Brawl involving 200 NON-AFRICAN youths erupts at Melbourne shopping centre

Wow! The embargo on race being mentioned is lifted for once. But only because the offenders were not African this time. Easy to see what we should conclude when race is not mentioned. Around 2006/2007 it was not uncommon for troublemakers in Melbourne to be identified as African but after that an iron curtain on such mentions seems to have come down. Were we supposed to conclude that Africans in Melbourne had suddenly abandoned the very high tendency to criminality that they exhibit in every country in the world where they are found?

GANG violence erupted at a western suburbs shopping centre, with one youth stabbed repeatedly in the chest. The brawl, involving up to 200 teenagers, was only dispersed when police arrived at Aquatic Drive at Highpoint Shopping Centre in Maribyrnong shortly after 4pm yesterday. One boy, 15, was stabbed three times and taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Police were attempting to interview him last night.

The majority of those involved were Pacific Islander and Asian youths, but the cause of the affray is still unknown. Police found knives, sticks and umbrellas at the scene where youths aged between 13 and 15 ran from the scene. Between 40 and 50 people were spoken to by police, who are now searching for CCTV footage.

Acting Sergeant Jacob Bugeja, of Footscray police branch, said fights in the carpark were common. "I'd say it's got something to do with an ongoing school battle,'' he said. "The fact they were all a similar age is an indication of that.''

Sgt Bugeja said they were called to the area every six weeks, but he had not seen as many youths congregating before. The injured teen is in a stable condition.

A similar-sized brawl at Highpoint in October 2007 involved African youths from the Flemington high-rise flats. On that occasion there were in fact two brawls, one inside a cinema and the other in the shopping centre, which had to be shut down. Police arrested and charged several youths.

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No security clearance to work at an Australian airport??

That this guy had full access to passenger aircraft shows what bunglers are the bureaucrats who are supposed to keep us safe. No surprise, I suppose. I resolved some years ago never to step on a plane again

A FORMER Qantas cleaner who was jailed yesterday for at least nine years for compiling a ''terrorism training manual'' had been convicted of terrorism-related offences in Lebanon.

Details of Belal Khazaal's overseas convictions emerged in the NSW Supreme Court as the Lakemba man - the first person in Australia convicted of making a document connected with assistance in a terrorist act - was sentenced. In December 2003 a Beirut military court convicted Khazaal in absentia of helping to fund a bombing campaign in Lebanon. He was sentenced to 10 years' jail with hard labour.

His Supreme Court trial centred on a 110-page book, Provisions on the Rules of Jihad, compiled in September 2003 using material he downloaded.

Khazaal had the book posted on an extremist website that was endorsed by al-Qaeda and ran publications by leaders of terrorist organisations. He said it was ''strictly religious journalism''.

Justice Megan Latham said it was a ''terrorism training manual'', advocating ''widespread and indiscriminate loss of life, serious injury and serious property damage within the countries identified as enemies of Islam''.

She jailed him for a maximum 12 years. He intends to appeal against his conviction and his sentence.

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Guilty until proven innocent

Woman, 71, held for 9 days by mental health chiefs. This should not be allowed without judicial supervision. The woman should have appeared before a judge or magistrate before she was incarcerated

QUEENSLAND Health has defended a system of involuntary admission for people suspected of being mentally ill, after a 71-year-old woman complained of being handcuffed and incarcerated for nine days without cause. Self-described ''free-spirited'' artist Joanna Antonellie, of Stanthorpe, said emergency services forcibly removed her from her home and took her to Toowoomba's Acute Mental Health Clinic on August 25.

Ms Antonellie, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, does not know what triggered her admission but believes she was subject to an Emergency Examination Order (EEO) or Justice Examination Order (JEO) under the Mental Health Act. An EEO can be made by a police officer, ambulance officer or a psychiatrist to detain a person immediately for six hours and for up to 72 hours after examination. A JEO allows someone to apply to a magistrate or JP to have a person undergo a non-urgent mental health assessment within seven days.

Ms Antonellie said she spent a total of nine days in hospital - six days voluntarily for observation - and was examined by three psychiatrists, but was not found to have a mental illness. ''I want to find out why this happened,'' Ms Antonellie said. ''It's not right that this can happen in Australia.''

The former vet nurse, martial arts devotee, counsellor and crocodile hunter was at a loss to explain a motivation, except jealousy or misunderstanding. "I'm an artistic person and I've been an adventurer. I've lived the sort of the life I think people would probably be jealous of,'' she said.

Ms Antonellie has lodged complaints with local member Lawrence Springborg, the Crime and Misconduct Commission and Queensland Police, and has also lodged Freedom of Information requests with various government departments.

Queensland Health senior director Dr William Kingswell said he could not comment on specific cases for privacy reasons but defended the system as an ''important'' tool. "Yes, it would be possible for (JEOs) to be misused but in practice it would be uncommon because you've got to persuade a magistrate (as to the person's illness),'' he said. [That's a laugh. Police know which magistrate will give them whatever they ask for and go to that one] "The strength of this mechanism is for people at their wit's end trying to get treatment for a mentally ill person.''

A QPS spokeswoman confirmed a complaint was being investigated, and said Ms Antonellie was warned handcuffs would be used if she continued to abuse officers.

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More disruptive seekers after personal publicity

Greenies say Queensland koalas are 'near extinction'. Even in the unlikely event that it's true, koalas are in plague proportions in other parts of Australia e.g. Kangaroo Island -- so what does it matter? And there are always plenty of koalas at Brisbane's Lone Pine zoo if anybody wants to get up close to one. Yes. I know I don't get the spirit and that a distant glimpse of one up a tree in a forest somewhere is far better than cuddling one in a zoo

CONSERVATIONISTS say koalas are on the brink of extinction in southeast Queensland and more needs to be done to protect them. Hundreds of protesters are expected to rally in Brisbane and march on Parliament House at noon (AEST) today to raise awareness of the plight of the marsupials.

Rally spokeswoman Carolyn Beaton said there had been 25,000 recorded koala deaths in southeast Queensland - the fastest growing region in Australia - over the past decade.

Ms Beaton said rapid development in other parts of the country, particularly along the east coast, was also threatening koala habitat.

"This rally will show our politicians, and indeed the world, that Australia does care about its wildlife and we, as Australians, will not stand by and let the rest of our koalas be wiped out," she said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Queensland Government today announced it would protect 5.6 hectares of state-owned koala habitat at Alexandra Hills.

State Climate Change Minister Kate Jones said the land, located on Windemere Road and of high commercial value, would be handed over to Redland City Council.

The Government is currently drafting a state planning policy aimed at protecting koalas to halt declining numbers and recently completed a koala mapping project.

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