Political Independence: what a difference six months makes

Richie Williamson for Clarence on Facebook 12 March 2011:

Real representation needs to be free of party politics to be truly effective. The people of Clarence deserve a state representative whose entire focus is on the electorate.

The Northern Rivers Echo 17 March 2011:

It is for this reason I am proud to be running as an independent. I will always put Clarence first.

The Sydney Morning Herald 17 September 2011:

Mr Williamson, who stood as an independent, said he would be ''willing to have that discussion'' if approached to stand for the Nationals.

The Sunday Telegraph 18 September 2011:

NSW Politics: prized bull to mincemeat

A Week Is A Long Time In Politics says Clarence Valley Today on Sunday 18 September 2011

Here is Steve Cansdell (4th from the right with hat) winning best celebrity hamburger at the Gate to Plate Market one week ago. On Friday he resigned from the New South Wales Parliament as Member for Clarence after making a false statement on a Statutory Declaration over a speeding fine. What do they say about roosters to feather dusters or is that prized bulls to mincemeat in this situation?
Click here for a trip down memory lane.

*Thanks to Mark for allowing this cross-posting

NSW Police media release re NSW Nats Steve Cansdell

 

Just for the record.....

NSW Police Force media release

Man facing charges after allegedly making false statutory declaration - Grafton

Friday, 16 September 2011 04:53:07 PM

Police are conducting investigations into an alleged false statutory declaration for a traffic offence six years ago.

About 12pm on 28 September 2005, a then 54-year-old man was driving a Ford Falcon along the Pacific Highway at Woodburn when his vehicle was allegedly detected travelling in excess of the speed limit.

A speed camera infringement notice was subsequently issued and mailed to the man’s home address.

It will be alleged on 25 October 2005, the man signed a statutory declaration and nominated another person as driving the vehicle.

Police will allege the false declaration was made to avoid the loss of demerit points and subsequent loss of his drivers licence.

About 11:50am today (Friday 16 September 2011) the man attended Grafton Police Station with his legal representative and was spoken to by police.

Investigations into the matter are continuing.

U.S. organic seed growers find friends in their fight against self-replicating GM technology

In the matter of ORGANIC SEED GROWERS AND TRADE ASSOCIATION, et al v MONSANTO COMPANY AND MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC; the summary from the amicus brief lodged by Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, Ecological Famers of Ontario, Fair Food Matters, International Organic Inspectors Association, Michigan Land Trustees, Natural Environment Ecological Management, Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Association, Organic Council of Ontario, Slow Food USA, and Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.

Case 1:11-cv-02163-NRB Document 39 Filed 08/10/11 Page 9 of 23

SUMMARY

Monsanto has a track record of aggressive enforcement of its patent rights. Monsanto has sued or settled with hundreds of farmers, and investigated unknown numbers more. Because of the nature of Monsanto’s patented seeds, the individual Plaintiffs and the farmer members of Plaintiff organizations (hereinafter collectively “Plaintiff farmers”) cannot avoid infringing on Monsanto’s patents unless they entirely abandon growing corn, soybeans, canola, cotton, sugar beets, and, as of this year, alfalfa. While Monsanto tries to downplay the threat of enforcement by pointing to its “commitment” not to sue farmers for “trace” infringement, this provides no enforceable protections for Plaintiffs. Because of the nature of the patented seeds and the realities of farming, it is certain that at least some of the Plaintiff farmers already have more than trace contamination, and the number of such affected farmers will only grow over time. While many of the Plaintiff farmers are certified organic, not all are, so the simple fact that Monsanto has yet to sue a certified organic farmer has no impact on their standing.

Not only does Monsanto’s patented technology inevitably lead to infringement through no fault of the Plaintiffs, but, by their design, the majority of Monsanto’s patented crops only

provide the alleged benefits if a farmer applies herbicides, specifically Roundup®, directly to the crop. Monsanto could easily protect its patent rights by agreeing not to sue for unintentional contamination absent an affirmative action by the farmer to make use of the patented traits. By failing to do so, and instead offering an ambiguous and ultimately meaningless commitment, Monsanto has made it clear that it intends to maintain the threat of patent infringement lawsuits against Plaintiff farmers and those similarly situated.

Plaintiff farmers have, by the simple act of farming corn, soybeans, canola, cotton, sugar beets, or alfalfa crops, undertaken meaningful steps towards infringement. Due to Monsanto’s

decision to release patented seeds and market them for widespread planting, it is now impossible for farmers to remain 100% free of genetically modified crops because of the multitude of ways that contamination can occur.

Given the difficulties in minimizing GM contamination, farmers must make numerous decisions about which steps are worthwhile for them and which steps are not. They are not able

to make these decisions based on their own and their customers’ interests, but must instead make these decisions with the threat of litigation against a giant corporation looming over their heads. The constant threat of a patent infringement suit by Monsanto creates significant, unquantifiable costs for the Plaintiff farmers and similarly situated farmers. Unless this Court allows this case to proceed, the Plaintiff farmers will face the choice of abandoning growing such crops or risking prosecution whenever Monsanto chooses.

More on OSGATA here.

Clarence lawmaker makes the news on the international scene

The Shanghai Daily has picked up and run with a piece on the Cansdell circus.

Read more here.

This is what The Climate Institute told Australia's federal politicians on 11 September 2011

This is what The Climate Institute told Australia's federal politicians – but are those on the Opposition benches listening?

The Climate Institute September 11, 2011 media release:

The independent Climate Institute has launched a new Myth Busters series and mailed the Top 5 to all 225 Members of Parliament on the eve of debate on the Clean Energy Future legislation.

Institute CEO, John Connor, said the mother of all scare campaigns had left many Australians and probably a few politicians confused and wrongly forecasting economic doom and gloom.

“We have launched these new Myth Busters to correct the record. Australia is a big polluter. We can have significant pollution reduction while growing jobs. Australia is at no risk of leading the world in taking action.”

“Instead, taking decisive action now will open up new clean energy opportunities, creating up to 34,000 new jobs in the electricity sector alone by 2030, and ensure our industries remain globally competitive as the world switches to cleaner energy and cleaner economies.

“It’s time for our politicians to stop the squabbling and remove the sensationalism that has dominated this issue and get on with a mature debate on the challenges and opportunities of taking action.”

“We’ve written to all MPs, providing them with a package of ‘Myth Busters’ to set the record straight on pricing and limiting pollution, and the real implications and opportunities for Australia.”

Each MP has been sent a package of five ‘Myth Busters’:

1. MYTH: Australia is not a significant polluter so there is no need for us to act.

• FACT: Australia is the world’s 15th largest total emitter and has the highest amount of emissions per person among the major polluters (Figures 1 and 2).1 Whilst Australia accounts for around 1.5 per cent of global emissions, our total pollution levels are comparable to those of Mexico, United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy, France and the Ukraine. This is despite the fact all of these nations have populations at least twice that of Australia.

2. MYTH: A price on pollution will not do anything to help the environment.

• FACT: A price on pollution will make new cleaner energy technologies relatively cheaper than older dirtier sources. As products and services made from cleaner energy sources become cheaper, businesses and households will change their investment and purchasing decisions to save money, meaning the Australian economy will increasingly rely on cleaner energy sources like gas, solar and wind. Over time, this will decrease the amount of carbon pollution Australia produces. Combined with the action of other countries this can help avoid accelerating climate change.

3. MYTH: A pollution price will see the demise of mining and other sectors. There will be massive job losses.

• FACT: Pollution reduction and jobs growth are not mutually exclusive. All credible studies show strong employment growth under a pollution price and in the transition to a low carbon economy. It’s estimated we’ll see an additional 1.6 million jobs between now and 2020 whilst cutting pollution by at least 159 million tonnes. Even the coal industry is expected to see between 10,000-16,000 new mining jobs above 2008 levels.

4. MYTH: Other countries aren’t acting so why should Australia move ahead of the rest of the world?

• FACT: All major economies are acting on climate change, driving clean energy investment and developing new green industries. There is absolutely no risk of Australia moving ahead of the rest of the world; the far greater risk is that Australia gets left behind.

5. MYTH: If you have a pollution price then you don’t need other clean energy measures.

• FACT: A pollution price is central to how we begin to effectively address carbon pollution levels; however, it’s not the only policy measure we need to undertake. Complementary policies, that drive renewable energy development, promote energy efficiency and promote farm sector solutions, also need to be an important part of Australia’s holistic and lower cost response to climate change.

The full set of ‘Myth Busters’ is available here.
For further information:
John Connor | CEO, The Climate Institute | 02 8239 6299
Tom Laurie | Communications, The Climate Institute | 03 9600 4039

SEVERE WEATHER ALERT: Sh#t storm about to hit Clarence electorate

Well here we all sit on the NSW North Coast barely having drawn breath after the March 2011 state election and yesterday voters in the Clarence electorate found out that they have to endure the wannabe pollie pain all over again.
The not-so-honourable Nats MP for Clarence, Steve I didn't know the pen was loaded Cansdell was forced to resign amid allegations that he had laid false evidence in the form of a sworn statutory declaration to avoid the penalty attached to a driving offence (apparently admitted) and improperly used his parliamentary allowance (strongly denied).
He may have saved his pension by going to the police and confessing the former (even if he could yet face charges) but the latter may see him answering to ICAC as well sometime down the track.
What makes it worse is the fact that in July 2005 Cansdell went to the local newspaper wanting 'zero tolerance' in the case of young offenders and since then has mouthed off about a local magistrate, been forced to publicly apologise to others found not guilty by the courts, and yes was caught speeding again.
Antony Green hit the nail on the head when he observed "Despite it being a state by-election, the prospects are that the federal Coalition will want to make more of this by-election than the state Coalition, and certainly more than either state or federal Labor."
Yep, Tony Abbott and Co. will probably make life miserable for local voters during this election campaign as smear after smear is spread in what one local voter described as a dress rehearsal for 2013.
I listened and read most of what Cansdell stated in the meeja over the course of the day, but never once did I hear him apologise - to the people he was elected to represent - for deceiving and leaving them without representation. An oversight or does he really care so little for the district?

Clarence Electorate By-election - why bother?

According to NBN TV news the sudden exit from state parliament by former member for Clarence, Steve Cansdell, who has some not insignificant worries on his plate, the major parties are falling over themselves to have Richie Williamson stand at the by-election.
Williamson stood at the March election as an independent. He finished third behind Cansdell - daylight ran second!
Local wags are saying that this endorses the notion that when an elected member is unable to serve a full term for reasons other than those that are beyond their control, such as an illness, the runner-up ought to get the guernsey (or is that jersey?).

Did Clarence MP, Steve Cansdell, do an "Einfield"?

Shock! Horror!
Steve Cansdell, the NSW MP for Clarence, has thrown in the towel and is quitting state parliament after serving just six months of the current parliamentary term of four years . Early reports suggest the former pugilist may have taken one punch too many, causing him to sign a statutory declaration that contained something significantly less than the truth.

Burrunan Dolphin: celebrating Australian biodiversity in 2011

Monash University September 15, 2011:

They’re one of the most intelligent marine mammals, well known for their inquisitive and playful nature and now, following an amazing discovery by a Monash University researcher, Victoria’s dolphins have been formally recognised as a new species.

Kate Charlton-Robb, a PhD researcher in the School of Biological Sciences unearthed the remarkable findings, which have been published in the latest PLoS ONE Journal, showing that coastal dolphins in southern Australia greatly differed from any other dolphin worldwide.

The dolphins were originally thought to be one of the two recognised bottlenose dolphin species, however by using multiple lines of scientific evidence these dolphins were found to be unique. The discovery was made by comparing skulls, external characteristics and a number of DNA regions from the current day population as well as specimens dating back to the early 1900s.

Ms Charlton-Robb has formally named the new dolphin Tursiops australis with the common name, the Burrunan dolphin, being an Australian aboriginal name given to dolphins in the Boonwurrung, Woiwurrung and Taungurung languages, meaning ‘large sea fish of the porpoise kind’.

“This is an incredibly fascinating discovery as there have only been three new dolphin species formally described and recognised since the late 1800s.

Congratulations to Kate Charlton-Robb, Lisa-ann Gershwin, Ross Thompson, Jeremy Austin, Kylie Owen, and Stephen McKechnie for spending those long hours to bring Australia this welcome news and thankyou to Monash University and the unidentified funding stream which allowed this research.

PLoS ONE article here.