Serco-managed Clarence Correctional Centre to open on 1 July 2020

Image: Tweed Daily News

The est. $700 million purpose-built 1,700 bed Clarence Correctional Centre will open in thirteen days time and will hold both men and women.

This NSW prison at Lavadia in the Clarence Valley will be managed by the U.K. based multinational Serco Group.

Serco's contract has an estimated total value to the corporation over a 20-year term of approximately AUD$2.6 billion.

North Coast Voices readers may recall that the Serco Group has on numerous occasions been the subject of allegations concerning corruption, mismanagement, privacy violations and human rights abuses at its facilities and by its staff.

There will likely be more than a few fingers being crossed in the Clarence Valley that Serco through its subsidiary Serco Australia Pty Limited will not behave improperly or unlawfully when prisoners begin to fill what is being touted as the newest and largest correctional facility in Australia.

Morrison & his hard right mates won't back down on slashing Australia Post mail services

Here is what Australia Post states it has been doing to keep letters and parcels moving during the COVID-19 pandemic.......

Eight extra freighter flights and 600 more casual staff employed to help speed up delivery, along with new and repurposed facilities.

With many retail businesses closing shopfronts in rural and regional areas due to the economic downturn leaving only their online store available to customers, Australia Post and its more than 2,000 post offices in these areas have become increasingly vital links in the supply chain.

So how did the Morrison Government respond to the increase in mail traffic?

It introduced new Australia Post regulations via Australian Postal Corporation (Performance Standards) Amendment (2020 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2020 and on the back of this decided to cut mail deliveries to every second day, stretch mail delivery times to between five and seven days, as well as abandoning priority mail.

What this means it that unless each postie can deliver two days worth of letters, small parcels and unsolicited mail during one working day, there will be a backlog of undelivered mail quietly mounting up at local mail distribution points - which would eventually blowout the time between posting and delivery to a matter of weeks.

The possibility also exists that by June next year mail delivery will be reduced even further, potentially causing delivery chaos.

Echo NetDaily, excerpt, 16 June 2020:

The Morrison Government voted eight times over two days to slash Australia Post deliveries. Yesterday Labor Leader Anthony Albanese moved to disallow the Prime Minister’s regulations which cut the frequency of postie delivery rounds, extend mail delivery times for millions of Australians and put the jobs of up to one in four posties and many others at risk.... 

The changes will affect everyone who relies on Australia Post Justine Elliot said these changes will affect everyone who relies on Australia Post. It will particularly affect the elderly in our region, who will be most disadvantaged by these cuts to mail delivery services. 

‘Many seniors are not on the internet and they instead rely on the mail for their letters, cards and bills and now, due to Government cuts, they’ll be waiting longer for important correspondence. The fact is the mail is often a lifeline for our seniors. 

‘People in our regional and rural communities still rely on the postal service more than many other types of services. Australia Post service standards are fundamental and for the benefit of all Australians. 

‘Under the Morrison Government’s plan, mail delivery across the North Coast will blow out from three business days to seven full days. These changes will slash the frequency of postie delivery rounds and put the jobs of up to one in four posties at risk. 

‘At a time of economic downturns across regional Australia, this Government is now slashing jobs and services......

One MP was particularly unimpressed.

I got really crank tonight. I just had to tell you about it. Sorry no captions - just totally in the moment!! 😡 pic.twitter.com/I0tzNBsoKj

— Ged Kearney (@gedkearney) June 16, 2020

REX Regional Express Airline ditched its promise to keep flying into Grafton Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic because it wanted to fight a trade war with Qantas at other airports & didn't want to waste its few dollars on the Clarence Valley. However, Clarence Valley Council is about to tear itself apart rather than face that truth.

REX Regional Express airline has previously admitted that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic it was on the verge of bankruptcy in March 2020, that keeping all air routes open would create a potential financial loss in the vicinity of $10 million a month and, that its current focus (after receiving est. $53.8 million in an untied federal government grant) was on pursuing a trade war with Qantas in which it was putting on extra non-profitable flights into certain airports where it will openly compete with the larger airline.

Rex's skeleton air service into Grafton Airport was always going to be a casualty of the airline board's current grandiose plans.

Even S&P Dow Jones Indices' removal of Rex from the S&P/ASX Index All Ordinaries list effective 22 June 2020 recognised the less than stellar financial outlook for this company.

However, Clarence Valley Council cannot see past the 'fig leaf' excuse Regional Express Holdings gave for terminating what it has previously deemed unprofitable flights into the Clarence Valley from 3 July 2020.

Instead Council will play out the old political animosities held by a clique of male wannabees who never made it past local government.

The Daily Examiner, 16 June 2020, p. 1:

A threat of legal action by a Clarence Valley councillor has led to the cancellation of an extraordinary council meeting in Grafton this afternoon. 

Clarence Valley Mayor Jim Simmons said a decision to cancel the meeting was made on receipt of a letter from solicitors representing Cr Debrah Novak. 

The meeting had been called to demand Cr Novak apologise to regional air carrier REX Airlines for comments she made about the airline during last month’s council meeting. 

Cr Novak said Rex management needed to “pull its finger out”. 

On June 4 the council received correspondence from REX saying that despite council waiving 100 per cent of the head tax it collected from the airline, it would cease to operate its Grafton service from July 3. It cited “hostility” from councillors as its reason for cutting the service. 

Cr Simmons said the letter called for an injunction against holding the meeting because the matter should have been dealt with during the May meeting and not have been brought up at a separate meeting. 

The mayor said he had a similar misgiving and had contacted the NSW Office of Local Government for advice. 

“I expect I’ll get that advice tomorrow morning,” Cr Simmons said. 

But he said Cr Novak was not off the hook and the matter would most likely appear as a report from general manager Ashley Lindsay at next week’s council meeting. 

“It might have to be in a different format, but there are still issues here the council must deal with,” he said. 

Meanwhile business groups have expressed their dismay at REX’s decision and Cr Novak’s role in it......

So how is your super fund weathering the COVID-19 pandemic?

Apparently superannuation funds across the board have felt the impact of the global economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, it was the retail super fund and self-managed fund sectors which experienced the largest contractions. 

Despite the total savings pool falling slightly the outlook is positive according to Rainmaker Information's assessment of the Australian industry on 5 June 2020:

Australia's superannuation savings pool has withstood the COVID-19 financial crisis so far, falling just 0.3% in the 12 months to 31 March 2020, while bolstering cash reserves. 

Australia's prudential regulator for the superannuation system, APRA, has just released its latest quarterly industry snapshot. It shows the superannuation system is in remarkably strong shape given the economic shock of COVID-19. 

This should give Australia's 12 million super fund members and their families confidence that while their superannuation has been buffeted by COVID-19, their superannuation savings are safe. 

Illustrating this, while APRA's figures show Australia's superannuation savings pool contracted 7.7% during the three months between December 2019 and end March 2020, over the 12-month period to end of April 2020, it decreased by just 0.3%. 

2019 was one of the best years ever for superannuation savings in Australia. 

"Compared to the 23% fall in global stock markets in first quarter of 2020 as well as the 14% fall over the 12-month period to March, this is a stunning result," said Alex Dunnin, executive director of research and compliance at Rainmaker Information. 

Dunnin said even though the SelectingSuper MySuper performance index, which is compiled by Rainmaker, fell 11% during this three month period, over 12-months the index is down only 4%. 

As a result, Australia's superannuation savings have only fallen to March 2019 levels. During the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis the SelectingSuper index fell as low as -21%. 

But not all parts of the superannuation sector are weathering the COVID-19 crisis equally. 

The not for profit (NFP) super fund segment comprising corporate, public sector and industry super funds, contracted 5% in the March quarter. 

Comparatively, the retail super fund sector contracted more than twice as much, up to 12%. And Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) contracted 9% in the same period. [my yellow highlighting]

"Two-thirds of the decrease experienced across the superannuation savings pool came from APRA-regulated NFP and retail funds." 

"While the retail super segment holds roughly one-quarter of superannuation savings assets compared to the NFP segment that holds half, each segment fell by about the same amount in dollar terms." 

"APRA figures show the retail super fund segment holds 24% of their investments in Australian equities, compared to just 15% by NFP funds. 

"Retails funds are more vulnerable to fluctuations in equities markets, however, industry super funds with a larger share of their investments in unlisted assets such as real property, infrastructure and private equity were better insulated from the worst of these equities falls.

" Liquidity also became a concern for some superannuation market commentators and politicians when the government announced the Early Release of Superannuation scheme on 22 March, with speculation that some super funds may find it difficult to pay these early redemptions. 

Super funds with investments in unlisted assets such as property, private equity and infrastructure were singled out for special mentions because of concerns they may have too little set aside in cash reserves. 

However, APRA's superannuation snapshot has revealed that super funds $273 billion in cash at the end of March, which is 27-times the amount of money that has so far been paid out in Early Release claims. 

To appreciate the total amount held in liquid assets held by super funds, Dunnin said you should also include the additional $466 billion held in bonds. 

"The 14% held in cash and the 22% held in bonds means super funds have $739 billion or 36% of their total investments held in liquid assets. 

"NFP funds have 37% of their assets available in cash and bonds, marginally exceeding the 36% held by retail super funds. Industry funds hold 31% of their assets in these instruments." 

During the March quarter, funds received $29 billion in contributions, taking the value of total contributions for the past 12 months to $121 billion, further adding to these funds' liquidity. 

"This is the highest contributions inflow in more than two years," said Dunnin. "These added contributions are often missed when analysing these 'vulnerable' funds. 

"Sure they may have a higher than average proportion of younger members, however they receive hundreds of millions in contributions each month." he said.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) key statistics for the superannuation industry as at 31 March 2020 can be found at https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-releases-superannuation-statistics-for-march-2020.

Rex Express Chairman Lim Kim Hai likes to dish it out but does not respond well to even mild criticism

Grafton Airport in the Clarence Valley is predominately used by state authorities and local government. 

Rex Express is also the only commercial air passenger service into the Clarence Valley even if it is virtually only a skeleton service and, it is heavily subsidised by federal and state governments during the COVID-19 pandemic to the tune of at least $77.9 million.

ABC News, 16 October 2018

The executive chairman and largest single shareholder in Rex Express Holdings Ltd is Lim Kim Hai (left) and apparently at his instigation Rex is cutting Grafton Airport from its NSW routes from 3 July 2020 - allegedly on the grounds his feeling have been hurt.

This is the latest example of how this somewhat aggressive businessman responds to even the mildest of criticism of the company he heads.



The Daily Examiner, 13 June 2020, p.10:

Clarence Valley Council has called an extraordinary meeting to deal with the fallout from Rex’s shock decision to quit the region. 

In a report to be tabled at the meeting on Tuesday, council general manager Ashley Lindsay detailed correspondence he’d had with national airports manager for Regional Express, David Brooksby. 

“He advised that executive chairman Lim Kim Hai took great offence to Cr Novak calling on Rex to ‘pull their finger out’,” Mr Lindsay said. 

“Unless a public apology is provided by Cr Novak, he would not reconsider his decision for Rex to cease services to Grafton effective 3 July.” 

The move comes as Regional Express Airlines offered a little more on its decision to cancel the Grafton route with a message to councillors, the community and local media. 

“Council has chosen to discuss the Rex matter in open session and some councillors have voiced pejorative remarks about Rex with the full expectation that these remarks will be reported in the media,” the statement said. 

“As elected representatives, they need to know that their official statements will have consequences and they need to take full responsibility for these consequences. The community and the media should turn to these representatives for comments and their plans for the future.” 

The issue arose at the May council meeting when councillor Debrah Novak used strong language toward Rex while speaking against a motion to issue it a $8908 credit note for 2021. 

In response to those words, Rex announced it would cease services to Grafton from July 3. 

Ms Novak had since posted a statement via her Facebook page and spoken to media outlets, clarifying that her comments were underpinned with “no malice or contempt”. 

Ms Novak, whose post referred to other financial dealings and business decisions Rex has made in the recent past, suggested there was a cultural misunderstanding in part due to its foreign ownership. 

She said the term ‘pull your finger out’ was an “Australian colloquialism” that she had heard “most people use in my lifetime and in council”. 

“How locals or international people interpret what I say is not my responsibility and I will not be apologising.” 

Mr Lindsay in his report before the council said her comments in the previous meeting had fallen foul of council rules and the officer recommendation was for her – and the mayor on behalf of the council – to apologise to Rex and to Lim Kim Hai. 

“I have reviewed the recording of the meeting and I believe Cr Novak has breached Council’s Code of Meeting Practice during her debate on this item (6a.20.011),” he said. 

“Cr Novak’s commentary on REX and their board was contemptuous and in accordance with Clause 15.12 (c) of the Code of Meeting Practice Council can call on Cr Novak to “retract and apologise without reservation” to REX and in particular the apology should be to REX’s executive chairman Lim Kim Hai.” ......

A decision on the matter will be made in the meeting, at 1pm on June 16.

One has to supect the reason given for the airline's decision to withdraw services, when much harsher criticism was levelled at its business practices in The Australian newspaper on 27 May 2020:

"But the response did not satisfy Senator Sheldon, who wrote to ASIC chairman James Shipton requesting an investigation. He said the level of detail provided by Rex to the media could reasonably be expected to affect the share price. 

“Rex’s plans to expand into markets in direct competition with Qantas and Virgin, after having received a disproportionate share of government financial support, are inappropriate and exploitative,” wrote Senator Sheldon over the $54m paid to Rex out of a $100m regional aviation assistance fund. 

“Their failure to inform the ASX of these plans per the ASX listing rules flies in the face of Australian corporate standards. If Rex or any officer of Rex has contravened the Act, I further request that ASIC take appropriate enforcement action against them.”

The chairman does not appear to have overreacted to the NSW senator's comments as he has to the shire councillor's remark.

Lim Kim Hai is not adverse to hitting out at what he perhaps sees as easy targets and the following is a previous example of the Rex Express chairman's response to criticism:

Area News, excerpts from page one articles in 27 and 30 June 2012 newspaper
issues: 

# "A VISITING cardiologist has threatened to abandon his Griffith clinic because of "arrogant and offensive" treatment by Regional Express (Rex). 

Dr Charles Thorburn, who has been travelling from Sydney for more than 20 years to conduct an outpatient clinic at Griffith hospital, was so incensed with the declining service of the Griffith-Sydney flights he wrote a complaint letter to Rex chairman Lim Kim Hai. 

But in an extraordinary response from the Singapore-based chairman, Dr Thorburn was questioned and ridiculed, in a letter critics have seized on as evidence of Rex's contempt for its customers. 

"If, as you say, you find the conditions unsatisfactory, why did you accept them in the first place?" the letter, written on instruction by Mr Kim Hai, read. 

"I would be curious to know if you would reimburse any of your patients who do not get well after seeing you?" 

The chairman's goading continued after Dr Thorburn asked for data on how often the Sydney-Griffith flights were delayed or cancelled. "We are not providing you with the statistics you are requesting for (sic)," he said. 

"Perhaps in the medical profession you are used to dispensing information on how long you make your patients wait or how often you misdiagnosed." 

He went on to say Rex was "still much better than all the airlines in Australia and most of the airlines in the world". 

The exchange comes at a time when a new airline is poised to break the company's monopoly stranglehold on the city, set to operate the Griffith-Melbourne leg dumped by Rex this month. 

An incredulous Dr Thorburn said he was now seriously considering pulling the pin on his long-standing Griffith outpatient clinic. "If the service does not improve, I really need to assess whether I will continue to fly down to Griffith," he said. 

"I found the letter I received arrogant and offensive and quite extraordinary." 

He has since written to Rex board members individually to demand an apology and express his disgust at the treatment. Dr Thorburn's original letter was prompted by a chaotic return flight from Griffith on May 25....... 

# "Local leaders have demanded Rex issue an immediate apology to a visiting cardiologist rebuked by the airline’s chairman during a public relations crash-landing last week. 

Leading Sydney cardiologist Dr Charles Thorburn has threatened to boycott Rex and end his 20-year relationship with Griffith after a valid complaint letter to the airline’s Singapore-based boss was met with an “arrogant and offensive” response.....

BACKGROUND

Wednesday, 10 June 2020

Rex Express walks away from its Clarence Valley airline route trying to blame others for its decision

FILED UNDER 'IT'S ABOUT TIME': Channel 7, Samantha Armytage & Prue McQueen will be sued for racial vilification over a 'Sunrise" broadcast in March 2018

14 June 2019

Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA), media release:

The ACMA has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd (Channel Seven) following breaches of the Commercial TV Code of Practice in a Sunrise ‘Hot Topics’ segment broadcast in March 2018. 

The segment dealt with the adoption of indigenous children and child abuse in indigenous communities. 

The ACMA found that the segment was inaccurate and provoked serious contempt on the basis of race in breach of the industry’s code. [my yellow highlighting]

 Channel Seven sought judicial review of the ACMA’s findings that the segment provoked serious contempt on the basis of race, but discontinued court proceedings in April 2019. 

Under the court-enforceable undertaking, Channel Seven must conduct an independent review of how and the extent to which relevant production processes on Sunrise ensure code compliance in relation to sensitive and complex matters. 

A report of the review must be provided to Channel Seven’s Board and Audit and Risk Committee within six months. 

The ACMA will verify the independence of, and terms of reference for, the review. 

Channel Seven has also undertaken that Sunrise editorial staff will be trained to identify and deal with sensitive matters within six months and notify the ACMA within five business days that the training is complete. 

If Channel Seven breaches the court-enforceable undertaking, the ACMA can apply to the Federal Court for a number of orders, including directing Channel Seven to comply with the undertaking, and any other order the court considers appropriate. 

MS 21/2019

11 June 2020

Settlement negotiations have broken down and the matter is on its way to the Federal Court on behalf of the eight Aboriginal complainants, including elders, award winners and young leaders .

Quote of the Week

"Alone in the developed world, Australia navigated the last major global financial crisis without going into recession, without mass job losses and without a spike in suicides. Those days are gone. That competent Government is gone. Instead, Australia is now among the global losers. Last Wednesday’s (3 June) quarterly report on the national accounts by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows Australia’s economy contracted by 0.31 per cent in the three months to 31 March….It was not inevitable that Australia’s economy would contract in 2020, despite the impact of the pandemic.” [Alan Austin writing in IndependentAustralia, 8 June 2020]