Thought the O'Farrell Government had gone quiet on coal seam gas mining? Well think again. This is what Northern Rivers Nationals MPs Page, Gulaptis and George are about to help push through the NSW Parliament

This NSW draft legislative amendment set out below allegedly has the aim to increase confidence for investors and the community about how decisions are made on mining proposals by making the ‘significance of the resource’ the consent authority’s principal consideration under Part 3 of the Mining SEPP when determining a resource DA.

There are apparently five days left in the community consultation period and one can make an online submission.

Did anyone on the NSW North Coast see this amendment advertised in local newspapers? Did either Don Page, Chris Gulaptis or Thomas George alert local communities to this move by Premier O’Farrell and Resources Minister Chris Hartcher?

DRAFT NSW State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining, Petroleum Production and Extractive Industries) Amen... by clarencegirl

The Greens candidate in Cowper throws down the gauntlet in front of Luke Hartsuyker

The Greens candidate in Cowper, Carol Vernon, has sent out this letter to the media.

Letter to Editor

Dear Mr Hartsuyker

It appears that you will not debate your fellow candidates in Cowper, anywhere or at any time.

Are you so sure of being elected that you can't even be bothered to defend your National Party policies, policies I presume you enthusiastically believe and therefore want your electorate to know?

For example do the Nationals have costed policies on schools, workers rights, affordable housing, job creation from a renewable energy industry and climate change? Perhaps you just completely follow the secretively costed and deliberately sketchy policies of your big brother Liberals?

We would like to hear what you think about the coal seam gas mining that threatens the farms and water in the north of Cowper.

We wait with baited breath to hear if you believe the short term 'jobs ' of minerals mining in our rivers' headwaters will justify the pollution of our rivers and the ensuing shock to our tourism, dairying, beef, fishing and food production industries, let alone the poisoning of our water supplies. And yes, we have seen too many broken promises about mining safeguards to believe your reassurances. Too many National Party politicians move on to safe jobs in the mining industry for us to swallow environmental platitudes.

Are you concerned that your children and grandchildren will be living in a much warmer climate in a land devastated by fires, droughts, flood and storms or do you believe climate change is 'crap' like your coalition leader?

If the candidate for Richmond can debate the Prime Minister surely you are not reluctant to debate a sixty-eight year old female retired educator?

Yours sincerely

Carol Vernon

Greens candidate for Cowper

The Liberal Party's 'white bread' campaign advertisement

This official Liberal Party of Australia advertisement was uploaded to YouTube the day after the 2013 Federal Election date was announced.

Not a good look for a party historically perceived as representing Australia’s white upper and middleclass men and their business interests.

So few images of the traditional owners of this country or people from non-English speaking backgrounds and no specific policy details.

Full of blondes and hype……

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=nk0E3lyx4EU

A little fact checking of claims made by NSW Nationals candidate for Page Kevin Hogan

Kevin Hogan For Page 31 July 2013

So unemployment has risen in the Northern Rivers since Federal Labor gained government in 2007?

The Northern Rivers Regional Profile 2011 Update states that in 2006 the Northern Rivers unemployment rate was between 7.9 and 20.1 per cent and, this occurred when there was a Federal Coalition Government.

According to the NSW Regional Labour Force Trends: Statistical Indicators 3/2013:

In January 2013 the combined unemployment rate for the Northern Rivers and Mid-North Coast (from Tweed Heads down to Taree) was 6.8 per cent.

Which meant that there had been a 9 per cent increase in the number of people in the working age population who were employed compared to a 6.6 per cent increase for New South Wales generally.

The overall unemployment rate for the Northern Rivers and Mid-North Coast between 2008-2013 was 0.5 per cent.

This same document stated:

The number of employed persons in regional NSW grew by 7.2% (85,000 persons) between 2008 and 2013. Newcastle experienced the largest growth (22,600 persons) followed closely by the Richmond-Tweed and Mid-North Coast region (19,700 persons).

Here is a graph showing the percentage of the Northern Rivers population of workforce age who were unemployed between September 2008 and March 2012 according to Regional Development Australia: Northern Rivers (2013) and, one can clearly see that this figure fell after peaking during the Global Financial Crisis

What about Kevin Hogan’s claim that Northern Rivers regional economy is not doing as well as it could?

It would appear that, contrary to his claim, the Northern Rivers is not doing too badly compared with the rest of regional New South Wales.

Lawrence Consulting and Regional Development Australia: Northern Rivers documents show that the Northern Rivers Gross Regional Product (GRP) has continued to grow annually. In 2008/9 it was $7.8 billion, in 2009/10 it was $11.1 billion and, by 2011/12 the annual growth of GRP was 11.4 per cent compared with overall NSW GRP growth at 2.2 per cent.

As to the Kevin Hogan’s claims that the Northern Rivers families are struggling with the costs?

Here is a 2012 table showing the weekly personal incomes of the entire population across the Northern Rivers (from dependent children through to those aged 65 years and older) according to Regional Development Australia: Northern Rivers:

Click on image to enlarge

As for Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) determinations regarding the cost of living - it can be seen that cost increases are not generally rising sharply and in some categories appear to be falling over time.

ABS figures for the end of 2011:

The CPI rose 3.1% through the year to the December quarter 2011, compared with a rise of 3.5% through the year to the September quarter 2011.

Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia, Jun 2013 

The living cost index for employee households rose 0.2% for the June quarter 2013. The main contributor to the rise was alcohol and tobacco (+1.3%), partially due to the flow–on effects of the federal excise tax increase on 1 February 2013. Clothing and footwear (+2.6%) and health (+1.8%) also contributed to the rise.
The most significant partially offsetting fall was recorded for insurance and financial services (–0.9%), driven by a fall in interest charges. Transport (–0.9%) and recreation and culture (–0.8%) also recorded falls this quarter.
The LCI for employee households recorded a smaller rise than the CPI (+0.4%) for the June quarter 2013. Employee households have a relatively lower proportion of expenditure on housing than the CPI population, which recorded a rise this quarter. This was further offset by the fall in interest charges, which for conceptual reasons is not included in the CPI.
The LCI for employee households rose 1.4% through the year to the June quarter 2013 compared to the CPI which rose 2.4% through the year to the June quarter 2013.

While the  Living Cost Index and Consumer Price Index comparisons for independent retirees and those receiving government pensions, benefits and allowances show that the percentage change has fallen from between June-September Quarters 2012 and March-June Quarters 2013:

What about Hogan’s claim that Northern Rivers debt is at record levels?

He does not indicate whether he means public or private debt which makes this assertion difficult to check.

If it is public debt, then The Australian has reported that under the O'Farrell Coalition Government the state debt projections (based on NSW Treasury figures) are as follows:

As for local government debt, one has to acknowledge that all Northern Rivers local government would carry some degree of operating debt and all would have a backlog of infrastructure maintenance/upgrade requirements. As local government is a creature of state government, one can hardly sheet home blame for its structural/funding inadequacies to the federal government  - especially since the Australian Constitution presently makes no mention of a direct funding relationship between the Commonwealth and local governments.

To place council debt into some sort of perspective, here are tables covering revenue sources for local government across the Northern Rivers in 2011-12.

Independent Local Government Review Panel:

Clarence Valley Council:

The quiet desperation that is McDonalds Australia

In 2010  thanks to a blindly pro-multinational and Grafton-centric Clarence Valley Council, the little coastal town of Yamba had an ugly prefab, generic designed and unwanted McDonalds fast food outlet foist upon it.

The only thing that this multinational appears to have brought to the town is a level of litter in Treelands Drive and environs that it never had before.

So it was with quiet satisfaction that I read this in Lifehacker at the end of July 2013:

When we heard about McDonald’s Free Breakfast Deal promotion, we were expecting long queues and a lengthy wait. However, you should be served pretty quickly if our local outlet is anything to go by…

Over the next month, McDonald’s Australia is offering free breakfast items each Monday morning, beginning with today’s free Bacon McMuffin. There’s no catch or additional purchase requirements (although there is a limit of 1000 freebies per store and only one item per customer).

The above photo is what the line looked like at McDonald’s Circular Quay restaurant at approximately 8am. As you can see, demand for the free breakfast isn’t particularly overwhelming…..

It would appear that in 2012-2013 McDonalds’ Yamba store is not alone in failing to draw in customers and now this multinational is reduced to giving away its product.

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.