Howard calls premiers to water summit this week

Prime Minister John Howard has announced that he will hold another water summit this week to discuss his plan to take control of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Some state premiers had requested the meeting to talk about the proposed takeover.

Mr Howard says the meeting will be held on Thursday in Canberra, subject to the availability of the state leaders.

"I do hope that we can get this matter dealt with expeditiously because it is very much in Australia's interests and there is no issue that is concerning the Australian public on a national basis at this present time more important in their regard than that of water," he said.

The Prime Minister says he is happy to respond to requests by Queensland Premier Peter Beattie and Victorian Premier Steve Bracks to meet on the issue.

Mr Howard says he is optimistic the leaders will agree to refer control of the river system to the Government to enable the $10 billion plan to go ahead.

"It is important that we maintain the momentum of this national plan and I do hope that we can sit down at this meeting and we can deal with the issue, reach an agreement," he said.

"We do need referral of the powers because it's impractical to bump along with the existing governance arrangement."

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Gus: the parlance of the rodent is smartly poised as to make great cunning porkies into believable platitudes... Mr premiers, Beware... All Rodentus Johnneei wants you to do is cut your arm off by giving away your State's rights, slowly one at a time until you do not exist... The situation does not warrant it. the water agreement can be achieved without giving rights away.

Howard embraces NSW stance on water control

Prime Minister John Howard has welcomed a decision by New South Wales to accepted the Federal Government's plan to take control of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Last week NSW Premier Morris Iemma gave in-principle support to handing over control of the Murray-Darling, despite opposition from other state leaders who are meeting with Mr Howard on Thursday for a national water summit.

Today Mr Iemma used his strongest words yet, saying while he disagrees with Mr Howard on many issues, he believes he is right even if other states derail an agreement.

"I don't really care whether they do or they don't, New South Wales is going there and the New South Wales position is final," he said.

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Gus; What do I care... It's not as if I did not warn anybody on States' rights going down the drain... Since we're in the southern hemisphere, do they go gurgling down anticlockwise?

From the ABC

'Billion-dollar black hole' in PM's water plan
The Federal Opposition says Prime Minister John Howard's $10 billion water plan for the Murray-Darling Basin is facing a billion-dollar black hole.

Executives from the Murray-Darling Basin Commission have raised concerns that under the plan, the Commission's budget could shrink by $900 million over the next 10 years.

Commonwealth, state and territory leaders are meeting in Canberra today to discuss the details of the Government's proposal.

Opposition treasury spokesman Wayne Swan says the water plan has been put together on the run.

From our ABC

PM warns states against playing water games

The Prime Minister has implored the state and territory leaders to take up the Commonwealth's plan for the Murray-Darling Basin for the good of the nation.

Premiers and chief ministers are meeting in Sydney today, following a meeting with John Howard yesterday, at which they failed to reach agreement on handing over control of the country's largest inland river system.

Mr Howard says there is a suggestion that the premiers are holding out on the $10 billion water plan to inflict political pain on the Government.

"I don't mind that, they can inflict as much political pain as they like on me, I don't want them inflicting water security pain on the people of Australia," he said.

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks says the plan is policy on the run and he wants more resources.

"This $10.5 billion is not for the Murray-Darling only, it's for every other irrigation in the country," he said.

"You don't have to be a brain surgeon to know what that means - it means less money for the Murray-Darling system."

Mr Howard remains optimistic the states and territories will agree to the plan.

Carbon trading

Meanwhile, the states and territories say they will introduce their own national carbon emissions trading scheme by the end of 2010 if the Commonwealth refuses to act.

While there is little detail, the agreement talks about exempting energy intensive industries from the scheme.

New South Wales Premier Morris says the scheme is part of a transition.

"It is inevitable but in our determination to save the planet we have to be careful we don't destroy the country," he said.

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The PM is getting more and more annoyed with whatever and that's good... He makes huge cash offers that are loaded with razor blades and threats, and he expects everyone to take the offer... Simplistic to say the least. 

After 10 years of telling porkies, no-one should trust him if they ever trusted him... All he wants is diminish the powers of the States for his own power grab.

From our ABC

Howard urges states to end 'water torture'

Prime Minister John Howard says he is sceptical over calls for a sunset clause in his efforts to overhaul the management of the Murray-Darling Basin.

The state premiers will again meet with Mr Howard next week to discuss his $10 billion plan to manage the river system.

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Gus: why is the rodent in such a hurry?... Well, I would suggest he is worried it might rain enough and his plan to steal State's right might go down the gurgler...?

 

From our ABC

Rudd attacks water plan fast-tracking

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd says the revelation the Federal Government's $10 billion water plan was not approved by Cabinet shows the policy was not properly thought out.

A Senate estimates hearing was last night told the proposal to take control of the Murray-Darling Basin was not put before Cabinet or the Finance Department, even though it was in planning since November.

Mr Rudd says last night's admission by Finance Minister Nick Minchin was remarkable.

"I think there is a question for Mr Howard to answer here," he said.

"If this is Mr Howard's long-term solution for water when it comes to the Murray-Darling system and if he describes it as a major, once-in-a-century proposition to the Australian people, I would've thought that Cabinet would've been brought into his consideration."

The Opposition Leader has called on Mr Howard to explain the fast-tracking.

"I've tried to be positive about this but when we find things like this, that such a major proposal as this is not even taken to the Cabinet, then we begin to raise questions about how well thought out the individual policy, the administrative and financial details of the package in fact are," Mr Rudd said.

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Gus: some of us know why... Johnee wants to weaken the States as much sa possible and take  their responsibilities one by one, or as a job lot —like he did with "PorkChoices", the IR laws that have according to the latest statistics reduced workers earnings and condtions....

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From the ABC

Wages, conditions worse under WorkChoices: study

A study has found that many women are worse off under the new federal industrial relations changes.

Queensland's Griffith Business School has analysed the first 10 months of WorkChoices and found overtime pay has been lost at double the rate of previous Australian workplace agreements.

 

From our ABC

Howard's water plan branded 'shoddy'

The Victorian Government has dismissed the Federal Government's $10 billion water plan, saying it is shoddy.

After seeking clarification on 44 items of concern, the Bracks Government said the responses from the Prime Minister were inadequate.

It said the Commonwealth plan would jeopardise key infrastructure projects, disadvantage irrigators and would not produce any extra flows for the Murray River.

The State Government is proposing an alternative plan, which includes giving the Federal Government the ultimate say on water allocations, but keeps irrigators' and town's rights in state hands and maintains its $3 billion commitment to the Living Murray project.

Water Minister John Thwaites says the Victorian plan would have clear targets and ensure that farmers and the environment are protected.

Mr Thwaites says he has the support of irrigators and environmental groups.

"Victorian irrigators have urged the Victorian Government not to sign onto the Commonwealth plan," he said.

"They believe it ends any real certainty over their water rights.

 

The only thing Howard has said that we can all agree on is that "Water is for all Australians".

But than he is back to his bullying "core and non-core" stance.

With his usual shortsightedness he only looks at the Murray-Darling system which is only part of the overall water situation in Australia.

Maybe he cannot be blamed totally for his shortsightedness, because the sprukings of our waterpundits have not been impressive either. It seems that nobody is capable of looking at the continent wide water situation. This must be done if we are to safeguard all of us from further disaster.

We have to tell our very best water engineers that they should produce plans for a totally integrated system for the whole of the country. If our engineers are not capable of producing such plans than let's hire them from "overseas".

But first and foremost keep out politicians and business.

Of course it will cost money, but than again we are dealing with the county's life's blood. And anyway these things should have been thought about 50 years ago when they started the big migrant influx.

The time of flying the seat of our pants is well and truly over.

As Steve Bracks, the last Premier to weigh his options on the waterlogged offer by John Howard, smells the wind, one can whiff a gigantic con behind this $10 billion Rattus offer to "manage" the Murray-Darling River system.

Imagine for a moment that the water "national interest" be passed-on (either fast-tracked or slowly dripped fed over 10 years) to private enterprises such as KBR-Halliburton (not a far fetched concept considering the present visit by VP Dick... and that SA water is already controlled by KBR). Of course it would not be so obvious as a direct on-sell but an off-load under the banner of "consultancy" or "private partners in a public enterprise" but the end result will be the same... also designed to have some of that dough end up in some "shareholders' pockets, possibly some former politicians rewarded for the "good work".

With the help of such a "private" influence (despite rules and regulations and smokescreens and hyperventilation by politicians to the contrary), one can see, other US enterprises becoming big players in the control of Australian production of crops, eventually dictating what can be grown (not by decree, but by "water management"), when it can be grown and how much can be grown, all this to benefit US growers and their worldwide markets in which Aussie producers would become second rate tit-bit gap-filler.

Many scenarios can be constructed here.

For example, a firm like Monsanto can sell a particular crop (GM) of whatever that uses half has much water (fanbloodytastic, isn't it?), half as much (but twice as strong) herbicides and insecticides to "Australian" (already mostly US-ized) growers and eventually control the Australian production of anything. In the extreme corners of such scheme, Private US enterprise would be able to "dictate" (as consultants, partners and owners) what is grown, how it is grown and where it is sold as to benefit US interests (to the point of reducing Australian production as the US enterprises see fit) — Australians growers becoming dependants (slaves) of multinational enterprises profit making. In the meantime, the environmental degradation (or shift towards a dependent management of silting, salt, denaturalization of production, massive dependence on super-phosphate and overflow of these in the few remnants of natural pockets) would become a massive destruction of the Australian landscape. Within twenty years of such management, one can see maximisation of profits with ever greater shits towards full-blown GM crops, while America lines its pockets, Aussie enterprises collect the crumbs and the world has only GM crops to consume...

As already alerted on this site about some research in Italy showing that GM soy induces premature ageing in certain organs of mice, one can see either an accidental (or deliberate?) control of future world populations. Far fetched? Sure... But in our day and age of technological, genetics and medical advances — most of which are more and more geared towards maximising profit, one can see the advantage of a greater "faster" turnaround of population, people produced like chicken battery farm... Faster consumer turnaround, more obsolescence, fantastic money spinners... Profits, profits, profits on all fronts, including organised leisure, "news" as entertainment as "news" to keep us amused and bemused, never to ask a question ever again apart from a little cackling about "lifestyle" (see magazines) — of which "can green and blue be seen fashionably together?" would be the exciting optimum allowed by general philosophical and drug induced dumbing-down...

All this from a drip at a time... a drip of the time. Far fetched?... My strange and committed opinion for what it's worth.

THE Howard government's family policies left a legacy of stressed, overworked parents and set gender equity back a decade, a new study shows.

Despite their high academic achievements over the decade, women are now less likely than in 1997 to work full-time while their children are young. And when they do, they take on more of the housework and child care.

A study by Lyn Craig and Killian Mullan, of the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of NSW, shows the ascendancy of the family model promoted by the former prime minister: a father in full-time work and a mother in part-time work, depicted in his speeches as "the policeman and the part-time sales assistant".

The 1.5-earner family became the predominant form between 1997 and 2006, from 35 per cent of all couples with children under five to 46 per cent. But life for parents grew harder and less equal. By 2006, all parents were more likely to report feeling stressed.

"There was reduced gender equity and strikingly increased reported time pressure," the study found. Based on 772 families in 1997 and 652 families in 2006, and using Australian Bureau of Statistics data, the research will be presented at the Australian Social Policy Conference next week.

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