Australian Politics
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Nationalization of industry is not dead. It is alive and well in the ACT
Nationalization of industry mostly went out with the Dodo. It is particularly hilarious in the area of hospitals. Government hospitals Australia-wide are not bad but accessing them is the problem -- exactly the problem they were designed to avoid. You can wait half a day to be seen even in an emergency and for non-urgent care you can be waitlisted for weeks and months. There are rarely such problems with private hospitals.
I use both hospital types so know them well. In emergencies I am seen without delay at the Wesley (private) and the service at the radiation oncology section of the PA hospital (government) I cannot fault. But I can access the PA service only via a weeks-long waiting list.
So in Canberra the solution surely is to encourage the hospital board to get in a new boss who will restore the capability that a private hospital should have. Even a subsidy would be cheaper than building a new hospital
But the ACT government is dyed-in-the-wool Leftist so they are being driven by that very Leftist hankering for power. And the idea that organizational problems can be solved by building a new building is classic Leftist simplistic thinking. All govenments tend to have an edifice complex but this is ridiculous
The ACT government is about to make a compulsory acquisition of Calvary Hospital.
In 1979, Calvary Hospital began its good work at the invitation of the commonwealth government. The lease is for 120 years. There is 76 years to run.
Through legislation, the contract for service will be ripped up, land and property expunged. All of this without any consultation. Why?
The Canberra Hospital is the main, government hospital in the city. It has major problems. An independent review in March 2019 was scathing of the culture of TCH.
The Little Company of Mary runs Calvary and they have just finished building a 342-bed hospital in Adelaide for $350m.
After compulsory acquisition, the ACT government is going to build another hospital adjacent to the current Calvary Hospital and then knock the old one down. They estimate the cost to be $1bn for a 500-bed hospital.
The ACT government should simply commission the Little Company of Mary to build them a new hospital at half the cost and hand it over to the government. That would release $500m for other needed government infrastructure.
Is it religious discrimination?
In 2022, the ACT government conducted an inquiry into the availability of abortion in the ACT. The ACT Standing Committee Health Report was released on 10 April 2023.
Astoundingly, the report accuses Calvary of restricting “medical services” “due to an overriding religious ethos”.
Yet that same report notes that neither TCH or Calvary Hospital perform abortions (except in exceptional circumstances). Abortions are day procedures, carried out by other medical providers in the ACT.
Would the NSW government dare claim that St Vincent’s Hospital has an “overriding religious ethos”? Would the Queensland government be so brash as to claim that The Mater in Brisbane operates with an “overriding religious ethos”?
This brings us to the next question. Who is next? What other community groups are under threat in the ACT?
Clare Holland House is one of the most revered institutions in the ACT. It provides superb palliative care under the umbrella of Calvary Hospital.
We know that the ACT government has not taken up the majority of recommendations for palliative care from its End of Life inquiry. It naively thinks VAD is the solution to end of life issues. Those of us with experience in this space respectfully disagree.
The government doesn’t like horse racing. The ACT Race Club should be nervous.
Summernats is burning up too much fuel at its annual event. It will get its marching orders.
The Association of Independent Schools of the ACT must be sweating. Imagine the scenario.
Independent schools decide not to promote gender transitioning, based not on religious grounds, but on compounding scientific evidence. Suddenly, teachers, parents and children lose their rights as ordinary citizens.
Final question.
Which state will be emboldened by this ridiculous behaviour?
This is a serious issue with grave consequences for the Federation. The Prime Minister must get involved. After all, the commonwealth government invited Calvary to Canberra.
Nothing less than the rule of law is at stake. No Australian likes to be dispossessed of their land and property. No Australian likes their contract ripped up unilaterally.
One of the most significant reasons why Australia is a free and fair nation is because of our property rights, which ensure stability.
Property rights are a key “natural mechanism”, ensuring both the creation of wealth and its just distribution.
This move by the ACT government is dangerous, totalitarian in nature. Suddenly, everything is up for grabs.
Every Australian should be deeply concerned. Every Australian should act. Political and civil pressure needs to be applied to force the government to get back to the bargaining table with the legitimate owner – Calvary Hospital.
If not, a free and fair society will no longer be ours.
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Parents opt for religious schools as student enrolments soar
Enrolments in private schools across Australia have grown by 35 per cent over the past decade, fuelled by a surge in student numbers in Islamic and Christian schools.
Independent enrolments increased to 688,638 last year, according to official data released in a report by private school lobby group Independent Schools Australia.
Principals say parents are attracted to private schools due to the perception they offer more disciplined learning environments or are seeking out religious schools because they like the values.
Islamic school enrolments doubled to 46,278 between 2012 and 2022 while Christian schools grew by 50 per cent to 82,779 over the same period. Enrolments in non-religious private schools also grew by 38 per cent to 100,067 students.
Independent Catholic schools were one of just two affiliations whose enrolments fell. Systemic Catholic schools, which charge low fees and are run by dioceses around the country, were not included in the report.
The total share of students attending private schools went from 4.1 per cent in 1970 to 17.1 per cent of pupils by last year.
Helen Proctor, a professor of education at the University of Sydney, said parents in the 1970s simply sent their child to the local public or Catholic school. Now they were anxious about their child’s education because a university course was a prerequisite for most entry level white-collar jobs.
“School choice seems to be the thing which parents can actively do to alleviate that,” she said.
She said an increase in federal government funding for private schools over several decades had made them more affordable while parents perceived they offered a better quality education.
“There is a belief that if you pay for something, it is going to be better. It is a bit of a myth, but it has been a long-term belief,” she said.
She said teacher shortages of recent years could be one factor that had driven more parents from the public system.
“There are critical shortages of teachers, and they’ve hit public schools particularly in certain areas very hard,” she said.
Independent Schools Australia chief executive Graham Catt said part of the reason for the growth was because parents had sought out schools that could administer remote learning effectively.
“From 2020 to 2022, in the pandemic, we do know one of the drivers of that growth was the ability of independent schools to adopt and pivot,” he said.
Christian Schools Australia director of public policy Mark Spencer said parents were attracted to the values-based education on offer.
“They are those who are described as Howard’s battlers, Tony’s tradies or the silent Australians – they’re ordinary suburban mums and dads, a tradie dad with a mother who is working part-time in office or retail,” he said.
“We have those sorts of parents, we also have parents from ethnic migrant backgrounds, we have a lot of applications from Islamic parents because we provide a values-based education they find attractive.”
The report said in the 2020-21 financial year, the average public school student was allocated $20,940 in total government funding, compared to $12,260 for private school students.
“Governments save an estimated $5.7 billion in funding due to the contribution from families and other private sources,” the report said. The average annual fee for a private school was $5272, well below Australia’s most expensive school, Kambala in Rose Bay, which charges $46,300 per year for year 12.
The Demographics Group demographer Simon Kuestenmacher predicted enrolments in private schools would continue to grow, largely thanks to the hundreds of thousands of people who migrated to Australia every year. However, he warned demand may be tempered by parents reconsidering private education simply because more of their cash was tied up in paying a huge mortgage in Sydney or Melbourne.
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"Planted" evidence behind murder conviction
Amid bad police work
A West Australian man who spent more than a decade in prison before being acquitted of murdering his pregnant lover has been awarded $1.6 million in compensation by the state government.
Scott Austic was acquitted of the 2007 murder of Stacey Thorne more than two years ago, with the trial that ultimately cleared his name hearing allegations he was framed by police.
Ms Thorne was pregnant with Mr Austic's child when she was stabbed more than 20 times in the South West town of Boddington.
Mr Austic was originally sentenced to 25 years in prison for her murder and lost an initial appeal, before also failing in his petition for then-attorney-general Michael Mischin to exercise the royal prerogative of mercy and allow another appeal.
Announcing the ex-gratia payment in parliament, Attorney-General John Quigley said Mr Austic had initially asked for $8.5 million in compensation.
"This payment has been made following comprehensive legal advice analysing the circumstances of the matter obtained from the highest levels within the State Solicitor's Office," Mr Quigley said.
"That legal advice ran to 37 pages analysing and advising on all of the circumstances of the matter from the first prosecution right through to the latest CCC report."
That report considered whether there was any evidence of wrongdoing by the police or prosecutors, with Mr Quigley telling parliament none was found.
"I wish to extend my sincerest condolences to Mrs Thorne's family, who have been living with the heartbreak and the lack of closure about the circumstances surrounding her death for many years," he said.
Mr Austic's lawyer, Clint Hampson, said his client was very disappointed with the offer after serving 12-and-a-half years in jail for a crime he did not commit.
A report outlining the government’s reasons for the payment, tabled in parliament, said the $1.6 million to be paid to Mr Austic included $250,000 which was approved in 2021, pending the CCC investigation.
It said the government also “supports” making additional payments for legal costs incurred by Mr Austic in preparing his two petitions to the government, his 2020 appeal and retrial.
“The payment will provide substantial assistance to Mr Austic in his continued reintegration into society and assist to address his immediate and long term needs.”
Ms Thorne's murder remains unsolved and is one of 64 cases to attract an increased $1 million reward for information under changes announced by the state government on Wednesday.
Claims evidence planted 'credible, cogent and plausible'
When the WA Supreme Court set aside Mr Austic’s conviction in 2020 and ordered a new trial, it found “credible, cogent and plausible evidence” that crucial evidence against him had been planted.
The Court of Appeal found a knife police located in a paddock had been planted, and that it was not long enough to inflict the fatal wounds suffered by Ms Thorne.
It also accepted said there was “credible, cogent and plausible evidence” someone had planted a bloodstained cigarette packet not in original police photographs of the scene, but which appeared about 30 hours later.
Given those findings and questions about the “integrity” of the police investigation, the court also said there was “a shadow” cast over the integrity of a Jim Beam can found outside Ms Thorne’s home.
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Peter Dutton promotes energy realism
Peter Dutton will reverse Anthony Albanese’s sweeping market and regulatory interventions in the oil and gas sector, and rally resources companies to “fight” alongside the Coalition against energy policies driven by Labor’s “renewable zealotry”.
Amid emerging rifts between cabinet ministers over the role of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies in cutting emissions across the resources sector, the Opposition Leader on Thursday will invoke former US president Ronald Reagan and pledge to wind back government interventions.
Speaking by videolink to the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration conference in Adelaide, Mr Dutton will warn oil and gas executives that “we’re witnessing one of the most interventionist governments in our nation’s history”. With energy and competition regulators warning of severe gas shortages and blackouts, Mr Dutton will accuse the government of being “deeply sceptical of the free market, of individual enterprise and autonomy”.
“Labor sees businesses and industry as instruments of the state,” Mr Dutton will say.
“It wants to use the chains and whips of regulation and tax to control and cannibalise the private sector. Nowhere is this more visible than in energy policy and its interference in the gas industry.
“Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen will say publicly that they’re behind the gas industry. But of course, their actions betray their words. Labor wants gas gone. The government’s not on your side – let’s be very clear about it.”
Mr Dutton’s broadside against Labor policies comes as Industry Minister Ed Husic and Resources Minister Madeleine King clash over the viability of CCS technologies in reducing emissions across oil, gas and mining sectors.
Nationals MP Keith Pitt says Energy Minister Chris Bowen wants to turn Australia into an intermittent wind and… solar energy “super-unreliable power”. “I’d like them to withdraw their promise on nuclear, because it’s the right way to go,” Mr Pitt told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “If you More
After Mr Husic on Wednesday cast doubt over whether CCS would effectively slash emissions, Ms King told The Australian it was a “proven technology” and crucial in achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Ms King – who will announce on Thursday $50m in grants to accelerate the development of new critical minerals projects in Western Australia, NSW and Queensland – said the government was committed to examining opportunities providing regulatory and administrative certainty for CCS across industries.
“The Albanese government announced $12m in the 2023-24 budget to review the environmental management regime for offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage activities to ensure it is fit-for-purpose for a decarbonising economy,” Ms King said.
“(CCS) is an important part of getting to net zero and we are focused on making sure projects that are commercial have regulatory certainty so they can get on with it. The (International Energy Agency) notes that around the world, deployed CCS has the capacity to sequester up to 45 million tonnes of carbon dioxide on an annual basis.”
Mr Husic earlier said that CCS had not shown that it was able to “work at scale” and the government should prioritise investments in wind and solar to “give us the best bang for buck”.
With major trading partners Japan and South Korea raising concerns about Labor’s crackdown on the oil and gas sector, APPEA is preparing a national advertising blitz pushing back against the government’s market and regulatory interventions.
Mr Dutton will attack Labor’s gas price caps, reduced funding for gas exploration and projects, additional support for activists waging lawfare, mandatory code of conduct, higher taxes on gas companies, radical industrial relations laws and the safeguard mechanism imposing climate targets on heavy industry.
He will warn that Labor policies are pushing up prices and businesses will have no choice but to pass costs on to consumers or “pack up shop and move offshore where it’s cheaper to operate”.
“In such cases, there won’t be any environmental benefit,” he will say. “In fact, there will be more emissions into the air. All this carbon tax will do is damage our own economy and have a de-industrialising effect.”
Mr Dutton will explain how Reagan managed the oil crisis in 1981 by decontrolling the price of domestic oil and stopped the government from “putting ceilings on its pricing and production”.
“He did these things despite all the scare tactics and dire warnings,” Mr Dutton will say.
“Five years later, Reagan spoke about the success of these policies. He let ‘freedom solve the problem through the magic of the marketplace’ – as he said. That episode in US history is an important lesson about the perils of government intervention. It’s a lesson ignored by the Australian government in 2023.”
The warning on prices and emissions comes after Mr Dutton used his budget reply speech to ramp up pressure on Labor for small modular nuclear reactors to be included in the energy mix as part of the transition to net zero.
Mr Dutton will urge oil and gas producers to “fight for yourselves” and make the case against policy decisions.
“We need you to speak up frankly and more avidly,” he will say. “And to have a discussion with the Australian public just outlining the facts. I know it can be difficult, I understand why, particularly in an age of social media, where companies have absented themselves from the public debate … But if you don’t speak up now, I think it’s just going to put the sector at even more risk. It’s our country’s future prosperity that we’re talking about.”
After business groups last week lashed Jim Chalmers’ budget for failing to include measures to boost productivity and more investment incentives, Mr Dutton will describe Labor’s energy policy as being “driven by renewable zealotry”.
“It’s doing everything possible to shut down coal and frustrate the gas sector,” he will say. “We understand that you need to balance commercial viability with national environmental goals. Yet Labor’s new carbon tax (safeguard mechanism) will force businesses and industries to meet aggressive emissions reduction targets or pay hefty fines. And for many, by design, this tax will be financially crippling.”
Mr Dutton will warn oil and gas companies that the “worst is yet to come”, with the government preparing a shake-up of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
“We all want to protect and improve our environment,” he will say.
“But we also have an obligation to promote the longevity of Australian industries and businesses which underpin our economic prosperity.”
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Sydney needs to reach for the sky to fix housing shortage, says Minns
Some realism there
NSW Premier Chris Minns has warned that urban sprawl will stop Sydney from being a leading global city and insists that building up – not out – will be key to creating a vibrant, young metropolis.
“We have to go up,” Minns said. “Sydney can’t grow by adding another street to the western fringe of Sydney every other week … [because] you have to stretch social infrastructure over a bigger and bigger plane.
“I think the best way to ensure we protect open space is to have buildings that go up and don’t encroach on much loved parkland.”
In a clear message to anti-development groups, Minns said quality apartment buildings located on transport links would be critical to Sydney’s future, as the housing crisis threatens to drive away young people.
Minns said apartment approvals in Sydney were at the lowest levels since 2014 “at the exact same time as we have a housing crisis”, adding urban consolidation was a concept with which Sydneysiders had to become more comfortable.
Outlining his vision at The Sydney Morning Herald’s Sydney 2050 summit on Monday, Minns said he wanted a youthful city, attracting and retaining young people who wanted to live and build their careers in Sydney.
He said Sydneysiders needed to be more parochial in a manner similar to New Yorkers about their home city.
“Young people feel that, if they can make it in Sydney, they can make it anywhere and part of the challenge is ensuring young people believe they have a future in Sydney and that will be a big challenge for the NSW government,” Minns said.
However, Minns said a lack of affordable housing would have devastating economic and cultural impacts on Sydney and would be the single biggest impediment to the city’s growth.
“Forget about owning a home, it’s now become impossible to even rent a home,” Minns said.
“The implications for the economy are devastating, not to mention the cultural impacts for an entire generation of young people who are saying ‘this city is not for me’.
Minns said the government had already introduced legislation to change the rental laws, including portable bonds for tenants and banning secret rent bidding. However, supply remained a critical issue facing the newly elected government.
NSW will fail to meet its obligations under the National Housing Accord to build 314,000 new homes over the next five years, with the planning department forecasting just 180,000.
As a result, Minns has instructed his ministers to urgently find vacant blocks of public land to rezone for housing as part of a push to turn around the state’s flagging supply of new homes.
However, the premier said Sydney had to rethink where it was adding homes and claiming the city had run out of room was not an option, nor an approach taken by London or New York.
“We don’t see the mayor of New York saying ‘Manhattan is full, we can’t have any more buildings, we’re done, we’ll have to build in Hoboken [New Jersey],’ ” Minns said.
The premier said one of the best appointments the previous government made was Building Commissioner David Chandler, who was tasked to ensure buildings were “up to scratch” to give confidence that quality apartments could be delivered in Sydney.
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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