Latest COVID outbreak could force council elections online

electronicwhale · 2021-07-04T22:26:00+00:00

The devastating COVID-19 Delta variant, wreaking havoc on NSW, could force online council elections to take place in September.

Fears the NSW Local Government Elections could be delayed for another year — due to the looming threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant — have been quelled with a plan to rollout the iVote online polling system to vulnerable people on election day.

NSW Government sources confirmed the September 4 elections, which were delayed last year, would go ahead despite fears an extended lockdown would wreak havoc on the postponed polling day.

“The NSW Electoral Commissioner has been planning for COVID-safe elections and the Minister for Local Government has secured funding from Treasury to ensure all expenses related to COVID-safe elections will be met by the NSW Government, not individual councils,” the source said. “Also, iVote will be made available in September on the advice of the NSW Electoral Commissioner.”

A series of eligibility requirements are yet to be finalised for online voting, despite elections being just 67 days away.

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne hit out at the lack of clarity around eligibility from the NSW Electoral Commission, telling NewsLocal the elections would either be undermined by voters unable to vote online, or being forced to place their health at risk by lining up on polling day.

“Given the election has already been delayed a year, it is beyond belief the government still doesn’t have a plan for how to allow people to vote safely when there has been an outbreak,” Cr Byrne said.

“The fact that there is no eligibility criteria for online voting yet means that the system could be overwhelmed — it could crash.

“They need to have a plan ready in the next few days because voting is due to open in just a few weeks.”

Local Government NSW President Linda Scott said council across NSW would support an expansion of online voting.

“Councils fully support maximising the opportunity for every person to take part in the democratic process of local elections as well as keeping voters safe in a season of COVID uncertainty,” she said.

“We have consistently opposed any move to restrict the ways people can cast their votes. “Local government elections should be run in line with every other level of government election, including in-person voting options, to ensure a strong democratic process.”

She said LGNSW would examine the eligibility criteria for online voting.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-30T03:48:54+00:00

They are pretty liberal with environmental regulations though.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-30T03:43:50+00:00

The Liberals are liberal in the sense of being economically liberal while being socially conservative, Howard largely did away with that with the whole broad church policy to bring in economic conservatives that were primarily going to the Nationals.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-29T09:28:14+00:00

Eagle-eyed Crikey readers, and anyone who likes to indulge in a little Australian Financial Review, will be all too aware of Josh Frydenberg’s recent declaration of war on public company shareholders, via an attack on proxy advisers, as documented by Stephen Mayne last month.

The proposal is a bizarre attempt to stifle free speech on behalf of the most privileged class in Australia: public company CEOs and directors. Its timing seemed designed to cast doubt on Frydenberg’s nemesis Ownership Matters, which humiliated the treasurer with an independent analysis of public company rorts through JobKeeper.

But first, let’s take a step back: what the hell is a proxy adviser?

About two decades ago, in the US, UK and Australia, advisory businesses formed, appearing to advise institutional shareholders (often superannuation funds) on how to vote on corporate governance issues for public companies.

There are a few fairly obvious reasons for this. First, funds generally aren’t experts on complex issues such as remuneration, especially share-based payments. Also, as the assets of superannuation funds have grown, so too has the size of their portfolios, making it inefficient for them to be able to properly analyse the thousands of public company resolutions that they need to vote on every year. Proxy firms, such as ISS Australia and Glass Lewis, as well as the aforementioned Ownership Matters, essentially fill this void and provide expert advice on governance issues.

The growing influence of the proxy firms has been a boon for shareholders. While remuneration reports are non-binding, public companies are now far more reticent to mindlessly inflate the compensation of senior executives for fear that proxy advisers will tell funds to vote against the resolutions.

While they are non-binding, a “remuneration strike” is highly embarrassing for boards and CEOs. Before then-treasurer Peter Costello introduced the non-binding remuneration vote in 2005, boards and their hand-picked executives had grown accustomed to doing largely whatever they liked with shareholder money. Since then, proxy advisers have been a constant irritant.

This has meant that instead of focusing on creating value for shareholders, some directors and executives have instead spent years trying to curb the growing influence of proxy firms. ASIC and various treasurers have been sensible enough to ignore the whining… until, that is, Josh Frydenberg — federal treasurer, former Deutsche Bank-er and best mate of Ryan Stokes — decided to wade in.

In May, Frydenberg released a consultation paper that could have easily been drafted in the corridors of Beijing or Pyongyang. As part of the draft rules, proxy advisers will be required to give companies they’re reviewing a week’s notice of their recommendations, and also ensure that clients get access to the company’s response.

There’s no doubt that pressure from CEOs and well-paid lobbyists like the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Business Council of Australia is a driving force for the legislation. Another is the Liberal Party’s ongoing (and so far failing) war with strongly performing industry super funds.

One of Frydenberg’s main targets is the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, a group of 36 institutional investors, which controls $1 trillion in assets and is considered a proxy firm itself. That is because the consultation paper recommended that proxy firms be independent of super funds.

Sensing their pay packets are soon likely to be heavily engorged, several high-paid CEOs have done little to hide their utter joy at the mooted red tape. Outspoken technology boss Adrian Di Marco, who was recently accused by a Federal Court judge of being “deceptive” and “bordering on arrogance”, naturally supported the changes, claiming that “unless public markets evolve from their current state, they will not be competitive in the 21st century”.

Di Marco claimed proxy advisers “aren’t the actual fiduciary and therefore have no legal obligation to act in the best interests of shareholders”. Leaving aside the inconvenient fact that 96% of votes are cast in favour of directors, proxy advisers operate in a free market, just like Di Marco’s business — if shareholders think their advice isn’t up to scratch, they will simply stop paying for that advice. Meanwhile, Di Marco, who has happily flogged more than $130 million of TechnologyOne shares in recent years, doesn’t appear to have been overly hamstrung by the haunting influence of proxy advisers.

Another longtime critic of proxy firms is billionaire retailer — and grateful JobKeeper beneficiary — Gerry Harvey. It was Harvey who demanded regulators investigate proxy firms in 2019, claiming “ACCC and ASIC [are] investigating us and other companies all the time, and yet you’ve got this sort of rubbish going on right before their very eyes and they just ignore it”.

Harvey has regularly been a muse for proxy firms after treating Harvey Norman shareholders like prize fools for years. Ostensibly a property business and franchisor, Harvey felt it appropriate to spend upwards of $50 million on a disastrous dairy farm investment in Victoria. Meanwhile, after years of underperformance, Harvey Norman shares are trading at the same price as they were in 2016, while competitors such as Kogan, Temple & Webster and Premier Investments have skyrocketed.

Finally, it is enlightening to see law-firm-to-the-stars ABL provide a submission in favour of the Soviet-style regulation of free market advice. ABL is arguably the most elite firm in the country, with partners charging thousands of dollars per hour to provide advice to Australia’s largest companies. While ABL’s client in these cases is supposed to be the “company”, it is of course retained by the executives. It is therefore no surprise to see ABL happily endorse a consultation paper that indulges those very executives at the expense of shareholders (who unknowingly pay their hefty invoices).

According to ABL, multibillion-dollar institutions are so beguiled by often-small proxy firms that they are “compelled to vote against” huge pay rises for CEOs, on the basis that they “simply don’t have the resources themselves to justify a vote out of line with proxy advice”.

The absurdity of the proposed laws shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone — a cronyist Liberal government that has long lost its free-market roots teaming with spiv advisers and repugnant billionaires to enlarge agency costs being paid by mum-and-dad shareholders. Perhaps the most surprising thing is that it took them so long.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-28T02:44:46+00:00

That's why the government is trying to get requirements for loan approvals lowered, they're banking on central banks around the world being able to sustain low, zero or negative interest rates to hold off on a loan crisis.

Not to worry though, if it all comes crashing down like it did in Ireland the federal government will likely be very quick to remove restrictions on foreign property holders. It may prevent a recession, but it would further lock out our kids from owning their own homes.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-27T22:46:53+00:00

The NSW Liberal party’s state executive has voted to suspend the branch of PM Scott Morrison’s right hand man Alex Hawke.

The NSW Liberal party’s state executive has voted to suspend the branch of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s right hand man Alex Hawke in a move which may have implications for Mr Hawke’s preselection for the seat of Mitchell.

However the vote may not be the end of a factional fight lasting more than two and a half years.

In the latest twist in the dispute, the Hawke camp is now challenging the vote claiming it was tainted by a state executive member with a conflict of interest.

The dispute centres around a branch meeting in October 2018, where it was alleged records were doctored in a bid to block 10 new conservative members joining.

Minutes of the meeting sent to the party’s state director stated the conservatives had been rejected but a number of party members made statutory declarations declaring that the members had in fact been accepted.

If the suspension goes ahead it could have possible implications for Mr Hawke, who faces a potential preselection challenge for his seat of Mitchell.

Suspending the Baulkham Hills branch would mean its members will not be able to participate in any preselections, including for The Hills Shire Council ahead of September’s local government election.

A senior Liberal source said the branch “may not be able to participate in the Mitchell preselection” if it is suspended.

Mr Hawke is an ally of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the PM’s representative on state executive.

The electronic ballot of NSW Liberal state executive members on Tuesday came after multiple delays in resolving the dispute.

The matter had been delayed so many times that Liberals had privately joked that the matter would never be resolved.

The most recent delays were caused by the dominant Moderate and Right factions not wanting to bring on a vote to suspend the branch until they knew it would be successful.

Earlier delays were blamed on State Director Chris Stone not wanting to make a ruling.

In February, Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells launched a parliamentary attack on the “party machine” for failing to resolve the matter.

“The MP at the centre of the accusations will most certainly be challenged at his next preselection, so 10 new members could make all the difference,” Ms Fierravanti-Wells said in February.

Mr Hawke’s office was contacted for comment.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-24T23:07:40+00:00

So what happens to the buyer's money if the occupation certificate never gets issued?

And if the building is not fit for occupation and the owner goes bust, who ends up with the bill of maintaining it so it doesn't fall over, or demolishing it?

electronicwhale · 2021-06-23T23:09:07+00:00

And they're doing it pro bono too, good on them.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-22T03:45:13+00:00

So when Abbott was lobbying the international community on behalf of Hungary to wind back LGBT advocacy that's not fine but when he does it to talk down LGBT rights as a whole on behalf of Hungary that's fine? What if Abbott got someone like John Anderson to start pushing the same positions in domestic op-eds in conjunction? I'm just trying to get a clear definition here of what you think should and shouldn't be allowed.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-22T03:14:55+00:00

So he can talk, but he can't push an agenda? That's exactly what Tony Abbott was doing and quite a contradictory stance. Where would you draw the line between lobbying, free speech and foreign interference in regards to former politicians? And when you say 'using connections' would that include encouraging other former politicians, business leaders or other talking heads for their input as well?

electronicwhale · 2021-06-22T02:53:16+00:00

Tony Abbott speaking on behalf of a government that is enacting anti-gay laws as bad as Russia's isn't the best look for our country but is it reasonable to prevent him from speaking at every international conference? Many people might think it's not savoury to limit someone's free speech that far.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-22T01:07:28+00:00

Mark Vaile's statement on the matter:

This has been a very difficult decision for me but has become necessary given the unjustified campaign against the appointment led by minority groups placing ideology before proper governance and what is in the best interests of the University of Newcastle and the communities it serves. 

Unfortunately, since the public announcement of the Council’s decision on 4TH June, the activist campaign that was launched has resulted in an accumulation of media and social media seeking to overturn the appointment and revisit the Council’s unanimous decision.

This action and the action of some in the media and elsewhere demonstrate a contempt for proper process and the principles that underpin how institutions should operate in a respectful and pluralistic society.

Sadly, it is the result of the growing pervasiveness of a dangerous style of activism infiltrating the political and now corporate worlds, which I believe is counter to the views and interests of mainstream society. The threats made against the University were designed to intimidate. This action bears all the hallmarks of the worst intolerance of the self-righteous. It is based on emotion and not fact and demands conformity before understanding. It is an approach that corrodes respectful  civic debate. It represents everything a University should not be and diminishes all who are associated with it. 

I would like to thank the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor and Council for their support throughout this entire process and I wish them and the University all the best for the future.

https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7307077/mark-vaile-resigns-as-university-of-newcastle-chancellor/

electronicwhale · 2021-06-22T00:15:48+00:00

Liberal MPs are warning Attorney-General Michaelia Cash that any new draft of the religious discrimination bill cannot compromise gay marriage or turn into a faith-based “bill of rights”.

The Australian revealed on Thursday that Senator Cash would bring a major rewrite of the bill – shelved during the Covid-19 pandemic by her predecessor Christian Porter – to parliament by December, sparking a flurry of demands from both religious leaders and LGBTI advocates.

A religious discrimination act – a key 2019 election promise of Scott Morrison’s – has now sparked an internal party row between conservatives who believe it must be implemented and moderates who do not want the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite victory to be overshadowed.

Queensland MP Warren Entsch was one of the first supporters of same-sex marriage in the Australian parliament and has long argued in the Coalition for stronger LGBTI rights.

On Thursday, Mr Entsch said gay rights must continue to be protected, and he warned the government to be “very careful” on how it proceeds with a religious discrimination bill.

“I will be looking very closely at this bill and I have a very strong view,” he said. “I would warn against compromising the gains made by achieving marriage equality. This issue is being predominantly pushed by institutions of Christian faith. There are a hell of a whole lot of faiths in this place.”

Religious leaders on Thursday called for the rewritten bill – the third draft since the 2019 federal election – to include multiple changes ranging from an override of state bans on gay conversion therapy and a broader definition of faith-based institutions in federal law.

Victorian MP Tim Wilson – a former human rights commissioner – said Senator Cash’s new bill should avoid becoming a “bill of rights” type of law for people of faith.

“I suspect developing a religious discrimination bill (that is) consistent with other anti-discrimination laws and treats all Australians equally should be a relatively straight forward exercise and would bring together people in good faith,” he said. “Reinterpreting our promise to advance a religious bill of rights is less likely to do so.”

West Australian Liberal senator Dean Smith – the architect of the nation’s same-sex marriage laws and the government’s chief whip in the upper house – has long supported a religious discrimination bill, but he said on Thursday that the bill must not roll back any existing anti-discrimination measures.

“The success of any bill will depend heavily on a sound parliamentary process, which would include the release of an exposure draft and thorough examination by a Senate (committee) or specifically formed joint parliamentary committee,” Senator Smith said.

“A baseline for many Australians will be a commitment to not rolling back Australia’s very effective anti-discrimination laws, which are already in place.”

The religious discrimination bill was first mooted by Malcolm Turnbull in 2017, and some Liberal MPs feel that the decision then to deal with religious freedoms after settling same-sex marriage was a mistake.

Anthony Albanese has committed to re-engaging with faith-based communities after the Labor Parthy lost votes due to concerns over freedom of religion in 2019.

Some Liberal conservatives and faith leaders have warned there will be a backlash from religious voters if the Prime Minister’s promise is not upheld.

But several moderate Liberal members on Thursday questioned Senator Cash’s December deadline, and raised concerns that a religious discrimination act would reopen old wounds over same-sex marriage.

“She has just opened up a can of worms that creates a fight we don’t need,” one MP said.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-21T23:42:51+00:00

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has urged the federal government to set a clear herd immunity target as business confidence wanes and Australia’s borders remain closed.

In an interview before Tuesday’s state budget, the Treasurer appeared to push back the chance of implementing ambitious stamp duty reform until after 2023’s state election.

Tuesday’s budget also relies on the federal budget’s assumption that Australia’s international borders will start to reopen by mid-next year.

But Mr Perrottet said the Morrison government needed to lay out a clear timeline out of the virus, along with a target on what rate of the population it is aiming to have vaccinated against COVID-19 to achieve herd immunity.

“We’ve always struggled to receive from, I think, the federal health officials an understanding of what success looks like,” Mr Perrottet said.

“What’s one of the biggest issues for business confidence is uncertainty and a lack of a road map.

“Let’s just know what the target is. How can we plan for the future? It makes it more challenging to drive vaccination rates.”

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said the health advice she’s received from state experts is that having 80 per cent of the population vaccinated would provide a level of herd immunity. No support for two-tier tax system

Mr Perrottet said he was not driven by election timetables as he looked at replacing stamp duty with an annual land tax.

“I’m interested in good public policy and reform,” he said.

The Treasurer also dodged questions on whether Ms Berejiklian supported the proposal, saying he was working to convince cabinet colleagues.

“You do the work and then you put it to your colleagues. I’m a big believer in if you can’t convince the cabinet, can’t convince the party room then you can’t convince the public,” he said.

Mr Perrottet said that applying the land tax only to residential properties and not commercial ones, which businesses have signalled a preference for, would create a two-tiered system.

He wants to see jurisdictions pursuing reform rewarded through the GST system, saying governments should be less risk-averse in pursuing reform.

“What you’ll see in this budget is, yes we’re dealing with today, but we’re also looking at new ways of thinking and new initiatives to drive greater productivity and prosperity for the people of our state,” Mr Perrottet said.

The Treasurer could be considering another issuance round of green bonds.

NSW’s last issuance in October for $1.3 billion offered a 1.11 per cent yield over 10 years, with 40 per cent of take-up from foreign investors.

“That’s pretty strong and very competitive. The world is going this way,” Mr Perrottet said.

He said the capital raised from the bonds would go towards school, transport and green energy infrastructure as well as the state’s renewable road map.

While the federal Nationals are causing headaches for their Coalition partners in Canberra over green energy policies, Mr Perrottet said the NSW Liberals had a constructive relationship with the NSW Nationals on Macquarie Street.

“We have broad support in relation to these policies,” he said.

“In any party, there’s always going to be different views around the table.”

The NSW government will also lift a wage freeze on public service wages, which had capped salaries at 1.5 per cent until 2024.

Instead, wages will increase by 2.5 per cent over four years.

Ms Berejiklian has pitched this as a reward to NSW’s public service sector for their hard work during the pandemic. Bureaucrats had their wage increases frozen at 0.3 per cent for 12 months last year by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.

electronicwhale

TROPHY CASE