Employers have to be devious to get the sort of employees they want

Not a great way to encourage job-creation -- something the do-gooder airhead excerpted below seems not to realize. The solution to the problem she identifies is for schools to offer less permissive and more prescriptive education -- but we will wait a long time to see that. Schools DID once teach children to speak in a way that would gain maximum social acceptability but now anything goes

Jobseekers are being warned about "social" discrimination in the job market. Executive recruiter Slade Group says social discrimination - which can be based on the way you speak, where you live or where you were educated - is particularly prevalent in entry-level and mid-level roles. Slade managing director Anita Ziemer says social discrimination is often disguised as businesses attempting to find the "right cultural fit". She says examples include employers seeking candidates of specific socio-economic status by targetting people from certain residential areas.

"In one case a client eliminated a high performing financial adviser as a candidate because he dropped the 'youse' word," she says. "In NSW it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of social origin, but ... it is difficult to prove during the job application process."

Recruitment & Consulting Services Association CEO Julie Mills says a good recruiter will refuse to search for a candidate based on socially discriminatory criteria. "This industry would come down on anybody like a tonne of bricks if we found out they were using those sorts of things as their benchmark - clients will try it on ... as long as recruiters don't act on it," she says.

Ziemer says social discrimination relates to perception psychology - a snap judgment based on pre-conceived ideas. "There is a lot of evidence that defines the attributes of top performers in any work setting, yet nowhere does it talk about your suburb, the school you went to, or whether you speak the Queen's English," she says. "Unfortunately there is an unspoken barrier erected by potential employers which is still present ... particularly in law, finance and consulting. "Ironically, social discrimination becomes less prevalent in (senior appointments) because by that time, employers are hiring on proven capabilities."

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Education Union deceit

Truth never has mattered to Leftists

THE Australian Education Union has proved once again it is better at political spin than mathematics. In an inflammatory television advertisement designed to shame John Howard over his Government's funding for private schools, the AEU has reignited a black-hearted campaign kicked off by former Opposition leader Mark Latham for the 2004 election. The campaign is as wrong-headed today as it was then. But this should not surprise, coming as it does from AEU federal president Pat Byrne, who has a history when it comes to political intervention. In a speech prepared for a Queensland Teachers Union conference following the last election, Ms Byrne lambasted voters for putting economic issues ahead of compassion in their decision to vote for the Coalition.

For the upcoming election, the union will spend $1.3 million on a television and letter-box campaign in marginal seats accusing the Government of neglecting public education by directing the bulk of commonwealth funding to private schools. The television advertisement shows a class of children at a public school excitedly preparing for a visit by the Prime Minister, only for him to drive straight past without stopping. The voice-over tells viewers that since the Government was elected, the share of funding for public education has decreased to 35 per cent, despite the fact that 70 per cent of Australian children attend public schools.

The campaign mirrors a $1 million advertising blitz by the AEU against the Government at the last election, urging a boost in funding for public schools. But what both union campaigns failed to mention is that public school funding is a state responsibility. The federal government does provide the majority of taxpayer funding for non-government schools, as the state governments do not fund the private sector. But overall, government schools receive a higher level of government funding than private schools. Sixty-seven per cent of students are in government schools that receive 75 per cent of total taxpayer funding. And under the Howard Government's funding formula, which is based on income demographics for the school catchment, the poorest non-government schools can receive a maximum of 70 per cent of the taxpayer funding provided per government school student, with a sliding scale down to a minimum of 13.7 per cent. The AEU campaign conveniently leaves out the fact that commonwealth education funding to government schools has increased by 120 per cent since 1996, while enrolments have risen by 1.1 per cent over that period. And it must be remembered that the state funding for public schools comes largely from commonwealth grants.

That parents are voting with their feet and taking their children away from public schools and putting them into the private sector underscores the danger in anti-government campaigns based on demonising private education as elitist. The reality is that parents who send their children to private schools effectively pay twice: once in taxes for a public system they don't use and again in private school fees. Labor has rightly dumped Mr Latham's failed policies of trying to widen the public-private divide. Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd should not thank the AEU for reminding voters about it. All levels of government certainly have their failings on education, but this does not excuse the AEU's shameless political campaign based on a false premise. The Australian strongly supports the public school sector and believes it should be properly funded and offer a rewarding career path for teachers. But a union campaign that attacks the federal Government when its track record on education funding is better than that of the Labor states, which escape criticism, is a bit rich and must be marked a failure.

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A free market keeps dental costs down too

DENTISTS have conceded costs in Australia are contributing to an exodus to Thailand and other countries offering dental treatment at half the price. The Australian Dental Association yesterday warned "buyer beware" in the wake of the dental tourism trend. But the ADA said that, apart from anecdotal tales of botched surgery overseas, there was insufficient evidence to advise Australians not to go.

Thailand has long enjoyed a reputation as a cheap holiday destination. It now attracts thousands of Australians who combine a holiday with a cheap trip to the dentist. More than 1.8 million foreigners visited Thailand in 2005 for medical treatment ranging from sex changes to minor cosmetic surgery. The influx, up from 630,000 in 2002, has generated a multi-million-dollar industry.

Bangkok Dental Spa is one of a growing number of specialist dental centres in the Thai capital catering mostly to foreigners. Patients pay $400 to $500 for a new crown, compared with $1500 in Australia. Implant work ranges from $2800 for surgery and a titanium prosthetic, compared with $4000 locally. Bangkok Dental Spa chief executive Lily Porncharoen said she treated hundreds of Australians each year. Treatment in Thailand was cheap with high clinical and professional standards, she said.. "Australia is a very good market for us," Dr Porncharoen said. "It's not too far and they know Thailand well. "What we (Thai dentists) need is our Government to promote us to Australian people so they understand better our standards. I think more and more Australians will come."

With only anecdotal evidence of pitfalls, the ADA's John Matthews said it was hard to challenge Dr Porncharoen's claims. "I don't think we (ADA) have enough evidence to say: don't do it," he said. Thai dentists were cheaper than Australian counterparts because of lower salaries, lower laboratory costs and a "less regulated" environment, he said.

Labor health spokeswoman Nicola Roxon said dental costs under the Howard Government had soared and more than 650,000 people were on public waiting lists for treatment.

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Inside a Queensland public hospital

JAYANT Patel was less of a health risk than the hospital that employed him, a new book on the rogue surgeon says. In a compelling account of working with the former Bundaberg Hospital doctor, a surgical ward nurse paints Dr Patel as an often likeable workaholic who over-rated his ability so much he "thought he was God".

The nurse's insights are penned in the book, Dancing With Dr Death, under the assumed name Virginia Kennedy because of concerns that disclosing her identity would jeopardise future job prospects. "Not all the surgery he did was bad," said Kennedy, who has revealed her real identity to The Courier-Mail. "He did a lot of good surgery. He just over-rated his ability. That's what my book is about. It's the good, the bad and the bits in between."

The 208-page account paints Dr Patel as a Jeckyll and Hyde with a scalpel who became known throughout the hospital as a surgeon to avoid. Kennedy says one nurse even used to repeatedly joke he planned to have "Back off, Patel" tattooed on his body.

But despite Dr Patel's faults, the experienced nurse-turned-author is even more scathing about the hospital's administration and management. "I believe that hospital was a disaster waiting to happen before he ever came there," Kennedy said. "He became the catalyst. He became the match that lit the flame."

She tells of "downright dangerous" workloads in a hospital with little infection control. The book reveals Bundaberg Hospital was so obsessed with saving money staff were ordered not to give patients blankets, unless they were requested, to reduce laundry costs. And a man employed as a "bed carboliser", which involves washing down and remaking beds once a patient has died or is discharged from the hospital, was told by management to cut back on his cleaning. The man, named in the book only as Steve, says he was told by management: "If the bed looks clean, I am not to wash them. I only have to make them." Steve later left the hospital to become a builder's labourer.

Kennedy said management frequently pushed patients out the door ahead of their expected length of stay, telling them to handle their own dressings at home. "We commonly saw people returning with infected wounds and even wounds infested with maggots," she writes.

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Dangerous Greenie crap

Croc allowed to roam popular picnic spot



A 2m crocodile that has stalked a man is being allowed to roam a popular Cairns picnic spot as authorities continue their months-long debate over whether to remove it. A croc expert has warned children's lives are at risk while the crocodile continues to live at Centenary Lakes in the heart of Cairns, which is also a popular tourist attraction. Authorities have known about the croc for months but yesterday said they were still assessing whether it posed enough of a threat to be removed.

Johnstone River Crocodile Farm owner Mick Tabone said they should act immediately to trap the beast and warned it was big enough to attack a child. "Control it now. If a kid stands in the water or close to the water it could take it," Mr Tabone said. "The smaller ones (crocs) are like teenagers, they`ll have a go at anything. It's going to come to a day when someone gets killed and then they'll start talking about having a big shoot-out."

Cairns Infosite Visitor Centre owner Vince O'Flaherty told The Cairns Post he was "stalked" by the croc last Sunday after he took photos of it at the water's edge. He said the croc turned and started swimming towards him as he walked off as excited tourists rushed over.

Queensland Park and Wildlife crocodile scientist Mark Read said yesterday his team was "assessing" the croc's behaviour and size to determine whether removal was necessary. If it was deemed a risk to public safety it would be harpooned or trapped using chicken bait before being taken from the area. The Cairns Post reported in February that rangers were considering trapping the croc but were forced to wait until the weather cleared. There have been repeated sightings of crocodiles in the lake during the past two years however it is unknown whether there is more than one reptile. Mr Read said it was possible but he could not guarantee the croc was the same beast regularly spotted at Centenary Lakes since late 2004.

The lakes are thought to be provide the reptile with an abundance of food including prawns, fish and turtles. Mr Read said the man-made outdoor drains and creekbeds in Cairns provided an ideal pathway for crocs to move about the city, most probably at night when they were at their most active. Mr Read said he had "no idea" how many crocs were crawling through Cairns but thought numbers were probably low.

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