TIMBER AUCTION 'ABSOLUTE DISASTER' SAYS HALL

The latest public auction of hardwood timber has been described as an

‘absolute  disaster’ by The Nationals Spokesman for Natural Resources Peter

Hall.

 

Speaking  in  State  Parliament  this  week, Mr Hall warned that the native

hardwood  timber  industry  was  ‘perilously close to collapse’ and several

Victorian country towns would suffer significant job losses.

 

Mr Hall said the latest timber auction was now embroiled in a legal dispute

and  the uncertainty was undermining confidence in the future of the timber

industry.

 

“Unless  the  government  acts  quickly  and decisively, many small sawmill

operations in Victoria will simply fall over,” Mr Hall told Parliament.

 

“If that occurs, it means a greater reliance on imported timber products to

our  country,  and  that is a bad thing both in terms of an import position

but  also  an  environmental  position  - if we are relying on imports from

other  countries of lesser environmental standards than we adopt for forest

harvesting practices.”

 

Mr Hall said the VicForests auction for 700,000 cubic metres of timber held

earlier this month was dominated by four sawmilling companies.

 

He  said  many  smaller  companies  missed  out  completely  and  now faced

uncertain futures.

 

“Even  those  who  were  successful  had  to pay prices that were somewhere

between 20-50% above expectations,” Mr Hall said.

 

“In  the  longer term, these higher prices are completely unsustainable and

put the future of the Victorian hardwood timber industry in jeopardy.”

 

Mr  Hall  said  there  was  significant  confusion  surrounding the auction

process  and  the  issue  had  been  complicated  by  sawmill companies now

challenging  the  validity  of  the  results and the actual appeals process

itself.

 

“As  I understand it, the auction process led to grievances being lodged on

every  single lot, and just over 100 lots were put forward for auction,” Mr

Hall told Parliament.

 

“Indeed, the grievance process has prompted letters today to VicForests

from legal representatives of the Victorian Association of Forest

Industries suggesting they wonder whether the grievance process is legal

and whether the panel appointed to hear the grievances had the power to

determine the outcome.”

 

 

Change Needed to Judical Sentencing

The Victorian sentencing system is in crisis. The State Government recognises the problem but is trying to patch things up without getting to the heart of the issue. What it should do is introduce a system of Standard Minimum Sentencing similar to that which operates in New South Wales. In recent weeks, we've seen the Attorney-General promise to abolish suspended sentences. He has also reveal a half-baked plan to send judges back to school.

All of this will do nothing to solve the problem. Victorians want a sentencing system which is transparent and consistent. Standard Minimum Sentencing will provide both.

Essentially this system establishes a standard, non-parole period of imprisonment for those found guilty of the most heinous crimes. In NSW there are 23 such crimes which are identified in legislation - from murder to aggravated sexual assault - and subjected to minimum sentences.

The sentencing judge retains the discretion to vary the Standard Minimum Sentence - either up or down - but only after detailing the mitigating or aggravating circumstances which justify that decision.

Those aggravating and mitigating circumstances are also detailed in the NSW legislation. The court must make specific reference to those factors when the judgement is being delivered.

If the system was introduced in Victoria The Nationals believe the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Committee should be asked to make recommendations to the government about the range of crimes which would attract the operation of this system and the Standard Minimum Sentences which should apply. The Council would provide that advice after seeking public input.

The Government would also have regard to the present system of Guideline Judgements for which there is now provision under our laws to assist in that process.

By these means both the public and the judiciary would contribute to establishing the crimes to which the system should apply and in setting the Standard Minimum Sentences in each instance.

The attraction of this system is that it sets a benchmark for prison jail terms in a way which is transparent and which is calculated to bring about greater consistency in sentencing.

It gives the community the confidence in the knowing that there is a defined starting point for the sentencing judge with any variation having to be justified.

The Nationals are opposed to Mandatory Sentencing. One size does not fit all when it comes to putting people behind bars.

It is true that in some aspects of our present laws Mandatory Sentencing applies. For example a speed camera makes no distinction between the person who is speeding for the fun of it as opposed to the parent who is rushing an injured child to hospital. Equally, the penalties for driving with a blood alcohol reading in excess of .05 apply just the same irrelevant of whether the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident may have caused it or not.

It is fundamentally different though when a person is to be jailed. Putting someone behind bars is very different from fining them or taking their licence away.

Mandatory Sentencing which involves people being sent to jail is a blight on any legal system.

About three months ago The Nationals circulated a petition raising concerns about the present sentencing systems and calling for the introduction of Standard Minimum Sentencing. More than 12,000 people have signed that petition. It is reflective of broader public opinion.

Sentencing a person to jail is the toughest job faced by any member of this judiciary. But the task requires transparency and consistency to ensure public confidence in the process by which this vital role is being fulfilled. People need to have faith that people committing serious crimes are not escaping our legal system with less than they deserve.

The Victorian public has the right to have a say in how our sentencing system works and to feel as if their legitimate concerns are being heard by the government.

Standard Minimum Sentencing was introduced by the Labor Government in NSW in 2002. Melbourne Labor should introduce it in Victoria in 2006.

PETER RYAN Leader of The Nationals

"DEMOCRACY IS THE NAME WE GIVE THE PEOPLE, WHENEVER WE NEED THEM."

VICTORIAGATE

A group of self styled "Democratic Activists" are about to embark on a co-ordinated legal campaign in an attempt to deliver "proper democratic fundamentals" to the Victorian people.

They claim to have "overwhelming evidence" that Victoria has been in a "constitutional void" and that the current Victorian Parliament is "unlawful" and "unconstitutional" as one member, states - "the Victorian Parliament enacted a Constitution in 1975 which was unlawfully enacted.

The provision claimed to allow for the enactment of the Victorian Constitution Act 1975 to occur was section 60 of the Victorian Constitution Act 1855 which states - "that the Legislature of Victoria, as constituted by this Act, shall have full Power and Authority from Time to Time, by any Act or Acts, to repeal, alter, or vary all or any of the provisions of this Act", yet when you look at the schedule of Victorian Constitution Bill 1975 it claims to have repealed the "whole Act".

To read this amazing story in full, click here

Ray Platt [Editor of The Strategy newspaper]

Human Rights Violation Exposed by Dr Sykes

The Victorian government this week gagged parliamentary debate on it's charter of human rights and responsibilities, in what the member for Benalla, Bill Sykes, has described as the ultimate act of hypocrisy.

Dr Sykes said that freedom of speech is a basic humane right. The government has made an issue of protecting peoples rights but has denied parliamentarians that right on a controversial bill he said. It was clear from the limited debate the government had no counter to the National Party, or the oppositions argument that the bill protected no right that was not already protected by statures of common law.

The bill provides no compensation for people who's rights are violated and it is remarkably light on responsibility.

Dr Sykes said he would have raised several examples of failure by the government to protect existing human rights.

One example was the planned compulsory acquisition of property at Violet Town and Baddaginnie for a Toxic Waist Dump Site with the property owner's first knowledge being when they received a notice, hand delivered by government storm troupers, as part of a secret military style operation he said. Fortunately "People Power" beat the government on this assault on property rights.

The second example involved the sexual assault on a student [with a mental disability] by a student. The alleged perpetrator was given more protection and support than the victim. The victims mother had to take out an intervention order to protect her son from the perpetrator, and then the human services department contested the order on his behalf before he was charged and found guilty.

Dr Sykes said he had many examples more to quote. Clearly the government did not want to be embarrassed by the public revelation of their failure to deliver basic human rights.

When In Doubt- PANIC!!!

Syrian facing axe by faction "The Australian" - Victorian political reporter Rick Wallace - June 17, 2006

PREMIER Steve Bracks will hold talks with top figures in his faction to consider calls to dump candidate Khalil Eideh over his loyalty to Syria and his contentious warnings about Israel. Mr Eideh has written a detailed defence of his comments to Mr Bracks and Jewish leader Anton Block in a bid to quell calls for his dismissal.

The millionaire trucking boss, who is endorsed to stand for Labor in an upper house province in Melbourne's west, has been under fire over writing about Zionist threats to the Arab world and pledging loyalty to accused terrorist sponsor and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A meeting of Mr Bracks's Right faction this week heard several calls for Mr Eideh to be dumped, with predictions his remarks could cost the party crucial votes in November.

"This issue is spreading beyond the Jewish community and is beginning to hit in the western region where Khalil Eideh could possibly be representing the party," a Labor source said yesterday.

"People in the western suburbs are very attuned to Howard's anti-terror message and yet we have a candidate that has pledged support for a regime that sponsors terrorism."

The meeting resolved to take these concerns and those of the Jewish community to the Premier, who has so far stood by Mr Eideh.

The Weekend Australia believes various methods of dumping Mr Eideh were also discussed in the meeting.

Leading figures in the faction believe any attempt to disendorse Mr Eideh, who was born in Syria but has lived in Australia for 36 years, would have to go to Labor's national executive.

This would require the support of factional powerbrokers Bill Shorten and Stephen Conroy. To succeed, it might also need the support of the Left faction, which Mr Eideh belongs to.

Mr Eideh, who remains abroad, denies he is anti-Semitic in his letter to Mr Bracks and Mr Block, saying his controversial comments were part of a form letter that was signed by 500 people in a campaign against Syria's honorary consul in Melbourne.

"Unfortunately those letters are now being read out of context to suggest I am somehow disloyal to Australia or intolerant," Mr Eideh writes. "Recent reports I have equated suicide bombers with martyrs are false and based on an incorrect newspaper reports from a number of years ago. I have a long record of publicly denouncing all acts of terrorism and the targeting of civilians in armed conflicts."

The letters, sent to Mr Assad, say "the threat from the colonial and Zionist is increasing on our Arabic world".

Mr Eideh, who runs the successful Blue Star Logistics company, also pledges "absolute loyalty" to Mr Assad, whose regime has been condemned by the UN for supporting terrorists and accused of murdering Lebanese leader Rafik Hariri.

He is expected to meet with Mr Block, the president of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, to reiterate the contents of his letter.

Diry Diary Toolbox for Bracks in Election Panic

Bracks denies dirt file allegations ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Well it might be time for SOS-NEWS to open the can of Bracks worms we have been holding ?

------------------------------- ABC-PM Program - Friday, 16 June , 2006

Reporter: Lynn Bell MARK COLVIN: The Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks, has been trying to shrug off a new nickname today: Doyen of Dirt.

The Opposition's hung the tag on him over the public airing of a notebook belonging to one of the Premier's senior advisers.

The notebook refers to "index checks" on the wife and children of Victoria's new Opposition leader, Ted Baillieu.

Steve Bracks denies the existence of a dirt file on Mr Baillieu's family, but the Federal Treasurer, Peter Costello, says Mr Bracks should apologise.

In Melbourne, Lynn Bell.

LYNN BELL: It's long been the mantra of the Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks, that he runs an open, transparent and accountable government.

But today, the Opposition frontbencher Andrew McIntosh has painted something of a different picture.

ANDREW MCINTOSH: The Premier is effectively the doyen of dirt in this state. He runs a dirt unit inside the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and there are persistent rumours of the power of that unit.

LYNN BELL: Mr McIntosh coined the new title after finding a notebook, which had been pushed under the door of his office this week.

The notebook belongs to one of the Premier's senior political advisers, and refers to an index search on the wife of Victoria's newly appointed Opposition leader, Ted Baillieu, and Mr Baillieu's three children.

The Liberal MP Robin Cooper says the Bracks Government is really getting down into the gutter, if it's started investigating Ted Baillieu's children.

ROBIN COOPER: We're talking about young children. One of them's not even got into the teenage years, and for them to be investigating Ted Baillieu's children is just simply disgusting.

LYNN BELL: But the Premier Steve Bracks has categorically denied the existence of a dirt unit, saying the book contained nothing more than private notes.

STEVE BRACKS: That notebook was the private jottings of a person who is on my private staff as a parliamentary tactics adviser, and it was reflecting, obviously - as you can see from the jottings - the events that were happening about that time. So, it was reporting on matters which were current with the planning portfolio at that time, and obviously those jottings were about that.

LYNN BELL: Ted Baillieu hails from a well-known and very wealthy family in Victoria, and has previously been referred to as The Toff from Toorak.

The Premier Steve Bracks says his staff have not launched an investigation into the Baillieu family, but he notes it is important for all MPs to ensure their financial interests are disclosed.

STEVE BRACKS: And the Act is quite clear in this matter, that there is disclosure rules, and so the disclosure rules are clear for MPs, for office-holders, and that is those disclosure rules require disclosure of you and your financial interests of your family; that is required.

LYNN BELL: The State's most senior Liberal MP, the Federal Treasurer Peter Costello, was in Victoria today, making a heritage announcement at Point Nepean. But he also weighed into the dirt file affair.

PETER COSTELLO: The Liberal Party doesn't investigate people's wives and children, and it's an utterly shameful thing that the Labor Party runs investigations on MPs' wives and their children.

I just can't understand why Mr Bracks doesn't apologise. He is ultimately responsible for this.

LYNN BELL: But the Premier Steve Bracks says he didn't know what was being written in the notebook, and he doesn't believe there's a problem.

STEVE BRACKS: Ah, well no, I wasn't aware. And these are jottings . I mean, these are people who are working, who are jotting down current matters which are reflected in the public commentary, in the press and the paper, and current events which are happening at that time, and it's really those jottings which are reflected there. What is the key issue is what a government does, and our Government's been clear in what it's done.

LYNN BELL: The book has now been returned to its owner, but the Victorian MP Andrew McIntosh has referred the matter to the state's Privacy Commissioner.

Ted Baillieu did not make any comment on the matter today.

MARK COLVIN: Lynn Bell.

BRACKS USES HEAVEY HANDED LEGAL TACTICS - SALE HOSPITAL GAG

The Bracks Government has again been caught out trying to gag community debate - this time by issuing a policy (document attached) forbidding staff at Sale Hospital from speaking to the media.

The Bracks Government has used heavy-handed legal tactics and threats to stifle embarrassing discussion and debate on hospital closures and cuts right across Victoria.

The heavy-handed tactics at Sale follow the use of separate threatening legal letters to Seymour and Rochester Hospitals, the gagging of Angliss Hospital whistleblower Dr Peter Lazzari and the sweeping region-wide clamp ordered by the Department of Human Services Gippsland Regional Director (and former Labor MP) Valerie Callister.

Labor's Health Minster Bronwyn Pike ordered the Sale Hospital gag to cover up planned ward closures at the hospital.

When she sacked the Sale Hospital Board, Bronwyn Pike promised there would be no service cuts but it now seems that she has changed her mind. Sale Hospital beds and services appear to be at risk and people are not allowed to speak about it.

Val Callister's extraordinary letter (copy attached) sought to stymie Opposition MPs and media visits to the Gippsland region hospitals, including Sale.

These heavy-handed legal tactics and gags add up to a repressive State-wide pattern. Labor is clearly prepared to use threatening and divisive tactics to stop open debate.

Bronwyn Pike's latest gag is another attack on the public's right to scrutinise the Bracks Government's actions and prevents the Opposition and the media from holding the Bracks Government to account.

This is not an action of an open and accountable government. This is the action of a government committed to secrecy and afraid of scrutiny.

Steve Bracks promised in 1999 that:

"Under a Bracks Labor Government teachers will be allowed to talk about education; nurses about our health system and community organisations about the issues that affect them." (Media release, 03 September 1999)

Victorians can no longer have faith in Bronwyn Pike's management of our health system with closures and cut-backs across the State - the latest threat being to Sale Hospital.

Bronwyn Pike must reverse the gag at Sale and stop stifling open public debate around Victoria.

"The Octopus"

Monday, May 15, 2006

Letter to the Editor

Recently I visited the Shires of Mitchell, Murrindindi and Mansfield with Ted Baillieu, who is now Opposition Leader and the Liberal candidate for Seymour Mike Dalmau. At the meetings, Ted spoke about how the State Government controls any community concerns with a technique he dubbed, 'The Octopus'.

I thought I would share Ted's views with your readers.

"Generally the tentacles of the octopus are the local Labor MP, ministerial adviser or government representative appointed to local committees," Ted explained.

"When an issue develops, they will caress you, be sympathetic, write letters and encourage you to engage in 'meaningful discussions' with Government advisors or bureaucrats. Of course, during that time you are expected to not go public, write letters to papers or rock the boat - so they effectively silence you."

"The tentacles will continue to envelop you until they have exhausted your energy, resources and time. You won't get anywhere, because all the time the head of the Octopus is sucking the meat off your bones."

"The only thing to do is to cut off the tentacles and go public to destroy the head and the perception that the Government is helping you with your issue or concern," Mr Baillieu said. "Far from prejudicing your position, if you do go public and make lots of noise, the Government will quickly pay attention to you. It works in completely the opposite way anyone would expect."

Speaking in Ted's support, Liberal candidate for Seymour, Mike Dalmau, recalled how the Mountain Cattlemen were kept in dialogue and discussions with the Government for more than a year until the very day the announcement was made to remove them.

"Right to the very last day, the Cattlemen were kept in "discussions", while unbeknown to them the Government was preparing the legislation, press releases and fraudulent photos, to take away the leases, then when the Government was ready, they just did them over," Mr Dalmau said.

I am sure some of your readers have experienced "the octopus" perhaps without even realising it!

Graeme Stoney MP Opposition Whip (Council)

No Honour Amongst Theives

STEVE Bracks' own faction has rebuffed the Premier's call for an internal party investigation into branch-stacker George Seitz.

After The Age [Melbourne Newspaper]last month revealed the longstanding branch-stacking operation of the state member for Keilor, Mr Bracks said his party should investigate the charges.

"I urge any matters to be brought forward and they will be examined by the party thoroughly," he said at the time.

But at a meeting of the party's administrative committee two weeks ago, the dominant Right faction used its numbers to vote down a call for a detailed investigation into Mr Seitz and his operation.

Mr Seitz and his electorate secretary, Kirsten Psaila, both voted against the motion, which was put by a member of the non-aligned faction, Eric Dearricott.

Mr Dearricott argued that the articles in The Age contained "the gravest of allegations" against Mr Seitz and that the administrative committee was "bound to investigate".

He called for the party to produce detailed bank statements for Mr Seitz's electorate committee since he was elected in 1982 and for the federal electorate of Gorton since it was established in 2003.

He wanted scrutiny of the financial dealings of the branches of St Albans, St Albans East, Keilor, Keilor Downs, Kings Park and Caroline Springs, all of which are controlled by Mr Seitz and his loyalists.

The motion demanded the state secretary reveal the source of all donations of more than $100 to those bank accounts, as well as computer printouts of all membership payments and bank payment summaries for the branches mentioned.

It also called for details of any payments made to the party's state office by any of the numerous community organisations Mr Seitz has been involved in.

These include the Malta Star of the Sea House and the North St Albans Child Care Co-operative Ltd, which was run by Mr Seitz's wife, Elenor.

The Age revealed in May that both organisations played a role in funnelling more than $8000 to a third community organisation, the Keilor Golf Social Club, also controlled by Mr Seitz.

Mr Dearricott also wanted records of payments made by the St Albans Community Health and Resource Centre. Mr Seitz, along with more than a dozen other ALP members, were sacked from that group in the mid-1980s by an administrator because of questionable dealings.

Whistleblowers have revealed that Mr Seitz, the member for the state seat of Keilor since 1982, amassed $290,000 through community bingo games in the 1990s, and has spent it stacking party branches, and buying a beach house at Portarlington.

It has made him one of the most influential figures in the party's dominant Right faction.

His former electorate secretary, Eva, who did not want her surname revealed, told The Age he carried large sums of cash around the office, storing them in a biscuit tin under his desk, and spent three-quarters of his time recruiting party members rather than serving constituents.

Read This and VOTE - Do your kids Matter?

Dear Sir,

The lasting legacy of John Howard to Australia, whether or not he contests the next Federal Election, is that he has almost guaranteed Labor Governments in all States and Territories well into the future. He has emasculated every State Liberal Party by enabling the incumbent governments to shamelessly 'pork barrel' before each election. The upcoming Victorian election is one more blatant example.

It was his obsession to introduce the Goods and Services Tax that caused him to hand over all GST revenue to the States. For Victoria, this is just over $15 billion or nearly half of the total State income in the just released (Edited to 26%)Budget. Other States and territories share a similar bonanza.

Victoria is awash with funds, and this has resulted in mismanagement of nearly every project that has been attempted in the last seven years. Some of these projects should never have been undertaken. The new roof on the railway station in Spencer Street ($500 million) and the 'Fast Trains Project' that no one wants (approaching $1 billion) are just the two most glaring examples.

It is a very sad situation for our country when there is no effective opposition to any government, State or Federal.

Sincerely,

Don McLean Bunyip

NATIONALS SEEK REVERSAL OF SNOWY SALE

Thursday, 1 June 2006

The Nationals are pushing for the Bracks Government to reverse its decision to sell its share of Snowy Hydro, in a motion put to Parliament by Gippsland MP Peter Hall.

Mr Hall will call on Parliament to express its opposition to the sale of the Snowy Hydro Authority and will call on the Bracks' Government to abandon its intention to sell Victoria's 29% share. The aim is to have the State Government honour its 1999 election promise that it would not privatise water authorities.

"Snowy Hydro is resource that, while in New South Wales, has a major impact on Victoria," Mr Hall said.

"It is also important to realise that overwhelmingly, Victorians do not want to see this great Australian icon sold."

Mr Hall said the Victorian Government had an opportunity to put a dampener on the whole of the sale process.

"If it decides not to sell, the sale of the Snowy scheme will be much less attractive to any private buyers. At the very least the Victorian Government should retain its ownership share to ensure it doesn't lose the ability to guarantee environmental flows for the Snowy."

Mr Hall said the whole issue went straight to the credibility of the Bracks' Government.

"The Labor Party stated very clearly in 1999 that it would not privatise water-related assets," he said. "If it is fair dinkum, it will remember that promise. As well, we have to question the benefit to Victoria of this decision.

"I don't believe we will enjoy the same influence in terms of environmental flows for the Snowy and Murray Rivers under a privatised system and I don't believe the interests of irrigators will be guaranteed under this arrangement."

The Nationals are the only party to speak out against the sale in Victoria and Mr Hall said the notice of motion he had put on the agenda was a continuation of that opposition.

"One would hope that the major, city-centric parties would take a principled stand on this issue. Victorians don't want this sale, the Government promised not to do it, so why is it happening?"

Mr Hall added that the State Government had an opportunity to keep its word by supporting his motion when it was put to the Upper House in the coming weeks. The wording of the motion is: "That this house expresses its opposition to the sale of Snowy Hydro Limited and calls on the Bracks' Government to reverse its decision to sell Victoria's share of the company and in doing so honour its 1999 election promise to Victorians that it would not privatise water authorities."

Peter Hall's office (03) 5174 7066 Mobile 0427 747 066

Plan to bury main Melbourne rail service

Tuesday May 23 = National Nine News

The Victorian government is considering a 'top secret' plan to bury one of Melbourne's main rail services.

The $4 billion proposal could see the Glen Waverley service rerouted under some of the city's most exclusive suburbs, Fairfax newspapers report.

Existing rail stations, including Gardiner and Kooyong, would be redeveloped as subway stations while new villages would be built above.

A top-level consortium including NAB and Macquarie Bank is pushing the idea and is already looking at a second similar scheme for another Melbourne rail service, Fairfax says.

Experts estimate the Glen Waverley proposal could free up as much as 100,000 square metres of valuable real estate land and create a parkland corridor up to four kilometres in length.

The idea has been given a mixed welcome among state government officials and the Bracks administration is said to be concerned about a possible voter backlash, especially among wary residents in up-market suburbs.

Bracks Makes The Oranges Glow At Night

Rick Wallace, Victorian political reporter The Australian June 01, 2006

A REPORT that warned dangerous chemicals could seep into a unique salty flood plain in northwest Victoria was suppressed by the Bracks Government in a bid to quell resistance to its plans to build a toxic waste dump nearby, according to the independent MP who represents the area. The report was written by a hydrogeologist employed by the Government and surfaced only after a seven-month effort by independent MP Russell Savage to extract details using freedom of information laws.

The proposed dump near Mildura has become the focus of a bitter environmental debate with claims it threatens five endangered species and is too close to the Murray River and the Hattah-Kulkyne and Murray-Sunset national parks, as well as the 300sqkm flood plain known as the Raak Boinka.

In the report, seen by The Australian, expert Philip Macumber criticises environmental analysis of the dump site as too simplistic and warns a leak might affect the Raak Boinka.

"Any loss from the facility will pass downwards to the sheet sand beneath the facility and then move westwards towards the Raak Boinka where it will discharge to the surface," he said. Dr Macumber - who has spent 40 years studying the interaction between the salt lakes and the groundwater in the area - told The Australian he did not know whether it was possible for the facility to leak.

Mr Savage said the Government had fought bitterly to avoid releasing Dr Macumber's report because of its disturbing warning. "The acidic nature of the groundwater would turn any dump material leakage into a liquid and therefore the potential risk of contamination to the Raak was significant," he said.

A spokeswoman for Major Projects Minister John Lenders admitted the Government had not provided the Macumber report to a tribunal assessing the dump proposal.

The Government has come under fire for hiring preselected Labor candidate Mark Dreyfus to represent it at the tribunal and also been forced to defend itself against claims the tribunal head, Bill Russell, is closely aligned with the ALP.

Bracks Spin Stops Police Compo Payments

Herald-Sun, Melbourne story:

FIFTEEN forgotten police heroes seriously injured protecting the community are being denied almost $1 million in compensation. Seven years in legal black hole Wrong side of thin blue line

For six years, Victoria Police and the Bracks Government have relied on a legal technicality to avoid compensating the officers for their pain and suffering. The group includes seven honoured for their bravery on the night Sgt Gary Silk and Sen-Constable Rod Miller were murdered.

Carmel Arthur, the widow of Rod Miller, has backed the officers' cause.

"I am well aware of the enormous pressures and stresses that were placed on those police who were involved in our case," she said. "Our families will never forget the price that was paid. How could we?

"It saddens me no end to hear those brave men and women . . . are now fighting for compensation to restore a level of normality to their lives. The presence of a technicality should be no excuse for not doing what is right, and honourable.

"This is not a grab for cash. It is a cry for help."

The 15 have fallen into a legal black hole because they were all injured after November 1997, when the Kennett government removed an employee's right to sue an employer at common law for work-related injuries. The Bracks Government restored the right, but backdated it only to October 1999.

The injured include Sgt Geoff Nash, who was beaten by five men in January 1999.

The group also includes:

TWO officers shot by a robber as they sat in their unmarked police car, arms raised in surrender. Both suffered wounds from shotgun pellets and glass fragments.

A SENIOR constable left unable to walk upright for six months and permanently injured in a scuffle to subdue an offender.

A SENIOR constable infected with hepatitis C while struggling to restrain an infected woman who was bleeding from cuts in her arms.

A SERGEANT who suffered severe back injuries when kicked in mid-air after being thrown from a police horse he was breaking in.

One of the most disturbing cases is that of Senior Constable Helen Poke, who cradled Rod Miller's head and held his hand as he lay dying outside the Silky Emperor restaurant.

While at the scene, Sen-Constable Poke was threatened with the same fate by a man who became a suspect in the killings. The man twice confronted a terrified Sen-Constable Poke at her home. She spent nine weeks in hospital with stress. The trauma caused the break-up of her relationship, left her unable to fire her gun at training, and delayed her promotion to sergeant.

"I feel betrayed and disillusioned by the failure of Victoria Police to compensate me and my colleagues for the considerable pain and suffering," Sgt Poke told INSIGHT.

Nine of the group continue to serve as police, though most perform restricted or non-operational duties.

The Police Association has sought ex-gratia payments for the officers.

This is in line with payments, agreed to by Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon in December 2001, for nine police shot or injured at incidents in Bendigo, Heidelberg and Box Hill during the same period.

But after three years of negotiations, the 15 were advised in February last year that they would not get compensation.

Police Association secretary Paul Mullett said police lived daily with the risk of serious injury and should be fairly compensated if hurt.

Police Minister Tim Holding said he had received no application for further ex-gratia payments.

"If these members wish to pursue this matter any further, then they should work through Victoria Police," he said.

A police spokesman said: "While the Chief Commissioner is sympathetic to the members' situation, she has no legal authority or instrument to provide compensation outside the legislative framework that was in place at the time they were injured.

"The Ombudsman has reviewed the matter and reiterated Victoria Police's earlier position that there is no mechanism for the CCP to pay compensation."