Better fish dinners coming?

Fish are said to be growing bigger and faster as oceans warm but somehow that is a disaster! The global warming religion requires that there be a dark lining in every silver cloud

Researchers believe that some species of Australian fish are growing bigger, much faster, because ocean temperatures are warming up. A CSIRO study has found that increasing ocean temperatures are speeding up the growth rate of wild fish stocks by up to 30 per cent. But while fish in shallow waters are growing rapidly, species in the cooler deeper ocean are growing at a much slower rate.

Lead author Dr Ron Thresher says this will have huge implications for the long-term sustainability of the marine ecosystem. "Some species are probably going to be able to track an environmental temperature by moving up and down the coast or moving up and down in the water column so they stay in their optimal temperature range," he said. "But the fish we looked at, it doesn't look they're doing that and they're just trying to cope with the temperatures as they're changing," he said. "Sooner or later eventually they'll reach a point where they can't cope and at that stage they're going to be in real trouble."

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The global-warming "drought" comes to South Australia

There's even been enough rain to make the farmers happy (and you know what a rare thing a happy farmer is) but it is STILL not enough to fill South Australia's inadequate water storages. It's government neglect, not the climate, that has caused the urban water shortages



The long dry that has pushed many of South Australia's farmers to the brink, was finally broken yesterday as a heaven-sent deluge soaked all corners of the state. Seeding has now begun throughout the state's cropping districts with the downpour set to continue until Sunday, in what farmers described as an ideal start to the season. Every district except the Far North-East had received at least 10mm of rain by 6pm yesterday. It was the first substantial rain since March 24. Cape Borda, on Kangaroo Island's north west coast, received the state's highest rainfall of 89mm. In Adelaide, 13.5mm had fallen by 6pm.

The South Australian Farmers Federation said the ideal start - and the forecast of more to come - had caused a hive of activity in paddocks from the West Coast to the South-East. Many farmers had gambled the break would come and had begun seeding in the dry soil before the rain hit. Farmers' federation president Wayne Cornish said the constant, steady rain was exactly what farmers had prayed for. "As long as they can effectively get their equipment moving in the rain, I'd bet my boots they would be out there," he said. "If we can receive several days with just what we're getting at the moment, it doesn't come in a big rush and if we can have a follow-up, that would be the ideal prescription for the start of the season."

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Matt Collopy said the rain band had moved across the state and produced rain "pretty much to plan". "Most districts would have received at least 15mm to 20mm by Friday morning, with only the Moomba basin north-east of Marree missing out," he said. "We are expecting follow up rain on Tuesday and Wednesday but that will not be as significant as this rain we had." Yesterday afternoon, another intense low pressure system was developing in the western part of the Bight, which was expected to pass southern districts late tonight and early tomorrow. "That will bring plenty of showers to southern coasts such as Lower Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and the Adelaide Hills," Mr Collopy said.

The falls are not expected to help the parched River Murray, however. While the rain will move into Victoria today and up to 50mm has been forecast to fall in the upper catchments of the Murray-Darling basin on Saturday, inflows into the Murray were not expected to be significant. A Murray-Darling Basin Commission spokesman said it was "too early to tell" if the rain would have any impact. He said the ground was still dry and would quickly soak up the rain.

The rain was also expected to have a minimal effect on Adelaide's reservoir levels. Mr Cornish said any rain would have needed to be a "substantial event" to undo the damage that has been caused by the long dry spell. "Ideally (to start cropping), people are looking for at least an inch of rain in the old language (25mm), which some people have had already," he said yesterday. "We need a couple of inches to compensate for the extra dry conditions and then the crucial factor is something coming along behind it a few days after the original event." He said the rain also came just in time for stockholders who were in desperate need to grow feed for grazing.

Opposition Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith warned the Government must increase Adelaide's water supply, even if it was the break in the drought. "I am very concerned the Rann Government may use a break in the season as an excuse to abandon planning for SA's water future," he said. "If our state is to continue to grow, we have to look after the water we already have and find new sources of water, not just muddle from year to year."

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Victoria too



Victoria's drought-stricken west received a long-overdue drenching overnight - and Melbourne is expected to get a similar soaking today. Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Ward Rooney said Melbourne was likely to get somewhere between 10-20mm later in the day, or overnight. "We'll get some of the rain from Adelaide but it may not be quite as heavy over Melbourne," Mr Rooney said. "Everywhere, all districts, will have some rainfall. We'll probably see the heaviest falls in the north by tomorrow morning."

Throughout the day the showers would gradually extend eastwards, providing a welcome relief to farmers across the state, he said. "It'll certainly be helpful in terms of having some effect on local dams... and replenishing the soil to some degree. It's been so dry for so long that you really need extended rainfall to turn the corner. (But) it's useful rain." Four towns in the north-west of the state received decent rainfall overnight, with Ouyen leading the way after 23mm was dumped on the town. Horsham, Nhill and Warracknabeal all received partial relief with 7mm. While it wasn't exactly a soaking, it was the best weather farmers from the three towns had seen in weeks. And unlike similar rains that have fallen intermittently in recent months, this rain is predicted to fall fairly evenly across the state.

Mr Rooney said the rain was expected to continue falling in the north-west today. "They're (farmers in north-west) likely to get some more rain today and then again overnight. "It will fall fairly universally across the state with Gippsland being the only area likely to miss out this time. "But that's not too bad because, ironically, Gippsland's been receiving a bit over the last few weeks."

The bureau's senior forecaster said it was the most promising rainfall the state had witnessed for some time. And while it he was reticent to state it would be the end of the drought, he said it was likely to have a more significant impact than previous downpours.

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Immigration scrutiny in Australia

Australia has very little illegal immigration so the Feds are cracking down on abuses of legal immigration

Employers will be subject to unannounced spot checks by immigration officials and could face fines for exploiting or underpaying migrant workers in a shake-up of visa arrangements. Under reforms announced yesterday by Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, employers will also be required to ensure that overseas workers have a functional level of English. Applicants will be required to detail their English language skills and, on a targeted basis, may be required to complete an International English Language Testing System test.

The Howard Government has faced criticism for its handling of the scheme, which has grown so rapidly recently because of labour shortages that the bureaucracy could not keep up with monitoring and compliance of employers. Over the past 12 months, the union movement and the Labor Party have highlighted extreme cases of exploitation where workers have been charged exorbitant amounts for rent and other fees, paid in foreign currencies and forced to work in unskilled roles despite being highly qualified.

Mr Andrews said the changes, to take effect later this year, would reward employers who had a "strong and demonstrated record" of complying with the 457 visa program by having their applications to sponsor workers fast-tracked. Employers who underpaid workers or made them perform in unskilled jobs would face civil penalties similar to those in the Workplace Relations Act, he said. Mr Andrews said existing penalties, where employers faced being excluded from access to further foreign workers, were insufficient. The government's workplace watchdog, the Office of Workplace Services, would also be given greater powers to investigate breaches of the minimum salary level under the changes. The immigration department granted 368,333 business visitor visas in 2005-06.

Labor's immigration spokesman Tony Burke said the announcement simply put "a band-aid over a gaping wound". "The real problem remains: that the Government doesn't understand that most of the abuses have in fact been legal and continue to be legal," he said. "We saw the example not long ago of the 40 Filipino welders I visited in Brisbane last year who were being paid the minimum salary level under the visa, but this was 20 per cent below the going rate in the area. Mr Burke urged the Government to do more to stop foreign workers being exploited and said unscrupulous employers would be able to undercut local Australian wages by tens of thousands of dollars despite the changes. "You will still be able to undermine a salary through exorbitant compulsory deductions and kickbacks to rogue employers," he said. "With the new announcement, the system is better than it was but decent businesses can still face unfair competition from shonky operators who exploit foreign workers."

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Bank gets sued for its careless bungling

About time someone did. Bank bungling is chronic

In A novel defamation case, Westpac is being sued for more than $2 million by an Auburn real estate agent, after the bank bounced 30 cheques written on the agency's trust account. Paul Aktas, who in 1997 had the franchise for the Century 21 agency in Auburn, claims his successful business and reputation were devastated after angry landlords had their rent cheques dishonoured in December 1997.

A jury has already found that Westpac defamed both Mr Aktas and his company, Homewise Realty, when it rejected the cheques and put the words "refer to drawer" on them. Mr Aktas said yesterday angry clients had abused him and he had had to convince his staff he had done no wrong.

He said no one could help him at Westpac, and angry and frustrated, he had rung the banking ombudsman and even the police. His barrister, Tim Hale, SC, said as well as the defamation action, Mr Aktas was suing for breach of contract and negligence.

He said that in December 1997 Mr Aktas and Century 21 were in dispute about some commissions and Century 21 had won a default judgement for $35,000. "What Century 21 did was to issue a garnishee order against [the agency] and served it on Westpac Bank, and by error the bank applied that garnishee order not only to personal accounts but to the trust account," he said. "There were a significant number of very angry customers and clients coming to the agency wanting to know had happened to the rent [the agency] had collected". The $35,000 default judgement in the local court had since been set aside, he said, and defences had been filed.

He said before the bounced cheques, the agency had about 18 per cent of the market share in Auburn, which fell substantially thereafter. He said that in order to stay in business, Mr Aktas had reduced his commission. The lost sales, and reduced commission, meant he had lost some $2 million in earnings, Mr Hale said. The court heard Westpac contends the losses were more in the order of $477,000. The defamation case has now reached the stage where a judge will decide what, if any damages should be awarded, and what defences Westpac has against the action.

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