If our government fails in that duty to protect my generation against the greed of the coal and gas barons, we have a duty to stand up – because unionists, suffragettes, and civil rights campaigners fought and died for our right to do so.
Source: Peaceful coal port protesters prosecuted like bikie gang on bail – Michael West
There is something very odd in this statement of it being a “global first” given that Koalas don’t exist anywhere else. Only a politician could come out with such crap.
A national park dedicated to koalas would be a global first. A uniquely Australian park that recognised the importance of this iconic species, now facing extinction. Creating the park is more than a NSW state issue. In Indigenous culture, there are many koala dreamings, their loss kills country.
Source: Labor must ensure survival of an iconic Australian species
Police “struggled” with a 95 year old using a “walking frame”. In what world does that make any sense?
A 95-year-old great-grandmother with dementia is reportedly fighting for her life after being tasered by police in a nursing home in NSW.
Source: Police taser great-grandmother in nursing home altercation
CORRUPTION with a big ” L”
The NSW ICAC has launched a major probe into allegations that key NSW Liberal Party figures were involved in branch stacking across the state. Anthony Klan reports.
Source: NSW ICAC finds disturbing details of Liberal Party’s far-Right faction
“He had a new style of politics, he wasn’t into playing games, he wasn’t negative. A fresh start, he said let’s put some policies out,” he said. The Labor leader joined elite company in the state party by winning from opposition. Only Neville Wran (1976) and Bob Car (1995) had done so since World War II.
Source: Euphoria and relief as Chris Minns leads Labor to win – Michael West
I guess that I should be impressed by the fact that the speaker had the intelligence to use the word “if”. After all, various media outlets were telling us that the election was “neck and neck” and that there was a real question about whether Labor would be able to form government, even as a minority. Nobody was pointing out that the Perrottet government was already in minority, had a series of scandals apart from Gladys, as well as a series of questionable decisions such as knocking down stadiums and trains that didn’t fit in the tunnels.
Source: NSW Election: Too Close To Make Any Conclusions – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The statement differs from a set of facts tendered by police during Coco’s case last year, which saw her sentenced to 15 months in prison with a non-parole period of eight months. She has launched an appeal against the sentence.
Sydney is now one of the most tolled cities in the world. Every time you pay a toll, much of the money now flows oversees. Some people now pay hundreds of dollars a week in tolls, these pseudo taxes. It wasn’t that long ago that governments borrowed money to build this kind of infrastructure. The Harbour Bridge and Snowy Hydro come to mind. Sure, we were paying it off through our taxes for many years. Now we do it by paying tolls. But the taxes we paid for our infrastructure were far cheaper per person than the tolls.
We have been conned.
Source: We’ve been taken for a ride – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Can Dominic Perrottet and Chris Minns “do a Palaszczuk” and hike coal royalties on multinationals now reaping super-profits from the War in Ukraine, or are they too scared of a coal lobby backlash? Michael West reports on the Budget crisis facing NSW as voters head for an election in three months.
Source: Annastacia Palaszczuk leaves Perrottet and NSW in the dust on coal super profits – Michael West
Multiple catchments holding months of heavy rainfall paint an unfortunate picture of continued flooding for regional communities in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
Source: More prolonged flooding ahead for regional communities
Koalas in NSW could be extinct by 2050 unless the government makes drastic changes to knocking down trees.
The EPA is urging the Government to order an independent review of Forestry Corporation NSW, which is facing new allegations after having just been fined for wiping out significant koala habitat, writes James Tremain.
The mine employs 2000 people, just under 10 per cent of the state’s coal mining workforce. The mine has been digging up coal since 2002 and can produce 20 million tonnes of thermal coal per year.
Source: BHP announces NSW’s largest coal mine to close by 2030
Matthew Guy really doesn’t have the Community Support
The wave of “teal” independents that dislodged a swathe of “moderate” Liberal MPs in Saturday’s federal election is expected to seep into upcoming state elections in Victoria and New South Wales.
It’s always been apparent and obvious, to me at least, that opening up too soon without retaining other precautions such as masks and distancing was a recipe for an eventual return to more stringent restrictions, sooner or later. Perrottet may think that his hope-filled, glass-half-full approach to the virus and his almost crusading zeal to bring about a free and happy conclusion to two years of COVID-19 misery is the way to go. I have reservations about that, and I’m possibly in reasonably good company. To me, rather than bringing about a new freedom to the NSW people, it seems more likely that the state government has simply given up and feels it can no longer cope with this health emergency.
Source: NSW, the land of hope, freedom and glory – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The mainstream media and Liberal Party through their lies and propaganda have created a breeding ground for violence and extremism, writes Hayden O’Connor. FORMER DEPUTY Chief Medical Officer turned Liberal Party spokesperson Nick Coatsworth declared this week on Today that those protesting the Andrews Government’s Pandemic Bill are doing so as a result of the Victorian Government’s “heavy-handed approaches” during COVID-19, highlighting the absence of such protests across the rest of Australia. The “heavy-handed approach” explanation for the protests put forward by Coatsworth and others is ridiculous. Victoria is not the only state to have had lockdowns or vaccine mandates and the proposed pandemic legislation actually increases transparency and switches the authorisation of public health orders from the Chief Health Officer to the Minister for Health, which is how it currently works in the “gold standard” state of New South Wales.
The 1,000-person convention centre at a Wagga Wagga gun club at the heart of corruption investigations is a major white elephant and not one of the “potential conference events” spruiked to get its $5.5 million grant have eventuated.
Last weekend, hundreds gathered at Sydney’s Town Hall in support of LGBTIQ rights and by extension, in protest against NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet. Bearing signs that read ‘no right to discriminate’, the group drew attention to proposed legislation embodying what they considered to be the politician’s homophobic agenda. But how warranted is this fear? And what exactly do Dominic Perrottet’s family values mean for the future of diverse Australian families?
Source: Dominic Perrotett set to prioritise ‘family values’ during his tenure
The NSW ICAC is celebrated for exposing corruption across politics, including the now-convicted former Labor ministers Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald. But as the third Liberal premier to resign as a result of ICAC scrutiny since 1992, Berejiklian’s demise is almost certain to provoke a backlash. The news followed the South Australia parliament passing sweeping amendments to its own Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) last week, narrowing the scope of its operations and reducing its transparency. Get news curated by experts, not algorithms. Both events bring sharp focus to the right balance of powers for all such bodies, especially the long-awaited federal integrity commission, still in the works over two years after being promised by the Morrison government. However, South Australia’s reforms in particular point to why a political backlash against these important agencies would be extremely unwise.
Opposition leaders and shadow ministries not getting enough air-time in traditional media, means that they’re unable to do their job keeping governments, ministers, and portfolios to account. We aren’t a democracy without their contributions. A prime example of this is NSW Opposition leader Chris Minns. Last week when NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, made the shock announcement about the daily Covid pressers, Minns announced his own presser for the vacated timeslot. Despite Berejiklian saying that Sunday was her last presser she held another one yesterday. Minns held his short presser yesterday at 11am via Facebook with his Shadow Health Minister, Ryan Park. The lack of dead corporate language used as well as their to-the-point communication style was refreshing. Key points made were about the need for the NSW government to do daily pressers with clear communication, and the need for the opportunity to scrutinise decisions that they make. Other points made were about our healthcare system being in crisis, for Berejiklian to be accountable, and for other people in her Covid management team to do the pressers if she can not.
Yes, we have a ‘roadmap’ all the way out of Covid NSW and Health Minister Hazzard is sprouting thought bubbles just like Morrison, now that we won’t be listening to him and Gladys every day – Less bags of wind and heaps more sun and fresh air. That will sort everything out all the way to Christmas. Hell let’s not wait till mid-October, we can start opening up right now – Hunger games are just getting started.
Playing with the heads of Nova Castrians Hazzard tells them the “good news”
More than 1500 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases have been reported in NSW – another record high – and four deaths. Announcing 1533 cases on Saturday morning, Health Minister Brad Hazzard stressed that vaccinate rates were the “good news”.
Source: More than 1500 new COVID cases in NSW | The New Daily
Yes Minister and Politi-Speak : Sussan Ley controls the world’s coal demand and use
Ley wrote that she had found the mine’s expansion was unlikely to lead to an increase in global average surface temperatures, based on advice she received from the department. She said this was because the mine was unlikely to cause more coal to be consumed globally than would be consumed if she refused the project. She also found the project was unlikely to cause harm to human safety because it was likely that a comparable amount of coal would be consumed in its place if she rejected the development. She concluded that this meant the project would not result in an increase in global greenhouse gas emissions – a finding Lock the Gate labelled “bizarre”.
One of the consequences of managing the COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting the divide between socioeconomic classes,
The entire state of New South Wales will be subject to stay-at-home orders as lockdown came into effect in regional areas on Saturday 5pm. On the state’s worst day during the pandemic so far, Deputy Premier John Barilaro said on Twitter the stay-at-home orders would be introduced on Saturday for all of regional NSW. The regional lockdown is set to last for seven days.
Source: NSW lockdown: Entire state of NSW enters seven-day lockdown
The weakness of the Australian Government is on full display in southwest Sydney this week, disguised as a show of force. The incapacity of NSW Premier Gladys Berejklian’s “gold standard” Government to contain the latest outbreak of COVID-19 has become a political liability for Prime Minister Scott Morrison. So, as has become standard in such situations, Morrison called in the army, offering 300 troops for what was described as a “crackdown” on compliance with COVID-19 regulations.
Source: Government reliance on army for lockdowns a weak move
A worrying coronavirus outbreak in a NSW aged care facility sparked by a Christmas in July event has ballooned out to 20 cases. The cluster at the Wyoming Residential Aged Care Facility in the Sydney suburb of Summer Hill included 18 residents and two staff members by Monday afternoon. Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the outbreak had been sparked by a super-spreader ‘Christmas in July’ event at the facility, which is owned by Hardi Aged Care and regulated by the federal government. “I understand that the actual numbers are believed to have occurred off a super-spreading event that occurred in the aged care facility,” Mr Hazzard said. “Sometimes it isn’t a good idea to have a ‘Christmas in July’ right in the middle of a pandemic, but I do understand that it is an effort to try and provide entertainment and support to residents.” Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said all of the infected residents lived on the top floor of the building. She said the entire floor, all 32 residents, had been taken to hospital either to be treated for the virus or as a precaution. “The reason for that is that some of them are obviously positive and others are close contacts of the positive c
Source: Christmas in July party sparks aged care cluster | The New Daily
The Victorian Transport Association says thousands of truck drivers are crossing the state’s border each day without a permit and shunning testing requirements designed to shield against the NSW coronavirus outbreak. The peak industry body estimates between 15,000 and 19,000 trucks are entering Victoria daily, the vast majority from NSW. A Victorian government spokesperson said there were 9800 valid permit holders.
Scott and Gladys were so intent on dividing the country they forgot that pride comes before a fall. They both failed the test of leadership blinded by their populist electioneering. Now they are looking at others to blame when all they need is a mirror.
Watching New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her “gold standard” pandemic management unravel before our eyes is a bittersweet moment for many people — Victorians, in particular.For months on end, Gladys has been held up as the model all should follow. We have heard that Gladys’ gold standard contact tracing was second to none. That her approach to handling the pandemic was far superior to her mere mortal non-Liberal counterparts around the country. Even that she single-handedly “saved Australia”.
Source: Liberal Party pandemic management: Exemplary — thanks, Gladys!
Listen, Victoria . . . We’re sorry, ok? A couple of months ago, Gladys Berejiklian spoke for much of the state when she said: “I fear for Victoria and I worry about what their government may do. I hope we have demonstrated to other states it is possible to manage an outbreak and not shut down a city.” Not one of us shouted her down, at least not publicly. We so assumed that in this state our systems were better than yours that we either just pitied you and your endless lockdowns, or looked down our long noses at how badly you had stuffed it up. And now look at us. We stuffed it up by not doing what you told us to do: go early, go hard.
Source: We’re sorry we looked down on you Victoria – see you on the other side of lockdown
Yes, confirmation bias is hard to overcome. If I use Gladys Berejiklian as my final example, I have to ask myself would I be upset if the premier of my state had kept their relationship with a corrupt politician a secret, failed to declare various conflicts of interest, shredded documents and removed computer files that gave information about pork-barrelling, failed to make masks mandatory because well, it’s just more rules, isn’t it, told us that there’s no real concerns about behaviour that some consider corrupt because everybody is and failed to protect koalas? Somehow I don’t think I’d be saying that they’re only human.
The Incredible Shrinking Prime Minister – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The independent hearings into one of the most controversial projects in NSW history, Santos’ coal seam gas dream for Narrabri, are wrapping up. Meanwhile, new NSW guidelines to fast-track developments look set to turn into a nightmare for community groups, writes Callum Foote.
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