I do not enjoy putting the boot in (albeit purely metaphorically) just for the sake of it, but sometimes I understand that my balance is somewhat skewed by my personal experience, my personal animosity.
Thus I choose to say only this.
Peter Gandolfi ran as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Mt Gambier at the March 2006 state election.
In February 2006, I and another father met him and his colleague MLC David Ridgway at Mr Gandolfi's campaign office in Ferrers St, and for an hour discussed the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up as it had proceeded to that point.
We handed him Rory McEwen's head on a platter....if he'd wanted it.
But clearly he didn't, because I did not hear one word from him from then to the election or since.
Peter Gandolfi is one of the long list of people who could have, should have, but hasn't.
Please read my previous posts about St Martins, the Teachers Registration Board, etc, to understand what it is that Mr Gandolfi has knowingly turned his back on...our children, the abuses they've suffered, and us.
I am an avowed pacifist who truly struggles to believe in God, but by Christ Mr Gandolfi, don't promise to help me (and my child and all the others), and then turn your back on me.
Consider this post to be the literal clip round the ear you have so thoroughly earned.
Your extraordinary betrayal of endorsed Liberal candidate Steve Perryman at the 2010 state election (after he won pre-selection over you and Don Pegler) will live large as one of the most fundamental hissy fits in SA political history.
You are no better than Rory McEwen.
Tomorrow: At Council Tonight - 19/03/2013
An exciting new addition to this blog.
Once you get past the rank nepotism, chronic and constant conflicts of interest, 'drunken sailor' fiscal initiatives, epidemic corruption of appropriate process, etc, going to Council's meeting is a cheap and hilarious night out...if you're into comedic tragedies.
Even those few whom seem at all concerned with how their decisions affect the public, are effectively powerless against a definable block who are entirely self-opinionated and self-focussed.
And: TFTIM then MLC Nick Xenophon
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
More Wind Turbine Propaganda: The Sick People Are Crazy - Simon Chapman
Please refer to previous posts that outline how Wind Turbine companies, hosts, and other proponents like the self-titled 'Industry Lobby Group' the Clean Energy Council are conducting a co-cordinated propaganda campaign to promote Wind Turbines.
Time and again people like Russell Marsh (CEC) contact the media (particularly the ABC radio) to circulate what are in many cases outright lies about Turbines and the multiple, specific issues that cannot be successfully defended in open debate, and others like Electranet, Pacific Hydro, etc, join in.
That's their choice as profit driven organisations, and in that context understandable if ethically questionable, but when supposedly 'Independent' authorities like the Environment Protection Agency and Country Fire Service engage in the pro-Turbine propaganda and bias, issues of ethics and responsibility become foremost. (Again, please refer to previous posts and research these things for yourself on the Interweb, general media, etc.)
Time and again there is a 24-48 hour flood of carefully worded misrepresentations, deceits, and outright lies, and then they all dive for cover to avoid being held to account.....usually.
Yesterday 19/03/2013 Professor Simon Chapman got caught in the headlights of accountability, and like any good bunny, he froze.
In the 7.30 morning news, ABC Local Radio Mt Gambier ran a story about Simon Chapman's latest 'study' relative to Wind Turbines; namely that people who get ill from living near Turbines are imagining it because they have been talked into it by "scaremongers".
This follows his extraordinarily un-professional article in the New Scietist magazine October 8th 2012; I could write a more professional and balanced piece, indeed my blog is more 'responsible' than anything I've seen produced by Simon Chapman. As stated previously, that article 08/10/2012 should be provided to first year uni students as a perfect guide as how not to write a professional piece.
Simon Chapman's personal animosity toward (Dr) Sarah Laurie is glaringly obvious; 08/10/13...Australia's high priestess of wind turbine syndrome, Sarah Laurie, an unregisterd doctor; and in his latest interview he reduced Ms Laurie to "a person" who went around the countryside scaring everyone.
I have been highly critical of the ABC, yesterday politely berating them for putting Simon Chapman to air at all, but as Megan Roberts politely responded "...but he's a Professor...", and then they did later put me to air during Stan Thomson's live interview to challenge Mr Chapman for his un-professional conduct.
Cue the bunny...aaaand action!
Faced with a range of accusations about his denigration of Ms Laurie, the basic errors of subjectivity and bias in his language, and the New Scientist piece - there are no references (me) - he went silent, Stan asked if he was still there, and Mr Chapman finally responded that the New Scientist "...doesn't print references..."; and that was it!
He made no attempt to defend any of the specific accusations I made, or his professional position and/or standing, or defend the veracity of his work...not nothing; he went past it all to the very last point, and then only spoke about the role of the magazine, not his own work.
And while I'm munching down the humble pie, Stan has just done an excellent interview with new Grant District Council CEO Trevor Smart.
In response to specific questions from Stan, Mr Smart discussed;
1) the legal costs ($82,000) that will come from the $175,000 left in a Community Development Fund
(after a processing cost of $25,000) created from Acciona's $200,000 application development fee;*
2) that no more legal expenses were required because it was the "end of the story" and Council's last
contact with Acciona was when they withdrew from Allendale;
3) that another application could be made "...anyone...can start again from scratch..." and that Council
would be obligated to consider it. (*slightly modified 20/03/2013 NF)
He spoke of more studies to prove or disprove theories, and that an emotive community didn't properly understand planning issues, and trotted out the old deceit that the Development Assessment Panel who decide such projects are independent of Council., and concluded with the statement that Council doesn't have a position on Turbines - please read my previous post detailing DC Grant's definable support for Turbines.
Please also read Simon Chapman's latest piece for yourself, and do so constantly in mind that his is meant to be an entirely objective and scientific position, un-compromised by emotive language, personal denigration, etc, and should have references.
This arvo: TFTIM - Wattle Range Mayor Peter Gandolfi
Time and again people like Russell Marsh (CEC) contact the media (particularly the ABC radio) to circulate what are in many cases outright lies about Turbines and the multiple, specific issues that cannot be successfully defended in open debate, and others like Electranet, Pacific Hydro, etc, join in.
That's their choice as profit driven organisations, and in that context understandable if ethically questionable, but when supposedly 'Independent' authorities like the Environment Protection Agency and Country Fire Service engage in the pro-Turbine propaganda and bias, issues of ethics and responsibility become foremost. (Again, please refer to previous posts and research these things for yourself on the Interweb, general media, etc.)
Time and again there is a 24-48 hour flood of carefully worded misrepresentations, deceits, and outright lies, and then they all dive for cover to avoid being held to account.....usually.
Yesterday 19/03/2013 Professor Simon Chapman got caught in the headlights of accountability, and like any good bunny, he froze.
In the 7.30 morning news, ABC Local Radio Mt Gambier ran a story about Simon Chapman's latest 'study' relative to Wind Turbines; namely that people who get ill from living near Turbines are imagining it because they have been talked into it by "scaremongers".
This follows his extraordinarily un-professional article in the New Scietist magazine October 8th 2012; I could write a more professional and balanced piece, indeed my blog is more 'responsible' than anything I've seen produced by Simon Chapman. As stated previously, that article 08/10/2012 should be provided to first year uni students as a perfect guide as how not to write a professional piece.
Simon Chapman's personal animosity toward (Dr) Sarah Laurie is glaringly obvious; 08/10/13...Australia's high priestess of wind turbine syndrome, Sarah Laurie, an unregisterd doctor; and in his latest interview he reduced Ms Laurie to "a person" who went around the countryside scaring everyone.
I have been highly critical of the ABC, yesterday politely berating them for putting Simon Chapman to air at all, but as Megan Roberts politely responded "...but he's a Professor...", and then they did later put me to air during Stan Thomson's live interview to challenge Mr Chapman for his un-professional conduct.
Cue the bunny...aaaand action!
Faced with a range of accusations about his denigration of Ms Laurie, the basic errors of subjectivity and bias in his language, and the New Scientist piece - there are no references (me) - he went silent, Stan asked if he was still there, and Mr Chapman finally responded that the New Scientist "...doesn't print references..."; and that was it!
He made no attempt to defend any of the specific accusations I made, or his professional position and/or standing, or defend the veracity of his work...not nothing; he went past it all to the very last point, and then only spoke about the role of the magazine, not his own work.
And while I'm munching down the humble pie, Stan has just done an excellent interview with new Grant District Council CEO Trevor Smart.
In response to specific questions from Stan, Mr Smart discussed;
1) the legal costs ($82,000) that will come from the $175,000 left in a Community Development Fund
(after a processing cost of $25,000) created from Acciona's $200,000 application development fee;*
2) that no more legal expenses were required because it was the "end of the story" and Council's last
contact with Acciona was when they withdrew from Allendale;
3) that another application could be made "...anyone...can start again from scratch..." and that Council
would be obligated to consider it. (*slightly modified 20/03/2013 NF)
He spoke of more studies to prove or disprove theories, and that an emotive community didn't properly understand planning issues, and trotted out the old deceit that the Development Assessment Panel who decide such projects are independent of Council., and concluded with the statement that Council doesn't have a position on Turbines - please read my previous post detailing DC Grant's definable support for Turbines.
Please also read Simon Chapman's latest piece for yourself, and do so constantly in mind that his is meant to be an entirely objective and scientific position, un-compromised by emotive language, personal denigration, etc, and should have references.
This arvo: TFTIM - Wattle Range Mayor Peter Gandolfi
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The First Time I Met: Former Mt Gambier CEO Greg Muller
As per usual, please refer previous posts.
The first time I actually spoke to Greg Muller was outside City Council's February 2006 Rail Lands meeting, held in the Old Town Hall, when he came up behind me after the meeting, slapped me on the back, thrust his hand out, and said 'hi, I'm Greg Muller...who are you?' (paraphrase)
The first time I actually met Mr Muller was earlier at the meeting when he presented Council's three very expensive and identical plans for the complete Retail Development of the Rail lands site...and our eyes met across a crowded room and there was an undeniable electricity in the air as Mr Muller glared furiously at me for one Mississippi...two Mississippi....anyway, for several seconds.
And my crime? Putting my hand up and politely asking where the plan for a Parkland was because a number of people had requested that the site be used for parkland.
Mr Muller was so consumed by his rage that his face was knotted with fury and he was literally unable to speak; he just sat there glaring at me....ooooo, hit a nerve me thinks.
Apart from that, Mr Mullers undisguised rage was a reflection of how he conducts himself in general, and the fact that he is clearly not used to being held to account with problematic questions, and these two things combined led him to believe that staring angrily at me, right at me, was somehow an appropriate and wise thing to do.
I continued to ask the same question and Mr Muller, once he recovered his voice, stated that there had not been any public interest in a Parkland, and numerous people in the crowd commented that yes there was.
I further endeared myself to Mr Muller by asking 'where is the bus terminal'? He was thrilled....but apparently he/Council "were not aware of the need for a terminal'. That was and is a lie; just look at Council's ongoing disasterous handling of the Bus Terminal issue.
At one point, Cr Merv White stood up and stated that perhaps other people could say a few things, "we're tired of hearing from the same people"...bless you Merv...and a couple of people asked 'on message' questions, ie, 'Dorothy Dixers' that allowed Mr Muller to provaricate about how super the Retail plans were, and then there were no more hands...30 seconds...and up went my hand. ('DDs' are questions asked to set up a prepared response, eg, in Question Time the Labor back-bencher asks the Labor minister to explain the benefits of a Labor program.)
Directly behind me two 'little old ladies' were chuckling away to themselves at Mr Muller's un-disguised displeasure as my questions moved to....where are all the carparks you'll need?...where is the Rail line on those plans?...and so on.
Toward the end, the LOLs were quietly cheering me on.....goading me even to go just a little bit harder...it was genuinely, warmly hilarious.
I note that todays' The Border Watch review of previous news items, states that it was one year ago that Councillor Richardson raised concerns in Council that Mr Muller had ...spent without authorisation? mis-appropriated? de-frauded? stolen?...I call it stolen... $344,000.
Even then The Border Watch describes this theft as;
"Mount Gambier's Main Corner development is again embroiled in controversy following
revelations elected members have not authorised a $344,000 blow-out in costs."
"Not authorised"...that is fraud...or theft....
In The Border Watch this "blow-out " was attributed to unexpected costs associated with fire-rating, window insurance, etc...absolute nonsense that even then only added up to 1/3 of the missing $344,000.
All of these things would have been included, and I suggest with issues like fire-rating must have been included in the original costs as an essential pre-requisite to gaining building approvals.
Mr Muller is one of the driving forces behind the Rail Lands Retail Agenda that has directed Mt Gambier planning and development since 2005; and most particularly the Main Corner obsession, including his own personal baby, the outrageously self-indulgent $650,000 Volcano 'movie' that will never recover one cent...it is a frivolous extravagance that Mt Gambier did not need and could not afford.
What about public transport Greg? Proper bus shelters? A covered pool? Proper tennis courts? Proper service maintenance? Reclaiming the Rail Lands for Parkland? etc, etc.
Mount Gambier is falling apart at the seams, and still Council spends like a drunken sailor on stupid, pointless projects like paving the Main St....and chopping down all the native trees...etc.
Does Mr Muller continue as a payed 'consultant' to Council? It would explain recent sightings of him regularly "skulking" (their words not mine) into Council Chambers.
Again, there must be a thorough and genuinely independent Inquiry into the Main Corner Project, with a focus on addressing all of the mistakes Council have made (where has all the missing money gone?, etc) before they can be allowed to frivolously splurge millions of your money on other ludicrous projects.
Tomorrow: More Wind Turbine Propaganda - All The Sick People Are Crazy - Simon Chapman
and post 2.....The First Time I Met: Wattle Range Mayor Peter Gandolfi
The first time I actually spoke to Greg Muller was outside City Council's February 2006 Rail Lands meeting, held in the Old Town Hall, when he came up behind me after the meeting, slapped me on the back, thrust his hand out, and said 'hi, I'm Greg Muller...who are you?' (paraphrase)
The first time I actually met Mr Muller was earlier at the meeting when he presented Council's three very expensive and identical plans for the complete Retail Development of the Rail lands site...and our eyes met across a crowded room and there was an undeniable electricity in the air as Mr Muller glared furiously at me for one Mississippi...two Mississippi....anyway, for several seconds.
And my crime? Putting my hand up and politely asking where the plan for a Parkland was because a number of people had requested that the site be used for parkland.
Mr Muller was so consumed by his rage that his face was knotted with fury and he was literally unable to speak; he just sat there glaring at me....ooooo, hit a nerve me thinks.
Apart from that, Mr Mullers undisguised rage was a reflection of how he conducts himself in general, and the fact that he is clearly not used to being held to account with problematic questions, and these two things combined led him to believe that staring angrily at me, right at me, was somehow an appropriate and wise thing to do.
I continued to ask the same question and Mr Muller, once he recovered his voice, stated that there had not been any public interest in a Parkland, and numerous people in the crowd commented that yes there was.
I further endeared myself to Mr Muller by asking 'where is the bus terminal'? He was thrilled....but apparently he/Council "were not aware of the need for a terminal'. That was and is a lie; just look at Council's ongoing disasterous handling of the Bus Terminal issue.
At one point, Cr Merv White stood up and stated that perhaps other people could say a few things, "we're tired of hearing from the same people"...bless you Merv...and a couple of people asked 'on message' questions, ie, 'Dorothy Dixers' that allowed Mr Muller to provaricate about how super the Retail plans were, and then there were no more hands...30 seconds...and up went my hand. ('DDs' are questions asked to set up a prepared response, eg, in Question Time the Labor back-bencher asks the Labor minister to explain the benefits of a Labor program.)
Directly behind me two 'little old ladies' were chuckling away to themselves at Mr Muller's un-disguised displeasure as my questions moved to....where are all the carparks you'll need?...where is the Rail line on those plans?...and so on.
Toward the end, the LOLs were quietly cheering me on.....goading me even to go just a little bit harder...it was genuinely, warmly hilarious.
I note that todays' The Border Watch review of previous news items, states that it was one year ago that Councillor Richardson raised concerns in Council that Mr Muller had ...spent without authorisation? mis-appropriated? de-frauded? stolen?...I call it stolen... $344,000.
Even then The Border Watch describes this theft as;
"Mount Gambier's Main Corner development is again embroiled in controversy following
revelations elected members have not authorised a $344,000 blow-out in costs."
"Not authorised"...that is fraud...or theft....
In The Border Watch this "blow-out " was attributed to unexpected costs associated with fire-rating, window insurance, etc...absolute nonsense that even then only added up to 1/3 of the missing $344,000.
All of these things would have been included, and I suggest with issues like fire-rating must have been included in the original costs as an essential pre-requisite to gaining building approvals.
Mr Muller is one of the driving forces behind the Rail Lands Retail Agenda that has directed Mt Gambier planning and development since 2005; and most particularly the Main Corner obsession, including his own personal baby, the outrageously self-indulgent $650,000 Volcano 'movie' that will never recover one cent...it is a frivolous extravagance that Mt Gambier did not need and could not afford.
What about public transport Greg? Proper bus shelters? A covered pool? Proper tennis courts? Proper service maintenance? Reclaiming the Rail Lands for Parkland? etc, etc.
Mount Gambier is falling apart at the seams, and still Council spends like a drunken sailor on stupid, pointless projects like paving the Main St....and chopping down all the native trees...etc.
Does Mr Muller continue as a payed 'consultant' to Council? It would explain recent sightings of him regularly "skulking" (their words not mine) into Council Chambers.
Again, there must be a thorough and genuinely independent Inquiry into the Main Corner Project, with a focus on addressing all of the mistakes Council have made (where has all the missing money gone?, etc) before they can be allowed to frivolously splurge millions of your money on other ludicrous projects.
Tomorrow: More Wind Turbine Propaganda - All The Sick People Are Crazy - Simon Chapman
and post 2.....The First Time I Met: Wattle Range Mayor Peter Gandolfi
If You SAASSO: The TRB/CSO Glyn Dorling Hearing
Tomorrow: Latest Wind Turbine Propaganda - All The Sick People Are Crazy - Simon Chapman
I know this is backward, but I just heard (on ABC Radio Local South East 7.30 news 19/03/13) notorious Wind Turbine Proponent Simon Chapman, a professor at Sydney University, spruiking his latest 'study', reeling out a series of emotive nonsense statements denigrating Turbine opponents, and stating outright that people who get sick do so only in their minds as a result of irresponsible Anti-Turbine scaremongering.
My blog is more balanced and scientifically accurate that anything I've seen from Mr Chapman; his 'studies' are grossly emotive and personally derogatory; he breaks every rule of presenting an objective scientific report/study/paper....completely un-professional.
First year psychology students are taught to avoid all of these things that Mr Chapman does in his 'studies'; they should be shown his 'New Scientist' article from October 2012 as a template for exactly how not to write a scientific paper.
However....I'm not a scientist...this is not a 'study'....Mr Chapman, you sir, are an idiot, and your grossly irresponsible, un-professional, and entirely un-scientific conduct should be of the utmost embarassment and concern for the University that employs you....that you get your grossly subjective nonsense published is an inditement of all concerned...tomorrow, sir........
Back To The SAASSO
I re-iterate; that parent complaints led to a Teachers Registration Board/Crown Solicitors Office hearing from March 2003-November 2004 into Lutheran teacher Glyn Dorling who was removed from St Martins Lutheran School, Mount Gambier, on the June long weekend 2002.
The gross failures of that TRB/CSO hearing - in exonerating Dorling - led parents to petition MP Nick Xenophon who came to Mt Gambier to meet us, called for a parliamentary Inquiry, and with the support of Independents and the Liberals, the Statutory Authority Review Committee commenced their Inquiry into the TRB in October 2008, concluding July 2011.
The South Australian Association of State School Organisations (SAASSO) describe themselves at the bottom of their press release Monday June 30th 2008 as;
'Supporting schools, governing councils & state education through training, advice & advocacy.'
and were also supporters of a TRB Inquiry.
The release itself states;
As representatives of South Australian public school parents, SAASSO holds serious
concerns about the Board's composition, transparency, accountability, focus and operations.
In addition to liscencing teachers, the Board is responsible for investigating and adjudicating
teachers accused of acting in a disgraceful or improper manner.
"In 2007, teachers who were found to have formed overly-familiar relationships with children,
physically handled children and who had been arrested for disorderly conduct are still in the
classroom. Of course we only know this from media reports - the Board opts not to release
such information."
While complaints are made regarding sexual abuse, child pornography, alcoholism and fighting
with students - the only way parents, parliament and the SA community would find out about
teachers acting in a disgraceufl manner, is to sue under Freedom of Information.
When the Registrar receives a complaint against a teacher, they don't have to investigate the
complaint - in fact, they don't have to tell anyone why they didn'i investigate or that they even
received a complaint.
On a 16 person Board, only one member has to be a parent and that person has never been
a public school parent. Meanwhile seventy-five percent of the Board are DECS employees."
Download a copy of the submission at www.saasso.asn.au
Contact: David Knuckey
Ph: (08) 8223 2266
Email: info@saasso.asn.au the computer did that blue 'links' thing itself...cool...
The above are some of the details covered in that submission and in their 'Journal' or newsletter from 'Term 2 2008' that gets distributed through primary schools. Also in that Term 2 2008 Journal;
"In 2007 , the Hon. Nick Xenophon tabled a motion in Parliament relating to incidents at
a school in Mt Gambier."
The SAASSO submission, Journal, and press release, all mimic what parents had been saying before and after the legislative changes of late 2004-2005, about the composition, conduct, and lack of accountability of the TRB, and I urge you to access those documents...read it for yourself.
It therefore came as a huge shock when, in September 2008, Mr David Knuckey screamed abuse down the phone at me about how he'd had to '"save the Inquiry" after I travelled to Adelaide to meet with MLC John Darley who had taken over from Nick Xenophon.
Mr Knuckey was apoplectic, refusing to listen to anything I said, repeatedly abusing me before slamming the phone down...conversation over...and now I know the reality behind his outrageous behaviour.
The 26 September 2008 invitation to Mr Knuckey from then Education Minister Jane Lomax-Smith to meet with the Board, was the thin edge of a giant wedge of 'push-back' against the Inquiry.
It is alleged to me from a very surprising source within SAASOO, that Mr Knuckey and SAASSO in general were subjected to a direct and specific campaign of government-based threats to reduce funding, have him sacked, etc.
The proof is that the SAASSO went from supporting, indeed insisting on the SARC Inquiry, providing a detailed submission and repeatedly referring to the need for this Inquiry in its' 'Journal', to flatly refusing to even respond to repeated requests for attendance from the SARC, whom ultimately issued a subpoena to force them to appear.
The SARC Report no 54 states;
"The Committee notes its disappointment with the lack of response...from the SAASSO...
This resulted in no less than 15 exchanges of correspondence and various other
communications with SAASSO....requests to attend a Committee meeting were outright
refused, and scheduled appearances cancelled.
This untimely response was the main contributing factor to the delay in finalising this Inquiry,
with SAASSO responding to the Committee's questions some 12 months after they were
first invited to attend before the Committee."
But no specific mention of the subpoena.
One parent has repeatedly used the phrase 'Star Chamber' to describe the TRB and that, for my part, is a generous and polite summation of a 'body' that is entirely un-accountable and whose entire functioning is mired in secrecy and self-interest.
Indeed, the TRB looks like it was established to protect teachers from reponsibility for their own actions via secret trials, or preferably by not having any hearing at all....it's almost like it's designed to cover-up any
criminality but particularly paedophilia committed by teachers.
This arvo: The First Time I Met: CEO Greg Muller
and Tomorrow: Wind Turbine Propaganda - Simon Chapman
I know this is backward, but I just heard (on ABC Radio Local South East 7.30 news 19/03/13) notorious Wind Turbine Proponent Simon Chapman, a professor at Sydney University, spruiking his latest 'study', reeling out a series of emotive nonsense statements denigrating Turbine opponents, and stating outright that people who get sick do so only in their minds as a result of irresponsible Anti-Turbine scaremongering.
My blog is more balanced and scientifically accurate that anything I've seen from Mr Chapman; his 'studies' are grossly emotive and personally derogatory; he breaks every rule of presenting an objective scientific report/study/paper....completely un-professional.
First year psychology students are taught to avoid all of these things that Mr Chapman does in his 'studies'; they should be shown his 'New Scientist' article from October 2012 as a template for exactly how not to write a scientific paper.
However....I'm not a scientist...this is not a 'study'....Mr Chapman, you sir, are an idiot, and your grossly irresponsible, un-professional, and entirely un-scientific conduct should be of the utmost embarassment and concern for the University that employs you....that you get your grossly subjective nonsense published is an inditement of all concerned...tomorrow, sir........
Back To The SAASSO
I re-iterate; that parent complaints led to a Teachers Registration Board/Crown Solicitors Office hearing from March 2003-November 2004 into Lutheran teacher Glyn Dorling who was removed from St Martins Lutheran School, Mount Gambier, on the June long weekend 2002.
The gross failures of that TRB/CSO hearing - in exonerating Dorling - led parents to petition MP Nick Xenophon who came to Mt Gambier to meet us, called for a parliamentary Inquiry, and with the support of Independents and the Liberals, the Statutory Authority Review Committee commenced their Inquiry into the TRB in October 2008, concluding July 2011.
The South Australian Association of State School Organisations (SAASSO) describe themselves at the bottom of their press release Monday June 30th 2008 as;
'Supporting schools, governing councils & state education through training, advice & advocacy.'
and were also supporters of a TRB Inquiry.
The release itself states;
As representatives of South Australian public school parents, SAASSO holds serious
concerns about the Board's composition, transparency, accountability, focus and operations.
In addition to liscencing teachers, the Board is responsible for investigating and adjudicating
teachers accused of acting in a disgraceful or improper manner.
"In 2007, teachers who were found to have formed overly-familiar relationships with children,
physically handled children and who had been arrested for disorderly conduct are still in the
classroom. Of course we only know this from media reports - the Board opts not to release
such information."
While complaints are made regarding sexual abuse, child pornography, alcoholism and fighting
with students - the only way parents, parliament and the SA community would find out about
teachers acting in a disgraceufl manner, is to sue under Freedom of Information.
When the Registrar receives a complaint against a teacher, they don't have to investigate the
complaint - in fact, they don't have to tell anyone why they didn'i investigate or that they even
received a complaint.
On a 16 person Board, only one member has to be a parent and that person has never been
a public school parent. Meanwhile seventy-five percent of the Board are DECS employees."
Download a copy of the submission at www.saasso.asn.au
Contact: David Knuckey
Ph: (08) 8223 2266
Email: info@saasso.asn.au the computer did that blue 'links' thing itself...cool...
The above are some of the details covered in that submission and in their 'Journal' or newsletter from 'Term 2 2008' that gets distributed through primary schools. Also in that Term 2 2008 Journal;
"In 2007 , the Hon. Nick Xenophon tabled a motion in Parliament relating to incidents at
a school in Mt Gambier."
The SAASSO submission, Journal, and press release, all mimic what parents had been saying before and after the legislative changes of late 2004-2005, about the composition, conduct, and lack of accountability of the TRB, and I urge you to access those documents...read it for yourself.
It therefore came as a huge shock when, in September 2008, Mr David Knuckey screamed abuse down the phone at me about how he'd had to '"save the Inquiry" after I travelled to Adelaide to meet with MLC John Darley who had taken over from Nick Xenophon.
Mr Knuckey was apoplectic, refusing to listen to anything I said, repeatedly abusing me before slamming the phone down...conversation over...and now I know the reality behind his outrageous behaviour.
The 26 September 2008 invitation to Mr Knuckey from then Education Minister Jane Lomax-Smith to meet with the Board, was the thin edge of a giant wedge of 'push-back' against the Inquiry.
It is alleged to me from a very surprising source within SAASOO, that Mr Knuckey and SAASSO in general were subjected to a direct and specific campaign of government-based threats to reduce funding, have him sacked, etc.
The proof is that the SAASSO went from supporting, indeed insisting on the SARC Inquiry, providing a detailed submission and repeatedly referring to the need for this Inquiry in its' 'Journal', to flatly refusing to even respond to repeated requests for attendance from the SARC, whom ultimately issued a subpoena to force them to appear.
The SARC Report no 54 states;
"The Committee notes its disappointment with the lack of response...from the SAASSO...
This resulted in no less than 15 exchanges of correspondence and various other
communications with SAASSO....requests to attend a Committee meeting were outright
refused, and scheduled appearances cancelled.
This untimely response was the main contributing factor to the delay in finalising this Inquiry,
with SAASSO responding to the Committee's questions some 12 months after they were
first invited to attend before the Committee."
But no specific mention of the subpoena.
One parent has repeatedly used the phrase 'Star Chamber' to describe the TRB and that, for my part, is a generous and polite summation of a 'body' that is entirely un-accountable and whose entire functioning is mired in secrecy and self-interest.
Indeed, the TRB looks like it was established to protect teachers from reponsibility for their own actions via secret trials, or preferably by not having any hearing at all....it's almost like it's designed to cover-up any
criminality but particularly paedophilia committed by teachers.
This arvo: The First Time I Met: CEO Greg Muller
and Tomorrow: Wind Turbine Propaganda - Simon Chapman
Monday, March 18, 2013
Secede To Succeed - The Great Southern Territory
Woohoo...good news everyone...MP Malcolm Turnbull just said that news service owners can be biased in their reporting...'that's why you own a newspaper'...so I don't have to be balanced and considered in my blog, I can be as irresponsibly biased as I choose.....look out....
Usually I stick to what I think in my posts, but I'm hardly the first person to suggest that the South East needs to separate from a South Australia that doesn't know and doesn't care that we're even here; sorry, I should say Adelaide, not all SA.
Stuff Malcolm Turnbull, in the interests of balanced reporting I must state that...in the brief moment I had to discuss this issue with Senator Nick Xenophon, he dismissed the idea outright....but then, he is a politician and he doesn't have to live here.
It is not my opinion, it is irrefutable fact that the Rann/Weatherill Labor government have sacrificed Regional SA, breaking up and/or selling public entities, removing services, etc, to fund pork-barrelling of marginal seats in the metropolitan area; it is one of the fundamental failings of our version of democracy.
Actual 'Governing' is a secondary consideration, trailing far behind the prime objective...earning the right to govern ....and all the kick-backs from corrupt land re-zonings, buying 66 electric trains that can't be used, getting your mates into public positions, eg, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, etc.
I cannot , however, use the word 'Democracy' without making the observation (previous post) that what we have in South Australia, and increasingly at a national level, is a 'Fascocracy', namely a system where by we get to vote for which one of the 2 increasingly identical parties will lord it over us with a complete disregard for us and our well-being, and where the first, last, and every intermediate motivation is to get re-elected.
The 'Born to Rule' mentality that one would usually associate with the Liberal party, lives large in the Labor hierarchy.
On top of that, Labor or Liberal, Adelaide will never stop it's parasitical suffocation of Regional SA.
Former Health Minister John Hill has repeatedly stated that the new Royal Adelaide Hospital is "a hospital for all South Australians", which for me is an un-fortunate prediction/confession of the fiscal realities; by entering into a profit-guarantee contract with a private developer, the Privatisation of SA Health, the new RAH may well soon be the only hospital left in SA.
The move to try and get Keith Hospital to 'join' SA Health, with promises of its' survival, is highlighted by the deathly silence on the future of the Bordertown Hospital.
The Succession template is sitting right there; there are already two Territories in Australia, so why not a third within the boundaries of the Seat of Barker, stretching from the South East right through to the Riverland, and all it literally takes is for the citizens to make it happen.
Create a territory within that boundary and all Federal funding, Goods and Services Tax payments, etc, get delivered to the people within the area, not handed to Adelaide to spend on itself.
Imagine Adelaide having to buy its' water from the Great Southern Territory; Mr Weatherill has just announced that despite the De-salination Plant, the Murray is Adelaide's future water source; or Adelaide suddenly having to find 100+ years of pine trees to fulfil their contracts because we've taken our trees back...and we will.
The agricultural, horticultural, aquacultural, winecultural, forestrycultural, transportcultural, etc, etc, industries are all more than capable of fending for themselves given half a chance, but at the moment they don't even get that.
Whilst this post is a broad 'ideology' that Nick Xenophon (for one) doesn't support, the details and the realities are there to be denied, the South East must remove itself from the influence of the Sucubus that unfortunately Adelaide has become.
Tell me I'm over-reacting, but I think it's all summed up nicely by the recent 'give-away' of sods from Adelaide Oval...and no I don't mean the Stadium Management Authority members whom have already been caught out rorting re-development funds, or the long list of self-important ex-politicians like Ian McLoughlin and John Olsen with their snouts in the New Grandstand trough.
With the Forestry Sale, control of the South East economy has been effectively handed to a shadowy consortium of companies, all to help pay for the Adelaide Oval - and that is not open to discussion, and I confidently predict that these companies will have all the same corrupted links to the major parties as the Wind Turbine issue - but when there is a prime opportunity for Adelaide to contribute something, anything to it's shiny new stadium, like paying 5 bucks for those "historic" sods, it just ain't going to happen.
Just another bare-faced manipulation of a populace of self-involved ludites, governed by the 'Bread and Circuses' bribery of incompetent, sociopathic politicians wholly focussed on re-election....but I digress.
All of these issues can be addressed by Succession and there is absolutely nothing to stop it.
The Labor party, state and federal, have renigged on their duty of care, such as it exists, and therefore that responsibility falls to us ourselves. We have been respectful, we have been patient, we have been responsible; and in return we have been (pardon me) screwed.
There's an old saying - Strike Up, Not Out - use your anger on your foes above, not those whom suffer alongside you; if our politicians can abandon us then we have an obligation to protect ourselves.
The Great Southern Territory is neither whim nor want - it is a fundamental necessity for the future of the South East.
Tomorrow: If You SAASOO - Their Role in the TRB Inquiry and a second post;
The First Time I Met - Former CEO Greg Muller
The South Australian Assoc of State School Organisations is a 'parent lobby group' whom were initially very outspoken on the issue of reform of the TRB and supportive of the establishment of the parliamentary SARC Inquiry, lodging an official submission and including the issue in their newsletter that is distributed to primary schools statewide.
They then had to be subpoenaed to appear, an extraordinary power/action rarely utilised by such an Inquiry, let alone against someone who supposedly supported the Inquiry...bizarre....and yet just another unexplained chapter in the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up.
And Greg Muller- glaring at me since February 2006 when I first met him at the Rail Land meetings where Council presented several near-identical plans for massive Retail development on that site, and I had the bare-faced audacity to ask about the Parklands Plan that most people wanted.
Usually I stick to what I think in my posts, but I'm hardly the first person to suggest that the South East needs to separate from a South Australia that doesn't know and doesn't care that we're even here; sorry, I should say Adelaide, not all SA.
Stuff Malcolm Turnbull, in the interests of balanced reporting I must state that...in the brief moment I had to discuss this issue with Senator Nick Xenophon, he dismissed the idea outright....but then, he is a politician and he doesn't have to live here.
It is not my opinion, it is irrefutable fact that the Rann/Weatherill Labor government have sacrificed Regional SA, breaking up and/or selling public entities, removing services, etc, to fund pork-barrelling of marginal seats in the metropolitan area; it is one of the fundamental failings of our version of democracy.
Actual 'Governing' is a secondary consideration, trailing far behind the prime objective...earning the right to govern ....and all the kick-backs from corrupt land re-zonings, buying 66 electric trains that can't be used, getting your mates into public positions, eg, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, etc.
I cannot , however, use the word 'Democracy' without making the observation (previous post) that what we have in South Australia, and increasingly at a national level, is a 'Fascocracy', namely a system where by we get to vote for which one of the 2 increasingly identical parties will lord it over us with a complete disregard for us and our well-being, and where the first, last, and every intermediate motivation is to get re-elected.
The 'Born to Rule' mentality that one would usually associate with the Liberal party, lives large in the Labor hierarchy.
On top of that, Labor or Liberal, Adelaide will never stop it's parasitical suffocation of Regional SA.
Former Health Minister John Hill has repeatedly stated that the new Royal Adelaide Hospital is "a hospital for all South Australians", which for me is an un-fortunate prediction/confession of the fiscal realities; by entering into a profit-guarantee contract with a private developer, the Privatisation of SA Health, the new RAH may well soon be the only hospital left in SA.
The move to try and get Keith Hospital to 'join' SA Health, with promises of its' survival, is highlighted by the deathly silence on the future of the Bordertown Hospital.
The Succession template is sitting right there; there are already two Territories in Australia, so why not a third within the boundaries of the Seat of Barker, stretching from the South East right through to the Riverland, and all it literally takes is for the citizens to make it happen.
Create a territory within that boundary and all Federal funding, Goods and Services Tax payments, etc, get delivered to the people within the area, not handed to Adelaide to spend on itself.
Imagine Adelaide having to buy its' water from the Great Southern Territory; Mr Weatherill has just announced that despite the De-salination Plant, the Murray is Adelaide's future water source; or Adelaide suddenly having to find 100+ years of pine trees to fulfil their contracts because we've taken our trees back...and we will.
The agricultural, horticultural, aquacultural, winecultural, forestrycultural, transportcultural, etc, etc, industries are all more than capable of fending for themselves given half a chance, but at the moment they don't even get that.
Whilst this post is a broad 'ideology' that Nick Xenophon (for one) doesn't support, the details and the realities are there to be denied, the South East must remove itself from the influence of the Sucubus that unfortunately Adelaide has become.
Tell me I'm over-reacting, but I think it's all summed up nicely by the recent 'give-away' of sods from Adelaide Oval...and no I don't mean the Stadium Management Authority members whom have already been caught out rorting re-development funds, or the long list of self-important ex-politicians like Ian McLoughlin and John Olsen with their snouts in the New Grandstand trough.
With the Forestry Sale, control of the South East economy has been effectively handed to a shadowy consortium of companies, all to help pay for the Adelaide Oval - and that is not open to discussion, and I confidently predict that these companies will have all the same corrupted links to the major parties as the Wind Turbine issue - but when there is a prime opportunity for Adelaide to contribute something, anything to it's shiny new stadium, like paying 5 bucks for those "historic" sods, it just ain't going to happen.
Just another bare-faced manipulation of a populace of self-involved ludites, governed by the 'Bread and Circuses' bribery of incompetent, sociopathic politicians wholly focussed on re-election....but I digress.
All of these issues can be addressed by Succession and there is absolutely nothing to stop it.
The Labor party, state and federal, have renigged on their duty of care, such as it exists, and therefore that responsibility falls to us ourselves. We have been respectful, we have been patient, we have been responsible; and in return we have been (pardon me) screwed.
There's an old saying - Strike Up, Not Out - use your anger on your foes above, not those whom suffer alongside you; if our politicians can abandon us then we have an obligation to protect ourselves.
The Great Southern Territory is neither whim nor want - it is a fundamental necessity for the future of the South East.
Tomorrow: If You SAASOO - Their Role in the TRB Inquiry and a second post;
The First Time I Met - Former CEO Greg Muller
The South Australian Assoc of State School Organisations is a 'parent lobby group' whom were initially very outspoken on the issue of reform of the TRB and supportive of the establishment of the parliamentary SARC Inquiry, lodging an official submission and including the issue in their newsletter that is distributed to primary schools statewide.
They then had to be subpoenaed to appear, an extraordinary power/action rarely utilised by such an Inquiry, let alone against someone who supposedly supported the Inquiry...bizarre....and yet just another unexplained chapter in the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up.
And Greg Muller- glaring at me since February 2006 when I first met him at the Rail Land meetings where Council presented several near-identical plans for massive Retail development on that site, and I had the bare-faced audacity to ask about the Parklands Plan that most people wanted.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
NF McDonnell and Son: The Judas Goat of South East Forestry
I am not an 'Anti-Corruption Campaigner' or a 'Democracy Campaigner', not even close, but with literally every issue I look at, it is the corrupt actions of the elected and/or public officials involved that explain the results/fall-out/failures.
The reality of the Institutionalised Pro-Paedophile Corruption that defines South Australia casts not a long shadow but a shroud, a cloak of immunity that leads down one road; it's a self-perpetuating invitation to be corrupt.
For example, when you start doing dodgy land re-zoning deals with each other as District Council Grant and Mount Gambier City Councils have with the Rail Lands-Penola Rd-Bunnings fiasco (I have covered this extensively in other posts), that leads directly to those same people covering-up the abuse of our children at St Martins Lutheran School; to quote Prime Minister Julia Gillard;
"...those who avert their eyes....or commit acts of ommision..."
Nobody will move on an issue of such magnitude because (a) the pressure from above for 'non-action' is absolute, and (b) they've all got their own dodgy deals that they don't want exposed, or their own careers to worry about, etc, and in that environment corruption thrives and wantonly corrupt people will be emboldened to greater criminality sure in the knowledge that even if caught, the corrupt system will act to protect itself.
The Forestry Sale is defined by the deceit, corruption, and financial incompetence of an arrogant, talentless Labor party, and a complicit Liberal opposition who just sit there, and anybody involved with the Forestry Round Table (I gotta say it - Round Table? - do we live in Shrekin' Camelot or something.... seriously) is complicit in the corruption of the Forestry Sale.
The Roundtable is/was the cornerstone of official deceit; a pointless, powerless Red Herring put in place to stifle and de-rail activism like the vaguely inconvenient Anti-Sale protests on North Tce.....come on people....know your place....and it ain't on North Tce participating in the Democratic Process in a co-ordinated and respectful manner.....Labor's obsession with North Tce is just for you to finance with the sale of your jobs, the removal of your public services, your chronically inadequate medical facilities, etc, etc, etc, not sully with your presence....bloody peasants.
In that context, I don't care whether they know it or not, NF McDonnell and Sons mill is being used by the soulless, corrupt Labor government to try and hide the realities of the illegal sale of the South-East Forestry Estate, and try to make the suffering of local companies, employees, etc, and the inevitable failure of those companies, their own fault, their own failing.
It is an obvious act of base political deception; a clumsy and clearly failed attempt at psychological manipulation by a Labor party who's idea of governance reflects a socio-pathic selfishness that has completely reversed the Democratic Principal; it is for the elected official to serve the public, not the other way around.
The Game is - look at this company...they're doing just fine, in fact better than fine, they're expanding...and look how happy they are on the front page of The Border Watch (article by Sandra Morello, and therefore by definition, corrupt) etc, etc. If your company fails it's because you are inadequate, you are a failure, because look....NF McDonnell and Son are doing just fine.
It's a massive con. The 'expansion' is not "..welcome news for the region's timber sector, the economy and jobs growth." (TBW), it's welcome news for NF McDonnell and Sons that's being used to demonise and denigrate those who do not have the favour of government.
Have NF McDonnell received preferential treatment from Labor? They are certainly very popular with MP Jack Snelling. Have they secured long term log supply contracts far exceeding those offered to other mills and/or any other concessions/advantages?
What I'm looking at is the same group of mates and/or associates getting together, yet again, to praise each other up, and tidy profits all round.....but if you're outside that clique, you're stuffed.
I refer to the Forestry Sale as 'illegal' because the Rann Labor government are not a legitimate government, they committed a definable fraud at the March 2010 state election (see Pariahtisation and Fascocracy post), and they have privatised Forestry, Health (see posts), and literally everything else; there is literally nothing left to sell, and their capacity for lying seems inexhaustable, eg, two Ministers (Portolesi-Child Abuse and Gago-Glencoe Nursery Sale) have been caught out lying on the floor of parliament...and the consequences....nought.
No integrity; no conscience; no accountability.
I tried to listen to Mr Weatherill's recent speech about South Australia's position re manufacturing and development, etc, but after several minutes of pointless 'blue-sky, motherhood, feel good' statements that completely lack detail and ignore the realities of what Labor has done to SA, the bile was literally rising in my throat, so I had a quick swear and changed the radio station.
Adelaide is, pardon me, rooted; and it's dragging the rest of the state down with it...it's time to get out... and so;
Tomorrow: Secede to Succeed
That is, separate from South Australia as an Independent Southern Territory as per the NT or ACT - the Australian Constitution is so vague and ultimately pointless that the will and the desire of the 'citizenry' will decide the outcome....the Law is about controlling you while you are sold to Labor's mates, international companies, or just straight to other countries....it's an outrage.
Adelaide has abandoned South East South Australia, and it's time we returned the favour.
The reality of the Institutionalised Pro-Paedophile Corruption that defines South Australia casts not a long shadow but a shroud, a cloak of immunity that leads down one road; it's a self-perpetuating invitation to be corrupt.
For example, when you start doing dodgy land re-zoning deals with each other as District Council Grant and Mount Gambier City Councils have with the Rail Lands-Penola Rd-Bunnings fiasco (I have covered this extensively in other posts), that leads directly to those same people covering-up the abuse of our children at St Martins Lutheran School; to quote Prime Minister Julia Gillard;
"...those who avert their eyes....or commit acts of ommision..."
Nobody will move on an issue of such magnitude because (a) the pressure from above for 'non-action' is absolute, and (b) they've all got their own dodgy deals that they don't want exposed, or their own careers to worry about, etc, and in that environment corruption thrives and wantonly corrupt people will be emboldened to greater criminality sure in the knowledge that even if caught, the corrupt system will act to protect itself.
The Forestry Sale is defined by the deceit, corruption, and financial incompetence of an arrogant, talentless Labor party, and a complicit Liberal opposition who just sit there, and anybody involved with the Forestry Round Table (I gotta say it - Round Table? - do we live in Shrekin' Camelot or something.... seriously) is complicit in the corruption of the Forestry Sale.
The Roundtable is/was the cornerstone of official deceit; a pointless, powerless Red Herring put in place to stifle and de-rail activism like the vaguely inconvenient Anti-Sale protests on North Tce.....come on people....know your place....and it ain't on North Tce participating in the Democratic Process in a co-ordinated and respectful manner.....Labor's obsession with North Tce is just for you to finance with the sale of your jobs, the removal of your public services, your chronically inadequate medical facilities, etc, etc, etc, not sully with your presence....bloody peasants.
In that context, I don't care whether they know it or not, NF McDonnell and Sons mill is being used by the soulless, corrupt Labor government to try and hide the realities of the illegal sale of the South-East Forestry Estate, and try to make the suffering of local companies, employees, etc, and the inevitable failure of those companies, their own fault, their own failing.
It is an obvious act of base political deception; a clumsy and clearly failed attempt at psychological manipulation by a Labor party who's idea of governance reflects a socio-pathic selfishness that has completely reversed the Democratic Principal; it is for the elected official to serve the public, not the other way around.
The Game is - look at this company...they're doing just fine, in fact better than fine, they're expanding...and look how happy they are on the front page of The Border Watch (article by Sandra Morello, and therefore by definition, corrupt) etc, etc. If your company fails it's because you are inadequate, you are a failure, because look....NF McDonnell and Son are doing just fine.
It's a massive con. The 'expansion' is not "..welcome news for the region's timber sector, the economy and jobs growth." (TBW), it's welcome news for NF McDonnell and Sons that's being used to demonise and denigrate those who do not have the favour of government.
Have NF McDonnell received preferential treatment from Labor? They are certainly very popular with MP Jack Snelling. Have they secured long term log supply contracts far exceeding those offered to other mills and/or any other concessions/advantages?
What I'm looking at is the same group of mates and/or associates getting together, yet again, to praise each other up, and tidy profits all round.....but if you're outside that clique, you're stuffed.
I refer to the Forestry Sale as 'illegal' because the Rann Labor government are not a legitimate government, they committed a definable fraud at the March 2010 state election (see Pariahtisation and Fascocracy post), and they have privatised Forestry, Health (see posts), and literally everything else; there is literally nothing left to sell, and their capacity for lying seems inexhaustable, eg, two Ministers (Portolesi-Child Abuse and Gago-Glencoe Nursery Sale) have been caught out lying on the floor of parliament...and the consequences....nought.
No integrity; no conscience; no accountability.
I tried to listen to Mr Weatherill's recent speech about South Australia's position re manufacturing and development, etc, but after several minutes of pointless 'blue-sky, motherhood, feel good' statements that completely lack detail and ignore the realities of what Labor has done to SA, the bile was literally rising in my throat, so I had a quick swear and changed the radio station.
Adelaide is, pardon me, rooted; and it's dragging the rest of the state down with it...it's time to get out... and so;
Tomorrow: Secede to Succeed
That is, separate from South Australia as an Independent Southern Territory as per the NT or ACT - the Australian Constitution is so vague and ultimately pointless that the will and the desire of the 'citizenry' will decide the outcome....the Law is about controlling you while you are sold to Labor's mates, international companies, or just straight to other countries....it's an outrage.
Adelaide has abandoned South East South Australia, and it's time we returned the favour.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Water Wars Near and Far
Please refer to previous posts re Water policy (pick one, there's so many to choose from - policies that is).
Today's is a slightly philosophical piece, but ultimately the ugly politics of water will not be denied.
Conflicts over water are nothing new, not least of all because geographical features like rivers often define a country's borders, eg, the Great Lakes system between Canada and the United States of America, or run through multiple countries, eg the Nile River.
There have been some minor border issues between the North American countries, but decades ago Egypt straight out threatened to destroy a proposed dam to be built across their southern border in the head waters of the Nile; they literally stated to (I think it was Zambia?-sorry) don't bother building that because if you do we're just going to fly in there and bomb it.
Countries with neighbouring coastlines are even more problematic, often quarrelling over scraps of rock and a few seagulls, eg, the contiuous 'sabre-rattling' of China and Taiwan over a small group of islands they both claim, (this conflict in itself a literal metaphor for the broader issue of Taiwanese sovereignty), or even between 'good neighbours', eg, the division of resources in the Timor Sea.
Even in Australia this happens, where we use the Murray River to define the border between Victoria and New South Wales, and economic regions, eg, the Riverland, the Riverina.
My grandfather, a Second World War veteran, rarely spoke of such things, but was adamant that future major conflicts would be increasingly motivated by issues of water security, and less and less by other resource security issues, eg. the US invasion of Iraq that is largely accepted as a 'War For Oil' rather than a 'Crusade For Democracy'. (There are those whom believe that the Iraq War is a Crusade, continuing a millenium long conflict between Judeo-Christians and Muslims...Christianity vs Islam.)
But I digress, other than to note that water was critical to human development as a species long before 'Religion' even existed; directed where the crucible for 'agricultural civilisation' began in Sumeria 5000+ years BC (between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers-now Iraq/Iran), the annual flooding of the Nile fuelled Egypt's development; etc.
As 'religion' developed, water was a central feature, often with similar attributes, assigned it's own Gods, etc. In several cultures millenia and continents apart, still waters represented the 'gateway' to the Underworld (as there is Heaven so must there be Hell...thus nature restores the balance), eg, the Mayans on the Yucatan Peninsula and the Limestone Ceynotes that are windows to a massive fresh water aquifer, or pagan tribes in Europe and Great Britain who had bogs and swamps as important sites for sacrifices and even burials.
Rivers were vital trade links to the extent that we built false rivers, canals, to expediate the movement of bulk goods, and today globalisation (whether you agree with 'it' or not) continues that trend, where vast quantities of minerals, food, etc, traverse oceans via the Suez and Panama Canals.
The British Empire was founded on naval power, and how many times did that tiny, shallow strip of water we call the English Channel, protect Blighty? Apart from the Vikings, very few European protagonists have successfully traversed what is a relatively tiny geographical feature.
London is where it is because the Romans built it on a river, as are nearly all the major cities of Europe and most cities in Australia, except Adelaide - the Torrens is a seasonal creek that would probaly run dry if it weren't for a weir...which brings us to the Murray.
I tried not to repeat my previous blogs in a very sarcastic, even caustic paragraph about the internal conflict that our poor Premier Jay Weatherill is having over water (previous post), but the truth will not be denied.
Mr Weatherill says how important the health of the Murray River is and therefore he (a Labor lawyer) must use tax-payers money to pay state Labor lawyers to attack federal and other state Labor lawyers over water that doesn't actually exist, all promoted via an expensive advertising campaign, but then states that he's moth-balling the multi-billion dollar De-salination Plant (before it's even been used) because it's been raining alot in the Eastern States so therefore it's ok to draw Adelaide's water from the Murray.
Again, I put it to Mr Weatherill that reports that the De-sal plant doesn't work are correct and that this is the real motivation for the aggressive stance on the river; it's not even about pandering to important inner-city green voters.
And furthermore, says Mr Weatherill, for the health of the Coorong and Lower Lakes (and therefore the Murray) there needs to be a massive new $130million South-East drain built to syphon fresh surface water into the Coorong, but he completely ignores the massive environmental damage across the SE that current drains already cause, eg, the death of wetlands, aquifer degridation, etc.
I re-iterate; that only a few years ago this Labor government was prepared to build a weir at Wellington to secure Adelaide's water supply, and knowingly therefore kill the Lakes and Coorong, but now, when it 's convenient, they are all about the 'health of the system'.
So when it suits Mr Weatherill its all about the health of the environment, the Murray, the Lakes, and the Coorong, but I guarantee that the Wellington weir is only one short drought away because Labor has stuffed the De-sal plant., and I would suggest that this summer is a short, sharp reminder of what Australia can provide or withdraw regardless of what Mr Weatherill says. (...put on some Stevie Ray Vaughn and sing it with me.....Couldn't Stand The Weatherill....sorry, but I just had to.....)
And what does Mr Weatherill propose to do when push comes to shove and drought forces Victoria and/or New South Wales to build a weir upstream of the border? You know they will if things get that serious. What then Mr Weatherill? A dead river through a dead state and no water at all for Adelaide.
There's no sarcasm believe me when I say I genuinely hope to be wrong, but because of the way we treat the Murray River, it is only ever a few years away from irretrievable demise.
We must change our habits, but are we capable?
Tomorrow: N F McDonnell and Sons - The Judas Goat of SE Forestry
Whether they realise it or not, the NF McDonnell and Sons mill is being used by the Labor government to manipulate and deny the atrocious realities of the Forestry Sale by saying "...come on, it's not that bad...look...here's one company who's doing really well..."
The deliberate and direct inference is that if your company fails due to the immoral, non-sensical, and I would suggest illegal sale of the Forestry rotations, then it's not the government's fault, it's you, you're a failure, because good ol' NF McDonnell are doing alright...look, look at them expand, etc,etc.
Nobody sings from the Vested Interests Hymn book with quite the fervour or commitment of The Border Watch's Graham Greenwood, and his latest article is line, verse, and chorus the Judas Goat Agenda....very poor show Mr Greenwood.
Today's is a slightly philosophical piece, but ultimately the ugly politics of water will not be denied.
Conflicts over water are nothing new, not least of all because geographical features like rivers often define a country's borders, eg, the Great Lakes system between Canada and the United States of America, or run through multiple countries, eg the Nile River.
There have been some minor border issues between the North American countries, but decades ago Egypt straight out threatened to destroy a proposed dam to be built across their southern border in the head waters of the Nile; they literally stated to (I think it was Zambia?-sorry) don't bother building that because if you do we're just going to fly in there and bomb it.
Countries with neighbouring coastlines are even more problematic, often quarrelling over scraps of rock and a few seagulls, eg, the contiuous 'sabre-rattling' of China and Taiwan over a small group of islands they both claim, (this conflict in itself a literal metaphor for the broader issue of Taiwanese sovereignty), or even between 'good neighbours', eg, the division of resources in the Timor Sea.
Even in Australia this happens, where we use the Murray River to define the border between Victoria and New South Wales, and economic regions, eg, the Riverland, the Riverina.
My grandfather, a Second World War veteran, rarely spoke of such things, but was adamant that future major conflicts would be increasingly motivated by issues of water security, and less and less by other resource security issues, eg. the US invasion of Iraq that is largely accepted as a 'War For Oil' rather than a 'Crusade For Democracy'. (There are those whom believe that the Iraq War is a Crusade, continuing a millenium long conflict between Judeo-Christians and Muslims...Christianity vs Islam.)
But I digress, other than to note that water was critical to human development as a species long before 'Religion' even existed; directed where the crucible for 'agricultural civilisation' began in Sumeria 5000+ years BC (between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers-now Iraq/Iran), the annual flooding of the Nile fuelled Egypt's development; etc.
As 'religion' developed, water was a central feature, often with similar attributes, assigned it's own Gods, etc. In several cultures millenia and continents apart, still waters represented the 'gateway' to the Underworld (as there is Heaven so must there be Hell...thus nature restores the balance), eg, the Mayans on the Yucatan Peninsula and the Limestone Ceynotes that are windows to a massive fresh water aquifer, or pagan tribes in Europe and Great Britain who had bogs and swamps as important sites for sacrifices and even burials.
Rivers were vital trade links to the extent that we built false rivers, canals, to expediate the movement of bulk goods, and today globalisation (whether you agree with 'it' or not) continues that trend, where vast quantities of minerals, food, etc, traverse oceans via the Suez and Panama Canals.
The British Empire was founded on naval power, and how many times did that tiny, shallow strip of water we call the English Channel, protect Blighty? Apart from the Vikings, very few European protagonists have successfully traversed what is a relatively tiny geographical feature.
London is where it is because the Romans built it on a river, as are nearly all the major cities of Europe and most cities in Australia, except Adelaide - the Torrens is a seasonal creek that would probaly run dry if it weren't for a weir...which brings us to the Murray.
I tried not to repeat my previous blogs in a very sarcastic, even caustic paragraph about the internal conflict that our poor Premier Jay Weatherill is having over water (previous post), but the truth will not be denied.
Mr Weatherill says how important the health of the Murray River is and therefore he (a Labor lawyer) must use tax-payers money to pay state Labor lawyers to attack federal and other state Labor lawyers over water that doesn't actually exist, all promoted via an expensive advertising campaign, but then states that he's moth-balling the multi-billion dollar De-salination Plant (before it's even been used) because it's been raining alot in the Eastern States so therefore it's ok to draw Adelaide's water from the Murray.
Again, I put it to Mr Weatherill that reports that the De-sal plant doesn't work are correct and that this is the real motivation for the aggressive stance on the river; it's not even about pandering to important inner-city green voters.
And furthermore, says Mr Weatherill, for the health of the Coorong and Lower Lakes (and therefore the Murray) there needs to be a massive new $130million South-East drain built to syphon fresh surface water into the Coorong, but he completely ignores the massive environmental damage across the SE that current drains already cause, eg, the death of wetlands, aquifer degridation, etc.
I re-iterate; that only a few years ago this Labor government was prepared to build a weir at Wellington to secure Adelaide's water supply, and knowingly therefore kill the Lakes and Coorong, but now, when it 's convenient, they are all about the 'health of the system'.
So when it suits Mr Weatherill its all about the health of the environment, the Murray, the Lakes, and the Coorong, but I guarantee that the Wellington weir is only one short drought away because Labor has stuffed the De-sal plant., and I would suggest that this summer is a short, sharp reminder of what Australia can provide or withdraw regardless of what Mr Weatherill says. (...put on some Stevie Ray Vaughn and sing it with me.....Couldn't Stand The Weatherill....sorry, but I just had to.....)
And what does Mr Weatherill propose to do when push comes to shove and drought forces Victoria and/or New South Wales to build a weir upstream of the border? You know they will if things get that serious. What then Mr Weatherill? A dead river through a dead state and no water at all for Adelaide.
There's no sarcasm believe me when I say I genuinely hope to be wrong, but because of the way we treat the Murray River, it is only ever a few years away from irretrievable demise.
We must change our habits, but are we capable?
Tomorrow: N F McDonnell and Sons - The Judas Goat of SE Forestry
Whether they realise it or not, the NF McDonnell and Sons mill is being used by the Labor government to manipulate and deny the atrocious realities of the Forestry Sale by saying "...come on, it's not that bad...look...here's one company who's doing really well..."
The deliberate and direct inference is that if your company fails due to the immoral, non-sensical, and I would suggest illegal sale of the Forestry rotations, then it's not the government's fault, it's you, you're a failure, because good ol' NF McDonnell are doing alright...look, look at them expand, etc,etc.
Nobody sings from the Vested Interests Hymn book with quite the fervour or commitment of The Border Watch's Graham Greenwood, and his latest article is line, verse, and chorus the Judas Goat Agenda....very poor show Mr Greenwood.
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