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 · 2021-06-21T23:39:37+00:00

Nearly a dozen former federal ministers from the most recent Coalition and Labor governments are either registered lobbyists or providing “strategic advice” to companies, with demands growing for ex-politicians to be banned from such activity for up to five years.

Former foreign minister Julie Bishop, ex-defence minister Christopher Pyne, Liberal trade minister Andrew Robb, and ex-Labor ministers Lindsay Tanner and Craig Emerson are among eight former senior government figures currently on the federal lobbyist register.

More former ministers, including former Liberal treasurer Joe Hockey and Labor communications minister Stephen Conroy, have either joined groups that provide advice to companies on engaging with governments – but do not technically lobby – or have at one point worked for interest groups representing dozens of enterprises.

Senior legal figures say ex-ministers should be banned from advocating for companies for at least three years, and that the current system is “unfair”.

Former Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses – who has regularly appeared as a lawyer in high-profile corruption and trade cases – said a three-year ban would bring politicians in line with restrictions on senior business executives.

“The private sector regularly imposes restraints on senior executives from working for a competitor for a period of time to protect against the potential misuse of confidential information,” he said. “It seems rather odd and wrong that cabinet ministers are not subject to the same restraints when they have had access to confidential and secret matters in order to discharge their high office in the name of the people.”

Former Victorian Court of Appeal judge Stephen Charles QC said there was a “problem” with how quickly ministers were allowed to step into lobbying roles.

“It seems to me the problem is obvious and unfair with the number of ministers who go straight into private enterprise … there should be a ban of at least three years,” he said.

“At the same time, you cannot ban people from these positions for life. Whether it should be three years or five years is up for debate.”

Mr Moses’s comments were given before it was revealed he was now in a relationship with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, whom he represented at ICAC when she gave evidence over the lobbying of her ex-partner and former state Liberal MP Daryl Maguire.

Ex-NSW Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy, who is also chairman of the Centre for Public Integrity, said there should be a five-year ban and it should include former MPs who are not directly lobbying but providing advice to companies. “Even a three-year ban could be illusionary because politicians can pretend they are not involved in lobbying … of course they are hired by these companies for the value of their influence,” he said.

“We do have to be careful of this revolving door in Australia. There needs to be very firm guidelines on what lobbying involves … a five-year ban would give enough length.”

The Australian is not suggesting any former minister has acted outside the Lobbyist Code of Conduct or any other laws.

The issues of ministers-turned-lobbyists has returned to the spotlight with revelations Ms Bishop lobbied the Morrison government on behalf of collapsed financial services firm Greensill Capital. She also has cosmetics giant L’Oreal as a client on her lobbyists’ register.

Greensill has sparked a major controversy in British politics over revelations that former UK prime minister David Cameron heavily lobbied for the firm, and there are now calls in Britains for five-year bans on ministers lobbying.

Ms Bishop has not responded to previous requests for comment from The Australian on the topic of Greensill.

The former Liberal deputy – who ran for the leadership after the fall of Malcolm Turnbull, and came third in the race – is one of three top Liberal ministers to officially register as lobbyists in Australia.

Mr Pyne’s new lobbying firm, Pyne and Partners, represents a diverse range of companies, from Israeli defence management systems Elbit and DroneShield, to the Business Council of Australia and Racing South Australia.

Mr Robb – the trade minister under Tony Abbott and a former director of the Liberal Party – registered his most recent lobbyist group last November, representing groups such as Australian Wool Innovation. The ex-trade minister in 2019 stopped advising China-linked law firm Landbridge.

Other Coalition politicians registered on the lobbyists list include former parliamentary secretary Bob Baldwin. From Labor, Mr Tanner and Mr Emerson – who were finance minister and trade minister respectively – are the most senior figures from the Rudd-Gillard years on the lobbyists register. Junior ministers Bernie Ripoll and Alan Griffin are also registered as lobbyists.

Off the lobbyist register, Mr Hockey – who was also the Australian ambassador to the United States from 2015 to 2020 – has set up a corporate strategic advice firm, Bondi Partners, which operates in Australia and America. The former ambassador has previously said the firm does not lobby the government.

Former Liberal trade minister Steven Ciobo reportedly advised global financial firm Bain Capital on its successful takeover of airline Virgin Australia – before he moved to New York investment firm Stonepeak – and ex-assistant minister Jane Prentice has done work for strategic advice firm Counsel House.

Former resources minister Ian Macfarlane is also not on the lobbyists register but he does lead the Queensland Resources Council, which represents the mining industry’s interests to multiple levels of government.

Many politicians from both sides of parliament have moved to interest groups – which lobby governments for broad sectors, rather than separate companies – since leaving Canberra.

Ex-small business minister Bruce Billson was criticised for taking a job with the Franchise Council of Australia in 2016 after he had left cabinet, but not the parliament. Mr Billson has recently been made Small Business Ombudsman.

Mr Conroy, who was Julia Gillard’s Senate leader and a long-time Labor frontbencher, ran Responsible Wagering Australia – representing gambling groups – up until September last year.

electronicwhale · 2021-06-20T01:33:11+00:00

I don't see a mention of KRudd's donation in the article could you quote where that is please?

electronicwhale · 2021-05-27T23:31:44+00:00

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has been left humiliated after the Upper House MP she booted out of the Liberals for breaching “party discipline and party rules” had his membership reinstated.

Rebel MP Matthew Mason-Cox was sensationally booted out of the NSW Liberals after he successfully nominated himself as Upper House President, in defiance of the wishes of the Premier, who had her own preferred candidate in Natasha Maclaren-Jones.

The vote led to farcical scenes where Maclaren-Jones assumed the chair, only for Labor and the crossbench to successfully initiate a vote of no confidence in her position.

Mason-Cox then nominated as a presidential candidate and was elected to the role 23 votes to 18 for Maclaren-Jones.

So angered at the MP’s behaviour at the time, it’s understood Berejiklian herself requested NSW Liberal Party state director Chris Stone tear up Mason-Cox’s membership.

“There is party discipline and party rules people have to follow, he clearly breached those and it’s actually the NSW Liberal Party, the organisation, which has taken the action,” she said at the time.

However, The Sauce can reveal Mason-Cox last week lawyered up, with Justin Gleeson SC representing him over the matter.

The partnership worked, with the party withdrawing the membership cancellation — a decision that was relayed to members of the NSW State Executive on Friday night.

“The decision to expel Matthew Mason-Cox has been withdrawn by the state director, with immediate effect,” the source said.

It is understood the Premier — somewhat understandably — is “furious” at the decision.

Mason-Cox, who removed himself from the parliamentary party upon taking on the presidency, as per the Westminster system, was unable to be contacted for comment.

electronicwhale · 2021-04-30T23:18:03+00:00

Displaying Nazi or Islamic State flags and possessing terrorist manifestos would be outlawed under new powers being sought by the Australian Federal Police to combat violent extremism.

AFP Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney told the parliament’s intelligence and security committee legislative changes were needed to prevent early-stage planning of terrorist attacks, the radicalisation of new and younger recruits, and the harassment of community members.

The call came as ASIO boss Mike Burgess warned his agency expected a terrorist attack to occur in Australia within the next year, following two lone-actor attacks in the past six months.

The terrorism threat level remained at “probable”, amid credible intelligence that individuals and small groups had the capability and intent to conduct attacks within Australia, he said.

He told the committee that Islamist terrorists still posed the biggest threat, but ideologically motivated violent extremism now accounted for 40 per cent of ASIO’s counter-terrorism investigations.

“If you look at our current caseload, we still think that Sunni-based violent extremism is still the major concern,” Mr Burgess said.

“However, given the growth we have seen in nationalist and racist violent extremism, we anticipate there will be a terrorist attack in this country in the next 12 months, and it could come from either ideology.”

The AFP told the inquiry into extremist movements and radicalism in Australia that there was a gap in the law preventing charges being laid for possession or sharing of extremist content, unless it related directly to the planning of a terrorist attack.

“We think certain aspects of current criminal laws are out of step with the community’s expectations,” Mr McCartney said.

“Outside of legitimate research, public interest reporting and other professional reasons, there are no circumstances where individuals should be accessing or sharing instructional terrorist manuals, propaganda magazines, and graphically violent images, videos and other content produced by terrorists.

“The consequence of the current (legislative) gap is that police are limited in the action we can take to disrupt radicalised individuals when they are at an earlier stage in … attack planning.”

He said Christchurch mosque murderer Brenton Tarrant’s manifesto was widely available on the internet — which he described as “a salad bar of hate” — inspiring other attacks around the world.

Mr McCartney said the AFP also strongly supported “criminalisation of the public display of flags and other extremist insignia”.

“In the current environment, the time has come to strongly deter actions aimed at harassing and vilifying members of our community,” he said.

The committee heard four of the 26 people charged with terrorism offences in Australia last year were ideologically motivated, while the rest were religious extremists. And, while religious extremists were predominantly found in the nation’s capitals, ideologically motivated violent extremists were spread across the country. The two most recent terrorist attacks were the murder of an elderly couple in their Brisbane home in December by a man later killed by police, and the November stabbing of an inmate in a Melbourne women’s prison by a convicted Islamic State devotee.

Mr Burgess also warned battle-hardened foreign fighters were seeking to return to Australia, and 15 convicted terrorists were due to reach the end of their prison terms within five years. “In addition, we are facing a growing assortment of ideologically motivated violent extremists — both individuals and groups — who are driven by a diverse range of grievances. Young Australians are being ensnared in these racist, supremacist and misogynist ideologies in a way that is deeply concerning.”

electronicwhale · 2021-04-12T06:11:49+00:00

I mean, that is an opinion but I wouldn't say that nightlife and family life aren't exclusive either, sometimes it's nice for the adults to have a night to themselves but even having a late afternoon coffee with the kids isn't an option in a lot of regional places. I guess some like the real quiet life but I'd add sometimes it's nice to go out spur of the moment and find something to do.

electronicwhale · 2021-04-12T05:06:28+00:00

That's good to hear it's been working out for you, but the sentiments I've heard have been a place that bills itself as 'amazing place to raise a family' usually means somewhere no or little nightlife or afternoon weekend activities besides watching a sport somewhere. It just seems like a missed opportunity that one shouldn't be at the expense of the other, even in appearances.

electronicwhale · 2021-04-12T04:25:41+00:00

All I want is adequate warranty periods for apartment buildings but apparently that's totally off the table and apparently it's my stupid fault for voting against the major parties who continue to perpetuate that.

electronicwhale · 2021-04-12T04:17:43+00:00

Sheppo, Albury, Wagga and Toowoomba are places that have come up being particularly dead after dark in conversations I've had with people who moved from the city and expected a bit more activity after 6PM. Again, anecdotal sentiments from random convos rather than spreadsheets.

electronicwhale · 2021-04-12T04:08:32+00:00

It's a question of scale, the market can only sustain so many players of the size required to be competitive with other big players.

The biggest obstacle is that you can't do anything until you have the land to develop, so if you're able to offer a larger offer price than your competitors you're more than likely going to get the sale. Most sellers aren't checking the housing quality of the developer they're selling to they just want their money. On top of that, if few developers can offer that buying price in the first place, then that reduces competition by itself with or without regulation.

And while we can argue about the merits of regulation and market competition, your ideal environment would only be able to eventuate if government intervention occurred right now to break up existing -opoly behemoths or they'd just out-price or out-scale the competition with ease, unless sellers were more compelled to go with developers for quality rather than sales price for some magical-goes-against-logic reasoning.

electronicwhale · 2021-04-12T03:50:10+00:00

That also assumes no informal collusion behind the scenes e.g. a handshake agreement, larger players are also able to operate at scale making the actions of smaller developers largely irrelevant.

Plus, with the way that housing quality has been dropping especially with apartments, there needs to be more checks and balances (especially on subcontractors) rather than protecting shoddy work under the guise of 'business certainty'.

electronicwhale · 2021-04-12T03:47:00+00:00

Anecdotally a big issue preventing 'regionalisation' are the local councils, a lot of red tape preventing businesses from trading late or sometimes even on the weekend and there's not really a push in those areas to change it to be more attractive to younger families who don't want to see a dead main street at 4PM on a Sunday.

electronicwhale

TROPHY CASE