Three of the four officially declared Blue Mountains hopefuls have confirmed their attendance at the Blue Mountains Union Council (BMUC's) meet the candidates forum next week.
Labor candidate Trish Doyle, Independent Janet Mays and Kerrin O'Grady of the Greens we confirmed their attendance at the March 12 event.
Liberal candidate Roza Sage as yet to confirm, however BMUC president Kerry Cooke said he was hopeful she would still turn up.
"We were disappointed that only two of the three key candidates in the lead up to the federal election [in August last year] agreed to attend the forum, and we hope the Liberal state candidate, Roza Sage, makes herself available to questioning from the engaged Upper Mountains community," he said in a statement.
"The forum is still a couple of weeks away, so there is plenty of time for the Liberal candidate to agree to attend."
A chair would be set aside for Mrs Sage at the event, Mr Cooke said. -
A comment on the issue had not been received from Mrs Sage's campaign team at the time of going to press.
The public is welcome to attend the event, which takes place from 2.3Opm at Katoomba's Family Hotel. For more information, log onto www.bmucinc.com or contact Debra Smith on 4787-1401.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Blue Mountains environmental history
No joy from O'Farrell
letter to Blue Mountains Gazette 2 March 2011
Some of us can remember what the Blue Mountains was like a generation ago and what has been achieved during this time and now, and properly so, taken for granted.
The election of the Carr Labor government in 1995 saw the national parks boundaries rationalised and dramatically changed as part of the beginning of the long campaign to get World Heritage listing which came five years later.
This was a time when subdivided blocks of land were on the ridges from Mount Victoria, Blackheath, Katoomba and Leura in full view of our world famous lookouts. Subdivided and inappropriately zoned blocks were across all of our now pristine wilderness areas all the way to Glenbrook and Lapstone and in most cases in the now national parks.
One of the boundaries of the national park actually went down the middle of the second sister of the world famous Three Sisters at Echo Point.
Going way back during the early 1980s, our national parks were managed by a committee of dedicated volunteers with almost no staff to back up the huge job of managing the environment.
Administrations were set up and the processes put into place, mainly through the National Parks and Wildlife Service, to begin the long and difficult task of managing our environment.
During this time our environment was polluted to the point where almost no creek or water stream was safe and we had weed infestation and the like across our entire community.
Large amounts of funding were invested to ensure the proper management structures and support staff were in place to do the necessary repairs.
Today and into the future there is still a lot of work to do.
My clear recollection of the Liberal government from 1988 to 1995 was that they were famous for huge cutbacks made to the administration of our national parks to the,point where it almost went back to the volunteer days.
I have read the policy speech delivered by Barry O'Farrell recently at Penrith and found nothing that the Blue Mountains community can find any joy in. As a matter of fact it asked more questions than it gave details of anything.
letter to Blue Mountains Gazette 2 March 2011
Some of us can remember what the Blue Mountains was like a generation ago and what has been achieved during this time and now, and properly so, taken for granted.
The election of the Carr Labor government in 1995 saw the national parks boundaries rationalised and dramatically changed as part of the beginning of the long campaign to get World Heritage listing which came five years later.
This was a time when subdivided blocks of land were on the ridges from Mount Victoria, Blackheath, Katoomba and Leura in full view of our world famous lookouts. Subdivided and inappropriately zoned blocks were across all of our now pristine wilderness areas all the way to Glenbrook and Lapstone and in most cases in the now national parks.
One of the boundaries of the national park actually went down the middle of the second sister of the world famous Three Sisters at Echo Point.
Going way back during the early 1980s, our national parks were managed by a committee of dedicated volunteers with almost no staff to back up the huge job of managing the environment.
Administrations were set up and the processes put into place, mainly through the National Parks and Wildlife Service, to begin the long and difficult task of managing our environment.
During this time our environment was polluted to the point where almost no creek or water stream was safe and we had weed infestation and the like across our entire community.
Large amounts of funding were invested to ensure the proper management structures and support staff were in place to do the necessary repairs.
Today and into the future there is still a lot of work to do.
My clear recollection of the Liberal government from 1988 to 1995 was that they were famous for huge cutbacks made to the administration of our national parks to the,point where it almost went back to the volunteer days.
I have read the policy speech delivered by Barry O'Farrell recently at Penrith and found nothing that the Blue Mountains community can find any joy in. As a matter of fact it asked more questions than it gave details of anything.
Jim Angel, Katoomba.
Book Shops collapse: Private Equity fiasco
The administrator of collapsed bookstore group RedGroup Retail will begin closing unprofitable Angus & Robertson and Borders bookshops next week, potentially putting hundreds of staff out of work.
At a meeting of creditors in Melbourne yesterday, administrator Steve Sherman of corporate restructuring firm Ferrier Hodgson said management already had considered closing several stores before the group was placed in administration on February 17.
"We recognise that this has some hurt factor to it; we're not blind to that," Mr Sherman said.
"When we do make that decision (to close shops), it's not because we want to make it; it's because we have to make it."
Wages would continue to be paid, although any staff who were dismissed would have to wait to receive any accrued leave entitlements, he said.
Mr Sherman said the company owed $7.8 million in entitlements to its 2500 staff and $118m to a subsidiary of private equity group Pacific Equity Partners, which bought the business in 2004.
see also IUF Private Equity Buyout Watch
At a meeting of creditors in Melbourne yesterday, administrator Steve Sherman of corporate restructuring firm Ferrier Hodgson said management already had considered closing several stores before the group was placed in administration on February 17.
"We recognise that this has some hurt factor to it; we're not blind to that," Mr Sherman said.
"When we do make that decision (to close shops), it's not because we want to make it; it's because we have to make it."
Wages would continue to be paid, although any staff who were dismissed would have to wait to receive any accrued leave entitlements, he said.
Mr Sherman said the company owed $7.8 million in entitlements to its 2500 staff and $118m to a subsidiary of private equity group Pacific Equity Partners, which bought the business in 2004.
see also IUF Private Equity Buyout Watch
ACTU: Unions welcome Disability Insurance
A National Disability Insurance Scheme is long overdue and could stand alongside Medicare and compulsory superannuation as a landmark social reform.
Commenting on the release of the draft report from the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into disability care and support, ACTU President Ged Kearney said the NDIS was an idea whose time has come, and which would make immeasurable difference to the lives of people with disability and their carers.
“Just as Medicare and superannuation help to spread risk across lifecycles and across the population, to promote social inclusion and to reduce social inequity and hardship, a National Disability Insurance Scheme could do the same for people who require care and support,” Ms Kearney said.
“Existing arrangements to support people with disability and their carers are clearly inadequate. They provide a safety net, at best - but not the comprehensive and universal level of support that meets people’s needs.
“This chronic underfunding leaves many people with disability and their carers living in poverty.
“A National Disability Insurance Scheme would be the cornerstone of the Australian disability support system.
“A national scheme is also needed to create the environment to attract more carers into the disability support workforce, which would be necessary to expand services.
“Proper funding would transform the system with greater pay, more jobs, better working conditions and career structures, and the resources to do the job properly.”
Commenting on the release of the draft report from the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into disability care and support, ACTU President Ged Kearney said the NDIS was an idea whose time has come, and which would make immeasurable difference to the lives of people with disability and their carers.
“Just as Medicare and superannuation help to spread risk across lifecycles and across the population, to promote social inclusion and to reduce social inequity and hardship, a National Disability Insurance Scheme could do the same for people who require care and support,” Ms Kearney said.
“Existing arrangements to support people with disability and their carers are clearly inadequate. They provide a safety net, at best - but not the comprehensive and universal level of support that meets people’s needs.
“This chronic underfunding leaves many people with disability and their carers living in poverty.
“A National Disability Insurance Scheme would be the cornerstone of the Australian disability support system.
“A national scheme is also needed to create the environment to attract more carers into the disability support workforce, which would be necessary to expand services.
“Proper funding would transform the system with greater pay, more jobs, better working conditions and career structures, and the resources to do the job properly.”
Robeson at the Opera House!
Just over 50 years ago during his world tour Paul Robeson gave an impromptu concert in Sydney. Invited by the Building Workers Industrial Union (BWIU) Robeson is visiting the construction site of the Opera House. There he is under that magnificent roof long before its beautiful bare arched concrete ribs were lost to view. Sydney November 1960.
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