Mood:
rushedTopic: nsw govt
Well whaddaya know? The weather reminded of a big blow on another "momentous day" for NSW politics branded on our brain - Friday 13th Sept 1994 but that's another story.
Yesterday it was this, surely scooping all other press, if not electronic media as we caught the train at Martin Place after a judgement at the Land & Environment Court was adjourned - and notice the cruel soccer head reference by those cards at News Corp.
Some initial take outs of the weekend morning press and our own musings starting with this a month ago we said at the time involved 'huge implications' - but do they listen?!:
Deputy Premier Tebbutt only returned when risk of ventilation stacks spreading smog (and cancer) in her electorate of Marrickville was ruled out 4 weeks ago. She departed cabinet solidarity 18 months ago ostensibly and no doubt to nurture her 6 year old child Nathan, but the timing of her return is just too coincidental: With the demise of the M4 East truck tunnel from Port Botany to Rozelle (near the big fire on Victoria Rd today actually) so also has been her participation again in NSW Cabinet. Careful what you wish for Morris 'it will be great to have her back' Iemma!
For this we say based in Marrickville - well done Ms Tebbutt, well done young son Nathan.
And it's only the ascension of Ms Tebbutt courtesy of ex Deputy John Watkins jumping (as one wag said ship leaves sinking rat) which has tipped the hand of ex premier Morris Iemma (the 'rat' running opinion piece in strike breaker edition of the SMH) in a broader reshuffle, that in turn caused a jack up and Iemma's own departure. Then another spill and cabinet reshuffle. Yep that's a hurricane of Gustav proportions.
And the kids in Morris's own family are at least in part the explanation and beneficiary of his willingness to go that way too. The kids in fact rule.
It's turning into a script for a Hollywood movie like Deep Impact here made in 1998 where a politican quits, ambitious journo smells a scandal only to find he wants to spend time with his kids before the cataclysm - for which we might well read dangerous climate change on the same day Garnaut releases his next installment on where to for Australia. Is that tough guy Iemma in this story?
Interesting to hear new Premier Nathan Rees (pronounced as in 'fleece', not as in 'ease') calls himself " a greenie in the broad" on Stateline last night.
We like that Rees has done hard manual work yet also has an honours degree in English Literature. Nice combo.
We are indeed impressed at the political version of a 12 foot rock climbing dyno move going to the top job - avoiding some really scary potentially lethal bare rock face in between (!).
Eh, like what? Well if you are lucky or unlucky enough to spend alot of time looking at the management and enforcement of water licences in NSW (only a handful of proscecutions for licence breaches over 10,000s of licenses) as we have been as per this letter below from the now Premier himself, then you will know it's "diabolical":
Suffice to say our polite detailed response was a policy can of worms about systemic unlicensed water use by any number of sand miners etc in the age of dangerous climate change such that the Minister cannot easily hide behind a 2005 LEC decision regarding a poorly advised litigant.
Indeed only last Thursday Sept 4 in Kettle/Coca Cola Amatil v Gosford City Council, Diamond (intervenor) one Margaret Pontifix - secretary of Mangrove Mountain District Community Group and local landholder, retired science teacher in the local area for 40 years - gave sworn evidence in open court implicating an (unnamed) officer of Rees department DWE soliciting a bribe for an increase in water allocation. We have the officer's name. We have the details. It will surely end in tears.
Quite apart from this brewing situation Premier Rees, now ex minister for desalination plants, is going to need any number of those dyno moves: People don't forget Nathan, only journos do:
Overall we wish him luck too. It's not worth much but we give it. Politics is such a gamble as this amusing graphic illustrates with another message altogether:
Here is new Premier Rees fronting the critics over desalination at a public lecture at UTS Sept 2007, sharing the platform in quite a coincidence with ... his main rival now, Mr OFarrell, leader of the Opposition. Surreal huh?
In terms of Premier Nathan 'who the hell is he' Rees according to the polls I reckon any politician would be happy to be mistaken for either a footballer in a sports obsessed country, or a weather man - reliable, helpful, trustworthy, possibly a bit plain.
As for Minister Burney in seat of Canterbury adjacent to Morris Iemma's Lakemba one gets an impression from the vision last night she is in need of another powerful ally in the white knuckle ride that is NSW politics. She was reported as looking shell shocked. Fair enough too.
Note also Rodney Cavalier as NSW ALP historian on Doogue Saturday breakfast abc radio national 6th Sept with profound round up of history of ALP: 3 labour parties in parliament in the 1940ies until Curtin, Chifley, McKell got them to unify and made NSW an ALP state for 80% of the time since. That Iemma lost the plot by not realising that role of nurturing the party and the government both in the job description.
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