Dutch-owned 'super' trawler "Geelong Star" has left Australian waters and will not be returning

Save Our Marine Life is celebrating the fact that the Dutch-owned factory trawler Geelong Star has left Australian waters and will not be returning.

The trawler has removed its Australian flag of convenience and been reflagged as Dutch – in the process its old name KW 172 Dirk Dirk has been re-instated.

ABC News reported on 24 November 2016 that:

The ship's departure came just before Labor and Greens members on a Senate committee recommended all mid-water trawlers be banned from fishing in Australian waters.

The committee had been investigating the environmental, social and economic impacts of super trawlers.

In 2012, ships known as super trawlers were prohibited from fishing in Australian waters, but the ban only applied to vessels over 130 metres, and not the Geelong Star, which is 95 metres.

Labor and Greens committee members also urged the Federal Government to appoint a National Recreational Fishing Council.

The report said public confidence in the management of Australia's fisheries needed to be enhanced, and it suggested the Australian Fisheries Management Authority publish information about fishing activity in the Small Pelagic Fishery regularly, such as bycatch quantities.

Liberal Senators Jonathon Duniam and David Bushby dissented from the recommendations, and said the Government was "committed to maintaining a balanced and science-based approach to all decisions regarding access to Commonwealth fisheries".

The Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications report into the Environmental, social and economic impacts of large-capacity fishing vessels commonly known as 'Supertrawlers' operating in Australia's marine jurisdiction was published in November 2016.

The Committee report stated:

1.46 The FV Geelong Star commenced fishing in the SPF on 2 April 2015.⁴⁰ The Geelong Star is a 3181 tonne factory freezer vessel with a hold capacity of 1061 tonnes. At 95.18 metres, the Geelong Star is the longest fishing vessel in the AFZ.⁴¹

1.47 The operation of the Geelong Star in the SPF is a joint enterprise between Seafish Tasmania and Dutch company Parlevliet & Van der Plas BV and its Australian subsidiary, Seafish Tasmania Pelagic Pty Ltd.⁴² The fish caught by the Geelong Star is shipped to export markets, usually in West Africa.⁴³

1.48 AFMA was notified that Seafish Tasmania had nominated the Geelong Star to fish its concessions in the SPF on 12 February 2015. Following registration of the Geelong Star as an Australian-flagged boat by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority,⁴⁴ AFMA confirmed that the vessel met its requirements. The Geelong Star commenced fishing in the SPF on 2 April 2015. As the Geelong Star is less than 130 metres in length, it is not affected by the ban introduced by the government in April 2015….

1.50 Since it commenced operating, AFMA has initiated various regulatory measures in response to mortalities of protected species caused by the operations of the Geelong Star. Various stakeholders are also concerned about the effect of the trawler's operations on other commercial fishing operations and recreational fishing activities. Both the fishing activities of the Geelong Star and the regulatory approach taken by AFMA have attracted controversy. 

1.51 Environmental non-government organisations expressed opposition to the activities of the Geelong Star and the approach taken to managing the SPF. Environment Tasmania and the Australian Marine Conservation Society both called on the government to 'enact a permanent ban on the operation of factory freezer trawlers in the Small Pelagic Fishery'.⁴⁵ The Conservation Council SA provided a list of recommendations regarding potential localised depletion, adverse environmental effects, how to minimise impacts on protected species and the presence of AFMA observers on the vessel. The Conservation Council SA called for vessels such as the Geelong Star to be banned from the fishery 'until management strategies', including the recommendations outlined in its submission, 'are in place to effectively minimise impacts on protected species'.⁴⁶

1.52 Recreational fishing interests are another key stakeholder group. Submitters in this group expressed concern about potential repercussions for the Australian recreational fishing sector from the operations of the Geelong Star. The Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF) called for a moratorium on 'industry scale' fishing in areas of the SPF that are of concern to the recreational fishing sector. The ARFF argued that this moratorium should remain in place 'until a comprehensive assessment has been conducted to determine whether industrial scale fishing of the SPF is the highest and best use of the SPF, in our nation's interest and whether the small pelagic fishery should be commercially fished at all'.⁴⁷

1.53 Seafish Tasmania, the operator of the Geelong Star, argued that the use of a factory freezer trawler such as the Geelong Star is the only way that operations in the SPF can be commercially viable. Seafish Tasmania also advised that, over 11 years, it has worked within the regulatory arrangements to assist in developing management plans and strategies 'that support the sustainable management of the SPF'.⁴⁸ Seafish Tasmania added: 

The current management regime in the SPF, and in particular the conditions applied to the Geelong Star, are extremely strict. Clearly, they are designed  

to provide a high degree of public confidence that the operations of the vessel are being closely monitored and managed.⁴⁹

1.54 Seafish Tasmania concluded: 

The company has made substantial investments in supporting scientific surveys and more recently in bringing freezer trawlers from Europe to catch our quota and to produce high quality fish for human consumption. It is time to let us get on with the job of catching our quota.⁵⁰

1.55 Seafish Tasmania and the Small Pelagic Fishery Industry Association (SPFIA) also argued that the science-based management of the fishery and the statutory fishing rights associated with the vessel should be respected. For example, the SPFIA submitted: 

The impact of the continued political interventions in the management of the Small Pelagic Fishery is being felt well beyond the confines of this Association. Although SPF quota holders are effectively the primary target of the political attacks, there is widespread erosion of industry confidence in the ability of AFMA to manage fisheries in an independent, non-political and science based manner. Consequently, industry confidence in the quality and security of their Statutory Fishing Rights is being steadily undermined. 

In these destabilising circumstances, it should not be surprising if industry were to take a shorter term view of their investments reflecting the increased political risk being faced. This is exactly the situation that Government sought to avoid by providing the fishing industry with well defined, long term secure fishing rights to inspire operators to take economically responsible decisions and to look after the marine resources on which their businesses depend.⁵¹

1.56 Other commercial fishing interests urged the committee and other interested stakeholders to separate concerns about factory freezer vessels operating in the SPF, where resource sharing issues involving recreational fishers are important, and the operation of factory freezer trawlers in other fisheries. Petuna Sealord Deepwater Fishing, which has operated a factory freezer vessel in the blue grenadier fishery since 1988, urged the committee to separate 'what we see are two dissimilar issues', namely concerns about 'super trawlers' in the SPF and the operation of factory freezer trawlers elsewhere. It explained: 

The current community concern which has led to this inquiry is not necessary driven by the size or freezing capacity of the vessel or the science of the fishery, as evidenced in the blue grenadier fishery, but centres around resource sharing and access to a fish species that recreational fishers consider is a significant driver in maintaining healthy populations of key recreational species.⁵²……..

1.62 The Geelong Star is 95 metres long and, therefore, is not covered by the 130-metre definition of super trawler used for the ban. Nevertheless, the Geelong Star has commonly been referred to as a super trawler, including by the media and state governments.⁵⁸ In addition, some of the concerns expressed by groups that opposed the Margiris have similarly been applied to the Geelong Star. Some submitters also argued that there is only a marginal difference in the quota allocated to the Abel Tasman, which was banned, and vessels such as the Geelong Star that are not.⁵⁹ Other submitters, however, maintain that 'there is no correlation between vessel size and fishing power'.⁶⁰

1.63 On this issue, Mr Allan Hansard, Managing Director, Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation, commented: 'It is not necessarily the size of the boat; it is that intensity that we need to really focus on in this case'.⁶¹

1.64 From the perspective of the Stop the Trawler Alliance, which is an alliance of environment, fishing and tourism organisations established in 2012 in response to the Margiris, the principal issue is that a factory freezer vessel is operating in the SPF, not that a vessel of a certain size is operating.⁶²......

The end result was this:

Recommendation 1 

6.22 The committee recommends that the Australian government ban all factory freezer mid-water trawlers from operating in the Commonwealth Small Pelagic Fishery.

The full report can be read here.

Because the recommendation is not yet reflected in legislation and because there is some uncertainty about the reasons the trawler vacated Australian waters as well as a fear it may eventually return, concerned people should write to Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce MP and Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator Anne Ruston who have portfolio responsibility for fisheries management and to their federal MP calling on government to permanently ban all freezer mid-water trawlers from operating in Australian Small Pelagic Fisheries.

Save Our Marine Life has started a petition here. 

Gawd help us! This is a National Party federal MP?

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/barnaby-joyce-vows-lnp-maverick-george-christensen-will-become-a-cabinet-minister-20161130-gt12kw.html

George Robert Christensen, Nationals MP for Dawson (Qld), 38 year old, unmarried former local government councillor who entered federal parliament in 2010. Nationals Party Whip since 17 October 2013.

Well-known for uttering homophobic, islamophobic, anti-environmental protection and climate change denial statements. Can confidently be filed by thinking voters under 'right wing nut job - possibly politically dangerous'.

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) final decision on the proposed sale of APN News & Media regional newspapers to News Corp due on 8 December 2016

The proposed date for announcement of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) final decision on the proposed sale of APN News & Media regional newspapers to News Corp is 8 December 2016.

Consideration of the sale is occurring against this backdrop………

Financial Review, 8 November 2016:

News Corporation will rip $40 million in costs out of its Australian publishing arm in 2016-17, some of which will come from job cuts, as the Rupert Murdoch-controlled company deals with falling advertising revenue and a shift to digital.

Advertising revenue at News Corp Australia fell 11 per cent in local currency in the first quarter, which was relatively similar to the same period last year, News Corp chief financial officer Bedi Singh told investors on Tuesday morning during the company's financial results call.

Circulation revenue increased on a local and reported currency basis. News Corp reports in US dollars.

"While we continue to benefit from the cost-reduction program that News Australia announced in the second half of fiscal 2016, which totalled around 5 per cent of the cost base, we are now embarking on further cost initiatives," Mr Singh said.

"We expect an additional Australian dollar $40 million in cost savings this fiscal year while we continue to push digital initiatives more broadly."

It is understood that these costs will come across the local business and will include redundancies. News Corp's Australian publications include The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun. News Corp shares finished Tuesday 1.3 per cent higher at $16.11 in local trade.

It comes as News Corp has begun offering redundancies at The Wall Street Journal and is planning for $US100 million ($130 million) in annual savings by the end of 2017-18.

Proprint, 24 November 2016:

Less than two weeks after it announced a company-wide cost slashing strategy, News Corp Australia has started canvassing the idea of voluntary redundancies to its staff, encouraging those interested to put their hands up before its redundancy programme begins.

Industry union Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) says it is aware News Corp management had begun gauging staff interest in redundancies.

The inevitable job cuts are a by-product of News Corp’s slowing advertising revenue, which forced the publishing giant to push its $40m cost saving strategy to staff.

In a response to News Corp’s redundancy agenda, the MEAA says it has rallied behind affected editorial staff, and had previously made an effort to ensure forced redundancies are not on the cards.

“MEAA has called on News Corp Australia to confirm that there will be no forced redundancies as part of its latest round of cost savings measures. It is particularly frustrating that the announcement of the redundancies came within hours of voting opening for a new enterprise bargaining agreement negotiated between News Corp and MEAA members over many months – with the company’s management never once indicating that further job losses and cost savings measures were imminent,” the MEAA states.

The Australian, 12 September 2016:

News Corp’s planned acquisition of APN News & Media’s Aust­ralian Regional Media newspaper business will result in up to 300 job losses as back office synergies are sought to secure the future of ­quality journalism in the affected ­regions.

The cuts are expected to be implemented over an initial phase, provided the deal is approved by shareholders and the competition watchdog, and a subsequent round of cost cuts once News Corp has had more time to assess the ARM operations across regional Queensland and northern NSW.

However, there are no plans to shut ARM titles, which ­include The Gympie Times, The Chronicle in Toowoomba and the Ballina Shire Advocate, provided they remain profitable…..

ARM recorded a 42 per cent drop in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to $3.4m for the six months ended June 30, on revenues of $89m, which were down by 6 per cent.

APN announced its ARM sale plans in February as part of its ­efforts to focus its business on the more lucrative radio and outdoor advertising sectors.

News Corp should benefit from picking up extra printing plants. It distributes The Australian and The Courier-Mail throughout Queensland from presses in Brisbane and Townsville. The acquisition included presses in Yandina, Warwick and Rockhampton, which will cut the distribution costs, although APN closed a printing plant in Toowoomba last year.

The ARM newspapers were ­divested by News Corp as part of its acquisition of The Herald & Weekly Times group in 1987.

Prime Minister 'Truffles' Turnbull polls zero

Malcolm Turnbull faces a perilous final parliamentary week as voters turn against his leadership, key legislation teeters against Senate manoeuvring, and an emboldened Tony Abbott openly criticises the government while virtually demanding a ministry, according to The Canberra Times on 2 November 2016.

The article went on to say:

The poll showed the government lagging behind the Labor opposition at 49 per cent to 51.

Formerly the Coalition's greatest asset, Mr Turnbull's falling personal standing appears to be leading the broader decline, dropping 8 percentage points since June and a colossal 53 percentage points over the last year.

An equal percentage of voters now either approves or disapproves of the way Mr Turnbull is doing his job, giving him a net approval rating of zero.

Worse still, Mr Turnbull has slipped sharply on a range of important leadership characteristics while his opponent, Bill Shorten, has made some improvements.

The latest Fairfax-Ipsos survey appears to bear this gloom out:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/fairfaxipsos-poll-these-numbers-reveal-an-underwhelmed-and-disengaged-electorate-20161127-gsykz6.htm

One has to suspect that by now Malcolm Turnbull is experiencing a sensation akin to a sharp pain between his shoulder blades every time he turns his back on the right-wing hardliners in his ministry.

Most Australians don't believe that they live in a classless society

Essential Research, 29 November 2016:

An Australian Tale In Seven Tweets

From the keyboard of Blue Mountains resident @R_Chirgwin:

Scene: Katoomba Station, crowded with tourists. A skinny busker is singing “When the Droving’s Done” in an Irish lilt.

Enter: Nazi Skinhead.

Nazi Skinhead: [Spits on Asian tourist]

Busker: [Interrupting song] [In Irish accent] “Oi. You! Don’t bring that shit onto our patch!”

Backbacker: [Upbraids Skinhead for some minutes]

Crowd: Applause

Skinhead: [Raises fist}

Backpacker: [Raises guitar]

Backpacker: [Guitar raised] “You got more fookin’ reach than this, matey?”

Skinhead: “I’ll be back tomorrow!”

Backpacker: “Fookin’ go ahead”

Backpacker: “Cause even on a Monday, there’ll be more of us than there is of fookin’ you. And I see you spit again, ya fookin’ DONE.”

And the tourists and the locals gathered around the Asian who got spit on, and everybody crowded the skinhead so he missed the train.

And the backpacker remembered what bit of an awful song he’d quit at, and took up “Till the Droving’s Done” like no damn thing happened.

Plea from Standing Rock Sioux Tribes falling on deaf ears?

For months now the Dakota and Lakota people and their supporters have been resisting the establishment of an oil pipeline across their ancestral lands in North Dakota.

Thus far the courts have offered no relief and the U.S. Government is showing no desire to require that the pipeline path be altered. 

If you live in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, reflect on how lucky you are that that traditional owners, retirees, families, farmers, graziers, business people and the communities in which they live all came together and successfully fought off the threat to water security and the environment that coal seam gas mining represented. 

Those proposed gas field were also supposed to have a long pipeline.

Now look in your wallet and see if there are a few dollars to spare and consider donating at http://standwithstandingrock.net/.

"The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of American Indians.  81 Federal Register 26826, 26830 (May 4, 2016)." 

#NoDAPL

Excerpt from letter:

"Our Tribe is deeply disappointed in this decision by the United States, but our resolve to protect our water is stronger than ever. The best way to protect people during the winter, and reduce the risk of conflict between water protectors and militarized police, is to deny the easement for the Oahe crossing, and deny it now.

We ask that everyone who can appeal to President Obama and the Army Corps of Engineers to consider the future of our people and rescind all permits, and deny the easement to cross the Missouri River just north of our Reservation and straight through our treaty lands. When the Dakota Access Pipeline chose this route, they did not consider our strong opposition. Our concerns were clearly articulated directly to them in a tribal council meeting held on Sept. 30, 2014, where DAPL and the ND Public Service Commission came to us with this route. We have released the audio recording from that meeting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XARJFdyyfac

Again, we ask that the United States stop the pipeline and move it outside our ancestral and treaty lands.

It is both unfortunate and disrespectful that this announcement comes the day after this country celebrates Thanksgiving—a historic exchange of goodwill between Native Americans and the first immigrants from Europe. Although the news is saddening, it is not at all surprising given the last 500 years of the mistreatment of our people. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe stands united with more than 300 tribal nations and the water protectors who are here peacefully protesting the Dakota access pipeline to bolster indigenous people’s rights. We continue to fight for these rights, which continue to be eroded. Although we have suffered much, we still have hope that the President will act on his commitment to close the chapter of broken promises to our people and especially our children.”

https://www.governor.nd.gov/files/executive-order/Executive%20Order%202016-08.pdf

Plea for assistance sent on behalf of three Sioux tribes to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 2 December 2016:

Standing Rock, Cheyenne River & Yankton Sioux Tribes - Request for Precautionary Measures - FINAL Dec 02, 2... by clarencegirl on Scribd

If anyone living in the Northern Rivers region would like to show support for the people at Standing Rock they may send a message to U.S. President Barack Obama on the White House website at https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.

Background

Standing Rock has 2.3 million acres and the fourth largest land base tribe in the United States and the second Indian Nation to be in two states, both North Dakota and South Dakota.....

The people of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Nation are often called Sioux. They are the members of the Dakota and Lakota Nations. “Dakota” and “Lakota” mean “friend” or “allies”. The term “Sioux”, dates back to the seventeenth century when some of the Dakota people were living in the Great Lakes area. The Ojibwa or Annishinaabe called the Lakota and Dakota “Nadouwesou” meaning “adders” or “little snakes”. This term was then shortened and corrupted by French traders, resulted in retention of the last syllable as “Sioux.”

The Dakota and Nakota people of Standing Rock include the Upper Yanktonai (in their language called Ihanktonwana, which translates to “little end villages”) and Yanktonai from the Cut Head Band. The Cut Heads, whose name is literally translated, get their title from the fact that when they withdrew from the Yanktonais, there was a row over secession and a fight. Their leader sustained a scalp wound and the name Cut Head was given. The Yankton and Yanktonais are called the Wiceyala or Middle Sioux. When the Middle Sioux moved onto the prairie, they had contact with the semisedentary riverine tribes such as the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara. Eventually the Yanktonai displaced these tribes and forced them upstream. However, periodically the Yanktonai did engage in trade with these tribes and eventually some bands adopted the earth lodge, bullboats and horticultural techniques of these people, though buffalo remained their primary food sources. The Yanktonai also maintained aspects of their former Woodland lifestyle. Today Yanktonai people of Standing Rock live primarily in communities on the North Dakota portion of the reservation.

The Lakota, as the largest division of the nation, are subdivided into the Oceti Sakowin or Seven Council Fires. The Lakota people of the Standing Rock Reservation included two of these subdivisions, the Hunkpapa, means “campers at the Horn” and Sihasapa or “Blackfeet,” not to be confused with the Algonquian Blackfeet of Montana and Canada, which are an entirely different group. The Hunkpapas get their name from their hereditary right of pitching their tepees at the outer edge of the village as defenders of the camp. The Sihasapa name comes from walking across a burned prairie after an unsuccessful expedition and their feet blackened, thus they were called the Blackfeet. The Lakota Hunkpapas and Sihasapa are the northern plains people and practically divested themselves of all woodland traits of their Dakota ancestors. The culture revolved around the horse and buffalo; the people were nomadic and lived in hide tepees year round. Their Hunkpapas and Sihasapa ranged in the area between the Cheyenne River and Heart Rivers to the south and north and between the Missouri River on the east and Tongue River to the west.

UPDATE

RT Question More, 4 December 2016:

The US Army Corps of Engineers will not grant permission for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross Lake Oahe, the hotspot of massive protests of water protectors, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said in a statement, adding that alternative routes are now being studied.

"The Department of the Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota," said a statement on the US Army website, citing the Assistant Secretary for Civil Works, Jo-Ellen Darcy.

U.S. Army statement, 4 December 2016:

The Department of the Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, the Army's Assistant Secretary for Civil Works announced today.
Jo-Ellen Darcy said she based her decision on a need to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing. Her office had announced on November 14, 2016 that it was delaying the decision on the easement to allow for discussions with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation lies 0.5 miles south of the proposed crossing. Tribal officials have expressed repeated concerns over the risk that a pipeline rupture or spill could pose to its water supply and treaty rights.
"Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it's clear that there's more work to do," Darcy said. "The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing." 
Darcy said that the consideration of alternative routes would be best accomplished through an Environmental Impact Statement with full public input and analysis.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is an approximately 1,172 mile pipeline that would connect the Bakken and Three Forks oil production areas in North Dakota to an existing crude oil terminal near Pakota, Illinois. The pipeline is 30 inches in diameter and is projected to transport approximately 470,000 barrels of oil per day, with a capacity as high as 570,000 barrels. The current proposed pipeline route would cross Lake Oahe, an Army Corps of Engineers project on the Missouri River.

Political Tweet of the Week

cathywilcox.com.au

National Indigenous Youth Parliament 2017 - Coming Soon!

www.aec.gov.au/indigenous

#TurnbullGovernmentFAIL: let's threaten to sue the little bloke

Snapshot 23 November 2016 7:48pm

The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 November 2016:

The Turnbull government has threatened to sue a retiree who established a little-visited website that campaigns against cuts to Medicare, accusing him of unauthorised use of the healthcare system's green and yellow logo.

The use of Medicare against the government has become a point of extreme sensitivity for the Coalition since its near-death experience in July and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's angry election night claim that unions "peddled lies" to voters in text messages purportedly sent by Medicare.

But Mark Rogers, a Sydney grandfather of two, said it was "beyond over the top" and "Monty Pythonesque" for the government to threaten him with court and damages for his part-time personal crusade to protect Medicare.

On Wednesday last week he received a legal letter from the Australian Government Solicitor giving him less than 48 hours to shut down his "Save Medicare" website and agree to never use Medicare branding again……

Mr Rogers's website and domain name is similar to Labor's "save Medicare" campaign website but the ALP has not been threatened with legal action, Fairfax Media has confirmed.

Medicare Legal Letter by FairfaxPolitics on Scribd

Wellington Times, 24 November 2016:

Mr Turnbull was asked for a second time on Thursday why his government was targeting a retiree with a little-visited website that campaigns against cuts to Medicare.

"I will speak to the minister, I will have a look at the legal advice and I will review it," Mr Turnbull told Parliament.

Earlier, Human Services Minister Alan Tudge indicated he backed the department's pursuit of Mr Rogers, insisting it was not a matter of seeking to shut down free speech as the retiree and some legal academics have insisted.

"The Department is concerned about the misuse and misrepresentation of the Medicare brand, not legitimate use in public debate."

On Melbourne radio on Thursday, Mr Tudge could not say if any member of the public had complained about being misled by Mr Rogers' website.

Mr Rogers said he had been flooded with offers of legal assistance and financial backing to fight the government.

In less than 24 hours, more than 26,000 people had signed a GetUp! petition in his support.

"The feedback is that the government does not have a valid case on the basis of copyright and they are just trying to crush me," Mr Rogers said.

Matthew Rimmer, Professor of Intellectual Property at Queensland University of Technology said he was "puzzled" that the government would push so hard against an individual who was clearly not trying to misrepresent Medicare in any commercial sense.

"I'm not sure they have picked the right target here. I'm concerned it's overreach in terms of copyright law and trademark law," Professor Rimmer said.

"Medicare has been politically contested and used in all sorts of advertising, particularly in during the last election.

"This whole thing would have a much different complexion if it was a commercial player like a bank or insurer using the name Medicare but if you look at Mr Roger's website, it is clearly not pretending to be Medicare, who is it going to mislead?"

Obviously the Turnbull Government doesn’t really care how much of a petulant bully it looks to the national electorate.

Former Queensland LNP politician found guilty of fraud

What started with this……

Hockings v Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association (Industrial Organization of Employers) [2014] QIRC 37 (19 February 2014):

CITATION:	Hockings v Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association (Industrial Organization of Employers) [2014] QIRC 037
PARTIES:	Hockings, John Norman (Applicant) v Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association (Industrial Organization of Employers) (Respondent)
CASE NO:	B/2013/18
PROCEEDING:	Application to re-open proceedings
DELIVERED ON:	19 February 2014
HEARING DATES:	12 and 26 April 2013 30 May 2013
MEMBER:	Deputy President Bloomfield
ORDERS :	1.  Matter No. RIO/2012/155 be re-opened on the Commission's own initiative. 2.  Orders in Matter No. RIO/2012/155, issued on 10 September 2012 and formalised on 5 December 2012, be vacated. 3.  Mr Scott and Mrs Emma Driscoll be referred to the Queensland Police Service for investigation. 4.  Mr  Scott Driscoll  be referred to the Speaker of Queensland Parliament for possibly misleading Parliament.

Ended with this…….

Brisbane Times, 25 November 2016:

Former Queensland politician Scott Driscoll has admitted to soliciting thousands of dollars in secret commissions and falsifying records during his term as the Member for Redcliffe.

Driscoll was expected to stand trial in the Brisbane District Court next week but on Friday pleaded guilty to 15 charges, including fraud.

The 41-year-old was released on bail and is due to be sentenced next year on March 6.

The former Liberal National Party MP won office in the Newman government's landslide in the March 2012 election victory.

Driscoll resigned in disgrace from State Parliament in November 2013for misleading the House about his financial interests and his role in the Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association.

A year later, Driscoll was charged by the Crime and Corruption Commission for soliciting secret commissions worth at least $400,000 on behalf of the QRTSA from Wesfarmers and Woolworths in October 2012 while he was in office……

Driscoll did not speak to the media as he left the court with his wife Emma, who was sentenced in September to three years jail, wholly suspended, for multiple counts of falsifying a record and making a false declaration.

Australian internet speeds improving at snail's pace

My Broadband v Reality has been running a State of the Internet online survey here.

On 24 November 2016 the organisers tweeted some interim survey results:

Which ISP do you use?

Telstra 26.2%

iiNet 14.7%

Internode 11.7%

TPG 10.4%

Optus 9.2%

Skymesh 6.7%

These are the five most common Internet service providers named by survey respondents

What type of Internet connection?

ADSL 54.9%

Satellite 10.4%

FttP 9.4%

HFC 8.1%

FttN 6.1%

Median download speed of the 400 survey respondents was 11Mbps.

Average download speed was 22.9Mbps

Average cost of Internet plan : $84.34 per month

To place these preliminary results in perspective here are the April-June 2016 Top 10 average connectivity rankings found in Akamai Technologies latest State of the Internet report:

https://www.akamai.com/us/en/multimedia/documents/state-of-the-internet/akamai-q2-2016-internet-connectivity-executive-review.pdf

Here is how Australia officially compares with some of its trading partners:

https://www.akamai.com/us/en/our-thinking/state-of-the-internet-report/state-of-the-internet-connectivity-visualization.jsp

IQ rankings and where Donald J Trump might just fit

**Please note before reading that there is no verifiable proof available online for the Intelligence Quotients (IQs) listed.This post is based on a casual Google search**

Standardised IQ tests produce a rough approximation of an individual’s perceived intelligence level in comparison to others.  An I.Q somewhere between 90 and 110 is usually considered average intelligence and an estimated 8.9 per cent of the population is likely to have an IQ score of 120 or over.

This is what Donald Trump says of his own intelligence level:

Browsing the Internet gives some examples of estimated intelligence levels of famous and not-so-famous individuals ranging from paragons of virtue through to serial killers:

187. Bobby Fischer 

185. Galileo Galilei 

180. Rene Descartes

178. Tim Roberts

175. Immanuel Kant

175. Peter Rodgers

170. Stephen Hawking

170. Paul Allen

168. Sharvin Jeyendran

165. Charles Darwin

165. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

162. Lydia Sebastian

160. Albert Einstein

160. George Eliot

160. Nicolaus Copernicus

160. Bill Gates

155. Rembrandt van Rijn

153. Joshua Madugula

150. Nolan Gould 

149. Jimmy Saville

148. Abraham Lincoln 

145. Thomas Edison

145. Napoleon

143. Richard Nixon

141. Adolf Hitler

140. George Washington

140. Hillary Clinton

140. The woman down the road from me  

132. Nicole Kidman

130. Barack Obama

125. George W. Bush

120. Ulysses S. Grant

120. Dwight D. Eisenhower

ß--------------------------------------------------- Right about here is where I would place U.S. Republican president-elect Donald John Trump based on his own estimation.

119. John F. Kennedy

118. David Berkowitz

113. Zombie Girl

111. Sarah Palin

ß--------------------------------------------------- Right about here is where I would place Donald Trump based on my estimation.

109. Charles Manson

104. Max Nocerino

Review of the Four Major Banks (First Report) published 24 November 2016

House of Representatives Standing Committee Review of the Four Major Banks (First Report), November 2016, opening lines of Chair’s forward:

Banking regulation should have two key goals: promoting financial stability and achieving strong outcomes for consumers. Financial stability is critical – but so is ensuring that consumers get a fair deal from the banking sector.

Due to Australia’s strong regulatory framework and the banking sector’s prudent management of financial risk, no Australian bank regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has ever failed. We need only consider the economic impact of bank failures in other nations to understand the importance of a stable banking system.

However, while they have remained financially strong, Australia’s major banks have let Australians down too frequently in too many other ways.

Australians turn to banks for assistance when making some of the most important decisions and facing some of the most serious challenges of their lives: borrowing to buy their first home; investing to support their retirement; and, in some cases, accessing insurance policies that they had hoped they would never need.

Australians should be able to trust that their bank will act in their best interests when they turn to them for help. It is clear that in some cases this has not happened….

Financial Review, graphic, 24 November 2016: