NEWSFLASH - Craig Thomson Arrested

Breaking news:  NSW police have arrested the Member for Dobell, Craig Thomson - according to Thomson's lawyer.

This is excellent news [sarc.] for our Sub-prime, Julia Gillard.  The noose is now tightening on this government and reflects so well on the judgement of this hopeless PM.

More to come.

UPDATE (1.45pm)

Thomson is apparently being escorted to Wyong (NSW) Police Station.  It looks as though the boys in blue will be slapping 150 charges relating to fraud on the Member for Dobell.

The sub-prime is about to do a media interview in relation to the above.  I can't wait to watch Gillard switch to spin-cycle on this one.

The unfortunate thing is that regardless of these formal charges, Thomson is still free to sit in Parliament, representing the poor souls of Dobell.  It's all a bit obscene.

I suspect the Thomson case will take some time to make it to Court.  I doubt it will happen within the next 225 days!

ABC Reins In Faine

Wonders will never cease!  The obnoxious Jon Faine has, at last, been censured by the ABC over his disgracefully prejudiced and unfair treatment of Michael Smith and Editor-at-Large, Mark Baker during their ‘right of reply’ interview conducted on 23^rd November, 2012.  Faine’s treatment of both men was appalling.

I posted about the incident on the 24^th November, last year.

Yesterday, the ABC’s Audience & Consumer Affairs, who, I imagine, received a truckload of complaints from listeners who had come to the end of their tether with Local Radio 774’s week mornings host, Faine and his obvious bias, issued an apology citing there had been a “lapse in standards”.  Now, there’s an understatement in relation to Jon Faine.  Faine has repeatedly illustrated he has only one standard – and that is standard according to the political far Left.  No other standards need apply for an interview with Faine because they will be belittled and talked over.  This seems to be Faine’s preferred tactic to censor dissenting opinion!

I have a question for the ABC.   If 2GB had to attend a radio re-education camp, according to an ACMA ruling and radio broadcaster Alan Jones was directed to offer an on-air apology to Lebanese muslims in December of last year for comments he made in 2005 which were deemed inappropriate in our New World of political correctness, then surely the same should apply to the ABC and 774 morning host, Jon Faine.  Will Local Radio 774 and  Jon Faine be marched off to the ABC’s (non-existent, apparently) equivalent of ACMA’s re-education camp?   Unfortunately Auntie is immune, generally, to ACMA’s fangs, which is a great pity, in my opinion.   Apparently, ACMA will only intervene when there has been a resolution stalemate.  No level playing field.  One rule for the bulk of mainstream media and another toothless rule for the ABC.  This anomaly must change as the ABC is now a large mainstream media player.   The ABC must not be given free rein to self-regulate.  It has to stop, regardless of some common sense determination by the Audience & Consumer Affairs in relation to the antics of Jon Faine.

More importantly, will Faine be required to offer both Michael Smith and Mark Baker an on-air apology?  If not – why not?  ABC – you know that would be the right thing to do.  Simply putting up some token grovel statement on Faine’s website and on the ABC’s Upheld Complaints page is not good enough.

By the way, at the time of writing this post, no such apology appears on Faine’s website which can be found here.

Further reading, The Age and The Australian.

226 Days Of Pain Remain

The country's worst Prime Minister in living memory has announced Australia will be heading to the Polls on Saturday, 14th September, 2013.  We have to endure a further seven months and fifteen days of vomitus from all of the rabble supposedly in charge of this nation, not just from the venomous handbag hit-squad females, particularly those in Gillard's cabinet.

This will be the longest election campaign in the history of this country and I have no doubt it will be the most vile.

The official election campaign commences on Monday, 12th August.

Of course, the Victoria Police investigation into the AWU/WRA scandal that our Prime Minister was involved in up to her eyeballs as a "young and naive" partner in law firm Slater and Gordon, will probably not be finalised until after election day, which is quite unfortunate as the results should be of interest to every voter in this country.

The same could be said for the disgraceful member for Dobell, Craig Thomson.  His case, whether by design or not will be dragged out past election day.

However, the Eddie Obeid scandal enveloping NSW State Labor is in full swing, so the voters will be constantly reminded just what sort of nasty, dishonest, trashy mob have been running Australia under the ALP brand.

I cannot wait for September to roll around.  I want to see the Gillard government routed and routed with a vengeance.

UPDATE:  Chris Uhlmann, currently hosting the ABC's  television programme, "7.30" has just reported that our current PM did not even think it was necessary to consult Caucus before announcing the election date.  So, up youse - parliamentary commrades!   Nothing new there.  Apparently, she didn't bother to consult Caucus, when she announced Nova Peris would be the next NT Senator, replacing long-standing Trish Crossin, who was not even given the courtesy of an advanced warning!

This woman appears to be a raging bull in desperate need of a reality check.
Those who like to run around with some sort of god complex (even though Gillard is an atheist) are doomed to be taught a hard lesson and this woman has one almighty lesson coming her way.

ABC - Garbage In - Garbage Out

http://www.abc.net.au/news/thedrum/polls/

Opinion Poll - Have your vote

146 women, compared to 425 men, received Australia Day honours.

Do we need a new system to ensure parity?

Do we need a new system to ensure parity, squeals the poll-setter at the fluffy ABC's “The Drum”.  Check out the numskulls who think we should have a sex-based system!  At the time of publishing, the affirmative votes are at 47%.

How about this for some radical thinking.  Wouldn’t it be nice if people were awarded Australia Day honours on merit – not gender.

I am sure the latte-slurping, hairy armpitted and probably smelly inner suburban brigade of Amazons of various sexual preferences would like to have me killed for even thinking such a thing, let alone publicising it!

I have no doubt the worst Attorney General this country has ever suffered, Nicola Roxon, would be only too happy to haul me before the courts via her planned new and improved anti-discrimination legislation because no doubt, I will have offended some precious little petal’s sensibilities by making public my view.

This sort of stuff is inane Leftist nonsense and oh-so typical of ‘their’ ABC pandering to the puerile.

Where in the hell is this country going?    

Pat O'Shane Pulls The Plug

A dark stain on the NSW legal system, controversial and judicially probed Magistrate Pat O'Shane has bailed five months early.  She was not due for retirement until June this year..

O'Shane has been the subject of investigations and determinations within her own profession which have, as a matter of necessity, been conducted into her legal competence over a number of years.

In my view, Pat O'Shane represented everything that is sick within the Aboriginal Industry.   Here was a woman who played the race card in her determinations.  O'Shane also exuded a cop hating persona.  In the role of someone who is trusted to remain impartial, listen to the evidence from both sides without favour and adjudicate professionally, this woman was an utter failure.  A disgrace.

Good riddance.  O'Shane should have been dealt with years ago.

ABC story here:

No, No - Nova!

This Gillard woman doesn’t know how to stop making an idiot of herself.  By riding roughshod not only over experienced NT Senator Trish Crossin but Labor Party preselection processes with a No. 1 ticket Senate endorsement of a person who is not even a member of the Labor Party yet, we could be seeing another own goal from our accidental Prime Minister.

I am reminded of last year’s Australia Day Race Riot that emanated from this Prime Minister’s very office; the gameplan being to humiliate Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott.  It backfired in such a spectacular fashion no political tragic will forget it in a hurry.   The PM’s “captain’s pick” announcement of an aboriginal; a female and a sports star to boot simply illustrates the desperation of the woman.  She thinks this appointment will be hailed by all NT aboriginals.  Well, get ready for the carpet-bombing that’s bound to occur!  It’s nothing more than a cynical attempt by Labor to grab votes in the same manner the NT Country Liberal Party who worked the remote aboriginal vote to attain office at last year’s general election..

Obviously, I don’t know Nova Peris personally and she may be quite capable performing the role of Senator, if elected.  However, this cynical anointing of Peris smacks of reverse racism and as Andrew Bolt points out, may be a nice little breach of the Racial Discrimination Act and wouldn’t it be hilarious if Senator Crossin exercises her right to have her case heard in a court of law under that bit of legislation.

Nova Peris is a politically untried sportswoman just as Peter Garrett was an untried musician and look how well that turned out.  I find celebrity candidate selections – on both sides of Politics – distasteful.  I believe candidates should be selected on merit – not by the size of the fanclub.

Read the ABC’s take here.

Geert Wilders - Why Not?

Federal Minister for Immigration, blah blah - the Hon. Christopher Bowen has said some unkind things about Geert Wilders and Minister Bowen took his sweet time to grant the Dutch politician and Leader of the Freedom Party (PVV) a visa to enter this democratic country we call Australia.  However, Minister Bowen did not take his time granting a visa to jihad apologist Taji Mustafa to spread the word about the Religion of Peace last September.

Perhaps Wilders should have changed his surname to Mustafa!

Look at the trouble Debbie Robinson is having trying to secure a venue for Mr. Wilders, not only in Sydney but in Perth too, apparently?

NSW has the highest population of the followers of the Religion of Peace.  You know, that religion that doesn’t cause any trouble, that religion that doesn’t riot and doesn’t use 6-year-olds to hold signs saying ‘Behead All Those Who Insult The Profit’ whilst mothers watch on lovingly.  That religion that doesn’t want establishment of Sharia law in this country.  That religion that prefers enclaves to that of a normal assimilation process into the land they have adopted as home.   Those who put country first, life second and religion third.  What a farce!

What are these clowns frightened of?  Why are venues suddenly not available?  Are the venue owners scared their establishments may be rioted upon and destroyed or even worse levelled via incendiary device or similar?  Well, that’s a serious possibility when dealing with members of the Religion of Peace, as we have already witnessed.   Wilders, who, no doubt is the subject of a Religion of Peace fatwa, has every right to address Australian audiences and he should be able to do so without fear nor favour.  Is this the sort of influence Islam now holds in Australia?  We are too shit-scared to provide a venue to a European politician of the likes of Mr. Wilders?   So many of us predicted this very thing many years ago when Muslims began flooding the Department of Immigration in one form or another.  Those of us making the dire predictions were capable of evaluating and distilling the European experience of mass Muslim migration.  Too bad this ridiculously incompetent Federal Government did not possess such foresight!

Freespeech dogged by politics of difference

Paul Sheehan, www.smh.com.au 21 JAN, 2013

The obvious question is, what are they afraid of? Is it fear of violence, or  vandalism, or simply fear of association?

Debbie Robinson, a small business operator who describes herself as an  ordinary citizen, wants to bring to Australia a Dutch political leader who is a  supporter of democracy, freedom of religion, feminism and gay rights. But when  she started making arrangements all she encountered was fear.

''In Sydney, venues that were initially available were cancelled or would not  take the booking when they realised who the speaker was,'' she told me. She  provided a list of rejections: the Hilton Hotel, North Sydney Leagues Club,  Sydney Masonic Centre, Wesley Convention Centre, Luna Park Function Centre, the  Concourse at Chatswood and the Sir  John Clancy Auditorium at the University of  NSW.

''I offered a church-based venue in Sydney a donation and their reply was,  'You could offer $4 million and we would not accept your booking'.''

 Finding venues was not her only problem. ''Earlier in the year I approached  APN Outdoor to arrange a four-week run of bus ads in Sydney. The artwork was  forwarded to them and I was quoted a price for the job …  Then I was advised  they would not be able to run the ad as it was too political and would result in  the buses being damaged and defaced. They would not say who would do the  damage.''

The same happened in Perth, where Robinson lives, when venues declined to  take her booking, including the Burswood Casino. When she tried to organise a  payments system for the tour, she was rejected by Westpac. The bank, which has  been courting the Chinese Communist government for years, wanted nothing to do  with this Dutch democrat.

''I was organising an e-way payment system with Westpac to link to the  website of the Q Society [the sponsor of the tour]. I received a call from a  manager who said the Westpac Risk Management Team had decided the material for  sale was offensive and inappropriate and therefore they would not proceed with  the e-way system. I asked to speak to the manager responsible and was told he  was on leave.''

The Dutch MP causing so much concern is Geert Wilders, the leader of the  Party of Freedom (PVV), the king-maker in Dutch politics over the past two  years. When Wilders withdrew his support for the government last year, it  collapsed and a national election was called.

A month after that election, in which the PVV polled a million votes and won  16 seats, Wilders was scheduled to be in Australia. The trip was cancelled after  it was sabotaged by the Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen.

The minister then had the gall to write an opinion piece, published in The Australian on October 2 last year, in which he claimed, ''I have  decided not to intervene to deny [Wilders] a visa because I believe that our  democracy is strong enough, our multiculturalism robust enough and our  commitment to freedom of speech entrenched enough that our society can withstand  the visit of a fringe commentator.''

Reality check: Bowen's department sat on Wilders' visa application for almost  two months, then acted only after the minister received public criticism and  Wilders was cancelling his trip.

No such long delay hindered the visit of Taji Mustafa, a spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir, an apologist for jihad, when he made a speaking tour in Australia last September while Wilders was being frozen out. When questioned in Parliament, Bowen replied: ''Hizb ut-Tahrir has not been proscribed in Australia … This entry permit was issued in accordance with the normal procedures for British nationals.''

Apparently, the anti-Western Hizb ut-Tahrir is not ''fringe'', nor worthy of  an excoriating opinion piece, but the leader of a party that won 24 seats, 1.4  million votes, and 15 per cent of the vote in the Dutch 2010 election represents  an extremist fringe.

People are entitled to loathe Wilders, or shun him. They are also entitled to  support him, or hear him. The problems encountered with his visit illustrate the  double-speak, double-standards and fear that exists when it comes to the subject  for which Wilders is notorious - confronting Muslim extremism.

Neither Wilders nor the PVV have ever been involved in violent conduct, yet  he has lived under 24-hour police protection for the past nine years, since two  Muslim fundamentalists were arrested after a siege in 2004 and charged with  planning to assassinate him.

When Wilders comes to Australia next month for speaking engagements in  Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, he will be accompanied by five Dutch security  officers. The venues will not be revealed until 48 hours before each speech.

Wilders believes Islam is a political ideology, not just a religion, and  should be compared with totalitarian belief systems. He has compared the Koran  to Fascism and Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. He advocates ending  immigration by Muslims because the Netherlands was losing its demographic and  social stability. For this he was taken to court for hate speech. He won, but  the case occupied three years.

Wilders is opposed to what he calls the Islamification of Europe by a  combination of demography, immigration and accommodations by multiculturalism  that are not reciprocated by Muslims. Two other Dutch political activists who  were similarly critical of Islam were subject to numerous assassination  attempts. One was murdered, the other fled to America.

Debbie Robinson believes the fear she has encountered in Australia merely  confirms her reasons for arranging Wilders' visit: ''With every refusal I asked  why, and was almost always informed that management had concerns about the  repercussions. The audience was never the issue. The issue was offending  Muslims. Looking at the number of cancellations and refusals it is apparent the  Islamic community are not getting their message across about being the religion  of peace.''

How To Screw The System

It’s common knowledge to qualify for the disability pension takes some doing.  Strict criteria must be meet.  If you are a bona fide Aussie, that is.  If you are a strongly built Muslim who is capable of ramming a milk crate through the windscreen of a police vehicle – then grabbing a $100 per week taxpayer-funded disability wage is as simple as 1, 2, 3.

I think of Australians made to jump through hoops to prove they have a disability and the stress that creates,  I then see something like this story, my blood really boils.

We hear time and time again from the Leftarded and apologists for Islam that there is no rorting of Centrelink by imports of the Islamic faith.  It simply does not happen!

Before I paste the story, I just want to say this about the Daily Tele.  I hardly ever read it, generally only visiting the site when a link to a story I’m interested in is posted.  However, in support of the Murdoch Press, I must say they seem the only media group prepared to employ journalists who are capable of going out and doing a bit of investigative research.  Of course, the usual suspects have no qualms in castigating the Murdoch Media for being hysterical, inaccurate and biased.  The hypocrisy is breathtaking.

I will be interested to see if this particular story grows legs at either Fairfax Media or our taxpayer-funded, impartial, non-biased ABC.  Honest reporting?  I fail to be impressed.  Yet again.

Given the magistrate who gave this able-bodied disability pension recipient a mere 12 month good behaviour bond and now the information regarding the pension is out, you would think the combination of the two stories should be of public interest.  No?

Life on the pension is a riot for Omar

PETER BODKIN & CLEMENTINE CUNEO The Daily Telegraph January 22, 2013 12:00AM

Omar Halaby smashes the windscreen of a police car during last year's violent Muslim riots. Picture: Jane Dempster Source: The Daily Telegraph

HE has no trouble smashing police car windscreens with milk crates but it seems Muslim rioter Omar Halaby is not fit to work, receiving a $200-a-fortnight disability support pension.

The 19-year-old from Padstow last week escaped with a good-behaviour bond for his role in September's violent Muslim protest in the CBD - partly because of remorse, his previous clean record and health issues he suffers that include sporting injuries and literacy problems.

When The Daily Telegraph visited his home yesterday, Halaby did not wish to talk about his reasons for claiming the pension. His father also refused to comment.

In documents tendered to the Downing Centre Local Court, Legal Aid lawyer Sophie Edin said Halaby suffered from "certain disabilities" which had seen him claim the pension for the past three years."He has some physical problems in relation to some football accidents," Ms Edin told the court. "He has literacy issues, a short attention span, things to that effect."

Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin yesterday defended the eligibility criteria of the disability support pension, which can be paid up to a rate of $712 a fortnight, compared to the dole at $492.

A spokeswoman for Ms Macklin said recipients were forced to meet strict criteria to claim the disability pension.

"People do not qualify for the disability support pension because they are illiterate," the spokeswoman said. "To be eligible for the disability support pension a person must have a permanent disability or medical conditions that make them unable to work."

About 820,000 people are on the disability pension, costing $15 billion a year, which is predicted to balloon to $16.9 billion by 2015-16.

Halaby lives with his parents but, according to court documents, pays no board from his $200-a-fortnight taxpayer-funded allowance. He is not involved in any studies or community organisations, the documents said.

In court, Halaby said he was sorry for his actions and confirmed he had paid compensation to the police for the smashed windscreen.

Muslim community leader Keysar Trad said he was not aware of the nature of Halaby's disability but claimed it was often difficult for Muslims to find employment, even if they were able-bodied.

"If you have any name that is Middle Eastern or Islamic, you'll often find you don't get past the interview stage," Mr Trad said.

"We encourage all people to find gainful employment to both contribute to society and to improve their skills, but sometimes that is harder for Muslim people."

He said the riots were an "ugly time in our history".

But he said Muslim community leaders had taken steps to prevent a repeat of such a disgraceful episode.

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012

The Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012  via IPA Fact Sheet.

Freedom of speech is something I hold very dear to my heart.  I will do pretty much anything to make sure Australians do not lose their right to voice or write their opinions.  I will not stand for Nanny Roxon, Nanny Gillard or any other member of that putrid ALP regime finger-wagging at me and hauling me before the courts because I want to say something.  Anything.

I am sure I probably offend or insult someone on a weekly basis – if not daily.  I don’t do it with malice.  I am simply exercising my right to an opinion that someone else may not agree with.  They don’t have to agree with me.  That’s why we are a democratic Australia.  We are about to lose our democracy under the dictatorship of these puerile Socialist clowns.

Remember it was this very same regime through the office of Senator 'Censorship' Conroy, Minister for Communications, blah, blah that was hellbent on subjecting Australians to a Mandatory Internet Filter which would have had the potential to constrict free speech in unspeakable ways and which we would have enjoyed paying for via our internet providers.  This ridiculous thought-bubble was dropped last year.

So, under this proposed legislation my political opinion may well offend some poor petal who will run off into the Human Rights & Anti-discrimination Office, screaming and waving their tiny little hands around and some big burly creature working for the though police will hunt me down and slap a writ onto me.  Well, that’s just fine and dandy, isn’t it?

What’s worse I am deemed guilty from the get-go and must prove my innocence.  Give me strength.  What has happened to this country?

Andrew Bolt’s court case last year was a test run, obviously.

Mr. Abbott and your Coalition team, what are you going to do about this garbage?  Let it slip through to the keeper or kick it to the kerb where it deserves to be.

I will be watching.

Pat O'Shame Does It Again!

Here she is letting a Muslim Rioter and Police-Car-Windscreen-Smasher off the hook with a 12 month good behaviour bond.  I hope this – er – impartial decision is appealed, as it should be. 

What kind of message is this magistrate trying to convey to the Muslim community?  That’s it’s perfectly acceptable to be caught on camera destroying public property and creating mayhem?    Afterall, this is only Australia and we don’t really give a rat’s about anti-social behaviour?

Pat O’Shane has gathered some history whilst occupying one of the highest positions in the land – that of a Sydney magistrate, a role she’s held since around 1986.

As recently as last December 18th, Ms O’Shane had to front the NSW Judicial Commission’s conduct division to face yet more allegations she forgets all about impartiality and the law when hearing some cases.

Ms O’Shane has form in this regard and why the woman is still drawing a salary as a magistrate is simply beyond comprehension. 

She is due for retirement in June of this year.  However, she has been running loose within the NSW judicial system for over 23 years.  Why was she not  dismissed years ago?  NSW Premier, Barry O'Farrell has been more than aware of the incompetence of this particular magistrate, yet he has failed to right such an obvious wrong.

Australian National University College of Law lawyers and academics, Ruth Townsend and Michael Eburn conducted a study in 2012 into Pat O’Shane’s sublime efforts in the role of magistrate.  In one famous case, O’Shane went right ahead and dismissed a case regardless of the fact the accused had entered a guilty plea.  You can’t get much more incompetent than that.

Townsend and Eburn found that out of 16 criminal cases, this genius of a magistrate managed to get 14 wrong  and as a result, Supreme Court appeals were upheld.  They also found after examining 56 Supreme Court appeals between 1999 and 2012, 35 of those were upheld.  That gives O’Shane around a 62% failure rate!

Who was the gormless soul who thought it was a good idea (if not on the money to win a few “politically correct” brownie points) to appoint O’Shane, who happens to be aboriginal, to the bloody Bench in the first place?

Pat O’Shane has been accused by Supreme Court Judges in the past for all kinds of misconduct such as denying procedural fairness to the prosecution; failure to understand the evidence as presented by the prosecution which has been laid before her.  She has also been accused of making a number of errors of law and using intemperate language.

The legal fraternity have called for O’Shane’s resignation yet she blunders on, hearing the case of the Muslim rioter just the other day.

This is pathetic.

Ms "I Did Nothing Wrong" Gillard

Go to this Michael Smith News post and listen to his audioboo.

Most of us following the Gillard/AWU/Wilson scandal can only hope for one outcome, that being the Victoria Police have enough substantial evidence to haul in the Prime Minister for a serious round of discussions.   From there, we must hope justice will be served.   Not only do the Australian people deserve it, but  so do the AWU union members who were so blatantly screwed over.

Michael Smith has worked extremely hard to expose the truth regarding the AWU affair and Gillard's involvement.  Those of us disgusted with the trashing of the  reputation of the office of Prime Minister by this woman must now take heart that Smith's diligence will finally pay a dividend.

That is what we must hope for.

Dr. James Hansen Says...

NASA GISS guru, Dr. James Hansen has now admitted the mean global temperature has been “flat” for the last decade and interpreted causes are due to a combination of a net climate forcing slow down and an acknowledgement of the existence of natural variability.

GISS - Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Apparently, the paper has not been peer-reviewed yet!

I wonder if Australia’s High Priests promoting catastrophic global warming and catastrophic rising of the seas such as Government-sponsored Climate Commission Chief Commissioner, Professor Tim Flannery, will take any notice of this paper by uber-guru,  Dr. Hansen.  Probably not.  Rent seekers prefer to ignore inconvenient truth.

Finally being confronted with empirical evidence, which now embraces the previously denied roles of el Nino and la Nina in global temperatures, it must have dented Dr. Hansen’s ego a bit having to co-author this new paper which seems to fly in the face of  Hansen’s previous bouts of warmist hysteria.

Will publication of this Hansen paper lead to a general climbing down of the hysteria-mongers?  I doubt it.  Too many of them have vested interests in the continuing dripping of the tax-payer funded teat.  So the shrieking and hand-wringing will continue ad nauseam even in the face of fact.

You will not see this latest revelation being responsibly reported by Fairfax Media or the (taxpayer-funded, balanced, unbiased) ABC.  Oh – no.  It might lead to an admission the pudding has been wilfully over-egged.   They will want nothing to do with reporting on the Hansen document because it goes against the group-think meme.  And these particular mainstream media outlets will not wish to upset their dyed-in-the-wool Green readers, viewers or listeners!   In other words, keep the entire audience ignorant and don’t encourage them to think freely in case they start asking hard questions!   Questions that might just touch upon the lack of quality journalism in Australia and accuracy and balance in reporting.

Did any of you read about the re-jigging of temperature forecasting conducted by the UK Met Office in a report released on Christmas Eve in a Fairfax publication – or see, hear or read anything about it on the ABC?   I didn’t!  Consumers reliant on these two media outlets for accurate information will be unaware the Planet has not warmed for over 16 years and is unlikely to warm over the next four years.  In short, they will be unaware there is likely to be no significant warming for two decades!

When will this unspeakable global fraud end?  When western democracies are completely bankrupt, brought to their knees and ripe fruit for hijacking into fold of a UN-led World Government?

You can follow the Hansen saga here:  The pragmatic Judith Curry

And the well informed Anthony Watts:

Suspect Global Warming Tales: 2013 - No. 5

If you have been listening to and reading Australian media, notably the ABC, you will have noted a massive upsurge in Global Warming stories over the past couple of weeks.  Reams and reams of balderdash lovingly ladled out to the gullible and not one journalist is prepared to undertake the most basic research that would counter the claims asserted by the scaremongers. 

The heat is on, people. 

Yes, yes – we know, there is an IPCC 4^th Lead Author’s Meeting in full swing in Tasmania (13^th to 19^th January, 2013) which is being conducted behind closed doors, of course.   We don’t want any Lord Chris Moncktons informing the Meeting there’s been no significant Planet warming for over 15 years – with more no warming to come!

This Tasmanian junket probably explains why Australian mainstream media is in flood with global warming hysteria.           

I am really worried by the feverish blatherings of the Catastropharians.  It seems they are too pig-headed to even acknowledge the empirical research undertaken by scientists (and others) who are non-cultists.   When the evidence doesn’t fit the game plan, ignore it!  But we’ve known that for a number of years.  It seems this is the way of science in the 21^st Century?  The theoretical overrides the empirical.

It comes down to truth.   And transparency.  And data accuracy.  We’ve had none of that.  No wonder so many thinkers are sceptical.  We are right not to trust these witch doctors.

Have a look at Australia’s High Priest, Tim Flannery’s latest effort in The Age today as he sets about working the gullible up into a frenzy:-

Get your barf bags ready!

Rising temperatures make mockery of rising scepticism

Date

January 15, 2013

Category

Opinion

Tim Flannery

If we believe warming is over we won't be ready for extreme weather.

 WITH record-breaking extreme weather causing havoc around the nation, it's important that Australians understand what climate scientists are saying about the climate in future. But the conflation of two aspects of climate information is misleading the public, either maliciously or carelessly.

The first concerns average temperatures, the second what's happening at the extremes. These are different aspects of climate change, and climate scientists deal with them using different methods.

Is the world warming or cooling? This is a question about average temperature, and the answer can only be found by examining many decades of climate records. That's because there's a lot of annual variability in average temperatures.

By selectively choosing a few years of records, you can tell any story you want. But the trend over the longer term is undeniable. The world is warming, and Australia is 0.9 of a degree Celsius warmer than it was a century ago.

Editors know that headlines tell the story, which is why it's concerning that The Australian chose the headline ''Climate results validate sceptics'' for an article on the British Met Bureau's latest four-year forecast. Here is what the forecast in fact said: ''Global average temperature is expected to remain between 0.28°C and 0.59°C (90 per cent confidence range) above the long-term (1971-2000) average during the period 2013-2017, with values most likely to be about 0.43°C higher than average …This means temperatures will remain well above the long-term average and we will continue to see temperatures like those which resulted in 2000-2009 being the warmest decade in the instrumental record dating back to 1850.''

The spin matters. If Australians believe that the warming trend is over, and are suspicious of meteorological reports, they are likely to be less well prepared for extreme weather.

The evidence for an increase in such weather is clear. The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology have reported that Australia has experienced fewer very cold days and more very hot days than it did 50 years ago.

The current heatwave is breaking many temperature records. The nation's hottest day occurred on Monday, January 7. For seven days in a row, from January 2-8, the average maximum temperature across Australia was above 39 degrees. And with the extreme heat has come bushfires, destruction, health problems, and disruption of infrastructure.

Record-breaking heat is, by definition, weather not experienced for as long as records have been kept. But it's not just unprecedented heat the nation is facing.

In 2011, sea-surface temperatures to the north-west of Australia reached record highs. Increased water evaporation contributed to the wettest year on record in Australia. The vegetation of the inland flourished. But then the region experienced its longest period ever without rain, drying the vegetation. Now, the record heatwave is allowing fires to flourish.

It's a chain of climatic extremes that can have deadly consequences.

Climate sceptics are trying to play down the significance of these events. This weekend the Climate Commission published a report by some of Australia's most eminent climate scientists on the connection between climate change and the extreme heat Australia is experiencing.

The report concluded that: "The length, extent and severity of this heatwave are unprecedented in the measurement record. Although Australia has always had heatwaves, hot days and bushfires, climate Scientists have concluded that climate change is making extreme hot days, heatwaves and bushfire weather worse."

Extreme weather events are important because of the danger they can present. They are also a sign that the range of weather we experience is shifting. Good community understanding of climate change risks is critical to ensure we take appropriate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to put measures in place to prepare for, and respond to, extreme weather.

Australia is not alone in experiencing record-breaking extremes. Last July in the US, more than 3000 temperature records fell as extreme heat and drought gripped North America. The climate scientists have been predicting events like this for decades. And yet still the sceptics ignore the evidence.

Professor Tim Flannery is chief commissioner of the Climate Commission.change has increased the risk of more intense heatwaves and extreme hot days, as well as exacerbated bushfire conditions.

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Yes, Professor Flannery.  The spin does matter.  It matters a lot.  So does honesty, accuracy and accountability.

Here's Jo Nova with a few inconvenient facts counteracting the Australia is melting meme.

Evil Water

H/t to Michael Smith News.

Here's Penn and Teller exposing the gullibility of numpties who did not know what H2O was! Taking this particular scenario a step further, it's no wonder numpties are happy to be led by the nose by "climate scientists" purporting to have the best interests of the Planet at their heart - not their wallets that are actually welded to various tax-payer drip feeds in western democracies around the globe.

Suspect Global Warming Tales: 2013 - No. 4

The Climate Commission established by the feckless Gillard Government in 2011 and headed up by uber-warmie-scaremonger, Professor Timothy Flannery is supposed to be authoritative, independent and a reliable information source on all things climate.  Yet, on the website, they feature a video from the mega scare-monger, Al Gore, who has recently scooped up millions in oil dollars when he sold his interest in lefty cable station, Current TV to Al Jazeera!

Over at our tax-payer funded and ever-so-balanced ABC, the Government-sponsored scare factory is going overboard trying to stampede the geese. 

Poor old Professor David Karoly obviously has not permitted a report from the British Met Office (sneakily slipped into the public domain on Christmas Eve so it wouldn’t be noticed) to land on his desk.  

Extracts:  The Met Office has admitted that global warming has stalled.

Officials say that by 2017, temperatures will not have risen significantly for nearly 20 years.

They concede that previous forecasts were inaccurate – and have come under fire for attempting to ‘bury bad news’ by publishing the revised data on Christmas Eve.

Dr David Whitehouse, science adviser to the Global Warming Policy Foundation, said: ‘That the global temperature standstill could continue to at least  2017 would mean a 20-year period of  no statistically significant change in global temperatures.

‘Such a period of no increase will pose fundamental problems for climate models. If the latest Met Office prediction is correct, then it will prove to be a lesson in humility.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2259012/Global-warming-Met-Office-releases-revised-global-temperature-predictions-showing-planet-NOT-rapidly-heating-up.html#ixzz2HjJZSaQf 
 

What!  No warming for two decades?  That’s going to stuff up the error-ridden computer models the warmists deceptively use to try and convince us the planet is doomed.

It’s quite sickening to think people such as PM Gillard, Greens Leader, Christine Milne and of course, the good Professor must stoop so low as to use normal summer events in Australia to peddle their propaganda. 

Extract from ABC article:

I’ll leave you to make your mind up if the story warrants reading in full!

Heatwave exacerbated by climate change: Climate Commission

AM By Simon Lauder

Updated 2 hours 39 minutes ago

A new report from the Federal Government's Climate Commission says the heatwave and bushfires that have affected Australia this week have been exacerbated by global warming.

The report - Off the Charts: Extreme Australian Summer Heat - warns of more extreme bushfires and hotter, longer, bigger and more frequent heatwaves, due to climate change.

It says the number of record heat days across Australia has doubled since 1960 and more temperature records are likely to be broken as hot conditions continue this summer.

When Prime Minister Julia Gillard linked the heatwave with climate change this week, the acting Opposition Leader Warren Truss said that was utterly simplistic.

But climate change experts have no doubt that climate change is a factor in the current conditions.

The scientific advisor to the Climate Commission, Professor David Karoly, has written the report for the Climate Commission to answer questions about the link between heatwaves and climate change.

Not every summer will be hotter than the one before. In fact this year is markedly hotter than the last couple of years when we had relatively milder and wetter conditions.

But what we are going to find on average is more of the hot extremes and faster increases in the future, over the next 10 and 30 years, that we have seen over the last 30 years - more hot extremes, more heatwaves and more extreme fire conditions.

Climate scientists have been talking about these increases for more than 20 years in Australia. We are now seeing exactly what was predicted more than 20 years ago.

Professor David Karoly

"What we have been able to see is clear evidence of an increasing trend in hot extremes, reductions in cold extremes and with the increases in hot extremes more frequent extreme fire danger day," he said.

"What it means for the Australian summer is an increased frequency of hot extremes, more hot days, more heatwaves and more extreme bushfire days and that's exactly what we've been seeing typically over the last decade and we will see even more frequently in the future."

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Suspect Global Warming Tales: 2013 - No. 3

Oh my!  Flatulent dinosaurs!  Round 'em all up and shoot 'em before they multiply!  The dinosaurs - I mean....
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WASHINGTON — In a major new climate finding, researchers have calculated that dinosaur flatulence could have put enough methane into the atmosphere to warm the planet during the hot, wet Mesozoic era.

Like gigantic, long-necked, prehistoric cows, sauropod dinosaurs roamed widely around the Earth 150 million years ago, scientists reported in the journal Current Biology on Monday.

And just like big cows, their plant digestion was aided by methane-producing microbes.

“A simple mathematical model suggests that the microbes living in sauropod dinosaurs may have produced enough methane to have an important effect on the Mesozoic climate,” researcher Dave Wilkinson of Liverpool John Moores University said in a statement.

“Indeed, our calculations suggest that these dinosaurs could have produced more methane than all modern sources – both natural and man-made – put together,” Wilkinson said.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/07/dinosaurs-flatulence-influenced-global-warming-study-suggests/

What Will Slippery Do?

Well - he will resign at the eleventh hour, won't he?

This man knows how to work the system, so he will be looking after No. 1, no doubt about that.

I was going to blog about Peter Slipper when the story recently broke about his impending appearance in the Canberra Magistrates Court on or about the 15th February, 2013 but the story has developed rather quickly since then.  We now know what charges will be pursued.

Of course, Peter Slipper with all his peccadilloes represents the standards of behaviour acceptable to the Gillard Government.  The man has had a less than stunning parliamentary career for 23 odd years and his dubious history was well-known.  Yet, in an amazing example of political strategy, Julia Gillard placed him in the most influential role within the Federal government - that of Speaker.  A strategy the Gillard Government thought was too clever by half!  After tanking a probable vote for Team Gillard in the form of Tasmanian Independent, Andrew Wilkie.   Gillard broke yet another promise by sinking Wilkie's proposed Pokies legislation having previously indicated support for it, she needed a White Knight.  Appointment of disaffected Slipper ensued.   Slipper resigned from the Liberal Party and became an instant Independent. One vote less amid Coalition ranks was a stroke of ALP genius!

As Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott said recently in words similar:  Slipper is their problem now.  He is right, of course.  As I said, Slipper represents Labor standards to a T!

Voters in the country must be constantly reminded of Labor standards, personal, professional and political right up to the second we cast our votes for the next Federal Government some time during 2013.

The following article is from The Age's website.

*Mind you, I have not been able to locate a similar story on the ABC's website.  It appears they prefer to avoid public interest stories that may cast a critical beam on the Gillard Government.  Nothing new there, I suppose although the taxpayer pays dearly for their balanced, unbiased reportage!

Slipper faces pension dilemma

January 10, 2013


FORMER parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper risks losing millions of dollars in retirement benefits if he is convicted of using his government Cabcharge card to tour restaurants and wineries.

When he retires, Mr Slipper can expect to receive a yearly pension of about $157,000 for the rest of his life.

However, if he is found guilty of the alleged fraud, Mr Slipper is likely to lose everything besides a refund of his superannuation contributions (without interest).

Mr Slipper's retirement package is especially lucrative because of his long service - 23 years as an MP - and his occupation of highly paid roles including Speaker of the House of Representatives, where he earned an annual salary of $371,463.

The threat to his entitlements provides an incentive for him to resign before he faces court next month, if he fears a guilty verdict and wants to protect his pension.

There is little precedent for Mr Slipper's predicament but legal experts and public servants familiar with politicians' entitlements said an early resignation would likely protect his lucrative pension package in the event of a later conviction, although they could provide no guarantee.

Either way, if he remains in Parliament and is convicted, he will lose much of his entitlements regardless of how severe any sentence is.

Mr Slipper has been accused of using a taxpayer-funded hire car to tour half a dozen of Canberra's finest wineries.

The summons document, released on Tuesday by the ACT Magistrates Court, alleges that on three occasions in 2010, Mr Slipper took a hire car to visit wineries that include the top-rated Clonakilla winery, well-known for its $100-a-bottle shiraz viognier.

The trips described in the document - including journeys within Canberra - cost $1194.

The documents suggest Mr Slipper holds a particular fondness for Poachers Pantry, well known for its gourmet smoked meats.

Mr Slipper has not responded to calls and emails.

However, he has described earlier accusations of Cabcharge fraud as a ''complete fabrication''.

He is believed to be employing Brisbane lawyer Peter Russo, who defended Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef when he was wrongly accused by the Commonwealth of assisting a terrorist organisation.

If convicted, Mr Slipper will have to resign as an MP because the offence is ''punishable under the law of the Commonwealth … by imprisonment for one year or longer'', according to section 44 of the constitution.

The former Speaker faces a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.

But even if he were sentenced to less than a year in prison, he would still be forced to resign because his alleged offence carries a maximum sentence of longer than one year, said Anne Twomey, a constitutional law expert at the University of Sydney.

If Mr Slipper is forced to resign because of a conviction, the constitution says he is entitled to ''a refund of his [superannuation] contributions, but to no other benefit''.

Former MPs are also subject to the Crimes (Superannuation Benefits) Act 1989, which addresses the forfeiture of benefits if MPs are convicted of corruption offences.

Leaving aside his retirement package, Mr Slipper is likely to be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Federal Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott

I've just seen a news report (on the ABC - believe it or not!)  Federal Opposition leader, Tony Abbott, who is a volunteer fire-fighter has joined a crew headed for Nowra, NSW to help with fire control.  Warren Truss, the Leader of the Nationals has stepped into the role of Opposition Leader in the interim.

Australia should be proud of a person of the calibre of Tony Abbott who may well be the country's next Prime Minister. A man who is prepared to put his life on the line to help his fellow Australians.  It would not surprise me if Abbott, as PM steps up to the plate in situations like this when the political scene is a bit quiet and conditions permit.

On the other hand, has our current Prime Minister, Julia Gillard put herself out by perhaps volunteering with the Red Cross or similar agency deployed in fire ravaged areas of the country?  No?  Now, that's surprising, isn't it?  No good photo opportunities or sycophantic journalists to play to, I suppose.  My God, the woman must be run off her feet during this time of political hiatus.

I cannot wait for the nasty little Laborites to begin the catcalls of Abbott, Abbott, Abbott - publicity-stuntman.  It will happen, I have no doubt.  That sort of childish envy is part and parcel of the ALP mentality.

My opinion of Abbott has risen over the past 12 months.  As to the Regime currently running this once fine Nation, I would be banned from Blogger if I put my views into words, so I had better leave it there!

UPDATE

(And it only took 2 hours from my time of posting...)

A federal Labor frontbencher has apologised for describing Tony Abbott's work as a volunteer firefighter as a "stunt".

The Opposition Leader has been a volunteer firefighter for more than a decade, and was this morning deployed to fight fires at Nowra on the NSW south coast with the Davidson Rural Fire Service.

Mr Abbott yesterday said he would be on "standby" to help out given the fire emergency gripping large parts of the state.

Federal Housing Minister Brendan O'Connor this afternoon responded to Mr Abbott's comment on Twitter, describing it as a "#standbystunt".

Mr O'Connor later deleted the comment and said: "Apologies for any offence. I respect and acknowledge the critical work of all our volunteer firefighters including Tony Abbott."

PHOTO: Brendan O'Connor has since removed the tweet. (ABC News)

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell took to Twitter to describe Mr O'Connor's initial comment as "unhelpful" during a fire crisis.

He said Mr Abbott helped fight fires in the Lane Cove National Park in 2004 and the local community was grateful.

Television news cameras and photographers were in Nowra this morning and filmed Mr Abbott driving one of the fire trucks.

In a statement issued this morning, Mr Abbott said he had delayed his holidays to help fight the fires.

Labor backbencher Graham Perrett has commended Mr Abbott and the other volunteer firefighters for their efforts, but added: "A lot of volunteers get up and do their work on behalf of the community everyday without putting out a press release."

But Liberal MP Jamie Briggs says there is always a lot of media interest in what Australia's political leaders are doing, especially during a bushfire crisis.

"People do like to see commitment to volunteering - not just from the community, but from their political leaders - and that's something Tony's done for a long time now," Mr Briggs told ABC News.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-09/labor-mp-sorry-for-abbott-stunt-tweet/4458118

BOM Hypes - And Hypes

On Monday, 7th January, 2013 in a Post entitled "So - July 2012 Was NOT Hottest Month In US History:" I made reference to our very own Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) possibly/probably/likely to play loosely with the truth
when matters of CAGW are at the fore.  Gravy-trains, funding security playing
a role - perchance?

Behold!  Exhibit A for 2013

Please click the link to see the pretty little pictures accompanying this article.

If next Sunday and/or Monday, national temperatures exceed the norm,  I will apologise to BOM on this Blog, provided I am satisfied the figures haven't been fiddled with - and that may present a bit of a challenge to BOM..

I am sure it doesn't escape the more intelligent readers that Australia by her very nature can be blisteringly hot during January and February.  What is annoying - and misleading - is hyping up this fact as something unusual, out of the ordinary.  It isn't.

At the moment, a compliant MSM seems to be hyperventilating themselves into what should be permanently affixed brown paper bags.  Yes, it's been hot and yes, Australia is again afflicted with bushfires.  It happens just about every year.  Perhaps most MSM journalists reporting on bushfires and the state of the Nation's thermometre via radio, television and print should be sent to Research Re-education Camp for a few months.  Foaming at the mouth and scaring the poultry is not nice!
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Now you see it, now you don't: weather bureau backtracks from 50-plus forecast
Date
January 9, 2013 - 11:47AM
775 reading nowRead later

Peter Hannam
Carbon economy editor

Birdsville heat is 'just incredible'
Thongs melt to the bitumen in Birdsville in far-west Queensland with temperatures approaching 48 degrees making it feel like "sticking your head in a fan forced oven".

Blistering heatwaves are here to stay
Sticky night turns to cool morning
'Severe' fire warnings for Hunter region
Deep purple’s run on the weather charts may have been short-lived.

Just a day after the Bureau of Meteorology extended its palette range to cope with the country’s unprecedented heatwave, the zones of purple – representing 50-52 degrees – have disappeared from forecast charts for the next few days.

Purple vanishes in the haze ... the new Bureau of Meteorology's interactive weather forecasting.
Weather projections made more than a few days out are, by their nature, less reliable, said Aaron Coutts-Smith, NSW manager for climate services at the bureau.

Predictions on Tuesday by the bureau’s model that parts of the inland would exceed 50 degrees next Sunday and Monday were "a little too emphatic", he said on Wednesday.

That’s not to say Australia’s massive heatwave is showing much sign of cresting - and the colour scheme remains an option if the mercury breaks the 50-degree point at any of the bureau's sites.


Deep purple ... the Bureau of Meteorology's interactive weather forecasting chart added new colours but they have since disappeared. Photo: Bureau of Meteorology
The country posted a record average maximum on Monday of 40.33 degrees and although the latest indications suggest Tuesday’s tally may have fallen short of setting a new peak, it will likely be among the top handful of hottest days on record.

And while coastal areas, particularly in the south-east will see some relief to the extreme heat and fire conditions, the giant heat cell over central Australia has days to run.

“We’re not anticipating any significant clearing of that hot air,” Dr Coutts-Smith said.

Forecasters expect Sunday and Monday to provide the next chance of 50-plus degrees – and for the possible appearance of that new purple shade to the country’s observed weather charts, not just the forecast maps.

Ben McBurney, a meteorologist at Weatherzone, says outback towns ranging from Bourke and Cobar in NSW to Moomba, Oodnadatta and Marree in South Australia are all candidates to reach 50 degrees in coming days.

“There’s potential for Bourke to reach 48-49 degrees and may get to 50 degrees on Sunday or Monday,” Mr McBurney said, “which is quite scary when you think of it.”

For now, the weather bureau is taking a more conservative approach, with Bourke predicted to hit 45, 46, and 46 degrees on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively, before easing back to a maximum of 42 on Monday.

Other high temperature forecasts from the bureau  include 48 on Sunday for Moomba and Marree.

Australia's record maximum is 50.7 degrees reached at Oodnadatta Airport on January 2, 1960, while the highest for NSW was set at Menindee Post Office on January 10, 1939 at 49.7 degrees.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/weather/now-you-see-it-now-you-dont-weather-bureau-backtracks-from-50plus-forecast-20130109-2cfm5.html#ixzz2HR4vmGgu

ASIC Raids Moylan's Campsite

Meanwhile, over at the ABC's online website - they report on the Australian Securities & Investments Commisiion's involvement today.  However, there seems to be an absence of any mention of the "involvement" of the Greens Senators Rhiannon and Milne's public support of the criminal actions of Jonathan Moylan.  I wonder why that is?  Some facts reported.  Others concealed.  Our ABC - fair, balanced and unbiased reporting yet again!
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ASIC raids Whitehaven hoaxer's campsite
Updated 1 hour 15 minutes ago

The man at the centre of the Whitehaven coal hoax says the corporate regulator has raided his camp in northern New South Wales and taken his phone and computer.

Jonathan Moylan, from Frontline Action Coal, issued a fake ANZ media release claiming the bank had pulled a $1.2 billion loan from Whitehaven's Maules Creek project on environmental grounds.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is considering legal action after $314 million was temporarily wiped from the value of the company.

Many investors lost up to 9 per cent of the value of their shares by selling on media reports based on the fake release, before the share price recovered after Whitehaven and ANZ confirmed the release was a hoax.

Mr Moylan says ASIC raided his camp at the Maules Creek coal project near Boggabri in northern New South Wales.

"ASIC did turn up at the camp and, unfortunately I don't know exactly how much I'm allowed to say about that because there are offences for revealing details of an ASIC investigation, but I can say I've been required to attend questioning and they've seized my phone and computer," he told Radio National Breakfast.

The 24 year old environment activist says he is more concerned about the environmental impact on the local community than his own welfare.

"There may be very, very serious consequences for me that's going to affect only me," he said.

"The real on the ground impact going to be felt by the local community here is much more at the top of my mind.

"These projects are continuing to be approved and generating the biggest crisis that humanity faces."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-09/asic-raids-whitehaven-hoaxers-campsite/4457698

The Morally Bankrupt Australian Greens

Another example of the repugnant and morally bankrupt Australian Greens Party.  Not content to simply create mayhem with regard to Australia’s border control via importation of boatloads of illegal entrants (who immediately affix themselves to the public teat, form ghettos that, in many cases, become no-go zones, even for law enforcement officers and show an unwillingness to assimilate into Australian society and Australian way of life.)  The Greens are also driving Australia’s prosperity into the ground via useless and ill-conceived  CAGW schemes, they now clearly show they have no intention of upholding Australian law.

 

The Australian Greens are in coalition with Labor ensuring the Gillard Regime would have the numbers to govern along with help from several Independents.   An unspeakable three-year disaster for this Nation.

 

Sinclair Davidson is correct.  Financial arson has been committed by Jonathan Moylan.

 

Reblogged from Catallaxy Files.

Australia's leading libertarian and centre-right blog

Financial arson

5 comments

How to characterise what Jonathan Moylan did?

Well the Greens are trying to run a ‘civil disobedience‘ line.

THE Greens leader, Senator Christine Milne, has endorsed a controversial hoax by an anti-coal activist, saying his actions were ”part of a long and proud history of civil disobedience, potentially breaking the law, to highlight something wrong”.

Her comments came after a tweet by her colleague Lee Rhiannon, who publicly congratulated Jonathan Moylan, an activist under scrutiny for impersonating a bank and temporarily wiping $314 million off the value of Whitehaven Coal.
”Congrats to Jonathan Moylan, Frontline Action on Coal, for exposing ANZ investment in coalmines,” Ms Rhiannon tweeted on Tuesday night.

Okay – good luck with that. I’m not convinced myself but it does leave the Greens having to explain why destroying economic prosperity and shareholder value is for the ‘good’. Having destroyed the Tasmanian economy they are turning their sights onto the mainland.

Conversely Nikki Williams from the Australian Coal Association has an excellent op-ed in the Australian.

The deliberate and fraudulent manipulation of the stockmarket is a serious offence, which undermines confidence in Australia’s investment system.

I disagree with two sentences.

Contempt for the interests of the public is an unusual face for the activist movement.

No. Ask the Tasmanian logging industry about that.

Free speech is a right that must be protected, but with free speech must come responsibility and accountability.

This is not a free speech issue. Moylan should be free to tell us all about the evils of coal mining and how it is disgraceful that ANZ is lending them money and, if he were an ANZ shareholder, turn up at the AGM and ask tough questions etc. etc. etc. In fact, Moylan is free to do all those things already.

Moylan did not say what he liked, he did what he liked. Moylan committed an act of violence against Whitehaven’s shareholders and the integrity of the Australian financial markets – so every person in Australia who has direct investments or indirect investments like superannuation.

If he had set a forest fire we would immediately recognise the wrong – he did the financial equivalent.
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More about this disgusting saga at Michael Smith News.

Not A Good Look - ABC!

Judith Sloan at Catallaxy makes a good case with regard to our taxpayer-funded Lefty-supporting ABC.  It’s definitely a closed shop and of the opinion it is above some avenues of FOI disclosure.  We are talking about the public interest.  I think we have a right to know what the likes of Faine (who is the subject of a Complaint lodged by me recently to the ABC's Audience & Consumer Affairs arm.   Remember –  the ABC self-adjudicates, so I am expecting great results in relation to that Complaint!  
The ABC avoids extraneous inquisition and considering its activity in mainstream media on a number of levels, that’s not good enough in 2012/13. Go Judith!
 Reblogged from Catallaxy.

………………………………………………………………….

 

Knowing the remuneration package of Tony Jones/Jon Faine, etc.

67 comments

It is quite a few years since I was on the board of the ABC – yes, I know what you are thinking.  Fat lot of good you did, Judith.  And you are probably right.

But I just love the current efforts of the ABC to resist any meaningful disclosure of the pay packages of the top earning ABC ‘talent’.  I hesistate to use the term worker or employee; certainly, in my day, quite a lot of the ‘talent’ was employed through service companies, which also employed members of their families.  Even as a board member, it was difficult to extract any real information about the remuneration arrangements and levels of the radio and television presenters.

And yes, employing these people through service companies did probably make the ABC party to a form of tax avoidance, although the presenters would declare that they didn’t have any right of tenure as most ABC employees do.  Mind you, I always thought that a number of these presenters were engaging in a high degree of hypocrisy by publicly banging on about the evils of individual contracts and WorkChoices while taking full advantage of individual contracts themselves.

THE ABC could be forced to disclose details of the pay packets of its top broadcasters and producers at programs such as Media Watch, Four Corners and Mornings with Jon Faine after it lost two appeals to block access to the information.

The national broadcaster received $1 billion in government funding in the last financial year and spent $486 million on wages and superannuation.

But the ABC does not want to provide a breakdown of who its biggest earners are.

The network lost its most recent appeal just before Christmas when the Administrative Appeals Tribunal ruled against it, rejecting the ABC’s arguments and saying some evidence it had put forward was not relevant and “of little assistance”.

A Freedom of Information request was lodged more than two years ago by the Herald and Weekly Times, seeking access to documents “dealing with salaries, or any payments” paid to program makers working on 13 programs, including those listed above, for the financial year ending 2010.

The ABC refused to hand over the documents, which include individual employment contracts, Australian Workplace Agreements, Individual Transitional Employment Agreements, pay slips and other “payment records”.

According to the ABC’s annual report for the 2012 financial year, 401 employees earned more than $150,000 each – an increase from 312 the previous year.

The ABC employs the equivalent of 4603 full-time employees.

You really have to laugh.  According to the ABC Annual Report:

The ABC recognises its responsibility to the Australian people as a publicly-funded broadcaster, and adopts high standards of corporate governance.

Really?  If it were to adopt high standards of corporate governance, it would not be fudging its remeration report, which is pretty much what was required of companies 15 years ago.  All that can be found out are the earnings of the top six officers within bands and note that the term ‘officers’ excludes all presenters.

And openness and transparency as part of high standards of corporate governance?  I don’t think so.  Take these statements from the Annual Report.

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (“FOI Act”) gives the public the right to access documents held by the ABC. During the past year, the ABC received 30 requests for access to documents under the FOI Act. One request was granted, four were granted in part, 20 were refused and one was withdrawn. Four requests were still being processed at the end of the financial year. Of the 20 requests which were refused, 16 were outside the scope of the FOI Act. Part IIof Schedule 2 of the FOI Act specifically excludes documents relating to the ABC’s program material from the operation of the FOI Act.

Prior to the launch of the revised ABC Editorial Policies in April 2011 (see page 85), the ABC Editorial Policies included an aim to respond to complaints within 28 days. Between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011, ABC Audience and Consumer Affairs responded directly to 17 241 audience contacts.Of these, 11 833 (68.6%) received responseswithin 28 days.

In other words, use every excuse under the sun to withhold information from FOI requests and dither away while ‘handling’ complaints.  (Recall the Finkelstein suggestion that complaints be handled within days … sure.) Note also that less than 10 per cent of complaints are ‘upheld’.

I had also forgotten what an incredibly SELF-CONGRATULATORY organisation the ABC is.  If anything, it seems worse than it was during my tenure on the board.  (Incidentally, the staff’s attitude to the board was completely dismissive, along the lines … well, you are here for a short time, we are here for ever, so we will ignore you.)

The Strategic Plan 2010 –13 commits the ABC to striving to maintain its leadership position as aninnovative and independent media organisationserving the needs of all Australians. It sets out six high-level strategic goals for the ABC:

Audience focused—to provide a range of mediaexperiences to meet the needs and expectations of diverse audiences

High quality—to consistently deliver content which reflects the ABC’s commitment to quality, independence and high editorial standards

Innovative—to pursue new ideas, opportunities and partnerships, and grow our capabilities for the future

Values based—to demonstrate ABC Values in every aspect of our work

Efficient—to maximise the efficient and effective use of resources

Responsible—to be visible and active in the community, setting high standards of social,environmental and regulatory responsibility.

But here’s the rub – WHEN THE ABC MARKS ITSELF ON THESE CRITERIA (sub-categories, included), THERE IS NOT ONE AREA IN WHICH IT DOES NOT REGARD ITS PERFORMANCE AS EITHER SATISFACTORY OR OUTSTANDING.  I am not making this up.

Where do you begin?

Another thought – gross misrepresentation by the ABC in its Annual Report.

“In real terms, the ABC’s operational revenue has declined over time.”

Actually, not since 1997-98, it has not.  And there were special reasons for the high figures in the mid 1980s.

And note the use of operational revenue.  The government is for ever kicking in extras here and there, including of coure the now uncontestible Australia Network, which are not counted as operational revenue.