Conroy's brown shirts are at it again............

Last Monday from Electronic Frontiers Australia*:
"Today EFA’s hosting provider received a Final Link Deletion Notice from ACMA, requiring us to remove a link to a page that contains images of aborted foetuses from our website. We have complied with this notice because it exposes our host to fines of up to $11,000 per day that we do not remove the link."
Advice to EFA on Twitter is to create another page with a new link to this essentially political content website, as the received Link Deletion Notice only applies to the EFA page specifically mentioned in that Australian Communications and Media Authority notice.

Whack a mole, whack a mole, whack a mole..........

* Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc (EFA) is a non-profit national organisation concerned with the protection and promotion of the civil liberties of users of computer based communications systems and of those affected by their use. EFA was established in 1994, is independent of government and commerce, and is funded by membership subscriptions and donations from individuals and organisations with an altruistic interest in promoting civil liberties

Even in paradise housing is a problem

Whenever visitors to the NSW North Coast talk about their holidays here they speak of how lucky we are to live in all this scenic diversity and of course we are.

However, the beautiful settings often hide from view realities that we share with other parts of New South Wales.

Although homelessness is relatively low compared to the metropolitan centres, by December 2008 rents were between $195-$285 per week for a 2 bedroom flat and between $300-$370 for a 3 bedroom house, with Richmond-Tweed separate house rents being the highest in the state outside of Sydney and Northern Rivers vacancy rates being comparable with Sydney.

Housing stress continues to be an issue according to the Northern Rivers Social Development Council, with around 40,000 people in the Page and Richmond electorates having disposable household incomes below the NSW median point.










Northern Rivers Social Development Council Dec 08 regional housing data
Click on graph to enlarge

Housing affordability is a big issue for many North Coast pensioners and the rising number of unemployed.
One has to hope that in Tuesday's federal budget, the Treasurer has taken note of concerns that any increase in the pension base rate may be eaten up by immediate rent increases.

Turning full circle........

The Daily Examiner is developing a bit of a reputation for having an erratic approach to what letters to the editor it actually prints in its letters column.

Some regular correspondents get to bore on and on with the same inevitable punchline, while other more infrequent letter writers sometimes can't get a word in for long periods.

One such writer was contacted by the newspaper recently and asked to give a quote or two about his recent sporting successes.

I'm told he took great delight in telling the journalist that when The Daily Examiner started to publish his letters he would talk about his own sporting activities.

A politically incorrect look at Influenza A (H1N1)....

David's humour found at Care2

Waving a flag for the good economic news

A fall in unemployment, 237,300 new jobs in April and fairly decent overall retail trade figures since December last year.
Am I allowed to wave a flag in celebration? For a steady-handed Australian government and a sensible business sector which for the most part ignored the media hype about our imminent destruction in the global financial crisis and Opposition hysterics about stimulus packages.

Maudie's Ex
Yamba

Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segment allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents. Email ncvguestpeak at live dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration.

Does Malcolm Turnbull have any credibility left?

Image from ABC TV 7.30 Report

According to Peter Martin writing on his blog today:

WAYNE Swan and Kevin Rudd have received a ringing endorsement of their $20 billion series of "cash splashes" as new evidence points to a four month-long shopping shopping spree unmatched in the developed world.

Retail sales figures for March point to a jump of 2.2 per cent in seasonally-adjusted spending, more than offsetting a dive of 2 per cent in February.

Since the first stimulus payout in December Australian retail spending has climbed an extraordinary 4.5 per cent, a result unmatched in the United States in which spending slumped 2.5 per cent, New Zealand in which spending slumped 1.7 per cent, and Canada and Japan in which spending slumped 3.1 per cent.

Only in the United Kingdom among other developed countries did spending increase in those four months and that was by 1.6 per cent, less than half of the Australian boost...

Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull's smug and misleading contribution on ABC TV 7.30 Report last night in which he:

a) called Kerry O'Brien a liar

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well, Kerry, I don't think - you clearly haven't read the speech or ...

KERRY O'BRIEN: I did. And I watched most of it.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well I don't think you have.

b) went on to deny any effectiveness of the cash payments in the first Rudd Government stimulus package

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Kerry, there are no - Kerry, there is nobody - nobody has contended that anything more than 20 per cent of the December cash splash was spent. So 80 per cent was saved. The more that is saved, the less impact it has. It was only a week or so, wasn't it, that the International Monetary Fund's chief economist made the point that cash splashes are not effective because in times like this they tend to be saved? That's exactly what I said last December.

KERRY O'BRIEN: The Reserve Bank Board governor said as recently as yesterday, "The stance of monetary policy together with the substantial fiscal initiatives will provide support to domestic demand over the period ahead." By "fiscal initiatives supporting domestic demand" he's obviously referring to Mr Rudd's stimulus package?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well, Kerry, you can say that.

KERRY O'BRIEN: No, no, I'm not saying it. The Reserve Bank governor said it.

c) then managed the biggest porkie of the interview

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Yeah, Kerry, if I was Prime Minister today ...

KERRY O'BRIEN: Yes.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: ... more Australians would be employed, the economy would be stronger and general debt levels would be lower. And that is because we would not have spent money so recklessly and so ineffectively, so debt levels would be lower; we would not have talked up inflation and interest rates in 2008, so the economy would be stronger; and it follows, therefore, there would be more people in work and government revenues would be higher.

As ordinary workers and small business find it increasingly difficult to obtain credit, which bureaucrats still have those government credit cards?

MORE than 100,000 federal bureaucrats have been issued taxpayer-funded credit cards, posing a growing accountability nightmare for the Rudd Government ......A recent Auditor-General's report highlighted more than 268 instances of fraud or misuse of Government credit cards said Adelaide Now on 27 March 2009.

After coming to office the Rudd Government issued 240 new credit cards in the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio alone.

Heaven knows how many there are in the Department of Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission - all of which were audited according to the ANAO 2007-08 annual report.

As for other federal portfolios and state government departments................

Australian Defence White Paper 2009 - having a bob each way

The community consultation report preceding the Defence White Paper 2009 had this summary of the Australian-United States Alliance:
The Panel found that there is general public acceptance that the US Alliance is critical to Australia's security and that the assistance of the US would be necessary to defend Australia against a direct attack by a major power.
There is also an increasing appreciation of the high- end capability benefits that Australia derives from this relationship.
A number of people commented that, although Australian governments have made relatively limited ADF contributions to Coalition operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Australia would be expected to make a much larger contribution to any high intensity conflict in the Asia Pacific region and continue to take the principal role in our immediate region.
Various individuals and groups opposed certain aspects of the Alliance, particularly: Australia's support for the US-led invasion of Iraq; Australia's association, through our Joint Facilities at Pine Gap, with the US Missile Defence program; the increasing financial burden of maintaining interoperability with high end US capabilities; and that ADF acquisition of high end capabilities was seen to be indicative of Australia's intent to continue to support high intensity, US led, conflicts.
Some also hold the view that Australia's support of certain US policies such as the war in Iraq and missile defence has diminished Australia's international reputation and, in the views of some people, made it a target of terrorism.
These observations should be contrasted with the views expressed by a large majority of Australians of the continuing value of the Australian / US relationship. ²

As a society we continue to have a bob each way on the subject of Teh United States of Big Bullies and Rapacious Spivs.

Key findings in the community consultation phase are here and final version of the white paper Defending Australia in the Asia-Pacific Century: Force 2030 is here
The final version holds few surprises and continues to see the United States as our saviour in times of trouble while broadly committing to the usual uncritical support of US foreign policy.

Like the Americans our defence force types are looking to create a cyber warfare capability, but my personal favourite is this wee bawbee which ticks off on many Howard-era dog whistles:
1.10 We have also seen the more evident emergence over the past decade of new areas of risk, such as cyber warfare, space warfare and the remote possibility that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) might be borne directly to Australia by long-range ballistic missiles launched short of a nuclear war - more of a risk during the Cold War - or by terrorist groups that might seek access to such destructive weapons.

And the irony of this statement does not go unnoticed given that the Rudd Government has this week deferred the proposed national emission trading scheme:
4.63 The main effort against such developments will of course need to be undertaken through coordinated international climate change mitigation and economic assistance strategies,and concerted international action to assure energy supply and distribution, which will need to be at the forefront of Australia's policy responses.

15th World of Women Film Festival, Grafton Friday 8 May and Yamba 8-9 May 2009

The WOW Film Festival will be screening at Grafton on Friday May 8 and in Yamba Friday and Saturday May 8-9. This stimulating and challenging selection of films is an eclectic mix of drama and comedy.........

The World of Women (WOW) Film Festival is a short film festival that promotes and awards the talents of women directors, producers, writers, editors and cinematographers in the Australian film industry and in Oceania. It is a unique festival that offers emerging and established filmmakers the opportunity to screen short works giving a thematic perspective of 'seeing the world through the eyes of women'. Clarence Valley audiences will see films featuring well known actors (such as Alex Dimitrades, David Gulpilil, Catherine McClements, Diane Craig and Gary Macdonald) and be surprised by new talent who will enthrall the audience with compelling performances. [Clarence Valley Council]

Festival tickets cost $25 or $10 per session. The festival opens at 6.45pm Friday with wine and cheese, followed by the first session at 7.15pm at Treelands Drive Cinema, Yamba, featuring River of No Return and other shorts.
No Reservations is screening with short films at the evening session on Saturday, which starts with wine and cheese at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.

Clarence Valley's own Lyn Hope will have three short films, Bed, Legal Speed and Tricia's Time, shown at the Yamba Saturday May 9 evening session.

Lyn describes Bed as "somewhere between experimental art, documentary and voyeurism" that should resonate with anyone who has ever shared a bed with a dog.

Contact Yamba Cinema PH: (02) 6646.9656 or 6646.3430 for bookings.
For details of Grafton session PH: (02) 6641.1603 TAFE NSW, Grafton Campus, Clarence St, Grafton.