Regional media in trouble on the NSW North Coast?

Independent News and Media (INM) has an estimated 29.5% investment in APN News & Media Limited which owns many of the local newspapers operating on the NSW North Coast from Coffs Harbour up to the NSW-QLD border, including The Daily Examiner and The Northern Star.

 

It is no secret that Independent News and Media (which has its own financial woes) is unhappy with the continuing lacklustre performance of APN and its latest trading update.

 

So unhappy is this major shareholder that it was calling for the sacking of APN’s current CEO Brett Chenoweth.

 

If this move is successful it would make him the second chief executive officer to go in the past two years.

 

INM’s revolt appears to be the reason for the APN trading halt announced on 15 February 2013.

 

All this would be of nothing more than passing interest to Northern Rivers residents, if it were not for the persistent speculation that APN regional media assets may be broken up and some sold-off.

UPDATE:

THE Daily Examiner and Coastal Views have restructured to ensure both publications remain the voice of our region for the long-term future.

While we'll be closing our office in Yamba on February 28, our coverage of the Lower Clarence will remain unchanged as we move towards a more mobile workforce in keeping with industry changes worldwide.

We have also re-engineered our sales structure to match our clients' needs, both large and small. In doing so, some local positions have been impacted.

Our new structure will provide higher levels of customer service and reader value than ever before and we look forward to the next chapter of our papers' evolution in this digital age.

The Daily Examiner has been an integral part of the Clarence Valley since 1859 and will continue to be so for many, many years to come. [The Daily Examiner 22 February 2013]

Key dates for the 14 September 2013 Federal Election. Are you on the Electoral Roll yet?

 

If you haven't applied to be on the Australian Electoral Roll yet, perhaps this week would be a good time to get your paperwork in or enrol online.

 

The Australian Electoral Commission website gives full instructions.

 

It is compulsory to enrol if you:

• are an Australian citizen, or eligible British subject,
• aged 18 years and over*, and
• have lived at your address for at least one month.

Key dates for the 2013 federal election

Updated: 30 January 2013

 

Today the Prime Minister announced Saturday 14 September 2013 as polling day for the 2013 federal election. The Prime Minister has further announced that later this year, the Prime Minister will advise the Governor-General to dissolve the House of Representatives with writs to be issued on Monday 12 August for an election for the House and half of the Senate, to be held on Saturday 14 September.

The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 sets various milestones in an election timetable. The Prime Minister's announcement of two key dates in the election timetable, being the date of the issue of writ and the date of polling day, creates a minimum timeframe election period which allows other dates to be determined.

On the basis of the writ being issued by the Governor-General, as indicated by the Prime Minister, on 12 August, and the election date being 14 September, the 2013 election timetable will be:

Issue of writ	Monday, 12 August 2013
Close of rolls	8pm, Monday, 19 August 2013
Close of candidate nominations	12 midday, Thursday, 22 August 2013
Declaration of candidate nominations	12 midday, Friday, 23 August 2013
Polling day	Saturday, 14 September 2013

Media contact

Phil Diak | Director Media
AEC, Canberra
02 6271 4415
0413 452 539

 

Federal Labor MP Janelle Saffin locks in economic strategy & jobs expo for Clarence Valley

Janelle locks in economic strategy & jobs expo for Clarence Valley

PAGE MP Janelle Saffin has locked in Federal funding for the first stage of an economic development strategy for the Clarence Valley, and an Australian Government Jobs and Skills Expo in Grafton on April 16.

Ms Saffin thanked Federal Minister for Employment Participation Kate Ellis for signing off on both jobs initiatives, which she has been working on since the downsizing of Grafton Gaol to a remand centre last year.

“The Clarence Valley has taken several hits with the loss of private and NSW Government public sector jobs, so my approach is to strengthen the viability of our traditional industries, one by one, to expand our industry base and jobs,” she said. 

“The marine industry is an important one in the Valley, and it makes sense to kick start our economic development strategy with a project that will boost its workforce by upskilling up to 10 local casual workers with experience in manufacturing and fabrication.

“Local Employment Coordinator Terry Watson has been working with Clarence Valley Council’s Deputy General Manager Des Schroder, whose council will deliver the project. NSW Trade and Investment’s Craig Jenkins is actively involved in the project in bringing in other State agencies.

“The Australian Government will contribute $20,000 to support training in ship construction and refurbishment with NSW State Training Services providing the actual training. The project will run until May, but my aim would be to build on this across other major industries over the next few years.

“Participants in the Marine Precinct Workforce Development Project will have the chance to get certification, including working in confined spaces, scaffolding, forklift licenses, sand blasting, welding, fitting and turning, and workplace health and safety.

“Tailoring people’s skills to what industry needs is what this project is about and this makes it easier to keep your job, advance in your workplace and get other jobs.”

Ms Saffin welcomed Minister Ellis’s announcement that an Australian Government Jobs and Skills Expo would be held at Grafton Basketball Stadium on Tuesday, April 16, because it will bring hundreds of local job and skills training opportunities to the Valley.

“I encourage all job seekers, employers and training and education organisations in the Clarence Valley to get involved in the Grafton Jobs and Skills Expo because this is a great opportunity to help people build skills and find work or get back into work,” she said.

“There will be a large jobs board filled with vacancies for all ages and skills levels, and a skills board where registered training organisations will promote courses available in the area.

“Since 2009, the Australian Government has delivered 69 Jobs and Skills Expos to areas of high unemployment and welfare dependency. As a result, more than 24,700 job seekers have been connected with employment and training.

“Keeping jobs and creating jobs is what the community expects us to work on. That’s what I’ve been doing, locking in both the economic strategy and the jobs expo.

“I want to ensure that people in Page have the opportunity to share in the benefits of work, and I do everything I can to help those who need it, get it.”

Exhibiting at the Grafton Jobs and Skills Expo is free and potential exhibitors should call 13 11 58 or visit the website at www.humanservices.gov.au/expos

Employers can also contact Local Employment Coordinator Terry Watson on 0412 320 077 or at terry.watson@deewr.gov.au to follow up on available assistance or for more information about the Clarence Valley Marine Precinct Workforce Development Project.

Friday, February 15, 2013.

Remembering the deeply weird side of Mr. Rabbitt - Part Seven

Mr. Rabbitt gets a gun, but then tries to suppress such images.....

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott firing a Steyr assault rifle

while briefly in Afghanistan in 2010

Metgasco's desperation out there for all to see

 

In the middle of an Australian Stock Exchange bull-run Megasco Limited shares appear to have hit what looked like an all-time low on 12-13 February 2013 when trading closed at 0.135.

 

Rather predictably the coal seam gas exploration and want-to-be production company sent forth a spinmeister which resulted in this headline in The Northern Star; Future bright for Metgasco.

 

As one has come to expect of Metgasco, there was apparently no declaration by the resources analyst whose opinion was canvassed as to whether he may have had a potential conflict of interest which might affect the weight readers would give to his pronouncements.

 

Being employed by the stockbroking firm paid by Metgasco to produce its Broker Reports does appear to be such a conflict and, only the mining company’s desperation for a ‘good news’ headline must have led it to suppose that no-one would notice this lack of transparency.

 

A lack of transparency which is obviously a deliberate, as the ABC News online article Metgasco share price weakens but outlook positive also failed to mention the mining company’s business relationship with Mr. Prendergast’s employer.

Mr. Prendergast also does not seem to have mentioned that the attractive value Metgasco shares he is busy promoting in the media are classified in ‘his’ 31 October 2012 broker’s report as high risk.

By close of trade yesterday Metgasco shares had only risen to 0.140 - a long way from the $1+ per share in those brief heady days when the market was inclined to believe this mining company's unconventional gas fairy tale.


ASX chart of monthly prices over 10 years for security MEL

Just how broke are the three major players in the countdown to the 2013 Australian Federal Election?

 

According to Democracy4Sale the Federal Liberal Party of Australia received 418 declarable donations between 2006/7 and 2010/11, with a total value of $30,754,639.

In 2011/12 the Australian Electoral Commission published annual returns that showed the Federal Liberal Party received in excess of $6.5 million in cash and non-cash benefits.

 

Between 2006/7 and 20010/11 the Federal National Party of Australia received 52 declarable donations, with a total value of $2,470,762.

While in 2011/12 the Federal Nationals declared $969,299 in cash and non-cash benefits.  

 

Drawing on these same records, the Federal Australian Labor Party managed to gather 1,262 declarable donations between 2006/7 and 2010/11, with a total value of $50,977,094.

In 2011/12 Federal Labor declared in excess of $10.8 million in cash and non-cash benefits.  

 

All three parties also have various associated entities, some of which are wholly dedicated to fundraising for election campaigns, and state branches have also been known to make donations/loans to their federal counterparts ahead of general election campaigns.

 

On 1 February 2013 The National Times reported that by 2010/11; The ALP is $11.9 million in the red while the Liberal Party owes $15 million, the National Party $1.2 million.

 

However, this is not an accurate picture of the state of play, as none of the political parties had to declare individual donations that were $11,900 or less and, as donors are not always reliable accountants when submitting their own returns, money does sometimes fall between the cracks. So there is in all likelihood a hidden pot behind each of these recent returns submitted to the Electoral Commission.

Abbott, the girlie man

First came the old tonsorial comb over with a hint of Ashley Martin-style fuzz and a bit of extra shoulder padding on his freebie tailor-made suits, which went unremarked in the MSM, but even Teh Oz has finally noticed the clumsy botox slash skin peel facial! “Abbott - with a nice new wrinkle-free visage and an orange tan to match the most garish safety vest”