Shark nets sabotaged by Greenies, putting lives at risk

Those responsible for this should be fed to sharks themselves

RADICAL conservationists are cutting down or slicing holes in shark nets, putting the lives of swimmers and surfers at risk.

Nets are believed to have been damaged with knives on four separate occasions and at least once, at Bondi, the vandals cut the net from its anchors, leaving it washed up at nearby Ben Buckler.

Primary Industries Department spokesman Brett Fifield said the department had investigated vandalism at Bondi, Maroubra, MacMasters Beach on the Central Coast and most recently Warriewood on the northern beaches.

"These acts of sabotage are senseless. The success of these nets speaks for itself. Slashing a hole in a net reduces their effectiveness," Mr Fifield said.

"At the end of the day it's about protecting humans with minimal impact on marine life."

Some conservationists have been waging a bitter campaign against the nets for years, claiming they are also killing large amounts of other marine life, including dolphins, whales and sea turtles.

The NSW Greens refused to condemn the attacks yesterday, with MP Cate Faehrmann saying: "Shark nets are indiscriminate killers of harmless marine life and are next to useless in preventing attacks anyway.

"The government should remove them. Given how much harmless marine life are killed in shark nets it's not surprising they have become targets in this way."

Glen "Lenny" Folkard, who survived an attack by a 3.1m bull shark while surfing at Redhead Beach four weeks ago, condemned the damaging of the nets. Mr Folkard said he wondered how the vandals would feel if there was an attack at a beach where they had damaged nets. "You can be against the nets but keep the debate on land," he said.

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NSW opens door to uranium miners

LEGISLATION to allow mining companies to explore for uranium in NSW will be introduced to Parliament after state cabinet agreed to overturn a decades-old ban.

The Premier, Barry O'Farrell, and the Minister for Resources and Energy, Chris Hartcher, will announce the decision today, arguing it will help boost the state economy. "It is time for NSW to look at every opportunity to join the mining boom, which is delivering enormous profits and jobs to Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia," Mr O'Farrell said.

He said the first step was to establish the scope of uranium deposits in NSW. The ban on exploration has prevented a clear understanding of potential deposits but the government says it is aware they may exist around Broken Hill.

"We are not about to rush into mining uranium until we have carried out the necessary environmental and exploration checks and have had a mature and sensible discussion about utilising this resource, but we would be crazy not to look at whether this is a viable industry which would deliver jobs and revenue to NSW," Mr O'Farrell said.

The opposition and the Greens oppose the decision, saying Mr O'Farrell is betraying his earlier opposition to uranium exploration in the state.

The Herald revealed last year that Mr Hartcher was considering dumping the ban, after a meeting with the Australian Uranium Association in June.

Mr Hartcher and Mr O'Farrell initially denied they had plans to overturn the ban, but Mr O'Farrell told a conference in December that the government would "review" the ban, describing it as "hangover legislation from the 1970s".

He linked the decision to the announcement days earlier by the federal Labor Party to overturn its ban on uranium exports to India.

The legislation will pass the Legislative Assembly, where the government has an overwhelming majority, but will be opposed by Labor and the Greens in the upper house, leaving its passage in the hands of crossbench MPs from the Shooters and Fishers and Christian Democratic Party, who share the balance of power.

The Opposition Leader, John Robertson, condemned the move to overturn the ban. "This is a massive backflip by the Premier, who only months ago declared his emphatic opposition to uranium mining and exploration in NSW," Mr Robertson said. "The people of NSW didn't vote for Barry O'Farrell so he would set up uranium mines in their backyards."

The Greens mining spokesman, Jeremy Buckingham, said Mr O'Farrell did not take the proposal to the election. "He should seek a mandate before repealing the prohibition," he said. A campaigner with Greenpeace Australia, Julien Vincent, said the decision was "obscene".

The chief executive of the Australian Uranium Association, Michael Angwin, said recent uranium mining approvals by the federal government showed uranium projects could meet stringent environmental standards. "[The approvals] have emphasised a lack of credible threat to the environment," he said.

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Black "asylum seeker" ignores the law, killing one and injuring six

He should be sent back whence he came -- as should all law-breaking "asylum seekers"

A 29-year-old man has pleaded guilty in the Perth Magistrates Court to causing a fatal crash near the Perth airport last month.

Guelor Lutumba was driving on a learners permit when he attempted to overtake a truck and collided head-on with another vehicle on Dunreath Drive.

A 40-year-old woman, who was in his car and is understood to be a family friend, died in the crash on January 1. Six other people in both cars were seriously injured.

Lutumba was charged with a number of offences, including dangerous driving occasioning death and contravening a learners permit.

Outside court, his lawyer Marc Saupin said it was a tragic accident. "Mr Lutumba is feeling quite distraught about everything," he said.

Lutumba is due back in court next month where the matter may be sent up to the District Court.

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Deliberate distortion of the truth at SBS

by Senator Helen Kroger

Senator Helen Kroger has today asked questions of Mr Michael Ebeid, Managing Director of the Special Broadcast Service (SBS) in Senate Estimates about the controversial screening of the documentary The Promise.

As a result of questions by Senator Kroger, Mr Ebeid revealed that SBS entered into a pre-sale arrangement with the producers of The Promise in full knowledge that the subject matter was going to be controversial.

Questions by Senator Kroger also revealed that when SBS received a series of complaints about the documentary, an internal investigation was initiated to determine if the documentary would be aired. A decision was taken by the review board, which included Mr Ebeid, that SBS would go ahead with the screening.

“What is most concerning about the decision to air The Promise is that SBS appears to have put a business decision ahead of independent assessments which determined that it was offensive to the Jewish community,” Senator Kroger said. “Equally concerning was Mr Ebeid‟s assertion that, with hindsight, he would make the same decision to put the program to air.”

“This documentary was portrayed as fact and any suggestion that it is merely fiction is even more offensive and is an overt slap in the face to the Jewish community.”

“Any suggestion that the Jewish community is "manipulative‟ and "self interested‟, as portrayed in The Promise, is shameful. This documentary fails to portray the continuing valuable and constructive contribution that the Jewish community makes in Australia.”

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Note: I have another blog covering Australian news. It is more specialized so is not updated daily. See Australian police news for news on police misbehaviour. It has had quite a lot of posts recently.