This year more than 1,500 kilometres of fire trails on NSW Crown Land and surrounding land have been inspected by helicopter State-wide, to ensure they are in good condition for firefighters.

 

Great Lakes Advocate, 23 November 2021:

In preparation of the 2021-22 bushfire season fire trails on Crown Land along the Mid North Coast have been closely inspected.

The helicopter aerial inspections, supported by on-the-ground trail maintenance, have been conducted by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment - Crown Lands in conjunction with the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Soil Conservation Service.

This year more than 1500 kilometres of fire trails on Crown Land and surrounding land have been inspected by helicopter State-wide, to ensure they are in good condition for firefighters.

Mid North and North coast inspections have included fire trails in the Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Kyogle, Mid Coast, Nambucca Valley, Port Macquarie Hastings, Port Stephens, Richmond Vale, and Tweed local government areas (LGA).

Aerial inspections are more efficient than four-wheel-drive inspections in remote and less accessible areas or where fire trails cross multiple land boundaries, cutting inspection times from months to weeks.

Fire trails are inspected and then any identified maintenance undertaken to ensure firefighting crews and their vehicles can quickly access blazes if they break out, to protect property and residents.

RFS, Fire & Rescue NSW, National Parks and Wildlife Service, and Forestry Corporation, all rely on properly maintained fire trails.

The aerial inspections identify fallen trees requiring removal; erosion or vegetation growth that has impacted trails; and creek crossings require repair.

The helicopter is also fitted with a camera to help record where follow-up work is needed.....

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's frequent lying to Australian voters is reprehensible but deliberately misleading Parliament is beyond the pale. However, when he knowingly mislead the House last Monday there were no repercussions

Not once but twice in the space of of less than two minutes Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison knowingly mislead the Australian Parliament.

This was not acknowledged by The Speaker Tony Smith (in the chair on his final day as Speaker in the House of Representatives) when Morrison did not correct his lie when given the opportunity at 15:11 (2:11pm). 

However, in what appears to have been an agreement between the prime minister and himself The Speaker was careful to vacate his chair to a Liberal Member of the Speaker's Panel and leave the Chamber before 16:00 when Morrison again rose to his feet - this time in a near empty House - stating "I wish to add to an answer". 

The Speaker was wise to do so. Because what Morrison said was not a full and frank admission of an untruth, but rather a version of 'what I really meant to say to Parliament in Question today'. [See NOTES 1.] 

Mainstream media quickly noticed the "lie"........ 

Political Editor Katharine Murphy, writing in The Guardian, 22 November 2021: 

I could open with pro-forma generosity, noting politicians are humans, and they, like the rest of us, sometimes forget things, and have rushes of blood to the head. 

 But honestly, we are well past that. 

We are facing the unnerving proposition that Australia’s 30th prime minister struggles to differentiate fact from fiction. What happened on Monday was deeply disconcerting, and all the more troubling because this conduct is an established pattern of behaviour. 

Labor came into question time with a simple objective: to pin Scott Morrison as a liar. We have entered the final two parliamentary sitting weeks of 2021, the federal election is now only a few months away, and Labor has a narrow window of opportunity to try to first define, then rapid set Morrison’s negative characteristics with Australian voters..... 

Questions front-loaded with Morrison’s own conflicting statements came at him thick and fast from the opening of Monday’s session, and unfortunately for the prime minister, there’s an extensive back catalogue to draw on. 

One of the questions related to the events of December 2019. Morrison was asked about his decision to leave Australia during the catastrophic bushfires and holiday with his family in Hawaii. 

The Labor backbencher, Fiona Phillips, bowled her scripted bouncer: “When my electorate was burning, the prime minister’s office told journalists he was not on holiday in Hawaii. Why did the prime minister’s office say that when it wasn’t true?” 

Morrison answered the charge of institutional deception by declaring he had texted Albanese on the plane when he took off for the infamous overseas holiday “and told him where I was going and he was fully aware of where I was travelling with my family”. 

There was a significant problem with Morrison’s self-exoneration. 

It was completely untrue. 

Albanese corrected Morrison and the Hansard record very shortly after. He told the House of Representatives Morrison had texted him at 9.44pm on December 15 2019 to impart the news he was going on leave. 

“He did not tell me where he was going,” the Labor leader said. “He said he was going with his family. I kept that text message confidential, as you do, with private text messages between private phones.”.....

 So why lie? 

And why lie on an issue that even the most disengaged voter in the country would actually remember? 

After Albanese corrected the record, a visibly irritated Morrison then corrected his own untruth while blaming the Labor leader for provoking him. The prime minister acknowledged he had told the opposition leader he was going on holiday (“and that was the important thing”) but he hadn’t told him where he was going. [At that point Morrison did not acknowledge that he hadn't told told Albanese where he was going. See NOTES 2. below] “Mr Speaker [Albanese] chose to politicise that and has done so ever since.” 

An hour or so later, Morrison had another go at trying to clean up. “I wanted to confirm what the leader of the opposition said that in that text I did not tell him the destination of where I was going on leave with my family.” 

“I simply communicated to him that I was taking leave. When I was referring to ‘he knew where I was going and was fully aware I was travelling with my family’ what I meant was that we were going on leave together,” Morrison said.  

“I know I did not tell him where we were going because that is a private matter where members take leave and I know I did not tell him the destination, nor would I, nor would he expect me to have told him where [I] was going. I simply told him that I was taking leave with my family and he was aware of that at that time”. 

Perhaps Morrison is working on a supposition that voters don’t care about politicians lying because they assume all politicians lie. Perhaps he really is that cynical...... 

Read the full article here.

NOTES

House of Representatives, Hansard, 22 November 2012, excerpts:

1. Mr MORRISON (Cook—Prime Minister) (16:00): I wish to add to an answer. I want to confirm what the Leader of the Opposition said—that, in that text, I did not tell him the destination of where I was going on leave with my family; I simply communicated to him that I was taking leave. When I referred to him knowing where I was going and being fully aware I was travelling with my family, what I meant was that we were going on leave together. I know I didn't tell him where we were going, because where members take leave is a private matter. I know I didn't tell him the destination, nor would I, and nor would he expect me to have told him where I was going. I simply told him that I was taking leave with my family, and he was aware of that at that time.

2. Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Leader of the Opposition) (15:11): I wish to give a personal explanation.

The SPEAKER: Does the Leader of the Opposition claim to have been misrepresented? 

Mr ALBANESE: I do. 

The SPEAKER: You may proceed. 

Mr ALBANESE: In question time today, the Prime Minister said: … I texted him from the plane when I was going on that leave and told him where I was going … Mr Speaker, that is not true. On 15 December 2019 at 9.44 pm, the Prime Minister did text me saying he was going on leave. He did not tell me where he was going. He said he was going with his family. I kept that text message confidential, as you do with private text messages between private phones. 

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition needs to show where he has been misrepresented. 

Mr ALBANESE: On the Friday, he disclosed in an interview with 2GB that he had texted me, and that was the first time that that became public. But at no stage did he tell me where he was going. 

Mr MORRISON (Cook—Prime Minister) (15:12): on indulgence—Where I was going was on leave. That was the importance of the text message sent to the Leader of the Opposition. He knew I was taking leave. I told him I was taking leave. He chose to politicise that and has done so ever since.

 

Australian House of Representatives 22 November 2021: on the subject of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's December 2019 family holiday in Hawaii during the Australian east coast bushfire crisis

Morrison rising to his feet in the House of Representatives at approx. 16:00 on 22.11.21 followed on from Anthony Albanese on his feet at 15:11 pic.twitter.com/cVnUXjwKz5

— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) November 22, 2021

NSW Delta Variant Outbreak Update: Lives could have been saved if the NSW Government's Covid-19 Crisis Committee had followed the medical advice it received

After 16 June 2021 when the Delta Variant Outbreak began, the NSW Coalition Government’s COVID-19 Crisis Committee was composed of up to seven permanent members – these included then Premer Gladys Berejiklian, then Deputy-Premier John Barilaro, then Treasurer & now NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, the Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard, Member for Penrith & now Deputy-Premier Paul Toole and, the then members of government now ministers in the Perrottet Government Victor Dominello and Stuart Ayres .The state’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kerry Chant advises/makes recommendations to this committee.

It seems what many have long suspected about this committee is true……..

News.com.au, 22 November 2021:

Newly released documents reveal the NSW government ignored health advice to apply the same coronavirus lockdown rules across all of Sydney.

An email sent by NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant to Health Minister Brad Hazzard on August 14 showed she recommended “consistent measures across greater metropolitan Sydney”.

But the extra-tough lockdown rules in Sydney’s west and southwest were not brought in line with the rest of the city until September 20.

A virus expert has said lives could have been saved if the harsher rules were implemented across Sydney instead of just in select areas.

Former premier Gladys Berejiklian, who was leading the state’s pandemic response at the time, consistently argued she was relying on health advice in decisions around the lockdown.

A western Sydney opposition politician said the email proved locals “were right to feel targeted” and called the revelations “absolutely horrific”.

“The Government hated it when we pointed to a Tale of Two Cities. They accused us of being political – evidence we were speaking the truth,” Lakemba MP Jihad Dib said on Monday.

“When the health advice said one thing, the Government did the other. We were right to feel targeted.”

Sydney’s latest lockdown began in the last weekend of June, after an airport breach caused the Delta variant of the coronavirus to spread in the city.

Although the outbreak began in the eastern suburbs, the spread soon got worse in the city’s west.

By the second week of July, police had begun a crackdown in the western suburbs to make sure locals adhered to the lockdown.

And by the time Dr Chant wrote her August 14 email, the rules had tightened several times in an expanding area of western and southwestern Sydney where the virus was spreading the fastest.

Among the harsher rules was a ban on leaving hotspot LGAs, whereas people in other parts of the city were allowed more freedom of movement.

But the top doctor recommended the rules be made consistent.

“Implement consistent measures across greater metropolitan Sydney with outdoor masks, consistent 5km rule and authorised workers only,” she wrote in a list of recommendations.

The email was written at a time when Covid-19 infections were rising fast.

“Case numbers are high and escalating and likely to reach 1000 cases a day very quickly ... this is the worst outbreak in Australia during the pandemic,” Dr Chant wrote.

The first recommendation contained in the email was to “intensify the action in western Sydney and Nepean Blue Mountains where case numbers are escalating”.

The same recommendation was made for rural and regional Aboriginal communities, where Dr Chant also wished to see the vaccine rollout prioritised.

She also recommended further restrictions such as a limit on who could take advantage of child care services, closing retail stores further, and reducing “non-essential activity in manufacturing/construction”.

Other recommendations in the email included “1 hour of exercise per day”, “mandate vaccination in aged care, disability, and health care” and “urgently extend the isolation payments to all LGAs of concern”.

Dr Chant also recommended locking down regional NSW, advice which the government heeded within hours of receiving her email.

An epidemiologist shown the health advice on Monday said it was difficult to say exactly what the chief health officer was advocating for based purely on her email.

University of South Australia epidemiology professor Adrian Esterman said it was “ambiguous” as to whether Dr Chant called for western Sydney’s rules to apply across the city.

“If I was chief health officer, I would have wanted to come down hard across the whole of greater Sydney,” he said.

“They would have had a much better chance of driving down numbers, and secondly, they would have avoided stigmatising people in those western suburbs.”

Professor Esterman also said lives could have been saved if all of Sydney had been locked down harder.

“Of course, if you cut down cases you cut down on deaths,” he said.

“Governments have terrible decisions to make, do we close up and kill the economy? Or do we open and accept there are going to be deaths and people who get seriously ill? It‘s a horrible equation.”.

Dr Chant has previously testified to a parliamentary committee she would give a mix of verbal and written advice to the government.

The government had kept most of her health advice secret until Labor MPs recently managed to access parts of it through an order in parliament…..

The curfew was in place in the western Sydney hotspots from August 23 to September 25, and prevented people in those areas from leaving their homes between 9pm and 5am.

Another email released to parliament showed Dr Chant had recommended a curfew as early as July 29, although she specified it would be to achieve a “messaging effect” and underscore the importance of complying with the other rules that were in place.

“A curfew should be considered for the messaging effect as we need to signal the absolute urgency of the current situation with strong compliance presence,” Dr Chant wrote in the email to Mr Hazzard…..

NSW-Qld Border Zone to open up for cross-border travel by all zone residents from 17 December 2021 - with conditions

Tweed Daily News online, 19 November 2021:

As of December 17, anyone entering Queensland from a declared hot spot will be required to have a border pass, be fully vaccinated and have a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours.

NSW, Victoria and the ACT are currently considered hot spots by Queensland.

Medicare covers the costs of a Covid-19 test for anyone experiencing symptoms however the tests are not covered for travel purposes.

Residents who live in the border zone, which extends south to the Clarence Valley and out to the western boundary of NSW, are permitted to cross into Queensland for work and volunteering with a single vaccine jab requirement.

NED-4769 Queensland's Roadmap to Freedom

Crossing is also permitted for health, essential shopping and providing care for border zone residents.

However it remains unclear how the negative Covid-19 test will be feasible for border residents, especially the estimated 16,000 who cross daily for work.

Cross Border Commissioner James McTavish said he had repeatedly requested advice on the expected conditions for cross border residents regarding the issues.

“The Queensland Government is yet to provide that advice,” Mr McTavish said.

“We’d like to see full vaccinated people exempted from the testing requirement entirely if they are from the border region.

“If the testing regime is enforced, it should be free for border residents.”

He said advice was also sought about how the Queensland Government planned to manage traffic and conditions ahead of the 80 per cent mark.

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said there would be a border zone in place to ensure all border zone residents, regardless of vaccination status, could continue to enter Queensland for essential purposes once the border opened in December, without the need to meet the traveller testing requirements.

“There may be less testing requirements for fully vaccinated people entering the border zone or entering Queensland from the border zone for non-essential reasons,” she said.

“We are continuing to work through the specific requirements for the 80 per cent vaccination milestone.

“Detailed information will be made public when available.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was questioned in parliament on Thursday night about residents being asked to fork out $150 for a Covid-19 test and why the state would not cover the cost.

“These are really strict requirements and I make no apology for them being strict because we are keeping Queenslanders safe,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Acting chief health officer Peter Aitken on Friday said it would be a challenge to force Queensland visitors to fork out $150 for a Covid-19 test.

Dr Aitken said health authorities were considering scrapping the requirement or making the test free.

“We recognise that... enormous challenge for people, for police, and it’s a discussion we’re having as to ensuring that double-vaccinated people have greater access,” he said.

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison appears to view the very real danger that Australia is heading towards political violence from extremist mobs as all just part of the game to keep him in power

IMAGES: ABC NEWS & Herald Sun

The Monthly, 18 November 2021:

 Scott Morrison is, if nothing else, painfully predictable. As many (including myself) anticipated on Tuesday, the prime minister’s belated condemnation of the threatening mob outside the Victorian Parliament was always going to come with a “but” – a dog whistle to the protesters, an endorsement of their cause, a swipe at overbearing state governments. Today, following the disturbing news that a right-wing extremist had been charged over threats to kill the Victorian premier, and reports that neo-Nazis, seeking to radicalise other protesters, had infiltrated rallies against the state’s pandemic bill (not to mention anti-vaxxers’ rape and death threats forcing the shutdown of the WA premier’s office), Morrison did exactly as expected.

Asked this morning for his response to the violence being incited against politicians, the PM said that threats and intimidation had no place in Australia. But after a few cursory sentences about “civil society” and “respect” (just enough for many media outlets to report it as a rebuke), Morrison pivoted to justification and understanding. “There are many people who are feeling frustrated,” he said, arguing that it was time for governments to stop “telling Australians what to do”. “Australians have done an amazing job when it comes to leading us through this pandemic, but now it’s time for governments to step back. And for Australians to take their lives back,” he added ominously.

Morrison’s sympathy for the “frustrated” protesters has more than a minor whiff of Donald Trump’s “very fine people” comments after the deadly Charlottesville riots, not to mention the “I know how you feel” video during the also-deadly January 6 Capitol insurrection. While some media outlets declared that Morrison had “hit out” at the protesters, there’s little doubt that, as with Trump’s comments, the dog whistle was louder than the denunciation.

Eighty per cent of the PM’s answer, in fact, was focused on the protestors’ justified frustrations and state government overreach, with an added pushback against mandates and restrictions for the unvaccinated (policies to which, as Niki Savva notes, he owes the impressive vaccination rates he loves to crow about). People should be able to get a coffee in Brisbane, added Morrison, regardless of whether they’re vaccinated – a swipe at the Queensland government’s newly announced restrictions. (The state government has since labelled Morrison’s comments a “reckless” undermining of its vaccination efforts.) There’s little doubt that Morrison is trying to appease some of his own senators, who are still vowing to withhold their votes unless he pushes back against mandates. But he’s also indulging the “frustrated” protesters, with little concern for the dangerous levels of misinformation flying about......

Guy knows that the Victorian government needs some sort of bill to be able to manage the pandemic – which is very much ongoing – beyond December, and as supporting crossbencher MP Fiona Patten noted on RN Breakfast, the alternative (state of emergency legislation) “is far more draconian than the legislation we were trying to put through”. But once again, the facts don’t really matter to the PM – all that matters is that the very “frustrated” people know he’s in their corner, even if it means encouraging extremists and continuing to confuse those they are seeking to influence.

This is all getting very real and very dangerous, and many fear that we are on a dark path to the kinds of political violence increasingly being seen in the US and the UK. But to Scott Morrison, it is just another game.

Read the full article here.

IMAGE: news.com.au

 

You obviously support this, otherwise you'd be calling on the police to arrest her. pic.twitter.com/oJYOTw1kBy

— Guildford (yes him) 😕🙁😐 (@Guildford) November 16, 2021

Not just Vic Premier being threatened - seems members of his government are possibly being targeted too pic.twitter.com/PJbet14Q9e

— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) November 17, 2021

 

7 News, 17 November 2021:

WA Premier Mark McGowan’s electoral office has been closed due to ongoing security risks.

In a doorstop interview on Wednesday, McGowan revealed that his Rockingham office had been the target of death threats and bomb threats ever since the state government announced mandatory vaccination for much of the state’s workforce.

A week after an armoured tank rolled up outside his electoral office, McGowan has confirmed that his staffers had even been subjected to rape threats.

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