Kristina Keneally

Greens member of the NSW Legislative Council, John Kaye, has previously stood up against privatisation of that state's electricity and we have published some speeches to that effect by him here at candobetter.net. Major newspapers carried quotes about his opposition to electricity privatisation and we publish here what he says on his website. I would like to take this opportunity to remind people that James Sinnamon, the owner of candobetter.net is a fierce opponent of privatisation and had intended to run as a candidate in the seat of Brisbane in the 2010 Federal Election on this issue. Unfortunately he was hospitalised for months after a terrible collision between his bicycle and a 4WD and so he never ran in an election where, ironically, he just might have won against the usual odds. We will write about this one day.

Chapter 5: Factional plotting

As 2003 drew to a close and following Carr’s ‘generational change’ reforms in his Cabinet, in December some twenty-four NSW Labor MPs comprising the Right’ rival splinter factions - the Terrigals and Trogs met for dinner. They “quietly left the Macquarie Street precinct to dine together across town” at the Southern Italian restaurant, 'al Ponte', at Harbourside, Darling Harbour.

They voiced their anger about Carr’s cabinet reshuffle, his overhaul of the ministries, the blood letting of departmental heads by Carr’s new team (Della Bosca, Knowles, Costa, Egan) and over Carr’s new policies such as his new tax on poker machines , which had attracted outrage from the influential club industry. Both Terrigal chiefs Eddie Obeid and Joe Tripodi had been denied a ministry. The sense of injustice over Carr’s cronyism and desire for populism fueled a desire for factional vengeance brewed for two years after Carr's March 2003 election win.

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Chapter 4: Carr’s ‘regeneration’ sowed factional vengeance

For a populist politician, NSW Premier Bob Carr felt a personal necessity to be popular with the people and to ensure this be reflected in the media. Poor performance and public embarrassments by government departments and by his ministers reflected badly on Carr’s leadership credibility in the media and therefore with the ordinary citizen.

Carr’s personal penchant for journalism and media relations evolved into a hypersensitivity about his public image as Premier and his indirect monitoring of Sydney radio broadcaster Alan Jones is well documented. Carr’s autocratic message became clear throughout his Cabinet and right through the NSW public service - that those causing him public and media embarrassment would suffer the consequences. Carr’s autocratic management of the public service had become capricious.

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Chapter 1: The Rise of NSW Labor Right.

...and with those prophetic words on 3rd December 2009, the next day New South Wales’ second puppet premier Nathan Rees bowed from the public limelight.

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As Australians we pride ourselves with the presumption that we live in a democracy benefiting from the universally accepted principles of 'equality and freedom'.

We are supposed to have a "government of the people, by the people, for the people" [Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865]. But in reality we are denied full or 'direct democracy' and are expected to tolerate the more compromised version of 'representative democracy'.

But those so-called 'representatives' repeatedly let us down. They are instead controlled by their own political party agendas. Legislative voting is along party lines, not according to the say of local electoral seats that our 'representatives' are supposed to represent.

In fact we have what's branded an 'illiberal democracy' - a narrower definition of full democracy and one in which, although elections take place, voters are excluded from government agendas, denied any say into party policies, denied any say in drafting legislation, denied any say in constructing government budget priorities. Party politics is where the real political power lies in Australian politics, not with the people.

The Keneally Government of NSW has just announced that it will protect 107,000 hectares of Riverina redgums and set up an $80 million support package with logging to be wound down over the next five years.

But after five years the loggers would have done their redgum raping and pillaging, so seriously how much viable forest habitat would be left worth protecting?

Premier Keneally in following others advice has ignored the NSW Government's own community consultative process of the Natural Resources Commission and chosen to ignore the Commission's 16 recommendations. She's no different!

Several communities of koalas in the Mumbulla and Murrah State Forests on the NSW South Coast near Bermagui are at risk of regional extinction due to plans by Forestry NSW to commence logging their forest habitat on Monday 1st March 2010.

Originally published 27 Feb 10, Updated 1 Mar 10 with Media Release of 27 Feb 10 from the Conservation Council ACT Region.

In October 2008, NSW Forests logged what it labeled “two compartments” in Bermagui State Forest north of Bermagui. It justified this under the infamous Eden Regional Forest Agreement (RFA). This RFA is one of three established in 1999, in which the NSW Government relegated 15.1 million hectares of native forests across New South Wales for logging anytime.
Recent anti-protester legislation has seen four forest campaigners who had allegedly entered Bermagui State Forest charged under Labor's Ian MacDonald's Forestry Regulation 2009 due to go before the court on 18th June 2010.

It's another one of these licensed to kill 'Regional Forest Agreements' (RFA's) by Forests NSW.

This time the bastard loggers are in the old growth and rainforest between Ulladulla and Batemans raping and pillaging South Brooman State Forest, a rare surviving home of Australia's endangered Spotted-Tailed Quolls and endangered Grey-Headed Flying Foxes.
And its all approved by Forests NSW under another slimy Regional Forest Agreement.

River Red Gum wetlands provide an irreplaceable refuge for plants and animals in one of the most heavily cultivated and poorly protected landscapes in Australia. If the drought conditions continue in line with climate change predictions, much of the existing forests that are home to numerous threatened species will not survive even in their current condition. Hans Heyson, the renown artist, fought for the protection of the red and white gums he made so famous.