Posts filed under 'General News'
More than half a dozen AFL players will visit Deniliquin, Echuca and Cobram today to run specialised footy clinics with school kids, giving them a rare opportunity to learn from players at the elite level.
Police continue to be frustrated by the spate of assaults in the region, with more assaults recorded on the weekend.
Deniliquin North Public School is one of only twenty schools across the country to receive a 25 thousand dollar award for community partnership.
Country Energy will spend $440,000 in the coming months to upgrade the high voltage power grid from Deniliquin, which feeds Barham, Moulamein and surrounds, to ensure that it is up to scratch before the summer peak usage period arrives.
Murray Shire Mayor Brian Sharp has sought to clarify the confusion surrounding the proposed fluoridation of the Moama and Mathoura water supplies.
Mr. Sharp says the Council still intends on going ahead with the fluoridation, which would bring Moama and Mathoura in line with a large number of other towns including Echuca, which has had fluoride for 25 years, and Deniliquin, which has had it for five.
Round two of Campaspe Shire’s community grants program opens today, with applications welcome in the categories of heritage, cultural, environment, assistance, events and recreation.
Details and the application form can be found on the Campaspe shire website www.campaspe.vic.gov.au…applications close on Friday October the 2nd.
In round 12 of Deni Mixed Indoor Netball, wins went to The Hot Shots, Band Aid, The Magnums and The Easy Beats.
The Deni Sports and Entertainment Stadium will be holding a short pre-season indoor cricket season on Tuesdays from 6pm, and are looking for a few more players.
If you’re interested, give John a call at the stadium on 5881 4100 for more details.
Samuel
September 8th, 2009 at 09:47am
Owners of electric scooters and wheelchairs will find life a little bit easier in the shire of Campaspe thanks to the shire’s introduction of the RECHARGE scheme, placing recharge points for the scooters and wheelchairs in public and private building.
The state-wide embargo on the sale of water licences in New South Wales might not be lifted until the end of the month.
Goulburn Murray Water has come under fire for an apparent decision to send 40 gigalitres of water to Melbourne, but not allocate any water to local irrigators.
The Goulburn Ovens Murray region has been the second hardest hit in the country by the economic downturn, according to a study by Bankwest. The region has recorded a 10 per cent fall in employment since November 2007, which is only beaten by the mining area of Western Australia.
The report also found that Conargo has the highest concentration of a single industry in the country, with 81.4 per cent of people in the area employed in agriculture, far exceeding the next highest concentration which is 31% in Holroyd, Sydney, working in manufacturing.
The battle over the proposed Echuca Moama Bridge continues after VicRoads briefed the Moama Council on their preferred option last week.
Moama councillor Tom Weyrich says VicRoads option is simply not good enough.
Six AFL superstars will visit Deniliquin and Echuca tomorrow to hold specialised footy clinics with kids as part of the Toyota Aurion V6 All Star Footy Bus program.
Jerilderie are the premiers in this year’s Picola District Football League after they kicked a goal in the final moments to defeat Berrigan 9.14 (68) to 8.17 (65) in the grand final on Saturday.
Samuel
September 7th, 2009 at 09:44am
This email arrived from the NSW opposition this morning. It came from one of Barry O’Farrell’s media reps, but isn’t attributed to any politician in particular, so I’m hesitant to attribute it to Barry as the rep does produce press releases for other opposition MPs. (Update: It’s from Barry’s office, so it can be attributed to Barry.)
All that said, the list is rather amusing, so I thought I’d give it a run here. Enjoy!
1. 8 September 2008 – Appointing the ‘dodgy brothers’ of NSW politics – Eric Roozendaal and Joe Tripodi to the key economic portfolios of Treasury and Finance Minister. Nathan Rees delegates the responsibility of selecting his Cabinet to ALP boss, Karl Bitar.
2. 10 September 2008 – Forced to new Police Minister Matt Brown after he admits that he danced semi-naked on fellow ALP MP Noreen Hay during June’s Budget ‘celebrations’. Two days later, Noreen Hay is dumped as Parliamentary Secretary, but Rees claims it is purely because he wanted a “fresh face”.
3. 19 September 2008 – Nathan Rees shows he’s got his priorities wrong by calling for an inquiry into the Black Panther sightings in Western Sydney while failing to address the real issues affecting the people of NSW.
4. 22 September 2008 – More than 8,000 cars are diverted from the M5 tunnel in sweltering heat as the second computer glitch in 3 months forces the tunnel’s closure, bringing the city to a halt.
5. 16 October 2008 – Dubbo Hospital nurses reveal that they have been forced to purchase bandages from a local vet to use on patients due to Greater Western Area Health Service’s failure to pay bills on time.
6. 17 October 2008 – The Rees Labor Government’s failure to properly fund NSW health services results in four NSW Area Health Services reportedly owing millions of dollars to medical suppliers, who have been owed this money for up to 6 months.
7. 18 October 2008 – Rees Labor Government loses former Deputy Premier John Watkins’ seat of Ryde to the Liberals with a swing of over 20%. There are also massive swings against the Rees Government in Cabramatta and Lakemba.
8. 22 October 2008 – Nathan Rees allows Union heavyweight John Robertson fills the Upper House vacancy left by Michael Costa. Despite filling the vacancy, he fails to deliver anything in his portfolio.
9. 23 October 2008 – Nathan Rees ponders Sydney’s traffic congestion problems with the curious phrase, “If you think you are in love, you are in love. If you think you are in traffic, you are in traffic”.
10. 23 October 2008 – It’s revealed trains on the Chatswood to Epping Line will be as loud as a Boeing 737.
11. 24 October 2008 – Nathan Rees announces the Rozelle Metro – but embarrassingly doesn’t know cost or route.
12. 27 October 2008 – It’s revealed that 10 years after unveiling their rail transport blueprint, the NSW Government has failed to build a single one of the 5 major projects promised.
13. 27 October 2008 – Infrastructure Australia submission failed – Sydney was allocated less than 1% of the total road, port and transport funding because of Labor’s incompetent submission, which was riddled with spelling errors.
14. 28 October 2008 – Nathan Rees confirms he had signed off on about $5 million in pay rises for NSW’s senior bureaucrats weeks ago, despite claiming he had only heard about it the previous evening.
15. 31 October 2008 – Nathan Rees axes the North West Metro failing commuters in North Western Sydney.
16. Ongoing – Has still failed to build Kincumber Fire Station, which was first promised by the Labor Government in 2000, then again in 2001, then again in 2008 with not a single sod turned.
17. 7 November 2008 – Nathan Rees fails to honour handshake agreement on campaign finance reform to adopt the Legislative Council inquiry’s recommendations to limit political donations and cap spending during Election campaigns made at the ‘Leader’s Pub Debate’.
18. 11 November 2008 – Nathan Rees sacks Small Business Minister Tony Stewart after he allegedly verbally abused and touched the leg of a female staffer during a function a week earlier. He is suing the State Government over his sacking.
19. 11 November 2008 – Nathan Rees hands down the failed Mini-Budget with a $917 million deficit. It introduces congestion tax, axes the $50 back to school allowance and free bus travel for students, cuts petrol subsidies, closes 8 DPI offices, doubles car parking levies and increases green slip charges, and slugs the coal industry for more royalties.
20. 11 November 2008 – Rees Labor Government fails to provide a ‘Fly Over’ for West Gosford Intersection – promised prior to the 2003 election – all funding removed in 2008.
21. 11 November 2008 – Nathan Rees axes the South-West Rail Link, which was originally promised in December 2004.
22. 11 November 2008 – Introduced a blood tax, to reap $26 million over 4 years.
23. 11 November 2008 – Introduced a 50c levy on ferry fares – taxing people who use public transport.
24. 11 November 2008 – Axed JetCats leaving thousands of commuters stranded.
25. 11 November 2008 – Raised the Waste and Environment Levy without reinvesting it, using it to cover his budget black holes.
26. 19 November 2008 – Fails to prioritise education when it’s revealed the Rees Government plans to sell 140 hectares of the 160-hectare Hurlstone Agricultural High School in Western Sydney.
27. 26 November 2008 – A report on the Epping to Chatswood Rail Link shows there are thousands of defects in the way the tracks have been fixed to concrete slabs.
28. 27 November 2008 – The release of Commissioner Peter Garling’s Report into NSW hospitals contains 139 recommendations for a complete overhaul of the system, which he says is ‘on the brink’.
29. 1 December 2008 – Nathan Rees botches the introduction of the list of the most dangerous pubs and clubs in the State by using flawed data to assemble the list and failing to ensure mechanisms for pubs who clean up their act to be removed from the list.
30. 2 December 2008 – It’s revealed Ian Macdonald’s wife has a $110,000 a year job as a liaison between her husband and the Director-General of DPI. Questions are raised over the potential conflict of interest.
31. 21 December 2008 – Nathan Rees fails to discipline the Minister for State Development, Ian Macdonald after it’s revealed he has used Department credit cards to purchase a TV, cabinets, desks and other furniture for his home, enjoyed upmarket lunches at taxpayers’ expense and hired a helicopter to the Hunter Valley for a $2000 lunch and mining tour. Minister Macdonald is dubbed “Sir Lunchalot” following further revelations he spent $150,000 on accommodation, food and drink for a wine advisory council he established.
32. Ongoing – Nathan Rees allows continued over-development in the Ku-ring-gai Council area, continuing to override local democracy.
33. 5 January 2009 – It’s revealed the NSW Labor Government has spent $2.4 billion on Government funded advertising and consultancy since it was elected in 1995.
34. 6 January 2009 – The Rees Labor Government fails Rosemeadow residents when up to 100 people from a local housing estate are involved in a riot and their local Labor MP Phil Costa refuses to visit the site until shamed into it a week after the incident.
35. 9 January 2009 – Miscarriages at Maitland Hospital show Labor has failed to implement miscarriage protocols that were developed following the Jana Horska case in 2007.
36. 12 January 2009 – Rees Labor Government fails to get its priorities right when it makes the decision to charge patients and their families more for parking at hospitals – costing families an extra $6 million over 4 years.
37. 14 January 2009 – Nathan Rees fails to live up to his promise that his Government will be honest and transparent when it’s revealed the NSW Ombudsman has made a damning provisional report to Premier Rees regarding the interference of former Roads Minister Roozendaal’s office in FOI requests, and referred them to ICAC.
38. 19 February 2009 – New Minister John Robertson splashes out $500,000 on a Ministerial office refurbishment. While initially defending the luxurious renovation, Nathan Rees only axed it after public outcry.
39. 23 February 2009 – Epping to Chatswood Rail Link finally opens – three years late, one billion dollars over-budget, and half its original distance.
40. February 2009 – Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge reveals herself to be incompetent when she bungles referring herself to the ICAC over allegations she used her position to influence the Minister for Police over a decision affecting one of her major donors.
41. 3 March 2009 – It is revealed, Bernie Fraser and Ian Macfarlane, economic experts hired by Nathan Rees, refuse to endorse his failed Mini-Budget. Mr Macfarlane stated in a letter to the Premier’s Director-General: “I would like to point out that I do not have any particular expertise in these areas, and would not like to be cited as having advised on, or approved of policies in these areas”.
42. 5 March 2009 – FOI documents reveal over $20,000 in Back To School Advertisements that advertised the wrong day to return to school.
43. 6 March 2009 – The Rees Labor Government strips the NSW Ombudsman of its ability to review preventable child deaths and reduces the regularity of reports from the Ombudsman, effectively hiding this important information from public scrutiny.
44. 11 March 2009 – Labor’s failure to recruit obstetricians sees Wyong Hospital lose its maternity unit.
45. 19 March 2009 – NSW loses out in the major events stakes when Nathan Rees claims 1970s musician Brian Eno is a bigger draw card than golfing legend Tiger Woods who is to play in Melbourne’s Australian Masters. Premier bizarrely claims, “I’d much rather Brian Eno’s work on display for the people of NSW for three weeks than Tiger Woods for three days”.
46. 22 March 2009 – It’s revealed senior Police raised concerns with the RTA CEO about the employment of Hells Angels’ boss Derek Wainohu, following the brutal murder of a bikie at Sydney Airport.
47. 22 March 2009 – Nathan Rees announces he’ll renovate the Opera House at a cost of up to $1 billion. Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd then hangs Mr Rees out to dry saying he would rather the money was spent on schools and hospitals.
48. 30 March 2009 – It’s revealed Rail Bus and Tram Union boss Nick Lewocki demanded and received a Gold Travel Pass, despite only working for RailCorp for 18 years and taking leave without pay for more than a decade. Rail employees are only eligible for a Gold Pass if they have worked for 30+ years in the network.
49. 31 March 2009 – A major power blackout brings Sydney to its knees, with a third of emergency loudspeakers unable to be used due to lack of battery back-up systems. Faults in four major power cables supplying two major substations caused the disturbance.
50. 6 April 2009 – It’s revealed the Attorney General, John Hatzistergos employed a person with a criminal record in his office.
51. 9 April 2009 – Rees Labor Government shows a failure with its priorities again, when it decides to ban crucifixes and Bibles at the Royal North Shore Hospital chapel.
52. 13 April 2009 – RTA moving offices from the CBD to North Sydney at a cost of $23 million, including nearly $1 million on new chairs.
53. 15 April 2009 – Nathan Rees forced to review car-parking arrangements of Ministers after it’s revealed Ministers had two car spots, one at Parliament and one at their CBD offices in Governor Macquarie Tower. It’s also revealed $1.4 million a year was being spent on 147 parking spaces in GMT.
54. 16 April 2009 – NSW taxpayers foot a $20,000 bill on a personal film crew for Nathan Rees.
55. 30 April 2009 – Rees Labor Government fails the local community when it’s revealed Rockdale Police station has been closed.
56. 5 May 2009 – Rees Labor Government rejects an Upper House Committee’s recommendation that Bundeena be provided with adequate ambulance infrastructure.
57. 12 May 2009 – Finance & Infrastructure Minister, Joe Tripodi defends his $290,000 around-the-world junket, at taxpayer’s expense.
58. 20 May 2009 – Wrong decision to make patients eat more pre-packaged food in hospitals.
59. 27 May 2009 – Sydney Ferries CEO, Rear Admiral Geoff Smith is sacked for misconduct. It’s later revealed he worked up a $237,000 debt on his taxpayer credit card.
60. 27 May 2009 – It’s revealed Nathan Rees plans to axe 600 frontline rail staff leaving many stations unmanned, particularly at night.
61. 28 May 2009 – Poor prison security sees notorious convicted gang rapists, Bilal and Mohammed Skaf able to stash mobile phones in their cells in a maximum security gaol.
62. 29 May 2009 – Following a fortnight of documented leaks from a water main that were frequently reported to Sydney Water, an enormous crater appears in Bellevue Hill. Sydney Water later admits they failed to assign a maintenance crew to the correct address for two weeks.
63. 2 June 2009 – The entire NSW Roads Budget is leaked to the NSW Liberal/Nationals showing a $160 million reduction in capital and maintenance funding on regional roads. It was revealed the on-again, off-again plans for Sydney’s M4 East extension appeared to be off again, along with a link between the M2 and the M7.
64. 3 June 2009 – Official ABS figures show NSW falls into recession after experiencing two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth in State Final Demand (-0.4% for the December 2008 quarter and –0.2% for the March 2009 quarter).
65. 16 June 2009 – State Budget Day – Includes a “Made in China Ban” policy, which is widely criticised by the Federal Labor Government which warns it will cost local jobs and potentially trigger retaliation from major trading partners.
66. 16 June 2009 – Wrong decision to cut health infrastructure spending in the State Budget by $236 million. Delayed or cancelled vital health infrastructure and promised hospital projects like Wagga Wagga, Bega Valley, Parkes, Forbes, Northern Beaches and Tamworth are all either on hold or delayed.
67. 16 June 2009 – No funding for a public radiology/oncology unit on the Central Coast.
68. 16 June 2009 – No funding in the State Budget to widen Terrigal Drive.
69. 16 June 2009 – Every household in NSW burdened with $30,000 in debt and liabilities from the Rees Government.
70. 16 June 2009 – Rees Labor Government fails to listen to the community and keep Schofields station in its current location, instead building a new station 800 metres down the road.
71. 16 June 2009 – Total cost of the Iron Cove Bridge Duplication has now blown out by $75 million to $175 million, and the community remains vehemently opposed to Labor’s plan to duplicate the bridge.
72. 16 June 2009 – State Budget cuts spending on the Princes Highway by $66 million.
73. Ongoing – The continued closure of Blue Mountains maternity unit, forcing pregnant mothers to drive down the Mountain whilst in labour because of Labor cuts to Katoomba Hospital.
74. 21 June 2009 – Wrong decision to send man with broken neck home with a Panadol after attending Ryde Hospital.
75. 24 June 2009 – Groundhog day in the Legislative Council – Rees Labor Government shuts down the Upper House to avoid losing the vote on crucial legislation.
76. 30 June 2009 – Health Minister John Della Bosca embarrassed after re-announcing GPS systems in ambulances which were promised to be installed a year earlier.
77. 1 July 2009 – The merging of the Protective Commissioner and the Public Trustee to allegedly save only $100,000 but in reality funding the cash-strapped Protective Commissioner out of the funds held by the Public Trustee.
78. 8 July 2009 – Fails to take action on Spit congestion: a total of $31,000 taxpayers money spent on review into whether there can be any reductions in the number of times the Spit Bridge opens on weekdays.
79. 8 July 2008 – Nathan Rees fails to fund much-needed Fourth Pod at Port Macquarie Hospital during a visit to the region.
80. 9 July 2009 – Nathan Rees left red-faced after announcing a bottled water ban despite three companies having contracts with his government to supply it with bottled water until March 2011.
81. 11 July 2009 – A murderer has his sperm smuggled out of a NSW gaol in a serious breach of security allowing him to father a child.
82. 11 July 2009 – Sold Brooklyn Police Station. The Rees Labor Government hid the sale of the Police Station by its listing on websites as a “period residence” with 3 bedrooms.
83. 13 July 2009 – The Auditor-General reveals travel times on seven major traffic routes have reduced to 30 km/h in morning peak and 41 km/h in afternoon peak.
84. 15 July 2009 – It’s revealed Nathan Rees’ new State logo is actually a lotus, not the State’s official emblem, the Waratah.
85. 15 July 2009 – An internal Education Department audit reveals up to 700 NSW public schools face school land sell-off.
86. 21 July 2009 – A proposed merger of 160 NSW Government Agencies into 13 Super-Departments revealed to have been stolen from the Queensland Government. The Rees Government fails to implement the super-ministry structure by the July 1 deadline.
87. 21 July 2009 – Meg Makila, a severely disabled 15 year old has her nose almost bitten off in an attack at a Rees Government respite home by a 22 year old disabled man who was housed with her. Government policy dictates that adults must be housed separately from children.
88. 21 July 2009 – It’s revealed no schools in the Penrith Electorate have school zone flashing lights.
89. 3 August 2009 – It is revealed that the cost of the Tillegra Dam in the Hunter Valley has blown out by more than 90% to $477 million, but it has a ‘one in a million’ chance of being needed.
90. 6 August 2009 – Unemployment in NSW at 6.1%, which is higher than the national average of 5.8% – more than 140 people a day have lost their job since Nathan Rees became Premier.
91. 6 August 2009 – Rees Labor Government has bungled the delivery of the Commonwealth’s Building the Education Revolution program, stealing $142 million in ‘project management fees’.
92. 11 August 2009 – NSW taxpayers likely to lose at least $500 million a year in 2010-2011 under new GST carve-up despite promises of a better deal under Federal Labor.
93. 18 August 2009 – It’s revealed Labor mate Bob Ellis is being paid more than $4,000 a month by Nathan Rees – double what Mr Ellis was getting paid when Mr Rees was only a Minister.
94. 18 August 2009 – It’s revealed almost half the planned hazard reduction burn offs were not completed for 2007/08 and it is forecast the figure will be similar for 2008/09.
95. 19 August 2009 – Nathan Rees admits his failure as Premier when he says: “To be honest, I’ve been disappointed with my performance on a number of fronts”.
96. 23 August 2009 – Nathan Rees inappropriately uses his official Australian National Flag Day message to propose the adoption of a new Australian Flag offending organisers and war veterans.
97. 26 August 2009 – It’s revealed the Labor Government’s Anti-Graffiti Action Team has only met twice in two years.
98. 27 August 2009 – Rees Labor Government continues to undermine the independence of NSW Crown Prosecutors by reducing their numbers forcing court cases to be delayed and risking criminals walking free.
99. 31 August 2009 – Health Minister John Della Bosca resigns in scandal forcing Labor to appoint its fifth Health Minister in just four years.
100. 3 September 2009 – It’s revealed hospital waiting lists have grown by nearly ten per cent under Nathan Rees – with an additional 5,200 people waiting for surgery taking the total to 62,890.
101. 3 September 2009 – Nathan Rees ignores growing community calls for an early election by using Labor Party numbers in Parliament to vote down a motion of no confidence in his Government.
Samuel
September 5th, 2009 at 03:29pm
Water restrictions will be eased in Deniliquin tomorrow from stage 4 to stage 3A, allowing for watering of gardens on certain days. The easing of water restrictions is in response to the increase in water allocation to high-security entitlement holders earlier this week.
Echuca’s unmetered parking zones are now being monitored by electronic sensors, to detect when people stay for longer than is permitted by signs…but September is being considered a grace period in which nobody will be fined by the new system, or be informed that they have overstayed their welcome.
Campaspe Shire Mayor Peter Williams has welcomed the Federal government’s announcement of the funding which it has allocated to the Financial Assistance Grants program for this financial year.
Mr. Williams says the funding is slightly more than what Council was expecting, but is still far below what some other states receive.
Dairy Farmers in Northern Victoria are being encouraged to have their say on the future of the dairy industry in the Goulburn Valley at Dairy Australia’s public meeting this morning.
The Murray Catchment Management Authority has opened applications for its 2.8 million dollar program of grants for landholders.
In Deni Ladies indoor netball, Monkey Magic defeated Amcal Crocs 45 to 25 and the RSL Retreads defeated Odd N Ends 33 to 22.
And in the single stroke competition at the Deni Golf Club, L. Brant was the A Grade winner, A. Veenstra won B Grade, and C Grade went to F. Munnerly.
The Picola Football League grand final is on tomorrow, with Jerilderie taking on Berrigan in Blighty.
And the finals continue this weekend in Greenham Murray Football and Goulburn Valley Football
September 4th, 2009 at 10:07am
Penny Wong has received a mixed reaction to her whirlwind visit to Deniliquin yesterday.
The federal minister for climate change and water was in town to announce one and a half million dollars in funding to assess the impact of climate change on groundwater, and to seek ideas from government bodies and water providers on ways to save water.
Ms. Wong says the federal government wants to help communities adjust to having less water and denied that the region is being targeted in the water buyback scheme.
Ms. Wong was confronted by a small group of angry residents demanding answers at her press conference outside the Deni info centre yesterday, although answers did not appear to be immediately forthcoming.
While Ms. Wong was here, she met with Murray Irrigation Limited, Southern Riverina Irrigators and the Mayors of Deniliquin, Wakool, Jerilderie and Berrigan, and a representative from RAMROC.
Deniliquin Mayor Lindsay Renwick says that Penny Wong’s visit is a plus for the region, whilst RAMROC chairman and Mayor of Jerilderie Terry Hogan says the meeting was about opening the doors of communication, and that Ms. Wong was willing to listen to their concerns.
However the reaction from those who were not able to get a meeting with Ms. Wong during her few hours in Deni was less favourable.
Lester Wheatley, Chairman of the Murray Valley Community Action Group says it’s typical of Ms. Wong to come to town, meet with only a handful of people and only take questions on notice.
And Federal Member for Murray, Dr. Sharman Stone, was also disappointed that Ms. Wong was only here for a very short time.
When asked, Ms. Wong refused to commit to a future public forum, however did express an interest in ongoing consultation.
In other news,
Member for Rodney Paul Weller has seized on the “10/30 right” vegetation removal bushfire policy announced by the Victorian Government on Monday, to request an extension to the policy allowing for the removal of firewood from the Barmah Forest before fuel reduction burns.
The Federal government has announced the amount that it will give to local councils this financial year through the Financial Assistance Grants program.
New South Wales councils will share in 605 million dollars and Victorian councils will share in 452 million dollars, which equates to about 87 dollars per person in New South Wales, and 85 dollars per person in Victoria.
Students at eleven primary schools within the Murray Irrigation area of operation will be painting life-size fibreglass cows in the coming weeks, as part of a program run by Dairy Australia to educate students about the dairy industry.
In Deni Ladies Basketball, the Gulpa Coachies defeated the Book Club 43 to 23, the Demons had a naroow 30 to 27 victory over Deni Sports, and the Rams defeated Bek’s Country Wear 43 to 36.
And Deniliquin member Tim Maher won all three events at the Mathoura Gun Club’s August shoot.
Samuel
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:32am
“Shambolic” might be just a tad harsh, but this wasn’t the most glamorous performance of all time.
To start with, the media (myself and the reporter from The Pastoral Times) turned up early and noticed that all of the Mayors from the region were out the back of the tourist centre, which is closer to the banks of the river than the front of the centre is (the press release said the press conference would be on the banks of the river) so we waited out there. A small group of locals waited out the front and informed us that Penny and her entourage had come and gone again. I called Penny’s media person who said that she thought the media hadn’t turned up, and said they would “come straight back”.
A few minutes later, Penny Wong, Mike Kelly, a person from Penny’s department and the media rep turned up in a taxi, much to amusement of those who had gathered. Penny was approached by locals with questions both before and after the press conference…she didn’t seem to be interested in answering questions, but instead wanted to palm them off to the bloke from the department. She seemed to have trouble getting away from one of the people who approached her after the press conference.
The press conference itself lasted about five and a half minutes, in which time the media managed to get in three questions, and Penny managed to not quite answer any of them. The press conference was cut short by the media rep who said they were late for a meeting with Murray Irrigation Limited.
The press conference audio is below for your listening pleasure.
[audio:https://samuelgordonstewart.com/wp-content/PennyWongDeniDoorstop20090902.mp3]
Download MP3
I’m reliably informed that the Shepparton media (she’s flying to Shep this afternoon for a 3:45 press conference) will be asking her why she is bothering to visit the region if she won’t answer questions from the locals.
At this stage it looks like Penny’s visit will still be the lead story in the morning, probably containing a number of peoples’ reactions to the flying visit.
Samuel
September 2nd, 2009 at 01:43pm
Apologies for the lateness of this summary this morning. It has been a very busy morning.
As 2QN reported exclusively yesterday afternoon, The federal minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong is making a surprise flying visit to Deniliquin today to meet with local groups and stakeholders, and announce that she is inviting new proposals for water saving initiatives to strengthen Murray-Darling Basin communities.
Whilst her meetings have already been arranged and remain secret, 2QN News has learnt that she will be meeting a select group at the Deni RSL club for 40 minutes to take questions on notice.
Ms. Wong’s office have also confirmed that she will be making an appearance on the shores of the Edward River at the Deni info centre on George Street at 11:35 this morning.
Murray Shire Council held a special meeting yesterday afternoon in which they received a briefing from VicRoads and the RTA about the proposed Echuca-Moama bridge.
Also at the meeting yesterday, the Mayor Brian Sharp and the deputy mayor Graeme Shiells were re-elected unopposed.
Campaspe Shire Council have expressed their delight that local concrete products manufacturer Humes is looking to install world-leading technology at its Echuca plant, to take advantage of the skill-base in the region.
Deputy Leader of the New South Wales opposition, and Shadow Minister for Health Jillian Skinner has called on the New South Wales government to cancel the air ambulance tender process, and ensure the ongoing viability of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
The RFDS has already lost the air ambulance contract in Victoria after it was put out to tender, taking effect in 2011, and Ms. Skinner is concerned that the same thing could happen in New South Wales.
Dairy Farmers in Northern Victoria are being encouraged to have their say on the future of the dairy industry in the Goulburn Valley at Dairy Australia’s public meeting on Friday.
New South Wales TAFE Teachers have called a 24 hour strike for today over the New South Wales government’s plan to cut staff and increase the work hours of the remaining staff.
The previously postponed annual general meeting of the Tuppal Rural Fire Brigade will be held at the Noorumboon Woolshed at 1:30 this afternoon.
And roadworks are continuing on the Narrandera Flood Channel Bridges over the Murrumbidgee River on the Newell Highway for the next two weeks. The bridge will be reduced to one lane during the works, and delays are expected. Extra delays for wide loads.
At the Deniliquin Badminton Club, In A grade, Toblerone defeated Snickers 10 games 456 to 4 games 372 and Picnic defeated Mars 10 games 448 to 4 games 392.
in Round 11 of Deni Mixed netball, the Thorpedos had their first win of the season, defeating the Avergae Joes 23 to 16. The Easy Beats scored ten goals to one in the final quarter to defeat the Mighty Ducks 29 to 22, and the Titans had a narrow 31 to 28 win over the Magnums.
Samuel
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:17am
I received an odd little press release from Penny Wong’s office a short time ago, advising me that Ms. Wong, minister for Global Warming (one wonders if “Minister for Hot Air” is apt, in that case) will be in Deniliquin tomorrow to meet with “local groups and stakeholders”. No details about the wheres and whens of it all, and seeing as she is visiting Deni and two other towns tomorrow, you’d think the whens and wheres would be rather important.
So I rang her office and found out that these meetings are all pre-arranged…they then mumbled something about a press briefing and an announcement at the Deni Info Centre at 11:35am. I’ve asked around here and the local paper…nobody knew that this was happening. I am the ONLY radio journalist in town, and if I hadn’t called Penny Wong’s office, I wouldn’t know that there is a press briefing tomorrow. You’d think that they were trying to keep it a secret or something.
2QN is just about to break this story now.
Samuel
September 1st, 2009 at 03:31pm
The New South Wales water commissioner announced an increase in water allocations this morning due to “rainfall”, which will he says will allow water restrictions to be relaxed. From the press release:
NSW Water Commissioner, David Harriss, today announced an increase in water allocations for high security water users in both the Murrumbidgee and Murray Valleys.
“Rainfall across the Murray and Murrumbidgee catchments, together with inflows from Snowy Hydro Limited over the past month has enabled these increases,” said Mr Harriss.
Mr Harriss said that the Murrumbidgee high security allocation would increase to 45 per cent of entitlement while improved water availability in the Murray Valley would allow NSW to increase its high security allocation from 8 per cent to 20 per cent of entitlement.
“Under the interstate water sharing arrangements for 2009/10 agreed by the three Governments, NSW has repaid the water advanced by Victoria that allowed all carry-over from last season to be available in 2009/10.”
Any future improvement in water availability for NSW in the Murray Valley will be committed entirely to meet domestic and stock needs in the Wakool system, conveyance requirements in channels systems and to increase allocations for consumptive users.”
Mr Harriss said that the increase in high security allocations in both valleys means that Councils and Town Water Supply Authorities can ease town water restrictions in line with the Murray and Murrumbidgee Water restrictions policy.
Under the policy, water restrictions in the Murrumbidgee Valley can be relaxed to level 3 that allows for a maximum of 8 hours of outside watering per week. In the Murray valley restrictions can be relaxed to Level 3a that allows for a maximum of 4 hours of outside watering per week.
Mr Harriss also reminded all water users in both the Murray and Murrumbidgee Valleys that their Shire water restrictions apply to water taken under basic landholder rights or from bores for private domestic use.
“People who draw water directly from a river or creek or from a bore are subject to the same water restrictions as those applied in the Shire for town water,” he said.
Mr Harriss said that the temporary embargo on trades out of the Murrumbidgee Valley had been lifted and that State Water Corporation was conducting a ballot from 24 August 2009.
Hmmm, it must be a drought…
Samuel
September 1st, 2009 at 10:34am
The Prime Minister isn’t coming to the Deni Ute Muster yet, but his ute is…or to be more precise, the ute which was loaned to him and subsequently caused the ute-gate scandal.
Organisers of the Ute Muster, concerned about the reputation of the Aussie Ute following the ute-gate scandal, invited Mr. Rudd to the muster in June, and are yet to receive a response, however they are thrilled that the now infamous ute and its owner, John Grant from Ipswich Motors, have announced that they will be in attendance.
New South Wales water commissioner David Harriss announced an increase in the high security water allocations in the Murrumbidgee and Murray Valley this morning.
The Murrumbidgee high security allocation has increased to 45 per cent of entitlement, and the Murray Valley high security allocation has increased to 20 per cent of entitlement.
Locals on the Victorian side of the border will no longer need permits to clear vegetation, including trees from within ten metres of their house, and ground fuel within 30 metres of their house, as part of new rules announced yesterday by the Victorian Government, designed to make Victoria more prepared for the upcoming fire season.
Police have expressed their concerns about the ongoing spate of serious assaults in the region, following another serious assault on the weekend.
Former Canberra politician and author of “12 Reason to Reject Fluoridation”, Dennis Stevenson, will be speaking at the Border Inn Hotel in Moama tonight about water fluoridation which he says has proven to be a health risk. The talk starts at 7pm sharp, and everyone is welcome.
With a growing number of tourists visiting the region, a series of workshops will be held later this month to help farmers build a supplumentary income from tourism.
AFL superstars Mark Ricciuto, Nathan Brown, Luke Hodge, Adam Simpson, Brock McLean and Danny Frawley will be in Deniliquin on Tuesday next week from 2pm to 3pm for a footy clinic with local kids.
At the Tocumwal Golf Club last week, in Tuesday’s ladies golf, the A grade winner was Rhonda Constable, B grade winner was Jan Elleray and C Grade went to Win Quick.
In the Men’s Stableford, A Grade went to Col McNamara, Warren Constable took out B Grade and Jack Corken took out C Grade.
On Saturday, 33 pairs played Mixed 4BBB Stableford on a composite course. Sam and Veronica Condy won that on 45 points, on a countback from George Martin and Claire Perston.
On Sunday, for the 3rd year running, Simon Buso and Nathan Matthews won the Men’s 27 hole Foursomes Championship.
And Shirley Crow won the ladies Par competition.
There was shooting action at the Echuca Clay Target Club on Sunday. The Victorian State Ball Trap Final provided 100 targets for shooters to try out their skills.
The Ball Trap is regarded as the toughest discipline of all, and was won by Brett Dunstan who missed only three targets to claim the overall winner’s sash and AA grade 1st trophy.
The 20 target continental double barrel event had the longest shoot off for the day, and eventually David Watts won out with a clean score of 58 from 58.
David also took out the Handicap, another 20 target event, after a 24 target shoot off.
And Echuca member Steve Atkins survived an eleven target shoot off to win the 20 target continental points score event.
September 1st, 2009 at 09:30am
I just received two identical faxes from Malcolm Turnbull’s office, inviting me to a “media engagement” in Tomago at 10:45am. Will they pay for the speeding fines when I get caught doing 260km/h to get there?
View Larger Map
Tomago Aluminium is where the leader of the opposition will be. Do I want to know what awful publicity stunt this is?
By the way, “Media must ensure they wear the following: flat enclosed shoes (no court shoes), long trousers and long sleeves” writes nameless minion on said fax. Make that 280km/h by the time I get changed.
Who’s paying for these excess faxes which have surely been sent to every media organisation in the country. If it’s taxpayers, then it’s an outrage, as this is a regular occurrence. Malcolm…if every other politician (with the exception of the New South Wales Government) can send faxes to only the relevant places, then you can too…in fact, AAP have a service which will do it for you.
Samuel
September 1st, 2009 at 07:14am
Barack Obama currently has about 30 “czars” in his administration. People who are completely unaccountable, and yet hold a large amount of power. Understandably, Obama’s love of the czar has prompted the question “who are these people?”, often with somewhat disturbing results.
For example, Van Jones, the “green jobs” czar with a rather long history of radical activism. Don’t take my word for it, here’s Glenn Beck with a brief biography of Mr. Jones.
This all raises the question…how do you trust a government which is giving high-level jobs to people with this sort of radical background?
Thanks to Heather Kydd for the link to the video.
Samuel
August 31st, 2009 at 01:01pm
A 29-year old man became the ninth fatality on New South Wales roads in the space of 24 hours on Friday night after he crashed on Deniliquin-Wakool road. Police say alcohol was probably a factor.
A 20-year-old Echuca man has had his car impounded following a high speed pursuit through Echuca’s residential streets on Saturday night.
The Elmore Field Days site is set to receive a major makeover, courtesy of a $330,000 dollar grant from the Victorian government.
Aged Care services in Echuca have increased by 62 beds following the extension to the Wharparilla Lodge, which was officially opened on Friday by Member for Rodney, Paul Weller.
Victorian education minister Bronwyn Pike has agreed to consider a proposal to establish a school for student leadership at the Kyabram Dairy Research Centre, which would offer a residential education experience for year nine students.
In round 18 of Goulburn Valley football, wins went to Shepparton United, Seymour, Mansfield, Rochester, Kyabram and Euroa. Rochester finished on top of the ladder.
In round 18 of Goulburn Valley Netball, wins went to Shepparton Swans, Shepparton United, Rochester, Echuca, Tatura and Shepparton.
In the Elimination finals of the Murray Greenham football league on the weekend, Moama thrashed Numurkah 20.23.(143) to 4.8.(32) and the Deni Rams were too good for Congupna 15.12.(102) to 8.15.(63). Next weekend in the semi-finals, Tocumwal verse Barooga on Saturday, and on Sunday Moama play the Deni Rams.
In the Murray Netball elimination finals, Congupna defeated Finley 47 to 35, and Tocumwal defeated Cobram 51 to 47.
In next weekend’s semi-finals, Tocumwal verse Congupna and Tongala take on Numurkah in a top-of-the-table clash.
In the Picola Football seniors. In the north west league. Berrigan knocked the Deni Rovers out of the finals on Saturday, defeating them by 35 points, 15.18.(108) to 11.7.(73). Berrigan now advance to next weekend’s grand final against Jerilderie at Blighty, Saturday at 2pm.
In the South East league, Tungamah defeated Katandra in their semi-final 18.14.(122) to 11.11.(77).
In Picola Netball, The Deni Rovers defeated Blighty 32 to 31, and will meet Mathoura in next week’s North West grand final. Whilst in the south east, Tungamah downed Katandra by one point, 37 to 36 in their semi final. Shepparton East will play Katandra next week for a spot in the grand final against Tungamah.
August 31st, 2009 at 09:26am
I see that the media today is playing up the possibility of a split between the National Party and the Liberal Party, now that the Nationals have declared that they will not support the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Today’s meeting of the federal council of the National Party discussed the ETS, but did not, at any time, issue an ultimatum to the Liberal party. In fact, the media speculation seems to be a media beat-up.
The Nationals’ formal objection to the government’s emissions trading legislation sends a clear message that it won’t support the draft laws as they stand, party leader Warren Truss says.
About 50 delegates voted to unanimously reject the emissions trading scheme (ETS) during Saturday’s session of the federal council meeting in Canberra.
“This is a clear message to the government and for people in regional areas whose jobs are at risk under Kevin Rudd’s CPRS (Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme) that the Nationals will be standing up for them,” Mr Truss told reporters at a doorstop after the council vote.
[..]
Asked if he was prepared for a coalition split at the next vote, Mr Truss said the Liberal and National parties had so far voted against each of the government’s 11 bills that make up the ETS.
[..]
Pushed further on the prospect of a split, Mr Truss said it was a matter for the Liberals as to whether they wanted to change their position on the ETS.
“The Nationals won’t be changing ours,” he said.
So the real story here is that the National Party and Liberal Party might vote differently if the Liberal Party change their stance on the ETS. Wow, exciting story. How some bored journalists have turned this in to “the end of the coalition is nigh!” is beyond me…but points to them for initiative in creative writing.
I suppose it’s possible that they’re basing it on the other “end of the coalition” beat-up today. A story in The Australian where they reported that a recent meeting of some Nationals had discussed the possibility of it…in an idle chit-chat sort of way.
But Senator Joyce played down the possibility of a split, saying some Nationals were “kite-flying” and that no vote had been taken. “I don’t think it will happen,” he said. “Some of the most peculiar things get floated at party meetings. But it doesn’t mean they will happen.”
If I was bound to do every little thing I’d ever discussed in the form of idle chit-chat with mates, I’d be in jail for the next seven thousand years and probably be missing a couple limbs…or I’d be the new dictator of Australia. No sane newspaper would report on the ruminations of my idle conversations, and it’s a pity that they take the idle conversations of the National Party so seriously.
Samuel
August 22nd, 2009 at 03:30pm
It looks like Yahoo doesn’t like criticism of Barack Obama. Their Flickr photo gallery service has seen fit to silence opposition to the anointed one.
That Obama Socialism graphic that’s been doing the rounds of late has caused a bit of a stir on Flickr where they have deleted it, citing a copyright issue.
After creating the image [Firas] Alkhateeb posted it to his Flickr account and ended up getting over 20,000 views on it. 20,000 views that is until Flickr pulled the image down censoring him, along with everyone who commented on the image, citing “copyright-infringement concerns,” according to the [Los Angeles] Times.
Personally I think it’s too bad that Flickr decided to censor this iconic image. Whatever you may or may not think about this image and it’s appropriateness, the image would absolutely and unequivocally be considered parody and parody has always been one of the most effective defenses against any copyright complaint. Parody is why Weird Al gets away with creating a song called “Eat It,” directly to the tune of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.”
What’s more, in the interest of free speech, political parody *especially* is perhaps given the widest berth of all. This is why Ralph Nader was able to directly rip MasterCard’s “Priceless” campaign and why the courts subsequently ruled in his favor after MasterCard sued him over it. Earlier today, a friend and Flickr contact of mine from DMU, A Boy and His Prime, who is a law student, put it more directly. “If you produce something that is transformative, and not derivative, then it’s fair use (Folsom v Marsh). In Campbell v Acuff-Rose, 510 U.S. 569, Souter seemed to suggest that the main idea is substitutability, and that makes a lot of sense when you consider what copyright protects (i.e. your interest in your own work). The Jokerbama does not replace the original photo in any sense.”
And it’s not just this picture. It seems that posting anti-Obama comments can get your Flickr account nuked as well.
Flickr user Shepherd Johnson was browsing the official White House photostream one night when he decided to post a politically-charged comment. Then another, then another. Soon, without warning, Yahoo’s photo-sharing service deleted his account, complete with 1,200 pictures.
[..]
The Virginia man’s initial 10 or so comments, which went up Wednesday night, were deleted without explanation by Friday. That night, Johnson posted roughly ten more to different White House photos, this time linking in another Flickr user’s Abu Ghraib picture, as allowed by Flickr’s comment formatting (see Johnson’s reproduction of his comment, left, taken from his post to freedom-of-information hub Cryptome).
In the midst of this second round of commenting, Johnson found his account was gone. There had been no warning of any sort from Yahoo, he said. Johnson would later work his way up Flickr’s customer service tree, eventually leaving a message for the vice president of customer service and other bigwigs. He even left a message for Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz — a noted fan of frank discourse — on Bartz’s home answering machine.
Johnson, who lives outside Richmond, still has no answers. More crucially, he also doesn’t have access to any of the 1,200 pictures he uploaded to Flickr under his paid “Pro” membership. Many of the pics, he said, were “completely irretrievable — I didn’t back them up on any disks, I just spur-of-the-moment loaded it up and deleted the flash” memory originals.
This is exactly why I refuse to use Flickr or Facebook as my primary photo gallery, as I refuse to give a third party the power to moderate my publications. Flickr, with their politically charged censoring of accounts critical of Barack Obama, have just made my position that bit more solid.
And how do Flickr respond? By clamming up:
In accordance with Flickr’s policy, we cannot disclose information to third parties concerning a member’s account. However, in joining Flickr, all of our members agree to abide by our Community Guidelines. These guidelines require that all of our members be respectful of the community and flag content that may not be suitable for “safe” viewing.
[..]
Flickr is a very large community made up of many types of members from all over the world, and we respect the viewpoints and expressions of all of our members.
Very funny way to show it.
Samuel
August 20th, 2009 at 01:54pm
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