Sometimes the blogosphere seems riddled with rubbish, other times it is brimming with chestnuts worth digesting. The balls-up in the NSW Parliament by Labor in its marital tiff with The Shooters is burning up the blogosphere. Here is a small sample of varying quality of what I've seen:
* North Coast Voices - 29/08/09
* The Petition Site - 6/08/09
* Radio 2SER Razors Edge - 26/07/09
* Care 2 News Network - 22/08/09
* Alternative Media - 21/08/09
* Feral Thoughts - 17/08/09
* From Magna Carta To Here - 3/09/09
* Animals Australia - 26/06/09
* Venting Vegan - 7/08/09
* The Bull - 24/06/09
* NSW Law & Justice Monitor - 4/09/09
* Bartlett's Soap Box - 4/09/09
SkyNews offers an abridged version culled of the story from the Daily Telegraph today.
The Australian looks at the planned shooting range at Hill Top and flirts with providing an incomplete picture as to why Labor had a deal with The Greens that led to the loss of The Shooters Party votes since June.
The Sydney Morning Herald for 3/09/09 has its profile on the Parliamentary stalemate.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Labor & Shooters! I Almost Choked on My Weeties!
This morning I nearly choked to death with laughter as I had my Weet-Bix stuck in my throat. I saw the Sydney Morning Herald's article about The Shooters Party. Labor doesn't get it! If you support the boys with guns you'll alienate the community that supports conservation, ecology, and preserving animals (The Green vote). If you support The Green-style vote (which you should) then the loony-bin brigade will rally to put yet another Shooter in Parliament in 2011.
This lot of Labor don't have even the barbed-wire nous of an ultra conservative like Tony Abbott who effectively knocked One Nation off its perch.
And when will journalists turn the spotlight on the cause of the deadlock in Parliament? Why were The Shooters put off-side? It was Attorney General Hatzistergos' rabid lobbying in late June to push through the ridiculous merger of the Protective Commissioner. The public didn't want it. The disability advocates didn't want it. But Mr Hatzistergos and his off-kick Glanfield dug their heels in. They ran amok among the minor parties looking for support. The Greens said "ok" but Labor had to kick The Shooters. So, remember that the Attorney General, first-law officer of the state helped to stuff his own party's prospects of pushing through any more bills in the Legislative Council.
What has Labor done since the recess in June and the re-opening on Tuesday? Oh the de facto Premier Wedderburn tried to offer a lamb chop to The Shooters but the doggies wouldn't bite! So look at the "better service" delivery NSW is now receiving from Labor. It is surreal!
This lot of Labor don't have even the barbed-wire nous of an ultra conservative like Tony Abbott who effectively knocked One Nation off its perch.
And when will journalists turn the spotlight on the cause of the deadlock in Parliament? Why were The Shooters put off-side? It was Attorney General Hatzistergos' rabid lobbying in late June to push through the ridiculous merger of the Protective Commissioner. The public didn't want it. The disability advocates didn't want it. But Mr Hatzistergos and his off-kick Glanfield dug their heels in. They ran amok among the minor parties looking for support. The Greens said "ok" but Labor had to kick The Shooters. So, remember that the Attorney General, first-law officer of the state helped to stuff his own party's prospects of pushing through any more bills in the Legislative Council.
What has Labor done since the recess in June and the re-opening on Tuesday? Oh the de facto Premier Wedderburn tried to offer a lamb chop to The Shooters but the doggies wouldn't bite! So look at the "better service" delivery NSW is now receiving from Labor. It is surreal!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Della Bosca Resigned. Another One Bites The Dust
So Mr Della Bosca's ambitions to be Premier are well and truly over! Like so many living in the world of politics in Macquarie Street, it seems he was losing the plot about his life. The scandal that has engulfed his life and career is nothing new in NSW politics.
The NSW Health portfolio will now require yet another ministerial appointment, a certain kiss of death to whoever takes it on. Since 2005 we have had Hatzistergos, Meagher, and Della Bosca - not an awe-inspiring cast. Meagher left Parliament a year ago; Della Bosca will languish in obscurity and will surely be finished; and only Hatzistergos remains with his hands on industrial relations and law.
The NSW Health portfolio will now require yet another ministerial appointment, a certain kiss of death to whoever takes it on. Since 2005 we have had Hatzistergos, Meagher, and Della Bosca - not an awe-inspiring cast. Meagher left Parliament a year ago; Della Bosca will languish in obscurity and will surely be finished; and only Hatzistergos remains with his hands on industrial relations and law.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Rees' 1st anniversary
What a ramshackle first anniversary for Nathan Rees:
* A state down the toilet in every sense of the word;
* A squabbling Labor party;
* A stalemate in the Legislative Council;
* A court system in disarray;
* A stupid spin doctor programme called 13 Super Departments;
* A crumbling public sector;
* Hospitals well and truly stuffed;
* No plans and no work done to improve the transport for the south west and north west of Sydney
* Rural/regional services stretched beyond breaking
And now the self-serving interests of the business community comes on line to haunt Rees.
Bring on the state election now!
* A state down the toilet in every sense of the word;
* A squabbling Labor party;
* A stalemate in the Legislative Council;
* A court system in disarray;
* A stupid spin doctor programme called 13 Super Departments;
* A crumbling public sector;
* Hospitals well and truly stuffed;
* No plans and no work done to improve the transport for the south west and north west of Sydney
* Rural/regional services stretched beyond breaking
And now the self-serving interests of the business community comes on line to haunt Rees.
Bring on the state election now!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Finally Public Administration in NSW Under the Gun
Finally there is some mainstream media discussion of the public administration policies of the NSW Government! An excerpt from Beverley Kingston's essay in Sydney Ideas Quarterly has been published in today's edition of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Kingston refers to the problem as the "rotting core". She quite rightly points out that once upon a time the management of departments involved people who stood up to ministers and who could plan long term regardless of who was running Macquarie Street. Now the senior bureaucrats are mere puppets and political animals who do their masters' bidding. They fulfil stupid contracts and write up reports of their performance indicators and claim that they "led" the department in doing x, y, and z.
Usually the executive bureaucrat does nothing at all in working out the details of x, y and z because the schemes are delegated to employees who do the grunt work. Employees are rarely thanked but are expected to deliver results irrespective of whether scheme was feasible in the first place.
When a scheme goes belly up the senior executive bureaucrat reacts like a pit-bull attacking employees. Executive bureaucrats like to take credit but never the responsibility for orchestrating things that may be plain stupid, unworkable or even implausible. These days there seems to be no regard for deep intelligence, skill, and acquired knowledge needed to run departments.
Kingston says:
"The instructions coming from the top are not necessarily informed or relevant, but frequently overwhelm the ability of individuals with expert on-the-spot knowledge to take an initiative or defy a direction."
How true! I've seen senior bureaucrats react with sandpit temper tantrums when someone with intelligence tells the boss the facts of life run contrary to the proposed policy or scheme.
That's why a colonic irrigation clean-out is needed: Directors-General of departments and their deputy subordinate sycophants must go from the NSW public service. The places to start the clean-up are the departments of Health, Attorney General, and Transport.
Kingston refers to the problem as the "rotting core". She quite rightly points out that once upon a time the management of departments involved people who stood up to ministers and who could plan long term regardless of who was running Macquarie Street. Now the senior bureaucrats are mere puppets and political animals who do their masters' bidding. They fulfil stupid contracts and write up reports of their performance indicators and claim that they "led" the department in doing x, y, and z.
Usually the executive bureaucrat does nothing at all in working out the details of x, y and z because the schemes are delegated to employees who do the grunt work. Employees are rarely thanked but are expected to deliver results irrespective of whether scheme was feasible in the first place.
When a scheme goes belly up the senior executive bureaucrat reacts like a pit-bull attacking employees. Executive bureaucrats like to take credit but never the responsibility for orchestrating things that may be plain stupid, unworkable or even implausible. These days there seems to be no regard for deep intelligence, skill, and acquired knowledge needed to run departments.
Kingston says:
"The instructions coming from the top are not necessarily informed or relevant, but frequently overwhelm the ability of individuals with expert on-the-spot knowledge to take an initiative or defy a direction."
How true! I've seen senior bureaucrats react with sandpit temper tantrums when someone with intelligence tells the boss the facts of life run contrary to the proposed policy or scheme.
That's why a colonic irrigation clean-out is needed: Directors-General of departments and their deputy subordinate sycophants must go from the NSW public service. The places to start the clean-up are the departments of Health, Attorney General, and Transport.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Another Lame Duck Premier About To Depart
Yes, it is just a mere formality before Nathan Rees ceases to be Premier of NSW and a new marionette show orchestrated from the right-wing faction of the ALP begins. The choice of a woman - Kristina Keneally or Carmel Tebbutt - will be a change of puppet for sure. But the lads in Sussex Street miss the point: we are not fooled by the attempt to imitate Queensland with Anna Bligh.
As the Upper House relationship between the ALP and the Shooters Party remains at a stalemate the prospect of a hung Parliament needing to be dissolved for an election looms large.
The members of Cabinet should be asking themselves how did they end up in this mess. All they have to do is think back to the absurd lobbying of Laurie Glanfield and John Hatzistergos over the merger of the Protective Commissioner and Public Trustee in June. They secured the passage for that via wooing The Greens in exchange for stuffing up The Shooter's bill on bang-bangs in National Parks. If Glanfield and Hatzistergos had not been so adamant about pushing through on that issue then maybe Labor would still have The Shooters onside. Now they don't and it is impossible to govern the state without at least 3 secure votes from minor parties.
As the Upper House relationship between the ALP and the Shooters Party remains at a stalemate the prospect of a hung Parliament needing to be dissolved for an election looms large.
The members of Cabinet should be asking themselves how did they end up in this mess. All they have to do is think back to the absurd lobbying of Laurie Glanfield and John Hatzistergos over the merger of the Protective Commissioner and Public Trustee in June. They secured the passage for that via wooing The Greens in exchange for stuffing up The Shooter's bill on bang-bangs in National Parks. If Glanfield and Hatzistergos had not been so adamant about pushing through on that issue then maybe Labor would still have The Shooters onside. Now they don't and it is impossible to govern the state without at least 3 secure votes from minor parties.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Premier Rees Takes A Vacation! Ha!
Premier Rees has vanished for the week before Parliament resumes. That gives the gals and boys time now to sharpen their daggers when Caesar returns for the frenzied Ides of March doom that awaits him. More puppetry of the Premier show!
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