Thursday 27 June 2013

The Lower Clarence is not happy


The Daily Examiner 21 and 26 June 2013:

See you at the next council meeting
In Australia we always hope that our elected representatives will actively participate in community consultation and ensure that there is confidence in their decision making processes... not so with the five Clarence Valley councillors who have used their weight of numbers to force their outrageous four year rating plan on this Valley.
Despite many invitations to share their wisdom via the local newspaper, Cr Margaret McKenna contributed one half-hearted letter to the editor and then refused to respond further to questions as to how council can propose a four year rating plan with no knowledge of future rate pegging limits or land revaluations... and she has been the only councillor who has tried to justify their actions via this media.
The CVC-convened public meetings in Iluka, Yamba and Maclean to discuss the council's 2013/14 operational plan were generally shunned by the majority of the five Grafton councillors. However Cr Challacombe did attend the Maclean meeting and he made what is possibly the most revealing comment since this rating issue surfaced. Cr Challacombe said that while we all pay our taxes, the majority of the money will always be spent in Sydney and while none of us believe that is fair it is a similar situation in the Clarence Valley with rate monies collected from all areas being spent in Grafton. What he effectively said is that since amalgamation Grafton has become our capitol city and therefore all rate monies spent in Grafton become beneficial to all ratepayers no matter how far they live from the capitol.
This also means that there is no point assessing where CVC spends money on services or projects because all expenditure in Grafton is for the common good and it is only expenditure in Glenreagh, Ulmarra, Maclean, Yamba etcetera that can be considered localised.
I trust that Cr Challacombe will never again criticise NSW State government decisions to cut spending in this region so long as they spend the money in Sydney.
I attended the CVC Operational Plan public meetings in Yamba and Maclean and council professional staff made it absolutely clear that they had recommended that council not change the 2012/13 rating structure and that they would not defend the "political" decision to replace that structure by the elected councillors.
Next Tuesday the council meets at the Maclean chambers to formally adopt the 2013/14 rating structure. I hope that many local people attend that meeting to witness the outcome.
Bill Day
Yamba

Rates go awry
Self interests, parochialism and cronyism have always been part of the mix in local government. But the reasons given for those "up river" five for shifting Grafton's rate burden to low income earners of the lower Clarence without additional services to pay for Grafton's prolific services it could not afford, certainly puts them in that mix.
The Mayor Cr Williamson asks, "tell me one thing council does in Grafton that they don't do in Maclean?" Cr Williamson knows that they don't enjoy a higher income that Grafton enjoys, but still came into forced amalgamation with a surplus, demonstrating it could pay for its services even with a lower median rate. What's more they don't enjoy two ratepayer funded aquatic centres in close proximity to each other. Nor two libraries, an art gallery, a second airstrip and many "sports specific" sports grounds.
Cr Howe has reportedly referred to the two $3m sports centres in Maclean and Yamba since forced amalgamation. But they pale into insignificance to the $4m upgrade to Fisher Park, Ellem oval, McKittrick Park, Hawthorne Park, See Park, Pioneer Park, Corcoran Park, $1.3m revitalisation south Grafton and an $8m second library in Grafton.
Cr McKenna who lives and works in south Grafton is the recipient of a $1.3m makeover, nevertheless believes her rates should be shifted to the lower Clarence which didn't receive a similar benefit.
Cr Challacombe reportedly admits to disparities in service provision but says "the facilities in Grafton are for all." He ignores that it is some two hours to and from Grafton by car let alone a bus and many cannot afford it.
Their self serving incoherent use of the truth was further advanced when they thwarted a council resolution having staff prepare expenditure by locality report at a workshop meeting on May 14, which would have been in the whole valley's interests.
Having encouraged a forced amalgamation to save its economic future and now using its numbers in the council to serve its own parochial interest, Grafton is playing a very dangerous divisive game. Over the years, Grafton has been a graveyard for business and commerce and is dependant upon new monies from outside its community.
The Regional Industry and Economic Plan (RIEP) believes that only 65% of jobs come from population driven sectors and about 10% of jobs from the construction sector. But the balance is in the exporting sectors particularly tourism. No matter what Grafton spends on waterfront precincts and recreational facilities, it cannot compete with Port Macquarie, Coffs Ballina or even the lower Clarence for that recreational tourist dollar. However that has not been the case with the lower Clarence which has continued its economic growth while Grafton has faltered.
The lower Clarence has available to it far more competitive services; airport, hospital and commerce just up the highway and the bottom line is Grafton needs the lower Clarence far more than the lower Clarence needs Grafton. It is now a question as to what extent the lower Clarence will spend that travelling time heading north instead of toward Grafton
Ray Hunt
Yamba

Rates shock
Hello Richie. I would like to guess the secret sound.
Is it the sound of a pensioner falling over at their letterbox when they open their rate notice.
Frank Bonfanti
Gulmarrad

The Daily Examiner Page One 26 June 2013:

In debate, Cr Howe said these changes would unite the Clarence Valley.
"This is not about Grafton, there is no gang of five," he said.
This comment was followed by such jeers from the gallery that Cr Williamson stopped the meeting and called for the public to show respect.


The Daily Examiner online 26 June 2013:

The council did not adopt a rating structure for the next four years as Cr Baker lead motion against defining the rating policy so far into the future.
"I put to this meeting that the motion while ever it attempts to set the rate beyond this year is unlawful," Cr Baker said.
And while the legality remained a point of division the councillors agreed with sentiment and limited the changes to this financial year.

 UPDATE

The Daily Examiner 27 June 2013:

Each property in the Clarence Valley is valued by the NSW Valuer General.
The value is then multiplied by a cents-in-the-dollar rate.
Added to the cents-in-the-dollar total is a base amount which everyone in a given area pays.
If a base rate is not in place the other system is to have a minimum rate.
Under this system if the cents-in-the-dollar rate total was less than the minimum then the minimum became the actual bill…..
In the case of Maclean residences a minimum rate was previously in place.
So a property with a land value of $60,000 would have returned a cents-in-the-dollar value of $420.
The minimum in Mac- lean used to be $474 so the bill would have been $474.
Under the new system the council has introduced a base, which everyone pays.
The cents-in-the-dollar value for the $60,000 Maclean property would be $304.94 under the new system but added to this is the new $260 base.
This means the bill for the property in question rises to $564.94, an increase of just less than 25%.
Interestingly, under the new structure, people who own a property worth more than about $140,000, in Maclean, will see a reduction in their bill.
For Farmland properties the opposite is true.
The increase in farmland rates was achieved by increasing the cents-in-the-dollar rate and the more valuable your property, the more your rates will increase.
The increase will be more than 3.4% for farms worth more than about $600,000.
In out-of-town areas the minimum and the cents-in-the-dollar rate has increased.
If your bill last year was $458 or less, it will be $474 next year and if your property is worth more than $107,000 your rates will increase by 6.9%.
In coastal villages bills will increase by 9.36% unless your land is worth less than about $110,000.
Lawrence and Wooloweyah can both expect decreases in their rates of about 30% as they have been moved out of urban categories.
Yamba residents can expect 10% increases across the board.
And finally residents in Grafton should expect a rise of no more than 3%.  

Wednesday 26 June 2013

Prospects for the Federal Labor Party in the Foreseeable Future?

Australian Leader of the Opposition and Member for Warringah Tony Abbott and alcohol


Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan in Hansard on 12 February 2009 at at 10.10pm

The government has a view that we can get through this global recession better than most other developed countries in the world. We can do that if we are strong, we can do that if we are united and we can do that if we put in place a very substantial fiscal stimulus such as the fiscal stimulus recommended by the IMF. But, of course, it does not suit your political agenda because, as we know, you have got the member for Higgins breathing down your neck. He is actually the architect of poor old Malcolm’s strategy. The member for Higgins, as this vital debate in the history of the country is going on, is currently in the dining room. He is currently in the dining room with the member for Menzies. He is currently in the dining room with the member for Warringah. That is what they think about the strategy from those on that side of the House.

The Daily Telegraph Tony Abbott slept through key vote 8 March 2009: 

Tony Abbott missed the key economic vote of the new Parliament - the $42 billion fiscal stimulus package - because he fell asleep after a night of drinking witnessed by MPs from both sides of Parliament. Mr Abbott told Chief Opposition Whip Alex Somlyay that he missed five divisions on the night of Thursday, February 12 because he fell asleep in his office. His nap followed dinner in the Members' Dining Room with Peter Costello, Kevin Andrews and Peter Dutton, where numerous bottles of wine were consumed.

Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott during a January 2013 NovaFM radio interview: "I’d probably be too much of a Grog Monster for ya fellas."

Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan in Hansard on 25 June 2013 at 2.07pm

The contrast was there during the global financial crisis when those opposite refused to support our stimulus. Indeed, the Leader of the Opposition slept right through the critical vote. He was drunk and did not come into the House. He slept right through that vote—

To date I can find no Hansard record of Mr. Abbott seeking, by way of personal explanation, to deny the assertions of his inebriation on 12 February 2009.

The only public explanation he offered at the time was to a Sunday Telegraph journalist and he hung up on that journalist when he was asked if he was drunk: "That is an impertinent question. I had dinner with the gentlemen you mentioned, there's no doubt we had a couple of bottles of wine, I wasn't keeping count, maybe two. This is an impertinent question. I'm going to politely hang up now.''

NSW Farmers up in arms over O'Farrell-Fraser-Hartcher legislative move to support coal seam gas industry land access rights

Tuesday 25 June 2013

Hong Kong thumbs its nose at Internet super spy, the United States of America


   
HKSAR Government issues statement on Edward Snowden 
***************************************************
      The HKSAR Government today (June 23) issued the following statement on Mr Edward Snowden:

     Mr Edward Snowden left Hong Kong today (June 23) on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel.

     The US Government earlier on made a request to the HKSAR Government for the issue of a provisional warrant of arrest against Mr Snowden. Since the documents provided by the US Government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law, the HKSAR Government has requested the US Government to provide additional information so that the Department of Justice could consider whether the US Government's request can meet the relevant legal conditions. As the HKSAR Government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong.

     The HKSAR Government has already informed the US Government of Mr Snowden's departure.

     Meanwhile, the HKSAR Government has formally written to the US Government requesting clarification on earlier reports about the hacking of computer systems in Hong Kong by US government agencies. The HKSAR Government will continue to follow up on the matter so as to protect the legal rights of the people of Hong Kong.
Ends/Sunday, June 23, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:05

NNNN

BACKGROUND:

EurActiv-20/06/2013
EU lawmakers want to forbid the United States from accessing European citizens' data without the approval of a judge or equivalent authority, ...
EUobserver.com-19/06/2013
European Parliament (press release)-19/06/2013

VentureBeat-by John Koetsier-21/06/2013
As is the case with PRISM in the U.S., the companies are forbidden by law to either decline to participate or to reveal the spying to their ...
Reuters-11/06/2013
U.S. officials have confirmed the existence of a huge, secret U.S. Internet spying programme, codenamed PRISM, which according to ...
ZDNet-by Zack Whittaker-13/06/2013
The U.S. National Security Agency, which has been at the center of a privacy storm, after details of itsPRISM program leaked. The EU is ...
The Verge-by Carl Franzen-07/06/2013
A major intelligence agency in the United Kingdom is part of the US government's massive secret internet user spying program PRISM, ... 

SiliconANGLE (blog)-13/06/2013
Just when we thought these spying shenanigans couldn't get any worse, well… They just did. A report by Michael Riley in Bloomberg today ...
ITProPortal-18/06/2013
Prism, meanwhile, lets the NSA "obtain the specific communications of foreign suspects from U.S.companies with a court order. This program ...
TechNewsDaily-18/06/2013
United States "persons" — citizens and residents protected by the Fourth Amendment — were said to not be part of its scope. Yet PRISM data ...
Telegraph.co.uk-08/06/2013
It comes after senior ministers were challenged over their alleged role in authorising use of a covert USgovernment spying project, Prism, ...
NitiCentral-19/06/2013
In his plea, Singh has alleged that such large-scale spying by the US authorities is detrimental to national security and urged the Apex court to ...

UPDATE:

CBS NEWS 24 June 2013
The NSC issued a statement early Monday saying it is "disappointed by the decision of the authorities in Hong Kong to permit Mr. Snowden to flee despite the legally valid U.S. request to arrest him for purposes of his extradition under the U.S.-Hong Kong Surrender Agreement. We have registered our strong objections to the authorities in Hong Kong as well as to the Chinese government through diplomatic channels and noted that such behavior is detrimental to U.S.-Hong Kong and U.S.-China bilateral relations." The statement continued, "We now understand Mr. Snowden is on Russian soil. Given our intensified cooperation after the Boston marathon bombings and our history of working with Russia on law enforcement matters -- including returning numerous high level criminals back to Russia at the request of the Russian government -- we expect the Russian Government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott admits to a particular difficulty


Tony marvelled at the longevity of my virginity that I had managed to protect for forty six years. “I don’t know how you do it! I couldn’t do it. I find it difficult enough staying faithful to the one woman for the rest of my life,” he said with a laugh. [Father Kevin Lee,quote from a conversation with Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott MP on 20th December 2010]

Watch International Court of Justice Australia v Japan in the matter of commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean - live June 26-July 16, 2013



INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands Tel.: +31 (0)70 302 2323 Fax: +31 (0)70 364 9928 Website: www.icj-cij.org Press Release Unofficial
 No. 2013/14
12 June 2013

Public hearings in the case concerning Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand intervening) Public admission and media accreditation Live and on-demand webcasts

THE HAGUE, 12 June 2013. As announced in Press Release 2013/7 issued on 11 April 2013, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will hold public hearings in the case concerning Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand intervening) from Wednesday 26 June to Tuesday 16 July 2013, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court.

1. Access for members of the Diplomatic Corps
Owing to the limited number of seats available in the Great Hall of Justice, members of the Diplomatic Corps wishing to attend the hearings are kindly asked to inform the Information Department before midnight on Sunday 23 June 2013, by e-mail to confirmation@icj-cij.org. Diplomatic missions are kindly requested to limit their delegations to two persons.
Should members of the Diplomatic Corps decide at any point not to attend a hearing for which they have reserved a seat/s, they are kindly requested to inform the Information Department so that their seat/s can be reallocated.

2. Access for media representatives
Media representatives are subject to an online accreditation procedure, details of which can be found in the Media Advisory attached to this Press Release. The accreditation procedure will close at midnight on Sunday 23 June 2013.

3. Access for members of the public
Owing to the very limited number of seats available in the Great Hall of Justice, priority access will be given to members of the delegations of States that are parties to the case, and members of the Diplomatic Corps.
A small number of seats will be allocated daily to members of the public on a first come first served basis. There will be no advance registration procedure, all previously sent requests to attend these hearings will be ignored.

4. Live and on-demand webcasts
We strongly advise members of the public to watch the hearings on the Court’s website, where they will be broadcast live and in full (www.icj-cij.org, under the heading “Multimedia”), or on the online television channel “UN Web TV (http://webtv.un.org/)”.
The hearings will subsequently also be available as a recorded webcast (VOD) on the United Nations Web TV website (http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/).

5. Schedule for and information on the hearings
The schedule for the hearings is available on the Calendar on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org). Verbatim records of the hearings will be published daily on the Court’s website (with translations to follow as soon as practicable thereafter). On the final day of the hearings, a Press Release will be issued presenting the submissions of the Parties (the Court’s press releases do not constitute official documents).

6. History of the proceedings
The history of the proceedings can be found in Press Release No. 2013/7 of 11 April 2013, which is available on the Court’s website.

_________