Tuesday, November 15, 2011



Dullness in matters of government is a good sign, and not a bad one - in particular, dullness in parliamentary government is a test of its excellence, an indication of its success.
---Walter Bagehot


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This week Ronda Miller was appointed Clerk of the Legislative Assembly for the NSW Parliament – the first female Clerk of the lower House. She replaces Russell Grove who recently retired after 21 years of service as Clerk
RMM

The first female Clerk of the lower House: Asamblea de Ronda Ronda Mary Miller - Magna Carta
The NSW Parliament is the mother legislature of Australia and also one of the oldest public buildings in nation of Down Under. A building where Ronda and Media Dragon used to receive paper cuts from newspaper clippings.
I have very much pleasure in announcing that following recent recruitment action I have requested the Premier to recommend to Her Excellency the Governor approval for the appointment of Ms Ronda Mary Miller as Clerk of the Legislative Assembly. The Premier has confirmed that the recommendation will be made to Her Excellency the Governor and the appointment is expected to be made next week. Congratulations, Ronda.

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I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the staff of the committee for their untiring work during the year, particularly the director, Mrs Patricia Azarias; Mr Ian Clark, then the senior project officer; Mr Joseph Imrich, clerk to the committee; Ms Caterina Sciara and Ms Debbie Isted, who provided administrative support; and our accounting and auditing adviser, Mr John Lynas, who is now on secondment from the Auditor-General's office. I should like to pay special tribute to Ms Ronda Miller, the Clerk-Assistant (Committees) for her ready and constructive assistance to the committee on many occasions.

Some people suggest that the problem is the separation of powers. If you had a parliamentary system, the struggle for power would not result in such complex peace treaties that empower so many different people to pursue so many contradictory aims.
-James Q. Wilson

The first organised opposition by women to women's suffrage in England dates from 1889, when a number of ladies led by Mrs Ward appealed against the proposed extension of the Parliamentary suffrage to women.
-Millicent Fawcett

The standing orders of the Parliamentary Party, however, apply to me, apply to every other Member of the Parliamentary Labour Party and they put into a context the way in which those rights to freedom of speech should be exercised.
-Ron Davies



Unlike the previous parliamentary Marco Polo, Ronda invaded roads less traveled, but with very colourful characters such as Mr Barry O'Farrell to boot to San Francisco of all placed in July 2003 ...
• · Art of Hansard; Magna Carta of Assembly Lines; [ The New South Wales Parliament presented a Mace to the National Assembly for Wales in recognition of the historical connection between these two parts of the world. The Mace was carried into the Siambr by Ms Ronda Miller, Serjeant-at-Arms of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, presented to The Queen; Robyn McClelland (C’lth) stepped down as Chair of the Committee in 2007 and Ronda Miller (N.S.W.) was appointed as her successor by the Executive Committee. John Mandy (W.A.) and Carol Rankin (N.Z.) were asked to continue on the Committee and Rick Crump (S.A.) was co-opted during the year. Lessons from Abroad; Legislative Assembly and Council Privileges Committee Search Warrants & Parliamentary Priviledges]
• · · All Legislative Roads Lead to Dr Cope Parliamentary Librarian; Sad history
• · · · As the friendliest and considerate President in my time in NSW Parliament, Johno Johnson, noted: In 1991 Dr Russell Cope, the Parliamentary Librarian, concluded 40 years of meritorious service Dr Cope is one of those living treasures that few institutions have; The Clerk advises the Speaker and members impartially on parliamentary procedure and manages the Department of the Legislative Assembly. The current Deputy Clerk of the Assembly is the Assembly's first female Clerk. She became Deputy Clerk in 2004. In 2007 the Assembly appointed its first female Serjeant-at-Arms. Lynn Lovelock has served NSW Parliament (The Lords of the Upper House) in many roles. In 1987 she was a parliamentary administration officer, in 1988 she was appointed as the Usher of the Black Rod—as members know she was the first woman to hold that position—in August 1989 she was appointed Clerk Assistant, and then in December 1990 she was appointed Deputy Clerk. In 2007 Lynn was the first woman appointed Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the Legislative Council Women on Top
• · · · · Machiavelli's teaching would hardly have stood the test of Parliamentary government, for public discussion demands at least the profession of good faith Another book lover; Review of Note on MD first birthday
• · · · · · ... THE 99% of Another WORLD: Many seasoned political professionals in Washington are deeply jealous of the copywriting skills of the “Occupy Wall Street” crowd. The young movement’s slogan – “We are the 99 per cent” – is one they wish they had thought up themselves.The funny thing, walking through “Occupy DC”, the fast-growing little brother of OWS camped a block from the White House, is that the movement’s followers don’t look like 99 per cent of anything other than a ragged modern-day counter-culture. For a better litmus test of the country’s political mood this week, you had to travel far from the tents of McPherson Square in downtown Washington to the bellwether state of Ohio. We Are the 99 Percent; Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in the world said http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifearlier this year that “There has been class warfare going on... and my class isn’t just winning, I mean we’re killing them”. The onset of neo-liberal capitalism in the late 1970s that saw a shift away from manufacturing because the rate of profit for the corporations therein had flatlined, towards a finance capitalism in particular, facilitated a huge squeezing of the US working class, dashing the American Dream for the majority and massively increasing the wealth of the tiny minority of super-rich. Website lets wealthy 1% show support for the other 99%; Quotes