Thursday, January 31, 2013

Labor Has Privatised Health In South Australia (and an election or something)

Newsflash: We interrupt this blog to bring you breaking news - Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced the Federal Election will be nnnnnngh (make a snoring noise).

Even as an Anti-Wind Turbine candidate for the Senate, it's not yet 24 hours into an eight month campaign, and I'm over it already; and the Australian/Canberra media are pathetic, the majority of coverage has been about what Ms Gillard looked like, her new haircut, her glasses, etc. (just watching it now)

Granted, political parties and/or animals are always campaigning for the next election, but Labor have clearly been 'pre-campaigning' for the 2013 campaign, eg, slashing services with promises of all these things they will effectively then re-instigate in 2014; the Ms Nova Perris issue, etc.

The announcement of the election is purely self-serving, a desperate act by a doomed government, lurching from stunt to spin and back again to try and distract from where we are as a nation, and offers the government multiple layers of dis-association from what they have done to take us there; eg, 'we don't need to answer questions about what we've done, look at what we say we're going to do'.

I understand that having declared the election, the government can now officially (under electoral laws) use tax-payers money to advertise itself, etc, and they have a definable propensity (strong tendency to the point of habit) for just lying; the Labor party cannot be trusted on any single thing they say or do.

By the time it gets here, most people will be so frazzled, so over it, the election will be a farce based on the principle of "Just make it stop"; how does that best serve democratic process?

We now return you to normal services...Health Services in South Australia have been privatised by the Labor state government - Despite denials by ministers John Hill and Jack Snelling, Labor has privatised health by entering into a contract with a private company to build the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. 

The vast majority of the state's health budget must/will be committed to the new RAH, which John Hill describes as "a hospital for all South Australians"; a hospital that must be operated to make a profit for that company.

Jack Snelling, as this weeks Health Minister, has just announced that he must immediately find savings in health of $900 million plus (let's make it a billion; just between friends).

I note that Jack Snelling has given guarantees about the future of Keith Hospital if it joins Country Health SA, but does not mention Bordertown Hospital.

I believe that if  Keith Hospital joins SA Health, the Labor government will immediately argue that 2 hospitals only 30kms apart are excessive and un-affordable; goodbye Bordertown Hospital; I very much hope to be very wrong.

Regardless, the new RAH will get exactly the funding it needs to maintain that contracted profit margin and those 'savings' will come from elsewhere, other hospitals, regional centres, etc.

The state's entire health system will be run for the next 35 years (I would suggest is already being run) to ensure a profit for a private company; that is privatising health.
(After 35 years we will then be 'given back' our own hospital.)

It is exactly that obvious, that simple: private profit = privatisation.

When this allegation was put to John Hill recently (on ABC Radio) he flatly denied it but did not address the various points.

Nobody in Mt Gambier needs to be told about the broad lack of health services and/or professionals  (no offence to all those workers, specialists, etc, caught in the middle) that forces people to attend Millicent, Portland, etc, and with the health system contractually focussed on the RAH it will get worse. 

Other services have already been privatised, eg, mental health services, which leads nicely to;

Tomorrow: My Experience of Mental Health Services in Mt Gambier.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The Child Abuse Royal Commission - Why It Will Fail

There are 3 main reasons that the Commission must and therefore will fail.

Point 1)   It is not malicious, hysterical, or paranoid to state that no government has ever called a Royal Commission without knowing what the outcomes will be.

I and other parents have given written submissions, personal testimony, reams of documents, etc, to a state committee investigation into Sexual Assault Conviction Rates (Oct 2004), the Teachers Registration Board (March 2003-Nov 2004), and the subsequent Statutory Authorities Review Committee hearing into the TRB (Sept 2007-July 2011), and the Mullighan Inquiry (Feb 2005- 2008).

Each time the people involved have misrepresented our evidence, allegations, etc, in complying with the cover-up of the abuse and/or the failures of their colleagues.

When Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the Royal Commission, she specifically identified those who had "averted their eyes" or committed "acts of ommission", and therefore had failed children and were complicit in the abuse and the cover-up of that abuse.

MP Patrick Secker wrote to her on parents behalf (2007/08) about Child Abuse issues at St Martins Lutheran School, Mt Gambier, and Ms Gillard (then Education Minister) wrote back saying it was 'a state matter for the state to resolve'.

I wrote to Ms Gillard at the same time, explaining that 'the state' was clearly directing the cover-up, eg, then AG Michael Atkinson censoring Child Protection Service reports before release; Mike Rann and Jay Weatherill officially stopped Comm Mullighan investigating the St Martins issue; MP Rory McEwen attacking us in the media; etc.   (see other blogs)

I also made the point to the then Education Minister that this was a national issue not a state issue because the Lutherans operate schools nationally from their headquarters in Adelaide, and Comm Mullighan and Frida Briggs had told us parents that the teacher was working again in Victoria.

In short, the Rann Labor state government had clearly failed (deliberately and/or through incompetence) to address what was clearly a national issue anyway.

Ms Gillard's office refused me any response, but her letter to Mr Secker directs him (us parents) back to the Rann state government, the people she knew were complicit in and ultimately responsible for the cover-up, and therefore;

Point 2)   Ms Gillard is guilty by her own definition of being complicit in the cover-up of the abuse of children at St Martins Lutheran School (since a teacher's removal in 2002 - see blogs re Child Protection)

Julia Gillard claims the Royal Commission will target people in authority like her close personal friends and colleagues Mike Rann, Jay Weatherill, Micheal Atkinson, etc, the people who helped put her there, whom she knows are complicit in covering up the abuse of children; it's just not going to happen. 

Like every police service in the country, the Queensland police should be scrutinised about their multiple failures across decades, not given a position on the Commission (former QPS Comm Mr Atkinson).

The media in South Australia, and particularly in Mt Gambier, know what has happened re St Martins, and are either corrupt or compliant, completely refusing to acknowledge the issue that has definably played a role in the creation of the Royal Commission; the ABC TV is just ignoring the issue despite my attempts to contact them.

Again, why do the ABC go over and over the same stories re the Catholics, but won't ask the Lutherans one single question?

Point 3)   Julia Gillard still intends to allow religious organisations exemptions from Anti-Discrimination Laws to legally discriminate against gay people (amongst others) and also to keep the 'sanctity of the confessional'.

For decades politicians, police, etc, have just stood back and watch it all happen; religious and other organisations have operated outside the law with abject unaccountability and it has resulted in the wholesale abuse of generations of Australian children.

So what is suddenly going to change now?

Julia Gillard is responding to public activism and outrage, not at least for self-preservation; she is not being pro-active, and I cannot see that there is any genuine desire to address this issue.

Tomorrow: Labor Has Privatised Health Services in South Australia

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The CFS Strategy for Combatting Turbine Fires - RUN AWAY

As per previous blog, apologies to those whom risk their lives on behalf of our communities; I’ve seen several large bush fires but never fought one, and I’m not in the CFS but I have done burn-offs with the CFS and Parks SA and it is hard, dirty, scary work.
Every effort must be made to protect those on the fire grounds, driving tankers, etc; and particularly those who pilot various helicopters, spotter planes and water bombers that are considered to be vital in fighting fires.

For example, the NSW Rural Fire Service: "Aircraft are one of the most essential tools of the Rural Fire Service." (their website)
Every summer the arrival of aircraft in fire prone areas generates numerous media items about how pleased the community is that this critical arm of fire-fighting is there to protect them; how aircraft provide critical support to ground crews to the extent that crews will not/cannot be deployed without appropriate air support; etc, etc.
 Aircraft are accepted across the planet as vital, except in South Australia.

In SA, the Labor government's pro-Wind Turbine corruption has infiltrated and compromised every department, every authority, up to and including the heads of the Country Fire Service.  
In response to concerns from Yorke Peninsula residents re the 200 turbine Ceres project, Gregg Nettleton, Chief Officer SA CFS, officially states:
“Fire fighting operations are sometimes assisted by water bombing aircraft and/or earthmoving plant and equipment.”
“While aircraft are an effective capability where favourable operating conditions exist, they do not and cannot replace ground-based crews. In some situations aircraft cannot be deployed due to adverse weather conditions, adverse terrain or obstructions that prevent safe flying environments.”
“Where vertical obstructions exist, such as power lines, radio transmission towers, tall trees and wind turbines, aircraft operations are risk assessed before water bombing operations commence. In some circumstances aircraft will not be utilised because risk caused by vertical obstructions exceed safe operating conditions.”
“However, it is not envisaged [that turbine] development would preclude the use of ground based capabilities to combat a fire in that area.”
This last statement is a falsehood; the CFS strategy for fighting fires in turbines, as described in the Border Watch newspaper (Dec 2012), is to stand over a kilometre away and let them burn out because they cannot combat the fire and it's too dangerous to be closer; a fire in or near a turbine means nobody can get near it to fight it.

Mr Nettleton is prepared to repeatedly misrepresent facts to the point of lies; eg, fighting fire in terrain in-accesible to ground crews is one of the primary advantages of aircraft, not "...they do not and cannot replace ground based crews."

He states that the CFS 'know nothing' about the Ceres project, but that there won't be any problems; there aren't any "vertical obstructions" taller than turbine towers, eg, how many 150m high trees are there in SA; etc,etc; it is all nonsense.

Pilots tell the CFS where they'll fly, not vice versa, and they won't fly near turbines.

On ABC radio Mount Gambier (Dec 2012) David Pearce, Manager, SA CFS Aviation Service stated outright that water bombing was only a minor part of fire fighting and relative to turbines: “We’ll just fly round them.”
How, therefore, do the CFS plan to fight a fire in a Turbine Development like Ceres, Yorke Peninsula, where 200 turbines, 600m apart, covering 18km2 will exclude air support and ground crews attending a fire anywhere in that area?
Water bombers, spotter planes etc. are absolutely critical in providing intelligence on fire behaviour and support to ground crews, and are utilised specifically to combat fires in terrain that ground crews cannot access.

It is absolutely unacceptable that the highly paid heads of such a vital service, with the lives of thousands of un-paid volunteers at risk, are prepared to pursue their own personal agendas via those positions by participating in the current propaganda campaign to deny and dismiss any concerns or opposition. 

Why have they  chosen to engage in this pro Wind Turbine corruption?

Mr Nettleton and Mr Pearce have demonstrated their clear support for the state government and the Wind Turbines, and that they are not fit and appropriate people to be at the head of the Country Fire Service, and I call on them to resign.

They are not making objective statements that reflect the truth; to what degree does this corruption compromise their decisions overall, and at what point are crews put at risk?

I believe that their public statements show that they are already fundamentally compromised and therefore that point, crews at risk, has been reached.

Again, Mr Nettleton and Mr Pearce, I call on you to do the honourable thing, and take your corruption where it is less likely to jeopardise the safety of volunteers and communities.

Tomorrow: The Child Abuse Royal Commission - Why It Will Fail

Monday, January 28, 2013

Flogging a Dead Cow II: It's Still Not Getting Up

There's an old 'hippyism' that vegetarians love: the image of a cloven hooved devil stems from our understanding of the negative environmental impacts of hooved creatures, particularly in the very ancient and fragile Australian landscape.

This is one of many issues around the environment and food production in Australia to be covered in future blogs like One Coat of Arms with Chips, Thanks: Saving Australia By Eating It, protecting Australia by eating roos, emus, etc, and particularly ferals like camel, goat, etc.

Given discussions (more blogs) on land clearing and usage, and methane, etc, and lactose intolerance and possible allergies, etc, etc, if we have a dairy industry, then it is ideally suited to the South East, or vice versa, eg, relatively stable climate and environment, good ground water (emergency back-up), etc.

My minimal personal dairy intake (coffee and occasional cheesecake) is not making any dairy farmer rich but still relies on them, and I've never owned and/or worked in a dairy, but I know enough people who have and/or do to understand the basic issues, and like many people I get upset if I miss the Country Hour on ABC Radio.

Even if your operation is large enough that you can employ managers, etc, dairy farming is a wholly consuming occupation that requires a little bit more than trotting them little doggies in and out the shed twice a day; pasture health, parasite control, husbandry, machinery maintenance, staff rosters, prices and distribution, etc.

A similar regime can be applied to other products, eg, citrus; oranges don't just grow on trees, they require full-time attention - they don't plant, water, harvest, and then roll themselves onto supermarket shelves.

Orange juice is a case study in the inherent lunacy of commitment to Free Trade rules that make Australian producers vulnerable to often heavily subsidised imports, with obvious and predictable results; the collapse of Australian producers, eg, the impacts of imported subsidised Indonesian toilet tissue on local producers.

I don't need to explain what is happening with 'milk' because it has been thoroughly covered if you're of a mind to see it; like many industries/aspects of food production, the major supermarkets effectively control the entire process, dictating milk prices at the 'farm gate', often paying at or even below cost to help subsidise suburban price wars, petrol vouchers, and fly-buy cards.

Unfortunately, the reality of what is happening across regional South Australia is life for those people (us), but a brief news item on page 17 of the Advertiser that Adelaide skips over, eg, thousands travel for forestry protests and there was literally one paragraph.

There is a definable agenda to keep Adelaide blissfully ignorant of what is happening, of what is being done to regional South Australia to pay for Adelaide, eg, again, the forestry sale is to pay for the Adelaide Oval - literally selling a lung to pay for a face-lift. 

I can't help feeling that we do a great dis-service to our farmers with un-realistic notions of stoicism partly forced on them by our commitment to the ideal that they are tougher than us 'metro-sexuals', and can and therefore should just deal with it all; its grossly unfair and unrealistic.

Is this template of stoicism, rooted as it is in the often very harsh realities of rural existence, a 'guilt sink' for self-indulgent suburbanites like me (there I said it) so that we can conveniently stuff our faces completely isolated from the stresses of food production?

I hesitate to suggest that we should all go out and hug a farmer today, but as many commentators like Dick Smith identify, responsible and educated food purchasing can achieve a lot; reach out and hug an 'Aussie' farmer with your purchase choices.

It is not jingoistic or nationalistic to embrace the reality that buying Australian products works for Australia on many levels, eg, creates employment whilst producing food with hopefully stringent environmental and health regulations close to where it is used.

It is obvious; grow what you can (that's several blogs) and buy seasonal produce sourced as locally as possible. Why are we being sold (and obviously buying) Peruvian asparagus in Mt Gambier?

It's a little bit difficult when your local supermarket stocks only 'homebranded' corn from Thailand or 'New Zealand corn' that is actually bulk shipped to NZ from Thailand, China, etc, then packaged in NZ so that it can be called 'Produce of NZ'. 

That is decision making by the supermarkets that conflicts with claims that there are motivators other than profit; that they care about 'Aussie farmers' as being part of a group effort.

Try to buy what you know helps those around you; charity begins at home, but supporting our farmers is far from charity, it is acknowledging often very hard work in an often very hostile marketplace.

Tomorrow: The CFS Strategy for Combatting Turbine Fires - RUN AWAY! 
(with attached apology to those on the firelines, tankers, etc; this is a direct attack on those individuals within the CFS whom feel it is appropriate to go on the ABC and say 'water bombers are un-important and we'll just fly round turbines' whilst stating CFS policy is 'to stand way back (1.5km?) and let it burn out because we can't put them out and its too dangerous to get closer' - disgraceful.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

ABC Radio: Scone Recipes and Wind Turbine Infommercials

Hi, I'm Nick Fletcher. You might know me from such Border Watch articles as;
          "Libs claim Rann neglected parents"     (Feb 22 2006- re St Martins Child Abuse issue)
          "Broadcaster admits imbalance"    (March 19 2010-re state election)
          and "Councillor cleared of alleged misconduct after investigation."      (July 24 2012)
all soon to be blogs.

Credit where due, ABC Radio South East and The Border Watch newspaper are the only media outlets in the country that have given any time to the ongoing issue of child abuse at St Martins Lutheran School, Mt Gambier, and in that context, a very genuine thankyou.

However, parents have always had to ask for the chance to address the things that people were saying about us and/or the issue, eg, MP Rory McEwen on the front page of the Border Watch (06/05/05);
          "...(the teacher) has actually been hounded by a couple of people. This is a group of people
           who actually subscribe by the conspiracy that everything is corrupt."
or WIN TV (March 2006); "I've reported them (us parents) to the Police Commissioner"

Parents organised Channel 10 Melbourne (Luke Waters- interviews in my home) to run a St Martins story in January 2005, in which headmaster John Alexander repeatedly denied telling parents to not go to police.

Within 3 days The Advertiser (Adelaide) ran a pro-Lutheran story dismissing the issue and then flatly refused, despite weeks of negotiations and providing documents, etc, to print one single word of our 'version' because it conflicted with their support for the Lutherans.

I have provided Simon Royal, Patrick Emmett, Stateline, 7.30, Lateline, Four Corners, et al, with the extensive documentation, the conclusive proof that abuse did occur and that authorities have grossly failed to the extent that that failure is a cover-up.

On November 12 2012, Mr Alan Atkinson, Day Editor, Adelaide ABC, emailed me;
          "I think the best course of action is to forward your notes to Sally Neighbour,
           the executive producer of the national 7.30 program, and Suzanne Smith who works
           for Lateline. Both have a keen interest in matters of school and church abuse...I found
           your story compelling...The other parent who rang, (name), more than backed up your
           concerns and frustrations and also sounded extremely credible."

And what has happened since? Absolutely nothing; and now not one of these people and/or programs will even acknowledge my emails, phonecalls, etc.

ABC TV Australia wide flatly refuse to touch the St Martins issue. Why?

But I digress; ABC Radio South East, always mired in local politics and personal allegiances and therefore fundamentally corrupted, has become increasingly like a morning 'lifestyle' program, where issues like Wind Turbines are presented more like infommercials that news or current affairs.

Time and again Turbine company representatives, or Mr Marsh from the self-titled Clean Energy Council (a turbine lobby group), or rank hacks like Simon Chapman (an alleged professor), or even just anonymous callers supporting turbines and denegrating opponents, are given extensive air-time to make unsubstantiated claims, accusations, and/or denials in a relentless propaganda campaign.

Opponents like myself, well versed in the factual realities of such lies are seldom given more than a few moments to try and address the multiple deceits being committed in the name of Wind Turbines, and often only get messages read out, or worse, simply turned away.

For example, the ABC ran a Turbine story in August 2012 that deserves its own blog (soon to come) because it is a case study in the above; massively biased, irresponsible, even flippant coverage of such a major issue.

There are many people at the ABC who are very genuine and hard working and there are numerous issues that would not get any coverage, anywhere, if it were not for 'The Country Hour', 'Four Corners', ABC Radio Pt Pirie, etc; the ABC is fundamentally important to the dissemination of balanced, informed commentary and critical journalism in Australia.

It is a huge responsibility and in many respects a privilege.

From prize winning scones to prostate exams, from questionable songs to political jams, from the high arts to the impact of cows' farts, god save the ABC, because nothing will save the Governor-General...no, wait, sorry, I went all Gough there for a moment.

Perhaps I expect too much on occasion, but I do not think it is unfair to expect the best from the ABC, and that is not what is happening on the Turbine issue (amongst others); more posts to come on this.

Tomorrow: Flogging A Dead Cow II 

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Flogging A Dead Cow: The Milk Pricing Scandal

The title also unpleasantly describes issues about live cattle/sheep exports, which is potentially part of the same problem/agenda, but that is for another blog.

Milk pricing, forestry sales, toilet paper and the Coral Sea are all issues that are decided by the Australian governments' obsession with the Free Trade rules and environmental restrictions that other countries all but ignore.

Journey from a dairy near Allendale East where farmers are receiving below subsistence rates for their milk; through forests sold off to pay for the Adelaide Oval; past a mill closed because of dumped imported subsidised toilet paper; past a foreign owned coal mine that was farmland; and on out into the Coral Sea where self-imposed restrictions will see Australians buying fish from countries accessing fisheries we have abandoned for 'environmental issues'.

These are only some of the issues that indicate that the Labor Party, state and federal, have not just abandoned regional Australia, but are acting deliberately to deliver it up to big business interests and often foreign ownership.

The Labor Party is trying to dismantle regional Australia by making it literally so unpleasant, so under-serviced, so over-taxed, so fundamentally crippled by the Free Trade lunacy that we must comply with but nobody else does, etc, etc.

In South Australia, the South East does not even appear in tourism literature, and turbine restrictions to protect 'visual amenity and tourism' are specifically not applicable; health services continue to decline, eg, 4 year dental waiting lists; forestry jobs sold off for an oval; etc, etc.

The major supermarkets are complicit, particularly with milk pricing, and have long sought to control the entire process and reap all of the profits without taking any of the responsibility; and if they bankrupt farmers then that just means nice cheap farms for sale.

As far as the big 2 are concerned there are 2 kinds of cattle; those that give milk and those that buy it.

When the Queensland banana industry was literally flattened by Cyclone Yazi the responsible thing to do would be subsidise bananas partly at the farmgate and again at the checkout, helping consumers to afford a relative staple and therefore encouraging sales and therefore also helping the farmers through the crisis.

But no, they have a milk war instead; or was it a bread war; or was it a ...; you get the drift.

Inner-city consumers, blinded to the realities of regional issues and mired in middle-class 'green psuedo-activism', plod along behind the various campaigns that explain to them why everything, mining included, is more important that farmers and food production.

To be continued; apologies for short blog; technology problems for last 24 hrs.

Tomorrow: ABC Radio; Scone Recipes and Wind Turbine Infommercials.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Grant District Council need Wind Turbine Viagra; They just can't get them up.

That sounds like a snide gouge at the Grant District Council because that's exactly what it is; I'm a little bit sick and tired of being lied to by Mayor Richard Sage, and by the extraordinary behaviour of the Council in general.

As per my previous blog, at the Wind Turbine meeting (Dec 2011, Casadio Pk, Mt Gambier) Richard Sage repeatedly criticised the Development Plan Amendments for "completely" removing Council from the process.

Within a fortnight, Grant District Council lodged it's official submission, with then CEO Russell Peates signature, that fully supports the DPA.

I believe that Mayor Richard Sage's 'performance' at that meeting was deliberately done to give everyone there the clear impression that Council opposed the DPA, knowing full well that he was about to lodge the submission that fully supports it; a deceit committed not least of all to avoid any real scrutiny at the meeting.

Support of the Development Plan Amendments (2011) by the Grant District Council, is an absolute betrayal of the ratepayers, the people, for whom Council is meant to act.

The Allendale East Acciona Wind Turbine project deserves a blog site all its own to do justice to the plethora of issues that culminated with Council in court spending rate-payers money to try and help Acciona force the turbines literally right on top of the township; and losing; epic fail!

In a state so rabidly, corruptly biased toward Wind Turbines, Acciona and Grant District Council could not beat one stubborn resident (no offence to the many others involved; you know what I mean) because the project was so obviously, grossly in-appropriate. (there will be a blog re Acciona/Allendale soon)

Council's conduct at the failed Green Point site will be covered in a separate blog as well; what is the reality of the multiple re-approvals and changes to development applications; why developers really pulled the plug (inferior grid infrastruture), etc.

Mr Sage has offered his own version of this developments' failure, but regardless of why, epic fail 2!

If it weren't so serious it would be absolutely hilarious, but just exactly how incompetent are the Grant District Council that they cannot even get 3 turbines at Green Point erected.

Or, are DC Grant highly successful turbine 'fifth columnists' (people who claim to support but seek to undermine and betray) who hide their opposition behind a public display of absolute support.

Again, sounds snide, but just how have DC Grant managed to so comprehensively stuff up these 2 projects, particularly in South Australia, and exactly what has it cost ratepayers?

Mr Sage has given 4 distinctly different accounts of the recent expansion and runway upgrade of the Mt Gambier Airport;
1) Originally it was for tourism - 'bigger planes means more tourists';
2) Then when promoting a private Fly In, Fly Out scheme it became 'this is why we did the runway';
3) Then 'we sat down one day and decided to do the runway to help tourism and FIFO';
4) Then most recently, the complete reverse - 'we did the runway, then over lunch discussed what to do with it and this is what we came up with'.

These statements were made through the local media, eg, ABC Radio, and despite my various attempts, no-one has held Mr Sage to account.

Obviously Mr Sage is not the only person in politics who is capable of  being deceitful, but on the issues above he has been very deliberate and very obvious.

Tomorrow: Flogging A Dead Cow - The Milk Pricing Scandal

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Flouridation: Tooth Decay vs Truth Decay

I am not a doctor or a dentist, so as with any health issue, seek professional advice from a professional; as brilliantly written, witty, and insightful as this blog might be, it is only a blog, get professional advice.

A respected senior dentist in Mt Gambier (for whom I have a great deal of personal respect because of his conduct as a person, not just his good dentistry) is an advocate for flouridation; we have briefly discussed it.

His opinion alone has made me recently review my position as an 'anti-flouridation' supporter, but I remain un-convinced as to the need for flouridation, and all of my concerns remain around potential negative health and environmental impacts. 

In late 2009 (whilst running as an Independent candidate at the March 2010 state election) I was approached by anti-flouride campaigners and asked to look at their concerns.

I indicated that I supported flouridation, but agreed only because it seemed the right thing to do in terms of an appropriate democratic process; consider all issues objectively.

It took me only a few hours on sites like the World Health Organisation to effectively reverse my position of support, and I have repeatedly, publicly apologised to people like Sharon Stafford and Alex Young and congratulated them for their efforts.

The 6,600 signatures (many of them gathered on election day March 2010) on the official  'Give us a Choice' (my words) petition, is a massive statement from the community that at the very least we wanted the right to choose about flouridation; in Adelaide that percentage of the electorate signing a petition would be just over 200,000 signatures

Now the member for Mt Gambier, Don Pegler repeatedly, publicly stated (2009-March 2010) his personal support for flouridation would not stop him supporting the will of the people, but he simply handed the petition to Mike Rann and did not use the specifically allotted parliamentary time to say one single word about the petition.

My Concerns:

That nothing should be added to a water supply that is not absolutely necessary, eg, chlorine which is added to ensure clean, disease free water.

By comparison, flouride is added to (allegedly) address a medical issue, dental health; this clearly defines that flouridation is medication applied via the water supply.

I say allegedly because I do not understand how a topical medication that is in contact with the 'affected area' (the teeth) for only a brief moment (swallowing) can be effective.

What happens in the body, organs, bones, even the brain, once the flouride goes past the teeth are all concerns that are raised on the World Health Organisation site, amongst others.

Even the National Medical Health Research Council, which supports flouridation, has information on their website about negative issues with flouridation.

There are many other issues, eg, where the 'flouride' is sourced; it's listing as a poison; the vast amounts that end up in the environment via garden watering, toilet flushing, etc, etc; that I will cover in a future post, and I encourage people to investigate for themselves.

Good dental health is vital and can be easily achieved by re-instating mobile in-school dental services that give children regular, early, and convenient dental maintenance that also provides extensive base level experience for the trainee dentists who can staff this service (offer staff reduced HECS debts, etc, as incentive to travel the state); anything serious gets referred to a local dentist under government funding; it really is that simple.

Truth decay is an old joke used by anti-flouridation people to summarise the 'propaganda campaign' of flouride proponents like the South Australian state government.

The federal government's axing of the Enhanced Dental Care Scheme, with promises of a new, better system in 2 years time (2014), is an act of un-mitigated political bastardry; destroying a scheme that has drastically improved the dental health of many thousands of Australians, myself included, in pursuit of an un-achievable surplus.

In Mt Gambier, water flouridation defines the arrogance, incompetence, and deceits of the Rann/Weatherill government, particularly John Hill, and the failure that is alleged Independent Don Pegler, elected to parliament on Labor preferences and a serial apologist for the Labor party.

Tomorrow: Grant District Council needs Wind Turbine Viagra; They just can't get them up.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Lance Armstrong's mia culpa; about as genuine as the Catholic Church's internal inquiry into Father 'F'

For many people, there are many things in life that are more important than bicycle races, eg, the safety and welfare of children.

Who really won and did or didn't they cheat, and is everyone else cheating as well, and does that make it not cheating, and the overall credibility of the sport, etc, etc, are all things for someone elses blog.

Given the exposure of  institutionalised (gambling) corruption in parts of world cricket, do the Australian selectors have a lazy fiver on Sri Lanka? It would explain a lot.    (yes, that is a joke, not an accusation)

It is the circumstances and nature of Lance Armstrong's 'confession and apology' that indicate it is not an act of genuine contrition, but one of self promotion and self-interest; even his staunchest supporters are sceptical.

For years he has flat out lied to (and about) his many accusers, causing massive damage to many peoples careers and personal lives, and then when it suits him, he half confesses to everything that is already known; this is not mia culpa, this is mia, mia ,mia.   (not 'me done bad, this is me, me, me')

What the Catholic Church has done with the Father 'F' case is exactly 'mia, mia, mia'.

Everything that the Catholic Church has done to protect itself in repeatedly moving father 'F' from parish to parish, for decades, knowing full well that he was abusing children, indeed because he was abusing children, has now been exposed and dissected repeatedly through the main stream media, eg, ABC news, Four Corners, etc.

Even when under intense scrutiny for the gross failures and self-serving nature of it's internal investigation processes, the Catholic Church has chosen, and been allowed, to run yet another internal investigation.

Outside of the Catholic Church, that Inquiry has no credibility; it is a farce.

When exposed in the national media, when confronted with the horrific reality of what they have deliberately done, the Church investigates itself, confesses to everything that is already known, and then clears itself of any wrong-doing, saying 'oh, gee whiz, yes we did make some mistakes, but they were perfectly understandable, and it definitely isn't a cover-up' (paraphrase).
       
How is it that these people are allowed by police, legislators, etc, to continually self-investigate, particularly when they have been proven to cover-up the gross abuse of children to protect the perpetrators and the Catholic Church?

 It is an absolute disgrace.

Recent exemptions from Anti-Discrimination Laws for religious institutions, eg, 'we don't like gays so we want to discriminate against them', show that the Gillard Labour government has no genuine intent on issues of equality and accountability within religious organisations.

This reality casts a long shadow over the Child Abuse Royal Commission; if the government is so dis-ingenuous about holding these institutions to account, then why will the Royal Commission be any different?

The Catholic Church has completely reneged on the privilege of self-regulation, abused that power to protect child abusers, and yet they are still allowed to hide their criminality via structures like 'the sanctity of the confessional'; this is simply unacceptable, and they ain't Robinson Crusoe.

Until recently the Lutheran Church used their own internal 'A Safe Place For All' policy.

At an August 2005 meeting with Child Abuse Commissioner Ted Mullighan at DeGaris Chambers, Mt Gambier, this 'policy' was described to me, other parents, and Comm Mullighan, by DeGaris lawyers, as "bizarre" and "openly contradicting Mandatory Notification laws".

I note that many religious organisations (including the Lutherans) have moved to something called the Childsafe program, which allows these organisations to say 'yes, we have a program in place' but allows them to remain completely un-accountable under the law.

After a series of meetings with Comm Mullighan (starting Feb 2005) about the June 2002 removal of a teacher amid allegations of child abuse at St Martins Lutheran School, C Mullighan advised parents to petition Premier Mike Rann to have St Martins included officially in his Inquiry.

Four days before the Royal Commission was suddenly announced (Nov 2012), I provided Mike Rann's and Jay Weatherill's (Education minister) written refusals to the above request (2006), along with MP Patrick Secker's letters (2007) to then federal Education minister Julia Gillard. and her dismissive response ("it's a state issue"), to WIN TV, ABC Radio SE, and The Border Watch.

And the response; nothing.

I have provided the Mt Gambier media, and the ABC Adelaide, with irrefutable written proof that Mike Rann, Jay Weatherill, and Julia Gillard are absolutely aware of the abject failures of the Lutheran Church and South Australian authorities relative to abuse at St Martins, and by the Prime Ministers own definition, they are all complicit in this failure by "averting their eyes" ; and nothing.

Why are Four Corners, etc, all over the Catholics, but flatly refuse to ask the Lutherans a single question about St Martins?

If you're having trouble with any part of this, ring the ABC, etc, and ask them; let me know the response.

The St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse issue will be a regular feature on this blog; it's what drove me into politics, so blame them.  (ha, ha)

Tomorrow: Flouridation - Tooth Decay vs Truth Decay













Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Wind Turbines: Responsible, Renewable Energy or a Rort Looking for Somewhere to Happen?

At the 2013 federal election I intend to run as an Independent Senate candidate specifically in opposition to Wind Turbine development; Vote 1 for the Opposition to Wind Turbine Fascism (OWTF) candidate.

The OWTF is a vaguely humourous title for a devastatingly critical issue; sometimes if you don't laugh you cry.

Please do not mistake my sense of humour for a lack of commitment; my commitment to this issue is absolute; I am furious about the suffering being deliberately visited on regional SA to sure up marginal seats in Adelaide; turbines are just one issue.

The Maquarie Dictionary defines Fascism as a "governmental system with strong centralised power, permitting no opposition or criticism"; permitting no opposition.

I don't care whether it's about Wind Turbines or bouncy castles, when a government legislates to deny citizens access to the courts, denies the ability to oppose, that is Fascism.

The Wind Turbine Development Plan Amendments October 2011 deny citizens any opportunity to oppose Wind Turbines, and former Premier Mike Rann's behaviour is definitively that of a Fascist dictator. 

On Tuesday June 15th I travelled the 250kms round trip to the Cape Bridgewater Turbine site and Portland (Vic) to attend a public meeting about Turbine noise issues, and spoke from the floor, repeatedly describing what was happening in South Australia as Fascism, and received loud applause.

From the front page of the Portland Observer (15/06/2012), under Sound advice at wind farm forum;
          "In response to a passionate question from a Mt Gambier resident worried about new
           South Australian planning appeal rules, Mr Crockett said he agreed with those
           concerns and did not support the laws, noting they were too restrictive in curbing
           the rights of residents to appeal wind farm site decisions."

Mr Lane Crockett, the general manager of Pacific Hydro, openly acknowledged the reality of the DPA, and his comments show that developers are absolutely aware of the issue, but that has not stopped them submitting development applications.   

The October 2012 DPA changes legislate to remove the only possible legal challenge, visual amenity, by setting that at 1km from adjacent homes.

If the turbines are 1001m from your home you cannot oppose them at any stage, and there is no grounds for appeal in the Environment, Resource, and Development Court.

In late 2011 there was a state government information session in Mount Gambier about the Development Plan Amendments.

Mayor Richard Sage (District Council of Grant) spoke from the floor, repeatedly stating that the DPA removed development decisions from Council's control; he clearly opposed the DPA.

Within weeks, the DC of Grant lodged its official submission that fully supports the DPA.

DC of Grant has ignored written requests for an explanation as to why Mayor Sage openly opposed the DPA at a public meeting, but Council's submission with CEO Russell Peates name on it, officially supports it.

South East Councils have completely betrayed their citizens by supporting the DPA; Mt Gambier Council didn't even do a submission, which indicates tacit support for the DPA.

Other issues to be covered in future posts:

Subsidies - taxpayers paying companies massive 'renewable subsidies' just for having turbine towers  
                   erected regardless of output;
Reliability - any power generation reliant on weather is fundamentally un-reliable; when the wind
                    doesn't blow in SA we will import electricity from brown coal fired plants in Victoria;
Economics - even in ideal conditions, without subsidies turbines are totally un-economic and will
                    never be 'self-funding';
                   - 'poles and wires' is in reality taxpayers paying for turbine related infrastructure, largely to
                     export electricity to the Eastern states (or import, as above);
Development - the de-valuing of land and severe restrictions placed on development of adjacent non-
                        host properties, etc; 
Environment - the Environmental Protection Agency is a fundamental joke, completely under the control
                       of the state government, eg, Mia Handshin's appointment as head of the EPA;
                    - development approvals acknowledge that turbines are slaughter zones for birds,
                       particularly raptors (eagles, etc), eg, the Millicent turbines are approved to smash over
                       800 Ibis out of the air every year, described by the EPA as 'environmental interactions';
Health - eg, the issue of low frequency noise is not even acknowledged but the SA state government;
Fire fighting - the CFS's official strategy for fighting fires in turbine towers is to stand well back (at
                       least 1km) and let it burn out (seriously) because they have no way of fighting the fire
                       and it is too dangerous to stand any closer;
                    - ridiculous statements made on ABC Radio (Dec 2012) by the CFS's Aviation Service
                      manager David Pearce that water-bombing is not an important part of fighting fires and
                      that they can just 'fly round turbines like powerlines'; 
Propaganda - the relentless propaganda campaign being run by turbine proponents in a deliberate
                      attempt to undermine opposition.

This last point is possibly the most critical, because anyone identifying as an anti-turbine activist, let alone a political candidate, will/must be subjected to a push-back campaign based on character assassination.

Developers and proponents cannot afford to engage in a genuine factual debate on any single issue because they will lose.

This situation must be addressed and I have no character to assassinate; no reputation to be lost; I am nobodies idea of a mainstream politician, but I am wholly committed to the fight.

Tomorrow: Lance Armstrong's mia culpa; about as genuine as the Catholic Church's internal inquiry into Father 'F'.















Monday, January 21, 2013

The Mount Gambier Independent

Welcome to the inaugural edition of  The Mount Gambier Independent, a genuinely independent daily online news service created to address the imbalances, biases, and ommisions of a local media completely compromised by vested interests and personal allegiances.

For example; The Border Watch newspaper's biased pro-Don Pegler coverage of the 2010 state election, where Liberal candidate Steve Perryman was systematically demonised whilst Sandra Morello was printing  Mr Pegler's verbatim press releases (written by her husband former BW Editor Frank Morello) as genuine news items under her byline.

This was dismissd by the powerless, pointless Press Council as perfectly appropriate; 'it's their paper, they can print what they like', and Sandra Morello is still senior journalist at The Border Watch.

None of the local media hold former MP Rory McEwen to account for his involvement in major issues as a front bench minister (2002-10) in the Rann Labour state government, eg, the Forestry Sale, ongoing allegations of child abuse cover-up at a local school, etc.

Even ABC Radio is compromised; recent interviews have been vehicles for Rory's self-congratulation but not one word about the above issues.

There is barely any genuine journalism in Mt Gambier and no investigative journalism; there is only reporting and then only to a very specific agenda.

More concerning is the abject failure of our elected officials to act for the best interests of the community.

The Labour state government has lied through it's collective teeth at every stage of the Forestry Sale process and has effectively sold the South East; and their conduct on the Wind Turbine issue is definably anti-democratic, and openly biased against regional South Australia, particularly the South East.

The Liberal party seem to just sit there; they are a pointless failure.

Mount Gambier City Council and the District Council of Grant have not just failed, not just abandoned, but in many ways betrayed their ratepayers with Planning and Development decisions mired in self-interest, eg, the Penola Rd zoning debacle that pushed Bunnings to Millicent Rd (etc); the Wind Turbine issue; the Main Corner cost disaster; the Rail Land wasteland and/bus shelter fiasco; etc.

At what point does 'debacle, disaster and fiasco' stop being just appropriate processes corrupted by incompetence, and become outright corruption?

Time and again Mt Gambier City Council refuses to engage with essential and popular public projects like the covered swimming pool, tennis courts, Rail lands park and central bus terminus, funding public bus services, etc, with excuses about 'business models' and 'self-funding' and 'profitability', but completely ignores the same issues on projects that individual City Councillors themselves want, eg, the Main Corner.

These are some of the issues that will be appearing in The Mount Gambier Independent, and this is the manner in which they will be addressed; posted daily by noon Mt Gambier, South Australia time.

Each day will be devoted to a specific topic with other issues briefly covered, and critical issues will be re-visited as necessary, eg, the Wind Turbine issue is clearly not just one story, nor is the Royal Commission.

If you feel that you have factual input that would benefit everyone's understanding of an issue, please contribute.

Appropriate feedback and/or participation are most welcome, but anything deemed deliberately stupid or malicious or vindictive (etc) will be removed where possible.

I guarantee that this site is strictly my personal opinion gleaned from experience and investigation and that I am not sponsored by any political party, lobby group, etc.

In the words of the Great Green Sage (Shrek);
          "I'm nobody's messenger boy; I'm a delivery boy."

The site will be progressively expanded to provide as thorough and accurate reportage as possible, and I look forward to engaging professional opinions where possible to ensure this.

Some upcoming stories:  Flouridation; Rail Lands development; the reality of Regional Development Australia; the Child Abuse Royal Commission; public transport in regional SA (that will be a short one); and many others.

Tomorrow:
Wind Turbines - Responsible, Renewable Energy or a Rort Looking for Somewhere To Happen?