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Few weeks before the NSW Elections the legendry anti-corruption campaigner, John Hatton warned the people of Bermagui, Make sure that neither of the big parties get a majority in both houses of parliament. Voting Independent in the Upper House is your insurance for good government ... For example, I want to see a Public Works Committee, a Public Accounts Committee and a Public Service Commission which is not under government control. This will enable projects, expenditure and management to be put under a non-government spotlight. The public service at the moment centred in the Premier’s Department is to a large extent made up of people appointed - not to manage efficiently - but to be puppets delivering favours to big political donors John Hatton speaks about clean government
Candidates will be hoping for an advantageous position when the ballot papers draws for the Legislative Assembly and Council are held soon after the nominations close at midday John Hatton Team is in Left Side of the Paper - Group C

And at the other end of the spectrum the group led by former independent MP and corruption fighter John Hatton could take votes from the Greens. VOTE FOR JOHN HATTON

John Waters - Political wild cards shuffled John HATTON: Hatmobile - Parliamentary Underbelly Series
Mr Hatton was joined by actor John Waters, who played the corruption fighter in the most recent Underbelly series. "I was moved by the fact that I was portraying a man who obviously had a lot of courage to stand up and do what he did," Mr Waters told reporters.

Mr Hatton, a former South Coast MP, said he would bring "openness and accountability" to NSW politics as "somebody who says it as it is and is not afraid to take on the big money and the button pushers".

• The underbelly in NSW politics is very real [Pauline Hanson's bid to enter NSW politics has shone a welcome spotlight on the upper house, anti-corruption campaigner and independent candidate John Hatton says Hanson shines light on upper house: Hatton; Our support rises straight out of the community and our contact with the community is grassroots, he said, explaining that his team and its 'Hatmobile' is travelling across NSW to gather support Hatmobile ; John Hatton is one of Australia's most courageous politicians ever: The Forgotten People; What issues will change the way you vote at the NSW Election? ]
• · Openness and accountability ; John Hatton who opened with a fiery condemnation of corruption in the approvals process for mining and CSG extraction ; Special Gasland screening hosted by John Hatton
• · · Corruption fighter rallies Moruya troops ; Well-known Wollongong lawyer David Swan has launched a bid for the NSW upper house at this month's state election ; Saturday’s Illawarra Mercury helpfully featured opinion polls conducted by local outfit IRIS of each of the five state electorates on the paper’s turf, each with sample sizes of 400 and margins of error approaching 5 per cent. To speak Illawarra
• · · · NSW election minus 16 days ; Pauline Hanson and the NSW Legislative Council election
• · · · · LIBERAL Leader Barry O'Farrell has this morning revealed a family member's struggle with a mental illness helped to inspire the Coalition's health care policy. Barry O'Farrell reveals his family battle with mental illnes ; JUST hours before the NSW government moved into caretaker mode last week, the Planning Minister, Tony Kelly, approved four separate developments at Barangaroo, dealing another blow to critics attempting to stall the project.Minister ran down clock for approvals ; Newspoll has the Gillard government’s primary support a Keneallyesque 30, the Coalition on 45 and Greens 15. Distributing preferences as they flowed at last year’s election comes to 54 to 46 in the Coalition’s favour. Tables here. Newspoll history repeats
• · · · · · A total of 809 candidates have nominated for the NSW Election, 498 candidates for the 93 Legislative Assembly electorates and 311 for the 21-member Legislative Council election. The 498 Assembly candidates is down from 537 in 2007, 661 in 2003 and a record 732 in 1999. The big change in numbers for the 2011 election is the disappearance of Unity and Australians Against Further Immigration. The Australian Democrats have nominated only one Assembly candidate, down from 26 in 2007. There are an extra 21 Independents compared to 2007 and 29 more Christian Democrat candidates, the party standing a record 86 candidates. Family First are also contesting their first NSW election with 15 lower house candidates. The Legislative Council has seen numbers fall from 20 columns with 333 candidates in 2007 to 17 columns and 311 candidates in 2011. The Liberal/National Coalition have drawn the prize first column Group A on the ballot paper, Independent John Hatton has drawn Group C, while Pauline Hanson is in Group J. Summary of Nominations for the NSW Election ; The Largest Swings in Australian History - the Measuring Post for NSW 2011 ; THE sale of public assets should be put to a public vote

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I have a feeling my career's just peaked... I'm afraid I have to warn you that I'm experiencing stirrings, somewhere in the upper abdominals, which are threatening to form themselves into dance moves.
-Oscar winners

Today's politicians are a bunch of robots who would rather chase soundbites than make policy ... My old mate Paul Keating once said to me: You have to understand, mate, politics to me is just a game, and I will say or do whatever I have to, to win Rise of the machines John Hewson

Rise of the machines Australia crowned by Oscars
A RECENT decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to deny producer offset funding to the Beyond series Taboo threatens to change the content of Australian documentaries, according to the Screen Producers Association of Australia.

WHETHER it's Animal Kingdom or Packed to the Rafters, there is one good reason why Australian films and TV dramas are flourishing again. In the words of a famous pop group, it comes down to money, money, money …
A review of the screen production sector to be released today by the federal Arts Minister, Simon Crean, shows film and television is being funded at record levels. A new system of production incentives has led to a tripling of government support in the past three financial years to $412 million. With further investment by the agency Screen Australia, production increased to a record $731 million last financial year.

• The King's Speech –and Many, Many Others Federal funding puts local films into action
; [ Bid for producer offset ruled out by appeals tribunal ; Australia crowned by Oscars; Provides screen cultural and industry support through a range of measures Screen Australia; Google - It's Hollywood's biggest celebration]
• · Young Australians like you know just how stupid the divisive political strategy being pursued by Scott Morrison, Cori Bernardi and others is. Social Media and a More Progressive Future ; The Minister for the Arts, Mr Simon Crean, has released the government's report of the 2010 Review of the Australian Independent Screen Production Sector. The report identifies several challenges and highlights opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the screen tax offsets in some areas. Interested parties are invited to comment on the review report by Friday, 11 March 2011. Comments should be sent by email to artsfilminfo@environment.gov.au. Source: 2010 Review of the Australian Independent Screen Production Sector; BAZ LUHRMANN'S Sydney production of The Great Gatsby has been dragged into a spat between producers and the federal funding body Screen Australia about what makes a movie Australian and when taxpayers should subsidise it Gatsby gets caught in row on film funding

• · · Screen Australia and filmmaker George Miller are coordinating the ‘Map My Summer’ project. ; FEDERAL agency Screen Australia will dip its toes into online distribution in a new initiative with YouTube.; The president of the Screen Producers Association of Australia, Antony Ginnane, says the industry body is “pleased” with the review of the independent screen production sector, but they don’t expect any additional direct financing in the upcoming budget. We’re pleased to see that, on many issues, the review doesn’t take a position one way or another. It gives us an opportunity now to engage on an ongoing basis with the Department, but given the state of the world, Australia and the budget, it would be unrealistic for the industry to expect any significant additional direct financing in the upcoming budget Encore
• · · · Oscars 2011: In quotes; There is no blogger here. There are women who tweet or use Facebook, and though using social media is good, it’s not blogging Real blogger at the meet-up
• · · · · John Ibrahim's $150,000 proceeds of crime payout to the NSW Crime Commission NSW court kept deal secret for years ; Police leaks to Ibrahim
• · · · · · Expectations of a change of government in New South Wales on March 26 are almost universal. But the swing the Coalition needs to achieve is historically high. Coalition needs tsunami of votes - and it's on cards ; The polls indicate an electoral wipeout for the NSW government. On current predictions the Coalition will have 19 members in the Upper House after March 26. This is two short of an outright majority. After the President is elected, it will need only three extra votes, which will come from the Shooters and Fishers Party and Reverend Fred Nile. Beware a lack of Upper House Greens