In 1996, the incoming Howard Government, 'discovered' a massive budgetary black hole left by the outgoing Keating Government. They claimed to have no choice but to impose slash-and-burn budgets and asset fire sales. The excuse of the cupboard left bare or crippling debt, supposedly taking all choice out of the hands of incoming Governments, forms part of a tired and recurring pattern in Australian history. Recently, Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey has seized upon the debt created by the Rudd Government's incompetently managed 'stimulus program' as an excuse to resurrect his dream of privatising Medibank Private and wielding the budgetary axe. Is history about to repeat itself, yet again? (Note: This article encompasses and replaces a brief article by Sheila Newman of 7 May 09 in which about Cyrius01's video "Krazy Kevin Rudd Responds to the Global Financial Crisis" was embedded.)

In a Parliamentary speech, Glen Elmes₁ warned how the vast discretionary powers, given to the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Stirling Hinchliffe (pictured), with his past history as a property development industry insider, would add to the consequences of SEQ's already shambolic urban planning and environmental management and runaway population growth.

Speech from Queensland State Parliamentary Hansard of Hansard of 12 Feb 10, linked to from Hansard page, See also: "SEQ Regional Plan a travesty against the people of South East Queensland" of 9 May 09 by Dr Jane O'Sullivan, "The downward spiral of hasty population growth" of 8 Mar 10 on Online Opinion by Dr Jane O'Sullivan.

Please attend public forums against population growth, featuring Kelvin Thomson, Mark O'Connor and others. Brisbane: 8:30AM - 12:30PM, Saturday 13 March, Sunshine Coast: 2:00PM-4:30PM, Sunday 14 March.(See article "Sunshine Coast environmentalists condemn sham population debate" for more details.)

In the last three months of 2009 a discussion on Larvatus Prodeo, about the controversy surrounding 9/11, turned into the online equivalent of a lynching. On 28 December at the point at which the intended victim (myself) was able to turn the tables on his tormentors, the moderators abruptly closed the disccussion. I have been barred from contributing to that site ever since, as if I had been blamed for the abuses of others.

Originally published on 29 Dec 09. Updated 2 Mar 10 to include as appendices, excerpts from the forum discusion and correspondence between myself and the LP moderators. Original forum here (html file, 5.6Mb).
Update (3 Mar): Larvatus Prodeo moderator tells me she is "comfortable with how [she's] represented," but I am still waiting to be advised if I have been intentionally banned and why. See Appendix 3.

In 2007, Andrew Fraser, as Local Govenment Minister, imposed council amalgamations against the overwhelming wishes of affected residents, even threatening to dismiss councillors who dared hold ballots on amalgamation. For many months, the angry backlash threatened Labor's federal election prospects. In 2010, the same Andrew Fraser, as Queensland Treasurer, claims that the unions' campaign against his unpopular $15 billion fire sale, opposed by 79% of the Queensland public, will threaten Labor's federal election prospects.

What you can do: Attend Queensland Council of Union's Rallies to stop the Sell-off before it starts: Innisfail - 28 Feb, Cairns - 2 Mar, Mackay - 3 Mar, Rockhampton - 3 Mar, Gladstone - 6 Mar, Brisbane - 10.30AM 9 Mar at Roma St Forum
Sign the petition calling for new state elections and the repudiation of assets sale legislation. (You have until 2 March. See also "Why Queenslanders must demand new and fair state elections" of 12 Jan 10).
See also: "Unions 'aiding and abetting' Abbott: Fraser" by Jessica Marszalek in the Brisbane Times of 27 Feb 10, "Anna Bligh faces rural anger in Queensland" in the Courier-Mail of 28 Feb 10 , "Peter Beattie bent on destruction of Rudd's chances" of 9 Aug 07 by Margo Kingston in WebDiary, "Cate Molloy : Forced council amalgamations planned by Property Council of Australia" of 7 Sep 07. ...

Schapelle Corby's physical and mental health continues to deteriorate to the point where family and close friends expect that she will be coming home in a coffin. Schapelle is almost certainly innocent, as has been shown elsewhere, However Schapelle's supporters are now simply asking that our Government act without delay to prevent tragedy.

See also: Latest song for Schapelle Corby on www.artistsforschapelle.com, "Schapelle Corby is innocent, and the Australian Government knows she is" of 6 Sep 09, www.womenforschapelle.com, www.freeschapelle.com.au.

As we approach the centenary of the passage of the Commonwealth Bank Act in 1911, the Citizens Electoral Council plans to launch a fight to re-establish a true national bank that the (now privatised) Commonwealth bank once was. Its impressive achievements in financing Australia's economic development and war efforts₃ of the early 20th century show what would be possible if such a bank were to be re-established today. In spite of candobetter's serious concerns about the CEC's hostility to environmentalism, we believe this proposal deserves your enthusiastic support.

See also: Cut Wall Street out! How states can finance their own economic recovery of 3 Nov 09 by Ellen Brown, How a state-owned bank could make Queensland asset fire sale unnecessary based on original article by Ellen Brown of 29 May 09.

In the March 2009 Queensland elections, called early and conveniently before the Auditor General's damning reports on Health and Transport, Labor clung to power by concealing the likely privatisation of publicly owned assets and promising to maintain the state fuel subsidy. Regaining office, the fuel subsidy went, charges for registration and public transport rocketed and a $15 billion public asset fire sale was announced - although opposed by 79% of the Queensland public.

This is not democracy. This is not honest. It is not even polite. Help create a ground-swell by signing the e-petition calling for a new election. Not sure? Read why in this article.

Originally published: 8 Jan 10. Updated and revised: 12 Jan 10.
See also: "Anti-privatisation candidate confronts Queensland Treasurer" of 2 Jan 09, Open letter to Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser asking that any planned privatisations be put to the public at forthcoming elections of 17 Feb 09.

James Sinnamon debates Andrew Fraser on Privatisation and government encouragement of overpopulation in Queensland, proposing alternatives - Film. Filmed on Sunday, 30 November. Lasts 21 minutes. In three films on You-tube - links inside this article. 2nd & 3rd film of most interest. Please pass round to your Queensland contacts, but, since privatisation is coming up in other States again - notably in Victoria - this should interest people outside Queensland. See film inside

See also: "Courier Mail spins news of 79% opposition to fire sale to reveal its privatisation colours" of 11 Dec 09, "Queensland Rail workers strike against theft of public assets" of 9 Dec 09, "Brisbane ABC suppresses alternative candidates in state elections despite listener dismay with major parties" of 30 Apr 09, "Media contempt for facts in NSW electricity privatisation debate" of 28 Sep 08. Why I am contesting the Queensland Elections, E-petition to Qld Parliament,"Call for immediate resignation of the Queensland government and new elections," on grounds of not consulting public on privatisation.
Update: Letter of 31 July 09 to Andrew Fraser, included as Appendix 1 (12 Dec 09), Full transcript, Table of Contents, etc. added (2 Jan 10).

On 26 March 2009 Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told how the image of the World Trade Center Twin Towers coming down, which he "[could not] remove from [his] mind," made necessary the continuation of Australia's increasingly unpopular intervention in the Afghan war. Perhaps it is time that Kevin Rudd took a proper look at those images so that he could learn what really happened on 11 September 2001.

Article, including embedded video, has been adapted from material found in story "Cutter Charges in the North Tower of the World Trade Center" of 26 Dec 09 on 911blogger.com. See also: ae911truth.org, "WTC7 in Freefall", "'WTC7: NIST Admits Freefall' ...The Movie", parts 1, 2 and 3.

The Courier-Mail reports that the average annual houshold electricity bill will rise nearly 14% or $276 next year, on top of the huge increases Queenslanders have already copped since the privatisation and deregulation that former Premier Beattie assured them will result in reduced charges. In spite of acknowledging this and population growth to have been the cause, the Courier-Mail editorial failed to argue against the continuation of either.

See also: "Exposing Queensland Government population growth duplicity" of 1 Apr 09, "Courier Mail spins news of 79% opposition to fire sale to reveal its privatisation colours" of 11 Dec 09, "The Courier Mail beats the drum for more Queensland population growth" of  Jan 07.

What you can do: Queensland citizens can sign the e-petition calling for the resignation of the Queensland Government and new elections. See "Anti-privatisation e-petition calls on Queensland government to resign" for further information.

Many Queenslanders, appalled at their state Government's blatant disregard for their wishes not to sell AU$15billion of worth of publicly owned assets, actually look to Rupert Murdoch's Courier-Mail newspaper to stand up to what has to be amongst the most inept and despotic of state governments in Australia's history. However, the dishonest spin encompassed in the title of the story "Asset Sale Anger on the wane"₁, together with the sub-heading "Christmas boost for Bligh", reveals that newspaper's true colours on that issue.

Update, 10 Dec 09: The Australian endorses Bligh Government's disregard of the will of 79% of Queenslanders
Further update, 11 Dec 09: The Courier-Mail changes tack from weasel pro-privatisation arguments to outright support for privatisation.

See also: "Queensland Rail workers strike against theft of public assets" of 9 Dec 09, "Media contempt for facts in NSW electricity privatisation debate" of 28 Sep 08.

The Queensland Government's $15 billion asset fire sale is but the latest salvo in a long undeclared war that it has been waging on trade unionists together with the rest of the Queensland public for years. With the strike by 1,300 Queensland Rail workshop employees against the fire sale, it is finally getting a taste of its own medicine.

Update, 11 Dec 09: A Brisbane Times poll question "Do you support rail workers decision to strike against the Queensland Government asset sell-off?" had 68% of respondents voting 'yes'.

Peter Garrett's decision to stop the building of the Traveston dam is to be heartily applauded. However, he did no more than what should be expected of a Federal Minister for the Environment when faced with such an environmentally reckless proposal. Environmentalists still need to take stock of Garrett's generally abysmal past record and not allow themsleves to be put in a position where they have to beg the Minister to do the right thing.

Continuously increasing mass immigration leading to growth of the Australian population to 35 million and beyond is now official Australian state dogma. In other words, 14 million - more than was the population of this country when I was a child in the 1960's - is to be deliberately added.

Today's Australia Talks features an employer representative and an occupational psychologist, with the goal, no doubt, is to ensure that anyone not dead or terminally ill reports dutifully to work each day. Of course, the real scandal is that, instead of having achieved increased leisure time promised to all of us over a generation ago, Australians are now working vastly longer hours for less. Even what used to be the workers' own time has now been encroached upon by all sorts of additional requirements and complexities that did not previously exist.

What you can do: Phone Australia Talks tonight after the 6PM news (5PM news in Queensland) on 1300 22 55 76 and give the would-be witch-hunters, who are to feature on the program, a piece of your mind, or leave your comments in the guest book.

The Murdoch press promotion of Paul Kelly's misnamed book The March of Patriots, chronicling the Prime Ministerships of Paul Keating and the early years of John Howard's, has been supplemented, at taxpayers' expense, by Brisbane ABC local radio stations Conversations program.

See also: "Review of Naomi Klein's 'The Shock Doctrine'" of 21 Nov 07

In Queensland, after March 2010, many people who provide lifts to children, instead of leaving them to walk or catch a bus, face fines of $300 and three demerit points.

See also: "Car restraints to be mandatory for child passengers" in the Brisbane Times of 10 Sep 09, "Kids' seatbelt laws tightened" in the Courier Mail of 11 Sep 09, "Evidence boosts case for restraining kids in cars" by Transport Minister Rachel Nolan in My Sunshine Coast of 10 Sep 09, www.transport.qld.gov.au/childrestraints.

On Monday 31 August as the 8th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist atrocity was fast approaching, ABC's Four Corners broadcast a BBC documentary "Conspiracy 7/7 - The London Bombings" which purported to "assess the truth behind the conspiracy theories" behind the London Tube Bombings of 7 July 2005. In fact, it did nothing of the sort. It merely attempted to discredit the whole British 7/7 Truth movement by focusing on a few questionable individuals within it. By broadcasting this rubbish and refusing to broadcast other well-researched material which blows apart the Official 7/7 story, as well as the Official 9/11 story, the ABC has shown itself, far from being biased to the left, to be be little better than another arm of global corporate propaganda.

Urgent: Please attend protests to mark the eight anniversary of 9/11 and demand proper inquiries into 9/11, 7/7, Bali etc. In Brisbane, meet outside Central Station at 11AM, In Sydney meet outside the ABC Centre at Ultimo at 11AM (further information here).

Today after some toing and froing, I learnt that my submission to the National Human Rights Consultation concerning "National security and terrorism", submitted on Friday 19 June, had been published.

On 27 May 2005, Schapelle Corby was found guilty not by a jury, but by a judge, of attempting to smuggle 4.2kg of cannabis into Indonesia and sentenced to 20 years' jail. However, even a cursory look at the case against Schapelle Corby, for example on Wikipedia, will reveal that the evidence against her is almost non-existent, whilst evidence, pointing to the guilt of the Balinese Police, a coverup and the scapegoating of Corby, is overwhelming. The newsmedia's failure to make this widely understood is yet another of countless examples of its failure in its duty to the Australian public.

See also: www.freeschapelle.com.au, "Your support for clemency bid needed to save Schapelle's life" of 12 Feb 10, "Kevin Rudd gives Schapelle Corby a raw deal" by Jill Singer in the Herald Sun of 27 Aug 2009, "Schapelle Corby paranoid, clutching doll in Kerobokan jail" by Cindy Wockner and Kormang Suriadi in the Daily Telegraph of 25 May 09, "Premier backs call to bring Schapelle Corby back to Australia" in the Herald Sun of 25 Aug 09, "Schapelle Corby 'clinically insane'" by Adam Gartrell in News Ltd online of 24 Aug 09.

Whilst Brisbane's Courier Mail rightly recently exposed the ecological vandalism of Consolidated Rutile on North Stradbroke Island, it and the rest of the Queensland newsmedia, have largely ignored a proposed extension of sand and gravel mining on the nearby mainland, which may prove to be even more harmful for the Moreton Bay region. Local residents are determined to fight the expansion, but apart from newsmedia indifference, also face a local council and a state government so far resolved to put the interests of corporate greed above the interests of the local community and the environment.

See also: "Bald Hills Flats under threat", an excellent six minute YouTube broadcast published on 9 Aug 09 (also embedded in this article), "Residents launch campaign to fight quarry plan" by Joel Gould and Miranda Forster in the Pine Rivers Press of 20 Aug 09, "Parents blast plan to mine sand and gravel near school" by Tanya Chilcott in the Courier Mail of 20 Aug 09 (almost identical copy to be found here), "North Stradbroke Island eaten away by sand mininig" by Greg Stolz in the Courier Mail of 15 Aug 09.

Clive Hamilton's embrace of the Federal Government's plans for a Communist Chinese₇ style Internet firewall demonstrates how reasonable community concerns about the sexual exploitation of women and children can be twisted around in order to allow our Government to extend its control over all of our lives.

See also: "Pornography and the Celebrity Bestiality Report - Economic trends today" of 21 Aug 09, "Would you like porn with that?" by Catherine Manning of 7 May 09, Federal Government threatens Internet censorship of 16 Nov 08, "Australia facing loss of its language, culture and environmental sustainability to mass immigration" of 26 Jun 09 by Frosty Woodridge.

In an article in the Christian Science Monitor Joseph Chamie, former director of the population division of the United Nations labels the notion that population growth is a boon for prosperity as "Ponzi Demography". In Australia, confirmation of this has come from none other than the population-growth-pushing and public asset fire saleswoman, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.

See also: "How the growth lobby threatens Australia's future" of 24 Jan 09 republished on Online Opinion, "Is population growth a Ponzi scheme?" in the Christian Science Monitor of 17 Aug 09 by David R. Franks.

Five weeks after I made my complaint, the ABC has responded. The reponse defends the ABC Brisbane local Radio journalists' failure to hold to account the Queensland Government over these issues: privatisation, encouragement of runaway population growth, housing unaffordabilty, plans to triple our coal exports as the polar ice caps melt, and the devastation of agricultural and wilderness areas by open cut coal mining, etc. The ABC deems these issues not to be newsworthy.

See also: "Brisbane ABC suppresses alternative candidates in state elections despite listener dismay with major parties" of 30 Apr 09, "Brisbane's local ABC radio fails to hold Anna Bligh to account over privatisation" of 28 May 09.

In a leaflet handed out at the protest against privatisation held outside the Queensland state Labor Party conference on Sunday 7 June 2009, James Sinnamon, who stood as an anti-privatisation independent candidate at the recent state elections, argues that the unions need to take decisive action against privatisation now. Delaying action can only make the fight against privatisation harder.

What you can do to prevent the theft of your property:
Sign the petition against privatisation;
Attend protests against privatisation outside Parliament House at 9:00am on Tuesday 16 June, the day that the Budget that is to contain the privatisation legislation, is to be put to the Queensland Parliament. Note: not on Monday 15 June as previously advertised.

James Sinnamon, who stood as an independent candidate in the 2009 Queensland state elections, put to Queensland Premier Anna Bligh that as she denied the Queensland public their democratic right to settle the issue of privatisation at the recent elections, in spite of his own hard efforts to draw her attention to the issue, that she either withdraw her privatisation plans, or put the issue to a referendum.

See also: Queensland Government has no mandate to privatise of 27 May 09,"Open letter to Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser asking that any planned privatisations be put to the public at forthcoming elections" of 17 Feb 09, "Brisbane's local ABC radio fails to hold Anna Bligh to account over privatisation" of 28 May 09, "Brisbane ABC suppresses alternative candidates in state elections despite listener dismay with major parties" of 30 Apr 09. Courier Mail Readers comments about privatisation, 299 so far, nearly all opposed.

What you can do to prevent the theft of your property:
Sign the petition against privatisation;
Attend protests against privatisation outside the state Labor Party conference this Queen's Birthday weekend including a protest organised by the ETU for Sunday at 11am.

Postscript: 'Reply' of 16 Jun 09 from Premier Anna Bligh. Update (5 June 09): Anna Bligh's own Labor Party branch votes unanimously for her expulsion.. See story in the Courier Mail.

Brisbane's local ABC radio morning presenter Madonna King failed to use knowledge that she had in her hands that would have demolished Queensland Premier Bligh's excuse for not raising the issue of privatisation during the recent state elections. When I tried to phone the ABC to put this knowledge directly to the Premier, I was cut off.

See also: ABC's response in "ABC dismisses complaint claiming privatisation not 'newsworthy' in 2009 Queensland elections" of 10 Jun 09, "Brisbane ABC suppresses alternative candidates in state elections despite listener dismay with major parties" of 30 Apr 09, "Queensland Government has no mandate to privatise" of 27 May 09.

In response to the Queensland state Government's threat to conduct a "Shock Doctrine" style asset fire sale, James Sinnamon, who stood as an independent anti-privatisation candidate in the recent Queensland state elections sent an e-mail to the Murdoch-owned Courier Mail newspaper, which pointed out the Queensland Government had not gained any mandate to sell any publicly owned assets. Copies were sent to every state member of Parliament including Treasurer Andrew Fraser and Premier Anna Bligh.

Update: (27 May 09) (1) A Courier Mail online poll, published on 27 May had 91% of respondents answer 'No' to the question, "Should the state Government sell public assets to help the Budget?"
(2) Although the Courier Mail published a number of letters concerning privatisation, all opposed, mine was not included.

See also: "Open letter to Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser asking that any planned privatisations be put to the public at forthcoming elections" of 17 Feb 09, "Brisbane's local ABC radio fails to hold Anna Bligh to account over privatisation" of 28 May 09, "Brisbane ABC suppresses alternative candidates in state elections despite listener dismay with major parties" of 30 Apr 09.