One more reason that Clarence Valley Council should replace that missing section of the Yamba Road Cycleway sooner rather than later

 

Letter to the Editor, The Daily Examiner 17 May 2013:

 

Money spinner

Earlier this month, a group of cycling friends travelled from Queensland's Sunshine Coast to the Clarence. This was our third visit in less than five years and again Maclean was the base.
The Lower Clarence is a delightful area to cycle and among our wonderful experiences, starting on day one, was the ferry ride from Yamba to lunch at Iluka before returning to Maclean via Ashby and Harwood (pub).
Day two we were on a back road near Tucabia when a car pulled up. Out jumped a local lass amazed to see such a group and proceeded to take our photos. Lunch was at the Ulmarra pub.
Day three we were invited to ride in the Woodford Island fun ride organised by Maclean Rotary. Day four was an early morning sprint out to Brooms Head before our departure.
Everyone was again taken by the beauty of the region and appreciated the consideration given by motorists on roads that were not always cyclist friendly.
Our group of about 30 would have put about $15,000 into the local economy for our stay.
Cycling is a massive growth area driven by baby boomer retirees. With money well spent on improving cycling facilities in the Clarence (eg paths/lanes Maclean to Yamba; sealing road between Ashby, Tullymorgan and Lawrence; and road markings to make motorists aware of cyclists) there would be a huge financial boost to the area.

RON GOOCH

Peregian Beach

 

Brad Mullard's coal seam gas 'con job'

Arrow Energy gas well blowout 
in Tara region gas fields in Queensland identified in Google Earth snapshot

The well which exploded up to 100 metres in the air continued to shoot to 40 metres is on a farmer’s property on the Kogan-Condamine Road

A CSG well is created by drilling through layers of earth and rock up to 1000 metres below the surface. Multiple layers of steel casing and cement are pressure injected so the well adheres to the surrounding rock.

A strong seal prevents gas or fluid leakage into permeable layers, including aquifers.

The process of drilling and installing the well can take over a month. Before activation, the well is subjected to a high pressure test. A geophysical logging tool is lowered into the well hole to inspect the casing and ensure it meets Government standards.

These measures limit the potential for CSG drilling activities to interfere with water resources and the environment. [NSW Government website]

Letters to the Editor in The Daily Examiner on 10 and 20 May 2013:

CSG info at hand
I refer to your article (Elliot at MardiGrass for CSG petition, DEX May 6).
NSW Trade & Investment's Division of Resources and Energy has launched a comprehensive resource to provide residents and landholders with factual information on coal seam gas.
CSG is already part of the state's energy mix but many people do not understand what the resource is, how it is explored and extracted, and the regulations that govern the industry.
Companies that drill for gas in this state operate in a tightly regulated environment that ensures our valuable land and water resources are not damaged.
Residential areas are also protected by a 2km exclusion zone that prevents CSG exploration and production near homes.
A new website provides residents and landholders with specific information on CSG, including maps, videos and fact sheets. The public can also join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter by following links on the site.
Learn more about coal seam gas and the protections in place by visiting www.csg.nsw.gov.au

Brad Mullard

Mineral Resources

NSW Trade & Investment

CSG letter a con job
Brad Mullard's letter (DE May 10) assuring us that coal seam gas miners in this state "operate in a tightly regulated environment" is nothing but a con job.
The industry is clearly more highly regulated in NSW than Queensland; that's partly the reason why Metgasco and others have moved out temporally.
However, the tight regulations do not alter the required infrastructure of a gas field.
On the day Mr Mullard's letter was published, I read another letter from a lady who had just returned from a trip to the south Queensland CSG fields to see for herself what is happening there. She was clearly distressed and very angry with our politicians at what she saw.
She spoke of broken communities, of meeting a farmer who has considered suicide because a nearby compressor station stops him from sleeping and his farm is no longer a farm due to gas wells.
She describes the dangers of driving on roads that are clogged with mining trucks; and visiting the township of Chinchilla and the difficulty she had spotting a child, a farmers wife, or any person that did not wear a yellow vest.
There are distressing reports of being stalked, harassed and filmed by male security guards, "in packs of three", when they stopped to photograph a compressor station 750 metres away.
The writer describes the endless land clearing for infrastructure, the seemingly hundreds of kilometre- long toxic waste-water holding ponds, and scores of compressor stations that look and sound like international airports.
She concludes that she saw no co-existence with farming, and in fact the mining was "forcing people away from the district, and that's the way the miners like it".
A few weeks ago I watched a Queensland farmer say that he never thought he'd see the day when Australian police would force their way past Australian farmers to allow foreign-owned mining companies to trash their land.
Dart Energy and Metgasco have gone from the Northern Rivers for the time being, but the potential danger of the region suffering the same impacts as Queensland has not.
Our State Government representatives still appear to believe their own rhetoric, trotting out media releases about how water and human health will be protected, and clearly still support CSG mining despite overwhelming opposition from the majority of people they claim to represent.
I wonder why?

John Edwards

South Grafton

Aerial shot of nascent NSW CSG gasfield

Pilot CSG gas wells NSW

* All images from Google Images & Goggle Earth 

Abbott revisits superannuation at your expense

THEN

House of Representatives Hansard STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 25 September 1995:

Superannuation

Mr ABBOTT —Compulsory superannuation is one of the biggest con jobs ever foisted by government on the Australian people. If the Prime Minister (Mr Keating) was a private businessman, chances are that he would be before the courts for false and misleading advertising. The basic objective of compulsory superannuation is that the government is taking our money now so that it does not have to pay us a pension when we retire. The government is making us worse off now so that it will be better off in the future.

Over the last six months, the employer of a constituent of mine has paid $993 into his compulsory superannuation fund. The fund charged $28 in administration, bookkeeping fees, et cetera, and earned $38 in interest. My constituent should have been $10 better off. However, the government has charged $208 in contributions tax so that my constituent is actually $198 worse off over the last six months. This is the fine print that the Prime Minister never tells you about—the fees, the charges and, above all, the taxes. I say to the voters of Australia, `Beware! There is no pot of gold at the end of the superannuation rainbow. Any money you put in is your money and you are certain to get back less than you put in.'

NOW

Tony Abbott’s Register of Member’s Interest Statement 21 October 2010:

MOPS Superannuation Scheme:

The Notional Employer Contribution Rate paid by the Commonwealth Government into the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Scheme is 40.0% of total salaries, including additional allowances, at a nominal cost to taxpayers in 2013 of $822.3 million in projected accrued liabilities.

Australian Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott in his Budget Reply Speech of 16 May 2013 states he will not raise the compulsory superannuation contribution paid to Australian workers to 12 per cent:

I announce that we will delay by two years the ramp up in compulsory superannuation because this money comes largely from business  – not from government…..

Apparently one publisher has determined that Australian voters need not cast their ballots on 14 September 2013

Forty-four days before the Australian electorate goes to the polls Allen & Unwin and Kerry-Anne Walsh seem to ‘know’ with certainty the federal election results - the political demise of the Prime Minister.

 PRE-ORDER NOW!
RELEASED ON 01/08/13

Published 1st August 2013. Typically received 2-3 working days after despatch

Synopsis This is the story of one of the most extraordinary episodes in recent Australian political history, of how a powerful media pack, a vicious commentariat and some of those within her own party conspired to bring down Australia's first woman prime minister.

Metgasco has changed its registered office/business address and gone upmarket

From Friday 10 May 2012 Metgasco Limited’s registered office and principal place of business is at: 

Level 11, 2 Elizabeth Plaza, North Sydney NSW 2060

Metgasco CEO Peter Henderson and the rest of the executive team now have slightly more upmarket offices than before from which to lobby all three tiers of government concerning its plans to turn areas of the Northern Rivers into coal seam gas fields.

Level 11, 2 Elizabeth Plaza, North Sydney

ADDRESS

Part Level 11, 2 Elizabeth Plaza NORTH SYDNEY

LISTING ID

14626

DESCRIPTION

Part Level 11 is a refurbished whole floor plus large balcony with brilliant views towards the city and harbour. 

Boutique building comprising 12 office levels, ground floor retail outlets and 3 secure basement car park levels. Modern entry foyer with three lift risers, floor by floor air-conditioning, on-site building management and 24 Hour security system. Signage opportunities also available. 

2 Elizabeth Plaza is located on the corner of Mount Street within the Heart of North Sydney, fronting the Pacific Highway. Central Location within 200 metres of the North Sydney Railway Station and close proximity to bus terminals.

AREA (SQM) 224 sqm  

RENT (PSM) $500 Net

RENTAL PA $112,000  

OUTGOINGS Outgoings are currently estimated at $130.20 sqm  

GST All prices quoted are exclusive of GST.  

PARKING Via Wilsons Parking  

What Abbott's axing of "the twice a year supplementary allowance to people on benefits" would mean to the Northern Rivers

In his Budget Reply Speech of 16 May 2013 the Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott stated:

Tonight, I confirm that we won’t continue the twice a year supplementary allowance to people on benefits [Hansard,16 May 2013,p.91].

The only supplementary allowance which appears to fit Tony Abbott’s wording is the Income Support Bonus.

This seems to be confirmed by the following media report:

Mr Abbott said he will pay for this with spending cuts worth $5 billion a year which will include dumping a family benefits supplement worth $210 for eligible singles and $350 for couples.

These figures equal the annual amount of the Income Support Bonus.

The Income Support Bonus is paid to those receiving the following:

ABSTUDY Living Allowance

Austudy

Exceptional Circumstances Payment

Newstart Allowance

Parenting Payment

Sickness Allowance

Special Benefit

Transitional Farm Family Payment

Youth Allowance

Given demographics across the Northern Rivers, if the Gillard Government were to be defeated and this payment were to cease sometime after September 14, then a conservatively estimated 40,000 residents will be missing out on money they first began to receive on 20 March 2013.

In the Page electorate alone in December 2012 there were:

157 people receiving the Abstudy Living Allowance

304 receiving Austudy

N/K people receiving Exceptional Circumstances Payment

5,795 people receiving Newstart Allowance

4,207 people receiving Parenting Payment

67 people receiving Sickness Allowance

<20 people receiving Special Benefit

N/K receiving Transitional Farm Family Payment

1,331 people receiving Youth Allowance

Under an Abbott government around 10,000 people in the Page electorate would no longer receive the Income Support Bonus, a similar number would lose out in the Lyne electorate and, even higher numbers in the Cowper and Richmond electorates.

Most of these would be single parents, families on low incomes and the unemployed.

Readers can look up the figures in their own electorates here.

When Christian cooks go feral on Facebook *WARNING STRONG LANGUAGE*

THE CAKES WE OFFER ARE EXPENSIVE BECAUSE WE HAVE TO REPACKAGE AND SHIP.

The cooks/owners from Amy's Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro go into meltdown on Facebook.

Update:

The cooks apparently began to notice the heat in the kitchen and first alleged their Facebook page had been hacked, started the new page above then closed it, and went back to the original page as the train wreck continues on in slow mo.