The NSW North Coast scores a pass mark when it comes to crimes involving firearms - but not so good with murder

New South Wales is a big place when you think about it – all 809,444 km²  or so of it. About 7.3 million people live within state borders, which is around 32% of the entire Australian population. Almost 8% of all Walers live on the Mid and Far North Coast.

The bad news………………

“The offence of ‘discharge firearm into premises’ rose by 41 per cent (from 71 incidents in 2010 to 100 incidents in 2011) in the two years to December 2011, according to the annual crime statistics report released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

Around half of NSW recorded incidents of ‘discharge firearm into premises’ in 2011 were recorded in the three Sydney statistical subdivisions (SSDs) of Canterbury-Bankstown, Central Western Sydney and Fairfield-Liverpool.”

There were 410 robberies involving a firearm in NSW in 2011.

{BOSCAR Media Release on 17^th April 2012 on NSW Recorded Crime Statistics 2011 and NSW Recorded Crime Statistics 2011}

The good news………………

None of those ‘drive by’ shootings happened on the NSW North Coast. Only 10 robberies (from Bellingen right up to the NSW-QLD border) involved someone carrying a firearm – or just 2% of all robberies with firearms.

Something to think about……….

NSW recorded 75 murders in 2011. Only 4 murders are listed for the NSW North Coast but these make up 5% of all the state’s murders last year.

Best Media Photo of the Week

And only Turn Left 2013 put it out into the blogosphere on 15th April 2012:

Image: Fairfax
Tony Abbott’s press conference, the same time Bob Brown

announced his retirement on Friday 13th April 2012

NSWLC Government Whip Phelps parades his ignorance

Ever since the Hon. Dr. Peter Phelps MLC came to the notice of the Twitterati I have been finding him a hitherto untapped source of amusement.

This is vintage Phelps in Hansard on 2^nd June 2011:

The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps: Point of order: This is now the fourth time Mr David Shoebridge has referred to draconian legislation. He would, or should, be aware that "draconian" is the adjectival form of "dragon". There are no dragons involved in this legislation, and there are no dragons involved in the industrial relations situation of New South Wales. There may well be an argument for dracona-centric global warming, but that is something we will leave for another time. I ask that Mr David Shoebridge cease and desist from bringing the good name of dragons into disrepute by describing this as draconian legislation. [my bolding]

Sounds fair doesn’t it? A doctor of philosophy in history giving 'helpfu'l linguistic advice to a fellow member of the Legislative Council.

However, all is not what it seems. The “adjectival form of dragon” is in fact “draconic” – using a lowercase d.

A quick use of his Blackberry would have displayed the fact that the adjective “Draconian” or “draconian” refers to of, like, or pertaining to Draco or his laws and alternatively harsh, rigorous, severe as any good dictionary will tell you.

Although English is a dynamic language constantly changing over time, it is yet to catch up to Mr. Phelps’ fanciful interpretation – except perhaps in the realm of science fiction.

The new Daily Examiner editor is young enough to be an Internet Bairn, so.....

……all of us NSW North Coast WW2-ers and Baby Boomers can look forward to stumbling across candid photos such as this one from circa 2006-2008.

Welcome to the Valley, Jenna!

Abbott and Co out to emasculate the NSW Nationals?

All is not well between the Liberal-Nationals Coalition in the lead up to the next Australian federal election and strong language is the order of the day in this letter (originally published by The Australian) in reply from Nationals NSW President Christine Ferguson to Federal Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos on 5 March 2012. 
Nationals NSW President Christine Ferguson's Letter To Federal Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos

APN's Peter Chapman turns even nastier than usual on the Fraser Coast

Excerpt from the Fraser Coast Chronicle on 13 April 2012:

Which...

...high-profile candidate is so worried about Election Gossip that he has been digging for some dirt of his own?

This man has even gone so far as to make calls to certain people in Grafton, New South Wales, in a desperate attempt to find anything at all he thinks he could use as a shield.

If this candidate believes he can spare himself the scrutiny of the Chronicle, he had better think again.

Stay tuned...

...the Stealth Reporter hears all...

It doesn’t take a genius to see the visage of Fraser Coast Chronicle Editor, Peter Chapman, behind this ‘column’ which appears dedicated to anonymous and scurrilous gossip concerning mayoral and councillor candidates in the Fraser Coast Regional Council Election called for 28 April 2012.

The Clarence Valley would not tolerate the ugly side of Mr. Chapman’s editorship of Grafton’s The Daily Examiner and told him so early and often. He left the Valley after less than fifteen months at the newspaper and went north into Queensland – sped on his way by widespread community dislike of his divisive journalistic personality.

I suspect that the Fraser Coast is now paying the price for not following the Valley’s example.

* Graphic from The Fraser Coast Chronicle

How not to win friends and influence people in a NSW Legislative Council inaugural speech

When sly digs at a senior member of your own parliamentary party should not be a personal order of the day…………

As an aficionado of the Village People, Mr President, you, like me, will no doubt recall that they sang, "No man does it all by himself". {NSW Hansard,Hon. Dr. Peter Phelps MLC,2011,Inaugural Speech}