ZEG

In his latest offering, conservative Australian cartoonist ZEG sees cranky Kev's behaviour in private as the true measure of the man.





The chapel without a crucifix

But a separate Muslim prayer room is OK



THE home of God at Royal North Shore hospital has fallen victim to a higher power - the State Government bureaucracy. The Mosman Daily has learnt that crucifixes, Bibles and all other Christian symbols are banned inside the hospital's chapel when it is not being used for a church service. The move, ordered by senior staff, is to avoid offending Muslims, Hindus or other non-Christian believers who may want to pray in the chapel.

Hospital staff say that while the chapel was built for Christians, they now want the chapel to be completely non-denominational. An inspection of the chapel last week by the Daily found no trace of a crucifix or any other religious symbol inside the chapel. The Daily has been told that church leaders must bring their own symbols to use in a service.

The chapel building also contains a separate Muslim prayer room.

Mosman Mayor Dom Lopez, a devout Catholic, said he was "outraged" to discover the rule when he was recently undergoing treatment at the hospital for bowel cancer. "When I was first told it I didn't believe it," Cr Lopez said. "When I was recovering, the Catholic priest came to see me and said, `It is true all the crosses are gone, somebody said we have to be a non-denomination church'. "That's just not right, it was built as a Christian chapel, now they (church leaders) have all to take all those things with them."

North Shore Liberal MP and Opposition health spokeswoman Jillian Skinner said the decision was "bureaucratic madness". "It's crazy, absolutely crazy," she said. "I bet there was no pressure from the Muslim community, the Jews or anyone - it's just silly bureaucrats." Mrs Skinner said visitors to the chapel needed all the strength they could get and that symbols of God would provide that. "I actually think it's offensive to all faiths (and) it is silly bureaucratic rules," she said.

Cr Lopez agreed. "They have completely disenfranchised a Christian chapel," he said. "Being a Christian, I find a lot of power in prayer and I think a lot of people do whether they are Muslim, Jewish or whatever."

A hospital spokeswoman said the rule change came after "the chapel was enhanced with the provision of a Muslim prayer space in the loft area". "At that time the decision was made to display the symbols of each faith, for example the chapel's cross and Bible, during specific services and ceremonies only," she said. "These important religious symbols are appropriately stored and used regularly. This decision was made out of respect for the many faiths that make up both the hospital and also the modern Australian community."

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An example of why some jurisdictions (including Australia) now have parental alienation laws

A MOTHER who gave her three young children a drink she called "truth Coke" every time they returned from a visit with their father has lost custody of them. The drink, which was ordinary soft drink, was part of a bizarre ritual she subjected them to which included being questioned, bathed and having photographs taken, the New South Wales Family Court has heard.

She once paraded poster-sized photographs of bruised body parts of her children, including their genitals, outside the local post office with a large sign that said: "Don't support child abuse." She also threatened to put the photographs on YouTube.

The mother, 48, built up a dossier of allegations against her ex-husband in what had been a long and sad court tussle, including that he set his dogs on them, made them live in a shed and refused to feed them on Christmas Day. "She is utterly fixed in her view that bruises on the children are as a result of their father's physical abuse," Justice Linda Dessau said. "She does not entertain, see, or hear innocent explanations," the judge said, adding that none of the mother's allegations against the father had been substantiated.

After five years of living with their mother since the marriage ended, the judge ordered that the children, aged 11, 9 and 7, live with their father, 48, a farmer. She banned the mother from going to his property or parking on surrounding roads after hearing her claims were becoming more exaggerated and she was either delusional or vexatious.

The mother even told the court her ex-husband had been on a TV talent quest recently and had called himself a "loser" and was angry because he failed at the first show, when he had actually made the next round.

Her other unfounded claims included that their father suffered Asperger's Syndrome, locked the children in a dairy alone, had no electricity, fridge, television, telephone, hot water or toilet paper. She also said he made them drink only water and pick their own apples, and on Christmas Day had refused to feed them.

"There is abundant evidence these children are continually questioned and the mother undertakes something like a forensic analysis of their time with their father," the judge said. "I am satisfied the children do not face the risks in the father's case as the mother claims. The father's concern the children are being emotionally abused in the mother's care is well-founded."

The case was in court because the mother wanted to move six hours away with the children.

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Plan for croc free zone around Darwin

At long last. Cairns needs the same

EVERY saltwater crocodile within a 50km radius of Darwin will be killed or captured under the Northern Territory Government's proposed new croc management plan. The Northern Territory News understands the Government will declare a large chunk around Darwin, including the rural area, as a croc-free zone. Any crocodile found in the "No Tolerance" zone will be either killed and used for skin and meat production, or captured and used as stock in crocodile farms.

The NT Government brought forward the proposed croc management program following the tragic death of eight-year-old Briony Goodsell, taken by a croc at Black Jungle Swamp near her Lambells Lagoon home in Darwin's rural area last month. The plan is expected to be released for public comment next Wednesday.

A government department source told the Northern Territory News that there will not be a cull allowing people to blow the animals out of the water with guns. "The new program will not allow massive, broadscale culling in the rural area," the source said. "It's about getting the balance right between protecting people and protecting crocs." "There's been a croc-free zone for years in Darwin and the Harbour - this will extend it to take into account our growing population and the increase in crocs."

No crocodiles will be relocated under the new croc management plan. [Because they just swim right back]

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Greens deny Australia is 'soft touch' after boat people influx

If you believed a Greenie you would even believe in global warming -- despite the fact that the global temperature has not risen since 1998

Authorities may have detained 160 suspected illegal immigrants in the last seven days, but that does not mean Australia has become a soft touch for people smugglers, the Greens say. A boatload of 45 people people arrived at Christmas Island this morning without being detected.

Last week, 63 suspected illegal immigrants were detained off Ashmore Island and another group of 50 was transferred to a Customs vessel after their boat ran aground near Thursday Island.

But West Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlam says Labor has done the right thing by dismantling the former Howard government's Pacific Solution, which saw asylum seekers detained offshore on Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island. The number of people arriving in Australia by boat was relatively "tiny'', he said. "We supported many of the moves that the (immigration) minister made in beginning the long, slow process of dismantling the Pacific Solution, which was shown to be extremely flawed. "These are a tiny handful of people relative to our overall migrant intake so I don't think we need to be concerned that we're becoming a soft touch.''

The Opposition has blamed the Federal Government for the influx of recent arrivals. It was due to Labor watering down immigration detention policies, opposition immigration spokesperson Sharman Stone said. "There has obviously been a signal sent loud and clear to the people smugglers that it is now worth the risk,'' she said.

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At least he seems to recognize that the new policies are the reason for resumption of illegal immigration. His "out" is that the absolute numbers so far are small -- but he ignores the rate of increase -- which is rapid






Qld to spend $1m on sheep fart study

IF someone gave you a million dollars, what would you spend it on? How about finding out how to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas blown out by cattle and sheep. That's exactly what the Queensland government's doing with three major research projects funded by Canberra.

Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin says many people don't realise just how much cows and sheep contribute to global warming. "In fact, methane from livestock contributes up to 14 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions," he said in a statement on Monday. "We are already known for cutting edge research on this problem, in particular investigating whether bacteria from kangaroos, which are largely methane free, can be implanted in cattle and sheep to reduce their methane production. "Almost $1 million has been allocated to the projects, which aim to be completed in the next three years," Mr Mulherin said.

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