EcoRadio

Author: Neville

  • Prime Minister Julia Gillard denies failing to connect with ‘real people’ in Sydney’s west

    Prime Minister Julia Gillard denies failing to connect with ‘real people’ in Sydney’s west

    Gemma Jones, Simon Black
    The Daily Telegraph
    March 07, 20131:58PM

    Increase Text Size
    Decrease Text Size
    Print
    Email
    Share

    2

    Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday. Picture: Jeremy Piper Source: The Daily Telegraph

    CROWDS of unemployed people have mobbed Julia Gillard at a Liverpool jobs fair.

    Ms Gillard happily answered one man’s ringing mobile phone as others surrounded the PM on her first walk through a crowd in western Sydney, five days after her tour started.

    Iraqi refugee Nadia Yousef hugged Ms Gillard and declared after: ”I love her.”

    Earlier, Ms Gillard dismissed claims she has stage managed her trip to western Sydney and failed to connect to “real people”.

    The PM said in two public instances she was concerned about being late to other appointments but connected to members of the community “everyday and everywhere”.

    “I’ve been very busy,” Ms Gillard said during a radio interview with Paul Murray.

    “I haven’t been wandering around having a drink.”

    Recommended Coverage

    .

    Gaffe-prone Butler did it, again»

    HE has become one of the federal government’s most gaffe-prone MPs as he belittled Rooty Hill and western Sydney in general but South Australian Mark Butler might want to look in his own backyard.
    .

    .

    Hanson plans return to politics»

    AS part of a comeback to Australian politics, former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has joined Kyle Sandilands to debate gay marriage.
    .

    .

    Abbott: I’ll restore hope in Sydney’s west»

    OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott today pledged to reduce living costs, solve transport problems, and tackle worsening crime on eve of PM’s controversial visit to area.
    ..

    “I’ve talked to all sorts of people while in western Sydney.”

    The PM said she had spoken to locals on a range of topics including housing, community safety and transportation.

    “(And) I’ll continue those conversations during the course of the day,” she said.

    When pressed on a videos showing her walking directly through the Rooty Hill RSL to a private room where she dined with “mummy bloggers”, none of whom are believed to reside in Western Sydney, the PM said she was concerned about being late.

    “I was running late for a dinner so I walked to it,” she said.

    “(But) during every normal day I stop and have a chat with people.”

    She said she was also concerned about timeliness in an instance where she was filmed waving to disabled war veterans while walking to her car but failing to talk to them before driving away

    “I was on my way to a funeral and I couldn’t afford to run late to it,” she said.

    “In my day to day life I stop and talk and chat with all sorts of people.”

    Ms Gillard said talking and listening to people was a large part of what she does and that: “Governing in their interests is part” as well.

    She defended her tough stance that 457 visas were taking the jobs of everyday Australians despite her own communications director, John McTernan, being employed on one.

    “It’s about making sure that work opportunities are open to Australians,” she said.

    “If there is an Australian with the skills ready willing and able to work then they have the opportunity to do that.

    “(The attack on McTernan) shows the attitude of the Liberals, their instinct is to go negative and go personal.”

    She said her government was supporting training and development for the Australian jobs market.

    “Under a Labor government we’ve got more apprenticeships than we’ve ever had before,” she said.

    She criticised the NSW state government, saying Premier Barry O’Farrell had ripped up to $3 billion dollars from the health system.

    “This governments priorities has been investing in health,” she said. “Funding is going up by a billion dollars in NSW alone.”

    “I wanted people in NSW to be able to rely on the local hospitals. (But) we are fighting big state government cutbacks.

    “I can answer for our funding increases. One billion dollars in NSW. What I can’t answer for are Funding cuts by the O’Farrell government that have been about three billion dollars.”

  • Cardinal George Pell makes ‘dirty dozen’ list

    Cardinal George Pell makes ‘dirty dozen’ list

    AFP
    March 07, 20138:12AM

    Increase Text Size
    Decrease Text Size
    Print
    Email

    Sydney Cardinal George Pell arrives for
    Pell apologises for abuse in message

    Sydney Cardinal George Pell arrives for a meeting, at the Vatican on Monday. Source: AP

    Sorry, but this video is not currently available.

    Video Suggestions:

    News

    Mardi Gras incident

    News

    Search on for rape suspects

    News

    Tragic blaze

    News

    Mardi Gras cops accused of brutality

    Watch more videos:

    NewsEntertainmentTechnologySport

    •
    •
    •
    •

    •
    •
    •
    •
    •
    •
    •
    •
    •

    .

    .

    .

    Play

    0:00 / 0:00

    Scrubber

    mute

    Share

    Fullscreen.

    Related Coverage

    .

    Pell says sorry to victims of clergy abuse

    .

    SYDNEY Cardinal George Pell has been listed as one of the ‘dirty dozen’, papal candidates accused of protecting pedophile priests.

    Clergy sex abuse victims released the “dirty dozen” list of potential papal candidates and urged the Catholic Church to “get serious” about protecting children, helping victims and exposing corruption.

    “We want to urge Catholic prelates to stop pretending that the worst is over regarding the clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis,” said David Clohessy, director of the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.

    “Tragically, the worst is almost certainly ahead.”

    The organisation cited a dozen cardinals from the United States, Mexico, Honduras, Italy, Czech Republic, Canada, Argentina, Ghana and Australia.

    They are all considered to be contenders to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, who was criticised for his handling of the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the church in the United States and Europe.

    SNAP also opposes electing any member of the Roman Curia, the administrative branch of the Holy See.

    “We feel no current Vatican ‘insider’ has the will to truly ‘clean house’ in the Vatican and elsewhere,’” Mr Clohessy said in a statement.

    “Promoting a Curia member would discourage victims, witnesses, whistleblowers and advocates from reporting wrongdoing.”

    Besides Cardinal Pell the blacklist included: Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana; Cardinal Tarsicio Bertone of Italy; Cardinal Dominik Duka of Czech Republic; Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico; Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras; Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York; Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington; Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston; Cardinal Angelo Scola of Italy; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri of Argentina and Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, Canada.

    BEGIN THE TOUR »

  • Baillieu’s bombshell resignation: where to now for Victoria?

    7 March 2013, 6.44am AEST
    Baillieu’s bombshell resignation: where to now for Victoria?

    The resignation of Ted Baillieu as Leader of the Liberal Party brought an end to his premiership just two years after guiding the Coalition to a narrow victory in 2010. Baillieu, an architect by trade, had a lengthy history with the Liberal Party before entering parliament in 1999. Most notably, he…

    Author

    Zareh Ghazarian

    Lecturer, School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University
    .

    Disclosure Statement

    Zareh Ghazarian does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.

    The Conversation provides independent analysis and commentary from academics and researchers.

    We are funded by CSIRO, Melbourne, Monash, RMIT, UTS, UWA, Canberra, CDU, Deakin, Flinders, Griffith, La Trobe, Massey, Murdoch, Newcastle. QUT, Swinburne, UniSA, USQ, UTAS, UWS and VU.

    Founding Partner of The Conversation.

    Articles by This Author
    20 February 2013 Government didn’t walk away from the Greens, but Milne needed to ditch Labor 2 February 2013 Roxon and Evans resign – much ado about nothing 30 January 2013 Election 2013: Julia Gillard’s September gamble 13 December 2012 Vote 1 Wikileaks: Senator Julian Assange … or maybe not 10 October 2012 Sinking the Slipper: Labor is its own worst enemy

    Denis Napthine may have resigned as Liberal party leader in 2002, but he is now Premier of Victoria. AAP/Julian Smith.

    The resignation of Ted Baillieu as Leader of the Liberal Party brought an end to his premiership just two years after guiding the Coalition to a narrow victory in 2010.

    Baillieu, an architect by trade, had a lengthy history with the Liberal Party before entering parliament in 1999. Most notably, he was the Victorian Liberal Party President during the years of the Kennett Coalition government.

    He began his parliamentary career when he was preselected for the safe Liberal seat of Hawthorn in 1999.

    Baillieu’s rise to the premiership began when he replaced Robert Doyle to be leader of the Liberal Party in 2006.

    While Baillieu led his party to defeat in the election held in November of that year, it appeared that his job was relatively safe as the Party did not appear to have a candidate that would replace him.

    Baillieu’s premiership

    After grinding through another four years in opposition, Baillieu led the Coalition to a shock election victory in 2010 when it ousted the Brumby-led Labor government, winning 45 seats to Labor’s 43.

    The political problems Mr Baillieu grappled with during his two years as premier have their roots in the unexpected victory of 2010.

    Holding a majority of just one seat always meant that his government would be one seat away from crisis. The decision of the Frankston MP, Geoff Shaw, to resign from the party over as yet unspecified disagreements with Baillieu’s leadership precipitated the premier’s downfall.

    Baillieu was also grappling with secret police phone recordings a story broken by the Herald Sun, which appeared to undermine his authority and power within the government. Bubbling issues concerning healthcare, law and order and the pay and conditions of the state’s teachers were also beginning to take their toll on his government’s popularity.

    As recently as the start of this week, Newspoll showed that the opposition was holding onto a significant lead in two-party preferred terms.

    Victoria’s new premier

    The incoming Premier, Dennis Napthine, is also a long-serving MP. First elected to parliament in 1988, Napthine currently represents the seat of South-West Coast and was Minister for Ports, Regional Cities, Racing and Major Projects in the Baillieu Cabinet. He was also a minister in the Kennett government.

    Napthine first became leader of the Liberal Party in opposition following the Kennett government’s loss in 1999. Opinion polls, however, showed Napthine was failing to gain the support of voters and the party replaced him in 2002 with Robert Doyle. After being unceremoniously dumped by his party over ten years ago, Napthine’s rise to the highest public office in Victoria suggests that persistence pays in politics.

    Ted Baillieu confronts the media after the resignation of Liberal MP Geoff Shaw, one of his final acts as premier. AAP/Julian Smith.

    While the change of leadership serves as a circuit breaker for the government, it also raises many new challenges for the Liberal Party and the Coalition government.

    In the first instance, Napthine will have to work to garner the support of the disaffected Geoff Shaw. Getting Shaw’s undertaking to support the government’s budget and fend off no-confidence motions would be an ideal start for the incoming premier. If he is unable to do so, then the government may yet fall.

    What of generational change?

    Another challenge for the Liberal Party concerns its next generation of leadership hopefuls. Matthew Guy, the state’s planning minister and former chief-of-staff to Napthine, has been touted as a future leader. Guy, however, is in the upper house.

    While there is no constitutional rule that would forbid Guy from becoming premier, it is traditional for leaders of the government in Westminster systems to hail from the lower house of parliament. Indeed, in 1968 John Gorton became the only prime minister in Australian history to come from the upper house. Within a few weeks, he contested a by-election for a lower house seat which he subsequently won.

    Guy’s failure to take over immediately from Baillieu can partly be attributed to the fact that he is currently in the Legislative Council.

    While other potential leaders exist within the parliamentary wing of the party, the decision to install Napthine suggests the party placed its faith in the “old-guard” rather than take a chance on its new generation.

    Baillieu was seen as an unconventional politician and his exit from office came swiftly. He leaves the government in the same situation with which it started; holding a slim majority that can be undone by the decision or action of a single MP.

  • Air system risks commuters’ lives

    Air system risks commuters’ lives

    Date
    March 4, 2013

    Jacob Saulwick
    Transport Reporter

    View more articles from Jacob Saulwick

    Follow Jacob on Twitter Email Jacob

    Successive governments have put cost before safety, writes Jacob Saulwick.

    inShare
    Pin It
    submit to reddit
    Email article
    Print
    Reprints & permissions

    Ads by Google
    5 Foods you must not eat:

    Trimdownclub.com

    Cut down a bit of stomach fat every day by never eating these 5 foods.
    Wynyard Station: 010313: SMH News: 1st of March 2013: Image shows fire crews and City Rail staff attending a fire incident in a tunnell adjacent to Platform 4 at Sydney’s Wynyard Station which saw the line closed temporarily but re-opened before the afternoon peak hour. Photo by James Alcock

    Emergency workers at Wynard station last week after a cable short-circuited and sent smoke into the station. Photo: James Alcock

    What’s the value of a human life?

    That’s the question RailCorp and its predecessors have been chewing over for more than 20 years as they have debated internally, but never told the public about, crucial infrastructure that would make Sydney’s underground train system safer.

    The biggest project, and potentially one of the most rewarding, is a ventilation system to direct fresh air into the 80-year old rail tunnels.

    But the cost, probably $1 billion now, has stopped governments installing what would be a largely unseen backstop for the hundreds of thousands of people who move through crowded, aged, inadequate stations every day.
    Advertisement

    Fairfax has obtained hundreds of pages of reports and briefing notes that reveal a behind-the-scenes debate that goes to the heart of safety in Sydney’s public transport system.

    The documents reveal how close the bureaucracy was to approving a ventilation system for tunnels and underground stations more than a decade ago, before official opinion turned swiftly against ventilation.

    More people than ever are using the underground stations but still the O’Farrell government has no concrete plans for big upgrades to stations such as Town Hall and Wynyard, built to meet the needs of a city 80 years younger and smaller.

    If ever there was a trigger to do something about safety it was the ”Blue Rattler” exercise of 1997.

    On May 23, police, ambulance and rail operators ran an overnight test acting out what would happen if a bomb went off on a train between Town Hall and Wynyard.

    The procedure had little publicity, though police superintendent John Laycock told The Daily Telegraph it had been a success.

    ”The response times by all the emergency services were good,” he said. The exercise was, in fact, a disaster.

    All 40 passengers would have died in the smoke and confusion. Had it been a real train in peak hour, more than 1000 people could have perished. Rescue officers would also have died.

    ”During the exercise it was found that with no smoke extraction system in place that all passengers on the train would have been asphyxiated,” the report on the exercise said.

    What Blue Rattler showed was that if anything serious went wrong in the underground, what was most likely to kill people was the absence of fresh air.

    The ”whole of [the] tunnel relies on the movement of trains within the tunnel to provide air,” the report said. ”If no movement of trains, no air. In the event of another train(s) being halted the occupants of the train(s) would also face a serious hazard.”

    In Sydney’s underground – as with most old rail tunnels – there is no in-built method to clear smoke and provide air.

    Newer tunnels, such as those built for the airport and Epping to Chatswood lines, have smoke management systems, though, in a test exercise in 2001, it took the operator of the airport line’s ventilation system 20 minutes to turn it on.

    But the most heavily used part of Sydney’s train system – the CBD underground – does not.

    By September 1998, rail authorities had a report by consultant Stephen Grubits saying the underground presented an intolerable level of risk. On Grubits’ measure (deaths by train accidents per 100 million passenger kilometres), the risk of travelling was 0.648. The risk in the British and French rail systems was 0.026. If Sydney installed a smoke management system the risk would fall to 0.070, Grubits said.

    So a smoke management system became the unstated policy, though a debate continued about whether it was better to build it through shafts providing natural ventilation or mechanical vents.

    By 1999 the board of the old Rail Access Corporation had agreed to issue tenders by 2001 for a system to be built in stages: first North Sydney, then around Circular Quay, then the eastern suburbs line from Bondi Junction to Redfern, then under the city through Town Hall and Wynyard.

    By early 2001, detailed costings had been prepared into what was expected to be about a $150 million system. A report, dated April 18, even named firms expected to do a large part of the work.

    But within months, the project was on the heap. The Rail Infrastructure Corporation, since folded into RailCorp, had commissioned a separate report by consultants DNV to look again at the risk.

    The DNV report argued the risk of a big fire or chemical release was lower than the Grubits report said. The report said the smoke management system did ”not meet the criteria for effective use of resources”.

    Confronted by the opposing reports, authorities brought in international fire expert Arnold Dix to ”resolve the contrary advice”.

    Dix, a lawyer and professor of engineering, interviewed all the players. His report queried the methodology DNV used. He highlighted long-standing problems in the communication systems and the ”extreme trip hazards” that would confront passengers leaving a train in an emergency.

    He said train drivers and guards were not well enough prepared to take control in an emergency. And the capacity of Town Hall and Wynyard stations even then was exceeded in the afternoon peak.

    But ultimately he said the money would be better spent elsewhere. The ”risk of an incident occurring, which would require a smoke management system, is currently extremely low in the Sydney underground”, said his final report, delivered in December 2001.

    That was not the end of the matter. The Rail Infrastructure Corporation, State Rail and RailCorp embarked on a series of smaller safety improvements recommended in the Dix report. And, nervous about the implications of backtracking on a safety project it had previously advocated, the board of the RIC requested a peer review of DNV’s low risk assessment.

    That review, completed in May 2002 by engineering consultants R2A, criticised the DNV approach, which extrapolated the chance of a tunnel fire in Sydney from overseas fire statistics ”which occurred outside tunnels and did not result in a large number of fatalities”.

    The R2A report said the risk to passengers from fires was ”undesirable” but the cost of a smoke management system could not be justified.

    Now Dix, the man whose report allowed the railways to avoid building the ventilation system in 2001, has changed his mind. Interviewed last week, he expressed regret for a recommendation that might have let the authorities off the hook.

    ”All modern railways, full stop, have got ventilation systems that allow you to control the flow of air if something was to go wrong,” he said. ”All of them. Sydney doesn’t … at the moment it doesn’t. And it should.

    ”These are the most important and stressed stations in Australia and Sydney as a city needs effective safe public transport. This is at the heart of delivering effective, safe public transport.”

    Correction: The original version of this story said the Dix report was delivered in 2011.
    Ads by Google
    5 Foods you must not eat:

    Nothinkdiet.com

    Cut down a bit of stomach fat every day by never eating these 5 foods.
    Top 10 Credit Cards (AUS)

    CreditCardFinder.com.au

    Top Rewards Credit Cards. Earn Up to 3 Points per $1 Spend.
    TAFE Courses Online

    www.opencolleges.edu.au

    Advance Your Career – Study Online. Flexible Payments & Study Options.
    Recommended
    [?]
    Sydney teen abducted and sexually assaulted by gang
    Sydney teen abducted and sexually assaulted by gang
    Lethal heroin injection: friend admits killing mate after bucks’ party
    Lethal heroin injection: friend admits killing mate after bucks’ party
    Thai airline under fire over bikini calendar
    Thai airline under fire over bikini calendar
    A marriage made in hell
    A marriage made in hell
    How Much Does a Tiler Cost?
    From the web
    How Much Does a Tiler Cost?
    hipages.com.au
    Sydney teen abducted and sexually assaulted by gang
    Lethal heroin injection: friend admits killing mate after bucks’ party
    Thai airline under fire over bikini calendar
    A marriage made in hell
    How Much Does a Tiler Cost?

    inShare
    Pin It
    submit to reddit
    Email article
    Print
    Reprints & permissions

    Related Coverage
    ‘Catastrophic’ fire threat on trains

    Commuters travelling to Sydney’s most overcrowded CBD train stations are vulnerable to ”catastrophic” fire and smoke from accidents or terrorist attacks because governments have baulked at the cost of safety improvements.

    Advertisement Click here to find out more!

    Latest Video
    Selections Video More video
    Mwa! KRudd feels the love in Rooty Hill

    It’s a tough job being a politician, especially if you’re ‘Kevin Rudd’ trying to gather support in Western Sydney and buy a ticket to a Labor fundraising dinner.
    The Phil Gould Show (Video Thumbnail)Click to play video

    The Phil Gould Show
    United robbed by the ref as Ronaldo’s Real rejoice (Video Thumbnail)Click to play video

    Utd sees red as Ronaldo seals win
    Second sinkhole in Florida (Video Thumbnail)Click to play video

    Second sinkhole opens up in Florida

    Featured advertisers
    Sponsored links
    Special offers Powered by Mozo
    Advertisement
    Recommended for you
    Lies, damned lies and Labor claims
    Forget the surplus, BCA tells Labor
    Click to play video
    Filming in public: what are your rights?
    Hockey hints at tax rises under Coalition
    Advertisement
    Real Estate
    Win a new Nissan Pulsar with Domain!
    Win a new Nissan Pulsar with Domain!

    Domain.com.au
    Buy real estate
    How much is my house worth?
    Need an inspection report?

    Jobs
    Search for 1000’s of jobs around Australia – It’s your move
    Search for 1000’s of jobs around Australia

    Mycareer.com.au
    Sign up to the new MyCareer
    Personalise your Job Alerts
    Discover Skill Searching

    Essential Kids
    eighties
    Did you grow up in the eighties?

    Essentialkids.com.au
    Lunchbox ideas & recipes
    Free kids’ activities and worksheets
    Family recipe finder

    Accommodation
    Expedia hotel 2
    Search for great deals on hotel accommodation

    Rent-a-home.com.au
    Short-term accommodation
    Sydney holiday rentals
    Search 27,000+ holiday properties

    Managed Funds
    InvestSMART best performing investments 2011
    4.5% Term Deposit!

    Investsmart.com.au
    Best Home loan Rates!
    5.00% On Savings Accounts!
    Top Performing Investments!

    Compare and Save

    Skip to:

    Best Deals
    Mobile
    Broadband
    Home Loans
    Credit Cards
    Low Rate Cards
    Rewards Cards
    Savings Accts
    Term Deposits
    Loans

    Check out today’s best deals
    Zero Fee Credit Cards

    Say NO to credit card fees! Compare fee-free cards

    Cheap Credit Cards
    UHomeLoan Discount

    Apply by 14 March for 0.25% upfront rate discount

    Compare Now
    Time to Fix?

    Fixed home loan rates are tumbling. Lock in a bargain

    Fixed Rate Deals
    $40 Phone Deals

    Smartphones on plans for under $40 per month

    Compare Phone Deals
    Upgrade Deals

    Including 2GB Bonus Data on iPhone 5

    Bonus Data Deals
    Readers’ most viewed
    Most viewed articles on Brisbane Times
    Top 5 NSW articles

    Mother’s desperate efforts failed to save daughter
    Doctor fights action over mother’s death
    Model stole details about Ibrahim rival
    Teen in Mardi Gras ‘excessive force’ video swore at police
    Gang rape – witnesses come forward

    Most viewed articles on WA Today
    Top 5 NSW articles

    DNA, a dead brother and a rape 20 years ago
    ‘There was just nothing they could do’: neighbours’ desperate attempts to rescue Tanika from blazing home
    ‘My wife is dead and I will be dead in two minutes’: Email apology sent to son before Sydney murder-suicide
    Lethal heroin injection: friend admits killing mate after bucks’ party
    Sydney conman who photoshopped pictures of himself with famous people gets 12 years’ jail

    Most viewed articles on The Age
    Top 5 NSW articles

    Allegations of police excessive force at Mardi Gras
    DNA, a dead brother and a rape 20 years ago
    Five big transactions found on money trail
    Ultralight plane crashes into NSW lake
    Mercy killing claims by Sydney man ‘lies’

    Most viewed articles on Canberra Times
    Top 5 NSW articles

    Too much study puts ‘life on hold’
    Allegations of police excessive force at Mardi Gras
    Shooters were caught drunk and on drugs
    DNA, a dead brother and a rape 20 years ago
    Call to reverse decision on train tunnels

    Most viewed articles on The Sydney Morning Herald
    Top 5 NSW articles

    Teen in Mardi Gras ‘excessive force’ video swore at police
    Allegations of police excessive force at Mardi Gras
    Police ‘naive’ to tell public not to film arrest
    Doctor fights action over mother’s death
    Five big transactions found on money trail

    SMH Home
    NSW
    Politics
    World
    National
    Environment
    Business
    Digital Life
    Entertainment
    Life & Style
    Travel
    Cars
    Exec Style
    Sport
    Weather

    Sydney Morning Herald
    Sitemap
    About Us
    Contact Us
    Advertise with Us
    AM Today
    Last 8 days
    Text Version
    Site Accessibility Guide

    Connect
    Mobile Site
    SMH for iPad
    Digital Edition
    RSS
    Facebook
    Twitter
    LinkedIn

    Products & Services
    Subscribe
    Manage My Subscription
    My Benefits
    Good Food Guide
    SMH Shop
    Newsletters
    Cracka Wines

    Classifieds
    Place an Ad
    Accommodation
    Cars
    Dating
    Jobs
    Property Price Data
    Real Estate
    Buy and Sell
    Tributes
    Celebrations
    Special Reports

    Fairfax Media
    Member Centre
    Conditions of Use
    Privacy Policy
    News Store Archive
    Photo Sales
    Purchase Front Pages
    Fairfax Syndication
    Fairfax Events
    Fairfax Careers
    Press Council

    Fairfax Media
    Our Sites

    The Sydney Morning Herald
    The Age
    MyCareer
    Domain
    Drive
    RSVP
    Essential Baby
    InvestSMART
    APM
    Stayz
    Weatherzone
    TheVine

    Our Partners

    Buy & Sell
    Cruises
    Lawyers
    Credit Cards
    Business
    Mechanics
    Electricians
    Fitness
    Hair Salons
    Weddings
    Home Builder
    Cracker

    Copyright © 2013 Fairfax Media
    Feedback Form

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/air-system-risks-commuters-lives-20130303-2fejj.html#ixzz2MlRNcBfV

  • Voters Say: Humans Bear Responsibility for Species Extinction

    Voters Say: Humans Bear Responsibility for Species Extinction

    Tweet Share Email

    by KQED News Staff and Wires | March 5, 2013 — 7:11 PM

    A new poll from a national environmental group shows widespread concern among U.S. voters about the impact human population growth is having on wildlife.

    The poll from the Center for Biological Diversity found most registered voters believe population growth is harming wildlife, and 60 percent say society has a “moral responsibility” to reduce species extinctions that are due to population pressures.

    The Center’s Jerry Karnas said the results show the public is ahead of policymakers on this issue.

    “By and large, the American people really see population growth as an environmental problem,” Karnas said. “They think that the planet is growing too quickly, they are concerned about the impact humans are having on other species, and they believe we have a moral obligation to reduce or stabilize population growth.”

    Among the species in California threatened by population growth are Chinook salmon and the San Joaquin kit fox.

  • Five big transactions found on money trail

    Five big transactions found on money trail

    Date March 6, 2013 178 reading now

    Read later

    Kate McClymont

    Senior Reporter

    View more articles from Kate McClymont

    Follow Kate on TwitterEmail Kate

    inShare.
    Pin It
    submit to reddit
    Email article
    Print
    Reprints & permissions

    .

    Head of the family: Eddie Obeid at ICAC. Photo: Edwina Pickles
    Follow the Obeid money trail

    By following ”the money trail” a forensic accountant has identified five main transactions made by the family of controversial Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid using the proceeds of $30 million the family received from an allegedly corrupt coal venture.

    Grant Lockley, a former fraud squad detective who is now a senior forensic accountant with the Independent Commission Against Corruption, also detailed the millions of dollars that flowed to Mr Obeid, his wife, their nine children and others from the deal. The inquiry heard Mr Obeid received $1.5 million from the suspect coal transaction.

    The commission is examining whether the Obeids received inside information from then resources minister Ian Macdonald that allowed them to buy properties in the Bylong Valley before the government called for an exploration tender. The Obeids also gained a secret 25 per cent interest in the winning coal company. They have since received $30 million for that stake with the promise of a further $30 million.

    Advertisement

    The inquiry heard that from October 2010 to June 2011 $29,459,860 was paid via an Obeid front company to the Obeid Family Trust No 2.

    Although her taxable income was only $80,000, Moses Obeid’s wife Nikki used $2.2 million of the coal money to buy a $4.5 million house in Vaucluse in May 2011, Mr Lockley said in his affidavit.

    Two months later, Eddie Obeid used funds derived from the coal venture to purchase a $286,817 Mercedes S500.

    He also used some of the funds to make repayments on his $1.12 million holiday unit in Port Macquarie.

    His wife Judy Obeid used $407,500 for a deposit on a $8.15 million house in Woolwich. The purchase, which was revealed by the Herald in early 2011, did not proceed.

    Mr Lockley also concluded the $3 million the Obeids paid to Australian Water Holdings, which he said also came from the coal venture, was wrongly recorded in the Obeid accounts as a loan. Mr Lockley said it should have been recorded as an investment.

    Nick di Girolamo, head of AWH and an Obeid family friend, has told the Herald the $3 million was a personal loan from Mr Obeid’s son Eddie jnr.

    Also giving evidence on Tuesday was the Obeids’ accountant Sid Sassine. He denied he was a ”frontman” for the family, but conceded that as their accountant his role was ”to hide the name Obeid from the general public to avoid the hindrance that they’ve consistently had … in doing business”.

    Mr Sassine agreed the Obeids had made a ”pure profit” of $25 million on the coal deal yet they paid only $4.6 million in tax.

    ”Well how could that be so, Mr Sassine?” counsel assisting, Geoffrey Watson, SC, asked.

    ”Well, Mr Watson, it’s a capital gain,” Mr Sassine replied.

    Solicitor John Gerathy, who has been described as a ”crucial witness,” was excused from giving further evidence due to mental illness.

    ”I have read the psychiatric reports … to the effect that his evidence cannot be relied upon and that being so and having regard to his illness I see no reason why he should be subjected to further examination,” Commissioner David Ipp said. The inquiry continues.

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/five-big-transactions-found-on-money-trail-20130305-2fj4z.html#ixzz2Mf5Cdymp