The Liberals gear up to flood social media during Australian federal election campaign

According to the Liberal Party of Australia it has more than 80,000 members in more than 2000 branches and now it’s looking for reinforcement…...

https://www.nsw.liberal.org.au/home

Two climate sceptics lose Australian university positions in 2013

Macquarie University Media Release 10 July 2013:

Statement regarding the termination of Professor Murry Salby

10 July 2013

Macquarie University does not normally comment on the circumstances under which employees leave the University. However, we feel in this instance it is necessary to do so in order to correct misinformation.

The decision to terminate Professor Murry Salby’s employment with Macquarie University had nothing to do with his views on climate change nor any other views. The University supports academic freedom of speech and freedom to pursue research interests.

Professor Salby’s employment was terminated firstly, because he did not fulfil his academic obligations, including the obligation to teach. After repeated directions to teach, this matter culminated in his refusal to undertake his teaching duties and he failed to arrive at a class he had been scheduled to take.

The University took this matter very seriously as the education and welfare of students is a primary concern. The second reason for his termination involved breaches of University policies in relation to travel and use of University resources.

The termination of his employment followed an extensive and detailed internal process, including two separate investigations undertaken by a committee chaired by a former Australian Industrial Relations Commissioner and including a union nominee.

Report of US Office of Inspector General/National Science Foundation investigation concerning Murry Salby (Case Number I06090025) 20 February 2009

Allegations

Subject submitted significantly overlapped proposals to NSF and another federal

agency

Subject received compensation from NSF awards substantially in excess of approved

budget amounts

Subject, acting through a non-profit entity, overcharged NSF awards for indirect

costs on a subcontract, and failed to disclose the subcontract to NSF

Subject, acting through his for-profit entity, received payments for effort that he

documented with questionable time and effort reports

Subject failed to comply with his University's conflicts of interest and financial

disclosure policy

Investigative Findings

OIG substantiated each of the five allegations, and established an extensive pattern of

deceptive statements made by the Subject to his University and to NSF. OIG concluded

that the activities of other individuals, and the non-profit and for-profit entities, were

attributable to the Subject.

University Findings

The University substantiated conflicts of interest violations by the Subject. The Subject

did not fully participate in the University investigation, and provided deceptive

information to the University during its investigation. The Subject resigned from his

faculty position at the University.

OIG Recommendations

OIG recommends that NSF debar the Subject for a period of five years.

James Cook University on the subject of Professor Bob Carter in the Townsville Bulletin, 28 June 2013:

JCU, which has pursued a reputation as a world leader in environmental science, denied the decision was linked to Prof Carter's views on climate change.

"Dr Carter has not been sacked, or black-balled and the university has not caved in," a spokesperson said.

"The simple truth is his term as an adjunct expired."

Prof Carter has held his unpaid fellowship since 2002, when he retired after 21 years in JCU's School of Earth Sciences.

CSIRO refuting Bob Carter’s claims that climate forecasts are all up in the air, 10 July 2007:

'Professor Bob Carter claims that 'no ground-based warming has occurred since 1998'. This is an unethical misrepresentation of the facts. 1998 was the warmest year on record in the last 150 years. Although the eight years since then have not been warmer than 1998, they do include the globe’s second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh warmest years on record. The planet is not cooling.' 

Confidential Memo: 2012 Heartland Climate Strategy, January 2012:

Funding for selected individuals outside of Heartland.

Our current budget includes funding for high-profile individuals who regularly and publicly

counter the alarmist AGW message. At the moment, this funding goes primarily to Craig Idso ($11,600 per month), Fred Singer ($5,000 per month, plus expenses), Robert Carter ($1,667 per month), and a number of other individuals, but we will consider expanding it, if funding can be found.

Deadline to enrol as a voter in the 7 September 2013 federal election is 8pm Monday 12 August

 

Enrol to vote now for the 2013 federal election

Updated: 4 August 2013

 

The federal election has been announced and Australians must act now to ensure they are enrolled to vote by the deadline of 8pm on 12 August 2013, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) said today.

 

Electoral Commissioner Ed Killesteyn said all Australian citizens aged 18 years and over are required by law to enrol and vote in the Saturday 7 September federal election.

 

"To enrol, go online at www.aec.gov.au/enrol. Enrolments can also be completed by tablet or smartphone," Mr Killesteyn said.

"It's important that you enrol now, because if you are not enrolled by the deadline you won't be able to vote in the 2013 federal election."

 

Paper enrolment forms are available at any AEC office, Australia Post, Centrelink or Medicare outlet, and must be completed and returned to the AEC by the 8pm 12 August deadline.

Mr Killesteyn urged all Australians to take the time to check that their address details were up-to-date on the electoral roll.

 

"Every time you move, you must update your address on the electoral roll. You can do this online at www.aec.gov.au," Mr Killesteyn said.

"If you haven't kept your enrolment details up-to-date, you could have been removed from the electoral roll. If you're unsure if you are on the roll, check your details now at www.aec.gov.au/check or call the AEC on 13 23 26.

"Don't leave it to the last minute to enrol and risk missing out on your vote. It only takes a few minutes to enrol or update your details online."

 

Seventeen year old Australians turning eighteen on or before 7 September 2013 can also enrol and vote in the federal election.

 

Key dates for the 2013 federal election
Announcement of election	Sunday 4 August 2013
Issue of writ	Monday 5 August 2013
Close of rolls	8pm Monday 12 August 2013
Close of candidate nominations	12 midday Thursday 15 August 2013
Declaration of candidate nominations	12 midday Friday 16 August 2013
Election day	Saturday 7 September 2013
Return of writs (latest date)	Wednesday 13 November 2013

State, Northern Territory and ACT media contacts:

NSW Keith Eaton Ph. 02 9375 6313 Mob. 0411 148 608	SA Paul Langtry Ph. 08 8237 6582 Mob. 0413 452 532	VIC Dan Doherty Ph. 03 9285 7128	TAS Sandra Riordan Ph. 03 6235 0501 Mob. 0438 425 730
QLD Caroline D'Allura Ph. 07 3834 3428 Mob. 0400 270 660	NT Robert Pugsley Ph. 08 8982 8001 Mob. 0418 253 357	WA Brendon Barlow Ph. 08 6363 8026 Mob. 0413 271 869	ACT Evan Ekin-Smyth Ph. 02 6271 4419 Mob. 0401 963 909

National media spokesperson:

Phil Diak
Ph. 02 6271 4419
Mob. 0413 452 539

 

What the New Zealand Herald is telling its readers about Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott

Having a wife who hails from New Zealand does not confer an advantage on British-born Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

The New Zealand Herald 3 August 2013:

…derided as the Mad Monk for his Jesuit past and moral conservatism, and parodied for elephantine ears and his red surf lifesaving budgie smugglers, Abbott remains one of the most unpopular leaders in the polling history of federal politics.

Even many Liberal supporters do not like him. Most, like the rest of the nation's voting public, would far prefer Malcolm Turnbull, ousted by Abbott by a single vote in a bitterly contested 2009 challenge.

He trailed former Prime Minister Julia Gillard in both popularity and as preferred prime minister for much of her time in office, despite the Opposition's all but unshakable ascendancy over the Government. He is now a distant second to Rudd…

…Abbott's portrait is one of a shallow and ruthlessly ambitious politician, lacking in conviction and policy….

Voters have trouble deciding how Abbott would emerge as prime minister. In Opposition he has been contradictory, divisive and ruthless, his style marked by negativity, simplistic sloganeering and a policy vacuum.

His knifing of Turnbull was every bit as nasty as Gillard's assassination of Rudd. And, like Gillard, he has backflipped on policy ranging from parental leave to public funding and parliamentary pairing.

He relentlessly pursued former Labor MP Craig Thomson over allegations of fraud. But he refused similar condemnation of Liberal trangressors….

How far Abbott's moral and social values would influence government policy concerns many voters. He refuses to allow his MPs a conscience vote on gay marriage, for example, and has a historical list of radically conservative quotes on issues such as the monarchy, climate change, premarital sex, and women's rights, roles and employment….

It is the uncertainty that hurts Abbott - and the reality that, to paraphrase the late disgraced US President Richard Nixon, he doesn't have Julia Gillard to kick around any more.

Only one NSW Northern Rivers hospital met the state 2013 National Emergency Access Target, Jan-Mar 2013

The 2013 NSW target is for 76% of all patients to depart hospital emergency departments within four hours of arrival by the end of the year.

The NHPA Media Backgrounder released on 25 July 2013 shows that only a handful of hospitals have met the lower state target set for the first quarter, with only one Northern Rivers hospital listed:

In the 2012 the New South Wales performance time target for emergency departments was 69%.

Figure 4: Percentage of all patients departing ED within four hours of arrival, regional NSW and the cities of Tweed Heads and Wollongong, 2011–12

Australian Federal Election 7 September 2013: Will it be neck and neck to the ballot box?

As Australia prepares to go to the 2013 federal general election on Saturday 7 September, Andrew Catsaras, Polling Analyst, on ABC TV The Insiders on 4 August 2013 was presenting these July predictive polling graphics:

Confirmation of election date here.

It's political high noon at a games charity event on Saturday 10 August 2013 - PCYC, Dawson Street. Lismore