Barry O'Farrell robs around 1,400 pensioners living in the Page electorate

Saffin calls on O’Farrell Government to stop slugging pensioners

Page MP Janelle Saffin has slammed the O’Farrell Government for taking part of the Federal Government’s recent pension increase away from public housing tenants.

Premier O’Farrell has announced a hike in public housing rents from March next year.

Ms Saffin said the NSW Government is using Labor’s pension increase as an excuse to hit public housing tenants.

“This cash grab will affect about 1400 public housing tenants in Page.

“The Federal Labor Government is delivering a boost for pensioners to help them make ends meet, but Barry O’Farrell wants to take a slice of it for himself.

“Local pensioners are sick and tired of seeing the NSW Government hit pensioners every time the Federal Labor Government gives them a bit of extra support.

“All pensioners in Page have received a lump sum payment from the Federal Government in recent weeks of $250 for singles and $380 for couples. From next March they will get a permanent boost to their regular payments.

“But Barry O’Farrell’s decision means a maximum rate single pensioner in public housing will be paying an extra $84.50 in rent a year.

“Federal Labor is delivering the pension increase as a separate, stand-alone supplement. The accepted practise is to leave pension supplements alone when public housing rents are calculated.

“In 2009 when the Australian Labor Government brought in the biggest ever increase to the pension, I lobbied the then State government to quarantine the increase from public housing rent rises,” Ms Saffin said.

“Barry O’Farrell has betrayed local pensioners.”

June 15, 2012

Media contact:  Lee Duncan 0448 158 150

Whale Meat FAIL

ABC News June 13 2012:

Japan's whaling research body has failed to sell the bulk of meat harvested from its last round of what it calls research whaling, despite inviting bids months ago.

A report released by Japan's Dolphin and Whale Action Network reveals there have been 13 rounds of public auctions for the whale meat, but 900 tonnes of it has failed to sell.

That is three-quarters of all the meat harvested from the last round of so-called scientific research whaling in the north-west Pacific.

The meat sales are supposed to help cover the cost of the whaling fleet.

Japanese taxpayers have been subsidising the fleet for years because few people eat the meat, complaining it does not taste good

Whale meat photograph from Google Images

The Chris Gulaptis Travelling Photo Show



Chris Gulaptis as he appears
 on  the NSW Parliamentary website

Clarence MP, Chris Gulaptis, has made a very bold attempt to get himself in The Guiness World Records. Gulaptis, who it seems is camera shy in Macquarie Street and is yet to sit for a portrait shot for the parliamentary website, appears no less than twenty three, yes 23, times on the latest taxpayer funded newsletter hitting letter boxes across the electorate of Clarence.

In a late development, the lads at our local watering hole reckon the reason the local member's photo isn't on the website is because Farry O'Barrell put a freeze on public spending at parliament house so we'll have to wait until the 2013/14 budget when carpenters can be employed to undertake the task of increasing the width of the top of the doorways at the photo studio. Currently, all doorways are standard sized, but enlarged doorways are needed if the Member for Clarence is going to get his swollen head through them.

A timely reminder that suspected corrupt conduct can be reported online to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption

Reporting Corruption

Members of the public and public officials are encouraged to report suspected corrupt conduct to the ICAC.

You can report allegations online. All reports are carefully assessed.

Report corruption here.

Moves to have a crematorium on the Lower Clarence

Clarence Valley Council has a proposal before it to have a crematorium on Chatsworth Island.
The hot spot earmarked to get the new facility is 441 Chatsworth Road, Chatsworth Island.
That location is currently occupied by a two-storey brick home that sticks out like dogs' b#lls. 
It's just a stone throw off
the Pacific Highway immediately south of the Mororo Bridge near the Iluka turnoff.

The last price tag on the property which covers about 1.75 acres (7,000 m²) was $325k.

Image credits: LJHooker, Maclean

Sometimes regional newspapers has a better grasp on Abbott & Co than the national media

Raising the chapeau big time to The Coffs Coast Advocate on 16^th June 2012:

“AT THIS stage, a vote for the Coalition in the next Federal election is not necessarily a vote for a fast-tracked completion of the Pacific Hwy.

Despite all the theatre that has taken place since Tuesday's state budget announcement, there is no guarantee the Liberals and Nationals will provide Pacific Hwy funding that is any better than the Gillard Government is offering.

When asked this week what a Coalition government could offer the people of Cowper regarding the most contentious piece of road in the country, neither local Federal MP Luke Hartsuyker or Nationals leader Warren Truss would commit to giving constituents a better Pacific Hwy deal.

This is despite the words of opposition leader Tony Abbott on January 9 after the tragic death of a young boy in Urunga: "I'm very happy to be bipartisan about finishing the Pacific Hwy as quickly as possible."

These words now appear empty……”

Daily Examiner subeditors asleep at their desks

Want further evidence that APN's Daily Examiner is is in a rush to get to the bottom of the barrel? The schoolboy howlers shown below appeared on the paper's front page on Friday and its website, respectively.

Sample 1:

Sample 2:

However, to the Examiner's credit, it still has a bit to go before it hits rock bottom. When we see it printing things such as those included in a piece in The Melbourne Argus on 6 July 1940 (see below) we'll know it's arrived at that destination.

Credit: The Melbourne Argus, 6/10/1940 courtesy of the National Library of Australia's Trove



Rubbery electricity price rise claims from the NSW Government in June 2012

It seems NSW government ministers and their media advisers have no shame when it comes to the electricity price rise facts and figures they present to journalists, who in their turn do not always bother to check the accuracy of these claims.

As anyone can see, carbon price costs are adding between 7.9% and 9.4% to retail electricity prices from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 depending on which power company is your supplier.

This is what the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal clearly stated on 13 June 2012:

     · The final decision allows for an average price increase of 18% across NSW (including inflation), primarily as a result of rising network (poles and wires) costs and the introduction of the carbon price. Our final decision is higher than the 16% price increases indicated in the draft decision in April reflecting updated estimates of costs of generating electricity.

The average price increases will vary for customers of the 3 regulated electricity retailers as follows:

 20.6% for EnergyAustralia customers, which translates to an extra $7.00 per week ($364 per annum) on an average residential customer bill, and $9.07 per week ($472 per annum) on average for its small business customers

 11.8% for Integral Energy customers, which translates to an extra $4.00 per week ($208 per annum) on an average residential customer bill, and $5.19 per week ($270 per annum) on average for its small business customers

 19.7% for Country Energy customers, which translates to an extra $8.21 per week ($427 per annum) on an average residential customer bill, and $10.67 per week ($555 per annum) on average for its small business customers.

· The average price increase of 18.1% is higher than the 16.4% that was indicated in our draft report, reflecting updated analysis and inputs, including an updated estimate of inflation. Retailers submitted that there would be less vigorous marketing to customers as a result of declining margins in NSW under our draft report. They argued for larger price increases…

The NSW Minister for Energy and Resources Chris Hartcher in a media release that same day spun these figures:

Families and businesses across NSW are going to be devastated by the latest round of price rises, expected to add between $208 and $427 to the average household power bill.

80% of the price rises for Western Sydney households will be caused by the carbon tax. Price rises for Endeavour Energy customers will add $208 to the average bill, of which $166 will be because of Labor's carbon tax.*

The Daily Examiner online one day later:

POWER bill pain in NSW can be directly attributed to the Federal Government's carbon tax, says the state's Energy Minister Chris Hartcher.

As of July 1, families can expect to pay between $400 to $700 more a year on gas and electricity.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal predicts the average bill will rise about 18.1%, largely due to the carbon tax.

It should be noted that, because power supply infrastructure is not fully privatised in New South Wales, a significant proportion of the full retail and business price rise is directly attributable to the management style of the O'Farrell Coalition Government.

* Endeavour Energy is a statutory State owned corporation, established under the Energy Services Corporations Act 1995 (NSW) and the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 (NSW).

Pacific Highway Stoush: local media fires up the blowtorch

On 14^th June 2012 The Daily Examiner reminded its readers of what was said in the past……………….

JOHN HOWARD - OCTOBER 16, 2007
"My Government preference remains for the duplication to be completed by 2016, in line with our 2004 commitment [and] ... is willing to provide our share of the additional funded needed ... if the NSW Government will match our funding commitment..."
BARRY O'FARRELL - MARCH 8, 2011
"Only the NSW Liberals and Nationals are committed to completing the upgrade of the Pacific Highway by 2016."
ANDREW STONER - OCTOBER 28, 2009
"[Premier] Nathan Rees can't pass the buck on this issue. The upgrade of the Pacific Highway is a State Government responsibility, so it's up to them to get the job done.
"If elected to Government in 2011, we will make the upgrade of the Pacific Highway a top priority."
DUNCAN GAY - OCTOBER 10, 2007
"I would hope this time he (then roads minister Eric Roozendaal) would have been a statesman and say, 'Yes I will match that money and save the lives of people in NSW that have to use this highway'."
ANDREW FRASER - OCTOBER 21, 2009
"I pay credit to the Rudd [Labor] Government ... for increasing the funding... The Pacific Highway is a State road that effectively causes the loss of one life a week.
"The State Government must increase its commitment... As ... Mr Albanese pointed out ... the Federal Government is actually carrying the State..."
NRMA PRESIDENT WENDY MACHIN - FEBRUARY 27, 2012
"It was the Howard Government that set the 50/50 funding split for the Pacific Highway from 2006 and the NRMA has supported this approach since day one.
"While in Opposition, the current NSW Government frequently called on the NSW Labor Government to match federal funding for the Pacific Highway dollar-for-dollar and we supported this call too."

The Daily Examiner could have added the local state member of parliament to this list……………….

This is what NSW Nats MP for Clarence ‘Steve’ Gulaptis told The Daily Examiner in November 2011 when he wanted Clarence votes:

“Q. What will you do to ensure the Pacific Highway is upgraded to dual Carriageway. When do you expect the upgrade to be completed?

A. The current arrangement of funding for the Pacific Highway is a joint State and Federal Project. The Prime Minister set a date of 2016 for completion and although that is an aggressive timeline, I am committed to working as part of the NSW government to continue to secure funds to enable our side of that funding.

The Liberal National NSW government has increased funding up to $468 Million to start making up the backlog from the previous government and I believe that this has to continue. Having a member for Clarence that is part of the government is a key to pushing this as the most important Woolgoolga to Ballina is mostly contained within our electorate.”

This is Gulaptis on the NSW Nats website after he was elected:

“will continue to fight to ensure the Pacific Highway upgrade is completed as fast as is possible”

In June 2012 this was the limp excuse offered up by this for against can’t-make-up-his-mind MP:

“Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis restated claims that the O'Farrell Government's pre-election promises to complete the highway before the March 2011 election were based on an understanding the Federal Government would continue its 80:20 funding split with the state.”

This is what one Lower Clarence bloke thought of Steve’s latest propaganda effort............

“By suffernofools from Maclean,

The Budget did not kill off the hwy upgrade!

The lack of will by our elected MP's to represent their constituents by standing up to their Liberal puppet-masters is killing off the upgrade.

When I read about Gulaptis playing the blame game again this morning I could actually feel the disgust growing in my stomach.

If he wants to play politics, let him. Stand up for your electorate and start fighting for funds that Mr O'Farrell has decided to allocate to his favourite charity, Sydney. C'mon DEX, shame him into fighting for us with your new campaign. If it is too tough for Chris, well stand aside and get someone else to fight for us. We need a representative, not a token leader.”

And this is the excuse offerd by the Clarence Nats for his backflip.........
"Valleys Unite
THE contributors who write on politically based news articles leave me wondering what party, if any, do they support to assist in running this country. It is very easy to sit back and criticise day in day out. What are they actually doing to be constructive?
Our newest MP Chris Gulaptis is finding his feet, working long hours to represent us. Regardless of individuals' alliance, assistance to rally support for our valleys would be more productive.
Well done DEX for their latest initiative to produce a video petition to submit to governments regarding the Pacific Highway.
We need the voices from all walks of life to be heard. Can you truly expect one person to do all the work. We need to unite, regardless of political affiliation to be heard in regional Australia.
Whether you voted for Chris or not, he is our voice. We should be supporting him in every way possible to achieve what our valleys deserve. This constant political bickering is no different to those at the top running our country. We shouldn't be led by their example, but be the electorate that can unite and achieve.
Fiona Leviny
Chairman Clarence Electorate for NSW Nationals"{The Daily Examiner on 15th June 2012}
Garn! The bloke’s been in politics one way or another since the 1990s. He was a waste of space then and he’s a waste of space now.
Appealing to community spirit won’t change the politically spineless character of “our voice”.
Positive outcomes happen in spite of Gulaptis not because of him.

I swear he must practice his ignorance before going to bed each night

The very 'Christian' Tony Abbott reworks the old saw that the poor have children for the pitiful amount of guvmin' money they bring into the family as small kids.
FAMILIES who receive welfare benefits can afford to have children more than others, according to Tony Abbott….

"At present, the only families that can have more children without damaging their financial position are those on welfare. It's one of the reasons why the birth rate tends to be higher among people of lower socio-economic status.”