Abbott Government makes a mockery of Southern Ocean air surveillance

This is what the Coalition parties promised.

Media Release announcing the Coalition Whale and Dolphin Protection Plan on  23 August 2013 during the federal election campaign:

Snapshot taken 22 December 2013

This is what the Abbott Government said it would put in place instead.

ABC News 22 December 2013:

The Federal Government will send a plane to the Southern Ocean in an effort to step up its monitoring of Japanese whaling fleets early next year. Customs will send an A319 during the whaling season, which begins in January and ends in March.

While this is what it actually delivered – one flyover in an aircraft with a limited flight range and unsuitable for surveillance tasks.

Excerpt from evidence given to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee during Senate Estimates, 26 February 2014:

Senator WHISH-WILSON: I was actually going to ask about the P-3Cs under section 1.4, but could I just ask now whether they would have better capacity than the current airbus that is being used by customs to monitor the Japanese whaling fleet and the illegal whaling activity in the southern ocean.

Gen. Hurley : I will get someone who knows more about planes than I do to address that.

Air Marshal Brown : If you are looking at the whaling fleet specifically as the surveillance task, one of the problems is that they are very far south, right off the coast of Antarctica, and a P3 cannot get there. The A319 is not suitable for that task. It is used for the Antarctic division to supply into Antarctica. The recent announcement of the P8 will certainly give us the capability to get down there because it is air-to-air refuelable, which the P3 is not....

Senator WHISH-WILSON: The reason I asked about the airbus is that it has been used this whaling season for surveillance of the Japanese fleet, but I understand there has only been one flyover at a fairly significant cost to the taxpayer. I was just wondering whether you had been consulted on the use of other aircraft, and clearly you have.

Air Marshal Brown : We have. We have had a look at C-17s and all of our fleet at the moment as to whether they are suitable. The word surveillance can mean many things—surveillance out of a passenger aeroplane is a pretty limited operation.

Political Cartoon of the Month

David Pope's work can be purchased at www.scratch.com.au/

Hogan postures on social media

There are 90 Coalition members of the Australian House of Representatives.

Even if Labor, minor party and independent members all voted against any legislation put before the House which supports the coal seam gas industry, the Coalition would have a voting majority of 29 in any division called.

Which makes Hogan's promise to cross the floor nothing more than a hollow gesture as his government would still comfortably win the vote.

About those multiple votes....

Mainstream media has been making much of the fact that at the 2013 federal general election 1,979 Australians have admitted to voting more than once. The Guardian went so far as to run with the highly misleading headline: AEC uncovers 19,000 cases of multiple voting in last federal election.

However in relation to the 18,770 ‘recorded’ multiple votes, ongoing processing has so far found that 8,291 of these multiple votes are due to clerical error on the part of electoral commission employees.

Still be processed are another 8,500 electors.

Of the admitted 1,979 multiple voters - 1,602.99 of these are either elderly, have poor literacy skills or do not fully understand the electoral process.

That leaves approximately 377 people of whom 128 may not have a reliable explanation for multiple voting.

Statistically I doubt whether these 128 people would have influenced the election outcome. 

Unless miraculously they were all registered as residing in for example the Fairfax or Indie electorates and cast their votes exclusively in favour of the Liberal and National parties - thus giving the Abbott Government an even bigger majority.

The likes of the  H S Chapman Society might get into a lather about 463 ballots papers out of a total of 13,726,070 ballots cast, but I cannot see such a small number being a good reason to switch the current voting system to either the highly problematic electronic voting or the very hackable online voting systems.

Senate Estimates, Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, 25 February 2014:

Excerpt from evidence given by Tom Rogers, Acting Electoral Commissioner –

As you know, after the election not every multiple mark on a certified list is actually a multiple vote. So we go through a process of filtering those out...

We sent inquiry letters to 18,770 electors who had multiple marks recorded beside their names.

Replies are still being processed after that process. To date, 8,291 multiple marks have been confirmed as being

caused by official error, such as the wrong name being marked off when electors with similar names attend the

booth or even, on paper lists, people pressing too hard so that the pen goes through the sheet.

A total of 1,979 electors have admitted to voting more than once, with the greater majority of those—over 81 per cent—being elderly, with poor literacy, or with low comprehension of the electoral process....

I think you will find that for some of the elderly voters it  will be that they might have received a vote from one of our mobile teams and also a postal vote, for example...

 There are 128 electors who have more than two marks recorded beside their names...

That is 92 [with three marks recorded beside their names]...

22 [with four marks recorded beside their names]...

Four [with five marks recorded beside their names]...

With six marks, there are six electors; seven marks, one elector; nine marks, one elector; 12 marks, one elector; and 15 marks, one elector...

What I can tell you is that we are currently working with the AFP and the DPP about this issue. We take it very seriously....

First home-grown dumb idea of the year

The Daily Examiner on 24 February 2014 at Page 1:

Welcome to the Green Coast, home to a host of natural wonders and winding rivers.

Where is the Green Coast you ask?

It could be right here, if NSW Business Chamber's Northern Rivers regional manager John Murray's proposal to re-name the Northern Rivers region gains traction.

Something for Australian 'welfare bashers' to think about

http://youtu.be/-rtySUhuokM

Disused coal mine still burning after fifteen days

Australian Mining 20 February 2014:

Expert fire fighting crews have been brought in from interstate to help battle the blaze burning at Hazelwood open cut coal mine.

The fire has been burning for ten days, with experts saying it could be another two weeks before it is put out completely.

Sparked by fires which gripped Victoria on February 9, the coal mine blaze has caused issues for residents in the Morwell area with smoke and ash forcing some people to relocate temporarily.

Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said while fire suppression strategies had been successful, it was a complex environment for firefighters to contend with, ABC reported.

Firefighters from New South Wales have been brought in to help the 200 people already trying to put out the fire.....

Meanwhile thick smoke and ash has led to some local residents leave their homes with a respite centre open to take people in.

"I've quit cigarettes and I feel like I'm going through a pack a day,"  Anne-Marie Simpson said of the smoke.

A plan to evacuate to town of Morwell has been suspended, but children will be bussed to other schools from tomorrow.....

11 FEBRUARY 2014

 10 DAYS LATER

UPDATE

POLICE SEEK PUBLIC HELP FOLLOWING HAZELWOOD OPEN CUT MINE FIRE

TUESDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2014 07:01

Latrobe Crime Investigation Unit and Arson and Explosive Squad detectives are seeking public assistance in relation to the Hazelwood open cut mine fire.

The fire, which has been burning for more than two weeks, is believed to have started at a site on the Strzelecki Highway between Morwell and Mirboo North on 9 February at around 1.30pm.

An arson chemist has attended and police are treating the fire as suspicious.

The fire progressed along the Strzelecki Highway through the HVP timber plantation, causing significant damage to plantations, fences and structures, before making its way into the Hazelwood open cut mine where it continues to burn.

There were also a number of smaller suspicious grass fires around the immediate area in Yinnar, Hazelwood and Boolarra on 28 January and again on the morning of 9 February.

Investigators believe an arsonist may be active in the area and could continue to light fires on high fire danger days.

Police wish to speak to anyone who witnessed any suspicious behaviour in these areas and urge anyone who believes they may know the person responsible to contact police.

Anyone with information about the fire is to asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit

www.crimestoppers.com.au.

Inspector Ian Geddes

Manager Media Unit

VP32189/2014 – 6892

The Australian 28 February 2014:

THE elderly, young children, pregnant women and people with lung problems are being advised to leave the worst-affected area near the Hazelwood coal mine fire, in a major escalation of the crisis in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.

The move comes amid growing alarm in Morwell over rising carbon monoxide levels, ash and smoke from a fire that’s been burning for almost three weeks.

Authorities are advising vulnerable residents in the southern part of Morwell to move temporarily, with the fire in the open-cut mine expected to continue to blanket Morwell in thick smoke and ash for at least another 10 days.

However angry locals heckled Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Rosemary Lester during her announcement, which she says follows consistently poor air quality in Morwell South.

Some residents demanded to know why the relocation advice was only being issued now and why it didn’t extend to the whole of Morwell.

“How about some truth instead of bullshit,’’ one man yelled at Dr Lester.

“We can’t sleep, we can’t go outside, we can’t breathe,’’ said one woman through tears.

“You can’t continue to allow this to happen.’’

Dr Lester admitted it was “unclear’’ what the medium effects of the smoke could be, but stressed it was only people over 65, children under five, pregnant women and people with pre-existing heart and lung conditions who should heed the advice to leave.

Fire authorities predict the blaze, which has been burning in an open-cut coal mine for almost three weeks, will continue to produce significant smoke and ash for at least another 10 days.....