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| Victorian Trades Hall Via @FelicityLS |
Saturday, 4 May 2019
Friday, 3 May 2019
Can One Nation candidates get any sleazier than this?
One Nation Queensland Leader and former LNP state minister Steve Dickson who is a 2019 federal election candidate has been forced to resign because of this video.
The married One Nation Senate candidate has been filmed groping an exotic dancer in a strip club and asking her to come home with him and saying the dancer "wants to suck my c**k".
Dickson may have resigned from all position he held in the One Nation party, however his name remains on the Senate ballot paper.
Nationals' Barnaby Joyce in deeper water
.@hamishnews uncovers some fresh insights into the water buy back scandal #TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/jEFeyA6SpO— The Project (@theprojecttv) April 29, 2019
13 reasons why voting for Liberal or Nationals candidates on 18 May 2019 may not be the best choice you could make
The McKell Institute, April 2019, Fork
in the Road: The impact of the two major parties’ penalty rate policies in the
2019 Federal Election:
Key National Findings
Finding 1: Throughout the three year period of the
forthcoming 46th parliament, workers will collectively receive $2.87
billion less in penalty
rate pay under a re-elected Coalition Government than a Labor Government, when
factoring in each party’s policy preferences.
Finding 2: Nationally, workers in the fast food industry
are expected to receive $303.8 million less in penalty rate pay under a re-elected Coalition Government
than under a Labor Government over the life of the forthcoming parliament.
Finding 3: Nationally, workers in the hospitality industry
are expected to receive $837.15 million less in penalty rate pay under a re-elected Coalition Government
than under a Labor Government over the life of the forthcoming parliament.
Finding 4: Nationally, workers in the retail industry
are expected to receive $1.64 billion less in penalty rate pay under a re-elected Coalition Government
than under a Labor Government over the life of the forthcoming parliament.
Finding
5: Nationally, workers in the pharmacy industry are expected to receive $84.86
million less in penalty
rate pay under a re-elected Coalition Government than under a Labor Government
over the life of the forthcoming parliament.
Finding 6: Over the life of the forthcoming parliament,
workers in Queensland are collectively expected to receive $573.7
million less in penalty
rate pay under a re-elected Coalition Government’s than under a Labor
Government.
Finding 7: Over the life of the forthcoming parliament,
workers in New South Wales are expected to receive $899.26 million less in penalty rate pay under a
re-elected Coalition Government than under a Labor Government.
Finding 8: Over the life of the forthcoming parliament,
workers in the ACT are expected to receive $45.69 million less in penalty rate pay under a
re-elected Coalition Government than under a Labor Government.
Finding 9: Over the life of the forthcoming parliament,
workers in Victoria are expected to receive $750.74 million less in penalty rate pay under a
re-elected Coalition Government than under a Labor Government.
Finding 10: Over the life of the forthcoming parliament,
workers in Tasmania are expected to receive $65.02 million less in penalty rate pay under a
re-elected Coalition Government than under a Labor Government.
Finding 11: Over the life of the forthcoming parliament,
workers in South Australia are expected to receive $209.65 million less in penalty rate pay under a
re-elected Coalition Government than under a Labor Government.
Finding 12: Over the life of the
forthcoming parliament, workers in Western Australia are expected to
receive $299.52 million less in
penalty rate pay under a re-elected Coalition Government than under a Labor
Government.
Finding 13: Over the life of the forthcoming parliament, workers in
Northern Territory are expected to receive $23.56 million less in penalty rate pay under a
re-elected Coalition Government than under a Labor Government.
Thursday, 2 May 2019
"BURNED- Are Trees the New Coal Roadshow" screening start on NSW
North Coast Environment Council, North East Forest Alliance, Rainforest Information Centre, No Electricity From Forests, Nimbin Environment Centre, Lismore Environment Centre, Bellingen Environment Centre, Coffs Coast Branch of the National Parks Association, Media Release April 30, 2019:
BURNED-
Are Trees the New Coal Roadshow to tour the
North Coast.
This award-winning film
will be screened across the north coast over the next two weeks.
“Many people saw the
film Gaslands and this spear-headed the movement against fracking.People power
in the Northern Rivers region rejected this destructive activity and energy
source. This film is to forests, what Gaslands was to fracking,” said Susie
Russell, who has galvanised the collaboration of the participating
organisations.
“The idea that whole
forests are being cleared and burnt in power stations instead of coal seems
crazy, but increasingly that is what is happening around the world and
Australian governments want to see it happen here too.
“Due to a perversion of
the international greenhouse gas accounting rules, burning wood is considered
to be 'carbon neutral' because it's not a fossil fuel and eventually the carbon
can get taken out of the atmosphere by growing more trees. But that will take
decades, decades we don't have.
“In the meantime,
forests, which are the most effective mechanism we have to capture carbon and
store it, are being destroyed to fuel power stations that actually produce more
CO2 than if they were burning coal! And it's being subsidised as a 'renewable'
industry that is 'clean and green'. Meanwhile the homes of wildlife that depend
on forests are gone, pushing many species of plants and animals closer to
extinction.
“The scale of this
insanity is documented in the film. It shows what is planned for our forests if
people power doesn't stop it. It's a cry from the forests, for our help. We
really have to stop this madness before it kills us all. Burning forests for
electricity must be stopped. The scientific consensus is that saving forests is
absolutely key if we want to stop runaway climate change” Ms Russell said.
See below for schedule
of screenings.
Participating
organisations: North Coast Environment Council, North East Forest Alliance,
Rainforest Information Centre, No Electricity From Forests, Nimbin Environment
Centre, Lismore Environment Centre, Bellingen Environment Centre, Coffs Coast
Branch of the National Parks Association.
Roadshow: Burned-
Are Trees the New Coal
Feature film documenting
the burgeoning 'biomass' or 'bioenergy' industry that is converting forests to
electricity, at enormous cost to the planet!
Coming soon to a forest
near you.
May 1- Bellingen
Memorial Hall from 6pm, food available
May 2- Coffs
Harbour, Norm Jordan Pavilion at Coffs Harbour Showground , Pacific
Highway, 6pm
May 4- Nimbin.
Screenings at 11am, 1pm and 3pm at the Birth and Beyond Room, 54 Cullen
St, close to the pedestrian crossing. Tea and coffee will be available during
screenings.
May 5- Nimbin, Birth and
Beyond. Screenings at 11am and 1pm as above.
May 7- Mullumbimby, The
Mullumbimby Commons, 91/74 Main Arm Rd, 6pm
May 9- Byron Bay,
Pighouse, 1 Skinners Shoot Rd, Byron Bay 6pm.
May 10- Lismore Gallery
Events Space. Rural St/Keen St, Lismore at 6.30pm, food & drink available
Slate Café from 6pm.
Followed by:
May 11- Lismore,
Community Climate Crisis Rally, Peace Park, cnr Bruxner H’way & Keen St.
Speakers, music & stalls 10am.
Screenings are free but
donations towards venue hire and materials would be appreciated.
You can watch a trailer
here: http://watch.burnedthemovie.com/
The Trouble with Water: National Party conflicts of interest and the rising odour of corruption
The
Saturday Paper,
27 April 2019:
Former Australian
Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty is examining links between political
donations and the issuing and buyback of agricultural water licences, amid
concerns that undeclared conflicts of interest could be fuelling corruption.
Keelty told The
Saturday Paper this week he is concerned about the extent of undeclared
conflicts of interest among politicians, lobby groups and businesses operating
in the water market.
“I’m interested to see
how conflicted politicians are declaring their conflicts of interest when
decisions are made about water policy,” he said.
“Where you get those
conflicts of interest and they’re not addressed, that’s ripe for corruption.”
His comments come as the
Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder confirmed to The Saturday Paper that
two contentious water licences for which the federal government paid
$79 million have returned next to no water to the environment since they
were purchased two years ago.
Keelty is conducting
inquiries in his capacity as the Northern Basin commissioner for the
Murray–Darling Basin, a position to which the federal agriculture minister,
David Littleproud, appointed him in August last year with the support of the
Labor opposition.
On the issue of water
licences, he draws a direct comparison with the management of development
applications by local government, where conflicts of interest are required to
be declared.
“We’re not seeing it in
water, and it should be there,” he said.
Keelty, who was also the
inaugural chair of the Australian Crime Commission, is not categorical about
what exposing such conflicts might reveal, though he suggests they are
widespread.
“I’m not saying it’s
corruption; I’m saying it’s conflict of interest,” he said. “But you could draw
a conclusion that if conflicts of interest aren’t transparent, it could lead to
corruption … Water is now the value of gold. If you have corruption in other
elements of society, if you have corruption in other areas of business, why
wouldn’t you have it here, when water is the same price as gold?”
“IT IS NOT AS TRANSPARENT AS I FIRST THOUGHT AND IT IS
MUDDIED BY IN-KIND DONATIONS AND THIRD-PARTY COMPANIES OR ENTITIES THAT ARE
CREATED TO OBSCURE WHO THE REAL DONORS ARE.”
Over the past decade,
Keelty has undertaken inquiries and investigations for various governments on
issues relating to integrity in government policy, especially in emergency
management.
Now turning his
attention to the struggling river system, he is aiming to improve transparency
in the management of the northern Murray–Darling Basin, which has a far worse
compliance record than the river system’s southern half.
His task is to ensure
that water gets back to the river system where it is needed and that those who
rely on this water, and should have rights for its use, are not being ripped
off, especially disenfranchised Indigenous communities and others living
downstream.
Keelty argues that
excessive numbers of water licences have been issued – sometimes on
questionable grounds – and are seriously damaging the river.
“When you look at it
strategically, there are too many licences having been allocated for the amount
of water that is available,” he told The Saturday Paper.
“Nobody is addressing
that, that I can see.”
Keelty also believes the
system is too dependent on property owners acting within the law and reporting
their own activities.
“The system relies on
honesty and integrity but if you look at the number of prosecutions and
infringement notices issued in New South Wales in the last 12 months, the
pillar of honesty doesn’t appear to be that strong,” he said.
“I can understand the
suspicion and the frustration in the southern basin states because they are
directly impacted by the efficiency of the systems in the northern basin.”
Keelty is currently
examining the Australian Electoral Commission records of political donations,
checking links between donors, decision-makers and recipients of water licences
or sales contracts.
“Clearly the National
Party is probably, I guess, a glaring example of where politicians could be
conflicted because their constituency are the very people who are using the
water and the very people who are lobbying about water policy,” he said.
But he is examining
links to other parties as well. “It’s not just the National Party. Different
governments will make decisions about water policy that presumably benefit
their state and their constituents.”
Keelty has concerns
about the system of political donations more broadly.
“It is not as
transparent as I first thought and it is muddied by in-kind donations and
third-party companies or entities that are created to obscure who the real
donors are,” he said. “I’ve found it more difficult and less transparent than
what most of us probably think it is.”
The former police chief
is also arguing for proceeds-of-crime legislation to be more clearly linked to
offences in the water market because he believes the risk of losing a farming
property would be a significant deterrent.
“Where you can prosecute
criminal charges for offending, it makes sense to have parallel action in
proceeds of crime because that will have more of an impact than perhaps some of
the civil charges that are being used to remedy the situation to date,” he
said.
Read the full article here
Dozens of Centrelink clients have had their names published on Facebook by a Commonwealth-funded work-for-the-dole provider
ABC
News, 26
April 2019:
Dozens of Centrelink
clients have had their names published online in what has been described as a
"shocking" abuse of privacy.
A Commonwealth-funded
work-for-the-dole provider uploaded lists of people who were required to attend
client meetings to a public Facebook page.
"We are at a loss
as to why anyone would post about workers' appointments online," union
official Lara Watson said.
"We were shocked at
the publication of names on a social media platform."
The incidents are the
latest to emerge from the Government's flagship remote employment scheme, the
Community Development Programme (CDP).
Nearly 50 people from
the Northern Territory community of Galiwinku, located 500 kilometres east of
Darwin, were affected.
The job service
provider, the Arnhem Land Progress Association (ALPA), established the social
media page apparently with the intention of uploading such lists.
"Welcome to our
Facebook page where we will be posting appointments, courses and CDP
information," it wrote last month.
The two sheets of names
were posted to the Galiwinku CDP page on March 11 and 12.
Both images were shared
to another local Facebook group titled Elcho Island Notice Board, which has
more than 2,000 members.
One CDP insider
denounced the online uploads, saying they were unprecedented and could have
placed job seekers at risk.
"If a person has a
family violence order in place to protect them, then perhaps the perpetrator
would know where she was," said the source, who requested anonymity.
"It advertised that
a person is accessing welfare services, and unfortunately in Australia there's
discrimination against people accessing welfare services.
"People can be
bullied for being unemployed."
The Galiwinku CDP page
appears to have since been removed from the internet but the organisation
denied any wrongdoing.
"We do not believe
that this is a breach of confidentiality," an ALPA spokeswoman said.....
"All ALPA CDP
participants give … media consent when they commence as a participant."......
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