Tony Abbott and who should be allowed a decent education

Tony Abbott as President of the Sydney University Student's Representative Council  in 1979:

…you see the Marxists that I said are operating in the universities…they realise now that the universities play a crucial role in the education of the elite of modern society. And they understand that if they destroy the academic standards and perhaps even the moral standards of that elite well then they have perhaps fundamentally and fatally undermined liberal democratic society…

What I am saying is that there are a number of academics of Marxist leanings in the university who are actively working to destroy academic standards. I wouldn’t put a plot coordinated from the Kremlin but there is certainly a general tendency towards destroying academic standards and the impetus is coming from this sort of person….

Well I see women as having an equal opportunity in every area as men have…mind you, I must add the proviso that while I think men and women are equal they are also different and I think that it is inevitable and don’t think it’s a bad thing at all that we will always have, say, more women doing things like physiotherapy and an enormous number of women simply doing housework and probably more men doing things like digging ditches…”

Tony Abbott  as Australian Opposition Leader in 2011:

''It's all very well keeping kids at school past year 10, but they've got to be the right kids being kept at school past year 10,''

In 2012:

Tony Abbott will slash financial support for university students and gut the current funding to Australia's higher education system. Opposition spokesperson, Brett Mason, today confirmed the Coalition will cut student support payments, including the Student Start-up Scholarship, meaning only those students from wealthy backgrounds will be able to afford to go to university.

In 2013:

Coalition leader Tony Abbott says the federal government’s proposed education changes are too expensive and unnecessary because there is no fundamental problem with the way schools are funded…..

But Mr Abbott said he would maintain the changes to university funding which the government announced earlier this month…..

‘‘I don’t think anyone should expect those cuts to be reversed,’’ Mr Abbott said.

Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's contempt for journalists and voters generally couldn't have been more obvious

http://youtu.be/_jjdssGPuRI

At a press conference he called himself at the Adelaide Ice Service factory on 26 April 2013, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott abruptly walked away when asked a question concerning his contradictory stance on the Good and Services Tax (GST).

Re-writing the ‘official’ record the Liberal Party published transcript has Abbott closing the question segment with a Thank you and not the sight of his retreating back.

This Adelaide press conference is also noted for the fact that Abbott described the ice factory as a business which is going to be badly damaged by the carbon tax; is being badly damaged by the carbon tax despite the fact that it had been approved for a $90,000 grant from the Gillard Government Clean Technology Food and Foundries Program to offset its energy costs with the installation of an 87.5-kilowatt solar power system.

How the NSW North Coast rates on the NSW Food Authority's penalty register

There are 1652 penalty notices currently in the NSW Food Authority penallty register, which was last updated on 2 April 2013.

The NSW North Coast does not feature heavily and, thankfully no local business has been named so far this year.

How the region rates:

BONDIE'S AT THE BAY	BALLINA	BALLINA	3095439133	2012-10-11	BOND, GARY
BONDIES ON THE BAY	BALLINA	BALLINA	3095439142	2012-10-09	BOND, GARY

BUSHMAN'S BAKERY	COFFS HARBOUR	COFFS HARBOUR	3013502508	2012-08-08	BIDAROL PTY LTD
BUSHMAN'S BAKERY	COFFS HARBOUR	COFFS HARBOUR	3013502517	2012-08-08	BIDAROL PTY LTD
BUSHMAN'S BAKERY	COFFS HARBOUR	COFFS HARBOUR	3013502526	2012-08-08	BIDAROL PTY LTD
BUSHMAN'S BAKERY	COFFS HARBOUR	COFFS HARBOUR	3013502535	2012-08-08	BIDAROL PTY LTD

DALLEY ST CAFE

EAST LISMORE

LISMORE

3042506318

2012-06-19

PRIGMORE, DAVID

ECLIPSE DISTRIBUTION PTY LTD	BYRON BAY AND OTHER DIVERSE PLACES		3013501848	2011-08-20	ECLIPSE DISTRIBUTION PTY LTD
ECLIPSE DISTRIBUTION PTY LTD	BYRON BAY AND OTHER DIVERSE PLACES		3013501857	2011-08-20	ECLIPSE DISTRIBUTION PTY LTD

GORMAN'S BIG OYSTER

YAMBA

Clarence Valley

3013502829

2012-11-08

EURUNDERIE INVESTMENTS PTY LTD

KFC BALLINA

BALLINA

BALLINA

3095439151

2012-11-26

QSR PTY LTD

NOODLE CAFE

LISMORE

LISMORE

3042506271

2012-06-06

YOU, COLIN

ST ELMO'S

BYRON BAY

BYRON

7641791796

2012-12-13

HONEYWELL, ANGELA

UTOPIA CAFE

BANGALOW

BYRON

7641791778

2012-08-29

HERNANDEZ, JUAN

WHAT A LOAD OF CREPE

LISMORE

LISMORE

3042506336

2012-09-16

BURKE, JOHN DAMIAN

While Metgasco spins its prospects the top investor loses interest

On 23 April 2013 The Northern Star reported that Metgasco Limited had left the door open to activating Dobie Bight wells, Harrier 01 and Corella P1.

This is a classic case of misdirection in the hope that local media and interested Northern Rivers’ residents would not notice recent share sales.

On 22 April Metgasco also lost CSG Nominees Pty Ltd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of  Liquid Natural Gas Group Limited) as its largest shareholder, when these companies divested themselves of 24,310,732  of the 34,570,577 shares  held at 21 September 2012.

It is unclear as to whether CSG Nominees intends to sell any remaining shares.

This share sell-off raises doubts about Metgasco’s somewhat unrealistic insistence that it still has prospects, presumably in Queensland and possibly in relation to LNGL’s Gladstone LNG Project.

The Australian Stock Exchange records Metgasco shares closing at 5.6 cents on 24 April 2013.

Anchor Resources expands its exploration footprint further into Clarence River Catchment

Chinese-owned Anchor Resources Limited has lodged a further mining exploration application ELA 4731 which will extends its proposed gold/antimony mining projects further into the Nymboida River sub-catchment of the larger Clarence River Catchment.

The Clarence Valley and Coffs Harbour  local government areas primarily draw the drinking water for an estimated 120,000 people from the Nymboida River system.

ELA 4731 sits above and below EL 6465 – Anchor Resources’ Blicks Project which is targeting gold, copper and molybdenum.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott holds New Zealand up as a fiscal pattern card for Australia

This was Opposition Leader Tony Abbott during an ABC 7.30 interview on 24 April 2013:

Well, that's not a correct figure. Yes, we do have to find significant savings, but it's nothing like that figure. Nothing like that figure at all. And let's look, if I may for a moment take you across the Tasman to New Zealand. The New Zealand National Government is on track to get total government spending down from 35 to just 30 per cent of GDP without savage cuts by two things. First, they've made changes that have promoted economic growth, and second, they have religiously guarded against additional new spending. And that's where this government has gone so wrong. Every day we have ministers talking about difficulties with the revenue and every day the Prime Minister is out there announcing billions in new spending.

Apparently Abbott believes that the New Zealand national economy is doing better than the Australian economy because the NZ Government is spending less, posted an operating deficit before gains and losses of $3.025 billion in the five months ended to 30 November 2012 and, expects to have a modest operating surplus of $66 million in 2014/15.

So just how well is New Zealand doing in comparison with Australia?

Yes, Australia has a budget deficit in 2013 but then so does New Zealand.

Australia is also carrying a degree of government debt:

January 2000 to April 2013

But then again, New Zealand is no stranger to government debt either.

Yes, the Australian Government spends more on infrastructure creation than New Zealand:

However, Australia also has a better international credit rating (AAA) than New Zealand (AA).

Another difference is the fact that the New Zealand Government suspended payments into the New Zealand Superannuation Fund in 2009 and has not resumed them to date, while the Australian Government superannuation co-contribution payments have not been suspended and its safety-net pension payments have increased.

If one looks at 2013 March Quarter data found at the New Zealand Treasury website then it is obvious that Australia still compares favourably with New Zealand across a number of the eight graphs shown below.

Australia has higher real GDP growth, lower government debt as a percentage of GDP, smaller current account deficit, a lower unemployment rate and a higher gross national income level.

New Zealand only

New Zealand only

WhileThe World Bank allows this comparison of Gross National Income based on purchasing power parity: