Mood:
lyricalTopic: nsw govt
Preface
Normally a Sunday Talkies article yesterday is enough. But these are 'momentous' times to borrow an adjective from veteran Alex Mitchell describing both the overt and covert real politik of SAM's own NSW turf. Yesterday we also needed a Big Media wrap. Important because otherwise there is no chance for synthesis, which can inform and assist the public and ironically the actors in their own Shakespearean plot(s): Better to know what's really happening rather than jumping at shadows. Hopefully in this way some genuine democracy and wisdom can arise from the fusion of myriad forces, forces good and otherwise.
This is the role of trustworthy independent community media not least fifth estate micro news site here.
We like to think we can intuite and observe the near silent ripples of the covert kind. And sometimes we are dead on bullseye when we are supposed to be following the spin and the herd. A solitary pursuit often like wonderful rock jock Peter Croft solo climbing with not a rope or harness in sight: Scary, dangerous, thrilling only the wind and gravity of law and real politik to keep us connected to reality. This damn intuition is not an appealing quality to vested interests ... of all sides of politics (that reads at least 4). One imagines it's something to do with the long lost grandfather's genes quite high up in the Fairfax machine in his day 1940-50ies..
So here is a third installment in 36 hours for what we couldn't cover yesterday before rushing off now to a legal rendezvous for our disabled buddy getting her fair share (under guidance of private practitioner one Pam Suttor, Law Society council member):
- Saturday front pager continues the trend of real politik pain for spiv NSW ALP with their economic growth fetish mostly in denial of the ecological imperative of our times of conservation and moderation:
- Adam Spencer this morning abc 702 radio refers to Liberal and in recent years ABC Board royalty Janet Albrechtsen, via blog, rather than press print (?) here:
End the stench of political donations 0 comments about this article
24 FEBRUARY 2008HALLELUJAH. After stunning allegations of corruption at the Independent Commission Against Corruption about property donations securing multi-million dollar development approvals in Wollongong, NSW Premier Morris...
Apparently Albrech. says "don't hold your breath" on developer reforms. Quite. The big money developer lobby are on the back foot but they will be baaaack as here:
Developers warn of crisis - National - smh.com.au 14 Feb 2008
This is one of those so called "development crisis" that political economist giant of the USA JK Galbraith would refer to in highly technical terms as big business "bullsh*t".
- Sometimes it hard to tell which is more macabre - the Big Media journalists who would fit right into the Adam's Family, or the MPs who it seems have already been convicted of that unforgiveable sin ... fatness ... which is a cheap shot surely for a boney arsed reptile when there is so much more substance to work with. So why go down market? Unless this is also the same revolving door natural habitat of said journo(s)?
Is it the rival porn dominated revenues of the internet causing the press gossip writers to go down market? Who for instance needs to hear that Rocket Rod Adler, convicted fraudster is being compared nastily with a mass murderer Ivan Milat at a local theatre?: As bad as Rocket was or is, mass murderer he is not (refer pic below).
Then what about Minister Reba Meagher's toilet habits? Do we really need to know? (see extract below)
We perceive Carty, Big Media reptile below, for better or worse, as the parallel evolutionary product as Simon Benson on state rounds over at the Daily Telegraph in response to career pressure of ALP hegemony, same SB not averse to a little menacing of this writer. One can imagine Carty may try a bit of biffo in print too. Whatever.
First exhibit is this package of articles suggestive of a PR gambit of 'quarrantine and sanitise' in the Fairfax SunHerald which actually trivialises the systemic problem with brand ALP (see more below):
Rather the real hammer blow regarding good governance that Carty et al might have worked up for the Sunday press: How is it that a manager of ICAC investigations has ended up working with the main schmoozer and accused (Scimone) appearing before Justice Jerrold Cripps as beak at ICAC? It's not going too far to say ICAC until last week had a major credibility gap with civil society groups including this writer for being a toothless lap puppy.
Indeed corroboration of this reality of ineffective ICAC - until last week - can be found in this Herald story today 25 Feb 08:
Scandal envelops Maritime
THE mostly female planning staff at NSW Maritime were alarmed when Joe Scimone was appointed executive director of their division because they knew he had resigned from Wollongong Council following harassment allegations, a former high-ranking Maritime manager has told the Premier.
This quote is damning of perceptions of ICAC ineffectiveness until very recently:
"Mr Patrick said he and some colleagues had tried from August 2006 to persuade ICAC "to investigate systemic maladministration in NSW Maritime," but the commission had told them to undertake their own investigation.
After he left NSW Maritime in December 2006, Mr Patrick accused the NSW cabinet of moving to "gut" government policies to control waterfront development, allowing wealthy landowners and commercial interests to build bigger structures and hinder public access. Mr Tripodi said at the time it would cut red tape."
Having said that we praise ICAC as it is always better late than never, even in the face of gripes. We fear ICAC has only been goaded into ferocity by the appearance of standover men leveraging the dozey dizzy ICAC record of recent years to rip out allegedly $500K from their hapless victims.
In other words ICAC was at existential risk themselves and so not just councillor crooks or ministerial mates in the dock all last and this week. It's the effectiveness and utitlity of ICAC itself. That's the subtext to Jerrold Cripps getting ICAC off its arse and actually doing something about good governance comparable to the jolting Metherell Affair of 1992. We don't know as a legal practitioner if that is contempt of a judicial body. But it needs to be said and said loudly - ICAC have ALOT of catching up to do, and we hope and trust they do so:
