Monday 10 June 2019
Some Clarence Valley residents with NDIS packages will be forced to find new assistance
The
Daily Examiner,
8 June 2019, p.3:
Some local residents
with NDIS packages will be forced to find new assistance as service providers
downsize in regional Australia.
In the past month two
major disability service providers have announced changes in the Clarence
Valley, with the Benevolent Society closing its Grafton office and Australian
Unity leaving regional NSW altogether.
The move by Australian
Unity comes just three years after the company took on more than 4000 staff and
50,000 aged and disability clients from the NSW Government’s Home Care Service
of NSW, after winning a tender in 2015.
The organisation would
not confirm how many clients it had in the Clarence Valley region.
However Community and
Public Sector Union Regional Organiser Asren Pugh said the move by providers
was concerning and a direct result of the State Government’s decision to
privatise all disability services in 2016.
Mr Pugh said members had
approached him with concerns that some NDIS clients would lose workers with
whom they had formed strong relationships.
“Some of our members
have said they have had the same client for 15 years,” he said.
“Some clients have said
they are really distressed about that because they are afraid they will lose
the worker who has been looking after them for 15 years.”
In a statement on its
website Australian Unity said it would be focusing on provision of aged care
services and did “not anticipate the decision to scale down its NDIS business
will result in any job losses”.
Meanwhile the Benevolent
Society has confirmed it will be closing its Grafton office with Coffs Harbour
becoming the “primary hub” for the region…..
Further reading
North Coast Voices, 4 June 2019, The National Disability Insurance Scheme continues a bumbling problem-filled roll out during which its clients suffer
Sunday 9 June 2019
PRESS FREEDOM IN AUSTRALIA: Letting The Light In - Part One
It has been
reported that the day this article (set out below) was published by the Australian
public broadcaster, the then Chief of the Defence Force and Acting-Secretary of
Defence referred said article to the Australian Federal Police.
Six days
short of two years after that Defence Force complaint and, after a lengthy
investigation by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force as well
as the arrest of a whistleblower in September 2018, the AFP decided to raid ABC
offices at Ultimo on 5 June 2019.
This raises a
suspicion that the two raids
conducted over the last 48 hours may have been held back so they did not occur
during the recent federal election campaign - thus raising politically sensitive questions the Morrison
Government might have been obliged to answer before polling day.
As this is
the third instance in which journalists and a radio commentator have been approached
in the last few weeks by either the federal police or the Dept. of Home Affairs
and questioned over source/s of information contained in articles or on air
commentary, one has to wonder what the Morrison Government and its agencies are
playing at.
The original article……
ABC News, 11 July 2017:
Hundreds of pages of
secret defence force documents leaked to the ABC give an unprecedented insight
into the clandestine operations of Australia’s elite special forces in
Afghanistan, including incidents of troops killing unarmed men and children.
The ABC can reveal that
some of the cases detailed in the documents are being investigated as possible
unlawful killings.
The Afghan Files
This is one story in a
seven-part series based on leaked documents exposing Australian special forces
troops’ role in the Afghanistan war. For context, they are best read in order.
This comes a day after
the ABC revealed the alleged cover up of the
killing of an Afghan boy and another alleged incident in which a father and son
were shot dead during a raid.
The documents, many
marked AUSTEO — Australian Eyes Only — suggest a growing unease at the highest
levels of Defence about the culture of Australia’s special forces as they
prosecuted a bloody, secretive war against insurgents across a swathe of
southern Afghanistan.
One document from 2014
refers to ingrained “problems” within special forces, an “organisational
culture” including a “warrior culture” and a willingness by officers to turn a
blind eye to poor behaviour.
Another document refers
to a “desensitisation” and “drift in values” among elite Special Air Service
soldiers serving in Afghanistan, while others allude to deep divisions between the
two elite units which primarily comprise the special forces - the SAS based in
Perth and 2 Commando Regiment based in Sydney.
A large proportion of
the documents are reports on at least 10 incidents between 2009-2013 in which
special forces troops shot dead insurgents, but also unarmed men and children.
The Inspector General of
the Australian Defence Force is investigating at least two of the incidents as
part of its inquiry into the conduct in Afghanistan of special forces, which
includes alleged unlawful killing…..
NOTE
* Details of the first AFP raid on the home of a News Corp journalist on 3 June 2019 and the 2018 article which allegedly prompted that raid is at http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2019/06/on-4-june-2019-federal-police-raided.html
* Further ABC stories:
#4
The spy and the SAS soldier with a loaded Glock#5Who
is the enemy? Australia’s secretive rules of engagement
Still waiting on the
official report concerning the alleged unlawful killings……
ABC News, 8 March 2019:
A lengthy investigation
into possible war crimes committed by elite Australian soldiers in Afghanistan
will not be made public before this year's federal election.
Senior military and
government figures have told the ABC they are not expecting the long-awaited
report by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) to be
ready for release until at least the second half of this year, well after
voters go to the polls in May.
In 2016 the IGADF began
examining "rumours of possible breaches of the Laws of Armed Conflict by
members of the Australian Defence Force", but inside the special forces
community frustration is growing at how long the process is taking.
One special forces
veteran, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the ABC that there were
"natural justice impacts" from having the inquiry extended, and that
it was "painful" for those involved.
"I can only hope
the ultimate findings are of sufficient gravity to justify this extended
process," the former high-ranking Commando said.
For almost three years
New South Wales Supreme Court Justice and Army Reserve Major General Paul
Brereton has been leading the secretive IGADF investigation, which is believed
to have uncovered numerous
concerns about the conduct of elite soldiers, including several incidents of
possible unlawful killings.
Many in the ADF had
originally anticipated the inquiry would be completed by 2018, but in a
statement to the ABC the Defence Department has confirmed the independent IGADF
inquiry is "ongoing"……
Morrison Government's newly appointed “Special Envoy” for the Great Barrier Reef is in favour of large scale land clearing on the reef's doorstep
This is the
newly appointed “Special Envoy” for the Great Barrier Reef, Liberal MP for Leichhardt
Warren Entsch…..
The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 June 2019:
Coalition MP Warren
Entsch has backed a plan to bulldoze 2000 hectares of pristine forest near the
Great Barrier Reef despite being appointed to a role championing the natural
marine wonder.
Prime Minister Scott
Morrison appointed the veteran Liberal MP, who represents the seat of
Leichhardt in north Queensland, as special envoy to the Great Barrier Reef in
last month’s ministerial reshuffle.
Mr Entsch once owned
Olive Vale station, a large Cape York farm north-west of Cairns, and has been a
vocal proponent of land clearing on farming properties in north Queensland.
Land clearing can create sediment and nutrient run-off and is the main driver
of serious water quality problems on the Great Barrier Reef.
Liberal MP Warren Entsch
is a strong advocate of land clearing, despite the possible effects on the
Great Barrier Reef's water quality.
In particular, Mr Entsch
lobbied his government on behalf of a highly contentious proposal to
clear 2000 hectares of forest at Kingvale
Station on Cape York Peninsula.
The land drains into two
rivers that run into the Great Barrier Reef 200 kilometres downstream.
Government-commissioned experts have warned that soil erosion from the work is
likely to damage the reef.
Mr Entsch told
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that despite his new
responsibilities, the Kingvale land-clearing proposal had his “total support”.
“It has absolutely
nothing to do with my role [as reef envoy],” he said…..
New Environment Minister
Sussan Ley will decide on the Kingvale plan, which is being assessed under
Commonwealth laws.
This is what Mr.
Entsch is determined to ignore……
The relationship between the position of Kingvale Station in a river catchment which discharges water into the Great Barrier Reef at a point where the reef is under stress from multiple coral bleaching events.
The relationship between the position of Kingvale Station in a river catchment which discharges water into the Great Barrier Reef at a point where the reef is under stress from multiple coral bleaching events.
Normanby Catchment in Far North Queensland |
Kingvale Station approximate position maked in red |
Map found at Great Barrier Reef Foundation |
Warren Entsch cannot be ignorant of this relationship, as Kingvale Station is in the federal electorate he has held for the last twenty-three years.
A suspicious person might wonder if Mr. Entsch was one of the government MPs who allegedly 'lobbied' departmental staff on the matter of Kingvale Station land clearing consent in the past,
Such a mind might also ponder the proposition that he was made Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef in order to assist in subverting attempts to stop landclearing so close to this World Heritage listed marine area.
BACKGROUND
A suspicious person might wonder if Mr. Entsch was one of the government MPs who allegedly 'lobbied' departmental staff on the matter of Kingvale Station land clearing consent in the past,
Such a mind might also ponder the proposition that he was made Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef in order to assist in subverting attempts to stop landclearing so close to this World Heritage listed marine area.
BACKGROUND
ABC
News, 22 May
2018:
The Queensland
Government has launched legal action against the owner of a Cape York cattle
station at the centre of a land-clearing controversy for allegedly breaching an
obligation to care for Indigenous heritage.
The owner of Kingvale
Station on the Cape York Peninsula legally cleared 500 hectares of land before
the Federal Government intervened in 2016, over internal concerns about the
effect on sediment run-off into the Great Barrier Reef.
The traditional owners of
the land, the Olkola people, claim the owner of Kingvale Station went ahead
with the clearing without their knowledge and may have destroyed a burial site.
The ABC can reveal the
Queensland Department of Environment and Science is taking court action as a
result of an investigation which started as early as 2016, when the Olkola
people complained to the Government that they believed Kingvale Station may be
in breach of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act.
The
Sydney Morning Herald,
27 November 2018:
The Morrison government
has conceded it botched scrutiny of a plan to bulldoze 2000 hectares of
pristine Queensland forest near the Great Barrier Reef and has been forced back
to the drawing board following a legal challenge by conservationists.
The development comes as
confidential documents show government MPs lobbied environmental officials to
wave through the proposal, which would raze land almost three times the size of
the combined central business districts of Sydney and Melbourne.
As
Fairfax Media reported in May, the Department of the Environment and Energy
in a draft report recommended that the government allow the mass vegetation
clearing at Kingvale Station on Cape York Peninsula.
The finding, which
prompted public outrage, came despite the department conceding the native
forest was likely to contain endangered species, and despite expert warnings
that runoff caused by the clearing may damage the Great Barrier Reef.
In a case demonstrating
the critical role community organisations play in holding elected officials to
account, the Federal Court has upheld a challenge by the Environment
Council of Central Queensland (ECOCeQ) – represented by EDO NSW – to a proposal
to clear 2,100 ha of native vegetation on Kingvale Station on the Cape
York Peninsula in the Great Barrier Reef catchment.
Early in 2018, the
Federal Minister for the Environment decided that the proposed clearing could
undergo the least rigorous form of environmental assessment available under
Commonwealth environmental law. The Minister was required, among other
things, to be satisfied that the degree of public concern about the action is,
or is expected to be, ‘moderately low’.
The Minister has now
conceded that decision was not made lawfully.
ENVISAT satellite image
of the Great Barrier Reef alongside the York Peninsula.
“The Act deliberately
applies a strict test that must be satisfied before the Minister can opt for
the least rigorous assessment,” David Morris, CEO of EDO NSW, stated.
The Government’s own
experts found that the proposed clearing would have a significant impact on the
Great Barrier Reef and a number of threatened species.
The Minister must now go
back to the drawing board to decide afresh how the environmental impacts of the
proposal will be assessed. Steps that have been completed since the Minister
made the original assessment decision are now void, including the Secretary’s
draft recommendation report that was published online for comment in April
2018.
What follows next will
depend on the assessment methodology selected by the Minister. Whichever
approach is selected, there will be further opportunity for the public to
comment on the proposed clearing.
Christine Carlisle,
President of ECOCeQ, said ‘We hope the Minister rejects the tree clearing
proposal outright, since it will destroy habitat for threatened species, the
bulldozing of the forest will contribute to climate change, and there can be no
guarantee that sediment run-off from this huge area will not make its way into
Princess Charlotte Bay and then on to the Reef.’
‘We trust that the
Minister for the Environment will act in the best interest of the environment,
and not rubber stamp this dangerous proposal. The Minister received 6,000
public comments when this clearing was first proposed, and I hope the public
responds again to ensure this proposal is not approved at any level,’ she said.
This case illustrates
yet again the value of the extended standing provisions in the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Without community groups like
ECoCeQ, and lawyers to represent them, this unlawful decision would have
proceeded without scrutiny and key safeguards for our environment ignored.
Saturday 8 June 2019
Tweets of the Week
I really cannot get to grips with people suggesting that hearing of same sex relationships in school will influence children to 'become' gay.— Ami Vet (@ami_vet) May 31, 2019
I've been studying camelid medicine in somewhat intense detail lately and despite being ~quite~ impressionable, I have not become a llama
Friday 7 June 2019
Northern NSW residents are still over-represented when it comes to smoking cigarettes
The Daily Examiner, 4 June 2019, p.7:
Northern NSW residents
are still over-represented when it comes to smoking cigarettes.
Despite years of
warnings and anti-smoking campaigns, statistics taken in 2016 reveal 20.3 per
cent of population in the North Coast Local Health District is smoking.
The rate has remained
largely unchanged for years as a report released by the Cancer Institute showed
the number of smokers in 2011 stood at 20.4 per cent
This contrasted with
statewide smoking trends which showed the number of smokers had dropped
considerably over the past decade, down from almost 20 percent to just 15.2 per
cent in 2017.
There was a clear
difference between metropolitan and regional areas, with city health districts
recording bigger falls and one regional health district, Western NSW, recording
an increase of four per cent since 2012.
Males aged 25-34 were
the most likely to be lighting up as 25.9 per cent of the group were smokers
compared to 11.8 per cent of women the same age.
In fact, the only age
group in which women out-smoked men was in the 55-64 and 65-74 categories and
in both cases it was only a one per cent difference.
A higher proportion of
women reported smoking while pregnant, with Northern NSW recording a rate five
per cent above the state average of 8.3 per cent......
Labels:
health,
Northern Rivers
So who is to blame for the new Morrison Government?
As of 4:09pm on Thursday 6 June 2019 an est. 6,613,352 Australian citizens had voted for the
Liberal-Nationals Coalition at the 18 May 2019 federal election, by either directly giving their first preference to
one or the other of these two political parties or placing them high on the range
of second preference choices printed on ballot papers.
So let’s get
one thing clear, it is not the fault of any one state or territory that the hard
right Morrison Coalition Government was returned to power. It is not the fault
of Labor or the Greens.
Full
responsibility for the election result lies with those est. 6,613,352 people and, they know who
they are.
They are the
voters now personally responsible for any and all actions of the Morrison Government,
from the date government ministers were sworn-in post-election to the day the
2022 federal election is held.
To all those
individuals I say this:
If the national
economy tanks in the next three years – it’s your fault;
If wages fall
even further behind the cost of living for low and middle income households –
it’s your fault;
If there is no significant increase in the Newstart allowance meaning that young and older job seekers continue to starve in an economy which has limited job
vacancies – it’s your fault;
If the
national debt increases even further to cope with reckless government spending
and dubious overgenerous government tenders – it’s your fault;
If the annual
budget blows out into significant deficit because so many greedy people are joining the franking credit rort – it’s your fault;
If Liberal and National parliamentarians become even more profligate while on the public purse – it’s
your fault;
If there are
more budget funding cuts to essential services, including health, public education, welfare, domestic violence, legal assistance – it’s your fault;
If more
people suicide because of the federal government's flawed and punitive debt
recovery system – it’s your fault;
If there is
an increase in the privatisation of government services with a corresponding decrease
in adequate service delivery – it’s your fault;
If the cost
of child care continues to make life economically difficult for women wanting to
participate in the workforce – it’s your fault;
If women pushed onto the ParentsNext scheme continue to be punished by the Morrison Government by the withholding of money to feed their babies and small children – it’s your fault;
If young first home buyers continue to be squeezed out of the housing market by investors and property speculators – it’s your fault;
If young first home buyers continue to be squeezed out of the housing market by investors and property speculators – it’s your fault;
If there is
an increase in discrimination against vulnerable groups, including the LBGTI community
– it’s your fault;
If human rights abuses continue in immigration detention centres – it’s your fault;
If the frail elderly don't have access to timely free urgent dental care – it’s your fault;
If the National Disability Insurance Scheme continues to fall short of its legislated responsibilities and administrative goals, leaving the needs of clients unmet – it’s your fault;
If human rights abuses continue in immigration detention centres – it’s your fault;
If the frail elderly don't have access to timely free urgent dental care – it’s your fault;
If the National Disability Insurance Scheme continues to fall short of its legislated responsibilities and administrative goals, leaving the needs of clients unmet – it’s your fault;
If the poor continue to have limited access to and no real equity in the benefits derived from a modern democratic society – it’s your fault;
If the discriminatory cashless welfare card is extended to more areas across the country and/or to wider categories of welfare recipients – it’s your fault;
If the discriminatory cashless welfare card is extended to more areas across the country and/or to wider categories of welfare recipients – it’s your fault;
If blatant
water rorts and water thefts continue and more towns/cities run low or are completely
out of drinking water over the next three years – it’s your fault;
If environmental degradation of the river systems in the Murray-Darling Basin is not halted – it’s your fault;
If a federal government data breach compromises your privacy or the privacy of a friend or family member – it’s your fault;
If environmental degradation of the river systems in the Murray-Darling Basin is not halted – it’s your fault;
If a federal government data breach compromises your privacy or the privacy of a friend or family member – it’s your fault;
If the number of citizens arrested and tried for calmly speaking truth to power begins to rise – it’s your fault;
If the
Morrison Government loses China’s goodwill as our largest trading partner in
order to curry favour with US President Donald Trump – it’s your fault; and
If climate
change hammers this nation into the ground over the next three years – it’s your fault.
There are no excuses, there is no magical do over. The est. 6,613,352 Australian citizens who either voted directly or indirectly for the Liberal-Nationals Coalition chose the political path we are now on.
These people alone are to blame for whatever flawed or corrupt actions the Morrison Government takes and the consequences of that government's neglect or indifference during its current term in office.
I reiterate. Each of you brought the second Morrison Government into existence. You own that fact. So don't even try to deflect the blame onto others.
Labels:
elections 2019,
Morrison Government
Thursday 6 June 2019
A word or two on the Australian economy…….
“The
financial year ending in 24 days will be recorded as Australia’s worst since
1992, when the nation was struggling to recover from the 1991 recession.” [Contributing
Editor Michael Pascoe, The
New Daily, 5 June 2019]
With wages growth stagnant and a rise in unemployment the slowing economy became even slower last month as consumers kept their wallets closed, perhaps sensing the uncertainty behind Prime Minister Scott 'Liar from the Shire' Morrison's empty brag of a strong economy during the recent federal election campaign.
Australian Treasurer and Liberal MP for Kooyong Josh Frydenberg let the cat out of the bag when speaking with the banks ahead of the 4 June 2019 Reserve Bank official cash rate cut when he was variously reported as admitting the economy faced significant problems or domestic and international economic challenges. A few days later it was factors which weighed on the economy.
Here is how mainstream media and statisticians presented the situation........
The
Age, 2 June
2019:
On the basis of
the December
quarter numbers Australia is already in a recession on a per capita
basis. It has been there before in its record-setting period of economic
expansion, but there is a sense this time that it will be lucky to avoid a
contraction.
Slowing economic trends
are unlikely to have reversed in the first quarter of 2019. We haven’t seen
those March quarter numbers yet, but they are unlikely to be good, and may be
bad. Political uncertainties will not have helped.
What is in prospect is
the sort of outcome that will compound the concerning result in the second half
of 2018 when GDP slowed dramatically to 1 percent year-on-year.
If that slowdown becomes
entrenched, Australia will tip into a recession for the first time in a
generation with all the consequences that will follow. This includes an
indelible political context.
After six years in
office, the Coalition cannot reasonably blame its predecessor for tepid wages
growth, weak productivity gains, spiralling household debt, a doubling of net
government debt, and a depreciation of the Australian dollar by about 30 per
cent since a Tony Abbott-led government took office in 2013.
Interest rate cuts may
further weaken the dollar. This would be good for commodities exporters, bad
for consumers.
A booming property
sector fuelled by easy credit and lax Foreign Investment Review Board
strictures on Chinese
money flooding the market contributed to an illusion of wellbeing, the
so-called wealth effect: or, perhaps, better described as the “wealth
illusion’’.
Cuts to interest rates
may give the economy a bump. The removal of the spectre of a Labor government,
at odds with aspirational Australia, may encourage investment.
However, what should be
concerning the government, as it prepares for the first session of the 46th
parliament in early July, is that unemployment in April ticked up to 5.2 per
cent from 5 per cent, and underemployment jumped to 8.5 per cent.
Finally, this brings us
to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s pledge to bring the budget back into surplus in
2020-21 and begin paying down debt. If a recession bites that undertaking will
not be worth the budget papers on which it is written.
The question will then
become whether - and how quickly - the Morrison government can bring itself to
admit its budgetary projections, reaffirmed by a docile Treasury in its
pre-election economic and fiscal outlook (PEFO), misfired.
Rather than surpluses as
far the eye can see and tax cuts on the horizon it would be dealing with an
entirely different scenario.
What would be needed in
that case is real stimulus for capital works projects rather than short-term
fixes in the form of tax cuts that might be good for the sale of Harvey Norman
flat-screen televisions, but will do little for wages growth or the economy
overall.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), media
release, 4 June 2019:
Retail turnover fell 0.1
per cent in April
Australian retail turnover fell 0.1 per cent in April 2019, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Retail Trade figures.
This follows a rise of 0.3 per cent in March 2019.
"There were mixed results across industries" said Ben Faulkner, ABS Director of Quarterly Economy Wide Surveys, "with falls in Household goods retailing (-0.9 per cent), Cafes, restaurant and takeaway food services (-0.7 per cent), and Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-1.2 per cent), which were offset by rises in Other retailing (0.8 per cent), Department stores (1.8 per cent), and Food retailing (0.2 per cent)."
In seasonally adjusted terms, there were falls in New South Wales (-0.4 per cent), Victoria (-0.4 per cent), the Northern Territory (-0.5 per cent), and the Australian Capital Territory (-0.2 per cent). There were rises in Queensland (0.7 per cent), South Australia (0.6 per cent), Western Australia (0.1 per cent), and Tasmania (0.3 per cent).
The trend estimate for Australian retail turnover rose 0.2 per cent in April 2019, following a 0.2 per cent rise in March 2019. Compared to April 2018, the trend estimate rose 2.9 per cent.
Online retail turnover contributed 5.7 per cent to total retail turnover in original terms in April 2019, which was unchanged from March 2019. In April 2018, online retail turnover contributed 5.4 per cent to total retail.
Reserve Bank of Australia. media
release, 4 June 2019:
Statement by Philip
Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision
At its meeting today,
the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to
1.25 per cent. The Board took this decision to support employment
growth and provide greater confidence that inflation will be consistent with
the medium-term target.
The outlook for the
global economy remains reasonable, although the downside risks stemming from
the trade disputes have increased. Growth in international trade remains weak
and the increased uncertainty is affecting investment intentions in a number of
countries. In China, the authorities have taken steps to support the economy,
while addressing risks in the financial system. In most advanced economies,
inflation remains subdued, unemployment rates are low and wages growth has
picked up.
Global financial conditions
remain accommodative. Long-term bond yields and risk premiums are low. In
Australia, long-term bond yields are at historically low levels. Bank funding
costs have also declined further, with money-market spreads having fully
reversed the increases that took place last year. The Australian dollar has
depreciated a little over the past few months and is at the low end of its
narrow range of recent times.
The central scenario
remains for the Australian economy to grow by around 2¾ per cent in
2019 and 2020. This outlook is supported by increased investment in
infrastructure and a pick-up in activity in the resources sector, partly in
response to an increase in the prices of Australia's exports. The main domestic
uncertainty continues to be the outlook for household consumption, which is
being affected by a protracted period of low income growth and declining
housing prices. Some pick-up in growth in household disposable income is
expected and this should support consumption.
Employment growth has
been strong over the past year, labour force participation has been increasing,
the vacancy rate remains high and there are reports of skills shortages in some
areas. Despite these developments, there has been little further inroads into
the spare capacity in the labour market of late. The unemployment rate had been
steady at around 5 per cent for some months, but ticked up to
5.2 per cent in April. The strong employment growth over the past
year or so has led to a pick-up in wages growth in the private sector, although
overall wages growth remains low. A further gradual lift in wages growth is
expected and this would be a welcome development. Taken together, these labour
market outcomes suggest that the Australian economy can sustain a lower rate of
unemployment.
The recent inflation
outcomes have been lower than expected and suggest subdued inflationary
pressures across much of the economy. Inflation is still however anticipated to
pick up, and will be boosted in the June quarter by increases in petrol prices.
The central scenario remains for underlying inflation to be
1¾ per cent this year, 2 per cent in 2020 and a little
higher after that.
The adjustment in
established housing markets is continuing, after the earlier large run-up in
prices in some cities. Conditions remain soft, although in some markets the
rate of price decline has slowed and auction clearance rates have increased.
Growth in housing credit has also stabilised recently. Credit conditions have
been tightened and the demand for credit by investors has been subdued for some
time. Mortgage rates remain low and there is strong competition for borrowers
of high credit quality.
Today's decision to
lower the cash rate will help make further inroads into the spare capacity in
the economy. It will assist with faster progress in reducing unemployment and
achieve more assured progress towards the inflation target. The Board will
continue to monitor developments in the labour market closely and adjust
monetary policy to support sustainable growth in the economy and the
achievement of the inflation target over time.
Climate change litigation and Australia
Pointing out the potential risks to business and government of ignoring or denying the reality of climate change.....
The
Canberra Times,
29 May 2019:
Since the late 1990s,
Australian politics on climate change has been divisive.
Although Australia
signed the Kyoto Protocol in 1998, it did not ratify it until 2007.
Then, in
2011, the Clean Energy Act purporting to reduce greenhouse emissions was passed,
only to be repealed in 2014.
In 2016, Australia
ratified the Paris Agreement and the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol;
however, any serious action on climate change remains to be seen.
At the same time, some
states and territories also have emissions reduction targets.
The uncoordinated
approach is a problem for at least two important reasons.
First, climate change is
an ever-increasing phenomenon, with tremendous impact on corporate, social and
political discourse. Any meaningful legal framework to govern climate change
requires the development of a legal consensus at the federal level, in line
with international commitments.
Second, there is a
rising wave of climate change-related litigation globally which is headed for
Australia. Climate change litigation 2.0 (targeting companies) and climate
change litigation 3.0 (targeting governments) will sink Australia, unless
drastic measures are implemented.
Under the current legal
regime, company directors may only be liable if found to be in breach of their
duty of care or for failing to address a foreseeable risk. However, guidance
from case law suggests that it is difficult to establish that the actions or
omissions of a particular entity or director caused or contributed harm to be
suffered by another. With the arrival of climate change litigation 2.0, this
will all change.
For one, litigation 2.0
will force companies to assess and report on the risks of climate change and
potentially set out plans for mitigating those risks. The recent tide of
comments from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the
Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority and the Reserve Bank of Australia
are a testament to this.
Companies and their
directors could soon face liability (including personal liability) if they fail
to assess and address risks relating to climate change. Investors, shareholders
and even communities will be able to recover losses and seek damages from
companies and their directors, auditors and advisors, for failing to assess and
mitigate risks.
As major climate change
attribution studies emerge to assist in tracing particular weather events with
greenhouse gasses, causation will be easier to establish. It is likely that in
the future, courts will rely on such studies to conclude that a particular
entity has contributed, at least in some proportion, to a particular harm……
Although unprecedented
and unheard of in Australia, climate change litigation 3.0 will be the next
phase. It will allow Australians to bring action against the government for
failing to mitigate risks.
Claims of this nature
around the world are already proving to be quite successful.
The Urgenda
litigation in the Netherlands is the leading example. In that case, a Dutch NGO
argued that the Netherlands Government had breached its duty of care to the
Dutch people by failing to mitigate the risks of climate change and reducing
greenhouse gases. The remedy ordered by the court was that the Netherlands
Government reduce emissions by at least 25 per cent by the end of 2020….. [my yellow highlighting]
It should be
noted that on 8 February 2019 the NSW
Land and Environment Court in its judgment Gloucester
Resources Limited v Minister for Planning [2019] NSWLEC 7 accepted
that climate change formed part of critical reasons to reject a mine
development.
Gloucester Resources
decided not to appeal this decision and the proposed 830ha Rocky
Hill Coal Mine in the Hunter Valley region will not proceed.
Labels:
climate change,
coal,
Gloucester,
Land and Environment Court,
law,
mining
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