Australian Politics
Sunday, January 28, 2024
How identity politics destroyed Rochelle Hicks’ world
Since nobody else is mentioning it maybe I should: Ian Brown is a white Aborigine. So his possession of genuine "cultural knowledge" is unlikely. He has been given special privilege likely without justification. The bureaucrats made assumptions about him far too quickly. The whole episode is a mess.
The Labor government’s handling of the Rochelle Hicks matter has revealed what happens when identity politics merges with Labor’s old-style brute politics. As one lawyer told me this week, that political merger has turned into a highway to hell.
That’s the road the successful and highly regarded senior executive within Transport for NSW has been forced down. Hicks had project managed the Coffs Harbour Bypass, a $2.2bn infrastructure project. Her performance reviews were excellent. Her career was headed in one direction – up.
That was until her world came crashing down after bureaucrats above her refused to take seriously a death threat made against her made by Indigenous man Ian Brown. Hicks wanted Brown removed for the safety of her workplace, given he had made threats against her and others. In other workplaces, a bad joke could get you tossed out.
Instead, at Transport for NSW, according to its own internal documents, senior bureaucrats decided they should take no action against Brown because he was an influential Indigenous man and a “cultural knowledge holder”. Instead, they tried to get rid of Hicks.
If ever we needed reminding of the wretched influence of identity politics, of its dire and unfair outcomes, here it is. The first reaction of Transport bureaucrats was to effectively side with an Indigenous man who threatened to kill a white woman. They wanted to have the white woman removed. Hicks was forced to stay at home to protect her safety.
Senior public servants in the NSW Transport Department allocated a higher rung in the hierarchy of victimhood to the Indigenous man and perpetrator of the death threat. The white woman who was the subject of a death threat was treated by the public servants as expendable.
So much for the NSW Transport Department’s promise to end gendered violence and to make all workplaces safe for women.
The rot is so deep that when The Australian exposed this scandal, department bureaucrats organised professional psychological support, not for Rochelle Hicks, but for other public servants who may have been upset at our coverage of the debacle.
This baloney should be the stuff of comedy … except there is nothing remotely funny about the mistreatment of Rochelle Hicks.
A mother of two young children, Hicks should be lauded by her bosses as a role model for other women to consider successful and rewarding careers in the male-dominated infrastructure industry. And an example should have been made of the man who made a death threat against her. His swift removal would have signified that the department took violence, and threats of violence, against women very seriously. Instead, Hicks has been forced to engage lawyers; her career is on hold as she fights to be fairly compensated for the end of her successful career.
If departmental heads within Transport are flinching, they have only themselves to blame. It’s their fault that this matter has now entered the political arena.
Now that politicians are involved, Minns has a chance to show the sort of leadership that has been absent throughout this debacle. But, sadly, so far the reaction of the NSW Labor government suggests Minns is just another Labor hack who favours brute politics over doing the right thing.
When National MP Sam Farraway brought a motion to release internal department documents in response to our coverage in November, the Minns government blocked the motion. So much for leadership.
As The Australian reported, one Labor ministerial staffer even tried to smear Hicks to a crossbencher as mentally unstable to avoid internal documents being released. So much for integrity and compassion.
Hicks was delivered another blow when those other political hypocrites, the Greens, sided with Labor. We should never again take seriously the words of NSW Greens MPs about wanting to to protect women against violence.
Release of the documents supported Hicks’ version of events and revealed Transport bureaucrats behaving very badly indeed. The Greens should be in uproar. Instead, they are silent, pathetic patsies to identity politics. These tossers apparently believe all women – except when a black man threatens violence against a white woman.
It was never in anyone’s interest to follow the bone-headed mantra of the left that we “believe-all-women”. Minns need look no further than to the Prime Minister to understand the dangers of that approach.
The Albanese government’s handling of Brittany Higgins’s workplace complaint is the high water mark of maniacal devotion to that inherently flawed ideology. Proper processes were not followed. Higgins’ complaints against her former Liberal bosses were not tested. Some of Australia’s most senior lawyers who have read the Deed of Settlement in Higgins’ favour have laughed out loud at the utter legal crookedness of Labor paying $2.4m to Higgins to inflict political damage on senators Linda Reynolds and Michaelia Cash, and senior Liberal staffer Fiona Brown.
The Higgins matter was patently not handled on its merits by the Albanese government or the Finance Department.
If, from the start, the Hicks matter had been handled on its merits by her bosses, rather than through the warped filter of identity politics, Transport bureaucrats wouldn’t look like a bunch of overpaid muppets.
If the Minns government had dealt with the Hicks saga on its merits from the start, rather than choosing brute politics, it wouldn’t be knee-deep in this mess either.
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"I would prefer to deal with Satan than with my insurer"
After two years of floods inundating the east coast of Australia, thousands of customers are still waiting for claims to be processed.
Figures from the Insurance Council of Australia show that of 160,000 building insurance claims made across four major flooding events in 2022, more than 6,000 are yet to be closed.
More than 4,000 claims made for damage to buildings during the catastrophic flooding across NSW and SE Queensland in early 2022 are still outstanding.
Meanwhile, more than 1,300 building claims made during the south-east Australia weather catastrophe later that year, described as "the most devastating flooding event in Victoria's history", are also yet to be resolved.
The ABC analysed flood events the Insurance Council classified as a "catastrophe" or "significant" in 2022.
The Insurance Council of Australia said the industry was facing a "perfect storm" of multiple climate disasters, supply chain problems, builder shortages and a housing crisis all making their work difficult and delaying claims processing.
"Insurers are now dealing with multiple events across the country at any one time," Insurance Council of Australia chief executive Andrew Hall told the ABC.
"With 250,000 claims emerging from just one event in 2022 [the south-east Queensland and New South Wales floods], it was inevitable that we would have some claims that didn't work perfectly, but we are determined to understand what are the issues around those claims."
Among those struggling with their insurer is the Sibberas family, who live in the rural Victorian town of Rochester.
The northern town was hit by flooding for the second time in two years this month, meaning some customers will be making their second claim in as many years.
Shellei and Paul Sibberas made their first claim in October 2022 when the Campaspe river broke its banks and the water that flowed into their house was knee deep.
Their insurer RACV was initially helpful, Ms Sibberas said, but the situation fell apart once it came to supplying appropriate temporary accommodation.
The couple and their adult son ended up living in two caravans on a property next door, which were subsequently damaged in a storm in October last year. One was taken away to be repaired.
"I was living in a swag in the shed, then we found out that that caravan had been written off," Ms Sibberas said.
Despite their home being insured for $680,000, she said they were initially offered around $240,000, then later $356,000 and then $468,000.
"There is a huge difference," Ms Sibberas said.
"They're trying to tell us majority of the damage was pre-existing, which we know it in fact wasn't."
RACV said their engineer determined there was significant damage to the house's stumps and roof, but it was caused by age and not the flood.
"The pre-existing damage to the roof and timber stumps meant that our builder could not warrant the repairs," a spokesperson said in a statement.
The engineer recommended a dry-out period of six months so the full extent of the damage could be determined.
Vicki Staff from Financial Counselling Australia said the family's experience was common and many financial counselling clients had claims denied because the issuer claimed there were pre-existing maintenance issues.
As the Sibberas family negotiated with RACV, their home continued to fall into disrepair because of the delay in repairs to the water damage. Now, the house will need to be rebuilt entirely.
"Our floors are dropping. We have a roof that has started to drop, so we have a leak in the roof in our lounge room," Ms Sibberas said.
"There were just consistent lies, 'We're going to do this were going to do that'. It all boiled down to lack of communication.
"I would prefer to deal with Satan because it's like dealing with the devil. Mentally, I just cannot do it."
Following the ABC's inquiries last week, RACV contacted the family the next day and agreed to a figure closer to the fully insured amount.
In a statement, a spokesperson for RACV said the insurer responded quickly to the initial claim with offers of temporary accommodation and support, and paid out their contents insurance promptly.
"Throughout the process, we have been in continuous contact with the member," they said.
"Our focus has been ensuring our members are safe and supported during their recovery.
"We've finalised 93 per cent of claims from the October 2022 Victorian floods. We are working as quickly as possible to complete the remaining 7 per cent."
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Slack prosecution was a penalty in itself for the accused
Charges dropped for defendant. Senior Constable to face court
A magistrate has ordered a senior constable to face court after prosecutors dropped all charges against a man who was still waiting for a brief of evidence nine months after the officer was ordered to produce one.
There was confusion and frustration at Kingaroy Magistrates Court on Monday when Matthew Eric Cross indicated he was about to plead guilty to various charges laid against him.
Mr Cross, 34, was in court for five charges including obstructing a police officer, stalking and breach of bail.
Before the case was heard, Police Prosecutor Sophie Stewart approached Mr Cross to tell him she would asking the magistrate to impose a sentence of three months in jail.
Mr Cross could be heard responding: “Three months in prison just for asking what was going on?”
Senior Constable Stewart told him he could tell his side to the magistrate.
When that time came, Ms Stewart indicated police were offering no evidence for some of the charges before having a brief conversation with fellow Police Prosecutor Barry Stevens.
While this was going on, frustration was palpable in the gallery where Mr Cross’ two supporters were sitting.
“This is a complete joke, they don’t know what they’re doing,” one of them could be heard saying.
Once it was decided three of the charges would be dropped but the others would remain, Mr Cross asked the court: “Before I enter that plea, can I just say that I didn’t even receive the brief I ordered the last court case I was here.
“I just want to deal with this so I can get on with my life. “The last 12 months has been nothing but a drama to the point where I’ve lost everything, two jobs, thousands of dollars. “$460 a day, that’s what I was on before all of this started.
“I lost my job from being dragged into Toowoomba watch house for two days for apparently sticking my finger up,” Mr Cross said.
Magistrate Sinclair interjected explaining he needed to understand what happened with the brief of evidence he ordered police to send to Mr Cross.
“I just need to find out because it’s highly unsatisfactory, it happens frequently that the police officers do not provide material which I ordered them to,” Mr Sinclair said
“What happened to the brief that I ordered to be ready by the first of June, 2023,” he asked the police prosecutors.
Snr Const Stewart replied the brief hadn’t been compiled due to “personal circumstances” of the arresting officer.
“Are they exempt from my orders and directions?” Mr Sinclair asked.
Mr Cross then asked if he could speak again and stressed he needed the brief so he could decide what direction to take.
“I’m here to tie up all these loose ends to get on with my life … something as simple as the brief so I can make a decision,” he said.
The two police prosecutors could be seen speaking to one another again before Snr Const Stewart announced: “Your honour, in relation to all charges for this defendant, the prosecution offers no evidence”.
“You’re dropping the lot?” the magistrate asked.
“Yes, your honour,” Snr Const Stewart replied.
“There you go, it’s all been tidied up,” Mr Sinclair said to Mr Cross.
After Mr Cross and his supporters left the courtroom, the magistrate addressed the prosecutors. “It’s the prosecutor's’ job and the officer in charge’s job to make sure that the directions that I make are complied with. “That means getting another police officer to do it.
“Why has it not happened for nine months?” Mr Sinclair asked.
“It’s not my fault, Your Honour,” Sergeant Stevens said.
Mr Sinclair then ordered the officer who was meant to provide the brief to appear before him.
“I’m going to direct Senior Constable M. Stalley to appear before me in person to show cause for why he shouldn’t be charged,” he said
“I’m going to do that for every officer who doesn’t provide briefs as directed. “He can explain to me what’s happened … it’s far from an isolated case.”
Snr Const Stalley must now appear in person at Kingaroy Magistrates Court on February 9, 2024.
Outside court, Mr Cross told this publication he was going to try and find new employment now he was able to freely work again.
“All of that just for them to drop the charges,” he said before leaving.
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More coal coming
Dartbrook mine set to reopen after 18 years
Australian Pacific Coal and Tetra Resources have finalised a three year US$60 million debt facility with energy and commodity group Vitol Asia.
Dartbrook coal mine near Muswellbrook is a step closer to reopening, 18 years after it was placed into care and maintenance.
Australian Pacific Coal and Tetra Resources announced on Tuesday that they had finalised a three year US$60 million debt facility with energy and commodity group Vitol Asia to cover the cost of reopening the mine through to first coal.
The funding will cover equipment acquisitions, the completion of remediation work and the acquisition of additional mining systems during ramp-up to achieve full capacity.
The companies been working to recommission the mine since September 2022.
"This is a landmark event for Australian Pacific Coal, our shareholders, and the Dartbrook mine," Australian Pacific Coal interim chief executive officer Ayten Saridas said.
"Our ability to secure debt funding for Dartbrook during a period of high inflation and global tension is testament to the quality of the project, the vision and work ethic of the team of people bringing it back to market, and the commitment of our shareholders."
The debt facility will be structured as a loan notes issuance agreement and will involve a three-year facility with repayments commencing after an initial grace period to allow for mine production startup.
"From the moment we engaged with Vitol, they have seen the potential value we can create at Dartbrook," Saridas said.
"They have been thoroughly professional during this process and we are looking forward to working closely with them in coming years.
"Vitol will play a key strategic role in the development of the project following their appointment as sole marketing agent for Dartbrook coal. Dartbrook product is very high quality and we anticipate strong interest from export markets.
The schedule to first coal is under review and will be announced in AQC's quarterly report later this month, Saridas said.
The Independent Planning Commission approved an amended application to reopen the mine in 2019, despite community opposition.
The conditions stipulate that the mine will have to use the Hunter Tunnel rather than transport coal by truck. It must also use existing processing infrastructure and cannot mine the Piercefield Seam to reduce groundwater impact.
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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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