Iluka Road and the Mysterious Case of the Shrinking Petition

This was the Nationals MP for Clarence during his successful 2011 by-election campaign:

Now Mr Gulaptis said he has a 1500-signature petition signed by local residents calling for the speed limit to be raised to 100km/h….

Mr Gulaptis could not answer whether the petition was a recent one, or one launched six years ago in opposition to the speed limit reduction, as he said he hadn't seen it, despite claiming he had it on radio yesterday morning.

This was another Nationals MP for Clarence six years ago in 2006:

The Minister did not answer my urgent letters of months ago and last week. That is why I now raise the matter directly in the people's forum, Australia's first Parliament, along with 800 signatures taken in three days, to show the real community interest there. Labor was quick to slash the speed limit to 80 kilometres an hour on Iluka Road in a misguided attempt to protect emus…..

What do these two quotes tell us about ‘Steve’ Gulaptis’ request to the NSW Roads and Maritime Service for a review of the speed limit on Iluka Road in the Lower Clarence Valley?

Well, they tell us that the petition he was touting was unlikely to have ever contained 1,500 signatures – in fact it probably had a 700 signature shortfall.

They also suggest that he is attempting to use this petition a second time, as the former Member for Clarence had brought the petition to the attention of the NSW Legislative Assembly years ago.

Not rogering strangers in The Territory

Thousands of Territorians having crazed anonymous sex in public?
Naah, the pooches give the game away. If their owner was doing the wild thing in the bushes they would be trying to join in.
Betting that all the bloke on this NT News frontpage is doing is having a quick pee or the pic was posed.

Credit where credit's due

At 9 o'clock last night Chris Gulaptis, Member for Clarence, took the opportunity to make a private members' statement in the NSW Legislative Assembly about the value of the Grafton Agricultural Research and Advisory Station.

Mr Gulaptis concluded his statement with the words, "I offer my unreserved support for the Grafton Agricultural Research and Advisory Station."

Good work, Mr Gulaptis, but will your words do any good? Who was listening to the statement? More to the point, do they care and will they support you?

Earlier this week The Daily Examiner reported, "The once-prominent Grafton agricultural station appears to be dying a death of a thousand cuts. Following the closure of the hardwood forestry research facility and changes to the fisheries research facility, it has now been confirmed there are no beef cattle researchers on site and all stock are to be moved to Glen Innes."

Oh, and by the way, Mr Gulaptis still hasn't managed to get his portrait on the Members' Page on the parliamentary website. C'mon, Mr Gulaptis, get yourself down to the studio and have a happy snap taken - it's only a camera shot, not a rifle shot.

Another call for seatbelts on school buses

Two school buses collided in Maclean yesterday morning, resulting in an 11-year-old child being taken to hospital with suspected neck injuries. Another eight students were treated at the scene.

The Greens transport spokeswoman, Cate Faehrmann, will today give notice of a private members bill in which buses on some rural routes would need to be fitted with seatbelts. The routes would travel on unsealed roads or roads or highways with a speed limit greater than 80km/h.

While it's not clear if the measures proposed would have alleviated yesterday's incident that occurred before school in Maclean, the call is loud and clear: MPs, extract the digit and move to upgrade the safety of school bus travellers now!

Pollies can roll out statistics till the cows come home about how much safer bus travel is compared with other forms of motorised transport but that will not alter one simple fact ... it's only a matter of time!

Good to see Ms Faehrmann's move!

The $64 question locals in the electorate of Clarence will have on the tips of their tongues will be: And what is our local MP, Chris Gulaptis, who resides a stone's throw (okay, okay, so he lives over the hill and a few streets away from the site of yesterday's crash) prepared to do about improving bus safety by having school buses fitted with seat belts?

Mr Gulaptis, it's over to you.

Sources: The Daily Examiner, The Sydney Morning Herald

Pic credit: The Daily Examiner

Andrew Robb comes out in defence of his host, Huawei

One of those tsk, tsk moments....

National Times 28 March 2012:

The opposition finance spokesman, Andrew Robb, has stood by his comments blasting the government for blocking the Chinese telecommunications equipment company, Huawei, from tendering for work with the National Broadband Network, despite the government decision being based on advice from the security agency, ASIO.

Excerpt from Australian Opposition Finance Spokesperson Andrew Robb’s Declaration of Member’s Interests dated 23 January 2012:

UPDATE

The Australian 29 March 2012:

BRITAIN'S intelligence services were forced to erect a costly, resource-intensive auditing structure to ensure Huawei did not steal secrets after the Chinese telco was allowed to take part in a British broadband project.
As Foreign Minister Bob Carr moved to soothe tensions with Beijing, encouraging Huawei to expand its commercial operations in Australia in lieu of lucrative National Broadband Network contracts, the country's top signals intelligence expert, Des Ball, said yesterday there was "no doubt" Huawei partnered with China's espionage services.
Professor Ball, of Australian National University, said officers from Britain's Government Communications Headquarters, the country's top signals intelligence agency, had told him they had to check all the servers, routers, chips and hardware installed by Huawei after the company was allowed to take part in a large-scale broadband project in Britain. "And they still don't have any guarantee they picked everything up," he said....

Perhaps, Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop needs to check the software which came with that Media Pad Huawei Technologies (Aust) gave her as a gift earlier this year.

Greens renew call for Dorrigo Plateau mines ban

Greens renew call for Dorrigo Plateau mine ban

Excerpts from Media Release: 22 March 2012

Greens NSW MP John Kaye has joined the Dorrigo Environment Watch  in calling for the Dorrigo Plateau to be declared a 'no mine zone' to protect the regions river systems and water supply…...

  

Dr Kaye said: "The Dorrigo antimony mining proposals is playing Russian roulette with the environment and downstream residents' health.

"The O'Farrell government knows that he Dorrigo Plateau is entirely unsuitable for antimony mining.

"Antimony mining, high rainfall and steep terrain is a highly risky combination. 

"The Nymboida and Clarence rivers would likely suffer as toxic pollutants including arsenic and antimony are washed out of the mine and into the catchments that supply drinking and agricultural water.

"The O'Farrell Government has reneged on their pre-election promise to create mining 'no-go' zones in sensitive areas.

"The Dorrigo Plateau catchment supplies water for fisheries, agriculture and domestic consumption.

"Antimony mining would put at risk the local environment and the economy and threaten the livelihood of farmers and the health of residents.

"The O'Farrell Government has failed to rule out Anchor Resources' proposal for a revitalised and expanded antimony mine at Wild Cattle Creek, despite strong community opposition and the environmental and health risks it would create.

"The antimony mine at Hillgrove continues to leach toxic heavy metals into the surrounding environment with several spills reported last year and residents told not to pump from the Macleay River.

"The O'Farrell government should learn the lesson from contamination of the Macleay River and prohibit antimony mining on the Dorrigo Plateau.

"Dorrigo Environment Watch have been monitoring the effects that exploration and mining have had on the local environment.

"Frustrated by years of inaction by successive state governments, they are seeking international intervention. UNESCO have been asked to protect the pristine Godwana Rainforests from mining contamination.

"The Greens are calling on the O'Farrell Government  to recognise the threat that antimony mining poses to the Dorrigo ecosystem and rule out any future mining projects in the Plateau area" Dr Kaye said.

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455

April to June 2012 may be good weather for ducks in the NSW Northern Rivers region

National Seasonal Rainfall Outlook: probabilities for April to June 2012, issued 21st March 2012 by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

Wetter season favoured for much of eastern Australia
The national outlook for April to June 2012 shows the following:

  large parts of eastern Australia more likely to have a wetter season

  southeast SA, western and central Victoria, and Tasmania more likely to have a drier season

This outlook is mostly due to warmer than normal waters over the Indian Ocean.

The chances of receiving above median rainfall for April to June are above 60% over south eastern Queensland and the north eastern half of NSW, rising to a greater than 75% chance over the far northeast of NSW and southeast of Queensland. Such odds mean that for every ten years with similar ocean patterns like the current, about six to eight years would be expected to be wetter than average over these areas, while about two to four years would be expected to be drier during the April to June period…….