Submitted by rickeyre on
Matt Brown's tenure at NSW Minister for Police lasted less than 72 hours. The reasons why can be found on news websites all over the world, for example, the San Francisco Chronicle.
Compare this, by the way, to an incident eight years ago involving the recently-promoted Finance Minister, Joseph Guerino Tripodi.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Nathan's cabinet is in place. Reba Meagher jumped before she was pushed. Frank Sartor was pushed, and then gave a press conference to tell the world why Premier Rees was wrong. And Joe Tripodi? Well, he got promoted.
Not merely Minister for Ports and Waterways anymore, Joseph Guerino Tripodi, BEc(Hons) is now Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Regulatory Reform, and Minister for Finance.
Joining Tripodi in the state Economic Dream Team is Eric Roozendaal, BA LLB. Two Labor right-wing heavies in charge of the nation's biggest basket case.
Roozendaal arrived in State Parliament by the time-honoured career path from Sussex Street to a Legislative Council casual vacancy. Labor NSW general secretary Roozendaal was parachuted into the Legislative Council in June 2004 after Tony Burke won a Federal by-election. As Burke was elected to the Legislative Council in the 2003 state election, his replacement does not face the polls until 2011.
Let's just recap that: Eric Roozendaal has become State Treasurer without ever being elected to parliament.
Following is a list of the ministers in the new Rees government, annotated in this press release from Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon with the amounts they have received in donations for their election campaigns in 2003 and 2007. Those with zero against their name are members of the upper house who don't have individual campaigns, and Mr Roozendaal, who doesn't need campaign funding for another three years:
Submitted by rickeyre on
Michael Costa's bizarre and geopolitically ignorant response to a question in State Parliament on Tuesday about Chinese investment in New South Wales was not the end of that particular matter.
Submitted by rickeyre on
You don't have to be a rocket surgeon, or even a brain scientist, to understand the People Republic of China's role in that Maoist Johnny Howard's strong economic management of Australia. And you might even be aware of the Chinese government's new-found interest in foreign corporate investment. However, the New South Wales Government's leading parliamentary economist, treasurer Michael Costa, is none of the above.
It seemed reasonable enough in Question Time in the Legislative Council on Tuesday, when John Kaye of the Greens put the following to Costa the Coster:
Submitted by rickeyre on
Andrew Johns is, arguably, the greatest rugby league player of the last decade. As a kid he would, like all sportsminded schoolboys in Australia, have played a bit of cricket at school and over the summer. None of this, however, explains today's revelation that Johns has been signed up to make two appearances in the New South Wales Twenty20 side for next season.
Submitted by rickeyre on
I attended my first Twenty20 game yesterday. While I won't be hanging out for the second, there are plenty who will. And that's a good thing.
Submitted by rickeyre on
It's not just a great moment in parliamentary behaviour, but a great moment in understated journalism, as the Press Trust of India began a wire report on Tuesday with the following:
Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Gawande created commotion in Maharashtra Assembly today by pouring kerosene on his clothes and trying to consume some poisonous substance to protest against, what he called, DF Government's "apathy" towards scores of suicides by debt-ridden farmers, an act resulting in his suspension for rest of Winter Session.
Submitted by rickeyre on
There were 26,190 people at Telstra Stadium at Sydney's Olympic Park for a Saturday night interstate cricket match. In an arena of 80,000 capacity, this was the biggest crowd to see a day's play of a New South Wales home game in more than forty years.
They didn't get a win - Queensland won the ING Cup game with two balls to spare and two wickets in hand - but the popular success of the evening suggests that we will see more such games taken to the former Stadium Australia in future.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Ray Lindwall, probably Australian cricket`s greatest fast bowler since the Second World War, died on Saturday night 22 June 1996, in Brisbane at the age of 74. Much has, and will, be written of his achievements on the cricket field, however not many people would be aware of his prowess as a rugby league player in his younger days.
Lindwall played first grade rugby league for St George in the 1940, 1942, 1943 and 1946 seasons and was a very talented fullback and goalkicker.
