Global warming bad for health?

This is hilarious deception. It is COLD weather that promotes flu etc. Warm weather is good for you in many ways. Brisbane is warmer than Sydney. Does that mean it is less healthy? There is no sign of it. Australia is so big that people can choose just about any climate they like to live in. They do so now and they always will. Tropical North Queensland or chilly Tasmania? Take your pick!

And the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports: "There were no clear patterns in reporting of health-related actions between States and Territories" (p. 6 here). And note that one of the Territories concerned was the very hot Northern Territory! Both hot and cold climates have their advantages and disadvantages but overall there is a balance.

And if the 0.6 degrees C. warming observed across the 20th century is repeated in the 21st, they will not notice the difference even if they stay exactly where they already are

Children in rural Australia will face health problems as climate change starts to bite, and the impact on adults will go much further than the depression that is already affecting some drought-hit farming communities. A national rural health conference heard yesterday that health effects of climate change on rural communities would also include family stress, breathing and respiratory problems caused by more airborne dust and domestic hygiene and infection problems caused by poorer-quality drinking water.

Disruption to agriculture would affect food production, raising prices and lowering the quality and availability of vegetables and other healthy products. Rates of smoking, alcohol and other drug use could also be expected to rise.

Tony McMichael, director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University, said in a keynote speech to open the conference in Albury, NSW, last night that there would also be direct effects, such as the increases in numbers of people killed by heatwaves, storms, floods and bushfires. Research by the centre and the CSIRO has forecast that, among people aged over 65 in Sydney, the death rate caused by heatwaves could rise from the 40 deaths per 100,000 people to between 79 and 239 deaths per 100,000.

Dengue fever and other tropical or mosquito-borne diseases - currently confined to the Top End between Broome and the Cape York peninsula - would also extend southwards as far as Carnarvon on the west coast and just north of Rockhampton on the east. Professor McMichael said recent research by his centre had also shown that parents' stress was conveyed into the family home and increased stress hormones in young children "with immediate and long-term implications for their emotional development and their general bodily health". "We need to be aware of the emerging problems here, and do proper research, and develop intervention strategies," Professor McMichael told The Australian. "We are not talking about new problems that people haven't had before in severe droughts. We are talking about them becoming long-term, and at some level permanent." Suitable strategies included better early-warning systems for severe weather events, better community supports and better infrastructure design.

Tony Hobbs, a GP in the NSW Riverina town of Cootamundra, and chairman of the Australian General Practice Network, said rural doctors were already under pressure and said a significant rise in ill-health would probably force some care to be delivered by nurses and other health workers instead of GPs. "This drought has already had an impact - we have already seen rising rates of depression, including at my practice," Dr Hobbs said. "If this cycle were to continue, that would put an added burden on general practice."

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Police escorts as Sydney buses run gauntlet

Maroubra and La Perouse have a significant black population

Violence and vandalism on Sydney's streets has become so rife that, for the first time, police cars are being used to escort buses through danger areas. In a bid to counter brick and rock attacks by bored thugs, armed police are boarding night buses and accompanying them in marked vehicles.

Areas around Maroubra and La Perouse face being cut off from public transport altogether amid fears by Government bus drivers that someone is going to be killed in the near-nightly hail of bottles and bricks. A woman was hit in the head by a half brick and passengers showered with glass in the latest incident.

The step to use police to protect buses on the 394 and 391 routes comes as western Sydney operators battle to stem vandal attacks by using private security guards. Some suburbs, including Bonnyrigg, Cranebrook, Glenmore Park, Lethbridge Park, Prospect, Willmot and Quakers Hill, are declared "no-go zones" when missile attacks flare up. Sydney's largest operator, Westbus, has begun trialling CCTV cameras mounted on the outside of buses to counter thugs.

In the east, police officers from Operation Beachsafe have been seconded to ensure the passage of buses into and out of South Maroubra, Malabar and La Perouse. With State Transit already paying security guards seven nights a week on these services, police and transport officials will meet today to discuss a long-term solution.

Bus driver Christian Jaure said the situation at La Perouse was bordering on being out of control. "It's the worst I've ever seen it," Mr Jaure said. "The troublemakers never buy a ticket and there's not much the driver can do about it without support. "They just pull the emergency brake (which slows the bus and opens the back door) wherever they want to get off. They don't bother with bus stops."

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Childcare scandals prompt overhaul

Too little too late

A string of devastating child-protection scandals in Western Australia last year has sparked a $100million overhaul of child services - the biggest in the state's history. Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse will be adopted in a major backdown by the Carpenter Government, which has fiercely opposed it in the past. And the embattled state Department for Community Development, implicated for failing to protect vulnerable children in its care, will be split in two to create a new Child Protection Department.

Premier Alan Carpenter yesterday also indicated that a more hardline approach would be pursued to remove children from parents who put them at risk. He promised more group homes and other places for at-risk children and more support for struggling foster carers. Western Australia is the only state without mandatory reporting and Mr Carpenter said he was still concerned it could "overload the system" with unsubstantiated reports. But he accepted that tough measures were needed to ensure children were safe. Doctors, nurses, teachers and police officers would all be required to report suspected child sex abuse under legislation to be introduced later this year.

The Premier came under enormous pressure last year after revelations about the death of 11-month-old Wade Scale shocked the country. Baby Wade drowned in a bath after being returned by the department to his drug-addict mother and violent father despite repeated warnings from relatives concerned for his safety. The department's actions were strongly criticised by Coroner Alastair Hope. It was also revealed that about half of all child deaths notified to the Coroner had some form of contact with the department before they died.

Frontline childcare workers attacked the Government for inadequate resources which stopped them investigating some abuse cases and left them with nowhere to send children in at-risk situations. The Australian revealed that up to 900 cases were placed in a queue because all caseworkers had full loads, prompting Mr Carpenter to inject an extra $50million over four years to address urgent problems. The Premier also established a major review into the department. Its report was released yesterday, with all but one of 70 recommendations adopted by the Government.

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Mr Bean bakes in the Southern sun



A leisurely day out for Mr Bean and his famous friend Teddy has caused organised chaos at Sydney's Bondi Beach. In a stunt to promote his new film, Mr Bean's Holiday, Rowan Atkinson's alter-ego Mr Bean, wearing his trademark tweed jacket and red tie, dipped his toes in the surf at the famous Australian beach yesterday. Arriving by bicycle, the popular international star was all smiles as he waved to a growing group of gobsmacked onlookers, before setting up his post at the beach.

The English-born phenomenon managed to utter a few phrases. "It's very nice here," he grinned. "The weather's hot, but the water's very cold." Asked what he thought of Bondi Beach, which played host to hotel heiress Paris Hilton this year, Mr Bean gave it two thumbs up. "Oh, I love it. It's the best Bondi Beach I've ever been on . . . it's a nice place for a holiday."

Surrounded by a troupe of lifesavers, Mr Bean wasn't shy of getting into the Aussie spirit, wriggling into a pair of Speedos -- over the top of his trousers -- before taking time out to meet one of his youngest fans, Jackie Lawrenson, 2.

The toddler from North Bondi was walking with dad Gordon when they spotted her idol. While the tot appeared terrified cradled in Mr Bean's arms, Gordon said his daughter was the actor's No. 1 fan. "She is a bigger fan then me and has been since she was little," Mr Lawrenson said. "She might have looked scared . . . but I have no doubt tonight she will be saying 'Mr Bean, Mr Bean', over and over again. She loves him."

Mr Bean last caused waves Down Under 10 years ago when he walked the red carpet for his first film Bean. Mr Bean's Holiday will be released on March 29

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