Twitter owned Liberal MP Dennis Jensen over climate change stance

This tweet exchange made me smile:

To be fair the Liberal Member for Tangney (WA), Dennis Geoffrey Jensen, left university with a credible BAppSc (RMIT) MSc (Melb) PhD (Monash) which qualified him in the field of biology/biotechnology, physics and material science and he did work as a research scientist for the CSIRO between 1995 to 1999.

He was on the Advisory Board of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Anti Matter/Matter Research however his register of members’ interests declarations do not make clear exactly when he began and when he vacated this non-paying position.

However, as he was employed as an air traffic controller for around three years before he managed to find science-related employment, in 140 characters or less this rabid climate change denier and wannabee science minister was momentarily owned on Twitter.

Jensen appears to have never done research in the field of climate science or published any peer-reviewed papers on this subject.

Jensen entered the Australian Parliament in 2004, has spoken against climate change science on numerous occasions in the House of Representatives as well as in mainstream/social media and, in pursuit of a denialist agenda called for audits of the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO in 2014, an audit of the Bureau of Meteorology in 2017 and an inquiry into the evidence of human influence on climate change in 2015.

He also speaks in favourable terms about that notorious climate change denier Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley.

In 2008 Jensen boycotted a sitting of federal parliament on the day that the formal apology to the Stolen Generations was made by the then Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

In September 2015 he reportedly voted to sack Tony Abbott and install Malcolm Turnbull as Australian prime minister.

Next problem for Australian Prime Minister Turnbull - his pick as Treasurer

There is such a lack of talent on the government benches in Canberra that Malcolm Turnbull would have had few ministers to choose from, even if he didn’t owe Scott Morrison the treasury portfolio as exchange for his ‘support’ in the leadership challenge which saw Turnbull gain the prime ministership.

Even after three changes of portfolio, Morrison continues implementing his far-right Christian ideology which delights in screwing over the poor and vulnerable while rewarding god’s chosen - the rich.

As this report in The Sydney Morning Herald on 12 February 2016 indicates:

The most shocking thing in the Treasury analysis delivered to Scott Morrison on January 25 isn't the finding that a cut in income tax funded by a lift in the goods and services tax wouldn't boost the economy at all.

It's what Morrison asked the Treasury to model.

He asked it to model a lift in GST from 10 to 15 per cent and then the handing back of every possible cent in income tax cuts. Because boosting the GST automatically results in extra spending on benefits such as Newstart, family allowances and pensions as prices climb it isn't possible to give all of it back.

But it is possible to hand back $30 billion of the $35 billion as tax cuts, and that's what Morrison asked the Treasury to model in the first instance, not legislated increases in benefits of the kind delivered by his predecessor Peter Costello when introducing the GST.

The impact is horrific.

High earning households do very well. In the top fifth, 81 per cent are better off. In the fifth below that, 80 per cent are better off.

In the bottom fifth, only 9 per cent are better off. Put another way, the change makes 91 per cent of the lowest-earning households worse off.

It makes 79 per cent of the next lowest earning households worse off, and 60 per cent of middle earning households better off.

Morrison had asked the Treasury to model a change that enriched middle and high earners at the expense of the least-well off.

And the results tell us something about the nature of the change. It appears to have been one that cut tax rates or adjusted thresholds at the top more than the bottom. All of the Prime Minister's talk about how any change must be fair appears to not have sunk in.

At his request Treasury and its consultants Econtech and KPMG also did sensitivity analysis. What would happen if, say, $6 billion of the tax cuts were diverted to low earners in extra benefits? They found that the more the tax cuts were diverted to benefits, the worse the economic payoff. Econtech found the payoff turned negative. KPMG found it was positive but got weaker the more low earners were compensated.

Morrison will make much of the finding in a later Treasury brief that doing nothing and allowing bracket creep to push people into ever higher tax brackets is set to take 0.35 per cent from GDP over four years. But tax cuts funded by a hike in the GST wouldn't have halted bracket creep, they would have postponed it. And during the time they postponed it, the projected budget deficit would have swelled……

Nationals MP for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker dumped as Minister for Vocational Education and Skills

Luke Hartsuyker (left) at the beginning of his brief 4.5 month stint as a full minister

Image from Coffs Coast Advocate

Lost his bid to become Deputy-Leader of the Nationals to Fiona Nash and now swiftly given the boot from the front bench by his own prime minister – Luke Hartsuyker must either have fought an unforgivably bloody leadership battle behind the scenes, been a spectacularly underperforming Minister for Vocational Education and Skills or it was discovered that he blotted his copybook when overseas like so many Turnbull Government ministers and MPs before him.

Perhaps a case of what goes on in Turkey stays in Turkey?

Clarrie Rivers will be pleased with the demotion.

What has happened in Malcolm Bligh Turnbull's first 154 days as Australia's Prime Minister?

On 14 September 2015 Liberal MP for Wentworth and former Communications Minister Malcolm Bligh Turnbull became the 29th Prime Minister of Australia, after defeating then sitting prime minister Tony Abbott in a party room poll by 55 to 44 votes.

By 21 September Turnbull had announced his new "21st Century" ministry, removing Joe Hockey, Eric Abetz, Ian Macfarlane, Kevin Andrews and Bruce Billson from the ministry in the process.

Just 154 days later and we find that his handpicked…….

Minister for Defence Materiel and Science & Special Minister of State Mal Brough had to first stand aside in December 2015, due to an Australian Federal Police investigation into allegations that he has urged a member of the staff of the House of Representative Speaker to unlawfully obtain a copy of part of the Speaker’s diary in 2012 and, then on 13 February 2016 was forced to resign as minister

Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science & Leader of the House Christopher Pyne is assisting the Australian Federal Police with inquiries in relation to those same allegations as is the Assistant Minister for Innovation Wyatt Roy

Minister for Cities and the Built Environment Jamie Briggs had to resign in December 2015 after admitting he had behaved inappropriately towards a young female member of the Australian diplomatic corps whilst in Hong Kong bar in November 2015

Minister for Human Services & Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Stuart Robert had to resign in February 2016 after it was revealed that he had breached ministerial standards in 2014 by allegedly lobbying the Chinese Government on behalf of the mutual business interests of himself and a major Liberal Party donor

Minister for Vocational Education and Skills Luke Hartsuyker was involuntarily demoted to the backbench without explanation in 2016.

Then Liberal MP for Groome Ian Macfarlane, who lost the portfolio for industry and science when Turnbull ousted Abbott, finally saw the writing on the wall after a failed attempt to cross to the Nationals and, subsequently being tarred with the Stuart Robert scandal, decided to retire at the general election this year.

After his Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb also decided to bail (voluntarily) out of politics, this left him seven ministers short since taking charge in September 2015.

In Turnbull’s emergency ministerial reshuffle there are fourteen Coalition MPs and Senators who have assumed new portfolio responsibilities – some for the very first time:

New Minister for Northern Australia, Qld Nationals Senator Matt Canavan – has been in parliament less than nineteen months sitting on a slew of parliamentary committees but doing little else;

New Assistant Minister for Immigration, Qld Liberal Senator James McGrath, retaining Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister – has been in parliament less than nineteen months sitting on a dozen parliamentary committees and becoming Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister in September 2015;

New Assistant Cabinet Secretary and Assistant Minister for Finance, NSW Liberal MP for Eden-Monaro Peter Hendy – has been in parliament a little over two years sitting on two parliamentary committees before becoming Assistant Minister for Productivity in September 2015;

New Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation, NSW Liberal MP for Hume Angus Taylor – been in parliament for a little over two years sitting on five committees but with no other obvious experience;

New Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister,  Nationals MP for Hinkler Keith Pitt – has been in parliament for a little over two years sitting on six parliamentary committess but with no other obvious experience.

New Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs, NSW Liberal MP for Reid Craig Laundy – has been in parliament for a little over two years sitting on four parliamentary committees but with no other obvious experience;

New Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Material, Liberal MP for Wannon Dan Tehan – been in parliament for less than six years and sitting on a handful of parliamentary committees;

New Assistant Minister for Disability Services Qld Liberal MP for Ryan Jane Prentice – has been in parliament less than six years holding a number of parliamentary appointments, positions and sitting on a number of committees;

New Minister for Human Services, Liberal MP for Aston Alan Tudge – has been in parliament less than six years with two years as a parliamentary secretary and one committee membership under his belt  before becoming Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Assistant Minister for Social Services in September 2015;

New Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Liberal MP for Gippsland Darren Chester – has been in parliament for less than eight years with a two-year stint as a parliamentary secretary before becoming Assistant Minister for Defence in September 2015;

New Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, Vic Liberal Senator Scott Ryan – has been in parliament less than eight years only having served as a parliamentary secretary or shadow secretary in two portfolios and as an assistant cabinet secretary since September 2015.

New Minister for International Development and the Pacific, NSW Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells – has been in parliament less than eight years, served on various committees and as parliamentary secretary before becoming Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs in September 2015.

New Minister for Infrastructure & Regional Development and Minister for Regional Communications, Deputy Leader of the Nationals & NSW Nationals Senator Fiona Nash, retaining Minister for Rural Health – has been in parliament for about twelve years mostly spent on various committees and as shadow parliamentary secretary until becoming Assistant Minister for Health and Minister for Rural Health in September 2015; and

New Minister for Trade and Investment, Liberal MP for Moncrieff Steve Ciobo – who has been in parliament for about 15 years but only became Minister for International Development and the Pacific in September 2015 after serving as a parliamentary secretary in three portfolios.

By this stage of Turnbull's prime ministership Australia has also slipped from ranking 11 to ranking 13 on the Corruption Perceptions Index which judges 168 countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be and, had come third last in the December 2015 annual assessment of 58 nations’ climate policies and carbon emission levels, with only Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan ranking worse.

Likewise the federal government budget deficit forecast has changed and not for the better – it currently stands at est. $37.4 billion.

Additionally the Turnbull Government appears to still have four reports outstanding which should have been submitted to UN committees by now - Elimination of Racial Discrimination report overdue since 2012, Human Rights report overdue since 2013, Economic Social & Cultural Rights report overdue since 2014 and, Elimination of Discrimination against Women report overdue since 2014.

While despite the government being faced with a est. $9 million renovation bill for The Lodge, Turnbull’s wife Lucy happily shopped for sofas, curtains and other soft furnishings for the official residence.

Not exactly a glowing report card for Truffles.

Nationals MP for Page Kevin Hogan enthusiasically behind Nationals' federal leadership change?

If the glum face is anything to go by, Nationals MP for Page Kevin Hogan may have shared the feelings of many on the NSW North Coast when the new Nationals leadership team of Deputy Prime Minister & Leader of the Nationals Barnaby Joyce and Deputy Leader Fiona Nash was announced.

Original image found on Twitter

Liberal MP Stuart Robert's resignation as Australian Minister for Human Services raises more questions than it answers

The following is a rough timeline covering the the not-so-illustrious political career of Stuart Rowland Robert, Liberal MP for Fadden (QLD) since 2007.

On 10 September 2010 Stuart Robert changed his Statement of Registrable Interests to reflect that he and his wife were no longer trustees for the Robert Family Trust and Robert Investments Family Trust, as well as ceasing to be directors and shareholders in Robert International Pty Ltd.

It is understood that new trustees are close family members of Robert.

For most of his parliamentary career to date Stuart Robert has not ventured overseas that often.

His first official overseas trip did not occur until 5 August 2009 as part of a parliamentary delegation to Timor Leste. His second was also as part of a parliamentary delegation – this time to the United Arab Emirates between 13-20 May 2011.

Robert’s third and fourth overseas trips covered six days in June and five days in October 2011. First as a representative of Australia during commemorative events in France and then on a study tour of South Africa. The two and a quarter page study report cost taxpayers $16,161.58.

Between 13 Feb to 17 Feb 2012 Stuart Robert was again overseas representing Australia in Singapore on behalf of Senator Michael Ronaldson. From 17 Oct to 21 Oct 2012 Robert was in Egypt for the 70th anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein, before travelling on to Uganda for seven days on another study tour. This second three-page study report cost $3,811.92.

In June 2013  then Shadow Minister for Defence, Science, Technology and Personnel  Stuart Robert hosted a small private dinner at Parliament House for a representative of a Chinese mining company, reportedly at the request of another guest, millionaire businessman Paul Marks. 

Besides Marks, guests at this dinner included Chinese billionaire Li Ruipeng, then Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources Ian Macfarlane and then Liberal National Party president Bruce McIver. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and then Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship & Shadow Minister for Productivity and Population Scott Morrison attended the dinner towards the end.

The 2013 dinner

All the Australian politicians at this dinner reportedly received gifts of designer watches worth est. $250,000 in total.

Marks is frequently described as a close personal friend of Robert.

On 31 January 2014 mining exploration company Nimrod Resources Limited donated $500,000 to the federal Liberal Party of Australia.

In mid-August 2014 Stuart Robert accompanied Paul Marks to China allegedly to lobby the Chinese Government on his behalf in relation to the business interests of Nimrod Resources.

Robert did not bill the taxpayer for his flight to China. However, his return journey was via Singapore for the Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial meeting and the Defence Ministers' Dialogue on 21 to 23 August. Therefore taxpayers funded the last leg of his journey home.

Nimrod Resources currently has three directors, Paul Marks (Executive Chairman), James Macaulay (Managing Director) and Robert Kingdon (Non-executive Director). Bruce McIver reportedly holds a 22 per cent shareholding in this company.

In early April 2014 Stuart Robert as Assistant Minister for Defence led a 7-day trade mission to Israel organized by the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, of which Marks' brother Sam Miszkowski is understood to be a Queensland office bearer/member.

There were two other ministerial visits overseas in 2014 - one to Afghanistan and another to New Zealand & the United States.

On 30 June 2014 P. Marks Investment Pty Ltd  donated $431,631 to the federal Liberal Party.

Between April and June 2015 Paul Marks personally donated $340,000 to the federal Liberal Party.

To date the Marks family appear to have donated at least $1.47 million directly to the Liberal Party.

In late April to early May 2015 as Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert made ministerial visits to the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and the USA as part of a trade delegation.

By 2016 Chinese businessman Li Ruipeng is no longer a high-flying billionaire but is wanted by police in China for illegal fundraising and unpaid debts of est. $30 million and Robert may yet have to appear as a witness in a court case concerning the outcome of a Dubai land deal which went wrong.

On 12 February 2016 Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull released a press statement regarding Robert’s resignation as Minister for Human Services which said in part that: Mr Robert advised Dr Parkinson that at the time he travelled to Beijing in August 2014 he did not believe that he had any interest in or connection to Mr Paul Marks’ company, Nimrod Resources. In the course of assisting the investigation, Mr Robert advised Dr Parkinson that on checking his records he had become aware that shares in Metallum Holdings Pty Ltd, a company in which Mr Marks was also a shareholder, had been allocated to his trustee some time before the visit to Beijing. He told Dr Parkinson that this had been done without his knowledge. He further advised Dr Parkinson that he believed Metallum Holdings Pty Ltd had an interest in Nimrod Resources.

Metallum Holdings has an interesting history:

METALLUM HOLDINGS PTY LTD  ACN 160 273 763

Formerly Resource House Holdings Pty Ltd

Registered: 10 September 2012

Address: Office F1 Level 1, 47-59 Ashmore Road, Bundall QLD 4217

Sole Director: Paul Marks

Company Secretary: Robert Arthur Kingdon of Kingdon Lawyers

Number of Ordinary Shares: 10,000

Shareholders:

MIST CONSULTING PTY. LTD. – a Marks family company, trading as Friends of Israel (QLD), which donated $200,000 to the Liberal Party of Australia on 13 March 2014

[See: http://periodicdisclosures.aec.gov.au/Returns/55/SWIK4.pdf]

ROMELL PTY. LTD.

P. MARKS INVESTMENT PTY LTD

Louise Edwards

Previous Shareholders:

INTERIMCO PTY LIMITED – company believed to be owned or part-owned by former Liberal National Party president Bruce McIver

JJ HOLDINGS (VIC) PTY. LTD.

OZEAN INVESTMENTS PTY. LIMITED

Tom Kotsimbos.

All this leaves two questions hanging after Stuart Robert’s resignation – exactly how often did Robert assist Marks family business interests in the last nine years and, how many other Turnbull Government ministers have helped Paul Marks in a similar fashion?

UPDATE

Herald Sun, 10 April 2016:

DUMPED minister Stuart Robert took his official Defence-issued mobile phone on his controversial private trip to China, potentially exposing the device to a breach of national security.

Phone records obtained using Freedom of Information laws reveal the then-assistant defence minister had the device in Beijing while there to witness mate and Liberal donor Paul Marks sign a deal with the ­Chinese government.

The phone records show Mr Robert’s phone was switched on and connected to Chinese and Hong Kong networks eight times on August 15, 2014, and a further four times on August 16.

Just because it is beautiful.....(3)

Eucalyptus Flower

http://www.thelastpost.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/shutterstock_248793-Web.jpg