Paul Howes - braggart extraordinaire

Once more the National Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union (pictured on left) has been caught doing a little background bragging to the media in 2012:

Howes' famous threat to withdraw support for the carbon price if it cost "one job" paid off when the government delivered a package containing large free permits for trade exposed industries, a $300 million steel transformation package and big support for coal industry jobs.

There is just one small problem with any brag, one can get quickly caught out. Howes does not appear to have publicly made this threat until 13 April 2011 at the earliest.

Yet the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Green Paper of July 2008 clearly stated:

The Government also recognises that there will be adjustment costs for businesses as they move to a low carbon economy. That is why the green paper outlines programs to assist these businesses in the transition period. This assistance involves providing free permits to the most emissions intensive trade exposed activities…

In November 2009 the NSW Farmers Federation reported:

The Government says that it recognises that emissions-intensive coal mines need transitional assistance to adjust to the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. It will target assistance to the most gassy mines, and has on the table a $750m package to assist these mines investigate and implement abatement opportunities and ease their transition to the introduction of a carbon price.

On 17 March 2011 the Prime Minister; promised she will not allow jobs in heavily polluting trade-exposed industries to go overseas under her emissions pricing regime.

The same day the Garnaut Climate Change Review Update Paper 6 recommended assistance to trade exposed industries for ninety per cent of their obligation.

While on 23 March 2011 it was reported that; compensation packages [are] now being negotiated by Labor in closed-door meetings with the directors [of] trade-exposed companies. This resulted in federal government funding worth $300 million going to Australian steel manufacturing, in addition to other assistance being offered to steel as one of the emissions-intensive trade exposed industries The coal and aluminum sectors were also included in this trade exposed industries compensation.

Although Australian Workers' Union formal submissions to government may have assisted in shaping government policy on carbon pricing, Paul Howes’ self-promoting ‘threat’ had next to nothing to do with any influence this union exerted.

OMG! It's 2012 - let's announce a celestial tragedy expected in 4 billion years

Presuming no possible knock-on effect from a collision between Andromeda and The Milky Way, NASA has blithely announced this event scheduled for around 4 billion years’ time.

After all; by then climate change, population pressure, government inaction and the dominance of multinational corporations will have extinguished human life on Earth anyway and the Sun will have probably begun to die of its own accord.

But hey, the 24hr news cycle is alive and kicking right now – so let’s put out a press release!

A celebration of the timeless poetry of voice and instrument

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

http://youtu.be/x8-YMpYbRqY

Mārrma djiḻawurr ŋāthinana, nambawu ḻarruŋana Guwalilŋawu
rirrakayunmina ḻiyanydja milkarri, nambawu ḻarruŋana Murrurrŋawu
roŋiyirri rirrakayyu. y..a barrawaḻayu y..a Mutjwutjŋa gaḻaṉiṉiyu

Ga namba Guwalilŋa, ga namba Warraḏika, ga namba Yumayŋa, m..m

Yä wulman ŋäthinana, yä dhiyaŋuna ḻanyiŋdhu dhungununayu
yä bāpa Kamba-Djuŋadjuŋa. miḻŋ'thurruna bayma Mayaŋ-ŋaraka
yä ŋäṉḏi maṉḏa. marrkapmirri maṉḏa. nhumanydja ŋayathaŋana Ruypu Milinditj
yä ŋäṉḏi maṉḏa. marrkapmirri maṉḏa. nhumanydja ŋāthiyaŋa milŋurr Burarrapu
yä namba guwalilŋa, yä gunambal warraḏika, yä namba Yumayaŋa
m..m
(english)

Two scrub fowl crying out, looking for Guwalilŋa
the calls like women crying, looking for Murrurrŋawu
the cries returning his mind to the jungles at Mutjmutjŋa

oh place Guwalilŋa, Warraḏika, Yumayŋa, m..m

Oh the old man cries, from this drink
oh dad Kampa-Djuŋadjuŋa, home Mayaŋ-ŋaraka bright in his mind
oh my two mums, beloved mums, hold Ruypu Milinditj
oh my two mums, beloved mums, cry for the sacred spring Burarrapu
oh the place Guwalilŋa. Warraḏika, Yumayŋa, m..m

 

*Djiḻawurr, the orange footed scrub fowl are family and relatives to the Gumatj---

Wiyathul as written by Yunupingu
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powerd by LyricFind
Read more at http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858831261/#dsPWVgkbbJwFDFwQ.99

Barry O'Fibba's perfidy exposed

Like a bad dream, the party whose leader appears to happily involve himself in the disreputable slaughtering of African elephants for their ivory, has this to say in Shooting News on 30 May 2012 about his backroom deal with the O'Farrell Coalition Government:

"Hunters in NSW will be stalking in national parks and eating wild duck by Christmas under a deal done between the Shooters and Fishers Party and the Coalition Government.
Despite losing the fight against the ammunition control bill last night, the SFP is celebrating this significant win, which comes in return for their qualified support for the privatisation of the state's electricity assets.
The SFP has also guaranteed support for its amendments to the privatisation legislation that will protect workers affected by the sale of power generators and other infrastructure.
The SFP has been pushing to legalise hunting in national parks for some time, and has succeeded in forcing O'Farrell to back down on his opposition to it after blocking the electricity sell-off in the upper house.
"We expect to have that legislation through by the end of June and, subject to the implementation program, we expect to be hunting in some national parks by Christmas," SFP MLC Robert Borsak said. "It will be rolled out progressively."
NSW hunters should also be able to hunt duck and quail by then, too.
"These are all positive changes for NSW, which has seen our precious national parks suffer under the idealistic 'protection' of the Greens," Mr Borsak said.
"Australia's once vibrant hunting heritage has been smothered and primary producers have been devastated by ducks in plague proportions. We will at last begin to bring some sense and balance back."
He said government support for the legislation wasn't without conditions. Wilderness and heritage zones will not be gazetted for hunting and a number of high-use national parks close to metropolitan areas would not be included in the program.
Only about 70 of the state's almost 800 parks and conservation areas are to be opened up, although whether more may be added in the future is not clear.
Permission to hunt in parks would be run under the same model as conservation hunting in state forests, but the state's duck and quail shooting would follow a new 'adaptive' model.
"What we're talking about is not your traditional open and shut duck season," Mr Borsak said. "We're talking about a new model for sustainable, progressive utilisation based on species, populations, periodic need for mitigation and so on."
Both national park and gamebird hunting would be managed under the Game Council, which has overseen conservation hunting under R- and G-licences since being formed in 2004.
Hunters will also gain protection from harassment under the legislation intended to reduce the likelihood and seriousness of attacks by protesters, although the details of this are still to be worked out.
"Conservation Hunters save the people of NSW millions of dollars and their impact on pest and feral animal populations has been proven," Mr Borsak said.
"There are around 20,000 licensed Conservation Hunters active in State Forests and on private property, and they remove over 600,000 feral animals every year, a huge benefit for our native flora and fauna."

Sorry Mum, The Devil Made Me Do It!

Latest revelation - Christopher Pyne’s reveals his true opinion of Teh Rabbit here.

NSW Nationals 'Steve' Gulaptis MP places his ignorance on display once again

Theft represents one of most likely sources of firearms for the illicit market according to the Australian Institute of Criminality.

The AIC Monitoring Report 16 went on to observe that:

·     *   In 2008-09 of the total firearms reported as stolen, 89 per cent followed from an unlawful entry into a building or vehicle and, private residential premises comprised 77 per cent of all firearm theft locations.

·     *    A total of 77 per cent were taken from registered owners. In almost 18 per cent of incidents where private residential or business premises were broken into, the theft was aided by the premises being unsecured at the time of the burglary.

·     *    Ammunition was stolen with firearms in 27 per cent of reported incidents of firearm theft in 2008-09.

·     *    In the same financial year, 22 per cent of affected firearms owners were found in breach of firearms law by police. A large number had failed to secure their firearm/s.

In other words criminals are likely to obtain their guns and/or ammunition from ordinary citizens who have inadequately or carelessly stored these items or failed to secure the premises.

On 30 May 2012 the Daily Liberal reported that; Thieves gained entry to a property on Pilliga Road, Kenebri between 8.30am and 5pm Tuesday, making off with eight pistols, eight rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Clearly measures which might limit the amount of ammunition sold and track the lawful movement of such ammunition are in order.

Before the NSW Legislative Assembly on 29 May 2012 was a bill (apparently reflecting a request by the Police Commissioner) which seeks to:

(a) to prevent the sale of ammunition by a licensed firearms dealer to a shooter unless the purchaser is the registered owner of, or has a permit to acquire, a firearm that takes the ammunition (in addition to the existing requirement that the purchaser must hold a licence or permit for a firearm that takes the ammunition),
(b) to require licensed firearms dealers to keep records of purchases and sales of ammunition.

Yet the historically, civilly and politically ignorant NSW Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, rose to his feet and said this:

I have to say from the outset that this bill is fundamentally flawed. It is flawed because it targets the wrong people. This bill makes it tough on law-abiding registered gun owners instead of criminals. Once this bill is passed the law-abiding public will have to deal with the additional costs and red tape associated with owning a firearm. Farmers, sporting shooters and gun shop owners are the ones that will carry the cost, and for the criminals it is business as usual.

UPDATE: An investigation into Sydney gun crime has revealed a near 20% jump in the number of firearms stolen from legitimate owners. [7 News 8 May 2012]

“Dear JUSTICE VICKERY”: When bankruptcy goes all shouty and lands you in the Big Boys' Court

R v Vasiliou [2012] VSC 216 (25 May 2012)

Click on image to enlarge