Halikos Group were ultimately awarded the land for free, despite another developer offering $30 million for the site.

Its time wrote on Mar 19^th, 2018 at 1:11am:


The more you look at these older videos the more you realise just how far back libs systemic corruption goes and how utterly beholden they're to putting big business interests first and foremost

Its time wrote on Mar 24^th, 2018 at 9:59am:


"Because mate.... Because mate, I wanna do you slowly.... I wanna do you slowly...."

Its time wrote on Mar 21^st, 2018 at 1:48pm:


Yes.

"Northern Territory Auditor-General Julie Crisp found serious issues with the awarding of the 168-hectare former Berrimah Farm site to Halikos Group in 2015 under the Country Liberal Party, including that the valuation of the land was rushed, no cost-benefit analysis existed and financial and reputational risks were not adequately mitigated."

The Government's Chief Whip was 10 years late in declaring she had sold interests in an entity whose members are set to benefit from $140 million in funding.

Government funding for a project to improve water quality in south-west Western Australia has been announced today — despite Infrastructure Australia saying last year the case for public funding "is not clear".

Three separate times in the past decade Nola Marino, Liberal MP for Forrest in Western Australia, declared she had a stake in two bodies linked to the project.

But on April 9 she disclosed she no longer holds any shares in the two entities that make up South West Irrigation, claiming her holdings were transferred to her husband in 2008 soon after she entered Parliament.

Her husband remains on the board of one of the entities.

The project promises to deliver better quality water to members of South West Irrigation.

In addition, property she owns is in the area set to benefit from the project, according to the project plan (the map is provided below).

Ms Marino told the ABC that the Myalup-Wellington Dam Project was a "massive boon" for the region.

"These decisions have been made by the Federal and State Government - completely independent of myself," she said.

"All required disclosures were made prior to this announcement."

Question of public funding

South West Irrigation entity Harvey Water — a cooperative which sells water for local farmers — is involved in the Myalup-Wellington Dam water project, which will receive $140 million in funding and an additional $50 million concessional loan, announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull today.

According to the latest annual report it will invest $30 million and reap benefits such as the "supply of better quality water to Collie River Irrigation Districts Members and other customers".

Mr Turnbull said today the project will "divert high-saline inflows upstream from Wellington Dam for desalination, improving the quality of water stored in and released from the dam for agriculture".

Ms Marino's latest disclosure — 10 years late according to rules governing the register of interests — contradicts three other declarations she has made since being elected in 2007.

Despite the apparent breach of the disclosure regime, Ms Marino did not accept she made an error.

"The shares were transferred over 10 years ago to my husband," she told the ABC earlier in April, claiming she wanted to "further clarify" this in the latest disclosure.

She has recently taken up a position on the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources.

Regional benefits

Asked to address the apparent conflict of interest, she noted that the Wellington Dam "isn't located in my electorate, it's in the seat of O'Connor".

The project is set to provide water to the Myalup area, where Mr and Mrs Marino have disclosed they own property.

Ms Marino's husband, Charlie Marino, is on the board of one of the South West Irrigation entities.

The couple are dairy farmers in the area.

The project was assessed by Infrastructure Australia last year.

Despite identifying the project as a "priority project" and praising its economic potential, the independent infrastructure adviser described the case for public funding as "not clear".

"The benefits to users are predominantly private, accruing to [project owner] Collie Water, [the state's] Water Corporation and agricultural producers," the document, released in November, reads.

"It is not clear how Australian Government funding would address a market failure which could not be addressed by the proponent, private sector or WA Government."

MPs who breach the rules governing the register of interests face a charge of "serious contempt" of the House of Representatives.

Last year it was feared calls for federal funding for the Wellington Dam project had been ignored in favour of support for the Murray-Darling Basin.

By The Say NO Seven

Most Australians have a basic understanding and uncomfortable acceptance that a certain amount of pork barrelling goes on within political circles.

To define the term, “pork barrel” is “… a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localised projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative’s district. This form of political device helps attract campaign contributions and the support of local voters.”

Essentially, the pork barrel is considered the primary means for securing voter patronage, which in turn is the most effective strategy to win elections.

What happens though, when pork-barrelling moves beyond this electioneering context and is utilized instead as a strategic method for securing support for government policies and programs anathema to social justice and the national interest?

In our investigation into the implementation processes of the Indue LTD Cashless Debit Card Trial [CDCT] in Ceduna South Australia, this was one of the first questions raised as we noted the abundance of new grants and other funding that had suddenly materialized in the area in the lead up to the card trial that began in March 2016. This conveniently timed funding boom was distinct from those funds allocated to local area service groups under the trial legislation’s ‘wrap around services’ package designed to support the cards implementation processes.

To date we have been able to trace amounts that exceed 50 million dollars, in Federal, State and other funding arriving into the Ceduna region following the decision by Ceduna District Council to take on the Indue LTD Card Trial.

During the period of negotiations between government CDC teams and Ceduna officials as early as April 2015, concerns were raised by local residents and some service groups that threats were being made by officials to the effect that funding reductions could be a possibility should agreement to the demands for a card trial not be forthcoming. Complaints were also made regarding several obvious conflicts of interests this funding was creating as regards the investments of Ceduna council friendly groups and businesses.

The issue of threats to reduce already skeletal funding to local services was never investigated and consumer complaints were dismissed out of hand by Council itself or brushed aside as the petty concerns of angry alcoholics and “welfare bludgers” in local and national media. Worse, given the federal Governments media mantra that the card’s primary purpose was to stop violence and alcoholism, those who rejected the imposition of this trial locally and raised legitimate concerns nationally, were further labelled as being closet supporters of child abuse, domestic violence and addiction.

As an example of early funding boosts, among the many projects we investigated, was a December 2015 decision by the Federal Government to fund a fish unloading facility in Ceduna, which had for eight years, recorded multiple unsuccessful attempts to gain Federal or State funding support.

Speaking shortly after the 2013 denial of this same funding, somewhat ironically, the District Council of Ceduna Mayor Allan Suter remarked to media “It appears funding was taken from the regional process and put into campaigning in the Sydney Metro areas, which is another case of Government pork barrelling.”

This facility development project grant was conveniently granted $10 million dollars in funding in December 2015, $4.3 million of which extends from Round Two of the Australian Government’s National Stronger Regions Fund.

We also examined over $8 million in grant funding given to the community of Yalata, a primary card trial site in the Ceduna catchment following Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s visit in November 2016.

Yalata Anangu School principal Bob Sim ecstatic at receiving a much needed $2.5 million share of the new funding pool, stated that this grant money would be used to build an early learning centre for children up to the age of five, on the existing school grounds. The remainder of Yalata grant pool to be utilised on upgrades to infrastructure in the area including money for a caravan park, roadhouse and the area’s rubbish tip. As Mr Sim rightly declared in media, “The effects from the grant would be felt throughout the community.”

On the one hand Australians nationwide were hearing from Alan Tudge in media about the ‘extensive community engagement and consultation processes underway’ in Ceduna, yet from the documented evidence presented to the Senate Estimates Committee via On Notice questions – many of which are still as yet unanswered, it is clear that no such community consultation or decision-making process ever took place.

It was only much later after the decision had already been made by Council to host the trial, that this consultative circle widened to include selected community groups now known as “regional leadership groups” whose inclusion was contingent on their approval of the card trial program. One example of this being the Ceduna Aboriginal Corporation [CAC], whom we are informed, had exhausted funding just prior to its selection for “community engagement” and subsequently has now had funding renewed. According to State Parliamentary committee records, two more groups selected for inclusion at this stage also reported that they had no ongoing funding as July 1st, 2015. The CAC itself, an organisation essential to maintaining any appearance of community support for the card trial in Ceduna, is still one of Alan Tudge’s most oft utilised star community consultant groups in press releases and speeches today.

Needless to say, groups or organisations opposed to the trial card, were not given any democratic access to decision making facilitators. They were given no representation, media voice or community placement in negotiations whatsoever. No general consultation meetings were held, nothing resembling a community vote on the card trial was taken and submissions that were given to council that reflected opposition viewpoints or alternatives, while remaining on record, have in effect been ignored or negated to irrelevancy.

As regards the few public information meetings available to income recipients, residents were simply informed of the fait accompli and what this would mean for them. Therefore, it is no surprise that this was not seen as an authentic consultative process by them, rather a soapbox or stage for Ceduna Councils decisions. These meetings were duly rejected by the majority of income support recipients as “useless” as all the exceedingly important negotiations regarding choice, recipient concerns, alternatives, local funding choices, viable projects, community needs assessments, risks assessments, card trial perimeters – essentially all decision making and deficit recording did not include them, or indeed any community groups or services from the get go.

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