Tuesday 18 September 2012
Cansdellgate: Daily Examiner says "justice has to be done and seen to be done"
The Examiner which has been on the Cansdell case since the outset marked the first anniversary of the scandalous matter with an opinion piece that merits further airing. Unfortunately, the Examiner hasn't put it online, so here it is ...
It might now be seen as small beer given what has happened in the Clarence Valley in the past few months, but just over a year ago the former Member for Clarence Steve Cansdell handed in his resignation from Parliament.
On September 16 last year, Mr Cansdell admitted falsifying a statutory declaration to avoid a speeding fine and turned himself in to police.
Despite this, he has yet to be charged, let alone face court, for doing something serious enough to warrant his resignation from office.
In February, six months after the resignation, NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith dropped a bombshell in parliament when he said Mr Cansdell could not be charged under state law because he had signed a Commonwealth declaration.
There were screams of "cover-up" from the opposition, but so far no-one has been able to discover a way of pursuing the case. The actions of the authorities on this issue do not give the community confidence proper procedures have been followed.
Months of police investigation went to the DPP and then the case was dropped on what most people would call a technicality.
The Attorney-General's reasoning also strains credulity as the most cursory investigation reveals fines issued by the NSW State Debt Recovery Office have always been printed with NSW statutory declarations on the back.
Mr Cansdell may never have to answer for his transgression - indeed many supporters would say his fall from grace was punishment enough - but justice has to be done and seen to be done.
I feel a foregone conclusion coming on down in Macquarie Street
Members of the very NSW Government (and its allies) who highhandedly closed Grafton Goal in July 2012 now dominate the Legislative Council select committee conducting the Inquiry into the closure or downsizing of Corrective Services NSW facilities:
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
The Hon Paul Green MLC (Chair) Christian Democratic Party
The Hon Robert Borsak MLC The Shooters and Fishers Party
The Hon David Clarke MLC Liberal Party
The Hon Amanda Fazio MLC Australian Labor Party
The Hon Scot MacDonald MLC Liberal Party
The Hon Melinda Pavey MLC The Nationals
The Hon Mick Veitch MLC Australian Labor Party
Another foregone conclusion just around the corner?
Never trust a North Shore townie with the NSW Health portfolio
On the 15th September 2012 The Daily Telegraph ran this:
“HEALTH Minister Jillian Skinner is prepared to push people out of hospital early to help achieve a $3 billion budget cut.
Explaining the government's cuts to the health portfolio yesterday, Ms Skinner said that "most of the money" saved would be through "better models of care, through, for example, not keeping patients in hospital as long as they should be".
"I think a lot of people are very pleased not to be kept in hospital longer than they need to," Ms Skinner said.
"I have a brand new granddaughter. Her mother was in hospital for two nights, she spent the next two nights in a five-star hotel room. This is a private hospital, this is what they do now ... It's actually better for the mum ... and more efficient for the hospital to pay for a five-star hotel room than a $2000-$3000 acute bed."
Jaysus wept! Since when was country NSW littered with posh hotels? Where are patients in the Northern Rivers going to find a five star hotel near one of the public base or district hospitals? And what makes Skinner think that NNSWLHD CEO Chris Crawford will put his hand in his pocket to pay for one, when even getting into hospital in the first place can be a minor miracle due to closures and cost cutting.
Coraki’s public hospital went AWOL in 2011 and is now presumed dead, no in-house doctors in A&E at some other hospitals, and I’m told that mental health nurses and sexual assault counsellors are considered an endangered species in the Lower Clarence.
“HEALTH Minister Jillian Skinner is prepared to push people out of hospital early to help achieve a $3 billion budget cut.
Explaining the government's cuts to the health portfolio yesterday, Ms Skinner said that "most of the money" saved would be through "better models of care, through, for example, not keeping patients in hospital as long as they should be".
"I think a lot of people are very pleased not to be kept in hospital longer than they need to," Ms Skinner said.
"I have a brand new granddaughter. Her mother was in hospital for two nights, she spent the next two nights in a five-star hotel room. This is a private hospital, this is what they do now ... It's actually better for the mum ... and more efficient for the hospital to pay for a five-star hotel room than a $2000-$3000 acute bed."
Jaysus wept! Since when was country NSW littered with posh hotels? Where are patients in the Northern Rivers going to find a five star hotel near one of the public base or district hospitals? And what makes Skinner think that NNSWLHD CEO Chris Crawford will put his hand in his pocket to pay for one, when even getting into hospital in the first place can be a minor miracle due to closures and cost cutting.
Coraki’s public hospital went AWOL in 2011 and is now presumed dead, no in-house doctors in A&E at some other hospitals, and I’m told that mental health nurses and sexual assault counsellors are considered an endangered species in the Lower Clarence.
Monday 17 September 2012
Australia's voting intentions polled between 10-16 September 2012
Click on graphs to enlarge
The Australian 17 September 2012:
According to the latest Newspoll survey, taken exclusively for The Australian on the weekend, the ALP's primary support went up three percentage points to 36 per cent as the Coalition's crashed five points to 41 per cent - its lowest since March last year.
On a two-party-preferred basis, calculated on preference flows at the 2010 election, Labor and the Coalition are even on 50 per cent each. At the 2010 election, in which Labor lost its parliamentary majority, the two-party-preferred vote was 49.9 per cent for the Coalition and 50.1 per cent for the ALP, with the Greens on a primary vote of 11.8 per cent.
The Age 17 September 2012:
*PREFERENCES FOR AREA AND AGE WERE ALLOCATED BY HOW PREFERENCES FLOWED NATIONALLY AND BY STATE IN 2010 ELECTION. ALL FIGURES ARE IN PERCENTAGES. THE ACNIELSEN/AGE POLL IS CONDUCTED ON THE TELEPHONE NATIONWIDE. INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED ON SEPTEMBER 13 - 15 WITH 1400 ELECTORS. THE MAXIMUM MARGIN OF ERROR TO APPLY TO THIS SAMPLE IS APPROXIMATELY 2.6%. UNCOMMITTED VOTERS (4%) WERE REDISTRIBUTED. FIGURES MAY NOT ADD TO 100% DUE TO ROUNDING.
Q. If a Federal Election was held today to which party will you probably give your first preference vote? If not sure, which party are you currently leaning toward?
Q. If don’t know -Well which party are you currently leaning to?
Sample size = 2,077 respondents
First preference/ leaning to | Election 21 Aug 10 | 4 weeks ago 13/8/12 | 2 weeks ago 27/8/12 | Last week 3/9/12 | This week 10 Sept 2012 |
Liberal | 46% | 46% | 44% | 44% | |
National | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | |
Total Lib/Nat | 43.6% | 49% | 49% | 48% | 47% |
Labor | 38.0% | 32% | 32% | 34% | 34% |
Greens | 11.8% | 10% | 10% | 9% | 9% |
Other/Independent | 6.6% | 8% | 9% | 9% | 9% |
Cansdellgate: one year down the track and we're still waiting
Yes, one year ago today The Daily Examiner informed its readers their local MP Steve Cansdell was resigning from state parliament.
Ok, so what has happened since? When will someone in a position of authority bite the bullet and have this matter addressed?
Image credit: The Daily Examiner, 17/9/12
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