How Australia's political parties should be funded - and how that information should be divulged - have been hotly debated for years. But we are at last approaching the end-game, as the amounts of cash pumping through the political arteries rise rapidly.
The Australian Electoral Commission revealed this week that the parties raised and spent a record $215million in the past financial year. Submissions to a green paper for discussion on the issue close on February 23, and a bill is before federal parliament.
Asia's controversial casino king Stanley Ho, aged 87, has emerged as the unlikely catalyst in ensuring the key issues are resolved, as he pressed more than $1.6million on federal and NSW Labor branches, although much of it was returned.
Ho, rated by Forbes magazine as the 113th richest man in the world, with about $12billion, lives in Hong Kong. But he has made almost all of his money to the west across the Pearl River delta, in Macau, where he owns 17 casinos, besides the jetfoil company that transports most people to the gambling haven, operated by Shun Tak, Ho's holding company.
He has been married four times and has 17 children. He was a cousin of kung fu star Bruce Lee. He has a high social profile, having been a ballroom dancer and a tennis player well into his 80s, and remains prominent at the biggest Hong Kong charity balls.
He has four honorary doctorates, and endowed through a $5.6million donation to Pembroke College, Oxford, England, a chair for the Stanley Ho University Lecturer in Chinese History.
His son Lawrence is the chief executive of Melco Crown Entertainment, another Macau casino operator, of which James Packer is co-chairman. His daughter Pansy is a director of STDM, his core casino operating business, and is half-owner of MGM Grand Macau.
His businesses account for about one-third of Macau's gross domestic product.
Ho owns property in Australia and, like many other Asian billionaires, enjoys visiting here, where he can relax with less likelihood of being recognised or bothered.
But his preoccupation in Australia has for decades been to gain a slice of the rewarding gambling action; now soaring with the succession of government-funded stimulus packages.
In this, he has been constantly thwarted -- but he has persisted, nevertheless, in seeking to charm Australian politicians through extravagant political donations, which he appears to view as investments.
Ho has been welcomed as an investor in gaming in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, which is visited by streams of Chinese tourists who gaze nostalgically at old-style communist sites by day and carouse in the casino -- banned in mainland China -- by night.
But he has otherwise largely been frustrated in his attempts to grow his business internationally, although he has been a part-owner of casinos in Hobart, Launceston and Darwin.
Singapore and Canada, as well as Australia, have blocked casino investment proposals, chiefly because of allegations that he has links with Asian organised crime, even being associated with triads in a Royal Canadian Mounted Police report. Veteran regional analyst Bertil Lintner wrote in the Far Eastern Economic Review: "It would be almost impossible to run a gambling enterprise in a place like Macau without some kind of understanding with the triads".
Apparently because of such concerns, he was left out of consideration for a role in the first casino in Sydney, Tabcorp's Star City, which opened in temporary facilities in 1995 and in its permanent home two years later.
As discussion began about issuing a second casino licence -- in the end, the NSW government cemented Tabcorp's monopoly -- Ho sent fresh bursts of good wishes to the Labor party.
During the 2007-2008 financial year a Gold Coast-based company Ho controls, Hungtat Worldwide, donated $600,000 via the NSW branch, with which he appears to have been most familiar. His fourth wife, Angela Leong, sent $499,980 to the federal party.
He personally declared a $200,000 donation to the NSW party, although the branch reported it received $400,000. Anthony Chan, a director of Ho's Shun Tak, gave $100,000 to the NSW branch in two instalments.
What might have been Ho's motivation?
Almost certainly, it was not ideological, since Ho has not often indicated any political commitment, beyond a general leaning towards the Chinese Communist Party, and support for its insistence on a slow pace for any democratisation in Hong Kong or Macau.
He appeared to have lost his former local political clout when in 2001 the Macau gaming industry, which he had monopolised for 40 years, was thrown open to the big names from Las Vegas. But the market soared, and he retained more than half. Last year the government suddenly shut the door on newcomers, and Ho's stakes soared further.
And he can provide material assistance for the communist party and its senior officials without any requirement for disclosure; more likely the opposite, an expectation that he will be discreet.
Unusually, the NSW party returned the Hungtat donation within days because, said general secretary Matt Thistlethwaite, it was not needed. But the branch retained the rest of the money that came from Ho sources.
The federal party, however, sent back the money given by Ho's wife. Assistant secretary Nick Martin said such decisions were made "on a case by case basis. We look at them, and if there's a donation we don't believe we should accept, then we return it".
National secretary Nick Bitar said the rejection followed "a due diligence assessment". The state and federal branches operate under separate constitutions. They operate their own budgets, although Victoria operates under the federal scheme.
But especially as national elections approach, funding tends to flow upwards from the states to the centre. So at least some Ho-derived money may have found its way to Canberra despite its due diligence.
Martin said the federal branch backed the reform proposals led by Special Minister of State Senator John Faulkner, both those before parliament -- currently blocked in the Senate by the opposition -- and in the new green paper, including restricting donations to Australian citizens only.
Such a limit would occasionally hit the Liberals. In September 2004, shortly before that year's federal election, Briton Lord Michael Ashcroft gave the Liberal Party $1million. Although donors are not required to provide explanations, his donation was more likely than Ho's to have been ideologically based. He is deputy chairman of Britain's Conservative Party.
But the US already bans all donations from foreigners, and such a ban in Australia would bar the money from Hos and Ashcrofts alike.
The options being canvassed in the green paper include: enhancing disclosure, including tighter time-frames and broadening the definition of the types of donations that should be disclosed; banning or capping political donations; placing limits on campaign expenditure by political parties and other participants in the political process; examining public funding rates for participants in the political process; and further regulating the involvement of third parties -- such as the ACTU, which spent $15.8million on advertisements and the Business Council of Australia, $2.3million -- in the political process.
Faulkner wants to require disclosure of donations above $1000, not $10,900 as at present, and to remove tax deductibility. The Senate -- led by the minority parties -- has voted within the present bill to keep tax deductibility. How such elements finally emerge, are likely to be hammered out as the green paper is concluded.
The controversy over the Ho donations makes it more likely a ban on foreign donations will remain in legislation.
It would be understandable if Labor was fed up with the fallout from its relations with Ho. In 2006 he paid $48,000 to party funds in return for a lunch with then NSW premier Morris Iemma. He also launched a plan to re-develop for about 4billion yuan ($905million), with Ian Tang, a mysterious Australian-Chinese business figure, Beijing's famous Friendship Store.
Tang was a generous donor to Australian politicians, paying for visits to China including by Kevin Rudd, who spoke at the launch of the Friendship Store development. But almost three years later, no work has begun on site and it appears the deal has collapsed.
A leading expert on party funding, Brian Costar from Melbourne's Swinburne University, said: "We haven't had a big enough scandal to force through wholesale change yet" -- although the Ho affair helps.
The most practical and acceptable answer, he says, is to follow the example of the New York City Campaign Finance Board. It has a website on which it is required to post all donations over a basic threshold, at set times in the electoral cycle.
"Everyone agrees transparency is essential, and that's the easiest thing, technically, to achieve. Today, we have the least regulated system of any of the advanced democracies. It's virtually open slather." (Credit: The Australian)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Political News Media blog. Australian and international politics. Local, State, Federal. American politics. Part of the Media Man Group
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Labor at odds over billionaire's advances, by Siobhain Ryan and Imre Salusinszky - The Australian - 3rd February 2009
NSW Labor has washed its hands of one of the country's most generous political donations, from a company linked to Hong Kong gambling billionaire Stanley Ho, while accepting another $400,000 directly from the man himself.
The branch's general secretary, Matt Thistlethwaite, last night told The Australian the party had sent back a $600,000 donation - the equal largest received in 2007-08 by any political party - from Gold Coast-based company Hungtat Worldwide, which lists Dr Ho as a director.
But its decision to accept a $400,000 cheque from Dr Ho puts it at odds with federal Labor, which turned down a $500,000 donation from Dr Ho's wife, Angela Leong, in the same financial year.
Explaining why the party returned Hungtat's money within days of receiving it in September 2007, Mr Thistlethwaite said: "At the time, the party's finances were sufficient to cover our expenditure. The donation was not required, so it was returned."
It is understood senior party officials at the time were concerned about negative publicity surrounding large donations from developers and other business interests.
Details of Dr Ho's generosity were contained in the Australian Electoral Commission's annual disclosure of political financing, which reveals the extent of corporate influence on the major parties.
Dr Ho declared a $200,000 donation to NSW Labor, but the branch's official disclosure put it at double that amount.
Both sides of politics have drawn heavily on major business figures, including billionaire Melbourne cardboard tycoon Richard Pratt, who donated $200,000 to the federal Liberal Party and $100,000 to federal Labor.
In other big donations, the founder of the collapsed ABC Learning centres, Eddy Groves, donated $50,000 to the Liberal Party.
Pulp mill proponent Gunns also donated $56,000 to the Liberal Party in the weeks after the Howard government gave conditional approval for the company's $2.2 billion Tasmanian pulp mill.
Dr Ho and Hungtat's donations flowed into Labor's coffers in NSW while the government of former premier Morris Iemma was considering whether to grant a second casino licence in NSW.
Eventually, the government decided to extend its exclusivity agreement with the Tabcorp-owned Star City, in a $100 million deal.
In 1986, Dr Ho was deemed a person "unsuitable" to hold a casino licence when he was part of a consortium that launched a bid for a stake in the NSW gambling market. In 2007-08, federal Labor refused a gift of nearly $500,000 from Ms Leong, Dr Ho's fourth wife.
The Australian yesterday visited a Surfers Paradise home, listed as Ms Leong's residence. The cream, double-storey home on the Gold Coast's exclusive waterfront island address of Cronin Island was shut up with blinds drawn.
ALP national secretary Karl Bitar said that, given the size of the donation, "the ALP conducted a due diligence assessment of this donation and decided that it should be returned".
Special Minister of State John Faulkner is currently championing changes to political disclosure laws that would ban foreign and anonymous donations for all political parties, whether state or federal.
The bill, now before the Senate, also brings the disclosure threshold for donations down from more than $10,000 to $1000, and shifts from annual to twice-year reporting obligations.
The Opposition has accused the ALP national secretariat of circumventing the Government's political disclosure standards by accepting NSW Labor money in the same year the branch received Dr Ho's donation.
Opposition spokesman on matters of state Michael Ronaldson said it was gross hypocrisy of federal Labor to take a public stand against foreign donations while accepting $925,000 from a state branch that drew on offshore contributors.
"It's almost a backdoor way of getting donations into the federal campaign," he said.
Dr Ho, who has featured in the Forbes list of the 100 richest people in the world, has high-placed contacts after four decades in the Macau gambling business.
His son Lawrence is a co-owner with James Packer of the giant Crown Macau casino.
At a Labor Party fundraiser in 2006, Dr Ho successfully bid $48,000 for lunch with Mr Iemma -- but did not bother to collect hisprize.
In 2006, Kevin Rudd spoke at a ceremony in Beijing to mark a $1.3billion retail redevelopment by Dr Ho and business partner Ian Tang or Tang Yui. Mr Tang, who has helped finance some of Mr Rudd's past China trips, is a director in Sydney-based Aust-China Information Technology.
The company boasts the same address as a Sydney-based donor called Aust-China Pty Ltd (Beijing), which declared a $50,000 gift to the ALP's NSW branch in 2007-08.
Dr Ho is a company director of Hungtat Worldwide, a Queensland-based company that manages the Palm Meadows Golf Course on the Gold Coast and owns a massive parcel of neighbouring land.
It has been the target of lobbying in recent weeks by senior Queensland racing officials who met Dr Ho in Hong Kong to present the businessman with a joint-venture proposal to develop a new supertrack on the Palm Meadows land.
Anthony Chan, who lists the same Hong Kong address as Dr Ho, added a further $100,000 to NSW Labor's coffers last financial year, his donor declaration shows.
The state branch has also attracted a $261,000 windfall from prolific donor Hong Kong Kingson Investment, which lists a Kowloon address.
The amount was the biggest of its 2007-08 donations to Australian political parties, which totalled $761,000. (Credit: The Australian)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
The branch's general secretary, Matt Thistlethwaite, last night told The Australian the party had sent back a $600,000 donation - the equal largest received in 2007-08 by any political party - from Gold Coast-based company Hungtat Worldwide, which lists Dr Ho as a director.
But its decision to accept a $400,000 cheque from Dr Ho puts it at odds with federal Labor, which turned down a $500,000 donation from Dr Ho's wife, Angela Leong, in the same financial year.
Explaining why the party returned Hungtat's money within days of receiving it in September 2007, Mr Thistlethwaite said: "At the time, the party's finances were sufficient to cover our expenditure. The donation was not required, so it was returned."
It is understood senior party officials at the time were concerned about negative publicity surrounding large donations from developers and other business interests.
Details of Dr Ho's generosity were contained in the Australian Electoral Commission's annual disclosure of political financing, which reveals the extent of corporate influence on the major parties.
Dr Ho declared a $200,000 donation to NSW Labor, but the branch's official disclosure put it at double that amount.
Both sides of politics have drawn heavily on major business figures, including billionaire Melbourne cardboard tycoon Richard Pratt, who donated $200,000 to the federal Liberal Party and $100,000 to federal Labor.
In other big donations, the founder of the collapsed ABC Learning centres, Eddy Groves, donated $50,000 to the Liberal Party.
Pulp mill proponent Gunns also donated $56,000 to the Liberal Party in the weeks after the Howard government gave conditional approval for the company's $2.2 billion Tasmanian pulp mill.
Dr Ho and Hungtat's donations flowed into Labor's coffers in NSW while the government of former premier Morris Iemma was considering whether to grant a second casino licence in NSW.
Eventually, the government decided to extend its exclusivity agreement with the Tabcorp-owned Star City, in a $100 million deal.
In 1986, Dr Ho was deemed a person "unsuitable" to hold a casino licence when he was part of a consortium that launched a bid for a stake in the NSW gambling market. In 2007-08, federal Labor refused a gift of nearly $500,000 from Ms Leong, Dr Ho's fourth wife.
The Australian yesterday visited a Surfers Paradise home, listed as Ms Leong's residence. The cream, double-storey home on the Gold Coast's exclusive waterfront island address of Cronin Island was shut up with blinds drawn.
ALP national secretary Karl Bitar said that, given the size of the donation, "the ALP conducted a due diligence assessment of this donation and decided that it should be returned".
Special Minister of State John Faulkner is currently championing changes to political disclosure laws that would ban foreign and anonymous donations for all political parties, whether state or federal.
The bill, now before the Senate, also brings the disclosure threshold for donations down from more than $10,000 to $1000, and shifts from annual to twice-year reporting obligations.
The Opposition has accused the ALP national secretariat of circumventing the Government's political disclosure standards by accepting NSW Labor money in the same year the branch received Dr Ho's donation.
Opposition spokesman on matters of state Michael Ronaldson said it was gross hypocrisy of federal Labor to take a public stand against foreign donations while accepting $925,000 from a state branch that drew on offshore contributors.
"It's almost a backdoor way of getting donations into the federal campaign," he said.
Dr Ho, who has featured in the Forbes list of the 100 richest people in the world, has high-placed contacts after four decades in the Macau gambling business.
His son Lawrence is a co-owner with James Packer of the giant Crown Macau casino.
At a Labor Party fundraiser in 2006, Dr Ho successfully bid $48,000 for lunch with Mr Iemma -- but did not bother to collect hisprize.
In 2006, Kevin Rudd spoke at a ceremony in Beijing to mark a $1.3billion retail redevelopment by Dr Ho and business partner Ian Tang or Tang Yui. Mr Tang, who has helped finance some of Mr Rudd's past China trips, is a director in Sydney-based Aust-China Information Technology.
The company boasts the same address as a Sydney-based donor called Aust-China Pty Ltd (Beijing), which declared a $50,000 gift to the ALP's NSW branch in 2007-08.
Dr Ho is a company director of Hungtat Worldwide, a Queensland-based company that manages the Palm Meadows Golf Course on the Gold Coast and owns a massive parcel of neighbouring land.
It has been the target of lobbying in recent weeks by senior Queensland racing officials who met Dr Ho in Hong Kong to present the businessman with a joint-venture proposal to develop a new supertrack on the Palm Meadows land.
Anthony Chan, who lists the same Hong Kong address as Dr Ho, added a further $100,000 to NSW Labor's coffers last financial year, his donor declaration shows.
The state branch has also attracted a $261,000 windfall from prolific donor Hong Kong Kingson Investment, which lists a Kowloon address.
The amount was the biggest of its 2007-08 donations to Australian political parties, which totalled $761,000. (Credit: The Australian)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Hey, big spender: the gambling tycoon who's betting on Labor, by Alexandra Smith, Stephanie Peatling and Hamish McDonald - The Sydney Morning Herald
3rd February 2009
The Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho and his business partners donated more than $900,000 to the Labor Party in the lead-up to the last federal election, even though Kevin Rudd went to the poll with a policy to ban overseas donations.
Dr Ho made a personal donation of $200,000 to NSW Labor while Hungtat Worldwide on the Gold Coast, of which he is a director, gave $600,000. But the party returned $499,980 that Dr Ho's wife, Angela Leong, had donated.
Anthony Chan, who lists the same Hong Kong address as Dr Ho, tipped another $100,000 into NSW Labor coffers, and Hong Kong Kingson Investment gave more than $760,000 to the Labor, Liberal and National parties.
The Australian Electoral Commission's annual returns, published yesterday, show Hungtat Worldwide was the equal largest donor in 2007-08, sharing the top spot with Josephine Armstrong, of Perth, who gave $600,000 to the WA Liberals.
Between 2000 and 2006, Dr Ho donated $109,000 to NSW Labor, but as gambling revenue fell in Macau the billionaire diversified his interests. He now has extensive tourism and real estate interests in Australia as well as an indirect link to the budget airline Viva Macau, which began flying from Sydney in 2007.
Dr Ho is involved in a $1.3 billion redevelopment of Beijing's prime Friendship Store site in partnership with the Prime Minister's Chinese-Australian friend Ian Tang.
The Rudd Government is trying to ban overseas donations and lower the disclosure threshold from $10,900 to $1000, but the changes have been delayed by the Opposition, which argues there is no need for them.
The Labor Party's national secretary, Karl Bitar, said the party supported a "more transparent system of electoral funding and disclosure", but he did not comment on accepting overseas donations, instead pointing out that the party returned the donation from Dr Ho's wife.
"Given the size of the donation, the ALP conducted a due diligence assessment of this donation and decided that it should be returned," Mr Bitar said in a statement.
Mr Rudd refused to answer questions about the return of Ms Leong's donation. "All such questions should be directed to the national secretary of the Australian Labor Party," he said.
The funding disclosures also reveal that in the second half of 2007, unions spent $36 million trying to get rid of the Howard government. Unions donated $9.2 million to Labor and spent an additional $26.8 million on political campaigns.
Citigroup, ANZ and Deutsche banks donated more than $200,000 to the major parties and the property developers Leighton Holdings, Westfield and Walker Corporation gave generously. (Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
The Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho and his business partners donated more than $900,000 to the Labor Party in the lead-up to the last federal election, even though Kevin Rudd went to the poll with a policy to ban overseas donations.
Dr Ho made a personal donation of $200,000 to NSW Labor while Hungtat Worldwide on the Gold Coast, of which he is a director, gave $600,000. But the party returned $499,980 that Dr Ho's wife, Angela Leong, had donated.
Anthony Chan, who lists the same Hong Kong address as Dr Ho, tipped another $100,000 into NSW Labor coffers, and Hong Kong Kingson Investment gave more than $760,000 to the Labor, Liberal and National parties.
The Australian Electoral Commission's annual returns, published yesterday, show Hungtat Worldwide was the equal largest donor in 2007-08, sharing the top spot with Josephine Armstrong, of Perth, who gave $600,000 to the WA Liberals.
Between 2000 and 2006, Dr Ho donated $109,000 to NSW Labor, but as gambling revenue fell in Macau the billionaire diversified his interests. He now has extensive tourism and real estate interests in Australia as well as an indirect link to the budget airline Viva Macau, which began flying from Sydney in 2007.
Dr Ho is involved in a $1.3 billion redevelopment of Beijing's prime Friendship Store site in partnership with the Prime Minister's Chinese-Australian friend Ian Tang.
The Rudd Government is trying to ban overseas donations and lower the disclosure threshold from $10,900 to $1000, but the changes have been delayed by the Opposition, which argues there is no need for them.
The Labor Party's national secretary, Karl Bitar, said the party supported a "more transparent system of electoral funding and disclosure", but he did not comment on accepting overseas donations, instead pointing out that the party returned the donation from Dr Ho's wife.
"Given the size of the donation, the ALP conducted a due diligence assessment of this donation and decided that it should be returned," Mr Bitar said in a statement.
Mr Rudd refused to answer questions about the return of Ms Leong's donation. "All such questions should be directed to the national secretary of the Australian Labor Party," he said.
The funding disclosures also reveal that in the second half of 2007, unions spent $36 million trying to get rid of the Howard government. Unions donated $9.2 million to Labor and spent an additional $26.8 million on political campaigns.
Citigroup, ANZ and Deutsche banks donated more than $200,000 to the major parties and the property developers Leighton Holdings, Westfield and Walker Corporation gave generously. (Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
U.S. States Consider Gambling for More Revenues
With the economy worsening, gambling taxes might help plug the gaps
February 2, 2009 (InfoPowa News) -- The Associated Press recently ran an interesting story reportoing that as many as 14 U.S. states may be considering an expansion in gambling licenses to help plug widening gaps in state budgets.
It's a possibly easier out for state administrations faced with the choice of raising taxes at the worse possible time or cutting services and risk antagonizing hard-pressed voters.
"Who wouldn't be interested if you're a politician who needs to fund programs?" Bo Bernhard, director of research at the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- a government-funded program told AP.
"While gambling has not been immune from the recession, it has held up relatively well compared with states' other revenue streams, such as income and sales taxes. This helps explain why past industry growth spurts have been preceded by economic downturns," the news agency noted, giving as an example Rhode Island, which opened America's first racetrack casino in 1992, and four states soon followed.
More recently, states faced with sagging revenues during the 2001 recession joined multi-state lotteries such as Powerball and gave more leeway to Native American tribes seeking to expand their casinos.
Analysts told Associated Press that the latest round of gambling initiatives are noteworthy in volume and ambition -- a sign that the industry aims to capitalize on states' badly bruised economies.
"From the gambling industry's point of view, this is their big chance," said Earl Grinols, an economics professor at Baylor University who specializes in gambling.
Ohio's casino advocates, including lobbyists working for Penn National Gambling Inc., are pushing a variety of large-scale development projects. In Georgia, a developer working with Dover Downs Inc. wants to transform a blighted section of downtown Atlanta with a 29-story hotel that would attract tourists with more than 5,500 video lottery terminals.
The developer pitching the $450 million Atlanta project, Dan O'Leary, estimates $300 million a year in revenues would be funneled to the state, helping to pay for a popular lottery-funded scholarship that provides in-state college tuition for students with "B" averages.
Even Hawaii, which along with Utah is one of two states without a lottery or other form of legalized gambling, may consider a change. Aides to Governor Linda Lingle, long an opponent of gambling, say she is open to discussing it as a way to close the state's growing budget gap.
Gambling in the U.S.A. is a $54 billion annual industry that employs more than 350,000 people, with most state gambling revenues coming from lotteries, racetracks and betting devices such as slot and video poker machines. Twelve states reap tax money from full-fledged casinos, and 23 others have casinos on Native American reservations, which generally do not pay taxes to states.
Opponents of gambling point to its dangers. "We've got gambling in 48 states, and you'd think if it worked, you wouldn't have budget problems or education problems," said Tom Gray, a field director for StopPredatoryGambling.org.
Many of the new gambling proposals seek to expand footholds in states that already allow limited gambling, the AP reports, pointing to the state of Kentucky, where the House speaker had proposed allowing video gambling terminals at the state's racetracks, and to New Hampshire, New York and Texas, where legislators are considering proposals this year to allow similar gambling terminals at their tracks. Casino advocates plan to push for casino-style gambling in hurricane-ravaged Galveston, Texas, as well.
Lawmakers in other states are talking about reversing hard-fought crusades to tighten restrictions on gambling. Nine years after South Carolina lawmakers outlawed video poker, state Senator Robert Ford is fighting to make it legal again. Since July, lawmakers have cut roughly $1 billion from the state's budget to address revenue shortfalls.
And in Ohio, where voters repeatedly have rejected ballot proposals to expand gambling, Governor Ted Strickland said he is willing to listen to proposals to help close a $7 billion shortfall in the next two-year budget.
The moves come despite indications that gambling, long considered to be almost recession-proof, has taken hits from the global economic slowdown. This has resulted in layoffs, declining revenues and falling stock prices impacting casino firms. State-run lotteries are faring better, though: More than half of the states with lotteries have reported rising sales over the past six months.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Gambling News
Politics
February 2, 2009 (InfoPowa News) -- The Associated Press recently ran an interesting story reportoing that as many as 14 U.S. states may be considering an expansion in gambling licenses to help plug widening gaps in state budgets.
It's a possibly easier out for state administrations faced with the choice of raising taxes at the worse possible time or cutting services and risk antagonizing hard-pressed voters.
"Who wouldn't be interested if you're a politician who needs to fund programs?" Bo Bernhard, director of research at the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- a government-funded program told AP.
"While gambling has not been immune from the recession, it has held up relatively well compared with states' other revenue streams, such as income and sales taxes. This helps explain why past industry growth spurts have been preceded by economic downturns," the news agency noted, giving as an example Rhode Island, which opened America's first racetrack casino in 1992, and four states soon followed.
More recently, states faced with sagging revenues during the 2001 recession joined multi-state lotteries such as Powerball and gave more leeway to Native American tribes seeking to expand their casinos.
Analysts told Associated Press that the latest round of gambling initiatives are noteworthy in volume and ambition -- a sign that the industry aims to capitalize on states' badly bruised economies.
"From the gambling industry's point of view, this is their big chance," said Earl Grinols, an economics professor at Baylor University who specializes in gambling.
Ohio's casino advocates, including lobbyists working for Penn National Gambling Inc., are pushing a variety of large-scale development projects. In Georgia, a developer working with Dover Downs Inc. wants to transform a blighted section of downtown Atlanta with a 29-story hotel that would attract tourists with more than 5,500 video lottery terminals.
The developer pitching the $450 million Atlanta project, Dan O'Leary, estimates $300 million a year in revenues would be funneled to the state, helping to pay for a popular lottery-funded scholarship that provides in-state college tuition for students with "B" averages.
Even Hawaii, which along with Utah is one of two states without a lottery or other form of legalized gambling, may consider a change. Aides to Governor Linda Lingle, long an opponent of gambling, say she is open to discussing it as a way to close the state's growing budget gap.
Gambling in the U.S.A. is a $54 billion annual industry that employs more than 350,000 people, with most state gambling revenues coming from lotteries, racetracks and betting devices such as slot and video poker machines. Twelve states reap tax money from full-fledged casinos, and 23 others have casinos on Native American reservations, which generally do not pay taxes to states.
Opponents of gambling point to its dangers. "We've got gambling in 48 states, and you'd think if it worked, you wouldn't have budget problems or education problems," said Tom Gray, a field director for StopPredatoryGambling.org.
Many of the new gambling proposals seek to expand footholds in states that already allow limited gambling, the AP reports, pointing to the state of Kentucky, where the House speaker had proposed allowing video gambling terminals at the state's racetracks, and to New Hampshire, New York and Texas, where legislators are considering proposals this year to allow similar gambling terminals at their tracks. Casino advocates plan to push for casino-style gambling in hurricane-ravaged Galveston, Texas, as well.
Lawmakers in other states are talking about reversing hard-fought crusades to tighten restrictions on gambling. Nine years after South Carolina lawmakers outlawed video poker, state Senator Robert Ford is fighting to make it legal again. Since July, lawmakers have cut roughly $1 billion from the state's budget to address revenue shortfalls.
And in Ohio, where voters repeatedly have rejected ballot proposals to expand gambling, Governor Ted Strickland said he is willing to listen to proposals to help close a $7 billion shortfall in the next two-year budget.
The moves come despite indications that gambling, long considered to be almost recession-proof, has taken hits from the global economic slowdown. This has resulted in layoffs, declining revenues and falling stock prices impacting casino firms. State-run lotteries are faring better, though: More than half of the states with lotteries have reported rising sales over the past six months.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Gambling News
Politics
Casino billionaire bankrolls Labor, by Brendan Nicholson - The Age - 2nd February 2009
Figures linked to Macau-based casino magnate Stanley Ho have donated well over $1 million to the Labor Party.
One donation of nearly $500,000 was rejected by the Federal ALP after an internal investigation indicated "it was not a donation we should accept", the party's assistant national secretary, Nick Martin, told The Age.
The $499,980 was sent back to Mr Ho's wife, Angela Leong, who has also been identified in media reports as a friend of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
But donations totalling more than $1.4 million were accepted by the ALP's NSW branch from Mr Ho and his associates.
One donation of $400,000 to NSW Labor came directly from Mr Ho on October 31, 2007, and was followed by another $200,000 from him on May 29, 2008.
Then there were two more donations of $50,000 each from Mr Anthony Chan, who is an executive director of Mr Ho's company Shun Tak Holdings.
One of the biggest donations in the returns produced yesterday by the Australian Electoral Commission was $600,000 given to the NSW ALP on September 11, 2007, by a Gold Coast-based company called Hungtat Worldwide Pty Ltd, which again has been linked to Ho.
In 2006 another donation of $109,000 was made by Joyce Chan on behalf of Mr Ho.
The Opposition's shadow minister of state, Michael Ronaldson, said the donations made through NSW appeared to be a way of getting the money indirectly to federal Labor.
Senator Ronaldson said Mr Rudd must explain why some of the money was rejected and other donations were accepted.
"What did Mr Ho want in return and what knowledge did Mr Rudd have of this donation?" Senator Ronaldson said.
"It beggars belief that Mr Rudd didn't know about a donation of this size and clearly it was a back-door way of getting money into the federal campaign after they'd had to knock back the donation made directly," Senator Ronaldson said.
"The whole deal simply doesn't pass the sniff test."
Mr Rudd's spokeswoman referred inquiries to Labor's national secretariat.
Officials from the NSW branch could not be contacted for comment.
ALP national secretary Karl Bitar said in a statement the party supported a more transparent system of electoral funding and disclosure.
"We support the reforms announced by the Rudd Labor Government, which are now being blocked by the Liberal Party in the Senate," Mr Bitar said.
"In the return released by the AEC today there is a returned donation from one source. Given the size of the donation, the ALP conducted a due diligence assessment of this donation and decided that it should be returned.
"We conducted due diligence and made a decision this was not a donation we could accept."
Mr Bitar did not explain why the NSW branch decided to accept Mr Ho's money.
Driven by opposition to the Howard government, unions provided the ALP with $9.2 million.
The biggest union donation was $1.5 million from the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association. (Credit: The Age)
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One donation of nearly $500,000 was rejected by the Federal ALP after an internal investigation indicated "it was not a donation we should accept", the party's assistant national secretary, Nick Martin, told The Age.
The $499,980 was sent back to Mr Ho's wife, Angela Leong, who has also been identified in media reports as a friend of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
But donations totalling more than $1.4 million were accepted by the ALP's NSW branch from Mr Ho and his associates.
One donation of $400,000 to NSW Labor came directly from Mr Ho on October 31, 2007, and was followed by another $200,000 from him on May 29, 2008.
Then there were two more donations of $50,000 each from Mr Anthony Chan, who is an executive director of Mr Ho's company Shun Tak Holdings.
One of the biggest donations in the returns produced yesterday by the Australian Electoral Commission was $600,000 given to the NSW ALP on September 11, 2007, by a Gold Coast-based company called Hungtat Worldwide Pty Ltd, which again has been linked to Ho.
In 2006 another donation of $109,000 was made by Joyce Chan on behalf of Mr Ho.
The Opposition's shadow minister of state, Michael Ronaldson, said the donations made through NSW appeared to be a way of getting the money indirectly to federal Labor.
Senator Ronaldson said Mr Rudd must explain why some of the money was rejected and other donations were accepted.
"What did Mr Ho want in return and what knowledge did Mr Rudd have of this donation?" Senator Ronaldson said.
"It beggars belief that Mr Rudd didn't know about a donation of this size and clearly it was a back-door way of getting money into the federal campaign after they'd had to knock back the donation made directly," Senator Ronaldson said.
"The whole deal simply doesn't pass the sniff test."
Mr Rudd's spokeswoman referred inquiries to Labor's national secretariat.
Officials from the NSW branch could not be contacted for comment.
ALP national secretary Karl Bitar said in a statement the party supported a more transparent system of electoral funding and disclosure.
"We support the reforms announced by the Rudd Labor Government, which are now being blocked by the Liberal Party in the Senate," Mr Bitar said.
"In the return released by the AEC today there is a returned donation from one source. Given the size of the donation, the ALP conducted a due diligence assessment of this donation and decided that it should be returned.
"We conducted due diligence and made a decision this was not a donation we could accept."
Mr Bitar did not explain why the NSW branch decided to accept Mr Ho's money.
Driven by opposition to the Howard government, unions provided the ALP with $9.2 million.
The biggest union donation was $1.5 million from the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association. (Credit: The Age)
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Chinese casino's big gift to NSW Labor, by Rhett Watson and Alison Rehn - The Daily Telegraph - 3rd February 2009
A casino king from Macau has emerged as a major donor to the NSW ALP, donating $900,000 to the party.
ALP chiefs returned $600,000 back to billionaire Stanley Ho, but still received about $4 million in donations, Australian Electoral Commission figures released yesterday reveal.
Mr Ho donated the money through his Queensland-based property company Hungtat Worldwide on September 11, 2007.
NSW Labor Party general secretary Matt Thistlethwaite said last night the money was returned because "at the time the party's finances were sufficient to fund our expenditure".
Meanwhile, the party accepted Mr Ho's personal donation of $200,000 on May 29 last year and two lots of $50,000 from Anthony Chan - on September 6, 2007 and October 31, 2007 - who lists his address as being the same as Mr Ho's in Hong Kong.
His donations to the Labor Party came as the state's only casino licence came up for renewal and the Government was said to be considering a second licence.
Eventually, Star City Casino, owned by Tabcorp, won the right to a monopoly in a $100 million deal with the Government.
A spokesman for Premier Nathan Rees said the political donation system was "transparent" and in no way linked to policy decisions. He also said Mr Rees remained committed to reforming the system through federal channels after abandoning his push to reform NSW policy.
Meanwhile, the Federal Labor Party returned an almost $500,000 donation to Mr Ho's wife Angela Leong on the eve of the 2007 federal election.
AEC figures reveal Labor received nearly $111 million funding, compared to $89 million for the Liberal-National Party Coalition.
On October 31, 2007 - three weeks out from the election - Ms Leong boosted Labor Party coffers by $499,980.
But the national branch of the Australian Labor Party returned her donation.
ALP national secretary Karl Bitar said yesterday that given the size of the donation, the ALP conducted a "due diligence assessment", and decided "it should be returned".
Other big donations to the ALP included more than $9 million from the unions - including $1.3 million from the CFMEU, $50,000 from the Australian Hotels Association and $63,000 from Coca-Cola Amatil. (Credit: The Daily Telegraph)
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ALP chiefs returned $600,000 back to billionaire Stanley Ho, but still received about $4 million in donations, Australian Electoral Commission figures released yesterday reveal.
Mr Ho donated the money through his Queensland-based property company Hungtat Worldwide on September 11, 2007.
NSW Labor Party general secretary Matt Thistlethwaite said last night the money was returned because "at the time the party's finances were sufficient to fund our expenditure".
Meanwhile, the party accepted Mr Ho's personal donation of $200,000 on May 29 last year and two lots of $50,000 from Anthony Chan - on September 6, 2007 and October 31, 2007 - who lists his address as being the same as Mr Ho's in Hong Kong.
His donations to the Labor Party came as the state's only casino licence came up for renewal and the Government was said to be considering a second licence.
Eventually, Star City Casino, owned by Tabcorp, won the right to a monopoly in a $100 million deal with the Government.
A spokesman for Premier Nathan Rees said the political donation system was "transparent" and in no way linked to policy decisions. He also said Mr Rees remained committed to reforming the system through federal channels after abandoning his push to reform NSW policy.
Meanwhile, the Federal Labor Party returned an almost $500,000 donation to Mr Ho's wife Angela Leong on the eve of the 2007 federal election.
AEC figures reveal Labor received nearly $111 million funding, compared to $89 million for the Liberal-National Party Coalition.
On October 31, 2007 - three weeks out from the election - Ms Leong boosted Labor Party coffers by $499,980.
But the national branch of the Australian Labor Party returned her donation.
ALP national secretary Karl Bitar said yesterday that given the size of the donation, the ALP conducted a "due diligence assessment", and decided "it should be returned".
Other big donations to the ALP included more than $9 million from the unions - including $1.3 million from the CFMEU, $50,000 from the Australian Hotels Association and $63,000 from Coca-Cola Amatil. (Credit: The Daily Telegraph)
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Labour peers: Lord Moonie profile, by Gordon Rayner - The Telegraph - 27th January 2009
Lord Moonie, 61, wasted no time in lining up well-paid jobs in the lobbying industry when he was elevated to the peerage in 2005.
Within weeks of leaving parliament the former Labour MP became an associate director of Sovereign Strategy, a lobbying firm which has made substantial donations to the Labour Party.
He claimed at the time that his role would not be to lobby the Government in person, but "to teach clients how to lobby government".
It is a distinction which he seems to have since abandoned, as on the current register of Lords' interests, he lists a £35,000-a-year consultancy with the property firm Americum Developments in Edinburgh under "parliamentary lobbying".
He is now said to have offered to help an undercover journalist to help amend laws in return for an annual fee of £30,000, allegedly boasting that if he was rumbled, the House of Lords authorities could do little but "jump up and down".
As a junior minister during his 18 years in the Commons, Lord Moonie spent time as a spokesman on industry and on technology, and was a junior defence minister.
Although he was largely anonymous in the roles, they have stood him in good stead since he became Lord Moonie of Bennochy in Fife; he now acts a non-parliamentary consultant to the specialist information technology firm Northrop Grumman, the security consultancy Perseus Global and to PharmAthene, which makes antidotes to chemical and biological weapons.
He is also a paid director of the climate change consultancy AEA Technology and of the online gambling site PartyGaming.
Lord Moonie gave up his parliamentary seat as a favour to his personal friend Gordon Brown, to make sure the then Chancellor retained a safe majority after constituency boundaries had been redrawn.
Married with two children, Lord Moonie is a qualified psychiatrist who studied at St Andrews and Edinburgh Universities and worked in Switzerland and the Netherlands before returning to Fife as a senior registrar. He was elected to the local council in 1982 and became an MP in 1987.
The former Lewis Moonie sits on the economic affairs and finance committees in the House of Lords and divides his time between homes in Fife and Pimlico, west London.
Questions on defence asked by Lord Moonie since September 2008: 40
Questions on defence asked by Lord Moonie before September 2008: 6
Parliamentary pass obtained by Lord Moonie for defence lobbyist: Autumn 2008
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Politics
Within weeks of leaving parliament the former Labour MP became an associate director of Sovereign Strategy, a lobbying firm which has made substantial donations to the Labour Party.
He claimed at the time that his role would not be to lobby the Government in person, but "to teach clients how to lobby government".
It is a distinction which he seems to have since abandoned, as on the current register of Lords' interests, he lists a £35,000-a-year consultancy with the property firm Americum Developments in Edinburgh under "parliamentary lobbying".
He is now said to have offered to help an undercover journalist to help amend laws in return for an annual fee of £30,000, allegedly boasting that if he was rumbled, the House of Lords authorities could do little but "jump up and down".
As a junior minister during his 18 years in the Commons, Lord Moonie spent time as a spokesman on industry and on technology, and was a junior defence minister.
Although he was largely anonymous in the roles, they have stood him in good stead since he became Lord Moonie of Bennochy in Fife; he now acts a non-parliamentary consultant to the specialist information technology firm Northrop Grumman, the security consultancy Perseus Global and to PharmAthene, which makes antidotes to chemical and biological weapons.
He is also a paid director of the climate change consultancy AEA Technology and of the online gambling site PartyGaming.
Lord Moonie gave up his parliamentary seat as a favour to his personal friend Gordon Brown, to make sure the then Chancellor retained a safe majority after constituency boundaries had been redrawn.
Married with two children, Lord Moonie is a qualified psychiatrist who studied at St Andrews and Edinburgh Universities and worked in Switzerland and the Netherlands before returning to Fife as a senior registrar. He was elected to the local council in 1982 and became an MP in 1987.
The former Lewis Moonie sits on the economic affairs and finance committees in the House of Lords and divides his time between homes in Fife and Pimlico, west London.
Questions on defence asked by Lord Moonie since September 2008: 40
Questions on defence asked by Lord Moonie before September 2008: 6
Parliamentary pass obtained by Lord Moonie for defence lobbyist: Autumn 2008
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Bookie offers odds on Obama speech - The Sydney Morning Herald - 20th January 2009
An Irish bookie is offering odds on phrases that may be used by US president-elect Barack Obama in his inauguration speech tomorrow.
In a range of inauguration-themed bets, punters can place bets on the duration of Obama's speech, the TV ratings and what "cliche" he will first mention during his address on Tuesday.
- Irish bookie offers odds on Obama speech
- Bet on phrases used, duration, TV ratings
- Best odds offered for phrase "Change has come"
The best odds on offer for the content of his speech are 8-1 for "Change has come", 10-1 for "Yes we can" and 12-1 for "Fundamental belief", "As I stand here today", "Defining moment" and "God Bless America".
At the other end of the spectrum, long shots include 500-1 for "Always bet on black!" and 250-1 for "Let's get ready to rumble" and "Life is like a box of chocolates," said bookmakers Paddy Power.
Punters can also lay bets on the colour of his tie and who will be the designer of the ball gown worn by Obama's wife Michelle and what colour it will be.
The breed of puppy promised for Obama's daughters when they move into the White House can also be bet on - the favourite being a Portuguese water hound.
Last year Paddy Power paid out over 1 million euros ($A1.97 million) on the former Illinois senator winning the 2008 presidential race, about three weeks before the vote.
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In a range of inauguration-themed bets, punters can place bets on the duration of Obama's speech, the TV ratings and what "cliche" he will first mention during his address on Tuesday.
- Irish bookie offers odds on Obama speech
- Bet on phrases used, duration, TV ratings
- Best odds offered for phrase "Change has come"
The best odds on offer for the content of his speech are 8-1 for "Change has come", 10-1 for "Yes we can" and 12-1 for "Fundamental belief", "As I stand here today", "Defining moment" and "God Bless America".
At the other end of the spectrum, long shots include 500-1 for "Always bet on black!" and 250-1 for "Let's get ready to rumble" and "Life is like a box of chocolates," said bookmakers Paddy Power.
Punters can also lay bets on the colour of his tie and who will be the designer of the ball gown worn by Obama's wife Michelle and what colour it will be.
The breed of puppy promised for Obama's daughters when they move into the White House can also be bet on - the favourite being a Portuguese water hound.
Last year Paddy Power paid out over 1 million euros ($A1.97 million) on the former Illinois senator winning the 2008 presidential race, about three weeks before the vote.
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Sunday, January 11, 2009
Obama, Spider-Man team up for Marvel comic - The Australian - 9th January 2009
Barack Obama - a longtime fan of Spider-Man - will meet his webby hero in a commemorative comic book adventure to be published by Marvel next week.
"To celebrate the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama, Marvel is proud to present an all-new story teaming up one of the world's most recognisable political figures with the world's greatest super hero," Marvel said on its website.
Marvel decided to publish the Obama meets Spidey comic, after learning the soon-to-be president of the US is a fan of the web-spinning superhero.
"When we heard that president-elect Obama is a collector of Spider-Man comics, we knew that these two historic figures had to meet in our comics' Marvel Universe," said Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada.
"A Spider-Man fan moving into the Oval Office is an event that must be commemorated in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man," he said.
The story takes place in Washington on January 20, the day of Obama's inauguration, and involves one of Spider-Man's oldest foes trying to prevent Obama taking the oath of office, according to Marvel.
The comic - number 583 in the Amazing Spider-Man series - will go on sale on January 14. (Credit: The Australian)
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"To celebrate the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama, Marvel is proud to present an all-new story teaming up one of the world's most recognisable political figures with the world's greatest super hero," Marvel said on its website.
Marvel decided to publish the Obama meets Spidey comic, after learning the soon-to-be president of the US is a fan of the web-spinning superhero.
"When we heard that president-elect Obama is a collector of Spider-Man comics, we knew that these two historic figures had to meet in our comics' Marvel Universe," said Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada.
"A Spider-Man fan moving into the Oval Office is an event that must be commemorated in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man," he said.
The story takes place in Washington on January 20, the day of Obama's inauguration, and involves one of Spider-Man's oldest foes trying to prevent Obama taking the oath of office, according to Marvel.
The comic - number 583 in the Amazing Spider-Man series - will go on sale on January 14. (Credit: The Australian)
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Saturday, January 10, 2009
Ringside at a price, by Mike Steketee, National affairs editor - The Australian - 10th January 2009
Business people who needed to see a politician used to ask for an appointment and hope for the best. These days, they have an alternative: they can shell out $5000 or $10,000 to guarantee a spot near the front of the queue.
Political parties hit on the idea of selling access to ministers years ago and it has grown like topsy, driven by the arms race that election spending has become. There is the mass fundraising approach, where mere hundreds of dollars can buy you a seat with others at a table with a minister. At the other end of the spectrum is the selective approach, where an intimate dinner for a few with a heavy political hitter starts at $5000. In the Howard years, the Liberal Party took their fundraising on to the open market, auctioning off opportunities such as a jog with Tony Abbott or a harbourside walk with Philip Ruddock.
All good harmless fun? Gary Crooke, the Queensland Integrity Commissioner, doesn't think so. In his latest annual report, he raises some uncomfortable questions for politicians, such as what is being sold and whose is it to sell.
"Is what is on offer being offered on equal terms to all members of the community?" he asks. "If there is a government decision to be made, is a perception likely to arise that those interested and not attending the function, whether competitors for a tender or opponents to a proposal, are at a disadvantage?"
Unless there are satisfactory answers to such questions, Crooke says, these fundraisers should be banned. Of course, the answers and the conclusion to which they lead are obvious, particularly given Crooke's observation to Premier Anna Bligh: "I note that you have made several public statements confirming your commitment to high ethical standards."
Not that Bligh is willing to be led there. The Labor Party would continue to organise such functions and she would continue to attend, she said in November. "These events are clearly political donations and subject to disclosure provisions of the Electoral Act and I am satisfied that this is the appropriate way to deal with such events."
Actually, it is not as clear-cut as that. As the federal law stands now, only political donations over $10,900 need to be disclosed. The Rudd Government wants to bring the threshold down to $1000 but the bill to do so is stuck in the Senate. The Bligh Government has reduced the threshold to $1000 in Queensland, meaning political parties have to disclose any payments they receive above this. While businesses or individuals also have to disclose donations they make over the threshold, fundraising events are a grey area.
As the Australian Electoral Commission put it in response to questions from Inquirer: "Payments made to political parties for fundraising events may not involve any donation. Attendees may simply be paying appropriate value for the entertainment or service provided. ... A company that chooses to pay $10,000 for a table at a function might consider that payment a good commercial investment if a number of the company's senior executives have the ear of a couple of senior party policymakers for several hours."
In other words, if company executives manage to swing deals that more than recoup the payments they made to get privileged access, they do not need to declare the donations. The law is an ass, indeed.
The AEC recommended in 2000, and not for the first time, that this area be cleaned up by requiring that all payments made at fundraisers be deemed under the Electoral Act to be donations. Neither side of politics has taken it up. Politicians like to say they keep fundraising and decision-making separate. It is just that sometimes they happen to coincide.
In May, 18 business guests paid $5500 each for a Brisbane dinner at which the star attractions were Kevin Rudd and Bligh. One of the guests was Jim Raptis, whose proposal for a high-rise development on the Gold Coast happened to be before the Queensland Government. Two weeks later it was approved, complete with floor space additional to that allowed by the normal planning rules.
Bligh's chief-of-staff Mike Kaiser told The Courier-Mail that Raptis had raised problems with the development with him at the dinner but he did not pass on the comments to the Premier or Planning Minister Paul Lucas. But, as federal Special Minister of State John Faulkner put it recently: "The perception of undue influence can be as damaging to democracy as undue influence itself."
An example of where fundraising can lead emerged last year with the finding of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in NSW that three Labor councillors in Wollongong sought donations of $20,000 from a developer in return for supporting his project. The fall-out from that scandal prompted then premier Morris Iemma and his successor Nathan Rees to advocate a complete ban on private donations. That lasted just long enough for the political temperature to come down, with Rees dropping the idea in November, citing constitutional difficulties.
A total ban is canvassed as one of many options in the green paper on electoral reform Faulkner released last month. It certainly would help to restore faith in democracy. But it will never happen. Quite apart from the constitutional hurdle of infringing freedom of political communication, it is a step too far for the political parties. The green paper says that public funding covers only 20 per cent of the budgets of the Labor and Liberal parties. It still is a tidy sum: $49 million went from taxpayers to the two main parties for the 2007 election. But politicians would have a hard time convincing voters that, in the absence of private funding, they should kick in substantially more, particularly since public funding grew by 162 per cent in real terms between 1984 and 2007.
Faulkner's legislation before parliament bans foreign and anonymous donations, which is in line with the practice in the US. The US and Canada go further, to ban contributions from corporations and unions. That this is not a complete solution is plain enough from the obscene amounts of money spent on elections in the US where politicians complain that they have to devote several days a week to raising money.
Certainly, something needs to be done to curb the election arms race. The green paper calculates that spending by the parties in the 20 years to 2004 increased by 116 per cent in real terms for the ALP and 136 per cent for the Liberals. Voters can judge for themselves whether they enjoyed a commensurate increase in the quality of the information they received during elections.
Labor national secretary Tim Gartrell warned just before he left the job last year that "if this continues, we'll end up with a corrosive big money political system like they have in the US". He advocated caps on campaign spending, covering outside groups as well as the political parties and enforced by a watchdog such as the AEC with real teeth and resources.
Faulkner says he wants to see a new system in place by the next election and that limits need to apply not only to the parties but to trade unions and other outside groups as well. If it is to be serious reform, it also needs to improve disclosure requirements: at present, voters find out only after the election where the parties' money came from, and even then 60 per cent of the funding from private sources requires only a single-line accounting in the parties' returns. (Credit: The Australian)
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Politics
Political parties hit on the idea of selling access to ministers years ago and it has grown like topsy, driven by the arms race that election spending has become. There is the mass fundraising approach, where mere hundreds of dollars can buy you a seat with others at a table with a minister. At the other end of the spectrum is the selective approach, where an intimate dinner for a few with a heavy political hitter starts at $5000. In the Howard years, the Liberal Party took their fundraising on to the open market, auctioning off opportunities such as a jog with Tony Abbott or a harbourside walk with Philip Ruddock.
All good harmless fun? Gary Crooke, the Queensland Integrity Commissioner, doesn't think so. In his latest annual report, he raises some uncomfortable questions for politicians, such as what is being sold and whose is it to sell.
"Is what is on offer being offered on equal terms to all members of the community?" he asks. "If there is a government decision to be made, is a perception likely to arise that those interested and not attending the function, whether competitors for a tender or opponents to a proposal, are at a disadvantage?"
Unless there are satisfactory answers to such questions, Crooke says, these fundraisers should be banned. Of course, the answers and the conclusion to which they lead are obvious, particularly given Crooke's observation to Premier Anna Bligh: "I note that you have made several public statements confirming your commitment to high ethical standards."
Not that Bligh is willing to be led there. The Labor Party would continue to organise such functions and she would continue to attend, she said in November. "These events are clearly political donations and subject to disclosure provisions of the Electoral Act and I am satisfied that this is the appropriate way to deal with such events."
Actually, it is not as clear-cut as that. As the federal law stands now, only political donations over $10,900 need to be disclosed. The Rudd Government wants to bring the threshold down to $1000 but the bill to do so is stuck in the Senate. The Bligh Government has reduced the threshold to $1000 in Queensland, meaning political parties have to disclose any payments they receive above this. While businesses or individuals also have to disclose donations they make over the threshold, fundraising events are a grey area.
As the Australian Electoral Commission put it in response to questions from Inquirer: "Payments made to political parties for fundraising events may not involve any donation. Attendees may simply be paying appropriate value for the entertainment or service provided. ... A company that chooses to pay $10,000 for a table at a function might consider that payment a good commercial investment if a number of the company's senior executives have the ear of a couple of senior party policymakers for several hours."
In other words, if company executives manage to swing deals that more than recoup the payments they made to get privileged access, they do not need to declare the donations. The law is an ass, indeed.
The AEC recommended in 2000, and not for the first time, that this area be cleaned up by requiring that all payments made at fundraisers be deemed under the Electoral Act to be donations. Neither side of politics has taken it up. Politicians like to say they keep fundraising and decision-making separate. It is just that sometimes they happen to coincide.
In May, 18 business guests paid $5500 each for a Brisbane dinner at which the star attractions were Kevin Rudd and Bligh. One of the guests was Jim Raptis, whose proposal for a high-rise development on the Gold Coast happened to be before the Queensland Government. Two weeks later it was approved, complete with floor space additional to that allowed by the normal planning rules.
Bligh's chief-of-staff Mike Kaiser told The Courier-Mail that Raptis had raised problems with the development with him at the dinner but he did not pass on the comments to the Premier or Planning Minister Paul Lucas. But, as federal Special Minister of State John Faulkner put it recently: "The perception of undue influence can be as damaging to democracy as undue influence itself."
An example of where fundraising can lead emerged last year with the finding of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in NSW that three Labor councillors in Wollongong sought donations of $20,000 from a developer in return for supporting his project. The fall-out from that scandal prompted then premier Morris Iemma and his successor Nathan Rees to advocate a complete ban on private donations. That lasted just long enough for the political temperature to come down, with Rees dropping the idea in November, citing constitutional difficulties.
A total ban is canvassed as one of many options in the green paper on electoral reform Faulkner released last month. It certainly would help to restore faith in democracy. But it will never happen. Quite apart from the constitutional hurdle of infringing freedom of political communication, it is a step too far for the political parties. The green paper says that public funding covers only 20 per cent of the budgets of the Labor and Liberal parties. It still is a tidy sum: $49 million went from taxpayers to the two main parties for the 2007 election. But politicians would have a hard time convincing voters that, in the absence of private funding, they should kick in substantially more, particularly since public funding grew by 162 per cent in real terms between 1984 and 2007.
Faulkner's legislation before parliament bans foreign and anonymous donations, which is in line with the practice in the US. The US and Canada go further, to ban contributions from corporations and unions. That this is not a complete solution is plain enough from the obscene amounts of money spent on elections in the US where politicians complain that they have to devote several days a week to raising money.
Certainly, something needs to be done to curb the election arms race. The green paper calculates that spending by the parties in the 20 years to 2004 increased by 116 per cent in real terms for the ALP and 136 per cent for the Liberals. Voters can judge for themselves whether they enjoyed a commensurate increase in the quality of the information they received during elections.
Labor national secretary Tim Gartrell warned just before he left the job last year that "if this continues, we'll end up with a corrosive big money political system like they have in the US". He advocated caps on campaign spending, covering outside groups as well as the political parties and enforced by a watchdog such as the AEC with real teeth and resources.
Faulkner says he wants to see a new system in place by the next election and that limits need to apply not only to the parties but to trade unions and other outside groups as well. If it is to be serious reform, it also needs to improve disclosure requirements: at present, voters find out only after the election where the parties' money came from, and even then 60 per cent of the funding from private sources requires only a single-line accounting in the parties' returns. (Credit: The Australian)
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Politics
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Topless bathing not an issue: Bondi mayor, by Georgina Robinson - The Sydney Morning Herald - 30th December 2008
Waverley Council Mayor Sally Betts says she is aghast at moves by state politicians to outlaw women from sunbathing topless on NSW beaches.
"We've got alcohol-related violence, we've got under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour in the public domain - those are really important issues," Ms Betts told Fairfax Radio Network.
"If the Reverend Nile really wants to help people he should focus on those issues."
Ms Betts said she was at the beach on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and did not notice any topless women.
But if it was a problem, she would have heard about it, she said.
"In Waverley, we have a very involved community. They complain about everything," she said.
"But nobody has complained to me about topless [women]."
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Bondi Beach
"We've got alcohol-related violence, we've got under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour in the public domain - those are really important issues," Ms Betts told Fairfax Radio Network.
"If the Reverend Nile really wants to help people he should focus on those issues."
Ms Betts said she was at the beach on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and did not notice any topless women.
But if it was a problem, she would have heard about it, she said.
"In Waverley, we have a very involved community. They complain about everything," she said.
"But nobody has complained to me about topless [women]."
Media Man Australia Profiles
Bondi Beach
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Bet his life on it: bookies hold Obama payout, by Nick O'Malley - The Sydney Morning Herald - 8th November 2008
At least two of Australia's largest corporate bookmakers are refusing to pay out on tens of thousands of bets laid on Barack Obama's victory - on the grounds that he may be killed before he is inaugurated.
An angry punter contacted the Herald saying he was told by a senior Sportsbet bookie that the company would not pay out until the inauguration in January in case the president-elect was shot before he took office.
The Sportsbet chief executive, Matt Tripp, denied assassination was the company's main concern.
"It might have been a figure of speech among five or six other things," he said of the conversation between his company and the gambler.
"God forbid he has a stroke or gets hit by a bus," said Mr Tripp, who said Sportsbet had taken 30,000 bets on Senator Obama. "I love the bloke. I want to pay out on him. I think he is good for America and good for the world."
Mr Tripp said that payment at the time of inauguration was clearly stated in the company's terms and conditions for the bet.
The punter, who placed a $2000 bet to win $200, confirmed stroke had also been mentioned when he rang to complain, along with the possibility that the senator could be hit by a bus.
A spokesman for Centrebet said it also would not pay out until the inauguration as a matter of policy.
"[Assassination] is a horrible thought but it could happen," said Neil Evans.
He said such precautions were unnecessary in Australia because bets were taken on parties rather than candidates.
Some overseas agencies were accepting bets at up to 400-1 for Senator Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, up until election day, suggesting people were punting directly on the possibility of an assassination, said Mr Evans.
Other Australian bookmakers, such as Betfair and Sportingbet, have made good their books.
The Irish bookie Paddy Power was so sure of the election outcome that it paid out Obama-backers $2 million last month.
Sportsbet courted controversy earlier this year when it was revealed the company had been cold-calling people with a recorded spiel offering $60 in free bets if they opened an account.
(Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Betfair
Sportingbet
Centrebet
Sports Betting
Australian Casinos
Casino News
An angry punter contacted the Herald saying he was told by a senior Sportsbet bookie that the company would not pay out until the inauguration in January in case the president-elect was shot before he took office.
The Sportsbet chief executive, Matt Tripp, denied assassination was the company's main concern.
"It might have been a figure of speech among five or six other things," he said of the conversation between his company and the gambler.
"God forbid he has a stroke or gets hit by a bus," said Mr Tripp, who said Sportsbet had taken 30,000 bets on Senator Obama. "I love the bloke. I want to pay out on him. I think he is good for America and good for the world."
Mr Tripp said that payment at the time of inauguration was clearly stated in the company's terms and conditions for the bet.
The punter, who placed a $2000 bet to win $200, confirmed stroke had also been mentioned when he rang to complain, along with the possibility that the senator could be hit by a bus.
A spokesman for Centrebet said it also would not pay out until the inauguration as a matter of policy.
"[Assassination] is a horrible thought but it could happen," said Neil Evans.
He said such precautions were unnecessary in Australia because bets were taken on parties rather than candidates.
Some overseas agencies were accepting bets at up to 400-1 for Senator Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, up until election day, suggesting people were punting directly on the possibility of an assassination, said Mr Evans.
Other Australian bookmakers, such as Betfair and Sportingbet, have made good their books.
The Irish bookie Paddy Power was so sure of the election outcome that it paid out Obama-backers $2 million last month.
Sportsbet courted controversy earlier this year when it was revealed the company had been cold-calling people with a recorded spiel offering $60 in free bets if they opened an account.
(Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Betfair
Sportingbet
Centrebet
Sports Betting
Australian Casinos
Casino News
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
'Change has come': Barack Obama wins US presidency
'Change has come': Barack Obama wins US presidency
(Credit: LiveNews.com.au)
Greg Tingle comment...
Barack Obama has fresh ideas, positive energy, people power and had the numbers. The colour of skin is there, but is only one part of the equation. Both men are heroes, however the feeling and polls went to Obama. Arnie gave thumbs up to McCain, but that didn't get McCain over the line. The world needs peace, not war, and peace and hope, not an administration that put America and much of the world into a financial crisis. America voted for a change and hope, and Obama was ready for victory.
(Credit: LiveNews.com.au)
Greg Tingle comment...
Barack Obama has fresh ideas, positive energy, people power and had the numbers. The colour of skin is there, but is only one part of the equation. Both men are heroes, however the feeling and polls went to Obama. Arnie gave thumbs up to McCain, but that didn't get McCain over the line. The world needs peace, not war, and peace and hope, not an administration that put America and much of the world into a financial crisis. America voted for a change and hope, and Obama was ready for victory.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Schwarzenegger mocks 'skinny' Barack Obama - News.com.au - 1st November 2008
MUSCLEMAN-turned-actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger has called on Barack Obama to beef up his his policies - and his body - at a rally for Republican John McCain.
Mr Schwarzenegger, the Hollywood action hero who is now the Republican governor of California, delighted a crowd of several thousand at a McCain campaign event in Columbus, Ohio, today by ridiculing both Obama's policies and his slender physique.
The Austrian-born former Mr Universe has hosted a bodybuilding tournament in Columbus for several years, and opened his address by inviting Senator Obama to participate in the next event.
"Every year in March I come here to organise the Arnold Classic, which is all about building the body and pumping," Mr Schwarzenegger said.
"That's why I want to invite Senator Obama because he needs to do something about those skinny legs. I'm going to make him do some squats.
"And then we're going to make him do some biceps curls to beef up those scrawny little arms. But if he could only do something about putting some meat on his ideas.
"Senator McCain on the other hand is built like a rock. His character and his views are solid."
Senator McCain and Mr Schwarzenegger rolled into the Nationwide Arena Hockey Stadium together on the Republican candidate's campaign bus the "Straight Talk Express".
While Senator McCain received loud cheers, it was Schwarzenegger who provided some much-needed glamour and the biggest cheers with a searing attack on Senator Obama's economic policies.
He painted former Vietnam War prisoner and navy pilot Senator McCain as a "real-life American hero".
Media Man Australia Profiles
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Politics
Mr Schwarzenegger, the Hollywood action hero who is now the Republican governor of California, delighted a crowd of several thousand at a McCain campaign event in Columbus, Ohio, today by ridiculing both Obama's policies and his slender physique.
The Austrian-born former Mr Universe has hosted a bodybuilding tournament in Columbus for several years, and opened his address by inviting Senator Obama to participate in the next event.
"Every year in March I come here to organise the Arnold Classic, which is all about building the body and pumping," Mr Schwarzenegger said.
"That's why I want to invite Senator Obama because he needs to do something about those skinny legs. I'm going to make him do some squats.
"And then we're going to make him do some biceps curls to beef up those scrawny little arms. But if he could only do something about putting some meat on his ideas.
"Senator McCain on the other hand is built like a rock. His character and his views are solid."
Senator McCain and Mr Schwarzenegger rolled into the Nationwide Arena Hockey Stadium together on the Republican candidate's campaign bus the "Straight Talk Express".
While Senator McCain received loud cheers, it was Schwarzenegger who provided some much-needed glamour and the biggest cheers with a searing attack on Senator Obama's economic policies.
He painted former Vietnam War prisoner and navy pilot Senator McCain as a "real-life American hero".
Media Man Australia Profiles
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Politics
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Xenophon gets serious with gaming, by Jamie Walker - The Australian - 25th August 2008
SO, it's all Kevin Rudd's fault. Nick Xenophon, the former No Pokies MP who carved out a political career by being a thorn in the side of state governments in South Australia, and is now honing his act in Canberra, revealed yesterday it was the Prime Minister who had inspired him to jump to federal politics.
Senator Xenophon shared this insight with what might be regarded as a hostile audience: a room full of gaming industry movers and shakers, who had gathered in Sydney for their annual convention.
He began by saying what he wasn't. "I am not a zealot," Senator Xenophon said, kicking off a week which, with parliament's resumption, will see him finally take up the Senate seat he won at last November's federal election.
"I am not some religious type who sees the world in terms of black and white, good and evil.
"I am not some Supernanny of the nanny state who's here to tell the poker machine barons to sit on 'the naughty chair'."
Then it was time to tell his audience a few home truths, Xenophon-style. While they might use the terms "entertainment or gaming" to describe their industry, he preferred to call it "obscene". Poker machines were unsafe and caused untold harm, he said.
And, worse, everyone in the room knew that.
"How can you pretend for a moment that a poker machine addict's money is better spent making you rich, than feeding their children," Senator Xenophon said, addressing the Australasian Gaming Expo.
"The charade is over. I am calling you on it (and) I am not willing to accept that you don't see the harm that you do.
"I honestly believe that you know the harm you do ... yet you choose to do it anyway."
As for the Prime Minister, who is yet to meet the new independent from SA with a share of the Senate balance of power, credit where credit was due.
Senator Xenophon said Mr Rudd's pre-election declaration of his "hatred" for poker machines helped him decide to switch to federal politics.
"I believed if I could get to Canberra, I could achieve what state governments never would ... an end to the misery your industry causes," Senator Xenophon told delegates at the gaming conference, who heard him out in polite silence. "Your machines are inherently unsafe ... and ultimately you know your position is untenable."
When "common sense prevailed", the industry would be shut down for good. "I hope the federal Government joins me in my efforts," he said.
"I want to work with the PM to achieve his goal to wind back your influence and to tackle the damage caused to families."
But Mr Rudd had to lead by example. And, according to Senator Xenophon, he might start by having the Labor Club in Canberra get rid of its banks of pokies.
"After all, how can you be opposed to something your own party profits from?" Senator Xenophon asked.
Additional reporting: Sanna Trad
Senator Xenophon shared this insight with what might be regarded as a hostile audience: a room full of gaming industry movers and shakers, who had gathered in Sydney for their annual convention.
He began by saying what he wasn't. "I am not a zealot," Senator Xenophon said, kicking off a week which, with parliament's resumption, will see him finally take up the Senate seat he won at last November's federal election.
"I am not some religious type who sees the world in terms of black and white, good and evil.
"I am not some Supernanny of the nanny state who's here to tell the poker machine barons to sit on 'the naughty chair'."
Then it was time to tell his audience a few home truths, Xenophon-style. While they might use the terms "entertainment or gaming" to describe their industry, he preferred to call it "obscene". Poker machines were unsafe and caused untold harm, he said.
And, worse, everyone in the room knew that.
"How can you pretend for a moment that a poker machine addict's money is better spent making you rich, than feeding their children," Senator Xenophon said, addressing the Australasian Gaming Expo.
"The charade is over. I am calling you on it (and) I am not willing to accept that you don't see the harm that you do.
"I honestly believe that you know the harm you do ... yet you choose to do it anyway."
As for the Prime Minister, who is yet to meet the new independent from SA with a share of the Senate balance of power, credit where credit was due.
Senator Xenophon said Mr Rudd's pre-election declaration of his "hatred" for poker machines helped him decide to switch to federal politics.
"I believed if I could get to Canberra, I could achieve what state governments never would ... an end to the misery your industry causes," Senator Xenophon told delegates at the gaming conference, who heard him out in polite silence. "Your machines are inherently unsafe ... and ultimately you know your position is untenable."
When "common sense prevailed", the industry would be shut down for good. "I hope the federal Government joins me in my efforts," he said.
"I want to work with the PM to achieve his goal to wind back your influence and to tackle the damage caused to families."
But Mr Rudd had to lead by example. And, according to Senator Xenophon, he might start by having the Labor Club in Canberra get rid of its banks of pokies.
"After all, how can you be opposed to something your own party profits from?" Senator Xenophon asked.
Additional reporting: Sanna Trad
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Obama campaigns in video games - Fairfax - 15th October 2008
For those too busy playing video games to watch presidential ads on television, Barack Obama has a solution. He's become the first presidential candidate to buy ad space inside a game.
Nine video games from Electronic Arts, ranging from the extremely popular Madden 09 football game to the street racing Burnout: Paradise, feature in-game ads from the Obama campaign. The ads - they appear on billboards and other signage - remind players that early voting has begun and plug a campaign website.
The idea of embedding advertising temporarily inside a video game is relatively new, having only begun about 18 months ago, and Obama is the first presidential candidate to buy space, company officials said.
The Democrat's ads are aimed at gamers who like sports, including NASCAR, NBA, NHL and skateboarding. That suggests that EA Sports' motto, "It's in the game," now applies to presidential politics as well.
EA spokeswoman Holly Rockwood would not say how much the ads cost, but she said they are running on the Xbox Live versions of the game until November 3. They began earlier this month.
The timing of the Obama ads within the video game varies from state to state. Players in smaller states may see the Obama ads for the whole month, while users in bigger states may see them for a shorter period.
"It reaches an audience that is typically hard to reach - young males, roughly 18 to 34," said Rockwood. "That's very appealing to our advertisers."
For those who still associate video games with clunky Pac Man or Space Invaders consoles, here's how in-game advertising works: The Xbox 360 console connects to the internet, so it can be updated with new features, including ads. In the case of Burnout, the game came out in stores in January, but the Obama ads were only inserted this month.
Rockwood declined to say how much revenue the company generates from selling ad space in its games.
"What we're trying to do is offer ads in games where we're simulating a real-world environment, so our racing games, our sports games lend themselves to that," she said.
(Credit: Fairfax)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Games
Politics
Nine video games from Electronic Arts, ranging from the extremely popular Madden 09 football game to the street racing Burnout: Paradise, feature in-game ads from the Obama campaign. The ads - they appear on billboards and other signage - remind players that early voting has begun and plug a campaign website.
The idea of embedding advertising temporarily inside a video game is relatively new, having only begun about 18 months ago, and Obama is the first presidential candidate to buy space, company officials said.
The Democrat's ads are aimed at gamers who like sports, including NASCAR, NBA, NHL and skateboarding. That suggests that EA Sports' motto, "It's in the game," now applies to presidential politics as well.
EA spokeswoman Holly Rockwood would not say how much the ads cost, but she said they are running on the Xbox Live versions of the game until November 3. They began earlier this month.
The timing of the Obama ads within the video game varies from state to state. Players in smaller states may see the Obama ads for the whole month, while users in bigger states may see them for a shorter period.
"It reaches an audience that is typically hard to reach - young males, roughly 18 to 34," said Rockwood. "That's very appealing to our advertisers."
For those who still associate video games with clunky Pac Man or Space Invaders consoles, here's how in-game advertising works: The Xbox 360 console connects to the internet, so it can be updated with new features, including ads. In the case of Burnout, the game came out in stores in January, but the Obama ads were only inserted this month.
Rockwood declined to say how much revenue the company generates from selling ad space in its games.
"What we're trying to do is offer ads in games where we're simulating a real-world environment, so our racing games, our sports games lend themselves to that," she said.
(Credit: Fairfax)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Games
Politics
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Top Ten Gambling Industry Donors to McCain, by Griff Palmer - The New York Times - 28th September 2008
The following is a list of the top ten highest campaign contributors to Senator John McCain since 1992 in the gambling industry, based on analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
1. MGM Mirage
$108,450
2. Mashantucket Pequot Tribe
$56,950
3. Wynn Resorts
$39,800
4. Las Vegas Sands
$32,500
5. International Game Technology
$19,450
6. Harrah's Entertainment
$14,000
7. Station Casinos
$13,800
8. Mandalay Resort Group
$10,000
9. (tie) Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona
$8,000
Stockbridge-Munsee Community
$8,000
Media Man Australia Profiles
Casino News Media
1. MGM Mirage
$108,450
2. Mashantucket Pequot Tribe
$56,950
3. Wynn Resorts
$39,800
4. Las Vegas Sands
$32,500
5. International Game Technology
$19,450
6. Harrah's Entertainment
$14,000
7. Station Casinos
$13,800
8. Mandalay Resort Group
$10,000
9. (tie) Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona
$8,000
Stockbridge-Munsee Community
$8,000
Media Man Australia Profiles
Casino News Media
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Malcolm Turnbull ousts Brendan Nelson as Liberal Party leader, by Phillip Hudson - The Sydney Morning Herald - 16th September 2008
Malcolm Turnbull today took the Liberal leadership by just four votes - 45 to 41 - from Brendan Nelson, saying he knew what it was like to be short of money.
"I do not come to the position of leader of the Liberal Party from a lifetime of privilege," he said at his first press conference.
"I know what it's like to be very short of money. I know what it's like to live in rented flats.
"I know what it's like to grow up with a single parent with no support other than a devoted and loyal father.
"I know Australians are doing it tough and some Australians even in the years of greatest prosperity will always do it tough.
"We know that this is a tough world and our job as Liberals is to ensure that our society is a fair one. A society of opportunity. A society where people can, like my father and I, be able to take advantage of those opportunities, to seize those opportunities and with enterprise and energy and good luck and hard work, do well.
"We are a party of opportunity and this, my friends, is a land of opportunity."
Mr Turnbull, 53, a former merchant banker and republican campaigner, was today elected the 12th leader of the Liberal Party.
He praised Dr Nelson for leading the party through difficult and challenging times and said he was owed a debt of gratitude.
In his victory speech inside the Liberals' party room, Mr Turnbull spoke about freedom and praised new Liberal Senator Helen Kroger for mentioning it in her maiden speech in the Senate last night.
The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, called on Mr Turnbull to support the push to make Australia a republic and said he looked forward to working with the new Liberal leader.
The Nationals leader, Warren Truss, congratulated Mr Turnbull.
"I am sure Mr Turnbull has the energy, determination and skills to be an effective leader of the Liberal Party," Mr Truss said.
Today's vote overturns the ballot that followed last November's federal election loss in which Dr Nelson beat Mr Turnbull by 45 votes to 42.
Mr Turnbull had been shadow treasurer and was the environment minister in the former Howard government.
There is speculation that Andrew Robb, the former party director and foreign affairs spokesman, could be promoted to the job of shadow treasurer.
Mr Turnbull said he would consult colleagues before announcing his new frontbench.
"I know I have the suppport of the entire party room,'' he said.
He offered Dr Nelson a position, but Dr Nelson said he wanted to go to the backbench.
Mr Turnbull said his wife Lucy and son Alex could not be in Canberra because "there wasn't much notice'' but his daughter Daisy was there.
"I want to say thank you to them. All my life I have been blessed with great family, whether it was the loyalty of my father in my youth or the love and the loyalty of my wife and my children today.''
"It is the love of our families that gives us the strength to serve the nation in the way we do.'
Media Man Australia Profiles
Malcolm Turnbull
"I do not come to the position of leader of the Liberal Party from a lifetime of privilege," he said at his first press conference.
"I know what it's like to be very short of money. I know what it's like to live in rented flats.
"I know what it's like to grow up with a single parent with no support other than a devoted and loyal father.
"I know Australians are doing it tough and some Australians even in the years of greatest prosperity will always do it tough.
"We know that this is a tough world and our job as Liberals is to ensure that our society is a fair one. A society of opportunity. A society where people can, like my father and I, be able to take advantage of those opportunities, to seize those opportunities and with enterprise and energy and good luck and hard work, do well.
"We are a party of opportunity and this, my friends, is a land of opportunity."
Mr Turnbull, 53, a former merchant banker and republican campaigner, was today elected the 12th leader of the Liberal Party.
He praised Dr Nelson for leading the party through difficult and challenging times and said he was owed a debt of gratitude.
In his victory speech inside the Liberals' party room, Mr Turnbull spoke about freedom and praised new Liberal Senator Helen Kroger for mentioning it in her maiden speech in the Senate last night.
The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, called on Mr Turnbull to support the push to make Australia a republic and said he looked forward to working with the new Liberal leader.
The Nationals leader, Warren Truss, congratulated Mr Turnbull.
"I am sure Mr Turnbull has the energy, determination and skills to be an effective leader of the Liberal Party," Mr Truss said.
Today's vote overturns the ballot that followed last November's federal election loss in which Dr Nelson beat Mr Turnbull by 45 votes to 42.
Mr Turnbull had been shadow treasurer and was the environment minister in the former Howard government.
There is speculation that Andrew Robb, the former party director and foreign affairs spokesman, could be promoted to the job of shadow treasurer.
Mr Turnbull said he would consult colleagues before announcing his new frontbench.
"I know I have the suppport of the entire party room,'' he said.
He offered Dr Nelson a position, but Dr Nelson said he wanted to go to the backbench.
Mr Turnbull said his wife Lucy and son Alex could not be in Canberra because "there wasn't much notice'' but his daughter Daisy was there.
"I want to say thank you to them. All my life I have been blessed with great family, whether it was the loyalty of my father in my youth or the love and the loyalty of my wife and my children today.''
"It is the love of our families that gives us the strength to serve the nation in the way we do.'
Media Man Australia Profiles
Malcolm Turnbull
Turnbull: here's how I'd start to fix things, by Phillip Hudson - The Sydney Morning Herald - 16th September 2008
Malcolm Turnbull has used his first press conference as Liberal leader to accuse Kevin Rudd of policy recklessness and displaying a failure of economic leadership.
Mr Turnbull also said that, while Opposition policies would be under review, he would keep Brendan Nelson's plan to cut petrol excise by five cents a litre, oppose the Government's Medicare changes and maintain the policy on an emissions trading scheme.
He began the battle to claw back the Liberal's economic credentials by attacking Labor's claim to be fiscal kings.
He said the Government was not dealing well with the fallout from the economic crisis in America and the "massive collapse" on Wall Street.
"Labor claims to be superior economic managers. We are presently facing, probably, the gravest economic crisis globally in any of our lifetimes," Mr Turnbull said.
"We are seeing a collapse in global confidence. All year, from my very beginning as shadow treasurer, I have said to the Government their role is to lead.
"What Australia needs is real leadership. It needs strong leadership. It needs leaders that say this country is strong and can do anything. But we need confidence.
"We are suffering from a global collapse in confidence and instead of having a Government which talked up Australia, which spoke of our strengths, which spoke passionately about what we can do and why we are different, we've had a Government all year that's talked this country down."
He said that, when the subprime crisis started to hit and caused credit problems in Australia, the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, mismanaged the response.
"He begged the Reserve Bank to put up rates," Mr Turnbull said. "He created an environment where the Government of the day - and this is unique in the history of our country or indeed any country - exacerbated inflationary expectations. We have had a total failure of economic leadership in this country."
On emissions trading, Mr Turnbull said the Coalition's policy would remain to support a properly designed system to begin in 2011 or 2012.
"What we've seen from Kevin Rudd so far ... is an emissions trading scheme that will destroy Australian jobs. It will do economic harm with no environmental benefit," Mr Turnbull said.
He said the focus on the Liberals' position was "a little overdone" and what would matter was the position it took to the next election.
He said Mr Rudd was asking the public "to buy an emissions trading scheme without telling them what it will cost".
"Kevin Rudd is forming an emissions trading scheme for purely political grounds without knowing what will happen at the Copenhagen summit in 2009, without knowing what the new US president will do. It's an extraodinary act of political recklessness."
Mr Turnbull said the Liberals would stick with Dr Nelson's policy to cut petrol tax by five cents a litre - a policy he did not initially support.
He said the Liberals would also oppose the Government's Medicare levy surcharge changes, saying it was a Labor "act of retribution" designed to undermine the private health insurance industry and would most hurt those on lower incomes.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Malcolm Turnbull
Mr Turnbull also said that, while Opposition policies would be under review, he would keep Brendan Nelson's plan to cut petrol excise by five cents a litre, oppose the Government's Medicare changes and maintain the policy on an emissions trading scheme.
He began the battle to claw back the Liberal's economic credentials by attacking Labor's claim to be fiscal kings.
He said the Government was not dealing well with the fallout from the economic crisis in America and the "massive collapse" on Wall Street.
"Labor claims to be superior economic managers. We are presently facing, probably, the gravest economic crisis globally in any of our lifetimes," Mr Turnbull said.
"We are seeing a collapse in global confidence. All year, from my very beginning as shadow treasurer, I have said to the Government their role is to lead.
"What Australia needs is real leadership. It needs strong leadership. It needs leaders that say this country is strong and can do anything. But we need confidence.
"We are suffering from a global collapse in confidence and instead of having a Government which talked up Australia, which spoke of our strengths, which spoke passionately about what we can do and why we are different, we've had a Government all year that's talked this country down."
He said that, when the subprime crisis started to hit and caused credit problems in Australia, the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, mismanaged the response.
"He begged the Reserve Bank to put up rates," Mr Turnbull said. "He created an environment where the Government of the day - and this is unique in the history of our country or indeed any country - exacerbated inflationary expectations. We have had a total failure of economic leadership in this country."
On emissions trading, Mr Turnbull said the Coalition's policy would remain to support a properly designed system to begin in 2011 or 2012.
"What we've seen from Kevin Rudd so far ... is an emissions trading scheme that will destroy Australian jobs. It will do economic harm with no environmental benefit," Mr Turnbull said.
He said the focus on the Liberals' position was "a little overdone" and what would matter was the position it took to the next election.
He said Mr Rudd was asking the public "to buy an emissions trading scheme without telling them what it will cost".
"Kevin Rudd is forming an emissions trading scheme for purely political grounds without knowing what will happen at the Copenhagen summit in 2009, without knowing what the new US president will do. It's an extraodinary act of political recklessness."
Mr Turnbull said the Liberals would stick with Dr Nelson's policy to cut petrol tax by five cents a litre - a policy he did not initially support.
He said the Liberals would also oppose the Government's Medicare levy surcharge changes, saying it was a Labor "act of retribution" designed to undermine the private health insurance industry and would most hurt those on lower incomes.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Malcolm Turnbull
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Turnbull reins in before he reigns, by Glenn Milne - The Sunday Times - 12th September 2008
Malcolm Turnbull's decision to give Brendan Nelson's ailing leadership more time on the political respirator is the sign his wavering colleagues have been waiting for – the winds of political maturation.
Turnbull, the wealthiest man in the Federal Parliament, entered Liberal politics as a force of nature. The moment he seized the seat of Wentworth from sitting member Peter King in what became known as "the mother of all branch stacks", Turnbull was immediately regarded as the man most likely to succeed to the Liberal leadership.
This sense of manifest destiny was driven by a potent combination of personal fulfilment – a $170 million fortune amassed in the private sector – plus an ambition fired by an unerring sense of self-belief.
They are the positives in the Turnbull make-up. The overwhelming negative, though, was the way this blend of characteristics stoked his forces of impatience. Turnbull simply couldn't wait – for anybody or anything.
So he burst into the parliament and, as a backbencher, immediately commissioned – some would say bought – a suite of tax policies which, Peter Costello argues in his memoirs, conspired to undermine the Coalition's economic credentials.
Once inside Cabinet, he argued for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocols and then, according to Costello, leaked that fact during the election campaign to shore up his position in Greens-leaning, trendy Wentworth.
Then, when office was slipping from the Liberals' grasp in late 2007, it was Turnbull who turned on his political sponsor, John Howard, and told him he ought to go in the party's best interests. Ever since the defeat of November that year, and his narrowest of losses to Nelson in a subsequent leadership ballot, he's let anyone who cares to know that Nelson should move aside for him.
So, the news that with Costello apparently out of the way, Turnbull does not intend immediately throttling Nelson – which he could do – assumes the nature of a change in character.
The notion of Turnbull taking pause, rather than charging full tilt into the first available china shop, is a new and welcome development for those MPs still uncertain about whether to back him.
And it's welcome because it's smart. And like most pivotal moments in politics, it has, in fact, been some time in the making. In the past six months, even as Nelson has weakened, Turnbull has backed off his earlier, almost manic post-election agitation for a leadership change.
For his colleagues, that means their phones have stopped ringing off their hooks. Turnbull's interventions have been more subtle. He's become more collegiate; inviting MPs around to his parliamentary offices to discuss issues relevant to his shadow treasury portfolio. Which is most everything. Doing the mundane people work that Costello never did. But that Nelson always did.
Crucially, and again distinct from Costello, this has sent the message that he does not have a sense of leadership entitlement. A pause in campaigning against Nelson is not generosity on Turnbull's part, simply recognition that the opinion polls will do their work for him.
Ever since he assumed the leadership, Nelson has been able to argue that his inability to cut it with the Australian public has been due to the fact that Costello has been lingering over his shoulder as the putative Liberal leader. Now, all that's finished. Or has it? More of that later.
For the moment, let's assume that it's true. By giving Nelson space – and that means about two cycles of opinion polls – Turnbull will be able to argue that under no pressure from him and relieved of same from Costello, Nelson has still been unable to connect with the Australian public. Which, let's face it, decent bloke that Nelson is, was always going to be the case.
The point about Turnbull's discipline is twofold; it gives Nelson some dignity to resolve his fate on his own terms. And it gives Turnbull the lustre of restraint before striking.
Now, to return to Costello: A couple of observations, if I may, in the context of the Nelson vs Turnbull battle and Costello's apparent removal of himself from leadership contention.
Costello has steadfastly refused to say when he might leave the parliament. That means that for as long as his bum points south on a seat in the House of Representatives, he remains a viable leadership alternative. But – and this is critical – that viability now depends on how Turnbull fares when the inevitable leadership transition takes place.
The truth is that Costello's capacity to block Turnbull, the critic of his economic record, is now at an all-time low. Key former Costello supporters have now switched to Turnbull.
I ask them: "If Turnbull mounts a challenge and Costello rings to say, `Don't do it', what would be your response?"
They say: "Peter has now dealt himself out of the party's future, therefore he has no say in it. We will make up our own minds."
All roads point to Turnbull.
(Credit: The Sunday Times)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Malcolm Turnbull
Turnbull, the wealthiest man in the Federal Parliament, entered Liberal politics as a force of nature. The moment he seized the seat of Wentworth from sitting member Peter King in what became known as "the mother of all branch stacks", Turnbull was immediately regarded as the man most likely to succeed to the Liberal leadership.
This sense of manifest destiny was driven by a potent combination of personal fulfilment – a $170 million fortune amassed in the private sector – plus an ambition fired by an unerring sense of self-belief.
They are the positives in the Turnbull make-up. The overwhelming negative, though, was the way this blend of characteristics stoked his forces of impatience. Turnbull simply couldn't wait – for anybody or anything.
So he burst into the parliament and, as a backbencher, immediately commissioned – some would say bought – a suite of tax policies which, Peter Costello argues in his memoirs, conspired to undermine the Coalition's economic credentials.
Once inside Cabinet, he argued for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocols and then, according to Costello, leaked that fact during the election campaign to shore up his position in Greens-leaning, trendy Wentworth.
Then, when office was slipping from the Liberals' grasp in late 2007, it was Turnbull who turned on his political sponsor, John Howard, and told him he ought to go in the party's best interests. Ever since the defeat of November that year, and his narrowest of losses to Nelson in a subsequent leadership ballot, he's let anyone who cares to know that Nelson should move aside for him.
So, the news that with Costello apparently out of the way, Turnbull does not intend immediately throttling Nelson – which he could do – assumes the nature of a change in character.
The notion of Turnbull taking pause, rather than charging full tilt into the first available china shop, is a new and welcome development for those MPs still uncertain about whether to back him.
And it's welcome because it's smart. And like most pivotal moments in politics, it has, in fact, been some time in the making. In the past six months, even as Nelson has weakened, Turnbull has backed off his earlier, almost manic post-election agitation for a leadership change.
For his colleagues, that means their phones have stopped ringing off their hooks. Turnbull's interventions have been more subtle. He's become more collegiate; inviting MPs around to his parliamentary offices to discuss issues relevant to his shadow treasury portfolio. Which is most everything. Doing the mundane people work that Costello never did. But that Nelson always did.
Crucially, and again distinct from Costello, this has sent the message that he does not have a sense of leadership entitlement. A pause in campaigning against Nelson is not generosity on Turnbull's part, simply recognition that the opinion polls will do their work for him.
Ever since he assumed the leadership, Nelson has been able to argue that his inability to cut it with the Australian public has been due to the fact that Costello has been lingering over his shoulder as the putative Liberal leader. Now, all that's finished. Or has it? More of that later.
For the moment, let's assume that it's true. By giving Nelson space – and that means about two cycles of opinion polls – Turnbull will be able to argue that under no pressure from him and relieved of same from Costello, Nelson has still been unable to connect with the Australian public. Which, let's face it, decent bloke that Nelson is, was always going to be the case.
The point about Turnbull's discipline is twofold; it gives Nelson some dignity to resolve his fate on his own terms. And it gives Turnbull the lustre of restraint before striking.
Now, to return to Costello: A couple of observations, if I may, in the context of the Nelson vs Turnbull battle and Costello's apparent removal of himself from leadership contention.
Costello has steadfastly refused to say when he might leave the parliament. That means that for as long as his bum points south on a seat in the House of Representatives, he remains a viable leadership alternative. But – and this is critical – that viability now depends on how Turnbull fares when the inevitable leadership transition takes place.
The truth is that Costello's capacity to block Turnbull, the critic of his economic record, is now at an all-time low. Key former Costello supporters have now switched to Turnbull.
I ask them: "If Turnbull mounts a challenge and Costello rings to say, `Don't do it', what would be your response?"
They say: "Peter has now dealt himself out of the party's future, therefore he has no say in it. We will make up our own minds."
All roads point to Turnbull.
(Credit: The Sunday Times)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Malcolm Turnbull
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Greens' recount doubles value of gifts to Labor, by Wendy Frew and Jano Gibson - The Sydney Morning Herald - 8th Septemeber 2008
The political donations tap remains turned to full bore in NSW, with the state Labor Party raising $9.5 million in the 14 months to June, more than double the amount first reported by the media when Electoral Funding Authority data was released last week.
Much of the money has come from companies seeking State Government approval for controversial housing projects or lucrative gaming licences, such as Rosecorp's luxury apartments at Catherine Hill Bay and Star City Casino's exclusive licence renewal.
The release of the data follows a Galaxy poll conducted last week on behalf of the Greens that found 82 per cent of respondents favoured a ban on developer donations.
When the authority released donor declarations on Wednesday, it was first thought the ALP had raised only $4.3 million. A closer examination by the Greens showed the party's coffers had received more than twice that amount, and that donations were running more than $100,000 a month ahead of fund-raising efforts in previous years.
The party's NSW branch declined to comment on the donations.
Some of Labor's biggest donations came from key players fighting for the right to operate casinos in NSW.
In October Tabcorp, the owner of Star City Casino, had its exclusive casino licence renewed for another 12 years. Three weeks after the deal was secured, Star City gave Labor a cheque for $112,200.
A Hong Kong billionaire, Stanley Ho, who was believed to have been lobbying the then premier, Morris Iemma, for a second casino licence, donated $200,000 to Labor. Anthony Chan, who has the same Hong Kong address as Mr Ho, gave Labor $100,000.
A controversial proposal from Rosecorp to build hundreds of apartments in the hamlet of Catherine Hill Bay, on the Central Coast, was approved last week by the then minister for planning, Frank Sartor. In the 14 months to June, Rosecorp - a generous donor of long standing - donated another $117,700 to the state Labor Party.
In October Mr Sartor took control of Johnson Property Group's $650 million housing project at Cooranbong, near Lake Macquarie, from the council. In the 14 months to June, this year, the company donated $140,150 to the ALP.
The minister is also the consent authority for the company's proposal to build a satellite suburb at Pitt Town, 60 kilometres north-west of Sydney, and its proposed redevelopment of the 60-hectare Sydney Adventist Hospital site in Wahroonga.
Duncan Hardie, of Hardie Holdings, had donated an estimated $455,000 to the state ALP, starting in 2001. He topped that up with $100,000 in July last year. Mr Hardie has received favourable treatment in the Government's housing strategies for the Lower Hunter and the Mid-North Coast.
Between them, ClubsNSW and the Australian Hotels Association donated $239,350 in the 14-month period.
V8 Supercars Australia, which despite widespread community and business opposition is set to get approval from the State Government to turn Olympic Park into a street-car racetrack, donated $15,000 to the ALP.
In the months before last year's federal election two dinners at which the then federal Opposition leader Kevin Rudd was the star attraction yielded a war chest of $751,638 for NSW Labor.
Mr Iemma and senior state ministers hosted a series of "intimate dinners" that generated more than $120,000.
One of the four functions, involving Mr Iemma and the then treasurer, Michael Costa, on July 18 last year, raised $65,000. Among the 10 organisations that paid to attend were Star City Pty Ltd and ClubsNSW.
Two days earlier a dinner at which Mr Sartor was the attraction brought in $30,000. Paying for the privilege of dining with Mr Sartor were representatives from 11 companies, including The Village Building Co.
Three months before Mr Sartor had controversially rejected the advice of an expert panel and approved the rezoning of land owned by Village under a Canberra Airport flight path. (Credit: Fairfax)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Much of the money has come from companies seeking State Government approval for controversial housing projects or lucrative gaming licences, such as Rosecorp's luxury apartments at Catherine Hill Bay and Star City Casino's exclusive licence renewal.
The release of the data follows a Galaxy poll conducted last week on behalf of the Greens that found 82 per cent of respondents favoured a ban on developer donations.
When the authority released donor declarations on Wednesday, it was first thought the ALP had raised only $4.3 million. A closer examination by the Greens showed the party's coffers had received more than twice that amount, and that donations were running more than $100,000 a month ahead of fund-raising efforts in previous years.
The party's NSW branch declined to comment on the donations.
Some of Labor's biggest donations came from key players fighting for the right to operate casinos in NSW.
In October Tabcorp, the owner of Star City Casino, had its exclusive casino licence renewed for another 12 years. Three weeks after the deal was secured, Star City gave Labor a cheque for $112,200.
A Hong Kong billionaire, Stanley Ho, who was believed to have been lobbying the then premier, Morris Iemma, for a second casino licence, donated $200,000 to Labor. Anthony Chan, who has the same Hong Kong address as Mr Ho, gave Labor $100,000.
A controversial proposal from Rosecorp to build hundreds of apartments in the hamlet of Catherine Hill Bay, on the Central Coast, was approved last week by the then minister for planning, Frank Sartor. In the 14 months to June, Rosecorp - a generous donor of long standing - donated another $117,700 to the state Labor Party.
In October Mr Sartor took control of Johnson Property Group's $650 million housing project at Cooranbong, near Lake Macquarie, from the council. In the 14 months to June, this year, the company donated $140,150 to the ALP.
The minister is also the consent authority for the company's proposal to build a satellite suburb at Pitt Town, 60 kilometres north-west of Sydney, and its proposed redevelopment of the 60-hectare Sydney Adventist Hospital site in Wahroonga.
Duncan Hardie, of Hardie Holdings, had donated an estimated $455,000 to the state ALP, starting in 2001. He topped that up with $100,000 in July last year. Mr Hardie has received favourable treatment in the Government's housing strategies for the Lower Hunter and the Mid-North Coast.
Between them, ClubsNSW and the Australian Hotels Association donated $239,350 in the 14-month period.
V8 Supercars Australia, which despite widespread community and business opposition is set to get approval from the State Government to turn Olympic Park into a street-car racetrack, donated $15,000 to the ALP.
In the months before last year's federal election two dinners at which the then federal Opposition leader Kevin Rudd was the star attraction yielded a war chest of $751,638 for NSW Labor.
Mr Iemma and senior state ministers hosted a series of "intimate dinners" that generated more than $120,000.
One of the four functions, involving Mr Iemma and the then treasurer, Michael Costa, on July 18 last year, raised $65,000. Among the 10 organisations that paid to attend were Star City Pty Ltd and ClubsNSW.
Two days earlier a dinner at which Mr Sartor was the attraction brought in $30,000. Paying for the privilege of dining with Mr Sartor were representatives from 11 companies, including The Village Building Co.
Three months before Mr Sartor had controversially rejected the advice of an expert panel and approved the rezoning of land owned by Village under a Canberra Airport flight path. (Credit: Fairfax)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Saturday, August 23, 2008
"MY BRILLIANT CAREER" – ABC TV 4 CORNERS MONDAY - 25th AUGUST 2008
Next on Four Corners: A profile of Liberal leader-in-waiting, Malcolm Turnbull… his brilliance, his brashness and his baggage.
"People either love or loathe Turnbull."
Barring a stunning rebound by Brendan Nelson or a deft backflip by Peter Costello, there's a fair chance that Australia's alternative prime minister at the next election will be Malcolm Bligh Turnbull.
"Malcolm is one of those people who seem destined for great things."
Will voters embrace the wealthiest politician in Parliament? What strengths do colleagues see in him? And why do some of them fear his leadership may be combustible?
"Malcolm is a bit of a volcano."... "When you're on the wrong side of Malcolm, it's terrifying."
In this unauthorised profile, Four Corners hands the microphone to allies and adversaries who have seen the very best and very worst of Malcolm Turnbull at close range. Four Corners explores Turnbull's meteoric career and tempestuous character to gain a glimpse of the promise and pitfalls of a Turnbull leadership.
"Malcolm Turnbull is clearly a person of great ability."
Reporter Sarah Ferguson charts Turnbull's arrival as the bold young lawyer who rattled the British Establishment in the Spycatcher case. She throws new light on Turnbull's role in the bitter tussle for control of the Fairfax media empire, solving the lingering mystery of how Kerry Packer's bid for control of the Fairfax media empire was finally scuttled.
"... impetuous and unpredictable…"
Turnbull's eventual split from his mentor Packer would not alter his trajectory. Nor would a spectacular failure at the republic referendum - despite prompting early questions about his political judgment - and another falling out with a powerful figure, this time Prime Minister John Howard.
"He has a certain star quality." ... "His judgment was clearly appalling."
But there's a faint ticking in the background which could turn out to be a time-bomb. Four years after his entry to Parliament, questions continue to be asked about the baggage he carries from his earlier business life. Are the coalition – and the country – ready for Malcolm Turnbull? It's all part of "My Brilliant Career" – on Four Corners 8.30 pm, Monday 25 August and 11.35 pm Tuesday 26 August on ABC1, and also 8am Tuesday on ABC2.
WATCH A PROMO ONLINE NOW!
Media Man Australia Profiles
Malcolm Turnbull
"People either love or loathe Turnbull."
Barring a stunning rebound by Brendan Nelson or a deft backflip by Peter Costello, there's a fair chance that Australia's alternative prime minister at the next election will be Malcolm Bligh Turnbull.
"Malcolm is one of those people who seem destined for great things."
Will voters embrace the wealthiest politician in Parliament? What strengths do colleagues see in him? And why do some of them fear his leadership may be combustible?
"Malcolm is a bit of a volcano."... "When you're on the wrong side of Malcolm, it's terrifying."
In this unauthorised profile, Four Corners hands the microphone to allies and adversaries who have seen the very best and very worst of Malcolm Turnbull at close range. Four Corners explores Turnbull's meteoric career and tempestuous character to gain a glimpse of the promise and pitfalls of a Turnbull leadership.
"Malcolm Turnbull is clearly a person of great ability."
Reporter Sarah Ferguson charts Turnbull's arrival as the bold young lawyer who rattled the British Establishment in the Spycatcher case. She throws new light on Turnbull's role in the bitter tussle for control of the Fairfax media empire, solving the lingering mystery of how Kerry Packer's bid for control of the Fairfax media empire was finally scuttled.
"... impetuous and unpredictable…"
Turnbull's eventual split from his mentor Packer would not alter his trajectory. Nor would a spectacular failure at the republic referendum - despite prompting early questions about his political judgment - and another falling out with a powerful figure, this time Prime Minister John Howard.
"He has a certain star quality." ... "His judgment was clearly appalling."
But there's a faint ticking in the background which could turn out to be a time-bomb. Four years after his entry to Parliament, questions continue to be asked about the baggage he carries from his earlier business life. Are the coalition – and the country – ready for Malcolm Turnbull? It's all part of "My Brilliant Career" – on Four Corners 8.30 pm, Monday 25 August and 11.35 pm Tuesday 26 August on ABC1, and also 8am Tuesday on ABC2.
WATCH A PROMO ONLINE NOW!
Media Man Australia Profiles
Malcolm Turnbull
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Greens to lead on climate change: Brown - The Age - 12th July 2008
Greens leader Bob Brown says his party will lead the national parliamentary debate on climate change, pushing for tougher cuts in emissions and massive funding for public transport.
Addressing the Australian Greens national Council meeting in Hobart, Senator Brown said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will have failed to show mature leadership if Labor sets weak targets for emissions cuts or if it delayed implementation of an emissions trading scheme to 2012.
He said the Greens wanted a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2020 and a carbon neutral Australia, or at least 90 per cent reduction, by 2050.
As well, the Greens want massive funding for fast, reliable and cheap public transport in metropolitan and regional Australia.
Senator Brown called for an end to logging and burning of native forests and woodlands to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Greens are also calling for feed-in laws, paying a premium to those who feed solar or other renewable energy back into the electricity grid.
"We will use the balance of power to make the Senate a house of innovation to produce better outcomes for all Australians," he said.
Senator Brown welcomed new Greens senators Scott Ludlam (WA) and Sarah Hanson-Young (SA) to the team.
Both were elected last year, giving the Greens five Senate places and the balance of power in some circumstances.
To pass any measure opposed by the Opposition, Labor will need to negotiate the support of Greens and minor party senators.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Bob Brown
Politics
Addressing the Australian Greens national Council meeting in Hobart, Senator Brown said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will have failed to show mature leadership if Labor sets weak targets for emissions cuts or if it delayed implementation of an emissions trading scheme to 2012.
He said the Greens wanted a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2020 and a carbon neutral Australia, or at least 90 per cent reduction, by 2050.
As well, the Greens want massive funding for fast, reliable and cheap public transport in metropolitan and regional Australia.
Senator Brown called for an end to logging and burning of native forests and woodlands to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Greens are also calling for feed-in laws, paying a premium to those who feed solar or other renewable energy back into the electricity grid.
"We will use the balance of power to make the Senate a house of innovation to produce better outcomes for all Australians," he said.
Senator Brown welcomed new Greens senators Scott Ludlam (WA) and Sarah Hanson-Young (SA) to the team.
Both were elected last year, giving the Greens five Senate places and the balance of power in some circumstances.
To pass any measure opposed by the Opposition, Labor will need to negotiate the support of Greens and minor party senators.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Bob Brown
Politics
Jesse Ventura Will Not Seek Minnesota Senate Seat - ABC News - 14th July 2008
ABC News' Tahman Bradley Reports: In an extremely anxious moment built up by delaying the big moment for 12 minutes, and after a week of intense guessing about his intentions, Jesse Ventura announced tonight on CNN that he has decided not to run for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota this year.
"I've decided not to run," Ventura told Larry King, though he left the door cracked that he could become motivated to enter the race by tomorrow's 5 p.m. filing deadline if an act of God were to occur.
Ventura said he thought long and hard about whether he wanted to subject his family to the scrutiny of a campaign and ultimately decided against running.
Even without the race's second celebrity, the Minnesota Senate contest has become a contentious and expensive battle that will likely gain major media attention this fall. Incumbent Republican Norm Coleman is being challenged by former "Saturday Night Live" comedian, Democrat Al Franken -- and Mr. Coleman is in trouble.
Minnesota has been trending toward the Democrats. Residents are angry with President Bush and Republicans in Congress and Coleman has felt the heat. His approval rating has fallen below 50 percent. Right now, Coleman holds a 10 point edge over Franken, *according to a poll conducted last month*, but polls on the presidential level show Democrat Barack Obama leading McCain by double digits in Minnesota -- and that enthusiasm for Obama might carry over and affect the Senate race.
Coleman filed his candidacy for reelection today and released an atypical commercial touting his accomplishments in the Senate. Coleman knows a traditional unsuccessful incumbent message will not be successful with the environment for Republicans being the way it is. In the ad, Coleman reaches back in a funny way to remind voters that while mayor of Saint Paul, he pushed to bring a professional hockey team to the city in 2000. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_hvPbW0jsw
Coleman has the early fundraising edge having brought in $15.4 million to Franken's $11.5 million in what could be the most expensive Senate contest this year.
Minnesota may not be the center of the political universe, but it will be in the spotlight in a unique way this fall with the honor of hosting the GOP convention and the possibility that the top Republican in the state, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, may be selected as Sen. John McCain's running-mate.
Franken was knocked off message a bit after it was reveled the former humorist's companies owed $70,000 in back taxes in 17 states. Republicans point to that problem as a sign Franken's not serious. Coleman has been dealing with the revelation that he rents a room in Capitol Hill townhome owned by a well-connect GOP corporate consultant for only $600 per month. Democrats argue that rental arrangement proves Coleman is too cozy with powerful interests.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Jesse Ventura
Politics
"I've decided not to run," Ventura told Larry King, though he left the door cracked that he could become motivated to enter the race by tomorrow's 5 p.m. filing deadline if an act of God were to occur.
Ventura said he thought long and hard about whether he wanted to subject his family to the scrutiny of a campaign and ultimately decided against running.
Even without the race's second celebrity, the Minnesota Senate contest has become a contentious and expensive battle that will likely gain major media attention this fall. Incumbent Republican Norm Coleman is being challenged by former "Saturday Night Live" comedian, Democrat Al Franken -- and Mr. Coleman is in trouble.
Minnesota has been trending toward the Democrats. Residents are angry with President Bush and Republicans in Congress and Coleman has felt the heat. His approval rating has fallen below 50 percent. Right now, Coleman holds a 10 point edge over Franken, *according to a poll conducted last month*, but polls on the presidential level show Democrat Barack Obama leading McCain by double digits in Minnesota -- and that enthusiasm for Obama might carry over and affect the Senate race.
Coleman filed his candidacy for reelection today and released an atypical commercial touting his accomplishments in the Senate. Coleman knows a traditional unsuccessful incumbent message will not be successful with the environment for Republicans being the way it is. In the ad, Coleman reaches back in a funny way to remind voters that while mayor of Saint Paul, he pushed to bring a professional hockey team to the city in 2000. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_hvPbW0jsw
Coleman has the early fundraising edge having brought in $15.4 million to Franken's $11.5 million in what could be the most expensive Senate contest this year.
Minnesota may not be the center of the political universe, but it will be in the spotlight in a unique way this fall with the honor of hosting the GOP convention and the possibility that the top Republican in the state, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, may be selected as Sen. John McCain's running-mate.
Franken was knocked off message a bit after it was reveled the former humorist's companies owed $70,000 in back taxes in 17 states. Republicans point to that problem as a sign Franken's not serious. Coleman has been dealing with the revelation that he rents a room in Capitol Hill townhome owned by a well-connect GOP corporate consultant for only $600 per month. Democrats argue that rental arrangement proves Coleman is too cozy with powerful interests.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Jesse Ventura
Politics
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
My endorsement
Dear Greg,
A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama. From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States.
Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges -- including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy, and solving the climate crisis. Barack Obama is clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America.
I've never asked members of AlGore.com to contribute to a political campaign before, but this moment and this election are too important to let pass without taking action.
That's why I am asking you to join me today in showing your support for Barack Obama by making a contribution to his campaign today:
https://donate.barackobama.com/support
Over the past 18 months, Barack Obama has united a movement. He knows change does not come from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or Capitol Hill. It begins when people stand up and take action.
With the help of millions of supporters like you, Barack Obama will bring the change we so desperately need in order to solve our country's most pressing problems.
If you've already contributed to Barack Obama's campaign, I ask that you consider making another contribution. If you haven't, please join the movement right now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/support
On the issues that matter most, Barack Obama is clearly the right choice to lead our nation.
We have a lot of work to do in the next few months to elect Barack Obama president and it begins by making a contribution to his campaign today.
Thank you,
Al Gore
LIVE TONIGHT -- 8:30 p.m. EDT: Watch streaming video of Al Gore and Barack Obama at a rally in Detroit, Michigan:
http://www.BarackObama.com
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama. From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States.
Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges -- including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy, and solving the climate crisis. Barack Obama is clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America.
I've never asked members of AlGore.com to contribute to a political campaign before, but this moment and this election are too important to let pass without taking action.
That's why I am asking you to join me today in showing your support for Barack Obama by making a contribution to his campaign today:
https://donate.barackobama.com/support
Over the past 18 months, Barack Obama has united a movement. He knows change does not come from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or Capitol Hill. It begins when people stand up and take action.
With the help of millions of supporters like you, Barack Obama will bring the change we so desperately need in order to solve our country's most pressing problems.
If you've already contributed to Barack Obama's campaign, I ask that you consider making another contribution. If you haven't, please join the movement right now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/support
On the issues that matter most, Barack Obama is clearly the right choice to lead our nation.
We have a lot of work to do in the next few months to elect Barack Obama president and it begins by making a contribution to his campaign today.
Thank you,
Al Gore
LIVE TONIGHT -- 8:30 p.m. EDT: Watch streaming video of Al Gore and Barack Obama at a rally in Detroit, Michigan:
http://www.BarackObama.com
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Sunday, May 18, 2008
War of the worlds on Bondi Beach, by Kerry-Anne Walsh - The Sun-Herald - 18th May 2008
Anthony Albanese is a proud Housing Commission westie, Malcolm Turnbull a passionate lifelong resident of the blue-blood eastern suburbs.
In a furious budget fallout, the Labor and Liberal heavyweights are locked in an angry stoush laden with class warfare overtones. At stake is the historic North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, which looks after tens of millions of international visitors a year.
Mr Albanese, the Regional Development Minister, yanked more than $2 million for projects in Bondi when he cancelled the regional partnerships program in the budget. The lion's share of the funding was for an urgently needed $1.7 million redevelopment of the surf life saving club.
This prompted a seething Mr Turnbull, the shadow treasurer whose electorate of Wentworth embraces Bondi, to declare to The Sun-Herald yesterday: "Mr Albanese has declared war on Bondi Beach.
"This is an incredible act of bastardry. It is all about the politics of envy - that's their [the Government's] strategy. But this has never been known as a silvertail suburb. It belongs to the whole of Sydney, the whole of Australia."
He said Mr Albanese had singled out Bondi for a vicious attack, even though Environment Minister Peter Garrett had recently heritage-listed 65hectares of the beach precinct.
Mr Albanese fumed back yesterday: "Bondi should find itself a local member who can deliver on grants.
"Malcolm could find the time [in government] to organise $10 million for crazy cloud-seeding propositions but couldn't find the time to properly deliver the grant that he promised."
Mr Turnbull retaliated that the club had been engaging architects, raising extra money and getting planning approval since the grant was approved last June. "The club has relied on the integrity of the Government to deliver, and that integrity has been shattered by the cynical Mr Albanese," he said. "It is all about punishing Bondi because it is in my seat of Wentworth."
Mr Turnbull said there was no way the club, the largest of its type in the country, could now go ahead with the redevelopment, which would have upgraded training and patrolling facilities.
The redevelopment was desperately needed to meet the demands of the popular tourist site. Nearly 80 million visitors a year flock to Bondi and the club had not been upgraded in decades.
The State Government and Labor-dominated Waverley Council had backed the project with $500,000 each. Individuals contributed another $300,000, including Mr Turnbull and his wife Lucy, who shelled out $100,000.
Mr Albanese cancelled the regional partnerships program because of a string of questionable regional grants made by the Howard government. "It is unfortunate that projects have been sacrificed by the Coalition's rorting of the scheme, which made its future untenable," he said.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Malcolm Turnbull
Bondi Beach
Politics
In a furious budget fallout, the Labor and Liberal heavyweights are locked in an angry stoush laden with class warfare overtones. At stake is the historic North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, which looks after tens of millions of international visitors a year.
Mr Albanese, the Regional Development Minister, yanked more than $2 million for projects in Bondi when he cancelled the regional partnerships program in the budget. The lion's share of the funding was for an urgently needed $1.7 million redevelopment of the surf life saving club.
This prompted a seething Mr Turnbull, the shadow treasurer whose electorate of Wentworth embraces Bondi, to declare to The Sun-Herald yesterday: "Mr Albanese has declared war on Bondi Beach.
"This is an incredible act of bastardry. It is all about the politics of envy - that's their [the Government's] strategy. But this has never been known as a silvertail suburb. It belongs to the whole of Sydney, the whole of Australia."
He said Mr Albanese had singled out Bondi for a vicious attack, even though Environment Minister Peter Garrett had recently heritage-listed 65hectares of the beach precinct.
Mr Albanese fumed back yesterday: "Bondi should find itself a local member who can deliver on grants.
"Malcolm could find the time [in government] to organise $10 million for crazy cloud-seeding propositions but couldn't find the time to properly deliver the grant that he promised."
Mr Turnbull retaliated that the club had been engaging architects, raising extra money and getting planning approval since the grant was approved last June. "The club has relied on the integrity of the Government to deliver, and that integrity has been shattered by the cynical Mr Albanese," he said. "It is all about punishing Bondi because it is in my seat of Wentworth."
Mr Turnbull said there was no way the club, the largest of its type in the country, could now go ahead with the redevelopment, which would have upgraded training and patrolling facilities.
The redevelopment was desperately needed to meet the demands of the popular tourist site. Nearly 80 million visitors a year flock to Bondi and the club had not been upgraded in decades.
The State Government and Labor-dominated Waverley Council had backed the project with $500,000 each. Individuals contributed another $300,000, including Mr Turnbull and his wife Lucy, who shelled out $100,000.
Mr Albanese cancelled the regional partnerships program because of a string of questionable regional grants made by the Howard government. "It is unfortunate that projects have been sacrificed by the Coalition's rorting of the scheme, which made its future untenable," he said.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Malcolm Turnbull
Bondi Beach
Politics
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Australian Government AusAID Media Release - 13th May 2008
THE HON STEPHEN SMITH MP, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, THE HON DUNCAN KERR SC MP, PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS AND THE HON BOB MCMULLAN MP, PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
AA0838
13 May 2008
2008-09 International Development Assistance Budget
The 2008-09 Budget lays the foundation for implementing the Government's long-term commitment to increase Australia's Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2015-16.
Australia will provide an estimated $3.7 billion in ODA in 2008-09, increasing Australia's ratio of ODA to GNI from 0.30 per cent in 2007-08 to 0.32 per cent in 2008-09. The Government expects to increase Australia's ODA to levels equivalent to 0.35 per cent of GNI in 2009-10, 0.37 per cent of GNI in 2010-11 and 0.38 per cent of GNI in 2011-12.
The new measures contained in this Budget give effect to the Government's election commitments to address climate change adaptation needs, establish Australian leadership on disability and eliminating avoidable blindness and improve access to clean water and sanitation.
The 2008-09 Budget increases the focus of the program on practical development outcomes, promoting faster progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and greater attention to alleviating the situation of the vulnerable.
In 2008-09 Australia will scale up expenditure in major sectors influencing MDG outcomes, including education (up 5 per cent), health (up 8 per cent), rural development (up 7 per cent), environment (up 7 per cent) and infrastructure (up 17 per cent). Assistance to help the most vulnerable, particularly those who suffer disability or who are refugees or victims of humanitarian crisis, will also increase.
Budget Highlights
Making faster progress towards the MDGs
The Australian Government is committed to helping developing country partners attain the MDGs. Most developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region can claim progress in meeting some of the MDGs, however, none is on course to achieve them all. Making faster progress on the MDGs requires a concerted and well-coordinated global response.
Australia's development assistance helps partners expand economic activity to create jobs and raise incomes, combat disease and improve nutrition, raise basic educational attainment, and improve the responsiveness and accountability of the state in meeting citizens' basic needs.
The Government will increase Australia's multilateral engagement, through increased multilateral development financing and a major increase of $200 million over four years in Australia's core funding for key UN agencies leading efforts to achieve the MDGs.
New multi-year allocations are made to improve access to clean water and basic sanitation ($300 million over three years) and to meet high priority climate adaptation needs in vulnerable countries ($150 million over three years), implementing the election commitments made by the Government.
Priority will be given to helping the Pacific and Papua New Guinea achieve the MDGs through expanded assistance in 2008-09. New programs focusing on infrastructure development, land administration and public sector capacity building will contribute to the Pacific Partnerships for Development outlined in the Prime Minister's March 2008 Port Moresby Declaration. The partnerships will provide a new framework for Australia and the Pacific island nations to commit jointly to achieving improved development outcomes, on the basis of mutual respect and mutual responsibility.
Addressing the needs of the vulnerable
Action to address disadvantage and vulnerability is essential to alleviating poverty in our region. The most vulnerable include those who suffer disability or who are refugees or victims of humanitarian crisis. They are cut off from access to basic services and the opportunity to improve their quality of life.
A significant scaling up in assistance for some of the most vulnerable - those suffering avoidable blindness and people with disabilities - will commence in 2008-09, piloting approaches to better eye and vision care and developing a strategy for addressing disability needs through the development assistance program.
Increasing assistance will be provided to new partners including Iraq and Afghanistan in transition from conflict. Increased assistance will support vulnerable civilian populations and help underpin reconstruction.
Further details on development assistance initiatives in the 2008-09 Budget are provided below.
Access to Clean Water and Effective Sanitation
Australia will invest $300 million over three years, with $8 million in 2008-09, to address the critical challenge to health and wellbeing posed by inadequate access to clean water and sanitation.
This initiative will improve access for the poor to clean water and effective sanitation in urban, peri-urban and rural areas and provide more predictable water supply by protecting fresh water sources. Better management of water resources and improved sanitation will reduce the transmission of disease and lead to improved health for poor people, particularly women and children.
Adaptation to Climate Change
Australia will invest $150 million over three years, with $35 million in 2008‑09, to meet urgent climate change adaptation needs in vulnerable countries in Australia's region.
Funding will support improved scientific information on climate change impacts, more effective strategic planning and vulnerability assessments and the implementation of high priority adaptation measures, for example, by better protecting infrastructure from extreme weather events and securing fresh water supplies. Funding will increase planning and investment in responses that reduce the vulnerability of communities. Support will address specific country and regional needs, for example, better management of the Mekong river basin, better urban planning in the mega-cities of Asia, and measuring sea level change, modelling sea inundation and assessing coastal vulnerability in Pacific island states.
Fighting Avoidable Blindness
Australia will invest $45 million over two years on meetings its election commitment to help eliminate avoidable blindness in the region and on establishing a comprehensive strategy for addressing disability in partner developing countries.
Most funding will be used to support a pilot eye and vision care program to address blindness and vision impairment, including by expanding the number of qualified eye health workers.
UN Partnership for MDGs
Australia will invest an additional $200 million over four years to strengthen partnerships with key United Nations development agencies.
Australian development assistance will boost the capacity of UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, UNIFEM, UNDP, UNOCHA, and UNAIDS to lead global efforts to realise the Millennium Development Goals. Core funding for these organisations enable Australia to contribute to work on issues as diverse as increasing child literacy, improving maternal and child health and the empowerment of women in countries beyond our own region.
Pacific Land Program
Australia will invest $54 million over four years, with $6.5 million in 2008‑09, to protect customary land rights, promote economic and social development, and reduce the potential for instability through land-related conflict in the Pacific.
Assistance will support partner government‑led improvements in land administration. Australian funding will help address the challenges to land use and ownership from urbanisation. Clarification of land title is a key prerequisite for private investment. Funding will also improve the skills of professionals and semi‑professionals in areas such as planning, surveying and valuing.
Pacific Regional Infrastructure Facility
Australia will invest $127 million over four years, with $5.5 million in 2008-09, to improve basic infrastructure services in the Pacific.
Targeted support to Pacific island nations will address local constraints to growth and challenges to nation building and stability. Australian funding for improved infrastructure services in both rural and urban areas including transport, water, sanitation, waste management, energy and communications will facilitate growth and enable more Pacific islanders to participate in the development process.
Investing in Pacific Public Sector Capacity
Australia will invest $107 million over four years, with $6 million in 2008-09, to strengthen public sector administration in the Pacific.
Funding will improve public sector performance by supporting management and policy reform, while also providing immediate assistance to improve individual and institutional capacity in priority areas as identified by partner governments in the region. The inititive will address a key impediment to poverty reduction, by helping to improve service delivery and enable growth.
Afghanistan Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance
Australia will contribute $62 million in 2008-09, through AusAID, in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan to help meet the basic health, education and food needs of Afghans living in Afghanistan and the reintegration and protection of Afghans from bordering countries.
Total Australian Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Afghanistan in 2008-09 is estimated to total $122 million, including AusAID expenditure and ODA-eligible expenditure by other government departments.
Assistance with ongoing humanitarian needs will be complemented by assistance focused on rebuilding a stable Afghanistan. Australian assistance will strengthen the capacity, transparency and accountability of the Afghan Government and administration (including in law enforcement).
Australian assistance will help build government and civil society capacity to deliver improved basic services, promote human rights awareness and support community-led recovery. Australia will also provide land mine risk education and removal, in addition to rehabilitation assistance for those injured by land mines.
In addition to assistance delivered at the national level, in Oruzgan Province and on the border region with Pakistan, Australia will support local reconstruction and technical training.
Iraq Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance
Australia will provide $140 million over three years, with $60 million in 2008-09, for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction priorities and to assist in building the capacity of the Iraqi Government in key sectors.
The Australian Government's enhanced package of assistance will help meet the immediate humanitarian needs of Iraq's vulnerable civilian population by providing access to essential food items, emergency shelter, clean water and adequate sanitation and basic health services. It will improve Iraqi Government capacity and assist reconstruction efforts in Iraq by improving basic services, particularly in agriculture, and supporting mine risk education.
To deliver this assistance, the Government will work closely with key international humanitarian and development agencies including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Media Contacts:
Courtney Hoogen (Mr Smith's Office) 0488 244 901
Sabina Curatolo (Mr McMullan's Office) 0400 318 205
Brian Mitchell (Mr Kerr's Office) 0434 160 539
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
AA0838
13 May 2008
2008-09 International Development Assistance Budget
The 2008-09 Budget lays the foundation for implementing the Government's long-term commitment to increase Australia's Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2015-16.
Australia will provide an estimated $3.7 billion in ODA in 2008-09, increasing Australia's ratio of ODA to GNI from 0.30 per cent in 2007-08 to 0.32 per cent in 2008-09. The Government expects to increase Australia's ODA to levels equivalent to 0.35 per cent of GNI in 2009-10, 0.37 per cent of GNI in 2010-11 and 0.38 per cent of GNI in 2011-12.
The new measures contained in this Budget give effect to the Government's election commitments to address climate change adaptation needs, establish Australian leadership on disability and eliminating avoidable blindness and improve access to clean water and sanitation.
The 2008-09 Budget increases the focus of the program on practical development outcomes, promoting faster progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and greater attention to alleviating the situation of the vulnerable.
In 2008-09 Australia will scale up expenditure in major sectors influencing MDG outcomes, including education (up 5 per cent), health (up 8 per cent), rural development (up 7 per cent), environment (up 7 per cent) and infrastructure (up 17 per cent). Assistance to help the most vulnerable, particularly those who suffer disability or who are refugees or victims of humanitarian crisis, will also increase.
Budget Highlights
Making faster progress towards the MDGs
The Australian Government is committed to helping developing country partners attain the MDGs. Most developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region can claim progress in meeting some of the MDGs, however, none is on course to achieve them all. Making faster progress on the MDGs requires a concerted and well-coordinated global response.
Australia's development assistance helps partners expand economic activity to create jobs and raise incomes, combat disease and improve nutrition, raise basic educational attainment, and improve the responsiveness and accountability of the state in meeting citizens' basic needs.
The Government will increase Australia's multilateral engagement, through increased multilateral development financing and a major increase of $200 million over four years in Australia's core funding for key UN agencies leading efforts to achieve the MDGs.
New multi-year allocations are made to improve access to clean water and basic sanitation ($300 million over three years) and to meet high priority climate adaptation needs in vulnerable countries ($150 million over three years), implementing the election commitments made by the Government.
Priority will be given to helping the Pacific and Papua New Guinea achieve the MDGs through expanded assistance in 2008-09. New programs focusing on infrastructure development, land administration and public sector capacity building will contribute to the Pacific Partnerships for Development outlined in the Prime Minister's March 2008 Port Moresby Declaration. The partnerships will provide a new framework for Australia and the Pacific island nations to commit jointly to achieving improved development outcomes, on the basis of mutual respect and mutual responsibility.
Addressing the needs of the vulnerable
Action to address disadvantage and vulnerability is essential to alleviating poverty in our region. The most vulnerable include those who suffer disability or who are refugees or victims of humanitarian crisis. They are cut off from access to basic services and the opportunity to improve their quality of life.
A significant scaling up in assistance for some of the most vulnerable - those suffering avoidable blindness and people with disabilities - will commence in 2008-09, piloting approaches to better eye and vision care and developing a strategy for addressing disability needs through the development assistance program.
Increasing assistance will be provided to new partners including Iraq and Afghanistan in transition from conflict. Increased assistance will support vulnerable civilian populations and help underpin reconstruction.
Further details on development assistance initiatives in the 2008-09 Budget are provided below.
Access to Clean Water and Effective Sanitation
Australia will invest $300 million over three years, with $8 million in 2008-09, to address the critical challenge to health and wellbeing posed by inadequate access to clean water and sanitation.
This initiative will improve access for the poor to clean water and effective sanitation in urban, peri-urban and rural areas and provide more predictable water supply by protecting fresh water sources. Better management of water resources and improved sanitation will reduce the transmission of disease and lead to improved health for poor people, particularly women and children.
Adaptation to Climate Change
Australia will invest $150 million over three years, with $35 million in 2008‑09, to meet urgent climate change adaptation needs in vulnerable countries in Australia's region.
Funding will support improved scientific information on climate change impacts, more effective strategic planning and vulnerability assessments and the implementation of high priority adaptation measures, for example, by better protecting infrastructure from extreme weather events and securing fresh water supplies. Funding will increase planning and investment in responses that reduce the vulnerability of communities. Support will address specific country and regional needs, for example, better management of the Mekong river basin, better urban planning in the mega-cities of Asia, and measuring sea level change, modelling sea inundation and assessing coastal vulnerability in Pacific island states.
Fighting Avoidable Blindness
Australia will invest $45 million over two years on meetings its election commitment to help eliminate avoidable blindness in the region and on establishing a comprehensive strategy for addressing disability in partner developing countries.
Most funding will be used to support a pilot eye and vision care program to address blindness and vision impairment, including by expanding the number of qualified eye health workers.
UN Partnership for MDGs
Australia will invest an additional $200 million over four years to strengthen partnerships with key United Nations development agencies.
Australian development assistance will boost the capacity of UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, UNIFEM, UNDP, UNOCHA, and UNAIDS to lead global efforts to realise the Millennium Development Goals. Core funding for these organisations enable Australia to contribute to work on issues as diverse as increasing child literacy, improving maternal and child health and the empowerment of women in countries beyond our own region.
Pacific Land Program
Australia will invest $54 million over four years, with $6.5 million in 2008‑09, to protect customary land rights, promote economic and social development, and reduce the potential for instability through land-related conflict in the Pacific.
Assistance will support partner government‑led improvements in land administration. Australian funding will help address the challenges to land use and ownership from urbanisation. Clarification of land title is a key prerequisite for private investment. Funding will also improve the skills of professionals and semi‑professionals in areas such as planning, surveying and valuing.
Pacific Regional Infrastructure Facility
Australia will invest $127 million over four years, with $5.5 million in 2008-09, to improve basic infrastructure services in the Pacific.
Targeted support to Pacific island nations will address local constraints to growth and challenges to nation building and stability. Australian funding for improved infrastructure services in both rural and urban areas including transport, water, sanitation, waste management, energy and communications will facilitate growth and enable more Pacific islanders to participate in the development process.
Investing in Pacific Public Sector Capacity
Australia will invest $107 million over four years, with $6 million in 2008-09, to strengthen public sector administration in the Pacific.
Funding will improve public sector performance by supporting management and policy reform, while also providing immediate assistance to improve individual and institutional capacity in priority areas as identified by partner governments in the region. The inititive will address a key impediment to poverty reduction, by helping to improve service delivery and enable growth.
Afghanistan Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance
Australia will contribute $62 million in 2008-09, through AusAID, in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan to help meet the basic health, education and food needs of Afghans living in Afghanistan and the reintegration and protection of Afghans from bordering countries.
Total Australian Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Afghanistan in 2008-09 is estimated to total $122 million, including AusAID expenditure and ODA-eligible expenditure by other government departments.
Assistance with ongoing humanitarian needs will be complemented by assistance focused on rebuilding a stable Afghanistan. Australian assistance will strengthen the capacity, transparency and accountability of the Afghan Government and administration (including in law enforcement).
Australian assistance will help build government and civil society capacity to deliver improved basic services, promote human rights awareness and support community-led recovery. Australia will also provide land mine risk education and removal, in addition to rehabilitation assistance for those injured by land mines.
In addition to assistance delivered at the national level, in Oruzgan Province and on the border region with Pakistan, Australia will support local reconstruction and technical training.
Iraq Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance
Australia will provide $140 million over three years, with $60 million in 2008-09, for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction priorities and to assist in building the capacity of the Iraqi Government in key sectors.
The Australian Government's enhanced package of assistance will help meet the immediate humanitarian needs of Iraq's vulnerable civilian population by providing access to essential food items, emergency shelter, clean water and adequate sanitation and basic health services. It will improve Iraqi Government capacity and assist reconstruction efforts in Iraq by improving basic services, particularly in agriculture, and supporting mine risk education.
To deliver this assistance, the Government will work closely with key international humanitarian and development agencies including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Media Contacts:
Courtney Hoogen (Mr Smith's Office) 0488 244 901
Sabina Curatolo (Mr McMullan's Office) 0400 318 205
Brian Mitchell (Mr Kerr's Office) 0434 160 539
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Obama may declare victory on May 20 - The Australian - 9th May 2008
DEMOCRATIC White House hopeful Barack Obama said today he could declare victory over Hillary Clinton on May 20, when Kentucky and Oregon may put him over the top in terms of elected delegates.
"If at that point we have the majority of pledged delegates, which is possible, then I think we can make a pretty strong claim that we have got the most runs and it's the ninth inning and we have won," he told NBC television, referring to the final inning of a baseball game.
"But, you know, I think it is also important for us to, if we win, do so in a way that brings the party together," said the Illinois senator, who has refused to join calls for Senator Clinton to quit the acrimonious race.
"One of the obvious big concerns that all of us have is making sure that we focus our attention on the Republicans in the fall, and we're in a strong position to do that," Senator Obama said.
According to his campaign, Senator Obama needs just 33 more pledged delegates to reach a majority of the Democratic nominating officials, 1606.
A total of 28 are up for grabs next Wednesday in West Virginia, which is considered Clinton country. Then on May 20, Oregon will elect 52 delegates and Kentucky 51.
But while a majority of pledged delegates would be potent symbolically, Senator Obama would still need support from Democratic grandees called "superdelegates" to reach the final winning line for the nomination - 2025.
Agencies
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
"If at that point we have the majority of pledged delegates, which is possible, then I think we can make a pretty strong claim that we have got the most runs and it's the ninth inning and we have won," he told NBC television, referring to the final inning of a baseball game.
"But, you know, I think it is also important for us to, if we win, do so in a way that brings the party together," said the Illinois senator, who has refused to join calls for Senator Clinton to quit the acrimonious race.
"One of the obvious big concerns that all of us have is making sure that we focus our attention on the Republicans in the fall, and we're in a strong position to do that," Senator Obama said.
According to his campaign, Senator Obama needs just 33 more pledged delegates to reach a majority of the Democratic nominating officials, 1606.
A total of 28 are up for grabs next Wednesday in West Virginia, which is considered Clinton country. Then on May 20, Oregon will elect 52 delegates and Kentucky 51.
But while a majority of pledged delegates would be potent symbolically, Senator Obama would still need support from Democratic grandees called "superdelegates" to reach the final winning line for the nomination - 2025.
Agencies
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Friday, May 09, 2008
Count starts in Pennsylvania, By staff writers and wires -23rd April 2008 - News.com.au
* Hillary Clinton tipped to win Pennsylvania primary
* But even with a win she will still be behind
* Pennsylvania primary: Latest campaign pictures
HILLARY Clinton needs a big win in today's Pennsylvania primary to keep alive her improbable US presidential campaign.
The New York senator was tipped for victory in late opinion polls, but many observers think it will take a double-digit triumph to stave off more calls for her to quit the epic Democratic nomination race.
Senator Clinton, however, said that a simple victory would be enough. "I think a win under any circumstances is a terrific accomplishment," she said after greeting supporters at a polling station who chanted "Madam President".
Polls have closed in the state and US media have reported a tight battle in the early count.
While the battle has stretched on for well over 12 months, many are starting to wish it could be settled in 12 rounds. Wrestling body WWE has imagined what it would be like if the candidates just settled their differences in the ring.
See the animation here:
All three candidates sent the WWE a taped message to be played on primary day:
Senator Obama downplayed the likelihood that he could win in Pennsylvania, a victory that would likely knock Senator Clinton out of the race, but pointed out that he had whittled down her lead in most polls from 20 points to single figures.
"I have come to the conclusion that this race will continue until the last primary or caucus vote is cast. And that's not that far away," he said. "Should I end up being the nominee, the work that we've done here in Pennsylvania I think will be extraordinarily helpful in the general election," he said.
Senator Clinton needs a fresh burst of momentum ahead of the next round of contests in Indiana and North Carolina on May 7 (Australian time), which are followed quickly by the last six voting showdowns of the nominating marathon into early June.
There are 158 pledged delegates up for grabs today, the most of any of the remaining contests.
She played up Senator Obama's significant fundraising edge, which has allowed him to triple her advertising buy in the north-eastern state, according to her campaign's estimates.
"Maybe the question ought to be, why can't he close the deal with his extraordinary financial advantage, why can't he win a state like this one if that is the way it turns out?"
Figures released by the US Federal Election Commission have shown Senator Obama's war chest at the start of April at more than $US51 million ($54 million) to Senator Clinton's $US31 million ($33 million).
Senator Clinton is making her case to Democratic "superdelegates", the party officials who will now effectively crown the nominee, since neither candidate is likely to reach the 2025 pledged delegates needed to win outright.
But Senator Clinton is also unlikely to be able to overhaul Senator Obama's lead in delegates even with strong wins in the remaining contests. She also trails him in the popular vote and the number of states won.
Her only remaining hope is to convince the superdelegates that only she can win a general election match-up against Republican John McCain. Part of that strategy involves staying alive as long as possible and hoping Senator Obama self-destructs.
In an indication Senator Obama knows he will not win today, he is due to move straight on to Indiana later in the night, while Senator Clinton has scheduled a victory party in Philadelphia.
- with AFP correspondents in Philadelphia
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
* But even with a win she will still be behind
* Pennsylvania primary: Latest campaign pictures
HILLARY Clinton needs a big win in today's Pennsylvania primary to keep alive her improbable US presidential campaign.
The New York senator was tipped for victory in late opinion polls, but many observers think it will take a double-digit triumph to stave off more calls for her to quit the epic Democratic nomination race.
Senator Clinton, however, said that a simple victory would be enough. "I think a win under any circumstances is a terrific accomplishment," she said after greeting supporters at a polling station who chanted "Madam President".
Polls have closed in the state and US media have reported a tight battle in the early count.
While the battle has stretched on for well over 12 months, many are starting to wish it could be settled in 12 rounds. Wrestling body WWE has imagined what it would be like if the candidates just settled their differences in the ring.
See the animation here:
All three candidates sent the WWE a taped message to be played on primary day:
Senator Obama downplayed the likelihood that he could win in Pennsylvania, a victory that would likely knock Senator Clinton out of the race, but pointed out that he had whittled down her lead in most polls from 20 points to single figures.
"I have come to the conclusion that this race will continue until the last primary or caucus vote is cast. And that's not that far away," he said. "Should I end up being the nominee, the work that we've done here in Pennsylvania I think will be extraordinarily helpful in the general election," he said.
Senator Clinton needs a fresh burst of momentum ahead of the next round of contests in Indiana and North Carolina on May 7 (Australian time), which are followed quickly by the last six voting showdowns of the nominating marathon into early June.
There are 158 pledged delegates up for grabs today, the most of any of the remaining contests.
She played up Senator Obama's significant fundraising edge, which has allowed him to triple her advertising buy in the north-eastern state, according to her campaign's estimates.
"Maybe the question ought to be, why can't he close the deal with his extraordinary financial advantage, why can't he win a state like this one if that is the way it turns out?"
Figures released by the US Federal Election Commission have shown Senator Obama's war chest at the start of April at more than $US51 million ($54 million) to Senator Clinton's $US31 million ($33 million).
Senator Clinton is making her case to Democratic "superdelegates", the party officials who will now effectively crown the nominee, since neither candidate is likely to reach the 2025 pledged delegates needed to win outright.
But Senator Clinton is also unlikely to be able to overhaul Senator Obama's lead in delegates even with strong wins in the remaining contests. She also trails him in the popular vote and the number of states won.
Her only remaining hope is to convince the superdelegates that only she can win a general election match-up against Republican John McCain. Part of that strategy involves staying alive as long as possible and hoping Senator Obama self-destructs.
In an indication Senator Obama knows he will not win today, he is due to move straight on to Indiana later in the night, while Senator Clinton has scheduled a victory party in Philadelphia.
- with AFP correspondents in Philadelphia
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
McCain, Obama Tag Team Hillary - TMZ - 21st April 2008
First wrestlers got into politics (Jesse Ventura, anyone?) -- now politicians are getting into wrestling. And it's on TV tonight.
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain each taped a short video that will be played during tonight's show. It's hard to figure out which one comes across more out of touch -- Hillary (calling herself "Hill-Rod"), Barack ("Can you smell what Barack is cooking!") or McCain (calling his backers "McCainiacs").
If Hillary takes on The Undertaker, our money's on Hil.
Website
Media Man Australia Profiles
Wrestling
Politics
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain each taped a short video that will be played during tonight's show. It's hard to figure out which one comes across more out of touch -- Hillary (calling herself "Hill-Rod"), Barack ("Can you smell what Barack is cooking!") or McCain (calling his backers "McCainiacs").
If Hillary takes on The Undertaker, our money's on Hil.
Website
Media Man Australia Profiles
Wrestling
Politics
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