In 1979 it was Terania Creek, in 1996 it was Timbarra, in 2006 it was the Clarence River - and in 2013 it's Glenugie, Doubtful Creek and the Casino region

 

In 1979 Northern Rivers communities took on the NSW Government and forestry industry interests at Terania Creek in sustained direct action. The end result was cessation of logging in the disputed area and the later creation of the Nightcap National Park incorporating  Mount Nadi, Griers Scrub and Terania Creek.

 

In 1997 Northern Rivers communities again took on the NSW Government, local government and mining interests by direct action and through the courts. The end result was the closure and rehabilitation of the Timbarra gold mine site.

 

In 2006 Northern Rivers communities opposed the Federal Coalition Government and inland irrigators over the proposal to dam and divert Clarence River catchment water. The end result was bi-partisan support of the home-grown Not A Drop campaign by both Labor and the Coalition during the 2007 federal election campaign.

 

In 2013 Northern Rivers communities are continuing to oppose the NSW Coalition Government, elements within the Federal Labor Party and Metgasgo Limited over plans to create gas fields crisscrossing rural lots, improved pastures and agricultural land.

 

That these communities are again in for the long haul is rather prosaically demonstrated by these preparations at Doubtful Creek.

 

 

 

If the O’Farrell Government and Metgasgo think opposition from local communities will just fade away over time, they are likely to be disappointed.

Will British peer Lord Ashcroft donate to the Liberal Party of Australia in 2013?

 

Every time I meet William Hague, he reminds me that throughout the British Conservative Party’s long purgatory in Opposition, John Howard was a frequent visitor and a constant source of advice and inspiration and I should say that in the three years that I have been Opposition Leader, my British colleagues, particularly William Hague, have likewise been a great encouragement. [Tony Abbott,Speech introducing UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, Guest Speaker, Menzies Research Centre, January 2013]

 

 

According to the Australian Electoral Commission billionaire principal of the British Caribbean Bank Michael Anthony Ashcroft (Lord Ashcroft of Chichester), a conservative life peer in the UK House of Lords, donated $1million to the Federal Secretariat of the Liberal Party of Australia in September 2004  and, another $250,000 in July 2010 (listed as $27,938 in Liberal Party annual return).

 

The Guardian UK reports that he is one of the biggest political donors in British history. He has given more than £10m to the Conservative party and has been an influential figure for some years.

Of his sizable donation to the Liberal Party, Lord Ashcroft stated in his book Dirty Politics, Dirty Times:

The donation of Australian $1 million – £410,000 – was believed to have been the largest single political donation in the country’s history. I made it prior to the 2004 general election as a show of support for John Howard, the country’s Prime Minister and leader of the International Democratic Union. I have long been a great admirer of John and he was struggling against the Labour Party, which seemed poised to take power. In fact, in October 2004, John secured a fourth term and, if my donation helped him to victory at the polls, then I am delighted.
 

One wonders if Lord Ashcroft likes Liberal Party Leader Tony Abbott enough to make another donation - this time to the Coalition federal election campaign in 2013.

 

*Photograph of Lord Ashcroft from The Guardian UK

It's an election year and some Coalition candidates will probably mention productivity growth and labour costs

 

Whenever a Coalition candidate mentions ‘low’ annual productivity growth or ‘rising’ labour costs, in the lead up to the 2013 federal general election, remember these graphs from Greg Jericho .

Australia is doing very nicely thank you.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-16/jericho-big-1/4466256

 

The Trouble With Bob - A Minties Moment In Employer-Employee Relations

From Granny Herald 18th January 2013:

“Downtrodden employees of the world, take heart: a rebel hero walks among us. A man in his mid-40s, identified in reports only as "Bob", was a star programmer earning a six-figure salary at an American infrastructure company. When the company commissioned a network-security audit, they belatedly discovered that "Bob" had outsourced his own job to a Chinese software company for a fifth of his pay. Relieved of his workload, Bob would spend his entire office day on the internet, flicking from eBay to Facebook to cat videos, before writing a progress-report email for his bosses and knocking off at 5pm. Sadly, upon finding out how resourcefully Bob had managed his own productivity, the firm sacked him rather than marvelling at his initiative and promoting him to senior management.”
And we Aussies applauded him with these results by early evening on the 20th January.

16th Year of Flickerfest at Bangalow 25-27 January 2013

Travelling Flicks

 

FLiCKERFEST

presented by RENAULT

22^nd INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

A & I Hall at Bangalow from 25th -27th January 2013

 

Celebrating 22 years of short film excellence Flickerfest presented by Renault, remains Australia’s leading short film festival.
Flickerfest rides the short film wave into the Northern Rivers from the 25th until the 27th January, for it’s 16th year screening a smorgasbord of shorts from the Byron Region, Australia and around the world over 3 jam-packed days at the A & i Hall Bangalow.

 

Information/Bookings: PH 02 6684 5577

 

Program:
Best Of International 1: Fri 25th Jan 8.30pm (Opening Night drinks start 7.30pm)
Best Of International 2: Sat 26th Jan 8.30pm
Best Of Australian Shorts: Sun 27th Jan 8.30pm

So why is the Australian National University aiding and abetting a mining company intent on destroying NSW Northern Rivers communities?

 

 

According to the Australian National University (ANU) in the ACT this is its financial situation:

 

ANU is unusual in Australia in that it has a large investment portfolio for the size of the University budget. Annual University revenue is $0.9B, while funds in investments total $1.1B. This investment portfolio serves a number of purposes:

• Provides revenue to support the ANU liability to current and former staff covered by the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS) – approx. $450M
• Invests the funds within the Endowment for Excellence which funds some staff salaries, scholarships etc.
• Invests the cash reserves of the University, whether held centrally or by Colleges

National and international issues mean that investment returns have declined in recent years and the expectations are that markets may have now entered a period where investment returns may be below 5 per cent for an extended period. This decline in investment income will have a significant impact on the University budget. The 2012 budget indicates investment returns will be $30M less than in 2011. Within this, the total funds required to support CSS pensions will be $10M more than the return on the CSS investment sum. This is a shortfall which must be met from other University funding sources.

So how is this university tackling its falling investment income?

Well, it is apparently not doing what it implied to faculty, students, media and the general public in 2011 - totally divesting itself of coal seam gas industry shares.

Woroni, the ANU student newspaper:

Vice-Chancellor Ian Young has announced that ANU will sell its shares in Coal Seam Gas extractor Metgasco in light of opposition from students to university involvement with the industry.

 

The Canberra Times:

The ANU's vice-chancellor Professor Ian Young announced the sell-off of about $1million worth of Metgasco shares in a statement to the ANU Students Association this week. But he's played down the role of student protests in forcing the move, telling The Canberra Times it was ''a pragmatic decision'' based on the worth of the shares.
''We've had those shares since 2001,'' Professor Young said.
''They represent less than 0.1 per cent of our total investment portfolio.''

Because according to Metgasco's own documents as of 21 September 2012 ANU was the 17th largest shareholder in this coal seam gas exploration and production company with 2.5 million shares remaining of the 4.2  million shares it held in 2011.

The university's excuse in August last year for this state of affairs - “there are no/few buyers” for these shares. 

This excuse seems laboured. Even though share volume traded is often sluggish, by the end of September 2012 a good stockbroker should have been able to offload ANU's remaining shares.

It would appear that it is determined to retain its investment in Metgasco in spite of the fact that this mining company's first-stage plan for the Northern Rivers is to establish an estimated 1,000 gas production wells.

Turning the rural landscape into a version of this:

Section of a gas field in Tara, Queensland

 

ANU faculty, students and alumni need to confront the fact that they are enabling a mining company to proceed with its commercial objectives despite the fact that the affected Northern Rivers communities have clearly not granted it a social licence to do so.

This is the current membership of the University Council and I would suggest to Northern Rivers communities that these individuals need to justify the continuing inclusion of Metgasco Limited in the university's investment portfolio:

Professor the Honourable Gareth Evans AC QC - Chancellor

Professor Ian Robert Young AO - Vice-Chancellor

Ms Ilana Atlas - Pro-Chancellor  

Dr Doug McTaggart

Dr Vince FitzGerald

Ms Robin Hughes AO

Ms Martine Letts

Mr David Miles AM

Mr Graeme Samuel AC

Professor Andrew MacIntyre

Professor John Close

Professor Tim Senden

Mr Matthew King

Ms Aleksandra Sladojevic

Ms Julie Melrose

 

Their contact details are here.

* An email was sent to the Australian National University Chancellor seeking further confirmation of the Metgasco share parcel. No reply has been received.