Category: State Politics

SMH and Big Green

Posted by Chief Blogger – 20 December, 2011

Fairfax Press, the media outlet that hacked into an ALP database, becomes desperate in trying to explain the opposition to wind farms:

THE anti-wind farm movement that is gaining influence in the NSW Parliament is being ”aided and abetted” by climate sceptic groups and some mining figures.

So apparently it is okay for Big Green Spanish and Indian multi-national corporations to capture public policy making, but anyone else is in league with mining and therefore bad. The anti-wind farm movement is gaining traction because they are being aided and abetted by the reality of high wind farm prices and unreliability of service. There is also the considerable impact on the landscape.

The Premier, Barry O’Farrell, said in August it was his opinion that no new wind farms should be built in NSW, but it is understood there are divisions in cabinet about the issue.

The Nationals MP and Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, said yesterday his anti-wind farm views were well known and he hoped yesterday’s cabinet meeting ”addresses the sins of the past”.

Follow Abbott’s lead – just say no.

Quit your country whinging

Posted by Chief Blogger – 20 November, 2011

Just arrived back from a tour of country NSW. Virtually every town I stopped off at was vibrant, full of people and busy. A quick reference to population figures reveals that every major rural township in NSW has experienced positive population growth over the last 30 years, except Broken Hill which has gone backwards slightly over the past ten years. Certainly, when the new census is released shortly I would expect to see towns like Wagga, Parkes, Forbes, Bathurst, Young, Orange, Dubbo, etc… to have grown in population since the last census in 2006.

Complaints about a lack of infrastructure are greatly over stated. I had 3G coverage virtually everywhere I drove and roads are in better condition than in the city. A dual carriage way linking Wagga to the Hume Highway would be nice. The raising of the speed limit along a number of country highways to 110 km/h by Barry O’Farrell is welcome and seems to be the natural speed limit anyway.

Of course there may be draw backs to living in the country, like not having ready access to the full gamut of medical services provided by city hospitals. However, the cost of living should be much cheaper because the cost of housing should be much cheaper. Housing is typically the number 1 household expense. There are pros and cons to country living like there is to city living.

I also saw no evidence of coal seam gas anywhere along my travels. I can’t see any reason why Australia can’t have both energy and food security that respects private property rights, equitable water access and considers the natural environment. Helping towns diversify employment and industry into coal seam gas while also preserving the existing agriculture sector can only benefit rural NSW. It is not a zero sum game; the environmental consequences of of fracking  are often overstated. Sure more oversight is probably needed to stop resource corporations trampling over people, while getting sweet heart deals from governments. To turn your back on the entire industry as Alan Jones seems to be advocating is just nuts.

Public hospitals as uncompetitive and expensive as ever

Posted by Chief Blogger – 28 October, 2011

Official figures from 2009-10, just released today, show that the cost of running public hospitals in Australia has ballooned to over $36 billion:

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says the study demonstrates the Government’s additional support for hospitals.

“The demands of the community and the ageing population will mean that health expenditure goes up, but we need to make sure that that’s sustainable,” she said.

When capital expenditure is added in from the government, the cost of public hospitals reaches around $40 billion per year. When Gillard’s health deal comes on line then the figure will balloon even greater, despite more people leaving the system for private coverage.

I have previously argued that the more money government keeps giving public hospitals, the less competitive they become relative to private hospitals, and the stronger the argument is to get rid of the public hospital system and replace it with a network of private hospitals backed up with government and privately purchased and private hospital insurance cover. The privatisation of the public hospital system would free up billions of dollars in assets that could be converted into a sovereign wealth fund to purchase private hospital insurance for those without, while providing a massive tax cut  – GST and income – for those with the financial means to look after themselves. That would make for a sustainable medical system.

Let’s run the numbers. There are around 12 million people in the public hospital system, which works out to be around $13,000 for a family of four people. You cannot buy a $13,000 private hospital insurance policy for a family of four people. The top of the line Medibank Private no deductible private hospital policy for a family of four is around $2,600 per year. Even without the 30 per cent Federal government rebate you are only looking at around $3,400, well short of the whopping $13,000 for the public system. We have reached the point where the cost of providing more money to the public hospital system is outweighed by the benefits of adopting a private hospital model, backed by government purchased private hospital insurance for those on the safety net.

I’m back

Posted by Chief Blogger – 25 September, 2011

Been off the grid for a week or two in Australia’s north. Some thoughts:

  1. Roads are second rate. This may be a function of a lack of people, but when one has to drive hundreds of kms on dirt roads being used by local businesses to sell products and provide services there is something wrong. Think of the additional fuel and maintenance costs, not too mention lost time in transit. There is also an issue of safety. I know 4WD enthusiasts lap it up, but in the year 2011 arterial roads like the Gibb Road need to be paved and made for the most part flood proof. Even the national highway funded by the Federal government is worse than state highways. Single lane bridges, lack of road shoulders and clearing to keep wondering animals away from the side of the road. There are still flood ways in place probably because the Feds are too cheap to build flood proof bridges. Try playing chicken with a road train on a single lane bridge on a bend. That’s what it is like. Thankfully the speed limit is 11o kph, but I never saw any Police so I gather anything goes within reason.
  2. Telecommunications are second rate but could be made so much better quickly. Unless you are with Telstra then forget it with a mobile. Go outside town and you get no mobile coverage, sat phone is your only option. Telstra though have a network of microwave towers built back in the 1980s and 90s. One wouldn’t think it be too hard to put m0bile tech. on them to extend coverage. Not really a critical issue though. Simply the function of long distances and not many people.
  3. There is no lack of water in the north. Lake Argyle is not small body of water so the Coalition’s recent proposal to build dams in the north may have merit, if geography permits and local councils release land to allow businesses to attract people to work. Unlike in the south, the north has great rivers like the Missouri, Colorado and Mississippi rivers. Large parts of the north-west remind me of Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California. Plenty of people live in those states, the north-west could be no different. The Kimberley seems to the geography to support well over 1 million people – land, water, natural attractions, good variable weather and close to Asia. As long as the land is private and without restrictions and not Crown or aboriginal communal land governed by a complex set of regulations, then that should attract people to the region. Unfortunately I don’t think that is the case.

Back to city life for me.

The NSW Police are failing the public – update VII

Posted by Chief Blogger – 19 August, 2011

The allegations and evidence against Craig Thomson, that he fraudulently misappropriated union funds for personal purposes, is overwhelming. The matter has been in the public domain since last year and all the evidence now available could have been established by a Police investigation months ago. The allegations are not wild rumour or gossip. What then are the NSW Police doing to investigate the matter?

More evidence has come to light just today. Thomson’s hotel room phone was allegedly used on three occasions to call for prostitution services, all paid for by the Health Services Union.

There is nothing operationally or legally stopping the NSW Police from investigating the matter to determine if charges can be laid against Craig Thomson. A complaint has already been lodged by a HSU member to the NSW Police. The head of the AFP also confirmed to Senator George Brandis SC, that the issue is not within Federal Police jurisdiction but with the NSW Police.

I understand that NSW Police have until recently been governed by an ALP government for 16 years, and they are probably still getting used to a Coalition government calling the shots. The NSW Police need though to put aside any political preference or consideration and do what they are paid to do: enforce the law without fear or favour. Failure to investigate this matter sends the wrong signal to the public: that the left-wing political class are above the law and can expect to receive special dispensation from law enforcement authorities when conduct and integrity before the law are brought into doubt.

NSW Police – get on with it!

UPDATE

Seems like the whole union is in need of an investigation, this time from a former state secretary:

Mr Jackson is understood to have settled with the union over wage increases which he allegedly issued himself without authorisation.

He maintained the increases were legitimate but was said to have not wanted to fight the matter in court. Mr Jackson was also accused in 2009 of credit card payments to the agency but strenuously denied the allegations.

Where there is smoke there is fire. Seems like the ATO might also get involved.

UPDATE II

Speak of the devil, from the SMH today:

Senator Brandis, who is leading the Coalition pursuit of Mr Thomson, said it was time for the police to become involved.

”If Thomson’s story is true and his signature was forged, a crime has been committed against him,” Senator Brandis said.

”If it’s not true, a crime has been committed by him. Either way, a crime has been committed. It’s now high time for the NSW police to commence an investigation.”

The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, concurred, saying ”on the face of it, there is a lot that needs to be fully investigated by official bodies”.

The longer the NSW Police delay investigating this matter, the more their impartiality is going to be called into question.

UPDATE III

So much for the AEC’s inquiry that cleared Thomson of any wrong doing:

Labor MP Craig Thomson is facing explosive allegations he breached electoral laws after spending nearly $40,000 on his 2007 election campaign using his union credit card.

For goodness sake, how much evidence do the Police need before they will act? It also speaks volumes of the AEC’s partisan stance towards Thomson. You’d figure as part of their ‘investigation’ that they might have checked out Thomson’s credit card statements – apparently not.

UPDATE IV

The NSW Police are claiming that they need a request from the HSU to investigate the alleged use of union funds by Craig Thomson for personal benefit and his alleged false swearing of an affidavit against Fairfax.

NEW South Wales Police are refusing to investigate Craig Thomson’s credit card unless the Health Services Union makes a complaint.

Very strange indeed. So according to NSW Police Inspector Brian Hallett if a union boss commits an act of fraud, as a HSU member submitted to the NSW Police three weeks ago, then unless someone in the actual employment of the HSU makes a complaint they won’t do anything. The NSW Police need to tread very carefully here. There is no basis for not investigating the matter according to Senator George Brandis SC. It would be like the NSW Police refusing to investigate the mafia, because no one from the mafia had made a complaint to the Police about the mafia. It is about as implausible as Craig Thomson’s claims to innocence.

We also learn today that there is a black list of vendors for corporate credit cards, including brothels, and that it is likely the issuing bank would have called accounts payable to red flag any inappropriate transactions. If this is true, then Thomson’s own admission of approving the transaction on the basis that he did not know what it was for is rendered even more incredible.

Ray Hadley has also revelaed today that Thomson is facing court action for non-payment of bills relating to the use of a bus during the last election.

UPDATE V

NSW Police are giving us a yeah but no but routine:

NSW police say they will investigate allegations that federal Labor MP Craig Thomson misused his union credit card.

In a “clarification” statement this afternoon, police said: “Police are currently assessing information provided by Shadow Federal Attorney-General George Brandis to determine whether there are grounds that warrant an investigation.

“The NSW Police Force is not in a position to make any further comment.”

UPDATE VI

The HSU have lodged with the NSW Police. The Police have no excuses now. Listening to Michael Smith’s interview with the new HSU boss Kathy Jackson, it is pretty clear that the she does not want the HSU to go down with Craig Thomson and the Federal ALP. The HSU must be bleeding members right now.

This is the up-shot. If Thomson is charged and found guilty he will have to leave the HoR. The likely charges carry the Constitution’s required minimum 1 year jail term – in practice practice any jail term would probably see the government fall because Abbott would not offer Thomson a pairing arrangement if he had to serve a sentence – and a by-election would be required as soon as a guilty verdict is given. There is no waiting for the sentence hearing and any appeals. A by-election would have to happen on any guilty verdict.

UPDATE VII

The NSW Police may have some questions to answer as well:

Crimes have been committed that can bring down the Gillard government, and they are dumb crimes. As a former NSW chief of detectives told me: ”We are ultimately dealing with the crimes of a fool, whomever that fool may be, who has left a documented trail like a bleeding elephant in a snowfield.”

This trail of evidence of fraud, lying and cover-up now roils around the federal Labor MP Craig Thomson. It has also engulfed the NSW Police Force, which implausibly refused to act until a victim had filed a complaint.

”Utter garbage,” said the former detective. ”Police do not need to have a complaint from a victim in order to investigate a crime.’

A Big Government hobby coming to an end

Posted by Chief Blogger – 24 May, 2011

It is pretty clear to me that Barry O’Farrell has made the right call on solar tariffs:

Almost two weeks ago, the Government announced the tariff paid to customers under the previous government’s scheme would be cut from 60 cents per kilowatt hour to 40 cents in an effort to rein in the scheme’s costs.

The Government is trying to make up the shortfall for the Solar Bonus Scheme which has blown out by $750 million.

Today NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell bowed to pressure and announced assistance will be offered to anyone who suffers hardship as a consequence of the tariff changes.

But the compensation assurance has not appeased the solar industry or the Opposition, who say the Government is compounding bad policy.

As the saying goes, a government that can give you everything you want is a government that can take away everything you have.

Consumers can’t have it both ways. Either you lower the cost of electricity by getting rid of these uneconomic and expensive subsides for people’s solar power hobby, or you continue to provide funding and drive electricity prices even higher. Why anyone that can afford to spend thousands on panels would need a hardship allowance is beyond me. I also have no sympathy for the suppliers, either. You get in bed with Big Government, you should also bear the risks. Don’t come looking for more money to fund your bad business decision.

In an ideal world, personal solar panels would have to compete in a free market for customers, not have their pricing protected by the government. The whole scheme still amounts to a racket: a scheme that only serves the interests of the solar industry and those wealthy enough to be able to buy the panels and have the roof space to install them.

Hey Tasmania, stop scrounging off the rest of us! update II

Posted by Chief Blogger – 4 April, 2011

Tasmania is by far the poorest state in the Federation. It has the highest unemployment rate in the country as well as high rates of welfare dependency. Tasmania’s biggest ‘industry’ is the government! You’d think then that the state would overwhelmingly welcome a value adding wealth creation project like the Gunn’s pulp mill, but apparently not. Even though the ALP Federal and State gov’ts have now approved the project, the typical group of rag tag welfare dependent environmentalists, retirees and multi-millionaire non-Tasmanian residents still oppose the project, despite over the top environment restrictions on the project which run to 2000 pages. You have to wonder why anyone would bother investing in Tasmania.

This is the upshot. Other states subsidize Tasmania’s GST revenues to pay for all their government and environmental hobbies – 40 per cent of the state is locked up in national parks. If Tasmania (or is it Sydney multi-millionaires, aka Geoffrey Cousins) is not interested in wealth creation, beyond wine and scallops, then stop the GST subsidy paid to Tasmania by the other states and let Tasmania fend for itself.

UPDATE

Gary Johns in The Australian:

If, after all this time, a Labor government in Tasmania and a Labor government in Canberra cannot support a pulp mill that has the support of the local council, the Liberal and Labor parties in Tasmania and the approval of the federal environment minister, then Labor really has betrayed its origins. Failure to act positively in favour of the mill would prove that Labor does not want a world based on industry and ingenuity, just leisure and abstinence.

Tasmania has been at war with itself for 40 years. The Greens, formed from the United Tasmania Group, which arose out of the Lake Pedder Action Group, have come a long way. Bob Brown was there at the beginning. Australia should thank them – the Greens and Labor – for preserving places of high heritage value. But that work is done. The time has come to choose a productive future….

Labor should use every means at its disposal to clear the way for Gunns to build a pulp mill. We live in an era when it is a crime to make money or employ people to develop natural resources. Labor should save a threatened species: the Tasmanian worker.

UPDATE II

WA is revolting against the GST carve up and Tasmania is in their sights.

TASMANIA has become a mendicant state operating as Australia’s national park and it should not be able to take GST revenue from other states while it rejects economic development, says West Australian Premier Colin Barnett….“Tasmania has become Australia’s national park. If they continue to reject any sort of development, well what right is there to simply take some of the spoils of the hard work in other states?”

ALP spin master Bruce Hawker cops a Keating spray

Posted by Chief Blogger – 29 March, 2011

Bruce Hawker is on the receiving end of a Paul Keating attack. This is pretty significant. Keating denies that the NSW ALP cancer is spreading to Federal ALP, but in an ABC interview tonight Keating goes after the Federal government’s chief propaganda spokesman Bruce Hawker in the context of him promoting the much loathed John Robertson as the new ALP opposition leader in NSW:

I notice Bruce Hawker out there today….trying to talk up Robertson’s prospects. That sicko populism is what we simply don’t need anymore of….the thing that characterises this group is that they believe in nothing. They’re not about policy…it’s about poll reading and winning the next election. (no link)

Keating does accept that the NSW ALP defeat will have Federal implications, certainly from an ALP organisation and resources point of view. Keating is obviously kidding himself if he does not think Canberra is doing exactly what NSW ALP did. If Gillard wants to separate herself from the NSW ALP legacy then she should dump Bruce Hawker and all the other NSW ALP apparatchiks that have found their way to Canberra. That is unlikely to happen, she needs all the spin merchants she can get to sell her C02 tax. Keating of course knows all about lying to the electorate: L – A – W tax cuts.

NSW election (hammer time!)

Posted by Chief Blogger – 26 March, 2011

  • A Sky News exit poll in ALP heart land seats finds a 21 per cent swing against the government. Imagine what it will be like in marginal seats.
  • I’m thinking the ALP will only hang on to 15 seats.
  • Looks like the Greens are not picking up much of a vote. Early days though.
  • Watching ABC 24 and the Liberal representative is not willing to claim victory – give me a break! The fained humility is wearing a bit thin.
  • Nationals are picking up a bunch of country seats – independents are getting hammered.
  • ALP heart land seats are also getting hammered – western Sydney, etc…
  • State wide swing is getting bigger as more vote is counted.
  • Channel 7 has Federal people, including ‘whatever it takes’ and the shadow immigration spokesman Scott Morrison.
  • Rob Oakeshott’s former seat is back to the Nationals.
  • Some of the swings in the country are biblical in scale.
  • Mark Riley looks very unhappy.
  • Channel 7 interviewing Greens – who cares!?!
  • ABC predicting the Nationals are  likely to have the same number of seats as the ALP.
  • ABC staff look very down and forlorn.
  • 35.2 per cent swing to Nationals in Bathurst.
  • KK is giving a speech about ‘social justice’, which is another way of saying legalised theft. KK will not contest the leadership – watch out Peter Garrett in his Federal seat.
  • Jgill cannot deny that this has Federal implications. Just consider what this will do to party membership and resources for instance.
  • KK talking on and on. Notice that she has no ALP motifs in her advertising material.
  • Quentin Dempster has highlighted the Federal implications. Surprised he has not been given more time to talk – sounds like he has a sore throat.
  • Sky News is reporting the upper house. Coalition will have 19 seats and combined with the 4 ‘others’ including Christian Democrats and Shooters Party they should have no problem getting most legislation through Parliament – assuming the Greens vote with the ALP.
  • Sky News notes the problem with KK going to the back bench. The ALP will only have 20 seats while the Coalition will have 22 cabinet members.
  • Looks like Monaro – Canberra public service refugees in Q. town – is going to elect a National Party member to office.
  • The loudest chant for Barry O’Farrell’s speech was about defeating the carbon tax.

Is there something odd here?

Posted by Chief Blogger – 19 March, 2011

QLD Premier Anna ‘cowboy’ Bligh obviously went to no trouble with her outfit, unlike the Federal Attorney-General pictured second from left. Bligh represents all Queenslanders! And then one wonders where the Deputy PM is? He is a Queenslander and surely the Prince is entitled to a more senior greeting from the Government than the AG.