While the ABC is trying to ferret out stories to "celebrate" the people who tried to undermine our troops in the Vietnam war - here's a man with a story we should all know about.

God bless you Wally Buckland - and thank you for your service.

I'll leave it to Wally's mates from the Royal Australian Regiment Association to tell you about Corporal Walter 'Wally' Raymond Buckland.

At the going down of the sun,

And in the morning,

We will remember them.

Lest we Forget.

The 2003 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue featured the Czech model Petra Nemcova.

 

The photographs were taken on location in Thailand.

 

One year later Nemcova returned to Thailand for a Christmas holiday with her boyfriend, photographer Simon Atlee.  

Happy Hearts Fund - 10 Years Later from Ljubo Tomanović on Vimeo.

You might think that Ms Nemcova and the Clinton Foundation would have put their heads together after the event to work out how best to put their charitable intentions and matching monetary contributions to work in Haiti.

Sorry, that was never going to happen.

Rather than a chance to sit next to each other on the big signing table in front of the cameras - here's what arrived in the mail for Petra Nemcova a few weeks after her charity fundraiser.

An invoice for a donation.

Not tied to anything.

Not subject to any oversight as to how it's spent.

Just an invoice from Bill for half a mill.

Of the $1.7M raised at the charity affair, Bill helped himself to about one third for a one minute speech and the chance to perve at Ms Nemcova's decolletage.

God must have run out of shame genes when Bill and Hillary were created.

We spoke yesterday about the time and effort ADF chiefs put into a letter to the editor of a newspaper. 

Our top Admirals, Generals and Air Marshals were worried The Australian was undermining the ADF's social engineering and diversity mission.

Here's an insight into the Gillard/Rudd governments expectations of the ADF.

The current Australian Defence Force's 3 year strategic plan for recruitment (produced at the tail end of the Rudd/Gillard administrations) was recently disclosed under FOI here.

But the recruitment strategy wasn't put together by the Australian Defence Force.

It wasn't put together by government - although as General David Morrison noted "Changes to the Australian Army’s capabilities are guided by direction from the Australian Government".

Here's the first paragraph of the Defence Force Recruiting (DFR) Three Year Strategic Plan (TYSP):

When I first read it I thought Manpower Group was a division within the ADF hierarchy.  Nope, Nope, Nope.

To clear up any doubt, on the back page of the document is this claim to fame.

Our soldiers are our army.  The way we choose them is the way we create the army of the future.  The recruiting plan is central to our defence.

Right now our priority is to create a diverse, inclusive and strong Defence Force.  In that order.

This isn't a reference document sitting on the shelf. 

Adherence is a requirement for every member of the DFR group:

So who is Ian Stoneman?  He's recently left the job, but his LinkedIn page tells us this about his job title and responsibilities:

Director Recruiting Services, Defence Force Recruiting

Defence Jobs Australia

A public sector/private sector collaboration which delivers an integrated recruiting capability for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Defence Force Recruiting (DFR) is a partnership between the ADF and ManpowerGroup. The contract is the largest recruitment outplacement contract in the world. DFR is responsible for recruiting all ab initio positions for the Australian Navy, Army and Air Force, across multiple avenues of entry (Officer, General Entry, Full Time, Part Time). The objective for FY 2014-15 is to recruit over 7800 people. 
ManpowerGroup provides recruiting and marketing services to DFR through its contract with the ADF. As the Director I have direct responsibility for end to end contract management and compliance, facilities management, marketing, candidate management including psychological assessment and on-boarding, together with the management of two major sub-contractors for the provision of IT and Medical Services.

So who or what is ManpowerGroup?

The ADF's recruitment plan was put together by ManpowerGroup - US company with a market capitalisation of $USD4.7BN listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

And here's part Manpower's announcement of the contract we handed it.

20th August 2012

ManpowerGroup Solutions Ranked as World's Largest RPO Provider by NelsonHall

Global Footprint is Key to Meeting the Needs of Growing Employers

MILWAUKEE, Aug. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, is honored that its ManpowerGroup Solutions RPO business has been named the largest global recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) provider in the "HR Outsourcing Market Forecast: 2012 - 2016," produced by the BPO industry analyst firm NelsonHall for the second consecutive year.

 In April of this year, ManpowerGroup Solutions RPO announced a $400 million contract for recruiting services over the next five years to the Australian Defence Force (ADF). This new contract set a record as the industry's largest RPO partnership.

https://www.manpowergroup.com.au/press/press-releases.aspx

Here are some more details at the time it won this much expanded contract (Manpower had a role with ADF recruitment dating back to 2003, but nothing like the extent of this!)

27/04/2012

ManpowerGroup Announces World's Largest Recruitment Process Outsourcing Partnership
Australian Defence Force Retains ManpowerGroup to Expand Strategic Workforce Expertise and Innovation in Recruiting its Workforce

CANBERRA (27 April 2012) - ManpowerGroup, (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, today announced a new contract, worth at least $400 million over five years, for Recruiting Services to the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The new contract renews ManpowerGroup's Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) collaboration with the ADF for the next five years - and has set a record as the industry's largest RPO partnership. 

The contract covers the entire recruiting process - including marketing, recruiting operations, medical and psychological assessments and the coordination of selection boards and employment offers.

Here's some corporate information

One third of its stock is held by these institutional investors, none of whom are resident in Australia.

And we have given it its biggest contract.  The numbers are staggering.  Here are some extracts from the Austender.gov.au website. 

CN543512

CN ID:

CN252898

Agency:

Department of Defence

Publish Date:

12-Jan-2010 

Category:

Personnel recruitment

Contract Period:

15-Dec-2009 to 14-Mar-2012 

Contract Value (AUD):

$197,826,982.18 

Supplier Name:

MANPOWER SERVICES (AUST) PTY LTD

 

Full Details

Last Updated: 12-Jan-2010 1:32 pm (ACT Local Time)

 

MILITARY RECRUITING SERVICES

CN ID:

CN384901

Agency:

Department of Defence

Publish Date:

5-May-2011 

Category:

Personnel recruitment

Contract Period:

10-Feb-2010 to 14-Mar-2012 

Contract Value (AUD):

$55,277,725.81 

Supplier Name:

MANPOWER

 

Full Details

Last Updated: 5-May-2011 12:24 pm (ACT Local Time)

 

RECRUITING FEES

CN ID:

CN30931

Agency:

Department of Defence

Publish Date:

14-Sep-2007 

Category:

Marketing and distribution

Contract Period:

15-Aug-2007 to 30-Jun-2008 

Contract Value (AUD):

$65,597,400.00 

Supplier Name:

MANPOWER SERVICES (AUST) PTY LTD

 

Full Details

Last Updated: 14-Sep-2007 1:22 pm (ACT Local Time) 

RECRUITING FEES

CN ID:

CN30943

Agency:

Department of Defence

Publish Date:

14-Sep-2007 

Category:

Marketing and distribution

Contract Period:

15-Aug-2007 to 30-Jun-2008 

Contract Value (AUD):

$4,168,000.00 

Supplier Name:

MANPOWER SERVICES (AUST) PTY LTD

 

Full Details

Last Updated: 14-Sep-2007 1:22 pm (ACT Local Time)

 

RECRUITING FEES

CN ID:

CN70333

Agency:

Department of Defence

Publish Date:

12-Apr-2008 

Category:

Marketing and distribution

Contract Period:

12-Nov-2007 to 31-Jan-2009 

Contract Value (AUD):

$37,825,700.00 

Supplier Name:

MANPOWER SERVICES (AUST) PTY LTD

 

Full Details

Last Updated: 12-Apr-2008 4:21 pm (ACT Local Time)

 

CN ID:

CN70335

Agency:

Department of Defence

Publish Date:

12-Apr-2008 

Category:

Marketing and distribution

Contract Period:

12-Nov-2007 to 31-Jan-2009 

Contract Value (AUD):

$2,877,500.00 

Supplier Name:

MANPOWER SERVICES (AUST) PTY LTD

 

Full Details

Last Updated: 12-Apr-2008 4:21 pm (ACT Local Time)

 

DFR RECRUITMENT SERVICES

CN ID:

CN139019

Agency:

Department of Defence

Publish Date:

25-Nov-2008 

Category:

Office supplies

Contract Period:

11-Dec-2007 to 30-Jun-2009 

Contract Value (AUD):

$7,218,951.15 

Supplier Name:

MANPOWER SERVICES (AUST) PTY LTD

 

Full Details

Last Updated: 25-Nov-2008 10:53 am (ACT Local Time)

 

There are plenty more on the Austenders website - stationary, security, marketing, advertising - it's there, billed to us on a cost plus basis.  Nice work if you can get it.

 

And just to ensure a perfect fit with the ADF's values, here are a few of the ManpowerGroup's favourite things!

 

 

Earlier this year The Australian published a series of articles and editorials based on the proposition that the Defence Force should not be a place for experiments in social engineering.

Regular readers will know of our view on the matter of Diversity Warriors hijacking the ADF to the detriment of its good name and capability.

The embodiment of the worst of the phenomenon is in the person of David Morrison and the worst of the culture and corruption of good order and military discipline in the Admirals of the Fleet and their favouritism and conscious encouragement of the insubordination and divided loyalties of the celebrity Mulsim Mona Shindy.

Defence would do well to examine the reaction to Morrison's trite musings about diversity from the broader populace - rather than the reactions and undue influence within the ADF of its PR and HR genii.

Hint to the ADF - our warrior class is unlikely to tweet hashtags in defence against attack.

In April the influential advisors to Binnie and the Boys (that's how the chief of the defence force refers to himself in the emails below) decided that they would launch a decisive full frontal attack on News Limited and The Australian.  Amongst the munitions expended against the newspaper and its publisher was a pointer to News Limited's diversity strategy (a tactical manoeuvre described by the chief of Army as "classic").

Binnie and the Boys, drop the direct access from your PR people. Stick to running defence operations and give the lefty PR game away - the email chains below (53 pages released, many more redacted) reveal a decidedly unhealthy siege mentality and superiority complex amongst you, overly influenced by the minority views of the Twitterati.

In short, you sound like dickheads.

Here are my articles on the matter.

The ADF's bosses colour-coded mud-map of The Australian's ...

www.michaelsmithnews.com/.../the-adfs-bosses-colour-coded-mud-map-of-the-austra...

 

Apr 13, 2016 - Now we know how bad your original letter really was. ... You are the defence force! ... In the Australian Defence Force we strive[s] to create an ... The new motto Diversity First. ..... Michael Smith News · Powered by TypePad.

 

I was half-joking about the ADF chiefs wasting their time on this peripheral rubbish in the posts above - my God, the reality is beyond my imagining.

 

Here is the series of emails from the ADF - first a matrix to what's been released and what's so top secret the national interest (and David Morrison's speaking fees) might be compromised if it were turned over to the enemy.

 

Defence bosses circle the wagons on diversity attack

UPDATE

I'll send a copy if this note to the managing director of the ABC and the Minister.

ENDS

It's 50 years since one of Australia's greatest feats of arms.

Long Tan Day has become Vietnam Veterans Day - and this year it's the 50th anniversary.

I can't believe I have to write this.

Of all the shocking, offensive and insensitive stunts the ABC could pull - they want to hear from the red pain throwers, not the heroes.

What a bunch of low-life scumbags.

The ABC should be defunded.

We want to hear your Vietnam War protest stories https://t.co/vvpebw4u16 pic.twitter.com/yvTWym0k6u

— ABC News (@abcnews) August 4, 2016

Vietnam War protests: We want to hear your stories

Updated about 3 hours ago

On August 18, the nation will mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.

At the time, it was the longest single military engagement Australia had undertaken — but it was conflict that galvanised hundreds of thousands of people to oppose the war and the conscription of the country's young men.

At rallies across Australia nearly half a million people came out for moratorium marches in 1970 — and by 1972, a new Whitlam government ordered all remaining troops home from Vietnam.

Were you involved in Australia's anti-war movement? Did you attend the marches? Have you got photos from the time? Are you in any of these photos, or video?

If so, ABC News wants to talk to you! Get in touch using this form.

PHOTO: Protesters mix with supporters of then US president Lyndon Johnson during his 1996 visit to Australia. (ABC Archives)

PHOTO: Do you have any photos from Australia's anti-war movement? (National Archives of Australia)

PHOTO: Protesters block a parade for the arrival of Lyndon Johnson in 1966 in Sydney. (ABC Archives)

 

As you know I have been trying to get the information in this email to DFAT together for more than a week.

I can't tell you how relieved I am to have just sent this email off to the Department.

Michael Smith <[email protected]>	7:48 AM (0 minutes ago)
to media

Dear DFAT Media,

 

Thank you for helping us better understand Australian taxpayer payments to the Clinton Foundation.

 

We've spoken a few times about the Department's FOI disclosure earlier this year 

 

http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/corporate/freedom-of-information/Documents/dfat-foi-1508-F1253.pdf

 

The briefing note within that release of documents tells us:

The Australian Government had specific agreements with the Clinton Foundation, as a technical implementing partner, to deliver aid projects with agreed outcomes, deliverables and budgets since 2006. We are aware that US legislation deems this agreement to deliver aid outcomes to be a donation.

And:

Australian funding to the Clinton Climate Initiative

In 2012 former AusAID entered into a contract with the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a program ofthe Clinton Foundation, for activities addressing climate change. Following the 2013 Australian Federal election, responsibilities for climate change and for this contract were moved to the Department ofthe Environment. 

The scope of the documents sought under that FOI request included payments to the Clinton Foundation since 2002 and any MOUs, agreements, details of meetings with Clinton Foundation representatives and details of payments to the Foundation.

In relation to the Clinton Climate Initiative the table of payments released in answer included just this entry:

AusAID CCI Partnership  THE WILLIAM J.CLINTON AUD FOUNDATION $2,000,002.30

 

REQUEST

Is the Department's statement under the heading "Australian funding to the Clinton Climate Initiative" and the payment in the table of $2,000,002.30 an accurate and complete account of Australia's agreements with and funding to the Climate Foundation for climate change?

I refer to the following Australian Government Departments and transactions.

1.Resources Energy and Tourism

• Department of Resources Energy and Tourism's 2009 file RET 09/01443 "Clinton Climate Initiative - Partnership Agreement"
  
• Department of Resources Energy and Tourism 2009 file RET 09/01231"Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute - Clinton Climate Initiative - Partnership Agreement"

Documents released on the former RET website refer to a "novated non-corporate contract" between the Commonwealth and the Clinton Climate Initiative.   The FOI documents are explicit in stating that the funds were first remitted to the Clinton Foundation directly from the Commonwealth.   Can you confirm that those files and the "non-corporate contract" novated by the Commonwealth to the GCCI relates to this disclosure by the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute Ltd posted on its website here:

https://hub.globalccsinstitute.com/publications/global-ccs-institute-annual-review-2010/strategic-partnerships

William J. Clinton Foundation (CLINTON FOUNDATION) 

The Institute provided AU$10 million to the Clinton Foundation to support the work being conducted through the Clinton Climate Initiative to accelerate key ‘Early Mover’ CCS projects around the world.

Established by former US President Clinton in 2001 the Clinton Foundation works to strengthen the capacity of governments and individuals to alleviate poverty, improve global health, strengthen economies, and protect the environment.

The Clinton Foundation work program includes:

• collaboration with ‘Early Mover’ CCS projects in the Netherlands and Australia to help overcome specific barriers;
• identification of potential future CCS projects and work to accelerate the development of these; and
• sharing ‘best practice’ and case studies from Early Mover projects that have been engaged.

Achievements

• Scoping work has been conducted in Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Germany, UK, Netherlands, Poland and Australia to identify and select potential future CCS projects for engagement.
• Studies undertaken for the Carbon Net project, Australia.
• Collaboration on stakeholder activities, Netherlands.
• Malaysian CCS scoping study due to be completed in November 2010.

MOU with the Clinton Foundation signed in New York

In late 2008 the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet released a document titled "One Year Progress Report" 

http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/53903/20090513-0000/www.pmc.gov.au/publications/one_year/docs/one_year_progress_high.pdf

 

It included these statements:

Memorandum of Understanding with Clinton Climate Initiative 

The Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will see Australia and the William J. Clinton Foundation collaborate to: 

• deploy carbon capture and storage technology to large scale projects; 
• examine policies to encourage large scale solar power generation in Australia; and 
• explore opportunities for collaboration on energy efficiency across government, business and the community.

Media coverage of his press conference in New York included these quotes from his speech:

Following the launch a week ago of Australia’s Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Clinton Climate Initiative agreeing to work together on climate change mitigation measures. This collaboration aims to accelerate the development of CCS technology and pave the way for its commercial deployment by the end of the next decade, according to the Australian Government. “A lot of people have said the great virtue of our Global CCS Institute is this: that when it comes to the impact of carbon pollution reduction scheme on strongly effected industries like electricity generators, this potentially represents significant assistance, significant support, significant adjustment for what for us is a critical sector in Australia,” said Rudd at a press conference at United Nations building in New York. 

The Prime Minister also released this statement:

Australia Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Clinton Climate Initiative New York

Rudd, Kevin

Period of Service: 03/12/2007 to 24/06/2010

More information about Rudd, Kevin on The National Archive website.

Release Date: 25/09/2008

Release Type: Media Release

Transcript ID: 16141

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Clinton Climate Initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation.

Under the MOU Australia and the Clinton Climate Initiative will work together to help tackle climate change.

The MOU will see Australia and the William J. Clinton Foundation collaborate to;

* Deploy carbon capture and storage technology to large scale projects.

* Examine policies to encourage large scale solar power generation in Australia.

* Design collaborative policies in conjunction with large cities and other organisations on improving energy efficiency.

The William J Clinton Foundation will work with the Australian Government through Australia's Global Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Initiative announced by Prime Minister Rudd last week.

This collaboration will help accelerate the development of CCS technology and pave the way for its commercial deployment by the end of the next decade.

The Clinton Climate Initiative will draw on its experience in international collaboration and work with Australia and other nations to help achieve a balanced portfolio of demonstration projects.

The Clinton Climate Initiative is already working with a number of Australian states to develop solar power facilities. The MOU will enable the Australian Government to explore opportunities to draw on the Clinton Climate Initiative expertise in considering policies to encourage large scale solar power generation in Australia.

The Australian Government is developing a national energy efficiency strategy as one of the keys to successfully addressing climate change.

The Government will draw on the experience the Clinton Climate Initiative has in working with large cities and other organizations on improving energy efficiency in the drafting of this strategy.

Australia and the Clinton Climate Initiative will also explore opportunities for collaboration in the energy efficiency area across government, business and the community.

ENDS

2008/09 Federal Budget

 

http://www.budget.gov.au/2008-09/content/bp2/html/expense-05.htm

http://www.budget.gov.au/2008-09/content/myefo/html/index.htm

 

The budget as delivered included this measure:

The development and use of new clean energy technologies will be assisted through the Government's Energy Innovation Fund ($150.0 million over four years), National Clean Coal Fund ($500.0 million over eight years), Renewable Energy Fund ($500.0 million over six years from 2009‑10) and Green Car Innovation Fund ($500.0 million over five years from 2011‑12). These funds will provide industry with support to accelerate the development and deployment of low emission technologies.

6 months later at the 2008/09 MYEFO PM Rudd's unannounced a new policy of creating a Global Carbon Capture Institute was included as a new measure.

The Budget Papers No 2 include an allocation to the National Clean Coal Fund of $15M which appears to be the source of the $10M paid by the Commonwealth to the Clinton Foundation.

 

http://www.budget.gov.au/2008-09/content/myefo/html/part_4.htm

 

• $100 million in 2008‑09 ($400 million over four years) to establish a Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute to accelerate the development of carbon capture technology by facilitating demonstration projects, and identifying and supporting necessary research on related topics; and

It appears from the MYEFO documents that that allocation from the Clean Coal fund (an election promise) was the source of the $10M payment to the Clinton Foundation.  Can DFAT confirm?

 

Request for further particulars regarding the GCCI and the Clinton Foundation

The GCCI was incorporated as a public company limited by guarantee on 12 June 2009, ABN 92 136 814 465

The Clinton Foundation is recorded as being a founding member (shareholder equivalent in the company limited by guarantee).

Was the payment of $10M to the Clinton Foundation from the Australian Government (later novated to the GCCI Ltd) a related party transaction?

If it was a related party transaction, was it recorded in the financial accounts and disclosed in annual reports as a related party transaction?

The deliverables reported as being produced by the Clinton Foundation under the GCCI funding agreement appear to be matters the Clinton Foundation was working on already and independently of the GCCI.  

There doesn't appear to be any provision for ownership or transfer of distinctive IP or other notional asset transfer or distinctive service provided.  The GCCI reports that the Clinton Foundation delivered:

• Studies undertaken for the Carbon Net project, Australia.

The CarbonNet project was at that time one of several competitors tendering for more than $2BN in federal funding as part of the Carbon Capture Flagships program.  What is the Commonwealth's position on funding payments to advantage one competitor over another in seeking Commonwealth Funds?  Were the services of the Clinton Foundation offered on equal terms to all competitors?  I note that after significant contractual disputes and a narrowly averted insolvency, the ZeroGen consortium from Queensland received a $50 million payment from the Commonwealth.

 

In April 2008 the Premier of Victoria announced a Memorandum of Understanding with the Clinton Foundation signed in 2009 commissioning it to work on the CarbonNet project directly for the State of Victoria:

 

http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/32441/20090817-0000/www.premier.vic.gov.au/indexc8ae.html

 

I can announce today that our Government will sign a landmark agreement with former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s foundation to collaborate on large-scale clean energy projects and new vehicle technologies. 

 

The Clinton Climate Initiative was launched by President Clinton in 2006 and has access to $US5 billion in finance.  Under the MOU, Victoria and the Clinton Climate Initiative will work together to explore a number of opportunities to further cut emissions and improve energy efficiency across the State.

 

The Clinton Climate Initiative have chosen Victoria as the place to drive carbon capture and storage because they clearly see Victoria as the place most likely to make this new technology work for brown coal.  That’s good news for Victoria – and, down the track, potentially good for other countries, such as China, that are dependent on brown coal.

What mechanisms and due diligence did the Commonwealth adopt to ensure there was no double payment for what appears to be precisely the same work submitted by the Clinton Foundation and reported by the GCCI and the Commonwealth as being services rendered as a result of the $10M taxpayer payment to the Clinton Foundation?

 

Austender records of contracts with the Clinton Foundation.

These are the contracts listed by the Austender.gov.au website for the Clinton Foundation relating to Climate Change.

CN ID	Title	Agency	Publish Date	Category	Contract Start Date	Contract End Date	Value (AUD)	ATM ID	Supplier Name	LastUpdated
CN396492	MRV workshop for African and Mekong countries	Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency	10-Jun-11	Project administration or planning	18-May-11	30-Jun-11	55000		Clinton Foundation Clinton Climate Initiative	10-Jun-11 04:39 pm
CN435828	CCI Expenses Incurred by MoU	Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency	05-Oct-11	Professional procurement services	15-Sep-11	30-Jun-12	25000		Clinton Foundation Clinton Climate Initiative	05-Oct-11 09:36 am
CN905651	Design National Carbon Accounting System in Kenya	Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency	17-Sep-12	International relations	19-Jun-12	01-Feb-13	550000		Clinton Foundation Clinton Climate Initiative	17-Sep-12 10:35 am

The Austender.gov.au website is presented by the Commonwealth as being an accurate and complete record for the purposes of complying with the Senate standing directive that all Commonwealth agencies publish the details of all contracts entered into on behalf of the Commonwealth.   Is the above record accurate and complete?

 

The Kenya Contract land based emissions SLEEK project announced by the DFAT

On 18 February 2008 Climate Change Minister Penny Wong announced that the Clinton Foundation had selected an Australian technology solution which, from the minister's press release, we sold to them.

 

http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/102841/20090728-0000/www.environment.gov.au/minister/wong/2008/pubs/mr20080218.pdf

 

PW 13/08 18 February 2008 AUSTRALIAN TECHNOLOGY CHOSEN FOR CLINTON CLIMATE PROJECT Australian technology will now be at the forefront of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, has announced a new partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative to develop global carbon monitoring system that can assist in recognising sustainable forest management and reforestation within global carbon markets. “I am very pleased that following a global search of forest carbon measurement systems, the Clinton Climate Initiative selected Australia’s National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) as the platform for a global roll-out in developing countries.”

 

The following departmental file appears to refer to the above - however it is disconcertingly a Procurement Advice in which we appear to be paying the Clinton Foundation.

Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency 2009 file DCC2009/2284 Procurement - Advice - International Forest Carbon Initiative - Joint activities with the Clinton Foundation and the Carbon Accounting System 

In 2014 DFAT made the following announcement in Kenya:

 

February 2014 - MoU Signing of SLEEK Program

High Commissioner H.E. Geoff Tooth witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Kenya and the William J. Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) for a national system to track emissions and removals of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the land sector on 14 February 2014 at the Panafric Hotel. The proposed System for Land-based Emissions Estimation in Kenya (SLEEK) – a data and modelling system - will enable the Government of Kenya to quantify and report its land sector emissions as well as allow Kenya to evaluate different land-use scenarios for sustainable development and inform policy decisions on resource use, including planning for forest restoration, protection of forest resources, improved agricultural productivity, and enhanced water availability. The Australian Government has provided A$14.2 million over 5 years and technical & policy support for the SLEEK design since 2008, drawing from the experience of developing its own National Carbon Accounting System.

High Commissioner H.E. Geoff Tooth (back centre) witnesses the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Kenya and the Clinton Foundation

The following entry on the Senate disclosure site for contracts entered into by the Australian Government appears to record another payment we have made to the Clinton Foundation that's been omitted from the DFAT FOI statement.

 

WILLIAM J CLINTON FOUNDATION CLINTON CLIMATE INITIATIVE

Contract in relation to developing a system for land based emissions estimations in Kenya (SLEEK)

$13,322,460

14-Jun-13

30-Jun-16

Yes

A(ix)

Yes

B(ix)

If the purpose of our foreign aid program is to show that Australia is a decent global benefactor, how is it that we permit the Clinton Foundation to take our money, to use a program we developed and paid for in 2008 - and then to add insult injury watch the Clinton Foundation take the entire credit for the venture as if we had nothing to do with it?

I refer to the Clinton Foundation's annual report for 2013/14

http://fliphtml5.com/wyis/tllv

Page 19 refers to the above foreign aid provided by the Australian taxpayer, however we don't rate a mention.  Page 92 contains the Foundation's limited financial statements - again Australia is not mentioned.

This press release about the Clinton Foundation's 'work' in Kenya states that their "work" has been "informed" by lessons learnt from us and Canada.  "Informed"?  

https://www.clintonfoundation.org/blog/2015/09/24/mitigating-effects-climate-change-kenya-data-and-technology

What is your future outlook on SLEEK?

I believe that SLEEK could provide a model that could be replicated all around the world. Our work in Kenya is informed by lessons learnt from Australia and Canada but we are very excited by the possibilities of expanding this model to other countries. Each country has a unique set of challenges, but the goals are the same: we want to empower governments and communities to achieve sustainable land-use practices, improve the livelihoods of the communities, and adapt to the effects of climate change.

We paid for the satellite information, we paid for the carbon accounting applications, then we paid the Clinton Foundation a further $14M for the privilege of having them take all the credit.

How does that fit in with our strategic goals of advancing Australia's interests through foreign aid?

SUMMARY

Is the DFAT disclosure of documents under the FOI application under the DFAT provided heading Australian funding to the Clinton Climate Initiative accurate and complete?  If not what else have we handed to it?

Given the referral of the Clinton Foundation malfeasance to the US IRS and FBI may I suggest that the Australian taxpayer's interests would be advanced by a Whole of Government audit in Australia of our payments to the Clinton Foundation.

My deadline is COB Tuesday next week.  I'll be writing for my website and US publications.

 

Remember that $2M you invested into Whispir?

It's the 1st of 753 taxpayer investments gifts you gave to form-filler-outers during the 90 days from July to September 2011.  90 days, that's right!    

I'm still trying to find the Rudd's $10M to the Clintons - I've seen the press releases, the inadvertent references and the MOU media statement (forgotten by Julie Bishop's department in its not wholly truthful FOI)  - but instead of the hidden Clinton millions, the search has turned up some gems.

From the last of the few but large money grants of The Rudd's pre-Gill-knifing DreamTime.

To the thousands of elector-focussed grants of the Gillard years, stealing innovation from poor Malcolm before he even knew he owned it

• October 2013 - December 2013
• July 2013 - September 2013 

Financial Year 2012-2013

• June 2013
• April 2013 - May 2013
• January 2013 - March 2013
• October 2012 - December 2012
• July 2012 - September 2012

Financial Year 2011-2012

• April 2012 - June 2012
• January 2012 - March 2012
• October 2011 - December 2011
• July 2011 - September 2011

 Financial Year 2010-2011

• April 2011 - June 2011
• January 2011 - March 2011
• October 2010 - December 2010
• July 2010 - September 2010

So back to your $2M (plus GST) in Whispir (which should be the new name for David Feeney's property in Northcote, you know, the one valued at $2M that he forgot about).

Here's the Gillard Government's blurb justifying the urgent handover of $2M (plus GST) lest the world be denied the innovation of Whispir.

VIC

Whispir Ltd

2,000,000

OpenWhispir cloud based engagement platform

Whispir (www.whispir.com) is an Australian technology leader, providing high availability, multi-channel communications software. Whispir has developed a new cloud-based platform, called OpenWhispir, that will enable organisations to more effectively engage with private and public communities to source information; execute plans and tasks; and build real-time situational awareness of an event as it unfolds.  Funding from Commercialisation Australia will enable Whispir to complete development and commercialisation of the technology for launch of OpenWhispir in Australia, Europe and the USA.

Jeromy 

Wells

(03) 8630 9900

And for your $2M, here's their Twitter page.  Between 2009 and today in 2016 they have acquired 432 followers.

So maybe the followers they gained after we pumped in $2Mill (plus GST) are all on Facebook!

Computer says no!

On Facebook they have 85 Likes.

So instead of "investing" our speculative $2Million (plus GST), maybe we should have just given the lucky 85 $24,000 each and be done with it!

PS.  Even with $2M from us, they used the same photo on Facebook and Twitter!   Australia's photographers should be out on the streets!!!!!!!!

Here's Kevin Rudd talking to young Labor members in Brisbane a couple of days ago, just after the announcement from Turnbull on the UN job.

Rudd says he has a "deep dark secret" that sometimes life "turns to shit" and Turnbull was just "one of those brick walls" that life throws at you.

And here's Julie Bishop in a 15 September 2013 article from The Australian describing the Rudd show knows.  Very well apparently.

BISHOP has a reputation of being as hard as nails in federal parliament. She gives as good as she gets. Who can forget the claw gesture she made to former prime minister Julia Gillard during a clash between the two women?

Bishop says it was her way of getting “the girls’’ to put their claws away.

“She was being unpleasant and it was my way of saying ‘Stop being a bitch’,’’ Bishop says.

She is unforgiving of the fallen prime minister.

“She crossed the line. I lost any respect I had for her when she deliberately set out to destroy Tony Abbott as a human being,’’ Bishop says.

“It was utterly disgraceful, and I can’t think of a more vicious thing, than to call someone in public life a woman-hater. It was utterly false.’’

But there is a softer side to Bishop that the public perhaps seldom sees. Ironically, it was seen by former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd when he lost the leadership in 2010.

“He came to my office one night,” Bishop says. “It was a Wednesday night, after he had been dumped. We sat and talked for about three hours and he was very raw, very hurt and very bitter. It was apparent that he was not going to let this go and would be out for revenge and retribution. As it turns out, that’s what he spent the next three years doing.

“It was a private conversation but it was apparent that he would not let Julia Gillard get away with it. He did not believe he deserved to be treated that way and he wanted to prove Labor wrong.’’