Mood:  quizzical

Now we have the big Ben Lexcen winged keel story, and claims of Dutch involvement first page of the Sydney Morning Herald:

The 'lie' that captured the America's Cup

Dutchman claims he created Ben Lexcen's winged keel that led Australia II to historic 1983 triumph. 

Callers to Sydney abc radio are contradicting the Herald angle with strong information of their own in support of Lexcen. One presumes the truth is somewhere in between.

What we believe is that the shocking fraud of Rex Crane, exposed a week earlier, is sending shock waves through the whole Establishment and people are questioning all kinds of sacred cows in this "topsy turvy" world to quote radio jock Adam Spencer.

For this Alternative Media website, we enjoy this grist, and it might even be our very own raison d'etre they seem to be getting their teeth into lately. We wonder if these latest big media stories can be bracketed with the shocking Rex Crane case where a so called 'POW survivor' and 'veteran' has been found to have defrauded the taxpayer of some $1/2 million in benefits. Real veterans (eg on Australia All Over Sunday morning abc radio) are shaking their head how the formidable federal govt bureaucracy was fooled for over 20 years.

Here is one story about Crane recently:

Police move against fake survivor of Burma rail

LINTON BESSER

October 4, 2009

‘‘It’s me living a lie, isn’t it?’’ ... Mr Crane in Brisbane last week. Photo: Paul Harris

THE Australian Federal Police are investigating the president of the Ex-Prisoners of War Association of Australia, Rex Crane, after he was exposed as a fake.

Veterans' Affairs Minister Alan Griffin said he was disgusted by the revelations.

"I know these allegations will be distressing for the veteran community and I fully understand why. Those who have sacrificed so much for our country are rightly outraged when fraud of this nature occurs," Mr Griffin said.

Lynette Silver, one of the three women who uncovered Mr Crane's true past, yesterday said former POWs were disturbed by the revelations.

''The POWs I have spoken to, they are appalled, shocked and disgusted, and they feel betrayed," she said.

Mr Crane has received $405,000 in Commonwealth payments since 1988, when he applied for the highest level of war pension, which is designated for totally and permanently incapacitated veterans.

Yet he was never a prisoner of war and never served in any military force.

For almost 30 years he had told his family, friends and the federal government that he had been forced to enlist in 1941 in Malaya after he was abandoned there at age 15 by his parents.

He had claimed that he served as a member of a behind-enemy-lines unit before being captured, imprisoned in Singapore's Outram Road Jail and sent to the Burma-Thai railway, where he said he had endured crucifixion and other forms of torture at the hands of the Japanese.

Mr Crane was instead attending Adelaide High School in 1941 before taking up a boiler-making apprenticeship not far from where he was living in Prospect, South Australia.

Confronted by The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, Mr Crane confessed, saying: "It's me living a lie, isn't it? I can see me doing 15 to 20 years here."

Mr Griffin said he had alerted the federal police on Thursday, after the Herald contacted his office.

"Personally, I think for anyone to impersonate a prisoner of war is disgusting,'' he said. ''It is a betrayal of all the values our veterans stand for.

"Should these allegations be proven, it will illustrate to what lengths some individuals will go to to defraud our system and the large amounts of money that can be involved."

Ms Silver said: "This matter should be pursued to the fullest extent of the law and I am confident that the AFP will do so. I am gratified that the minister thinks this is as serious a matter as the three of us always thought, and that Mr Crane will be made to answer to a court of law for his disgraceful action."

Ms Silver was convinced the man was lying. ''I also knew that he definitely could not have been in Outram Road Jail. We have got the complete list of people that went into that jail. I knew that Rex Crane was definitely not on the list.''

investigations@smh.com.au

Posted by editor at 10:11 AM NZT

Updated: Wednesday, 14 October 2009 10:16 AM NZT

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Mood:  down

Following our post yesterday, a source at Addison Rd Centre - biggest community centre in Sydney if not Australia - suggests the 40th Anniversary of Che Guevara's death (and recent film?) was behind the fire bombing by extreme right wingers. Actually Guevara is quoted by wikipedia as having died 42 years ago as here not 40.

Here are the images we took yesterday Tuesday 13th October, 48 hours later.

We also notice this event earlier that Saturday night:

We have another view of all this. A certain feature by Greg Bearup in The Sydney Morning Herald about 3 weeks ago featuring a certain Far Right political campaigner and ex convict based not so far away in Tempe. Are they connected, described by a political colleague as a 'voyeur of violence'? We wonder. It was a devastatingly good write up. Enough to create a motive for backlash?

Posted by editor at 8:35 AM NZT

Updated: Wednesday, 14 October 2009 8:47 AM NZT

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Mood:  incredulous

Our spanish interpreter colleague advised last night this icon of 2 decades or more, favourite social point of diverse Sydney based South Americans, has burnt down 2 am yesterday Sunday 11 October 2009. The Casalatino as it's known is a social gathering point for Latin Australians from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay etc and this fire will be a big loss for them.

Casalatino is located within Addison Rd Centre in Marrickville as per this web page:

We are concerned here given the unsolved fire at the Chinese Budhist temple a year or so back in Glebe. Another icon of multiculturalism is the Marrickville Library which was flooded out and closed for a month, also about a year ago.

We made pictures of the Latin House a few years ago here in our work as a web page builder:

Posted by editor at 1:17 PM NZT

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Mood:  hug me

Author’s general introductory note   

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. Perhaps the greatest utility is the headline synthesis above of the 3 or 4 shows followed in this session.

For actual transcripts and/or video feeds go to the programme web sites quoted including Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.

Other sources of pollie talkies on Sunday include SkyNews paytv Sunday Agenda, Radio National Monica Attard Sunday Profile show. And of course Sunday night shows SBS Dateline, Sixty Minutes and now Sunday Tonight on 7.  

Media backgrounders.  

1. Turnbull 3 strikes trying to buck the Big Media discipline via the ABC? Shown on abc website talking to Jon Faine in the ABC. Follows whining about Kerry Obrien 7.30, and spelling bee on Fran Kelly abc RN. Talk about ‘everyone can learn, no one is perfect’ as per Abbott on 7.30 last Friday. 

2. On the other hand the Big Media paradigm is about ‘the leadership problem’ but that is also just as revealing of a lazy and worse, captured big media, in the revolving door sense with big govt jobs and sinecures. The government has the treasury and big media won’t attack the King Coal, anti renewable energy reality as distinct from rhetoric of the ALP. King Coal is both Govt and Opposition, ignore The Greens as much as possible and talk about Sienfeld style leadership squabbles. As we said lazy, craven, compromised big media. And Uncle Rupert thinks Old Media are victims of Google. Hard to feel sympathy. 

 2A. We received this invite to a phone briefing recently:

Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 5:36 PM

Subject: Register for a personal briefing on the Safe Climate Bill

Dear friend, I'm very excited to tell you that on Monday Bob Brown and I will be launching the Greens' Safe Climate Bill at Parliament House in Canberra. Be among the first to find out all about it with a phone briefing from me With Labor and Liberal playing political games, Australia has lost sight of the goal. This is not just to pass a bill about climate change. It is certainly not to compete over who can hand over more billions to polluters. It is not even simply to reduce carbon emissions. Our true goal must be to deliver to our children, and our children's children, the safe climate that has nurtured us and made human civilisation possible. From the 100% renewable energy vision to a national very fast train link; from comprehensive energy efficiency upgrades to forest protection; from sustainable infrastruct ure planning to a real polluter-pays emissions trading scheme, the Greens' Safe Climate Bill package is the first time anyone has set out what we need to do in Australia if we are to achieve that goal. I'd love to tell you all about the bill right now, but we have to wait until Monday for everything to be ready for the launch, for the bills to be printed and all the documentation finalised. Straight after Monday's launch, I'll head back to my office and pick up the phone to brief as many people as I can to tell them what we're doing. Register for our national phone briefing at 12.45 pm on Monday Spots are strictly limited to 50 people, so do register now. You'll want to hear about this bill! While we can't take questions over the phone, you'll be able to post questions on the comments page of our website and I'll do my best to answer as many as I can. All the best, Christine PS: If you are as fed up as I am with the political theatre of Kevin and Malcolm, neither of whom have policies that will actually deal with the climate crisis, I'll be giving a few tips in the phone briefing about helping us get our message out through letters to the editor and talkback calls. Click here to register

3. We watched State of Play last night re Old versus New Media themes. Not a bad show, though an obvious rip of many before like The Paper, West Wing a touch, Three Days of the Condor, All the Presidents Men. Not quite up to that but we liked it.  

4. Advert for CEO of WWF as “independent” global conservation group: p4 SMH 10 Oct 2009. That’s a breach of s.52 of the Trade Practices Act for misleading and deceptive advertising in our legal opinion as somewhat of an expert analyst on the green movement. They get big govt and industry grants. What is independent about that???? A simple google will show endless WWF conflicts with the real green movement globally, and here too. A google of this phrase "WWF criticised for industry grant" first hit is:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WWF_Australia

It's not pretty. They may well be conservation but it's demonstrably not independent. For instance to quote the website

Corporate Funding

WWF Australia receives funding from a number of large corporations. Controversially, it received $1.2million from uranium mining company Rio Tinto, prior to publicly taking a strong pro-uranium mining stance. [10] [11]

In November 2006, WWF Australia announced a 3-year, $1.5 million alliance with ANZ Bank, under which WWF Australia will reportedly provide advice to ANZ on incorporating environmental principles into its operations [

5. Today is festival of the brrm brrm at Bathurst after the festival of the boot part 1 and 2. Slaughter, err sorry cull, of 100 plus kangaroos ‘for safety’ around the track. As if they would hang around such loud cars. Barely a drop in the ocean of 50,000 ‘cull’ per year in Australia. 

6.  Murdoch is right and wrong at the same time about Google advertising “parasites”: They also publish Google Video like Enron: Smartest guys in the room, and race justice satire as referred to here recently, after the Blackface controversy: 

·  Tom McLoughlin

Posted Friday, 9 October 2009 at 6:49 pm | Permalink

There is a pretty good piss take by Aboriginal folks in a movie called BBQ Area or something like that - about 20 years back I think.

Actually here it is: BabaKiueria, made in 1986. Just google it. You will get it on Google Video rather than YouTube as such about 30 minutes long in3 parts. All power role reversals. Pioneering conceptual stuff.

And it’s a bit rich for the billionaire to sledge Google as "kleptomaniacs". Stingey they may be (we have about $25 to show for 2 years hard slog) but far more democratic greed in a sense. What Google really need to do is pay more for quality web pages at a differential rate to shallow seinfeldism and celebrity junk which no doubt have higher ratings but lower content? Just think ABC versus Channel 10 in old media terms regarding A1 advertising value. 

7. Our word “clever” (we wish) seems to be circulating in the Oakes and maybe Carlton column yesterday in Telegraph and Herald respectively, not that they borrow from moi. The term is referring to “Machievalian Rudd” who “swallowed The Prince at 4 years old” says Alison Carabine. On the other clever is not far from “mean and tricky” despite the huge polling and a mere slip between heaven and hell.

8. Costello's departure from parliament shows the Howard years really did bend the guy out of shape permanently and suck him dry. (And there was Mark Latham calling Tony Staley "deformed". Tsk tsk.) In that sense Costello retiring is surely just being realistic. Worse Howard tainted him with the Iraq war disaster and that’s a lifelong confidence breaker surely worse than Godwin Grech could ever be: Costello’s glass jaw not so much shattering as dropping fragments slowly piece by piece in the weather ever since the 2005 report of no WMD.

9. Who is the Rex Crane of the NSW green movement? Refer penultimate SAM post for discussion of such concerns. 

10. Office of NSW AG responded to our report of dodgy LEC mining expert witness issue, and barely within 47 minutes of our email, only to ask for a street mailing address to respond. Actually it was there obscurely in the end of the document so we sent it on again.  

11. New word from Victoria "dash" as in pep, spunk, initiative, bravery, pizzaz. Or as applied to underworld types - whatever. As we said in jaundiced disapproving tones to actor Gyton Grantley who lived in a pal's unit block in Bondi "So the fame hasn't destroyed you yet?" He was astute enough to look sheepish.

12. Crikey deleted our submission on the Rooted environmental blog, arguably the policy area we are best qualified to contribute. Go figure, discussed on SAM earlier this week, with a twist given their John Hepburn of Greenpeace was formerly with Brisbane FoE group as we were 1995 to 2002 in the Sydney branch of that family, with some messy legal laundry revealed there. No confidentiality agreement, absolutely not, we refused their big city law firm pressure point blank. There’s plenty more grist to say about that Sydney based branch of FoE, subject to the fact it was rebooted in recent years and we trust fresh idealistic honest personnel.

This was always our strategy – to quietly kill the parasites there by killing the group temporarily, in order to reboot with a clean slate. All the quality had bailed like John Denlay, Stuart White, Mim Bucchorn, David Vincent (not namesake fraudster in news recently, Dietrich Willing, ally group Stevie Bee, and finally myself.  

As the American Indians say – when a teepee gets fleas it’s time to change teepee. Job done no regrets, though the new Sydney branch is presumably under the heel of the Melbourne head office which carries it’s own ideological Left issues. Our witness of FoE Sydney dysfunction 20001-02  involving staff porn addiction and misuse of public computers, failure to advertise AGM etc, chronic abuse of resources and inequitable work practice, is gentle spirit Frances Thomson. 7 years is nearly enough time to tell the real story there.   

Grab of Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey avowed loyalty to leader Turnbull (MT), weave in interest rate jump with Swan grab. Press round up re yacht tragedy, Turnbull in WA re ETS climate bill.

Q to talent Nick Minchin, Coalition neuter ETS no signal to polluters? Jobs answer, wait, insist to proceed with wedge, jobs focus. Leader question jibe by NM ‘didn’t get up early’ suggesting SA or WA time for him ‘to gossip about the Liberal Party. Moderate (for a change) voice of Tuckey grab. [Obviously sees his pre-selection going south]

Great question about ETS bad strategy, virtual concedes should be about excessive debt [as per Ross Garnaut p1 last Friday]. First humour out take is MT reference to JH ‘as very approachable’ which is true, gracious and deferential [more of that direct honesty might work for him, funny how career mortality increases honesty]

Panel is Van Onselan News Corp broadsheet and tabloid, Louise Dodson of …….

Grab of Ken Henry being interpreted [like Arbib and Brandis last Friday night Lateline/Leigh Sales in good form]. Ross Garnaut claimed as backup. Broadband question re scrutiny of NBN Bill, 1.4 million shareholders. NM says every super fund makes it even more millions – all have a stake.

Back on ETS, Costello grab says any global scheme will always be varied in future.

Priceless quote – we do support a ETS because a global approach and no one country can act alone on climate so have to cooperate. Humour out take is Costello leaving capt MT with leaky ship looking a lot like (a P&O cruiser).

……………………..

Jolly [meddlesome!] priest Frank Brennan sporting a bit of second chin these days but in good form and likely make a better AG than Opposition Brandis would (no slouch himself). [The line encapsulated on Lateline last Friday, human rights not Bill of rights per Arbib and Brandis].

No evidence disillusion with “unelected judges” in NZ, UK, Vic, ACT. Not elitist with 6,000 participants in consultation [and Arbib noted this serious public outreach on Lateline]. Children in gaols tester and notes this.

Meet The Press - Watch Political Video Online - Channel TEN.

Riley Diary 7, from 8.40am Unlikely given Bathurst coverage. Dinosaurs rule OK. http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend   

9 Sunday newshour Laurie Oakes interview 8.44 am 

Talent is MT loyalist Chris Pyne MP. Says MT will be stronger from this forged in the fire. Deals with Hockey alleged rivalry – not challenge [not his time]. Abbott question also distinguished as not challenging as ‘problem is the electoral cycle not the leader’.

Reform parliament – good line, getting traction re question time.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/oakes

Insiders 2: 9- 10am

Video package of Malcolm Turnbull as opposition leader and Emissions Trading System.

Panel is Crabb (looking holiday refreshed?), Marr, Bolt. She fluffs birthday cake line but it’s good  point – question was to John Hewson, not John Howard. Bolt notes never asked of Rudd – also a fair point. Bolt gets shirty and goes off topic re climate denialism instead of press roundup re WA coverage of Liberal conference.

Tension on couch centre left to right. Story from Marr about Rudd sly meeting with Kerry Stokes re fate of Foxtel subject to govt policy decisions.

Grab about debate in WA Lib party [strong hold , State Govt], atmospherics are respectful for MT.

Talent is Julie Bishop – strong interview as the Deputy Opposition Leader. Looks like stabilizing the ship, which is a turn around of sorts from the heartland of the WA stronghold. A lot of boilerplate in there but firm.

Vox pop about Lib leadership at ACT floriade family scene with kids on jumping castles etc.  Panel chats more. Paul Kelly on same topic. Panels chat more re ETS etc.

Talking pictures of ex leader Nelson [spinning for all he’s worth in a pathetic makeover of War for Oil ex Defense Minister. Emoting etc. All is forgotten by hopeless big media.]

Gillard, and Chaser sketch re Hey Hey dodgy blackface sketch.

http://www.abc.net.au/insiders

Inside Business with Alan Kohler  

Refer http://www.abc.net.au/insidebusiness/

Posted by editor at 11:25 AM NZT

Updated: Monday, 12 October 2009 12:17 PM NZT

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Mood:  sad

The good doctor said "Where is your money from?" I was a little gobsmacked having worked 3 years on the successful NSW wilderness protection campaign on a shoestring up to the March 1995 election of the ALP. No greeting with 'how are you going', or 'what's new'. No 'what campaigns are you working on', or 'where is your office' or the like. Messer we soon understood was a power player at intimate levels of NSW politics and that meant for her knowing the money trail. A member of the Sydney Water Board as govt appointee for 10 years on a bursary of some kind.

(It was an experience similar to the one conversation with Opposition Attorney General Smith former Crown prosecutor some 10 years later. In a similar power dynamic his first question - "where is your money from?" he wanted to know. It's a fair enough question to ensure bonefides but it is also so very NSW. No trust, grasping milieu.)

Last evening 9 October 2009 we saw director of Total Environment Centre on (now also web cast) NSW Stateline on the debacle that is waste policy here (available in due course from ABC here) but not Angel's likely role in that outcome. It jogged our memory. We don't trust Angel but compere Dempster gives him credit. So why the reservations here - well the list is substantial but sticking to the waste policy area for now it involves Messer and waste and now dead Frank Miller and Angel coming in over the top of the real campaigners - as usual.

But first we need to introduce yet another policy wonk - John Denlay, guru on waste issues. He was our mentor for this writer's time 1995 to 1997 in closing the dioxin spewing Waterloo Incinerator: Opposed by Greenpeace, South Sydney Council, Eastern Suburbs Greens (including this writer then Bondi councillor) and Friends of the Earth Sydney (Denlay's group). But not opposed by Total Environment Centre advisedly according to John Denlay and my own experience as Bondi Ward councillor elected to close the old monster. They wanted an upgrade and an effective escape hatch for waste burnt into the atmosphere and toxic ash. A very bad idea. They called it "waste to energy".

This TEC record is instructive for what follows at Woodlawn too given Angel's pre-eminent role in the green group interface with the NSW ALP ministry from 1997 onwards.

Above is a NCC conference resolution from 1995 from our file from JD to me to present over two pages from our file about how to really address land fill. During this time Angel was a nobody on waste policy. It was all John Denlay's leadership.

By 2000 Denlay had married and left NSW. Despite high hopes of the Carr Govt wrestling waste volumes down with innovative 'extended producer responsibility' and industry plans and metropolitan waste boards, including closure of notorious waste escape hatches (Waterloo incinerator simply gasifying the refuse), by 2000 the wheels were falling off.

The NCC had an expert working group called Waste Crisis Network. Frank Miller was on WCN. FM was a rural land holder at Braidwood, esteemed member of local Green Party, and FoE Sydney rep on WCN following the Denlay pioneering work on policy. The other members are mentioned below in this explosive letter to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption. Notice the date 6 June 2000. The folks on WCN were the cream of the green movement on waste and probably had 100 years of experience amongst them hands on. They weren't light weights by any measure. The handwriting at bottom left is the SAM editor's writing in a telephone file note confirming who authorised the letter for WCN (old lawyer habit):

Independent MP Richard Jones pushes this controversial development here 2 days later in NSW Parliament and apologies for the faded image off old fax paper:

Now notice the date of this letter by Messer countermanding the reference to ICAC dated 14 June 2000 duly signed:

There is no doubting Messer wanted to destroy the credibility of the ICAC referral by the cream of the waste campaign of the NSW green movement, indeed the NSW Environment Minister quotes the letter in parliament 29th August 2000 in making their excuses:

The so called "junior officer" Frank Miller in the Minister's reply was at leat 70 years of age and backed by his whole committee.

Notice this line item in the NCC budget papers of that year up to June 2000 - $37,500 for "water reform process", that is main business of the Sydney Catchment Authority, and Messer's own Sydney Water Board, in papers prepared by Geof Lambert as treasurer (a very credible professional scientist/psephologist), with this writer an elected NCC executive member who resigned that year in disgust at anti environmental decisions being forced through the executive.

The policy back story is here: Having failed after 5 full years to wrestle down waste volumes as promised the Carr govt wanted an escape hatch - Woodlawn mine site near Goulburn according to out of sight, out of mind tradition that has got western civilisation where we are today. The more greenwashing by the operator the better as here regarding methane harvesting April 2007:

Back in 2000 via minister Refshauge a friendly was appointed to an inquiry to locate and assess Woodlawn mega tip. This is waving the white flag, creating the notorious escape hatch not so different conceptually to the Waterloo Incinerator issue mid 90ies, this time a hole in the ground and water table problems, previously toxic ash and dioxin air pollution:

NCC then issues a friendly, green tinted, grotesquely naive press release.

Unduly friendly once you read the context: Veteran campaigner Miller can see the work of the WCN being dismantled and shafted:

Angel writes to Miller later that year cutting him down even further with something to do with a media spot by Angel on an REP - regional environmental plan - for the catchment (?):

Angel has a reputation for speaking over the top of the real campaigners on the coal face on diverse policy areas from forests (just ask ChipStop convenor Harriet Swift), to waste (here), to Snowy River (Carl Drury) to Lake Cowal (Ruth Rosenhek) and on and on it goes. SAM here was puzzled what this REP for this waste matter is all about.

But today we googled and found this explanation in Hansard regarding  the issue of conflict of interest within the model for the Sydney Catchment Authority for regulator/operator model. The very issue that came up with the msyterious submission to the Woodlawn Commission of Inquiry from the SCA against Woodlawn and then changed by SCA midstride to grudging acceptance.

Presciently Ian Cohen MP refers to the relevant REP in his speech in parliament in 1998 here, and notice all the players are mentioned in his speech on the SYDNEY WATER CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT BILL Second Reading, 1 December 1998 and see bold:

The amendments have been drafted with the assistance of longstanding water campaigners such as Dr Judy Messer, a board member of Sydney Water; John Connor from the Nature Conservation Council, a peak body in the environment movement; Keith Muir from the Colong Foundation; Graham Douglas and Noel Plumb from the National Parks Association; and Michael Mobbs, the only person in Sydney who can credibly argue for a more sustainable existence in that he lives in Sydney’s only sustainable house. Many people should follow Mr Mobbs’ example. I have not yet visited his house but I have heard a great deal about it. His home reflects the attempts being made in non-urban areas to achieve sustainability and no run-off of pollutants from living areas. Michael Mobbs has certainly achieved that.

I also commend Kathryn Ridge from the Greens’ office, who has worked long and hard on preparing the necessary material. She has done an excellent job. Both the ministerial representatives and the Opposition acknowledge that this bill was the product of extreme deadlines. I have received copies of correspondence from Dr Judy Messer, who has been a director of Sydney Water for almost 10 years. She indicated her concerns about this bill directly to the Premier. She stated:

I wish to express my strong concern that, in terms of its powers, functions and scope as outlined in the Bill the Sydney Catchment Authority will not achieve the admirable outcomes that you wish to see eventuate.

The Greens share the deep concerns expressed by those who have had a long history of involvement with this issue. For example, John Connor from the Nature Conservation Council sent a letter to the Premier expressing similar concerns to those of Judy Messer. Mr McClellan spoke on a number of occasions about the need for any legislation to establish a completion date for a regional environmental plan [REP], which is a prescriptive instrument that controls the actions and decisions of State agencies and local government authorities; the incorporation of water quality objectives set by the Environment Protection Authority or the Healthy Rivers Commission; consent authorities not approving a development application unless it has a neutral or positive impact on water quality; and the development of amelioration or action plans to address existing developments which are causing pollution.

An REP which incorporates these elements will be groundbreaking, but there is no confidence that this vision will take shape if it is not clearly outlined in the bill. Such articulation is crucial to ensure that the Sydney Catchment Authority [SCA] has no role in setting the catchment water quality and environmental flow objectives for its operations. Such a conflict is untenable and must be addressed in the bill. Later I will give my recommendations for addressing the regulator-operator conflict that is inherent in the SCA. That conflict relates to the setting of objectives, the financial framework, the role of the board and the contract of engagement for the chief executive officer.

In relation to ending the ad hoc political decision making in relation to Sydney’s catchments - and certainly that is an issue of ministerial discretion - the Minister for the Environment should be the Minister responsible for Sydney Water, because the SCA is to have primary responsibility for protecting the catchment and catchment water quality. As Dr Judy Messer so aptly put it, there is not only considerable conflict of interest but also an inordinate amount of ministerial authority. She said, "This allows virtually unfettered powers to the Minister without imposing adequately defined duties and responsibilities". The ministerial discretion powers must be subject to the operating licence, which needs to be mandated and created following a period of public exhibition within a specified time frame.

at http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC19981201043

 

Frank Miller died broken hearted a few years ago, and this is just another inadequate apology to him from this writer: For failing to run sufficient political protection for his sound and idealistic work in the snakepit that is Sydney politics, green and otherwise. We were as beaten as he was.

These are his words, as if from the grave but actually from October 2000, and worth a read despite the prose style, and very wise:

The serious allegation is that both Messer then and presumably Angel were out of their depth when they betrayed in 2000 the trust of the real waste campaigners at the coal face in 2000 to sustain their relationship with the Carr Govt, and stay on that drip.

Posted by editor at 11:59 AM NZT

Updated: Sunday, 11 October 2009 10:35 AM NZT

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Mood:  sharp

We have been in correspondence with the NSW Dept of Environment, Climate Change and Water since a court decision in mid August 2009.

The Land & Environment Court registry advises that their CD tape of the hearing is still unavailable despite an order over a month ago. Something about a backlog.

Here is the troubling material which is a little complex but important because this guy will be giving evidence on mining cases in NSW in the future. All this will be shunted off to the NSW Attorney General later today, as suggested should happen by the senior solicitor for Hawkesbury City Council, one of the parties in the litigation. Our role was as pro bono legal agent for two objectors Diamond and Sneddon, backed morally by several peak and local environment groups. If we had the bucks we could have cross examined the 'single parties expert'.

That is, in this jurisdiction the single expert is paramount with no other expert being allowed, though expert evidence can be presented for their comment.

Posted by editor at 12:37 PM NZT

Updated: Friday, 9 October 2009 12:44 PM NZT

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Mood:  incredulous

Censorship is a curious beast. It appears amongst surprising folks you would never think for good or ill motives.

Yesterday we had cause to correspond with the Crikey editor re this irregularity below, and today our entries on Rooted are deleted, not simply 'awaiting moderation'. We give one paranoid explanation below - but if there is a more ethical explanation we would be interested to know. By the by we have that deed of settlement in the NSW Supreme Court in reserve for a suitable time, never web published and it's a cracker given we doubt any individual has successfully sued their own peak green group before in the history of Australia for maladministration if not corrupt behaviour. Embarrassing? You bet:

From: Ecology Action To: Jonathan Green

Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 4:47 PM

Subject: Rooted blog, blocked comment 1st Oct story - unwarranted

It may not be great grammar but the gist is there October 1 article.

Any chance of unblocking my comment (?) which was also copied onto a Bernard Keane string already - no worries there. What is the problem with Hepburn I wonder? Or is he wanting to use the intel and not spill the beans to the enemy?

For your information - on the paranoid side of things - I quit FoE Australia after busting my guts 7 years when he was still involved in Brisbane FoE about 2002.

I had cause to sue FoE Sydney Inc for trying to bully me out of my residential/commercial lease in 2003 and failing to honour their financial debt to me. It was in the NSW Supreme Court and I kicked their lazy dishonest backside where they paid my costs, backed off my lease and agreed to a derisory $50 a week rent - the savings I sent to a green campaign in Chile - $15K worth. Indeed the cheap rent was essential to that public interest agenda that FoE Sydney wanted to sabotage. A campaign that stopped a US $3B hydro smelter disaster for coastal fjordlands, 3 rivers a lake and 10K ha of virgin forest. Pathetic worms.

They wanted a confidentiality agreement. No way. They didn't even submit evidence despite having a big city law firm on pro bono while I was self represented. Never were such a perverse rump of by then backwater of the green movement so undeserving of legal help.

Hepburn however is a talent and industrious. It would be a shame if he is prejudiced on your public forum totally unrelated to past discipline.

On the other hand if he is going to censor me I might as well know.

Yours truly

Tom McLoughlin

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

 

In Turnbull's high stakes gamble – Crikey 2 Oct 2009

Tom McLoughlin

Posted Friday, 2 October 2009 at 1:44 pm | Permalink

I commented yesterday on the Rooted blog, which curiously remains under moderation while being very moderate in content. The view underpins the real economic threat to Australia of dithering on climate regarding re-insurance sector, which all business depnends on in a rule of law context:

“As extreme weather affects more of the western developed economies the re-insurance industry will continue to ramp up the compulsory costs of insurance for any industry sector not seen to be mitigating climate change. At some point whole sectors or even countries’ balance sheet will be pushed off their insurance profile for just being hostile to long term financial health.

Australia is surely rushing into that scenario and Malcolm Turnbull for one would be smart enough after HIH to know how disruptive that would be for big business behind the Liberal Party or Lablibs for that matter. Neither can afford that to happen in their career span.

So it’s not just the Sarkozy threat of carbon tariffs on foreign (to EU buyer) products and services originating beyond their (my term) ‘credible climate mitigation programme’ (ccmp), but also the global re-insurance industry setting those [rogue] sectors ‘ legally adrift so that they can’t get OH&S or public liability or fire or any insurance whatsover. In other words send them into the liability wilderness just like the HIH fiasco did to numerous small business, builders [through no fault of their own].

Sure China or India etc may buy ‘black’ [rogue] coal outside a ccmp, even more so if they buy up the [means of] production here, but who will provide the insurance to operate such a plant? My guess even if China or India buy the local resource with FIRB approval, unless the Australian Govt abdicates sovereignty of select economic geographical zones (and thus application of domestic labour and safety laws), not even a foreign owner will be able to operate WITHOUT INSURANCE.

Indeed nothing happens in business without insurance, not even King coal power stations. Just ask Esso. [Meaning Longford Vic disaster multi million dollar public liability, workers killed etc].

 

 

 

Posted by editor at 11:11 AM NZT

Updated: Friday, 9 October 2009 12:09 PM NZT

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Mood:  accident prone

There was a real politik subtext of the report about Peter Wright being regarded now 14 years after his death, 24 years after his book, by MI5 et al today as "a crank". Especially the claim Roger Hollis as director of MI5 was a KGB spy.

Turnbull famously won a free speech case for the Wright publication here in Australia, though it has to be said Wright strongly hints he omitted alot of material anyway being 'a man who knew too many secrets' on the last page of the book. Wright was never in the director promotion stream because he came to the secret service through his science and technical not intelligence/spy training.

The subtext of the article is Turnbull promoted a fraud, a mental case, a crank and so should be marked down in the current leadership "chaos" because he has risen based in part on that cache' of misconceived libertarian free speech record. The addition of Gough Whitlam just twists the knife given the ex PM is regarded as an economic failure though social welfare champion.

The damage was all in the picture rather than the text content, and in the placement in the broadsheet of choice of the conservative intellectual Coalition voter. Nasty.

The book doesn't read like a crank author but then that could be editor intervention too. But putting that aside back in 2003-4 when Turnbull was accessible to the public while seeking parliamentary office, and this writer chatted to him on Bondi Rd (outside Kemeny's supermarket after a feed at 3 Steps and near where my IT consultant lived), and exchanged emails once, he wrote to this blogger saying words like

'it is accepted wisdom that Wright was wrong about Roger Hollis'

How very interesting we thought at the time. We may even have blogged on it on Sydney Indymedia sometime since.

We don't have the email - cleaned out several cycles ago but it's pretty much a direct quote.

So the news article earlier this week sells Turnbull a little short. He was willing to email a mosquito in the political firmament 5 years ago and concede his client Peter Wright's book - remember it's a rule of law society with right to a lawyer of choice - was probably wrong. Does this itself show lack of judgement?

On the other hand what is that old saying about disagreeing but defending to the death the right to free speech?

A cheap shot at Turnbull, no doubt effective given the timing, and as usual anything can happen in politics which is a cruel business to be sure. What did Turnbull himself say recently - 'the Liberal party are unsentimental about the leadership'.

Posted by editor at 9:57 AM NZT

Updated: Friday, 9 October 2009 10:47 AM NZT

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