Posted on July 5th, 2008 by Ginger
The Age; July 05, 2008 11:10pm
NEW South Wales Premier Morris Iemma’s leadership has taken another blow, with one of his own MPs declaring he and his government are out of touch.
Angela D’Amore, from the inner-Sydney seat of Drummoyne, delivered the scathing assessment of the embattled Iemma Government, saying she was “not surprised the polls have been so bad”.
The Iemma government and Premier Iemma have been battered by recent polls, which show support for both collapsing, and the Barry O’Farrell-led opposition moving to a comfortable lead.
“No marginal MP is surprised because we have been feeling the tremors on the ground,” she told Fairfax newspapers.
“Marginal seat MPs feel like their backs have been broken. Read more…
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Filed under: N.S.W
Posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Ginger
The Age; Embattled union chief slams Rudd, Brumby; By David Rood, July 4, 2008
PRIME MINISTER Kevin Rudd has dudded the voters who delivered him power, and is in danger of being thrown out of office at the next election, outspoken union leader Dean Mighell says.
Renewing hostilities with Mr Rudd, the Electrical Trades Union leader said the Prime Minister’s wealth meant he did not understand the financial pressures faced by families.
“He’s a very wealthy man in his own right,” Mr Mighell said.
“He’s not going to understand petrol prices and its impact on families.”
He also took a swipe at John Brumby, saying many unions had a better dialogue with former premier Jeff Kennett than with the Labor Premier. Read more…
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Filed under: Federal
Posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Ginger
The Age; By Nick Miller July 2, 2008
TWENTY-SEVEN nursing home residents face being kicked out of their Phillip Island home after the sudden collapse of talks intended to save the Warley Hospital’s aged-care arm.
When the hospital controversially closed its doors in January, its board was already negotiating with Mercy Health and Aged Care to take over the “high-care” nursing home next door.
However, Mercy this week walked away from the negotiations, blaming the hospital trust’s complicated financial structure.
Board president David Luscombe said the collapse of talks had come as a complete surprise: “We believed agreement had been reached, in terms of a document that we thought was agreeable to both parties. It is extremely disappointing.” Read more…
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Filed under: Federal
Posted on June 28th, 2008 by Ginger
The Age.com.au; Firm mines Labor links to lobby PM; by Josh Gordon, June 29, 2008
A COMPANY that provides strategic political advice to the Prime Minister’s office is also being paid by mining and energy companies to lobby the Government as it prepares to unveil its greenhouse strategy.
Hawker Britton, overwhelmingly made up of former Labor staffers and party insiders, is working for at least six companies that would be nervously watching the Government’s emissions-trading deliberations.
The company’s website says it has played a “central strategic role in every Australian state and federal election campaign since it was founded in 1997″. It also has a “national alliance” with Labor’s pollster of choice, UMR. Read more…
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Filed under: Federal
Posted on June 26th, 2008 by Ginger
The Herald - Sun; June 26, 2008.
MORE than three million Australian jobs are under threat from efforts to tackle climate change, the CSIRO has found.
But a CSIRO report, commissioned by the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Dusseldorp Skills Forum, says workers will find new “green-collar” jobs as net employment surges in the long-term. Read more…
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Filed under: Federal
Posted on June 26th, 2008 by Ginger
The Courier Mail; June 26, 2008. By Clinton Porteous
KEVIN Rudd has warned that energy prices - including petrol - will rise under his green emissions-trading scheme due to start in less than two years.
The Prime Minister told Parliament yesterday that higher energy costs were an unavoidable fallout of slashing carbon emissions. Read more…
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Filed under: Federal
Posted on June 20th, 2008 by Ginger
Herald-Sun: June 20 ,2008
MELBOURNE householders will be hit with a water price hike of almost 15 per cent from next month.
The increase follows the State Government’s fixing last August of water prices, which are set to double by 2012 to help pay for $4.9 billion in water projects.
The rise of 14.8 per cent for the next financial year was confirmed by the Essential Services Commission (ESC) today.
Across regional and rural Victoria, water bills would rise by between 0.9 and 14.9 per cent a year for the next five years, the ESC said today.
The price hike equates to increases of between 16 and 71 per cent over the five years for customers of Victoria’s 17 rural and regional water suppliers.
Melbourne water prices beyond July 2009 are subject to further review. Read more…
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Filed under: Victoria
Posted on June 17th, 2008 by Ginger
The Age.com.au; By Nassim Khadem, June 18, 2008
LOW-paid workers and their families — the group the Rudd Government has repeatedly vowed to protect — will suffer under changes to fringe benefits to take effect next month.
Federal Families Minister Jenny Macklin has been forced to review changes to taxable income for family tax and child-care benefits, following concerns they would leave low-income earners worse off.
The changes — which were legislated with Labor’s support in 2006 and take effect on July 1 — will affect people working for “Public Benevolent Institutions”, such as charities and not-for-profit groups, which use salary packaging to make up for low pay rates. Read more…
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Filed under: Federal
Posted on June 16th, 2008 by Ginger
The Sydney Morning Herald via Andrew Bolt Herald-Sun; By Kerry-Anne Walsh. June 15, 2008
A FEMALE anti-war body and Christian and Muslim groups will share in $2 million in grants to be announced today.
Twenty-two non-government organisations will receive up to $100,000 each from the Federal Government to promote female leadership and advocacy.
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, dedicated to helping abolish the causes and legitimisation of war, will receive $100,000.
Funds were sought to help develop a national action plan for Australian non-government organisations in relation to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
The resolution addresses the unique impact of armed conflict on women, the undervalued contribution women make to peacekeeping and the equal participation of women as “active agents in peace and security”.
The Muslim Women’s National Network Australia will use its $99,991 to help Australian Muslim women develop self-esteem and overcome discrimination.
The Young Women’s Christian Association will also receive grants, one of which is aimed at helping disadvantaged immigrant and refugee women and girls.
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Filed under: Federal
Posted on June 15th, 2008 by Ginger
The Age: By Melissa Fyfe, June 15, 2008
VICTORIA’S desalination plant is proving a boon to consultants, with the State Government spending almost $40 million on an army of 50 external advisers.
The consultants will be paid for by Melbourne water users, who face a 15% increase in water bills from next month.
The Government is yet to appoint a private partner to build the controversial Wonthaggi plant, which will deliver 150 billion litres of water annually to the city by the end of 2011.
Some of the advisers — employed by the Department of Sustainability and Environment — are working on the plant’s environmental impact study. Others include commercial, financial, legal, engineering and technical advisers; project and risk managers; and cost estimate consultants.
The biggest winner is consultancy firm GHD, which gets $27.9 million for technical and engineering advice and $2.4 million for planning and environment advice. Read more…
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Filed under: Victoria