REPORT CARD SUMMARY - DON'T BLAME ME, I DIDN'T VOTE FOR WALABOR

They're failing and we will suffer - Unconvinced?
Here's just a handful...we pay. Not them.

Dave Kelly MLA wanted to Socialise the WA Rock Lobster Industry and would have wrecked the viability of the industry. Thankfully his plan was scutteled & he was moved on. Sadly he took on Water Ministry. So now it turns out under his watch WaterCorp has a process of "empathetic treatment" of bill defaulters. Its hitting many millions of dollars and who makes up the difference?
Rate rise for those who actually pay their bill. Those in arrears not pursued at all, they get free water.
Fail

Simone McGurk MLA is the Minister for Womens Interests. She is delivering a dangerous ideology through her protfolio that asserts women are those who were born as women or live as women. Womenhood is no longer a thing. In fact were Mike Tyson to decide to "live as a woman" he could compete in women's MMA Cage Fighting that the McGowan government brought to WA. A form of hard aggressive combat sport where their are no weight divisions. Seem fair?
Say goodbye to AFLW and other women's sports. If you have young girls with Olympic dreams, they're finished now.
Fail.

Roger Cook MLA is the health minister. When he was opposition health spokesman he clearly & very rightly called out the then Barnett government for the appalling Ambulance Ramping disaster when it reached 1030 hours per month.
Under Roger's 4 years at the reins its got worse. The TEN WORST MONTHS EVER ARE THE LAST 10 MONTHS. At one point it was 1300hours in the first eight days. This month is set to be the biggest record of all time. Today is the 22nd of June, 7 days left in the month & its already over 3500 hours. Roger's response? He stopped the publishing of the Ramped Ambulance Hours. Thankfully St John's still do.
What else happens...WALabor set up an Upper House Committee to look into the delivery of Ambulance Services in WA but it will not include the causes of ramping but will look into the government taking over all the amubulance services.
Fail

Which brings us to...

Pierre Yang MLA will chair that committee and when approached by producers of 6PR's show hosted by Liam Bartlett told them he didn't understand why the public would want to hear him and he became unavailable for an interview.
What the hell?
But Pierre is part of the hard left faction. They like to have everything controlled and controlled only by them.
More proof of that is Pierre Yang is a follower & supporter of the debunked but dangerous ideology Intersectionality. That's a very big plank of Identity Politics, Cancel Culture & Social Disorder. He is also the politician who found he was "accidently" still a member of 2 club/groups with extensive Chinese links & thought to have links to the CCP or very supportive of CCP interests.
Fail

To see more on aspects of the divisive Victim Culture and race baiting of the debunked Intersectionality, watch this 3.3o minute video, go to... Jordan Peterson Debunks Intersectionality - YouTube

Sue Ellery MLC the Education minister. She was the one who wanted to close the School of the Air & announced it without consulting any SOTA staff, unions or parents. There were 2 northern Labor MPs (one was Kevin Michel) who not only wasn't consulted, he didn't learn about it until it hit the media. AND HE'S A MEMBER FROM THE PILBARA!!!
Then there was another cluster fluff from Sue Ellery. She wanted to close Moora Residential College.
Made stranger by the fac there was no use for the infrastructure once closed and would have cost more to dismantle it than repair it & keep it open. Thankfully funding from the federal government came through so the $5 BILLION PLUS COFFERS weren't touched, Moora was kept open, repairs were made and guess what...its fully booked with kids from remote areas that can't afford to be sent to private boarding schools. She promised locals she would visit once it opened and now doesn't remember saying that...but she's not going anyway methinks.
Fail.

John Quigley MLA - The Attorney General. Rushed through legislation that effectively denies Cliver Palmer the ability to go to court & seek compensation whilst he has a deal with the State Government. In fact the Government can do anything with that mining deal & he can't go to court. He might want $30Billion or more but it would have to first, go to court. Second, court rules in Palmer's favour. Third, the court then decides IF compensation is required. Then decide how much. You don't write out an invoice and expect it to be paid.
Sadly, we have a government who decided to remove an Australian's citizen's right to use the court system to seek redress & justice. In this particular aspect he has no legal rights at all. Turns out a small group in the government and some advisers had been working on this bill for a month or more but opposition were not notified or brief by the Premier until John Quigley was on his feet in the lower house submitting the bill and pushing to rush it through.
It will end up in the highest court in the land and its possible, perhaps likely the court will strike the legislation down. It will be very costly and stupid.
Fail.

Jackie Jarvis MLC - In the agenda section called MEMBERS STATEMENTS Jackie launched an attack on Barnaby Joyce. It was politically timed, WALabor is under immense pressure for failed much of the above and more (including the somewhat missing Gold Standard Accountibility). It was her first opportunity after Barnaby Joyce was elected Deputy Prime Minister. She made a claim under the protection of Parliamentary Privelege that re-ignited the allegations of Catherine Marriott of suffering sexaul harassment by Joyce. This is again re-raising allegations without any effort to seek a resolution but sadly to politically weaponise them without any regard for the accusser, the accused or due process.
The comments need to be made outside Parliament or a civil case launched at Mr Joyce for there to be any chance of an actual outcome. Without an outcome via due process bringing up the overhanging spectre of these allegations is tantamount to a smear.
Now this is the same Jackie Jarvis who was CEO of RRRW who held the prominent #USTOO Lunch event where the MC was controversial leftist Tracey Spicer and the guest speaker was Dr Rachel Skye Saunders who made the claim that "93% of women in Agricutlure had experienced Sexual Harassment" but strangely she only bothered to survey 14 women who worked in Agriculture. That is 14 out of a then 44,700 women who worked in Agriculture (*)
To read more on Dr Saunders "findings" there's a link (**)
Some might easily argue that the Hon Jackie Jarvis is either a bit of a fool, thinks we all are or is inclined to politically weaponise sexual harassment for the gain of her party. Prior to working for the RRRW that WALabor apparently part funded via a grant she worked as a Senior Staffer of Hon Alannah MacTiernan MLC & prior to that was a ALP candidate in a federal election. She is one of the ALP believers for sure & certain.

(*) - - - According to the ABS 4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, Dec 2012 (abs.gov.au) 
(**) - - Seriously Think for a minute: Is Agriculture A Serious Sexual Harassment/Assault Danger Zone?

Barnaby Joyce Re-elected as Nationals Leader & Deputy Prime Minister

Well it has happened and he has been sworn in by the governor. So regardless of anything good or bad, he is where he is. Fact.

It has caused quite a media & social media swirl but much of it is made more difficult because there's overlap between the political outcomes going forward and the controversy that lay in the past.

On the political side...

• There is the outcomes he may push in the climate change repsonse space
  
  
• There is his support for the Sri Lankan family stuck in detention & wanting them to be allowed to remain in Australia whilst the Government looks to expel them
  
  
• His support for Live Export has been second to none & we can assume that will continue and he'll likely be very pro Regional Australia & Agriculture.
  
  
• His support for the coal industry and wider mining industry which supplies jobs for regional people.
  
  
• He has his likely clash points with the Prime Minister & the cabinet, but his maverick days of crossing the floor are probably passed to a large extent as the numbers are so tight it could be too divisive politically now that we're probably less than 12 months away from a Federal Election
  
  
• He probably could potentially lead to winning of a number of Queensland seats which will probably be crucial to Scott Morrison retaining Government but there's also the theory amongst some he could help deliver some inner city seats to opposing parties. Both theories
  

On the controversy side...

• He lost his seat when it was found he had some NZ ancestery and hadn't renounced the inferred citizenry. He renounced and was re-elected.
  
  
• He had what we know to be referred to as "sexual harassment" allegations made against him within the internal system of the NSW Nationals. It was leaked much to the very unfair detriment of the complainant & Mr Joyce. The actual details of the allegations weren't made public, nor was the leaker's identity made known. Fair to assume its more likely someone trying to "get" Mr Joyce not the complainant. No resolution was reached and no civil or criminal legal action taken. As a result some are wise to be very careful about commenting on the allegations as Mr Joyce has described them as defamatory. I don't know if they are or not but I would be very careful commenting on the allegations as it may result in a defamation case some day if someone is a little loose with their words. The matter remains unresolved, no litigation is or has been in play and the NSW Nationals have levelled it as unresolved.
  
  
• The news of an affair with a staff member created quite a storm. It also began calls for a ban on relations between people in the Parliamentary workplace. The fact that one was a staff member working for a powerful politician was not lost on many people.

It seems still the case that Barnaby Joyce is still regarded as the real Retail Politician and has the ability that some commentators call "cut though" and this probably still is the case. What's certainly the case is that Barnaby is polarising. Views people hold are very much for or against. Indifference is rare. Some are because they're not from Conservative side of politics and Joyce possesses equal measures of political opportunity & political threat.

Some will still pursue him with a sense of justice and/or political motivation. People can make up their own mind if they want to do that or not. Everyone can make their own decisions & judgements. As for the alleged victim, I haven't heard what she wants done to Barnaby Joyce but some others have decided to pursue him. I hope this doesn't add to the alleged victim's angst having been dragged through the press to often already.

There are 2 things that stick uncomfortably close to one another. One is some strongly feel justice must be done, that is Mr Joyce must recieve some grave penalty vs the fact the allegations went the full distance within the NSW Nationals and no outcome was possible.  The other is as this is unresolved, possibly unresolvable, quandry exists that some will continue to pursue him without launching a court case. To repeat I don't know what the actual allegations were (and don't want to know) but they may be such that a legal pursuit is likely to prove fruitless. If that is the case, pursuing a person via the town square (Media or Social Media) and not the courts is a very dangerous path to tread. 
It could get messy & others have suggested, someone might get pursued for defamation & damages.

There are 2 important closing points (for now)...

1) Many are hoping for good outcomes for regional Australia now Barnaby Joyce is Deputy Prime Minister. So again people should be advised to be very careful commenting on the allegations. That's not "Stay Silenced" its much simpler. Allegations were made, nothing has actually been proven, this is Australia, you are innocent until proven guilty. Add to that the actual details of the alelgations have never been made public. By all means, have a view, share it if you wish but be mindful what & how you say it. The allegations were described as "defamatory" by one of the stakeholders. Be mindful of the old saying that goes "Unless you're prepared to write it, sign your name to it, stand up in court & repeat it...maybe don't say it"

2) Some have made calls for the new DPM to "now rebuild trust". It was never explained whether thats trust in political outcomes or trust as in personal behaviour or both. But if you make those calls you're going to have to publicly state at some point IF he has rebuilt trust or has blown it. He claims to be a better person, perhaps he is and there'll be nothing but good political outcomes. Maybe he'll have another fall from grace, but those calling him to rebuild trust will have to pipe up one way or the other. They made the call, they will have to write regular score cards. They can't hold off waiting for another controversy and then fly in to behead him. If you call for him to be good, better, best you better call out when he is any of those things. We'll see.

Considering that the vote numbers in the federal Nationals Spill Meeting will never be made public but was probably very close, his tenure as DPM & Party Leader will remain under a microscope on a knife edge. It can only be strengthened by solid political performance, gains for the regions and no personal life controversy. My guess perhaps hope is its head down & tail up for Barnaby Joyce. How his political future goes, how long it goes for is really up solely to him.

Its very sad someone may have gone through an alleged incident/s that required a report being lodged with the NSA Nationals.
Its sadder still that no resolution one way or the other was acheivable. 
Its made worse that unless allegations go to the next level there's probably no chance of a suitable resolution for the alleged victim or accused and that the spectre hangs there & is brought up regularly.

Politically, the regions may get a win in the future with the cut through prowess of the "Retail Politician".|

For all involved within the allegation side of things...there are no winners. None.

Members of Parliament & Their Career Post Politics

The ugly end of the stick smells of the argument... "MPs don't earn nearly as much in Parliament as they would in the real world, you cannot deny them a career after Politics"

You hear that comment you can reply with "Utter Bollocks & Putrid Tripe!!!"

It is intellectually corrupt. No one is denying anyone a post politics career & not all politicians earn more before & after politics. There's a ton who make more in politics than they did as a Union Organiser, Postman, Manager of Joblink and the list goes on. 
Some are on the best wicket of their lives because they earn more without extras for being on committees, plus travel costs covered etc. So no, "Utter Bollocks & Putird Tripe!!!"

In the case of Ben Wyatt, he was up until the recent State Election a senior member of Cabinet, the State Treasurer & a minister of other portfolios. Now his duty was to serve the best interests of the WA public not the WA Labor party but we all know all parties blur that line or cross it with rampant abandon.

His "fiduciary duty" was owed to the people of WA. He was a democratically elected public servant.

When he left politics, he didn't waste time. He joined the board of Woodside & days later joined the board of Rio Tinto. In the case of Rio, he'd previously ripped into them for the destruction of significant sites of historic & cultural merit to the local Indigenious community. He blasted them by saying the board needed to have someone who understood the sensitivities of Pilbara Indigenous Culture.

Here's the rub. He is on the board. His "Fiduciary Duty" is owed to the shareholders, not community members or any residents of the Pilbara or the staff or other stake holders. Even if Ben was appointed as a Nominee Director on behalf of Pilbara Indigenous people, the Corporations Act is still 100% very, very clear. His "Fiduciary Duty" is owed to two things. The perpetuity of the Company & the best interests of the shareholders...NOT PILBARA PEOPLE OR ANYONE ELSE.

When Mr Wyatt claims Rio is a "Pilbara company" - it most definitely is not. The majority of its shareholders are non Australians. Less than 20% (I think it might even be under 15% these days) is owned by non Australian companies, trusts & individuals. THAT is to whom he answers and THAT is whom he represents, trying to get them the best return on their investment.
Don't let anyone, not anyone, try to convince you otherwise...its bollocks.

Not Pilbara locals, contractors, sub contractors, indigenous or any other stakeholders. It was a glarishly dud stunt that stunk to the rafters of Political Spin.

IT IS NOT A PILBARA COMPANY

Now why did Ben Wyatt get the job, did Pilbara indigenous people nominate him as a nominee director? Well no such word on that anywhere. It appears Ben Wyatt was appointed by the board. No others involved, maybe some stakeholders were consulted but there's no paper trail to suggest that.

What Ben does bring to the company is 4 years of corporate knowledge of the WA Labor Government.
He brings close & near personal relationships with sitting members of Cabinet.
He has them on speed dial.
He has all the very senior bureacrats from the Treasurer's Office, the WA Treasury itself, the Cabinet Office.
He is the biggest conduit between Rio & the State Government ever.
Whatever he is paid, he is the cheapest lobbying officer they could have ever recruited & then hide him under the title of "Director" - Any legislation covering lobbying firms or individuals won't apply. 

Crisp, clean teflon.

He also brings great understanding of the corporate strategy of not only Treasury but Cabinet, very handy for a mining company looking to expand & do deals with Ministers & Cabinet.

So, Ben Wyatt IS Rio Tinto. He is representing Rio, he is operating in the best interests of Rio and no one else...or he breaches the Corporations Act. As most of the shareholders are overseas we now have a potential sovereign risk with the WA Cabinet potentially being easily accessed by a foreign mining company.

THIS IS WHY THERE SHOULD BE AT LEAST A 3 YEAR GAP BETWEEN LEAVING CABINET & JOINING ANY BOARD THAT DEALS WITH THE WA STATE GOVERNMENT. 

"Oh but he/she is of high moral standing, they've always done the right thing..." 
Really?

Can we trust all politicians now? Some we can, some we can't and some I just wouldn't risk it if I were undecided. You leave the side door open, someone will slip in & take what's there. Lets remove the doubt & wonder. Install a 3 year gap. I gather even up until very recent times Brian Burke was still a lobbyist and pre-selection mover, shaker & influencer. 

Well I think they can continue to do the right thing & not get into a position that could potentially disadvantage Western Australian Public or give rise to people jumping to conclusions real or otherwise.
Tell me, do you trust someone who's been elected to the office of WA Member of Parliament & the stand up in Parliament and say this...

And lets not just look at Ben Wyatt, lets look at another ex-MP who made this state straight after his party won Government in an election he chose not to contest. 

Now I don't know if that was a threat or a frustrated fool sounding off or a slice of truth coming out of the WA Labor cabinet or what. I do recall though, not long after Sue Ellery tried to shut School of the Air without consulting any parents, teachers or unions...or even her own Labor MPs from the North West. She also tried to shut down Moora Residential College despite the costs in closing it being greater than keeping it open and look, Feds saved it and its rebuilt and fully booked. She said she would return but never has. Lets also recall the government was going to abolish the SW Rescue Chopper. Thankfully it was saved by the opposition numbers and a number of people are now alive because the chopper wasn't abolished, it landed and attended to them.

So I'll leave the moral angle alone because I don't think I trust all politicians completely.

So its only good common sense that there's a gap between leaving cabinet and joining a board for the company to use as a Cabinet Door Opener.

If the MP is retirement age then no, I don't think they should be paid not to go on a board. Retire or go do something else. Get a job, open a business. You can wait 3 years before becoming a slippery side door snakeoil salesman stitching the WA people for your new company.

Now the argument will come up that it's an impairment to their Post Politics Career...well no.
They are significantly advantaged by virtue of the highest Public Servant role they held to get a glorious board job. If they're well worth their money, jump onto a board that solely operates in NSW or overseas. If the opportunities drop off like a dead gull on a power line its because he can only lobby a state government the company doesn't deal with or he's otherwise not worth appointing...
Who's fault is that? Not WA Tax Payers, residents & electors. You can't make it outside your sphere, it was only you connections getting you the job anyway.

No I won't support a pension to get a retired MP through the tough times. Harden up.