Look who's a big user of the OpenAustralia website...

OpenAustralia did a bit of digging into its user profile and came up with a surprisingly large number of government PCs using its website.


It looks as though OpenAustralia is easier to use than Hansard records as it comes with the added feature of email alerts.
Perhaps MPs whose staffers use this website might consider whether a donation or two would be in order to keep this handy site going.

Truth in advertising missing from Turnbull's debt and deficit advertisement

Liberal Party advertisment May-June 2009

This week I saw a news clip on the teev showing Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull spruiking the former Howard Government's financial record and bagging the Rudd Government's level of public debt.
There was even a snippet from a coming Liberal Party advert on the subject.
"18 months ago we had no debt and cash at the bank."
And there's the rub - Mal was so foolish as to say that the Howard Government went out on zero debt.
How stupid does he think the average punter is?
Does he really think no-one was watching the growing current account deficit, outstanding Treasury bonds, level of government borrowing and interest payments before November 2007?
For heaven's sake - in 2006 total public sector gross foreign debt was 9.1% of GDP, in 2007 it was 7.7% of GDP and a big chunk of that was general government & Reserve Bank borrowing.
As for total gross national public debt.
Well, let's look at that graph again.







A history of public debt in Australia

See a 2006 0r 2007 zero there anyone?
The fact that Turnbull appears to be bragging about a lack of net public debt by 2006-2007 doesn't mean that there is absolutely no Commonwealth debt.
It simply means that government liabilities (mostly in the form of debt) were matched with financial assets which it could if needed sell-off to meet outstanding debt and interest obligations.
However, I suspect that with Costello as Treasurer these net figures became a trifle rubbery over time. Commonwealth unfunded superannuation liabilities and net claims were an ongoing problem in the final Costello budget.
As a millionaire ex-merchant banker, Turnbull can't pretend that he doesn't know that the Libs are trying to pull the wool over voter's eyes and he can't walk away from the fact that he is telling a political whopper in that first advert of a blatant disinformation campaign.
Who could honestly feel comfortable with the thought of this man's hands on the national helm?

"Over my dead body" - a reminder of the Northern Rivers water wars

The Daily Examiner letter to the editor posted at A Clarence Valley Protest on 28 May 2009:

It is on again.

Floods in the Clarence and droughts in the Murray bring out the ratbags.

On my walking and paddling trip down the Darling in 2007 I encountered a host of people, nearly everyone in fact, who wanted the Clarence River diverted inland.

In 2008 we had a Fellow of Engineers Australia advocating the same. Now in 2009 we have the Citizens Electoral Council issuing a press release about the desirability of the scheme and radio programs picking up on it.

We diverted the Snowy River inland destroying much of it, created severe salinity issues, took the sustainable dairying industries from the Northern Rivers to irrigated land in the
Murray basin, created huge wealth for some and drove many Victorians to suicide when the grand ideas fell over.

After 5,000 kilometres of dragging and paddling a kayak, with decades of engineering experience in the water industry, I have been humbled. I came to realise that a river is much more than we were taught at university. The link between ground water and surface water is inextricable. The effect of taking any water out of a river can be profound.

But people don't seem to get it. They think that we can carry on with even more arrogance. Look at what has been destroyed already by our attitude and still we do not learn.

There is one thing the people of the Darling understood. "You can divert the Clarence over my dead body," l told them.

They didn't like it but they understood.

There are plenty of us who will fight for the river but be warned, the issue will never die. We just have to be ready - always.

STEVE POSSELT

Grafton resident 1952-1969
Author of Cry Me a River

One of the lesser known international celebrations listed on a government website

From the South Australian Government Women's Information Service:

International Whores Day Invitation Friday 5th June

International Whores Day celebrates the birth of the sex worker rights movement in 1976 Lyons, France. In 2009, more than 30 years on, South Australian sex workers are still fighting against discrimination, criminalisation and victimisation. This year please join sex workers, other sex industry employees, health and welfare workers, supporters, friends and families, to show your support for sex workers in South Australia as we continue to fight for our human rights.

The Scarlet Alliance has details of events in SA, NSW, Vic and the ACT

Want to know which 'real' pollies are tweeting across Australia?

Want to know if the tweets you're reading are coming from fair dinkum pollies or their evil twins?
Go to ozpollietweeters (which also helpfully lists the fakes) or tweetMP*

Want a dirty weekend next weekend?

Then get down and get dirty at the Australian Singles Marbles Championships next weekend in Brunswick Heads.

The Championships are part of the Brunswick Heads 9th Old and Gold Festival.

Players are advised that "Brunwick Heads" Rules will apply, with the Championships being played “FOR FAIR”, so all marbles will be returned to their owners.

Other significant rules include:

* Glass Marbles are to be no bigger than 3/4” (three-quarters of an inch). Agates & Steelies are banned.

* The order of shooting will be determined by “lagging”. Closest shoot or toss to designated line.

* Players can either shoot with their “TAW”(their shooting marble) off the ground or knuckled down outside or on the edge of the ring.

* Fudging is a foul shoot & next player takes turn.

* Shooters are not permitted to step/walk inside the ring.

REFEREE & TOURNAMENT ORGANISER’S DECISIONS ARE FINAL.

Click here for more information about the Old and Gold Festival.