Lawrence James "Larry" Anthony : A memory jog for voters in the NSW Northern Rivers federal electorate of Richmond

Now that it appears former Howard Government minister and Nationals MP Larry Anthony may be contemplating a return to politics perhaps it is also time to recall a little of his history.......

Lawrence James “Larry” Anthony 
(aged 54 years)

Professional company director

Photograph from The Guardian 13 September 2015

* Jackeroo between 1979-80.

* Small business and industrial advocate adviser, Sydney Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in 1984-85.

* Stockbroker and investment banker, Potter Warburg and Merrill Lynch, in 1985-91 and 1993-96.

* Manager and director of the Northern Rivers Railroad Company in 1991-93. The company set up by himself, his father and business partners operated a passenger service as well as freighting cement powder and fly ash from Grafton to Casino and Murwillumbah NSW under sub-contract.

* Anthony and partners sold the Northern Rivers Railroad Company to Queensland Rail  in 2002 and all local passenger trains ceased on the Murwillumbah line. This line is was eventually closed by NSW Rail on 16.05.04.

* Federal Member for Richmond NSW of Parliament 1996-2004:

Parliamentary Secretary (Trade) from 21.10.98 to 20.7.99.

Minister for Community Services from 20.7.99 to 26.11.01.

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs from 26.11.01 to 26.10.04.

* Defeated at general elections in 2004 after winning 45.79 per cent of first preference votes but failing to pick up enough subsequent preference votes.

* Director of Indue Ltd from 17.02.05 and Deputy Chairman from 18.07.08. Retired sometime in the 2012-13 financial year.

* Registered Larry Anthony & Associates Pty Ltd on 09.03.05.

* Non-executive director of Creditlink, a Brisbane-based credit union bank, from March 2005.

* Became a director of Australia’s largest childcare company, ABC Learning Centres Limited, in 2005. Reported to have received annual director’s fee of $65,000 and was paid more than $235,000 to lobby governments on its behalf.  Was a member of ABC Learning's audit committee in 2007. The company went into receivership on 11.11 08 owing an est. $1.6 billion to debtors. The receiver finally wound the company up in 2015.

* Chairman technology company uniDap Solutions Pty Ltd  and a director of CertainEdge Pty Ltd (dates unknown) .

*Non-executive director of Macquarie Media Management (unknown start date). Retired in 2008.

* Moved to Queensland about 2008.

* Decided not to stand at the 2007 federal election.

* Decided not to run at the 2010 federal election giving this explanation:

Anthony said his reason for not wanting to stand was the same one he had when he decided against running in 2007.

"In politics you are a rooster one day and a feather duster the next. It can be pretty ephemeral.

"When I'm on my death bed it will be my children by my bedside, not the people who voted for me."

* Stood for federal presidency of the National Party of Australia in 2010 and was defeated.

* Decided not to stand at the 2013 federal election.

* One of the company spokespeople in SAS Consulting Group’s YouTube Inside Word presentations since August  2014.

* Chair of the ADC Northern Development Summit held in Townsville, Queensland in September 2014. Summit organised by the ADC Forum, a not-for-profit leadership group. 

* Part-owner and director of lobbyist company SAS Consulting Group Pty Ltd along with Jennifer Anne Anthony ATF Anthony Family Trust and others.  Entered in NSW Register of Third Party Lobbyists from 01.10.15 to date and on the Australian Government Register of Lobbyists (start date unknown).

Clients include:

SEQ Catchments - natural resource management organisation

Indue Ltd - financial payment products and settlement services

ERM Power – operates electricity sales and electricity generation businesses

China Telecom Global Limited – multinational communications corporation

Wanda Ridong (Gold Coast) Development Pty Ltd - Chinese Development & entertainment company

Shenhua Watermark (Shenhua Watermark Coal Pty Limited) – multinational mining company based in China holding state and federal approval to develop an est. $1.2 billion coal mine on the Liverpool Plains in north-west NSW. On 16.10.12 and 15.04.13 Anthony met with NSW Dept. of Planning as a representative of Shenhua.

* Federal President of the National Party of Australia from 13.09.15 to date.

* January 2016 rumours begin in media that Larry Anthony will be seeking preselection as Nationals candidate in the Richmond electorate at this year’s federal election. The seat is currently held by Labor’s Justine Elliot.

ERM Power would like to bail out of coal seam gas miner Metgasco Limited ?

Metgasco Limited's largest shareholder appears to be losing interest in the fate of this coal seam/tight gas explorer and wannabe production company.

Unfortunately with the ordinary share price being firmly in the 2 cents range, ERM Power will have to wait before any move to sell off its interest in this company.

Argus Media

ERM Power mulls future of NSW gas assets

22 Feb 2015, 11.48 pm GMT

Sydney, 22 February (Argus) — Australian power and gas group ERM Power is still considering the future of its gas interests in New South Wales (NSW), which include an interest in independent coal-bed methane (CBM) gas developer Metgasco and some exploration areas.

ERM bought a 13pc stake in Metgasco in 2013, but the CBM exploration group has been hampered by a NSW government ruling halting further exploration at the company's Casino project because of community concerns and there has been no resolution to the issue.

"These assets are being impacted by regulatory uncertainty in NSW which, at this point, seems far from being resolved. We will continue to keep these assets on minimum expenditure until investment conditions materially improve," ERM said.

The company also operates its 100pc owned 332MW Oakey peak demand gas-fired plant in Queensland, which was only used 3pc of the time during July-December last year. Oakey reported a 3.8pc fall in its asset value from a year earlier to A$223mn ($174mn) in the six-month period. There were increased opportunities for Oakey because of higher volatility in electricity prices in Queensland during the 2014-15 summer, ERM said, with electricity spot market prices reaching the maximum price cap of A$13,000/MWh on numerous occasions.

km/rjd

On 24 February 2015 Metgasco Limited released its Financial Report For Half Year Ended 31 December 2014.

In the last six months of 2014 it recorded a loss of $2,105,164 with $955,547 of this figure listed as professional fees.

Presumably these fees are associated with its court case Metgasco Ltd v Minister for Resources & Energy which has been waiting judgment since the end of October 2014.

Since announcing its script merger with Elk Petroleum on 22 December involving a convertible loan facility for Elk of $2.5 million, Metgasco has lent Elk a further $1.4 million this year.

Metgasco's ailing fortunes will not have been helped by the fact that one of the main planks in its argument for the establishment of Northern Rivers gasfields - ie. that these gasfields would bring down the cost of gas for business and residential users - has been contradicted by the Select Committee on the Supply and Cost of Gas and Liquid Fuels in New South Wales (25 February 2015) report which states gas prices; will rise regardless of whether there is an indigenous supply...Eastern Australia is becoming part of a single global market for commodity gas, and wholesale prices are being increasingly set by international prices. In the future, it is likely that NSW gas retailers will have to compete with offshore demand and pay export parity prices for wholesale gas.

Metgasco considering leaving New South Wales for good?

Metgasco Limited Chairman Leonard Gill at the coal seam and tight gas exploration and wannabee production company’s 2014 annual general meeting, according to the Ballina Shire Advocate on 29 November 2014:

"The government's announcement has again given the green light in principle, but provided another set of traffic lights in practice," Mr Gil said.

He also suggested many gas companies in NSW would be contemplating the government's offer to buy back petroleum exploration licences.

"Given the continuing changing rules and ongoing delays in NSW, it would not surprise if all exploration licence holders - even the largest ones - gave some thought, at least in private, to this option."……

Mr Gil said the company will "continue to pursue opportunities to diversify outside NSW" as the best way to provide value to shareholders.

"Given ongoing delay in the Northern Rivers, the lack of investor confidence in NSW and the outlook for continuing sovereign risk, diversification remains a priority in order to set the company on a growth path," Mr Gil told the meeting.

The Australian Stock Exchange chart of Metgasco ordinary share daily price performance over the last twelve months:

At close of trade on Friday the company's ordinary share price stood at 4.7 cents.

Metgasco monthly ordinary share price charted over last ten years:

Current shareholder sentiment has been described as "depressed" by one AGM observer.

A state of affairs some shareholder comments on the HotCopper forum this month tend to support:

When do you think MEL lost community support and squandered their opportunity?

who says mel management cannot be matched for the ability to destroy shareholder value while holding a great assett?

Cast your mind back several years Henderson and tell me you weren't prepared to walk away then!
Or was that a silly, ill conceived bluff, that may have come back to bite. Still not happy!

Tweed MP Geoff Provest was quoted calling on companies with exploration licences on the North Coast to give them up.
My local MP sucks - does he mean without any compensation (how un-Australian)
Seem to remember you getting out at about 41c danebell when ERM bought in - smarter than me mate. The end may be nearer than we think - best to all Sean.

Wonder what ERM Power are thinking, our largest shareholder with 58,000.000 shares having paid up to 0.60 cents a share in 2011 like the rest of us longtermers, who have been stuck unable to sell our shares because the NSW govt, The Greens and Lock the Gate have ruined MEL's promising future and ours as well.

What 4-traders thinks of Metgasco's immediate future:

Metgasco : East Australia's future gas projects shrink

11/29/2014 | 07:01am US/Eastern

There were three upstream gas projects in east Australia culled during the past 12 months from the list of potential projects complied by the Australian government's commodity forecaster, the Bureau of Resource and Energy Economics (Bree).

The Casino coal-bed methane (CBM) gas Casino project operated by Australian independent Metgasco was taken off the list of potential gas, oil and LNG projects that could be sanctioned in the medium term. Also struck off were the two trains of the Fisherman's Landing LNG project, which was listed as two projects, operated by Australian independent LNG Limited (LNGL).....

Another Bree report this week showed that the 2012-13 fiscal year to 30 June was the first year in more than six years that a new gas-fired power station did not come on line. This was in contrast to 5,135MW of similar capacity coming on line between 2006-07 and 2011-12.

There still remains 7,928MW of planned gas-fired power capacity in Australia, or about 7pc of Australia's installed power generation capacity. But most of these projects are unlikely to be approved during the next two or three years given the current oversupply in the Australian electricity market that has depressed wholesale electricity prices.

Coal seam/tight gas miner Metgasco Limited's major shareholder makes the news again as Australian Senate inquiry into Queensland Government continues

Metgasco Limited's major shareholder ERM Power gets a mention in the Brisbane Times on 24 November 2014:

State Energy Minister Mark McArdle held a Liberal National Party fundraiser at the offices of one of the nation's largest energy companies, but did not declare it in his ministerial diary.

The 2013 event was held in the boardroom of ERM Power, one of many meetings between the minister, the energy company and lobbying firm SAS Group, according to documents seen by Fairfax Media.

A spokesman for Mr McArdle said the minister always complied with the reporting obligations set down by Premier Campbell Newman's demand for the most transparent and accountable administraton in Queensland's history, but the boardroom fundraiser did not fall into the category of a reportable event.

"Fundraising is carried out by the party organisation in strict compliance with state and federal laws," the statement says.

A spokesman for ERM Power said political fundraising was a "legitimate exercise of the freedom of political association and expression".

"ERM Power complies with the regulatory framework in Queensland for such activities, making the required disclosures under the Electoral Act," he said.

The documents, which the Electrical Trades Union is expected to submit to the Senate Inquiry in to the Queensland Government, show meetings and meals between the government, ERM executives and their lobbyists stretch back to 2012, soon after the LNP took office.

Locations included Minister McArdle's office, the LNP state conference and the Queensland Club.

Mr McArdle's spokesman said the minister regularly met with a wide range of stakeholders in the energy and water sectors.

So far this year:

* Mr McArdle met ERM Power representatives at The Queensland Club on February 5 to discuss "renewable energy" on February 5;

* The state government announced on March 6 it was axing the 8 cent solar feed-in-tariff paid to 40,000 Queenslanders in favour of a system where customers negotiated directly with retailers; and

* On March 11 Mr McArdle was the guest at a lunch hosted by SAS Group in the lobbying company's boardroom. 

SAS Group did not declare the event on the contact register maintained by the state's Integrity Commissioner but Mr McArdle did, listing its purpose in his diary as "boardroom lunch" and naming the lobbyists as the organiser......

Fairfax Media last year revealed that ERM, which had previously predominately donated to the Labor Party, had donated more than $25,000 to the LNP since 2010, with $1500 going to the Labor Party in the same period. 

The government appointed the company's non-executive chair, Tony Bellas, as head of its Independent Review Panel into the electricity sector in May 2012.

An ERM Power spokesman said the company, whose Brisbane office was opened by Premier Campbell Newman in April 2013, was a major Queensland employer and ASX listed entity and as a matter of good business practice maintained appropriate relationships with all of its stakeholders, including the government and opposition.

The Senate Inquiry into the Queensland government will hold its next public hearing on November 28.

The question a number of voters on the NSW North Coast are asking is: How much is ERM Power donating to the NSW Liberal and Nationals election campaigns ahead of the March 2015 state election?

Because unless the current Liberal-Nationals Coalition Government headed by Premier Baird wins re-election Metgasco Limited will lose all its North Coast coal seam gas tenements and ERM Power the value of its investment.

BACKGROUND

Details of the Senate Select Committee inquiry into Certain Aspects of Queensland Government Administration related to Commonwealth Government Affairs can be found here.

The NSW Nationals MP for Clarence is not happy when heckled by anti-gasfields protestors

First term NSW Nationals Member for Clarence, former property developer and former Clarence Valley shire councillor, Chris Gulaptis, is a little hot under the collar if ABC News on 31 October 2014 is reading him correctly:

The Clarence MP says he'll sue anyone who suggests he has improper ties to the coal seam gas industry.

Chris Gulpatis said he was recently confronted by someone alleging he had a conflict of interest due to time working with a company known for its CSG work.

Mr Gulpatis worked as a surveyor for LandPartners in 2006.

But he said he never worked on CSG projects.

"Well the Chris Gulaptis that worked for LandPartners as a consultant is me, but the Chris Gulaptis who worked on any CSG projects is total fabrication and lie," Mr Gulaptis said.

He said if rumours continue to circulate about CSG connections, he'll get legal advice.

"Well, I have no ties with the industry and I get very frustrated when they spread lies and innuendo and make false allegations and I would just advise people to be very careful if they do so and they impugn my reputation then I will have no hesitation in seeking a defamation action against them," he said.

Mr Gulaptis accused his critics of spreading rumours based on a 'Google' search.

"What astounds me is people have not researched my background and they come up with these false allegations and I really have to question how much they have researched the CSG industry.

"Clearly if they are fabricating stories about me I would suggest they probably fabricating stories about the CSG industry as well, I mean GOOGLE can find you a million answers," Mr Gulaptis said.

The Daily Examiner 4 November 2014:

Mr Gulaptis said a protester stationed outside his Prince St office loudly accused him of having worked for a company with links to coal seam gas mining.

He did not deny having worked for LandPartners as a surveyor until 2006 but said his job never involved in any CSG operations.

The accusations have since made their way to Facebook.

"As far as I'm concerned, that's nothing but gossip and malicious lies," he said.

"I'm a surveyor - that's my profession - and I worked for LandPartners as a consultant.

"It certainly had nothing to do with the CSG industry and I ceased working for them in 2006

"At that stage, I had never even heard of CSG and I certainly didn't work on any CSG projects."

It would appear that Mr. Gulaptis did not enjoy being heckled by someone who questioned his 2006-2007 work history with Land Partners Limited (formerly Aspect North & KFM Partnership) – a company involved in the planning, design and construction phases of the Eastern Gas Pipeline in 1999-2000.

One has to wonder if he was also questioned about his time at as a senior operations manager for Brazier Motti Pty Ltd engineering and mining surveyors in Mackay, Queensland commencing around 2009 and presumably finishing when he won NSW Nationals pre-selection for the Clarence by-election in 2011.

A position he used to enthusiastically support the mining industry:

After enjoying some time overseas, Chris moved back to Australia when a job opportunity became available in Mackay.
"I was so happy to get involved back into a community where mining was big again," he said.

“We believe the wider Mackay region has a buoyant future in terms of attracting substantial investment in the areas of property development, mining and resources and public infrastructure,” Mr Gulaptis said . “Mining has underpinned the region's economy for a long time and now the Federal Government's Nation Building infrastructure projects will provide the impetus to sustain Mackay through the current economic downturn.”

Theappointment of Mr Gulaptis marks the completion of Brazier Motti's seniormanagement team.

The Mackay region includes the Abbot Point coal port and the town has coal seam gas exploration tenements to its west, as well as some of its businesses servicing the gas industry.

When he unsuccessfully stood for the NSW federal seat of Page in 2007 Chris Gulaptis openly supported the coal seam gas industry and Metgaso Limited:

By 2012 he was in favour of Metgasco establishing a commercial tight gas¹  field in the Clarence Valley.

ABC News 26 September 2012:

A mining company with gas exploration licences for the Clarence Valley has just signed a multi million dollar deal with an energy company.

The almost $3 million dollar agreement between Red Sky Energy and ERM Power will fund drilling of up to nine gas wells.

Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis said as far as he knows it is not a coal seam gas exploration project.

"On the surface they are talking about conventional gas, I think that's a good thing," he said.

"They're talking about domestic use, I think that's a good thing.

"I think the fact that the NSW government has at long last put some regulations in place to monitor the gas industry is also a good thing.

"So it all comes together at the right time."

Mr Gulaptis said he is not yet sure how big the local gas reserve is, or what the lifespan of the project is.

"I'm not sure about the extent of the resource is but clearly with a heavy investment there must be some confidence that the resource is fairly extensive," he said.

"It could be a good thing if it is a sustainable project which delivers gas to our domestic market."

Although from time to time in recent years Mr. Gulaptis has made mild media statements opposing coal seam gas mining in the Northern Rivers region, he has only spoken on the issue twice in state parliament in three years.

The first time on 20 June 2013 he stated; I am neither for nor against coal seam gas. He is also part of a government which has renewed two of Metgasco Limited's coal seam gas exploration licences and granted the company a production licence.

He supports the idea of designated gasfields being established within the state.

One doesn't know what Chris Gulaptis said to pro-CSG Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane in October 2013, when he attended a Canberra meeting along with fellow Nationals NSW MP Thomas George and Federal MP Kevin Hogan, Peter Henderson and Stuart George from Metgasco, a representative of ERM (a major Metgasco shareholder), the head of Geoscience Australia, Richmond Valley Council General Manager John Walker, the head of Richmond Valley Water Users Group,  NORCO chair Greg McNamara, dairy farmer Leigh Sherman, tourism operator and marine biologist Wendy Craig Duncan, Regional Co-ordinator for the Lock the Gate Alliance Ian Gaillard and Bentley landholder Peter Graham.

However, after this meeting the minister was reported as stating that; the majority opinion expressed at this meeting was that the CSG industry should operate within the framework set out by the NSW government including the buffer zone, while also meeting any conditions set out by the NSW chief scientist and where farmers agree to have CSG on their land.

That Mr. Gulaptis has chosen to issue a statement threatening legal action indicates that he is both acutely aware of community sentiment against the gas industry and sensitive about his own history in the lead up to the March 2015 state election.

This move may yet backfire on him as this Facebook post shows:

1. The term “tight gas sands” refers to low permeability sandstone reservoirs that produce primarily dry natural gas. A tight gas reservoir is one that cannot be produced at economic flow rates or recover economic volumes of gas unless the well is stimulated by a large hydraulic fracture treatment and/or produced using horizontal wellbores (Holditch, 2006). Tight gas includes basin-centred gas systems, defined by Law (2002) as low-permeability, gas-saturated reservoirs that are abnormally pressured, regionally pervasive, and lack down-dip water contacts. [SA Government Dept of State Development]

A few facts you may not know about coal seam/tight gas exploration company Metgasco Limited in 2014

Metgasco Limited’s profile in the financial year 2013-14:

* there were only 6,331 shareholders as at 30 June 2014
* had 1,202,222 ordinary shares on offer on 30 June 2014 according to the company's 2013-14 annual report;

* its largest shareholders were ERM Power (majority owned by the St Baker family) and the St Baker family of Queensland who held a total of 13.41% of the company’s fully paid ordinary shares;

* held a 100% interest in three exploration licences on the NSW North Coast covering approximately 4,556km², PELs 13, 16 and 426;

* had three listed subsidiaries, Clarence Morton (No.1) Pty Ltd, Richmond Valley Power Pty Ltd and Loins Way Pipeline Pty Ltd;

* although operating at a loss it paid 5 directors and 1 executive officer over $1.3 million in remuneration;

* paid no tax or royalties;

* had less than 10 employees in total according to statements made to the media in March 2013;

* had no female directors or women in senior executive positions;

* for the convenience of its board and employees maintains one city and one regional office, with the city head office costing somewhere in the vicinity of $112,000 per annum in rental costs;

* a shareholder group tried to unseat the board of directors in September 2013;

* the ordinary share price continues the downward trend which began in 2008;

* appears to have sunk no new wells from 1 July 2013 to date and, according to NSW Resources & Energy mapping has drilled less than 40 gas exploration wells since the company was formed in 1999;
* had no beneficial interest in any farm-in or farm-out agreements;

* in July 2013 there was an explosion during the decommissioning of PEL 16 well Kingfisher E01;

* permission to drill well site Rosella E01 on PEL 16 was suspended by the NSW Government in May 2014;

* had  PPLA 9 and PELA 130 in the Casino district still unapproved as at 30 June 2014; and

* the PEL 426 exploration licence due for renewal in February 2014 has not received renewal approval to date, according to NSW Resources & Energy list of .Petroleum Titles and Applications current as at 1 July 2014.

NOTE: From 29 October 2014 every New South Wales tenement that the company currently holds is covered by the NSW Labor Party policy banning coal seam/tight/unconventional gas exploration and production in the Northern Rivers region.
No judgment has been handed down yet in Metgasco Limited v Minister for Resources and Energy (Case # 201400165970) before the NSW Supreme. 

Is Opposition Leader John Robertson favouring a political donor by excising the Clarence Valley from Labor's 'CSG Free' Northern Rivers policy?

Letter to the Editor in the Clarence Valley Review, October 2014:

Opposition betrayal

Ed,
On 30 September 2014 NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson announced that if Labor wins government in 2015 it would establish a permanent total ban on coal seam gas exploration and mining within the Northern Rivers region.
He based this decision on the fact that this region has a clean, green reputation, vital water catchments, World Heritage areas, thriving tourism, dairy, beef and sugar cane industries, businesses which participate in the export market and communities opposed to unconventional gas fields. [John Robertson et al media release, 30.09.14]
However, when making this announcement he was careful to excise the southern-most part of the Northern Rivers from inclusion in this ban – the Clarence Valley 10,500 km² local government area.
Like other residents of this valley I know it also has a clean green reputation, the largest coastal river in the state, a vital water catchment supplying both the Clarence Valley and Coffs Harbour, a World Heritage area, a small working harbour, an estuary seafood catch valued at est. $47M annually and, a thriving tourism industry estimated to bring in excess of $65 million to the Valley each year from 922,000 visitors annually [Clarence Valley Economic Profile, 2012].
Forestry, beef, sugar cane and commercial fishing industries make up 87% of the Clarence Valley local economy, which along with 4,000 registered businesses (some of which participate in the export market) form the backbone of a local economy worth $2.4B GRP per annum [Clarence Valley Council Economic Monitor, June 2014].
In addition to which, the Valley has a growing population and communities opposed to unconventional gas fields.
I am not alone in wanting to know why the Opposition betrayed both the 2014 NSW Labor Conference resolution and the Clarence Valley.
Is it because it hasn’t held the Clarence electorate since March 2003? Or is it because the principal shareholder in an activated Metgasco tenement in the valley is ERM Power which donated to its political coffers in the past and, if the planned ban is in place this CSG tenement would be the only one that mining company had left in New South Wales?
Judith Melville, Yamba

UPDATE

On 29 October 2014 NSW Labor announced that it had included the Clarence Valley in its policy permanently banning coal seam gas/tight gas/unconventional gas exploration, mining and production in the Northern Rivers region.

Moggy Musings [Archived material from Boy the Wonder Cat]

A one-eyed musing:

One regular North Coast Voices reader is so crooked at The Daily Examiner that he sent me a message on 7.10.14; Check out its self centered article in today’s rag. "Projects to help AREA rebound'. Apparently Grafton is the only community in the Clarence Valley that needs to rebound. How on earth can our "Grafton Mayor" show leadership, positive perception in the community and most of all entrepreneurship when this rag which claims to be "The Voice of the Clarence Valley" speaks only of Grafton and of Cllrs only representing Grafton?

A stop laughing this is serious musing:

I Boy the Wonder Cat, being a respectable Northern Rivers moggy, do hereby make it known that I take no responsibility for any resident, ratepayer or visitor fatally choking on their breakfast cereal after reading one of my musings.

A weed by any other name musing:

Batman & Robin, Superman & Wonder Woman, Green Lantern & The Flash,Tarzan & Cheetah, Tick & Arthur, The Fat Controller & Psycho. Guess which pair are in Northern Rivers local government and not between the pages of comic book?

A seriously wondering musing:

The big news in the Clarence Valley on 30 September 2014 was that it was the only local government area left out of NSW Labor's promise to implement a total ban on CSG exploration and mining in the Northern Rivers.

Besides the fact that ERM Power, Metgasco Limited's largest shareholder, has made political donations in the past to all three major parties - what else could explain this odd state of affairs?

This little moggie wants to know what part Clarence Valley Council's executive might have played in this decision.

After all it's well-known that the mayor is a National Party member and that NSW Nationals support coal seam/tight gas exploration and mining - one only has to look at how NSW Nationals Leader & Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner bent over backwards for the controversial Santos Narabri project and the government in which he holds the second highest position endorsed fracking at AGL's Gloucester site.

So, was one or more of the people comprising the Clarence Valley Council executive approached by Labor and did they react coolly to any question of inclusion in Labor's 'CSG Free' Northern Rivers promise?

A second meeja musing:

Anyone regularly reading print and online mainstream media would be well aware that much of what passes as journalistic effort these days is an uncritical reworking of unsolicited media releases. What many readers might not notice is that the media companies, which sometimes create or assist with these media releases, may already have a relationship with newspaper groups. Take coal seam gas-tight gas minerMetgasco Limited - it employs the services of Citadel: Specialists in Corporate Communications. Co-incidentally, so does APN News & Media which owns mastheads on the NSW North Coast such as The Northern Star and The Daily Examiner which from time to time report on coal seam gas exploration and well drilling in the Northern Rivers.

A meeja musing:

Richmond NSW-based Deputy Editor of The Land newspaper and former editor of The Daily Examiner, Jenna Cairney, is obviously pining for sunny northern climes. She is moving across the Rio Tweed in six weeks' time to take up a new position at APN’s Sunshine Coast Daily in Maroochydore QLD, as its first female editor. Regular SCD readers, from Kin Kin down to Caloundra, should expect a fresh voice willing to break new ground on issues important to them.

A someone made a complaint musing:

According to Lexie the friendly ginger feline I sometimes talk to on my travels, a complaint has gone down to the NSW Ombudsman concerning alleged misconduct by one member of a council executive. No, there is no prize for guessing which NSW North Coast council. Way too easy!

An ooh aah musing:

Feathers are becoming ruffled in the local government doocot it seems. Not content with implying that a local resident is a liar concerning a previous water complaint, Clarence Valley Council management has now zeroed in on The Daily Examiner – declaring its reporting of dirty drinking water in Yamba on 6 September 2014 “spurious”. Bet that impressed the newspaper’s sports editor who had this to say of the day: “The Yamba triathlon festival gives competitors a real taste of what the place has to offer, even a dose of the infamous water supply thrown into the mix…….Bill North reporting in Yamba for The Daily Examiner.”

A selective backgrounding musing:

Word is that at least one Northern Rivers newspaper has been informed that local government reforms will mean that councillors will no longer be able to bid for or hold council contracts. Far as I can tell this means at least three Clarence Valley councillors will have, to some degree, to choose between being breadwinners for their families or elected representatives for their communities after September 2016. However, it is far from clear as to whether council has informed them of the fact that the proposed rewriting of the NSW Government Act is likely to affect them directly.

Post script: On 19 September 2014 the NSW Office of Local Government stated that there were as yet no details of provisions to be included in the planned new Local Government Act. Therefore a new rule concerning councillors and council contracts could neither be ruled in nor out of the mix.

A rumour grows musing:

If rumour is correct it seems that NSW North Coast Nationals were desperate to keep their man, Richie Williamson, in the Clarence Valley Council mayoral seat. It's now being alleged that retired Nationals federal MP and former House of Representatives deputy-speaker, Ian Causley, had also attempted to sway at least one councillor’s vote in the 16 September 2014 mayoral election. Telling all my furry friends to stick close to their owners and report back as these behind-the-scenes machinations are becoming interesting. Will the North Coast Nats call in their marker and make use of the mayor's casting vote when they want Clarence Valley local government to back their mining or dam policies?

A beat, beat, beat of the drums musing:

There is a strong rumour doing the rounds concerning the Clarence Valley Council mayoral election of 16 September 2014. It is being alleged that Federal Nationals MP for Cowper, Deputy Leader in the House of Representatives and Assistant Employment Minister, Luke Hartsuyker, has been meddling where he shouldn't by attempting to dissuade at least one councillor from running against the incumbent mayor, former Nationals pre-selection candidate Richie Williamson.

A you heard what? musing:

It doesn't take a genius to guess which Northern Rivers council management is alleged to have forwarded sensitive correspondence, (between one local resident & council) on to numerous third parties within the local government area. Tsk, tsk, tsk.....

An 'eaven 'elp us musing:

Word around the traps is that Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson will act as NSW Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis' campaign manager in the lead up to the 2015 state election.

NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption to explore links between Obeid family, Liberal Party fundraiser Di Girolamo, former NSW Resources Minister Chris Hartcher and Metgasco Limited?

The Sydney Morning Herald 15 May 2014:

The chairman of Metgasco's largest shareholder, ERM Power, is Tony Bellas, who is in business with Eddie Obeid's nephew, Dennis Jabour. Both are shareholders in the Queensland company Gasfields Waste Water and Services, of which Mr Jabour is the sole director.

Until March last year, Mr Bellas was also a director of Australian Water Queensland, a subsidiary of infrastructure company Australian Water Holdings, whose activities are the subject of current ICAC investigations.

Eddie Obeid jnr, the son of Mr Obeid, worked for Australian Water Queensland. The ICAC has heard that from 2009 Mr Obeid jnr led AWH's push into the Queensland market.

Among Mr Bellas's fellow directors on the Australian Water Queensland board were Mr Di Girolamo, a former lobbyist and Liberal party fundraiser who was chief executive of AWH.

Mr Di Girolamo's gift of a $3000 bottle of Penfolds Grange Hermitage to former NSW premier Barry O'Farrell led to his resignation after Mr O'Farrell gave false evidence about it to the ICAC.

Australian Water Queensland was shut down due to negative publicity about the involvement on the board of a Queensland lobbyist, Wayne Myers. A new company, Gasfields Waste Water and Services, was set up early last year.

Former Gasfields shareholders include Mr Obeid jnr, Mr Di Girolamo and the current director-general of the Queensland department of premier and cabinet, Jon Grayson, who only ceased to have an interest two weeks ago.

On Thursday, Mr Bellas said he was "incredulous" about the referral to the ICAC if its was due to his links with Mr Di Girolamo and Mr Obeid jnr.

"We have nothing to do with Metgasco's operation, we're just a shareholder," Mr Bellas said.

Asked about the nature of his association with Mr Di Girolamo and Mr Obeid jnr, Mr Bellas replied: "I'd prefer not to comment on either, because they are before the ICAC."

Metgasco's license to explore for coal seam and conventional gas resources in northern NSW was first granted to Carlita Holdings in November 1996, when the Carr Labor government was in power…..

In August 1999, the north coast exploration license, known as PEL 16, was transferred from Carlita Holdings to Metgasco, when Mr Obeid snr was Minister for Mineral Resources. Mr Obeid renewed the licence in 2000 and it was again renewed by Mr Macdonald in 2006.

The licence was most recently renewed last year, under former Liberal resources minister Chris Hartcher. Mr Hartcher is currently the subject of an ICAC inquiry involving Australian Water Holdings.

He and fellow state MPs Chris Spence and Darren Webber are accused of soliciting donations to an alleged slush fund, including from AWH, in return for political favours.

Metgasco Limited ASX share price at close of trading on 16 May 2014: