Political Discussion

[brucetiki]

Didn't something similar work for Bob Brown once?

He wasn't ruining people's homes and sending them to the wall to prop up his political career though.

 

[Punchy Bassett]

He wasn't ruining people's homes and sending them to the wall to prop up his political career though.

A very good point surely questions must be asked how he was allowed to run recently? Day that is.

 

[Mego Red]

Peter Dutton has just made getting acts to tour Australia all that more difficult

https://www.buzzfeed.com/aliceworkman/stop-the-tours?utm_term=.fx3A3DeDva#.kokO3qyqRg

Honestly, what a f***ing idiot.

 

[Bicks]

Sounds about right for the Weatherill Labor Government.....he could of course do something quite novel and actually employ South Australians I guess.....then again he must see his fellow South Aussies as a talentless lot??

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...k=25df6a7cbaffadd69c217b37455ea9c8-1477277102

State Development chief executive Don Russell lives in Sydney, flies in to work in Adelaide
Political Reporter Adam Langenberg, The Advertiser
an hour ago
Subscriber only
THE head of a key government department is yet to relocate to Adelaide, two years into his five-year tenure.

Department of State Development chief executive Don Russell flies to and from Sydney each week, an arrangement that Opposition treasury spokesman Rob Lucas said was unacceptable.

“We can’t afford a fly-in fly-out CEO given the economic issues facing the state,” he said.

The department emphasised that the arrangement was at no cost to the taxpayer, because Dr Russell funded his own flights and Adelaide accommodation.

Department of State Development Chief Executive Don Russell still lives in Sydney despite his five-year contract.
But Mr Lucas said that did not make the arrangement right for a state with the worst unemployment rate in the country.

“Having someone who flees ... to go back home each weekend, just isn’t good enough,” he said.

“We want someone in that key role who champions the state and understands its issues; we need someone who lives the state’s problems.”

The Department of State Development manages the state’s resources and energy portfolio, as well as fostering investment and trade opportunities, employment and the fast-shifting manufacturing industry.

Dr Russell is a former Australian ambassador to the United States, was a key adviser to former prime minister Paul Keating and was head of the federal Industry Department from 2011 to 2013.

In announcing Dr Russell’s appointment in 2014, Premier Jay Weatherill said “recognising the individual challenges and opportunities” of each of SA’s regions was crucial to DSD’s success.

“This is a significant appointment for SA as Dr Russell will lead a department that

aims to ensure the Government better responds to the needs of business and drive trade and

investment.”

A statement from the department said Dr Russell had also commuted to Canberra each week from Sydney in his previous role as Secretary of a Federal Government department.

Dr Russell is one of at least two key bureaucrats to commute from Sydney each week. Department of Premier and Cabinet Chief Economist Mark Duffy doing the same six months into his new role, although the department flagged it would not continue for the length of his tenure.

A Government spokesman said Mr Duffy had accepted a contract that presumed he was Adelaide-based and provided no special allowances.

“How and where he spends his weekends is not a concern of the State Government,” he said.

“State Government departments are focused on recruiting the best people who can help build a more modern, professional public service.

The focus is on attracting people with the capability and professionalism required to deliver the best outcomes for the South Australian community.”

Appearing before a parliamentary committee this morning, Dr Russell said he brought unique experience to the role and was “here for the interests of South Australia”.

Dr Russell - who was raised and educated in Adelaide - confirmed he usually flies out of Adelaide on Friday evening and returned on Sunday evening or on a 7am Monday flight.

He covers the cost, which is “not at all” included in his salary package.

He also pays to maintain a house in Adelaide.

“I have a 94 year-old-mother (in Sydney), a 21 year-old-daughter who is at university and I have a wife who I’m very fond of who I’ve been married to for 25 years,” Dr Russell told Parliament’s Budget and Finance Committee.

“It was worth managing all of that in a way that enabled me to do important work here but still maintain a family. It has worked well.”

Dr Russell added that it was common practice in Federal Government roles to commute from elsewhere to Canberra.

“They’ve had a much larger talent pool that they can draw upon (as a result),” he said.

 

[little graham]

is he doing his job or not? are we getting our moneys worth? Thats all that matters.

 

[Damp Squarie]

is he doing his job or not? are we getting our moneys worth? Thats all that matters.

When has that ever mattered?

 

[brucetiki]

When has that ever mattered?

Especially for someone like Rucci

 

[brucetiki]

Looks like disgraced Senator Bob Day isn't rushing to hand in his resignation http://www.afr.com/news/family-firs...relations-bills-20161024-gs97bb#ixzz4NzAuOnzm

 

[CrowsB4hoes]

Looks like disgraced Senator Bob Day isn't rushing to hand in his resignation http://www.afr.com/news/family-firs...relations-bills-20161024-gs97bb#ixzz4NzAuOnzm

Even he knows as a disgraced business man who fleeced thousands and sent his business bankrupt by the millions, he's the most qualified and trustworthy person in the Family Firsr party for the job.

 

[brucetiki]

Looks like Family First are starting to self-destruct

http://indaily.com.au/news/politics...in-disarray-as-day-reserves-right-to-stay-on/

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Good

 

[Bicks]

Haha Politics......

Neighbourhood love...

 

[Bicks]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...k=ad06088be3d2c151cb663fa248096686-1477737378

 

[CrowsB4hoes]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...k=ad06088be3d2c151cb663fa248096686-1477737378

Not content with stuffing up the states electricirt supply, the government won't stop until it's stuffed up our hospitals as well.

Transforming Health is an absolute farce, we have new RAH that nobody wants that isn't fit for purpose and emergency service workers who have had a gut full.

 

[brucetiki]

The new RAH is surely an improvement on the disgrace that is the current RAH surely. The current RAH is a pandemic waiting to happen.

 

[Bicks]

 

[brucetiki]

Disgraced Senator Bob Day has finally resigned - effective immediately

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/01/bob-day-resigns-senate-effective-immediately

 

[Bicks]

 

[Bicks]

The word incompetent comes to mind..

http://indaily.com.au/news/local/2016/11/01/taxpayers-slugged-again-as-gillman-deal-collapses/

Taxpayers slugged again as Gillman deal collapses

InDaily can reveal the Government has had to pay the council more than $20 million dollars for 276 hectares of land at the Dean Rifle Range it onsold as part of the Gillman sale to consortium Adelaide Capital Partners but which never went to tender – and the funds for which failed to materialise by today’s “drop dead” deadline.

The Government today confirmed ACP had informed it that it would not proceed with the purchase of the industrial land at the former Multi-function Polis site, which was purchased for around $120 million before the 2014 election, with the first $45 million – for 150 of the proposed 407ha sale – due to be settled by 5pm today.

Premier Jay Weatherill said today he was “disappointed but not surprised” by the outcome, saying the project had “sailed into significant headwinds from external forces since it was first announced”.

But the political damage was largely self-inflicted, with subsequent inquiries – including an ICAC investigation – scathing of the handling of the sale.

We’re now the proud owners of some swamp

“This was an ambitious project… what we received was an unsolicited bid … to turn (Gillman) into employment land,” Weatherill said today, alluding to his long-promised “oil and gas hub”, a pledge that has now vanished into the ether.

“[ACP] told us that they wouldn’t be a bidder in a competitive process.

“We gave them every opportunity [but] we’ve seen the halving of the oil price which has had an effect on the ambition for an oil and gas hub [so] we’re now the proud owners of some swamp.”



Weatherill maintained that the land was sold for premium value, saying “those people that said that it was undervalued have never been able to demonstrate that fact”.

“We think we did receive a good price for it [but] that wasn’t our main motivation – our main motivation was employment.”

He maintained the sale to ACP “was recommended to us by the Economic Development Board”, but conceded that the bungled process had led to an overhaul of how the Government handles unsolicited bids.

“We don’t want to discourage people coming to us with [unsolicited bids],” he said.

“There have been some lessons learnt.”

Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan said the Government was advised by ACP this morning that the sale would not proceed.

He said ACP had proposed a revised settlement with an “adjustment of terms” for a smaller chunk of land, but the Government was unwilling to contemplate it.

“We’re ready to roll, to go out to market,” he said.

In a statement ACP said it had “satisfied all obligations and conditions precedent under the Option Agreement with the SA Government” but that “extensive investment market testing demonstrated the need for a different schedule of payments for the land than was [previously] envisaged”.

Chairman Stephen Gerlach said: “ACP was not seeking to change the price that it had agreed with SA Government on the land it was to acquire for the first stage of the development, however we needed to vary the timing of payments to the government.

“The need for a different payments schedule was identified after extensive international investment market testing proved the original schedule did not deliver an acceptable risk adjusted rate of return for a broad range of institutional and professional investors… despite the various challenges, the development plan was very well progressed and we had secured the investor support and end user commitments necessary to underpin the first stage of the estate.

“The proposed variation to the payments schedule was required to help make the vision for Lipson Industrial Estate a reality, but we acknowledge that we must now accept the State Government’s decision not to accept the revised timing of payments.”

The disastrous land deal reached new levels of catastrophe today, with the Government revealing to InDaily it has reached a settlement for the purchase of the rifle range at the southern end of the site it compulsorily acquired from the Adelaide City Council and on-sold as part of the Gillman sale.

The council took legal action after the Government took the land off its hands for $1.52 million in 2010, with both parties now agreeing to a financial settlement that will cost taxpayers more than $20 million.

The final compensation payment of $20,630,000 is more than 13 times more than the Government’s original valuation, with the agreed value of the land now determined to be $11.21 per square metre.

 

[CrowsB4hoes]

The word incompetent comes to mind..

http://indaily.com.au/news/local/2016/11/01/taxpayers-slugged-again-as-gillman-deal-collapses/

Taxpayers slugged again as Gillman deal collapses

InDaily can reveal the Government has had to pay the council more than $20 million dollars for 276 hectares of land at the Dean Rifle Range it onsold as part of the Gillman sale to consortium Adelaide Capital Partners but which never went to tender – and the funds for which failed to materialise by today’s “drop dead” deadline.

The Government today confirmed ACP had informed it that it would not proceed with the purchase of the industrial land at the former Multi-function Polis site, which was purchased for around $120 million before the 2014 election, with the first $45 million – for 150 of the proposed 407ha sale – due to be settled by 5pm today.

Premier Jay Weatherill said today he was “disappointed but not surprised” by the outcome, saying the project had “sailed into significant headwinds from external forces since it was first announced”.

But the political damage was largely self-inflicted, with subsequent inquiries – including an ICAC investigation – scathing of the handling of the sale.

We’re now the proud owners of some swamp

“This was an ambitious project… what we received was an unsolicited bid … to turn (Gillman) into employment land,” Weatherill said today, alluding to his long-promised “oil and gas hub”, a pledge that has now vanished into the ether.

“[ACP] told us that they wouldn’t be a bidder in a competitive process.

“We gave them every opportunity [but] we’ve seen the halving of the oil price which has had an effect on the ambition for an oil and gas hub [so] we’re now the proud owners of some swamp.”



Weatherill maintained that the land was sold for premium value, saying “those people that said that it was undervalued have never been able to demonstrate that fact”.

“We think we did receive a good price for it [but] that wasn’t our main motivation – our main motivation was employment.”

He maintained the sale to ACP “was recommended to us by the Economic Development Board”, but conceded that the bungled process had led to an overhaul of how the Government handles unsolicited bids.

“We don’t want to discourage people coming to us with [unsolicited bids],” he said.

“There have been some lessons learnt.”

Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan said the Government was advised by ACP this morning that the sale would not proceed.

He said ACP had proposed a revised settlement with an “adjustment of terms” for a smaller chunk of land, but the Government was unwilling to contemplate it.

“We’re ready to roll, to go out to market,” he said.

In a statement ACP said it had “satisfied all obligations and conditions precedent under the Option Agreement with the SA Government” but that “extensive investment market testing demonstrated the need for a different schedule of payments for the land than was [previously] envisaged”.

Chairman Stephen Gerlach said: “ACP was not seeking to change the price that it had agreed with SA Government on the land it was to acquire for the first stage of the development, however we needed to vary the timing of payments to the government.

“The need for a different payments schedule was identified after extensive international investment market testing proved the original schedule did not deliver an acceptable risk adjusted rate of return for a broad range of institutional and professional investors… despite the various challenges, the development plan was very well progressed and we had secured the investor support and end user commitments necessary to underpin the first stage of the estate.

“The proposed variation to the payments schedule was required to help make the vision for Lipson Industrial Estate a reality, but we acknowledge that we must now accept the State Government’s decision not to accept the revised timing of payments.”

The disastrous land deal reached new levels of catastrophe today, with the Government revealing to InDaily it has reached a settlement for the purchase of the rifle range at the southern end of the site it compulsorily acquired from the Adelaide City Council and on-sold as part of the Gillman sale.

The council took legal action after the Government took the land off its hands for $1.52 million in 2010, with both parties now agreeing to a financial settlement that will cost taxpayers more than $20 million.

The final compensation payment of $20,630,000 is more than 13 times more than the Government’s original valuation, with the agreed value of the land now determined to be $11.21 per square metre.

 

[Bicks]

Come on all you Lefties and ABC luvvies time to enroll the troops and turn the count around surely..

No prize for guessing who I voted for...

 

[Mego Red]

C'mon Bicks.

Donald Trump.

Will go on trial later this month charged with racketeering and again in December accused of child rape.

Is being investigated by the FBI for have a direct secure data connection between his email server and a Russian bank.

Is a sexual predator, an obvious racist and misogynist, a multiple-time bankrupt business owner who has possibly not paid taxes for almost 20 years. Which we won't know because he won't release his tax records - unlike every other presidential candidate in history - because they may show he's worth less than he claims or may show he pays no taxes and donates no money to charity. Or maybe just how in bed he is with the Russians.

His university steals from the poor and his foundation uses charitable donations to cover Trump's legal bills.

Let's say that against Hilary and her email server. Which maybe allowed her to check some emails on a blackberry and should have been more secure.

No sane person would support Trump. His rise is a terrible comment on the destruction of the education system in middle America and the death of impartial, trusted media.

 

[Bicks]

And Clinton is a paragon of virtue and honesty...Phhhtttttttt..

America is stuffed if these are the "best" camdidates they can come up with...a full blown dickhead and a lying crook...

 

[Bicks]

http://www.afr.com/business/energy/...e-as-land-sale-deal-collapses-20161101-gsfcih

$2b oil and gas hub plan up in smoke as land sale deal collapses

• 
  

by Simon Evans

A controversial deal for the $100 million-plus sale of a 407 hectare parcel of land to a consortium whose shareholders include former Santos chairman Stephen Gerlach, has collapsed after its would-be buyers missed a payment deadline.

The parcel of land in the north-west industrial suburb of Gillman will now be put out to public tender after the Adelaide Capital Partners consortium failed to meet a payment deadline of transferring $45 million to the South Australian Government by 5pm on Tuesday, for the first 150ha of land in a three-stage development process.

Adelaide Capital Partners wanted to use the land to create an ambitious $2 billion oil and gas logistics hub to service the Cooper Basin in northern South Australia. But the economics of the project and demand by end-user customers has been shredded by the sharp slump in global oil prices over the past 18 months. Firms such as Halliburton, Schlumberger and The Weir Group were originally involved in talks in early 2014 as potential users.

The collapse of the deal is likely to be highly embarrassing for both Mr Weatherill and his Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis after the state government accepted an unsolicited offer from Adelaide Capital Partners in 2013 to acquire the land in three stages, which was later investigated by the state's Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.


Adelaide Capital Partners' major shareholders include Stephen Gerlach and his son Andrew Gerlach. The original deal was mired in controversy because it was done behind closed doors without being put out to the market.


Mr Weatherill said on Tuesday he was disappointed at the outcome and the land would now be put onto the market. He said Adelaide Capital Partners had faced much more difficult market conditions than at the start of the plans in late 2013 because of external forces such as the sharp drop in the oil price. The main driver of the original deal was for a project that created employment on what is basically swamp land.

Adelaide Capital Partners had put a revised offer to the government in the past few days, but that hadn't been accepted.

Adelaide Capital Partners chairman Stephen Gerlach said on Tuesday the consortium "was not seeking to change the price that it had agreed" with the government but had needed to vary the timing of payments to the government.

"The need for a different payments schedule was identified after extensive international investment market testing proved the original schedule did not deliver an acceptable risk adjusted rate of return for a broad range of institutional and professional investors," he said.


South Australia's Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Bruce Lander, in 2015 handed down a 265-page report into the matter which cleared Mr Weatherill and Mr Koutsantonis of wrongdoing.

But the report did find that two executives of the government's land management agency known as the Urban Renewal Authority, had engaged in "maladministration" and that the entity's practices had resulted in a substantial mismanagement of public resources.

 

[Mego Red]

'Misuse of public money': Turnbull government hands Bob Day-linked institution nearly $2 million

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/fed...itution-nearly-2-million-20161031-gseryb.html