Stone the crows, 'posh' accents doomed

(For overseas readers, "Stone the crows" is an old-fashioned Australian expression of surprise and disappointment)

WITHIN a few decades, the "cultivated" Australian accent of politicians Alexander Downer and Julie Bishop will have vanished, according to a new book. The broad Australian accent is also on the way out, says its author, lexicographer Bruce Moore. Dr Moore, director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre, in Canberra, says the vast majority of Australians now speak with a "standard Australian" accent. That's because we have recovered from the cultural cringe that led some to ape English pronunciation.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, NSW Premier Nathan Rees and tennis player Lleyton Hewitt all speak with broad accents [Kevin Rudd is pretty broad too], but Dr Moore said they are "remnants" of a cultural distinction that arose in the late 19th century.

He traces the development of the "cultivated" accent to the 1880s trend in Britain for the association of "received pronunciation" with education. Australian educators and elocutionists set about eliminating the distinctive features of our speech, such as pronouncing "mate" more like "mite". The trend for elocution is dying - so there is no longer a need for "ocker" Australians to distinguish their speech with nasal intonation and sharp vowels, Dr Moore said. [There is still a noticeable difference between working-class and educated Australian pronunciation but it has few social implications -- unlike Britain]

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Maternity leave may need to wait -- says government

Good to see realism from the Left

A paid maternity leave scheme is a Federal Government priority, but it might not be affordable next year due to the global financial turmoil, says Treasurer Wayne Swan says. The Productivity Commission has released a draft report recommending the Commonwealth fund a 20-week parental leave scheme in which working parents receive up to $12,000 following the birth of a child. The proposal would cost the Commonwealth an extra $450m a year.

Mr Swan says Labor will consider the commission's final report in the context of next year's May Budget but "only do what is affordable''. "We think it's time the nation bit the bullet on paid maternity leave, but I can't tell you here and now that it would be affordable in terms of our next Budget,'' Mr Swan told Network Ten.

Maternity leave was a priority but lower down the list than the main game of responsible economic management, the treasurer said. "The bottom line here, particularly given the international circumstances in which we find ourselves, is responsible economic management,'' Mr Swan said. "There's no doubt that the slow-down in world growth, the impact of events on share markets, will certainly impact on the revenue but the extent of that is unclear.''

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Fatties to pay for own medical care

Obese people in Queensland may have to pay for their own healthcare under a State Government plan as the annual cost of treating preventable diseases hits $5 billion. Queensland's health system spends almost $5 billion a year treating preventable medical conditions caused by obesity, smoking, alcohol and sun exposure.

Alarming new Queensland Government figures reveal so-called "lifestyle diseases" also cost the Queensland economy a further $22 billion in lost productivity and social factors, including lost earnings and the cost to carers. The cost of treating these preventable conditions will wipe out 57 per cent of the state's record $8.35 billion health budget for 2008-2009.

The Government says enough is enough and it is time for individuals to take more responsibility for their health. Conservatives in the State Government have put forward a plan that includes a user-pays health system for the obese. Smokers are already targeted through a "Fit 4 Surgery" campaign, which requires them to quit the habit before being treated. It's also considering compulsory health checks for three and four-year-olds at childcare centres around the state.

The plan is to spot any signs of chronic disease early and provide advice to parents. "We're facing a tsunami of chronic disease in the coming years, thanks to lifestyle changes and our rapidly ageing population," Queensland Health Minister Stephen Robertson said.

"Queenslanders need to realise they face an increasing financial burden from preventable chronic diseases," Mr Robertson said. "If Queensland continues its current rates of population growth, economic growth and public health spending, by 2042 the entire state budget will be consumed by health," he said. "That's why we need to tackle this upsurge in chronic disease before it overwhelms us."

Mr Robertson said preventative health care was "absolutely" the responsibility of individuals, as much as government.

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Government-supported pedophilia?

Interesting to see who the teachers side with

PARENTS have expressed outrage over revelations that controversial artist Bill Henson was allowed into a primary school by its principal to search for models. Victorian Premier John Brumby said yesterday it was "completely inappropriate" that Henson was escorted onto a Melbourne school yard. The Victorian Education Department has launched an official investigation into the incident.

Federation of P&C Associations of NSW president Dianne Giblin said it had been a "betrayal of trust of parents". "Schools should not be a place to access for commercial purposes," Mrs Giblin said. "Any outside person or group coming into the school must do so for an educational purpose only and it supports our concerns of principals making these decisions and not having sectoral approval."

Henson was denounced by political leaders and his photographs seized by police and pulled from the Roslyn Oxley Gallery in Sydney in May following outrage over the picture of a naked 12-year-old girl on the invitation to his show. Fresh controversy has ensued following details from a new book, by Fairfax Media journalist David Marr, that Henson has been invited into the Melbourne primary school in his search for models.

Mr Brumby said: "Such activity taking place in a Victorian state school is completely inappropriate. "Like all parents, I have a deep concern about this sort of behaviour and I have asked the Education Minister for a full report from the department and the school on this matter."

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull expressed disgust and outrage yesterday. "I think parents would be revolted and horrified if this were true," Mr Rudd said. Mr Turnbull said: "There are very big issues here relating to the protection of children, their privacy and informed consent. The matters that have been described in the media are totally inappropriate and unacceptable and I share the outrage that has been expressed by many people at these events."

But Maree O'Halloran, the outgoing president of the NSW Teachers Federation, said it was a complex issue and there was a risk Henson could be unduly tarred. "There are very strict rules governing who can come into a school and principals and teachers follow those carefully," she said. "I think we do need to be careful not to tar someone as being a perpetrator of some sort of child abuse when we're talking about an artist. "We've got a person's reputation at stake here and a person who is a respected, professional artist."

However, Henson's supporters have rejected claims he was allowed to wander the grounds of the Melbourne primary school. Henson was accompanied by the principal at all times when he visited St Kilda Primary School looking for child models to pose for his artwork. He has lectured to school groups and his artwork is a part of the Victorian school curriculum. The artist declined to comment on the matter yesterday but it is understood he is horrified by claims he acted inappropriately.

His supporters are particularly upset by a cartoon that appeared in The Weekend Australian yesterday depicting the artist in a school playground while children hide behind bushes, saying: "Psst . maybe he's one of those arts bandits."

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