Some people just don't retire gracefully from politics or public office

 

A retired politician, well-known by his ministerial policies and actions to communities in the Northern Rivers region, also took very early 'retirement' from his new positions as Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Americas on 30 June 2022.

This does not signal that troubles are over for former NSW Deputy Premier, Minister for Regional New South Wales, Industry and Trade, Nationals MP for Monaro, sometime invited 'guest' of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption & now formerly appointed NSW Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner (New York posting), John Domenic Barilaro.

 

BACKGROUND

The Monthly, 29 June 2022: 

...It’s not looking good for former NSW deputy premier and trade minister John Barilaro, following a parliamentary hearing into how he was offered a $500,000-a-year US trade commissioner job that he created while in government. But nor is it looking good for Premier Dominic Perrottet, or the trade minister, Stuart Ayres, or for anyone involved in this whole sordid saga. (Admittedly, it never looked good to begin with, with incriminating details being uncovered by the day.) Giving testimony today, Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown, who was responsible for the process, confirmed that she had “verbally offered” the role to preferred candidate Jenny West in August last year – contradicting Perrottet, who has previously said no suitable candidate was found. But the offer was rescinded in October, Brown said, after she was instructed by Barilaro’s office to “unwind” it, because of a “government decision” to instead make such roles ministerial appointments. This came, it turns out, not long after his office had sought her advice on “the various mechanisms” by which such jobs could be appointed, including whether it could be a ministerial appointment, in a request that was clear came from the deputy PM himself. What on earth made Barilaro think he could get away with nobody noticing this paper trail?

There had been something fishy about Barilaro’s lucrative appointment from the moment it was announced – and not just because this is the politician who happily adopted the moniker John “Pork Barrel-aro”. (Perhaps it might now be “jobs for the Barilaros”.) It quickly became known that Barilaro got the job after it had already been offered to West, with that offer rescinded just days before the former Nats leader announced his resignation from parliament. Then there was the fact that Brown had told the external recruitment firm that the appointment would be henceforth handled as an “internal matter” the day before Barilaro announced his resignation, despite Perrottet and Ayres saying this week that the process was handled by the recruiting firm. Today’s inquiry also revealed that Brown got a “heads up” from new trade minister Ayres that Barilaro was going to apply (she didn’t get a “heads up” on any other candidate), and that she later informed Ayers that his former cabinet colleague had been shortlisted.....

It’s also not hard to see why Barilaro though t he might get away with this. As the AFR’s Tom Burton writes, “Along with pork-barrelling, ‘jobs for the boys’ has been one of the ugly stalwarts of modern public-sector life”, with public boards often filled with “friends” of the government of the day. And some jobs are simply described as “political appointments” (the previous federal government made more than 30 such appointments on its way out the door). This kind of corruption has become painfully normalised. But in this case, Barilaro has steamrolled someone else – an “excellent candidate”, according to Brown – who is now being painted as some kind of jilted lover, with Brown implying that the frustrated candidate refused to reapply. (It’s not clear whether West knew something we didn’t back in October last year, but honestly, can you blame her?) It was shameless of Barilaro to pull this one, thinking he could simply take a role that has already been assigned. But it was equally foolish of Perrottet to allow it to happen. People are paying attention, it seems, and there’s no doubt that ICAC is watching too. 

Media attention also continues with regard to other issues:

Icac queries grant made by John Barilaro to company linked to Angus Taylor’s family

Tweet of the Week

 

I filed my @smh cartoon early. A little too early, it would seem! pic.twitter.com/3LuLTWPMNh

— The Cathy Wilcox (@cathywilcox1) June 30, 2022

 

Cartoons of the Week

 

David Pope

Fiona Katauskas

Mark Knight

Perrottet Government's terse goodbye to NSW Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner to Americas, John Barilaro

IMAGE: AAP at 2GB radio

The Perrottet Government's once removed, brief final goodbye to its former National Party colleague for over 10 years, John Dominic Barilaro (left) and, its foolish attempt to warn off mainstream media journalists from contacting him with regard to the political scandal currently surrounding his alleged actions in the months immediately prior to and after his retirement from politics.

Medianet Press Release, 30 June 2022:

Response regarding John Barilaro - Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Americas role

Department of Enterprise Investment and Trade

Statement from Secretary, Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade, and CEO, Investment NSW, Amy Brown

This evening Mr John Barilaro notified me that he is withdrawing from the role of Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Americas, effective immediately.

I request that his privacy be respected at this time.

Investment NSW is assisting the Department of Premier and Cabinet and NSW Legislative Council Inquiry in reviews of the Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Americas recruitment process, and as such it is not appropriate to make any further comment.

Faced with one of the Morrison Government's ticking time bombs - this one locked in by $7 billion dollars worth of private contacts - the new Albanese Labor Government still managed to insert a little kindness into Morrison's attempt to see his personal war on the poor & vulnerable live on after him

 

Australian Ministers Media Centre, media release, 28 June 2022:

A clean slate and more flexibility for job seekers

Ministers:

The Hon Tony Burke MP

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations

Minister for the Arts

The Albanese Labor Government is making changes to the new employment services system so job seekers will start with a clean slate and have more flexibility in how they choose to get job ready.

Workforce Australia will replace jobactive on July 4. Under jobactive, participants had to complete 20 job applications as a mutual obligation in return for income support.

The Government supports mutual obligation but jobactive was a rigid system that all too often resulted in job seekers applying for work they were not suited to, wasting their time and the time of employers.

Workforce Australia will instead centre around a points-based activation system that will give participants more choice and control over how they meet their mutual obligation.

The previous federal government locked in the points system – and signed more than $7 billion worth of contracts with providers – shortly before the election. But it never properly explained the new system to the Australian people.

That’s one of the reasons the new Government is implementing a “clean slate” policy, meaning people who have accrued penalties or demerits under the old system will start over under the new one.

A new system means a fresh start.

This decision will give participants a number of months to adjust to the new system with little risk of financial penalty.

I have also worked with my department to make other immediate changes, including:

• Increasing the points value attached to a number of the activities that help people get job ready and move into secure jobs (see attached).

• Ensuring that someone participating in full-time study or training that improves their long term job prospects is not putting their qualifications at risk. This includes ensuring that vulnerable individuals will have no job search requirements if they are undertaking approved short full-time courses.

• Reducing the new minimum job search requirement from 5 to 4 per month.

• Reducing the points target for some participants to better recognise personal circumstances and weak labour market conditions that could impact their ability to find work.

These changes will provide real incentives for people who are making an extra effort to be job ready.

It is important to note that people who continue to do exactly what they did under the old system – apply for 20 jobs a month – will still meet their points requirements and therefore satisfy their mutual obligation.

Further guidance on the changes and the new arrangements will continue to be provided to those affected via their current jobactive inbox. Additional staff are also being deployed to the Digital Services Contact Centre to help anyone with questions or who needs support to adjust to the new arrangements.

More information about the system and these changes can be found at www.dese.gov.au/workforce-australia.

• Points values for tasks and activities in the PBAS (PDF)

• Points values for tasks and activities in the PBAS (DOCX)

Changes to Australia's ... by clarencegirl

A reminder of just how long the global political class have been fully aware of the "Possibility of Catastrophic Climate Change"

 

Memorandum to United States of America President James "Jimmy" Carter, dated 7 July 1977

Description:

FROM: US OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY.

SUBJECT: Release of Fossil co2 and the Possibility of a Catastrophic Climate Change 

Memorandum to United States... by clarencegirl

 

How the US National Academy of Sciences saw author of this memo, Frank Press:

Frank Press [4 December 1924 – 29 January 2020] served as the 19th president of the National Academy of Sciences from July 1, 1981 to June 30, 1993. As NAS president, Press also led a reorganization of the Academy’s operating arm, the National Research Council. He believed that the landmark 1986 report, Confronting AIDS — which warned that the toll of the AIDS epidemic would become far worse and urged a massive national response — was the most significant report issued while he was president. In fact, he told the Research Council’s governing body that the report, “may well rank among our most important contributions to the public welfare.” A report examining the cause of the 1986 space shuttle Challenger explosion was another key report issued during his tenure.

From 1977 to 1981, Press was national science adviser to President Jimmy Carter and the second director of the recently formed White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In this role, Press was key in establishing a science and technology exchange agreement between the U.S. and China, which enabled thousands of Chinese students to study in the U.S. — many of whom went on to become U.S. citizens. He also focused on “increasing government commitment to basic research, evaluating the impact of federal regulations on the economy, and providing analyses of a national energy policy,” according to documents at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. In addition, Press was on the presidential science advisory committees during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and served on the National Science Board under President Richard Nixon.

Press was among the first generation of geophysicists who benefited from and contributed to revolutionary developments associated with the evolution of the field of plate tectonics, and he quickly became a leader in this area of research. He received the National Medal of Science in 1994 “for his contributions to the understanding of the deepest interior of the earth and the mitigation of natural disasters.” He was the recipient of many other awards and honors, including the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Japan Prize, and the Vannevar Bush Award.

Prior to his positions in Washington, D.C., Press was professor of geophysics and chair of the department of earth and planetary sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1965 to 1977. He had also held academic appointments at Columbia University and the California Institute of Technology, and was the chair of the U.S. delegation to the 1960 Nuclear Test Ban Conference in Geneva. Press received his undergraduate degree in physics from the City College of New York in 1944 in his Ph.D. in geophysics from Columbia University in 1946.

Upon completing his service as NAS president at age 69, Press accepted a four-year appointment as the Cecil and Ida Green Research fellow at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, and remained active as an adviser to several organizations — both public and private — for many years.

A Glimpse at Official Highlights of the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census

 

The last national Census night was Tuesday,10 August 2021.

 This census counted 25,417,978 Australian residents who were in Australia on Census night (including people imputed for non-responding dwellings). The Post Enumeration Survey (PES) estimate for the same population was 25,608,022 persons.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), National, state and territory population

• Australia’s population was 25,766,605 people at 31 December 2021.

• The quarterly growth was 63,400 people (0.2%).

• The annual growth was 128,000 people (0.5%).

• Annual natural increase was 138,500 and net overseas migration was -3,600.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, media releases, 28 June 2022, extracts on the broad subjects of:

POPULATION

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021#population

The 2021 Census counted nearly 25.5 million people (25,422,788) in Australia, excluding overseas visitors, on Census night. This is an increase of over two million people (2,020,896), or 8.6 per cent, since the 2016 Census.

Australia’s Census count has more than doubled in the last 50 years, with the 1971 Census counting over 12 million people (12,493,001).

The Census counted more than 800,000 (812,728) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on Census night, 3.2 per cent of the total people counted. This is an increase of over 25 per cent (25.2 per cent) since 2016.

Australia continues to become more diverse, with over 1 million (1,020,007) residents arriving in Australia from 2017 to 2021. Over four out of every five (83.7 per cent) of these arrivals were in 2017 to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

With these new arrivals, we have seen the proportion of Australian residents that are born overseas (first generation) or have a parent born overseas (second generation) move above 50 per cent (51.5 per cent).

Beyond these headline numbers the Census provides rich information about the nation, giving insight on cultural diversity, families and homes, to how we changed during the pandemic.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “Every stat tells a story and today we are sharing a glimpse into the stories of almost 25.5 million Australians. This accurate and valuable data reveals who we are as a nation and how we have changed.

Thank you to the millions of people across Australia who completed the 2021 Census. It was important that everyone participated to ensure that every community is represented in the Census data.

Census data is used to inform important decisions about transport, schools, health care, infrastructure and business at the community and national level. The high response rate means that Census data provides accurate insights to tell your community’s story.”

The 2021 Census achieved a response rate above the Australian Bureau of Statistics target obtaining data from 10 million (10,852,208) dwellings during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The dwelling response rate was 96.1 per cent, up from 95.1 per cent in 2016.

The Statistical Independent Assurance Panel, established by the Australian Statistician to provide assurance of Census data quality, concluded that the 2021 Census data is fit-for-purpose, is of comparable quality to the 2011 and 2016 Censuses and can be used with confidence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021

The 2021 Census of Population and Housing has delivered a snapshot of the different generations that make up Australia.

The latest data reveals that, within a very small margin, numbers of Millennials (25-39 years old) have caught up to Baby Boomers (55-74 years old) as the largest generational group in Australia. In the 1966 Census, nearly two in every five people (38.5 per cent) were Baby Boomers.

Baby Boomers and Millennials each have over 5.4 million people, with only 5,662 more Baby Boomers than Millennials counted on 10 August 2021. Over the last ten years, the Millennials have increased from 20.4 per cent of the population in 2011 to 21.5 per cent in 2021. In the same time, Baby Boomers have decreased from 25.4 per cent in 2011 to 21.5 per cent in 2021.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “The data collected by the Census assists governments and community organisations to understand the needs of each generation. We see that an increasing number of Baby Boomers are needing assistance with core activities – with 7.4 per cent reporting a need for assistance, compared to 2.8 per cent across the younger generations. This information will help frame policy that delivers positive outcomes for our communities.”

Census data shows the important role Baby Boomers are providing in caring for other peoples’ children, often their grandchildren. Around one in eight (12.8 per cent) Baby Boomers reported caring for other peoples’ children, and of these two thirds are female (67.5 per cent). They are also the generation most likely to volunteer and provide unpaid assistance to others.

Millennials are of working age and are upskilling, representing 40 per cent of people attending vocational education, including TAFE, and 48 per cent of people currently serving in the regular service of the Australian Defence Force.

Millennials and Baby Boomers report quite different religious affiliations, with nearly 60 per cent (56.8 per cent) of Baby Boomers reporting a Christian religious affiliation compared to 30 per cent of Millennials (30.6 per cent). More than 45 per cent (46.5 per cent) of Millennials reported that they had no religion compared to 30 per cent of Baby Boomers (30.7 per cent).

Generation Z (10-24 years old) represent 18 per cent of Australia and 30 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021#aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-communities

The 2021 Census provides an updated snapshot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said today.

The Census found that 812,728 people (3.2 per cent of the population) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, an increase of over 25 per cent (25.2 per cent) since 2016.

Of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people counted, 91.4 per cent identified as Aboriginal, 4.2 per cent identified as Torres Strait Islander, and 4.4 per cent identified as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

The Census also revealed growing numbers of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with over 47,000 (47,677) aged 65 years and over in 2021, up from 31,000 in 2016 and 21,000 in 2011. The median age for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people increased slightly to 24 years in 2021, up from 23 years in 2016 and 21 years in 2011.

Traditional languages continue to be an important part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households, with 167 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages spoken at home in 2021 by over 78,000 (78,656) people.

The most widely reported language groups spoken were Arnhem Land and Daly River Region Languages, Torres Strait Island Languages, Western Desert Languages, Yolngu Matha and Arandic.

The 2021 Census introduced a new question on service with the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It found that over 3,000 (3,159 or 3.7 per cent) currently serving members and over 11,000 (11,610 or 2.3 per cent) former serving members identify as having Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “The Census collects vitally important information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that will help governments and local organisations plan for health, education and community services into the future.

The ABS is undertaking further analysis of the insights that Census data provides for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We look forward to sharing these in our future releases.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

INTERNATIONAL ANCESTRY and LANGUAGE

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021#culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-communities

The Census provides a snapshot of the cultures and languages that make up Australia by providing data on cultural diversity, country of birth, ancestry and languages used at home.

The 2021 Census found that almost half of Australians have a parent born overseas (48.2 per cent) and the population continues to be drawn from around the globe, with 27.6 per cent reporting a birthplace overseas.

The Census shows that Australia has welcomed more than one million people (1,020,007) into Australia since 2017. The largest increase in country of birth, outside Australia, was India with 220,000 (217,963) additional people counted. India has moved past China and New Zealand to become the third largest country of birth behind Australia and England.

The second largest increase in country of birth was Nepal, with an additional 70,000 (67,752) people, meaning the population of Nepali born has more than doubled since 2016 (an increase of 123.7 per cent).

The top five reported ancestries in the 2021 Census followed previous trends and were English at 33.0 per cent, Australian at 29.9 per cent, Irish at 9.5 per cent, Scottish at 8.6 per cent and Chinese at 5.5 per cent.

The number of people who used a language other than English at home has increased by nearly 800,000 (792,062) from 2016 to over 5.5 million people (5,663,709). 850,000 (852,706) of this group reported that they do not speak English well or at all.

Mandarin continues to be the most common language other than English used at home, with nearly 700,000 (685,274) people using Mandarin at home. This is followed by Arabic with just over 367,000 (367,159) people. Punjabi had the largest increase, with the 2021 Census showing over 239,000 (239,033) people using Punjabi at home, an increase of over 80 per cent (80.4 per cent) from 2016.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “The Census captures the extent of the linguistic diversity across Australia. 2021 Census data collected information on over 250 ancestries and 350 languages.

The information collected in the Census provides important data to help plan services and support for culturally and linguistically diverse communities at the local level. For example, by understanding the growing population groups in their area, community groups can provide in-language services at the local level”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOUSING and HOUSEHOLDS

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021#our-families-and-households

There were nearly 11 million (10,852,208) private dwellings counted in the 2021 Census, an increase of nearly one million (950,712) since 2016. These dwellings were comprised of separate houses (70 per cent), apartments (16 per cent) and town houses (13 per cent). The proportion of apartments continues to increase, with apartments accounting for nearly one third (30.9 per cent) of the increase in private dwellings since 2016.

The 2021 Census separately identified high rises (nine or more storeys) for the first time and found that over half a million people (550,592) live in Australia’s 370,000 (368,943) high rise apartments. Over 2.5 million people (2,620,903) or 10.3 per cent of us now live in apartments.

Not all dwellings were occupied on Census night (such as vacant holiday homes or vacant investment properties), with the 2021 Census finding more than one million (1,043,776) unoccupied dwellings.

Many alternative dwellings were also counted on Census night, including caravans (58,155), cabins and houseboats (29,369).

Two thirds of households (66.0 per cent) own their home outright or with a mortgage, very similar to Censuses back to 1996 (67.8 per cent). However, the proportion of households that own outright has dropped from 40 per cent in 1996 (41.6 per cent) to 30 per cent in 2021 (31.0 per cent).

Households that own with a mortgage have increased from about a quarter of all households (26.2 per cent) in 1996 to 35 per cent (35.0 per cent). Over the last 25 years, the number of homes owned outright has increased by 10 per cent, while the number owned with a mortgage has doubled (increased by 96.8 per cent).

When travelling to and from our homes, we are a nation of drivers. 91 per cent of households (91.3 per cent) reported having at least one vehicle and more than half (55.1 per cent) reported having two or more vehicles.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “The Census provides a unique snapshot of where people slept on Census night. During the Census, we reached people staying in hotels, those travelling on Census night, and even Australians working offshore.

The information collected about how people live and what type of home they live in will help inform community planning for new housing and support existing living arrangements within the community”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEALTH

2021 is the first time Census has collected information on diagnosed long-term health conditions. Over two million people reported having at least one of the following conditions - mental health (2,231,543), arthritis (2,150,396) or asthma (2,068,020), with these being the most reported long-term health conditions.

Almost 4.8 million (4,791,516) people reported having one of the ten long-term health conditions listed on the Census form, while nearly 1.5 million (1,490,344) had two of these health conditions and over 750,000 (772,142) had three or more of these long-term health conditions. A further one million (1,009,836) indicated that they had at least one other long-term health condition that was not listed on the form.

The proportion of those with a long-term health condition increased with age. More than three out of every five (62.9 per cent) people aged 65+ reported having at least one long-term health condition compared with one out of every five (22.1 per cent) 15–34 year olds.

Females were more likely to report a long-term health condition than males, with 34 per cent (33.9 per cent) of females having one or more long-term health conditions compared with 30 per cent (29.5 per cent) of males. Males most commonly reported asthma and mental health conditions, while the most commonly reported long term health conditions reported by females were arthritis and mental health conditions.

Asthma is the most commonly reported health condition for 0–14 year olds, with a notable difference between male children with 7.4 per cent reporting asthma compared to 5.3 per cent of female children.

Census data on long-term health conditions can be split by other characteristics such as geography, cultural background or family type. For example, the 2021 Census shows over half of people born in Greece (56.1 per cent) and Italy (53.7 per cent) reported one or more long-term health conditions.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “For the first time, we have data on long-term health conditions across the whole population. This is critical data to inform planning and service delivery decisions about how treatment and care is provided for all Australians.

Census data will help provide a more detailed picture of Australians’ health. Census data complements existing ABS health surveys by providing additional insights about the communities that require services to support complex health needs”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For further information about 2021 Census data go to:

 www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data.

NOTE:

• The Census net undercount was 0.7% (190,044 persons).

• The Northern Territory recorded the highest net undercount (6.0%) while the Australian Capital Territory recorded a net overcount (-0.6%).

• Males were more likely to be missed in the Census (1.3% net undercount) compared with females (0.2%).

• The net undercount for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 17.4%.

The total net undercount on the night in New South Wales was 0.0%. This was attributed by the ABS to people having limited movement across the state due to COVID-19 lockdowns in place at the time.