not once but twice:

Evidence was then taken in private but later resumed in public—

Says it all really…………..

Japan's ICR accuses Australia of encouraging "eco-terrorism" as activists force its fleet to leave Antarctica

Minke Wales in Antarctic waters

MEDIA RELEASE

18 February 2011

JARPA II research vessels to return home

Today, after careful consideration to the situation in the Antarctic and consultation with the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan announced withdrawal of the research activities based on the Second Phase of Japan’s Whale Research Program under Special Permit in the Antarctic (JARPAII) for this season, in order to avoid any injury or threat to life of the crew members and property of the fleet caused by the continued illegal attacks and sabotage by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS).

JARPAII is a perfectly legal activity carried out under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). The ICR strongly condemns the SSCS and its continued dangerous and violent actions against Japan’s whale research vessels in the Antarctic.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has condemned SSCS’s tactics against Japan’s whale research vessels. In 2008 the IWC member countries adopted by consensus a statement which calls on Sea Shepherd “to refrain from dangerous actions that jeopardize safety at sea” regardless of different positions of countries on whaling.

This issue is not about whaling, but about the safety and violent activities at Sea.

The Dutch and Australian Governments could not stop violent activities of the SSCS while they register SSCS vessels under their flags.

Also today, the Australian and New Zealand Governments officially welcomed the decision by the Government of Japan to withdraw the JARPAII research vessels for this season without condemning the extremely dangerous activities of the SSCS.

In this regard, the ICR cannot help deeming with regret that these countries are encouraging so-called “eco-terrorism”, by their actions of condoning illegal activities of the SSCS and of welcoming the results of such activities.

Once more again we request that Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands behave earnestly and according to their obligations as members of the international society and fulfill their duties under international law to deal with the SSCS criminal actions in a strict and objective manner.

The start and finish of 'charity' according to Hartsuyker

The Federal Member for Cowper and Shadow Spokesperson for the Dog Whistle on the NSW North Coast forgets that old saying that although charity begins at home it should not end there and that Australia has international humanitarian obligations as well as domestic commitments:

THE Gillard Government is refusing to support university students from regional areas whilst doling out millions of dollars to keep asylum seekers in hotels and motels, The Nationals federal member for Cowper's Luke Hartsuyker said today. Mr Hartsuyker was commenting on media reports the Government is forking out $2.5 million a month to house 500 asylum seekers and that an extra $290 million will be required this year to fund Labor’s failed border protection policy. “The Gillard Labor Government simply has the wrong priorities,” Mr Hartsuyker said. [Stock and Land,15 February 2011]

With the Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott now heading a coalition which appears to be fast redefining itself as anti-immigration and anti-Muslim, it is hardly surprising to find Hartsuyker seeking media attention by parroting yet another dubious version of Abbott's "With so many schools destroyed or damaged in Australia we do think that charity begins at home".

This week:

• Michelle Grattan's analysis of the current state of play in the Coalition
  
• Federal Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Bowen's speech to the Sydney Institute on immigration and multiculturalism and the Liberal Party

Another call for Morrison to go

A sentiment with which it would be hard to disagree, from the pen of The Daily Examiner Editor David Bancroft on 18 February 2011:

Morrison simply must go

You would have to go a long way to find a lower political act than that demonstrated by, of all people, the federal opposition spokesman on immigration, Scott Morrison.

First, the honourable member, if that is what he can be called, bemoaned the fact the government was spending taxpayers' money on sending some of the survivors of the Christmas Island boat tragedy to the funeral of many of those who died.

Such compassion.

He has since apologised, not for what he said, but for the timing.

We have now heard he floated the idea of using community concern about Muslims as a political tool.

So, what was the idea? Whip up hatred and distrust for a few votes?

This is exactly what causes division in the community, exactly the type of behaviour that would drive disenfranchised Muslims or other minority groups into the arms of extremists.

We don't need that, Mr Morrison.

We need, wherever possible, to encourage and promote unity.

Thankfully some of the cooler heads in the Liberal Party have prevailed and his suggestion never got to see the light of day.

But for the opposition spokesman to even suggest anti- Muslim sentiment should be used as a political tool, demonstrates he is not fit to hold the position. There are some extreme right wing views starting to surface in the party.

Hopefully there still remains enough with the belief systems on which the party was founded and named, liberalism, to keep them forever in check.

So, what happened to Perle Pty Limited and why is it suddenly on the political radar?

Snapshot of Perle Pty Ltd website

Here is a corporation (apparently owned by one Norman Herfurth and Graham Keeping through their own individual companies) which has been in existence since 1997, was expecting an annual turnover in 2010 of approximately $35 million, had ongoing contracts to build social housing for the NSW Government and private schools for the Catholic Church and boasted this substantial client list on its own website:

AMP Capital, Australian Museum, Australia Post, BNP Paribas, Bovis Lend Lease, City of Sydney, CMC Markets, Collex / Veolia Water, Incorp Interior Designs, Jones Lang LaSalle, Macquarie University, Memo Corporation, Mintel International, Racing NSW, Railcorp, Reserve Hotels, Rice Daubney, Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA), Roberts Weaver Group, Savills, Sydney Ferries Corporation, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, Sydney Opera House Trust, TransGrid, University of Technology, University of Western Sydney, Virgin Mobile and Visa International

So why did Perle Pty Limited operating as Perle Construction Management suddenly go into voluntary liquidation with a list of around 500 creditors (some on the NSW North Coast) and, why is Federal Nationals Luke Hartsuyker attempting to link the Federal Government’s Stimulus Package with the downfall of this company and subcontractors current financial problems when elsewhere creditors appear more stoic?

Perhaps the answer to the first part of this question lies in the fact that this company appears to be more experienced in refurbishing/refitting existing structures rather than building from-the-ground-up, may have been over-ambitious in applying for new construction contracts as well as having a penchant for luxury cars and allegedly pretending all was well in order to receive progress payments from the NSW Dept of Housing and, the second part is easily explained by the Federal Opposition’s desire to use everything and anything it can to beat the Gillard Government about the head and the willingness of local tradies to be used as political tools by the deeply cynical Member for Cowper.

If any one government is to blame for this debacle the finger should be firmly pointing towards the NSW Keneally Government which lurches from one mismanagement disaster to another and a state public service which has been out to lunch for years.

While the real losers in this matter are creditors both large and small, as well as those on the North Coast sometimes desperately waiting for affordable rental accommodation.

Life's little lessons learnt from Cyclone Yasi

Drought-driven dust storms, tropical cyclones, east coast lows, out-of-nowhere tornadoes, storm surges, floods, bush fire - it seems Australia has seen them all over the last twelve months, so this blog post reprinted with kind permission of Island View over at Blogging Townsville contains some hints for the disaster next time......

What I learnt from Cyclone Yasi

While Yasi's winds here were equivalent to a severe Category 2 or weak Cat. 3 cyclone there are some useful things I learnt (or were reminded of) for next time:

1. The wind follows the land - the gullies and valleys - just as fires and flash floods do
   
2. Get a manual coffee grinder
   
3. Solar houses don't have to wait for the power to come on
   
4. Get an alternative mobile phone charger - car, solar, wind-up, whatever
   
5. A surprising number of people build stupid houses in stupid places
   
6. Building on or immediately behind the foreshore dune is dumb - it's a sand dune for god's sake! It has a purpose - to move, to replenish the beach!
   
7. The ONLY media that works/adds value in a crisis is local ABC radio and a battery powered receiver - it must be defended at all costs
   
8. There is no such thing as too much duct tape
   
9. Don't assume that because there's a cyclone, it's gonna rain - fill the bath all the way
   
10. Emergency alert text messages are great - if you have a mobile
    
11. Charge the camera beforehand - taking pics on the mobile chews up battery time
    
12. Tell everyone beforehand to only text you and not to ring
    
13. Get more ice beforehand, fill the fridge up with it (unless you have a solar house of course)
    
14. The Internet is invaluable until you lose power - but only because in enables you to track the cyclone closely.
    
15. News sites are hopeless and Facebook is downright dangerous in the hands of a teenager who can't discern rumour from fact or possibility from probability.
    
16. Print media is useless unless they can can get an edition out before the power comes on
    
17. The BOM site is fantastic but I suspect most people don't know how to read the forecast maps
    
18. Most people have no idea of the country on which they live or how it works
    
19. Most people (and journalists) have no appreciation of the geography of Queensland
    
20. Don't wait for the last minute to buy your beer supply and when you do don't forget to get extra for all of those chats with the neighbours after
    
21. Always be nice to the Ergon and CityWater guys - they are worth their weight in beer at the very least. They do an amazing job in appalling conditions

And finally, when everyone is locked down and until the storm passes, you are starkly reminded that ultimately in this world, you are on your own baby.


Magnetic Island, 9 February 2011

Antarctic whale hunt 'suspended'

Not victory yet - just a temporary ceasefire in the whale wars.

According to the Sea Shepherd organisation on February 11, 2011 - Japanese Whalers Escorted out of the Whaling Grounds

The Japanese whaling fleet is heading eastward at full speed and is now east of the boundary for their whaling grounds. The eastern boundary of the Japanese whaling operations is 145 degrees west. The whaling ships and the two Sea Shepherd ships are now at 72 degrees south and 133 degrees west on a course of 145 degrees. With the Bob Barker and the Gojira in pursuit, the Nisshin Maru continues to head eastward at 14 knots.

Both the whaling ships and the Sea Shepherd ships Bob Barker and the Gojira are now closer to South America than to New Zealand and Australia. This position is 3000 nautical miles southeast of Hobart, Australia and 1700 miles southwest of Patagonia, Argentina.

The Nisshin Maru is making erratic course changes. “It’s like they spin the bottle every watch to see what course to set,” said Captain of the Bob Barker Alex Cornelissen. “There is no rationality in these course changes. They go east, then south, then west, then north and then back east again. In short, they are burning quite a bit of fuel, going absolutely nowhere, and without being able to kill a single whale.”

The Steve Irwin is southeast bound, out of Wellington, en route to rendezvous in about a week with the other two Sea Shepherd ships and the Japanese whaling fleet.

From ABC News on February 16 2011:

Anti-whaling activists cautiously welcomed news that Japan was suspending its annual hunt near Antarctica as a result of their harassment campaign.

"If that's true then it demonstrates that our tactics, our strategies have been successful," Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson said by satellite phone from the ship Steve Irwin after being told of the suspension.

"I don't think they've gotten more than 30 whales from what I can think, certainly they haven't got many whales at all," he said.

Mr Watson was reluctant to claim a victory over the whalers, but said "every whale saved is a victory to us, so we've gotten a lot of victories down here this year".

Japan's fisheries agency said it had suspended operations on the Nisshin Maru factory ship and was considering an early end to the annual harpoon mission after harassment from the conservation group.

"Putting safety as a priority, the fleet has halted scientific whaling for now. We are currently considering what to do hereafter," Fisheries Agency official Tatsuya Nakaoku said.