Rex Patrick

This week’s #WorkFromRoam office. Spear Creek, Gateway to the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. #OffGrid

Iran signaling it may deploy mines to disrupt Strait of Hormuz, U.S. sources say Iran is using smaller crafts to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. officials said.

Weapons that wait. Australia couldn't assist with mine clearance in the Strait because our Mine Counter Measure (MCM) capability is moribund.

MCM, anti-drone capability, fuel security - all neglected to pay for #AUKUS subs that will never arrive. #auspol

The rise and demise of Albo’s secrecy bill Transparency might not be a top of mind issue for most voters, but Prime Minister Albanese's assault on the FOI Act was a direct assault on citizen rights.

Sect 11 of the #FOI Act grants every citizen a legally enforceable right to obtain access to Govt information. No one’s permission is needed to make a request.

@albomp.bsky.social’s assault on FOI was thus a direct assault on citizen rights. #disgraceful #auspol

Fuel crisis - Government’s playbook revealed - Michael West Rex Patrick obtained the government's Fuel Security crisis document on FOI. What happens when petrol prices from the Iran war rise too high?

ACCC fuel price monitoring has been invoked, NOSEC has met 3 times in a week, weekly reporting on minimum stockholdings has been ordered and the Govt is messaging calmness on supplies. I'm calling it - the👇fuel emergency response plan👇 is in play. #auspol

Sunrise over the Adelaide Plains this morning. #WorkFromRoam

👇Flashback to December👇. Electricity prices (which are set by the gas price) are about to rise because our Govt places Aussies at third place behind the gas cartel and Japanese/South Korean gas consumers. #auspol

Fuel crisis - Government’s playbook revealed - Michael West Rex Patrick obtained the government's Fuel Security crisis document on FOI. What happens when petrol prices from the Iran war rise too high?

Yes, there’s a plan to deal with fuel shortages. I extracted it from the Govt and MWM publishes so you can follow Iranian conflict national fuel management moves from your lounge room. #auspol

Let me briefly distract you from rising fuel prices.

Electricity prices will rise too with the gas cartel now super-profiting from selling OUR gas in a disrupted Intl market. @albomp.bsky.social’s dud gas policy changes announced in December mean the cartel laughs as we suffer. #auspol

#HardTruth: While feigning concern, it’s actually Govt policy to let fuel prices rise (early). It reduces fuel demand (up to 10%) which is important when you’ve gifted billions to the US & UK for #AUKUS and not spent a dime on addressing low fuel stocks #25DaysDiesel #FOI #auspol

You can whinge, or get angry, or sulk … or you can get active. Join me and others TODAY from 1200 at the Burnside Ballroom for the ‘power of activism’.

@adlfrin.ge free event! #auspol #saparli

I don’t know about you, but watching the price of fuel rise at the bowsers over the last week has left me feeling like fuel companies are taking Australian motorists and Australian consumers for mugs.

What are you doing ACCC? @jimchalmers.bsky.social #FOI #auspol

Minister Bowen has been telling the parliament that everything is OK - nothing to worry about - when it comes to national fuel supplies in the wake of the Middle-East conflict. Let’s find out what the department has been telling the minister. #FOI #auspol

I might take you up on that.

Legislative harakiri. A rare win for transparency as FOI bill dead - Michael West The Government's attempt to limit transparency has been killed off. Widely condemned, the death of the FOI amendment bill is a good thing

Whilst it was Labor that killed its own #FOI Amendment Bill, it was an action forced by a team of non-government organisations working closely together with non-government senators. Here's the inside story on how the secrecy retreat was forced. #auspol

Office view for today.

Murrumbidgee River at Darlington Point, The Riverina, NSW. #WorkFromRoam

Tony Abbot takes on Mark Carney in an intellectual fight … oblivious to the fact that he’s completely out-gunned.

All this painful read shows is that Abbott places sycophancy towards the US far ahead of sovereign conduct. He espouses easy & wrong instead of hard & right. #auspol

#Contrast: Yesterday I was in halls of Parliament advocating for whistleblowers and working to kill off @albomp.bsky.social’s secrecy Bill. Today it’s back to peace and tranquility - on the Murrumbidgee River at Darlington Point, The Riverina, NSW. #WorkFromRoam

The #FOI Amendment Bill is officially dead.

This is a victory for civil society, which has worked collectively to ensure this Bill – which would have harmed our democracy – did not become law.

Long live transparency! #auspol

Thanks to:

Kate Chaney MP
Senator Maria Kovacic
Senator Jacqui Lambie
Senator Bridget McKenzie
Senator David Pocock (co-chair)
Monique Ryan MP
Sophie Scamps MP
Senator Paul Scarr (co-chair)
Tony Zappia MP
Andrew Wilkie MP (co-chair)
#auspol

I was very pleased to attend the inaugural meeting of the ‘Parliamentary Friends of Whistleblowers’ in Parliament House today. Whistleblowers must be protected! 1/2 #auspol

My tweet on Sunday showed the Dept of Industry, Science and Resources’ assessment of what the effect of closing the Straits of Hormuz would have on Australia. Broadening of the conflict over the past 48 hours requires I tweet a new scenario. #FOI #auspol

Bondi Beach bounty - $5000 a day - Michael West Is public service pay too high? Head of Bondi Beach massacre inquiry Dennis Richardson jags $5,000 a day for 'independent report'.

Why be a departmental secretary on just $2740 per day ($1M per annum) when you can be a recalled departmental secretary on $5000 a day? It’s your money … and Dennis Richardson’s ‘Bondi bounty’. #CostOfLivingCrisis #FOI #auspol

2/2 #auspol

'Fill up your car' before petrol price spikes, analyst says Global financial markets expect a damaging spike in the oil price tomorrow, with a critical shipping route for the Gulf's biggest producers now a war zone.

We currently have 25/26 days of diesel/petrol stockpiles purchased pre-conflict. Prices should not go up immediately. @jimchalmers.bsky.social should issue the ACCC a direction under s95ZE of the Competition & Consumers Act to monitor fuel industry pricing. 1/2 #auspol

The current fuel security situation. #auspol

If we had the 90 days local fuel stockpile we’re meant to (by international agreement) some of that reserve could be released now to minimise the impact of the Middle East war on our cost-of-living. Successive Govts have failed us in this regard. #FOI #auspol

War with Iran. Surely it’s nothing to do with efforts to lift Donald Trump out of a polling black hole.

“AUKUS’s main game is the base that Australia intends to give to the US at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.”

I don’t think this can be right. No-one is silly enough to pay $368B to the US to let them use our base. #auspol

Australia’s a great place to #WorkFromRoam. This weekend I’ll be working on two SA #FOI submissions, from the banks of the Barwon River near Walgett in northern NSW. Cost to park the office - $0!

A stunning sunrise this morning in Queensland’s Scenic Rim. With a Brisbane #FOI hearing now concluded, I’m slowly heading south back to the nation’s capital for a parliamentary ‘friends of whistleblowers’ event next Wednesday. Whistleblowers need friends! #auspol #WorkFromRoam