Australian Politics
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
'Lasting cultural change': South Australia appoints autism minister in Australian-first
Being myself a high-functioning autistic, maybe I should be pleased by this. But why is autism singled out? Depression is a bigger killer and pychosisis is more dangerous. Are we going to have a minister for every ailment? Seems crazy
South Australia's autism community will get its own state government minister in an Australian-first.
Emily Bourke has been appointed assistant minister for autism in a bid to ensure people with the neurological condition are better represented.
Premier Peter Malinauskas says he has heard from many South Australians that the time has come for a dedicated effort from the government to make autism a priority.
"That is why we have created this new role," he said on Monday. "We have made major commitments with the aim of implementing a whole-of-government autism inclusion strategy, starting with our schools."
As well as the new minister, the premier said the government would deliver on its election commitments to invest $28.8 million for an autism lead teacher in every public primary school and an increase in the number of autism-qualified staff in preschools.
It will also work with providers, including Autism SA, to offer early intervention services in children's centres, develop a state autism strategy and invest $50 million for 100 additional speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists and counsellors.
In her new role, Ms Bourke will establish the Autism Education Advisory Group, involving people with autism, parents with lived experience, experts, community stakeholders and unions to ensure policies are supported by consultation.
Ms Bourke acknowledged she did not have lived experience with autism.
But she said the government had heard the years of advocacy by the autism community, through emails, letters, phone calls and forums. "I am a mother of three, so I know that every parent and caregiver wants their child to reach their individual potential," she said.
An estimated 200,000 Australians are autistic, with autism the largest primary disability group served by the NDIS.
The government says autistic people are half as likely to complete year 10 than the general population and three times more likely to be unemployed than other people with disabilities.
"We are moving beyond talking about creating awareness. We are building knowledge, so we can create lasting cultural change across the community," it said.
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Drew Pavlou to return to Australia while still under police suspicion of Chinese embassy bomb hoax
London: Outspoken human rights activist Drew Pavlou has flown home to Australia after British police altered his bail arrangements while he remains suspected of issuing a bomb hoax against the Chinese Embassy in London.
The 23-year-old from Brisbane, who was arrested and detained by Metropolitan police for more than 20 hours on July 21, says he is being framed over the fake threat which emerged after he staged a protest outside the Chinese embassy. Brandishing three flags—representing Taiwan and China’s oppressed Tibetan and Uyghur Muslim minorities— Pavlou also glued his hand to the front gate.
Police notified Pavlou’s legal team on Friday that they had relaxed his bail conditions, pending further enquiries, for him to return on October 21. The decision also lifts a ban on the University of Queensland student to leave Britain.
“The past four weeks have been the lowest point of my life,” Pavlou told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. “I am so glad I can get home because I just don’t feel safe here in London.”
Pavlou, who has alienated even his some of his allies with a series of increasingly outrageous stunts in protest of Beijing’s human right record over the past two years, says he believes he “walked into a trap” .
“The whole thing is a complete stitch-up,” he said, ahead of boarding a Qantas flight home on Saturday afternoon. “It’s like they knew I was coming, they laid a trap and I walked right into it.”
He still faces the possibility of being charged for trespassing on diplomatic premises, criminal damage and communicating false information to make a bomb hoax – which carries a seven-year jail term.
An email, which was briefly shown to Pavlou while in police custody, was sent to the Embassy earlier that day from a drewpavlou99@protonmail.me email address. Pavlou says he does have a Protonmail account, but that is not the one. However, the email prefix is identical to an account he has with gmail.
His British friend, Harry Allen, who had been filming the stunt, was also held by the police for around 24 hours and is being investigated on suspicion of also communicating false information to make a bomb hoax. Both men have had their devices seized.
Pavlou’s pro bono barrister, Michael Polak, said it was clear to any right-minded person that the Chinese authorities have “watched him” and “kind of fitted him up”. He said the Chinese Ambassador to Australia’s decision to mention Pavlou’s circumstances, unsolicited, during a speech in Canberra last week showed they were “goading” his client.
“They’ve done this against other activists, even myself,” Polak said. “I do lots of work in regard to Hong Kong and, as a high-profile thing we were looking into uncovering, they sent emails to every member of my chambers, telling them that I shouldn’t be a member of chambers, etc. Those emails were sent in the names of China sceptic professors, some from Australia, from UK. So it is a tactic Chinese authorities use.”
Polak, who represented Uighur activists in a legal action challenge to the British government’s decision to grant Huawei a role in 5G networks, said if Pavlou was to be treated fairly by police then investigators needed to look at the Chinese Embassy computer networks.
“We are pointing the finger at the Chinese Embassy. Now it’s very unlikely that the Chinese Embassy would allow the police to look at their systems. So, while we understand the police have to do their job, if it’s not something that is going to go anywhere, they should finish up the investigation as soon as possible.”
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Start smashing avos: Australia has an avocado oversupply
I do my bit. Mashed avocado on toast is my most usual breakfast
Australia will need to both consume and export more avocados as the nation’s growers navigate a period of soaring production growth over the coming five years, according to findings from Rabobank.
A report from the specialist agribusiness bank stated: “This year alone, ‘per capita supply’ of avocados is estimated to be up 26 per cent on the previous 12 months to 4.8 kilograms – equating to 22 avocados for every Australian.”
Rabobank’s report, titled The ‘Avolanche’ of Australian Avocados said a significant maturing of avocado trees in the past season – primarily in Western Australia and Queensland – resulted in a bumper crop, causing the national oversupply and seeing retail prices fall to a record low of $1 each in June last year and again early this month.
Retail prices for 2022 remained tracking at 47 per cent below the five-year average.
While the low prices were welcome news for consumers currently facing significant price rises for many other food items and household staples, they put considerable pressure on grower margins, already squeezed by increasing input costs and labour shortages, RaboResearch associate analyst and report author Pia Piggott said.
Regaining balance in Australia’s avocado market required both, “increased domestic demand and larger export volumes”, Piggott said.
Australian export volumes of avocados increased by more than 350 per cent in the past year, the report said.
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“The Singapore and Hong Kong markets have been standout performers, with Australia growing to account for 46 per cent and 12 per cent market share of their avocado imports, respectively,” Piggott said.
“Malaysia remains an integral export market and has rebounded from COVID-related impacts, with Australian exports making up 46 per cent of the total imported avocados into Malaysia.
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"Like seeing old friends again": British raw milk cheeses approved for sale in Australia
A dozen raw milk cheeses from Britain have been approved for sale in Australia after three-and-a-half years of diplomacy and scientific testing to prove they are safe.
Raw milk cheese has been a hot button topic for decades in Australia, with food safety and artisan traditions on either side of the debate.
Current rules on making raw milk cheese are extremely tight, with expensive compliance conditions attached. For that reason, there are only half-a-dozen local examples on shelves, compared with more than 20 European imports.
From August, cheesemongers including Jo Thompson of The Artisan Cheese Room in Sydney can get their hands on authentic British Red Leicester, farmhouse cheddar and more.
Thompson, who sold some of these at London retailer Neal's Yard Dairy, says, "I used to work with those cheeses day in, day out and I know how amazing they taste. It'll be like seeing old friends again."
Raw milk enthusiasts say these cheeses showcase a sense of place – or terroir – similar to the way different wine regions have unique characteristics. Pasteurised milk is stripped of these qualities.
Neal's Yard Dairy and local importer Calendar Cheese were instrumental in getting the green light from the Australian government for the British cheese. Calendar is air-freighting the cheese so it arrives quickly. It will retail for $85 to $130 per kilogram depending on the style.
Pecora Dairy in NSW, which makes two raw milk cheeses, welcomes the news.
"We think it will build the market, create recognition and build trust for raw milk cheeses," says Pecora co-owner Michael Cains.
While the industry is broadly excited by the news, many also have concerns that this is another example of Australia's food standards on raw milk being applied inconsistently between local and imported cheese.
"The million dollar question is do these imports meet those standards?" says Will Studd, a leading cheese industry advocate and wholesaler. "Why is it possible to bring in English farmhouse cheddar and not make one in Tasmania?"
Both Calendar Cheese and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry say the cheeses comply with local rules written by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
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Evelyn Rae, a conservative Australian political commentator
Margo Robbie -- a beautiful australian
My son Joe at ANU
One of the happiest pictures ever -- Cleo Smith, aged 4
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