Trading Sham: Snakes and ladders in the market place.
20 March 2009
Emission Trading Scheme is the latest trading scam devised to extract money from the great unwashed. These are the poor shareholders, mortgaged mums and dads, small businesses and pensioners. All forced to survive on limited incomes.
ETS traders do not actually produce anything they just trade other people's nasties (pollution). Traders make up a system to measure nasties such as carbon then trade them on to large industrial corporations. They do nothing to actually solve the pollution problem.
ETS comes on the tail of the failed World Trade Organisation. The WTO representatives feed hungry financial journalists with their propaganda in conferences all over the world. Buried in deep footnotes in complex reports, the media, with deadlines, failed to uncover the layers of jargon of true facts behind the rhetoric. Enron is a prime example and should have been a warning sign of what was to come.
Meanwhile short sellers shifted shares around and those on the inside the CEOs, raised their entitlements long before the bubble burst. They feasted up for years in conferences all over the world. What did all these conferences achieve? Take overs of sound businesses by conglomerates. Privatisation of essential services all over the world that not only became financial burdens to taxpayer but services declined. The privatisation of water is a prime example where many poor people were robbed of their livelihood.
The intelligent vox populi saw through the scam and protested worldwide. Governments and small shareholders believed in the temporary privatisation boom that offered good short term returns to their shares. "The ladder of opportunity" was good while it lasted but then the snake sent it all down.
Today workers are laid off, superannuation and taxpayers are propping up banks and businesses that have exploited them in the past. CEO's take their leave with their exorbitant payouts. They leave us with AGM reports that ensure the real story is buried in reams of footnotes that overwhelm any reader. This makes it almost impossible to trace the truth of the cause of this worldwide recession. Still the WTO won't die even though it is on life support.
What do we get in return? A government handout for a few that would be better invested in long term services and infrastructures that have been neglected by greedy businesses, bank and pathetic governments for decades.
I fear for the next generation. How long will it take them to climb the ladder of opportunity again?
Mary Jenkins
Secretary of STOP MA WA.
P O Box 1375 Bibra Lake 6569 WA
Topic:
Does it matter whether the Liberal National Party or Labor win Queensland elections?
There are very many good reasons for voters to vote out the Bligh Labour Government. This is reflected in an opinion poll published in today's Courier Mail which shows that 57% believe that Labor Does not deserve to win. However 57% of voters also don't believe that Lawrence Springborg's Liberal National Party deserves to win either.
The ideal election result would be for all but of few of the current sitting members be voted out and the new Queensland be made up of an overwhelming majority of Independents and Greens. Given the dissatisfaction with the major parties, we should at least be able to hope to get a hung parliaments. however, the media censorship of the independent and Greens candidates means that this likelihood is reduced and we stand a good chance of having an LNP Government with an outright majority. Should we fear this more than the re-election of a Bligh Government?
To put my own cards on the table, I have always put Labor ahead of Liberal (or, in Queensland the Liberal National Party) in my ordering of preferencing and had expected to do so again this time.
In the last few days my resolve to give my own two-party preferred vote to Labor (but only after having voted for myself, then Dave Zwolenski (independent), then Larissa Waters (Green) ) has firmed up.
One reason for this is that Lawrence Springborg seems to be shaping up as an old fashioned fiscal conservative as we approach a serious economic crisis. That means, he will be tightening the government purse strings and claim to rely on 'stimulation' of the private sector to provide the extra necessary employment. Past experience shows that this will almost lead to greater joblessness and abject poverty than would otherwise be the case. The very best we can hope in the public service is for employment opportunities to be lost in the Queensland public service and the work load on those remaining to be increased.
However, if upon winning Government, Lawrence Springborg suddenly 'discovers' that the cupboard is bare, outright sackings of public servants could not be ruled out. Indeed, the new Liberal National Government in Western Australia has recently sacked 5,000 public servants outright.
Also Lawrence Springboard is slightly less ambiguous than the Labor Government on the question of further privatisation. He has 'no objection' to privatisation and plans to set up a special fund to manage the proceeds of any (hypothetical) privatisation, whereas Labor Treasurer Andrew Fraser, who since the start of last year sold off Mackay and Cairns airports and our remaining half stake in Brisbane airport with the full support of Lawrence Springborg, claims merely not to be ideologically in favour of privatisation.
All things considered, it looks as if Lawrence Springboard will lead us all to Hell somewhat faster than a Bligh Government would. Because therefore we stand slightly more chance of turning around before we reach Hell in the latter case I will be preferencing Labor ahead of the Liberal National Party and hoping for a hung Parliament.
How Queensland Government addiction to poker machine revenue has destroyed local live music
The political implications of music
Candidates with a social conscience may feel justified in condemning Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser for putting pokie revenues ahead of:
- Community concern over widespread severe gambling addiction, especially amongst despairing and hopeless aged pensioners, and futureless youth;
- An entire generation of youth, who have been denied access to healthy Oz Rock in local pubs; and
- Forcing youth to socialise in the only alternative... seedy CBD nightclubs, which are the haunt of drug pushers and sociopathic violence addicts; predators that can be avoided only by patrons using their own motor vehicles and, therefore, risking participation in the weekend road carnage.
Few candidates and their supporters have realised that, because of the balance of power situation that has evolved, the key to the 2009 Queensland Elections will be the youth and muso's campaign run in Bligh's seat of South Brisbane, and Andrew Fraser's in Mt Cootha
.
Hundreds of fans and supporters of seventy-nine Sunshine and Gold Coast bands will descend on these tightly fought electorates to warn residents about the wider implications of poker machines and undemocratic and unreasonable noise pollution regulation charges laid against pub and club workers and musicians.
Whilst some candidates may regard such issues as peripheral, in fact the Queensland Government's repression of youth music has serious ramifications for drug abuse, CBD violence, and the scenario that has all parents of socialising youth tossing sleeplessly each weekend night... the dreaded early morning police knock on the door: 'Your child has been killed in a motor vehicle accident'.
Both Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser are coldly aware of the horrific price parents and youth pay for their arbitrary regulations, but the 80% revenue from poker machines is needed (vis a vis cynical finance juggling) to pay for increasingly expensive election campaigns. The slogan that this money goes back to the community is merely that... a marketing slogan. For centuries, to avoid corruption, all government income has been required to be paid into consolidated revenue and not to bribe certain sectors of the community. It is no coincidence that the Minister for Pokies and Liquor and Fines for Music as Noise Pollution is also Treasurer; what some may regard as an unacceptable conflict of interests.
Although the history of introduction of pokies and subsequent repression of Oz Music is quite well known, we will provide a cameo history of this shameful event:
This all started when in the mid-eighties, poker machine corporations tried to become established in Aussie pubs and clubs but were told they were not welcome. Thoughtful patrons saw pokies as a threat to the community, and publicans made more much money than pokies could hope to, through hosting local bands. This healthy situation so promoted the development of Australian music that at one point seven of the world's top twenty were iconic Oz Rok bands: AC/DC, 10cc, INXS, Men At Work, Cold Chisel, Billy Thorpe, La De Das, Australian Crawl, Jerry Rafferty, and Split Enz.
The poker machine corporations were stymied. In desperation they poured funds into politician's election campaigns, on the condition that henceforth youth music was to be regarded as noise pollution. The Queensland ALP enthusiastically married the poker machine corporations and willingly sacrificed what young people value more than any other activity... music: music to sing to, to dance to, and to inspire their youthful dreams. And when we grow old, music enables us to relive our happiest moments.
With pubs prevented from playing youth dance music, kids have been forced to dance in CBD clubs, which is the perfect killing fields for drug pushers. Patrons intending to return home by taxi run the risk of being bashed by gangs of violence addicts, or being beaten and raped in the side streets. Not unnaturally, young people prefer to drive their own cars home and, fatigued, and under the influence of alcohol or even drugs, serious accidents become a probability.
All people with even a rudimentary social conscience, who have studied this situation have concluded that pokies have to go, and dance music reinstalled in suburban pubs where containment of social ills is more manageable, and patrons can walk home unmolested.
Youth is not the only casualty. The enduring music of youth eventually becomes the music of a nation, and is its most admired banner on foreign shores; contrary to the claims of politicians, greatly surpassing our reputation in sports.
Music is also the window to a nation's soul, and it is the very echo of its spirit. Music provides a nation with hope when the dawn is darkest, and music inspires courage, nobility and sacrifice in times of crisis. A nation without music is no nation at all. And it is music that is the greatest casualty of Anna Bligh's unholy relationship with pokies, and Andrew Fraser's killing of music in the name of noise pollution.
Moreover, those talented Queenslander's who bring us the priceless gift of music, are now Queensland's worst paid workers, that is, if they can find work at all; all due to Anna Bligh. Could a politician who does this to music, really care about us?
In this we are adamant; music can never be noise pollution, except, of course, to a cold and ruthlessly manipulative megalomaniac. This description pretty well sums up Premier Anna Bligh, and if voters want Queensland to be strong, and with vibrant and happy youth, destructive Cap'n Bligh must go down with her pirate ship, with bosun Andrew Fraser chained firmly with her to the mast.
The organisations known variously as Bring Back The Music, Bring Back Oz Rok, Pokies Out; Music In, and G-Dogs, are organised by musicians, youth workers, a past liquor authority project researcher, parents, venue organisers, supporters and an army of young people.
We request the support of all candidates, acknowledging as we do, the better recognised crises of health, dental services, hospitals, school bullying, centralising of local government, and the devastating economic implosion on the horizon.
Tony Ryan, 10 March 2009
Historic Yungaba to become a gated community of luxury apartments - candidates' responses
Whilst hopes to save the historic Yungaba migrant hostel have been dashed by Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Paul Lucas's decision to use extraordinary powers to 'call in' the development application for Yungaba. This will allow the Singapore-based Australand development corporation to proceed with its plans to turn a community asset into yet another gated community containing 10 luxury apartments. Nevertheless, the Yungaba Action Group (YAG) believes that the responsible Governments, both the Liberal National Party Brisbane City Council (BCC) and the Queensland Labor Government, now standing for re-election, should be held to account for their defiance of community wishes. The YAG has surveyed candidates standing for election and has supplied a list of candidates who oppose the actions of the state Government and the BCC over Yungaba. The list is included in the letter included below.
Dear Yungaba supporters and friends
YAG took the opportunity to ask all candidates in the forthcoming Queensland election the following questions:
"Would you please provide clear statements that represent your party's position on heritage protection and related legislation?
" - What changes would your party undertake or promote to strengthen heritage legislation?
" - How would your party ensure that government and property developers are held accountable and responsible for any actions that adversely affect heritage-listed properties?
" - Had your Party been in government, how would it have managed the future of the Yungaba Immigration Depot?"
We only contacted those candidates who had supplied an email address and, obviously, we did not contact ALP candidates, as it is the current ALP government who, without consultations or public tenders, sold Yungaba away.
We are pleased to let you know that many candidates took the time to respond, and this is greatly appreciated.
The following candidates expressed the view that , had they been in government, they would have retained Yungaba in public hands and would have protected its significant heritage value for future generations.
Greens candidates:
South Brisbane - Gary Kane
Moggill - Philip Machanick
Maryborough - David Arthur
Hinchinbrooke - Michelle Macklin
Buderim - Danny Stevens
Ipswich West - Dianne Clark
Cairns - Steve Brech
Independent Candidates:
South Brisbane - Derek Rosborough
Nanango - Dorothy Pratt
Southport - Graeme Hill
Sunnybank - Bruce Spiers
Lytton - Trish Kelly
Sandgate - Kevin Stiller
Callide - Clare Mildren
Mount Coot-Tha - James Sinnamon
Toowoomba South - Peter Pike
LNP candidate
BARRON RIVER - Wendy Richardson (who has been involved with trying to save a heritage building in Cairns from demolition)
We commend these candidates to you for further insight into your voting choices when you lodge your vote on Saturday.
We thank those candidates who responded to our questions and commend your community spirit.
Delene Cuddihy
Yungaba Action Group (www.yungaba.org.au)
Survey of candidates' stances on privatisation, population growth, the environment, etc.
Survey of candidates' stances on privatisation, population growth, the environment and other issues at stake in the Queensland elections
To go straight to survey #results">results for any electorate, click on the letter from those following, with which the name of that electorate begins: #A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
I have been attempting to get clear answers from the major parties on some of these questions for some time now, but so far unsuccessfully (see, as examples "Independent candidate seeks categorical assurance against privatisation from Laurence Springborg" and "Andrew Fraser's three different responses to a question on privatisation"). Although it is very late in the campaign, have sent this survey will be sent to all candidates in order to give them all an opportunity to tell Queenslanders wher they stand on these questions.
The questions are:
#q1" id="q1">1. Oppose privatisation: Will you give electors a categorical assurance, if elected, that either you will oppose any further sell-off of public assets, such as Queensland Rail, water infrastructure, electricity generation and distribution infrastructure, ports, airports, schools, hospitals, etc., or you will not support any sales until such time as the Queensland public have shown support for privatisation through a referendum or public opinion polls?
#q2" id="q2">2. Oppose population growth: If elected, will you act to end the Queensland Government's current policy of actively encouraging population growth. Will you make it a policy goal to stabilise Queensland's population as close as possible to current levels and act to prevent our population from doubling from 4 million in 2005 to 8 million by as early as 2031?
#q3" id="q3">3. Oppose high immigration: If elected, will you act to make the Queensland Parliament prevail upon the Federal Government to dramatically reduce its current record high immigration program?
#q4" id="q4">4. No increase in coal exports: Will you oppose any further increase in the rate of extraction of climate-changing coal? Will you oppose Premier Anna Bligh's stated intention made in July last year to triple Queensland's already record levels of coal exports by 2030?
#q5" id="q5">5. Save the Felton Valley: Will you oppose coal mining in the Felton Valley agricultural region south west of Toowoomba?
#q6" id="q6">6. Save Bimblebox: Will you oppose the destruction of the Bimblebox nature refuge by a planned massive open-cut coal mine?
#q7" id="q7">7. No second aluminium smelter: Will you oppose the construction of a massive, polluting, global-warming, Chinese-government-owned aluminium refinery planned to be built on the wetlands to the north of Bowen?
#q8" id="q8">8. Stop rent gouging: Will you take effective action to protect domestic renters and businesses from excessive rent increases?
#q9" id="q9">9. Housing a human right: Would you support European-style legislation that would enshrine access to decent affordable housing as basic human right for all Queenslanders?
#q10" id="q10">10. Water a human right: Would you support legislation that would guarantee access to water as a basic human right for all Queenslanders?
#q11" id="q11">11. Government-sponsored full employment: Would you support, at the state level, the implementation of the Center of Full Employment and Equity's (CofFEE) program to provide full employment in socially and environmentally useful programs for all Australians needing work, fully costed at $9 billion per year?
#FurtherInformation" id="FurtherInformation">Further Information
#q1">1. Oppose privatisation
For further information, please see "Andrew Fraser's three different responses to a question on privatisation" of 9 Mar 09, "Qld Greens: 'competitive' market a calamity for electricity consumers" of 13 Mar 09, "Independent candidate seeks categorical assurance against privatisation from Laurence Springborg" of 11 Mar 09, "Open letter to Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser asking that any planned privatisations be put to the public at forthcoming elections" of17 Mar 09, section "End privatisation - stop the liquidation of Queensland" in "Why I am contesting the Queensland state elections as an independent" of 9 Mar 09, other articles about privatisation, "Costello blasts Dalrymple Bay privatisation" of 21 Mar 05.
#q2">2. Oppose population growth
"Population surges past 21.5 million" in the Courier Mail of 18 Mar 09, section "End Queensland Government encouragement of population growth" in article "Why I am contesting the Queensland state elections as an independent" of 9 Mar 09, "Lawrence Springborg responds to Brisbane Save The Mary River Questionnaire" of 10 Mar 09, "How the Growth Lobby threatens Australia's future" of 24 Jan 09, "Redland City to pay with increased water charges for population growth" of 19 May 08, "More chickens of population growth come home to roost in Queensland" of 14 May 08, other articles about population.
#q3">3. Oppose high immigration
"What cut in immigration?" of 17 Mar 09 by Andrew Bolt, "Will Rudd Government's high immigration program turn Australia into Argentina?" of 19 Jul 09 other articles about immigration.
#q4">4. No increase in coal exports
Section "Labor's coal exports - a crime against this and future generations of humanity" in article "Why I am contesting the Queensland state elections as an independent" of 9 Mar 09
#q5">5. Save the Felton Valley
Note: I have already filled in the responses for all the Greens and the LNP candidates as 'y' to this question. The Greens position against mining in the Felton Valley has been well known for some time, whilst the Friends of Felton have reported that the LNP recently announced that it will proteect the Felton Valley from mining. See also friendsoffelton.blogspot.com.
#q6">6. Save Bimblebox
"Coal mine threatens Queensland Nature Refuge" of 9 Mar 09, www.bimblebox.org.
#q7">7. No second aluminium smelter
"Burdekin Greens candidate: break neck industrialisation threatens Bowen region environment" of 13 Mar 09.
#q8">8. Stop rent gouging
"Rent gouging threatens Brisbane inner city retail community" of 8 Mar 08.
#q9">9. Housing a human right
"Shared accommodation a necessity and no longer a choice for many in Brisbane" of 30 Apr 09.
#q10">10. Water a human right
"Canadian author warns of looming global water supply catastrophe" of 16 Jun 08, www.fairwateruse.com.au,articles on water.
#q11">11. Government-sponsored full employment
See "Full regional development report" (PDF 3.1M ) and other documents downloadable from CofFEE web site.
#results" id="results">Survey Results
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Albert #top">↑ | KEECH, Margaret | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
BRUINSMA, Marlee K. | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FLANNERY, Geoff | y | y | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | y | . | ||||
JOHANSON, Andrea | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Algester #top">↑ | CHRISTIAN, Steve | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
CAJDLER, Stan | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SHORTEN, Anthony | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
STRUTHERS, Karen | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Ashgrove #top">↑ | SAUNDERS, Ian | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SPENCER, Ruth Barbara | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
JONES, Kate | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HOGG, Robert Paul | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
GRIEVE, Bill | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
McCONNEL, Scott | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Aspley #top">↑ | DAVIS, Tracy | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
VINCENT, Allan | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BARRY, Bonny | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
JEREMIJENKO, Peter | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Barron River #top">↑ | RICHARDSON, Wendy | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
WETTENHALL, Steve | Labor | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | |||
ISAACS, Sarah | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Beaudesert #top">↑ | McCREADIE, Brett | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
PATA, Russell | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
GEE, Keith | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
McLINDON, Aidan | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HANSON, Pauline | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
GRODECKI, Andy | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SOMERS, Richard | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Brisbane Central #top">↑ | WOOD, Mark | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
GRACE, Grace | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MILLER, Adrian | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BOCCABELLA, Anne N. | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Broadwater #top">↑ | CROFT, Peta-Kaye (P.K.) | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
TURNLEY, Rohan | y | n | r | n | u | y | n | n | r | r | . | ||||
MONAGHAN, Ben | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
TOWSON, Richard | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MAIZEY, Graeme | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Buderim #top">↑ | DICKSON, Steve | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
STEVENS, Danny | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HAWKINS, Laura | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
TURNER, Cathy | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HEYME, Neil | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Bulimba #top">↑ | FARMER, Di | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
WRIGHT, Angela | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
DEAN, Angela | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
WALKER, Paul | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Bundaberg #top">↑ | DEMPSEY, Jack | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
FREEMAN, Phil | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HALL, Erin | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Bundamba #top">↑ | PETERSEN, Patricia | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
NATTRASS, Ric | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HODGES, Cameron | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SMITH, Bevan | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
INGRAM, Simon | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MILLER, Jo-Ann | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Burdekin #top">↑ | WALKER, Les | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
MACDONALD, Maria Constance | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | y | . | . | . | . | |||
MENKENS, Rosemary | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Burleigh #top">↑ | ELSSMANN, Bryden | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
SMITH, Christine | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FREDERICKS, Jeremy | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HART, Michael | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
LIGHT, Anja | Greens | y | y | r | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | c | ||
SPERRING, Ray | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Burnett #top">↑ | WYATT, Peter | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | c | ||
PIANTA, Chris | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BROMWICH, Robert | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
MESSENGER, Rob | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
WILLIAMS, Bernie | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Cairns #top">↑ | HARROP, Joel | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
SKIPP, Janice | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BOYLE, Desley | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BRECH, Steve | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Callide #top">↑ | PULLEN, David | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
PERCY, Camilla | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SEENEY, Jeff | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MILDREN, Clare | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Caloundra #top">↑ | CALLEN, Roger | Greens | y | r | y | y | y | u | y | r | y | y | y | c | |
TUNNICLIFFE, Jody | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
McARDLE, Mark | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FOGARTY, John M | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
JESSOP, Mike | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Capalaba #top">↑ | GLEESON, Paul | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
CHOI, Michael | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
KIRBY, Chad | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Chatsworth #top">↑ | KILBURN, Steven | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
COONEY, Jason | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FURZE, Jason B | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
ZEGENHAGEN, Tony | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
CALTABIANO, Andrea | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Clayfield #top">↑ | THOMAS, Randle | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
JEREMIJENKO, Andrew | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
WONG, Brendan | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
NICHOLLS, Tim | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
LELLIOTT, Joff | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Cleveland #top">↑ | WEIGHTMAN, Phil | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
JEMISON, Richard | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
PATCHETT, Carissa | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
ROBINSON, Mark | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | y | . | . | . | . | . | c | ||
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Condamine #top">↑ | SHEEHAN, Craig | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
HARRIS, Tracey | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BUGG, Stephanie | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
WATSON, Rod | One Nation | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HOPPER, Ray | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
COPELAND, Stuart | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
Cook #top">↑ | NEWIE, Michaelangelo | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
ST JOHN-WOOD, Neville | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BATCHELOR, Craig | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
O'BRIEN, Jason | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Coomera #top">↑ | CRANDON, Michael | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
MAIZEY, Petrina | Greens | y | y | r | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | c | ||
ANDERSON, Russell | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
ENOCH, Leeanne | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Currumbin #top">↑ | LIGHT, Inge | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
STUCKEY, Jann | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
RIORDAN, Michael | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HOCKINGS, Jason | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Dalrymple #top">↑ | FREEMAN, Adrienne | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
DUNCAN, Harrison H | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
MARTIN, Glenn | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BRISKEY, Jason | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
KNUTH, Shane | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
LEE LONG, Rosa | One Nation | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Everton #top">↑ | KNOX, Troy | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
WATT, Murray | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HALLETT, Bruce | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
VELLA, Anthony | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Ferny Grove #top">↑ | WILSON, Geoff | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
NIELSEN, Howard | Greens | y | u | u | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | u | c | ||
WHITE, Mark A | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SHUTTLEWORTH, Dale | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Gaven #top">↑ | DOUGLAS, Alex | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
MONTGOMERY, David | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
SELWOOD, Ramiah J | y | y | u | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | . | c | |||
SPAIN, Sally | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
GRAY, Phil | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
RADKE, Derek | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CUNNINGHAM, Liz | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
NEILSON, Kirsten | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Gladstone #top">↑ | O'SULLIVAN, Peter | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
CUNNINGHAM, Lis | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
NEILSON, Kirsten | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
Glass House #top">↑ | HANSEN READ, Jenny | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
POWELL, Andrew | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FITZGIBBON, Jenny | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Greenslopes #top">↑ | DICK, Cameron | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
KAYE, Ian | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
ARMSTRONG, Brad | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
RUSSELL, Doug | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
ROSIN, Darryl | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Gregory #top">↑ | JOHNSON, Vaughan | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
DALTON, Carla | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
WEBBER, Fabian | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Gympie #top">↑ | HUTTON, Kent | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
TABONE, Daniel | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
ROBERTS, Elisa | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
GIBSON, David | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Hervey Bay #top">↑ | BROWN, Paul | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
SORENSEN, Ted | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
McNAMARA, Andrew | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
POWNING, Jason | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SCHUBACK, Peter | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Hinchinbrook #top">↑ | PLATT, Mark | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
THOMSON, Raymond William | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
MACKLIN, Michelle | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CRIPPS, Andrew | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Inala #top">↑ | MAIZEY, Alan | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
RYAN, Felicity | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
PERKINS, Leo | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
PALASZCZUK, Annastacia | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Indooroopilly #top">↑ | BURKETT, John | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
LEE, Ronan | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
WARNER, Sarah | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
EMERSON, Scott | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Ipswich #top">↑ | NOLAN, Rachel | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
HOLMES, Suzie | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
LUXTON, Peter | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
DENMAN, Elwyn | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Ipswich West #top">↑ | CLARK, Di | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
WENDT, Wayne | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CHOAT, Sean | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Kallangur #top">↑ | O'NEILL, Mary-Anne | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
REVIE, Alan | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
McDOWELL, Mark | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
RUTHENBERG, Trevor | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
GRAHAM, Craig | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Kawana #top">↑ | BLEIJIE, Jarrod | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
GOODWIN, Jenny | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HOLT, Lindsay | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Keppel #top">↑ | HOOLIHAN, Paul | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
BAMBRICK, Paul | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
McKENNA, Steve | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Lockyer #top">↑ | HINE, Emma | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
RICKUSS, Ian | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
KELLY, John | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Logan #top">↑ | McLINDON, Tristan | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
GEAR, Jenny | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BROWN, James | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MICKEL, John | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Lytton #top">↑ | MURPHY, Ryan | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
PLEVEY, Neil | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
LUCAS, Paul | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CRUTE, Daniel | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
KELLY, Trish | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Mackay #top">↑ | DYKYJ, Jonathon | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
OAKES, Bob | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MULHERIN, Tim | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Mansfield #top">↑ | REEVES, Phil | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
LOVE, Dean | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HART, Adrian | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FITZ-GERALD, Wendy | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
WEBB, Jesse Alexander | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Maroochydore #top">↑ | SIMPSON, Fiona | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
CLUTTERBUCK, Brenton | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CARLOS, Sue | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Maryborough #top">↑ | MADDERN, Anne | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
HANSEN, Brad | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FOLEY, CHRIS | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
ARTHUR, David | Greens | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | |||
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Mermaid Beach #top">↑ | STEVENS, Ray | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
MONAI, Ibolya | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
LANDIS, Christina | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
PETTINATO, Marella | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CRANE, Shannon | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Mirani #top">↑ | MURPHY, Scott | Labor | |||||||||||||
MALONE, Ted | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CARLISLE, Christine | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Moggill #top">↑ | FLEGG, Bruce | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
BRADBURY, Andrew | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SEARLE, Barry | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | c | |||
MACHANICK, Philip | Greens | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | u | c | ||
COLVIN, Robert | Labor | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | |||
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Morayfield #top">↑ | RYAN, Mark | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
BRYDON, Fiona | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
O'BRIEN, Therese | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
DEVEREAUX, Lynette | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Mount Coot-tha #top">↑ | ZWOLENSKI, Dave | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SINNAMON, James | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | ||||
WATERS, Larissa | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
KARAMUJIC, Suzanne | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
POLLARD, John | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FRASER, Andrew | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Mount Isa #top">↑ | KIERNAN, Betty | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
COSTIN, Paul | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
DOUGLAS, Keith | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
RANDALL, Ted | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
COLLINS, Roy | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Mount Ommaney #top">↑ | HUSTON, Rob | Greens | y | y | u | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
FOONG, Tamara | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
O'BRIEN, Evan | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
ATTWOOD, Julie | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Mudgeeraba #top">↑ | HARDIN, Tom | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
BATES, Ros | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
REILLY, Dianne | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
TAYLER, James | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
WOOLFORD, Julian | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Mulgrave #top">↑ | WHITEHOUSE, Hugh | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
BLACK, Vic | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BYRNES, Damian | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
PITT, Curtis Warren | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Mundingburra #top">↑ | BROWN, Jenny | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
NELSON-CARR, Lindy | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
NICKSON, Amanda | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
PAULER, Francis | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
DWYER, Colin | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Murrumba #top">↑ | BLAIR, Rodney | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
FLANNERY, Peter | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
VINCENT, Sally | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
WELLS, Dean | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Nanango #top">↑ | PRATT, Dorothy (Dolly) | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
RANDALL, Danielle | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BJELKE-PETERSEN, John | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FORSBERG, Frida | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Nicklin #top">↑ | WELLINGTON, Peter William | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CLARIDGE, Garry | Greens | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | |||
MORRISON, Steve | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BAULCH, Peter | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Noosa #top">↑ | STOCKWELL, Brian | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
ELMES, Glen | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MOLLOY, Cate | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
CHAPMAN, John | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HAINES, Steve | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Nudgee #top">↑ | PALMER, Michael | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
CLOTHIER, Noel | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
ROBERTS, Neil | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FRANCIS, Centaine | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CROWHURST, Douglas | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Pine Rivers #top">↑ | MALE, Carolyn | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
WALLACE, Tim | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MELLERS, Luke | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
COLE, Tony | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Pumicestone #top">↑ | BISHOP, Colin R | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | |||
BELL, Ian | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SULLIVAN, Carryn | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MOON, Shane | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
McGRANE, Paul | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
BOWDEN, Bert | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Redcliffe #top">↑ | CRAMER, Philip | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
VAN LITSENBURG, Lillian | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HOUSTON, Peter | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
JOHNSON, Pete | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
GOLLAN, Bill | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Redlands #top">↑ | EDWARDS, Mark | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
ENGLISH, John | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
NIGHTINGALE, Colin | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
STEINBERG, Heather | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
KROOK, Cameron | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
DOWLING, Peter | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Rockhampton #top">↑ | CLIFFORD, Sam | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
KANE, Don | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FINCH, Gavin | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
SCHWARTEN, Robert | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Sandgate #top">↑ | STILLER, Kevin | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | c | ||
SKELTON, Keith | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CROOK, Mike | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
GAFFEL, Lenard | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
GRUNDY, Mark | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
DARLING, Vicky | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
South Brisbane #top">↑ | ROSBOROUGH, Derek | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BLIGH, Anna | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
RENDELL, David | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HAINES, Merilyn | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | . | c | |||
WATSON, Sam | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
KANE, Gary | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CARROLL, Mary | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
COATES, Matt | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
MARTIN, Greg | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Southern Downs #top">↑ | EAST, Bob | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
KEATING, Geoffrey | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SPRINGBORG, Lawrence | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Southport #top">↑ | HILL, Graeme | y | n | n | n | r | r | r | n | y | y | y | c | ||
TULL, Mark A | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
DALTON, Stephen | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
LAWLOR, Peter | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MORRIS, Brian | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
WRIGHT, Tania | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Springwood #top">↑ | de BRENNI, Allan | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
BEARD, Dave | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
LIMBURG, Kim | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | ||||
STONE, Barbara | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
COTTER, Neil | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
NOAH, Lesley Alexandra | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Stafford #top">↑ | CARSWELL, Brad | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
FOMIATTI, Paul | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
PEACH, Tristan | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HINCHLIFFE, Stirling | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Stretton #top">↑ | ROBERTSON, Stephen | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
CAJDLER, Jane | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FRIZZELL, Kerrie | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Sunnybank #top">↑ | SPENCE, Judy | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
SPIERS, Bruce Roland | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
JACKSON, Marie | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
RYAN-SYKES, Matthew | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FLAWS, G Peter | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Surfers Paradise #top">↑ | MAGIN, Don | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
MAIZEY, Bridget | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
ROOK, Caleb | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
LANGBROEK, John-Paul | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
COE, Wendy | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Thuringowa #top">↑ | ELMS, Tony | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
REILLY, Frank | Greens | y | . | . | y | y | y | . | . | . | . | . | c | ||
TURNER, Ken | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
LYNAM, Paul | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
WALLACE, Craig | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Toowoomba North #top">↑ | ROBINSON, Brett | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
FRANZ, Archie | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
RIETHMULLER, Neil | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
WATTS, Trevor | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
SHINE, Kerry | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
JEWELL, Perry J.B. | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Toowoomba South #top">↑ | TOOMBS, Dan | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
PYKE, Peter | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
HEATON, Barnaby | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HORAN, Mike | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Townsville #top">↑ | HURST, Murray | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
PUNSHON, Michael | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
OUI-FOSTER, Delena | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
JOHNSTONE, Mandy | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
STIRLING, Jenny | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
Warrego #top">↑ | THORNTON, Elliott | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
KUSTERS, Tony | Family First | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HOBBS, Howard | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HASSALL, Allen | y | n | y | n | n | n | y | y | y | y | y | l | |||
WILDERMUTH, Kathryn | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
GLEESON, Wally | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
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Waterford #top">↑ | MOORHEAD, Evan | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
TAYLOR, Dale | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
HOWSE, David | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||||
OSTAPOVITCH, Freya | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Whitsunday #top">↑ | JARRATT, Jan | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
LUND, Austin | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
JOICE, Paul | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Woodridge #top">↑ | SCOTT, Desley | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
PATANE, Sarina | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
REDDINGTON, John | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
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Yeerongpilly #top">↑ | KNEEBONE, Julianna | LNP | . | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | ||
McCOSKER, Tom | DS4SEQ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
CONNORS, Libby | Greens | y | . | . | . | y | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
FINN, Simon | Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||
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#A">A #B">B #C">C #D">D #E">E #F">F #G">G #H">H #I">I #K">K #L">L #M">M #N">N #P">P #R">R #S">S #T">T #W">W #Y">Y
Questions: 1 = #q1">Oppose privatisation, 2 = #q2">Oppose population growth, 3 = #q3">Oppose high immigration, 4 = #q4">No increase in coal exports, 5 = #q5">Save the Felton Valley, 6 = #q6">Save Bimblebox, 7 = #q7">No second aluminium smelter, 8 = #q8">Stop rent gouging, 9 = #q9">Housing a human right, 10 = #q10">Water a human right 11 = #q11">Government-sponsored full employment. Responses: y = yes, n = no, r = yes with reservations, u = unsure, # = no comment, . = no response, * = unable to contact. c = link to comments, l = external link. |
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Andrew Fraser's three different responses to a question on privatisation
Media Release, Tuesday 17 March 2009
Queensland voters, who overwhelmingly oppose privatisation, have a right to know which candidates can be relied upon to block any further sell-offs of public assets, said James Sinnamon, independent candidate for the Brisbane inner-north-west seat of Mount Coot-tha.
"The privatisation of the Cairns, Mackay and Brisbane airports, the Golden Casket, Energex and Ergon during the last term of Parliament, demonstrate that privatisation was an issue at stake in the 2006 state elections," said the independent candidate, "yet where were the electors told of this?"
Mr Sinnamon had contacted both the Premier, Anna Bligh, and the state Treasurer, Andrew Fraser, before the elections were announced in order to ask Anna Bligh for an assurance that, if she intends to privatise any more publicly owned assets, that she state her intention to do so to the public before the forthcoming elections. Alternatively, he asked that Anna Bligh undertake to put any privatisations to a referendum.
So far, Mr Sinnamon has not received a clear response to that question.
Instead, he has received three different responses on three different occasions from Andrew Fraser.
The first, given on the Brisbane Madonna King radio show last Friday, was that he had no plans to privatise any more assets and that he was ideologically opposed to privatisation.
The second response, given in a letter received by Mr Sinnamon later on the same day stated:
"We will only ever agree to such sales where there are demonstrable benefits to the Queensland community."
So, instead of being ideologically opposed to privatisation, Andrew Fraser had become merely not ideologically in favour of privatisation. In his words:
"We ... will not pursue an ideologically driven agenda of privatisation."
Then, at the Mount Coot-tha electorate 'meet the candidates' night on Monday 16 March, Andrew Fraser gave yet a third response.
Mr Fraser told the meeting that the government had no business owning and operating airports and that the money was better spent on our hospitals.
"So, it seems to me that the State Treasurer is ideologically in favour of privatisation, after all," commented Mr Sinnamon, "at least in regards to airports."
"Why weren't Queensland electors told of that in 2006?" asked the candidate, "Now, in 2009, are Queenslanders only to learn, upon the re-election of the Bligh Labor Government, that the Bligh Government also believes the government has 'no business' owning Queensland Rail, the Port of Brisbane corporation, water infrastructure or electricity generators?"
James Sinnamon had also sought a commitment against privatisation from Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg, but has, so far, not received a response.
He said that if neither the Labor Party nor the Opposition Liberal National Party (LNP) are prepared to rule out privatisation, then they should defend that stance in a public debate.
Accordingly, the candidate issued a challenge to both Mr Springborg and to Mr Fraser to publicly debate privatisation before the election.
"If they are personally unable to debate the question, I am happy to debate with any other candidate from either party," said Mr Sinnamon.
Mr Sinnamon further called upon all candidates to give a clear commitment against privatisation and intends to put that question to each candidate. He will be publishing the responses on the web site candobetter.org.
James Sinnamon is also convener of Citizens Against Selling Telstra. The responses will also be published on its web site at citizensagainstsellingtelstra.com.
Contact:
James Sinnamon
Independent candidate for Mount Coot-tha,
0412 319669, 07 31185221
PO Box 86, Red Hill QLD 4059
james[AT]candobetter.org
candobetter.org/QldElections/MountCoot-tha
See also: "Open letter to Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser asking that any planned privatisations be put to the public at forthcoming elections" of 17 Feb 09, "Independent candidate seeks categorical assurance against privatisation from Laurence Springborg" of 11 Mar 09, "Why I am contesting the Queensland state elections as an independent" of 9 Mar 09, citizensagainstsellingtelstra.com.
#FromAndrewFraser-13mar09" id="FromAndrewFraser-13mar09">Appendix: Letter from Andrew Fraser of Friday 13 March 2009
Mr James Sinnamon
Dear Mr Sinnamon
Thank you for your e-mail of 17 February concerning Queensland Government policy on privatisation.
The Queensland Government's record on the sale of Government assets is very clear. We will only ever agree to such sales where there are demonstrable benefits to the Queensland community and where the Government is able to maximise the financial return to taxpayers.
The Queensland Government has effectively managed such transactions in the past ensuring the proceeds are applied effectively to improve the state's stock of social and economic infrastructure such as the sale of the regional airports where the proceeds will go to hospitals in Cairns, Mackay and Mount
Isa. Under the sales agreement for this transactions the airport will operate under a long term lease and the state will continue to own the land and airport infrastructure.
We have not and will not pursue an ideologically driven agenda of privatisation.
Yours sincerely
(signature)
ANDREW FRASER
#ToAndrewFraser-13mar09" id="ToAndrewFraser-13mar09">Appendix: My letter in response of Friday 13 March 2009
Dear Andrew Fraser,
The letter I have received from you is not the categorical assurance against privatisation that I was seeking from you.
Furthermore, it significantly contradicts what I recall that you told Brisbane listeners on Madonna King's Breakfast show this morning.
This morning, according to my recollection, you said that there were no plans to privatise any more of Queensland's assets and that you were ideologically opposed to privatisation.
In contrast, your letter states:
"The Queensland Government's record on the Sale of Government. We will only
ever agree to such sales where there are demonstrable benefits to the
Queensland community."
Further along, in marked contrast to my recollection of your statement that you were ideologically opposed to privatisation, the letter merely states, "We have not and will not pursue an ideologically driven agenda of privatisation."
So can you please make clear to me whether you are ideologically opposed to privatisation or just merely not ideologically in favour of privatisation?
Either way this doesn't provide the categorical assurance I was seeking.
I therefore repeat my challenge to you, and to other candidates, who appear to favour privatisation during the next term of Parliament, including, it would seem, the opposition leader Lawrence Springborg, that you publicly debate the issue of privatisation with a candidate opposed to privatisation, such as myself.
I will also be asking all candidates for categorical assurances that they will oppose privatisation during the course of the next Parliament. I trust that the ABC, the Courier Mail and other newsmedia will make the responses known to electors so that they can be fully informed when they cast their votes.
Yours sincerely,
James Sinnamon
Pro-democracy independent
candidate for Mount Coot-tha
Burdekin Greens candidate: break neck industrialisation threatens Bowen region environment
A letter sent by Independent candidate for Mount Coot-tha, James Sinnamon to Greens MP Ronan Lee, asking for his support in his efforts to raise the issue of privatisation as an elections issue, has drawn a sympathetic response from some Green candidates. One response came from Maria MacDonald, a resident of Bowen, who is contesting the seat of Burdekin. The letter is included below.
Dear James
I received your letter addressed to Ronan Lee regarding the privatisation of Qld public assets and I too am deeply concerned.
I am the Greens candidate for Burdekin and I live in Bowen.
We are facing the prospect of a huge industrialisation push here onto our wetlands just 15kms north of Bowen. According to the DIPs Minister Paul Lucas we are to become another Gladstone with the initial establishment of Chalco - one of the worlds largest aluminium refinery owned by China. It is also planned to become a major coal export port. This is a part of the plan of the establishment of the Northern Economic Triangle between Mt Isa, Townsville and Bowen.
This is abhorrent to many of us here in Bowen because we are on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef at the top of the Whitsundays and we wholeheartedly oppose these proposals. This has been imposed onto our community without any consultation at all.
Government has shown that they totally represent Corporation by their collusion with XStrata in the poisoning of the children of Mt Isa and the ignorance of the facts presented over the years revealing the totally unacceptable levels of lead toxicity in the population.
We as a community here are shut down by the local newspaper here. It is totally biassed and prejudiced towards any criticism or opposition to the status quo.
This is one of the main reasons I am standing for this election with the Greens so as to try and get out about what is happening here.
It is great to come across your letter and the website. Thank you
Maria Macdonald
See also: "Impacts of the Chalco Aluminium Refinery if located near Bowen" of 2007 on Mackay Conservation Group web site, #comment-679127">forum discussion of 31 Mar 09 on Larvatus Prodeo.
Mexico City braces for water rationing - same growth lobby parasites as Australia caused this drying disease
"Supplies will be cut or reduced to homes in many areas of the capital this weekend, making a scarce resource even scarcer. 'We are running out of water,' a [Mexico city] official said.
One of the world's largest cities is launching a rationing plan in a drastic -- and some say overdue -- effort to conserve water after rampant development, mismanagement and reduced rainfall caused supplies to drop to dangerously low levels.
Starting Saturday, water will be cut or reduced to homes in at least 10 boroughs in Mexico City plus 11 other municipalities in the state of Mexico, which surrounds the capital. The action affects an estimated 5.5 million people and includes neighborhoods ranging from affluent Lomas de Chapultepec on the western edge of the city to poor, densely populated Iztapalapa in the southeast." (From an article by Tracy Wilkinson, 'Reporting from Mexico City -- Already-scarce water gets even scarcer this weekend for millions of Mexicans', in the LA Times, January 30, 2009 S)
Australia
Readers will recognise that Australia is in the same situation as Mexico, for the same reasons. Perhaps now the "New Class" that has shushed protests about our water and soil security with silly accusations of 'Racism' and equally irresponsible accusations sof "pessimism" will realise that they too are responsible.
Don't let us forget the role of the ABC and the commercial press in silencing protest along the same lines, whilst pretending that scarcity was a reason to moralise to the poor and to throw money at corporations promising technical fixes. Most of these big concerns leave a trail all the way back to the interest they had in the sub-prime and earlier land speculation bubbles.
An easy and informative read on this is:Submission to Victorian Government Housing Affordability Inquiry, Oct 2003 : Land and Housing Prices and Land-use Planning and Housing Systems in Australia and Elsewhere and the Impact of Globalisation, the Internet, trends in Natural Increase, Households and Immigration
Most amazing, all the State governments and the Federal Government in Australia are STILL trying to help the growth lobby get away with the money and persist with their unsustainable shennanigans. For recent articles about this click here.
We really are going the way of Easter Island.
Australian leaders must answer to Australian citizens for their unspeakable acquiesence to the growth lobby
Recent and current premiers and prime ministers of Australia should be publicly tried for their part in this life-threatening situation. We should be looking at the encouragement politicians gave to the industries and corporations of the Growth Lobby, especially at changes made to laws affecting democratic ability at local and state level to block land-use intensification and population growth. States which have instituted policies (visible in their websites) to encourage people to come and live here when they were also advising their own populations that water was at a crisis level, have left a clear trail of responsibility.
Queenslanders should note that there IS one candidate running against the growth lobby - James Sinnamon - in this state election.
Qld Greens: 'competitive' market a calamity for electricity consumers
Property Council conference placarded by Peak Oil and Sustainable Population advocates in South Australia
The Property Council of Australia's "Sustainable Urban Growth Conference" was the scene of lively protest for the first time as demonstrators against unsustainable population growth and infrastructure expansion handed out leaflets about peak oil and population to incoming conference participants. See also the second part of: Melbourne 2008: Life in a destruction zone
Today outside the Property Council's "Sustainable Urban Growth Conference", there was some unexpected - but long awaited - activity. For one hour during the registration at the beginning of the conference 9 people from Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) and Beyond Oil in South Australia (BOSA) greeted conference attenders with a big SPA banner and handouts for all the delegates.
Placard: Sustainable Growth is a scam!
Their placards were much in evidence, bearing slogans, including, "Sustainable Growth is a SCAM", "Sustainable Growth oxyMORONIC", "TODs mean too many BODs". etc.
Most conference attenders received a handout from the demonstrators. SPA Member and ex-Democrat, Dr John Coulter, was interviewed by Channel 10, although noise from traffic made this hard to hear.
Property Council Australia (PCA) conference organisers looked stunned as demonstrators posed for photographs with international invited speakers, but many in the throng appeared to have a good time.
Protest outside more cost effective than ticket to conference
The cost of attending the "Sustainable Urban Growth Conference" is beyond the means of most ordinary people. Protests outside such events seem like the only way that Australians can show what they think of the policies that the PCA boasts of influencing the government to adopt.
From a Property Council powerpoint presentation slide
Policies to grow Australia's population, reduce the taxes that property developers, investors, financiers and realtors pay, and policies for endlessly renovating and extending big infrastructure and housing, despite constant resistance from people whose lives are adversely affected by these policies, which increase the cost of living and decrease quality of life.
BOSA hits the right target
Beyond Oil South Australia is a group which supports radical action by government and individuals to cope with a future constrained oil supply and high petroleum prices. It seeks to bring about a clear understanding of where economic growth is leading and that growth requires an increasing oil supply. It supports population stabilisation and eventual reduction.
Population sociologist compares situation in 2002 at the Bracks Melbourne Population Summit
Population sociologist, Sheila Newman, who wrote The Growth Lobby and its Absence (2002) about how Australia is dominated by the growth lobby and France is not, commented, "I handed out a press release on behalf of SPA Victoria naming the members of the growth lobby's peak body (which was APop then and is now the PCA) on the steps of the Steve Bracks Melbourne Population Summit in 2002. The Financial Review ran the press release in its entirety, but SPA failed to take the matter up more widely, which always struck me as a tragic lost opportunity, because, since then the growth lobby has become frighteningly powerful and population growthism has been quasi-normalised by governments with the help of the mainstream press. Recently, however, Mark O'Connor came out with a book called Overloading Australia, which was distributed by SPA and which talked about the Growth Lobby."
Growth lobby undermining democracy
"It is great that they are now linking the push for population to the development lobby. Children should be taught of this menace to democracy and sustainability at school."
Newman said that, "Unfortunately democracy has gone out the window as government simply takes its directions from the PCA and similar growth lobby groups, which are internationally powerful and very wealthy. With the public almost excluded from decisions about their towns and cities, there is nothing left to do but picket the lobby groups."
"Let's hope that this is the beginning of a whole new trend in grass-roots democracy." Newman is also the editor of The Final Energy Crisis, (Pluto Press, UK, 2008), which is about Peak Oil, alternative energies and population scenarios.
Michael Lardelli of BOSA can be contacted on E-mail: michael.lardelli[at]adelaide.edu.au or phone: (08) 8303-3212
Wilsons Prom Fire - Gross ecological neglect or deliberate slaughter?
During February's bushfires, the Victorian government's Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) has allowed nearly all of the natural ecology of the northern half of Wilsons Promontory to burn. Is the Prom fire (now having destroyed 24,800 hectares of native habitat) being deliberately left to burn by DSE? DSE and CFA have protected private property at Tidal River and Yanakie. So is what's really happening down at the Prom away from public scrutiny?
See also "Wilsons Promontory – DSE fire management risking local extinctions" of 26 Feb 09.
During February's bushfires, the Victorian government's Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) has allowed nearly all of the natural ecology of the northern half of Wilsons Promontory National Park (The Prom) to burn.
Out of control? Lack of resources? Or has The Prom fire (now having destroyed 24,800 hectares of native habitat) in fact been deliberately left to burn? DSE in collaboration with the Victorian Government's CFA have protected private property at Tidal River and Yanakie. So what really has been going on at The Prom behind the fire barricade out of public view? Why was the small fire north of Sealers Cove not extinguished on Friday 13th February when it was nearly out? Why after three weeks with mild weather conditions has this wildfire not been put out? Why, ahead of more forecast hot winds, has DSE risked this fire continuing?
Is this in fact an opportunistic prescribed burn...thanks to lightning? Is it in fact because the DSE doesn't want the fire out..not until its prescribed burn area is burnt?
A DSE operational fire planning document sourced from the Yarram Fire Distict (which includes The Prom) shows that most of The Prom that has now been burnt is in fact part of DSE's 'Planned Burns' for 2009, 2010 and 2011 anyway. The DSE map (attached) shows no fires history for the northern half of The Prom.
...'so quick let's burn it, lest it burns!'
[CLICK MAP TO ENLARGE] Yarram Fire Operations Plan 2008/09 - 2010/11 - showing most of Wilsons Promontory colour coded for planned burning. ©Firemap Tue 14th Oct 2008
On this DSE planned burn map of The Prom, no areas are off limits from burning save the few villages and small pockets of private property and what the DSE has mapped as Zone 5 'Exclusion of Prescribed Burning'.
All other natural bushland areas of The Prom have been targeted by DSE for burning anyway.
This prescribed burning culture labels all bush hazardous 'fuel' and a demonic threat. Instead of putting out the fires in bushland they let the bush burn and all the native animals burn alive in the process.
They brag... 'we save houses, the bush will grow back so what's the problem?'
The 'Department for Sparks and Embers' is living up to its name.
But who's responsible for the fauna?
See also "Wilsons Promontory – DSE fire management risking local extinctions" of 26 Feb 09.
Self-censorship and opinion on population numbers
Christopher Ryan of Antioch University New England is in the dissertation phase of his doctoral program and the central question of his research relates to self-censorship of personal views and ideas that may be unpleasant, controversial, or uncomfortable. Most specifically, he is iinterested in specific concerns people have that lead to their self-censorship behaviors.
He thinks that the area of population numbers is one of those issues, like growth generally, that elicits significant visceral negative reactions and thus self-censorship. He believes self-censorship may be a common response by people who hold strong views about population.
He has designed a questionnaire to find out what may be happening. The questionnaire is at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=F1xytz_2fF_2fPl31pjFaIMzcg_3d_3d
One facet of the research is the part of the "spiral of silence" theory that suggests that self-censorship behaviors mask how important or widespread certain beliefs may actually be. He hopes to use this work to show that in topics like population, self-censorship may be holding back a groundswell of concern over this vital issue.
Christopher Ryan has a blog called The Localizer Blog (http://thelocalizer.blogspot.com)
Topic:
Independent candidate seeks categorical assurance against privatisation from Laurence Springborg
This letter is the second part of my response to Laurence Springborg's answer to an e-mail I sent to him and a number of other candidates. That initial e-mail which included my response to a questionnaire from the Save the Mary River Brisbane Group I recently sent him. (published on
citizensagainstsellingtelstra.com
(now archived by Australian National Library's Pandora service).)
Dear Lawrence Springborg,
#privatisation" id="privatisation">Privatisation of water, Queensland Rail, electricity generators, etc
In your previous letter to me you omitted to respond to my question:
"Will (you) commit (yourself) now to opposing the privatisation of any of Queensland's water infrastructure during the next three year Parliamentary term?"
I ask this because I perceive there is a serious risk that either your Government, or a returned Bligh Government, will continue past policies of selling off Queensland's family silver as short-term, short-sighted fixes to Queensland's structural fiscal problems. (I would argue that these problems are largely avoidable and caused by the Queensland Government's unnecessary encouragement of population growth.)
As I have argued in documents elsewhere on this site #main-fn1">1, Contrary to the promises of privatisation proponents, almost every privatisation has been a disaster for the public interest. This includes the privatisation of the SGIO enacted by both LNP and Labor Government's, Telstra#main-fn2">2, the Dalrymple Bay coal loader#main-fn3">3, the Golden Casket, Energex, Ergon, TAB, the Commonwealth Bank, QANTAS, etc. etc.
I have also described elsewhere#main-fn4">4 how I was personally affected by privatisation, when I lived in Warwick in your electorate in 1997. In that year, the Borbidge Liberal National Government effectively privatised the TAFE college computer support services by outsourcing them to UniSys. As an additional consequence, the Warwick TAFE college was forced, in 1998, to sell the Flexi Net Internet Service Provider (ISP) to a private local consortium. Although I had worked extremely hard to build up the service since 1996, and actually saved the business after the transfer, I lost my job soon after. Before long, Flexi Net was sold to the Ipswich-based HaleNet ISP, which, in turn, a few years later was bought out be a Victorian based ISP.
Thus my own career was seriously harmed, the Warwick community lost a local ISP and I have good reason to believe that the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE (SQIT) lost an opportunity to become the ISP for Southern Queensland.
So, like many other Australians, I know from my own direct experience how harmful privatisation is.
It should therefore come as no surprise that all opinion polls indicate overwhelming public opposition to privatisation. In events chronicled on this site, but poorly reported in the mainstream media, last year, when the NSW Labor Government attempted to privatise the government owned electricity generators, polls showed at one stage 79% public opposition and at another stage 85% public opposition. Fortunately, for the people of NSW the Liberal National Opposition acted in a principled democratic fashion and blocked the privatisation legislation.
I believe that the Queensland public, as the rightful owners of Queensland Government utilities, are entitled to be consulted before any further assets are sold off, in particular, our water utilities, our publicly owned electricity generators, and Queensland Rail (QR).
So, I need to ask you: Will you give your firm categorical assurance that no more publicly owned assets will be sold off in the next term of a Springborg Liberal National Government?
I earnestly hope that this e-mail will cause you to give the firm commitment to Queensland electors that I am seeking. If you are unable to give this commitment, however, then I will consider privatisation to be an issue at stake in these elections. In such case I will maintain that the issue has to be properly discussed before the Queensland electors.
It is my view that the vast majority of Queenslanders opposed to privatisation are entitled to see those who remain in favour of privatisation justify their position. They are also entitled to know which candidates are firmly against privatisation.
If the Liberal National Party cannot categorically rule out privatisation, I will therefore be asking you or another LNP representative to publicly debate this question with me.
I will also be debating this issue with members of the Labor Party, including Treasurer Andrew Fraser at a "meet the candidates" night on Monday 16 March.
Thank you for your attention and thank you again for your reply.
Sincerely,
James Sinnamon
Pro-democracy independent candidate
for Mount Coot-tha
Footnotes
#main-fn1" id="main-fn1">1. #main-fn1-txt">↑ See section "End privatisation - stop the liquidation of Queensland" in "Why I am contesting the Queensland state elections as an independent" of 8 Mar 09.
#main-fn2" id="main-fn2">2. #main-fn2-txt">↑ As convener of Citizens Against Selling Telstra, I campaigned, ultimately unsuccessfully against the full privatisation of Telstra. See citizensagainstsellingtelstra.com. The catastrophe of full privatisation, the latest manifestation being Telstra's planned answer phone rip-off, could have been avoided if Liberal National Senator Barnaby Joyce had simply kept his promise made to Queensland electors in 2005 to oppose privatisation. (see "An open letter to Queensland National Senator Barnaby Joyce" of 12 Sep 05)
#main-fn3" id="main-fn3">3. #main-fn3-txt">↑ See "Costello blasts Dalrymple Bay privatisation" of 22 Mar 09 and "Feds Set to Repeat Australian Failure in Ridley Privatization" (MS Word document) of 26 Oct 05 by John Cummins, Canadian Federal MP about planned privatisation of Ridley Island Coal Terminal. He wrote, "Privatization of Australia's Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal in 2001 has been a disaster the federal government seems determined to impose on Ridley Terminals."
#main-fn4" id="main-fn4">4. #main-fn4-txt">↑ See footnote in "Why I am contesting the Queensland state elections as an independent" of 8 Mar 09.
Steve Irwin's dad visits Wildhaven after Black Saturday bushfires
Since Black Saturday - Feb 7, 2009 - when Australia's worst-ever bushfires on the hottest day in Victoria's recorded history completely destroyed all infrastructure at Wildhaven animal rescue and release center, Alan and Stella Reid have had a few visitors, including Steve Irwin's father, Bob Irwin, and Maryland Wilson of the AWPC, and four kangaroos that also escaped with their lives. Allan Reid tells an incredible story of his own survival as the place burned to the ground leaving him and perhaps four kangaroos alive. Please consider donating money for hay and rebuilding.See alsoImportant Wildhaven Shelter in St Andrews NE Victoria perished needs rebuilding and video.
Bob Irwin of the Australia Zoo between Alan and Stella Reid at Wildhaven 11 March 2009
Phone and electricity still not reconnected
Although the Reids at Wildhaven have had a number of visitors wishing them well, after thirty-one days since the fires on February 7, they would very much appreciate a visit from Telstra to reconnect the land-line and they desperately need an electrician to come and inspect their telegraph poles and certify that the electricity may be reconnected.
Bob Irwin's visit and the Department of "Sustainability" (DSE)
I have lots of film of my own recording a visit on March 10 to Wildhaven, but I was glad of this photo I was sent of Bob Irwin with Allan and Stella Reid. It was taken when he visited them at the devastated Wildhaven site yesterday (March 11, 2009).
Bob Irwin's visit probably means a lot to the Reids because it shows that their serious and significant work supporting wildlife has been recognised by people respected world-wide in the hands-on wildlife-help and species-preservation community. Ironically so, since I also know that the Reids were quite hurt recently to be passed over for a small amount of funding by the Victorian Department of Sustainability (DSE), apparently with a remark that the applicant 'lacked experience'.
Do DSE realise how much damage their lumpen conduct towards wildlife and so-called 'Greenies' does?
I am probably not the only one who thinks that that remark reflects pretty accurately where the DSE is at. Stella and Allan have been running their wildlife shelter for 22 years. DSE could learn from them - that is, if it could first master its arrogance. The Reids built Wildhaven 11 years ago and must have wondered what hit them when the ignorant knockback came.
Wildhaven on March 10, 2009
It is worthwhile noting that the DSE insult still comes to the Reids' minds, even after having Wildhaven totally wiped out by the Black Saturday fires, and almost being wiped out themselves.
Few of the wild creatures they lived for survived
Both of them weep every time that they mention the animals that died - "the kids" - as they refer to them affectionately, although the rest of the time they put on a brave face. Something like sixty-plus injured wildlife they were treating or in the process of releasing, of which each one was an individual with which they had a close relationship, will probably never be seen again. The dam below was full of the bodies of animals for whom the water did not prove sufficient shield against this super-hot fire. The CFA and the police helped the Reids to collect tens of dead animals and then took them away.
Between three and five kangaroos they knew probably survived. Alan wonders if they crawled into wombat holes. A doe, her joey and her adult daughter (known by names I cannot recall) came back to Wildhaven with burned paws. They were darted with anaesthetic so that the Reids could send them for treatment to a wildlife-rescue place that hadn't been burned out. They have all recovered, but, worryingly, the doe jumped the fence of the wildlife-hospital with her joey and has not been seen since.
When he was driving down the hill in the evening away from the scene of the fires, Alan glimpsed a male kangaroo he knew well, travelling alongside his car, and was amazed to see that the roo appeared unscathed. (I cannot remember his name either; it seems very disrespectful of me.)
The Reids also hope that the big male kangaroo with mending burned paws, who has been eating hay on the outskirts of the camp, is who they think he is - "Boof" - pictured below in happier times, with Stella.
Stella & Boof in happier times
Grass is starting to grow back, but it is very short and still brown, because there still has been little rain. There is absolutely nothing for animals to graze on. Even the micro-biota in the earth (representing a lot of carbon) were burned and the top layers are sterile. Stella and Alan are buying bales of hay (at about $17.50AUD each) and putting them out for the animals that survived. The Department of "Sustainability" does absolutely nothing for these animals, on pseudo-scientific macho grounds. Since its main job is to grant licences to shoot and 'harvest' our pitifully sparse wildlife, it is not surprising that its policy is to let them die, even though a million or more of Victoria's animals died in these fires, many from threatened species. The Reids walk into the burnt stick-like trees at dawn and at dusk, looking for old friends who may have survived and for any animal they may be able to help. The Reids deserve the salaries currently going to DSE CEOs. They survive on handouts at the moment. Don't get me wrong - they are not complaining - I am.
Thousands of wildlife photos lost
Stella's wildlife photos are much admired because she can get so close to the subjects and the animals look her back in the eye affectionately or with recognition and readable, respectful expressions. She lost thousands of such extraordinary animal photos in the fires, but almost immediately she was able to get her hands on a computer, she put together a CD of the photos she had received back from correspondents over the years. There is so little left now of the youngsters and adults she knew and loved so dearly. She takes us later into the caravan they are living in now to watch it and tells us the names of the animals in the pictures. It is very sad.
Donations
I brought some warm jumpers (because we are entering autumn) and a doona. Alan said they don't need clothing but Stella accepted these and said she will put the doona in the back of the ute for when she transports animals, to make a soft bed. It is good that my doona will be appreciated. Mostly they need money to buy food and treatment for animal survivors for the next few months to two years. The temporary camp they are living in on the burned site is made up of a caravan, a temporary showroom and a porta-potty which have been lent to them.
As I approached the camp I was struck by the surreality of this view, and I started taking stills.
The portable showroom which was lent as shelter to the Reids, looked like a tiny stage-set in a vast empty landscape and the people preparing afternoon tea there looked like dolls in a dolls' house. Stella and Alan had stayed up half the night painting the concrete block in front green, so it looked like a pretend-lawn before a very neat dolls' house, set down by some giant careful child in a vast neglected yard. I set the tripod up again with the digital camcorder running and when I look the film later that night, it is like watching people walking on and off-stage and hearing them talking. I almost find myself listening for clues to some other scripted drama.
It was hard to tell whether it was a strain or a pleasure to receive visitors. Stella had bought a mobile phone to alleviate the isolation. We had come with a visitor from England who is interested in kangaroo-rescues and the Reids have transformed this open temporary building into something like a pleasant lounge and dining-room. We felt very welcome and at home, and probably that's the way they make the wildlife feel.
Stella has been a member of the Country Fire Authority (CFA) for about 9 years and she had been with Steve Martin (the blond man in the beige top pictured above) fighting a fire on a distant ridge while Alan, her husband, was at home with the animals. She had looked across when there was a sudden burst of fire from that direction, wondering if it was Wildhaven. Others thought that it probably wasn't. But it was. Alan saw the fire coming from the hill where, unbeknowst to him, his wife was, and thought he had about 20 minutes. He says he found out he had only seven minutes. I am putting a video up with his story and footage of Wildhaven at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td6tWKDC62s for anyone who is interested.
The Future
We all hope that Wildhaven will soon be back in working order. When that happens the future will take over from this terrible past and slowly the scars will heal. They must be very deep and painful scars though, after 11 years in this place, with a past composed of very close connections with the secret lives of thousands of individual creatures, animals that most humans don't even notice, let alone care about. Indeed the Reids have spent 22 years in this region doing this work, all told.
Animals one lives close to are almost a part of one. My dog Nero died after 16 years recently and it was like a door slamming shut on the past and a familiar star disappearing from the sky. Although his elderly sister is still alive, my life seemed to make no sense for months. Even now it doesn't feel right. How difficult it must be then to see an entire galaxy disappear and the ground change irrevocably underneath your feet.
You can send money for hay and equipment etc here:
by direct transfer
Bank details:
Stella Reid
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
BSB: 063 222
Account: 10262617
By cheque
Postal Address
Stella and Alan Reid
c/o St Andrews Post Office
10 Caledonia Street,
St Andrews
Victoria 3761
Australia
By PayPal
PayPal address : [email protected]
Please state there: "for Stella's kangaroos"
The PayPal option might be the most convenient for International donations.
Lawrence Springborg responds to Brisbane Save The Mary River Questionnaire
On 8 March I responded to a questionnaire from the Brisbane Save The Mary River Questionnaire group and sent copies to other candidates contesting the seat of Mount Coot-tha, as well as to Premier Anna Bligh and to Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg. Lawrence Springborg replied on the same day by 12.30PM. His response is below and my response to that is further below.
#Springborg" id="Springborg">Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg's response
Dear Mr Sinnamon
Thank you for your email received this morning regarding the proposed Traveston Dam.
The Traveston Dam is a ridiculous proposal, and it is clear that the Labor Government has not followed due process or properly considered the social, environmental and economic implications of building a dam at Traveston Crossing.
In fact, this dam has never been even mentioned in the various water planning reports developed over the past 12 years, and was resoundingly rejected in a 1994 report into possible water supply sources for the Sunshine Coast and Mary Valley.
I fear the Premier only announced this project to be seen to be doing something about the water crisis gripping the rapidly growing south east Queensland region, a crisis the Government created by failing to plan and develop new water supply sources over the past 10 years.
I have traveled to the Gympie region on a number of occasions to meet with affected landholders and inspect the proposed dam site.
We have confirmed we would not build the Traveston Crossing dam. In addition, the LNP has a broad ranging plan to fix the water crisis the Labor Government has created by building more appropriate water infrastructure, ensuring more water is recycled and ensuring water is used more efficiently.
The establishment of a desalination plant close to Bribie Island could provide water to South East Queensland at less than half the price of water from the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam and more importantly it would not be dependant on rainfall. Desalination can provide water in two and a half - three years whereas Traveston Dam won't deliver meaningful water supplies until 2013.
Shadow Infrastructure Minister Fiona Simpson and Shadow Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation Minister David Gibson have stated in media releases that the desalination barges proposal proved water could be delivered faster and cheaper than Traveston Crossing Dams.
I invite you to visit www.climateproof.com.au for details of the LNP's Climate Proof and Water Policy.
Thank you for taking the time to bring your views to my attention.
Yours sincerely
Lawrence Springborg
Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the LNP
#Sinnamon" id="Sinnamon">My further response
Dear Lawrence Springborg,
Firstly, I greatly appreciate your very prompt response to my query (in 2hrs 20 minutes).
And thank you for having reaffirmed the Liberal National Party's (LNP) opposition to the Traveston Dam.
Thank you, also, for explaining some of the background to the decision by this Government for its choice of Traveston as the site. According to former Labor MP Cate Molloy the site was chosen, not because it was the most suitable site, but because the affected residents were solid National Party voters and, hence, deemed by this Government to be politically expendable.
The details of the Opposition's proposed alternatives to the Traveston Dam were also most helpful.
However, my own stance is against desalination (which the LNP supports) and against industrial water recycling (which I understand the LNP also opposes) and for more ecologically sustainable solutions. I oppose water recycling and desalination because they are technologically complex, expensive and depend upon the burning of fossil fuels. I believe we should move back to simpler more environmentally friendly technologies such as rainwater tanks and restrictions on water use.
However, any further water restrictions must be made with the clear understanding that they will not be means to allow the Queensland Government to cram even more people into Queensland. Rather they must only be a temporary measure to eliminate any necessity to dam the Mary Valley or Wyaralong in the Beaudesert region or to build any more desalination or recycling plants.
#population">Population growth, the ultimate cause of Queensland's water crises
This brings me, again, to the main point from my previous response to the Save the Mary River Brisbane Group.
Your letter, by implicitly accepting that South East Queensland's population must necessarily continue to grow rapidly, pre-empts the most obvious solution to the water crisis.
If Queensland had not doubled its population to 4 million from 1974 to 2005, there would have been no water crisis. If Queensland's population increases by several more millions in coming years, as your letter implies, further water crises are practically guaranteed.
In fact, it is not predetermined that Queensland's population will continue to grow, rather it is a conscious choice made by governments, in this case, the Queensland and Federal Labor Governments. They could just as easily choose to end population growth.
Every democratic society have the right to decide what its population will be, contrary to what the newspapers and others promoting population growth would have us believe. I believe that choice should be made available to the public at this election.
I therefore ask that you acknowledge the obvious harm caused to Queensland by population growth, not just in regard to our water security, but to our overall quality of life, to our economy, our finances, our natural environment and our long term sustainability. Accordingly, I also ask you to commit an incoming Liberal National Government to reversing the Bligh Labor Government's irresponsible encouragement of population growth.
In my own experience, all the supposed economic arguments in favour of population growth and high immigration have not withstood intellectual scrutiny, for example, in on-line forum discussions. Population growth doesn't pay for itself. For instance, the building of new infrastructure to provide water for a larger population have cost Queenslanders financially in higher water and council rates. Another cost is the massive bill for the state Government's and Brisbane City Council's road, bridge and tunnel building projects, which have been explained as necessary due to past population increases.
If you still have any lingering doubt that further population growth is harmful, I urge you to obtain a copy of Mark O'Connor's Overloading Australia published in 2008. It costs only AU$20.00 and its 184 pages are very easy to read. Almost every conceivable argument in favour of population growth has been challenged and shot down in flames.
I will address the subject of privatisation in another email.
Please also feel welcome, as an alternative to e-mailing me directly, to post further comments in response to this correspondence to my web site here.
Yours sincerely,
James Sinnamon
Pro-democracy independent candidate
for Mount Coot-tha
Coal mine threatens Queensland Nature Refuge
Currently at risk is the 7,912 hectare Bimblebox Nature Refuge in central-west Queensland which is in direct line of a massive open-cut coal mine planned by Clive Palmer’s recently acquired Waratah Coal Incorporated. The proposed mine is one of several being planned for the region and is anticipated to produce around 3.12 billion tonnes of coal over its lifetime, which translates to around 7.2 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalents. However, the contribution the mine would make to an already over-loaded atmosphere is only one of the dirty details. A brief history of Bimblebox reveals a major inconsistency in current government policy which provides inadequate protection for vital conservation areas from development interests.
The property was purchased in 2000 by a several concerned families, with the assistance of about $300,000 from the Federal Natural Reserve System program. This was prior to the enactment of the Queensland land-clearing legislation and it was acquired for the express purpose of securing it as one of the few uncleared properties in the Desert Uplands, a region classified as a National Biodiversity Hotspot but which has less than 3% of land protected in conservation reserves.
In 2003, the Bimblebox Nature Refuge Agreement was signed with the state government to “permanently protect” the property’s conservation values. The perpetual Nature Refuge Agreement (category VI Protected Area under the IUCN classification system) is a legal covenant covering the entire property.
During the last five years, Bimblebox has become host to a number of long-term research projects conducted by the CSIRO, DPI&F, Birds Australia, EPA and the Queensland Herbarium. It is also a test case for sustainable grazing, since the property is carefully managed with a small herd of beef cattle. Profits are returned for native habitat rehabilitation and conservation.
Now that coal has been found under the soil of Bimblebox, all its above-ground assets are little more than over-burden to the coal company and the state government hungry for revenue. It is evident that nature refuge agreements are practically meaningless when coal is discovered. The agreements allow some minor provisions to reduce environmental harm during the exploration phase (a number of these provisions were violated during the exploration on Bimblebox - see attachment), but in the case where a mining licence is sought, nature refuge status guarantees no protection. Not even National Parks are secure from mining interests, as the Ranger uranium mine the middle of Kakadu National Park starkly demonstrates.
Unfortunately Bimblebox is not alone. Around 100 Queensland nature refuges are covered by mineral exploration permits, and about half of these are for coal. The extensive coal beds that underlie a large portion of Australia’s east coast (see 'Coal Map' below) indicate that this issue is not going to go away. As well as the impact on mine sites many other areas are effected with large scale developments, for instance, threatened species and ecosystems exist along the length of the planned water supply, rail and port infrastructure proposed by Waratah.
Cropping farmers on some of Australia’s most fertile agricultural land are facing similar threats from coal companies, and are having to get well organised in the defence of their land and livelihoods. However, without a comprehensive regional and national assessment of land use and climate priorities, it is likely that there will be significant struggle ahead for ‘David’ land holders against the ‘Goliath’ coal industry. In the case of Bimblebox, countless hours of volunteers’ time have already been invested in writing submissions, letters to ministers, the creation of a website and a petition – trying to explain why digging up crucial conservation and productive areas will have significant and irreversible negative impact on biodiversity, soil, and ground water.
Surely there is a clear case for important conservation and agriculturally productive areas to be exempt from mining activities.
What you can do: 1. Queensland residents can sign the petition here, the text of which is to also be found here. 2. On 21 March, vote for candidates in the Queensland elections opposed to the the expansion of the Queensland Coal industry. One such candidate is James Sinnamon who is standing as an Independent for Mount Coot-tha. 3. To learn more of the devastation with which the Bimblebox Nature Refuge is threatened by the proposed open-cut coal mine, please visit www.bimblebox.org.
Why I am contesting the Queensland state elections as an independent
#privatisation">End privatisation - stop the liquidation of Queensland
#PopulationGrowth">End Queensland Government encouragement of population growth
#HousingAffordability">Demand action against homelessness and housing unaffordability
#coal">Labor's coal exports - a crime against this and future generations of humanity
#VoteNotWasted">Why a vote for me is not be a wasted vote
#LaborVoters">To intending Labor voters:
#GreensVoters">To intending Green voters:
#LNPvoters">To intending Liberal National Party voters:
#WhatYouCanDo">What you can do
I am standing for Parliament because I believe Queenslanders need an alternative to the blind alley into which either of the major parties, both committed to promoting the interests of wealthy corporations above all else, will lead us. The direction in which we are now headed, under Labor, is towards, social, ecological and economic ruin and a change of Government to the alternative of the Liberal National Party will not change that.
The only way that this can change is if for all the Labor and Liberal National Party corporate glove puppets to be removed from office and for them to be replaced with people who are prepared to stand up for their communities against powerful vested interests.
All over Queensland the rights of small communities, which are trying to preserve their way of life, their livelihoods and their local environment, are being trampled by the Bligh Labor Government.
The plan to dam the Mary Valley, cynically chosen because the Labor Government judged the local community, which overwhelmingly votes Liberal National Party, as politically expendable,#main-fn1">1 is only one of the more visible examples. The Labor Party has meted out similar treatment to many other Queensland communities, where local interests have stood in the way of developer profits, mining companies or tollway construction corporations. Indeed, the forced local Government amalgamations of 2007 were enacted by former Premier Beattie and the sitting member for Mount Coot-tha, Andrew Fraser, the then local Government Minister, in response to lobbying by the Property Council of Australia (PCA). Smaller local governments, like the former Noosa Shire Council, were more accountable to local communities than distant larger councils can be, hence smaller local governments posed obstacles to PCA plans.
As an elected representative, I would stand up for all local communities. I would move quickly to support the de-amalgamation of councils, where communities so desire#main-fn2">2 and I will move to repeal the Community Integrated Planning Act. That act is a bureaucratic nightmare and undemocratically deprived local communities of any veto over development proposals.
I intend to raise the issues below, which, as far as I know, are not adequately addressed by any of the political parties:
- #privatisation">Privatisation
- #PopulationGrowth">Population growth
- #HousingAffordability">Housing
- #coal">Queensland's climate-changing coal export industry
#privatisation" id="privatisation">End privatisation - stop the liquidation of Queensland
The privatisation of Queensland's Mackay and Cairns airports has barely been reported, let alone discussed in the newsmedia. The very recently concluded sale of the Port of Brisbane's stake in Brisbane, included in the same privatisation bill, has not even been reported outside the Hansard Parliamentary Reports. The stated reason for these sales was to raise funds to build hospitals.#main-fn3">3
Other recent privatisations include:
- The Qld Government's stake in the Emu Downs wind farm in Western Australia#main-fn4">4 in 2008;
- The Enertex (not be confused with Energex) gas business#main-fn5">5 in 2008;
- The Golden Casket state lottery agency in 2007;
- Ergon Gas in 2006;
- Energex, the retail arm of Queensland's electricity generation utility in 2006;
- the Dalrymple Bay coal loader in 2001
- The Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) in 1999
- the State Government Insurance Office#main-fn7">7 (the SGIO - now known as Suncorp) in 1998
In addition, much of Queensland's road and transport infrastructure is effectively privatised through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). No doubt many de-facto privatisations have also occurred under the guise of out-sourcing. One such example was the disastrous out-sourcing of the TAFE's IT services to Unisys by the Borbidge National Party Government in 1997.#main-fn8">8 Common land is sold off at every possible opportunity to developers or other private concerns, behind the backs of local communities, or even in the face of their strong objections.
The stated reason for the sale of the airports was to raise funds to build hospitals, whilst the stated reason for the sales of Enertex and the stake in Emu Downs wind farm was "to provide for a Climate Change funding stream". Energex and Ergon were sold to raise the necessary funds to build the Traveston Dam. If that dam proceeds, it will destroy the rural community of the Mary Valley and may well cause the extinction of the the Mary River Cod (Maccullochella peelii mariensis ), the Mary River Turtle (Elusor macrurus) and the Queensland Lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri).
Clearly, if it is necessary for our Government to keep on selling off infrastructure in order to build other necessary infrastructure, or to meet recurring expenditure, then the Government and the State Treasurer, Andrew Fraser, are not doing their job properly.
Even if it were possible to establish that the ongoing liquidation of Queensland is necessary, the matter should at least be discussed openly with the Queensland public, who are, after all, the rightful owners of these assets.
That is why, on 17 February, before the elections were hurriedly called, I wrote this open letter to both Treasurer Andrew Fraser and Premier Anna Bligh:
"(I) seek your firm assurance that if you do intend to privatise any of these assets that you state your intention to do so to the public before the forthcoming elections, or, alternatively, that you will put any planned privatisations to the public as referenda."
I was particularly concerned that plans might be afoot to privatise our water infrastructure and Queensland Rail. If such plans are in the pipeline, then the Queensland public, who according to all recent public opinion polls, oppose privatisation, have every right to be consulted, if not at the election underway, then in referenda.
So far I have received no response from either the Premier or the Treasurer.
I will be putting a similar question to Opposition leader, Lawrence Springborg. I will try to ask every other candidate as well in the little time remaining before the election, and I will publish their responses on this web site.
#PopulationGrowth" id="PopulationGrowth">End Queensland Government encouragement of population growth
According to Australian Bureau of Statics (ABS) data, Queensland's population doubled from approximatlely 2 million in 1974 to 4 million in 2005 (31 years later). Between December 2005 and June 2008 another 278,000 or almost 7% were added to Queensland's population as a result of unprecedented interstate immigration largely driven by record high international immigration into NSW and Victoria. If the average rate of the two and a half years to June 2008 continues, the population will double to 8 million by 2031 -- a rate even greater than that which Beattie told Queenslanders in December 2005 to expect (see below). And that is not taking into account the increases in the rate of immigration announced by the Federal Immigration Minister Chris Evans in May 2008.#main-fn9">9
That the population increases have been detrimental, not beneficial, to existing Queensland residents should not come as a surprise. Traffic is ever more congested. Trains and buses are so crowded that many passengers have found themselves left at bus stops and stations during peak hours. Queensland residents are being made to pay ever increasing charges to build new water, electricity and transport infrastructure to cope with the influx of people. Public hospital waiting lists have blown out to the point where many just don't bother. Instead, people, having no alternative, take on board the enormous costs of treatment by private hospitals.
On 4 March 2009 the Courier Mail, in the story "Private fix for surgery", reported that Premier Anna Bligh had acknowledged growth in Queensland's population numbers had caused our public hospital system's failure to cope.#main-fn10">10
Premier Anna Bligh, for her part has been most disingenuous, as both she and her predecessor Peter Beattie, have actively sought to bring about the population growth that Bligh now chooses to blame for the problems her Government faces. Both of them have played the Queensland public for fools over the question of population growth.
In April 2007, in the midst of the water crisis, Premier Anna Bligh dismissed any suggestion that Queensland should attempt to restrict population growth claiming that it "would have a very serious impact on the construction industry that a lot people rely on for jobs."#main-fn11">11
interstate migrants to join its intolerable hospital
waiting lists and add to traffic congestion, bus
rage and housing hyperinflation.
On 8 December 2008, in anticipation of the birth of 4 millionth Queenslander, the Beattie government placed the pictured full page advertisement in the then broadsheet Courier Mail newspaper. The purpose of this advertisement was to present Queensland's population growth up to that point as inherently good and to promote more of the same.
The body of this breathtakingly irresponsible piece of propaganda, paid for by Queensland taxpayers, bears repeating in full:
"If you are visiting or thinking of a move to Queensland, you'll already know we are the nation's engine room. Our population growth is only rivalled by our economic and employment growth. We now account for 19.5% of Australia's population.
"Tomorrow's milestone and our economic success reflect that Queensland is the place to invest, work and play.
"Our economic growth rate is envied, our taxes are competitive and we have a cherished lifestyle.
"More than ever, people are investing in Queensland and moving their businesses and family here. You should join us! (my emphasis.)
"Please contact us today and we will let you know what the Smart state can do for you.
"Queensland's population reached 1 million in 1938, 2 million in 1974 and three million in 1992. We are projected to reach 5 million in 2022 and 6 million in 2040.
"We are projected to overtake Victoria as the second biggest state population wise, in 2044, with our share of of Australia's population increasing to 24% over the next 50 years.
"To keep building our Smart State, we need to foster and support our people's innovation, knowledge and skills. We need to keep Queensland growing and build on the opportunities, energy, vitality we're renowned for - we're doing just that.
"To all Queenslanders, I encourage you to warmly welcome our new arrivals."
The advertisement was signed "Peter Beattie MP Premier and Treasurer". At the foot of the page were the words, "Queensland the Smart State."
What Beattie neglected to mention was that the new arrivals would increase demand for scarce housing, which had already driven so many existing Queenslanders out of the housing market, or even the rental market. What he also neglected to mention was that the prospective newcomers' additional demand for water would be used by him as an excuse to try and destroy the Mary Valley rural community and threaten with extinction various endangered species there.
Water crisis created by Australian and State Governments
The following year, at a public forum on water, I asked Premier Peter Beattie to acknowledge that the water crisis had been made worse by population growth. I asked him if he was prepared on that basis to come out and state clearly that further population growth was not in the interests of Queensland and, moreover, if he would therefore desist from encouraging more population growth?
Peter Beattie initially thanked me for asking such a "good question". He then claimed (contrary to his words in the above-cited advertisement) that he wished so many people would not come to Queensland! However, by the time he had finished his very long winded response, he had managed to turn that wish around almost 180 degrees. He now said that Queensland needed more skilled people. (Presumably he did not mean 'skilled' people like myself, whose computer skills and degree had been deemed no longer current by recruitment agencies and implicitly by the Queensland Government since it was seeking new computer people rather than to retrain or help those many unemployed IT professionals already there.) He explained that skilled immigrants were now needed to cope with the problems caused by previous population growth. Finishing on this, he failed to provide a clear answer to my question, and of course, the microphone had moved on and the debate was over.#main-fn12">12
The Queensland Government, as we all know, has continued to aggressively promote population growth.
It is truly difficult to understand why any political leader would seek to so deliberately harm the overall wellbeing of the society they have pledged, as elected parliamentary representatives, to look after, but that is what they have done.
The reason, as explained in another article "How the Growth Lobby threatens Australia's future", is that the Government's policies serve the interests of a small powerful minority which profits from population growth whilst the rest of the community pays with a declining standard of living, quality of life and democratic input.
Throughout 2008, rental increases got further out of control. By early 2009 even well-paid professionals were having difficulty meeting rental rises caused by the demands of apparently insatiably greedy landlords. Starting in early 2008, an established retail community in Latrobe Street Paddington was driven out by continuously increasing rents. In March 2009, unable to afford rent, which had doubled in the two and a half years since she opened her business, Joan Winter was forced to close the Baboa Gallery.
#HousingAffordability" id="HousingAffordability">Demand action against homelessness and housing unaffordability
Instead of applying token band-aid measures, the Queensland Government must urgently take decisive action to help those it has left so much in the lurch in recent years.
First and foremost, it must immediately desist with its encouragement of population growth.
If anything is to be learnt from recent years, it is that we cannot rely on the inequitable and grossly inefficient private sector, if we are to ever achieve affordable quality housing for all Queenslanders. to meet our housing needs, we must re-establish the Queensland Housing Commission as a provider of quality affordable housing as it was when I grew up in Brisbane in the 1960's and 1970's. Whilst such a policy may cost us in the short term, in the longer term it should prove vastly cheaper than the current out-of-control private housing market.
Where people choose to own their own dwelling and not rent from the Housing Commission, state taxes must heavily discriminate in favour of them and against those who already own their own dwellings. The eventual goal of this policy would be to ensure that no-one owns more than home whilst others are deprived of owning any.
In the meantime action must be taken to protect private tenants from unreasonable landlords. Tribunals with special powers to protect tenants and to reverse the excessive rent rises that have been imposed upon many renters in recent years need to be set up. Certainly, where no demonstrable economic hardship will be caused to landlords, rents should be immediately reduced back to the levels of 2005.
#coal" id="coal">Labor's coal exports - a crime against this and future generations of humanity
When, nearly seven decades ago, our society was threatened with invasion by Japan our country pulled together as one in order to defeat that threat. It has been calculated that we devoted 30% of our economic output towards that war.
Today, in stark contrast, whenever a suggestion is made that some sacrifices are necessary to defeat the far greater threat of global warming, that suggestion is dismissed, if not denounced hysterically. In March 2007, Rupert Murdoch's Courier Mail pilloried Greens leader Bob Brown as wanting to destroy Queenslanders' jobs for proposing that our coal export industry be scaled back over time. Thus began and ended any debate on this question in the mainstream Queensland newsmedia.
Since then, the Queensland Government has continued adding to the coming climatic holocaust by embarking on a program to massively increase coal exports. Last year, Premier Anna Bligh announced plans to triple Queensland's coal exports by 2030.#main-fn13">13
Much of Queensland's own agricultural farmland and native flora and fauna face despoliation at the hands of the mining industry. Examples include the 8000 hectare Bimblebox nature reserve in central-west Queensland, which lies over a massive planned open cut coal mine, the Felton Valley, described as South East Queensland's salad bowl, just south west of Toowoomba and, outside of Queensland, Caroona on the Liverpool plains of News South Wales.
If elected, I will act to reduce our coal extraction industry, regardless of whether or not the current recession ends soon. We must decrease our dependence upon the income derived from coal. Also, we must use whatever influence we have with the Chinese Government to encourage it to reduce the dependence of its upon such massive imports from Australian coal and other raw materials.
This means that Queensland will have to face a future in which we can no longer depend upon royalties from mining exports to balance our state budgets and a good many mining jobs will no longer be there. Alternative, less environmentally destructive jobs for displaced miners will have to be found, but no-one should be under any illusion that these jobs can be as lucrative as many mining jobs have been. Instead, a good many more of us are going to have to find ways to create wealth, by growing it, by harvesting it from the seas, or by making it with our own hands, as our forefathers and foremothers before us have.
This is the price all of us, and, most of all, those who have gained the most from the ransacking of our global ecology up to now, must be prepared to pay, if children are to have a decent future, or, indeed, any future at all.
If that concept is difficult for today's political and industrial leaders to grasp, I am sure it would not have been so difficult for our forefathers, fighting in the jungles of New Guinea.
#VoteNotWasted" id="VoteNotWasted">Why a vote for me is not be a wasted vote
Realistically, I know I stand almost no chance of unseating the sitting member, Andrew Fraser, in this election. This is not because I don't believe that I would be less capable of representing the electors, but because I cannot hope to be able to reach a sufficient number or Mount Coot-tha residents in the limited time available with my very limited resources.
Nevertheless, this should not mean that your vote for me need be a wasted vote. Your vote for me will help to let the major party candidates know, even if choose to direct your preference toward one or the other, that you are dissatisfied with the way they have represented your interests in Parliament. They will then know that they can only continue to do the same at their peril.
I urge you to also make full use of the optional preferential voting system. Be wary of any candidates who tell you to 'just vote one'. A choice between a poor candidate on the one hand and an even worse candidate on the other can still be a very important choice. For my part I won't hold back from letting you know how I think you should order your preferences, but that is a choice that you must ultimately decide for yourself.
#LaborVoters" id="LaborVoters">To intending Labor voters:
Many of the policies I stand for were Labor Party policies: opposition to privatisation, more public sector spending, support for collective bargaining rights for workers, etc. I believe that your best chance of having Labor again promote the good policies that it once stood for is for you to give your primary vote to me.
#GreensVoters" id="GreensVoters">To intending Green voters:
Given the appalling misgovernment of both the major parties that I have witnessed at the statewide and local level, in the four and a half years since I moved back to Brisbane, the Greens should have had little difficulty increasing their electoral support, yet in all this time the Greens have essentially stood still and the 2009 elections promise to be little different.
The Greens have recently attracted sitting Labor member, Ronan Lee to their ranks. However his re-election on the basis of his primary vote alone is not assured. If preferences from those Labor voters who follow the advice of the official Labor Party "how to vote" cards prove necessary to secure Ronan Lee's re-election, then how independent from the Labor Party can he truly be expected to be?
Will a price have to be paid by the Queensland Greens? Or has the price been paid, in part, already?
The Greens' literature, in particular the brochure (pictured) for Mount Coot-tha Greens candidate Larissa Waters distributed last weekend confirms some of my concerns about the Greens.
brochure for Mount Coot-tha electors
- a wasted opportunity.
Some parts of the brochure do show promise. It rightly promises to end the property resumptions for the building of the Hale Street Bridge and Northern Link tunnel white elephants and it decries the "rampant urban growth, poor public transport, and crowded public transport". Taken overall, the brochure disappoints, however, especially given the potential use that could have been made of its massive folded double-sided A2 size.
Reading this brochure, one could be forgiven for not realising the scale of the world's ecological crisis, to which Queensland's own state Labor Government has contributed more than its fair share.
No specific mention of Queensland's greatest ecological crime, that is, its record level of climate-changing coal exports, is to be found. Little is to be found about many of the issues I have raised in this document: the outrage of the anti-democratic forced local government amalgamations enacted by Mount Coot-tha's sitting member who was Minister for local government at the time, and the almost innumerable other instances of the Queensland government trampling upon the rights of local communities.
Nothing is said of the scandalous ongoing sell-off of public assets.
Whilst a small part of the brochure rightly argues for the protection of some of Queensland's natural wilderness areas, it gives the reader only the barest clue of the terrible scale of environmental vandalism being inflicted upon this state by the Bligh Government.
Above all, the brochure neglects to specifically mention the population growth encouraged by the Queensland Government, as mentioned above. This population growth is the principle driver of the "rampant urban growth" of which it rightly complains. The brochure further neglects to point out that population growth, in combination with an almost complete lack of any worthwhile town planning or effective decentralisation on the part of the Queensland government, has made necessary massive expenditure on transport infrastructure, whether it be the most inappropriate public roads, tollway roads, toll bridges or toll tunnels or the more appropriate public transport.
Instead of raising the alarm about the environmental calamity that threatens us all, and expressing the sense of outrage that many of us feel at Anna Bligh's gross misgovernment of this state, the brochure appears to convey an impression that all will be fixed, even as Queensland's population continues to climb, by the spending of a bit more money on public transport, rainwater tanks, free solar panels to pensioners, and the creation of 7,600 'green collar' jobs entailed in the construction of two new Solar Power stations.
In reality, even the full achievement of all of the Greens' campaign promises would only be scratching the surface of the serious problems we face. Indeed one Green policy, mentioned on the brochure, that is, its support for water recycling -- rightly rejected by the Toowoomba community at a referendum in 2006 -- would only make matters worse.
I was a member of the Greens party back in 2003. I joined it, whilst working in Canberra, hoping to help stop the threatened invasion of Iraq. I have a great deal of admiration and respect for many of the Greens Parliamentary representatives, as well as many rank and file Greens. Nevertheless, the Greens campaign literature, as discussed above, further confirms my impression the Queensland Greens, overall, lack the vision necessary to make their organisation a truly effective force for good in Queensland politics.
If you are a Greens supporter, but agree with my concerns about the Greens, then I believe your best chance to make the Greens lift their game is to give your primary vote to me or to other independent candidates who stand for similar policies and then to give your second preference to the Greens. (In fact, that is how I intend to vote myself.) Of course, I also urge you to take full advantage of the preferential voting system and to consider careful whether any worthwhile differences between the two major parties exist and, if so, order your preferences accordingly.
#LNPvoters" id="LNPvoters">To intending Liberal National Party voters:
Throughout my voting life my own preference has been against the major conservative political parties. Whilst that hasn't changed fundamentally in 2009, I, nevertheless, find myself in strong agreement with a number of the policies of the Liberal National Party against those of the ruling Labor Party. These include its policy to offer Queensland communities which so desire an opportunity to de-amalgamate their local governments, its opposition to the Traveston Dam, and its opposition to coal mining in the Felton Valley.
I understand why many in Queensland, appalled by the incompetence and the autocratic governing style of the ruling Labor party, would see its replacement by a Liberal National Party Government as a solution to Queensland's ills.
However, it is apparent to me that on on many critical issues the Liberal National Party (LNP) is no different to the Labor Party and on some questions it is worse.
The LNP, together with the Labor Government has supported the population growth which, as raised above, has caused much of Queensland's serious social, environmental, economic and fiscal problems. Both have supported the ongoing fire-sales of publicly owned assets and both appear to be committed primarily to the private motor vehicle as the answer to our transport needs. Above all, both are recipients of massive donations from private corporations, especially property developers. For these reasons, in the longer term, a Liberal National state government cannot be expected, any more than the Labor Government, to put the interests of ordinary Queenslanders above the needs of their corporate benefactors.
Recently, Lawrence Springborg gave a hint that he may be planning to sell off more publicly owned assets when he announced that he would set up a fund to new Queensland Fund "to manage the proceeds of any sell-offs".#main-fn14">14
Of course, the Queensland Labor Party's own record and the appalling record of the neighbouring NSW Labor Government on privatisation offers no guarantee against further privatisations. By attempting to privatise NSW's electricity generators, the NSW Labor Government went against the wishes of at least 79% of the NSW public and against an overwhelming vote against privatisation at the state Labor Party conference in May 2008 and against commitments not to privatise made prior to the 2007 elections.
Laurence Springborg's plans to 'save' $1billion by not replacing staff as they leave the public sector could add significantly to unemployment in the midst of our current recession. As Queensland Public Sector Union (QPSU) president Alex Scott, who met with Lawrence Springborg, pointed out:
"What he said is he's confirmed every permanent public servant won't get sacked as a result of the change of Government, but every time someone retires or resigns they won't be replaced so that means there'll be a cut of 12,000 jobs next year.
"That means that there'll be 12,000 more unemployed Queenslanders that could have been working in the public sector."#main-fn15">15
Whilst on some environmental questions the Liberal National Party is better than Labor on others they are worse. An example of the latter is the Opposition's support for the environmentally atrocious shale oil project, which the Bligh Government blocked after facing a massive community protest campaign. Another is its support for Uranium mining, which the Labor Government still rightly opposes.
So the election of a Liberal National Party Government may still actually make matters worse, and not better in the longer term.
Nevertheless, if you are resolved to vote for the LNP, but want something better of an LNP government than we are likely to get based upon past experience, please still consider giving your primary vote to me.
#WhatYouCanDo" id="WhatYouCanDo">What you can do
Above all, inform yourself and others about the issues I have raised in this article and discuss them with.
If you would like to help me in any way in this campaign, for example by handing out leaflets on the streets or by giving a few to friends please get in touch, through our contact form or by phoning 0412 319669.
Please visit our website, make comments, or, if you have a story, which you believe may be of interest to other electors, contribute an article.
Make links back to our site from your own web site, if you have one, on public forums or in e-mails.
Footnotes
#main-fn1" id="main-fn1">1. #main-fn1-txt">↑ "Cate Molloy: Traveston chosen because 'the people in the valley were all Nationals'" of 6 Feb 07
#main-fn2" id="main-fn2">2. #main-fn2-txt">↑ On this one issue, at least, I am almost in complete agreement with Opposition leader Lawrence Springborg. See also "Springborg's de-amalgamation plan" in the Government News of 4 Sep 08.
#main-fn3" id="main-fn3">3. #main-fn3-txt">↑ Tabling of Air Assets (Restructuring and Disposal) Bill on 26 August 2008 at www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/legislativeassembly/tableOffice/documents/HALnks/080826/AirportAssets.pdf.
#main-fn4" id="main-fn4">4. #main-fn4-txt">↑ ibid.
#main-fn5" id="main-fn5">5. #main-fn5-txt">↑ ibid.
#main-fn7" id="main-fn7">7. #main-fn7-txt">↑ The SGIO had been partially privatised by the Borbidge Liberal and National Party coalition government. During the 1998 election campaign, Labor Opposition leader Peter Beattie, promised to retain half government-ownership of the SGIO, but broke that promise upon winning government.
#main-fn8" id="main-fn8">8. #main-fn8-txt">↑ This personally affected me. From 1996 until 1998, worked for the Warwick TAFE college to build a community Internet Service Provider, Flexi Net. After the TAFE IT services were outsourced to Unisys, a sham inquiry was conducted into Flexi Net by a Unisys consultant. Submissions from the local community overwhelmingly in support of TAFE's ISP were ignored and a recommendation to sell the ISP to a local consortium, the Warwick Business Association, was made. I worked for the new consortium. In August 1998, barely three months after he succeeded in transferring the ISP to its new physical location in the Warwick Town Hall, I was sacked, without receiving a written reference, by Peter Darton, the appointed technical manager of the ISP and Garry Hansford the business manager. Peter Darton now owns Warwick Computer Service.
In 2001, a previous employee worked of the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE (SQIT), advised me that people high in the management of SQIT, which encompassed the Warwick TAFE college, wanted to expand Flexi Net to other Southern Queensland TAFE colleges. The source said that this plan was initially defeated by politics within SQIT and never saw the light because of Unisys. If Flexi Net had expanded, SQIT, with its large existing internal computer network, could well have been the ISP for rural southern Queensland. Instead, Flexi Net has long since been on-sold to Ipswich City Council's HaleNet, which was bought out by a Victorian ISP.
#main-fn9" id="main-fn9">9. #main-fn9-txt">↑ See quarterly summaries as pdf documents on "Australian Demographic Statistics" page on Qld Government web site at www.oesr.qld.gov.au/queensland-by-theme/demography/briefs/aust-demographic-stats/index.shtml and Australian Historical Population Statistics, 2008 and "Australian Historical Population Statistics" downloadable for the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
#main-fn10" id="main-fn10">10. #main-fn10-txt">↑ "Private fix for surgery" (unable to find URL) in the Courier Mail of 4 Mar 09. The words in this report were, "Ms. Bligh dismissed suggestions the move was a concession the current public system could not cope, saying demand had had surged because of population growth". The story reported Anna Bligh's election promise for the state Government to use private hospitals to provide 20,000 hospital patients with elective surgery over the next three years.
#main-fn11" id="main-fn11">11. #main-fn11q-txt">↑Qld govt rejects population cap in the Age of 22 April 07. Also cited in "How to end the Queensland economy's addiction to population growth?" of 26 Apr 09.
#main-fn12" id="main-fn12">12. #main-fn12-txt">↑This incident was written of in "Overloading Australia" (2008), p91 by Mark O'Connor and William Lines. (RRP AU$20)
#main-fn13" id="main-fn13">13. #main-fn13-txt">↑"Output of coal to triple by 2030" by Gabrielle Dunlevy in the Courier Mail of 10 July 08, "Qld coal production to triple" also by Gabrielle Dunlevy in the Age of 9 Jul 08, A report "Qld coal exports to double to 370m tonnes by 2030" in the Australian of 9 Jul 08 reported, as the title suggests, that Anna Bligh intended 'only' to double, rather than triple coal exports by 2030. Whatever her actual plans, the consequences of such increases in Queensland's already record rate of coal extraction and export hardly bear thinking about. See also "Anna Bligh pushes coal as Kevin Rudd faces the consequences" in the Australian 16 Jul 08
#main-fn14" id="main-fn14">14. #main-fn14-txt">↑ "Lawrence Springborg announces $1bn in expenditure cuts" in the Australian of 3 Mar 09.
#main-fn15" id="main-fn15">15. #main-fn15-txt">↑ "Springborg to unveil election pledge funding" on the ABC news of 3 Mar 09.
Stonington Council goes to Ombudsman over failure of democracy in Victoria
Brumby downsizes democracy upsizes development
About a month ago Brumby gave Madden new call-in powers with the excuse that development was held up because of people - you know - citizens, voters - and democratic local councils. So under the excuse of "getting the economy going" Madden was given these extra powers.
Irresponsible authority
The very next week he intervened in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) over a bike track through Willesmere Park in Kew. Now that is really good for job creation!!!
Then last week he declared himself the Responsible Authority for 2 days and approved a development in South Yarra, where the developer was going against the approved plans and the council stopped it. So the developer went to Madden complaining and Madden approved it.
Developers Run to Mama Madden
The developers can now run to Mama Madden and she will wave a magic wand and make democracy disappear. It is rumoured that that Madden sees councils as getting in his way, basically.
Citizens appeal to omsbudsman
Today candobetter received information that Stonnington Council are appealing to the Ombudsman about the arbitrary call-in by Madden when the developers went knocking on his door.
The Ministers action will now be tested and the result will have bearing on all our futures.
If the Omsbudsman cannot stand up to the government on this issue of democracy then it is really time for a review of all our laws.
Remember solidarity?
Let all the people in all the states stand together in solidarity against the developers' overweaning demands, remembering that is was the growth lobby's demand for population growth to create demand for housing and the finance sector's exploitation of this undemocratic, unstable and anti-social market through sub-primes and various unreasonable fees and hidden cuts, that brought, not just Australia, but the world into the current depression.
Victoria's dinosaur economy - big projects, big debts, big talk
Mr Madden is acting for a dinosaur economy that is completely unsustainable and contributing frighteningly to overpopulation, greenhouse gas emissions and reduction in biodiversity and freedom for citizens. He should be made an example of for other arrogant state ministers to heed and reform before we lose even more of our natural ammenity and quality of life for nothing more than inflation to line the pockets of parasitic developers and their finance jockeys.
Recsei says high density causes more problems, fixes none
Dr Tony Recsei, President of SOS Sydney has written to the SM Herald about the fact that there is no high density city in the world not suffering from the problems that high density is supposed to prevent. He states that local research shows when you have high density you get increased traffic congestion, longer travel times, more energy per person used, no saving of water, increased housing costs and housing choice reduced. This retrofitting high density onto areas designed for low density does not save on infrastructure costs, it just overloads infrastructure and is much more expensive to fix than putting in new infrastructure in new areas.
Public Alert - ADI Site - Council to approve 3420 houses Monday night
(Comment available on the following topic - Geoff Brown 0431 222602)
Residents everywhere need to support each other against giant development companies
Penrith Council is set to vote tomorrow night to approve 2 new suburbs totalling 3420 dwellings at the former ADI Site. Council planners are urging councillors to approve the plans.
Residents that have fought a 16 year campaign against the development of property giant Delfin Lend Lease are calling on councillors to defer approval due to the general public having no idea what is going on. Councillors are being asked to hold a series of public meetings so that fair dinkum community consulation takes place
.
There are multiple problems with the development ranging from environmental, bushfire, traffic, noise, access, provision of parkland. Essentially this development looks like a disaster to us.
Council overshadowed by authoritarian State planners
Council cannot amend or reject the development plans of Delfin without first getting the approval of Planning Minister Kristina Keneally. They must be seen to be advocating on behalf of the public and take this planning mess back to Kristina Keneally. The NSW gov allowed most of the problems with pro developer zonings suggested by Delfin.
Councils report outlining amongst other things the issues raised by public and Government Dept submissions can be found here http://203.221.255.19/pccbps/Open/2009/PRC_09032009_AGN_AT_WEB.HTM
You may note want to look at comments about DECC's submission. They have raised concerns about development close to bushland. They are also trying to get out of managing wetlands (featured heavily in the Daily Telegraph) zoned Regional Park by Frank Sartor.
Below are just some of the issues that we notified local residents about this weekend when letterboxing
· 3420 dwellings with apartments up to 8 storeys (PCC 2008 Report) high ruining our landscape. Building blocks as small as 125sq/metres with tiny setbacks
· 10,000 residents meaning 5000 more cars on our choked roads
· 362 hectares of land will be cleared which is largely endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland. Sensitive wetlands home to endangered waterbirds to be surrounded by housing
· The fracturing of a biodiversity corridor which currently links ADI to bushland north of the site. Housing will fracture the existing corridor
· Delfins tree survey identifies a staggering 20,000 trees within the development areas that may potentially be removed
· The entire development is classified as a bushfire prone area
· The Central Precinct is another Glenmore Park and the only access is by one east west road which will cut through the 900 ha bushland area. This is poor planning resulting in a public health and safety issue.
· Bushfire Asset Protection Zones of only 25 metres
· The obliteration of the Northern Rd bushland view
· 4 new roads entering off the Northern Rd
· Housing will surround Xavier College and there will be a road behind it
· Delfin need to provide 19.46 ha of public parkland in the Western Precinct yet they are only offering 15.63. This means Council is allowing them to rip off the public and profit from developing this extra land
· The list goes on and on. More info at www.adisite.org
There is still time for Council to fix up this planning mess. Call your local Councillors to demand a public meeting and urge them to defer their decision until they have fixed up the development plans of Delfin Lend Lease. Attend the Council meeting this Monday night at 7pm
Clr Kathryn Presdee 0418 288488, Clr John Thain 0411 427812, Clr Ross Fowler 0419 738484, Clr Ben Goldfinch 0401 678509, Clr Kevin Crameri 0401 995 825, Clr Jim Aitken 0418 288488, Clr Greg Davies 0419 177259, Clr Jackie Greenow 96232366, Clr Mark Davies 0416 085597, Clr Tanya Davies 0421 600 025, Clr Prue Guillaume 0401 678520, Clr Karyn McKeown 0401 995945, Clr Kaylene Allison 0401 995843, Clr Marko Malkoc 0401 678512, Clr Robert Ardill 0401 678505
Dirty livestock carriers in Australian ports
Update: #comment-1487">Federal Court bans polluting live export death ships from Australian waters.
Originally published 23 Feb 09.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is responsible for ensuring that all ships in Australian ports comply with s 6.6 of Appendix 4 of Marine Orders Pt 43, which required an effluent treatment plant or holding tank to be part of the vessel. In September 2008, AMSA issued orders under that section to prevent the 28 year old converted car transporter "Al Messilah" from proceeding from Fremantle to Portland to load a cargo of 72,000 sheep.
Rural Export and Trading (WA) Pty Ltd contested the order in the Federal Court on October 3 2008. Amongst its arguments were that this was a discriminatory action against foreign-flagged livestock carriers. RETWA operates the (even older) "Al Kuwait", and the 23 year old "Al Shuwaikh", (all Kuwaiti registered) and also is understood to use the 30 year old ex-car transporter "Merino (aka Cormo) Express", registered in the Philippines.
It should be noted that there are no livestock carriers registered (flagged) in Australia; all, without exception, sail under "flags of convenience" such as Panama, obscure Caribbean nations and the Philippines, where requirements are far less stringent. The crews are from third world countries, and Hansard reports indicate that they are vessels of choice for crews "jumping ship".
The "Al Messilah" is particularly noteworthy because of its voyage from Devonport in February 2006, when 1,683 of the 71,309 sheep on board died during the marathon 24 day journey to four Middle Eastern ports. It was met with a storm of protest in Devonport, where animal advocates painted, quite aptly as it turned out, "Death Ship" on its hull. Advocates also attempted to block the ship's entry in the Devonport channel with kayaks and zodiacs.
The mortality report pointed to Tasmanian sheep being poorly adapted to lengthy, cross-equatorial journeys, the outbreak of a disease (keratoconjunctivitis, or pink-eye) which had first presented at the feedlot prior to loading, the animals not being in the feedlot for the mandated period, and "inanition" (a euphemism for starvation), partly because insufficient fodder had been loaded for the journey. One report suggested that the exporter had expected a higher mortality rate and had deliberately loaded insufficient feed.
The "Al Messilah" was also investigated in 2002 when 2,173 of the 74,985 sheep on board died (report available at www.liveexportshame.com). The "Al Shuwaikh was investigated for two successive voyages in 2002 (20 and V21), when 5,800 and 2,304 sheep died respectively. It was allowed to load again before the reports were completed, and a further 1,000 sheep died on that voyage. The "Merino (aka Cormo) Express" is legendary for its mortalities.
A FOI request to AMSA to elicit the name of the ship in question at the time resulted in a request for payment for this information, and it was sourced from the Federal Court (Austlii) database. Such information should be a matter of public record.
AMSA returned the matter to the Federal Court court in February 2009, before Dowsett, Rares and Gilmour JJ. The transcript indicates that the "Al Messilah" has sufficient pollution equipment to deal with the effluent from the approximately 50 crew if carries - but NOTHING to deal with the effluent from the approximately 80,000 animals it can carry. The judges concluded that Siopsis J, the judge who heard the matter on October 3 2008, had erred in his judgment of October 2008, and AMSA's appeal be allowed, with costs.
The "Al Kuwait" and "Al Shuwaikh" are substantially larger, but are not mentioned in the court transcript.
Given that these ships. and possibly others, are dealing with effluent from upwards of 100,000 animals, what will AMSA do the next time one of these ships attempts to load animals in Australian ports? Each has entered and left Australian ports any number of times since last October.
See also: www.liveexportshame.com, Stop Tasmanian Animal Cruelty at www.stoptac.org.
Topic:
Institutionalised cruelty to lab-chimps in USA exposed by US Humane Society
Introduction:
I find it incongruous - to say the least - to think that the humans are sitting in armchairs watching t.v., driving cars, eating with their partners and children, leading affluent lives on the basis of earnings from the industrialised depravity - nazi-like in its cleanly-institutional style - we see in the video.
Go on, have a look; it's not that kind of video
original photo by Michael Nichols at http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/primary/chimp-peeking-through-leaves.jpg
But it's also nothing like the photograph above of a young chimpanzee free in his natural surroundings.
The video does not contain intentional torture. It shows many chimpanzees and monkeys in bare cages with concrete floors, who are kept there for many many years. They are powerless and frightened. Baby chimps are bred there and taken from their mothers for experiments. You don't see the experiments, but you do see the animals restrained and a baby chimp crying as blood is being taken from it or it is being given a drug. You also see animals thrown roughly down on hard operating tables. Most of all you see a great deal of barren cleanliness with living creatures confined like criminals in tiny cells as masked and gowned staff go about 'just following orders' no doubt. One chimp was taken from the wild 25 years ago and has lived in concrete cells since then, apparently.
This situation is a reflection of the hardness of US society where keeping a job requires uncritical subservience. It also reflects the kind of ignorance that many people thought had disappeared with the Victorian era of tiny zoo-cages, or because we have all become 'civilised' in the western world, due to ... ahem... human 'progress'...
Political engagement against dystopia
But, yes, we do live in a world where this is going on all the time for other animals for food production, and the US has something like 7 million human beings confined in prison cells as well. But being surrounded by industrialised cruelty is not an excuse to give up. It is all the more reason to protest - because not to do so depraves us all. When we are all depraved, accepting this as normal, then there is no hope and we have all become part of the machine.
How to register your disgust
Here is a link to a form you can fill in to send automatically to US legislators if you live in the US. Alternatively, you could just look up your US embassy and send them an email with a copy to the US Humane Society, at this email address: humanesociety[AT]hsus.org. I sent a copy of this article to the Melbourne-based US embassy. You might also email a copy to the NIRC itself: NIRCadmin[AT]louisiana.edu
Anyone associated with this research, especially those in charge of it, in my opinion, should be stripped of their assets gained through such unacceptably callous exploitation. We need names and faces to pin to these atrocities. Anonymity is what keeps such practices going.
It would be much harder to condemn the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) in Louisiana if the institution had obviously made a great effort to compensate these animals by giving them trees and a lovely environment between 'sessions'. But they have confined these forest creatures to an environment as friendly as a toilet block for life.
What sort of rectal human phenomena would do such a thing? I simply do not know, but I guess someone emotionally dead and fixated on material survival. Or perhaps someone who actually believes that non-humans have no feelings or worth. Unfortunately a lot of humans have become like that and the rest of us have to try to fix up the damage they do everywhere.
The story is from the Humane Society of the United States, which has a lot more clout than the Australian RSPCA. Supporting them will probably lead to a real improvement in this problem.
Story accompanying the video (informative, not schlocking)
A nine-month-long undercover investigation by The HSUS has exposed the mistreatment of nearly 300 chimpanzees and other primates at the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) in Louisiana. These chimps, living lives of deprivation and misery, are among the more than 1,000 chimps languishing in laboratories across the United States. Chimps, our closet genetic relative, are complex, social, and long-lived creatures. Many chimps currently warehoused in research facilities have lived for decades behind bars. Especially heartbreaking are stories of the 26 elder chimps at NIRC, who were taken from their mothers in the wild.
The Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326) has just been re-introduced in Congress. This legislation aims to end invasive research on the chimpanzees remaining in laboratories, retire the approximately 500 federally-owned chimpanzees to permanent sanctuary (including the elder chimps at NIRC), and make the recent decision by the National Center for Research Resources (part of the National Institutes of Health) to stop funding the breeding of federally-owned chimpanzees permanent.
The United States is the only country, besides Gabon, that still uses chimpanzees in invasive research. The United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain have all banned or severely restricted the use of chimpanzees. Please help the U.S. join this list of nations by co-sponsoring The Great Ape Protection Act.
Something else you can do - sponsor a chimp via the Jane Goodall program!
The Jane Goodall Institute of Australia has launched a Guardian Program where you are able to:
* become a caretaker of a chimpanzee, an orangutan or a gorilla;
* support the Lwiro Sanctuary in Congo;
* assist their tree planting efforts in Tanzania.
That is a good idea and we need it for koalas and kangaroos (among other victims of human expansion) in Australia as well.
Kyogle residents fight World Rally motor race
Contents: #TheCaseAgainst">A Kyogle district resident states the case against the motor race, #MoreThanAKoalaCanBear">The Repco FIA World Championship Rally is More Than a Koala can Bear, #ResidentsOverruled" id="ResidentsOverruled">How the Kyogle District Chamber of Commerce, Rally Australia and the Kyogle Council imposed the motor race on local residents.
Residents of the Kyogle district of NSW, just south of the Queensland border, are organising to protect their way of life and local wildlife from the threat of an FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) World Rally motor race scheduled to be held in September 2009.
#TheCaseAgainst" id="TheCaseAgainst">A Kyogle district resident states the case against the motor race
The following letter sent, recently to the Tweed Echo by Kyogle district resident Kathryn Kermode, states the priciple objections to the holding of the Repco FIA World Championship Rally in the area.
Gary Connelly from Repco Rally Australia seems to be surprised that many residents along the proposed route of his event are not welcoming him warmly. We await Dr Steven Phillips environmental report with great interest, to see how Rally Australia will demonstrate protection of our threatened species, but this report will not address all of our serious concerns.
Noise. We are residents of a quiet country road. We want to attract tourists to our road who appreciate the natural virtues and who have the time to stop and look at the view. Noise is not a new problem for the WRC (World Rally Championship), reading the Irish press reports it appears that the residents in Drumkeerin have summoned the organizers of the WRC to court over the noise. They say "the previous rally held in November 2007 was held with total disregard for residents, their property and safety, and that the noise leading up to it caused total sleep deprivation and the "terrible" noise of the rally itself left animals and a disabled person traumatised."
Lack of Consultation. The public community meetings, that were stacked with outsiders by the organisers, have not answered the serious concerns raised by the residents. Repco Rally Australia has however successfully and derisively, divided our community and marginalized the residents. It is a great shame that Events NSW who have handed over our taxpayers dollars did not consider the region and undertake a feasibility study prior to the event being placed in Northern NSW. It seems the process of decision-making has been rushed and the event is being pushed through without true consultation and consideration of the community living along the stages.
Dangerous Copy Cats. The WRC is a dangerous sporting event. Drivers, co-drivers and spectators have been killed during the WRC; Repco Rally Australia will be working hard to try to ensure this will not happen in our region. They cannot however promise that there will not be a fatal accident and will have helicopters on site ready to airlift the wounded to hospital if necessary. Have Repco Rally Australia considered that the residents do not want anyone dying at our mailboxes? In fact, many residents do not want a high speed, long-term activity on our roads. Existing research indicates a link between motor racing and road accidents. Accident rates can be higher in localities that have been associated with a motor racing event, casualty accident rates on the public roads around Melbourne's Albert Park significantly increased when the public roads were used as a Formula One race circuit.
The majority of people attending the WRC are young males, a category already over represented in our region as road statistics. This is not a family fun event, we are asking the wider community to fully consider the repercussions to our young drivers if nothing else.
Pollution and Resources. Rally Australia's carbon offsetting will not reduce the level of pollution that the residents who live on the route will be forced to endure. All the dust, fumes, noise and the potential for fire that is created by a high speed motor sporting event of this scale.
Liberty and Amenity. Repco Rally Australia is removing our civil liberty and amenity. They are restricting and removing access to our properties and the public roads that we pay our council rates money to upkeep.
The Cost. NSW taxpayers are footing the bill for the event. Would you as a taxpayer rather the millions be spent on hospitals and education, or do you see this event, which has a non-viable record of accomplishment as a good choice for the NSW Government. The amount of money that Events NSW has provided Repco Rally Australia with, should be disclosed and accounted for.
Community Aspiration. Our community wants to collectively lighten our footprint on the earth. We aspires towards principles of the organic industry; home grown, hand made, slow food, bird watching, bush walking, recycling and rainforest restoration are activities that we want to embrace and encourage for our region. We would like to see the local B & B's full every weekend, we would like to see the verandahs in the village eateries bustling with customers every weekend, not overflowing and unable to cope once every second year.
The WRC will benefit a few financially in the short term, but it will carry a huge burden of cost for the residents in the long term.
Kathryn Kermode
Sargents Road
See also: "Tweed Shire Council General Manager, Director of World Rally Australia?" of 8 Apr 09, "World Rally is too noisy say residents" in the Sligo Champion of 19 Nov 08, "Damaged bridge 'won't impact on rally'" in the Leitrim Observer of 16 Jan 09, "Failure in bid to divert rally" in the Irish Independent of 11 Dec 08, "Noise pollution case against Rally Ireland dismissed" of 19 Dec 08,
"World Youth Day wash up" of 5 Feb 09 about how the supposedly cash-strapped NSW government, which is subsidising the rally in Northern NSW, squandered AU$120 million on World Youth Day last year.
#MoreThanAKoalaCanBear" id="MoreThanAKoalaCanBear">The Repco FIA World Championship Rally is More Than a Koala can Bear
The following letter was published in the community newspaper Northern Rivers Talking Turkey on 25 Feb 09.
If the dumb animals could speak I wonder what they would say, would they ask for justice or compensation? The day after Rally Australia walking into Kyogle and divided the community with its fun map, I filmed Sargent the koala, about three meters from the ground in a grey gum, right beside Sargents Road.
Sargents Road has a known koala population, it is quite possibly a koala corridor as it is lined with schedule 2, koala feed tree species, it could even be core koala habitat. Why then would Kyogle Council and Rally Australia even consider it as a good option for their race map?
I ask Kyogle Council and Rally Australia, if Sargent the koala happens to be up in his tree, or any other tree, during the reconnaissance exercises or the race what will Gary Connelly and his troupe of volunteers do? Will they
a) Ignore the fact that there are koalas in the trees and race their cars up
to 200 kph
b) Poke it with a stick, throw things at it or try other methods to scare it
away.
c) Knock it out of the tree, catch it and take it away.
There is already a plan in place, it has been created by the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) to ensure the survival of the koala in the wild and it is called the Recovery Plan for the Koala, published November 2008. It would be wise for Kyogle Council to recognize this and the value that koalas have for our Community, both in terms of their presence in our landscape but also their unfulfilled potential to attract the tourist dollar.
It would be foolish of Rally Australia to ignore our plea to protect our koala. We must as a Community realize that we need to protect our wild populations of koalas NOW. This iconic species is declining in nature, and is fast headed toward the Endangered List. We ask Rally Australia to think of the future. We cannot buy back the species once we have pushed it to the brink; it is not like offsetting carbon emissions.
One intelligent choice remains for all those involved: The World Rally Championship should immediately be re-routed away from koala habitat.
Kathryn Kermode
Sargents Road
Cawongla
#ResidentsOverruled" id="ResidentsOverruled">How the Kyogle District Chamber of Commerce, Rally Australia and the Kyogle Council imposed the motor race on local residents
This was orignally published in a Kyogle District local newspaper wiht the title "Kyogle Rallying ..."
Rally Australia sponsor a website where they post Public Relations Statements (e.g. "Community Support, Economic Benefit And Green Policy Refute Rally Australia Critics"). These statements are sent out to the Media as Media Releases for Journalists who are obliged to rehash them into news items. One of their most recent stories is about Kyogle's District Chamber of Commerce giving their support, in principle, to the Rally. Rally Organisers asked pro-rally supporters to make their voices heard in the community, in the media, everywhere in order to drown out the voice of those against the rally but it is not the role of big business to attempt to divide our community through blatant lobbying. The most memorable demonstration of this divisive behavior was Rally Australia's stacking of February's Community Consultation meeting. In a very embarrassing slip up, Gary Upson from Rally Australia accidentally sent an email intended for Arthur Piggott, Kyogle Council's General Manager, to one of the rally's opponents. In it, Gary Upson asked Arthur if he could get as many of his pro-rally supporters to the meeting and suggested that he would do the same from within the rally fraternity. Well, sure enough, that meeting had people from the Rally Fraternity coming all the way from Brisbane. This debacle also reveals a possible politicisation of Kyogle Council's administrative staff, risky business given Council's previous track record. And by the way, who exactly requested a Police presence at the meeting? Is NSW Police also to be co-opted to the pro-rally agenda?
Where can Rally opponents turn when their own Council no longer represents their best interests but represents primarily the interests of a Client who will soon have a Development Application pending? I would argue that Rally Australia has a Public Relations strategy with malicious intent. I would also argue that Kyogle Council doesn't have the planning policies to even consider the World Rally Championship's Development Application. What have we got to lose if this project proposal is gone over with a fine toothed comb by a panel with expertise in all the issues it raises?
On Rally Australia's website, Kyogle Chamber of Commerce President, Councillor and Businesswoman, Ms Lynette Zito, claimed quite ingenuously, that the Chamber "did not ask the proposed rally to come here, but now that they are looking to hold this international event in our location we are looking at what we want to make of it." The reason the Chamber didn't invite the Rally may have something to do with the idea that it wasn't the kind of Sustainable business opportunity they were looking for. After fourteen separate workshops with community members in the preparation of Kyogle Council's Sense of Place Economic Statement, it was concluded that throughout "the consultation process the community has echoed a range of common desires. Whilst most recognize the need for economic development and growth, they fear the loss of their way of life and core cultural elements that build a sense of ownership and pride in their community." Too right they do!
The people of Kyogle collectively identified the "environment, its protection and enhancement [as] a priority to the community as it is the reason why people chose this place to live." The statement revealed that the residents who attended the Council's workshops felt the Environment was critical to the growth of tourism in the area and was in fact its greatest attraction. So yes, why would these people invite a Motor Sporting event into the community? The truth is that it seemed nobody invited it except a few people who had discussed the issue with Kyogle Ex- Mayor Ernie Bennett. He met with the World Rally Championship organizers in mid April 2008. At the Ordinary Council Meeting of April 21, an urgent motion to approve the Rally in principle was passed without further discussion. At the next Ordinary Council Meeting after that, in May, likewise, there was no further discussion. There have been no Feasibility Studies or Council Environmental Studies so I ask: How do we know the Rally will be good for our Town? Did Mr Bennett know something more and did he pass the Arcane knowledge of such onto the new Mayor Mr Brown? That rushed and undebated urgent Motion was all that was needed for this Rally's Organisers to come speeding into our lives telling us what we should and should not be doing for the Rally and what is and isn't good for our Economy and our future. I hope the lesson of this is that more of us become involved in Local Council.
Kyogle Council's Sense of Place Economic Statement placed great importance on the values and guiding principles that emerged from the Consultative Meetings it initiated saying that they articulated "those fundamental and common rules that should be applied in the planning and implementation of all future projects." That statement seems like a hollow one now. I believe the common thought about the Rally among Pro-rally supporters is that, like Lynette implies, it just fell into our lap and we should all make the most of it. We can't build an envisioned Sustainable Tourism Industry in such an undisciplined manner. We are sending mixed messages to those we previously encouraged, investors with Eco Tourism, Green and Organic Agriculture and Farm Gate to Plate projects, to name a few. Kyogle must be pro-active in determining its way forward without losing the unique identity of being Gateway to the World Heritage Gondwana Rainforests as well as a Gateway for its children into a reinvented 21st Century Rural Heartland.
Motor Sports is an incompatible Eco activity, it is largely irrelevant to the Agricultural Industry and it can only undermine the very World Heritage Environmental values Kyogle's residents so obviously value. Our young men don't need any more encouragement to find out the hard way that speed kills. Even being a spectator at a Motor Sports event is a dangerous activity and one which the World Rally Championship Organisers refuse to underwrite with any moral responsibility. Before you even think about where you're going to find a park to watch the race from, I invite you to peruse this Confederation of Motor Sports' #IndemnityForm">Indemnity clause for potential spectators to September's World Rally Championship. Would you sign it?
Jenny Bluefields
#IndemnityForm" id="IndemnityForm">Form to indemnify rally orgnisers from legal liability arising from injury
Repco Rally Australia Tour: September 2-7, 2009.
Disclaimer
Exclusion of liability, release and assumption of risk motor sport is dangerous
In exchange for being able to attend or participate in the event, you agree:
to release Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Ltd ("CAMS") and Australian Motor Sport Commission Ltd, promoters, sponsor organisations, land owners and lessees, organizers of the event, their respective servants, officials, representatives and agents including Rally Sport Magazine and Rally Australia Pty Ltd (collectively, the "Associated Entities") from all liability for your death, personal injury (including burns), psychological trauma, loss or damage (including property damage) ("harm") howsoever arising from your participation in or attendance at the event, except to the extent prohibited by law;
that CAMS and the Associated Entities do not make any warranty, implied or express, that the event services will be provided with due care and skill or that any materials provided in connection with the services will be fit for the purpose for which they are supplied; and
to attend or participate in the event at your own risk.
You acknowledge that:
the risks associated with attending or participating in the event include the risk that you may suffer harm as a result of:
motor vehicles (or parts of them) colliding with other motor vehicles, persons or property;
acts of violence and other harmful acts (whether intentional or inadvertent) committed by persons attending or participating in the event; and
the failure or unsuitability of facilities (including grand-stands, fences and guard rails) to ensure the safety of persons or property at the event. motor sport is dangerous and that accidents causing harm can and do happen and may happen to you.
You accept the conditions of, and acknowledge the risks arising from, attending or participating in the event and being provided with the event services by CAMS and the Associated Entities.
Signed……………………………………………………………. Date ……………..
GDP per person falls in every state of Australia because of population growth
Despite figures showing economic growth in some states, per capita GDP has fallen in every state in Australia, according to Sustainable Population Australia Inc (SPA).
Dr John Coulter, National President of SPA, says residents of those states in which gross GDP has risen have had their apparent advantage wiped away by population growth.
December quarter per capita economic decline in every state
'Most economic commentators assume that changes in GDP are proxy measures for changes in human welfare,' says Dr Coulter. 'Accepting for the moment that this is the case, then change in GDP per person, rather than gross GDP, is actually a better measure of welfare.
'If we look at per capita rather than gross GDP, then all states show negative growth for the December quarter.'
Tasmanians did better than all other states.
Dr Coulter notes that Tasmania, with the lowest rate of population growth, showed the least negative economic growth with only a 0.1% fall per capita. Western Australia, which had the highest rate of population growth, shows the second largest fall in per capita GDP at almost 2%.
'Queensland is in a similar position,' he says, 'sharing with the Northern Territory the second highest rate of population growth but having the third largest fall in per capita GDP. South Australia has the biggest drop in GDP, a high rate of population growth relative to the economy and the largest decline in per capita GDP at 2.5%.'
The figures indicate no economic or welfare advantage from a growing population
Dr Coulter says the figures indicate no economic or welfare advantage from a growing population.
'They confirm calculations I have made over many years comparing OECD countries. These calculations repeatedly show no statistically significant correlation between population growth and growth of per capita GDP. They parallel the conclusion of the Productivity Commission report which showed that, despite excluding many of the environmental costs of a larger population, there was no demonstrable link between increase in immigration and per capita economic growth.'
With respect to tackling climate change, Dr Coulter notes that the Rudd Government clearly accepts that there are considerable environmental costs from a growing population.
'In fact, there are a host of other environmental costs from population growth,' he says.
'It is long past the time for all Australian Governments to adopt population policies aimed at environmental sustainability, rather than the mirage of economic and welfare benefits from a growing population.'
For further comment or information:
Dr John Coulter 08/8388 2153
From a media release
5 March 2009
Department of Environment fails to act to save endangered Koala because of technicality
This media release with was received this morning. As an independent candidate for the seat of Mount Coot-tha, I will do my best to raise this critical issue in the remaining weeks of the campaign. If elected, I will put legislation before the Queensland Parliament to outlaw the destruction of any more Koala habitat in South East Queensland. - James Sinnamon, 5 March 2009.
Say Sorry Mr Garrett
The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) was told yesterday that their nomination for the Southeast Queensland koala population as a critically endangered species under Federal Environment laws would not proceed because "the form had not been filled in correctly."
Despite images of burnt and desperate koalas flooding the world and on the eve of Environment Minister Peter Garrett performing with Midnight Oil this Saturday for bushfire relief - including the famous Sam the Koala - he has turned his back on the koalas that desperately need his support for the protection of habitat in Southeast Queensland.
CEO of the AKF Deborah Tabart OAM is saying Mr Garrett has lost control of his Department or worse still, does know of this decision, which would be even more disturbing.
"The ironic thing is he is the custodian of our koalas and he should be the one telling his bureaucrats to fill in the boxes - we're tired of doing the work for you, Mr Garrett.
"It is outrageous that after the AKF has poured $8 million into science proving the koala is a threatened species, they still find a loophole to avoid protecting it," Ms Tabart said.
"You have to ask, is this because of a too close relationship between political donors and the Rudd Government?
"I am convinced this situation is linked to the upcoming Queensland election and by September 2010, when the listing decision is due, all approvals for infrastructure and development will have been granted by then.
"I am shocked at the lack of compassion of the bureaucrats in Canberra who know that this bureaucratic decision will see the demise of the Southeast Queensland koala population and I want the people of the world to know.
"Our Governments are prepared to watch the Southeast Queensland population go to extinction for their own political gain," Ms Tabart said.
Even if the AKF submits another nomination, it will not be reviewed again until September 2010 despite predictions that the koala could be extinct in Southeast Queensland within just five years.
To find out ways to help the Australian Koala Foundation save our koalas, visit the website at www.savethekoala.com.
Sophia Walter
Public Relations & Communications
Australian Koala Foundation
www.savethekoala.com
GPO Box 2659 Brisbane Qld 4001
Tel: (07) 3229 7233 Fax: (07) 3221 0337
sophia [ AT ] savethekoala.com
See also: "Queensland Government killing koalas for developer dollars" of 12 Aug 09, "Wildlife also bleed, also feel, also lost their homes" of 13 Feb 09, "Development project threatens second largest Koala Colony in Tweed Shire" of 21 Feb 09.
One year later: no explanation from Queensland Health for falsified fluoridation data
Media Release from Merilyn Haines, spokesperson for Queenslanders For Safe Water , Air and Food Inc and Independent candidate for South Brisbane
One year anniversary and Qld Health ethical standards unit has still not explained falsified data
It is exactly one year now since the Crime and Misconduct Commission advised that Queensland Health would respond in "due course" in regard to evidence presented to the CMC that Queensland Health had falsified tooth decay data used by Premier Bligh to justify forced fluoridation.
When Anna Bligh announced on 5th Dec 2007 that she had made the decision that fluoridation was to be forced on Queenslanders, she used graphed data comparing tooth decay in Townsville children to Brisbane children. The data was from 1991 and showed a difference then of 2 less decayed teeth in Townsville's children compared to Brisbane children. The data was also sent to some MPs and through this access, it was discovered that Queensland Health had exaggerated tooth decay data used by changing the units from teeth surfaces to teeth. Instead of a difference of 2 baby teeth out of 28 baby teeth in a child's mouth, the difference was only 2 tooth surfaces out of 128 tooth surfaces in a child's mouth.
Queensland Health also had access to data on permanent teeth which showed very little difference , but chose to only use baby teeth data and then exaggerated that by falsely changing the units.
Queensland Health did however use some tooth decay data from permanent teeth in children when newspaper advertisements were placed across Queensland claiming that Townsville children had 65 % less tooth decay than Brisbane children, but they did not disclose that the 65% difference related to an absolute average difference of only 0.2 tooth surfaces out of 128 tooth surfaces.
Queensland Health also chose to ignore data from 2000, 2001 and 2002 which showed that Townsville children had more tooth decay than children from the North Brisbane , the Gold Coast , Wynnum, Rockhampton and several other non fluoridated areas of Queensland.
This was all explained to the Premier and the Health Minister in a meeting with them on 12 Feb 2008, but they pushed ahead and forced fluoridation on Queenslanders regardless, while changing the Legislation to remove all liability.
Over the last year repeated calls have been made for an explanation as to why Queensland Health bureaucrats exaggerated tooth decay, ignored relevant data showing no benefit, and also illegitimately dismissed evidence of the risk of Osteosarcoma bone cancer in teenage boys with water fluoridation.
Verbal advice from the Ethical Standards Unit just prior to announcement of State Election was that the Ethical Standards Unit was "almost" in a position to respond. It appears that even after a year, Queensland Health is having difficulty explaining it's actions.
Unethical forced fluoridation based on falsified and exaggerated tooth decay is one of the reasons why Merilyn Haines has nominated as an Independent candidate in South Brisbane, Anna Bligh's own seat. The issue of forcing people to drink recycled water sourced from sewage is another, as is the planned of the Royal Children's Hospital.
Contact: Merilyn Haines mobiles 0418 777 112 and 0403 029 077
See also web site of Queenslanders For Safe Water , Air and Food Inc at www.qawf.org.
NSW Planning Minister brings tragic, stupid end to last grasslands
It seems that the people who have managed to get into power in this country simply cannot take seriously the importance of the natural world to climate, aesthetics, society and human survival. Money eclipses everything in their Growth Lobby paradigm, including democracy.
Today this dreadful news arrived from Geoff Brown of the ADI Residents' Action Group:
Keneally gazettes green light to Delfin Lend Lease to bury last grasslands in vast suburbs
Kristina Keneally the NSW Planning Minister on Friday gazetted amendments to the SREP 30 the zoning plan for the ADI Site. Under the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act the Minister could, based on submissions received from the public, amend SREP 30 any way she saw fit. We called on her to use her planning powers to protect a further 100 ha of Cumberland Plain Woodland by rezoning land from urban to conservation (E2 Environmental Conservation was proposed - therefore no cost to government). Nearly 300 ha of regenerating bushland is zoned urban by SREP 30 and will be cleared so our proposal was a compromise in the hope that we may just get some support from the NSW Government. It would of reduced the development by 1000 dwellings = $100 million that Delfin would of lost.
As a result of Fridays gazettal of SREP 30 Penrith Council now has the green light to approve Delfin Lend Leases massive Western and Central Precinct Plans (suburbs). This equates to 3400 lots. Council planners are now rushing to prepare for next Monday night the 9th March when a Report will come before the full Council urging that they approve both plans.
Government by cynicism
We recently met with Council Planners about Delfin Lend Leases abysmal plans. Despite raising numerous issues it was obvious they just don't care. They had no valid responses to our questions. Talking to them was like talking to the developer. Q's such as 'Delfins tree survey identifies 20000 trees - will these be removed? Answer - Don't know. Q's What are you going to do about the fact Delfin have a 3.8 ha shortfall in the provision of public parkland (open space) within the Western Precinct. Answer - Delfin can use the Regional Park to cover the shortfall. Apparently only 40 comments were received on the Precinct Plans so they are cocky that there will be little public opposition from here on. Personally I am quite disappointed that such a massive ecological disaster could only attract 40 comments.
So if you are not completely over it and still have some concern then do what you can. It would be good to wind up this 16 year campaign (arguably one of the longest resident campaigns) next Monday night with a packed public capacity giving Penrith Council what they deserve.
Info on the planning disaster that Council will approve and the issues we raised with Councils Planners are here http://www.adisite.org
You may be interested to know that Blacktown Council refused to commit to the acquisition of the Norman St bushland at Prospect. Council voted unanimously. They came up with some excuse to make continued representation to State and Fed Gov'ts to obtain funding.
Simple natural solutions to fire and flood
see Candobetter review here of Peter Andrews' book on Natural Sequence Farming
By Duane Norris (Natural Sequence Farming)[1]
The present circumstances around the country pose a huge headache for Governments with devastating fires in Victoria and floods in Queensland.
Once this Australian landscape ran itself.
The fire cycle, prior Aboriginals, was once in every 300 years. Today, it is once in every 2-3 years (regardless of the cause).
Inground water and a dense cover of fire retardant, biodiverse plants once cooled the Australian landscape.
Today, our landscape is drained, dried, desiccated, barren of plant cover except for incendiaries of Eucalyptus trees waiting to vaporise like petrol tankers.
The answers to the problems we are witnessing are there for all to see...they are simple solutions. Solutions given to us by Nature and available for all to see.*
The floodwaters and fire regimes could be far better managed if only authorities understood these simple landscape processes.
The national landscape catastrophes currently facing our country need to be addressed at the highest levels including the Premier's proposed Royal Commission.
Premier, you will be inundated with experts and eyewitnesses on the ground saying this solution and that solution will be the best.
THE ONLY SOLUTION THAT MATTERS, IN THE END, IS THE ONE THAT WORKS.
The Key is WATER!!
This is the only ingredient that saved lives and houses in the terrible recent events across Victoria.
We need to rehydrate the Victorian landscape like it was once.
This simple proof can be dramatically illustrated by doing a simple test.
"If you purchase two copies of The Age this Saturday, soak one in the bath overnight and read the other. Think of the copy coming out of the bath, as the landscape prior [to the impact of repeated fires] and the dry paper, as the landscape is today." (Article by Duane Norris for Natural Sequence Farming)
If you purchase two copies of The Age this Saturday, soak one in the bath overnight and read the other.
Think of the copy coming out of the bath, as the landscape prior and the dry paper, as the landscape is today.
Next day, put both copies out in the Sun for a few hours. Then take a match and see which paper catches fire.
It’s as simple as that.
There are models available where this information can be dramatically demonstrated as to how our landscape once functioned under a wet rehydrated paradigm.
We would encourage you to see it for yourself.
Duane Norris
* Peter Andrews’s books ‘Back from the Brink’ and ‘Beyond the Brink’ say it all.
[1] This letter was originally sent to Premier John Brumby as a 'Special Message', on 17 February 2009, by Duane Norris, Workshop Coordinator and Personal Assistant to Peter Andrews, originator of Natural Sequence Farming It is republished here with permission. If you would like to participate in the Natural Sequence Forum, go here.
"Jump!" Paul Burnett's New Internationale for Post-Industrial times
How about learning the words and, next time your pretentious premier/ patronising prime-minister or president comes out to hand the collection plate around for the bankers, CEOs, land-sharks, mouthing the same old tunes, we can all sing it together.
If nothing else, learn the chorus to "Jump ..."!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TYezSrzUUs
The song is by Jean Burnett.
Thanks, Jean.
The Sheahans and Mitchell Shire Council - Fire-breakers or law-breakers?
Andrew Bolt's story, "Green rules, black forests" is one of many mainstream media sources to keep alive the legend of the brave Sheehans' fight for justice and safety against their philistine greenie neighbours. But there is even more to that story than the press have so-far published. Read on...
The story so far:
"THEY were labelled law breakers, fined $50,000 and left emotionally and financially drained. But seven years after the Sheahans bulldozed trees to make a fire break — an act that got them dragged before a magistrate and penalised — they feel vindicated. Their house is one of the few in Reedy Creek still standing....
Mr Sheahan is still angry about his prosecution, which cost him $100,000 in fines and legal fees. The council’s planning laws allow trees to be cleared only when they are within six metres of a house. Mr Sheahan cleared trees up to 100 metres away from his house." (Source: Andrew Bolt, "Green rules, black forest"
But the plot thickens...
Apparently NO journalist has contacted the Mitchell Shire Council to investigate its version of the Sheahans' story. However close investigation reveals a much more interesting side to life by the forests and how communities can pull together or apart to preserve or destroy their environment and themselves.
People may read the records for themselves here:
http://www.mitchellshire.vic.gov.au/Files/12_Sept_05_minutes.pdf
The Council records show that before November 2003 the Sheahans cleared an environmental overlay of 1.2 Ha old growth eucalptus (past their fire-prone growth - as could be demonstrated from their size and age), adjoining State forest. In so-doing the Sheahans also created flat ground for their horses.
The Sheahans apparently fell afoul of the local council because neighbours complained about what they had done, which was against the law. So the Council was acting on complaints from neighbours of the Sheahans.
Far from being 'dragged into court' the Council records seem to show that every attempt was made to keep the matter out of court and to resolve it with the least hassle for all parties.
Victims of their own actions?
The records seem to show that the Sheahans were the ones to cost themselves and the Council time and money.
For instance, in an attempt to settle the matter without great cost, the council sought the Sheahans' agreement to pay $2,500 in council costs and to plant some more vegetation. In 2003, they agreed to pay this $2,500 Council and to repair some of the damage by revegetating.
They then failed to do what they had said they would. The council attempted to renew dialogue.
"Get stuffed!"
In 2004 the Sheahans responded to attempts to communicate further on the issue with a letter telling Council and residents to 'get stuffed'.
In 2004 the court case could no longer be avoided.
The Sheahans attempted to convince the council that their motive for felling the old-growth trees in the environmental overlay had been to remove fire-danger. They had, however, left logs piled up in the area where the healthy old trees had been. There is a 2004 photograph which shows that these logs had later been involved in a fire following a couple of bad fire-risk seasons. .
Although the Sheahans have claimed that they bulldozed logs to create a fire-barrier, this was not the opinion of a fire-hazard inspector, who reckoned they had created a fire-hazard. The Council issued the Sheahans with an order to remove the fire-hazard from the property.
Magistrate also not convinced about the 'fire-break'.
In court, the Magistrate held that the Sheahans' claim of a fire-barrier was not plausible because they had “only sought to consider exemptions under the Mitchell Planning Scheme after the fact”.
Due to the efforts of the council and the CFA the pile of burnt logs was removed from the Sheahan property. The fact that the Sheahans survived the most recent fires may be in part due to the removal of the fire-hazard they had themselves created out of trees which had survived many fires intact.
A sore loser by any other name ...
That would make them ungrateful sore-losers, if placed in a kindly light.
It therefore seems to me - going by these records - that, failing some other well-based explanation, it is fair and reasonable to label the Sheahans 'law breakers'.
It also seems reasonable to label the press in this matter, 'pot-stirrers', or something much worse, perhaps, given the gravity of grief and loss in Victoria - the most cleared state of Australia.
What do you think?
In their coverage of this story the mainstream press seem again to demonstrate that they are the mouthpieces of narrow commercial interest by the opportunistic and unbalanced manner in which this matter has so far been reported. Their silence - ABC and commercial alike - is deafening on the truth, which was that the most 'managed' and back-burned forests burned the hottest, whereas much old-growth survived these and many other fires.
With press like this, who needs enemies - or even 'Green terrorists'?
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