However in December 2009 Wingen has hit the headlines because for the first time in years the bores have run dry and along with residents all over the Upper Hunter region, Wingenites are having to truck their water in.

The Newcastle Herald reports:

Herald weather expert Don White said there was little hope of relief, with the Hunter expecting a very dry, hot summer.

Mr White said rainfall was predicted to be less than average, temperatures above average and evaporation levels increasing.

The Upper Hunter Shire Council implemented level one water restrictions in Scone and Murrurundi on Thursday.

Read the report in the Newcastle Morning Herald

The residents of the small Riverina town of Booligal and farmers in surrounding areas rely on the Lachlan River for their water supply, but without significant rains especially hundreds of miles away in the Lachlan’s headwaters, the river will dry up in the next few weeks. The Wyangala Dam about 40 kms south-east of Cowra is now effectively dry.

Bores are being drilled at Booligal and surrounding towns including Forbes, Lake Cargelligo and Ivanhoe, but the bores may not be sunk before the water completely runs out. Farmers in the region however, are being literally being hung out to dry, facing huge bills just to purchase water for household use and drinking.

Can a water crisis in western Sydney be far away? Despite the Carr,, Iemma, Rees, Keneally government mantra of “Dams, Recycling, Desalination and Water Efficiency”, Sydney’s water reserves continue to fall by around 0.5% per week. Barring significant replenishment we are looking at severe restrictions and hugely increased costs for householders (desal water is very expensive) within a few years – perhaps only 18 months. Needless to say neither the ill-considered lifting of sensible water restrictions by Rees in early 2009 nor constant population growth encouraged by the federal government’s baby bonuses and unfocussed immigration polices is going to reduce the risk of a crisis.

Cattle farmers Matt and Sandra Ireson were interviewed on ABC Radio National Breakfast today.

They run a property at Booligal in the New South Wales Riverina. The Iresons are among the hundreds of farming families who rely on the lower Lachlan River for their water supply. But the river is running dry. Heartbreaking drought and a contentious decision by the New South Wales Government to stop the River at Condobolin has slowed the Lachlan to just a trickle.

You can listen to the interview at Booligal big dry

“Residents have told me that the 755 provided a vital link between local suburbs and that it was a was well patronised.

“I am particularly concerned that less mobile or older residents will have to walk long distances to the new bus route, especially in the heat of the day. The loss of this service may have the effect of isolating some people in their homes.

“It is distressing that Government can allow the removal of a local service despite Busways receiving a significant subsidy from the State Government to provide public transport to the area.

“If it is good enough for the Government to spend billions on its inner-city metro that is proposed to service an area already well if not over supplied with public transport,  it is reasonable for people in the Mt Druitt area to expect that local services will be maintained in this area.

“It is appalling that services will stop early on Saturday and Sunday evenings. Does the Government expect people of this area who can’t afford a car to stay home at night and not visit friends or socialise?

“Imagine the uproar if the Government stopped running buses and trains at 7pm on a Saturday night into and out of the city. It is only fair that people in this part of Sydney get a fair go when it comes to going to and from work or socialising.

”I will be asking questions of the Minister in Parliament” said Ms Hale.

Local Shalvey resident and Blacktown Greens Convenor, Debbie Robertson, said residents feel unhappy with the changes. Ms Robertson along with other local community representatives will approach the Minister for Transport, Mr David Campbell, for a meeting to discuss their concerns. “There are many local residents who want to meet with the Minister and we would like the Mayor of Blacktown, Charlie Lowles, to come with us too. We will be requesting that the Government restore the 755 service
to its previous route and that the frequency of the service be improved”, said Ms Robertson.

“While residents agree that the former bus route was a long ride, it did go past the shopping centres and the leisure centre at Emerton that Council spent millions on. Things are now less accessible now.”

“In the last years we have lost the bus service that connected us to Nirimba Campus of UWS and then to Parramatta.

“Route 674 is being held up as an alternative, but it only runs six times Mon-Fri, twice on Saturdays and once on Sunday. This affects everyone, from the school kids who have to wait around for nearly an hour when school finishes early, to the older, less mobile people who want to go to the doctors, to those who want to go for a swim at the Leisure Centre.

“We need the old services back, and we need the new express services so the buses cater for everyone” said Ms Robertson.

Many well known businesses are run by members of the Exclusive Brethren, a fundamentalist protestant Christian group or movement which some people would categorise as a “cult”.

There are number of groupings which are generally classified as being “Exclusive Brethren” but some adherents would dispute or deny such a label.

The history of the Exclusive Brethren is littered with schisms and splits some of which when you read the reports of the circumstances surrounding them would cause you to seriously question the morality if not the sanity of the main actors.

In Australia the majority of those regarded as Exclusive Brethren are members of a branch commonly known as Raven-Taylor-Hales Brethren. Wikipedia has a detailed article on the Brethren and their beliefs – click here

The group have an official website which is worth visiting if only because it includes a “sociological appraisal” by a leading academic which outlines their history and theology. Click here to link

You can also find out much more at Peebs.Net. This is “a website that endeavours to investigate and report the Truth behind the Exclusive Brethren, a group of so-called Christians, and by so doing, help break the chains and break down the barriers that prevent us from seeing our families, friends and loved ones, trapped in what many are calling a bona fide Cult.”

Knowledge is Power

Regardless of any other bees in their bonnets, they don’t like The Greens and although they don’t believe in voting themselves they have funded a number of advertising campaigns denigrating the party and its policies ahead of recent elections in Australia and New Zealand.

We believe that citizens should be able to make up their own minds about organisations like the Brethren. Here are a variety of links for those that are interested in their background and activities:

• The Exclusive Brethren – article at Source Watch
• Elusive Exclusive Brethren – transcript of Background Briefing radio program
• Brethren Online – site written from a sympathetic point of view
• “Behind The Exclusive Brethren” is a book by Michael Bachelard to be published in Australia in October 2008 which shows how a small, fringe group, whose values are completely detached from those of most Australians, managed to influence the outcome of elections and obtain favours from prominent politicians.

Brethren Businesses

The businesses associated with The Brethren include:

• Coolibah Cubbies, Unanderra, NSW – manufacturers and retailers of cubbies and children’s play equipment. This business also trades as “Moduplay Commercial Play Systems” or just “Moduplay“. Currently the business is conducted by “THE QUINSEY FAMILY TRUST” (ABN: 99 576 695 996). Formerly the business was conducted by QUINSITE NOMINEES PTY LTD (ACN 001 421 110) which in 1998 was found by the ACCC to have engaged in anti-competitive behaviour in regard to the supply of equipment to local government authorities – see ACCC Undertakings register (s. 87B)
• Crest Office Interiors, Penrith, NSW – manufacturers and distributors of office furniture
• Archway House Furniture and Furnishings (also known as Archway House Group) (ABN 36 399 318 906) Ryde and Ermington NSW – manufacturers of office furniture, partitions. general furniture, and office supplies run by Bruce Hales (the minister of the Lord in the Recovery ie. the head honcho) of the EB. The business is actually run by “BD & JJ HALES AND GJ & KJ HALES & THE HALES TRUST”. Officelink Project Management and Design Pty Ltd ( ABN 45 124 818 980) has been associated with Archway House and may still be.
• Supawood, Bathurst, NSW – manufacturers of decorative and acoustic panels
• Billi Systems, Thomastown, Vic – distributors of tapware, water filters and coolers (the family business of Victorian Brethren leader John Gadsden)
• Allpumps Sales & Services, Parramatta, NSW – importers and suppliers of pumps run by Stephen Hales brother of Bruce Hales,
• Jaybro Civil & Safety Products, St Marys, NSW – manufacturers and suppliers of environmental products
• Tyremax, Sprinter Tyres and STI Tyres Australia Pty Ltd – importers and distributors of tyres etc (Maxxis brand tyres from Asia)
• Aspen Commercial Interiors (ABN 65 752 033 790) Blacktown and Armidale, NSW – manufacturers and distributors of commercial and office furniture. They carry out “office fit-outs, workstations, joinery, and commercial joinery” according to their Whitepages entry. The business is a partnership comprising the following: “D.J HEANEY & K.A HEANEY & M.A HEANEY & M.E HEANEY & M.J HEANEY & P.T HEANEY & S.H HEANEY & S.R HEANEY & ROSEHAM PTY”. This last “partner”, Roseham Pty (ABN 59 114 858 089) is an unusual creature: an “unlimited” company. Roseham Pty also trades as “The Grove Gourmet”.
• Fortress Fencing & Safety Systems (The Trustee for THE JOYCE FAMILY TRUST trading as) ABN 42 714 139 511 – sell barrier fencing for construction sites etc.

How to tell if you are dealing with the Exclusive Brethren

The rules the EB operate their businesses under are many, varied, convoluted and subject to change. They are (or have been) not allowed to have faxes in their offices which means that they will often use a fax number in a neighbouring business. Until recently they have not been allowed to use the internet. However practicality reigns supreme for the EB and they are now allowed to use a computer which has been significantly hamstrung and can only access certain sites and email.

Here are a few pointers on how to tell if the EB are running a business:

1. the business will have email addresses but no website or at least no significant web presence. You can look up their domain name at the .com.au “whois”. If the domain is registered to “TELCO IN A BOX PTY. LTD.” you can be almost sure that it is a EB business. You should understand that there is no suggestion of any ulterior motive or deceptive conduct in this third party registration by “telcoinabox” as they call themselves or that that company is a run or owned by EB. Another clue is that when you go to the web address you will see the words “Dies ist eine mit SysCP angelegte Domain. Hier sind noch keine Inhalte hinterlegt worden.”
2. the only females you will ever talk to in their business are doing low status jobs such as reception or process work and will not engage you in any real conversation. They will be unmarried.
3. they may seem to only want to talk to the males in your business and sometimes will be abrupt (but polite) with females.
4. they will try to avoid having you send them a fax.
5. they will show no real interest in discussing any topic other than business with you – and they will not accept your invitation to go to lunch.

Televison and video on Brethren Activities

• Brethren Express – ABC Four Corners program broadcast October 2007

Press Articles on Brethren Activities

• Believers A World Apart – article on the cult’s political activities (The Age, Sep, 06)
• Brethren reap millions in tax-free donations – article in documents how the cult’s leadership enrich themselves to the tune of millions of dollars a year, tax free, by drawing systematic donations from their flock (The Age Sep, 06)
• Hidden Prophets – all about the Hales family (Sydney Morning Herald, Jul, 06)
• “Exclusive Brethren school kids ‘brainwashed’” – information of EB schooling

Jackson Wells Pty Ltd
The Exclusive Brethren have engaged this very well connected public relations outfit to represent them and conduct media campaigns on their behalf.

A former member of the Exclusive Brethren has revealed the secretive religious sect has been transferring large sums of money across the world to fund political campaigns in Australia and the US.

In recent years Brethren leaders have met with numerous Liberal ministers, including Prime Minister John Howard.

Now ABC TV’s Four Corners program has revealed that tens of thousands of dollars in Brethren cash have been transferred around the world in envelopes.

Watch the Four Corners report at 8:30pm on ABC TV. or check the Four Corners website

More on Liberal Party and Exclusive Brethren links can be found in this article in The Age

The Fairfax Press has revealed today that Andrews is is an adviser to a radical right-wing international organisation that advocates economic boycotts to achieve social and political change, the so called Life Decisions International based in Washington, DC. Andrews’ wife Margaret is reportedly “is also on the LDI board”.

Not only is LDI against abortion but they don’t even like contraception all that much. Their particular bete noir is is Planned Parenthood a vocal political advocate of pro-choice positions, comprehensive sex education, and open expression of sexuality which LDI describes as the empire (which seems as a bit paranoid or they spend too much time watching Star Wars movies) .

To further their whacko aims LDI advocate that like minded people boycott anybody who they believe is a supporter of “abortion, sexual promiscuity, physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, and/or nonconsensual experimentation on human beings“. Included in the boycott are such household names as Disney, global pharma GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, eBay and Four Seasons Hotels. LDI also set their sights on tiny little local businesses like pizza restaurant Brooklyn Pizza in Tucson, Arizona, and hand made confectioners Chocolate Gecko in Albany, NY. How these tiny outfits manage to offend LDI is not stated other than the owners might have trangressed against LDI’s world view at some point.

LDI’s supporters are invited to boycott and picket the businesses on the boycott list and to write what are no doubt repetitive and harrassing letters to the managers and owners of thse businesses.

Minister Andrews, who as we all know is a real stickler for black letter interpretation of the law, refused to be drawn on the virtues of LDI’s boycott policy when interviewed on Insiders. And well he might because politically and ethically inspired business boycotts are a pet peeve of his ministerial colleague, the economic fundamentalist Peter Costello. In February 2007 the PM in waiting (and waiting) mooted changes to the law that would allow the ACCC to take action against groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Greenpeace and of course activists who have campaigned to protect the environment against the depradations of corporate and governmental greed and opportunism.

Of course Kevin Andrews is not the only Catholic Fundamentalist in Federal Parliament. And come July 2008 he will be joined by the recycled dud Jacinta Collins who is currently number 1 on the ALP’s Victorian Senate ticket. Union hackette Collins served as an ALP senator for ten years to 2005 after the accidental death of serving senator Olive Zakharov, a radical activist who must be still spinning in her grave after being replaced by the cossetted conservative, Collins. Collins lost her sinecure when the sleazy preference deal that was supposed to save her bacon that the Victorian ALP hatched with Family First fell in a heap and fundamentalist AoG member Steve Fielding fell over the line with less than 2% of the popular vote in the 2004 election.

Collins’ voting record whilst she was in the Senate would have made the likes of Kevin Andrews proud. Anytime she had a chance to vote against pro choice or stymie leading edge medical research she was there voting with her mates in the Lyons Group. Quite why the ALP persists in pre-selecting these duds whose only aim is to limit our human rights and freedoms is a moot point.

Following a complaint by Greens leader, Senator Bob Brown, the Australian Electoral Commission investigated the activities of Willmac but couldn’t seem to find any evidence of wrongdoing.

Now an Adelaide suburban newspaper, Messenger Newspapers, has been doing a bit of investigatiing and found out more with its limited resources than was the AEC. In particular it has found that out an Adelaide businessman and Brethren capo, Warwick Joyce, had a significant involvement that was unknown to the AWC. Notwithstanding the information that it has passed on to the AEC, the Commission is still prevaricating refusing to make public what it has done to investigate the matters raised. Read more here.

Crikey reports today:

What we now know about the Adelaide versions of these ads is that they were booked by one Exclusive Brethren member, authorised by several others and apparently paid for by yet another Brethren member’s company. Claims that all these people were acting off their own bat and not as part of a campaign seem risible.

Meanwhile it was revealed in Senate Estimates last May that a matter concerning Willmac Enterprises has been referred by the AEC to the Australian Federal Police, who have yet to confirm whether or not they will investigate.

Who can doubt that with another federal election just months away, we should all be watching this space?

Clearly the AEC should give an account for its tardy and inadequate response in regard to this matter.