Monday 27 June 2016

Australian Federal Election 2016: Nationals Nathan Quigley losing votes one Inbox at a time


I received this copy of a recent email exchange from an incensed Northern Rivers voter, upset with the political data mining involved in delivering the National Party message into his Inbox.

Especially one that informed him that Kevin Hogan favoured a far-right, homophobic, religio-political group (founded by Rev. Fred Nile) as the second preference on his How To Vote cards.

This reader's email to North Coast Voices was accompanied with the final comment "What a pack of b*stards!!!"

The email exchange..........

From: [redacted]  <redacted>
Date: 25 June 2016 at 7:16:09 PM AEST
To: Nathan Quigley <nathan@nswnationals.org.au>
Subject: Re: In one week…
Excuse me Mr Quigley,
I don't recall communicating with you.
How did you obtain my email address?
[Redacted contact details]

On 25 Jun 2016, at 3:41 PM, Nathan Quigley <nathan@nswnationals.org.au> wrote:
In one week Australians will vote in one of the most important elections in a generation.

We'll have a choice between staying on course with an experienced government under Malcolm Turnbull - a government with a plan to keep our economy strong - or a gamble with deeper deficits in an uncertain world under Bill Shorten and Labor.

That's why it's important for every single voter to go to their polling location informed.
Correctly filling in your ballot is ESSENTIAL to ensure we have sound management in Canberra and a strong local voice for the Northern Rivers and Coffs Coast.
Nathan Quigley
State Director – NSW Nationals
P.S. Remember, we need your support. Please CLICK HERE to download your "How to Vote" flyer for Page.
This message was sent from the NSW Nationals and
authorised by N Quigley, Level 2, 107 Pitt St, Sydney.
Click here to unsubscribe.
[if!vml]>&lt[endif]&

UPDATE

From: Matt Kay [mailto:Matt.Kay@nswnationals.org.au]
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2016 12:15 PM
To: [redacted] <redacted>
Subject: RE: In one week…

Hi [name redacted],

It was supplied by Kevin Hogan’s office. I’ve unsubscribed you from our list.

Cheers,

Mat

A little bit of local history for Australian Infrastructure Developments, its Queensland backers and potential overseas investors


Since time immemorial there have been people living in the Clarence Valley

Some families have been in this valley for thousands of years, some for over one hundred years and some less than ten years, but they are all part of the same vibrant local communities.

Connection with the Clarence River and its flood plain runs deep in these communities.

Their allegiance has always been Clarence first when the valley needs protection, but do understand they are also part of the bigger Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.

In the 1850’s Clarence Valley residents successfully resisted moves to place the region within the boundaries of the Colony of Queensland by sending petitions to the British Parliament.

Indigenous communities along the Clarence River protected the reef “Dirragun” in the 1950s, from NSW Government plans to remove this important cultural and spiritual site at the river mouth, by speaking up about its importance.

People from the Clarence Valley were involved in the battle of Terania Creek in 1979 and subsequent protests which defeated NSW Wran Government and timber industry plans for extensive logging of native forest in the Terania and Mt. Nardi areas, eventually leading to the creation of the 8,080ha Nightcap National Park which was World Heritage listed in 1986.

In the 1980s Clarence Valley residents helped save the Washpool rainforest.

In 1988-1989 the Clarence Valley successfully opposed the Wran & Greiner governments’ support of the Daishowa proposal to establish a pulp paper mill on the Clarence River.

The Yaegl people of the Clarence Valley launched a native title claim for the Clarence River from Harwood Bridge to the sea in 1996, in part to protect the Clarence River estuary from overdevelopment which would destroy environment and connection to land. Native Title was granted in 2015.

1999 saw the Ross gold mine at Timbarra (in the upper reaches of the Clarence River catchment) permanently closed due to sustained opposition from the northern NSW region, including people in the Clarence Valley.

Along came 2007 and the Clarence Valley saw off the federal Howard Government’s proposal to dam and divert water from the Clarence River catchment for the benefit of mines and irrigators in inland New South Wales.




In July 2014 the value we placed on protecting the river systems and ensuring water security for the region helped convinced Labor's Janelle Saffin to co-sponsor an urgency motion at a NSW State Conference calling for a CSG Free Northern Rivers.



By 2015 the valley had also been part of the broad community movement which sent the NSW Baird Government and the coal seam gas industry packing from the Northern Rivers region:


 Photographs contributed

Now the 2016 federal election campaign has rolled around and the Clarence Greens are saying this:

While market goers in Yamba on 26 June were receiving handouts like this flyer:
And taking home this bumper sticker:


The question that Australian Infrastructure Developments Pty Ltd, its backers and potential investors in the Yamba industrial port plan, have to ask themselves is this; “Will the Clarence Valley show us the door as well?”

I rather suspect that it will.

Australian Federal Election 2016: and the slips keep getting bigger


The Liberal Party of Australia stumbling its way towards polling day……

The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 June 2016:


The Liberal Party is scrambling to contain the fallout over taxpayer-funded cash injections from its software company Parakeelia, amid allegations it failed to inform the corporate regulator of changes to company shareholdings for 15 years due to a "clerical error".

Parakeelia has emerged as a significant threat to the Coalition after revelations that state and federal Liberal MPs direct part of their taxpayer-funded allowances towards the company, which in turn paid money into the accounts of the Liberal Party. 

Liberal MPs pay $2500 a year in allowances to Parakeelia, with state MPs collectively chipping in more. The Liberal Party-owned company has paid more than $1 million into party accounts over recent years……

Melbourne businessman Ron Walker has told Fairfax Media he resigned his 98 per cent shareholding in Parakeelia in 2002 – and that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should have assumed his role in the controversial company when Mr Turnbull took over as the party's treasurer.

Melbourne businessman Ron Walker has told Fairfax Media he resigned his 98 per cent shareholding in Parakeelia in 2002 – and that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should have assumed his role in the controversial company when Mr Turnbull took over as the party's treasurer.

But ASIC reports show Mr Walker was still listed as a 98 per cent shareholder in Parakeelia Pty Ltd as of Wednesday afternoon.

"That's impossible," Mr Walker said in an interview late Wednesday. "I was assured that I had resigned. I relinquished all other directorships.

"Malcolm took over from me. He succeeded me as federal treasurer of the party. He assumed all responsibilities I had on that day."

Under the Corporations Act, companies must inform ASIC of changes to their shareholders within 28 days. Breaches carry a maximum of fine of about $10,000.

In a subsequent phone call, Mr Walker said the Liberal Party was scrambling to correct the error.

"[The letter] was never sent to ASIC – clerical error," Mr Walker said. Mr Walker said Liberal Party federal director Tony Nutt was "taking care of the legal side to make sure a letter is sent to ASIC tomorrow".

The Liberal Party did not respond to questions about whether this lapse amounted to a breach of the Act…..

Fairfax has previously reported Mr Walker's shareholdings in Parakeelia. In 2007, then federal director Brian Loughnane described Mr Walker's ongoing involvement in the company as an "oversight" and said he would discuss with Mr Walker removing him from the company.

Mr Walker used the same words and blamed former director and outgoing MP Andrew Robb for his continued involvement.

The Liberal Party has said it will co-operate with any investigation by the Auditor-General.

********************

The Guardian, 16 June 2016:

Malcolm Turnbull is staring down an incipient campaign by conservatives to return Tony Abbott to the front bench if the Coalition wins on 2 July.

Turnbull told reporters in Sydney on Thursday the government’s ministerial line up will remain the same as it is currently if the Coalition prevails over Labor in the looming election.

“Can I say to you, as I’ve said before, the ministry I’m taking to the election will be the ministry after the election if the Australian people choose to return my government to office,” the prime minister told reporters.

Turnbull repeated the formulation in his daily campaign press conference:“I can tell you what my ministry will be if we win, it will be the ministry as it is today.”

The prime minister was asked about Abbott’s potential elevation after the immigration minister Peter Dutton – a substantial figure in the Coalition’s conservative faction – said he thought “some people” would push for Abbott’s return to a front bench spot post-election.

“Well, I think some people will push for that and I think it’s an issue for Malcolm Turnbull, as it is for all of us, that are ministers or want to be ministers in a Turnbull government,” Dutton told 2GB on Thursday morning.

********************


Embattled Liberal candidate Chris Jermyn may have broken electoral laws by claiming he was living in a house that didn't exist.

In 2013, Mr Jermyn was enrolled to vote in the federal election in the Victorian electorate of McEwen - the same seat he is now trying to win for the Coalition.
He enrolled using an address in the small Victorian regional town of Christmas Hills, which is in McEwen.

But there are two problems. The address was - and still is - an empty block of land. ASIC documents also show Mr Jermyn's father, businessman Peter Jermyn, sold the 40-hectare property on July 26, 2013, about six weeks before the federal election.

Fairfax Media understands Mr Jermyn – who shot to prominence last month when his attempt to ambush Bill Shorten at a campaign event backfired - was enrolled at this address until 2015. However, at no time did he actually live there.

According to the Australian Electoral Commission, the law requires that one must have lived at an address for more than one month before one can enrol there.
"Some degree of permanence, or continuity of living at the address shown on the electoral roll is a vital legal requirement before you should change your enrolment," the AEC says on its website.

Publicly available records for one of Mr Jermyn's companies, Mooter Media, list his residential address in 2014 as Queens Lane, Melbourne, which is in the Labor electorate of Melbourne Ports.

Mr Jermyn's social media accounts also indicate he had been living in Melbourne, not Christmas Hills……

Under the Criminal Code, making any false or misleading statement in any enrolment or electoral papers is an offence that can carry a maximum penalty of 12 months' imprisonment.
Mr Jermyn issued a statement saying he used the address because it was the place he intended to live after he returned from working overseas.

"I intended to build on the property and plans were drafted," he said.

He says he lived overseas for most of 2013 but returned to Australia briefly several times. He says he used his parent's address in Melbourne as a mailing address for business purposes only.

"I will be making no further comment.".

Many Victorian Liberals are furious Mr Jermyn has once again distracted from the campaign, especially given there was a push at a recent administrative committee for him to be dumped before the close of nominations.

But it is understood that move was resisted by state president Michael Kroger.

"You have got to look into these things but Chris will remain the candidate and he's done a very good job," Mr Kroger said on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Fairfax Media revealed details of Mr Jermyn's bold but failed plan to create a new multimillion-dollar global reality competition…..

********************

Two Liberal Party politicians, Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia Josh Frydenberg & Minister for Small Business and Assistant Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer proudly sponsored by real estate businesses:


Note what laughingly passes for political advertising authorisation at the bottom of the Kelly O’Dwyer corflute.


Australian Electoral Commission, Electoral Backgrounder: Electoral advertising:

The effect of the above is that the closer to the due date for the holding of an election (for example, the 3-year term for the expiry of the House of Representatives in section 28 of the Constitution) the more likely that a reference to one of the above matters will be 'likely to affect voting'. This will therefore be an electoral matter that requires the inclusion of the authorisation details set out in section 328…..

Section 328 requires electoral advertisements to include the name and full street address of the person who authorised the advertisement, as well as the name and place of business of the printer of the advertisement, at the end of the advertisement. This ensures that anonymity does not become a protective shield for irresponsible or defamatory statements. The inclusion of the street address details enables legal proceedings to be issued and served.

Paragraph 328(1)(b) states that 'the name and place of business of the printer appears at the end thereof'. The purpose of this provision is to facilitate the taking of legal action and the serving of legal documents where a person believes that they have been defamed or otherwise have some legal cause of action arising from the publication of the material. Accordingly, the AEC has the view that the details of the actual street address of the printer at which the business of printing is undertaken is required to be included to comply with this requirement.

* Images on Twitter at @BuzzFeedOzPol

Sunday 26 June 2016

Australian Federal Election 2016: Mack the Dog rulz!


Winning the federal election one drover’s dog at a time J


If you're still buffering blame Malcolm!



















https://www.akamai.com/uk/en/our-thinking/state-of-the-internet-report/state-of-the-internet-connectivity-visualization.jsp

First as Minister for Environment and Water Resources in the Howard Government Malcolm Bligh Turnbull tried to steal water from the Clarence River catchment area, then as Minister for Communications in the Abbott Government he managed to destroy the National Broadband Network leaving regional Australia struggling with third world Internet connections.

What will he do next as Prime Minister?

Saturday 25 June 2016

HOLIDAY COAST not TRADE COAST: protesting a plan to industrialise the Clarence River Estuary


Contributed by Clarence Valley resident

The Daily Examiner, 25 June 2016, page 5:

A "POP UP" protest at tomorrow's Yamba Markets could be the start of early and concerted opposition to a proposed mega port for the Clarence River estuary.

The Greens candidate for Page, Kudra Falla-Ricketts, said the successful fight against CSG companies coming into the Clarence Valley showed the value or organising protests early and not allowing the proposals to gain momentum.

"If the proposed redevelopment were ever to proceed it would irreversibly damage the character, economy and environment of the Lower Clarence," Ms Falla-Ricketts said.

"I have been meeting with residents there and their concerns are very real and heartfelt.

"It reminds me of the anguish that the threat of industrial gasfields generated in this region."

Australia Infrastructure Developments Pty Ltd and Deakin Capital Pty Ltd are currently lobbying government to allow the construction of a large industrial port in the Clarence River estuary.

The latest version of this proposal has increased the size of port infrastructure so that is covers an estimated 36 sq km of the Clarence River estuary.

That's more than 27% of the entire estuary covered with container, liquid and bulk terminals and at least 14 associated shipping berths - operating 24 hours a day year-round.

"Industrialisation of the Clarence river on this scale would do untold damage to the tourism and fishing industries of the region, damage the riverine and marine environment and potentially open the door to coal and coal seam gas exports and even live cattle exports," Ms Falla-Ricketts said.

"The commercial fishing industry is worth at least $92m annually, and generates over 400 jobs. Tourism is one of the Lower Clarence's greatest economic asset generating $280m annually.

She said the pop-up protest would begin at the markets from 9am.

Ms.Falla-Ricketts also told North Coast Voices:

“Add to this the destruction of the relaxed lifestyle for residents of Yamba, Iluka and beyond and you have an industrialisation proposal that is immensely destructive of our region’s more sustainable industries.

Instead of investing in yesterday’s fossil fuel economy, we should be proud of region’s assets and support our existing sustainable  industries and lifestyles.

The threat of livestock export out of Yamba would also horrify many people and it is also a threat to family farming. The Chinese agricultural companies prefer to buy farms rather than farm produce so this port could also initiate a foreign land grab in the region.

This is another destructive corporate thought bubble that threatens our region. At a time when we should be investing in renewable energy, sustainable fishing, tourism and farming, we are being threatened with this major industrialisation project.

Communities of the lower Clarence and throughout the Page electorate can make their opposition to this proposal clear on July 2 by voting 1 Green then preferencing which ever other candidates can give an assurance they will oppose this destructive plan.”