#mosman

How efficiently does your NSW council operate?

Garbage.png

Who has ever bothered to read the annual reports published by the local councils? Have we ever brought our local councillors to task on costs? For instance, why does household waste removal cost 2x as much in Woollahra as it does in Penrith? Of course, income disparity is one factor but is there a luxury element to garbage disposal in the wealthy suburbs? Garbage collection is just garbage collection, no? Of course, the distances travelled by garbage trucks might be a factor. Yet Waverley costs $17,500/hectare for annual rubbish disposal whereas Hornsby (arguably national parks don’t make it apples for apples comparisons) is $511/ha. Lane Cove has a similar area to Waverley but costs only $4,709/ha. Someone is making some serious coin on the collections in some council areas based off annual escalations one would think.

Staff Resident.png

Why does the City of Sydney council have a $924/resident cost per council staff versus $277 in Liverpool? Or on an area basis, why does it cost $83,000/ha in Sydney vs a similarly populated Parramatta at $12,300/ha?

Staff ha.png30% of Clover Moore’s budget is allocated to council staff. Councils in Hornsby, The Hills and Camden are less than 20%. Cumberland and Liverpool councils have around 50% of the budget allocated to staff.

Staff.png

The City of Sydney rakes in $757mn pa or $3,154 per 240,000 odd residents. Mosman pulls in just under $50mn or $1,600 per 31,000 residents. Blacktown pulls in $640mn revenue per annum across 366,534 residents.

Residents.png

Did we realise the collective equity base of our Sydney metro councils exceeds $66bn? $21bn of that in Sydney. How well are those assets being managed? There are some lazy balance sheets and even lazier investment strategies for all the collective billions sitting in those accounts.

AssetsCouncil.png

So next time you attend your council meeting, perhaps you can ask what the investment strategies are among the millions of your monies raised has been allocated?

 

We should be thinking of merging more councils. Plenty of inefficiencies to be squeezed out and plenty of opportunities to lower rates to the residents. Get off the high horse on declaring climate emergencies and look at streamlining services that really benefit those they serve.

High Net Worth Flipocrites

True colours shine brightly in Warringah. There is no questioning the resounding victory of Independent Zali Steggall over climate dinosaur Tony Abbott. She told us the people of Warringah wanted action on climate change. Let’s see if she can prosecute the case to her constituents now by suggesting the installation of wind farms all across the shorelines of the electorate. When these high net worth individuals work out the damage to property values, they will quickly grow an acute case of NIMBY (not in my back yard) itis.

Price analysis conducted in Germany by Sunak and Madlener (2014) found that the asking prices for properties whose view was strongly affected by the construction of wind turbines decreased by 10–17%.

The #WindFarmsForWarringah movement is garnering the signatures to rub the noses of the coastal elites. Undoubtedly buyers remorse will sink in less than a week after her election. She now holds a dead seat. It was only ever to remove Abbott.

Luxury SUV driving hippies abound in Warringah. They maybe virtue signalers of the highest order but they will quickly put personal wealth protection ahead of the environment as already evidenced by their consumption patterns.

Or are they yuppies? When was the last term we heard that terminology?

Maybe a new word is needed for these people – flipocrites?

Zali, best ask Lisa Wilkinson for Jacinda’s number. You might need it

Zali Steggall proclaimed she would fight for her signature campaign promise – “climate change” – and hold the government to account on the environment in her victory speech. She won her seat in CM’s own electorate of Warringah. That is democracy. No, CM did not vote for her. The result stands, despite a despicable campaign against the incumbent which included leaving faeces outside his office.

Sadly for Steggall, the broader Australian public repudiated climate change given the terrible performance of the Greens and Labor who pushed this cornerstone uncosted agenda. Climate evangelist Independent Dr Kerryn Phelps lost her seat of Wentworth despite the same endorsement from former UN climate chief Christina Figueres. Julia Banks also fell despite receiving the global warming high priestess’ praises. Climate change wasn’t the key issue for those wealthy latte-sipping constituents across the harbour in Wentworth, just as they weren’t for Warringah.

Steggall had one role – to oust the 25-year incumbent former PM Tony Abbott. She succeeded. It was a mission unlike any other seen in Aussie politics. She had 1,400 people to help her. “Vote 1 Zali Steggall” placards adorned many doors in CM’s neighbourhood. CM always thought sticking an Abbott poster outside one’s house would incite an act of hatred. On election day we got proof of that, including a stabbing. Alex Turnbull even called Abbott a “terrorist”. If there were more terrorists like him we would have fewer bushfires and fewer deaths at sea. Imagine if he accepts the Ambassador to the US role. ScoMo can hardly pick Julie Bishop especially after Bill Shorten endorsed her. CM digresses.

Although Steggall denied the role of activist group GetUp! during the campaign, she has now acknowledged its role. She said,

“I think some of [GetUp!’s] aspects have been divisive … but on the other hand, they have raised the profile of climate change…They are here to raise awareness of issues and, for me, that is part of democracy. We are all the better for having­ the variety of issues and debate and opinions at the table.”

GetUp! didn’t get much bang for the $13.5mn outside of Abbott. Peter Dutton in the seat of Dickson, Queensland and Christian Porter in the electorate of Pearce, Western ­Australia both increased their margin. GetUp!’s other targets – Greg Hunt, Kevin Andrews and Josh Frydenberg in Victoria as well as Nicolle­ Flint in South Australia, suffered swings against them but all kept their seats. Perhaps they may feel better knowing Clive Palmer won nothing with his $60mn advertising blitz although already Labor sooks are complaining this was indirect spending on the Libs campaign.

In 2022, if Steggall chooses to run, it is unlikely she’ll get anywhere near that level of backing. She is a one term MP. The Liberals will put forward a new candidate who isn’t Abbott. Like Sharma in Wentworth, the Liberals should retake the seat. Steggall won’t have 1,400 volunteers to support her. Nor $13.5mn in GetUp! Backing. If Morrison gets a majority then her vote will be useless in the lower house. She will have served her purpose. If she has any chance of winning she’ll need to trade in the Nissan Pathfinder.

Steggall might do her best to push climate change in parliament for her luxury SUV loving constituents but it will be to no avail. Her biggest global warming sponsors, Labor, will be desperate to find a leader to pull them back from the left. Sadly the first two candidates – Plibersek (who has now stepped away) and Albanese – are of the left and the third suggestion is Jim Chalmers, who was a principle advisor to Rudd. Even Chris Bowen has announced he might run. If they have to bring a new platform, it can’t be the politics of envy and class warfare nor loony uncosted climate change targets nor identity. A new Labor leader will have a lot of trouble reuniting such unmitigated failure in opposition.

The irony is that if Labor scales back the extent of renewable energy targets and emissions then how much of a crisis could it have been at the time of the election? It either is or it isn’t and to try to suggest to Australians that the cost of doing nothing was so high, they didn’t buy it. Who could forget when former PM Kevin Rudd said climate change “was the greatest moral challenge of our generation” in 2007? It wasn’t long after that his ETS was scrapped. Flimflam.

Steggall might say, “I think what was rejected was Labor’s economic policy“. That is true but it was also Labor’s climate change policies which were inextricably linked to people’s pocket books. She might reflect on how many seats that are now blue that weren’t decades ago. They are the aspirational voters, just like that poor chap that lost his job for asking Shorten about tax relief for those on $250,000. Those who don’t want the government in their pocket. Steggall’s electorate is highly affluent. They can weather storms far better than the average Joe.

Maybe Zali Steggall should catch up with Lisa Wilkinson at the Avenue Rd Cafe in Mosman and ask for NZ PM Jacinda Ardern’s direct line because they will both be wondering why PM Scott Morrison isn’t returning either of their calls!

Alan Jones is spot on about the Warringah electorate

img_2599

Alan Jones is spot on with his comments about the Warringah electorate.

“Tony Abbott has lost Warringah. He had held the seat since 1994.

By her own admission, Independent Zali Steggall is going to be the voice, the leader, the messiah of climate change.

Well… that being the case what better place to start than in her own electorate?

Wind turbines and solar panels at Balmoral Beach.

In the streets of Mosman.

At North Head.

Any beach.

Let’s have solar panels and wind turbines everywhere.

The electorate voted for action against climate change.

Give them what they want.

Indeed Zali Steggall must be true to her word.

Don’t ask any other electorate to bear the burden of this climate change nonsense, propaganda and brainwashing.

Let’s start at home.

In Warringah.

One must not argue with the democratic process.

I can’t say she won fair and square.

You can leave the “fair” bit out.

Clearly, the electorate wants action on climate change.

Well, here we go.

Let’s get started.”

Open letter to Lisa Wilkinson

Dear Lisa,

Oscar Wilde once said that, “the only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.”

Your open letter to Australian PM Scott Morrison effectively pleads for him to ignore the election result and adopt the policies that cost Bill Shorten his job. Labor’s platform was repudiated by the Australian people.

What is it with the left that is so preoccupied with Jacinda Ardern? Her domestic policy track record is awful. Copying Australia’s gun ban does not absolve her of failures elsewhere. Yes, she is young and progressive but it would have been nice for her to understand the cultural significance of donning the hijab rather than thinking it’s just a garment to augment her virtue signaling. Maybe you should talk to Rita Panahi to get a proper perspective on what it means to wear one.

Do you really think the PM will call his counterpart across the ditch if he needs to reach out? Morrison would seemingly have the answers to win an election within 9 months of taking over the leadership after Turnbull had trashed the Liberal brand. That is what his new party is for. He has their loyalty.

Your request to push for stable government is not lost on Mr Morrison. CM hates to tell you that the Prime Minister almost single-handedly won against all the odds and that has absolutely cemented his leadership. Do not forget the cabal of duplicitous leftists (Turnbull, Pyne, Bishop, Banks etc) within the party are thankfully all gone. The LNP can now be healed under his leadership. Did you honestly miss the significance of his win?

It wouldn’t be a letter from a host of The Project if climate change wasn’t on the menu! CM is pretty sure you voted for Zali Steggall in Warringah. Her sole policy platform is climate change. She emphatically said it in her victory speech.

Sadly, the Australian people rejected foolhardy renewable targets that Steggall wants to pursue. The Labor Party can’t risk running a climate change agenda again. Steggall’s targets are more extreme than Labor. Aussies at the coal face know better than Mosmanites at the Avenue Road Cafe how their financial livelihoods could be irrevocably damaged by Labor/Green climate policies. It is now a dead issue.

Did you know that Australia contributes 0.0000156% of global CO2? That means even if we went 100% renewable our impact is zip. Nada. Zero. Your husband’s Tesla has already travelled 150,000km in CO2 terms before it left Elon Musk’s factory.

CM advises you to watch the Sir David Attenborough documentary, Climate Change: The Facts, and note it is almost completely devoid of hard numbers. Many heart string pulling pictures but it is best you put faith in the PM to hit emission targets without trashing our economy in the process. Mr Shorten couldn’t put a price on climate change and paid a huge penalty because of it.

Please do not be concerned with the hot temperatures. It was hotter in the 1890s and early 1900s. Our Bureau of Meteorology has already been in quite a bit of trouble for fiddling the temperature figures. Feel more sorry for iguanas in Florida that fell out of trees due to the bitter cold and snowfalls.

As far as poverty goes, Australia has some of the lowest rates among 1st world nations. Spare a thought for the 118mn Europeans that live below the poverty line, over twice the rate of Australia. 23.5% of Europeans live below the poverty line and 330,000 German households had their electricity cut off because they couldn’t afford to pay for the record high power prices thanks to renewable energy policies. By the way 42,000 Aussies suffered the same fate last year.

Please quit with the “gender pay gap” nonsense. If companies could hire women at 14.1% less than men for the same job then there would be no point hiring men. Your pay packet is superior to many of your Project co-stars so you’re hardly oppressed by the gender pay gap. Choice of industry has a greater bearing on pay than gender.

Childcare is an issue which is being addressed. Domestic violence is way too high but do not ignore the statistics which show female violence against men. It just goes unreported.

While your sentiments are no doubt well intentioned, Jacinda could learn far more from ScoMo on how to win an election given the NZ PM has never achieved it in her own right.

Yours sincerely,

M. Newman, Contrarian Marketplace

Quality campaigning for Zali

Quite certain this gentleman is not from Warringah, nor endorsed by Independent Zali Steggall but she must be glad to know this guy is in her corner. Quality campaigning.

Warringah Pub Test

Sky News held a pub test in the contested seat of Warringah. The pressure on the incumbent, former PM Tony Abbott, to hold his seat has been extreme.

The main threat has come from Independent Zali Steggall, who paints herself as a sensible centre candidate, despite backing from radical leftist lobby group GetUp. For some strange reason she decided not to go head to head with the other panelists. Probably because she has nothing to offer in terms of policy,” much less climate change or EVs (from the seat of her Nissan Pathfinder 3.5L V6 SUV)..

Having said that if one wants to lodge a protest vote against Tony Abbott (who presented well), United Australia Party’s Suellen Wrightson came across as a million times more impressive than Steggall in her media appearances to date. Even the Greens candidate, Kristyn Glanville, attended. Poor form Zali.

Listening to the questions asked, climate change and EVs didn’t feature as major issues. Power prices, more gas and coal baseload and restrained immigration got cheers from the crowd.