Friday 2 August 2013

Popular Yamba-ites relocate to Cowra


Long term Yamba residents Jim and Georgina See have opted for a tree change. The Cowra Guardian reports that Jim and Georgina are operating a business in the town.


Read more about Jim and Georgina here.

Best wishes Jim & Georgina!


Credit: Image and text from the Cowra Guardian

NSW Nationals MP for Clarence 'Lazybones' Gulaptis and hollow crowing on Facebook and in the media


This was NSW National Party MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis on his Facebook page on 18 July 2012:


Clarence Valley Regional Airport will get a much-needed $2.12 million upgrade thanks to a generous loan subsidy from the NSW Government’s Local Infrastructure Renewal Scheme.

What a pity that it not-so-innocently slipped his mind that the O’Farrell Government was only offering a NSW LIRS Round One 4 per cent subsidy of the market interest rate and that this involved Clarence Valley Council taking out a $1.06 million third party loan with the balance of the upgrade costs unmet as yet.

Full funding for the $2.12 million regional airport upgrade did not come about until a further $1.06 million came from the Federal Labor Government as a Round Four grant by the Regional Development Australia Fund announced on 12 June 2013 – almost a year later.

Not that much for Gulaptis to crow about there – most of the spade work appeared to have been done by Federal Labor MP for Page Janelle Saffin and Clarence Valley Council.

Chris Gulaptis was back using his favourite political ploy again in August 2013.

This time taking credit for a $3 million commercial loan that Richmond Valley Council is taking out to upgrade the Casino Regional Livestock Exchange.

The Northern Star 1 August 2013:

Member for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, yesterday announced the council had been awarded a low-interest loan under the NSW Government's Local Infrastructure Renewal Scheme at a fixed 3% interest.

Of course what is really happening is that the O'Farrell Government is granting a 3 per cent subsidy of the market interest rate on a third party loan as part of NSW LIRS Round Two.

And just as before, it is the Federal Labor Government which has provided a grant to improve cattle delivery and receival into the saleyards - this time for a total of $636,000  under the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program. Update: Plus a $3.5 million grant under the Federal Government's Round Five of the Regional Development Australia Fund announced on 6 August 2013.

Once more the heavy lifting appears to have been done by Ms. Saffin and Richmond Valley Council.

Abbott's Army blots its copybook again


Brisbane Times on the subject of Ben Riley, 26 July 2013:

Suspended Young LNP campaign director. 
Photo: Twitter

The website Crikey reported that Mr Riley, the immediate past president of the Young LNP, had been suspended for six months for taking a pair of boots from a stand at the LNP state convention on Friday night.
Mr Riley is said to have taken a pair of oversized RM Williams boots while intoxicated and wore them out, spilling alcohol over them before trying to rectify his mistake by paying for them the next morning.

Google cache of Young Liberal Movement of Australia Executive page of 11 July 2013:


Thursday 1 August 2013

CSG industry begins to spend "multi-millions of dollars" to drown out Northern Rivers and other communities across Australia


Ad News 30 July 2013:

The peak body representing Australia's oil and natural gas producers has launched a multimillion-dollar public awareness campaign to warn of the dangers to the economy of a slowdown in the industry.

The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, which represents more than 80 full member companies and 250 associate member companies, kicked off the 'Our Natural Advantage' campaign last night.

A spokesperson for APPEA declined to comment on the exact amount but said the spend was "significant" and "in the multi-millions of dollars". The TV ads will be supported by print and radio……

Apparently Northern Rivers communities and residents who do not support the likes of Metgasco and ERM Power are unpatriotic and uncaring because we will not allow director-shareholders to fill their bank accounts at the expense of our own existing regional economies, amenity, lifestyle and an environmentally sustainable future for local families....


http://youtu.be/Bzm0cyJDbjU

Metgasco joins in the blamefest with an email round robin delivering this message from CEO Peter Henderson:



Unfortunately for APPEA and Metgasco the Australian media is not always obliging:


Australian Financial Review Editorial & Opinion, 30 July 2013

Homeless Persons Week 5-11 August 2013

Toll Holdings: Tents R Us


Toll Holdings has a business.

Camp Infrastructure Services

Toll specialises in delivering camp infrastructure in emerging markets and remote locations.

Whether you need a permanent camp or a mobile one, in a remote location or a regional area, we’ll provide you with a complete camp infrastructure solution that is tailored to your organisation’s unique needs. With 20 years’ experience in delivering camp logistics solutions, we create efficient camp designs that maximise productivity and reduce costs.
Our end-to-end camp infrastructure services include:
·         planning
·         design
·         construction
·         camp management
·         camp shut downs

Our highly experienced team will manage local council, town planning, indigenous communities and other statutory requirements, minimising delays. And we’re able to accelerate build times by leveraging Toll’s global network to ensure infrastructure and equipment arrives on time regardless of location.
We can also support your camp with full camp services.

We provide camp infrastructure solutions for:

·         Permanent camps suitable for long term or permanent projects. We can build, own and operate these camps.
·         Temporary camps to support 50 to 200 people, suitable for 1- 6 month projects. These are all above ground, with less onerous council requirements.
·         Mobile camps for short term projects supporting up to 100 people. Our mobile camps are self-sufficient and can be deployed and made operational within a matter of hours.

Tony Abbott sprung pinching pennies while pleasing powerful mates.

The Sydney Morning Herald 30th July 2013:

A logistics company that stands to profit from the Coalition's "tent city" on Nauru funded the trip of its immigration spokesman Scott Morrison and a journalist and photographer from News Corporation to the remote island to announce the plan.
The trip to Nauru was facilitated by Toll Holdings, which has multimillion-dollar contracts already to help handle asylum seekers and is eager for more business in the area.
Other news outlets were not invited to travel with Mr Morrison, leading to News Corporation's newspapers reporting an “exclusive” story that the Coalition would set up a “tent city” on Nauru to house at least 2000 asylum seekers.
It is understood Toll Holdings chartered the flight for the Coalition and News Corporation.
Contacted on Tuesday morning, Mr Morrison's office had no policy documents to accompany the announcement, and a spokeswoman advised reporters to get their information from what had been reported in newspapers. Mr Morrison has since issued a press release with broad details of the policy.
News Corporation - formerly known as News Limited - is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, who has made no secret of his support for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and disdain for Labor…..

The Age 30th July 2013:

Former Commonwealth Ombudsman Allan Asher said accepting funding from a company likely to bid for a contract arising from the policy announcement was "entirely inappropriate".
"I think at any time of the year that would be a questionable thing, but in the context of elections, it just makes it an entirely inappropriate thing to do," he said.


OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has chartered a private jet to Nauru to discuss asylum-seeker policy, with all expenses picked up by Liberal Party donors.
Mr Abbott wants to press the Coalition's case to reopen an asylum-seeker processing centre on the South Pacific island.
A party spokesman confirmed Mr Abbott and his entourage had chartered a private jet for the trip, and said all expenses had been paid for by Liberal Party donors….
Mr Abbott and the opposition's immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, are expected to meet Nauruan President Marcus Stephen and senior members of his government to discuss the Coalition's policy of sending those asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat to be processed in Nauru….

From pages 133 to 138 of Toll Holdings Appendix 4E Preliminary Final Report for year ended 30 June 2012 there is a complete list of companies controlled by Toll - feel free to knock yourselves out figuring exactly who might be filling Tones' campaign coffers.