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sydney alternative media - non-profit community independent trustworthy
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Comparative food budget of families across the world
Mood:  hungry
Topic: world

We received this from Steve Economidis on a broadcast email, but without attribution. It actually derives apparently from:

The book is Hungry Planet: what the world eats.  by Peter menzel.
Here are some more links about this work (that actually give credit to the ones due):
What's impressive is that the glorious images put us all in the picture. Who after all is not from 'a family'. Who indeed does not eat? What thinking person is not worried about sustainability of the human project and similarly ecological life supports?  

These images are reproduced in turn from

http://fixingtheplanet.com/one-weeks-worth-food-around-our-planet

Japan: The Ukita family of Kodaira City Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11 Favorite foods: fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina Food expenditure for one week: $341.98 Favorite foods: spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken

Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09 Favorite foods: pizza, crab, pasta, chicken

Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27 Family recipe: Pig's knuckles with carrots, celery and parsnips

Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53 Family recipe: Okra and mutton

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo Food expenditure for one week : $31.55 Family recipe : Potato soup with cabbage

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03 Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork

Kuwait: The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar or $221.45
Family recipe: Chicken biryani with basmati rice

China: The Dong family of Beijing Food expenditure for one week: 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06
Favorite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce

United States: The Caven family of California Food expenditure for one week: $159.18
Favorite foods: beef stew, berry yogurt sundae, clam chowder, ice cream

Mongolia: The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02 Family recipe: Mutton dumplings

Great Britain: The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis Food expenditure for one week: 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15 Favorite foods: avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cake with cream

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23 Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat


Posted by editor at 9:05 AM EADT
Updated: Tuesday, 26 February 2008 9:32 AM EADT
Monday, 25 February 2008
Big media wrap chapter II, in the NSW state of flux
Mood:  lyrical
Topic: nsw govt

Preface 

Normally a Sunday Talkies article yesterday is enough. But these are 'momentous' times to borrow an adjective from veteran Alex Mitchell describing both the overt and covert real politik of SAM's own NSW turf. Yesterday we also needed a Big Media wrap. Important because otherwise there is no chance for synthesis, which can inform and assist the public and ironically the actors in their own Shakespearean plot(s): Better to know what's really happening rather than jumping at shadows. Hopefully in this way some genuine democracy and wisdom can arise from the fusion of myriad forces, forces good and otherwise.

This is the role of trustworthy independent community media not least fifth estate micro news site here.

We like to think we can intuite and observe the near silent ripples of the covert kind. And sometimes we are dead on bullseye when we are supposed to be following the spin and the herd. A solitary pursuit often like wonderful rock jock Peter Croft solo climbing with not a rope or harness in sight: Scary, dangerous, thrilling only the wind and gravity of law and real politik to keep us connected to reality. This damn intuition is not an appealing quality to vested interests ... of all sides of politics (that reads at least 4). One imagines it's something to do with the long lost grandfather's genes quite high up in the Fairfax machine in his day 1940-50ies..

So here is a third installment in 36 hours for what we couldn't cover yesterday before rushing off now to a legal rendezvous for our disabled buddy getting her fair share (under guidance of private practitioner one Pam Suttor, Law Society council member):

- Saturday front pager continues the trend of real politik pain for spiv NSW ALP with their economic growth fetish mostly in denial of the ecological imperative of our times of conservation and moderation:


- Adam Spencer this morning abc 702 radio refers to Liberal and in recent years ABC Board royalty Janet Albrechtsen, via blog, rather than press print (?) here:

 End the stench of political donations 0 comments about this article

24 FEBRUARY 2008

HALLELUJAH. After stunning allegations of corruption at the Independent Commission Against Corruption about property donations securing multi-million dollar development approvals in Wollongong, NSW Premier Morris...

Apparently Albrech. says "don't hold your breath" on developer reforms. Quite. The big money developer lobby are on the back foot but they will be baaaack as here:

Developers warn of crisis - National - smh.com.au 14 Feb 2008

This is one of those so called "development crisis" that political economist giant of the USA JK Galbraith would refer to in highly technical terms as big business "bullsh*t".

- Sometimes it hard to tell which is more macabre - the Big Media journalists who would fit right into the Adam's Family, or the MPs who it seems have already been convicted of that unforgiveable sin ... fatness ... which is a cheap shot surely for a boney arsed reptile when there is so much more substance to work with. So why go down market? Unless this is also the same revolving door natural habitat of said journo(s)?

Is it the rival porn dominated revenues of the internet causing the press gossip writers to go down market? Who for instance needs to hear that Rocket Rod Adler, convicted fraudster is being compared nastily with a mass murderer Ivan Milat at a local theatre?: As bad as Rocket was or is, mass murderer he is not (refer pic below).

Then what about Minister Reba Meagher's toilet habits? Do we really need to know? (see extract below)

We perceive Carty, Big Media reptile below,  for better or worse, as the parallel evolutionary product as Simon Benson on state rounds over at the Daily Telegraph in response to career pressure of ALP hegemony, same SB not averse to a little menacing of this writer. One can imagine Carty may try a bit of biffo in print too. Whatever.

First exhibit is this package of articles suggestive of a PR gambit of 'quarrantine and sanitise' in the Fairfax SunHerald which actually trivialises the systemic problem with brand ALP (see more below):

Rather the real hammer blow regarding good governance that Carty et al might have worked up for the Sunday press: How is it that a manager of ICAC investigations has ended up working with the main schmoozer and accused (Scimone) appearing before Justice Jerrold Cripps as beak at  ICAC? It's not going too far to say ICAC until last week had a major credibility gap with civil society groups including this writer for being a toothless lap puppy.

Indeed corroboration of this reality of ineffective ICAC - until last week - can be found in this Herald story today 25 Feb 08:

Scandal envelops Maritime

Ivan Patrick THE mostly female planning staff at NSW Maritime were alarmed when Joe Scimone was appointed executive director of their division because they knew he had resigned from Wollongong Council following harassment allegations, a former high-ranking Maritime manager has told the Premier.

This quote is damning of perceptions of ICAC ineffectiveness until very recently:

"Mr Patrick said he and some colleagues had tried from August 2006 to persuade ICAC "to investigate systemic maladministration in NSW Maritime," but the commission had told them to undertake their own investigation.

After he left NSW Maritime in December 2006, Mr Patrick accused the NSW cabinet of moving to "gut" government policies to control waterfront development, allowing wealthy landowners and commercial interests to build bigger structures and hinder public access. Mr Tripodi said at the time it would cut red tape."

Having said that we praise ICAC as it is always better late than never, even in the face of gripes. We fear ICAC has only been goaded into ferocity by the appearance of standover men leveraging the dozey dizzy ICAC record of recent years to rip out allegedly $500K from their hapless victims.

In other words ICAC was at existential risk themselves and so not just councillor crooks or ministerial mates in the dock all last and this week. It's the effectiveness and utitlity of ICAC itself. That's the subtext to Jerrold Cripps getting ICAC off its arse and actually doing something about good governance comparable to the jolting Metherell Affair of 1992. We don't know as a legal practitioner if that is contempt of a judicial body. But it needs to be said and said loudly - ICAC have ALOT of catching up to do, and we hope and trust they do so:

 


Posted by editor at 7:19 AM EADT
Updated: Monday, 25 February 2008 6:31 PM EADT
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Sunday Talkies: $6B for Nelson's Super Hornet jets cancelled for F-22 Raptors?
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: aust govt

 Image:Two F-22A Raptor in column flight.jpg

 

 

 

Author’s general introductory note (skip this bit if you know this regular weekly column):

 

 

 

This is not a well packaged story. It’s a contemporaneous traverse of the Sunday television free to air political talkies indicating the agenda of Establishment interests: Better to know ones rivals and allies  in Big Politics and Big Media. Indeed it’s the tv version monitoring task similar to what Nelson Mandela refers to here in his book Long Walk to Freedom (1994, Abacus) written in Robben Island prison (where he was meant to die like other African resister chiefs of history in the 19C), at page 208

 

“..newspapers are only a shadow of reality; their information is important to a freedom fighter not because it reveals the truth, but because it discloses the biases and perceptions of both those who produce the paper and those who read it.”

 

Just substitute ‘Sunday tv political talkie shows’ for "newspapers" in the quote above.

For actual transcripts go to web sites quoted below except with Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.

 

Sunday 9 7.30am- 9.30am

 

Missed the start but like ABC radio early bulletins Sunday the early stories are predominantly foreign based like Pakistan election and Obama presidential race in the USA. This fits the lower audience early and the currency via international overnight newswires leveraging the time difference and convenience of boiler plate media packages.

 

- adverts are running NSW Govt adverts on water and energy conservation which are blatant PR greenwashing efforts.

 

- Ross Greenwood business story – Skase reprise. Couldn’t track the detail but usually a strong reporter.

 

- membership civil liberties debate of organized crime in bikie gangs especially in South Australia. Legal power struggle. Anger is rising amongst bikiers. Prof Arthur Veno Monash University quoted – similar ban backfired, drove moderates to hard core with attempted bombings of police stations.

- Oakes interview with Stephen Smith, as foreign minister. LO looking a little more groomed and side on, buzz cut? Boiler plate Iraq etc. Weight is about Gates as US Secretary of Defence in the country for ‘AUSMIN’ as per ABC tv media pictures on tv news last night, complete with winged shoulder, surely symbolizing something about the Republican regime of W Bush and the credibility of the render loving USA. [as per Millibrand admission UK’s Diego Garcia].

 

- NATO conference in April attended by Rudd

 

 [along with his own 2020 summit, rich folks summit for Ayn Rand on in Sydney too.]

- No more troops to Afghanistan. Other things we can do to state building. Canadians are pulling out, 80 casualities.

 

- missile defence controversy about secret talks, Smith fudges, Oakes not convinced, Fitzgibbon did say they were secret. Son of Star Wars is under discussion. Not going to be rushed, no need to be rushed. [See more at this story by 'former intel officer, Lowy Institute'

Defence umbrella put to the test | The Australian 20/2/08]

 

 [is this the tradeoff for canceling other ridiculous arms purchases as here:

PM to slash Howard's defence spend 24 Feb 08

THE Federal Government will launch a major cost cutting assault on multi-billion dollar defence projects established by the Howard government. ]

Seems the Raptor is instead being moved up the shopping list says abc tv news 9 am this morning.

 

 

http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/default.asp

 

 

 

 

10 Meet the Press:  8- 8-30 am

 

Opening footage Rudd re AWA IR repeal.

 

Press roundup re FIFA world cup event stalked by Rudd, it’s a vaudeville type PR kicking a footy. Look at moi, look at moi, running in Sunday Sydney SunHerald to take pressure off brand ALP in Sydney (?)

 

 2nd front pager of note is integrity story about Brian Bourke meeting scheduled for Rudd running in Brisbane Courier Mail. It’s fairly cold story sought to be revived but it shows as in NSW Qld has misgivings about ALP cronyism – something never resolved by Fitzgerald as far back as 1987 after putting the salts through the National Party, and cut off before he got to the crook ALP.

 

Main talent is Christopher Pyne MP who is still the second string team – PB compere notes it’s a cold line of attack now post election while Pyne beats as best he can.

 

Mid level journos on panel Cath Hart telegenic complete with contact lenses (?), The Australian , Mark Kenny Adelaide Advertiser (both News Ltd papers) probably telegenic not that there’s anything wrong with that.

 

Which raises the question of Pyne’s clearly strong grip on rhetoric and policy but presenting as a minority sexuality, whether true or not (as alleged previously in the big media), as we move into the gay Sydney Mardi Gras season. If true we reckon like Bob Brown  long ago, the time is right, post Rudd election. There is no value in living a public political career with half one’s life out of bounds, like Alan Jones against one’s own God given nature. It’s the next big step Christopher, for greatness even.

 

Haneef cost of the debacle. Coalition supports Keelty in his job, AFP role.

 

Out take amusing Nicholson animation of ex PM ego line up of apologizers for various flaws. Works quite well.

 

John Connor again on his ALP ambitious platform with Climate Institute following the Peter Garrett track from real green to greenwash for the ALP? Sufficiently smooth and boofhead ugly to fit right in complete with “going forward” boilerplate. Garnaut very “thoughtful”. Lline of least resistance pragmatic tone.  Get’s on to no compo for owners of generators – pricing signals on energy supported? Roundabout yes, smarter use bills go down.

 

PB intervenes – big difference anyway whatever we do? China and US waking up to this and we should get ahead of the curve. [Connor gets this right.]

 

Transcript in due course www.ten.com.au/meetthepress ,

 

 

7 Weekend Sunrise: 8.35-40 am Riley Diary  -

 

Intro re high polling for Rudd v Nelson pulping fiction of Work Choices. Mr Woolfe/Harvey Keitel character “solves problems”

 

 [reminds of a shady character who gave me a lift over the Nullabor as a kid hitchhiker, Italian gent in a huge LTD who worked as a “problem solver”, that was in 1984 or so.]

 

Mostly about AWA fridgemagnets and postcards and mouse pads. Props all round, with cardboard Kevinator for the Coalition. Amusing staged presser with 1 cm thick lack of substance PM [KRudd.]

 

Footage of Coalition etc dinosaurs  ‘wax museum with a pulse’.

 

http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend

 

 

Insiders 2: 9- 10am

 

Intro is inconvenient truth of Garnaut report.

 

Panel is Karen Middleton sbs, Andrew Bolt News HeraldSun, David Marr smh.

 

FIFA event in 2018, bread and circuses proposal, laugh.

 

Cornes in Australian Story re biffo of Tonay Jones.

 

Harry Jenkins speaker looking at making answer questions, revolution if can do it. Bolt sees credibility gap real politik deliverable.

 

Andrew Robb in the studio – shadow foreign minister. Stunt of cardboard Kevin.

 

Panel get their head around the enormity of dangerous climate change, both have profound points to make and its cataclysmic economic and global ecological concerns. Bolt in denial but not nearly so dogmatic in opposition..

 

Garrett gets a good rap with passion on climate change while noting clearing for a pulp mill and dredging Port Phillip.

 

Downer gets condemned for hubris even in defeat. House of reps shouldn’t be a retirement home, get to work.

 

Iemma govt, worst in a generation possibly ever. Marr is a village politician from Calabria adjudicates the village disputes, always a scrum of rough people, not getting in and solving things. Bolt says 4 year term too long, undemocratic.

 

Footage [not midweek, actually Friday] re Iemma claiming “heads will roll”, no detail of political donation rules. Cassidy says often change the leader, Watkins wrong faction, machine prefer go down in the heap? No. This is NSW says 30 year experience as reporter hand to hand combat comes up from the gutters, beginning of NSW about corruption, property. Marr is soooooooooooooooooooooo right.

 

Talking pictures: Julie Bishop adapted as Deputy Opposition Leader. Sharp faced, and witted, and ruthless ambition. Find her chilling like an SS officer myself, the boney arsed one 9-5 movie. Shows here tactical nouse with Blair Howard schoolkids impromptu pic fac.

 

Rich journalists discuss PM use of tax payer funded child minding, irrelevant to wealth, it’s about job rights, ‘just like Mal Turnbull’ completely missing the point that the voters know Big Politics is really money politics and how they got their jobs in the first place.

 

Wind up – final observations – republic in a fortnight says Marr, Middleton on Afghanistan, Bolt on Nelson.

 

 

Home page is http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/

 

 


Posted by editor at 9:01 AM EADT
Updated: Monday, 25 February 2008 7:18 AM EADT
Big Media press backgrounder: Did Morris Iemma get a green vocation in Adelaide?
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: big media

Preface - we've been in the job market this last week and fallen behind in writing up Big Media both fair and tricked up reportage, which is not to say we haven't been keeping up, just no time to write the damn stuff down and share.

- The NSW Govt is doing as best it can behind the scenes to shut down those who are out of their control in the big media. At least that's the gist of the pseudo funny oh so serious column of Joe Hildebrand in

Hunted by John Hatzistergos Sydney Daily Telegraph 23 Feb 08

who we think has seen the error of his ways in praise of Deborah Cameron on abc 702. We intuite a certain aggression by the Iemma Minister 'The Hat' to Hildebrand for his coverage of the public energy assets, a coverage that the somewhat captured Simon Benson at the same paper is predictably Yes Minister in style. By comparison Alex Mitchell for one has served up barrow loads of sharp critique on Crikey.com.au and local abc radio. To be clear we think Benson is captured by the ALP right.

- Even so we would take NSW AG 'the hat' over what plays for justice in Indonesia - what a shocker this story really is for a rusty lawyer:

Squeezing justice from court mafia - Opinion - smh.com.au 23 Feb 08

- Yep even with the growing Rudd credibility gap on real action, with another being "lofty words" on FoI reform, it's still a democracy one can appreciate here in good old Aussie, as long as we work at it:

Culture of secrets hard act to break - Opinion - smh.com.au 23 Feb 08

At least Minister Carr is working up his transparency credentials:

Gag to be lifted on research vetoes | The Australian 13/2/08

- We are working up a traverse on rich folks controlling and abusing our democracy, not least the up coming Ayne Rand conference in Sydney and we will add this to the manilla folder:

The bucks stop here - National - smh.com.au 23 Feb 08 The PM, a union official-turned-senator and the public are demanding that company executives rein in their extortionate rates of pay, writes Andrew West.

- The first of a cascade of scandals, each of a certain repellant fatal momentum and beauty in the art of political observation here in NSW: The first sentence is a cracker

"As managerial disasters go the Tcard debacle might eventually overtake the Cross-City Tunnel"

Lets' just dwell a moment shall we. The pun about overtaking in a road tunnel, the impacting compare and contrast with the very real politik pain of the CCT in 2006-7. The normally reasonable, but in NSW incredulous, assumption of government providing managerial expertise. An opening sentence to die for. Go Leah Mason of EcoTransit here:

Tcard mess a no-brainer: simplify fares - Opinion - smh.com.au 14/2/08

 - These front pagers below say it all as regards the wheels falling off the credibility of the "good government" of NSW as newly elected Premier Iemma wishfully claimed back in March 2007, and replayed in the out take to Stateline ABC last Friday night 22nd Feb:


That was "momentous" Friday 22 Feb as veteran reptile Alex Mitchell refers in his summary pieces with ABC 702 morning shows Fri and Sat just gone.

Here is Thursday 21 Feb:

 

Saturday just gone is no better, misplaced in the Brazil style paper flurry here at SAM desk.

Here is another front pager from last week's Sydney press:

which incredibly echoes in so many ways the great 2006 DVD movie of classic All The Kings Men (ATKM) with Sean Penn in the lead, a thinly disguised parable of ascendant Huey Long who ran Louisiana 1926 -1935 who apparently was fast and loose with correct governance ("dictatorial tendencies") and his libido, and cunning, very cunning, with a platform of 'just build it'. Huey/Willy Stark/Sean Penn comes to a sticky end too. The real Huey even has a passing resemblance to Morris Iemma:

Huey Long

We spoke to Cr Jeremy Buckingham (Greens) based in Orange and he said this hospital building debacle has resulted from ALP mates as the contractors doing a bodgy job. In ATKM it's a dodgy school that kills 3 kids, rather than a bodgy hospital or three:

Hospital crisis prompts review of all projects - National - smh.com.au 22 Feb 08

, but there is a new hospital central to the story line too, and even this Warren cartoon looks like the phallic Parliament buiilding of Louisiana prominent in the movie as fact and fiction merge here in NSW:

Maybe it's true everything that happens here has already happened over in the States?

The underlying subtext is the press barons want this particular State govt gone and they perceive the great majority of NSW voters do too so they are reflecting their readership. The sad thing is symptoms of this culture of cronyism go right down to the local community centre level as reported in part here on SAM, this time involving the Left clique ex MP Meredith Burgman and her network of mates:

 

Saturday, 16 February 2008

So you see it's a case of 'ALP Left Monkey see what ALP Right Monkey actually does so why can't we' in their own seats of Grayndler/Marrickville. This is what Quentin Dempster at the big presser with Iemma at 11 am last Friday 22nd Feb was meaning with the accusation of a culture of patronage over merit within the 12 year old government. Too old, too long:

Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 2:32 PM
Subject: ARC

G’day Tom,

Thanks for your recent emails. It can be confirmed [office manager] commenced employment on Monday.

With regard to Natalie McCarthy, she is the representative of "Roomies" which is not an incorporated body or registered name but a wholly ‘owned’ operation of the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre (NNC has 2 incorporation Reg’n Nos 1585126455 and INC9880928) and pays the rent for Roomies. Natalie is the nominated representative at ARC for NNC. It can be argued that Newtown Neighbourhood Centre is controlled by Marrickville Council by virtue of allowing them a peppercorn rent for the Newtown building and having some of the Council’s social workers operate from the Centre (?). If this is so, then Roomies (NNC) would not have a vote at ARC under the same rules which denies votes to the Child Minding Centre, the Community Garden and the Artist in Residence. Peter Olive does not agree with this argument - he maintains NNC operates independently of Council. A councillor or Council of a different political persuasion might have a differing attitude.

If you have a look on the National Names Index on the ASIC website you will find that "THE ADDISON ROAD GALLERY ARTS ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED" Reg No INC 9888276 has recently been registered - it was not on the register in December 2007. There is no other information on the public register but the rumour is that Meredith Burgmann is the chairman and the group either has or is in the process of negotiating a new lease with ARC for the Gallery on the same terms as the previous arrangement with Terry Cutcliffe.

The next meeting of the Board of ARC (26-02-08?) will presumably appoint an honorary member to replace YA and elect a new chairman.

With this campaign to bring ARC under acceptable rules of governance and conduct it may be worthwhile to take a broader look at the problem.

Some of the older members probably would claim to have a stakeholding because of their involvement at the beginning with the fight to retain the Centre in public ownership. This claim has translated into a view that they are entitled to pay little or no rent as a reward for their past efforts - I do not agree with this view. Other tenants have negotiated extremely beneficial arrangements for themselves and as a result have compromised themselves. In some cases there has been a great imbalance of power between ARC and its tenants and, in the past, ARC management did not have either the skill or the will to get a reasonable result for the Centre. Whatever has happened, the result has been that most tenants refrain from any involvement with the operation of the Centre. Consequently, an unrepresentative minority have obtained control by default and any change is resisted.

As you are aware there have been several court cases where directors of not for profit organisations have been held responsible for poor governance and have lost their homes as a consequence. At the outside, only 4 of the tenants at the Centre would understand this responsibility and is a factor in their reluctance to be a member of the Board of ARC. Marrickville Council must also be aware of its exposure.

You might also look on the websites of the Arts Council of Australia where you can confirm that the allocation to SIDETRACK PERFORMANCE GROUP LTD for 2008 is $143,418 and from Arts NSW in 2006-7 the same group received $100,000 plus $10,000 for consultancy. From this incomplete information it would not be unreasonable to expect this group to receive in excess of $250,000 during the 2007-2008 year. From a casual observation the question might be asked - does the community get value for money?

Yet with all this heavy duty pressure on Iemma he didn't sweat as usual under the glare of the presser last Friday. Garry Linnel, a smart usually moderate cookie now with the Sydney Daily Telegraph reckons its the calm of the victim before the kill "accepting his fate". We have an alternative theory - In extremis Iemma has discovered a new mission and a new faith - dangerous climate change, as per the Garnaut report speech to the Premiers Conference held in Adelaide recently, and see Tas pro Logger Lennon below for more on this resolution appearing in the neurosis of the big developer spiv ALP in favour of what Iemma seemed to be referrring to as "the public interest". Iemma's people cutely adopt a phrase back to a scathing editorial heresame day:

While the public may know and reluctantly accept that those in power are weak and incompetent, it will not - indeed, cannot - accept that they can use that power to betray the public interest.

Talk about aspiring to the lowest standard of weak and incompetent but not corrupt!

Labor's rot starts at the top - Editorial - Opinion - smh.com.au

- So where are we going now with the leadership of the NSW Govt? John Sutton, chief of the national CFMEU is calling for the 'Left's Watkins to take over, Koperberg has avoided the big union rally on Tuesday 26th and notice this we wrote last night:

Big Phil is no longer bound by Cabinet solidarity on energy sale On February 23rd, 2008 ecology action ... says:

... such as sale of the public energy assets in question at the big union rally this Tuesday with a picket line of some kind, though I don't think they are blocking MP access as such.

 Big Phil has just been on Ch9 [Feb 23 6 pm]  "explaining" why he had to resign for health reasons saying and I quote "it's not delibitating, its not life lifethreatening but its something I have to do ... I should be fine in a few months" or words to that effect.

Cabinet decided to sell the energy assets in Dec 07 when Big Phil, just after he had been forced to step down. Now as a leading Left faction minister I think he can't afford to be in Cabinet.

And whose to say Iemma will be Cabinet much longer, in which case we might just see Big Phil's health suddenly improve markedly, and yes return to Cabinet.

He was walking and talking with remarkable ease on Ch9 and it was no ambush either. It was a set piece.

Just a guess but there is more that meets the eye on this but not so cynical as those above. 

The tv coverage builds on this story in the herald earlier in the day:

I was happier when I was fire chief - National - smh.com.au 23 Feb 08

We played our own small part in poor ex Minister Koperberg's alleged health troubles when we delivered the full paper version of this submission to his GMT ministerial office early last week

Maroota sandmining II: 'experts' alleged 'fraud' exposed on dam into groundwater, dust on local school?
Mood:  irritated
Topic: ecology

which if you track through the links to a related January 08 submission contains this doozy about statewide maladministration of water licensing:

We understand that statewide the Dept of Water Annual Report 2005-2007, 2006-7 p28 reports no prosecutions statewide for breaches of the Water Act 1912 in either year, only 2 penalties for the Water Management Act 2000 in 05-06, none in 06-07, and only 1 prosecution under the Rivers & Foreshores Improvement Act 1948. These low figures of enforcement are derisory compared with 90,000 ground water bores and 13 900 surface water licences according to the 06-07 Annual Report.

Iemma was too calm for Linnel at the SDT not to notice:

 No-sweat Iemma's death-row calm | The Daily Telegraph 22 Feb 2008

And the Premier did have cut through even with all the muck on  him politically. The Premier was flanked by his climate savvy young political turks too Verity Firth and Nathan Vass (both of them up to their eyeballs in a higher class of developer money politics re Callan Park sellout to Sydney Uni, and $2B Desalination Plant respectively, and again Firth running interference on iar pollution  threat to Balmain/Marrickville of a $5B truck tunnel via smog stacks).

These ministers and Iemma himself are young enough to care and to accept environmentalism on a more objective basis unlike the browns like Costa or Macdonald. And young enough to be ambitious too. We wonder if Iemma may just have moved further over to one side of the previously paralysing neurosis in the ALP Machine of traditional growth fetish versus dangerous climate action agenda. We get the impression that Ross Garnaut read the riot act to the premiers down in Adelaide earlier this week before releasing his frightening Interim Report. Garnaut was definitely down there last Wednesday as were the premiers, Robert F Kennedy and Dr. Zhengrong Shi Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. It all seems to have been about a Solar Cities Conference.

 Has Iemma seen the greener side of things and taken it on board? Time will tell. The teasing question is indeed why the calm? Linnel takes the cynical defeatist view, we are still holding out a bit on the Let Bartlett Be Bartlett moral scenario of a guy who has decided what's right whatever the cost. Yes it is quaintly naive.

Or maybe because Iemma has now decided to support political donations reform 

 Premier's edict will derail the gravy train - National - smh.com.au 23-4 Feb 08

perhaps responding to this scarifying editorial late January 28 08

Gripe more than sour grapes - Editorial - Opinion - smh.com.au

Iemma may  feel this is way sufficient moral virtue to cover his otherwise embarrassing nakedeness most of last week? Perhaps for a guy whose whole raison d'etre has been money politics it is a big change that he feels is life changing and morale boosting. From his own paradigm he is probably right. Methinks it is good progress and indeed necessary but not sufficient, with Warren capturing it as he tends to do:

A big union protest about publicly owned energy assets on Tuesday 26 Feb 08 may finalise some more big changes all round.

 

- on the theme of jobs on merit or otherwise we noticed former rugby forward, ex NSW Premier then federal MP, lung cancer survivor, bereaved parent and now World Anti Doping Authority chief, is advertising for help. That's jumping Jack Fahey quick to protect Prince Charles in 93, good enough to see in an Olympic Bid via mostly the work of minister Bruce Baird (quietly sidelined so JF could reap the PR), and still harvesting the benefits of Big Sport with a choice job in WADA:

We even thought about applying but then checked our own innocent naivety.

- On matters even more fundamental Terry McCrann reckons Garnaut has made a threshhold assumption which is bonkers, to

"assume" a de-coupling of growth and carbon energy

in A cool response is right for unheated climate debate | The Australian 23-24 Feb 08

is even possible. This is the ex PM Howard Old Australia line in The Australian dependent on fossil fool advertising and Hard Right revenues as per this shaky editorial recently. They surely have the growth fetish. It is also social and ecological suicidal thinking - because if China and India etc don't decouple, just as they had to on the similar global ecological real politik of ozone depleting substances (ODS) with CFC and FC's (pictured below) then its goodbye climate and most if not all of the human project.

The largest Antarctic ozone hole recorded as of September 2006
The largest Antarctic ozone hole recorded as of September 2006

Sad isn't it. You can't eat money. We are starting to see why God has not allowed us to have any kids in our greenie media vocation, to spare us the trauma of parents everywhere and they do have our sympathy, as per the old black and white grim empty streetscapes of On the Beach in Melbourne. Check out the chilling Salvation army rally scene. It's not much fun actually.

 Meanwhile page 1 news here:

Councils must identify rising sea risk | The Australian

which surely will increase panic in the political economy, and not just in Australia but every coastal zone in the world. As we wrote elsewhere if the global re insurance industry is not satisfied with Australia's measures to combat dangerous climate they may just withdraw their coverage and that would make HIH collapse look like a kindergarten picnic in terms of economic disruption. So finally we see government biting the bullet to quote the above article:

Sea-level expert and head of geosciences at Sydney University Peter Cowell, who is working closely with insurer IAG, said hundreds of thousands of homes faced possible inundation resulting from climate change over the next 20 to 30 years. ....

[Paul Bell president of the Local Government Association] said he feared decisions made now, in the absence of modelling, would trigger "strong litigation" from property owners.

"There will also be a huge political backlash," he said. "It's something we can't blink at any more or walk away from."

Mr Bell said some councils had received funding from insurance companies with similar concerns to conduct research in their own districts. 

But the issue needed a national approach.

"There are differences in Port Douglas and Cairns with some event that causes huge tidal surges to what might happen in Melbourne and Sydney," he said. "We've seen a lot of good work already done by many of our councils, but it's the real science that needs to be applied to our coastline that is the issue now and it needs to happen very quickly."

He said the problem was more urgent than many people understood, with the community council on Saibai Island, in the Torres Strait, already forced last year to move some residents off the island. "They're an island that is 2.7m still out of the ground and they are saying 'You've got to do something, you've got to use planning'," he said.

Insurance Council of Australia communications manager Paul Giles said insurers remained concerned about the lack of reliable data on flooding and were close to producing a flood map based on data obtained from all states and territories.

"Flood cover is not widely available in Australia because we simply don't know the risks," Mr Giles said. "(They are) the same problems as the local councils have."

Mr Giles said the flood modelling would allow insurers to identify areas of risk and allow them to price the risk.

 

- McCrann above, as does the The Australian editorial refers to dinosaur unionists opposing electricity privatisation in NSW, as does it appears Mark Latham in the recent Australian Financial Review last week. We know this because Big Mark is regurgitated in the weekend editorial traverse of The Australian and favourably quoted. Cutely selective of them to leverage Old Mark eh who they delighted in kicking to death politically. But we fear all three, Latham, McCrann and Oz editorial are wrong in the same way Garnaut (who might have been JK Galbraith in another WW2 context) refers to dangerous climate change being a "market failure" unsuitable to "market" solutions :

See this rally call

Stop the Sell-Off and keep power in our hands

and specifically our comment:

public energy assets relates to effective climate policies On February 23rd, 2008 ecology action ... says:

The green movement can with confidence get behind the Union campaign on public ownership on several grounds:

 1. As the recent Garnaut Report makes clear 'dangerous climate change' is upon us and much quicker than realised due to ..."market failure". The implications of this "market failure" are huge: We simply cannot trust policies relating to our very social and environmental existence to such a capricious and dishonest market, externalising ecological reality at every turn which translated in the climate context means winners and losers - the losers in dangerous climate are dead poor people outside the affluent island enclave, from drowning, or thirst or civil war or whatever. There is no logic in trusting a failed market on climate with the very energy assets critical to that reform and transition of climate policy. On the other hand the social capital, organisational capacity and good will of the union movement will actually be critical to such a massive structural reform.

2. To restate point 1 effective climate policy really does require as much sovereign control by the state over the relevant sectors of the economy as possible such as energy assets. This is one area like a war itself where a centrally planned economy stands up as far more efficient even in economic rationalist terms.  For instance down the track we may well need in a sovereign way to avoid climate tipping points by putting eco taxes, tariffs and bans on highly ghg embedded production, imported or domestic. A multinational owner energy producer will do all they can to sabotage that kind of approach. A strong state control on the other hand can enforce hypothecation of such tax revenue into clean renewables and progressively scale down dirty energy. In the same way JK Galbraith who won two US Presidential medals of freedom (the only person in history) as a political economist was instrumental in WW2 in tightly controlling prices of essential supplies to the US domestic population when captains of industry were always knocking on his door to profiteer in the crisis. 

That's a very fair parallel of where we are heading in the climate crisis and domestic energy market. The corporate model is totally unsuitable to a major ecological threat.

3. It's no accident the 'brown' ministers most in denial over dangerous climate like Costa and Martin Ferguson are most gung ho for the privatisation to take the revenues and feed into big ticket greenhouse creating developments (like $5B truck tunnel to Port Botany, dredging Botany Bay for super containers with cheapie junk imports highly ghg embedded).

4. energy is genuinely 'a natural monopoly' meaning there is no real choice but to buy the energy from the provider for basic survival and existence (even if there is superficial retail contestability all from the same supplier). In this way a profit is guarranteed. There is no genuine role for private enterprise in this sector. Same for water supply, health and education. Let them stick to genuinely discretionary areas of the economy where life and death are not at issue.

5. Anyone who has seen The Corporation documentary will know that these legal entities originally invented by society have become unaccountable pathological monsters for profit. Even to the extent of ecological suicide. Corporations are very  stupid, narrow and blinkered like that:


Promotional poster for The Corporation

The profitable electricity public assets in NSW are being stalked by big business: The rent seekers are out for their corporate welfare as here, underlining exactly the convergence of energy market and the imperative of public climate change policy :

Compo urged for power firms | The Australian

 

Probably a more intelligent and balanced summary of the interplay of public energy assets and dangerous climate threat is here by Marian Wilkinson, but we wonder about Iemma's resolve increasing after Garnaut read the riot act to the premiers in Adelaide (more below):

Squabbles, obfuscation and resignation as the world warms - National 23-4 Feb 08

Marian Wilkinson Environment Editor
February 23, 2008

ANALYSIS

PHIL KOPERBERG'S decision to pull the plug as NSW Minister for Climate Change the day the Garnaut review was released is a telling sign that the urgency of the global warming challenge has escaped the Iemma Government.

Well before Koperberg's resignation, the vital decisions affecting the state's rising greenhouse emissions were being made by the Treasurer, Michael Costa, a proclaimed climate sceptic, not the climate change minister.

The most important decision is the privatisation of the industry and the push to build a new power station, which has been steered by the Treasurer and the energy department, whose director-general, Mark Duffy, is a close friend of the Treasurer.

The NSW Treasury has repeatedly argued for more baseload power and privatisation to pay for it. Treasury modelling has dismissed arguments that energy efficiency measures could postpone the need for a new plant.

The Owen inquiry last year endorsed much of Treasury's thinking on the state's power needs. But, critically, it found boosting energy efficiency might have delayed the need for a new power station - except that the "lack of reliable information" on the state's energy saving programs made it "not prudent" to rely on this strategy.

This lack of data was an indictment of the state's climate change policy and its ministers past and present. By December, the upshot was a cabinet decision to encourage investment in either polluting, coal-fired power, or a somewhat less polluting gas plant, by privatising the industry.

Significantly, the decision was made in Koperberg's absence. Days earlier, he was forced to stand aside after media reports of domestic violence allegations by his ex-wife.

With his climate change minister in limbo, Iemma announced the privatisation but promised a new, "energy efficiency strategy" to cut greenhouse gas emissions, especially in government buildings, hospitals and schools. Much of this new strategy was in reality repackaging of programs introduced almost a decade ago.

Despite the enthusiasm of the former premier Bob Carr, Treasury and other key ministries stymied the energy-efficiency drive for 10 years, as the rift between the "green" and "brown" wings of the Government undermined the programs.

A new climate change minister, Verity Firth, is stepping into the hot seat in NSW. But with the "browns" in the ascendancy, her influence over the biggest source of the state's greenhouse gas pollution, the power industry, will be extremely limited.

The Garnaut report is a warning to the NSW Government that the state's coal-fired power stations will not be given a free ride to pollute in the future.

The stations' value will likely be reduced in any privatisation, investment in any new coal-fired power station will be costly and cutting the state's profligate use of energy will be central to the fight against global warming.

Even so, no time off for protesters supporting the public ownership of our energy assets:

Iemma bans workers from protest | The Daily Telegraph 23 Feb 08

Bureaucrats denied time off to protest - National - smh.com.au 24 Feb 08

We repeat what we wrote above about Iemma in Adelaide with the international big nobs because it's all in the mix this Tuesday 26th Feb 08:

We wonder if Iemma may just have moved further over to one side of the previously paralysing neurosis in the ALP Machine of traditional growth fetish versus dangerous climate action agenda. We get the impression that Ross Garnaut read the riot act to the premiers down in Adelaide earlier this week before releasing his frightening Interim Report. Garnaut was definitely down there last Wednesday as were the premiers, Robert F Kennedy and Dr. Zhengrong Shi Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. It all seems to have been about a Solar Cities Conference.

Hard to say. Certainly the rest of the ALP machine is hedging its bets:

MPs snub public forum as Iemma pushes power sell-off p7 Australian 20/2/08 by Imre Salusinszky, offline by the looks of things re Illawarra forum.

Survery finds resistance to power sell-off is soft 21/2/08 The Australia again by Imre and again offline.

And so is the financial markets by the look of things:

Fears that electricity deal may fizzle - National - smh.com.au 15 Feb 08

Utility sell-off 'misses the boat' | The Australian 15 Feb 08

and even the government seems to be getting panicky about cutting a deal:

 Unions claim secret deal offered on power sell-off - smh 21 Feb 2008,

THE Iemma Government allegedly offered unions a secret deal for a 'mum and dad investor' float of the state's publicly owned electricity industry.

- We noticed alot about bottled water issues in the press and electronic media. We will write about this separately because we noticed some sadly superficial analysis which really fails to meet Coca Cola Amatil's business case and therefore continues to fail to beat them at their own wasteful game. Their corporate business case revolves around the point of sale service not the bottledwater itself:

  • 1. with all the concern about healthy diet, it's one of the very few sugar free beverages in convenience shop fridge with no caffience;
  • 2. the consumer is buying the services of (a) transport of a heavy object (water) to a just in time location (the pedestrian drinker) and (b) chilled refreshment, hence a shop ALWAYS charges more for refrigerated versus room temperature bottled anything.

So all the rhetoric of dear greenie friends allies and rivals continues to miss the point arguing one can get a drink for free out of the tap, stamping their feet. And Coca Cola Amatil's Sally Loane knows it. It's the refreshing cool temperature, and transport, they are selling, not room temperature tap water as such. Is it lazy and precious? Yes but that's why it costs money. We know this as we know 5 years of pavement pounding as "distribution manager" for Alternative Media Group publishers of such as the City Hub 02-07.

- We chortled at the direct honesty of "brilliant" :

Obama happily confessed to smoking pot with a dig at the dissembler-in-chief, Bill Clinton. "When I was a kid I inhaled, frequently, that was the point," he says.

Brilliant because as charming as the comment is, it's also astute that G W Bush had a drug use history he put behind him. Therein is the safe political port and the wedging of unreal sophistry of the Clinton machine, not least that bum Bill who hugely exploited his wife's loyalty, rather than simply divorcing her. Who else but George Megalogenis has the gripping quote in Keep kids in the picture if you want to win | Meganomics Blog ... 23-4 Feb 08

- Ross Gittins likes the credentials of Nicholas Gruen and says he should be at the 2020 Rudd Summit in April 08. We can but only agree with the great and good Gittins -

Lateral thinking should be given some latitude | smh.com.au 23-4 Feb 08

- Pine Gap four under the dogmatic national security approach of the Howardistas in 05-07, walked free recently after winning their legal appeal, only to promise to return to Pine Gap mid 2008 with more protests. That's courage and a certain dogmatic idealism one tends to admire, not least Donna Mulhearn. Talk about gutsy activist.

Pine Gap four cleared | The Australian 23 Feb 08

This matter has been covered alot more comprehensively on Sydney Indy Media, reporting how they were locked up on touch down in typical NT jack boot fashion prior to their legal appeal 13 Feb 08,  as here:

Pine Gap 4 Imprisoned in Berrimah, Darwin- write 'em a letter ...

- Another one from the 'dangerous climate change unifying theory of everything' convergence of real politik here: Premier Lennon twigs (!) that wholesale destruction of Tasmanian Forests in Lennon to target forestry | The Australian 23 Feb 08, Christine Milne of the Greens almost fell over in agreement by surprise as per the Mercury in Hobart here. It's becoming obvious even to woodchippers that the smart money is on trees, new ones or one's already upright, an approach apparently blessed by management heavyweights McKinseys:

 'Efficiency and forestry' key to cuts | The Australian

and the academic loggers appear to be trimming their sail too: Forestry not all about harvesting in SMH Feb 13 2008 p19 offline. Or maybe Premier Lennon has been noticing the credit crunch as well:

Banking strife to hit mill finance Matthew Denholm THE exposure of ANZ and other banks to the US sub-prime collapse will make it harder for projects such as the Gunns pulp mill to secure affordable finance

But Matthew Warren 'Environment writer' begs to differ as we have come to expect relying on Professor McKibbin on the Reserve Bank board no less:

 Plan to slash emissions is 'optimistic' | The Australian 18/2/08

Senator Milne has this to say about the tragic pose of Minsiter Wong.

 [Greens media release]

Wong admits 60% target has no scientific basis

Canberra, Wednesday 20 February 2008  After questioning Climate Change
Minister Penny Wong in Senate Estimates hearings today, Australian
Greens climate change spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne, said that
the Government's claim to have science-based climate change policies is
a complete nonsense.

Senator Milne said "The Rudd Labor Government has plucked its 60% 2050
target from the atmosphere and has foolishly locked itself into this
target even though it must now understand it has no scientific validity.

"When asked what her understanding of dangerous climate change was,
Minister Wong could not answer.

"When asked what her understanding of how much warming, in degrees
centigrade, should be avoided in order to prevent dangerous climate
change was, Minister Wong could not answer.

"When asked what her understanding of what concentrations of carbon in
the atmosphere would be likely to cause dangerous climate change,
Minister Wong could not answer.

"The Government has no scientific basis for its 60% target, and it
should be abandoned in favour of a target that will actually see
Australia playing a constructive role in preventing dangerous climate
change.

"These revelations come after questioning earlier in the week revealed
that the Government's key climate programs, such as the National Solar
Schools program, the Solar Hot Water Rebates for Households and Expanded
Solar Cities, have no set performance benchmarks in terms of emissions
reductions. The Minister admitted that these programs are designed in
part to raise public awareness.

"Whilst providing photo opportunities for Minister Garrett and Labor MPs
across the country to pose with the one solar panel provided to each
school, the Government's multi-million dollar programs will do next to
nothing to actually reduce Australia's greenhouse emissions.

"The question now becomes - did Professor Garnaut understand that his
advice on targets was to be sidelined? How does he now feel to be
relegated to an 'input'?"

Contact: Tim Hollo on 0437 587 562

- How ironic to see the 'dodgy brothers' nuclear reactor made by the dodgy Argenitinian INVAP here in NSW, continues to be dodgy with construction flaws:

Idle reactor keeps sick waiting for treatment - National - smh.com.au

This was predicted by the green movement years ago but the Howard govt don't listen to their enemies, even at their own expense:

Green Left - Issues: Lucas Heights reactor from 'Dodgy brothers' 30 August 2000

- We notice acting comrade of  that Heath Ledger RIP, Jake Gyllenhaal in his new movie Rendition is keeping faith pretty much to the same highly critical politics of the Iraq War as Ledger made clear on the Denton show years ago regarding the ideological national security mantra. That's one good way to honour the professional friendship:

     YouTube - Rendition Trailer The official trailer for the new movie "Rendition" starring ...
2 min 31 sec -

- the genetically engineered food debate is still going hammer and tongs with quite some scientific weight to the critics with Allen Greer a biological scientist in the Higher Education supplement in The Australian

GM concerns continue to crop up | The Australian 13 Feb 08

and letter writing reactions from one "Chris Kelly of Woomelang Victoria" with lots of angles and assertions but otherwise no claim to industry or lobbyist profession (?). We wrote more about this recently at

Thursday, 14 February 2008
By comparison another critic Mark Ragan does declare his academic interest from the University of Queensland. The pro GE lobby are definitely in there pitching as per this:
Bob Phelps of Gene Ethics Network counters with such as this:
NEWS MEDIA RELEASE - February 14 2008
GM CROPS REMAIN STALLED

The annual industry review of commercial Genetically Manipulated (GM) crops for 2007 (See: http://www.isaaa.org/) again shows they stalled long ago..

"GM technology and its products are a dud," says Gene Ethics Director, Bob Phelps.

"For yet another year, the ISAAA inflates growth in the GM industry, boosts adoption figures and ignores the negative health, environmental and economic impacts of GM crops.

"In 1996 GM soy, corn, canola and cotton were launched, with two new traits - tolerance to lethal weed killers or built-in Bt insect toxins but in 2008, just the same four crops and two traits are commercially available.

"Seven countries grew 97.5% of GM crops in 2007, the same as 2006.

"And five of those countries are in North and South America, where most GM crops are used for animal feed or biofuel production.

"No-one, anywhere, wants to eat GM foods and if they were fully labelled as they should be, GM food crops would not be grown.

"The number of countries that grew more than 50,000 hectares (500 square km) of GM crops fell from 14 in 2006 to 13 in 2007.

"A few other countries are dabbling in GM crops but drop them when environmental, animal and human health impacts appear.

"For instance, last year Iran cancelled its entire GM crop program.

"And Australia's cotton crop shrank from 220,000 hectares in 2005, to 134,000 in 2006, and about 60,000 hectares last year.

"GM is responsible for cotton's collapse as it follows the lifting of the 30% cap on GM cotton in 2005, when GM's share shot up to over 90%.

"Australian GM cotton is an ecological and economic failure.

"The global acreage of herbicide tolerant GM canola also stalled in 1999. The two GM producers - Canada and the USA - still grow less than 20% of the crop.

"In contrast, eighteen countries are GM-free and as Australia is the world's main GM-free canola exporter we sell it anywhere, at a premium up to $120.

"If the Victorian and NSW governments end their bans on herbicide tolerant GM canola, we'll be overrun by a plant version of the cane-toad. GM canola will exchange pollen with wild radish, turnip and charlock, making super weeds that can never be recalled.

"Ideology, not facts, are blinding our governments and scientists.

"The ISAAA is flogging a dead horse and our governments should continue to ban GM crops," Mr Phelps concludes.

More comment: Bob Phelps 03 9347 4500 or 03 9889 1717 (H)

Posted by editor at 6:10 AM EADT
Updated: Sunday, 24 February 2008 3:04 PM EADT
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Dept of Planning DG Sam Haddad politicised in Marrickville by-election 2005?
Mood:  sharp
Topic: nsw govt

PM - All eyes on Marrickville by-election Friday 16th Sept 2005

Good old Sam Haddad, competent bureaucrat, now DG of Department of Planning, previously called DIPNR as above,  was wheeled out this morning for the NSW Govt just before 9am on abc 702.

He was rebutting Opposition Hazzard on 2GB with Alan Jones just before 8am  re Heritage Council being monstered and folded into the DOP by Minister Sartor here in NSW - allegations of lost independence, developer undue influence, echoes of corruption, as per dirt down in Wollongong Council.

Haddad sounds very honest. But how honest is he? And has an honest man been compromised by his political master Sartor? Do good men do bad things?

Does Haddad have form?

Back in 2005 Haddad was a deputy director general, before he was promoted by Sartor, and he refused our FoI for a very sensitive Commision of Inquiry report into Port Botany expansion. But it was the way he refused the FoI that was most instructive. Our appeal was run down to the time limit and the opportunity to publicised the consequence of the Port expansion namely a secret $5 billion truck tunnel under Marrickville. This was a real and proximate threat to the byelection voters.

Frank Sartor cunningly then released the Port Inquiry report which had been mouldering for months given its adverse findings for the state government, with a perverse spin as if it favoured govt mega expansion 4 weeks AFTER the byelection: As per this media release:

Media Release - Minister's Office

Sydney: 14 October 2005


PORT BOTANY GROWTH TO BOOST NSW ECONOMY BY $16 BILLION

Haddad even signed the refusal letter some 3 days after it was prepared, itself only released as a result of our telephone complaints on lack of an answer up to the byelection deadline: We even had to go into the DIPNR office in Bridge St and defacto picket the office until we got our paper copy of the refusal letter at least revealing the cover up of the Cleland Report they said they "would put in the mail for me". Get it?

No Cleland commission report. No refusal letter until we stamped our feet and got it finally 12th Sept 2005, only 5 days before the vote. No evidence of a secret truck tunnel on the cards

 'Secret' $5 billion tollway to tunnel under city | NEWS.com.au March 1 2007

until after the sensitive byelection delivering Carmel Tebbut from the upper house to her lower house ministerial perch, and fast track to promotion up in Cabinet:

A truck tunnel we in the green movement already knew must follow with the same smog stacks like the infamous M5 East now to poison Marrickville voters. A real vote changer in fact. So did Haddad deliberately squash both the report and the refusal letter as late as possible to help his political master Sartor?

Has Sam Haddad been politicised contrary to his 'honest broker' role on 702 this morning? You be the judge. We feel he has, but then that's just us.

 

 


Posted by editor at 10:21 AM EADT
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
The real politik provenance of NAIRU: 'whitey' on Megalogenis dense econo blog The Australian 16 Feb 08
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: aust govt

George Megalogenis 

"George Megalogenis is The Australian's resident nit-picker."  

 

Here is the article link:

 We’re not in Kansas any more

Meganomics Blog | February 16, 2008 | 43 Comments

Here is "whitey" no. 2 comment with bold added, which shows Big Mal Turnbubll or similar is foraging the press for question time tactics - like everyone else. We couldn't resist tipping off Wayne Swan's office now the milk is spilt, and Mal Turnbull has the equally high standard to meet:

whitey
Sat 16 Feb 08 (07:56am)

Indeed so, George, I believe it’s known as NAIRU, the non accelerating inflation rate of unemployment. It does throw into relief the promises made by the Libs during the election to bring unemployment rates down to “a figure with a 3 in front”. It’s clear they didn’t do anything to expand capacity during those wasted years, so by definition this would have increased inflation, which by definition would have increased interest rates, since it’s part of the independent Reserve Bank’s charter to keep inflation under control. So all those whinging Liberal nellies saying higher inflation is the inflation we had to have don’t get it—there’s a unemployment figure below which inflation and interest rates will rise, and we are currently below that point. Cutting wages through Work Choices for the low paid, as it’s now clear was the Liberal plan, will not and has not stopped inflation and interest rates from rising. It would smashing for unemployment to be zero, just as it would be smashing for me to be given long service leave eight years early from my current job so I could head off to WA and see some prolonged sunshine for the first time in about 2 rainy Sydney months. Neither is going to happen any time soon.
I reckon Rudd’s wages call is an attempt to erect some early political insulation from when things get tougher. But you’re right, both Swan and Turnbull are pretty rubbish. The only good sign is that the ALP recognises there’s a problem. If the other side was still in power they’d be going full steam ahead for the rocks with their eyes closed


Posted by editor at 9:27 AM EADT
Updated: Wednesday, 20 February 2008 1:39 PM EADT
Monday, 18 February 2008
NSW energy public assets: Greens attack 'push polling using taxpayer's money'
Mood:  energetic
Topic: nsw govt
Dr John KAYE,  MLC
 

 [Media release] 

Iemma's power sell-off push poll is waste of public money
 
Media release: 18 February 2008
 
The Greens have received complaints that the NSW government has resorted to unethical and prejudiced opinion surveying to mask public opposition to electricity privatisation, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye
 
Dr Kaye said: "A number of people have contacted me after being cold-called by market researchers asking biased and loaded questions about attitudes to the sell-off of the electricity retailers and the long term leasing of the generators.
 
"From what I have been told, the survey was overtly designed to leave very little room for an anti-privatisation response.
 
"The questions were carefully crafted to make on-going public ownership look dangerous and undesirable.
 
"It was not surprising to see a report in the Sunday Telegraph of the results of a government opinion poll supporting the sell-off.
 
"This is tax-payer funded propaganda at its worst. It is a massive waste of public money and an abuse of the Premier's authority.
 
"If the government's polling is to have any credibility, Morris Iemma should immediately release the entire set of questions.
 
"Last year, Unions NSW commissioned their own survey which found 85 per cent opposition to power privatisation. It's hard to believe that there has been any significant softening in attitudes, given the run of appallingly bad news stories that have plagued the government's plans.
 
"It is much more likely that Premier Iemma asked for questions that locked in the answers he and his Treasurer Michael Costa wanted to hear.
 
"The Premier's spin doctors have been working overtime to take the sting out of the embarrassment of a Labor rank-and-file revolt.
 
"The government's polling results were made public on Sunday after the latest anti-privatisation meeting of party members on Saturday morning.
 
"The Iemma government is facing an internal uprising and they clearly want to distract attention by publishing their own bogus polling results," Dr Kaye said.
 
For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455

..................

We wrote earlier today;

Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 8:25 AM
Subject: Prof Bob Walker expose of accounting re public power assets on Alan Jones 2GB - long interview 10 min. plus

> Walker may have been on Stateline or 7.30 last week with the same message on
> 2GB this morning. Can't recall exactly when - though Costa was on Stateline
> last Friday responding.
>
> But notably Walker gave a hammer blow to power privatisation with strong
> sympathy from Alan Jones on 2GB after 7 am this morning Monday 18th Feb  re
> 'another NSW State Bank' sell off financial joke.
>
> Combine with the Sunday fairfax poor approval lead re Iemma yesterday, and
> the lack of integrity stories re corporate donations in today's Herald and
> Hazzard MP with Alan Jones again for 10 min. just before 8am - usual
> resonating thesis about dictatorial attacks on planning with 500 public
> submissions kept confidential by Sartor, Part 3A etc etc.
>
> The govt's broad critics are getting critical mass, and the coalition side
> of things are smelling some blood as a result, and that's a real politik
> observation, not a barrack.
>
> Yours truly, Tom McLoughlin

 

In addition John Kaye MP from last week on base load power:

 Reality bites deep into electricity privatisation argument
 
Media Release: 13 February 2008
 
A gas-fired baseload power station being built near Wollongong further undermines the NSW government's pretext for electricity privatisation, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
 
Commenting on a story on page 5 of the today's Sydney Morning Herald, Dr Kaye said: "Treasurer Michael Costa argues that public ownership of the state's electricity supply industry is a barrier to private sector investment in  baseload capacity.
 
"Mr Costa needs to get out more.
 
"On the shores of Lake Illawarra, near Wollongong China Light and Power's Australian subsidiary, TRUenergy is close to completing a 400 MW gas-fired baseload power station.
 
 "According to Michael Costa, this could not happen, but it is.
 
"A private sector investor is already building at least one baseload station.
 
"Michael Costa is busy pushing for the sale of the state's electricity industry without knowing what is happening on the ground.
 
"This is dangerous territory for the state when the Treasurer is so ignorant of the industry he is trying to sell.
 
"The 'private sector barrier to investment' argument is as bankrupt as the rest of the Iemma government's rationalisation of their sale push.
 
"The NSW government claims the state needs yet more baseload power by 2014 or the lights will go out. They also claim that the state cannot afford to build generators plants or it will blow out its AAA credit rating.
 
"Both are wrong.
 
"If the state does need more baseload energy, our analysis shows it can be achieved by phasing out electric off-peak water. Not only is this cheaper than building new generators but it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
 
"Michael Costa might have been able to recruit former Premier Bob Carr and Prime Minster Kevin Rudd onto his privatisation bandwagon, but reality is running firmly against him," Dr Kaye said.
 
For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455


Posted by editor at 10:16 AM EADT
Updated: Monday, 18 February 2008 2:55 PM EADT
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Sunday political talkies: Big media giving praise and sharp prods to Rudd administration
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: aust govt

 

 

Picture: "Newshounds" certificate for helping raise $2K for East Timor charity with Sydney Media Monitors in 2001. Plenty more work to be done but this time as fifth estate blog discipline to keep this new Federal ALP Govt honest. 

 

 

Author’s general introductory note (skip this bit if you know this regular weekly column):

 

 

This is not a well packaged story. It’s a contemporaneous traverse of the Sunday television free to air political talkies indicating the agenda of Establishment interests: Better to know ones rivals and allies  in Big Politics and Big Media.

 

 

Indeed it’s the tv version monitoring task similar to what Nelson Mandela refers to here in his book Long Walk to Freedom (1994, Abacus) written in Robben Island prison (where he was meant to die like other African resister chiefs of history in the 19C), at page 208

 

“..newspapers are only a shadow of reality; their information is important to a freedom fighter not because it reveals the truth, but because it discloses the biases and perceptions of both those who produce the paper and those who read it.” Just substitute ‘Sunday tv political talkie shows’ for "newspapers" in the quote above.

 

For actual transcripts go to web sites quoted below except with Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.

 

Media backgrounder – this section under construction till later Sunday/Monday

 

-         great interview Doogue with George Williams Sat radio national about 8.20 am

-         Laurie Oakes first column with Sydney Daily Tele yesterday Saturday gets banner pointer from page 1. Tight article some original personal material about Nelson.

-         Macca has chats with Emerald flood victims – hundreds of thousands of property value trashed in “flood free” greater than 1 in 100 year event areas. “The maps are being redrawn now”. That’s suggestive of capricious extreme climate.

-         Only a few significant political stories in the Sunday press.

 

Sunday 9 7.30am- 9.30am

 

Barack Obama feature, quite sympathetic Steve Croft CBS. Overall impression – he’s brilliant (my word, first used by Oprah). Ellen Fanning compere (EF) refers to Howard sledge back in 07 lead to demise of Howard, rise of Barak.

 

 

 

Jill Jollife freelancer re East Timor. May 2006 – not sympathetic, arrogant, retarded adolescence. Untreated post traumatic stress. Ex child soldier at 11 years old. Local youth sympathized.

 

 

Not so easy watching and listening to 7.45 am abc radio news but okay with the walkperson (solar of course). Wally Lewis considered suicide in the tabloid promo.

 

 

 

Promo Ross Coulthard at 8.08 am with medical misconduct story, important but not particularly political in nature except organization integrity of health system, which probably is political State v Federal resourcing and talent.

 

 

 

 

Business, economic roundup with Ross Greenwood clash with 10 MTP something about banks being scared to lend now.

 

 

Bega Valley doctor – Reeves. Looks grim about cover up. Coulthard very strong interview with medically abused women. This story will run.

 

Laurie Oakes with Nelson – missed the start. Oakes goes in hard sliding around re how principled and honest to explain change from ALP to Liberalism.

 

Fudges answer about never voted Liberal in my life – should have said he was threatened by ALP activists milling around.

 

Leadership all about character. LO raises fear factor in 93, under pressure lied about his voting record. Timidity is his trait.

 

Start about emails re Rudd and Bourke. Nelson wants to bring it back.  Interview truncated to finish at 9am?

 

 

Poll – 51% agree with sorry, 49% don’t. But that polls is before the 5 channel full house live  tv coverage as here in Sydney. Next poll Q is about (?).

 

 

http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/default.asp

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Meet the Press:  8- 8-30 am

 

 

Missed the start, re press roundup. Foreign minister Stephen Smith is the talent. Mostly about East Timor to first adbreak. Out take is Rudd down the barrel apology to Aboriginal Australian stolen generations. Powerful stuff.

 

Annabel Crabb and is the panel.Looking smart and corporate, curly locks gone for brushed look. She’s pretty hot and that’s just her intellect. Paddy stock.

 

Steve Lewis Sydney Daily Tele/ national tabloids stable news limited. Normal grey man suit as per most blokes on the panel

 

Downer not in govt job plans, communication lines open with him post parliamentary politics (?).

 

G8 summit in Japan, oz no invite yet?

 

Reverse vote against Declaration of Indigenous Rights at UN.

 

Out take Nicholson cartoon Rudd credibility gap on valid apology, but no compo. Good that Big Media have kept him on the Govt’s game.

 

Tom Calma Indigenous Social Justice Commissioner – questions legitimacy for Brough as Minister taking advantage of his political career to drive business projects in such as Tiwi Islands.

 

 

 

Transcript in due course www.ten.com.au/meetthepress ,

 

 

Myspace web address: www.myspace.com/meetthepeople

 

 

 

 

 

7 Weekend Sunrise: 8.35-40 am Riley Diary  -

 

 

Riley diary – fantastic images of Aborigial welcome, spiritual experience. GG speech amusing juxta, Jenkins dragged to Speaker. Was deputy and follows Dad.

 

Kevinator tag used. Mr People skills tag on Abbott still. Plays rich spouses card. Bronwyn Bishop ‘kept man’.

 

Juxta of Obama, superb speechifying versus workmanlike Ruddy. O dear.

 

Q&A learned Rudd is very good at controlling the agenda, re ambush on consultation, ambush on legislative agenda, dragged opposition into the tent. [like Latham but smoother]. “A certain approach” revealing itself how keenly he watches the issue and precisely presents them to the public.

 

Brian Burke affair in the mud affect Rudd. ‘We know he had contact before’ referring to News Ltd Milne story eg Sunday Tele. [Burke has kept the emails of maybe just trivial logistics]. May not be hooked. Wait and see.

 

http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend

 

 

 

 

 

Insiders 2: 9- 10am

 

Same footage at MTP down the barrel apology of Rudd., Footage of Peter Slipper etc.

 

Sunday press round up

 

 

Misha Schubert, Malcolm Farr, discussion re Iemma and power privatization. Glenn Milne story re emails content or how many. MTP Smith interview ‘Bourke is relic of the past’. It’s hard testing by the Big Media and this is very healthy.

 

Explanation goes to candour.

 

Segue to Gillard on the screen looked pretty sour, and painful smile greeting, trying. Pulls the shutters down. BC compere says maybe you should just release them in spirit of openness.

 

Legal advice about compensation obtained. “About building a bridge to future – renewed vigour on health, education services, economic opportunities, closing gap” political line. [Chris Merritt The Australian legal editor makes the same argument – political not legal, compare Faris QC via crikey.com.au]

 

[draining voice, trumped by mofrobro film review on 9].

 

“working families” x 2

 

Everyperson segment

 

………………

 

Farr – was shimmering day, saturated in politics. Those ephemera (my word) will fade but the apology will stand up.

 

Schubert – no jot of difference, wrong, will make a difference after decades. Validated and have an effect for their kids and kids.

 

Milne great speech, very moving. Daily concerns will move in re economics etc as per Your Shout segment.

 

Schubert agrees ambush and BC notes Rudd is working the politics effectively like a 5 am starter.

 

Paul Kelly soliloquy, Nelson had coalition baggage to contend with rather than words just itself, eg Howardism agrees Kelly noting Abbott point about turned backs.

 

Footage re bipartisanship. Andrew Bolt refers to punch drunk Liberals.

 

Milne notes talk back in the cities different to the bubble. Howard AWOL – Milne yes, Farr, Schubert disgree.

 

General discussion: 4 Corners preview re Costello leaked agreement of leadership deal. McLachlan had been touting the agreement. Minchin, Sinodinis wanted Howard out at the 10th anniversary.

 

Footage of W Bush quarantining Chinese Olympics from global concerns – the Dalai Llama crow, the global warming crowd, the Darfur crowd’ Flippant asks BC?

 

Predictions: Schubert – ALP using taxpayer money to deal with high court challenge in seat of McEwen federal election result, big precedent use of our money. Farr …. Milne Howard glad he lost Bennelong so not on the backbench now.

 

 

Home page is http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Posted by editor at 10:17 AM EADT
Updated: Monday, 18 February 2008 3:02 PM EADT
Saturday, 16 February 2008
How to get a $65Kpa community sector wage without any open job selection process?
Mood:  sharp
Topic: local news

 

 

We understand from a source that Yvette Andrews (pictured middle above) who was until recently the Honourary Board President of the Addison Rd Community Centre (that is appointed by a faction of the Board as below), has now been appointed as the "temporary" General Manager on a $65K per annum wage.

Andrews was elected as an onto the Board around November 2006 otherwise of no significant connection to the centre except ALP aligned contacts. It's a narrow voting base for the Board, with only some 22 of 42 tenants with a franchise to vote. It helps if you have experience in a Party Machine.

Andrews was formerly a staffer to now retired Meredith Burgman MLC, and president of the Legislative Council. She is also co author with Burgman of the Ernies feminist satire awards.

Apparently at one Board meeting in 2006 4 of the 7 Board members now including Andrews had caucused and voted for her as President. That's bootstraps genius really.

We are advised that her position now as GM will be temporary for 6 months. Meanwhile there has been no public advertising of the job which has not been officially filled for 4 months, which one might think was sufficient time to do it. The last person who was GM Ian Laird was appointed by an open job advertisement and selection process. Laird resigned to go to another position in October 2007.

So 4 months later there is still no open public advertisement of the choice paid position at your local community centre. An advert might look like this:

Addison Rd Centre General Manager 'Job Vacancy' closing date 1st April 2008

There was a widely held view or rumour that Andrews would be employed by Senator John Faulkner in Canberra but that does not appear to be the case anymore. This writer publicly raised concerns about governance under Andrews tenure as President over recent months namely

  • allegedly sanitising a 4 year rent free deal for one tenant with a new lease on still very discounted terms
  • allegedly orchestrating the sabotage of the centre website gateway work (main web address http://www.addisonrdcentre.com.au/ is still offline for 2 months now), work done by this writer under direction of the previous GM;
  • a duly lodged internal grievance procedure was effectively turned into a deadletter by way of fraudulent jurisdictional exceptions, and is now referred to the Australian Services Union (by this writer)

These concerns were referred by this writer to the office of both Liberal (Marise Payne) and Green Senator (Kerry Nettle) office as loyal Opposition and done in a way the ALP were aware of it. It's a matter of speculation whether Andrews was unemployable after that as a political staffer given the heat that might arise in Senate Estimates committees, especially working for Senator Faulkner, famous in that forum. Several key tenants have federal government grants at the ARCC.

We understand the faction behind the appointment of Andrews as President of the Board shown above (at their last AGM in Nov 2007) are:

  • John Reynolds of ARTV
  • Natalie McCarthy a subtenant (other position?)
  • ALP local councillor Rae Owen (who is now replaced by Greens Peter Olive since as the numbers changed on the Local Council), and 
  • Yvette Andrews voting for herself (casting vote).

Interestingly we are advised that Andrews has been appointed as General Manager virtually unanimously by the new Board , in the absence of a publicly advertised job selection process, endorsing a proposal from Andrews herself that the Board employ her. In short one might call that a rout of governance control at the ARC by the Andrews faction. One Board member has advised us he insists on public advertising of the GM position in 2 months in to her 6 month tenure.

Our response here at SAM is don't hold your breath waiting to see the adverts. More likely it's an April fool's schedule.

As the former acting GM Peter Talmacs told this writer earlier in February 08, advising that he had resigned as acting GM, there are "power games going on" and yes "you have been treated badly/vindictively".

Actually there is no real news in power games. This is normal for any community organisation but what makes it different this time is when the power games compromise the good governance of your and my community centre.

  • A secretive 4 year rent free tenancy? Get real.
  • Sabotage of the cyber gateway?
  • Turning the objective mediation, conflict resolution policy into a dead letter?
  • Failure to advertise the GM position for 4 months and another 2 or more months, making a total of 10 months with no GM duly appointed by transparent job selection process?

That's "bad governance" as we pointed out to one of the Board members by phone earlier today:

Picture: At back Terry Cutcliffe ARCC gallery curator, grifter and schemer (?) on 4 years rent free 500sqm on community land making a platform for the ALP Left aristocracy? Or simply champion of Indigenous Rights and community service? Or maybe both? This photo mid 2007 NAIDOC day celebrations had Linda Burney refer to Terry's marvellous home overlooking Earlwood, but she didn't mention the tennis court. This writer attended a tennis party coincidentally (?) held on the anniversary of Sept 11 WTC death of 3000 plus Americans, about 2004. Cutcliffe hounded the last GM out of the ARCC and is regularly sledging the Green Party as "hopeless".

 

And we are advised by a tenant that the other main management job of office administrator job will not be publicly advertised either, though this is not confirmed.

Time will tell.

It's your community centre, and you have a right to know what is going on there on your community land. It doesn't belong to a gerrymandered few at a fraught AGM. It doesn't belong to the local ALP Left aristocracy. It doesn't belong to the odd scheming tenant who manages to hussle a 4 year rent free period for some 500 sq metres of precious community space, with all the opportunity cost that involves.

 chesslaunch1

 Picture: New General Manager Yvette Andrews in the middle too stodgy or risky to get a job in Canberra with the new Federal Govt?

Additionally, there may well arise the perception that this turn of events is a 'jobs for the old girls network': There is a widespead knowledge at the AR(C)C that the previous GM Laird was hounded out of his job, and was keen to move on to another position in October 2007. Actually what he said was "to get out alive".

Depending on who you ask some will say all to the better. Many will say not (one Board member Stavros Economidis in 2007 said he was the 'best GM in 30 years'). What written above doesn't turn on the ex GM's merits. He has his enemies and barrackers. SAM will stay agnostic in this post because we don't have the evidence of all the to and fro, and we don't need to say.

Only to note the barrackers could well logically argue that the current situation looks bad because Andrews was in the vanguard of the hounding of Laird out of his job, and wrote him some hate mail in his last week. This is known, and it shows a quite unprofessional approach.

Now Andrews literally has his job, no open job selection process. As one long time user of the community garden and a critic of the previous GM said to this writer recently: "Isn't there legal requirements for that?" The accusation surely will be a scenario that the hounding related to coveting the ex GM's job rather than the merits of his job performance.

Alternatively, if Andrews did expect to go to Canberra for work, that she coveted his job for some other factional mate regardless. Could this be what acting GM (Oct 07 to Feb 08) Peter Talmacs referred to as "power games are going on"?

There is added credence to this view from the belief of one tenant in the centre that Reynolds on the board (shown popping his head up in the picture above) is a cipher for his business partner Jill Hickson, a very ideological and energetic political campaigner. But has she overstepped the boundaries of  open goverance here?

 Picture: Jill Hickson is a busy behind the camera and behind the scenes at the ARCC.

In our own humble opinion it's res ipsa loquiter - an old legal phrase meaning the matter speaks for itself. Over to you ALP Left in Marrickville, including Anthony Albanese MP from the same Left faction - do your worst. Which of course you will. Attack the person instead of address the real governance issues outlined above.

There will be accountability and transparency over time and yes even personal satisfaction/justice. It's bankable. The SAM editor's attitude has hardened over the last month or so over the failed cyber gateway and fraudulent jurisdictional exclusion of a genuine greivance lodged, and we have a real head of steam and it's good community media copy too. We have identified a new angle already and there are bound to be many.

If the ALP Left are so committed to the local Indigenous community, as they want to believe, why can't these have the chance like everyone else to apply for the GM position in their local community centre? Simply because the job is not advertised for 6-10 months, if ever. It's outrageous, and shameful.

This writer was on a job selection panel as a local councillor for Bondi Ward for a high powered departmental director's position at Waverley in the late 90ies and we are know enough to know this whole matter needs a shakeout.

Picture: Ideology over common sense? Blind or commendable passion? Community owned billboard with an individual agenda, photo taken back on 27th December 2006 (by unknown) organised by Gallery curator Terry Cutcliffe which lasted about 2 days. The ARCC caretaker Kerry Lindstrom had the duty to paint over this billboard due to public complaints, presumably from traffic along busy Addison Rd.

 


Posted by editor at 10:07 AM EADT
Updated: Sunday, 17 February 2008 10:17 AM EADT
Maroota sandmining II: 'experts' alleged 'fraud' exposed on dam into groundwater, dust on local school?
Mood:  irritated
Topic: ecology

In August 2007 an area known as Lot 196 at Maroota which is 45km north of Sydney looked like this - a desolated sand mine with little or no progressive rehabilitation in 20 years, now operated by Dixon Sands (Penrith) Pty Ltd:. You can imagine this as the "after" photo.


But in 1984 it was a perched wetland in the Hawkesbury Valley with myriad species and likely rare and endangered species: There are no photographs available for the "before" picture but there are these diagrams from a 1984 Environmental Impact Statement for an earlier sandminer PF Formations Pty Ltd which gives the idea (via creekline and "perched water table" :

 

The people who are copping it most apart from the environment are probably the kids and teachers here at Maroota Public School because the wind whips up the sand which apparently after long term exposure can even cause silicosis. But no one in big business or govt cares about that very much. The lack of rehabilitation over 20 years is the proof of that:

We made the second of two pro bono chunky legal/ environmental submissions to the NSW Department of Planning on this situation in Maroota yesterday 15 February in cooperation with a community activist Neville Diamond:

 M. 1997-2008 - litigation history of Neville Diamond 'for Dixon Sands (Penrith) Pty Ltd'

The full text of this second submission, another fairly brutish 3250Kb sized document will be posted on the internet here

15 Feb 2008 - Objection to Old Northern Road Quarry, Lot 196 Maroota, NSW

 , excluding a sensitive appendix B alleging fraud by scientific experts in the 1990ies who we submit airbrushed the perched wetland/groundwater of 1984 out of existence - but proven by the EIS diagram above, and a hell of alot of other evidence in that 1984 and similar 1989 document.

This presence of sandmine dam into groundwater aspect is critical because if the main storage pond on Lot 196 intersects the ground water table (which it clearly does) it must have water licensing under the Water Act 1912 Part 5. The sandminer has never had such a license presumably because it has implications for the fraught local controversy regarding over use and competition for a scarce resource (hence a govt Maroota Groundwater Study from about 1996-8). The imperative of business is to stay clear of dam/groundwater use licensing as much as possible to avoid reconciliation of water use calculations by govt. The business strategy is to say as much as possible dams are above groundwater table and simply catching surface water. Such is the suspicion of systemic corruption of the water use accounting at Maroota and NSW generally.

Notice this from our first submission in January 2008:

We understand that statewide the Dept of Water Annual Report 2005-2007, 2006-7 p28 reports no prosecutions statewide for breaches of the Water Act 1912 in either year, only 2 penalties for the Water Management Act 2000 in 05-06, none in 06-07, and only 1 prosecution under the Rivers & Foreshores Improvement Act 1948. These low figures of enforcement are derisory compared with 90,000 ground water bores and 13 900 surface water licences according to the 06-07 Annual Report.

Even so we can't say if 2 experts in particular lied, including before Judge Talbot of the Land & Environment Court in 2003, or alternatively just got it wrong and betwixt those two is a potential defamation suit and not for publishing here. .... yet, and maybe never.

The earlier submission 31st January 2007 can be found via our story here:

Thursday, 31 January 2008

Posted by editor at 6:34 AM EADT
Updated: Tuesday, 19 February 2008 6:45 AM EADT

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