HAYDEN COOPER: Gentlemen, thanks for joining us. SIMON BIRMINGHAM: A pleasure, Hayden. DAVID BRADBURY: Afternoon. HAYDEN COOPER: Well timing is everything and Scott Morrison has admitted that he got it wrong. You’ll remember that yesterday he raised questions about the cost to taxpayers of flying relatives to Sydney for the funerals of some of the Christmas…
DetailsThe Coalition’s proposed partial deferral of water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin could be a win-win that would actually help Basin reform, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. Leader Tony Abbott has today outlined $600 million of deferred water buybacks over the forward estimates, as part of more than $2 billion…
DetailsSenator Simon Birmingham has heard a raft of complaints following December’s switchover to digital television in parts of regional South Australia. “South Australians have reported a variety of problems caused by the switchover to digital TV,” Senator Birmingham said today. “It is clear that people are facing problems with the switchover and…
DetailsLEON BYNER: … set top box, you’ve got all these extra channels like 7TWO/mate, GEM, GO!, ELEVEN. A lot of these shows [digital channels] have got repeats which sometimes rate better than the free-to-air ‘one’ service [primary channel]. The problem for those people outside Adelaide is that analogue television’s basically gone. That is, the traditional 2 [ABC],…
DetailsGreg Combet and Mark Dreyfus must be congratulated for their foresight in announcing a floods rebuilding savings measure before the floods occurred, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today. It follows Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s inclusion of Green Start’s scrapping as she today announced, or re-announced in this case, measures…
DetailsWater Minister Tony Burke’s appointment of former NSW Labor Minister Craig Knowles as the new Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) Chair is deeply concerning. Minister Burke served in NSW State Parliament with Mr Knowles who held a variety of portfolios in the revolving-door shemozzle that is NSW Labor. The decision to politicise such…
DetailsJOSEPH THOMSEN: … the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray-Darling Basin, Simon Birmingham, who is in Albury for today only. Simon Birmingham, good morning. SIMON BIRMINGHAM: Good morning, Joseph and listeners. It’s a pleasure to be with you. JOSEPH THOMSEN: Now, you’re going to be focusing today on what exactly? SIMON BIRMINGHAM: I will be…
DetailsBillions of litres in potential water savings remain unavailable to irrigators or the environment due to Julia Gillard’s failure to progress works at the Menindee Lakes water storage, Coalition Murray-Darling Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. The re-engineering of Menindee Lakes in New South Wales headed a list of Labor priority projects at…
DetailsAustralians angry at the bungling of water reform deserve to know the full story surrounding legal advice over preparation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. A Freedom of Information application by Senator Birmingham for legal advice, to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, relating to the weighting of economic,…
DetailsThe Gillard Government is fast running out of time for a smooth handover at the helm of Murray-Darling Basin reform, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. It is now 45 days since Mike Taylor announced on 7 December that he would leave the role of Chair of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA)…
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