Rights, Rorts and Rants

Thirty odd years ago an application to build a crocodile park in Wentworth Falls was approved and this zombie application has risen from the dead in a new and possibly scarier incarnation. Blue Mountains City Ward 2 Councillor Romola Hollywood who discusses  Council's response  with Merran and Ann-Maree McEwan. You can find more information and links to the proposal  via this link . You can al...

Thirty odd years ago an application to build a crocodile park in Wentworth Falls was approved and this zombie application has risen from the dead in a new and possibly scarier incarnation. Blue Mountains residents Rod Provis and Murray Matin, representing the Bodington Hill Wildlife Resort Action Group discuss their concerns about this proposal with Merran MacLaren. We then hear from Blue Mountain...

Mike Holland and Merran MacLaren discuss the international and Australian history of May Day in the labour movement. If you'd like to add to the discussion, you can ⁠⁠leave an audio comment about our show⁠⁠ , which may be added to one of our podcasts. This episode was first broadcast on Radio Blue Mountains 89.1FM and published as a podcast on 28th April 2023. ⁠⁠Apply to be a guest on our show...

Merran MacLaren and Peter Lammiman ask Nick Tribbia, Delegate at the Blue Mountains Health Branch of the NSW Nurses' and Midwives' Association, about their Patient:Staff Ratio campaign, the value of essential workers, union activism and the things unions need to do to stay effective. Figures referenced by Nick can be found on Page 19 of the report " The Cumulative Costs of Wages Caps...

Louise Redmond of Mountain Mentors talks to Deb Smith about some of the challenges faced by refugees when they arrive in Australia and how refugee advocates provide practical support to refugees...with some commentary on the inadequacy of ALP refugee policies. If you'd like to contribute to or take part in the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP), contact Louise via mount...

Owen Holmwood has qualifications in electrical engineering, physics and science and has worked and taught at TAFE in these fields in Australia, Canada and Antarctica. He is a also passionate bush walker in the greater Blue Mountains. In Part 3 of the interview (broadcast on Rights Rorts & Rants on 24 March 2023) Owen chats with presenter Ann-Maree McEwan to explain what Radio Blue Mountain&#39...

In Part 2 of How Radio Works Owen Holmwood chats to presenter Ann-Maree McEwan about radio transmission, the politics and technology of Radio Australia and ham radio, morse code and Summits on the Air. This interview was broadcast on Rights Rorts & Rants on 24 March 2023 on Radio Blue Mountains 89.1 FM.

Owen Holmwood has qualifications in electrical engineering (avionics), physics and science and has worked in related roles in Australia, Canada and Antarctica. Owen taught and led the Electrical Engineering department at Ultimo TAFE. He is a also passionate bush walker including in the greater Blue Mountains wilderness area. In these interviews (broadcast on Rights Rorts & Rants on March 24 20...

Many Australians are still trying to rebuild their lives after fires and floods in recent years, further complicated by COVID. It takes government support to both mitigate the potential impact of these disasters and to help communities recover afterwards. In the mountains we've seen an explosive increase in plant growth - fuel - and are expecting a dry winter, creating a dangerous risk in the...

There will be a rally in support of safe patient:staff ratios outside Blue Mountains District Hospital in Katoomba on MONDAY 20th March 2023 at 3:30pm. Speaker: Nick Tribbia NSWNMA Delegate at BMDH, addressing a Politics in the Pub audience a couple of days before. Authorised by D Smith, Secretary, Blue Mountains Unions Council Inc, 52-52a Great Western Hwy, Mount Victoria 2786.

After initially refusing to confirm or deny whether a re-elected Liberal NSW government would privatise Sydney Water, Premier Perrottet later denied there were plans to do so. But, after that denial, 2GB's Chris O'Keefe broke the news that confidential documents prepared by Clayton Utz and KPMG indicated the NSW Liberal government actively considered the privatisation of a key water plant at Kemps...

Trish Doyle, currently Blue Mountains MP and ALP candidate in the March 25th 2023 NSW state election answers questions from Nick Franklin and Debra Smith about the policies of the Australian Labor Party. If you'd like to add to the discussion, you can leave an audio comment about our show , which may be added to one of our podcasts. This episode was first broadcast on Radio Blue Mountains 89.1FM o...

Kim de Govrik, an Organiser for the Public Service Association, formerly a Manager for NSW National Parks with remote fire fighting experience, talks to Nick Franklin and Debra Smith about the challenges we face in past, present and future bushfire seasons. Kim will also be speaking at Politics in the Pub "Money to Burn" at the Family Hotel, 15 Parke St, Katoomba, from 3pm, along with Blue Mountai...

Richard Marschall, Sustainable Australia Party candidate for the Blue Mountains electorate in the March 25th 2023 NSW state election talks to Merran MacLaren and Peter Lammiman about the policies of the Sustainable Australia Party. If you'd like to add to the discussion, you can leave an audio comment about our show , which may be added to one of our podcasts. This episode was first broadcast on R...

Greg Keightley, Animal Justice Party candidate for the Blue Mountains electorate in the March 25th 2023 NSW state election talks to Ann-Maree McEwan and Jeanie Baxter about the policies of the Animal Justice Party. If you'd like to add to the discussion, you can leave an audio comment about our show , which may be added to one of our podcasts. This episode was first broadcast on Radio Blue Mountai...

Greens candidate for the Blue Mountains electorate in the March 25th 2023 NSW state election talks to Fran Dyson, Jeanie Baxter and Peter Lammiman about Greens policies. If you'd like to add to the discussion, you can leave an audio comment about our show , which may be added to one of our podcasts. This episode was first broadcast on Radio Blue Mountains 89.1FM on 10th February 2023. Apply to be...

The NSW leader of the Australian Labor Party, Chris Minns, recently outlined the ALP's policy on poker machines in response to the Liberal Party's announcements. It included an immediate ban on the ALP accepting donations related to pokies. We asked Michael Cooke, a BMUC member who has worked with poker machines in the hospitality industry for his views on poker machine policies. If you'd like to...

On hearing about a Parliamentary Inquiry into Workforce Australia - the privatised employment services funded by government - we dug into our archives and found this fascinating recording from July 2015, 70 years after the publishing of the Full Employment White Paper in 1945 , of Dr Victor Quirk from CofFEE when he spoke about the history of employment policies in Australia at " Politics in the P...

When the Albanese Government announced a Royal Commission into Robodebt, Deb Smith put the pieces together with a series of reports as the Royal Commission progresses, including an analysis of the history of the data matching program which compares tax data against social security records, its corruption by the "robodebt" policy and reports on the hearings, from a union perspective. What do we alr...

The Quiet Australian, with a few Blue Hawaiians under his belt, sends his end of 2022 greetings from the Trump Hotel in Waikiki, and shares his expectations for 2023. If you'd like to add to the discussion, you can leave an audio comment about our show , which may be added to one of our podcasts. This episode was broadcast on Radio Blue Mountains 89.1FM on 23rd December 2022. Apply to be a guest o...

In this episode Jeannie Baxter take a closer look at the recent data leaks from Optus and Medibank Private and raises the question of who owns your personal data, and why do media giants like Google and Facebook believe that your online life experience belongs to them? As Jeannie discusses, the field of data collection is huge - and involves not only the data users are willing to share but also wh...

In this episode Mike Holland, our legal expert, examines the new anticorruption commission legislation currently before Parliament, pointing out many of its shortcomings. of special concern is the “exceptional circumstances” rule which severely limits the opportunity for public hearings. the legislation also offers very little protection for whistleblowers, and Mike investigates the case of Richar...

When the Albanese Government announced a Royal Commission into Robodebt, Deb Smith put the pieces together with this analysis of the history of the data matching program which compares tax data against social security records, and its corruption by the "robodebt" policy. What do we already know about what went wrong and what has the Royal Commission found? This episode includes: Justin Greggery KC...

When the Albanese Government announced a Royal Commission into Robodebt, Deb Smith put the pieces together with this analysis of the history of the data matching program which compares tax data against social security records, and its corruption by the "robodebt" policy. What do we already know about what went wrong and what has the Royal Commission found? This episode includes; the announcement b...

When the Albanese Government announced a Royal Commission into Robodebt, Deb Smith put the pieces together with this analysis of the history of the data matching program which compares tax data against social security records, and its corruption by the "robodebt" policy. What do we already know about what went wrong and what has the Royal Commission found? If you'd like to add to the discussion, y...