According to Hansard at 10.02 0n 18 June 2018 the Petitions Committee presented a number of petitions for consideration by the House of Representatives.
Sunday 24 June 2018
How the ABC is faring in the Australian Parliament and who won't support the public broadcaster
According to Hansard at 10.02 0n 18 June 2018 the Petitions Committee presented a number of petitions for consideration by the House of Representatives.
This was one
of them:
6)
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The federal government awards the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation $1 billion in funding per year. It is therefore
the responsibility of the ABC to represent the people and not to push an
ideological agenda onto the children of our great nation nor to bully the men
and women of Australia who object to said agenda. This is exactly what 2
productions of the ABC (ABC Comedy and ABC Me) have done with their recently
released "Internet Song", "What its like:" and
"Privilege Rap" among other examples. This behaviour is not only
morally reprehensible but is also in breach of Australian broadcasting
Corporation Act of 1983 which states: "to ensure that the gathering and
presentation by the Corporation of news and information is accurate and
impartial according to the recognized standards of objective journalism;".
We therefore ask the House to investigate the ABC for misuse of funds for the
purposes of pushing an agenda and to drastically cut the ABC's funding by 90%.
from 735 citizens (Petition No. EN0562)
The principal petitioner appears to be one Keiren Lincoln.
At 11.59am on the same day the Labor Member for Isaacs and Deputy Manager of Opposition Business, Mark
Dreyfus by leave, moved:
That so much of the
standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Isaacs from moving
the following motion immediately—that the House resolves that it will never
support the privatisation of the ABC and calls on the government to reverse its
latest damaging $83 million cut to the ABC.
The motion
was defeated by 10 votes.
MPs who refused to protect the ABC against privatisation and their electorates
Abbott, AJ (Warringah)
Alexander, JG (Bennelong)
Andrews, KJ (Menzies)
Andrews, KL (McPherson)
Banks, J (Chisholm)
Bishop, JI (Curtin)
Broad, AJ (Malee)
Broadbent, RE (McMillian)
Buchholz, S (Wright)
Chester, D (Gippsland)
Christensen, GR (Dawson)
Ciobo, SM (Moncrieff)
Coleman, DB (Banks)
Coulton, M (Parkes)
Crewther, CJ (Dunkley)
Drum, DK (Murray)
Dutton, PC (Dickson)
Entsch, WG (Leichhardt)
Evans, TM (Brisbane)
Falinski, J (Mackellar)
Fletcher, PW (Bradfield)
Flint, NJ (Boothby)
Frydenberg, JA (Kooyong)
Gee, AR (Calare)
Gillespie, DA (Lyne)
Goodenough, IR (Moore)
Hartsuyker, L (Cowper)
Hastie, AW (Canning)
Hawke, AG (Mitchell)
Henderson, SM (Corangamite)
Hogan, KJ (Page)
Howarth, LR (Petrie)
Hunt, GA (Flinders)
Irons, SJ (Swan)
Keenan, M (Stirling)
Kelly, C (Hughes)
Laming, A (Bowman)
Landry, ML (Capricornia)
Laundy, C (Reid)
Leeser, J (Berowra)
Ley, SP (Farrer)
Littleproud, D (Maranoa)
Marino, NB (Forrest)
McCormack, MF (Riverina)
McVeigh, JJ (Groom)
Morrison, SJ (Cook)
Morton, B (Tangney)
O'Brien, LS (Wide Bay)
O'Brien, T (Fairfax)
O'Dwyer, KM (Higgins)
Pasin, A (Barker)
Pitt, KJ (Hinkler)
Porter, CC (Pearce)
Prentice, J (Ryan)
Price, ML (Durak)
Pyne, CM (Sturt)
Ramsey, RE (Grey)
Robert, SR (Fadden)
Sudmalis, AE (Gilmore)
Sukkar, MS (Deakin)
Taylor, AJ (Hume)
Tehan, DT (Wannon)
Tudge, AE (Aston)
Turnbull, MB (Wentworth)
Van Manen, AJ (Forde)
Vasta, RX (Bonner)
Wallace, AB (Fisher)
Wicks, LE (Robertson)
Wilson, RJ (O’Connor)
Wilson, TR (Goldstein)
Wood, JP (La Trobe)
Wyatt, KG (Hasluck)
Zimmerman, T (North Sydney)
Labels:
funding,
Our ABC,
privatisation
Saturday 23 June 2018
US President Donald Trump takes a well-deserved hit in the cojones
This little girl couldn't fight back against the full weight of Donald J. Trump's cruel racism.
Time magazine cover for 2 July 2018 issue |
Until an American late night show expressed its opinion...........
If only real life delivered such swift justice for little children.
Labels:
Donald Trump,
immigration,
racism,
US society
NSW Budget 2018-19: what the NSW North Coast can expect by way of state funding
The Berejiklian Coalition Government approached
NSW
Budget 2018-19 with an est. $3.9
billion surplus and projected smaller surpluses in following years.
In large measure due to the sale of the state's interest in the Snowy Mountain Scheme to the federal government.
In large measure due to the sale of the state's interest in the Snowy Mountain Scheme to the federal government.
This is what the budget papers indicate the state government
is willing to spend on the est. 517,000 residents
living within across the local
government areas of Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs
Harbour, Kempsey, Kyogle, Lismore, Nambucca, Port Macquarie, Hastings, Tweed
and Richmond Valley.
The following are excerpts from Budget documents.
The North Coast is a
long string of seaside communities with a heavy focus on tourism and is the
most biologically diverse region in New South Wales. The Government is
delivering better education and health services for the region and delivering
significant investment in roads to enable smoother and safer connections.
Regional highlights
Investment in education
and skills:
* new Ballina High School
and upgrades at Kingscliff High School and Kingscliff Public School,
Murwillumbah High School and Murwillumbah East Public School
* funding for the
Kingscliff Campus Connected Health Hub and the Coffs Harbour Education Campus
as well as funding for TAFE Connected Learning Centres at Murwillumbah and
Yamba.
Health infrastructure
funding:
* $50.9 million to
continue the $582.1 million construction of a hospital at Tweed
* $16.8 million for the
Grafton Ambulatory Care Centre redevelopment
* $15.5 million for the
Coffs Harbour Hospital redevelopment
* $9.1 million for the
$73.0 million Macksville Hospital Redevelopment
* $5.0 million for the
$11.5 million Port Macquarie Hospital Car Park
* funding to partner
with Tresillian to establish a Family Care Centre Hub in Coffs Harbour.
Roads and infrastructure
initiatives:
* $1.2 billion for the
Pacific Highway upgrade between Woolgoolga and Ballina (State and Federally
funded)
* $62.0 million to
continue construction of the additional bridge over the Clarence River at
Grafton
* $28.0 million for
Oxley Highway safety and realignment works
* $20.0 million to
progress the Pacific Highway Bypass of Coffs Harbour (fully funded by the NSW
and Commonwealth Governments)
* $18.3 million to
continue construction of the replacement Bruxner Highway bridge over the
Clarence River at Tabulam.
Vibrant visitor economy:
* $1.7 million from the
Regional Growth Environment and Tourism Fund for the Stuarts Point Foreshore
Revitalisation project
* $7.7 million over four
years for the Tweed Hinterlands Walk, Byron to Border Ranges
* $7.5 million for the
Macleay Coast, Trial Bay precinct upgrade.
There were
also announcements which, although not directly targeting the North Coast,
hopefully might benefit the region at some point.
* $23.7 million in
2018-19 to employ an additional 200 paramedics (700 over the next four years)
and 13 call centre staff (50 over the next four years) to improve response
times, reduce paramedic fatigue and support safety
* increasing frontline
health staff, with an estimated 1,370 additional frontline staff across the
State, including 950 nurses and midwives, 300 doctors and 120 allied health
workers such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and pharmacists
* record $2.1 billion
for mental health services including:
$100 million per year for specialist community
mental health support to continue the Government’s 10-year reforms
$82.5
million for increased admitted and community-based services across NSW.
There were a
number of across the board ‘initiatives announced’.
New initiatives include:
* the new Creative Kids
Rebate to provide families with a $100 voucher per school aged child, for extra
curricular activities including music, drama, visual and performing arts,
coding and language classes. This complements the existing Active Kids $100 Rebate,
announced in last year’s budget, which has been a resounding success with over
$38.0 million in rebates claimed by parents
* establishing an online
“one-click energy switch” service through Service NSW, which will allow
consumers to find and switch to the best alternative energy deals in the market
* establishing the
Service NSW cost of living service – a one-stop shop, available in Service NSW
centres, online or over the phone, to promote easy access to available rebates
and concessions across government
* reducing ten of the top parking fines issued
by State Government agencies by 25 per cent, ensuring that fines balance
fairness and deterrence
* reducing caravan motor
vehicle weight tax by 40 per cent, making caravan registration cheaper for
families
* extending universal
education access to preschool for three year olds, making NSW the first state
in Australia to do so, providing an average saving for families of $825 dollars
a year from 1 January 2019.
Law enforcement and emergency services will recieve the following:
Law enforcement and emergency services will recieve the following:
* $288.2 million over
four years to further support the re-engineering of the NSW Police Force and
provide the Police Commissioner with the flexibility to deploy resources
according to need and effectively address and respond to crime
* increased capability
to respond to emergencies in New South Wales with:
$56.4
million over four years for the State Emergency Service Operational Fleet
Replacement Program, replacing emergency vehicles and equipment, marine vessels
and trailers
$6.5
million over two years for the Rural Fire Service to repurpose emergency
response helicopters gifted by the Australian Defence Force to increase
bushfire response capability.
* $52.6 million over
four years from 2018-19 to support the rollout of National Facial Biometric
Matching Capability across New South Wales which will enable access to new
face-matching technology. This technology will increase the capability to
identify suspects or victims of terrorist or other criminal activity, including
identity crime
* $151.1 million in
2018-19 ($467.3 million over four years) for the Critical Communications
Enhancement Program to expand the coverage of the Government Radio Network and
improve critical communications during emergencies.
Apart from:
$102.1
million (part of a five-year $1.4 billion program) to deliver outcomes that
help communities and businesses adapt to a changing climate;
$250.0
million in loans for the Farm Innovation Fund (FIF). The FIF provides loans of
up to $250,000 for investments in farm infrastructure to boost drought
preparedness and will now be accessible until 2022. The FIF also offers $50,000
seven-year interest free loans to allow farmers to transport fodder, move
live-stock and preserve stock bloodlines; and
$36.8 million to protect
threatened species across NSW by maximising the number of threatened species
secured in the wild, by investing $11.9 million to implement the Koala Strategy
and $24.9 million through the Saving our Species program;
there is little thought given to climate
change mitigation measures, coastal erosion, water sustainability, protection of
farmland or protection of remaining native forests and biodiversity generally.
In addition the NSW Treasurer announced the creation of a $3 billion NSW Generations Fund. A
sovereign wealth fund to
guard against intergenerational budgetary pressures and keep debt sustainable.
Commencing 1 January 2019 the NSW Government will introduce a 10 per cent point of consumption tax on wagering, applied on all bets. Presumably in order to capture a slice of online betting market profits.
For a quick look at further details go to the Budget Overview here.
Labels:
NSW Budget,
NSW North Coast
Friday 22 June 2018
Liberals continue to behave badly in 2018 - Part Four
FIGHTING
There’s been a fight at a Liberal Party branch meeting in Arncliffe tonight. Allegations elderly women were abused and a man assaulted. Democracy at work guys. @9NewsSyd #auspol pic.twitter.com/P77ptrLCse— Chris O'Keefe (@cokeefe9) June 18, 2018
The
Sydney Morning Herald,
18 June 2018:
Police said they were
called to Naji's Charcoal Chicken & Kebabs eatery on Firth Street in
Arncliffe just after seven o'clock on Monday night, following reports of a
"brawl". The roast chook shop is owned by Michael Nagi, a Liberal
councillor for Bayside Council.
The meeting is
understood to have turned ugly after an attempt by the moderate faction, which
includes Nagi, to allow into the Bayside branch a nearby area, Earlwood, which
is controlled by the moderates and has never been a part of the Bayside branch.
This would have
constituted what those on the right of the party would class as a "hostile
takeover" of their factional control, but a resolution was never reached
because the disagreement turned violent.
Police said a man
believed to be aged in his forties was taken to St George Hospital and treated
for minor injuries.
"Police are now
attempting to piece together exactly what happened and how many people were
involved," a statement read.
"They are appealing
for anyone who may have vision of the incident to come forward."
The Liberal Party said
it would "fully cooperate" with police, as well as make their own
inquiries.
"An internal
investigation will also be undertaken and disciplinary action taken against
those responsible," the party said.
ABC
News, 19 June
2018:
One witness, who did not
want to be identified, described the situation as an attempted "hostile
takeover" of the branch.
"Just before the
meeting started, there was an altercation where some people were intimidating
and swearing and pushing and shoving of the others who belonged to the
meeting," he said.
"Others outside
were blocked from entering the meeting."
The man said an elderly
lady inside the cafe was "trampled on", and a man who tried to
intervene was "ganged up on".
"They started
bashing him … they took him outside and started kicking him.
"To be honest I
thought he was going to die."
The man also said some
people tried to film the incident, but their phones were taken and smashed.
COMPLAINTS, DEBTS AND WORKING THE SYSTEM
COMPLAINTS, DEBTS AND WORKING THE SYSTEM
“Two hundred thousand Australian dollars.….that’s
not a lot of money” [Liberal Sen. Lucy Gichuhi speaking about here Australian parliamentary salary
package on Kenyan television in January 2018]
Daily
Mail, 20 June
2018:
Embattled Liberal
senator Lucy Gichuhi was taken to court seven times for failing to pay $8,359
worth of council rates and $1,372 in water bills.
Court documents obtained
exclusively by Daily Mail Australia show the Kenyan-born federal MP faced legal
action from City of Port Adelaide Enfield
council, Whyalla City Council and the South Australian Water Corporation in
2013, 2014 and 2017.
The Turnbull Government
senator, who is on a $203,000 salary, was ordered by local court magistrates to
pay $9,731 in seven unpaid bills, related to two investment properties in
Adelaide and one in regional Whyalla.
One unpaid council bill
went to court just three weeks before she was sworn in last year as a senator,
and another bill was taken to a magistrate four months after she became a
member of Parliament.
The backbencher, who
owns four houses in South Australia with her husband William, had failed to pay
$8,359 worth council rates and $1,372 in water bills.
On her pecuniary
interest register, Senator Gichuhi declares she is the owner of investment
properties in the Adelaide suburbs of Dernancourt and Gilles Plains, along with
another home in the steelworks city of Whyalla.
The senator and
mother-of-three, who moved to Australia from Kenya in 1999, received five
arrears from the Port of Adelaide Enfield Council and one from Whyalla City
Council, in areas where she owns three investment properties.
According to
her Statement
of Registerable Interests the senator in partnership with her
husband owns 6 residential properties in South Australia and 3 properties in
Kenya.
She appears
to receive rental income on a number of these properties.
The Advertiser, 21 June 2018, p.6:
Senator Gichuhi, already
under pressure after spending thousands of taxpayer dollars flying her family
to Canberra, was provided with staff, office space, a car, driver and
entertainment by one of Kenya’s richest men. The SA senator spoke at events
organised by Equity Bank and its wealthy chief executive James Mwangi.
Disclosure documents
lodged earlier this year show Dr Mwangi provided Senator Gichuhi with “a car
and a driver … to attend various events and functions”.
“Dr Mwangi also provided
office facilities, refreshments and access to his staff to enable me to prepare
speeches for Nairobi University and other functions,” the document reads.
Dr Mwangi, who is worth
$230 million, invited Senator Gichuhi to speak at Equity Bank events including
on January 4, where she addressed the bank’s Wings To Fly scholars….
Disclosures show Senator
Gichuhi received free accommodation from another wealthy Kenyan businessman,
Linus Gitahi, who she described as her “long-term friend”.
The Advertiser, 19 June 2018, p.5:
South Australian
senator Lucy Gichuhi billed taxpayers more than $4500 to fly six
family travellers to Canberra during the week she was sworn into Federal
Parliament prompting calls for a tightening of expenses.
According to
parliamentary records, Senator Gichuhi claimed three return flights from
Adelaide, two from Darwin and a one-way flight from Sydney taken during the
second week of May last year.
She has previously
defended her decision to accept free accommodation from the High Commission of
Kenya in Canberra for her family to attend her swearing-in on May 9 last year
2017, because they struggled to find accommodation.
Junkee,
19 June 2018:
Gichuhi billed
taxpayers $2139 for two return flights from Darwin to Adelaide, which were used
to fly family members to her birthday party in October last year. She has since
agreed to pay that cost back in full, saying it was “an administrative error
involving misunderstanding of travel rules”.
And while we’re on the
point of corrections, it wasn’t even her 50th birthday party — Gichuhi is 55.
She actually titled the birthday party her “50 plus GST” birthday, the omitted
5 years being the GST. In the speech she gave at the event, which is
inexplicably available on her
website, she told guests that “I have now also taught you to deduct
10 percent off your own age — if you want to!”….
Gichuhi has also come
under fire for billing taxpayers around $12,000 for a number of trips to Sydney, which
she listed as “electorate business”, despite her electorate actually being in
South Australia.
After watching this video the next two years of US domestic and international politics will hardly surprise
TRUMP on Kim Jong Un (note the final two sentences): "He's the head of a country, and I mean he's the strong head. Don't let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same." (via FOX) pic.twitter.com/ed9AMRl9ny— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 15, 2018
Thursday 21 June 2018
At last! A way to gaol the entire Turnbull Government
Excerpts from
the Explanatory Memorandum for CRIMINAL
CODE AMENDMENT (IMPERSONATING A COMMONWEALTH BODY) BILL 2017
The
Criminal Code Amendment (Impersonating a Commonwealth Body) Bill 2017 (the
Bill) will introduce new offences and a new injunction power to prohibit and
prevent conduct amounting to false representation of a Commonwealth body….
It
is essential that the public can trust in the legitimacy and accuracy of
statements made by Commonwealth bodies. The amendments are critical to ensure
the public has confidence in the legitimacy of communications emanating from
Commonwealth bodies, thereby safeguarding the proper functioning of
Government…..
The
Bill introduces a primary offence where the person is reckless as to whether
their conduct will result in, or is reasonably capable of resulting in, a false
representation. These amendments also create a new aggravated offence where a
person engages in such conduct with the intent to obtain a gain, cause a loss,
or influence the exercise of a public duty.
This bill
finally passed both house of the Australian Parliament on 18 June 2018.
Of course the
bill doesn’t actually allow the gaoling of every member of the Turnbull
Coalition Government for two to five years.
A government
whose members have turned the uttering of outright lies and the continual
misrepresentation of fact into art forms. Who only pretend to be governing in
the interests of the people.
But a voter
can dream, can't she?
This bill was
created with the
sole purpose of providing the Turnbull Government with a weapon to use
during the forthcoming election campaign.
Labels:
elections,
government policy,
legislation,
Turnbull Government
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