If the shoe fits............

NSW Legislative Council Hansard on 3^rd March 2012:

Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: …….The ugly right-wing ideology permeates the balance.

The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps {interjecting}: Are you talking about me again?

The Daily Examiner, Grafton NSW, gets new editor

From APN News and Media 1 April 2012:

Jenna Cairney has been appointed Editor of the Daily Examiner in Grafton. Jenna has been with APN since 2009 at our Warwick and Stanthorpe operations, most recently as Chief-of-Staff of the Warwick Daily News. Previously she worked in Scotland as a reporter for The Courier, The Evening Telegraph and The Sunday Post publications. She has covered music and the arts for Livingson Music Magazine in Scotland and the North Texas Daily in the city of Denton in the United States. Jenna is one of our rising stars and will bring considerable passion and energy to the Grafton role when she joins the team from April 16. As previous announced, current Daily Examiner Editor David Bancroft is taking up the new role of Group Editor for our Rural Weekly products.

Ms. Cairney comes with a very impressive resume and we wish her well in her new position.

She has big shoes to fill for the departing editor, David Bancroft, was one of a rare breed. A local Valley boy, born and bred, with both a passion for the region and compassion for his community. He displayed a knowledge of local, state and federal politics which translated itself into a real understanding of the problems, needs and aspirations of that diverse and geographically widespread community called the Clarence Valley.

The Greens Cate Faehrmann stands up for road safety in Iluka and the Minister for Roads and Ports disappoints

Question Without Notice in the NSW Legislative Assembly on 4 April 2012:

ILUKA ROAD, ILUKA, SPEED LIMIT

The Hon. CATE FAEHRMANN: My question is directed to the Minister for Roads and Ports. Currently the main Iluka Road at Iluka has a speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour, which was put in place after lobbying by many locals to protect a sensitive wildlife corridor and to reduce the number of accidents that can occur as a result of hitting wildlife on that road. Given that the lower speed limit has reduced the number of animals injured and killed and, therefore, the number of accidents, will the Minister assure the House that the proposal of The Nationals member for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, to increase the speed limit to 100 kilometres per hour will not be approved?

The Hon. DUNCAN GAY: In case the Hon. Cate Faehrmann does not know: the Government has changed. She should have asked that question of the former Government. Under the new Government changes in speed zones go to the safety committee, which makes the decision. If it is appropriate for the speed limit to increase, the road safety group will approve it. If it is not appropriate, it will not.

It was good to see NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann ask a question about Iluka Road.

Equally it was disappointing to see the NSW Minister for Roads and Ports Duncan Gay decide to be less than honest about the speed limit review process.

The Staysafe (Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety) is not considering this matter. It is being progressed by NSW Roads and Maritime Services in consultation with the Clarence Valley Council Traffic Advisory Committee, with the Member for Clarence (who is pushing for an increase in the speed limit in an area in which he may possibly still have a pecuniary interest) sitting on this local “road safety group”.

In other words, state government influence is still a significant factor in this matter.

Maths for the Twittersphere

 

 

Ninety year-old Ginger Meggs’ grafitti says it all:

“45% of the time I am right.

Never mind the other 2%.”

Onya Jason!

Another North Coast Local Aboriginal Land Council Speaks Out Against NSWALC Mining Plans

The Daily Examiner 7 April 2012:

A SECOND Clarence Valley-based Aboriginal land council has distanced itself from its state body over petroleum exploration licence applications.

Maclean-based Yaegl Local Aboriginal Land Council chair Eileen McLeay said the group met recently and endorsed comments by Grafton's Ngerrie Local Aboriginal Land Council that they were "extremely disappointed" with the consultation of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council over the mining exploration applications.

She said Yaegl group members met NSW Land Council chairman Geoff Scott in Lismore recently and outlined their concerns.

"We don't want people coming onto our country and destroying the habitat and environment," Ms McLeay said. "We don't want this place up here being spoiled. We are in paradise."

Roads and Ports Minister Duncan Gay demonstrates just how out of touch he is with regional NSW

The Clarence Valley Review on 28 March 2012:

Click on image to enlarge

One of the reasons why Cowper MP Luke Hartsuyker is getting less media cover?

These days one usually finds Federal Nationals MP for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker, almost exclusively reported in the regional press. Rarely is he appearing in national media, particularly when it comes to his 'carbon tax' utterances.

One has to suspect that most of the mainstream media now see him as a political ranter.

On 30 March 2012 Mr. Hartsuyker told The Northern Star that:

ELECTRICITY costs may rise up to 20 per cent with the introduction of the Federal government's carbon tax..

Three days later on 2 April 2012, he sent out a media release which stated:

Federal Member for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker has welcomed calls by the Energy Users Association of Australia (EUAA) to address the power price hikes which are hurting Australian households and small business….

The report found that over the next three years power prices are forecast to rise by an another 30 per cent and the carbon tax is a primary reason for this increase..

The Coffs Coast Advocate reported his second assertion on 4 April 2012:

Mr Hartsuyker said in a media statement that a report tabled by the Energy Users Association of Australia (EUAA) found that over the next three years power prices are forecast to rise by an another 30 per cent and the carbon tax is a primary reason for this increase.

Now the Energy Users Association of Australia (EUAA), whose membership is primarily business and industry, did produce a March 2012 report titled A report to the Energy Users Association of Australia - Electricity Prices in Australia: An International Comparison.

However, the report makes no direct mention of the carbon tax and although it does foreshadow a 30 per cent increase in retail electricity prices by 2013-14 it also clearly and repeatedly states that it relied on Australian Energy Market Commission (AMEC) calculations for this figure.

In relation to residential electricity supply AMEC itself unequivocally states:

The retail component is expected to increase by 30 per cent with a carbon price factored in (compared with 26 per cent without) in nominal terms at a national level over the projection period.

Which means that pricing carbon is expected to increase the national nominal cost of retail electricity by 4 per cent over the next two years, not the 30 per cent touted by the Member for Cowper.

Both EUAA and AMEC point to the cost of replacing aging infrastructure as a significant contibuting factor in total projected electricity supply price increases to the average householder.

With EUAA pointing out that around three-quarters of all expenditure incurred by Australia’s electricity network service providers is capitalised and AMEC stating distribution costs (sub-stations, transformers, meters, poles and wires) are expected to contribute 33.6 per cent to the total projected national increase in 2013-14 residential electricity supply costs to consumers – with this projected increase rising t o 36.1 per cent  in NSW.

Electricity transmission network pricings are not set by the federal government but are decided by an independent body, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).

Mr. Hartsuyker is not stupid – he know all this. So why is he issuing such self-serving and misleading media releases?

Ah, yes, of course – he is one of Tony Abbott’s foot soldiers.