NSW POST
MORTEM
The Editorial
in the Sun-Herald, March 16, 2003 a week prior to the NSW State Election, “Carr
Deserves to finish job,” whilst the opposition newspaper the Sunday Telegraph’s
Editor Jeni Cooper stated her paper believes a vote for Mr. Carr’s ALP on March
22, 2003 is in the best interests of us all.
These
testimonials knowing that Premier Carr and his Deputy Andrew Refshauge the
former Health Minister prior to the 1999 State Election promised if re-elected
they would resign if they didn’t halve the Elective Surgery waiting list in the
first twelve months of their new term.
In fact the waiting list almost doubled and yet the Premier and his Deputy,
failed to honour their promise.
The Premier’s
spin doctors serving up rhetoric to journalists in the multi-media re; the
Liverpool City Council’s involvement with their “Oasis” Development. The B--- S--- they espoused into the Waterfall
rail tragedy. To reduce any fallout the Labor Party might suffer at the
upcoming election, March 22, 2003.
An enquiry into
former Police Minister Paul Whelan’s possible conflict of Interest re; the
lifting of hotel poker machines maximum from ten to thirty, was thwarted when
the Reverend Fred Nile and wife Elaine of the Christian Democrats voted with
the Carr Government.
When you
consider Paul Whelan has a financial interest in three Sydney Metropolitan
Hotels one wonders why the Reverend Fred Nile and Elaine threw their Party’s
motto “Accountability” by elected members out the door.
The Carr
Government’s Deregulation of the Dairy Industry which forced hundreds of
farmers off their land. We are the
highest taxed State in Australia with Stamp duty, Land Tax and Green Slips are
but a few to mention.
John Della
Bosca’s workers compensation bill which put a maximum cap of $250,000 on work
place injuries this from a man who was supposed to be the workers friend when
he was boss of the NSW Labor Council.
This leaves us
with no doubt that a Labor Government is no different to their opposition the
Liberal National Coalition when it comes to granting favours to the
Multi-National Companies.
When you
realize that between July 1, 2001 and June 30, 2002 Insurance Companies
received more than four billion dollars in premiums and paid out only 200
million and yet these companies continue to charge prohibitive fees for Public
Liability Insurance.
If you include
the ineptness of the relevant Government Agencies re; Transport, Education,
Health, Infrastructure and Department of Community Services, (DOCS) one has to
ask if the Editors of Sydney’s two Sunday Newspapers were responsible, in their
voting advice to their readers.
But to make
things worse within a week of the Carr Government being re-elected the same
newspapers that encouraged us to vote for Premier Carr in tandem with their
Sister Publications began to expose the Government cover ups. i.e. 11 unsafe railway bridges a risk to
commuters’ lives. Unsafe Millenium
trains.
Hospital bed
closures created mayhem in emergency wards, forcing ambulances to ferry
patients to a hospital with bed vacancies, this is unacceptable.
The biggest
cover up is the failure of the Carr Government to institute an independent
inquiry into his Government’s fatal project the Lake Carjellico Water Tower in
which two workers were killed and three others critically injured. One of these injured South African workers
who was expected to remain in hospital for at least ten days was flown home the
day following the tragedy.
All evidence
points to the Carr and Howard Government experimenting with Gats (An Agreement
on Trade in Services) in the use of foreign sweat labourers who were being paid
approximately $27 for a 72 hour week.
What is the
truth about the 17 deaths at Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals? We are entitled to know the true story.
The most
undemocratic action committed by the Carr Government ably assisted by the
support of the John Brogden opposition (Liberal-National Coalition) When they
legislated to overturn a decision by Justice Neal Bignold in the Land and
Environment Court rejected a move by French Company Collex to build a garbage
waste management terminal at Clyde in Western Sydney.
It should be
noted that Collex has been a financial donor to both the State Labor and
Liberal Party Slush Funds.
The reversal of
the Judges decision was signed sealed and delivered when David Oldfield and
Christian Democrats Reverend Fred Nile and Gordon Moyes voted in support of the
Carr Government Bill. So much for
Christian Principles and Accountability.
Premier Carr is
known as the king of spin, an art in political rhetoric. Throughout his Government and his agencies
they have become a professional propaganda machine.
The cost to
sell the Carr Government’s message to the taxpayer and to keep Ministers and
their staff in the style they believe they deserve. It costs taxpayers $11,000 a day for the Carr Government to
monitor their media appearances.
The media
monitoring company Rehame charges $3.2 million per year to provide tapes of TV
and radio broadcasts to the Government collecting newspaper clippings costs an
extra $56,249 per year, whilst the Premier’s own internal media monitoring unit
costs another $782,337. Media staff for
the cabinet adds to the cost.
In 2003, there
are 21 ministers, including Mr. Carr, with 31 media minders. Press secretaries wages are between $99,000
and 178,000 per year, the ministers don’t come cheap. There are senior ministers wages $197,307 and added expenses,
i.e. cars and office rentals. The cost
of cabinet is $61 million per year. The
engine room of policy formulation for Government. The cabinet office cost $24 million per year and Parliament
itself about $74 million.
The opposition
bill for taxpayers is $1.6 Million, with media monitoring budgeted at around
$64,953.