Come to the Climate Change Exchange at Grafton Cathedral grounds, 9am to 1pm Saturday 4 June 2016 & question election candidates about their climate change policies

Come to the Climate Change Exchange

Saturday 4 June 2016

Grafton Cathedral grounds, corner of Fitzroy St and Duke St

9am to 1pm.

Ask your election candidates about their climate change policies

Tell them what you expect of them

Stand on a soapbox and air your own views

Check out the latest on climate change

Enjoy a coffee and cake, or a sausage sandwich

Meet other people who care

Convened by Climate Change Australia (Clarence Branch) 0423 747 468

Australian Federal Election 2016: going down like skittles

In a federal election campaign where all three big political brands have been hustings-ready since March, candidates are still going down like skittles........

The latest are the Liberal candidate Carolyn Currie who was contesting the NSW lower house seat of Whitlam and first-time Labor Senator for the Northern Territory Nova Peris.

Ms. Currie’s rather novel reason for withdrawing from the fray is that she is like a general with no troops because no party rank and file were coming to her support on the election trail.

Senator Peris intiallly failed to give any explanation for retiring from the lists, leaving mainstream media to speculate that she is seeking employment elsewhere. Later she cited family reasons.

Also in the Senate the Liberal’s Concetta Fierravanti-Wells is tettering on the edge of the political gutter with The Canberra Times revealing on 26 May 2016 that:

The preselection hopes of controversial Turnbull government minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells have been hit by allegations she broke a promise not to employ a key Liberal Party executive and factional ally.

The hard-right NSW senator hired as an electorate officer Nathaniel Smith, a Kogarah councillor and the son of former NSW attorney-general Greg Smith, who also serves on the party's state executive.

Liberal sources accused Senator Fierravanti-Wells of breaking an explicit promise to senior party figures that she would not employ Mr Smith or run a "factional office".

She is also accused of trying to conceal Mr Smith's employment by demanding his removal from her staff list and denying him a parliamentary email address.

As an electorate officer his taxpayer-funded salary would be close to $100,000.

It comes as a spectacular factional battle over preselection for the NSW Senate ticket comes to a head, with the state executive trying to relegate Senator Fierravanti-Wells into sixth place, against the wishes of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull……

Rumour has it that Ms. Fierravanti-Wells' political future may be on the line despite Malcolm Turnbull's support keeping her on the senate ticket.

In 2015 Labor’s then MP for Oxley  Bernie Ripoll announced he would not be standing at the 2016 federal election so as an official retiree he escapes being included in the skittles tally, however Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects & Liberal MP for Bradfield Paul I Know Nothing Fletcher does not and has apparently been caught out sidestepping full disclosure of his wife’s interests in his 44th Parliament Statement of Registrable Interests.

The Australian, 27 May 2016:

Mr Fletcher, a stalwart ally of Malcolm Turnbull, declined to disclose the business interests of his jeweller wife, Manuela Zappacosta, exploiting a rule that only requires MPs to disclose family interests “of which the member is aware”.

Consequently Mr Fletcher’s declaration omits Ms Zappacosta’s directorship and 50-per-cent shareholding in Baba Management, a firm run from an accountancy practice in Albury, southern NSW.

Mr Fletcher wrote in his declaration of interests: “I do not know if Manuela Zappacosta is a director of any other companies and I have not made inquiry.”

A Liberal spokesman said: “Mr Fletcher said his approach was consistent with the approach used other Members of Parliament since at least 1990 and that the Clerk of the House had not raised any concerns about it.”

Mr Fletcher’s position mirrors that of Bob Katter, the independent Queensland MP, whose declaration obscures his wife Susan’s vast wealth as “she regards this as her private business”.

Clerks do not generally raise concern about MPs’ declarations. Liberal senator Chris Back mistakenly filed an essentially blank form in August 2014 that went unnoticed until The Australian brought the oversight to the senator’s attention 11 months later…

Four days earlier Fletcher had been reported as using the completion of multimillion dollar works on Tasmania's busiest section of road as a Coalition election promotion despite the funding being secured by former Labor MP for Franklin Julie Collins.

Tony Abbott’s 2015 captain’s pick in Canning, former army officer and Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, in what looks suspiciously like a desperate throw of the dice is defying the Australian Electoral Commission order to remove corflutes and other campaign material which depict him in military uniform.

Both images of Hastie are old pics – in uniform he looks to be around seven to eight years younger and the babe in his arms in 2015 is now a considerably larger 10 month old.

Come 28 and 29 May and there was another foolish rabbit in the headlights over at The Sydney Morning Herald

A Liberal candidate's bid to gatecrash one of Bill Shorten's campaign events has backfired spectacularly with a car-crash media interview.

Chris Jermyn found himself unable to articulate the Coalition's health policies before declaring his hatred for journalists and beating a hasty retreat.

The Liberal candidate for the Victorian seat of McEwen showed up at Mr Shorten's event at the Sunbury Community Health Centre on Saturday. Mr Shorten shook his hand on his way in, joking that at least he was getting to see one leader this election...... [http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2016/election-2016-liberal-candidate-chris-jermyn-implodes-at-bill-shorten-event-20160528-gp6536.html]

Coalition candidate Chris Jermyn was involved in a notorious student politics conference in which his fellow Young Liberals proudly chanted about being racist, sexist and homophobic.

But Mr Jermyn insists he was there in an official capacity and did not participate in any protests or chants.

Television footage of the 2005 National Union of Students conference in Ballarat shows Mr Jermyn, then a Melbourne University student and active member of the Young Liberals, walking through a raucous crowd.

This was the same conference where a group of right-wing Young Liberals wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Shut the f--- up" sang this chant: "We're racist, we're sexist, we're homophobic."

That was followed by "Glory, glory Liberal students"…..

[http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2016/liberal-candidate-chris-jermyn-at-conference-involving-racist-sexist-homophobic-chant-20160528-gp695g.html]

Then ABC News and other mainstream media outlets delivered a body blow to the Liberal Party image on 30 May 2016:

NSW Police have charged a Central Coast man over allegedly posting racist comments on the Facebook page of outgoing Northern Territory Labor senator Nova Peris.

Woy Woy-based chiropractor and osteopath Chris Nelson, 64, was arrested at his business this afternoon.

He has been charged with using a carriage service to cause offence.

Nelson has denied he is responsible, saying his account was hacked.

At the time the comments were posted, Nelson was a member of the Liberal Party's NSW division.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Party has confirmed that Nelson has been stripped of party membership over the allegations.

The comments included several instances of profanity.

"You were only endorsed by Juliar because you were a black c***," the comments read.

"Go back to the bush and suck on witchety grubs and yams."

On her own social media accounts, Ms Peris labelled the comments as "racist and vile hatred".

Just when the Liberal Party thought things could not get any worse along came The Kelly Gang and this was reported in The Sydney Morning Herald on 30 May 2016:

Liberal MP Craig Kelly, one of the most vociferous supporters of Tony Abbott before and during the challenge by Mr Turnbull in September, has been handing out election flyers that contain his wish to "contribute to a Coalition government under Tony Abbott".

Liberal MP Craig Kelly, one of the most vociferous supporters of Tony Abbott before and during the challenge by Mr Turnbull in September, has been handing out election flyers that contain his wish to "contribute to a Coalition government under Tony Abbott".

Fairfax Media has obtained a copy of the flyer, which was being handed out by personally by Mr Kelly at Sutherland railway station on May 20.

"When talking to people across Hughes, it is clear they want a government that will reduce cost of living pressures, support local jobs and small businesses," the flyer states.

"I want to continue my fight to protect the way of life we have all worked hard to build and am looking forward to having the opportunity to contribute to a Coalition government under Tony Abbott."

Mr Kelly insisted on Monday that the brochure was not a bizarre factional call-to-arms but rather a clerical stuff-up……

Meanwhile, much earlier in May the Greens candidate for Grayndler Jim Case, accidentally shot himself in the foot from a distance of years when old YouTube footage surfaced which recorded him in 2014 seated next to Greens member for Melbourne Adam Bandt and NSW Greens senator Lee Rhiannon while expressing a preference for Mr Abbott’s re-election.

Around the same time Arfur came back on the radar one more as reported in the Brisbane Times:

Cabinet secretary Arthur Sinodinos has been referred to the powerful Senate privileges committee to determine if he is in contempt by refusing an order to attend an inquiry into political fundraising bodies.

The Senate on Wednesday resolved to refer Senator Sinodinos for an inquiry into whether he "disobeyed a lawful order of the Senate without reasonable excuse" and "whether any contempt was committed in that regard".

It follows Senator Sinodinos' refusal last week to appear before an inquiry into the controversial Free Enterprise Foundation and similar fundraising bodies, despite the Senate directing him to do so.....

President of the Casino Chamber of Commerce, Luke Bodley, lends his support to proposed environmental vandalism on a large scale

Des Euen and ‘friend’ on the Iluka side of the Clarence River mouth at an unspecified date

There is obviously one born every minute somewhere in the world and on 26 May 2016 it was the turn of the National Party's Luke Bodley of Realo Group Pty Ltd to step into the limelight and be recognised .

Here he is on Facebook promoting a proposal to destroy existing environmental, cultural, social and economic values in the Clarence River estuary:

And who is he doing this promotion for? Why for a $1 shelf company, with no apparent business address (instead using the address of the Minter Group), no listed business phone number and, most importantly,  no local, state or federal government support.

A phantom-like company which states it has had international development funding approved for five inter-related projects est. to cost $42.7 billion in total.

Projects which appear to still be mere sketches on the back of envelopes if this plan for a large industrial port is any indication:

Figure 1 shows a port precinct which covers an est. 27.2 % of the entire Clarence River estuary, 
www.aid-australia.com.au/project-1/

According to Mr. Euen the indicative timeline will see Stage 1 of this approx. 36 sq km super-port operational sometime in 2018 - even though not one of the required in-depth reports has been generated to date by AID Australia, no planning application has been submitted yet and no comprehensive surveying undertaken. He laughably states the entire proposed port infrastructure will be completed in around twelve years.

I wonder if Mr. Bodley has ever puzzled over the fact that there is no roar of support emanating from the Clarence Valley for these personal projects of former Queensland truck driver Desmond John Thomas Euen?

Has he thought about why an infrastructure 'plan' that has been hawked around the country for at least the last four to five years has been unable to gain official support in all that time from either local, state or federal governments?

Or wondered why Euen isn't holding his "summit" in the area covered by the lynch-pin in his grandiose plan, the Lower Clarence?

Perhaps this Google Earth snapshot of what the lowest section of the Clarence River estuary looks like today might give him a hint:

What this image shows is a river from the mouth to Harwood which has been held under Native Title since 2015 and an approach to the river partially blocked by a culturally & spiritually significant coffee rock reef which is the indigenous ancestor Dirrangun.

It shows the base for the largest commercial river & offshore fishery in NSW (generating in excess of an est. $92M output and $15.4M annual income) which supports a fleet moored on both the Iluka and Yamba sides of the river and as far up as Maclean.

There are also oyster leases and aquaculture ponds within the estuary.

This snapshot covers part of the range of one of only two river-dwelling dolphin pods on the east coast of Australia and one which successfully co-exists with the tourism-reliant small towns of Yamba, Iluka and Maclean, as well as with the many domestic and international yachts and other pleasure boats which use the lower river.

The green is this image predominately comprises cane farms, extensive national parks, dedicated foreshore nature reserves and one of this country’s few World Heritage areas, a 136 ha remnant of the ancient Gondwanna subtropical rainforests proclaimed by the United Nations in 1986.

In 2006-07 the people of the Clarence Valley successfully fought off a Howard Government proposal to dam and divert water from the Clarence River catchment for the benefit of mining, agricultural irrigation and land development interests in the Murray Darling Basin and southern Queensland.

That fight was part of the reason why Australia’s federal government changed in 2007.

As late as 30 May 2016 Nationals MP for Clarence and Parliamentary Secretary for the North Coast, Chris Gulapatis, has this to say in response to Euen's scheming:

While even Des Euen himself recently told The Daily Examiner that it is NSW Government policy to direct import-export sea freight to the major ports of Port Jackson, Port Botany, Port Kembla and the Port of Newcastle.

UPDATE

North Coast Voices received this email today:

North Coast Voices Blog - Correction of information required

From: redacted [mailto:redacted@gnfrealestate.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 8 June 2016 1:59 PM
To: northcoastvoices@gmail.com
Cc: Darren Perkins
Subject: North Coast Voices Blog - Correction of information required

Good afternoon,

With regard to the below blog link for North Coast Voices, Luke Bodley ceased employment with GNF Real Estate Pty Ltd on the 28^th April 2016. We request that the mention of George & Fuhrmann Real Estate be removed from the article.

http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com.au/2016/06/president-of-casino-chamber-of-commerce.html

Regards

Darren Perkins

Managing Director

George & Fuhrmann

However Luke Bodley was still listed as part of this real estate company's Casino staff as at 2.28PM on 8 June 2016:

When there is public evidence online that Mr. Bodley is no longer associated with this company the mention will be removed from the body of the post, but the correspondence and comment will remain.

Clarence Valley taken down a peg by IPART in 2016

Clarence Valley Council website, accessed 24 May 2016:

At the 24 November 2015 Extraordinary Council meeting (Item 12.060/15), Council resolved to apply for a Section 508A SRV of 6.5% p.a. (including the rate peg limit) for 5 years commencing 1 July 2016, which is a cumulative increase in ordinary rates of 37% by year 5 (2020-21) of the SRV (with the cumulative increase permanently built into the general rate after the 5 year SRV period has ceased). Council notified IPART on 25 November 2015 of its intent to make an SRV application of that nature. The additional income from the SRV above the rate peg as per Item 12.060/15 is to be spent on roads and roads related infrastructure renewals and maintenance to address the significant infrastructure backlog and maintenance gap for this group of assets.

In May 2016 Clarence Valley Council submitted an amended application to the Independent Pricing And Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for this special rate variation (SRV) which was to be permanently retained in the rate base and also applied for a minimum rate increase (MR).

This table formed part of the council application:

Clarence Valley residents made at least 169 submissions to council on this proposed rate increase and sent in a 115 signature petition. Only 3 submissions were in support of the rate increase. While IPART received 56 submissions (including one petition with around 2,000 signatures and 268 online submissions) opposing Clarence Valley Council’s application.

On 17 May 2016 IPART announced approval of  the application for a SRV increase for the 2016-17 financial year only. This represents a 4.7% rise above the rate peg.

Council’s MR application was not approved. On 1 July 2017 the rate increase will be removed as per IPART’s instructions and therefore average rates will decrease.

According to the IPART Determination:

The application was not approved in full because it did not satisfy criteria 1 and 2 of the Guidelines. The council did not adequately justify the extent of the need for the proposed special variation, as the effects of additional revenue and cost savings previously adopted by the council were not included in the IP&R documents (or presented to the community). Secondly, the annual and cumulative cost impacts of the proposed rate increases were not adequately communicated to the community…..

The council’s ‘Base Case’, in its adopted IP&R documents, understates the available revenue and therefore overstates the financial impact of, and the need for, the special variation…..

The increased income from user charges and fees were included in the LTFP adopted by the council on 23 June 2015 and should have been included in the ‘Base Case’ used for community consultation on the special variation (in August and September 2015). Similarly, the efficiency cost savings adopted by council on 24 November 2015 should have been included in the ‘Base Case’ included in the Revised LTFP adopted 9 February 2016, which formed the basis of the special variation application.

The council amended its application to IPART in April 2016 and May 2016 to include these measures in its ‘Base Case’, however this followed the completion of the community consultation process. In excluding the additional user charges and fees and efficiency savings from the ‘Base Case’, the council did not adequately inform and make the community aware of the financial impact of the proposed special variation…..

In 2015 the council reviewed its IP&R documents in consultation with the community. It clearly explained the purpose of the proposed special variation and provided reasonable opportunities for community feedback. However, we are not satisfied that the community was provided with:

* adequate opportunity to consider the need for the special variation, as a result of the positive effects of the additional revenue and cost savings previously adopted by the council, which reduce the need for, and extent of, the rate increase required to achieve financial sustainability, and

* adequate information about the extent of the annual and cumulative financial impact of the proposed rate increases over the five years of the special variation….

IPART’s decision means that Clarence Valley Council may increase its general income in 2016-17 by an estimated $1.8 million including the rate peg.

Out of the ten councils who applied for rate increases this year, Clarence Valley Council was the only one which didn’t get all it asked for.

Perhaps that will tell this particular council something about how inadequate is its approach to community consultation and revenue raising.

Though I am quite sure that ratepayers across the valley are hugely relieved that it was found to be so inadequate by the folk in Sydney.

Of course Clarence Valley Council can apply for a special rate variation again in 2017-18 and perhaps the next time around management will allow Council in the Chamber a chance to consider its final formal written application to IPART before it is submitted.

Summoning up "the old Malcolm"

For some reason certain commentators and voters appear to believe that Malcolm Bligh Turnbull had to fundamentally change in order to be elected Prime Minister of Australia by the Liberal Party.

Nothing Turnbull has done since 1 December 2009 when his party dumped him as opposition leader indicates that any change has occurred.

Basically what one sees is what has always been there – a hugely egotistical man, driven by ambition, who believes the misleading ' poor boy' backstory he created about his own life and who has little to no knowledge of the hopes, dreams, concerns and daily lives of ordinary people and cares even less.

In other words, we see this…….

 Maltony Bligh Turnbull

Courtesy of Robbo

Australian Federal Election 2016: polling at the beginning of Week 4 of the campaign

News.com.au, 28 May 2016:

Three weeks into the two-month campaign, the 7News-ReachTel poll, released on Friday, has Labor ahead 52-48 on a two-party preferred basis.

Earlier in the week Newspoll and Essential had Labor leading the coalition 51-49 per cent, reversing the Fairfax-Ipsos result from the previous weekend.

For those who place more faith in the punters here are Sportsbet markets covering NSW Northern Rivers at 8am 29 May 2016:

Sitting Nationals MP Kevin Hogan since 2013 vs Labor candidate Janelle Saffin

Sitting Labor MP Justine Elliot since 2004 vs Nationals candidate Matthew Fraser & The Greens Dawn Walker

Sitting Nationals MP Luke Hartsuyker since 2001 vs candidate “Any Other” & Labor’s Alfredo Navarro

Australian Federal Election 2016: oh the pain, it burns!

I’m sure there is more than one voter on a low income who is chortling about what went down in Week Three of the federal election campaign.

This has been the state of play for members of the Australian Parliament since 1999.

Excerpts from TR 1999/10 Taxation Ruling Income tax and fringe benefits tax: Members of Parliament – allowances, reimbursements, donations and gifts, benefits, deductions and recoupments:

10. Members commonly receive the following types of allowances, in addition to their Parliamentary ‘salaries’ (see paragraphs 42 to 45). Particular allowances may vary depending on the Parliament in which a Member serves.

• Committee allowance

• Daily expense allowance

• Electorate allowance

• Expense or entertainment allowance

• Opposition spokespersons’ allowance

• Postage allowance

• Printing and stationery allowance

• Private vehicle allowance/motor vehicle allowance

• Telephone allowance

• Travel allowance.

These allowances, like MPs and senators parliamentary salaries, are considered assessable income by the Australian Taxation Office.

Second property not used as a Member’s residence: A deduction is allowable for expenses of a non-capital nature, and for depreciation of plant, where the property is not properly regarded as a second residence. However, the deduction is limited to the extent to which the expenditure is incurred in respect of a property that is used by a Member for work-related travel purposes on overnight stays away from his or her residence, and the expenditure is not private or domestic in nature (paragraphs 328 to 336).

Second residence expenses: A deduction is not allowable for the costs of maintaining a property that is used as a second residence (paragraphs 337 to 343)……

These two sections of the ruling appear to allow parliamentarians to double-dip at the ordinary taxpayers expense – first using the overnight travel allowance to pay down the mortgage on a Canberra residence if it’s not owned outright and then claiming tax deductions including mortgage interest, rates, insurance and utilities on the same residence.

Then this cosy little arrangement became public knowledge…….

News.com.au, 22 May 2016:

TAXPAYERS are helping to pay the mortgage and the rent for federal MPs who are raking in $1000 a week to sleep in Canberra and then, on top of that, claiming a big tax deduction for rent, rates, electricity and mortgage.

In a little-known tax ruling, MPs who rent can also claim a tax deduction for a second residence including “lease payments; rent; interest on borrowings used for the acquisition of the property; rates; taxes; insurance; general maintenance of the building, plant and grounds’’.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, charged with cracking down on budget waste, is just one of the MPs double-dipping by claiming a $273-a-night travel allowance (which, bizarrely, is not regarded as taxable income) and scoring a tax deduction as well….

The rules state that an MP “may choose to rent or buy a property rather than stay in a hotel or other commercial establishment when travelling. A deduction is allowable for expenses, that are not of a capital, private or domestic nature, in respect of such a property where it is used by a Member for accommodation when he or she is undertaking work-related travel.

“Such expenses include: lease payments; rent; interest on borrowings used for the acquisition of the property; rates; taxes; insurance; general maintenance of the building, plant and grounds.’’

The Guardian, 22 May 2016:

The finance minister, Mathias Cormann, has defended politicians receiving both a $273 a night travel allowance and tax deductions for mortgages and rents for properties in Canberra.

Speaking on Insiders on Sunday, Cormann said the remuneration tribunal granted the travel allowance and the tax office allowed deductions for politicians’ accommodation expenses.

Federal politicians receive $273 a night to stay in Canberra, a travel allowance they can claim even when they stay in a property that they or their partner own.

Reports have revealed that on top of the allowance, MPs who rent or buy a property to stay in during work-related travel can also claim tax deductions for rent, interest on borrowings used for the acquisition of the property, rates, taxes, insurance and general maintenance.

The first report indicates that some federal politicians may be under the impression that a travel allowance paid for a presumed expense was not taxable income.

Then came this painful revelation……

ABC News, 23 May 2016:

Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan stressed that members of Parliament had to abide by the same standards as everyone else.

"The rules are the same for every taxpayer, regardless of their occupation," Mr Jordan said in a statement.

"Any taxpayer who has had to travel overnight for work is entitled to deduct the costs of meals and accommodation under our tax laws.

"However, given that there are clear misunderstandings of how the ruling is applied, we will undertake to review the 1999 ruling to give greater clarity for all taxpayers on the treatment of allowances they may receive from their employer to cover the costs of work related travel."

The ATO said the returns of all taxpayers, including MPs were scrutinised, and that any taxpayer should not be claiming deductions for travel expenses unless they have declared the allowance as income in their tax returns.

In 1999, the ATO issued a ruling about how it assesses travel allowances and tax deductions for MPs.

That ruling will now be reviewed in light of the issue being thrust into the campaign spotlight.