Jacquie Lambie and Pauline Hanson slam the sale of iconic Australian baby formula brand to the Chinese

I usually agree with Pauline.  I have always voted for her when I could.  But she is not thinking deeply about this one.

This is quite unlike Mr Trump's attempts to protect American firms.  In this case the jobs will stay in Australia and the raw product will come from Australian farms.  So what does it matter who runs the bottling plant? 

And this also opens up the chance of a bigger market for Australian milk.  The Chinese owner will be in a position to promote and sell it in China in a way that no Australian firm ever could.  It could be a big win for Australian dairy farmers


Senator Jacqui Lambie has slammed the sale of Australian baby formula company Bellamy's to the Chinese, calling the move an 'embarrassment to the country.'

On Friday, the Foreign Investment Review Board approved China Mengniu Dairy Company's $1.5billion bid to buy 100 per cent of the Tasmanian brand's shares.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg backed the approval but insisted that certain conditions were imposed.

The company will have to remain headquartered in Australia for a decade and run by a majority Australian board.

Shortly after the acquisition was approved, Ms Lambie took aim at the Morrison Government, saying the buying-up of Australian companies was 'concerning.'

'I think I'm like millions of Australians out there who are very concerned about the Communist Chinese takeover,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday.

'Every time they open a cheque book we roll over like a dog.' 

Prior to the sale, Ms Lambie, along with senators of the Centre Alliance, had called for an inquiry into Chinese influence and buy-outs around the country from the foreign affairs committee. 

Ms Lambie was joined by One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson as well as Barnaby Joyce who also voiced their frustrations over the acquisition.

Mr Joyce said he was 'disappointed' to see Australia lose yet another company to the Chinese and urged the government to make sure the conditions are properly met.

In a more scathing attack, Ms Hanson called on Mr Frydenberg to overturn the decision. 'Stop, just stop! Enough with the rampant sell off of Australia,' she said.

'These are money making entities, which are vital for our economy, they employ local people, and they contribute to our food production. Why compromise all that?

'Here we are allowing the Chinese to waltz in and snatch away one of the leading baby formula manufacturing businesses, with little consideration for what it means for our country's future; this takes another chunk out of Australia's ability to produce enough food for our own people.'

Ms Hanson, who accused the government of being 'frivolous' with Australian assets, said there needs to be 'more respect for what's ours.'

Bellamy's sale is expected to be finalised by the end of the year if shareholders approve the deal.

Mr Frydenberg has also required the Chinese buyer to invest at least $12million in infant milk formula processing facilities in Victoria. 

'The conditional approval demonstrates our foreign investment rules can facilitate such an acquisition while giving assurance to the community that decisions are being made in a way which ensures that Australia's national interest is protected,' Mr Frydenberg said in a statement on Friday.

Before the takeover bid, shares in Bellamy's plunged 62 per cent in 18 months.

There were allegations the Chinese state brought this about by not approving Bellamy's request to sell organic formula in Chinese stores, which is still pending.

Mengniu is 16 per cent owned by food processing company Cofco, which is co-owned by the Chinese state.

The board of the Tasmania-based company denied the takeover had anything to do with fast-tracking Chinese regulation to allow expansion in the country. 

Mengniu offered $12.65 per share and Bellamy's said it would pay a dividend of 60 cents per share, meaning shareholders get $13.25 per share.

That is a 59 per cent premium on the $8.32 price before the deal take-over bid was announced in September.

Mengniu is a huge dairy company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of $24.6billion. 

Bellamy's CEO Andrew Cohen described Mengniu as an 'ideal partner'. 'It offers a strong platform for distribution and success in China, and a foundation for growth in the organic dairy and food industry in Australia,' Mr Cohen said.

Mengniu chief executive officer Jeffrey Minfang Lu said taking over Bellamy's would give it critical access to the Australian market.

'Bellamy's is a leading Australian brand with a proud Tasmanian heritage and track record of supplying high quality organic products to Australian mums and dads,' he said.

'This leading organic brand position and Bellamy's local operation and supply-chain are critical to Mengniu.'

SOURCE  






Ludicrous new rule could see thousands of firefighters BANNED from battling deadly bushfires

Yet another case of toxic bureaucracy in firefighting

A 'ludicrous' new rule requiring volunteer firefighters to receive a work-with-children check could see thousands of them banned from battling blazes.

Queensland volunteers will be required to lodge a Blue Card application before December 1. or they will not be able to continue helping battle fires.

This new rule could see 15,000 volunteers banned from fighting fires from January 1 if they failed to apply for work-with-children checks.

Deadly fires have been burning throughout Queensland and New South Wales for more than a week resulting in four deaths.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner, John Bolger, recently broke the news to volunteers.

'Any QFES volunteer who is required to have a Blue Card, but refuses to apply for one, or is unable to hold a current Blue Card, will not be able to continue their role,' Mr Bolger said.

'As a member of the Rural Fire Service, you are likely to come into contact with children while performing your role, so are required to have a Blue Card. It is the law.'

Volunteers from NSW or Victoria do not need similar credentials. 

Rural Fire Brigades Association Queensland boss, Justin Choveaux, is concerned the new law will result in fewer people available to fight deadly fires.

'They defend the state for free and do dangerous things. Getting rid of 75 per cent of the membership of the truck brigades is not a good plan,' Mr Choveaux told The Courier Mail.

He also said many rural firefighters felt offended by the new law because they were being treated like potential paedophiles.

Veteran volunteer firefighter and grandfather, Ian Swadling, said he would refuse to comply with the new rule. 

'I think it would be very foolish to start dismissing trained firefighters in the worst fire season the state's seen in 60 or 70 years,' Mr Swadling said.

The volunteer from Villeneuve near Toowoomba said his only contact with children in the 30 years of firefighting was showing off the truck at the local show. 

In correspondence obtained by The Sunday Mail, acting Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Mike Wassing said volunteers needed Blue Cards in case they came across students who had been evacuated or were on their way home.

He said these checks will be required because firefighters are classified as a health service. 

Mr Wassing also criticised volunteers who questioned the working-with-children check.

'Let me be clear that disrespectful conversations regarding the Blue Card process, including questioning the integrity of those people who are currently reluctant to apply, is not acceptable,' he said.

SOURCE  








Why Catholic teachers’ copycat cash grab is wrong

If the Premier wants to throw a $1250 stimulus payment at public servants, including teachers, the correct response is not for private enterprise to do the same. Reckless spending for the promise of votes should not encourage enterprise to abandon fiscal prudence. I get that Catholic school teachers would like more money, but stooping to stop-work action for a copycat cash grab is wrong.

More than 7000 teachers at almost 200 schools across Queensland have been refusing to perform certain tasks this week. Come Tuesday, they'll be walking out of classrooms at 9am in a dummy spit that kids - and their fee-paying parents - don't deserve.

All this for a one-off payment that is not a genuine pay rise. And, in the big scheme of things, it's not going to go very far. I appreciate that private school teachers have an understanding with their employers that they will not make less than their state counterparts, but let's be clear about something. Church schools are run like private companies. Bonuses have to be earned, not bestowed because some bright spark in another sector entirely decided it was a cracker idea to burn through taxpayer dollars.

In September, the Palaszczuk Government announced that an eye-watering quarter of a billion dollars would be doled out, in individual $1250 lots, to more than 200,000 public servants. The unprecedented move was explained as a bid to drive economic growth and coincided with a commitment to maintain future public service wage increases of up to 2.5 per cent, despite Brisbane's most recent inflation rate being a more modest 1.7 per cent.

You don't have to be an academic giant to see that the figures don't add up. Taxpayers have a right to be unhappy about what is yet another sign that our Government is out of touch with almost everyone except the unions.

As for the many Catholic school teachers taking industrial action, they too seem to have lost sight of the bigger picture. The Independent Education Union of Australia has convinced them that they deserve the random public service sweetener. No matter that it could cost employers up to $25 million collectively to deliver it.

 Queensland and Northern Territory branch secretary Terry Burke claims the payment is "fundamental" to maintain wage parity with state school teachers. Anything less spells the end of "professional respect". What about respect for employers?

Contrary to what some people think - particularly those who mistakenly consider Catholic schools as elite - these schools are generally not wealthy. They don't have buckets of cash lying around. My son was educated in the Catholic system and the fees I paid saved the Government money by not having him schooled by the state.

If Catholic schools are forced to splash $1250 on their teachers, it won't be the Government coughing up but parents, by way of fee hikes.

What the Independent Education Union of Australia also won't tell you is that this ill-founded industrial action is creating division within the schools themselves. Sensible teachers - who either don't belong to the union or who are members but disagree with the union's stance - are picking up the slack of their colleagues and they're not happy about it. Small schools with a stretched staff are struggling the most. It's all very unnecessary.

From the Brisbane "Courier Mail" of 16/11/2019






Heart surgeon allowed to operate after patients die

Protected by his mates?

One of the nation’s most prestigious heart surgery units has been rocked by allegations that hospital administrators endangered patient safety by allowing a doctor who had failed to meet ­surgical standards to continue to ­operate on patients unsupervised.

The cardiothoracic surgery ­department of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney has been the subject of multiple probes during the past three years, with allegations of eight preventable patient deaths during or following heart surgery.

The surgeon at the centre of the investigations was allowed to ­return to surgery despite initial ­investigations — overturned by a later review — finding that his practice did not meet expected standards.

That prompted the resignation of two concerned surgeons who have escalated their complaints to the NSW Medical Council and the Health Minister.

The surgeons have claimed to the NSW government that their former colleague, cardiothoracic surgeon Michael Byrom, is “not fit to operate” and reported concerns about the Sydney Local Health District’s alleged “knowledge and concealment of the risks to ­patients and the failure of proper processes”.

The health district says it has exhaustively reviewed the matters, and is relying on the results of a Health Care Complaints ­Commission investigation that found there were no grounds to ­restrict Dr Byrom’s practice.

“The Health Care Complaints Commission, as the relevant external investigative authority, has examined these issues and found the clinician is fit for practice and that there are no grounds for disciplinary action or suspension,” a spokesman said. “The district accepts those findings.”

The concerned surgeons have documented the deaths of eight of Dr Byrom’s patients and multiple allegedly adverse surgical outcomes over a three-year period, during which Dr Byrom repeatedly surrendered his admitting rights but was subsequently ­allowed to continue to operate.

A surgeon familiar with the events said: “I have never encountered circumstances previously where a surgeon is internally suspended or voluntarily stood down in a unit on multiple occasions and yet continues to operate.”

The Weekend Australian is not suggesting Dr Byrom’s level of care is substandard, nor that he contributed to the deaths, only that there are reasonable grounds for investigating his level of care, and the hospital’s handling of the situation. Dr Byrom declined to respond to detailed questions from The Weekend Australian. “As Sydney Local Health District has provided a response to the ­allegations, I will not be providing further comment,” he said.

In June, three surgeons lodged a mandatory report with the NSW Medical Council, detailing “serious concerns we have over Dr Byrom’s performance providing an ongoing threat to patient ­safety”. The surgeons fear a ­backlash from within the medical fraternity if their identities are made public and The Weekend Australian has agreed not to name them.

The surgeons alleged in the ­report that Sydney Local Health District chief executive Teresa Anderson had failed to protect ­patient safety.

Dr Byrom was allowed to ­return to surgical practice shortly after an investigation report found, for the second time, that he “did not meet the standard reasonably expected of a cardiothoracic surgeon of an equivalent level of training or experience”.

“We have serious concerns over the actions of the CEO, having suppressed and misrepresented critical senior medical advice and recommendations, exacerbating that threat (to patient safety) whilst enabling it to continue,” the mandatory report said.

The NSW Medical Council’s performance division is monitoring Dr Byrom’s practice. In correspondence seen by The Weekend Australian, the council said it had “decided to work with Dr Byrom to protect the health and safety of the public”.

Investigations into Dr Byrom’s practice have delivered contrasting findings over the past three years. Two reviews in 2016 and 2018 by independent senior interstate surgeons Julian Smith and Michael Gardner both concluded that Dr Byrom “did not meet the standard reasonably expected of a cardiothoracic surgeon of an equivalent level of training or ­experience”.

The investigating surgeons heard an explosive allegation from one surgeon within the cardiothoracic unit that Dr Anderson had “expressly told the surgeons in the unit not to put in Incident Information Management System reports if they had clinical concerns”. IIMS reports are the formal system of incident notification within hospitals. Dr Anderson declined to respond to the allegation.

The patient deaths

The first Smith-Gardner investigation followed the deaths of four patients within two months.

The review found multiple ­issues with Dr Byrom’s performance, including that he failed to seek help when complications occurred, that he experienced technical issues and difficulties in decision-making during operations, and that he had a lack of ­insight into his shortcomings.

Following the first review, Dr Byrom undertook a program of remediation, during which he ­operated under supervision and received extra training. He ­returned to unsupervised clinical practice in October 2017 but a ­series of adverse events occurred, including an incident that shocked senior clinicians at RPA.

On November 22, 2017, a ­patient who had undergone routine thoracic surgery at Concord Hospital in Sydney’s inner west sustained heavy bleeding during surgery. The patient was given large volumes of blood product post-operatively but continued to bleed in the ICU for a further 24 hours.

The following day, Dr Byrom handed the critically ill patient’s care over to another doctor and caught a plane overseas. The patient had to be transferred by helicopter to RPA, where another surgeon operated and stemmed the bleeding. By the time he stablised, the patient had lost 14 litres of blood.

The incident was one of several adverse outcomes that prompted a second investigation of Dr Byrom’s practice. The second review by Professor Smith and Dr Gardner again found, in August 2018, that Dr Byrom did not meet the standard reasonably expected of a cardiothoracic surgeon of an equivalent level of training or ­experience. The reviewing surgeons said further remediation of the surgeon’s performance was not recommended.

In the wake of the findings, RPA head of cardiothoracic surgery Paul Bannon announced Dr Byrom’s suspension from surgery.

Weeks later, Dr Byrom was back operating. Two weeks after that, another patient died.

“It’s seems inconceivable how a department head could reportedly announce that a surgeon is indefinitely suspended over investigated patient deaths and for the same surgeon to be back operating in the department a mere two weeks later,” one surgeon said.

Sounding the alarm

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard was notified last year of concerns that Dr Byrom should not be operating on patients.

The mandatory report the three surgeons lodged with the Medical Council in June detailed “serious concerns we have over Dr Byrom’s performance providing an ongoing threat to patient ­safety”. They said in their correspondence with regulators that a patient, Dimitrios Kyriazopoulos, 72, had died in concerning circumstances within weeks of Dr Byrom being reinstated.

When he returned to surgery, Dr Byrom did not have admitting rights, and was operating on ­patients who were admitted under the care of another surgeon.

In October 2018, Kyriazopoulos, who had lung cancer, underwent chest surgery performed by Dr Byrom and subsequently ­developed a post-operative infection. It is alleged that, over the course of two weeks, the infection was allowed to fester, until Kyriazopoulos developed sepsis. On November 5, he was listed for an operation to drain his infection, but the surgery was cancelled at the last minute.

That evening, Kyriazopoulos sustained an airway haemorrhage and hypoxic brain injury. He was taken off life support on November 11 and died. The death is now the subject of a coronial ­inquiry.

An investigation into the father of three’s death, known as a rootcause analysis, was conducted by the RPA, and found no correctable, system-based cause of the death.

One clinician involved in the care of the patient told The Weekend Australian they held serious concerns over the death.

“I was disappointed because I thought that this death was totally preventable,” the doctor claimed.

NSW opposition health spokesman Ryan Park said there may be grounds for further investigation. “Some of the allegations raised indicate that there could be management and governance ­issues that need to be significantly improved,” Mr Park said.

The Sydney Local Health District said it was disturbed that ­issues were continuing to be raised about Dr Byrom’s practice.

“While the district always strives for amicable outcomes, it considers the continued agitation regarding the practice of the clinician, in circumstances where these matters have been thoroughly reviewed by the bodies responsible for the regulation of the medical profession under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, to be highly disturbing,” the district said in a statement.

More HERE 

 Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).    For a daily critique of Leftist activities,  see DISSECTING LEFTISM.  To keep up with attacks on free speech see Tongue Tied. Also, don't forget your daily roundup  of pro-environment but anti-Greenie  news and commentary at GREENIE WATCH .  Email me  here