ZEG on Rudd's "Grocery Watch"

Conservative Australian cartoonist ZEG has a new toon up portraying Kevvy as a shonky wristwatch salesman

Update:

Zeg also comments on the latest attack on Peter Costello by Paul Keating





Fears southeast's koala population could disappear within 20 years

"Fears"! How awful! Must not have fears. The fact that Koalas are in plague proportions in some other parts of Australia (such as Kangaroo Is.) and are being "culled" is not mentioned, of course

Southeast Queensland's koala population could be wiped out within 20 years unless urgent steps are taken to save the iconic animal. A new report warns hundreds of koalas are dying each year because they are losing their habitat, getting attacked by dogs or hit by cars. Premier Anna Bligh yesterday revealed tough measures would need to be taken to save an estimated 20,000 koalas living in the southeast including possibly banning dogs in new housing developments or forcing existing dog owners to fence or kennel their pets overnight. The Government may also look at lowering speed limits around koala habitats and building tunnels under major roads so koalas can move between habitats. A taskforce including the RSPCA, local councils, developers, conservation groups and koala experts will be set up to recommend a rescue plan to the Government.

But the move was immediately blasted by conservationists who said it would do little to boost the number of koalas. Australian Koala Foundation's Deborah Tabart OAM said dogs and cars were not the lead killers of koalas as the Government suggested. "The post mortems of 700 koalas earlier this year showed koalas are now starving to death due to loss of food and the disease rates are going up," she said. "These (proposals) will do nothing for koalas; it's meaningless."

Ms Tabart said the state was simply panicking ahead of a Federal Government review of its koala strategy. A report released by the Government yesterday, which was commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency and the previous Caboolture, Pine Rivers and Redcliffe councils, found a 46 per cent decline in the number of koalas in Pine Rivers over the past six years.

Ms Bligh conceded the Government had not done enough in the past to protect koalas, with several measures considered but rejected by previous ministers. "It would be a great tragedy if we stood by and let the koalas of southeast Queensland be wiped out," she said. "We face total loss of koalas within 20 years. We need to take on issues that in the past we have felt were too tough on residents ... frankly we've been too cautious and it's time to take tougher action ... doing nothing is not an option."

LNP sustainability spokesman Dave Gibson said the plans would anger responsible dog owners being unfairly targeted because the Government had approved too much development near koala habitats.

Source







Stupid judge wants a jury to decide without them being allowed to see the scene of the crime

Sparking understandable rebellion from the jurors

A JURY has today been discharged at the murder trial of Gordon Wood, who is accused of throwing his model girlfriend Caroline Byrne off a Sydney clifftop. In discharging the seven women and five men today, Justice Graham Barr said the evidence showed there had been "misconduct" from one or more of the jurors. He concluded one juror had telephoned a journalist last Thursday to say some jury members planned to have a private night inspection of the death scene of Caroline Byrne. The judge added such a visit would be contrary to his specific instructions given at the start of the NSW Supreme Court trial last week.

Wood, 45, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 24-year-old Ms Byrne in June 1995 by throwing her over the cliff at The Gap, in Sydney's east. The trial began on Monday last week and the jurors were taken to The Gap on Wednesday when they inspected various sites, including the ledge from where the crown contended Wood had thrown Ms Byrne.

The trial did not sit on Friday, but Justice Barr said he was informed last Thursday afternoon that a radio journalist had received a phone call that morning from a woman who said she was a juror. The woman said some jurors were planning to visit The Gap that night and that there was a woman on the jury who was a "bully", who had already made up her mind about Wood's guilt. The judge said he arranged for a court official to phone each of the jurors to tell them that no such visit should take place.

Yesterday, the judge heard evidence from 2GB broadcaster Jason Morrison who detailed the off-air conversation, which he said he had tried to stop by telling the person to contact the judge. Each of the jurors gave evidence separately before the judge but all denied calling a journalist, knowing anyone who had called a journalist, or knowing of a plan for a private viewing at The Gap. Despite the crown's submission that the call was a hoax from "a malevolent member of the public", the judge concluded the caller was a juror.

Source








Antique merry-go-round banned by insane "safety" bureaucracy

Banned from Brisbane's "Ekka" (Annual rural show) even though it has been proven safe for 100 years



The dead hand of bureaucracy has killed off an Ekka institution. The Grand Carousel, an antique merry-go-round that has thrilled thousands of youngsters for more than half a century, has been barred from this year's Ekka over fears children might be crushed under the hooves of its timber horses. Even though it is considered safe in other states, the objections of a Workplace Health and Safety Queensland inspector have led to the Grand Carousel's 57-year link with the show being severed.

With the 133rd Ekka under way tomorrow, other safety inspectors were yesterday absorbed in the potentially hair-raising task of testing thrill rides such as the Sky Walker and Insanity. But controversy surrounded a far more pedestrian ride.

John Short, whose father Lesley first brought the Grand Carousel to the Ekka in 1951, has been forced to leave his "flagship" operating on the banks of Melbourne's Yarra, where it enjoys the approval of Victorian WorkSafe inspectors. It is understood the Queensland inspector's concerns were triggered last year when he observed a primary school-aged child who appeared "unsteady" in the saddle. He concluded a child who fell off could be crushed under the rising and falling horse or roll off the carousel platform and hit their heads.

Brian Bradley, an engineer who carries out inspections for amusement ride operators, said the inspector had "concocted a potential hazard". "Bear in mind there's an operator in the centre of the ride who watches it going around, there's an attendant on the side of the ride, who is able to jump on as it's moving without any problem," he said. "You've also got the parents to hold their two or three-year-olds on a horse, riding for nothing, just for safety precautions. (Nothing) has ever happened in the 100 years the ride's been operating but because this particular inspector had a bright idea that it could happen and made an issue of it, the ride won't work in Queensland again."

The inspector warned the RNA in February that Mr Short would be issued with a prohibition notice on the ride unless he carried out substantial alterations, including a new barrier. Mr Short described the request as "ridiculous". "He wanted me to redesign the whole thing and I'm not willing to do that to a 120-year-old machine," he said. Mr Short turned instead to a modern alternative, the Space Carousel. "It hasn't got the charm or nostalgia of the Grand Carousel, but nothing does," he said.

Source






Useless watchdog hands rape inquiry back to the people responsible for facilitating it

QUEENSLAND Health will investigate itself over events surrounding the alleged rape of a nurse, raising concerns over the probe's independence. The Crime and Misconduct Commission has referred the case back to the department, despite alleged bungles involving top bureaucrats and even Health Minister Stephen Robertson. The five-month probe centres on major failures surrounding the alleged rape of a nurse on Mabuiag Island in February, 16 months after a damning accommodation security report was completed and ignored. A nursing manager allegedly told the nurse to return to work after the incident and a police officer allegedly refused to help because it was raining.

The case erupted in State Parliament when the Opposition revealed Mr Robertson, pictured, had tabled only a sanitised version of the security report. The Courier-Mail also revealed the former district manager blamed by the State Government for ignoring the audit claimed he was transferred to Cairns at the time.

Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg yesterday raised serious concerns about the independence of the investigation. "The CMC shouldn't be involved in minutiae but, given Queensland Health actually denied the first version of the report existed in the first place, one has to wonder about the transparency now," Mr Springborg said. "Are we going to get the truth?"

Mr Robertson had lauded the referral to the CMC on March 13, saying the matter would be investigated by "an external and independent organisation". "(This is) the quite proper course to be taken in such circumstances where there is conflicting information about what happened and who was responsible," the minister told State Parliament.

Mr Robertson yesterday said the probe would now be done by his department's Ethical Standards Unit and reviewed by the CMC. "The ESU is headed by a former senior investigator of the CMC," he said. "At every stage, this investigation has been overseen and monitored by the CMC to ensure public confidence and transparency in the process."

Source