Gulaptis knew full details of Grafton Gaol closure by 20 June 2012

 

Excerpt from evidence given by National Party MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis before the Select Committee On The Closure Or Downsizing Of Corrective Services NSW Facilities’ hearing of 23 November 2012:

 

On Wednesday 20 June, I was asked to go to the Minister's  [Greg Smith] office. This was my second meeting with the Minister and his chief of staff. I was advised that the restructure would be somewhat more severe than initially suggested and that Grafton jail would be downsized to a remand centre. When I asked what that meant with regard to job losses I was told that it would mean the loss of about 90 jobs at the facility. I asked how many jobs would remain and I was advised that there would be about 30 jobs.

I was shell-shocked at the news and wanted to know how we could go from 30 job losses to 90 job losses and what recourse was available to change this drastic proposal.

 

According to his own evidence Chris Gulaptis had been discussing the “restructuring” of Grafton Gaol since 2 May 2012 and by 20 June he knew that the gaol would go and only a remand centre would remain in its place.

 

However this is what he told his electorate and The Daily Examiner  seven days later on 27 June:

 

STATE MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has denied a rumour there will be an announcement on Monday that Grafton Jail will close.

 

Closure of Grafton Gaol was announced on 29 June 2012 by Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham.

 

Gulaptis responded in the local media:

 

Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has defended the decision and blamed the previous Labor Government for allowing the jail to reach such a low point.

 

This is what Gulaptis was saying by 4 July:

 

GRAFTON Jail's role in the economy of the city is exaggerated, claims State Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis.

 

His spin firmed on 5 July 2012 with this:

 

“I didn’t know about the closure of the gaol as it was happening….I was not involved in the process. I was not consulted about it”

 

Saffin to Ferguson: "Please don't put your bib in where it's not required"

 

ABC News 22 November 2012:

 

A federal Labor backbencher is backing the coal seam gas scientists recently attacked by her own resources minister.

There have been calls for Martin Ferguson's resignation after he described the authors of a report on methane emissions as 'people who are trying to score political points without proper consideration of the best interests of the broader community'.

The federal member for Page, Janelle Saffin, says the minister was wrong to criticise the Southern Cross University researchers.

"Please don't put your bib in where it's not required," she said.

"These scientists are eminent scientists who did sound research... it's got integrity.

"Also, it was a submission to the Federal Government on fugitive emissions for goodness sake."

Opening a can of judicial worms or establishing a new social right?

 

The Guardian UK 13 November 2012:

 

Banning anyone from the internet is an "unreasonable" restriction, two appeal court judges have ruled, suggesting that access to a computer at home has become a basic human right.

The decision by Mr Justice Collins and Judge Nicholas Cooke QC signals judicial recognition of how pervasive digital communications are in an era when a multitude of services can be obtained online….

Upholding a complaint from a sex offender that he was being cut off from the world, the two judges declared it was "unreasonable nowadays to ban anyone from accessing the internet in their home".

Phillip Michael Jackson had been convicted of using a secret camera to film a 14-year-old girl in the shower. Jackson, 55, of Dartford, Kent, doctored a shampoo bottle and hid his mobile phone inside it to take the surreptitious video of the girl.

 

Clarence Valley Watch on the web

Valley Watch has a new website!
It's at http://www.clarencevalleywatchyamba.com/index.html
 

http://www.clarencevalleywatchyamba.com/index.html

Valley Watch identifies key activities that may impact on the Clarence Valley.

Keeping an eye on activities in the Valley

Focusing on the natural environment

Aiming for a region that nurtures all who live here

Well done, Valley Watch!

Here's another fine mess courtesy of Clarence Valley Council management

On 15 November 2012 The Daily Examiner published an article with this opening:

CLARENCE Valley Council achieved "the biggest failing you can have in project management".
Costs are spiralling for the redevelopment of the Townsend Depot and councillors at this week's committee meeting grilled management.
By his own admission, council deputy general manager Rob Donges conceded the plans for the redevelopment had not been thought through.
"The biggest failing you can have in project management is that at the start of the project not all parties agree on what you're doing," Mr Donges said.
"That's what happened here."
The initial "plucked" figure given to councillors for the project, which started in 2010, was $1m, which has since increased to nearly $2m.
Now, there is a request for an additional $589,867, which would bring the total cost of the project to about $2.6m.

What the article did not say was that when council management put a $1million guesstimate as to total project costs to a council meeting before the redevelopment was put out to tender, it had done little or no prior investigation of the site or consultation in relation to the work related needs of the end users.

In December 2010 three of the seventeen tenders submitted for demolition, site preparation, electrical work and construction of buildings were accepted and, council management was authorised to negotiate with one or more of these successful tenderers for construction of Modular Offices and Amenities because their original tenders were not considered best value for money in that area.

During the same meeting Council's elected members were also made aware that the redevelopment budget had blown out to $1.9 million. Around that time it was decided to sell and lease back the nearby Water Cycle Townsend Depot to assist with redevelopment costs.

The sale of the North Coast Water site brought in more money than council management expected. However by September 2011 when authorization was granted to transfer the property title to the new owners, council management was telling a council meeting that sale of the North Coast Water depot had resulted in $21,474 worth of costs not budgeted for.

The next piece of bad news for councillors and ratepayers did not turn up until 13 November 2012, when Clarence Valley Council's Civil & Corporate Committee Meeting was informed that further cost overruns had blown the Maclean Depot redevelopment budget out to somewhere between $2.6 and $2.8 million.

It seems that every stage of the redevelopment is running over budget, primarily because council management decided that it would be a competent project manager.

This is now a running joke among increasingly cynical residents and ratepayers.

Graphic from Google Images

A whacky message from your Aussie transit authority

http://youtu.be/IJNR2EpS0jw

What's happened to Steve's friends?

The former and disgraced Member for Clarence, Steve Cansdell, has resurfaced on Facebook and it would seem he can now hold get-togethers with his friends in telephone boxes. Yes, that's right, Steve has so few friends he can count them on one hand ... one, two, three, four.