If honesty and accountability had been a compulsory part of election campaigning we may have ended up with a different result after Saturday’s election, says Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro Catherine Moore.

“The Greens ran a positive campaign, but without the backing of Australia’s biggest media magnate and millions of campaign dollars to use on advertising and leaflets, it was always going to be hard to get our message across,” says Catherine.

“This was compounded by the commonly expressed view of media commentators that there was no point in talking to other parties because only the ALP or Coalition would win the election, and the misinformation that was perpetuated, particularly by the Coalition, about The Greens.

“But the success of Adam Bandt has shown that where Greens are elected, they enjoy enormous support and are likely to be re-elected, no matter what preference deals are done by others in an attempt to keep them out. (more…)

Former speaker of the NSW Legislative Assembly Richard Torbay has been directly linked to the lifting of the heritage listing on a property owned by a major campaign donor.

(‘The developer, the $100k gift and the ‘highly effective’ MP’ Sydney Morning Herald 9 May, p. 1)

Documents obtained by Greens NSW MP John Kaye show that Mr Torbay set up a meeting between the then Planning Minister Tony Kelly and the owners of the heritage-listed property Graham and Georgiana McCullagh.

Six months later Mr Torbay received a $100,000 donation from a McCullagh-owned company. (more…)

As the O’Farrell government enters the second half of its term, the Greens NSW MPs have put together a report card on the government’s worst failures, and the Greens’ top achievements for a more sustainable and caring NSW.

The O’Farrell government:

• launched attacks on wages and conditions of teachers, nurses and other public sector workers, and drastic cuts to our workers compensation laws
• overturned the 26-year ban on uranium exploration in NSW, prompting widespread community concern and condemnation
• savaged schools and TAFE, stripping a staggering $1.6 billion of funding from public education
• opened up national parks to recreational hunters for the sake of a political deal with the extreme Shooters Party to enable electricity privatisation
• broke an election promise to oppose mining in drinking water catchments with approval of massive coal mine in the Sydney catchment
• gave tunnel vision priority to more tollways with $1.8 billion committed to the WestConnex without traffic modelling or cost-benefit analysis
• launched a “dob-in a rorter” program that demonised public housing tenants, while failing to clear the maintenance backlog and left tens of thousands on social housing waiting lists.
• watered down coal seam gas policy, failing to protect our farming lands and water with a weak strategic land use policy
• proposed child protection reforms that focus on punitive approaches to parents in at-risk families and prioritising adoption under short time-frames
• eroded civil liberties and failed to deal with police accountability - from the expansion of the sniffer dogs program, the removal of the right to silence and the failure to ensure that police do not investigate police
• squandered opportunity to transition to low carbon clean energy economy throwing $11 billion of wind industry investment into doubt with unrealistic and unreasonable wind farm guidelines.
• trashed marine science with the closure of The Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre of Excellence and continuing the deal with the Shooters Party for a moratorium on new marine parks
• replaced one pro-developer planning system with another, failing to put planning decisions back in the hands of local communities

(more…)

The O’Farrell government’s continued generosity to the pubs and clubs lobby is causing untold damage to communities across the state, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

Dr Kaye said: “A recent Monash University study revealed that the charitable contributions made by clubs are ‘’minuscule'’ compared to their massive profits from gaming machines. The O’Farrell government’s response is to offer further pokies tax concessions to clubs and pubs and extend existing ‘hardship’ schemes.

“Many businesses are struggling to survive after the extreme weather events of the past year.

“However directing the government’s flood relief to pubs and clubs via poker machine tax breaks will only inflict more harm on communities affected by gambling addiction. (more…)

New data released today by the Australian Electoral Commission for 2010/2011, showing that $24.7 million dollars in donations has flowed to the federal divisions of Labor and Coalition parties, helps explain the reluctance of the Gillard government and Coalition to show leadership on federal funding reform, says Greens Senator and Australian Greens democracy spokesperson Lee Rhiannon (detailed summary available shortly on www.democracy4sale.org).

“This new donations data shows that the culture of donations is alive and well in Australia and that industries such as mining, gambling and ethanol are continuing to line the pockets of Labor and the Coalition,” Senator Rhiannon said.

“Federal Labor disclosed $12.1 million, though only $10.8 million were donations above the $11,700 threshold, the federal Coalition parties disclosed $9.3 million and the Australian Greens disclosed $3.1 million in donations.

“Shamefully, the Coalition parties, both federally and in NSW, continue to accept money from tobacco companies, totalling $87,500 last year. (more…)

New data released today by the Australian Electoral Commission for 2010/2011, showing that $24.7 million dollars in donations has flowed to the federal divisions of Labor and Coalition parties, helps explain the reluctance of the Gillard government and Coalition to show leadership on federal funding reform, says Greens Senator and Australian Greens democracy spokesperson Lee Rhiannon (detailed summary available shortly on www.democracy4sale.org).

“This new donations data shows that the culture of donations is alive and well in Australia and that industries such as mining, gambling and ethanol are continuing to line the pockets of Labor and the Coalition,” Senator Rhiannon said.

“Federal Labor disclosed $12.1 million, though only $10.8 million were donations above the $11,700 threshold, the federal Coalition parties disclosed $9.3 million and the Australian Greens disclosed $3.1 million in donations.

“Shamefully, the Coalition parties, both federally and in NSW, continue to accept money from tobacco companies, totalling $87,500 last year. (more…)

Greens MP Jamie Parker has today criticised the O’Farrell government for gagging debate on its Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Amendment Bill.

“The government today closed the debate and prevented several members, including myself, from debating this important reform,” said Jamie Parker.

“This gag undermines the government’s claim of being committed to transparency. (more…)

Green bans campaigner Jack Mundey today joined Greens MP and Lead Upper House candidate David Shoebridge and Balmain, Marrickville and Maroubra Greens candidates, all Mayors, overlooking the Barangaroo site to launch the Greens plan to overhaul planning laws (page 6, SMH today) - summary below, read detail here http://nsw.greens.org.au/greens-planning-overhaul.

Greens MP and Lead Upper House candidate David Shoebridge said “four weeks out from an election and after 16 years in opposition, the Coalition still doesn’t have a planning policy.

“The Greens have been actively campaigning to fix NSW’s broken planning laws for more than a decade.  We know what is wrong with planning in NSW and we have a clear idea of how to fix it.

“First off NSW needs an Independent State Planning Commission to replace the current system of Planning Ministers making scores of discretionary planning approvals under Part 3A of the Planning Act.

“Part 3A has delivered planning disasters around the State, from the catastrophe of over development here at Barangaroo to developments like Hearnes Lake in Port Macquarie where hundreds of houses have been approved by the Minister on a flood prone coastal wetland. (more…)

Launching two potential new Greens Upper House MPs at parliament today, Greens MP and lead Upper House candidate David Shoebridge warned of the damage that will be done to public services and the environment if the Coalition gains control of the Upper House by joining forces with conservative crossbenchers like Fred Nile and Shooters Party MPs.

David Shoebridge said, “The Upper House was designed as a house of review, to carefully scrutinise decisions of the Lower House. But on current polling the Coalition is set to control the Upper House by doing the bidding of Fred Nile and the Shooters Party, in exchange for their support to get  legislation through.

“The Greens offer voters a check on the bankrupt agenda of the Shooters, which could see hunting in national parks, an end to new or expanded marine parks and the further weakening of NSW gun laws, and Fred Nile’s conservative anti-muslim, anti-gay agenda.

The Greens outlined some key priorities in the Upper House post-election: returning planning laws to the community; protecting National Parks from hunting and commercialisation; campaigning for integrated public transport in city and regional areas; supporting the transition away from coal to renewable energy and ending corporate donations. (more…)

The Greens’ move to ban all political campaign donations from tobacco companies will successfully pass both houses of parliament  with government support. It will become law in time for the 2011 election funding period. (‘Tobacco cash ban will hit Coalition’, Sydney Morning Herald 9 November, page 1).

Greens NSW MP John Kaye said that without the ban, tobacco control in NSW will be almost impossible under a future Coalition government.

Since the 2003 election, the Liberals and National parties have received more than $600,000 in donations from an industry that is directly responsible for more than 5,000 deaths and 42,000 hospitalisations each year. (more…)