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New South Wales
NSW went to the polls on Saturday 26 March 2011, what is particularly distinctive is the number of Labor politicians who had seen the writing on the wall -about 22. Three words - total electoral annihilation . These politicians didn't have any clairvoyant capabilities and despite their numerous reasons - Number 21 the member for Shellharbour Lylea McMahon said 'it was time to put her family first' what Ms McMahon didn't mention was that her bid for reselection was uncertain. Others had their resignations accepted usually with sadness such as the then police minister Matt Brown who admitted he behaved in a manner 'not befitting a minister.' What Mr Brown did after dancing around in his underwear was to straddle the breasts of his fellow MP Noreen Hay. Such rather boorish behaviour was enough in itself to bring his dismissal. However Mr Brown then called out to Noreen's daughter and said 'Look at this, I'm titty-f---ing your mother '....!   The more conservative media described it as a 'simulated sex act.' Simulated ...? That's not to say that there are sound reasons for what could be described by some as salacious activities by other who take the moral high ground. Morals campaigner, Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile told the Daily Telegraph after the Department of Parliamentary Services revealed that Fred's computer had been used on about 200,000 occasions to access 'inappropriate behaviour '. Mr Nile was adamant that on none of the 200,000 times there was any perving of the pornographic sites accessed but that 'one of his staff members had viewed online porn "for just a few seconds" for research purposes. Now where's the calculator. Right. 200,000 times by a few seconds is about 400,000 seconds. 400,000 seconds divided by 60 will give you - then divide that by 60 which gives you precisely 111.11111111111111 hours which is 4.6296296296333335 days. It's not the first time that one can becomes so preoccupied in one's research that you lose all sense of time. Then again by the time you navigate to the porn site you are researching 2 seconds would appear to be somewhat underestimating the time per look. No he was definitely perving Fred

Paul McLeay, resigning as Ports Minister said to the press on September 1, 2010. 'I accept I made a mistake and take this opportunity to spend more time with my family and my electorate. What Mr McLeay had done was 'use the recourses of office inappropriately,'. If Mr McLeay had been a morals crusader he could have said that he was accessing porn and gaming sites for research purposes but you'd been hard pressed to explain pornography and gaming had anything to do with his portfolio as Ports Minister - in the days when pornography was smuggled through the docks he might have a better opportunity to explain himself.

Mrs McLeay probably thinks her husband has a gambling problem and is a recidivist pervert. In this instance you'd need any number ofa2Q experts to adjudicate, as mind ,body and soul. of probably a number of marriage councillors who specialise The McLeay kids would be no doubt have been taunted at school that their father was a deviant - the poor little bastards on the bus home with tears in their eyes. We think a lot of people would be quite understanding if Mrs McLeay and the kids desired to start a new life, a journey in which Mr McLeay was not required to participate. Since 2007 the NSW Government has lost about 22 ministers for a variety of reasons. David Cambell, the NSW Transport Minister visited an intimate gay sex haunt, Ken's (at Kensington). Now before Borderline is accused of homophobia Mr Cambell's visit to Ken's Club is not what brought him undone. It had more to do with using a government car to drive himself to and from Ken's that brought him undone. He had given his driver the night off which is understandable. Mr Cambell who portrayed himself as a family man had in fact been living with a secret about his sexuality over two decades. It might be well and good that in such circumstances that you can hold a secret but it seems someone at Ken's at Kensington was out to make mischief. We hope it wasn't Ken. If we were Mr Cambell we would be tempted to remit the expenses incurred with the Cambell's marriage councillor, the kids therapy sessions and other sundry expenses be remitted to Ken at Ken's at Kensington as a retribution for the indiscretion that emanated from Ken's establishment.

When the last Labor premier of NSW was elected - in NSW is pays to use such words as elected because elected in iinstance of the democratic process advisedly, outgoing Premier Rees accused Premier Kristina Keneally of being a puppets of Eddie Obeid and Joe Tribodi it wasn't a case of sour grapes - well it was probably sour grapes that motivated Rees's accusation but he was being perfectly accurate. If ever there were two scumbags who could be indicted for corrupting the democratic process in NSW it is Messrs Obeid and Tribodi the rightwing powerbrokers. Control the branches and you control the party with a little something on the side. After all power on its own is only half of the equation. When you operate in the circles Eddie and Joe move in it's nice to have a bit of dosh to show that your equal amongst the very equal. Self made men (women are a rather few and far in the NSW Labor Right). These people operate on a nod and a wink and it transcends political loyalty - ( in NSW is pays to use such words as allegiances that suggest some instance of ethics and honour advisedly ). Like when Eddie bought a property in Clovelly for $875,000 and sold it the day after to the Department of Housing for $1.1 million.

The only thing that perhaps unsettles Eddie is any suggestion that fire has made a substantial inputs into his bottom line. Who says lightening doesn't strike twice. Eddie's properties seem particularly susceptible to flame with over four of his properties gone up in smoke over the years. The most spectacular instance was on Christmas Eve in 1993 when Offset Alpine Printing which he had an financial interest burnt down. The investors made a packet when and rather reluctantly the insurers had to make a $52 million insurance payout which was divvied up with Eddie and his fellow investors. Shortly before Offset Alpine Printing went up in smoke the place had been over-insured to the hilt. Nothing came of the seven-year investigation by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. Graham Richardson 'the fixer', perhaps NSW's most infamous powerbroker and head kicker of the NSW Right also had his finger in the pie. When Mr Richardson was hit by with a tax assessment of $700,000 of the $1.44 million of his share of the spoils Mr Richardson denied he ever had any shares 'directly or indirectly' in Offset Alpine Printing. He eventually, after considerable litigation settled with the ATO.

Tripody (Number 15 in the sacked/resign list) has no less a colourful career. Hauled before ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) on no less than three occasions we'll resist the temptation to go into his long and distinguished career in branch stacking, political patronage and sheer bastardry not to mention his tenure as Minister for Finance, Minister for Regulatory Reform, Minister for Ports and Waterways, Minister for Housing, Minister for Roads, Minister for Energy, and Minister for Small Business. Joe however was on the nose and Ms Keneally the then Labor premier told him to go. Joe denied he was pushed. No doubt he'll keep himself busy with all the contacts he has stockpiled over the years. When he will turns 55 he will be entitled to a $150,000 a year pension.
To best define the former NSW Labor Government like as an example we used the Wonthaggi desalination plant in Victoria is Labors sale of NSW's electricity assets. It was Premier Carr that apparently got the idea. In those days it was considered NSW electricity privatisation would bolster the coffers of NSW to the tune $30 to $35 billion. However the 1997 party conference would have nothing of it. Obviously it still rankles Bob as he stated in Thoughtlines with Bob Carr, December 13 2010. "Compared with the $5 billion expected at the end of the current process made necessary by the party policy. But no, the precious folk at the 1997 party conference had to stage their little demonstration for Fabian principle and the cob-webbed Socialist Objective.To repeat the gesture against Morris Iemma a decade later and turn him out of the Premier's job for good measure confirms the collective ill-judgment. "

Was Bob right to be livid at the lost opportunity - and in today's money? Carr wanted to spend the proceeds on good works that would make the people of NSW happy. Because Carr relises as a former journalist that making people happy by spin has its limitations. Sooner or later they'll want something a bit more substantial. What one may call a tactile experience - something that had three dimensions - like a school. Was the then Carr treasurer Michael Egan right when he said "The real question is not whether the industry is sold, rather it's a question of who sells it, under what conditions and when." Grand visions have a cost. Premier Iemma tried to resurrect the privatization and thought $15 billion was about right. $15 billion might not buy as much public works as $30-$35 billion in public works but still. In 3 May 2008 the New South Wales ALP's State Conference overwhelmingly rejected Iemma's plan. After that everything went pear shaped and it wasn't long they turned on him, Obeid and Tribodi's fingerprints were all over the knife.

The midnight deal exposed the government's reliance on a total hypocrisy to get an outcome that short-changed the people of NSW by billions of dollars. To lock in the deal they need a cheap long-term secure energy source and the only cheap long term energy source in NSW is black coal - somewhat at odds with the state's green credentials and dire warnings from the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water that 'fossil fuels such as coal, which creates greenhouse gas pollution and causes global warming and climate change.' Well everyone knows that. It's just that it somewhat compromises the Labor Government's policy that was released in 2005 to put NSW on track to meeting its targets of limiting 2025 emissions to 2000 levels; and reducing emission by 60% by 2050. The then NSW treasurer Eric Roozendaal   in his haste to make a deal accepted $5.3 billion from Origin and TRU Energy has also confirmed that it will purchase Energy Australia's retail business for over $2 billion. Integral Energy and Country Energy in an agreement worth $3.25 billion. TRU Energy has also confirmed that it will purchase Energy Australia's retail business for over $2 billion with $1.253 billion incurred expenses the government netted about $3.272 billion. Obviously $3.272 doesn't buy as much public works as $15 billion and $15 billion buys less than $30-$35 billion still if your hard up and desperate to go to the polls with a Triple A credit rating and a little something to wring to Like the desalination plant in Wonthaggi the deal was watertight. Origin and TRU must be giggling all the way to the bank.

It is interesting to note that Mr Barry O'Farrell in opposition was against privatisation of NSW electricity. Why did compromise his laissez-faire credentials? He mostly did this to put the boot into Iemma and score a few cheap political points. That's the good thing about being the Leader of the Opposition in NSW you can believe in anything or you can believe in nothing - it doesn't matter because O'Farrell is allowed such ideological dexterity because while his shadow cabinet think he's a good bloke - a populist who understands that you can have major reform without the slightest impost on the taxpayer. Fantasies. When you're in opposition that is. O'Farrel's 5 Point Plan to make NSW number one again might be a bit short on detail but as a motherhood statement it hits the spot - as long as you're in opposition. Now that Mr O'Farrell is Premier things are a little different - there may be a bit of loose change in the till but that's not going to pay for all the Coalitions promises. GST disbursements won't either. The about turn has already began with Mr O'Farrell introducing retrospective legislation to cut the solar feed-in tariff from 60 cents to 40 cents and cutting the scheme off entirely to new applicants. One would have thought that the Coalition have traditionally found the mere suggestion of retrospectivity in legislation abhorrent but apparently political ideology is the first thing that goes out the window when political reality sets in.

On the local level Greg Aplin the member for Albury and Bill Tilley member for Benambra would tell anyone who is prepared to listen that Albury and Wodonga are forever in the hears and minds of of Barry O'Farrel and Ted Baillieu. They're beaut blokes Greg and Bill - Barry and Ted are beaut blokes as well. Barry and Ted also know that Greg and Bill are beaut custodians of their respective seats and need not worry that of Albury and Benambra will fall into enemy hands. Both would like to me ministers - indeed, Mr Aplin during campaign told everyone that he was going to become a minister which gave even more gravitas to his deliberation. "I'm right - and I know I'm right because I'm going to be a minister was his mantra. Greg used to be shadow Minister for Mental Health and Aboriginal Affairs spokesman for the Coalition. Minister for Fair Trading might not be as important as mental health and Aboriginal affairs but as long as he was a minister of anything he would have a seat around the Cabinet table to look after Albury's interests. Mr Aplin - a member of the Right in the Coalition political spectrum was victim of Part Barry's balancing act between the Right and the Left of the NSW Liberal Party. Mr O'Farrell would have preferred it to be interpreted as a balancing act between Metropolitan and Regional representation.