The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 July 2016:
This article excerpt was removed due to a confidential defamation settlement between Fairfax and unidentified parties.
Note that the details of this web address registration were altered on 28 July 2016
Sunday, 31 July 2016
Is Josh Frydenberg going to be the second worst environment minister Australia has had so far this century?
Less than a year after being sworn in as Australian Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia, former Deutsche Bank director and current Liberal MP for Kooyong Josh Mr. Coal Frydenberg is back post-federal election as Minister for the Environment and Energy.
If the former environment minister Greg Hunt was considered by many to be a very bad fit for his portfolio, then Frydenberg might possibly be as poor a choice.
His views are well known and his voting record available for scrutiny……
Crikey.com.au, 28 July 2016:
Environment and Energy minister Josh Frydenberg is claiming to be a convert to the cause of renewables but the grim truth is that this government has no interest in meaningful climate action.
Alarmed at the criticism of his appointment as combined energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg has launched a media campaign to overhaul his image as that of the man who recently insisted there was a “strong moral case” for burning more coal and starting economically unviable new coal mines like Adani’s Carmichael project (not to mention his loathing of environmental groups).
In the last 48 hours, Frydenberg has spoken at a Clean Energy Council summit, given interviews to Fairfax and Lateline, as well as enjoying several articles in today’s Australian (naturally spinning his comments about the role of wind power in South Australia’s power supply situation in a manner complementary to its own, profoundly dishonest campaign against renewable energy — Peter Martin is the latest to point out the complete lack of substance to it)…..
The Australian, 28 July 2016:
The energy crises in South Australia and Tasmania, which massively inflated electricity prices and hobbled industry, were a “wake-up call” about problems created by solar and wind generation, new Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg says.
As the first minister to hold both the energy and environment portfolios, Mr Frydenberg has warned of the need to shift from fossil fuels to renewables responsibly and affordably, as he signals a reinvigorated assault on Labor’s plan to expand renewable energy…..
Mr Frydenberg said the South Australian energy crisis was exacerbated by the “intermittency of renewables”.
But he also pointed the finger at a scheduled upgrade of an interconnector at Heywood in southwest Victoria, high gas prices fuelled by state moratoria on coal-seam gas exploration and increased demand due to cold weather.
Australian Mining, 28 September 2016:
“Australia and Western Australia in particular have been great beneficiaries of the decade-long super-cycle which saw record prices and record demand for our commodities,” Frydenberg said.
“Clearly with the slowdown of China we’re moving back towards normalised, cyclical patterns.
“That being said, resources and energy are absolutely central to Australia’s economic growth and prosperity today and into the future.”
House of Representatives, Hansard, 8 September 2015:
JOSH FRYDENBERG (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Assistant Treasurer) - And Greg Hunt, as environment minister, has done a brilliant job in cutting red tape and green tape, which has seen nearly $1 trillion worth of projects receive their environmental approval—and since we came to government we have halved the approval time.
House of Representatives, Hansard, 22 October 2014:
JOSH FRYDENBERG (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) - The third suite of reforms is around making Australia a more attractive place to invest. It is here that the one-stop shops, where the Minister for Environment has so successfully led the charge, are going to lead to more than $420 million of annual compliance savings by streamlining approval processes between state and federal governments. The Business Council of Australia documented one case where a company wanted to make a $1 billion investment in the resource sector in Australia and sought an environmental approval. It took that company more than two years, cost them more than $20 million, required 4,000 meetings and required a 12,000-page report. And when the approval came back, it had 1,500 conditions attached—300 at the federal level, 1,200 at the state level—and 8,000 sub conditions. Now I ask you: which company can go through that process and expect to want to invest again in Australia?
House of Representatives, Hansard, 4 December 2014:
JOSH FRYDENBERG (Kooyong, Liberal Party) - What about the environment? The Minister for the Environment has got his $2.5 billion Direct Action Plan through the Senate. He has got his Green Army proposal through the Senate. We have a good position on the Renewable Energy Target, which we believe should be a 20 per cent target. And of course he has abolished the carbon tax. That is a proud record when it comes to the environment.
According to They Vote For You in the federal parliament Josh Frydenberg has supported:
Unconventional gas mining by supporting the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Bilateral Agreement Implementation) Bill 2014
Unrestrained fossil fuel use by voting against increased investment in renewable energy and, against both a carbon price on greenhouse gas emissions and a mineral resources rent tax
Unsustainable forest logging by voting against the Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill 2011
Unsustainable water use by voting against increased protection of the nation’s fresh water assets
Silencing local voices by voting to restrict the classes of persons who can seek a judicial review of decisions made under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)
Unsustainable commercial fishing by voting against a bill which would establish an independent expert panel to conduct an assessment into the potential environmental, social and economic impacts of a declared commercial fishing activity and to prohibit the declared commercial fishing activity while the assessment is undertaken.
Saturday, 30 July 2016
Be shark smart on the NSW North Coast
Echo NetDaily, 28 July 2016:
Surfers and swimmers are being urged to be extra vigilant following numerous shark detections along north coast beaches this week.
The listening station at Evans Head buoy, off Main Beach, has pinged 15 times since Sunday, with alerts associated with tagged great whites. Sharks have also been detected at Sharpes Beach near Ballina, where two surfers were knocked off their boards this week, Clarkes Beach at Byron Bay, and also at Shelley Beach where a third surfer had a close encounter this week.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries has asked surfers and other ocean users to download the Shark Smart app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, or follow the @SharkSmart Twitter page for alerts.
Remember also that any day you enter estuary or ocean water in the early morning or from late afternoon onwards means that you may be sharing the water with large marine animals such as sharks foraging for food.
Which NSW coastal town has "world-class surf, more beaches than you can shake a stick at, friendly, easygoing locals and over 300 days of sunshine a year"?
Aerial photograph found at www.visitnsw.com
Yamba, situated where the Clarence River meets the sea, received some well deserved media attention this week.
It is now a year round go to destination which helps produce tourism statistics like this for the NSW North Coast:
NSW destination preference: regional and Sydney, 2015 vs 2016
Travellers who’d like to holiday on the NSW North Coast are also a high-value group (27.9% of them spent $200+ per night on their last holiday); just ahead of those with a preference for Sydney Surrounds – North (27.2%). The Murray Riverina (23.3%) is the least likely of the new Destination Networks to be on the radar of big-spending holiday-goers. [Roy Morgan Research, July 2016, Destination NSW: A Regional Perspective]
YAMBA, NSW
With world-class surf, more beaches than you can shake a stick at, friendly, easygoing locals and over 300 days of sunshine a year, Yamba has understandably been a longtime favourite for surfers in-the-know. However, since Australian Traveller Magazine named it “Australia’s best tourist town” back in 2009, word has quickly started to spread and the former-fishing village is now truly coming into its own.
Yes, it’s still populated by surfboard carrying, wetsuit clad beach bums but amid the salty surfers, the number of both visitors — and city slickers relocating — is increasingly annually and with this increase of stressed urbanites flocking to Yamba for a sea change, a burgeoning food scene has been born.
You can see this in action at Irons and Craig, a cafe where fresh produce rules and everything is made on site, from the bread to the custom-blended coffee.
In contrast to the jam-packed beaches of Byron, Yamba’s 11 pristine stretches of white sand, five of which are close to the town centre, are positively Robinson Crusoe-like and with 16 great surf spots, an empty break is virtually guaranteed.
But for serious surf-hounds, the nearby beachside enclave of Angourie — just 5km down the road — is bona fide surfing Mecca. A National Surfing Reserve — the second site in Australia to be recognised — it remains a fixture on the international surfing map.
Friday, 29 July 2016
In awe of the strength of first peoples protecting land
Sometimes two sentences hold a wealth of meaning.....
Post on the Facebook page No Yamba Mega Port announcing that the corporation which manages the two Native Titles over the Clarence River on behalf of the Yaegl People will not support Australian Infrastructure Development's scheme to industrialize the high environmental and cultural value Clarence River estuary.
Shop at Woolworths on the NSW North Coast? You need to read this
Trolley collection services procurement by Woolworths Limited, media release date June 2016:
In June 2014 we commenced an Inquiry into Woolworths’ procurement of trolley collection services.
For nearly a decade before this, we'd been investigating allegations of serious non-compliance with workplace laws involving businesses providing trolley collection services to Woolworths Limited (Woolworths).
In response to a perceived lack of improvement in compliance and disturbing allegations of violence towards workers at some Woolworths' sites, we started an Inquiry into their procurement of trolley collection services. It aimed to comprehensively identify and address the levels and drivers of non-compliance with Australian workplace laws by businesses involved in Woolworths' labour supply chains.
We examined around 130 Woolworths' supermarket sites across Australia and found indications of some form of non-compliance at 79% of them. The findings of this report indicate an entrenched culture of non-compliance in the Woolworths trolley collection supply chain.
At the time of publishing, as a result of the Inquiry, we've taken enforcement action against a number of businesses (and their Directors) involved in various Woolworths' labour supply chains, including:
commencing legal action against 2 businesses and their Directors, one of which we believe provided us with false and misleading records and the other for allegedly underpaying over $25 000 in wages
issuing 9 letters of caution for various Award contraventions, failing to adequately keep records, and misclassifying employment as an independent contracting arrangement.
We are also considering future legal proceedings against a number of other businesses providing labour to Woolworths for similar alleged contraventions.
Download the full report on our Inquiry into trolley collection services procurement by Woolworths Limited (PDF 1.1MB).
EXCERPTS
Examining 130 (or 13.5%) of Woolworths’ supermarket sites across Australia , the Inquiry found:
n more than 3 in every 4 (79%) of sites visited had indications of some form of non-compliance with workplace laws
n almost 1 in every 2 (49%) of sites visited presented serious issues, that is multiple indicators of non-compliance
n deficient governance arrangements contributing to a lack of Award knowledge and substandard record keeping
n false, inaccurate or misleading records
n failure to issue pay slips to workers
n workers being paid rates as low as $10 an hour
n cash payments which disguised the true identities of workers and actual amounts paid to workers
n manipulation of the identity card system implemented by Woolworths
n workers vulnerable to exploitation and often complicit in acts of non-compliance
n complex labour supply chains with networks of corporate structures and intermediaries to facilitate cash payments, recruitment of vulnerable workers and production of false records.
These characteristics are indicative of an entrenched culture of non-compliance in the Woolworths trolley collection supply chain......
We examined
correspondence and the Trolley Collection Service Agreement from 2011 relating
to 17 NSW and ACT supermarket sites. By dividing the agreed price by the weekly
labour hours required to deliver the service, we found the cost per labour hour
was below minimum pay rates at 15 of the 17 sites.
The casual cruelty of the Turnbull Government can leave one speechless
@bamboozled3 tweeted this snapshot on 24 July 2016 from Sue Robinson's Facebook page entry of 21 July:
The Australian Health Minister is reported as stating that we are now working through her situation in a bid to address her concerns.
A
statement which does not deny that Ms. Robinson was refused this diagnostic
test on the basis that she had no money to pay upfront.
News.com.au
reported on 25
July 2015:
On
Monday afternoon, Ms Robinson posted an update to say thank you for the support
and revealed Ms Ley had made contact.
“It
looks as if there might be some action on it, and that is a direct result of
your response,” she wrote.
“As
a result of the number of ‘shares’ and responses, the office of the Federal
Health minister, Sussan Ley posted with contact details asking me to call.
“I
did and was put through to a young man called Alex. We established two things.
Alex assures me that the guidelines for bone scans haven’t changed since the
election (I didn’t think they had, but I thought they might have since the last
budget).
“He
says there should have been no recent changes at all, and if I was eligible,
for example, last year, I should still be eligible as I am still on the meds
that compromise my bone density.
“However,
according to the Medicare website I was shown this weekend my meds are on the
list of those for which a bone scan is recommended, but not one for which it is
reimbursed.
“There
doesn’t seem to be any justification for this and it does specifically exclude
cancer patients because the meds concerned are for cancer.
“I
also asked Alex why are there guidelines at all? Surely if a cancer specialist
regards such a test as necessary for a patient, that should be enough? After
all, every case is different and the referring doctors are the only ones who
can really know what is required in each case. Alex said that was a good
question, but didn’t answer it, though he did tell me that these exclusions are
worked out by a medical services advisory committee.
“We
agreed that he would investigate further and I am sending him a link to the
Medicare website so he may check the guidelines for himself.
“I
also have a little more information on the charging system being used for these
tests. I called other local practices who do such scans here and asked about
bulk billing. They all had the same reply ... It’s complicated. It seems they
can’t tell if you are eligible until you go in and then fill in a form.
“It
is your answers in this form, and not the referral, which determine if you are
eligible, so they say. They can’t tell you before you arrive whether or not you
will be asked to pay. But if you are, the charges vary from practice to
practice.
“For
those of you who posted saying you are in the same boat, here are the costs you
might have to pay if you are excluded from bulk billing. PRP will charge a $60
fee, Erina Radiology charges $85. Medical Imaging at Erina charges $50 for
pensioners and $100 for the employed, but also states that they do whatever
they can to bulk bill you. This practice was also recommended by one of my Facebook
friends Maryellen Golden who said she had been bulk billed for a bone scan
there herself. (Thank you Maryellen)
“I
guess this isn’t unaffordable (unless you are on a limited income like a
pension), and as long as you know it, you can save up. But I can’t help but
wonder why it should be costed at all. I’m hoping this will be treated by the
government as an unfortunate oversight that will be corrected.
And
if it is, it will be your overwhelming response that brought it to their
attention. Thank you again.”
For all low-income
patients there are other pitfalls awaiting the unwary no matter what the
diagnosis.
The Medicare
website states; If
you have more than one service during the same visit you may not be bulk billed
for every service.
What it does
not state is that the Medicare treats a patient’s claim involving multiple services
differently from a claim involving a single health item and therefore the
dollar amount a patient is reimbursed can be much lower.
As much as $65 lower in the instance of which I am aware, leaving the pensioner $125 out-of-pocket in total.
One of the more bizarre positions that the federal government takes is that the patient (or presumably the patient's estate if they left one) is responsible for the cost of the death certificate issued by an attending doctor - Medicare specifically includes this certificate in items not eligible for a rebate.
"Although Medicare
benefits are not payable for the issue of a death certificate, an attendance on
a patient at which it is determined that life is extinct can be claimed under
the appropriate attendance item. The outcome of the attendance may be that a
death certificate is issued, however, Medicare benefits are only payable for
the attendance component of the service."
Medicare Benefits Schedules (Complete
MBS and MBS by Category) operating from
1 July 2016 can be found here.
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