"Health" Nazis kill valuable horse

More "safety" insanity

A $200,000 racehorse which survived the deadly Hendra virus has been put down this morning after being declared a health hazard. Officers from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries sedated the prized thoroughbred, called Tamworth, before administering a lethal injection just after 10am. The gelding's owners were not present when vets put down Tamworth at the Redlands Veterinary Clinic. The two-year-old gelding was put down despite surviving the deadly Hendra virus that claimed four other horses at Redlands Veterinary Clinic. The horse's body now will be taken to a secret location, understood to be at Gatton, to undergo tests so scientists can find out more about Hendra virus. [Wouldn't a LIVE horse provide more information?]

Biosecurity Queensland chief veterinary officer Ron Glanville insists there was no other option but to put down the horse. But owner Warren Small remains unconvinced that his horse is a threat and is even willing to quarantine himself with Tamworth so the horse can assist with research into the mystery virus. "If they haven't got anyone with enough guts, I'm prepared to risk myself to do it," he said. "Hendra virus is going to come back again and again and again because it comes from bats, and there's millions of bats and they're a protected species. We need to know a lot more about it." Mr Small has no access to compensation under existing workplace, health and safety legislation.

The Hendra Virus Expert Committee - chaired by the department's principal veterinary officer, Simon Bewg - on July 15 recommended the state's first horse to survive the virus be kept alive and monitored for 12 months. Meeting minutes obtained by The Courier-Mail reveal the committee found the decision a low-risk option that would also produce the best scientific outcomes.

Dr Glanville said a national body known as the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases overruled the recommendation. "It was overturned on the basis not enough is known about the virus to be sure the horse will not pose a threat to human health. Quite simply it's just not worth the risk," Dr Glanville said.

Premier Anna Bligh yesterday backed the decision to destroy the racehorse, which is the only one of five horses at the clinic to be infected with the virus and survive. "This is being done as part of a national agreement about protecting the entire equine industry from outbreaks of this kind," Ms Bligh said. "There is a very serious concern that this horse could have a relapse of this disease."

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Conservative High School students suffer from 'left bias'

Victoria's curriculum is left-wing and is pressuring students to conform to the politically correct views held in school texts and by teachers to enhance their chance of academic success, a Melbourne tutor has warned. In a submission to a federal inquiry into academic freedom, Mark Lopez argues that - in year 12 English in particular - students with non-left views face "additional challenges" and are often disadvantaged if they "cross the teacher's bias".

Dr Lopez, a humanities tutor of 18 years, told the Senate inquiry that, in part, he set up his tutoring business to tackle issues of ideological bias, teacher quality and the "subjective" assessment of students' work. "The problem of bias is much worse than many assume," he said in his submission. He said he had no doubt that students who presented conservative arguments or interpretations were at a disadvantage because teachers were more likely to be critical of their work if they felt the student's argument was "politically incorrect".

His concerns are likely to spark a culture wars debate not seen since 2006 when then education minister Julie Bishop criticised "left-wing ideologues in state governments", describing some subjects as "straight from Chairman Mao". In his submission, Dr Lopez referred to an article he wrote for conservative journal The IPA Review in which he said many texts selected for the VCE English reading list had been chosen in response to the "contemporary political concerns of the politically correct left". "What is concerning is that the effect of this ideological uniformity emanating from the texts is the unstated but evident message that what is politically and socially important is what the Left perceives to be important," he argued.

Dr Lopez said the Victorian text list should be cut from more than 30 to 20, with 10 selected by the "non-left" and 10 by the left. School English departments would have to choose a variety. Dr Lopez told The Age bias was evident in subjects such as history, geography and politics.

His concerns are echoed by conservative education consultant Kevin Donnelly, who warns in his submission that some students left school "culturally illiterate and ethically challenged" because they were denied the opportunity to study history or literature "in any systematic or balanced way". Dr Donnelly said education should be balanced, impartial and disinterested - but he said a lot of students were taught a politically correct view, rather than a balanced view. "There are serious consequences for young people in terms of not getting a balanced education," Dr Donnelly told The Age. "One of them is that a lot of young people don't have a strong moral compass."

Dr Donnelly said a charter of academic freedoms, raised in the inquiry's terms of reference, was worth exploring. However he said it should not be government controlled but overseen by an independent board. The inquiry was launched following a private motion by Victorian Liberal senator Mitch Fifield. Submissions are due today, with a final report expected by November.

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Carbon tax on Australian cars?

Every Australian new-car buyer would be hit with a carbon tax based on the car's greenhouse gas emissions, under a proposal to the Federal Government by luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz. The brand argues it is time to get serious about CO2 emissions and follow the global move towards emission-based taxation. That would mean a $1250 price rise on the top-selling Holden Commodore in the first year and about $750 on a Toyota Corolla. Mercedes put its carbon tax proposal in a submission to the Senate inquiry into the proposed rise in the luxury car tax from 25 to 33 per cent.

The company argues its proposal, which would raise more than the target of $400 million over three years for the luxury car tax, was not just a counter proposal to negotiate a rethink on the Budget proposal. "It's based on good public policy," said managing director of Mercedes-Benz Australia, Horst von Sanden. "It is time to get everyone thinking about CO2 and exhaust emissions. We have simply moved past the point where we can ignore it. Money is a very good pressure tool and people are not doing enough about it. "We acknowledge the Government has the right to look for new revenue streams but we decided instead of just arguing against the tax we should come up with a new proposal."

Most major car brands have presented arguments against the luxury car tax rise and have been joined by industry bodies, including the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Mercedes-Benz compiled its carbon-tax proposal with a staged introduction which would more than offset the potential gains from the luxury car tax. It also believes the downturn in luxury car sales since the end of June means the proposed increase could easily be wiped out.

Mercedes says the carbon tax, similar to one in Britain, must be introduced to force buyers and car makers to think green. The company believes the threshold should be set at 119g of CO2 per kilometre, with a gross polluter level set at 200g. Many luxury and performance cars produce more than 300g. "Some politicians might doubt us at the moment but it is a genuine approach to finding a solution to the biggest challenge the automotive industry will face for the next 10 to 15 years," Mr von Sanden said.

Mercedes offsets the emissions of every car it sells for the first six months by 115 per cent and is pushing hard for greener models, including a plug-in electric Smart car from 2010. The Senate hearing outcome is expected on August 26.

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Poor public hospital treatment of kids with heart complaints

DOCTORS have called for an independent investigation into the State's pediatric cardiac service, it has emerged. The move follows a nurse's claims of "dangerous and potentially fatal" work practices. The service transferred from Brisbane's Prince Charles Hospital to the Mater Children's in May to prepare for the transition to the planned Queensland Children's Hospital in 2011.

Queensland Health has received a copy of a letter by a nurse who moved with the unit to the Mater, raising serious concerns about the quality of services being provided there, including unsafe workloads and "archaic" equipment. The nurse, who has since resigned, complained about poor staffing numbers and a lack of experienced nurses at the unit since the move. "We frequently had an increased, unsafe workload," she wrote. "It became increasingly difficult to give effective and quality care to each of my allocated patients and their families, many with very high needs.

The nurse said the unit's team leaders at the Mater were frequently required to look after patients, removing their ability to help other staff. "With such a large percentage of staff rostered on any given shift being fairly inexperienced in cardiac care, this is a dangerous and potentially fatal consequence," her letter says. The nurse said despite the heavy workloads, unit staff not uncommonly were required to look after non-cardiac patients, regardless of staffing levels or experience.

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Chris Davis, who has also received a copy of the letter, called for an independent investigation into the unit, expected to perform about 350 procedures a year. "It seems to me reading that letter, we're looking at a very experienced nurse and she has blown the whistle," he said. "One assumes that she's done it, as is always the case, to make sure that the interests of patients are protected."

Queensland Health Minister Stephen Robertson said he was concerned by the issues raised in the letter. He said Queensland Health staff would talk to the Mater Health Services about those concerns. The pediatric cardiac service's director Graham Nunn, a heart surgeon, said he expected the Mater unit to quickly achieve national recognition as a centre of excellence. He said the ward was staffed appropriately, using acceptable benchmarks, according to the number of patients, and the equipment was "brand new". "Approximately twice the numbers of surgical cases per week are being treated at the Mater Children's Hospital than before the service transferred from The Prince Charles Hospital," Dr Nunn said.

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