Tweed News going to Saturday only, Coffs Advocate being stripped down to giveaway - which APN masthead is next?

About the only advantage coming out of APN’s surgical strike on its NSW North Coast newspapers is that the online presence still remains for those pale print ghosts, the Tweed Daily News and Coffs Coast Advocate.

mUmBRELLA 21^st November 2011:

“Tweed’s 123-year-old Daily News and the 104-year-old Coffs Coast Advocate will both move to reduced frequency, while free titles the Gold Coast Mail and Robina Mail will be closed in a move that will lead to 35 redundancies.

In the latest set of Audit Bureau of Circulations figures, the Daily News was selling just 3,689 copies. The paper started life in 1888 as the Tweed and Brunswick Advocate. It became The Tweed Daily in 1914. At one point it was one of only two daily newspapers in Australia to have an offset printing press.

Instead the Daily News will sell a print edition only at the weekends with a cover price of 50 cents instead of the current $1.30. It will go on offering readers online updates via the mydailynews across the week….

the free weekly Tweed Border Mail will continue to be distributed during the week to 30,000 households in the Tweed/ Coolangatta/ Murwillumbah region.

APN has also swung the axe in the Coffs Coast market with the 104-year-old daily Coffs Coast Advocate, which covers the NSW mid north coast, becoming a twice weekly freesheet, circulating on Wednesdays and Saturdays. On its paid for days it had been averaging 2,959 sales.

In a statement, Warren Bright, CEO of APN Australian Regional Media said: “In each of these markets, although the audience for paid daily newspapers has been declining there remains very strong demand from both advertisers and the community for the twice weekly newspapers that we are retaining.

“We also have strong digital audiences in each market so it makes sense to combine a constantly updated digital news service with this modified print offering.”

APN said there were no further plans to make closures in its other markets.”

Granny Herald on 22^nd November 2011:

“APN recorded a $98 million loss in September.

The Coffs Harbour mayor, Keith Rhoades, said the job losses would be felt in communities already reeling from hundreds of job losses in Grafton.

''The disappointing part would be for … particularly the elderly community who may not be fully conversant with online.''

Well, what did you expect?

Nothing surprising in this move by NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell – he’s a Liberal Party MP and leads a Coalition government after all. L'état, c'est moi is their motto and their business model.

“A BAN imposed by the O'Farrell government on the release of all public service briefs prepared for the incoming administration was unjustified, the Office of the Information Commissioner has said.

The office has recommended that government departments reconsider decisions to refuse access to briefing folders, often referred to as ''blue books''.

The availability of the documents is seen as a test of the new government's accountability. The Premier, Barry O'Farrell, declared in May that all the briefs are cabinet documents and exempt from release under the state's freedom-of-information laws

The decision put Mr O'Farrell at odds with the Federal Labor government and was disparaged by freedom-of-information experts.

The books contain departmental information prepared in the months before the election on election promises, the costs and difficulties in implementing them, along with advice on any pending urgent decisions….”

Calls for Metgasco's Stuart George to stand down from local government roles fall on deaf ears

Metgasco land administration officer Stuart George, son of Lismore MP Thomas George and failed Nationals' preselection candidate in Clarence, has ignored calls for him to stand down from Richmond Valley Council and Rous Water.

Today's Northern Star reports:

Stuart George will not be standing down from his roles on the Richmond Valley Council (RVC) or Rous Water, despite calls for him to do so.

Mr George, son of Lismore MP Thomas George, commenced work at Metgasco this month as a land administration officer, a role which sees him liaise with landowners for the purpose of gaining access to their land for CSG mining.

Groups opposed to CSG mining have called for Cr George to stand down from his civic responsibilities because of a perceived conflict of interest.

Founder of the Casino Group Against Gas, Dean Draper said Cr George should go because his role at Metgasco put him in conflict with his constituents who were increasingly concerned about the industry.

Other Northern Rivers groups against CSG mining have backed Mr Draper's call.

However, in a statement released to The Northern Star yesterday Cr George said he would not be standing down.

"I will not be resigning from my positions as Richmond Valley councillor as I was elected by the Richmond Valley Council community and I will be carrying out my duties for the full term," the statement read.

Mr George said if there was a matter which came before the council in relation to Metgasco he would declare a conflict of interest and deal with the matter as he was required to do so.

He said he would respond in the same way on Rous Water.

Rous Water is the regional water supply authority. Its chairman Phillip Silver said just because Mr George worked for an organisation some people were opposed to it did not disqualify him from holding a position on the council.

Mr Silver said there were processes in place to deal with situations where councillors held a conflict of interest.

The current Model Code of Conduct for NSW Local Councils prescribes standards of conduct in relation to conflicts of interest.

Under the Local Government Act there are two types of private interests: pecuniary and non-pecuniary.

The Act defines a pecuniary interest as one in which there is a reasonable likelihood or expectation of appreciable financial gain or loss to the person.

Non-pecuniary interests are personal interests where there is no financial gain.

RVC mayor Col Sullivan backed Cr George's stand saying there would be no problem with his new role providing he declared an interest when required to do so.

Cr Sullivan also said issues relating to Metgasco rarely came before the council as they operated under the State's jurisdiction.

Councillors themselves are responsible for identifying a conflict of interest.

If members of the public are concerned a councillor may have breached the code of conduct they can write to the general manager requesting the matter be investigated.

Source: The Northern Star, 22/11/11

Commonwealth moves to ensure coal seam gas projects are subject to scientific evidence - but will the states comply?

The Australian Government has moved on the issue of coal seam gas mining by creating an independent panel to provide Commonwealth and state approval agencies with scientific advice on mining licence applications for large-scale coal seam gas mining projects.

Because this federal government does not have the outright constitutional power to ban coal seam gas mining or significantly limit its expansion and its current plan is dependent on state co-operation, now is the time to pressure National Party MPs on the NSW North Coast to support this panel.

Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities:

Federal environment minister, the Hon Tony Burke MP, has approved the appointment of an expert panel to advise him on coal seam gas water management, for Queensland coal seam gas projects approved and conditioned under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.Those projects include the Queensland Curtis LNG project, the Santos Gladstone LNG project, and the Australia Pacific LNG project. The expert panel will provide advice on the adequacy of water management plans which the companies must submit under the conditions of approval.
The members of the expert panel are:

• Professor Paul Greenfield AO, Vice Chancellor, University of Queensland
• Professor Chris Moran, Director, Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland
• Dr Richard Cresswell, Sinclair Knight Merz
• Ms Jane Coram, Geoscience Australia
• Associate Professor Heather Chapman, Griffith University.

Several major gas/petroleum companies are pursuing projects to extract CSG from the Bowen and Surat Basins in Queensland, and other CSG producing areas in NSW. The Queensland projects would feed export-oriented LNG plants in the Gladstone area, the majority on Curtis Island off the coast opposite Gladstone. The projects involve significant capital expenditure and would operate over a long period……There are uncertainties of groundwater and surface water impacts from the extraction of significant amounts of CSG water including the risk of impacts to aquifers and groundwater quality which may lead to impacts on matters of national environmental significance protected under the EPBC Act.

Terms of Reference for the Expert Panel (PDF - 79 KB)

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan on November 21, 2011:

The Government has listened to community concerns, and will:

·   *    Provide $150 million to establish a new Independent Expert Scientific Committee that will provide scientific advice to governments about relevant coal seam gas and large coal mining approvals where they have significant impacts on water; oversee research on impacts on water resources from coal seam gas and large coal mining projects; and commission and fund water resource assessments for priority regions.

·    *   Establish a new National Partnership Agreement with the states through COAG, agreeing that the Commonwealth and states have to take into account the advice of the Committee in their assessment and approval decisions.

·    *    Provide $50 million in incentive payments to the states to deliver this outcome.

·    *   Mandate that the Independent Expert Scientific Committee publicly disclose its advice to ensure local communities have all the best information available to them.

NSW North Coast MP Janelle Saffin in a media release on the same day: 

Page MP Janelle Saffin today welcomed the Federal Government’s move to ensure that all future decisions about coal seam gas projects are based on the most rigorous scientific evidence available.

“I’ve made many representations to Federal ministers and the Prime Minister on CSG, about what can be done at the Federal level to address community concerns.  It is not an easy area, as so much is under the power of the states. 

“I had asked the Minister for the Environment, Tony Burke, to explore the nature and extent of his power vis-à-vis the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) and the Federal Water Act.

“I’m pleased that the Government has listened to the representations and the concerns of the community, particularly in regard to the impact of CSG on our water. 

‘The Government recognises that the community can only have confidence if all environmental approvals and licensing decisions are made on the basis of transparent, objective scientific evidence.

Did Steve Cansdell really resign or did he just decide to operate though a glove puppet?

If the fact that disgraced former Nats MP for Clarence Steve Cansdell was such a big part of the Chris Gulaptis campaign in the Clarence by-election gave more than a few people on the NSW North Coast pause for thought, then some statements and media reports since could be viewed as alarming.

This is Gulaptis after claiming victory:

“Mr Gulaptis said he will follow in the footsteps of his hard-working predecessor…. Mr Gulaptis said he would be talking to Mr Cansdell about these and other issues, as he had a lot of respect for what he achieved and knowledge he gained after more than eight years as member for Clarence.”

Gulaptis’ elevation to Clarence MP is so ambiguous that on the 18th November this year the Murdoch media itself was confused enough to think that the new member of the O’Farrell Government is none other than that right-wing chimera “Steve Gulaptis”:

Snapshot taken 10.30am 21^st November 2011

Tragedy at Sandon

Sandon.

A majestic coastline

With a sandy beach

Gently caressed

By waves of white and blue.

Sandon.

A precious home

For shorebirds.

A coastal feeding,

Nestling, roosting treasure.

Sandon.

A lifeline,

A chance to avoid extinction

For an endangered fellow creature,

The pied oyster catcher.

But,

Sandon, October 7.

Its sandy beach

Becomes a "highway"

An intruding 4WD.

Its driver

Indifferent and cruel

Sees an oyster catcher

And deliberately swerves

To hit it.

The 4WD continues on,

No thought of stopping

While the oyster catcher

Lies injued, in agony,

A wing badly broken.

To the stricken bird

NPWS carers come.

They strive to save it,

They do their utmost

But all in vain - the oyster catcher dies.

Our Earth community,

Its future is in the balance.

All life is important -

A supreme message - 

But, for some people ignored.

Stan Mussared

Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition

Sourced from CVCC's Voices from the Earth,
published in The Daily Examiner, 21/11/11

Spot the errors in Teh Daily Terror

One has to wonder why The Daily Telegraph journalist, Barclay Crawford, didn’t bother to check a couple of basic facts on Saturday night – Peter Ellem has not worked as an editor/journalist since 2008, Colin Clague stood as the endorsed Labor candidate in March 2011 and at the time these newspaper articles were being composed the swing to Labor on a two candidate preferred basis was +16.3 (+17.9 on first preference votes) by Antony Green’s final calculations on election night.
Perhaps Mr. Crawford was foolishly relying on the veracity of information supplied by the NSW North Coast Nationals? Never a good idea not to double check those media releases or helpful emails from vested interests.
Here in the regions we prefer our news to be accurate.

Nationals set to retain Clarence

Chris Gulaptis, a former mayor and federal candidate for the Nationals, was expected to enter state parliament with a convincing win in the Clarence by-election yesterday.

But the Labor Party was buoyed by a big swing in votes for its candidate, local newspaper editor Peter Ellem.

Mr Ellem campaigned hard on claims the O'Farrell government wanted to privatise electricity and the Grafton jail, and attacked the government over its decision to cut the death and disability scheme for police.

The Nationals, who retained the seat easily, said the swing to Labor was expected because the party did not contest the last state election, instead backing an independent candidate.

Nationals' leader and deputy premier Andrew Stoner was campaigning in Clarence yesterday, as was Opposition leader John Robertson.

The by-election was prompted by the resignation from parliament of Steve Cansdell, after he admitted he lied to avoid a speeding fine…….

Nationals win despite swing to Labor

CHRIS Gulaptis, a former mayor and federal candidate for the Nationals, will enter state parliament with a convincing win in the Clarence by-election yesterday, despite a solid swing of about 15 per cent for the Labor Party.