TORBAY BREAKS NSW LABOR's CODE of SILENCE WITH A NON-RESPONSE
A FIGTREE man called Allan Parrish has been reading The Herald for 16 years. He has it posted to him. He had a letter printed in The Herald a couple of weeks ago after an article I wrote about Gillian Sneddon, the woman who's been shunned by the Labor Party after helping police collect evidence to convict Milton Orkopoulos. Mr Parrish has never met Gillian Sneddon and doesn't live in the Hunter, but he knows a lousy deal when he sees one, so he wrote to three state Labor MPs in his area, and one federal Labor MP, and asked them what the Labor Party's policy was on "electorate office whistleblowers of a criminal member of parliament". Deafening silence or buck-passing was the response. He also wrote to NSW Speaker Richard Torbay, and forwarded articles that have appeared in The Herald in the past few months on the subject. Mr Torbay wrote back that he was "sorry that an employee of the Legislative Assembly was injured at work", but "I do not intend to respond to the many issues raised in the media articles you attach to your letter". "In relation to Ms Sneddon's termination of employment and any other details concerning her employment, I do not believe it is appropriate for my office to release details to third parties," he said. Gillian Sneddon's "injury", by the way, was the stress caused by doing the right thing, helping police stop a criminal, and being locked out of Orkopoulos's office and sacked. Brad Fitzmaurice is assistant director-general of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet. He replied to a letter from Mr Parrish that included the Herald articles. He confirmed that Robert Coombs, the Labor politician who took over from Orkopoulos as Swansea MP, had the right not to keep Gillian Sneddon on, which led to her sacking. He also noted that Premier Nathan Rees was "chief of staff of the minister's office for the initial period of Mr Orkopoulos's appointment to the ministry". A technical point here. Mr Rees was Orkopoulos's chief of staff for a year until August 4, 2006, when he left to take up a position with former premier Morris Iemma. Three days later Orkopoulos dramatically faxed a statutory declaration containing allegations of serious sexual offences against him to the then police minister Carl Scully, although Gillian Sneddon has always maintained the stat dec had been sent to the office months earlier. Orkopoulos was charged in November 2006. It's the use of the word "initial" in Mr Fitzmaurice's reply that's interesting. It would be more correct to say Mr Rees was Orkopoulos's chief of staff for the bulk of his time as minister. But everyone who can, apart from Gillian Sneddon, has been running from Orkopoulos. Which is why she feels she's been left out to dry. She staged a lonely protest outside Parliament House a week or so ago, and the majority of MPs ignored her, despite the fact a parliamentary inquiry conveniently stacked with Labor MPs is supposed to be considering how to protect whistleblowers. And after ignoring Gillian Sneddon's request to appear at the inquiry, and very pointedly cutting off any discussion about her situation once her name was said during an earlier hearing date, the inquiry had the hide to send what looks like a form letter to her on March 12, asking for her comments on a discussion paper it had released. In a speech to the Sydney Institute a week or so ago, Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell said he would overhaul the state's whistleblower laws "in the wake of the treatment of Gillian Sneddon". I asked him via email if Nathan Rees should make a public apology to her. Of course he said yes. Labor had "shamefully abandoned her", he said. But when I asked via email if Mr O'Farrell had spoken with Gillian Sneddon, he replied that he hadn't, although he had ensured two Coalition MPs met with her. Allan Parrish, a complete stranger who has difficulty writing because of arthritis, has taken the time and trouble to write letters to politicians on Gillian Sneddon's behalf because he wants her to know people care, and he wants politicians to know their silence is offensive. "She's a brave woman, please tell her that," he said. Joanne McCarthy. Whistling into silence, Newcastle Herald, 30 March, 2009. p. 8
OTHER SOURCES : Barry O'Farrell, Restoring Good Governance , Speech to the Sydney Institute, 12 March 2009.
A study of the actions, or inactions, of NSW Labor make an interesting study of how a government can go about spinning one thing - whilst all the while doing something completely different.
Tamworth based MLC, Trevor Khan must be congratulated for performing the function of an MP - holding the executive government to account and reporting back to the community and keeping it fully informed. Certainly, NSW would be a much better place and would receive much better governance if other MP's followed his example.
It makes a mockery of "representation" when MP's fail to keep the community informed, and hide behind slogans like "ongoing deliberations", " subject to delicate negotiations" and "the details will be released at a future time when the Minister deems it appropriate". Such slogans treat the community as mushrooms, to be kept in the dark and fed on bulls**t.
The time line is as follows:
22 July 2008 - Trevor Khan MLC - Tamworth - lodges a FOI request, seeking information about the Clinical Services Plan (CSP) for the promised new Tamworth Hospital.
10 September 2008 - Khan is advised that access to the CSP will be granted when it is published.
27 November 2008 - Khan asks NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca MLC in parliament when the CSP will be finalised and when it will be released. Della Bosca says he will find out and advise Khan.
17 December 2008 - As Khan has not received any information from Della Bosca, he writes to Della Bosca requesting the advice previously promised.
9 February 2008 - Della Bosca writes in reply to the 17 December 2008 letter saying the matters are under consideration and a detailed reply will be sent later.
26 February 2008 - Khan receives a reply from the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Dr Andrew McDonald MP (Macquarie Fields) stating that the CSP is currently being reviewed and has not yet been endorsed.
1 April 2008 - Khan seeks by a question in parliament an update as to when the CSP will be published. Della Bosca replies he will follow it up and get back to Khan as quickly as he can.
Friday 3 April 2009 was an unexceptional day in the NSW Parliament. Of the 93 NSW MP's, just 43 (less than 50%) bothered to show up. The rest were apparently playing truant for the day.
Can someone please explain the reason NSW MP's think they are entitled to take long-weekends and still collect their normal weekly pay ???
The truants make a mockery of parliamentary democracy in this state.
REES "ANGRY"
The regularity with which the media reports the "anger" of the faux NSW Premier, Nathan Rees MP (Toongabbie) at some event or set of circumstance, is becoming a bit monotonous. Just as predictable is Rees' statement "I will fix this" following such an outburst.
Despite his knee-jerk reaction, you can bet London to a brick on, that 3 months after the dummy spit, nothing will have changed and 6 months later the issue will be entirely forgotten by him.
The latest spat occurred on Saturday 4 April 2009.
Sky News reported:- New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees has expressed his anger after a second major power failure hit the Sydney CBD in a week, blacking out traffic lights, closing major tunnels and trapping people in lifts. Parts of the city, eastern and inner suburbs lost power for 90 minutes late this morning. About 50 thousand homes and businesses were blacked out, 50 sets of traffic lights went down, and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel was closed. EnergyAustralia says a second major supply cable failed, after a similar incident last Monday blacked out 70 thousand premises and caused traffic chaos at evening peak hour. Mr Rees says he's angry and wants to get to the bottom of the problem.
The Sun-Herald reported: PREMIER Nathan Rees was fuming after a power outage brought parts of Sydney to a standstill yesterday - the second major failure in a week. About 50,000 homes and businesses in the north of the CBD, as well as parts of eastern and inner-city suburbs, were blacked out for more than an hour when a supply cable failed at 10.30am. "I want to get to the bottom of this - it's not good enough," Mr Rees said. "I was told the other day that the chances of this happening again were one in a million." Leesha McKenny and Malcolm Brown , Outage outrage as city hit twice in same week, Sun-Herald, 5 April 2009.
The Sunday Telegraph said:- It's a very bad look and, at that moment, Mr Rees looked like a man who knew it.
ABC News was more subdued saying:- New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees says he is unhappy about the second power cut in the city this week. "I want to get to the bottom of this, it's not good enough and I'll be making that plain to Energy Australia today," he said. ABC News, Lights back on after Sydney blackout, 4 April 2009
CHRISTINE ROBERTSON HEADS "COUNTRY LABOR"
Christine Robertson MLC (Tamworth) has been appointed as Convenor of the Country Labor Parliamentary Group following the elevation of Steve Whan MP (Monaro) into the executive government as Minister for Emergency Services.
Given that the Rees government resembles a disaster zone, the appointment seems appropriate.
According to the newsletter of Country Labor Ms Robertson joined the ALP in 1980, and spent several years as the Chair of the Country Labor Committee. She has a background in health, working as a nurse at Tamworth Base Hospital and as Director of Population Health and Planning at New England Area Health service. She was elected to the NSW Legislative Council in 2003 and has been a partner in a small farming enterprise since 1980.
LABOR CONFERENCES - 2009
The ALP's National Conference (it's 45th) will be held once again at Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour from Thursday 30 July to Saturday 1 August 2009.
Many organisations have declared Saturday 1 August 2009 - National Day of Action (NDA). Hopefully the carnival atmosphere will not be spoiled by the chefs failing to have on hand special meals for some of the conference attendees.
Country Labor this year will be holding it's conference at
MADNESS INSTEAD OF COMMON SENSE
Commonsense says that the couples who went through marriage ceremonies with a marriage celebrant are married - whether there exists proof of that marriage in documentary form or not.
One can understand the inconvenience, shock and upset of those people involved in the ceremonies. However, it seems that a commonsense approach should be taken by the NSW government and the people's marriages registered as quickly as possible. After all, it seems to us that registration at the Birth Deaths and Marriages is only a means of easily proving that a marriage took place.
However, if the law is that a marriage is not complete and legal until the marriage is officially registered, then the law is an ass, and ought to be changed.
IN Australia, legislative power in relation to marriage lies exclusively with the federal parliament.
The Marriage Act 1961 sets out the requirements for a valid marriage. Our reading of the Act suggests that provided the requirements of the Act are met e.g. age, parties not married, ceremony before an authorised celebrant in presence of witnesses etc,, than such a marriage ceremony results in a valid and legal marriage, and that registration of the marriage is merely a means of facilitating proof of the marriage.
Thus the fears people (who went through valid marriage ceremonies) seem to hold, that they are not married, because there is no record of registration of the marriage, appear to be misplaced.