NBN Coffs Harbour in hot water over biased Pacific Highway news report

27 September 2012

Nine breached accuracy and fairness code in Pacific Highway news report

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found that Nine Network station NBN Ltd breached the accuracy and fairness provisions of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010 in a broadcast of NBN News on 19 January 2012.
The breaches occurred in a news item called ‘Fatal diversion’. It reported that the Federal Government had diverted funds from the Pacific Highway to the Oxley Highway, when in fact the proposed diversion of funds was from one section of the Pacific Highway to another.
The ACMA also found that the item did not present the news fairly and impartially in relation to Anthony Albanese, the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, or Rob Oakeshott, the Federal Member for Lyne.
Nine has apologised to Minister Albanese and, in response to the ACMA investigation and following discussions with Nine Network management, it has taken the following remedial actions:

• removed the item from the licensee’s website
• cautioned and provided training to relevant Nine staff
• written to Mr Oakeshott, acknowledging his concerns and the errors in the broadcast.

In addition, Nine has agreed to post a statement on its website acknowledging the findings and giving a link to the ACMA’s investigation report.
Investigation Report 2789 is available on the ACMA website.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Blake Murdoch on (02) 9334 7817, 0411 504 687 or media@acma.gov.au.

Abbott and the Klu Klux Clan Letter

 

From Tony Abbott – Intimidating his opponents since 1977 at Women Against Abbott September 12, 2012:

 

Clarence Valley anti-coal seam gas protestors tell NSW Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis they are not amused

At least thirty concerned people and, perhaps as many as fifty before the protest ended, gathered outside the electoral office of NSW Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, on Tuesday 25 September 2012.

 

This anti-CSG gathering met to emphatically, but politely, express opposition to NSW Government land use policies and potential coal seam gas exploration and mining in the Clarence Valley.

After the protesters had been in position for a good half hour or so, Mr. Gulaptis deigned to show himself and immediately set out to cast doubts about the legitimacy of concerns relating to coal seam gas exploration and mining.

One interested local queried the fact that Mr. Gulaptis appeared to have abandoned the precautionary principle when it came to the possibility that mining corporations might sink multiple commercial gas wells on privately owned land in the electorate he represents.

Of course Gulaptis has a history of favouring the mining industry, so his current attitude should come as no surprise.

It is understood that the Member for Clarence initially objected to his meeting with protesters being filmed by a participant and, as he is not known to be shy, one has to wonder if plausible deniability was what he hoped to preserve in this exchange with protesters.

Yesterday morning The Daily Examiner published this photograph and article online.

North Coast Voices also has these images of a somewhat uncomfortable Gulpatis meeting with ardent protesters - courtesy of our own K. Roo:

UPDATE:

Denise Deane of Yuragir Coast and Range Alliance on 27 September 2012:

Mr Gulaptis was humble to admit he indeed did not know a lot about the unconventional gas industry but was prepared to read the list of Australasian Accidents and Spillages related to CSG. He accepted literature and video educational material provide by the community. 

We remain deeply concerned that local productive industries, including the largest commercial fishing fleet in the state, will be badly affected by the by-products and pollution from the industry as has occurred in other parts of AUSTRALIA. It's astounding that we as stakeholders in shared resources such as our water, sustaining life and livelihoods have not been properly consulted and our concerns abandoned in favour of mostly foreign owned mining companies.

Fluffy assurances from CSG mining company advertising, such as Metgasco, that this industry is safe and can coexist with farming and healthy communities are inadequate. Metgasco already have a poor track record with spillages,  illegal dumping and leaking toxic ponds.

Mr Gulaptis asked for anyone directly affected by a neighbouring gas company to ensure they report to him. Funnily these were similar words from Mr Hazzard at Casino, but the crowd erupted when he said this as prevention is far better than cure. We will lock our gates. We do not want to have these huge problems.

6% of well casings fail immediately upon instalment, within 30 years, 50% of well casings fail and ultimately all of them fail. Cement is not going to withstand multiple horizontal seismic fracking and has a limited life span. 

ABC News on 26 September reporting on a gas project of which Chris Gulaptis approves:

A mining company with gas exploration licences for the Clarence Valley has just signed a multi million dollar deal with an energy company.

The almost $3 million dollar agreement between Red Sky Energy and ERM Power will fund drilling of up to nine gas wells.....
However the Clarence Valley Alliance Against Coal Seam Gas says it is extremely worried about the mining exploration deal. Spokesman John Edwards said if the project was only for nine wells in the valley, it would not be a major concern. "But if there's a resource discovered under any of those wells that will mean the companies will then move to the next level, which is a gas field," he said.
"We'll have dozens, possibly hundreds of gas wells clustered around in a very small area, connected to pipelines and roads.
"It's going to be horrific.
"If there was only nine wells to be drilled in the Clarence valley I don't think too many people would have concerns.
"But Metgasco have already admitted they want to put one thousand wells in the Casino area.
"This isn't just a single well coming up with conventional gas, whatever that is.
"It's unconventional and they're just playing with semantics, they really are."

Red Sky-ERM Power petroluem/gas titles PELs 457, 478 & 479 in the Richmond and Clarence valleys found at MinView:

 Click on map to enlarge

Japanese Fisheries Agency denies November-March Antarctic whale hunt cancelled

Wednesday September 26th, 2012



Well, it only took a few hours from when the Japanese newspaper report was released, but the Japanese Fisheries Agency has said despite the need for its main ship, the Nisshin Maru, to be overhauled, this year’s whale hunt will continue. Not only will the Southern Ocean hunt not be called off this year, as was originally thought this morning, but the 8,000-ton ship’s refitting will allow Japan to get another decade’s worth of service from it. I can hear Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd starting their boats’ engines now….

Data Mining: be afraid, be very afraid

http://youtu.be/F7pYHN9iC9I

Newspaper typo accidentally creates a gang of four on council :-)

The Daily Examiner 26 September 2012 at 6am

Clarence Valley Council’s new EE&C Committee membership is reported correctly above, with the exception of omitting Mayor Richie Williamson from inclusion on this committee.

However, membership of the C&C Committee should now read, Williamson, Kingsley, Simmons, Challacombe and Toms.

A sitting mayor has a permanent seat on both committees and the remaining members of both committees were decided at the extraordinary meeting on 25 September.

The first committee meetings are scheduled for 9 October 2012.

On the subject of ambition......

Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself

And falls on the other— 

[Macbeth, Scene VII]

The Ambition:

"I will be putting my hand up for deputy mayor and after doing that job for a year I will be running for mayor."  [Cr.Andrew Baker, The Daily Examiner, 20 September 2012] 

Of the 28,647 formal first preference votes, 11,899 voters (41.5%) did not want any previous councillors returned.
Five of the previous six councillors received a combined total of just 7,515 (26.23%) of the vote.
3,075 voters (10.73%) gave their vote to me (more than 40% of the combined votes of those 5). [Cr. Andrew Baker, The Daily Examiner, 24 September 2012]

The Reality:

[Clarence Valley Review, 19 September 2012]

Andrew Baker was not the first choice of 89.27 per cent of people who cast formal votes at the 8 September 2012 Clarence Valley local government election.

The Outcome:

On 25 September 2012 two councillors nominated for Mayor: Richie Williamson and Karen Toms. An ordinary voting process saw the votes go Williamson 7, Toms 2 in only one round - Williamson elected Mayor for next twelve months.
Andrew Baker is popularly believed to have voted for Toms.

The mayoral election was followed by four councillors nominating for Deputy Mayor: Craig Howe, Andrew Baker, Jeremy Challacombe and Margaret McKenna.

First round vote: Howe 4, Baker 3, Challacombe 1, McKenna 1 - McKenna eliminated.
Second round vote: Howe 4, Baker 4, Challacombe 1 - Challacombe eliminated.
Third round vote: Howe 5, Baker 4 - Howe elected Deputy Mayor for next twelve months.

Conclusion:

Although Baker is believed to have secured Toms' (and possibly Kingsley's) vote from the start , with McKenna's vote going to him in the second round, he lost any chance of Challacombe's support by the deciding round.
Baker was his own worst enemy. Already being viewed as generally unsympathetic to the Grafton demographic, he compounded this by alienating many re-elected councillors when he publicly bagged them a day before this vote.

So in the end he lost any hope of gaining his desired prize because he couldn't keep his finger off the send button on his email program.