Month: March 2009

Governor General demoted to Lobbyist

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Quentin Bryce will leave Australia next week for a nine-nation African visit during which she will canvass support for Australia’s bid for a Security Council seat. She will visit Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and the Seychelles from next Monday to April 3.

During her meetings with heads of state of each country, the Governor-General will stress the Rudd Government’s goal of forging closer links with Africa and mention the Security Council bid.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith yesterday strongly defended Ms Bryce’s African trip and her promotion of Australia’s UN Security Council credentials.

“When the Governor-General is travelling in foreign countries, of course from time to time, as appropriate, she will make statements that reflect government policy,” he told ABC TV’s Insiders program.

“Australian government policy is that we want to make a substantial engagement with Africa. We see that as being very importantly in our economic and social and foreign policy interests and we reflect our commitment to multilateralism by running for the Security Council. And she will make that point appropriately when she meets with the African leadership.”

What an unmitigated piece of rubbish…Engagement with Africa being very important [to] our economic and social and foreign policy interests.

Since when?

The trip is for one reason and one reason only, the ALP’s desire to have seat on the UN Security Council.

Coalition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said yesterday the Opposition had growing concerns at the strategy Kevin Rudd was pursuing for Security Council membership.

Julie Bishop says;

“Libya and Cuba and Iran are guiding the development of the agenda, which thus far names only Israel, alone among the nations of the world, as guilty of racism,”

If Australia attends the conference, one can only assume it does so to gain votes for the coveted seat on the UN and if that turns out to be the case then how much will we have compromised our reputation.

How could we fly our flag at any conference where Libya, Cuba and Iran have a say in setting the agenda when we know the chances are, once again, Israel will be lambasted as racist and all Arabs as victims.

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Politics

SASR pay debacle

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SPECIAL Air Service troopers and their families say they have been warned theyface new debts this week because of overpayments, amid continued confusion over army bungling of their pay.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has called in independent auditors to examine army pay systems, admitting he does not know whether to believe assurances from army chiefs they have stopped docking soldiers’ pay packets after a dispute about overpayment.

Accusing the Army Chiefs of lying and sending in Auditors to prove it is a big call.

I’m the first to admit the Army makes errors but I doubt very much whether the Army Chiefs would strive to hide the fact of subordinate incompetence or clerical ineptitude, particularly when Ministers and politicians are looking for someone to take the ‘hospital pass’. I personally know some of them and I do know they would not lie to a Minister of the crown to save their own career if they themselves had defaulted.

As soon as the matter was raised in the House and become public knowledge the Army would have pulled out all stops to abide by a Ministerial Direction.

If there was one.

The Generals would have spoken severely to subordinates and ranks down the chain would have audited their procedures and had them verified.

The SASR have been flogged and with frequent operational rotations they are left with little time back in Australia to requalify for their skills allowances or, in fact, qualify for new ones.

They are the guys being disadvantaged and it should be fixed NOW with some leeway afforded the veteran. After all it is difficult to re- qualify for para allowance when you are busy fighting on the ground

The immediate problem is troopers coming back from rotation and electing discharge. Their final pay calculation is a major part of their discharge or super payments and has the potential to cost them serious money and all they are guilty of his serving their country.

The whole situation should have been interred four or five months ago but like the mythical Pheonix, it keep rising from the ashes of failed promises.

As if all that isn’t bad enough we now have a Defence Minister calling Army Generals liars.

Good luck with your future relationships with the Military Joel but in the meantime you would be well advised to fight like hell for the diggers and when in doubt maybe some ex gratio payments could be in order.

After all your government is throwing money at everybody else that looks like a voter so why not give some to those demonstrably deserve it.

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Defence

Defence accepts less, ACTU wants more

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THE global financial crisis has forced the Defence Department to shelve plans to buy billions of dollars’ of military equipment, including a new $5 billion maritime surveillance system.

The economic downturn will also mean the navy will not exercise the option to acquire a fourth air warfare destroyer worth $2 billion, and could force a one-year delay in plans to spend $16 billion on 100 F-35 joint strike fighters.

While Defence is putting the final touches to its long-awaited white paper, the rapidly deteriorating global economy could dictate further delays in its publication beyond the May budget, according to senior government sources yesterday.

I have no qualms about defence carrying some of the needed cuts in expenditure but I think it should be across the board.

Not so says ACTU leader Sharron Burrow.On the same front page of The Australian that announce a tightening in defence expenditure Sharron says paid Maternity leave is still plausable

The original cost of the scheme was put at about $525million a year, with taxpayers to foot $450 million and business to cover $75 million.

I promise you, these figures are rubbery and presented to get the idea passed. It will cost a lot more and I’m sure business are just queuing up to fork out $75 m or more from their already depleted profit margins.

And I don’t know what this means.

“If indeed you can’t afford it in one hit, then talk to Australian women,” Ms Burrow said yesterday.

And say what?

Planned Defence cuts are for decades ahead so ‘phasing’ in extra paid leave doesn’t cut it.

Paid maternity leave is something the country could consider in good harvest years; not in the middle of a recession with possibly worse to come

“If it needs to be phased in over a couple of years, that’s a discussion that can be had, but don’t make women wait.”

We’re all waiting Sharron.

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Defence, Politics

Penny Wong not wong enough

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MORE than 60 community climate groups have written an open letter to Climate Change Minister Penny Wong demanding the federal government toughen its stance on greenhouse emissions.

The letter calls on the government to scrap its planned emissions trading scheme because its 5-15 per cent 2020 reduction target is “appallingly low”.

It also says there’s nothing in the government’s policy to encourage individuals to reduce emissions, because if they do it’ll give a free pass to big emitters to do nothing.

“By locking in a low target now, Australia will effectively undermine the Copenhagen UN climate process in December, betraying not only the Australian people in its duty of care, but also people and nations across the globe,” the letter from Climate Action Groups states.

It’ll be line ball about now as to how many Australian people will feel betrayed if Penny Wrong does keep up her ideological stand on Climate Change and how many will be happy if she doesn’t.

Me? I think the Government’s approach to Climate Change needs to be revisited in light of conflicting information from reliable sources and given the current state of the economy. Lets save Australia now and sort out the world when we have time to really consider all of our options.

Googling Climate Action Groups comes up with a huge mob of radical Chicken Little advocates who will take no prisoners and will only be happy when Industry is crushed and our economy stalled. Of course Nuclear power is not up for debate and some are busy drumming up support to close down Newcastle in a People’s Blockade of the World’s Biggest Coal Port on 21 March 2009.

Close down a major port for a day – there that should do it!

Idiots!

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Climate Change

A Vacuum in Beaudesert

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It could be game on for Pauline Hanson as former AFL star Warwick Capper looks set to run against her in the Queensland election.

The former Sydney Swans full forward, who lives in Surfers Paradise, will also contest the Gold Coast hinterland seat of Beaudesert at the March 21 election, the Seven Network reported on Sunday.

Please…someone tell me a real candidate is being nominated in the seat….lovely place – deserves much more.

UPDATE: Things aren’t quite as bad as they seem. Capper didn’t register in time;

“I was all ready to run but I was an hour late, so I’m not registered,” he said.

“Zoo magazine were responsible for my application, because I’m working for them, and they said they would do it for me.

“I’m a bit dirty at them.”

A bit of PR for a dubious magazine and thats all folks.

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Politics

Nine-day fortnight part of NZ’s plan

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Mr Key said his government is considering a nine-day working fortnight, with federally funding training on the tenth. He said it would help skill the workforce during the economic downturn.

“If workers are going to band together to reduce the cost on employers, to keep the entire workforce in tact, providing it’s a stable business that’s got a future, then it’s mates helping mates to keep themselves in work,” Mr Key said on ABC radio.

Makes sense…..there is most probably a tenth of their workforce over here.

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Politics
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