Chris Gulaptis in the chamber (Thursday, 15/3/12)

Chris had a rather quiet day at work yesterday. Hansard records him as an early riser, having spoken about Community Recognition Notices not long after the starting whistle was blown at 10.00am.

He spoke in relation to the Grafton Daily Examiner Hockey NSW Media Award  and then the Grafton Regional Gallery Foundation. After that he kept a low profile. Perhaps he'd been told to keep his head down while another north coast National MP, Geoff Provest the Member for Tweed and Parliamentary Secretary for Police and Emergency Services, donned a flak jacket and readied himself for the cross fire heading his way.

During Question Time the Leader of the Opposition, John Robertson, asked What action will the Premier take against the Parliamentary Secretary for Police, given his electoral returns clearly demonstrate he received a donation from a property developer on 30 March 2011?

The Premier replied, I am happy to seek advice on that question from the Election Funding Authority ... .

O'Farrell then added,  I will seek the advice of the Election Funding Authority, but I also make the point that we are all expected to abide by the law and if we do not, it is the Election Funding Authority and Mr Barry who will take action.

Provest jumped up at when question time finished and provided the following explanation:
 I wish to make a personal explanation. Earlier today during question time the Leader of the Opposition asserted that I accepted a political donation from a property developer. Let me say at the outset, I have always been full and frank with my parliamentary affairs—hence, the detailed nature of my pecuniary interests. I did not realise that Power Industries and/or James Power may have been prohibited donors. I am now seeking advice from the New South Wales Election Funding Authority. If those donations are not permitted under the legislation, they will be dealt with accordingly.  (Expect to hear a lot more about this in coming days.)

What is it about NSW National Party MPs and the position of Parliamentary Secretary for Police? The former, now disgraced, Member for Clarence, Steve Cansdell obtained his 15 minutes of fame as a consequence of events he was associated with when he was in that position. Is it just a matter of a couple of good local MPs having a run of bad luck or is it something more sinister?

Here's what Gulaptis said earlier in the day:

 Grafton Daily Examiner Hockey NSW Media Award
 (1) Congratulates The Grafton Daily Examiner on winning Hockey New South Wales's top media award for Outstanding Coverage in 2011.

(2) Commends sports writer Gary Nichols for his reporting on local hockey activities in the Clarence Valley.

(3) Commends the Grafton Hockey Association, in particular Robyn Anderson, Stephen McIlveen and photographer Shane Sedger for the role they play in compiling articles on local hockey.

 Grafton Regional Gallery Foundation
 (1) Congratulates The Gallery Foundation, its Chairperson George Burkitt and Committee, on the successful d’Art 7th Anniversary Dinner and Art Auction on 2 March 2012.

(2) Thanks author Dr Shirley Walker being the guest speaker for the evening.

(3) Commends the Foundation for its commitment and dedication to support the Grafton Regional Gallery through various fundraising activities during the year to fund the gallery's collection and facilities.

(4) Notes the economic benefits from the gallery and its contribution to the cultural, social and educational life of the Clarence Valley.

It's only taken the Australian Securities and Investment Commission three years to dig a hole big enough to bury its head in

It’s only taken the Australian Securities and Investment Commission three years to dig a hole deep enough to bury its head in. The Age must be wondering why it bothered outlaying time and resources on investigative journalism.

The Age 31 October 2009:

BIPARTISANSHIP is rare in Canberra these days, but the Government and Opposition are as one on the scandal-racked Reserve Bank subsidiary Securency: they don't want to know about it. Since May, The Age has exposed a string of allegations about the way the company goes about the business of selling its banknote polymer to other nations, some of which are notoriously corrupt.

The Age 5 March 2012:

FEDERAL police have referred to the corporate watchdog evidence of possible illegality by senior Reserve Bank officials and business figures in connection with the nation's worst bribery scandal.

The referral to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission marks a significant shift in the investigation of the Reserve firms Securency and Note Printing Australia, which allegedly paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to win foreign banknote contracts.

For the first time in three years - and after last year charging 10 former senior banknote executives with paying bribes - authorities are examining the conduct of several Reserve-appointed directors of NPA and Securency between 1998 and 2009.

It is understood federal police have gathered significant documentary evidence and witness statements that point to improper corporate behaviour and have sought legal advice about the material before referring it to ASIC. Those whose conduct is under scrutiny over possible illegality include:

A former deputy governor of the Reserve and former chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, Graeme Thompson, who chaired NPA and Securency and who allegedly approved highly irregular company behaviour that fuelled bribery.

An assistant governor at the Reserve, Frank Campbell, who as NPA director was privy to information about company corruption and bribery in 2007 which he and his board did not refer to the police.

The managing director of NPA, Chris Ogilvy, who also sat on Securency's board and who was party to highly irregular corporate behaviour, including the payment of secret commissions via inflated contracts.

A former Reserve assistant governor, Les Austin, who was a director of Securency and NPA.

If ASIC pursues civil or criminal charges against any of the directors, they could face jail sentences or heavy fines.

Company directors have a legal obligation to act honestly and diligently, and if their recklessness is found to have contributed to bribery or other improper conduct, they can be charged.

ABC News 12 March 2012:

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission says it will not launch an investigation into bribery allegations against two companies linked to the Reserve Bank.

Seven former employees of polymer banknote companies Securency International and Note Printing Australia (NPA), and the companies themselves, have been charged in relation to bribes allegedly paid to foreign officials to win note-printing contracts overseas.

Securency is 50 per cent owned by the RBA, while NPA is wholly owned by the RBA.

ASIC says it looked for evidence of possible breaches of the Corporations Act in material supplied by the Australian Federal Police.

"In line with its normal practice, ASIC has reviewed this material from the AFP for possible directors’ duty breaches of the Corporations Act and has decided not to proceed to a formal investigation," the regulator said in a statement.

Millions of dollars were alleged to have been paid in bribes to officials in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam between 1999 and 2005 to secure contracts to produce bank notes for those nations.

If you own a dot com website the U.S. Government 'owns' you

In March 2012 Wired.com blows the whistle on Uncle Sam:

“When U.S. authorities shuttered sports-wagering site Bodog.com last week, it raised eyebrows across the net because the domain name was registered with a Canadian company, ostensibly putting it beyond the reach of the U.S. government. Working around that, the feds went directly to VeriSign, a U.S.-based internet backbone company that has the contract to manage the coveted .com and other “generic” top-level domains.

EasyDNS, an internet infrastructure company, protested that the “ramifications of this are no less than chilling and every single organization branded or operating under .com, .net, .org, .biz etc. needs to ask themselves about their vulnerability to the whims of U.S. federal and state lawmakers.”

But despite EasyDNS and others’ outrage, the U.S. government says it’s gone that route hundreds of times. Furthermore, it says it has the right to seize any .com, .net and .org domain name because the companies that have the contracts to administer them are based on United States soil, according to Nicole Navas, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.

The controversy highlights the unique control the U.S. continues to hold over key components of the global domain name system, and rips a Band-Aid off a historic sore point for other nations. A complicated web of bureaucracy and Commerce Department-dictated contracts signed in 1999 established that key domains would be contracted out to Network Solutions, which was acquired by VeriSign in 2000. That cemented control of all-important .com and .net domains with a U.S. company – VeriSign – putting every website using one of those addresses firmly within reach of American courts regardless of where the owners are located – possibly forever….”

Reg King issues invitation to his mob to gather on Friday 16 March 2012 to protest mining on NSW North Coast

At A Black Cockatoo on Wednesday, March 14

A Special Invitation : Friday 16th

Born and bred Cubawee elder of the Bundjalung Nation Reg King strongly supports his cousin Harry Boyd Ngaraakwal elder in his call for a public enquiry into the decision made by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council to apply for exploration licences for petroleum and gas mining in the Northern Rivers.

Reg met with both a NSW Aboriginal Land Council (ALC) councillor and Ngulingah Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) representative to verify Geoff Scott’s published views in the Northern Star and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers earlier this week.

Reg says “I was disgusted by Ngulingah’s official position as a representative body, which supports mining exploration, in the Northern Rivers. Especially given that the role of the Ngulingah LALC is to represent and respond, to the concerns of LALC members and Bundjalung people.”

Reg and other elders are fully aware of the significant dangers that coal and coal seam gas mining present for us all.

This Friday 16th March Reg and other community members will meet at 55 Carrington St Lismore - out the front of Thomas George’s office. Reg will be sharing the message that we want clear representation from our local State MP.

Reg says “The Bundjalung Nation and the whole of the Northern Rivers do not want coal or CSG mining.” Reg would like to extend a special invitation to all of his Mob, to join him on Friday for this very important gathering.

To date, Thomas George’s position on CSG mining in the Northern Rivers is unknown. Given the NSW ALC’s confirmed motives towards mining Reg feels that George’s current role in protecting the Northern Rivers is of essential concern.

Gathering commences at 10:00am.

Any enquiries about the gathering can be directed to Wanda on 0427 302 725.

The adventures of Chris in Macquarie Street

Yesterday, Wednesday 14 March, Chris Gulaptis MP, spoke twice in the chamber (see below). 

The Member for Clarence is yet to get his portrait on the parliamentary website. Why? He's never been known to be camera shy. 

1. At 8.13pm he spoke to support the Government Information (Public Access) Amendment Bill 2011. That was a rather simple, straightforward task. After all, the bill was being given bipartisan support.

2. At 9.04pm he was on his feet again, making a Private Members' Statement on the Maclean Highland Gathering. Again, no big challenge.

Mr Gulaptis commenced his speech with an acknowledged of the efforts of the Lower Clarence Scottish Association for its continued support of the Maclean Highland Gathering.

He then went on to add:

Maclean is of course renowned for being the Scottish town in Australia. Maclean's Scottish character originates back to the 1830s and 1840s in Scotland following the Jacobite's defeat at Culloden, the Highland Clearances, potato blight famine and prevailing disastrous economic conditions. The only future lay in emigration. In Australia John Robertson pushed through Parliament the Free Selection Act legislation, which provided for anyone to take up land from 40 to 320 acres for a down payment of 5 pence per acre with three years to pay. Some 450 Scottish families settled in Rocky Mouth. Surveyor-General Alistair Maclean ordered the town to be properly laid out. That was done in 1862 and named Maclean after the Scottish-born Surveyor-General. Many of its new streets were named after places in Scotland—Argyll, Morvern, Clyde, Oban and the like. Commerce and hotels sprang up under Scottish businessmen, such as Alexander Cameron, Samuel MacNaughton and John McLachlan. Churches were an intrinsic part of Scottish life and elders of the Free Kirk erected their church in 1868. It remains the oldest church still in use in the Clarence.

In 1886 the Murray Brothers, natives of Thurso, and local sawmillers, sponsored the first local Highland gathering in Maclean, and with the exception of the war years it continues to this day. This year at Easter will be the 108th Highland gathering. The Lower Clarence Scottish Association was formed in 1893. It has now existed continuously for 119 years. A pipe band was formed in 1898 under Donald Mathieson—formerly from Inverness—and has continued to this day. The primary function of the association is to organise the annual Highland gathering held at Easter each year. It is a major function of State and national significance in Scottish circles. The association has always required a chieftain as its head, and usually the chief remains in the post for many years. The current chief is Chief Peter Smith and the immediate past chief was Reverend Kenneth Macleod, he being a native Scot and probably the only Gaelic speaker currently in the Lower Clarence. The current secretary, Robert McPherson, OAM, and previous secretary, Norman McSwan, have held the secretarial portfolio for at least 57 years between them. Current senior chieftain is Roger McLean, junior chieftain is Graham Anderson, and Treasurer—for some 34 years—is John McPhee.

At this year's gathering 25 inter-district bands from Sydney, Brisbane and New Zealand will attend the gathering in a competition arena and there will be sports and fellowship. Competitions commence on Good Friday in drumming and solo piping, and on Friday night the main street is closed for a street festival with bands, dances, massed bands, a civic welcome and a concert in the Civic Hall. Easter Saturday commences with a full regalia street march of visiting and local bands through the shopping centre. Activities then take place at the Maclean showground where drumming, piping, dancing and bands compete, and there is a full array of Highland games such as caber tossing, pole wrestling, tug of war and the like. The finale of the day is always a very stirring massed bands display—a fitting end showing what Maclean is all about.

In 1986 local bank manager Mr Graham Leach initiated the thematical idea of rediscovering the town's Scottish heritage. Thus the Maclean Scottish Town in Australia Association was formed. The association's committee has undertaken numerous tasks to benefit the town's Scottish identity, including erecting a Scottish cairn in a town park, a pioneers memorial wall, painting some 220 power poles with Scottish tartans, organised concerts for Tartan Day and Kirkin' o' the Tartan Services for Easter Sunday. There have been only two presidents of the Maclean Scottish Town in Australia Association—Howard Cowling for two years and Robert McPherson, OAM, for the past 24 years. Secretary for 24 years is Warren Rackham and Treasurer is Roger McLean. Hardworking member Nancy Bain, OAM, has also been on the committee since its inauguration. I commend the efforts of the Lower Clarence Scottish Association.

At 9.10pm his parliamentary colleague Craig Baumann (Member for Port Stephens and Parliamentary Secretary (Regional Planning)) [9.10 p.m.] " congratulate(d) the hardworking member for Clarence on advising the House of the upcoming Maclean Highland Gathering."

Mr Baumann added, "Many of us have Scottish skeletons in the closet and these gatherings and festivals are a great way to enjoy and celebrate that heritage. 

"I notice there is a tradition of developers naming streets after their children. It is good to see that in those days surveyors-general named towns after themselves."

Source: Full Day Hansard Transcript (Legislative Assembly, 14 March 2012, Proof)

Why is the NSW Aboriginal Land Council ducking and weaving over its lack of community consultation?

New South Wales woke up this month to find that the NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC), a peak body said to represent an estimated 23,000 members, had applied for three Petroleum Special Prospecting Authority licences covering roughly more than half the New South Wales land mass.

The Council’s chief executive, Geoff Scott, is reported in The Sydney Morning Herald as saying; None of the titles fell on land owned by Aboriginal people.

Although it quickly became apparent that many local aboriginal land councils and native title claimants on the NSW North Coast and elsewhere had been unaware of the Council’s plans, it is still puzzling to find the bizarre claim that no land owned by indigenous individuals or communities fall within these applications.

This map showing the application areas in shades of red-pink tells another story. On the New England-Clarence Valley-Mid North Coast application alone over twenty local aboriginal land councils are potentially affected by any prospecting licence granted to NSWALC (and its future joint venture partner) by the O'Farrell Government.

Click on image to enlarge.

One in the eye for Monsanto & Co

The Australian 12 March 2010:

A SALT-RESISTANT wheat variety developed by an Australian team through old-fashioned cross-breeding rather than genetic modification is increasing crop yields by up to 25 per cent in salinity-prone areas, and could help counter food security concerns.

Researchers from Adelaide University's Waite Institute, the CSIRO and the NSW government first isolated the gene in an ancient relative of durum wheat -- used to make couscous and pasta flour -- 15 years ago.

The breakthrough was published in the international journal Nature Biotechnology overnight…..researchers had spent more than a decade using traditional cross-breeding techniques to blend the 10,000-year-old durum with its modern cousin to increase its salt resistance without genetic modification…..

Rana Munns, Richard A James &  Bo Xu, Asmini Athman, Simon J Conn, Charlotte Jordans, Caitlin S Byrt,  Ray A Hare, Stephen D Tyerman, Mark Tester, Darren Plett and Matthew Gilliham are to be congratulated for the research behind Wheat grain yield on saline soils is improved by an ancestral Na+ transporter gene in the March issue of  Nature Biotechnology (R.M., R.A.J., R.A.H., M.T., D.P. and M.G. conceived the project and planned experiments. R.M. and M.G. supervised the research. B.X. performed all Xenopus, yeast and protoplast experiments and R.A.J. performed field research. C.S.B. performed wheat genotyping. S.D.T. assisted with electrophysiology experiments. S.J.C., A.A. and C.J. performed in situ PCR and qPCR. M.G., D.P., R.A.J. and R.M. wrote the manuscript. All authors commented on the manuscript).

Dr. Rana Munns is Chief Research Scientist at the C.S.I.R.O. and began her investigations many years ago - her profile is here.
 
The C.S.I.R.O. is reported to have conducted field trials of durum wheat varieties containing new salt tolerant genes in northern NSW in 2009-10.

This is science which seeks  to improve cereal crops but does not risk contaminating wild grass populations with novel genetically modified organisms which never existed before in nature. It potentially does not have the same exploitative limitations imposed on farmers by biotech industry giants like Monsanto & Co.

As there are 12 types of groundwater flow systems contributing to dryland salinity across Australia, research into salt resistant food crops is also very relevant to national food security.

National Report by Australia on Measures Taken to Support Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Commonwealth Intergovernmental Working Group for the UNCCD, April 2002

So it is more than a pity that the C.S.I.R.O. is looking at an additional use for this ancient gene - adding it into the GMO research it already conducts on wheat and other food crops. [ABC AM 12 March 2012]

It appears that once an Australian scientific agency gets into bed with Monsanto it is for life.

* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.