United magazine Winter 2016

United is the official journal of the United Services Union
Editor USU General Secretary Graeme Kelly.
Print Post: 100007536
To contribute to United please contact USU Manager
Administration Monica Clavijo on (02) 9265 8211.
Is democracy dead?
EXECUTIVE
President: Steve Birney
Vice President: Glen McAtear
General Secretary: Graeme Kelly
Treasurer: Sharon Sewell
Shane Clapham, Ross Crawford, Tony Dean, Larry
Freeman, Katie Gillen, Shane Lummis, Stephen Mulholland,
Amanda Pearce, Annamaria Saglimbeni, Brendan Scott,
Bev Spearpoint, Katerina Tahija, David Walsh, Jeff Wearing,
Chris Wellington, Russell Woods
HEAD OFFICE
Level 7, 321 Pitt St, Sydney, 2000
Phone: 1300 136 604 • Fax: (02) 9261 2265
Support Team: 1300 136 604
Email: united@usu.org.au • Website: www.usu.org.au
OFFICIALS
Manager Administration and Finance: Monica Clavijo
Manager Metropolitan: Steve Donley
Manager Energy, Utilities & Private Sector: Darren Cameron
(A/g)
Training Officers: Narelle Rich/Paul Reid
Assistant Industrial / Research Officer (Metro): Maria
Nordenswan (M/L)
Legal Special Projects Officer (Metro): Evan Cole
Legal Special Projects Officer (Metro): Daniel Papps
Metro Organisers: Jim Carter, Chris Gill, Sandie Morthen,
Ben Thompson, Irene Nair, Holly Murrell, Kristy Harper,
Shane Pinter (A/g)
Energy, Utilities & Private Sector: Clare Raffan, Joel
Conomos, Alan Sandow, Natalie Falvey, Brian Cameron (A/g)
Recruitment Officer (EU&PS): Nick Herbert
Support Team: Joanie Doleman, Jenny Chen (M/L), Thomas
Russell, Karen Avery, Melissa Coros
REGIONAL OFFICES
Northern Branch
Newcastle Office:
cnr Lawson & Tudor Streets Hamilton 2303
Ph: (02) 4962 1444 • Fax: (02) 4962 1758
Manager North: Stephen Hughes
Organisers: Paul Sansom, Luke Hutchinson, Andrew Ryals,
Melissa Pond (Private Sector)
Industrial Officer: Noel Martin
Port Macquarie Office:
1/157 Gordon Street
Port Macquarie 2444
Ph: (02) 6584 7787
Fax: (02) 6584 6924
Organiser: Damien Welsh
New England Office:
Shop 3, Girraween Centre
4-12 Queen Elizabeth Drive
Armidale 2350
Ph: (02) 6771 4911
Fax: (02) 6771 4911
Organiser: Chris Preston
Southern Branch
Wollongong Office:
Suites 1-3 100 Market Street Wollongong 2500
Ph: (02) 4226 4784 • Fax: (02) 4227 6951
Manager South: Gary Vann
Organisers: Rudi Oppitz (Private Sector), Paul Wesley (LSL),
Steven Vann, Stuart Geddes (A/g)
Industrial Officer: Greg Golledge
Central West Office:
Shop 11-12
142 William Street
Bathurst 2795
Ph: (02) 6334 4825
Fax: (02) 6331 2834
Organiser: Shane Reece
Murray Office:
Unit 2, 54-56 Fitzmaurice St
Wagga Wagga 2650
Ph: (02) 69317990
Fax: (02) 6931 7271
Organiser: Darren Wait, Jed Lawton
Northern Office:
Shop 2, Mid City Arcade
57 Prince Street
Grafton
Ph: (02) 6643 5299
Fax: (02) 6643 2799
Organiser: Craig Chandler
North Western Office:
PO Box 1811
2/46 Church Street
Dubbo 2830
Ph: (02) 6881 6766
Fax: (02) 6881 6816
Organiser: Jamie McKinnon
Riverina Office:
Suite 8
165 Lachlan Street
Hay 2711
Ph: (02) 6993 1419
Fax: (02) 6993 1419
Organiser: Brian Harrington
NATIONAL
Assistant National Secretary: Greg McLean (LSL), Robert
Potter (A/g)
ONE THING WE CAN SAY FOR SURE
- THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAUSED
OUTRAGE AMONG COMMUNITIES
RIGHT ACROSS NSW WHEN
PREMIER MIKE BAIRD DISMISSED
DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED
COUNCILS, CREATED 19 NEW ONES
AND INSTALLED ADMINISTRATORS
UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2017.
That’s right - 2017! The residents of
those merged councils (many of
them forcibly merged) have to wait
16 months before they can have a say.
Questions are being asked on many
fronts.
Why many councils in Coalition seats
have been left “pending” until after the
federal election?
Why elections cannot be held
sooner?
Why the views of communities that
clearly opposed amalgamations are
being ignored?
There has been some extreme
reactions from communities –
ranging from the sombre protests
in Shellharbour about the death
of democracy, to the residents of
Gundagai turning their backs on
the new administrator to the unruly
behaviour witnessed in the Inner West.
While violent protest is never
supported, when people feel they
have lost their democratic rights and
THE RESIDENTS OF
SHELLHARBOUR
CERTAINLY THINK
DEMOCRACY IS
DEAD - ONE OF THE
MANY PROTESTS
HELD ACROSS NSW
FOLLOWING THE
PROCLAMATION TO
DISSOLVE COUNCILS.
USU PRESIDENT STEVE BIRNEY
they see clear differences in treatment
depending on whether you vote for the
Coalition or Labor people get angry.
NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley
called for the government to move the
elections forward to this September,
but this request fell on deaf ears.
Now we find that the so-called
independent review of savings done
by KPMG was not independent at all.
KMPG has been involved in devising
the merger proposals as early as July
2015 – prior to the Baird government’s
announcement about proceeding with
forced amalgamations.
Far from KPMG providing an
“independent” review of the
government’s financial claims, it’s now
clear that it was KPMG that came up
with those alleged savings in the first
place. As Greens MP David Shoebridge
said, “There was no independent
review from KPMG, they were marking
their own homework.”
2 • United Winter 2016