Meet John Barilaro - Deputy-Premier, Minister for Regional News South Wales and property developer

 

ABC News, 11 September 2020

The NSW Deputy-Premier, Minister for Regional New South Wales and National Party MP for Monaro since 2011 (shown left) - who formerly worked in the family business manufacturing timber products and who went on to become a property developer in his own right - has some questions to answer.

Starting with this……..

The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 November 2020:

The controversy centres on the demise of the Marco Polo Social Club, which for decades was a thriving social hub for Queanbeyan’s large Italian community.

John Barilaro joined the board of the Social Club in 1995, seven years after his father, Domenico Barilaro, who died earlier this year.

The Barilaros were both directors of the Social Club in 1996 when it sold its clubhouse for $300,000 to Monaro Properties Pty Ltd.

John Barilaro was Monaro Properties’ secretary and Domenico Barilaro was one of its directors at the time. The pair also purchased shares in Monaro Properties six months after it acquired the clubhouse.

The Social Club went broke in the early 2000s.

According to the minutes of a creditors’ meeting in February 2003, the social club’s administrator commented that he was “concerned that a number of company directors may have a conflict of interest in that they are also actively involved in the management of the company that owns the company’s trading premises”.

The club’s demise was publicly blamed on mounting debts, an “unforgiving fiscal market” and infighting among board members.

With the clubhouse no longer needed, Monaro Properties on-sold it for $1.025 million in mid 2004, securing the company a $700,000 windfall.

There is no evidence John Barilaro directly financially benefited, as he was no longer a shareholder or director of Monaro Properties at the time.

However Domenico Barilaro was still a director of Monaro Properties at the time

It is unclear whether Domenico Barilaro still held his shares because the company did not lodge a financial return that year.

However ASIC records show Domenico Barilaro held shares before the transaction in 2002 and afterwards in 2005 and there was no publicly available record of any change to his shareholdings.

On 26 March 2001 Giovanni (John) Domenic Barilaro MLA entered the NSW Parliament as a backbencher.

It took him a little over 5 years and 7 months to work his way up to being Leader of the Nationals in the NSW Parliament, a position which automatically made him Deputy-Premier of New South Wales, and another 1 year & 15 weeks to add Minister for Regional New South Wales to his current titles.

Like many other parliamentarians John Barilaro comes with a backstory he created and elaborated for the benefit of parliament, telling the Legislative Assembly that he had stood for election because; “I have had a gutful of a Government, led by the vocal minority, selling out our hopes and dreams; a Government that was infected by a corrupt culture, which was attacking and abandoning the virtues and qualities of this once-great State.”

Again like many other parliamentarians, Barilaro’s backstory does not quite match up with what both mainstream media articles and his voting record reveal about him.

Although he probably came closest to uttering one particular unvarnished truth when he spoke with a Fairfax-Nine journalist recently: "Barilaro has defended pork barrelling for regional seats, even dubbing himself "Pork Barilaro"...."that's what people would expect from me". 

Nor are many parliamentarians quick to publicly and loudly inform the electorate of exactly what they they disclosed to Parliament concerning their financial affairs.

So voters in NSW disturbed about the Nationals push for more logging on private rural land and increased vegetation clearing on agricultural land – seen by many concerned regional residents as a crafted backdoor to increased residential development on the fringes of existing towns and villages – never realise that the Nationals Leader insisting on this landowner 'right' is himself a property developer.

This is a basic outline of his business background since entering state politics......

At the present time John Barilaro appears to jointly own five properties, including “Dungowan” a 94ha rural estate he & wife purchased for est. 2 million about six years ago & industrial land he owns with his brother on which the family had operated three companies.

"Dungowan" and its very extensive grounds have been operating as a 13-bed Airbnb villa since at least August 2014. Currently it charges $1,850.00/per night per person. A fact that to date is not yet attached to Barilaro's last publicly available online Register of Disclosures by Members of the Legislative Assembly 

The 'Estate' as a business is being managed by Barilaro's wife who seems to also act as official greeter for Airbnb guests and, this property would potentially generate est. $160,000 per year for Barialaro and his wife.

Previously Barilaro was joint owner of Ryleho Pty Ltd (presumed voluntarily deregistered in January 2019) & Ryleho Home Solutions Pty Ltd (voluntarily deregistered in September 2019). The third company on site Ryleho Group Pty Ltd now owned by his brother was sent into receivership by the Australian Tax Office - presumably for non-payment of taxes - in October 2019.

All three companies were involved in manufacturing timber products.

According to the last Register of Disclosures by Members of the Legislative Assembly form he lodged for 2018-19 Barilaro also has a beneficial interests in three trusts: the J & D Barilaro Family Trust, JJDA Trust and Kotsobola Group Unit Trust.

J & D Barilaro Family Trust conducted business at a location in NSW 2620 between August 2002 and the end of December 2019 according to the Australian Business Register (ABN) website. Presumably this trust was associated with Barilaro’s 50 per cent share in Ryleho Pty Ltd.

The JJDA Trust is associated with Domale Pty Ltd in which Barilaro’s wife has been sole director and company secretary since May 2010.

The Kotsobola Group Unit Trust is associated with Kotsobola Group Pty Ltd in which John Barilaro was one of four founding directors until March 2012 when his wife became a director in his place. This company’s purpose Barilaro described in 2014 as “Property Development”.

Another “Property Development” company Barilaro and his wife were at different time directors of was Euro Partners Pty Ltd. They appear to have been shareholders along with three other individuals up to the company’s reregistration in July 2016.

Barilaro’s Member’s Disclosure forms since entering state parliament also record he had held shares in at least five racehorses of which only two were currently listed in 2019.

Scotty and Josh are riding the superannuation wrecking ball in 2020

 

Josh and Scotty a double act since 2018
IMAGE: The Guardian

Employers are required to fulfil their obligations under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (or under industrial agreements in many cases) to make superannuation contributions on behalf of their employees.

The current statutory rate of employer compulsory superannuation contributions is scheduled to rise incrementally by 10 per cent in 2021 and reach 12 per cent in 2024.

According to the Financial Review on 15 July 2019; Politicians, public servants and academics are among the est. 2 million workers or 18 per cent of all employees who would be unaffected if a scheduled rise in the compulsory Super Guarantee from 9.5 per cent to 10 per cent to 12 per cent did not occur as their existing employer superannuation contribution is already above 12 per cent.

Another est. 300,000 people, or 3 per cent of all employees are not included in the Super Guarantee as they earn less than $450 a month before tax and est. 63 per cent of these workers are female.

Add to this the reportedly 2.2 million employees who do not receive their full super entitlements because their employers unlawfully do not pay all or any employer contributions to eligible workers and, the size of the workforce who might receive a benefit from a 0.5 per cent increase in the Super Guarantee next year has shrunk to est. 8.2 million workers.

Based on full-time average adult weekly earnings in October 2020 an employer’s compulsory superannuation contribution per worker would be est. $651 per month at 9.5% in 2020 and $681 per month at 10% in 2021.

That’s an increase of $30 a month or $7.50 a week next year.

A dollar a day is not going to break either the employer or the worker and, at the end of the 2021-22 financial year there would be an extra $415 in interest payments in that worker's superannuation account – and if that worker has another 30 years before retirement that $415 dollars in interest could represent up to $29,000 more in his/her superannuation account at the end of that time period.

When one considers that an est. 98 per cent of all businesses in Australia employ 20 or less people and as that would only mean an employer contribution increase of $20 or less a day for the vast majority of employers, it is hard to see this as an unreasonable move.

After all, even the Morrison Government admits that superannuation assists middle income earners to smooth their income over their lives, and Without compulsory superannuation, middle income earners would not save enough for retirement.

However, the Abbott-Trunbull- Morrison Government does not fancy 8.2 million workers receiving an extra $30 a month in their super accounts next year.

So Josh Frydenberg is doing a good imitation of Chicken Little and screeching the sky will fall if $1 a day is added to a worker’s superannuation account in 2021. 

He bespoke a study from Treasury to back him up when it comes to not increasing the Super Guarantee this year and moving towards a policy of forcing homeowners on age pensions or retirees with little super to either sell their house or borrow against it in order to fund retirement, so that Scott Morrison can happily continue his personal war on the poor and vulnerable.

Put simply the Morrison Government is arguing that neither workers, their bosses nor the national economy can afford an increase in the amount of money which enters a worker’s superannuation for his/her financial benefit on retirement.

Quite frankly I see no real justification for that stance.

A stance that is also incredibly hypocritical given that by 2007 the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Scheme saw newly elected federal parliamentarians receiving government compulsory contributions into their own superannuation accounts at a rate of 15.4 per cent in order to bring superannuation arrangements for parliamentarians in line with current community standards.

The lack of congruence between what federal politicians see as community standards applicable to themselves and community standards as applicable to ordinary workers is so marked that the ordinary voter has begun to notice......

This is Josh. He gets 15.4% super & he can access it as soon as he leaves parliament. You get 9.5%. You have to wait until 67. There is a super guarantee which will raise your super to 12%. Josh wants to stop this. That’s what his sweaty rants are about. Because fuck you. pic.twitter.com/32fuaY2ega

— 🖕🏿🍑💧Rudy Terwilliger (@wolftickler2000) November 23, 2020

 

Australian Society: because there are some things about ourselves we should never forget

 

Inquiry in accordance with section 27(3) of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Regulation 2016, into incidents rumoured to have occurred between 2005 to 2016 and recommendations for referral to the Australian Federal Police for criminal investigation.

IGADF Afghanistan Inquiry P... by clarencegirl

The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 November 2020:

In the wake of devastating allegations about members of Australia’s SAS force serving in Afghanistan – with soldiers accused on “credible information” of unlawfully killing 39 unarmed Afghans – a predictable schism has emerged in the commentary.

On one side are those who reel in horror, shocked at the number and authoritative detail of the allegations leveled at soldiers who – as heirs of the Anzac tradition – we are culturally conditioned to think are beyond reproach.

On the other are those who either deny outright that anything appalling could have occurred or – a la the famous speech by Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men – insist that things happen on the far front-lines and the rest of us have no right to criticise. It is as seductive a defence as it is outrageous – for it is following the rules of engagement which separates soldiers from a mob of murderers. But in the case of the SAS allegations, a frequent historical episode invoked to urge caution in condemnation is the court-martial and execution of Harry "Breaker" Morant 120 years ago, near the end of the Boer War…..

The line is that Morant was honourable, doing no more than following orders, and that his own trial was a travesty of justice. Now, while I pretend to no expertise in the matter of the SAS, on the matter of Morant, I write as one who recently released a book on the subject, deeply bolstered by the work of four researchers, two of whom have PhDs in history, one in military history.

And the evidence is overwhelming. Morant was indeed responsible for the worst British atrocities of the Boer War, including the shooting of an unarmed prisoner; the gunning down of four Afrikaan fighters and four Dutch commandos who had surrendered, and the shooting of a Boer farmer and his two teenage sons.

The man was a monster, but this has not prevented, particularly in recent times, an entire movement springing to life calling on Morant to receive a, get this, pardon. A pardon, for the man who didn't bother to deny murdering surrendered prisoners? Who cared so little for the law or the rules that in his famous speech in the court-martial, boasted that he “got them and shot them under Rule .303” …..

Before and After Scummo

 

As of 23 November 2020 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had accrued 62 derogatory nicknames - most on social media but some travelled over to mainstream media.

After Morrison became prime minister in 2018 he employed a personal photographer at taxpayer expense and equipped his little media team with so many cameras, video recorders etc. that they almost became an expense item in the Office of Prime Minister budget.

Still his little propaganda machine cannot always protect his chosen image.

This was Morrison's latest self-promotion effort:

Morrison in COVID-19 quarantine in The Lodge
November 2020
IMAGE: Adam Taylor

And this was Scott Morrison as the global Twitter network saw him:

Morrison in COVID-19 quarantine in The Lodge
November 2020
IMAGE: @PrinPeta

Quote of the Week

 

“ I don’t want to believe our government is using the pandemic to shove women, especially mothers, back into the kitchen and back into financial dependence of their husbands, I really don’t. But when you put it all together, it’s hard not to reach that conclusion. Whether this is part of an ideological belief that women should be at home, looking after the kids, or just an inability to see or care about the fate of 51% of the population, the long-term consequences for the current generation of women are dire. Whether they want to think about it or not, younger women are now facing at least as high a risk of a desperately poor old age as their mothers and grandmothers did. Not thanks to Covid, but thanks to government policy.”  [Jane Caro, writing in The Guardian, 123 November 2020]

Lismore electorate community groups receive $300,000 to keep bringing people together in their towns and villages

 

Office of the Labor Member for Lismore, 23 November 2020:

TABLE TENNIS ANYONE?: Lismore MP Janelle Saffin recently visited the Far North Coast Table Tennis Club’s Jim Armstrong Centre where she was hosted by President Peter McGrath, Manager-Coach Graeme Townsend and other active members. The club is one of this year’s grant recipients.

Local communities will benefit from 25 worthy projects worth $300,000 announced by State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin under the NSW Government’s 2020 Community Building Partnership Program today (Monday, 23 November 2020).

Ms Saffin said phoning representatives of community groups to notify them of their success in this extremely popular small grants program was one of the more pleasurable tasks she had to perform each year.

However, Ms Saffin repeated her calls for the NSW Government to at least double the CBPP allocation for each electorate from $300,000 to $600,000 or $1 million to fund more community infrastructure projects as the Northern Rivers and Northern Tablelands recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m sure all MPs struggle with the assessment process when they have to rank a large number of very worthwhile projects for an available funding pool which is over-subscribed. An independent panel also assesses all applications against strict criteria.

“I am looking forward to inspecting all of the 2020 projects as they are completed across my electorate and I will publicise the 2021 program when applications open early next year.”

Successful projects for 2020 include:

• Gungyah Ngallingnee Aboriginal Corporation, near Tabulam – Jubullum Jarjums children’s and family play area, $37,124.

• Lismore Tennis Club Incorporated – Court lighting and electrical upgrade, $20,999.

• Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) Lismore – Sports hall lighting replacement/upgrade, $20,072.

• Murwillumbah Showground Land Manager – Refurbish 100-year-old main food venue at Murwillumbah Showground, $20,000.

• Lismore Basketball Association Incorporated – Retaining wall to secure stadium, $16,257.

• Sunnyside Hall Management Committee Incorporated, Tenterfield Shire – Amenities upgrade, $15,000.

• Murwillumbah Rural Fire Brigade – Electronic sign for bushfire warnings and other essential information, $15,000.

• Murwillumbah Community Centre Incorporated – Repair and expansion of the Murwillumbah Community Food HUB, $14,241.

• Mallanganee Memorial Hall – Provide trades services for completion of kitchen renovation, $14,000.

• Murwillumbah Theatre Company Incorporated – Painting; electrical work; construction/installation of workbenches and props/costume storage, $14,000.

• Murwillumbah Rowing Club Incorporated – Renovate club bathroom facilities, $12,400.

• Urbenville & District Bowling Club Limited – Cool comfort for everyone, $11,750.

• St John Ambulance Australia (NSW) – St John Ambulance Lismore stretcher, $11,499.

• Tyalgum District Community Association Incorporated – Enhancement of Tyalgum’s social tennis court to support community participation, $11,284.

• Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service Limited – Engineering work stands, $10,249.

• Far North Coast NSW Table Tennis Association Incorporated – Facility enhancement for aged and disabled participants, $10,108.

• Tenterfield Poultry Club Incorporated – Replace damaged building stumps, $10,000.

• Tweed Valley Mountain Bike Riders – Towards establishing a mountain bike facility, $7500.

• Kyogle Bowling Club Limited – Install new electricity board, $6463.

• Uki Sport and Recreation Club Incorporated – Storage area, $5000.

• The Corporate Trustees of the Diocese of Armidale for Tenterfield Shire project – Torrington All Saints Church restoration, $4582.

• St Vincent de Paul Society NSW – Solar panels for Gunellabah clothes sorting centre, $4255.

• Jiggi School of Arts Incorporated – Refurbishment of hall toilets to NSW and Australian standards, $3100.

• Friends of the Pound (Tweed) Incorporated – Air-conditioning installation at its Murwillumbah South facility, $2617.

• Riding for the Disabled Association NSW – Defibrillator for Riding for the Disabled Tweed Valley, $2500.

The Community Building Partnership Program has funded more than 15,000 community projects since it was established by the then Labor State Government in 2009.

Applications for the 2021 Program open in early 2021.

For more information about the NSW Government’s Community Building Partnership Program, visit www.nsw.gov.au/cbp

KOALA FACING EXTINCTION IN NSW: “I live on NSW North Coast, and our whole community is in uproar and distress.”

 

No trees, no me
IMAGE: Koala at Iluka in Clarence Valley, supplied

The Sydney Morning Herald, opinion piece, 22 November 2020:

Sorry, what, Premier?

“Our farmers deserve certainty,” you and your Deputy Premier John Barilaro said in statement after one of your own, Catherine Cusack, crossed the floor on Thursday afternoon to thwart what would have been yet more devastating land-clearing legislation hastening the extinction of koalas.

And what, pray tell, do our koalas deserve, Premier? Who speaks up for them? Premier, as you know better than most, for 240 years since colonisation this continent has wiped out habitat after habitat, eco-system after eco-system, species after species. In recent years – even as the consequences of environmental devastation have been realised – the ongoing land-clearing has been justified on the reckoning that we just need a few more developments, a few more swathes of trees gone, another election or two won, and then we can stop. But we are getting near the end of the line. If it is not our generation that stops the endless clearing to protect the koalas and other species, which generation is it? If it is not a Premier with your smarts and former reputation for integrity that will stand up for what you know is right, then which one? For you know how bad this legislation is! When two-thirds of NSW koalas live on private property, you seriously want to defend legislation that allows owners to wipe them out at will? But you still backed down anyway to John Barilaro who refers to koalas as “tree rats” and put out a press release with him blathering about how the farmers deserve better.

The hero of the piece is Lib Catherine Cusack who crossed the floor to stop the legislation, and she makes the point to me that you and yours do the NSW farmers a serious disservice.

“The claim that farmers want this,” she told me, “is overwhelmingly false. They love koalas and do not defend the minority cowboys and corporations. I really believe farmers share community values and wielding them as an excuse defames farmers. I live on NSW North Coast, and our whole community is in uproar and distress. The councils up here asked for greater power to protect habitat and the bill removes them.”

That bill is a disgrace, and you know it, Premier. This time Ms Cusack has stopped it, but it needs more Libs and Nats of integrity to also speak out and say what needs to be said, to support her – or at least kill it off in the back rooms. We are looking at you, Rob Stokes and Matt Kean for starters.