Knitting Nannas' three year long yarn outside pro-CSG MP's office in Lismore continues

The NSW North Coast Nationals never learn.

At the 28 March 2015 state election they lost one of their safe seats, Ballina, and suffered a 19.6% swing to Labor in Tweed, a 22.4% swing to Labor in Clarence and a 22.5% swing to Labor in Tweed where Thomas George only survived on preferences - yet they tried to flex their political muscle on the one issue that saw so many voters walk away from the National Party at the ballot box.

NSW Police confront Knitting Nannas: Image from @LockTheGate 10 April 215

The Northern Star 9 April 2015:

A group of 10 nannas had yesterday just settled in to their usual positions on the pavement outside Mr George's office yesterday when they were approached by a group of police who informed them the act was illegal.

Eltham Knitting Nanna Judy Summers said she was told by a senior policewoman the group "had no reason to be here as CSG is done and dusted".

The police left after issuing a warning that the group would face more serious action if they returned next week.

But Ms Summers vowed the group were "not going anywhere" and were seeking legal advice over the issue.

"I told her it is not done and dusted; until both licenses are cancelled we will continue to be here," Ms Summers said.

"We are not obstructing the pathway."….

The Knitting Nannas [should] move their weekly protests from Thomas George's office to the boat sculpture at Molesworth Street, Lismore Nationals president John Barnes has said.

Speaking on ABC Radio this morning, Mr Barnes said he was against CSG but the Nannas were a "nuisance" and they should move to "the HMAS Jenny Dowell", referring to the sculpture.

"I don't care what they are protesting for, if it is CSG or the man on the moon," Mr Barnes said.
"They should give the streets back to the people.".....

Later the same day:

THE GREENS NSW coal seam gas spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham wants to know if the government has an agenda to 'shut the Nannas down'.

Following ABC reports that suggested National Party members initiated the confrontation between police and Knitting Nannas on Thursday at their usual knit-in in front of Thomas George's office, Mr Buckingham today called on Deputy Premier Troy Grant to clarify whether his party and government wanted the Nannas shut down.

The 'post-election police crackdown', according to Mr Buckingham is 'a ridiculous attack on the democratic right to peaceful protest'.

What happened two days later was entirely predictable.

Image from @CSGFreeNR 11 April 2015 

The Northern Star 11 April 2015:

POLICE moves to stop the Knitting Nannas against Gas staging protests outside Lismore MP Thomas George's office have spawned a huge outcry since the group was told they were breaking the law on Thursday.

But was it a planned move to shut down the regular "knit-ins" - or a case of mistaken identity?

Knitting Nanna Clare Twomey said the Nannas may have been "implicated by association" over a complaint from another protest - not involving the Nannas - during which a female employee of Thomas George's allegedly injured herself while trying to avoid bags of manure.

Local police were not answering questions on the matter yesterday and the Nannas said they had legal advice their protests were within the law.

Ms Twomey said the group had also received overwhelming public support, and the police intervention had only served to fire them up.

Just as predictable was the public slapdown later on that same Saturday of John Barnes by his leader, who is understandably nervous about the party's poor showing at the recent election.

Anti-gas group the Knitting Nannas Against Gas are welcome to continue their regular "knit-ins" outside Lismore MP Thomas George's office NSW Deputy Premier and Nationals Leader Troy Grant has said.

Mr Grant has today issued a statement demanding Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham apologise for suggesting the government wanted to get rid of the Nannas.

The statement follows a furore over a police visit to the Nannas on Thursday, where officers told members of the group they would have to stop their protests outside Lismore MP Thomas George's office.

He said Mr George was out of the electorate when the complaint was made and he had no involvement in it or knowledge of it.

       

                                Go the Grans! 

Ex-National Party member and local contrarian invites a response on coal seam gas

The Daily Examiner’s letters column was the scene of yet another slap down of a wannabee gadfly last week…

The letter

CSG scare success

I was somewhat taken aback by the successes of the Greens at the state elections. Their scare campaign against coal seam gas mining was clearly successful.

I will not waste time by going over old ground but I do suggest that the State itself commissions a demonstration gas field under the control of an appropriate government body to counter the fear-mongering that threatens the establishment of a much needed industry that will boost the prosperity of the region.

THOMAS MACINDOE

Yamba

6 April 2015

The response

Scare claim off target

Thomas Macindoe's assertions (DE April 6) that the recent high level of support for the Greens' in Ballina and Lismore was the result of a "scare campaign", is just plain wrong.

In fact I'd describe it as a truth dissemination exercise, and the fact that the Government and mining industry could not debunk that campaign was that they knew the anti-gas campaigners were right.

Thomas' comments were simply parroting those made the previous week by our local member trying to explain the 15% drop in his own vote, and can be excused as ignorance, something that cannot be said for Mr Gulaptis, who is in full possession of all the facts.

The suggestion that the government should set up a gas field, independent of the industry, to prove that unconventional gas mining is safe, is ridiculous. We already have two closely monitored gas fields under construction in NSW, one near Gloucester, and the other at Pilligar, and both operators have already been found guilty of polluting underground water supplies; supposedly banned BTEX chemicals turning up in water in the Gloucester operation, and Uranium in an aquifer in the Pilligar.

Further to that, the NSW chief scientist and engineer spent over a year investigating all aspects of the unconventional gas industry, at the government's behest, and found that the industry did pose risks, and that there would be negative consequences.

In Queensland, pollution events, fires, massive 'draw-down' of water in peoples bores, and methane pollution of bores that can be set on fire, have all been reported in the media, including 60 Minutes and other reputable sources. Fugitive gas emissions seeping out of the ground as a result of Hydraulic Fracturing, has seen levels of methane in the gas fields up to 5 times normal levels (see Southern Cross University research), that resulted in reports of health problems among children living in those gas fields.

Most if not all those families that suffered ill health have now been bought out by the industry, with convenient confidentiality clauses ensuring that there is still no recorded evidence linking their ill-health to the elevated gas levels.

The Nationals' loss of electoral support had nothing to do with a scare campaign, and everything to do with their failure to represent their constituents.

JOHN EDWARDS

South Grafton

9 April 2015

CSG a real worry

I am writing to respond the Mr Macindoe's letter in the DEX on Monday.

I am not sure what planet Thomas Macindoe has been living on for the past few years as there is simply no excuse to be so ignorant about the CSG issue.

With modern technology you can do your own research on anything or anyone.

To accuse the Greens of running a scare campaign is ludicrous when both the NSW Farmers and NSW CWA both came out publicly against CSG way before the NSW election.

The NSW Farmers also ran a campaign against the Nationals in the NSW election which beggars belief when farmers were once the life blood of the National Party. Even our former Governor General Marie Bashir has gone public against CSG.

And if that isn't convincing enough a world wide 'Go Fossil Free' campaign has already seen 180 institutions including universities and churches sell off their investments in coal, oil and gas in the UK and Australia.

Still not persuaded to sell your shares Mr Macindoe?

Maybe this might convince you.

Leading financial groups including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Standard and Poor's have also warned of the risk posed to fossil fuel investments by action on climate change.

A series of large funds and world banks have excluded coal and other highly polluting companies, including the world's largest sovereign wealth fund in Norway, which revealed it had dozens of coal companies earlier this year.

And finally last year, Rockefeller's withdrew their funds from fossil fuels.

Perhaps now the election is over you can stop believing all the National Party propaganda as well and do your own research. I hear the Yamba library has cheap wi-fi if you're not connected to the internet.

DEBRAH NOVAK

Yamba

10 April 2015

Monsanto, Roundup and probability of cancer

East Bay Express 15 April 2015:

On March 20, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reclassified glyphosate as a chemical that probably causes cancer. The IARC is a branch of the World Health Organization that focuses on cancer, and it combines the knowledge and expertise of epidemiologists, laboratory scientists, and biostatisticians. The IARC has been engaged in cancer research for more than five decades, and its vast experience in cancer research has led the agency to conclude that "most cancers are, directly or indirectly, linked to environmental factors and thus are preventable."

The IARC had previously designated glyphosate as possibly carcinogenic. Monsanto, a leading producer of glyphosate under the trade name Roundup, immediately issued a press release challenging the new IARC designation and contending that Roundup is safe. But Monsanto has a tremendous amount at stake. Half of the corporation's revenues come from sales of Roundup and Roundup Ready seeds, which can tolerate the herbicide. Monsanto advocates that farmers spray their fields heavily and repeatedly with Roundup in order to kill unwanted weeds, and Monsanto's corporate strategy is based on the assumption that Roundup is safe. If Roundup is found to be toxic, the entire house of cards comes tumbling down, and with it, Monsanto and biotech agriculture. The banning of glyphosate could mean bankruptcy for Monsanto.

IARC Monographs Volume 112: evaluation of five organophosphate insecticides and herbicidesonograph

Two national political opinion polls begun one day apart - two markedly different results

Two national political opinion telephone polls begun one day apart with two markedly different results made for some confusing headlines this week.

The clue may be in the mix of days of the week on which each poll was conducted, the fact that the first poll would possibly have included a higher number of younger voters due to the inclusion of mobile phone users and, the narrow question range in the second published poll.

POLL 1: FAIRFAX/IPSOS POLL, THURSDAY TO SATURDAY  9-11 APRIL 2015, 1404 RESPONDENTS, LANDLINE & MOBILE PHONES, MARGIN OF ERROR +/-2.6%

Financial Review 13 April 2015:

A promise to spare households more budget cuts, a focus on the economy and a raft of national security announcements has failed to help the Abbott government, with the latest poll showing Labor once more forging a strong lead over the Coalition.

The Ipsos/Fairfax media poll shows Labor leading the Coalition by 54 per cent to 46 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis, an increase from the 51-49 lead Labor held in the last such poll in early March.

Since that poll, the Coalition's primary vote has fallen 3 percentage points to 39 per cent and Labor's has risen 2 points to 38 per cent. The Greens are relatively steady on 13 per cent.

Labor leader Bill Shorten arrested a decline in his own personal ratings that showed up in the last poll. His approval rating was down a point to 42 per cent and his disapproval rating up a point to 44 per cent.

Mr Abbott's approval rating rose 2 points to 34 per cent and his disapproval rating fell 2 points to 60 per cent.

Mr Shorten has stretched his lead over Mr Abbott as preferred prime minister by 3 points. He now leads by 48 per cent to 38 per cent.

The telephone poll of 1404 voters was taken from Thursday night to Saturday night. It follows a busy period in which Mr Abbott has shrugged off the leadership insurrection that dogged him in February and embarked on a blitz of policy announcements and policy launches.

There has been a heavy emphasis on national security as well as the release of the intergenerational report, the tax discussion paper and a focus on multinational tax evasion, an issue on which Labor has seized the initiative..……

...support for the Coalition is greatest among higher-income households. Among voters with household incomes over $100,000, 49 per cent back Coalition policies and 29 per cent back Labor.

But Labor is more popular among medium and lower-income earners. Among voters from households with between $40,000 and $100,000 in annual income, 36 per cent back the Coalition and 34 per cent back Labor.

Among voters from households with annual income below $40,000, 39 per cent back the Coalition and 41 per cent back Labor.

POLL 2: NEWSPOLL, FRIDAY TO SUNDAY 10-12 APRIL, 1172 RESPONDENTS, LANDLINE PHONES, MARGIN OF ERROR +/- 3%

Channel 9 News 13 April 2015:

Labor continues to hold a two-party preferred lead over the Abbott government but opposition leader Bill Shorten has suffered a slump in ratings, the latest Newspoll shows.

With preferences from the Greens based on the last election, the ALP has a two-party lead of 51 per cent to 49 per cent, the poll conducted for News Corp at the weekend showed.

The Coalition has meanwhile opened a five-point margin over Labor on primary vote to be ahead by 41 per cent to 36 per cent.

The survey of 1172 voters found Mr Shorten's satisfaction fell three points to a 12-month low of 33 per cent while Prime Minister Tony Abbott's satisfaction climbed four points to also sit at 33 per cent……

UPDATE

Essential Research released an opinion poll on 14 April 2015. This survey was conducted online from the 9 to 12 March and is based on 1,002 respondents drawn from a self-managed consumer online panel of over 100,000 members 18 years of age and older. The majority of panel members have been recruited using off line methodologies, effectively ruling out concerns associated with online self-selection.

The little political campaign that couldn't

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) thought it had hit on a good idea - run a small business-based campaign encouraging customers to complain to the Abbott Government about the fact that penalty rates still exist.

This is one of the posters in use during this campaign in New South Wales:

And this, being Australia, is one of the typical responses received:

 ‏@KieraGorden 

. 

To add to the amusement a spokesperson for ACCI, Kate Carnell, characterized this form of response as an illegal threat to boycott.

Perhaps Ms. Carnell might like to point out which clause in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 actually applies to individual citizens letting business owners know they are not amused by the posters in their windows. 

Suicide is still the leading cause of premature death in Australia yet it took the Abbott Government ten months before it blinked over mental health funding cuts

In the May 2014 budget papers Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, along with Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Minster Mathias Cormann, wielded an ideological razor on health funding provided by the Commonwealth .

It has taken the Abbott Government ten long months to realise that the mental health sector, a traditionally underfunded area, could only respond to mooted federal funding cuts by reducing services or closing agencies.

The Minister for Health Sussan Ley finally announced a funding extension for a further twelve months on 2 April 2015 - two days after an Australian Bureau of Statistics media release which confirmed that suicide was still the leading cause of premature death in Australia.

It's almost as though someone in the Prime Minister's office finally put two and two together and realised that there was a public relations disaster of monumental proportions in the offing.

BRIEF BACKGROUND

Excerpt from an Australian Bureau of Statistics media release on 24 July 2010: New South Wales was found to have the lowest suicide rate at 8.6 deaths per 100,000 people for the period 2006-2010.

NSW Government Suicide by Local Health District and year:

The suicide rate for Northern NSW in 2010 was 10.7 deaths per 100,000 people and for the Mid-North Coast the rate was 6.2 per 100,000 people.

By 2013 New South Wales had a suicide rate of 9.1 per 100,000 people for 2009-2013.

In 2012-13 hospitalisation of young people aged between 15 and 24 years for intentional self-harm was significantly higher than the state average in Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley and Coffs Harbour local government areas and, on par with the state average in Kyogle, Lismore, Tweed and Richmond Valley local government areas.

ABS 3303.0 - Causes of Death, Australia, 2013:

 There were 2,522 deaths in Australia from intentional self-harm in 2013.

(a) All causes of death data from 2006 are subject to a revisions process - once data for a reference year are 'final', they are no longer revised. Affected data in this table are: 2009-2011 (final), 2012 (revised), 2013 (preliminary). See Explanatory Notes 52-54 and Technical Note, Causes of Death Revisions, 2011 and 2012. (b) Includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0. Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to suicide. See Explanatory Notes 87-93. (c) Age-specific rates of deaths are the number of deaths per 100,000 population. See Glossary and Data used in calculating death rates (Technical Note) for further information. (d) The age-specific rates published in this table are calculated for the 2009-2013 reference period. As such, they may differ from age-specific rates published elsewhere in Causes of Death, which are calculated for a single year.  (e) Includes deaths of persons whose age was not stated.

(a) All causes of death data from 2006 are subject to a revisions process - once data for a reference year are 'final', they are no longer revised. Affected data in this table are: 2009-2011 (final), 2012 (revised), 2013 (preliminary). See Explanatory Notes 52-54 and Technical Notes, Causes of Death Revisions, 2011 and 2012. (b) Cells with small values have been randomly assigned to protect the confidentiality of individuals. As a result, some totals will not equal the sum of their components. Cells with a zero value have not been affected by confidentialisation. (c) Includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0. Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to suicide. See Explanatory Notes 87-93. (d) Includes 'other territories'. (e) Includes deaths of persons whose age was not stated.

np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated.

The Sydney Morning Herald 8 December 2014:

Mental health organisations are cutting services and shedding staff because of uncertainty about their funding, according to the sector's peak body.

Forty per cent of mental health agencies say they have already lost staff as a result of the uncertainty, while more than half report a reduction in services to their clients, according to a survey of 75 organisations which receive Commonwealth funding, conducted by Mental Health Australia.

Almost half of those surveyed reported difficulty in attracting new staff, and 81 per cent reported a decline in staff morale.

Fifty six per cent of organisations said they had not had communications with the government regarding the future of their Commonwealth funding after June next year, and 85 per cent reported a loss of trust in government among management and staff.

Mental Health Australia chief executive Frank Quinlan said the typically short-term funding cycles for mental health programs, a lack of clarity about how the National Disability Insurance Scheme would affect funding arrangements, and a national review of existing mental health programs had combined to create a "perfect storm of indecision."

"Nobody argues about the need for these programs but at the moment we just can't seem to find anybody to own the future of that problem," Mr Quinlan said.

Health Minister Peter Dutton is considering the review of existing services, conducted by the National Mental Health Commission, after receiving the report late last month….

Excerpt from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) media release, 31 March 2015:

Suicide was once again the leading cause of death for Australian's aged 15 to 44. Suicide accounted for 2,520 deaths in 2013 at a standardised death rate of 10.7 per 100,000 people. The median age at death for suicides is lower than for many other causes at 44.5 years of age. As a result, suicide accounted for over 85,000 years of life lost making it the leading cause of premature death in Australia. [my red bolding]

ABC News 2 April 2015:

In a move worth $300 million, mental health services will have their funding renewed for a further 12 months.

The announcement made today by Health Minister Sussan Ley follows a campaign by Mental Health Australia, after some mental health services began to shut down, unsure of future funding.

Hundreds of contracts were due to end on June 30.

Ms Ley said the 12-month extension would allow services to continue to be delivered while work continued on the current Mental Health Review.

Memo to North Coast Voices readers

North Coast Voices will not be posting commentary for the next two days.

Apart from our annual holiday between Christmas Day and New Year's Day, this is the first time this blog has not had a daily post since it commenced in 2007.

We apologize to our readers and hope to be back on Tuesday, 14 April 2015.

Metgasco misses out on NSW compensation offer

The Australian 10 April 2015:

At close of business on Friday10 April 2015 the Australian Stock Exchange listed Metgasco's ordinary share price at 0.023 cents.

Metgasco Limited v Minister for Resources and Energy is listed for judgment in the NSW Supreme Court at 10am on Friday, 24 April 2015.