ZEG

In his latest offering, conservative Australian cartoonist ZEG comments on the "achievements" of one year of Rudd.





Huge government transport bungle in Sydney

Even at a cost of billions of dollars, building just 19 kilometres of railway was too difficult for them. The contractor did as it was told but the things it was asked to do were half-baked. Governments should never attempt anything "innovative". You need close involvement for that -- not bureaucratic inertia and indifference

Serious defects have emerged in the $2.3 billion Epping to Chatswood Rail Line that could threaten its long-term reliability and have the potential to increase dramatically the cost of running the still unopened railway. A secret Government report, obtained by the Herald, has exposed thousands of flaws in the way the tracks have been fixed to 19 kilometres of concrete slabs. It details the widespread failure of the epoxy, which was often water-affected or contaminated with slurry, the use of incorrectly tensioned bolts and clips, and cracks in the sleepers.

The line was meant to open in 2006, but it has been repeatedly delayed. Full operation of the line was again deferred after revelations in the Herald last month that noise levels inside test trains were equivalent to a Boeing 737 coming in to land.

The latest report, commissioned by the State Government's rail-building agency, the Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation, raises grave questions about the long-term cost of maintaining the line. "Any assurance of reliable track performance remains presently 'out of the question' until action to solve the thousands of track component defects, currently being uncovered and listed, can be accomplished," the document of March this year says.

There is already a feud between the Government and the contractor, Thiess Hochtief, over the noise problems, which will cost $29.5 million to fix. The Government is now demanding the contractor also pay to repair the latest problems. A TIDC spokesman, Peter Whelan, told the Herald that "95 per cent of the track has been lifted and fully inspected", as part of its "quality assurance and audit process". "The issues noted [in the report] were identified by TIDC and were required to be addressed by the construction contractor at its cost," he said.

But the Herald understands that senior RailCorp staff consider the long-term maintenance risk to be so serious that they have begun their own work on how to fix the problem. "Some concerns have been raised [by RailCorp] and are being addressed," Mr Whelan said.

Unlike traditional railways, the multibillion-dollar line uses more than 54,000 "Delkor Eggs" as sleepers - these are oval-shaped rubber mats designed to absorb vibration. At the core of the problem is the lack of reliable bonding between these eggs and the concrete slab. "It would, in this author's view, be a grossly irresponsible and negligent act to certify as to the suitability of the ECRL track structure reliability prior to the above conclusion items being satisfied," the report finds. "Such action would constitute grave compromise of professional integrity of those individuals involved in my opinion."

The document questions whether the problems may also stem from an incorrect concrete mix being used to lay the slab: "The presence of slab cracks and prevalence of voids under [base plate] pads suggests some level of variance from design and placement requirements for ECRL." But Mr Whelan said there was no problem "with the integrity of the concrete slab".

The report reveals that the failure of individual eggs increases the pressure on neighbouring eggs, eventually buckling the tracks and causing "ride discomfort". This accelerates the wear on the track, increases the cost of routine rail grinding, reduces longevity and can only be repaired as effectively as "the integrity of the initial track construction provides", the report says.

The problem was first revealed by the Herald in February. But for several months before that TIDC and Thiess Hochtief carried out works to try to solve the problem. At first, attempts were made to squeeze more epoxy under the baseplates - but this only made things worse, the report reveals. The problem's persistence led to the independent site inspection that formed the basis of the leaked document. "It is considered possible that RailCorp will decline to accept handover of [the] project on the basis of inadequate assurance available for future system reliability," the report concluded.

But Sue Netterfield, a Thiess Hochtief spokeswoman, said the problems had "been rectified". "Having met all the contract requirements, the joint venture is in the process of handing the project over to the client and is not aware of any outstanding issues."

Source





Beware the church of climate alarm



As the Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, an economist, anti-totalitarian and climate change sceptic, prepares to take up the rotating presidency of the European Union next year, climate alarmists are doing their best to traduce him. The New York Times opened a profile of Klaus, 67, this week with a quote from a 1980s communist secret agent's report, claiming he behaves like a "rejected genius", and asserts there is "palpable fear" he will "embarrass" the EU.

But the real fear driving climate alarmists wild is that a more rational approach to the fundamentalist religion of global warming may be in the ascendancy - whether in the parliamentary offices of the world's largest trading bloc or in the living rooms of Blacktown. As the global financial crisis takes hold, perhaps people are starting to wonder whether the so-called precautionary principle, which would have us accept enormous new taxes in the guise of an emissions trading scheme and curtail economic growth, is justified, based on what we actually know about climate.

One of Australia's leading enviro-sceptics, the geologist and University of Adelaide professor Ian Plimer, 62, says he has noticed audiences becoming more receptive to his message that climate change has always occurred and there is nothing we can do to stop it. In a speech at the American Club in Sydney on Monday night for Quadrant magazine, titled Human-Induced Climate Change - A Lot Of Hot Air, Plimer debunked climate-change myths.

"Climates always change," he said. Our climate has changed in cycles over millions of years, as the orbit of the planet wobbles and our distance from the sun changes, for instance, or as the sun itself produces variable amounts of radiation. "All of this affects climate. It is impossible to stop climate change. Climates have always changed and they always will."

His two-hour presentation included more than 50 charts and graphs, as well as almost 40 pages of references. It is the basis of his new book, Heaven And Earth: The Missing Science Of Global Warming, to be published early next year. Plimer said one of the charts, which plots atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature over 500 million years, with seemingly little correlation, demonstrates one of the "lessons from history" to which geologists are privy: "There is no relationship between CO2 and temperature."

Another slide charts the alternating periods of cooling and warming on Earth, with the Pleistocene Ice Age starting 110,000 years ago and giving way, 14,700 years ago, to the Bolling warm period for 800 years. This in turn gave way to the Older Dryas cooling for 300 years, then the Allerod warming for 700 years, and so on, until the cooling of the Little Ice Age from 1300 to 1850. Since 1850, we have lived through the "Modern Warming", one of the most stable climate periods in history. Plimer said some astronomers predict we are headed for a new cooling period.

Plimer said there is a division between those scientists who sit in front of super computers and push piles of data into the mathematical models that drive the theory of climate change, and those who take measurements in the field. We are not sceptical enough about the data. For instance, Plimer cited differences between results from temperature measuring stations in urban and rural areas. Those in urbanised Chicago, Berkeley, New York, and so on, show temperature rises over the past 150 years, whereas those in the rural US, in Houlton, Albany and Harrisburg (though not Death Valley, California) show equally consistent cooling. "What we're measuring is urbanisation," Plimer said. To understand the chaotic nature of climate change, we need to consider all the inputs - cosmic radiation, sun, clouds and so on, he said.

There was much more but essentially Plimer's message is that the idea humans cause climate change has become a fundamentalist religion which is corrupting science. It is embedded with a fear of nature and embraced principally by city people who have lost touch with nature. He likens the debate to the famous 1990s battle he had in the Federal Court, where he accused an elder of The Hills Bible Church in Baulkham Hills of breaching Australia's Trade Practices Act by claiming to have found scientific evidence of Noah's Ark in Turkey. Plimer says creationists and climate alarmists are quite similar in that "we're dealing with dogma and people who, when challenged, become quite vicious and irrational".

Human-caused climate change is being "promoted with religious zeal . there are fundamentalist organisations which will do anything to silence critics. They have their holy books, their prophet [is] Al Gore. And they are promoting a story which is frightening us witless [using] guilt [and urging] penance." It is difficult for non-scientists to engage in the debate over what causes climate change and whether or not it can be stopped by new taxes and slower growth, because dissenting voices are shouted down by true believers in the scientific community who claim they alone have the authority to speak.

Quadrant is under fire for publishing articles by sceptics but, as its editor, Keith Windschuttle, said on Monday night, "People who are really confident [of their facts] relish debate."

In any case, ordinary people already have suspicions. The zealotry and one-sidedness of the debate alarmed an 81-year-old Seven Hills pensioner, Denys Clarke, so much that last month, at his own expense, he hired the ballroom at the Blacktown Workers Club for two public forums, titled The Truth About Climate Change. He invited a climate sceptic, the James Cook University professor Bob Carter, a geologist, to speak. More than 300 people attended, some from as far away as Nowra. Carter, like Plimer and Klaus, has come in for his fair share of vilification. But as Clarke proves, you can't stop people thinking. Yet.

Source





NSW public hospitals in crisis: report

A landmark report into the state of NSW public hospitals says they are "in a period of crisis" and on the brink of demise unless radical reforms are made. Commissioner Peter Garling, SC, said in his report, tabled in Parliament today, that cultural change was needed from the top down. "To start with, a new culture needs to take root which sees the patient's needs as the paramount central concern of the system and not the convenience of the clinicians and administrators," Mr Garling said. "Given the demographic changes and rising costs, it is the case that we have entered into a period of crisis for a public hospital system which has always been free and accessible to all. We are on the brink of seeing whether the public system can survive and flourish or whether it will become a relic of better times," he said.

The NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca said the first report into NSW public hospitals, released today, was a "landmark report" that would improve the way health care is delivered. Mr Garling, SC, has made 139 recommendations in his report, which focus on improving patient care and safety, Mr Della Bosca said. He said it was critical to take pressure off emergency departments and staff. He has recommended several changes in the way emergency departments operate, including that patients who do not require treatment within 30 minutes be seen by a doctor other than an emergency specialist.

Mr Garling has also recommended the Federal Government fund emergency "primary care centres" that should be set up in all hospitals to treat less urgent cases. "In my view, if it is all right for you to wait for an hour or more to be seen in an emergency department then you probably didn't need to be seen by an emergency specialist. "Many other well qualified doctors can help you." He said patients who were in the more urgent categories of one, two and three should be channelled through the emergency department and patients in categories four and five should be channelled to "primary care centres" to be set up within hospitals.

Mr Della Bosca said the Government would respond formally by March. "The Government will carefully consider this report. It is a first and important document," he said.

Mr Garling has also recommended that hospitals should have a "safe assessment room" for mental health patients close to the emergency departments. Mr Garling said a culture of bullying was "endemic" in the health system. "Almost everywhere I went, I was told about incidents of bullying. Many witnesses asked to be allowed to give their evidence in private."

He said NSW Health should establish a casual medical workforce within 12 months through a centralised register and annual performance reviews for all doctors. Mr Garling said a single health service, called NSW Kids, should be set up within six months for newborns and children needing acute care to "ensure that children of Walgett get as good care as do the children of Woollahra and Wollongong".

He has also said that all hospital staff should wear colour-coded uniforms or vests identifying in large print the role of the health professional" after the inquiry repeatedly heard that patients were confused about who was responsible for their care or even if they were a doctor or nurse.

Other recommendations include that NSW Health refund patients the cost of medication to treat hospital-acquired illness after discharge after the inquiry that only about 60 per cent of medical staff adequately washed their hands.

He said there should be an audit system for measuring how hospitals compile patient records many complaints were heard about poor record keeping and note taking.

The inquiry was called after scathing criticism from Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich that systemic problems had contributed to the unnecessary death of teenager Vanessa Anderson at Royal North Shore Hospital. Vanessa, who was hit by a golf ball in 2005, died from respiratory arrest due to the depressant effects of opiate medication after a doctor misread her chart.

Source






Must not express negative views about homosexuality

Health Minister Nicola Roxon has dumped one of her new men's health ambassadors over his "abhorrent" views about homosexuals, but her other appointee is still railing that "extreme feminists" are on a witch hunt to get him. Ms Roxon said today she took full responsiblity for failing to vet the candidates properly before they were appointed this week. Controversy has also erupted over appointment of Julia Gillard's partner Tim Mathieson to an unpaid role as one of her men's health ambassador.

Warwick Marsh, who co-authored a paper that suggested gay men were more likely to be child molesters than heterosexuals, has been removed from the position today, after he told The Australian Online yesterday that lesbians were often sexually abused women rebelling against a "gender wound". "They're rebelling. They actually end up hating the gender that's hurt them," he said. "Ultimately the really sad thing is...have you talked to people with AIDS? I don't like to see people get AIDS and get abused and a trail of destruction. The bottom line is there's heightened levels of drug abuse and suicide. "(But) If you are asking me if I hate homosexuals I just think that's ridiculous."

Ms Roxon said today Mr Marsh has not repudiated ``extremely offensive'' statements he had made, including in a document on gender. ``This makes his position as an ambassador untenable and I have made a decision to dismiss him from this role,'' she said in a statement. "I take full responsibility for this setback in the policy development and engagement process.

"But I remain firmly of the view that to reach men that feel disfranchised, disengaged - and often at high risk - we will need to continue to be prepared to involve men with varying [But not too varying, apparently] views and experiences. This is an attempt to consult with men beyond health professionals and academics."

But another ambassador, Lone Fathers Association head Barry Williams, said he was not homophobic. ``I don't endorse that gay people would be child molesters,'' he told ABC Radio. Mr Williams described the allegations as a witch hunt, saying the criticism had come from the media or ``extreme feminists''.

Source





The dreadful DOCS again

Just grabbed a kid out of school. And it wasn't even the one they were looking for

The Department of Community Services (DOCS) has apologised to the parents of a child mistakenly taken from a primary school by one of its staff. The seven-year-old was picked up yesterday by a DOCS worker who had gone to the western Sydney school to take another girl to an appointment with a speech therapist, the Education department and DOCS said. The DOCs worker gave Penrith South Primary School the girl's full name and was taken to a classroom by a staff member, but the wrong child was identified. The worker realised she did not have the right girl after they had driven away from the school and took her back within 10 minutes.

Simon and Sara Raffan, parents of seven-year-old Angel, said they were distressed when they were told about the mix-up. "How can someone go into a school with no paperwork, simply say they are from DOCS and just take a child," Mr Raffan told The Daily Telegraph. "It could have been a pedophile or a killer or anything. They never even asked any questions."

"(The departments) have apologised unreservedly to the families involved in an incident," DOCS and the Education department said. "The DOCS regional director has spoken to the father of the girl who was incorrectly picked up and personally apologised to him and his family for any distress that they have experienced. Education Director General Michael Coutts-Trotter has called the father of the child who was picked up to apologise on behalf of the department."

Both departments promised to investigate what went wrong and if protocols needed to be improved. The incident comes just days after a year-long special commission of inquiry into child protection in New South Wales, which found the department needed an extreme overhaul.

Source