Steve Thompson
@stevethompson49
Liberal voter appalled at the prospect of Tony Abbott as PM. Poly-atheist. CF father. I don't suffer fools and I challenge hypocrisy, myths and bullshit.
Sydney, Australia
Sunday 10 March 2013
Found on Twitter.....
Steve Thompson
@stevethompson49
Saturday 9 March 2013
National Party candidate Kevin Hogan's sparse biography
In 2010 Kevin John Hogan of Beacoms Road, Clunes NSW stood as the National Party candidate in that year’s federal election.
His media biography at that time read:
46 year-old Hogan lives at Clunes, near Lismore. He grew up in country South Australia and worked managing investment portfolios with Colonial in Sydney, also giving daily financial market updates on Sky News. He decided to move to the north coast thirteen years ago and spent seven years teaching at St Mary's High School in Casino before setting up his own superannuation consultancy business.
He expanded on this somewhat during the 2010 election campaign:
He expanded on this somewhat during the 2010 election campaign:
In 2013 Kevin Hogan is again standing as the Nationals candidate in the Page electorate and his official biography appears almost as terse:
Born and bred in Regional Australia, Kevin lives with his wife Karen and three children on a property near Lismore.
After completing an Economics degree Kevin spent over ten years in Sydney forging a successful career in finance, working for Colonial for many years.
When the time came to raise a family Kevin and Karen moved back to the Northern Rivers and Karen’s home town of Lismore.
Kevin took up teaching, at St Mary’s High School in Casino, teaching Business Studies and serving, for a time, as Deputy Principal.
He operates a small business and runs a cattle property. Karen works as a registered nurse.
Kevin has always been committed to contributing to his local community. He has served on a local council Wastewater Advisory Committee, been Vice President of his local state primary school P&C, president of the local sports club, and coached junior sporting teams.
However, this brief curriculum vitae raises a few questions.
For instance, why is Kevin Hogan silent on his time as Investment Officer for the Australian Catholic Superannuation and Retirement Fund which ended when he resigned in September 2008?
Or why does he not include his time sitting on a Trinity property investment group sub-committee, the Investors Advisory Board (IAB), as a voting member representing the interests of Catholic Super until his resignation from that board in September 2008?
The Global Financial Crisis may explain many of the losses on Catholic Super's books in 2008 and Mr. Hogan may have genuinely decided that he didn’t want the constant commute between Sydney and the NSW North Coast, but the fact remains that he was Investment Officer at a time of decidedly poor investment performance.
Now he is standing for election this September and asking Page voters to trust him to assist in creating national financial policies for the world’s 12th largest economy and one which survived that same financial crisis with flying colours.
Now he is standing for election this September and asking Page voters to trust him to assist in creating national financial policies for the world’s 12th largest economy and one which survived that same financial crisis with flying colours.
At the very least voters deserve a full account of his employment history to date so that they can cast an informed vote next September.
Brief background
Table
from Catholic Super & Retirement Fund (CSRF) Trustee’s Annual Report to Members 30 June 2009:
Click on image to enlarge
I&T News Conexus Financial Pty Ltd 26 October 2009:
Investors with $850 million invested in Trinity Funds Management products have appointed KPMG to investigate the governance changes underway at the manager before deciding whether to put their mandates out to tender.
KPMG is preparing to undertake the investigation, which gives Trinity about three months to earn the confidence of the investors before they decide to stay with the manager or terminate their mandates in the wake of the success fee scandal that saw lobbyist Ross Daley earn $1 million for, he claims, helping secure a $100 million mandate from Sunsuper.
David Asplin, general manager – institutional funds management at Trinity, said the manager was working “very co-operatively” with the investors’ representative committee (IRC), “given that they constitute a large percentage of our external investments”.
The IRC, an independent body representing investors in Trinity’s unlisted funds, was formed in late July after the Investors Advisory Board (IAB), a sub-committee within Trinity, dissolved.
The six-member IAB was set up in mid-2008 to represent investors in Trinity funds, and included John Coombe, executive director of JANA; Megan Chan, portfolio manager with Sunsuper; Kevin Hogan, investment officer of Catholic Super; and Craig Stevens, chief executive officer of Austsafe.
It is understood that KPMG was appointed by the IRC to investigate the governance changes taking place at Trinity following the Daley success fee scandal.
Business wiith The Wall Street Journal in The Australian 21 September 2009:
Trinity said it froze the trust because it was "not in the best interests of unitholders" to allow investors to withdraw funds.
"Trinity Property Trust has no mandatory requirement to make a withdrawal offer," the group said. "In accordance with the trust's constitution and (the) Corporations Act, unitholders can only withdraw from the fund if the manager chooses at its discretion to make a withdrawal offer."
Since Sunsuper invested $100m in Trinity the value of the trust has slumped 26 per cent, with the investment -- provided by the group's superannuation holders -- now worth just $74m.
West Australia Votes - 9 March 2013 State Election [links]
The Australian Broadcasting Commission has it covered online:
· ABC News Online is following the WA election with the latest reports throughout the campaign You will find comprehensive coverage, as well as Antony Green's election guide with all the news, information and analysis of the election including seat-by-seat directory of candidates, the ABC's election calculator and a full candidate directory
· ABC News 24 television coverage will be streamed live. On election night, March 9, the geo-block will be lifted for international viewers
· ABC Radio coverage can be streamed online
· If you are on Twitter the hash tag is #wavotes or you can follow @ABC_NewsRadio, @abcnewsWA,@ABCElections, @AntonyGreenABC
· Join the conversation on the 720 ABC Perth Facebook page and follow @720perth on Twitter as we bring you up to the minute updates to your social media feed
Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WAtoday
Friday 8 March 2013
Pacific Highway Upgrade: Saffin says Hartsuyker and Hogan talking rot
Media Release Tuesday 5 March, 2013
Saffin says Federal Pacific Highway funding is quarantined
Page MP Janelle Saffin today said Australian Government’s funding for the Pacific Highway has been quarantined and is guaranteed, no matter what.
Ms Saffin said the Nationals MP Luke Hartsuyker knows that the Pacific Highway funding is guaranteed and has nothing at all to do with funding for Sydney roads.
“The Member for Cowper is just talking rubbish when he says he’s worried about the Federal Government’s announcement of $1.5 billion for the WestConnex project in Western Sydney.
“And it just shows how politically hapless Kevin Hogan is to follow Luke Hartsuyker, and trot out the same rot.
“I note that they made no comment last October when Tony Abbott announced the $1.5 billion for the WestConnex project last October.
“I find it extraordinary that the Nationals can keep a straight face when they talk about the Pacific Highway, given the poor funding record from 1996-2007 under the Federal Liberal National Coalition Government.
“The Federal Labor Government is already investing a record $4.1 billion into the Pacific Highway and has put an additional $3.56 billion on the table.
“By comparison, the former Howard Government, of which Luke was a member, could only manage to spend $1.3 billion on the Highway during their 12 long years in office – and that’s despite being Australia’s highest ever taxing government.
“As Luke knows, the $2.3 billion for the Pacific Highway remaining from last year’s Budget is guaranteed and just needs the O’Farrell Government to honour it’s pre-election commitment to its share of funding for the upgrade.
“Instead of getting stuck into me, if Luke is so concerned, he should direct his energies to getting his State coalition colleagues to honour their commitment to matching the highway funding.
“Last year the NSW Coalition Government ran out of excuses not to put in its share when the State Auditor-General revealed the O’Farrell Government’s $1 billion mistake in its sums.
“State or Federal, the Nationals don’t have a good record of delivering on the Pacific Highway when in Government, although they make a big noise about the Highway when in opposition.”
Lee DuncanMedia Adviser
Office of Janelle Saffin MP
Federal Member for Page
Ph: 6621.9909
Office of Janelle Saffin MP
Federal Member for Page
Ph: 6621.9909
The mining tax may not be as unpopular as Tony Abbott would have us believe
Australian Opposition leader Tony Abbott on the subject of the Mineral Resources Rent Tax (MRRT) - also known as the mining tax:
If one believes Tony Abbott’s media grabs, this super profits tax should be very unpopular with the Australian public.
However, the Essential Report for 4 March 2013 clearly shows that 50 per cent of those surveyed are in favour of retaining this tax and 29 per cent would like to see the tax amended so that it raised more money from the mining industry. Only 28 per cent thought the tax should be removed altogether.
Click on image to enlarge
Thursday 7 March 2013
STATE OF PLAY: Australian Liberal-Nationals State Governments in 2013
Five out of the eight Australian state and territory governments are part of the Liberal-Nationals political network.
All is not well within that network………
QUEENSLAND
THE resignation of trouble-prone Queensland arts minister Ros Bates has been followed by Campbell Newman's sacking of hand-picked public service boss Michael Caltabiano.
Just hours after Ms Bates resigned - the third minister to go since Mr Newman won office last year - the Premier announced he had given notice to Mr Caltabiano, a friend who he had personally appointed as director-general of the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
Mr Caltabiano, a fellow councillor with Mr Newman at Brisbane's city hall, was stood down as director-general last year over comments he made to an estimates hearing.
He is subject to an ongoing Crime and Misconduct Commission investigation into his department's appointment to a senior role of Benjamin Gommers, son of Ms Bates.
The former Liberal MP and factional powerbroker stepped down when he was referred to the parliamentary ethics committee for allegedly misinforming an estimates hearing about his work history. [The Australian 15 February 2013]
A complaint about former federal treasurer Peter Costello lodged with Queensland's Crime and Misconduct Commission highlights potential conflicts of interest between his job overseeing the future of the state's finances and his ownership of a lobby group representing companies that could benefit from state asset sales. [The Age 7 March 2013]
REDCLIFFE MP Scott Driscoll claims he has received "many calls and the personal support from Premier Campbell Newman" since revelations about links to a community association being probed over alleged financial irregularities were reported in The Courier-Mail.
Mr Driscoll last week wrote to local LNP members assuring them he had the Premier's backing amid what he called a "disgusting and base level campaign".
"We have shared several stories about the similar campaign of lies and slurs he and his family suffered from during the last state election campaign," Mr Driscoll wrote.
A spokesman for the Premier declined to comment on the letter or comment on whether taxpayer funds had been used to pay for the mail-out.
It comes as The Courier-Mail can reveal the premises of the taxpayer-funded Regional Community Association of Moreton Bay, linked to Mr Driscoll and under investigation by federal and state departments, have been provided free to the LNP for political meetings. [The Courier Mail 7 March 2013]
VICTORIA
DENIS Napthine was last night sworn in as Victorian Premier after Ted Baillieu succumbed to the turmoil that has pushed the Coalition government close to collapse.
A tearful Mr Baillieu announced his resignation hours after the shock decision of backbencher Geoff Shaw to quit the parliamentary party and move to the crossbenches.
That decision means that the Coalition government could be ousted from office unless it can win Mr Shaw's support on key legislation, including the budget and any possible vote of no confidence. [The Australian 7 March 2013]
NORTHERN TERRITORY
The leadership of Northern Territory Chief Minister Terry Mills may again be under a cloud, following the resignation of his deputy.
Mr Mills, who came to office last August in a landslide, has been under pressure after his party polled badly in a recent by-election.
There has been criticism of the Country Liberal Party's (CLP) decision to raise power prices by 30 per cent, and to commit to spending cutbacks, which the party said were needed to slash debt.
On Tuesday in a short statement, Robyn Lambley, who is Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer and Education Minister among other portfolios, announced she was resigning her post as deputy. [Yahoo News 5 March 2013]
INDIGENOUS Advancement Minister Alison Anderson has threatened to bring down the Territory Government by taking her four-strong Bush Coalition out of the CLP. [Northern Territory News 7 March2013]
UPDATE: Sky news reported the Country Liberals partyroom voted 11-5 to unseat former leader Terry Mills, who is in Japan and was told by phone. [The Age 13 March 2013]
WEST AUSTRALIA
SECRET Cabinet documents reveal Colin Barnett met James Packer about Perth's $1 billion stadium months before approving the Burswood location - despite the Premier later telling Parliament the meeting "had nothing to do with'' the venue.
In revelations that will focus intense scrutiny on the Premier's dealings with billionaire casino magnate Mr Packer, the June 27, 2011, Cabinet document, in which Burswood is ratified as the preferred site, details how their meeting three months earlier specifically examined the stadium and its relationship to Mr Packer's nearby casino and entertainment complex. [Perth Now 2 February 2013]
The Liberal Party is a minority government, dependent on support from independents and the Nationals (who are not in a formal coalition). [The Australian 7 February 2013]
NEW SOUTH WALES
A PROMINENT Liberal Party figure known for his fund-raising prowess, Nick di Girolamo, was appointed to a $100,000 position on the board of a state-owned corporation by the NSW government last year. [The Sydney Morning Herald 2 March 2013]
Mr Lockley also concluded the $3 million the Obeids paid to Australian Water Holdings, which he said also came from the coal venture, was wrongly recorded in the Obeid accounts as a loan. Mr Lockley said it should have been recorded as an investment.
Nick di Girolamo, head of AWH and an Obeid family friend, has told the Herald the $3 million was a personal loan from Mr Obeid's son Eddie jnr. [The Sydney Morning Herald 6 March 2013]
Australian Water Holdings has extensive connections with the Liberal Party. In the past five years it has donated at least $80,000 to the Coalition, and has used Michael Photios, a member of the NSW Liberal Party's state executive, as a lobbyist.
Mr Di Girolamo said he had also held meetings with other members of the NSW cabinet, including the Water Minister, Greg Pearce, and the Treasurer, Mike Baird.
For a time, a director on the board of the company's Queensland subsidiary was Santo Santoro, a former minister in the Howard government who resigned in disgrace for failing to properly declare his shareholdings.
The company also employs John Wells, a spin doctor with extensive Liberal Party connections.
For almost three years until November last year, the federal senator and former finance director of the Liberal Party, Arthur Sinodinos, was the chairman of Australian Water Holdings.
Last week, Mr Sinodinos said he, too, had 5 per cent of the company as part of his role, and he has recorded a shareholding in the company in his parliamentary pecuniary interest register.
But Mr Sinodinos's name is absent from the company's official share register filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Instead, Mr Sinodinos said, Mr Di Girolamo was holding the shares on his behalf.
Asked why the shares are not publicly registered with the corporate regulator, Mr Sinodinos said: ''Because it was on a gentleman's agreement.''
He said his agreement was that the trigger for the shares to be registered in his name was ''some realisation event''. He also said it would not be inaccurate to say a successful PPP was one such event.
Since 1992, the company has been paid $580 million to roll out infrastructure to new housing estates in Sydney's north-west on behalf of Sydney Water Corporation.
Mr Di Girolamo has already had a significant win since the Coalition took government in March last year.
In January this year, his company and Sydney Water entered a new 25-year exclusive agreement to give it the sole right to project manage the remaining half-a-billion dollars of water infrastructure work in the north-west growth centre. [The Sydney Morning Herald 12 December 2012]
A LEADING Sydney barrister has raised doubts about whether authorities properly investigated what criminal charges could be laid against the former state MP Steve Cansdell.
Greg James, QC, who is a retired Supreme Court judge, believes Mr Cansdell could be charged for making a false statement on oath under the provisions of the Crimes Act for his admission he lied on a statutory declaration to avoid losing his driver's licence.
Mr Cansdell, who was the member for Clarence and parliamentary secretary for police, quit the NSW Parliament shortly after the 2011 election after the admission. He said one of his then staff members, Kath Palmer, was driving when his car was caught by a speed camera in 2005. [The Sydney Morning Herald 28 February 2013]
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