Tag Archives: media release

More Labor Pork Barrelling

7 Sep

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 7 September 2011:

RDA fund more about pork than policy

Labor has granted almost two-thirds of the regional development funds to Labor electorates, or to electorates which have supported a Labor Government, even though Labor holds just over one third of the seats in regional Australia.

Today Simon Crean announced the successful projects under the Regional Development Australia fund two months later than originally promised.

Labor has given two-thirds of the funds to one-third of the seats. According to the parliamentary library Labor holds 23 out of the 62 non-metropolitan seats.

The reason they have done this is because they are financially rewarding their members in their seats with your money.

Maybe that is to be expected but maybe they should be upfront about it.

Labor has taken their partisan view of politics to regional Australia, rather than do what is honourable and egalitarian, they have been parochial.

I suppose it is not that surprising but it is disappointing and I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for Mr Windsor and Mr Oakeshott to complain about it.

I just hope this is not the price for the support of Labor members in Mr Crean’s leadership pitch.

More information – Matthew Canavan 0458 709433

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Labor Screws Tassie, But WiIl Greenies Care?

7 Sep

Media release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 7 September 2011:

Regional Tasmania gets nothing

Funding for projects across Australia has been announced today from the Regional Development Australia Fund and regional Tasmania gets – nothing.

A big cheerio and congratulations to the regional Labor party members in Tasmania who got – nothing, out of the first round of funding.

You should consider becoming an Independent because Tony Windsor got $8 million which is more than the whole of Tasmania got. In fact, Tony Windsor’s seat alone got about 25% more than the whole of Tasmania got.

If you want to get something in Tasmania you should be like the member for the seat of Dennison who took a seat off you.

In fact he got $6.63 million off you because you got – nothing. Yes, to be a Labor party member in regional Tasmania means that you deserve nothing. You are just jolly good people who can be taken for granted.

My advice to you is to be like Tony Windsor and go independent and you get that opportunity at the vote for the carbon tax.

You can thank your party for giving you nothing by voting against the carbon tax which virtually no one in your seats wants.

More information – Matthew Canavan 0458 709433

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Barnaby: Independents’ Agreement With Labor All Words Not Action

6 Sep

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 6 September 2011:

Labor’s promises to regional Australia amount to words not action

Tomorrow marks one day since this government was formed with a promise for a new deal for regional Australia. At the time, the Prime Minister said she would ‘deliver’ for regional Australia in a deal with the independents.

The independents’ agreement with Labor amounts to lots of words but little action. If all I was going to get were words then I would have preferred a deal with Tennyson, Keats or Byron. What we have instead is a deal with Gillard.

The government promised $10 billion in funding but a year after the agreement the biggest “regional” project they have funded is $480 million for the upgrade of roads around Perth airport. There is still no guarantee that the money in the regional agreement will actually be spent on regional Australia.

Over half the money relies on a mining tax which disappears every time a State government delivers a budget.

After a year of promises the government is still yet to announce one project from the $1 billion Regional Development Australia Fund, even though they promised to announce projects by July.

Regional Australia has been dudded by this government and the regional independents who gave them power.

Instead of increasing economic opportunity this government has actively shut down regional Australia’s strongest industries and put thousands of jobs in regional Australia at risk.

In the north, this government overnight shutdown the $320 million live cattle trade to Indonesia putting thousands out of work.

In the middle, the government announced a plan that would devastate the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia’s food bowl.

In the south, the government is shutting down the forestry industry.

For the rest of Australia, the government is introducing a carbon tax. A carbon tax will hurt regional jobs the hardest because that is where our mining, our manufacturing and our electricity jobs are.

Why again did the independents support a Green-Labor government?

More information – Matthew Canavan 0458 709433

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Barnaby: A Year Of Green-Labor Calamities

1 Sep

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 1 September 2011:

Today marks one year since the Labor party and the Greens exchanged vows and joined together in coalition.

It is clear that one year on, this marriage has been a disaster for Australia. Minority government is not serving Australia well.

We have a government that is drifting and not sure of what direction it is taking Australia. The High Court’s 6-1 rejection of the government’s “Malaysian solution” is in effect of vote of no confidence in this government’s competence.

The government’s refusal to take to the electorate its radical Green agenda shows a lack of respect for the Australian people. A government that doesn’t respect the people can’t expect the people to respect the government.

We all remember the photos. Julia Gillard and Bob Brown wearing corsages in their lapels and signing what looked a lot like a marriage registry, Wayne Swan and Christine Milne looking on as approving members of the bridal party.

The government’s record since then is a rolling series of calamities:

· In October, they announced a Murray-Darling Basin plan that would have destroyed production in Australia’s food bowl.

· In February, the government announced a carbon tax despite the Prime Minister promising five days before the last election that “there will be no carbon tax under a government I lead”.

· In June, the government decided overnight to outlaw our $320 million live cattle trade to Indonesia, a decision that is still causing devastation throughout northern Australia.

· In July, our nation’s debt passed $200 billion for the first time ever. Labor has borrowed an average of $100 million each day they have been in government.

· And, just yesterday the High Court ruled Labor’s “Malaysian solution” invalid because the government had not done its homework.

More information – Matthew Canavan 0458 709433

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Barnaby: Labor’s Empty Promises To Regional Australia

30 Aug

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 30 August 2011:

Labor’s empty promises to regional Australia

The rollout of Labor’s Regional Development Australia Fund, promised to Mr Windsor and Mr Oakeshott last year, is running at least two months behind schedule, Senator Joyce said today.

Minister Crean announced in a statement on 16th May 2011:

“I look forward to receiving advice on the most meritorious applications from the independent RDAF Advisory Panel in June and will announce successful projects in July,” Mr Crean said.*

As reported in The Australian today, a spokesman for Regional Australia Minister Simon Crean last night confirmed the minister had not yet even received a shortlist of projects ticked off as being “ready for investment” from the fund’s independent advisory panel.**

Senator Joyce said “It seems unlikely that the successful projects will be announced before the middle of next month at the earliest. The Government’s promises on regional spending are proving to be empty.

But Mr Crean has found time over the past seven weeks to conduct 9 marketing sessions on the carbon tax involving Regional Development Australia bodies in Gippsland, Geelong, Gladstone, Mackay, Queanbeyan, Rockhampton, Hunter, Whyalla and Townsville.

“Minister Crean seems to have plenty of time to sell a carbon tax but not enough time to do what he is supposed to be doing as Minister for Regional Australia. Just when Australia needs strong leadership this is a government that is becoming increasingly distracted by broken promises, failed policies and scandals.” said Senator Joyce today.

“Regional Development Australia committees are finding out that their greatest purpose appears to be a propaganda unit for Mr Crean rather than a mechanism to deliver real outcomes to regional Australia.”

More Information – Matthew Canavan 0458 709 433

* New Grants Program gets strong response from Regional Australia, Media Release, Simon Crean, 16th May 2011

**The Australian, Lauren Wilson ‘Regional Development Fund two months behind and facing further delays’ 30th August 2011

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Barnaby: Government Must Come Clean On Carbon Tax

23 Aug

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 23 August 2011:

Government must come clean on carbon tax’s impact on Regional Australia

The Australian Government must follow the lead of the Queensland Labor government and release modelling of the carbon tax’s impact on regional Australia said Senator Joyce today.

“I applaud the Queensland government’s efforts to at least release modelling showing the impact of the carbon tax on regional Australia” said Senator Joyce.

“To date the Federal Labor government has released no such modelling. How can you buy a product when you don’t know what is being sold? How can you vote for a tax when you don’t know its effect on your people?

“Let’s use a doctor analogy. You go to the doctor, he says that I have a major operation I want you to undergo on all of your vital organs and it’s going to be really, really good for you.

“You ask him to tell you what are the downsides of the operation and he says sorry I can’t tell you they’re highly confidential. You also later find out that the operation is going to have no effect on your health whatsoever, it is merely a gesture.

“Now a second opinion from a whole lot of other doctors, from similar fields, is telling you that the operation could actually be really, really dangerous.

“When asked in Question Time today, Senator Penny Wong said that the government had released ‘pages and pages’ of economic modelling, but none of these show the impact on regional Australia.

“The Federal Labor Government should follow the lead of Queensland Labor and release modelling of the carbon tax’s impact on regional Australia. Mr Windsor and Mr Oakeshott, who purport to represent regional Australia, should call on the government to do just this.

Economic modelling released by the Queensland Government today reveals that regional Queensland will be the epicentre of the carbon tax detriment to future prosperity. The Rockhampton and Gladstone area will see economic activity fall by 8.2 per cent under a carbon tax, the Mackay area by 5.7 per cent, double to triple the impact of the carbon tax on the rest of Australia.

“Queensland Treasury’s own modelling shows that Queensland will be hit the hardest by a carbon tax.”

Queensland Treasury estimates that there would be 41,000 fewer Queensland jobs by 2050 under a carbon tax. Economic output is predicted to be 3.5 per cent lower in Queensland in 2050 under a carbon tax, compared to 2.5 per cent lower in Australia.

“Why are Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser supporting a carbon tax that targets Queensland’s vital organs, its coal, electricity, manufacturing and tourism industries?

Earlier this year Anna Bligh said she would be “putting Queensland first” when responding to the carbon tax. I am glad she is not my economic doctor but unfortunately for this operation Julia Gillard is.

I’ve got this sinking feeling that Julia Gillard is about to tell me that she has “full confidence” in a carbon tax.

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Barnaby: Here Be Dragons

23 Aug

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 22 August 2011:

Here be dragons

The Sunday Age reported yesterday that almost a year after the Prime Minister promised to “deliver” for regional Australia, the government’s efforts have so far amounted to a few happy snaps.

In the agreement between the Labor party and the Independents, the government promised:

A new myregion.gov.au website will make it easy for people to see the results of improved budget reporting for their region and will provide interactive ‘contact us’ opportunities for the community to find out more and make enquiries. Other public indicators of service performance and social, economic and population outcome will also be reported. *

However, almost a year after signing this agreement, the myregion.gov.au website amounts to a National Photographic Competition.

In the “Places” category of the Photographic Competition, 2nd and 3rd prizes went to a picture of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a picture of the Gold Coast. These would appear to be strange choice for a photo competition run by a Department of “Regional Australia”.

“You have to wonder whether this government spends enough time in regional Australia to take a photo” said Senator Barnaby Joyce.

“It’s as if all of their maps for regional Australia have marked on them “Here be Dragons” in the medieval fashion.

“It’s pathetic. I hope the independents, Oakeshott and Windsor, are happy with what they’ve got. In a sense, that is a true reflection of what they have delivered for regional Australia – a happy snap of the Gold Coast and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

“I suppose we should not be surprised. This government struggles to even define regional Australia, let alone spend much time there. The biggest “regional” project this government has funded is a $480 million project to upgrade the roads around Perth airport.

“Perth is a great place but I don’t think anyone considers a core part of regional Australia.”

More Information: Matthew Canavan 0458709433

http://www.theage.com.au/national/critics-snap-at-regions-website-20110820-1j3y0.html

[*] Agreement with Independents, Annex B, Page 5

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Barnaby: Taxpayers Should Not Fund The Destruction Of Taxpayers’ Property

13 Aug

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 12 August 2011:

Taxpayers should not fund environmental groups which destroy public property, Senator Barnaby Joyce said today.

ACT Police today has summoned two Sydney women to the ACT Magistrates Court to face charges relating to the destruction of a CSIRO GM research wheat crop last month.*

The charges come after the police executed a search warrant on Greenpeace headquarters in Sydney, during which police seized evidence.

Greenpeace currently benefits from a government ruling that donations to it are tax deductible under the Register of Environmental Organisations program.**

“I find it a bit of a paradox that an organisation can get a tax deduction, in the same way that St Vincent de Paul or the Red Cross does, when it has been implicated in charges relating to the destruction of taxpayer property.

“Taxpayers should not fund the destruction of taxpayer’s property. If Greenpeace is found to be implicated in the destruction of scientific research, then they should no longer receive the benefit of a tax deduction from the Australian people.

“Greenpeace has actively promoted and endorsed the destruction of public property:

We had no choice but to take action to bring an end to this experiment,” said Greenpeace Food campaigner Laura Kelly. “GM has never been proven safe to eat and once released in open experiments, it will contaminate. This is about the protection of our health, the protection of our environment and the protection of our daily bread.”***

“Sometimes they like the science, sometimes they don’t.

“I think it is very important to understand that the rule of law be maintained in regards to the respect of public property if you want to maintain a civilised society.

“The endorsement of destruction leads to anarchy.”

* http://www.police.act.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/act/2011/august/Two%20women%20to%20be%20summonsed%20in%20CSIRO%20investigation.aspx

** http://www.environment.gov.au/about/tax/reo/index.html

*** http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/news/food/A-mum-takes-action-against-GM-wheat/

More Information – Matthew Canavan 0458 709 433

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Barnaby: Carbon Tax Not The Answer For Queensland

11 Aug

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 11 August 2011:

Jobs figures show that carbon tax is not the answer for Queensland

Employment data released today reveals that Queensland now has the highest unemployment rate in the country. This is the worst time for Queensland to be facing the prospect of a carbon tax, Senator Joyce said today.

“The unemployment rate in July increased in Queensland to 5.6%, from 5.2% in June, double the increase experienced nationally. Queensland now has a higher unemployment rate than any other State. In total, an additional 10,000 Queenslanders became unemployed over the past month.

“This is an appalling outcome when you think of the minerals boom that Queensland is meant to be experiencing. When small businesses tell you there is not much business around they are not joking.

“The prospect of a carbon tax is killing jobs in Queensland. If the Labor government moves forward with a carbon tax they have will have moved from being incompetent to culpable.

“Surely someone in the Labor party has a television set and can see what is going on in the world. Now is the not the time for a carbon tax that will raise costs for every small business but have zero effect on the temperature of the globe.

“This is a one vote Parliament. We are looking for just one Labor party member to stand up for Queensland and vote against the carbon tax. Let’s stop this charade and do what the vast majority want.

“Since the Howard government left office the unemployment rate in Queensland has increased by 50%, from 3.8% (in November 2007) to 5.6% today. There are over 50,000 extra Queenslanders unemployed since the Rudd-Gillard government came into power.

“Queensland was once the state of development. An earlier generation built dams, electrified the railway lines, developed the Gold Coast and opened multiple international airports. Thanks to Labor it is now the State with the lowest economic credentials, where bats seem to have more rights than people, where farmers have had their rural soul sold by State Labor governments, so that coal seam gas companies can run over their land while paying 75 cents for every $1000 they extract, where fishing has become an immoral past-time, where the economic future for aboriginal people has been taken away so they can live on a “wild river”, where the major industry of the north, the live cattle trade, can be shut down over night because apparently the nation is run by Four Corners, not the government.

“When green regulations become more important than creating jobs, the effects are there for all to see. Queensland has the highest unemployment in the country and public debt heading towards $85 billion.”

More information – Matthew Canavan 0458 709433

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Barnaby: “Rob Oakeshott Needs To Explain Himself”

18 Jul

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 18 July 2011 (emphasis in original):

This morning on ABC Newsradio Rob Oakeshott claimed that he had a “mandate” to support the carbon tax in Parliament.

“… I believe that the policy of an emissions trading scheme, as I have taken to the last two elections locally and been successful on and been given a mandate on, is the right policy for Australia and now is the right time to pursue it.”

Is this the same Rob Oakeshott who had this to say about the word “mandate” during his 17-minute speech to support a Labor government?

“This is not a mandate for any government. We should have a great big swear jar for the next three years and if anyone uses that word mandate they should have to chip in some money.”

While we are talking about mandates, what mandate did Rob have to support a Labor government?

Rob Oakeshott needs to explain himself to the people of Lyne. If it’s his policy he should defend it.

The member for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker, has offered him the perfect opportunity, a debate in his local electorate.

Rob should explain his position to the people in his electorate not just the Canberra press gallery.

In the same interview Rob went on to complain about a newspaper that is run by some former Nationals staffers in his own electorate.

“There is a local newspaper here called the Port Paper which was set up by the press secretary of the Deputy Premier of New South Wales, you know the National Party and it is essentially now run by the National party. The editor is a former electorate staff member of the National party member for Cowper. So these are real issues that we need to look at not only at a community level, not only at a news limited level, but also why certain people are choosing to get involved in boards of, for example, Channel 10.”

Is Rob suggesting that some people should not be allowed to publish newspapers?

You are right Rob. It’s all just a huge clandestine plot. Every night we secretly rendezvous from all corners of Australia in Port Macquarie and talk into the wee hours of the morning about you (and where we are hiding the aliens in area 51) then we write editorials.

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