the bushfires - Letter from Melbourne

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21 FEBRUARY TO 6 APRIL 2009 14 Collins Street Melbourne, 3000 Victoria, Australia P 03 9654 1300 F 03 9654 1165 info@affairs.com.au www.letterfrommelbourne.com.au Editor Associate Editor Sub-Editor Copy-Editor Subscription Manager Design Alistair Urquhart Rick Brown Hamish Brooks Robyn Whiteley Andrea Hodgkinson Ray Zhang Letter From Melbourne is a monthly public affairs bulletin, a simple précis, distilling and interpreting public policy and government decisions, which affect business opportunities in Victoria and Australia. Written for the regular traveller, or people with meeting-filled days, you only have to miss reading the The Age or The Herald Sun twice a week to need Letter From Melbourne. It’s more about business opportunities (or lack of them) than politics. It’s not Crikey.com. We keep the words to a minimum. Letter From Melbourne is independent. It’s not party political or any other political. It does not have the imprimatur of government at any level. For context. It includes events and people and society, and the weather if that is important. Increasingly, Letter From Melbourne is developing a federal and national coverage and also an increasing synopsis of national business issues. The only communications tool of its type, Letter From Melbourne keeps subscribers abreast of recent developments in the policy arena on a local, state and federal level. You can read it on a flight from Melbourne once a month or with a good cup of coffee. ADVERTISE WITH US The perfect platform to attract the attention of the who’s who of Melbourne’s public and private sector. for a copy of our media kit or information regarding advertising with LETTER FROM MELBOURNE please contact Alistair Urquhart alistair@affairs.com.au +61 3 9654 1300 Published by A.B Urquhart & Company Pty Ltd trading as Affairs of State. Disclaimer: Material in this publication is general comment and not intended as advice on any particular matter. Professional advice should be sought before action is taken. Material is complied from various sources including newspaper articles, press releases, government publications, Hansard, trade journals, etc. © This newsletter is copyright. No part may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission from the publisher. Affairs of State respects your privacy. While we do believe that the information contained in Letter from Melbourne will be useful to you, please advise us if you do not wish to receive any further communications from us. EDITORIAL: OUR CONTINUING CHALLENGES The leader of the Opposition has been getting a caning from the media as not having the methodology and clout to convince the people to vote for the Opposition at the next state election, due about November 2010. Nearby, other news articles suggests that the fuss over the hospitals not declaring the true state of their waiting lists makes the health system look as bad as the public transport system. Other articles and experts have been very critical of the need for, or speed of construction of, certain large water infrastructure projects, which are being planned, or built. Our Lord Mayor is developing his (mayoral) character with some real sense when he talks about adding some human and community aspects to the suburb of Docklands, less sensibly suggesting that we have airport style taxi ranks rather than being able to just hail a cab in the street, and for some mirth, suggesting that Adelaide has so little going for it that the city should be ‘shut down’. He is speaking a little like London’s mayor Boris Johnson, who has entered the international GFC debate by frivolously suggesting that protesters at the G20 summit in London should be trained to learn a chant different from their usual one. Challenging alcoholrelated violence in the City remains a no-go zone. The Letter From Melbourne editorial team have, during the month, launched a new book/directory, Big thinkers (think tanks, knowledge brokers, networks and opinion shapers), www.affairs.com.au/ bigthinkers.html, launched 23 March by historian Geoffrey Blainey. Our contribution to the clear thinking that will be required for us all to get out of the next few years in good style. About the Editor ALISTAIR URQUHART Alistair Urquhart graduated from the Australian National University in Canberra, in Law, History and Politics, was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria, and remains a (nonpracticing) member of the Law Institute of Victoria. Before that, he graduated from high school in Bethesda, Maryland, and had many opportunities to become aware of the workings of Washington DC. For 30 years, he listened every Sunday evening to the late Alistair Cooke and his Letter From America. His early career was mostly in the coal industry, where he became involved with energy, environmental and water issues, and later in the SME finance sector. His public affairs firm works with many engineering and information technology firms, other professional association and industry groups, on a wide range of issues, in Victoria, Canberra and overseas. Urquhart visits Canberra regularly. He may hold the record for miles rowed on Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin. INDEX STATE GOVERNMENT & POLITICS THE BUSHFIRES THE ARTS DOCKLANDS EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION ENERGY WATER GAMING HEALTH INVESTMENT BUSINESS ICT 3 3 6 7 7 9 9 9 9 10 11 12 12 12 AGRICULTURE JUSTICE MELBOURNE GEELONG PLANNING & BUILDING LOCAL GOVERNMENT SPORT TRANSPORT RAIL ROAD AIR PORTS COMMUNITY 13 13 13 15 15 17 17 17 17 18 18 19 19 2
LETTER FROM MELBOURNE State Government & Politics Lenders your ears Victoria suffered a decline in new jobs in the second half of last year and was the only Australian state to actually lose positions in 2008, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force surveys. Treasurer John Lenders last year assured Victorians that the economy was robust, but new jobs started to drop away rapidly from July, The Age reported. Victoria’s unemployment rate rose from 4.8 per cent to 5.6 per cent putting it just behind New South Wales and South Australia at 5.8 per cent each, The Age reported. Brumby’s priorities The Municipal Association of Victoria weekly newsletter reports that prior to the February 7 bushfires, Premier John Brumby delivered his Statement of Intentions, outlining the Government’s priorities for 2009. Top of the state’s agenda is jobs creation and building of new infrastructure to stimulate the economy. Also, a new white paper on land and biodiversity will be released, and planning reforms to speed up development, including a rolling audit of pending projects to identify where the use of ministerial call-in powers may deliver ‘net community benefit’ through jobs creation, were announced. Just tap it in The Government is believed to be considering establishing its own special purpose vehicle as an option to help cover a new funding shortfall for a range of public-private projects, including the planned $3.1b plus desalination plant. Such a vehicle would leverage the government’s AAA credit rating to help the projects private backers tap seized up credit markets and raise the billions of dollars needed. Demand for infrastructure debt has evaporated in recent months, with projects such as toll roads on the nose in particular, The Age reported. Hooray for triple A Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service reaffirmed Victoria’s AAA rating this year, noting strong points that included sound financial performance, modest debt and a sizable and diverse economic base, the Financial Review reported. In other triple A news Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has underlined the states’ financial vulnerability, warning that three more are at risk of joining Queensland in losing their AAA status. Those states are New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, The Australian reported. Contention reigns The federal Attorney-General is under increasing pressure from within his own party to use his powers to overturn Victoria’s new abortion laws, which leading lawyers and Catholic hospitals say are in breach of international law, The Age reported. Submit to their submission The Municipal Association of Victoria completed its submission for the 2009-10 State Budget. The priority of the submission is to advocate projects that improve local employment and economic activity. The Association has called for the introduction of a local infrastructure program, funding for projects under the Victorian Transport Plan, public library funding, maternal and child health IT platform, review of funding for children’s crossing supervisors and funding energy-efficient public lighting. The submission will be circulated to councils, the MAV Bulletin reported. Austin-tatious The Age’s state political editor, Paul Austin, wrote that Ted Baillieu, the alternative premier, should have something more substantial and sophisticated to say than he has managed so far on the deteriorating state of the Victorian economy, in particular with regard to the budget forecast, which predicted a budget surplus of $828m this financial year and higher in each of the next three years. The surplus in the first six months of this year was just $46m. When trouble hits, you need a credible alternative voice. Proprietary rights everywhere Under changes being considered by Cabinet to the native title settlement proposed in Victoria, traditional owners would negotiate directly with the state government over land claims without having to pursue native title cases in the Federal Court. Fifteen years after the introduction of the Native Title Act, 0.75 percent of the state has been declared native title. The steering committee for the development of a Victorian native title settlement framework said traditional owners had an interest in all Crown land. There are one million hectares of public land in Victoria, including national parks, state forests and beaches, The Age reported. The Nationals have criticised the Victorian Government over its ‘secretive’ approach to land management and called on it to ‘come clean’ on native title reform plans. Victorian deputy leader Peter Walsh said it was a disgrace country Victorians were the last to be consulted on management of local Crown land. A native title claim over Port Phillip Bay will proceed in the Federal Court this year despite the proposed state revamp of Aboriginal land rights that would avoid protracted, expensive court battles. The Bunurong people have spent $300,000 since 2006 pursuing a native title claim over the water and shoreline of the bay, stretching from Werribee to Point Nepean, The Age reported. Task force The Victorian Government has set up a Ministerial Taskforce on Aboriginal Affairs to develop policies and programs across Government that will ultimately bridge the 17-year life expectancy gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Victorians, gina.hanson@dpcd.vic.gov.au. Safe to serve A State Services Authority report tabled in Parliament showed Labor had employed an extra 60,396 people since 1999. Premier John Brumby’s spokeswoman Fiona McCrae said: ‘Our government is proud of significantly boosting front-line services to families – delivering more than 8800 extra nurses, 2580 doctors, 1100 teachers and support staff and 1400 additional police since 1999.’On 27 March, the State Government announced it would keep all its public servants but limit their pay rise to 2 per cent. Small surplus item John Brumby said he intended to meet the state’s revised target of a budget surplus of $100m, The Age reported. States’ weakening bonds The Financial Review reported that the states face higher costs as investor appetite for their bonds dwindles, making debt refinancing more difficult. Up there Queensland Premier Anna Bligh successfully defended 11 years of Labor government and the deterioration of the budget bottom line to the tune of a $1.6b deficit and the loss of the states AAA credit rating, on March 21, six months before the end of the term, The Australian reported. She became Australia’s first elected female premier. Nearby, former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, 54, stood for a Queensland seat, unsuccessfully. Photos in one paper of her in sexual romp gear were subsequently found not to be of her. Up there with a knife Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan is facing a police investigation after surrendering an 18 cm pocket knife at New South Wales Parliament, the Herald Sun reported. Grilled Western Australia’s Corruption and Crime Commission failed for the third time in less than 12 months to secure a conviction for false evidence charges, this time after lobbyist Julian Grill was acquitted, The Australian reported. Next generation The Victorian Liberal party invites applications from members of the party seeking endorsement for the next Federal Election, in Kooyong, Corangamite and Deakin, www.vic.liberal.org.au. The Bushfires Opening remarks In his opening remarks chief commissioner Bernard Teague said the aim of the public consultations by the royal commission was to help the commissioners know which areas to prioritise under their ‘extraordinarily wide’ terms of reference. A lack of warning, poor mobile phone reception and little apparent coordination between emergency services were among the grievances aired at the 3
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