Friday 23 March 2012

How much did NSW Nats Steve Cansdell's 2011 six month term in office cost?


It cost the NSW National Party $77,889.71 and donors $2,000 to get Steve Cansdell re-elected as the Member for Clarence on the Far North Coast in March last year.
It also cost state taxpayers one general election ballot and one by-election ballot in the Clarence Electorate in 2011, because he suddenly resigned.
Based on the NSW Electoral Commission’s cost projection for the 2011 state election, the total for two Clarence ballots would be in the vicinity of $903,000.
Add to that parliamentary salary paid between March and September 2011 which comes in at around $68,000, and it’s likely Steve the Speeder cost all and sundry at least $1million.
One million is a lot of moolah to spend because a less than honest politician had to admit to an offence committed in 2005 and resign when outed in September 2011.

Pic from The Northern Star in March 2011

Thursday 22 March 2012

The many faces of Clive Palmer in 2012



Poor ol’ Clive – his billions can’t protect him from himself.

Courier Mail 31st January 2012

9 News 3rd February:

International Business Times 23rd  February:

Bigpond Money 15th March:

Yahoo! 7 Finance 15th March:

The Age 17th March:

The Sydney Morning Herald 20th March:

News.com.au 20th March:

Courier Mail 21st  March:

The Australian 21st March:

Dorrigo Environment Watch calls on international agencies to come and see what mining will place at risk on Dorrigo Plateau


From A Clarence Valley Protest on 20 March 2012:

UNESCO & IUCN invited to see what mining would place at risk on the Dorrigo Plateau

Our mission is "To raise community awareness of risks to human and environmental health"

Press Release
Invitation to UNESCO & IUCN to visit the Dorrigo Plateau

By copy of this Press Release Dorrigo Environment Watch have invited the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) monitoring team (who are currently visiting Australia to monitor impacts of mining on the Barrier Reef) to also schedule in a visit to the Dorrigo Plateau.

The Dorrigo Plateau has 4 different mining companies with current exploration licences and recent drilling has been undertaken for gold and antimony across the Plateau. There is concern that the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area values could be compromised if any mining developments were approved on the Plateau.

Dorrigo Environment Watch will ask the NSW and Australian Governments to zone the plateau a ‘no go zone’ for mining to ensure that the world heritage values and vital ecosystem services (which underpin our food, fisheries, fibre and drinking water) are protected for present and future generations. Australia has an obligation to abide by our world heritage agreements to protect the Gondwana Rainforests. A ‘no go zone’ would serve as an appropriate Government commitment and celebration for the 25 year anniversary of the World Heritage listing of our Gondwana rainforests.

For more information or comment please contact Trevor Deane on 02 6657 4005.

Coal Seam Gas Non-Violent Direct Action and the Law - training day at Grafton 25 March 2012

 

Environmental Defender's Office
New South Wales (Ltd)
Weekly Bulletin 15 March 2012

Training in Grafton: Coal seam gas non-violent direct action and the law
The Clarence Alliance Against CSG has organised a non-violent direct action training day to provide information on non-violent direct action and the law.
EDO Senior Solicitor Sue Higginson will be one of the presenters on the day.
When: Sunday 25 March, 10.00am-4.00pm
Where: Grafton Community Centre, Duke St, Grafton.
Those attending are asked to bring lunch and a gold coin donation to assist with venue hire.

An embarrassing fan from Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr's past


In 2005 the $500 a head Ultimate Media Bob Carr Tribute Dinner was held celebrating Bob Carr’s 10th anniversary as NSW Premier.
The Medich Property Group brought two tickets in order to rub shoulders with this pollie.
Not long after that dinner Carr announced his resignation from state parliament.
Five years later the Managing Director of the Medich Property Group was charged with conspiracy to murder Michael McGurk.
The director is currently on bail for this charge and has appeared as a witness before ICAC regarding that allegation and other matters.
Medich Property Group Pty Ltd was wound up in 2011.

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Pacific Highway politics - now and then. According to NSW North Coast MPs and others


Recently Commonwealth-State funding arrangements for Pacific Highway upgrades have been in the news, with the NSW O’Farrell Government waxing eloquent about the alleged unfairness of the Federal Gillard Government.

Even though the NSW Premier has known for at least ten months that funding provisions in the AusLink agreement were going to be enforced by the Federal Government.

A tendency to point the finger, assign blame and pass the buck appear to be prominent character traits of Australian politicians of all political persuasions - as illustrated in the quotes below.

However current and past Nationals MPs Fraser, Gulaptis, Hartsuyker and Causley, both in and out of government, have raised this tendency to an art form - ignoring as they do the terms and conditions of successive AusLink Memorandums of Understanding between the Commonwealth and NSW, commencing during the initial terms of the Federal Coalition Government led by John Howard and the NSW Labor Government led by Bob Carr.

NOW

Here is the NSW Nationals Coffs Harbour MP and Assistant Speaker Andrew Fraser on 22 February 2012 according to that NSW Hansard:

I move:
That this House calls on the Commonwealth Government to agree to maintain the historic 80:20 Commonwealth-State funding formula to ensure the completion of the Pacific Highway upgrade by 2016.

This is NSW Nationals Clarence MP ‘Steve’ Gulaptis popping up in support on the same day:

…Those on the other side should be encouraging their cohorts in the Federal Parliament to agree to the 80:20 split so that we can meet that 2016 deadline. I commend the motion to the House.

While this is Federal Transport Minister Antony Albanese according to ABC Mid North Coast NSW on 1 March 2012:

The New South Wales government says it cannot afford a 50-50 split and the 2016 duplication deadline may have to be shelved.
It wants the Federal government to pay 80 per cent of the project costs.
But minister Anthony Albanese says that's not the deal that was agreed on.
"It's in writing, it's part of the Auslink agreement developed by the Howard government 50-50 funding.”

THEN

The Northern Rivers Echo reporting on NSW Nationals Clarence MP Steve Cansdell on 14 March 2011:

The National Party’s Steve Cansdell has also made a similar promise to have a major upgrade of the Pacific Highway completed by 2016.

On 27 October 2009 NSW Nationals Coffs Harbour MP Andrew Fraser was calling on the NSW Government:

The Pacific Highway is a state road that effectively causes the loss of one life a week. The state government should pour the money it receives from the increased registration charges for heavy vehicles back into regional roads.

While Federal Nationals Cowper MP Luke Hartsuyker was saying in the House of Representatives on 27 February 2006:

I move:
That this House:
(1)
notes:
(a)
that the Pacific Highway is a State road designed, built, owned, and maintained by the New South Wales State Government;

And again on 8 February 2006

The Pacific Highway, of course, is a New South Wales state government road, designed, built, owned and maintained by the New South Wales government. It does receive substantial funding under AusLink…..

With the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority stating in 2006:

The Pacific Highway between Newcastle and Brisbane forms part of the Australian Government's AusLink National Network.

This was NSW Labor Minister for Roads Joe Tripodi  answering a question in the Legislative Assembly concerning the Howard Government’s Auslink agreement on 14 September 2005:

The NSW Government was forced to sign up to the Federal Government s Auslink agreement on roads and transport funding or risk losing Federal roads funding altogether.
(1) and (2) The NSW Government had been trying to negotiate a better deal for the State, but the Federal Government had refused to budge.
The bottom line is that signing this agreement means NSW has to pay an extra $298 million for roadworks but not signing would have cost us $940 million. This is because Auslink means the States have to foot the bills for maintenance and safety works which used to be funded by the Commonwealth.
It was either sign up and get some funding or don t sign and get nothing.
Under the Auslink agreement, the Federal Government reduced funding levels for maintenance, and stops the funding of safety and urgent minor works.

Further back, this was the Federal Nationals Page MP and member of the Howard Government Ian Causley speaking at the Pacific Highway Summit on 13 May 2005 regarding federal government plans to create Auslink and implement the National Land Transport Plan:

Project costs will be shared with the State Government, 50/50 agreement has been requested.

GIVING WIKIPEDIA THE FINAL WORD


The Pacific Highway was never part of the Federally funded system of National Highways. This appears to be because when the Commonwealth funding of the 'national highway' system began in 1974, the longer New England Highway was chosen rather than the Pacific Highway as the Sydney–Brisbane link due to its easier topography and consequent lower upgrade costs.
Yet the highway was undeniably heavily used by interstate traffic and its upgrade was beyond the resources of the New South Wales Government alone. The NSW Government and the Commonwealth Government argued for years about how the responsibility for funding the highway's upgrade should be divided between themselves, only coming up with a mutually acceptable upgrade package just after the 1996/1997 financial year. The Highway is now part of the AusLink National Network and new projects are funded 50/50 by the Federal and State governments.

Belligen Readers Writers Festival 23-25 March 2012



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