ZEG

In his latest offering, conservative Australian cartoonist ZEG condemns some vicious Leftist "humour" he saw on the ABC




Wong is wrong

I couldn't resist that headline -- in the tradition of one Arthur Augustus Calwell

NEW South Wales conservative Christian MP Fred Nile says federal Finance Minister Penny Wong is setting a bad example by having a baby with her female partner.

Senator Wong today announced her partner, Sophie Allouache, is due to give birth in December after falling pregnant through IVF.

NSW Christian Democrats leader Mr Nile is opposed to same-sex relationships and children being raised by gay couples.

"I'm totally against a baby being brought up by two mothers - the baby has human rights," the upper house MP said. "It's a very poor example for the rest of the Australian population.

"She needn't have made it public - it just promotes their lesbian lifestyle and trying to make it natural where it's unnatural. "The only reason she's made it public is to make a statement to the Australian people."

Mr Nile, who has led prayers vigils during Sydney's annual gay Mardi Gras parade, called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to have a "talk" with her cabinet colleague about her decision to publicise the impending birth. "She should have a serious talk with her," he said.

But he also had words for the prime minister's unmarried status. "Because of her own life, that puts her in a weaker position than if she was traditionally married herself," he said.

Mr Nile said he was surprised Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop had congratulated Senator Wong. "I'm surprised she's done that. She's treated this as if Penny Wong is in a traditional relationship," he said.

The NSW parliament last year passed legislation giving same-sex couples the right to adopt children.

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No national curriculum for NSW students

Much of its content was designed by a former Communist

NSW students will not study the new national curriculum in 2013 after the state government yesterday delayed its implementation.

Cracks are appearing in the federal government's curriculum reform, with NSW the first state to pull out over concerns about its content.

Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said he was still committed to a national curriculum but was delaying its introduction into NSW schools until at least 2014. He would not rule out further delays if the commonwealth failed to address concerns.

NSW schools were due to teach the national curriculum in English, maths, science and history for kindergarten to Year 10 from 2013.

The Board of Studies raised concerns over the content and advised the government not to proceed.

Mr Piccoli said teachers needed training before teaching the new syllabus, which will cost $80 million over four years, and needed to be funded by the federal government.

Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett said there was no reason for the backdown by NSW, which was jeopardising students' education.

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Inexperienced public hospital doctor kills man

A MAN who had all his teeth removed in preparation for heart surgery died from a seizure and an abnormal heartbeat caused by an overdose of a local anaesthetic, an inquest has heard.

George Godden, 74, was allegedly prescribed an "inappropriate and highly dangerous" dose of co-phenylcaine by an on-call junior doctor at the Prince of Wales Hospital on February 22, 2007.

Yesterday, the Glebe Coroner's Court was told a piece of gauze was found in Mr Godden's throat and the cause of death had originally been put down to respiratory obstruction.

However, a blood analysis conducted in May, more than four years after Mr Godden's death, revealed a toxic level of lignocaine, one of the two active ingredients in co-phenylcaine.

Counsel Assisting the Coroner, Kristina Stern, said Tani Brown, a resident medical officer, was asked to review Mr Godden's bleeding gums.

Mr Godden, who weighed about 41 kilograms, had all 19 teeth removed in preparation for heart valve replacement surgery. Dr Brown allegedly told nursing staff to soak a piece of gauze in co-phenylcaine and ask Mr Godden to bite down on it.

About 10 minutes later, Mr Godden was found on the floor having a seizure. He was unable to be revived. Dr Brown had no experience treating post-operative dental patients and had not previously prescribed co-phenylcaine, Ms Stern said.

The topical spray is used in the emergency department to treat acute nose bleeds and to numb the inside of the nose before surgery. However, it is not indicated for bleeding gums.

The registered nurse, Jason Shores, said he used about 30 squirts of the drug until the gauze was dripping wet. He said he did not read the box, patient information leaflet or prescribing guide, which set the maximum dose at five squirts per nostril and cautioned against using the drug for patients with cardiovascular disease.

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Call to keep jails single-sex

PRISON stakeholders are calling for single-sex jails, saying the number of guards caught having affairs with prisoners is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Courier-Mail revealed yesterday there had been five substantiated cases of Corrective Service Officers investigated for having sexual relationships with prisoners across Queensland in the past two-and-a-half years, and three more were currently being investigated.

Queensland Corrective Services documents obtained by The Courier-Mail under Right to Information found they also exchanged gifts and money.

Sisters Inside, which supports women in the criminal justice system, said the issues extended beyond intimate relationships.

"It's a power imbalance and inappropriate behaviour, but it is the tip of the iceberg in regards to what's happening to the women inside the system," director Debbie Kilroy said. "Even though they have an exemption from the anti-discrimination commission about hiring more women than men in the women's prisons, over the years, you hear the women talk about male officers bringing in contraband for sexual favours."

A former CSO, who didn't want to be named, said there would be at least half-a-dozen relationships between prisoners and prison staff every year. "It's such a regular occurrence but not just female CSOs - it's also prevalent with the counsellors as well as the psychs," he said. "The real danger is if it goes too long, eventually staff start buying up drugs."

He said the overwhelming majority of illicit relationships within custodial centres involved women guards.

Police and Corrective Services Minister Neil Roberts ruled out single-sex prisons saying "employment should be based on skills and experience, not a person's gender".

Queensland Corrective Services Commissioner Kelvin Anderson said since January 1, 2009, there had been 26 investigations into allegations of inappropriate relationships involving staff members and prisoners. He said there were 2000 custodial staff so those found guilty of "inappropriate dealings with prisoners" only accounted for 0.25 per cent.

However, the department was unable to say whether there were any links to the unorthodox pairings and the smuggling of drugs into prisons.

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