Monday 27 May 2013

More than $160,000 for Page Electorate community projects courtesy of Federal Labor


Joint Media Release

The Hon. Senator Joe Ludwig
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Janelle Saffin MP
Member for Page

More than $160,000 for Page community projects

Three local community groups have received a total of more than $160,000 in Community Landcare Grants as part of the Australian Government’s Sustainable Agriculture stream of Caring for our Country.

Member for Page, Janelle Saffin said Clarence Landcare Inc., North Coast Regional Landcare Network Inc., and the Alstonville-based Soilcare Incorporated, each received grants of up to $55,000.

“Groups such as these, whose members live and work in the community, have the local knowledge and ideas to keep our agricultural land healthy, resilient and sustainable.

“These local projects are about promoting sustainable land management practices and building local skills.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig, said the Community Landcare Grants program provides support for community action, agricultural innovation and community capacity building.

“Community Landcare Grants will this year fund 152 projects across the country, helping local community-based organisations take on-ground action as well as build their capacity and skills to manage our productive lands.

“The government recognises the important contribution that volunteers, Landcare and other local groups and Indigenous organisations involved in sustainable agriculture make in engaging communities and inspiring local action,” Minister Ludwig said.

23 May 2013

Pending Message - Internet scammers scraping the bottom of the barrel


Some scammers obviously think Internet users are the worst form of idiot. At least someone at redturmar.com.ve/includes/pear/index.htm does.

From: Mail Service Alert [mailto:Service-mail-alert@g08ksd77jjjjsd.gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, 23 May 2013 8:05 AM
To: redacted
Subject:
Pending Message

Dear User

We need some information to verify your ID. This protects your account from unauthorized access. Please click the Link Below

 Verify

Account Team.

Sunday 26 May 2013

Coalition trying a CSG con job on Northern Rivers communities, says Saffin




Coalition con job on CSG

The Liberal National Coalition is pretending to oppose CSG on the North Coast, but has declared in Canberra it will wind back CSG environmental protections if elected.

Page MP Janelle Saffin said the Opposition’s shadow Parliamentary Secretary on the Environment, Senator Simon Birmingham, has spelt out the Coalition’s position in the Senate.

“While National Party candidate Kevin Hogan says he opposes CSG, the Coalition he represents has declared it will undo the Government’s water protection measures if elected. He has to do more than say he doesn’t like it.

“I fought hard and worked with the Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke to find ways to protect our water and our farmers from harmful CSG,

“The Government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Bill offers that protection. The House of Reps passed the Bill in March and it is now before the Senate.

“The Coalition is in a spot. They don’t like the CSG water protection measures, but they don’t want CSG to be an election issue because of the strong community campaign.

“So they are just lying low on the issue.

“Senator Birmingham listed the water protection measures they don’t like and then said: ‘we will work to fix these issues should we succeed later this year.’

“To add insult to injury, they are also trying to hand all environmental assessment powers to the states, in our case the New South Wales Government.

“We know we can’t trust the Liberal National NSW Government on CSG.

“The Government has ignored community demands for a CSG exclusion zone on the Northern Rivers, while declaring CSG exclusion zones for Hunter Valley horse studs and wineries.

“I have taken up the community concerns and have worked for years to push for the Federal Government to explore the extent of its powers to protect our area from CSG. This bill does that.

“The people of Page do not want 1000 gas wells across the Northern Rivers. And they do not deserve to be conned by a Coalition feigning community concern while plotting to bow to the mining companies’ demands and remove these protections.

“If Mr Hogan opposes CSG he needs to explain why he is standing for the Coalition which would remove our water protections. 

21 May 2013

Clarence Valley Council 2013-14 Budget and public meetings

 
Clarence Valley Council states it intends to spend $44 million in the forthcoming 2013-14 financial year.
 
The following documents are now available online:

Draft 2013/14 Fees and Charges
Draft 2013/2017 Delivery Program and 2013/14 Operational Plan including Revenue Policy
 
There are still two more public meetings for those residents who might be interested in following the money trail:
 
5pm Tuesday 28 May at Maclean Council Chamber
5pm Wednesday 29 May at Grafton Council Chamber

Saturday 25 May 2013

NSW Northern Tableland By-Election 25 May 2013 - polling results links for tonight


For all those political tragics.....

NSW Electoral Commission:

2013 Northern Tablelands By-election Results - online updates activated after 6pm tonight.

General

Electors Enrolled on 22 April 2013: 51,802
Number of Candidates: 7

Result

The results are presented in a series of 3 reports:
ABC NEWS - Antony Green - live cover online from 6pm

Fracking PsyOps. Yesterday America, today New South Wales?


For all those NSW Northern Rivers 'insurgents' out there.........



CNBC 8 November 2011:

CNBC has obtained audiotapes of the event, on which one presenter can be heard recommending that his colleagues download a copy of the Army and Marine Corps counterinsurgency manual. That’s because, he said, the opposition facing the industry is an “insurgency.”....

Another told attendees that his company has several former military psychological operations, or “psy ops” specialists on staff, applying their skills in Pennsylvania....

In a session entitled “Designing a Media Relations Strategy To Overcome Concerns Surrounding Hydraulic Fracturing,” Range Resources communications director Matt Pitzarella spoke about “overcoming stakeholder concerns” about the fracking process.
“We have several former psy ops folks that work for us at Range because they’re very comfortable in dealing with localized issues and local governments,” Pitzarella said. “Really all they do is spend most of their time helping folks develop local ordinances and things like that. But very much having that understanding of psy ops in the Army and in the Middle East has applied very helpfully here for us in Pennsylvania.”
At another session, Matt Carmichael, the manager of external affairs for Anadarko Petroleum , spoke on the topic of “Understanding How Unconventional Oil & Gas Operators are Developing a Comprehensive Media Relations Strategy to Engage Stakeholders and Educate the Public.”
He said he had several recommendations for the oil industry media professionals at the event, one of which, he said, involved the military.
“Download the U.S. Army-slash-Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual, because we are dealing with an insurgency,” Carmichael said. “There’s a lot of good lessons in there and coming from a military background, I found the insight in that extremely remarkable.”
Audio here.
Approximately 472 page U.S. Army -Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual (December 2006) here.

Excerpt from U.S. Army - Marine Corp Counterinsurgency Field Manual: Afghanistan Edition here.

Friday 24 May 2013

Moggy Musings [Archived material from Boy the Wonder Cat]

 
A federal election musing: The cat pack met last night to discuss our two-legged servants and Minnie the Mooch from Maclean told us that she had heard that someone at Tweed Heads had given Matthew Fraser a new nickname; LNP Fraser the living conditions eraser. I snorted milk through my nose!
 
 
A reading the DEX musing: On the second last day of April The Daily Examiner cheekily ran a rumour; Word on the street is it's never too late for a career change. One Valley man who either grew tired with politics or politics grew tired of him, will be starting a new life in, er, tyres. More on this in coming weeks. One local wag emailed North Coast Voices and asked; Will he specialise in retreads?!?
 
A Lawrence Reservoir musing: Following on the heels of bacterial contamination in the small Maclean Lookout reservoir and bacterial contamination in Minnie Waters’ town water supply; on April 16 Clarence Valley moggies had all heard a strong rumour doing the rounds that council management forgot to tell the contractor sandblasting paint off the Lawrence water reservoir that this paint was in fact lead-based. Consequently no special measures were taken and paint flakes and dust spread onto at least one neighbouring property leaving council with a hefty clean-up bill. The figure being bandied around is $100,000 and counting. That would buy a lot of cat food! 
 
A moggies are boiling musing: I've been told that moggies all over the Lower Clarence are yowling at the top of their voices in sympathy, because The Daily Examiner put a billboard outside news agencies saying that Grafton Gets Its Voice. But when their humans opened the newspaper they were left speechless because the story was all about a couple who used to live in Maclean - a good 50km away from that presumptuous little upriver city.
 
A reading Teh Netz over her shoulder musing: I was amazed to see that if you search for tweets about Tony Abbott on Twitter - the only person saying nice things about Tony is Tony himself. This tweet from @spacekidette was my fav. Anyway, if God didn’t want Tony Abbott as a priest, why would I want him as my Prime Minister?” Elderly Lady Caller on Talkback Radio 
 
A Terrible Tones musing: What 60 Minutes revealed about the new and improved Tony Abbott: * He’s a crap surfer * He admits to using “product” in his hair and Margie let slip that he combs over the bald spot. * He is still telling pork pies - insisting that his extreme views about women were from “thirty-five years ago”. * He’s also still riding herd on Margie when she’s in front of the camera.
 
A when map makers go wrong musing: Even cats can count - we always know when the clock shows that it's dinner time! So why is it that the staff at one particular North Coast council created not one, but six proposed plans of the same section of an existing main road and recorded a different total road area on most of these plans. 
 
A court musing: Now which magistrate said this about THAT protest? Never in the history of man has one small protest generated so much paperwork. 
 
A naming ceremony musing: My little canine friend Veronica Lake tells me she overheard her human laughing about the fact that NSW Nationals Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has yet another nickname - The Missing MP. 
 
A royal rage musing: Which member of Clarence Valley Council's management team is fast gaining a reputation for shouting down the phone first rather than giving any sort of answer to polite enquiries from local media? 
 
A commercialism gone mad musing: On the third day of 2013 The Northern Star reported sighting Easter hot cross buns for sale. Is this a record and will chocolate eggs follow next week? 
 
A pedestrian rages musing: Almost as a logical consequence of Clarence Valley Council management removing part of the Yamba Road Cycleway, there appears to have been an upswing in local pavement rage. I'm hearing that one older man refused to move for a cyclist using the same section of the so-called ‘shared’ footpath running alongside Yamba Road near the marina. Loud words ensued and a threat to go down to the police station to sort the matter out. Allegedly a push was also involved. 
 
An Obeid-esque musing: Wags following the latest ICAC inquiry have renamed Mt. Penny near Bylong as the money mountain grows to $30 million. It's now being called Mt. Pennies.
 
A list keeps growing musing: Which council general manager on the NSW North Coast is now rumoured to have specifically mentioned or implied the D word - defamation - to one local journalist, two regional editors and one pensioner? Rocky the Mutt tells me his hoomin would not be surprised to find that the next person to hear from the GM will still going to primary school. 
 
A bad show musing: Which council general manager on the NSW North Coast is rumoured to have threatened a local journalist with a defamation action if he reported in-depth on the carriage of a planning matter currently before council? 
 
Boy