Australian Politics
More food-freak crap
Healthy eating message 'doomed' by big supermarkets? The assertion is just the usual Leftist hatred of success in others -- backed up by the usual twisted to non-existent reasoning and counterfactual claims
EFFORTS to get Australians to eat healthier may be "doomed from the start" by the dominance of the major retailers Coles and Woolworths, a researcher says. John Wardle, from the School of Population Health at the University of Queensland, says the major grocers now enjoy a duopoly within the Australian market that is unrivalled in the world. More competition is needed, he says, to ensure the public had broader access to fresher and more nutritious fruit and vegetables outside of the major supermarkets chains. [Cheeesh! Where does this guy live? There are small greengrocers all over the place. There is one right outside the door of my local Woolworths]
"Retailers have a gatekeeper role in the provision of nutrition to the public through their ability to control access to supermarket shelves,'' Mr Wardle said. "Unless competition is improved, the numerous public health programs aimed at increasing consumption of nutritious foods are doomed from the start.'' [Competition? What about IGA? What about Aldi? What about all the smaller supermarkets? There is PLENTY of competition, enough to keep everyone on their toes. Coles and Woolworths succeed so well BECAUSE they are so competitive. They are better at keeping the customer happy in various ways]
Mr Wardle says the 80 per cent control of the Australian grocery market by Coles and Woolworths, which is without precedent globally, ensures they are able to drive down supplier prices. Their nationwide distribution networks for fruit and vegetables also have the effect of locking out, by undercutting, local farmers from supplying produce to their own communities. This ensures fruit and vegetables "travelling thousands of miles and for days'' before they are sold in supermarkets and Mr Wardle says this reduces their nutritional value.
The roll-out of new supermarkets, often in suburban areas, has also prompted the "death of the high street'' in cities and towns, he says. "This has meant the death of the independent butcher and the independent green grocer who were known to provide fresher, more nutritious and often cheaper food to the public,'' Mr Wardle said. [Rubbish! There are still tons of butchers and Greengrocers around]
"The government is trying to encourage more fruit and vegetable consumption and you have a situation that actually makes it hard for the public to access those fruit and vegetables.'' [Even though Woolworths has a huge range of them??? The guy seems to have a completely messed-up head]
Mr Wardle and fellow researcher Michael Baranovic raise the issue in a paper published in the latest edition of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. Mr Wardle also says the problem is not the major supermarkets' fault as they are in full compliance with Australian law. "Coles and Woolworths are just being good companies and looking after their shareholders,'' he said. "It's the fact that competition policy, planning policy seems weighted towards those mega-ventures in the supply of groceries.'' [It's not "policies" at work. It is consumer preferences -- preferences that this food-Fascist would like to forbid]
SOURCE. A reply from Coles here.
More on the latest DOCS disgrace
'Authorities left Ebony to starve'
A SCATHING report has detailed how welfare authorities failed a seven-year-old girl who starved to death on a urine-soaked mattress, The Australian reports. Among the shocking findings relating to the death of Ebony, an alias for the girl who can't be legally named, was that the New South Wales Government Department of Community Services (DoCS) relied on a report by a work-experience student to assess her situation.
During the last two agonising years of Ebony's life, whose body weighed just 9kg when she was discovered at her home in November 2007, the dying girl received not a shred of assistance from official agencies, the report released yesterday by NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour says.
The report was particularly scathing regarding DoCS's failure to act, three months before Ebony's death, when the family moved suddenly from its public housing unit at Matraville, in Sydney's southeast, to Hawks Nest, north of Newcastle. At that time, an anonymous caller told the DoCS helpline that Ebony's room at Matraville was boarded up and the house smelt of urine and faeces. Because there had been previous reports of dishevelment in the home, this was classified as "information only" rather than as indicating Ebony was at risk.
Mr Barbour said told The Australian that there was no doubt the "appalling" interagency response to Ebony's plight, together with the failings by DoCS, had contributed to her death. "If you look at the final period of this little girl's life, there was ample time to go in and help her. That just didn't happen."
Mr Barbour's report said it was difficult to reconcile the "intensive involvement" of DoCS with the family between 2001 and 2003 with the agency's "repeated failure" to deal with the same concerns in the last three years of Ebony's life. This is despite the fact DoCS received a $1 billion injection of funding from the NSW Labor Government in the interim.
There were 17 separate reports lodged with the DoCS alone, stretching back to 1993, indicating that Ebony and her siblings were at risk from their dysfunctional parents. Of those 17 reports made to DoCS by concerned neighbours, teachers, doctors and other agencies, 13 occurred between 2005 and 2007.
Among Mr Barbour's detailed findings were that:
* DoCS failed to convince the Children's Court to remove Ebony and her two older sisters from their parents, despite the fact Ebony's younger sister had been removed.
* An inadequate summary of Ebony's case made by a work-experience student in July 2007 meant that, from then on, DoCS helpline workers failed to understand the seriousness of her predicament.
* When the caseworker assigned to Ebony's family left DoCS, she failed to brief her successor because of "competing priorities", which left the new caseworker to rely on the inadequate summary prepared by the student.
* DoCS workers assumed that, because the circumstances of Ebony's older sisters had improved, hers had also - despite the fact her father did not allow them to sight the girl.
The NSW Supreme Court last week sentenced Ebony's mother to life in prison for murder and Ebony's father to 16 years behind bars for her manslaughter. [In my view, they should be burnt at the stake]
SOURCE
State governments show little interest in preventing catastrophic bushfires
by Barry Cohen
ON February 6 I flew to Portugal to attend a whaling conference at the behest of Peter Garrett. The following day the worst bushfires in Australian history left 173 people dead and shattered the lives of thousands more. I watched it unfold on British Sky News. It was horrifying and gut-wrenching.
The interim report of the subsequent Victorian royal commission on bushfires, although written in unemotional bureaucratese, is a grim document. It should be the first step in ensuring a tragedy of this nature never happens again, or if it does the extent of damage and loss of life is dramatically reduced. The report, with about 50 recommendations, covers almost every aspect of the bushfires, including fuel reduction, prescribed burning, evacuation, refuges, state emergency services, economic cost and fire warnings. The recommendation that interests me most is 11.27.
"The commonwealth was asked to provide information on its capacity to provide facts, data, images by means of sentinel bushfire monitoring, satellite imagery, infrared technology, mapping tools or other means." Put simply, the commonwealth has a significant role to play in prevention and not just the cure. That is particularly important if the experts are correct and an even worse summer awaits us.
Allow me to declare an interest. Shortly after I returned from Portugal, old friends stopped at my rural abode in Bungendore for a cuppa after visiting Canberra, where they had introduced ACT emergency service bureaucrats to the latest and the best fire prevention technology, Firewatch. Describing it as the best technology for fire prevention is admittedly a big call, but one that is not idly made. Firewatch was developed by the German Aerospace Institute for NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission. Similar but inferior systems have a smaller range (10km), are much more expensive, or work for only up to eight hours a day when the satellite passes overhead.
Firewatch, on the other hand, is tower-based (rather than satellite-based), has a range of 15km-40km and automatically rotates through 360 degrees every six minutes. It is equipped with night vision, so it works round the clock. It can detect fires faster than the human eye and needs to spot only smoke (rather than flames) for the purpose. It can detect wind speed and direction as well as temperature, which enables it to pinpoint the fire and identify its direction. It can also detect 16,384 shades of grey and tell the difference between smoke, cloud and mist.
You would think the various state and territory emergency services would have been falling over each other to check out Firewatch. Not so. Since February 2006, Firewatch executives have knocked on their doors and discovered they were not interested. One executive said he "didn't care if bushfires started as long as they were not near the urban interface, as carbon dioxide emissions were someone else's problem. If fire started to come close to population centres the public always phoned in and reported the fire", and that was good enough for him. Another Rural Fire Services executive claimed that giving volunteers accurate information about the scale and location of a bushfire to enable the right resources to be deployed would "take all the fun and adventure out of the challenge".
The common thread that ran through discussions with the various state government departments was they were not interested in early detection, only more money for helicopters, fire trucks and other equipment. No one questions their enthusiasm or dedication, but they are fighting the last war, not the nextone.
The big questions are what will Firewatch achieve and at what cost. It has been operating in Germany for eight years, leading to a 92percent reduction in the area burned. Australia, with zillions of explosive eucalypts, is not Germany but if Firewatch is half as good as claimed, countless lives and properties can be saved. It is being tested in France, Portugal, Estonia, the Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Mexico and the US.
The cost will depend on the number of units required but Firewatch will primarily be restricted to areas where dense Australian bush intersects with urban and semi-urban living. The equipment can be purchased outright or leased for a 10-year period at an annual cost of about $90,000 for each unit. The total cost will depend on the degree of protection required. It's worth taking into consideration the Australian insurance industry estimate that the Victorian bushfires cost it $1.12billion. Add government and individual losses and we are looking at more than $2bn.
Then there are carbon emissions. CSIRO estimates that the February fires released the equivalent of one year's industrial production. Under the Kyoto Protocol, carbon emissions from bushfires were excluded from a nation's total output; that will not be the case after Copenhagen.
Most of us lack the expertise to assess Firewatch's claims and no one expects governments to invest millions without extensive trials. Not to trial Firewatch, however, would be criminal negligence.
Fortunately, despite the state departments' lack of interest, matters are moving on the federal front. Fran Bailey, Liberal MP for McEwen, whose electorate covers the area where 169 of the 173 bushfire deaths occurred, was introduced to Firewatch and immediately flew to Germany and spent four days studying it. She says that, having investigated various other forms of early detection, she is absolutely convinced the hundreds of millions spent by the German aerospace industry have led to a state-of-the-art technology that works. "None of the other systems came within a bull's roar of Firewatch."
Bailey has badgered the Prime Minister to order trials this summer and have them assessed by independent engineers. Bill Shorten, one of the brightest stars in the Labor firmament and the parliamentary secretary for Victorian bushfire reconstruction, quickly recognised Firewatch's potential. Shorten's involvement ensures that those who must make the final decision to trial Firewatch, at a cost of $2m to $4m, will have the facts placed before them.
If trials are to be conducted this summer for Firewatch or any other system, then decisions need to be made soon. Firewatch has the potential to dramatically reduce the number and scope of Australian bushfires and, over the years, save thousands of lives and billions of dollars. It must be hoped the Rudd government doesn't miss the opportunity to give Firewatch a chance.
SOURCE
Phonics push held up by ignorant teachers
IT’S not often one gets the chance to say this: NSW is doing something right. At least it is when it comes to literacy. In recognition of the importance of phonics, NSW teaching guides now require teachers to spend part of each day teaching young children the sounds that make up words.
It sounds like a no-brainer that children should explicitly be taught the most basic building blocks of learning to read. Yet one more hurdle - the most important one - remains. New research reveals that new teachers on the cusp of entering our schools have little understanding of how to teach phonics. Until they do, even the most impressive literacy curriculum changes are likely to remain futile.
To understand how long it has taken to fix the teaching curriculum in just one state, you need to understand the history. For decades the education system in Australia was dominated by something that became known as a more naturalistic way of teaching reading, where children were shown words and expected to memorise them. Too many educators disregarded the importance of learning sounds. Too old-fashioned and boring, they said.
No evidence supported the whole-word method. But through the years careers were built and based on it and that soon meant that too many vested interests dictated its influence in education degrees and our schools.
Such was the dismal state of affairs that a 2003 NSW inquiry into early intervention for children with learning difficulties concluded that it was “difficult for this committee to get to the bottom of the debate between exponents of either the whole-word or phonics approach to literacy pedagogy”. So the committee accepted the bogus argument that this is “a divisive and unproductive debate”. The nay-sayers could not have been more wrong. The debate may have been divisive but it has been very productive.
In 2004 a group of leading literacy educators wrote to then federal education minister Brendan Nelson, raising their concerns that the best and latest research about reading was not reflected in how students were taught in the classroom. The Howard government commissioned a national inquiry into teaching literacy, which in turn led to the 2005 national reading review. Last year the Rudd government set up the National Curriculum Board, which has suggested “an explicit and systematic teaching of phonological awareness”. Finally, this year one state - NSW - has taken the findings seriously by mandating that teachers teach the sounds of words to young students. The national curriculum to be introduced in 2011 will hopefully lead to other states and territories doing the same.
Slowly there is progress. But the drawn-out delays over better literacy teaching are nothing short of scandalous. This is not some piddling policy that can be set aside for another day. These delays hurt our most disadvantaged children the most; they often miss out on the added support of engaged parents willing and able to encourage reading.
These are the children politicians love to talk about when they use their grand rhetoric about education. Former Labor leader Mark Latham conjured up a ladder of opportunity. The Rudd government talks about an education revolution. Nice words. But meaningful education reforms must surely start with basic and effective literacy.
Last month, the latest test results from the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy revealed that one in 10 students fails to meet minimum standards in reading, writing and numeracy. And on the reading front, a new evidence-based curriculum is only part of the reform process.
The next critical step is to teach our teachers how to teach reading. Recent research undertaken by Queensland University of Technology literacy expert Ruth Fielding-Barnsley, and presented in a paper yet to be published, reveals that final-year teaching students in Queensland are ill-equipped to teach young children the sounds that make up words. According to Fielding-Barnsley, the problem extends beyond Queensland.
She tells The Australian: “There is a general feeling in the community of academics ... that we need to be more effective in the area of early literacy.” In her study of 165 students, 95 per cent said they understood the importance of phonics. So far so good. But 75 per cent of those surveyed said they were not well prepared to teach young children the sounds that made up words. In fact, most could not identify the correct number of sounds in words such as box, chop and this.
Here are some of the comments made by soon-to-be teachers who will be responsible for teaching young children to read: “The thought of teaching a child to read is terrifying.” And: “I don’t feel we have been taught (or) prepared enough to be able to cover such a vital subject.” And: “We should do more literacy and learning to read subjects as part of our course.”
Fielding-Barnsley says there is a structural problem in the way we are teaching our teachers. “There needs to be more effort in literacy education because, as you can see from my paper, the students are not confident about going out to teach reading. They know what they don’t know.” She says although the NSW literacy curriculum is commendable for giving teachers materials they can use in the classroom, it would be much better if they learned how to teach reading using phonics during their degrees. Surely it is not too much to expect from a four-year teaching degree for infant and primary school teachers? Yet that is not happening.
When my eldest child was three, she was keen to learn to read. I had no idea where to begin so I signed up for a phonics-based reading instruction course called Spalding in Sydney. It involved seven long days of intensive, explicit instruction about teaching children the sounds that made up words. I had the enormous luxury of time, inclination and money to do that. When I taught her those sounds, she learned to read in a flash, as did her little sister and her little brother.
Most likely they would have learned to read anyway. As Fielding-Barnsley told me, “A lot of children will learn to read without a lot of explicit instruction. They just manage to work it out for themselves. But around 20 per cent of students need that explicit instruction. They are the ones who end up at the end of secondary school with very low literary skills. They are the ones we are concerned about.”
Watching my children learning to read and loving to read leads to one simple question: Why haven’t successive governments, state and federal, Liberal and Labor, started at the start by ensuring our teachers are equipped to teach using the best reading methods in schools across the country? It would be one of the best investments we could make.
SOURCE
Queensland Rail officer spat on, then fired on flimsy grounds
A QUEENSLAND Rail transit officer who was beaten and spat on by a passenger has been sacked by Queensland Rail for hitting back. Trent Geissler, of Geebung, was terminated by QR executive manager for passenger services Paul Scurrah by letter yesterday afternoon.
"I feel betrayed because it was a criminal act perpetrated against me in the line of duty, and this will impact on my work history," Mr Geissler said. "If I had provoked it, I would have been charged as well."
Mr Geissler was called to Northgate station on Easter Sunday to attend an unruly behaviour incident and was assaulted by a 20-year-old man on the train platform. Mr Geissler struck the man in the face and put him in a headlock. Police arrested the man, who pleaded guilty to common assault and was sentenced to 150 hours of community service.
But Queensland Rail said a review of the incident by a HR firm found evidence Mr Geissler acted outside guidelines using excessive force. [It would be interesting to see how finely the bureaucrats could calibrate their actions if they were placed in a similar situation]
SOURCE
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
ZEG
In his latest offering, conservative Australian cartoonist ZEG is very derisive about Kevvy's latest stunt
Man dies as ambulance searches for spare beds
Isn't government-run healthcare great?
A SUNSHINE Coast man died of a heart attack after his ambulance was diverted to a less crowded hospital that was further away, the Queensland Ambulance Service's union said. Paramedics resuscitated an elderly cardiac arrest patient, who had a significant medical history, at Mooloolah on Friday and transported him to Caloundra Hospital. However Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union organiser Kroy Day said the ambulance was advised that if they ramped at the Caloundra Hospital there would be a "significant wait" until the patient could be unloaded onto a bed.
He said the ambulance was instead diverted to the Nambour Hospital, which is 10 to 12 minutes further away. "Unfortunately the patient was declared deceased upon arrival," Mr Day said.
Mr Day, who has 20 years' experience as an ambulance officer, said he backed the paramedics 100 per cent as they were forced to make an almost impossible decision. "What we do know is that in cardiac arrests, literally seconds make the difference," he said. "They made the decision on good faith but unfortunately the patient was declared deceased upon arrival. "All I can think is thank god I wasn't the one who had to make that decision."
Queensland Health has argued that QAS did not advise the hospital the man was a Category One cardiac arrest patient and would have accepted the patient had they known.
However Mr Day said Queensland Health were stooping to a new low when it came to excuses. "I am absolutely appalled and disgusted at that excuse," Mr Day said. "The ambulance was travelling to Caloundra Hospital with its lights and sirens on and they knew that. "The paramedics also called the hospital and told them they resuscitated the man. "If nothing else happened the hospital should have worked out that this was a Category One."
Mr Day said Queensland Health was in need of a serious overhaul, citing that in the 2007-08 financial year there were more than 27,000 cases of ambulances waiting to unload their patients for more than 30 minutes.
SOURCE
Girl dies because of bureaucratic bungling
So much for the government "child safety" agency. This is just another in their constant record of failures
WARNING signs about the welfare of a girl starved to death by her parents were missed because NSW authorities did not work together effectively, the state Government watchdog has found. The girl, who can be known only as Ebony, was a mere 106cm tall and weighed just nine kilograms when she died aged seven in squalid conditions at the family's Hawks Nest home, north of Newcastle, in November 2007.
Her mother was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday to life in jail for her murder. Ebony's father was convicted of her manslaughter and will spend at least the next 12 years in prison.
At the age of five, Ebony had been a "chubby little girl" but by the time she died her face resembled skin stretched over a skull and she reeked of urine and faeces, the court heard. Several doctors testified she suffered from the most severe case of malnutrition they had ever seen.
NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour examined the actions of the Department of Community Services, the departments of Education, Ageing, Disability and Home Care and Housing as well as NSW Police. His findings were today released in a report. "My investigation shows these agencies did not work together effectively when dealing with Ebony's family," Mr Barbour said. "This lack of coordination meant vital information was not shared and warning signs went unnoticed. "This in turn led to missed opportunities for appropriate intervention to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Ebony and her siblings."
Following Ebony's death there was an inquiry into child protection services, headed by retired Supreme Court justice James Wood, which called for a major overhaul of DoCS.
SOURCE
Crooked NSW police thugs cost the taxpayer $40,000
A LAWYER has won $40,000 in compensation after NSW police wrongfully arrested her and then falsified official documents, alleging she had committed a terrorist act. Andrea Turner, 57, was arrested on December 30 last year when a senior constable mistakenly believed Ms Turner had taken a photograph of her conducting a routine patrol of a train with a junior colleague. Ms Turner, a practising criminal lawyer, had been on her way to a bushwalk in the Royal National Park.
None of the police officers involved has been reprimanded over the incident and there has been no internal investigation.
''Don't take my photo. If you take my photo I will put you on your arse so fast it will not be funny,'' the junior officer had said. The other told Ms Turner: ''You're obviously a bloke.'' Ms Turner was asked for identification and when she refused, was told to get off the train at the next station or be ''dragged off''. The senior constable told her she was being arrested for taking a photograph of an officer in the execution of her duty.
Ms Turner denied taking a photograph and pointed out it was not an offence to do so. As was her legal right, she again declined to provide identification. She was then detained for 30 minutes in front of a crowd of onlookers at Kogarah station.
Ms Turner successfully sued the state of NSW for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment in the District Court, telling the Herald: ''How could I have backed down when I tell my own clients, 'That is thuggery, that is unlawful behaviour and you can't let them get away with it'?''
The state had admitted liability for the incident, but did not accept it should pay aggravated or exemplary damages. Awarding Ms Turner $20,000 in aggravated and exemplary damages, Judge Anthony Garling found she had displayed no signs of aggression during her arrest and there was no suggestion that the officers had needed to use force. Yet three police officers were called in as back-up before she was escorted off the platform. Another five - including two detectives - also arrived on the scene.
Despite several phone calls to their superiors, none of them knew which offence, if any, Ms Turner had committed. ''It was an unjust arrest, it was a wrong arrest,'' Judge Garling said. Without explanation, Ms Turner was freed without charge.
But what happened next was even more serious, with Ms Turner falsely accused of a ''terrorist act'', Judge Garling found. Police had decided not to pursue the matter or formally record the incident in the police COPS system. But later the same day Ms Turner called the police station to complain about her treatment. ''The police officer then decided to lessen whatever complaint could be made against her by falsifying a public record, that is, by alleging that the plaintiff committed an offence which is related to railway property, not to photographing the police officer,'' Judge Garling said.
The senior constable had written in the falsified COPS entry: ''It should be noted that at the time of dealing with the person of interest police were unaware of the exact offence. It is an offence to take photos on railway property under the new terrorism laws.'' The judge said: ''This lady was sitting on a train going for a bushwalk when the police mistakenly did what they did. In no way could [it] be suggested that it related to terrorism.'' He criticised the police force for not removing or amending the falsified COPS entry or apologising to Ms Turner.
In a statement NSW Police said it would treat the judge's comments seriously. ''The matter will be investigated and any issues identified as a result of that investigation will be addressed.''
SOURCE
Deniliquin Ute Muster fans set world singlet record
I wear a blue singlet myself sometimes in summer. It's the traditional summer garb of the Australian working man generally. Wharfies (dockers; longshoremen) often used to wear them before they became mere crane operators. The dark blue colour hides a lot. For American readers: A "ute" is a pickup truck
DESPITE wind and rain, 2230 ute fans stripped down to singlets at the Deniliquin Ute Muster to set an official world record for the largest gathering of people in blue shearers' singlets. Deniliquin, in southern NSW, has staged a blue singlet count at its annual ute muster since 2004, but this year organisers decided to make it an official Guinness World Record attempt.
Guinness Book of Records Official Chris Sheedy said it was an iconic Australian record. "I met a guy here today who drove here from the far reaches of Western Australia to be in the blue singlet count," he said. "They came from all parts of Australia to be here today, and that's what made what happened today such a fantastic thing."
The Deni Ute Muster is one of the largest rural themed festivals in Australia. Last year the event attracted 7242 utes and brought more than $13 million into the Deniliquin town and region. This year, ticket sales indicate about 25,000 attendees. Event organisers are quietly confident they'll break their second record during the festival's second day tomorrow when they attempt to create the largest parade of legally-registered utes in the world.
Festival-goers also have the opportunity to vie for the National Circlework Championship, participate in whipcracking competitions and compete for prizes such as Ute of the Year, Best Sound Audio Ute and the Ultimate Chicks' Ute. The entertainment line-up includes performances by rock band Powderfinger, along with country music artists Troy Cassar-Daley and Adam Harvey.
SOURCE
Fraudsters raiding our garbage bins
MEMBERS of highly organised crime syndicates are rifling through rubbish bins and letterboxes in the dead of night to feed a black market demand for stolen identities. Authorities say most people would have no idea their identities were being used to open bank accounts, apply for credit cards and even obtain drivers licences until it was much too late.
Crime Stoppers chairman Peter Price says identity fraud is Australia's fastest-growing crime. "It's very much under the radar, well organised and a very black market," he said. "We're seeing organised groups of people who understand the value of getting someone's identity." He said people would hit the same address over and over until they had enough documents to create a fraudulent ID. "What they do is put a whole lot of pieces to the puzzle together until they have enough to commit a fraud," Mr Price said. "They go through your letterbox or recycling bin one night, then come back a week later until they have enough bits and pieces of your identity to commit a fraud. It is not something you can be complacent about."
Mr Price said bills, credit card statements, tax documents and even junk mail with the person's name and address could help fraudsters put together a stolen identity. "It is the fastest-growing crime in the world and a very serious business, and yet people generally take a very apathetic approach to it," he said. "We want to teach people to take more care with their personal information by doing things like shredding documents, putting a lock on your letterbox or even using a post office box."
It was also a good idea to use a separate credit card with a low limit to purchase items online.
A recent study found 84 per cent of recycling bins contained credit cards and other documents that could be easily used by ID thieves. The study, which involved searches of 180 domestic rubbish bins and 237 recycling bins across Australia, was put together for National Identity Fraud Awareness Week (this week). "It is almost beyond belief what people throw out," Mr Price said. "We found an online banking card and letter complete with account name, number and access code as well as an unsigned credit card. "Every time we put our bins out, most of us put ourselves at risk of identity theft."
Even the head of Crime Stoppers was not immune, with thieves using a cheque book stolen from his letterbox to obtain a driver's licence in Mr Price's name - which was in turn used to cash cheques.
SOURCE
In his latest offering, conservative Australian cartoonist ZEG is very derisive about Kevvy's latest stunt
Man dies as ambulance searches for spare beds
Isn't government-run healthcare great?
A SUNSHINE Coast man died of a heart attack after his ambulance was diverted to a less crowded hospital that was further away, the Queensland Ambulance Service's union said. Paramedics resuscitated an elderly cardiac arrest patient, who had a significant medical history, at Mooloolah on Friday and transported him to Caloundra Hospital. However Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union organiser Kroy Day said the ambulance was advised that if they ramped at the Caloundra Hospital there would be a "significant wait" until the patient could be unloaded onto a bed.
He said the ambulance was instead diverted to the Nambour Hospital, which is 10 to 12 minutes further away. "Unfortunately the patient was declared deceased upon arrival," Mr Day said.
Mr Day, who has 20 years' experience as an ambulance officer, said he backed the paramedics 100 per cent as they were forced to make an almost impossible decision. "What we do know is that in cardiac arrests, literally seconds make the difference," he said. "They made the decision on good faith but unfortunately the patient was declared deceased upon arrival. "All I can think is thank god I wasn't the one who had to make that decision."
Queensland Health has argued that QAS did not advise the hospital the man was a Category One cardiac arrest patient and would have accepted the patient had they known.
However Mr Day said Queensland Health were stooping to a new low when it came to excuses. "I am absolutely appalled and disgusted at that excuse," Mr Day said. "The ambulance was travelling to Caloundra Hospital with its lights and sirens on and they knew that. "The paramedics also called the hospital and told them they resuscitated the man. "If nothing else happened the hospital should have worked out that this was a Category One."
Mr Day said Queensland Health was in need of a serious overhaul, citing that in the 2007-08 financial year there were more than 27,000 cases of ambulances waiting to unload their patients for more than 30 minutes.
SOURCE
Girl dies because of bureaucratic bungling
So much for the government "child safety" agency. This is just another in their constant record of failures
WARNING signs about the welfare of a girl starved to death by her parents were missed because NSW authorities did not work together effectively, the state Government watchdog has found. The girl, who can be known only as Ebony, was a mere 106cm tall and weighed just nine kilograms when she died aged seven in squalid conditions at the family's Hawks Nest home, north of Newcastle, in November 2007.
Her mother was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday to life in jail for her murder. Ebony's father was convicted of her manslaughter and will spend at least the next 12 years in prison.
At the age of five, Ebony had been a "chubby little girl" but by the time she died her face resembled skin stretched over a skull and she reeked of urine and faeces, the court heard. Several doctors testified she suffered from the most severe case of malnutrition they had ever seen.
NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour examined the actions of the Department of Community Services, the departments of Education, Ageing, Disability and Home Care and Housing as well as NSW Police. His findings were today released in a report. "My investigation shows these agencies did not work together effectively when dealing with Ebony's family," Mr Barbour said. "This lack of coordination meant vital information was not shared and warning signs went unnoticed. "This in turn led to missed opportunities for appropriate intervention to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Ebony and her siblings."
Following Ebony's death there was an inquiry into child protection services, headed by retired Supreme Court justice James Wood, which called for a major overhaul of DoCS.
SOURCE
Crooked NSW police thugs cost the taxpayer $40,000
A LAWYER has won $40,000 in compensation after NSW police wrongfully arrested her and then falsified official documents, alleging she had committed a terrorist act. Andrea Turner, 57, was arrested on December 30 last year when a senior constable mistakenly believed Ms Turner had taken a photograph of her conducting a routine patrol of a train with a junior colleague. Ms Turner, a practising criminal lawyer, had been on her way to a bushwalk in the Royal National Park.
None of the police officers involved has been reprimanded over the incident and there has been no internal investigation.
''Don't take my photo. If you take my photo I will put you on your arse so fast it will not be funny,'' the junior officer had said. The other told Ms Turner: ''You're obviously a bloke.'' Ms Turner was asked for identification and when she refused, was told to get off the train at the next station or be ''dragged off''. The senior constable told her she was being arrested for taking a photograph of an officer in the execution of her duty.
Ms Turner denied taking a photograph and pointed out it was not an offence to do so. As was her legal right, she again declined to provide identification. She was then detained for 30 minutes in front of a crowd of onlookers at Kogarah station.
Ms Turner successfully sued the state of NSW for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment in the District Court, telling the Herald: ''How could I have backed down when I tell my own clients, 'That is thuggery, that is unlawful behaviour and you can't let them get away with it'?''
The state had admitted liability for the incident, but did not accept it should pay aggravated or exemplary damages. Awarding Ms Turner $20,000 in aggravated and exemplary damages, Judge Anthony Garling found she had displayed no signs of aggression during her arrest and there was no suggestion that the officers had needed to use force. Yet three police officers were called in as back-up before she was escorted off the platform. Another five - including two detectives - also arrived on the scene.
Despite several phone calls to their superiors, none of them knew which offence, if any, Ms Turner had committed. ''It was an unjust arrest, it was a wrong arrest,'' Judge Garling said. Without explanation, Ms Turner was freed without charge.
But what happened next was even more serious, with Ms Turner falsely accused of a ''terrorist act'', Judge Garling found. Police had decided not to pursue the matter or formally record the incident in the police COPS system. But later the same day Ms Turner called the police station to complain about her treatment. ''The police officer then decided to lessen whatever complaint could be made against her by falsifying a public record, that is, by alleging that the plaintiff committed an offence which is related to railway property, not to photographing the police officer,'' Judge Garling said.
The senior constable had written in the falsified COPS entry: ''It should be noted that at the time of dealing with the person of interest police were unaware of the exact offence. It is an offence to take photos on railway property under the new terrorism laws.'' The judge said: ''This lady was sitting on a train going for a bushwalk when the police mistakenly did what they did. In no way could [it] be suggested that it related to terrorism.'' He criticised the police force for not removing or amending the falsified COPS entry or apologising to Ms Turner.
In a statement NSW Police said it would treat the judge's comments seriously. ''The matter will be investigated and any issues identified as a result of that investigation will be addressed.''
SOURCE
Deniliquin Ute Muster fans set world singlet record
I wear a blue singlet myself sometimes in summer. It's the traditional summer garb of the Australian working man generally. Wharfies (dockers; longshoremen) often used to wear them before they became mere crane operators. The dark blue colour hides a lot. For American readers: A "ute" is a pickup truck
DESPITE wind and rain, 2230 ute fans stripped down to singlets at the Deniliquin Ute Muster to set an official world record for the largest gathering of people in blue shearers' singlets. Deniliquin, in southern NSW, has staged a blue singlet count at its annual ute muster since 2004, but this year organisers decided to make it an official Guinness World Record attempt.
Guinness Book of Records Official Chris Sheedy said it was an iconic Australian record. "I met a guy here today who drove here from the far reaches of Western Australia to be in the blue singlet count," he said. "They came from all parts of Australia to be here today, and that's what made what happened today such a fantastic thing."
The Deni Ute Muster is one of the largest rural themed festivals in Australia. Last year the event attracted 7242 utes and brought more than $13 million into the Deniliquin town and region. This year, ticket sales indicate about 25,000 attendees. Event organisers are quietly confident they'll break their second record during the festival's second day tomorrow when they attempt to create the largest parade of legally-registered utes in the world.
Festival-goers also have the opportunity to vie for the National Circlework Championship, participate in whipcracking competitions and compete for prizes such as Ute of the Year, Best Sound Audio Ute and the Ultimate Chicks' Ute. The entertainment line-up includes performances by rock band Powderfinger, along with country music artists Troy Cassar-Daley and Adam Harvey.
SOURCE
Fraudsters raiding our garbage bins
MEMBERS of highly organised crime syndicates are rifling through rubbish bins and letterboxes in the dead of night to feed a black market demand for stolen identities. Authorities say most people would have no idea their identities were being used to open bank accounts, apply for credit cards and even obtain drivers licences until it was much too late.
Crime Stoppers chairman Peter Price says identity fraud is Australia's fastest-growing crime. "It's very much under the radar, well organised and a very black market," he said. "We're seeing organised groups of people who understand the value of getting someone's identity." He said people would hit the same address over and over until they had enough documents to create a fraudulent ID. "What they do is put a whole lot of pieces to the puzzle together until they have enough to commit a fraud," Mr Price said. "They go through your letterbox or recycling bin one night, then come back a week later until they have enough bits and pieces of your identity to commit a fraud. It is not something you can be complacent about."
Mr Price said bills, credit card statements, tax documents and even junk mail with the person's name and address could help fraudsters put together a stolen identity. "It is the fastest-growing crime in the world and a very serious business, and yet people generally take a very apathetic approach to it," he said. "We want to teach people to take more care with their personal information by doing things like shredding documents, putting a lock on your letterbox or even using a post office box."
It was also a good idea to use a separate credit card with a low limit to purchase items online.
A recent study found 84 per cent of recycling bins contained credit cards and other documents that could be easily used by ID thieves. The study, which involved searches of 180 domestic rubbish bins and 237 recycling bins across Australia, was put together for National Identity Fraud Awareness Week (this week). "It is almost beyond belief what people throw out," Mr Price said. "We found an online banking card and letter complete with account name, number and access code as well as an unsigned credit card. "Every time we put our bins out, most of us put ourselves at risk of identity theft."
Even the head of Crime Stoppers was not immune, with thieves using a cheque book stolen from his letterbox to obtain a driver's licence in Mr Price's name - which was in turn used to cash cheques.
SOURCE
Monday, October 05, 2009
High mortality among Australia's black children
Maybe the simpletons who think that Aborigines are "just like us only browner" will take notice of this. Alcoholism, rape, wife-beating and child abuse are rife in Aboriginal communities and child deaths are one predictable result. Additionally, people who know Aborigines well will be aware that they not uncommonly "lose" their children -- as a probable product of their tribal customs. The whole tribe raises children rather than just one or two parents so the parents feel no need to keep a close watch on their children. But when much of the tribe is drunk, children can become seriously neglected.
And how is any government going to change all that? Coercion would of course be "paternalistic" and education is a laugh. Many Aborigines have been so propagandized by white do-gooders that they can recite all the "right" practices by heart already. They just don't do it. They can talk the talk but they don't walk the walk. The only thing that might help a bit is a bigger police presence but you will see no mention of that below
AUSTRALIA'S indigneous children aged under five are dying at a rate comparable to some of the world's poorest countries. A Save the Children report, released today, says indigenous children are three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than non-indigenous children. Indigenous and child advocates say governments need to address this disturbing disparity immediately and give communities more say in managing their own health services.
The report blames poverty and a lack of health care services for the high mortality rate. Poor nutrition was also a factor, with indigenous children under four suffering malnutrition at a rate almost 30 times greater than non-indigenous children. Indigenous infants die at a rate of 12.5 per 1000 births compared with the non-indigenous rate of 4.3.
The report says that is the same as East Timor and the Solomon Islands, which are among the world's most underdeveloped countries. They have poor life expectancy, poor food security and low literacy rates and earning capacities.
CRANAplus president Christopher Cliffe, who represents health workers in remote areas, said it was completely unacceptable for Australian children to have mortality rates similar to children in developing nations. "This absolutely should not be happening in Australia; we are a very wealthy country and we can actually afford to fix this," he said.
The Newborn and child survival in Australia report is part of Save The Children's five-year global "Survive to Five" campaign being launched today. The group has urged the Federal Government to double spending on children's health. Chief executive Suzanne Dvorak said the child mortality rate in indigenous communities must be reduced by two thirds within six years. "Every child deserves the right to a happy and fulfilling life, but today Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have the same rate of survival as children born in East Timor and the Solomon Islands," she said.
SOURCE
Big youth crime problem among blacks
And, as usual, the do-gooders think it can be solved. It would take genetic engineering to solve it. 40,000 years have adapted Aborigines brilliantly to a hunter-gatherer life (the way Aborigines note and remember tiny details in the landscape is legendary -- an ability much used in the past by "black trackers") but that adaptation is a poor fit to an advanced Western civilization
WESTERN Australia's juvenile justice system is in crisis and desperately needs more resources to reduce the number of children being detained, according to the head of the state's children's court.
Children's Court president Denis Reynolds said if the system continued without more prevention and diversion programs, crime rates among children would increase rapidly. "I think we're in a position of crisis quite frankly," he told The Australian. "We can't keep going the way we've been going without the necessary supports."
According to Australian Institute of Criminology figures published in The Australian on September 26, the number of juveniles in detention in WA on any given day had risen from from 118 in 2004 to 139 in 2007.
Judge Reynolds said there was a "crying need" for more safe houses designed to prevent vulnerable children committing crimes and ending up in detention. He said this would mean that some children suffering abuse and dysfunction -- both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal -- would have to be taken away from their families. "The court is confronted by damaged children, we get the train wreck. It's all happened by the time we get it and what there needs to be is a greater focus on prevention and diversion to prevent criminal behaviour," he said. Judge Reynolds said there was also a need for more bail hostels so children unable to get bail could avoid being remanded in detention. Currently around 55 per cent of the 146 juveniles held in Perth are on remand.
He said the unfortunate reality was Aboriginal children represented the vast majority of all children appearing before the court. It was vital that culturally appropriate programs run by Aboriginal people be made available because this would mean Aboriginal children could be placed on alternative community-based orders and bail programs.
Currently 66 per cent of all children detained in Western Australia are Aboriginal but Judge Reynolds said this was not a reflection of the court exhibiting bias against Aboriginal children. "It is an appalling statistic but it doesn't reflect the courts sending children to detention that it shouldn't send to detention. It reflects a lack of prevention and diversion," he said.
In the last state budget, the Barnett government allocated $655 million over the next four years to create more than 1600 adult prison beds across the state. Judge Reynolds said it would have been interesting if the same amount of money was allocated to prevention and diversion. The question that would arise in the long term was what would be better for the community. Attorney-General and Corrective Services Minister Christian Porter told The Australian there were huge problems in regard to the number of children remanded in custody. He said the government intended to expand the number of regional youth justice centres and this would help avoid children being placed on remand.
SOURCE
Lebanese Muslims again: Sydney nightclub ban generates race row
Good to see that one person quoted below understood that the aggressiveness of many Lebanese Muslims is a problem
IT DIDN'T matter that Dr Saade Saade is hard-working and well-educated - when he tried to get into a trendy Sydney nightclub he claims it made a decision to bar him simply because he is Lebanese. The Balmain dentist has accused Bungalow 8 at King St Wharf of being "patronising, humiliating" and acting illegally when it bounced him at the door in September and again in November 2007.
He took the club to the Anti-Discrimination Board for mediation. When that failed he went to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal, which last week ruled his account was "credible" but he did not have enough evidence to uphold his complaint.
Dr Saade said the first time he tried to enter the club a staff member of Mediterranean appearance stopped him and said: "You know what it's like, they don't let us in." He said the man continued: "It's our fault, we have created this reputation for ourselves and that's why we are not allowed into clubs.'We have no one else to blame, it is our fault."
Dr Saade left and wrote an email to the venue's management complaining of race discrimination. A manager wrote back offering him entry next time if he called in advance. But Dr Saade declined and said: "I want to be able to line up like anyone else and get let in like anyone else. I don't want preferential treatment."
Dr Saade said he and his brother returned two months later to meet female friends in the half-empty club. They were refused entry on the grounds they were "not on the guest list". When they said their female friends who were allowed in were not on the list either, the doorman said they must have "slipped through".
"It's extremely patronising," he said at his Balmain surgery. "We're not silly people, we know what's going on. "I'm a credible person in society. I help people on a daily basis. "A lot of people have this experience. I believe in equal opportunity."
In tribunal hearings, Bungalow 8 denied its staff told Dr Saade people of his appearance were unwelcome. It also denied having a policy of refusing to serve people based on race. But Dr Saade said the club was one of many with an unofficial policy of refusing service to people of certain ethnic backgrounds.
SOURCE
Sydney suburb sees 34 shootings in two years
It is of course not mentioned below but I gather that Fairfield has a large Muslim population
GUN violence is so out of control there are three shootings a week in Sydney. The city's shooting capital is Fairfield, with 34 shootings in just two years to the end of June. Exclusive statistics from the Bureau of Crime Statistics show there were 157 drive-by and illegal shootings between July 2008 and the end of June, up from 129 the year before.
Police investigated 29 shootings in the Blacktown local government area, 25 in Bankstown, 24 in Auburn and 20 in Liverpool. There were even 11 shootings in the heart of the city.
Opposition police spokesman Mike Gallacher said NSW was awash with handguns, which were being imported from overseas and then traded on Sydney streets. "Criminals are getting their hands on illegally imported firearms," he said last night. A frightening array of guns have been seized in the past month, including a .357 Magnum handgun and a .22 shortened rifle with silencer. In one raid on September 9, police officers managed to seize five Colt M16 assault rifles, three Colt AR15 assault rifles, three 9mm assault rifles, a tactical assault rifle and seven 9mm handguns at Rosebery.
The last shooting victim was a 34-year-old Auburn man wounded in the shoulder six days ago in Sydney.
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research chief Don Weatherburn blamed the spike in shootings on a sudden rise in bikie-related drive-bys [biker gangs are often Muslim these days] towards the end of last year. He added that the number of shootings had since stabilised.
The latest drive-by shooting was just two weeks ago at Smithfield, with a family at home when their house was shot at. Truck driver Bob Knight was an innocent victim caught in the crossfire in June when shot dead by a stray bullet from a gunfight that took place in Milperra. "I actually feel sorry for people that live in Sydney, people that lived near it wrote to us saying `It could have been my house'," Mr Knight's son David said yesterday. "I like to hope if something comes out of this for Dad that the Government or the police actually realise what is going on."
SOURCE
Watchdog in the pocket of the government?
Their job is to police government misconduct in Queensland, misconduct by both the politicians and government employees
A former senior state government policy adviser has claimed he was sidelined and sacked by the Government after refusing to lie to Queensland's corruption watchdog. Scott Patterson yesterday said his ordeal was not an isolated incident among ministerial staff and showed the need for a far-reaching royal commission. Mr Patterson said he was the only office member not interviewed by the Crime and Misconduct Commission during a probe in late 2000 after he told senior figures that he would not lie.
Three months later Mr Patterson was shifted to another minister's office, sent on leave with pay and then sacked in late 2001. "I didn't trust the CMC then and I don't trust them now," the former Labor Party member said. "It seems there is an intimate connection between the CMC and the Government."
Mr Patterson said the inquiry needed to probe the Government's relationship with the CMC as well as its interaction with business so corruption could be exposed and public confidence restored. "From my knowledge of government, I believe that it is time for another inquiry to run the ruler over some of the activities of government," he said.
His claims come after numerous allegations have surfaced since corruption fighter Tony Fitzgerald warned in July that Queensland was at risk of returning to its "dark path". Another former ministerial staffer, Jacqueline King, recently claimed she was sacked after raising concerns about jailed former minister Gordon Nuttall in 2002. Premier Anna Bligh has refused to call a royal commission into the numerous claims and has insisted anyone with allegations should take them to the CMC.
Mr Patterson said he had no intention of complaining to the CMC after his past experiences and he believed there were other former staff with similar stories. He expected "sour grapes" accusations from some government figures but said the "predictable political response" only highlighted the need for an inquiry. "If people have got a story to tell then they should be allowed to tell it without fear of being harassed by what amounts to middle management of government," he said.
SOURCE
Maybe the simpletons who think that Aborigines are "just like us only browner" will take notice of this. Alcoholism, rape, wife-beating and child abuse are rife in Aboriginal communities and child deaths are one predictable result. Additionally, people who know Aborigines well will be aware that they not uncommonly "lose" their children -- as a probable product of their tribal customs. The whole tribe raises children rather than just one or two parents so the parents feel no need to keep a close watch on their children. But when much of the tribe is drunk, children can become seriously neglected.
And how is any government going to change all that? Coercion would of course be "paternalistic" and education is a laugh. Many Aborigines have been so propagandized by white do-gooders that they can recite all the "right" practices by heart already. They just don't do it. They can talk the talk but they don't walk the walk. The only thing that might help a bit is a bigger police presence but you will see no mention of that below
AUSTRALIA'S indigneous children aged under five are dying at a rate comparable to some of the world's poorest countries. A Save the Children report, released today, says indigenous children are three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than non-indigenous children. Indigenous and child advocates say governments need to address this disturbing disparity immediately and give communities more say in managing their own health services.
The report blames poverty and a lack of health care services for the high mortality rate. Poor nutrition was also a factor, with indigenous children under four suffering malnutrition at a rate almost 30 times greater than non-indigenous children. Indigenous infants die at a rate of 12.5 per 1000 births compared with the non-indigenous rate of 4.3.
The report says that is the same as East Timor and the Solomon Islands, which are among the world's most underdeveloped countries. They have poor life expectancy, poor food security and low literacy rates and earning capacities.
CRANAplus president Christopher Cliffe, who represents health workers in remote areas, said it was completely unacceptable for Australian children to have mortality rates similar to children in developing nations. "This absolutely should not be happening in Australia; we are a very wealthy country and we can actually afford to fix this," he said.
The Newborn and child survival in Australia report is part of Save The Children's five-year global "Survive to Five" campaign being launched today. The group has urged the Federal Government to double spending on children's health. Chief executive Suzanne Dvorak said the child mortality rate in indigenous communities must be reduced by two thirds within six years. "Every child deserves the right to a happy and fulfilling life, but today Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have the same rate of survival as children born in East Timor and the Solomon Islands," she said.
SOURCE
Big youth crime problem among blacks
And, as usual, the do-gooders think it can be solved. It would take genetic engineering to solve it. 40,000 years have adapted Aborigines brilliantly to a hunter-gatherer life (the way Aborigines note and remember tiny details in the landscape is legendary -- an ability much used in the past by "black trackers") but that adaptation is a poor fit to an advanced Western civilization
WESTERN Australia's juvenile justice system is in crisis and desperately needs more resources to reduce the number of children being detained, according to the head of the state's children's court.
Children's Court president Denis Reynolds said if the system continued without more prevention and diversion programs, crime rates among children would increase rapidly. "I think we're in a position of crisis quite frankly," he told The Australian. "We can't keep going the way we've been going without the necessary supports."
According to Australian Institute of Criminology figures published in The Australian on September 26, the number of juveniles in detention in WA on any given day had risen from from 118 in 2004 to 139 in 2007.
Judge Reynolds said there was a "crying need" for more safe houses designed to prevent vulnerable children committing crimes and ending up in detention. He said this would mean that some children suffering abuse and dysfunction -- both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal -- would have to be taken away from their families. "The court is confronted by damaged children, we get the train wreck. It's all happened by the time we get it and what there needs to be is a greater focus on prevention and diversion to prevent criminal behaviour," he said. Judge Reynolds said there was also a need for more bail hostels so children unable to get bail could avoid being remanded in detention. Currently around 55 per cent of the 146 juveniles held in Perth are on remand.
He said the unfortunate reality was Aboriginal children represented the vast majority of all children appearing before the court. It was vital that culturally appropriate programs run by Aboriginal people be made available because this would mean Aboriginal children could be placed on alternative community-based orders and bail programs.
Currently 66 per cent of all children detained in Western Australia are Aboriginal but Judge Reynolds said this was not a reflection of the court exhibiting bias against Aboriginal children. "It is an appalling statistic but it doesn't reflect the courts sending children to detention that it shouldn't send to detention. It reflects a lack of prevention and diversion," he said.
In the last state budget, the Barnett government allocated $655 million over the next four years to create more than 1600 adult prison beds across the state. Judge Reynolds said it would have been interesting if the same amount of money was allocated to prevention and diversion. The question that would arise in the long term was what would be better for the community. Attorney-General and Corrective Services Minister Christian Porter told The Australian there were huge problems in regard to the number of children remanded in custody. He said the government intended to expand the number of regional youth justice centres and this would help avoid children being placed on remand.
SOURCE
Lebanese Muslims again: Sydney nightclub ban generates race row
Good to see that one person quoted below understood that the aggressiveness of many Lebanese Muslims is a problem
IT DIDN'T matter that Dr Saade Saade is hard-working and well-educated - when he tried to get into a trendy Sydney nightclub he claims it made a decision to bar him simply because he is Lebanese. The Balmain dentist has accused Bungalow 8 at King St Wharf of being "patronising, humiliating" and acting illegally when it bounced him at the door in September and again in November 2007.
He took the club to the Anti-Discrimination Board for mediation. When that failed he went to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal, which last week ruled his account was "credible" but he did not have enough evidence to uphold his complaint.
Dr Saade said the first time he tried to enter the club a staff member of Mediterranean appearance stopped him and said: "You know what it's like, they don't let us in." He said the man continued: "It's our fault, we have created this reputation for ourselves and that's why we are not allowed into clubs.'We have no one else to blame, it is our fault."
Dr Saade left and wrote an email to the venue's management complaining of race discrimination. A manager wrote back offering him entry next time if he called in advance. But Dr Saade declined and said: "I want to be able to line up like anyone else and get let in like anyone else. I don't want preferential treatment."
Dr Saade said he and his brother returned two months later to meet female friends in the half-empty club. They were refused entry on the grounds they were "not on the guest list". When they said their female friends who were allowed in were not on the list either, the doorman said they must have "slipped through".
"It's extremely patronising," he said at his Balmain surgery. "We're not silly people, we know what's going on. "I'm a credible person in society. I help people on a daily basis. "A lot of people have this experience. I believe in equal opportunity."
In tribunal hearings, Bungalow 8 denied its staff told Dr Saade people of his appearance were unwelcome. It also denied having a policy of refusing to serve people based on race. But Dr Saade said the club was one of many with an unofficial policy of refusing service to people of certain ethnic backgrounds.
SOURCE
Sydney suburb sees 34 shootings in two years
It is of course not mentioned below but I gather that Fairfield has a large Muslim population
GUN violence is so out of control there are three shootings a week in Sydney. The city's shooting capital is Fairfield, with 34 shootings in just two years to the end of June. Exclusive statistics from the Bureau of Crime Statistics show there were 157 drive-by and illegal shootings between July 2008 and the end of June, up from 129 the year before.
Police investigated 29 shootings in the Blacktown local government area, 25 in Bankstown, 24 in Auburn and 20 in Liverpool. There were even 11 shootings in the heart of the city.
Opposition police spokesman Mike Gallacher said NSW was awash with handguns, which were being imported from overseas and then traded on Sydney streets. "Criminals are getting their hands on illegally imported firearms," he said last night. A frightening array of guns have been seized in the past month, including a .357 Magnum handgun and a .22 shortened rifle with silencer. In one raid on September 9, police officers managed to seize five Colt M16 assault rifles, three Colt AR15 assault rifles, three 9mm assault rifles, a tactical assault rifle and seven 9mm handguns at Rosebery.
The last shooting victim was a 34-year-old Auburn man wounded in the shoulder six days ago in Sydney.
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research chief Don Weatherburn blamed the spike in shootings on a sudden rise in bikie-related drive-bys [biker gangs are often Muslim these days] towards the end of last year. He added that the number of shootings had since stabilised.
The latest drive-by shooting was just two weeks ago at Smithfield, with a family at home when their house was shot at. Truck driver Bob Knight was an innocent victim caught in the crossfire in June when shot dead by a stray bullet from a gunfight that took place in Milperra. "I actually feel sorry for people that live in Sydney, people that lived near it wrote to us saying `It could have been my house'," Mr Knight's son David said yesterday. "I like to hope if something comes out of this for Dad that the Government or the police actually realise what is going on."
SOURCE
Watchdog in the pocket of the government?
Their job is to police government misconduct in Queensland, misconduct by both the politicians and government employees
A former senior state government policy adviser has claimed he was sidelined and sacked by the Government after refusing to lie to Queensland's corruption watchdog. Scott Patterson yesterday said his ordeal was not an isolated incident among ministerial staff and showed the need for a far-reaching royal commission. Mr Patterson said he was the only office member not interviewed by the Crime and Misconduct Commission during a probe in late 2000 after he told senior figures that he would not lie.
Three months later Mr Patterson was shifted to another minister's office, sent on leave with pay and then sacked in late 2001. "I didn't trust the CMC then and I don't trust them now," the former Labor Party member said. "It seems there is an intimate connection between the CMC and the Government."
Mr Patterson said the inquiry needed to probe the Government's relationship with the CMC as well as its interaction with business so corruption could be exposed and public confidence restored. "From my knowledge of government, I believe that it is time for another inquiry to run the ruler over some of the activities of government," he said.
His claims come after numerous allegations have surfaced since corruption fighter Tony Fitzgerald warned in July that Queensland was at risk of returning to its "dark path". Another former ministerial staffer, Jacqueline King, recently claimed she was sacked after raising concerns about jailed former minister Gordon Nuttall in 2002. Premier Anna Bligh has refused to call a royal commission into the numerous claims and has insisted anyone with allegations should take them to the CMC.
Mr Patterson said he had no intention of complaining to the CMC after his past experiences and he believed there were other former staff with similar stories. He expected "sour grapes" accusations from some government figures but said the "predictable political response" only highlighted the need for an inquiry. "If people have got a story to tell then they should be allowed to tell it without fear of being harassed by what amounts to middle management of government," he said.
SOURCE
Sunday, October 04, 2009
ZEG
In his latest offering, conservative Australian cartoonist ZEG is not impressed by Australia's "conservative" Federal parliamentary leader and his embrace of Warmism
In his latest offering, conservative Australian cartoonist ZEG is not impressed by Australia's "conservative" Federal parliamentary leader and his embrace of Warmism
Overcoming socio-economic disadvantage in education
Jennifer Buckingham
Literacy and numeracy are not everything, but they are almost everything. Somewhere between one in five and one in six students are barely literate and numerate, according to recent national literacy and numeracy results. These children are concentrated in particular schools and in particular areas, especially where there are high levels of socio-economic disadvantage.
Although the relationship between socio-economic status and school performance is undeniable, it doesn’t have to be inevitable. As the late, great Australian education expert Professor Ken Rowe showed, family background may establish where children start in life, but it doesn’t have to determine where they end up.
Participants at the CIS’s annual conference Consilium in August this year heard the stories of two extraordinary schools that have defied the odds of socio-economic disadvantage. Bellfield Primary School is a public school in one of the most disadvantaged urban areas in Australia. Yet in the space of 10 years, during which time social disadvantage intensified, Melbourne educator John Fleming transformed the school performance from chronic failure to one of the best in the state.
These extraordinary results were not achieved through increased spending. There was no increase in teacher pay. There were no major capital works or new technologies. Fleming attributes the success of the school to three changes in school policy: implementing a research-based pedagogy; introducing performance-based accountability for students and teachers; and changing the school culture to reflect traditional values and discipline.
The same ‘tough love’ strategy was applied at Djarragun College in Gordonvale in far north Queensland, once a crumbling school with low attendance. Educator Jean Illingworth oversaw its incredible transformation into a well-maintained, high functioning school where children from indigenous communities in Cape York and the Torres Strait are achieving outstanding results.
For many students across Australia, social disadvantage is being translated ineluctably into educational disadvantage year after year. The evidence from Australia and elsewhere is that this need not be the case.
The above is part of a press release dated October 2 from the Centre for Independent Studies. Enquiries to cis@cis.org.au. Snail mail: PO Box 92, St Leonards, NSW, Australia 1590. Telephone ph: +61 2 9438 4377 or fax: +61 2 9439 7310
Dumb bureaucrats won't protect you from con-men
A CONMAN posing as a psychologist was able to fool NSW health authorities with a PhD bought for $250 on the internet, police say. Using the alias Dr David Kaye, 45-year-old Ali Davut Sarikaya was allowed to treat police officers and public servants with the blessing of the state Government.
Mr Sarikaya, who was arrested by Harbourside police as he attempted to board a flight to New Zealand at Sydney airport, appeared in Central Local Court on Wednesday on fraud charges and was granted conditional bail. Police alleged the Turkish-born "doctor" claimed to be a trained psychologist, despite holding no formal qualifications apart from a bachelor of arts. His patients included police officers, prison guards and senior legal figures who were referred to his medical practice in central Sydney through WorkCover NSW.
A statement of facts tendered to the court said Mr Sarikaya had "deceived" numerous government departments and organisations since moving to Sydney in 1997. The court heard Mr Sarikaya had been convicted of fraud offences of a "dishonest ... identity-type nature" in Victoria in 1994. In the years since, Mr Sarikaya, who runs trauma clinics in Sydney and Parramatta, had been building a profile as the fictitious Dr David Kaye. Police said he used this alias to avoid scrutiny of his Victorian criminal record.
The court heard that Mr Sarikaya had gained membership of several prestigious organisations, including the NSW Bar Association, by touting himself as a doctor, which he justified using a spurious PhD. "Inquiries indicate this PhD was purchased via the internet from an organisation in Minnesota, USA, for $249.95, and is by no means an official document enabling use of titles such as doctor," the court heard.
The police facts stated that Mr Sarikaya also obtained several identity cards, including an Australian Health Professionals Association card, in the name of Dr David Kaye to help bolster his identity. The alleged facade was so convincing that Mr Sarikaya was approved to work as a psychologist under the NSW Health Department's Official Visitors Program. In 2006, he was appointed to the program for three years by then health minister John Hatzistergos, now the Attorney-General, who personally signed off his accreditation. It allowed the alleged fraudster to visit mental health patients in northern Sydney hospitals.
SOURCE
Update:
On 22 May, 2010, a series of abusive comments supporting "Dr Kaye" were posted on this blog. I passed the most substantial one for publication and you can read it below. To get 4 comments on the same day after many months of no comment suggests orchestration and even the one now readable here is implausible. The writer claims to be a barrister but uses most unjudicial language.
As a fully qualified psychologist myself, I am aware of the sort of pap that "Kaye" purveys and know that it always has a certain following. I have however seen no evidence that its therapeutic outcomes are better than placebo.
Public hospital sued for negligence
The actions of the hospital staff do seem extraordinarily negligent. In a private hospital they would not have stopped until they found the cause of the problem
A TEENAGER who had part of her skull removed as a result of bacterial meningitis is suing the State of Queensland, claiming a public hospital sent her home four times without diagnosing the infection. Sharna Gallagher, 18, is seeking more than $337,000 in personal injury damages, alleging negligence by Kingaroy Hospital staff.
Ms Gallagher was almost 16 when she first went to the hospital on January 10, 2007, complaining of severe pain in her right ear, with associated bleeding, headache and general pain. In her claim filed in the Supreme Court in Brisbane last month, Ms Gallagher alleges medical staff who saw her failed to diagnose a severe infection, refer her to a specialist or order tests.
It is alleged that Ms Gallagher returned to the hospital over the next two days but was not seen to and then sent home. Ms Gallagher claims that when she went back to the hospital on January 14, she had extreme ear pain and bleeding, fever and rigor, headache and back pain, and was seen by staff but again sent home. On her return to the hospital just over a week later, staff transferred her to Toowoomba Base Hospital, where she was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and middle ear infection.
Ms Gallagher underwent surgery at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital two days later and remained in hospital undergoing treatment for more than a month. Part of her skull was permanently removed, and it is claimed she suffered conductive hearing loss, ongoing ear infections, scarring and also a related major depressive disorder.
In her claim to the court, it is alleged Ms Gallagher was unable to finish school, return to her casual job at a fast-food outlet or undergo career training because of physical pain, ear problems and psychological injuries. Ms Gallagher claimed she would require further medical treatment, including surgery to repair her skull and ear drum, and ongoing psychological counselling.
Queensland Health said it could not comment as the case was before the court.
SOURCE
Watchdog swamped by phone complaints
CONSUMERS are making up to 350 complaints a day to authorities about the high cost of owning new generation smartphones in a phenomenon known as ''bill shock''. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Deirdre O'Donnell, said customers, confused by caps on downloading emails and data, were being hit with exorbitant charges. ''We get around 1000 complaints a day, and about 33 to 35 per cent will be around bill shock,'' Ms O'Donnell said. ''It's the advent of smartphones that have really elevated this issue. We'll get examples of parents going 'my daughter said she was just updating her Facebook page on the way home but here I have a $700 bill'. I don't want to just pick on iPhones … it's any of those smartphones.''
Ms O'Donnell said consumers were easily confused by data downloading caps because they were expressed in terms of megabytes or gigabytes. Typical plans include caps set at 25 megabytes, 200 megabytes, 500 megabytes or one gigabyte. Ms O'Donnell said it was hard for consumers to envisage what those caps mean in terms of time spent on the internet or sending emails. ''People don't seem to have - and I don't - any sense of what the cost will be.''
The chief executive of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Group, Allan Asher, said data caps expressed in terms of megabytes were the root of the problem. ''Getting a contract that says three megabytes per month … there's a lot of folk who don't know what that means … until they get a $600 bill when they were expecting a $200 bill.'' He said consumers needed plans stating that a cap ''is the equivalent of downloading two movies or playing computer games for six hours''.
Mr Asher said bill shock for premium services, international roaming, horoscopes, television voting and ringtones was common. ''I've heard of someone getting a bill for $23,000 after being overseas for a period of three weeks. It just turned out that all the data, satellite navigation and emails were being billed at a very high roaming rate. The more typical examples are bills of $1000 plus, when the customer was paying what they thought was their contract rate of $100 to $200 a month.''
Ms O'Donnell said the Ombudsman's office was working with mobile phone providers on expressing caps in practical terms - a certain number of emails, YouTube uploads or internet surfing time. She said the industry code specified that consumers should be sent a message or email by the provider if they were exceeding the cap.
A spokesman for Choice, Christopher Zinn, said that while mobile phone firms were doing nothing illegal or misleading, ''we generally have a jaundiced view of mobile phone plans because they're so complicated … it's impossible to compare where the value lies. We find it hard to compare, and we're not surprised that many consumers find it hard to compare.''
Sam had a $49 per month capped plan. His first two bills were for $7102 and $3766, respectively. He received an SMS saying he had reached his capped limit. He stopped using mobile internet but when his landline was cut due to bushfires he had to rely on his mobile for a week, which resulted in huge bills.
Mrs C used global roaming on her mobile while in India. She checked her internet usage online, as suggested by her provider, but the charges were not updated. After three months she had incurred a bill of $4500.
SOURCE
Jennifer Buckingham
Literacy and numeracy are not everything, but they are almost everything. Somewhere between one in five and one in six students are barely literate and numerate, according to recent national literacy and numeracy results. These children are concentrated in particular schools and in particular areas, especially where there are high levels of socio-economic disadvantage.
Although the relationship between socio-economic status and school performance is undeniable, it doesn’t have to be inevitable. As the late, great Australian education expert Professor Ken Rowe showed, family background may establish where children start in life, but it doesn’t have to determine where they end up.
Participants at the CIS’s annual conference Consilium in August this year heard the stories of two extraordinary schools that have defied the odds of socio-economic disadvantage. Bellfield Primary School is a public school in one of the most disadvantaged urban areas in Australia. Yet in the space of 10 years, during which time social disadvantage intensified, Melbourne educator John Fleming transformed the school performance from chronic failure to one of the best in the state.
These extraordinary results were not achieved through increased spending. There was no increase in teacher pay. There were no major capital works or new technologies. Fleming attributes the success of the school to three changes in school policy: implementing a research-based pedagogy; introducing performance-based accountability for students and teachers; and changing the school culture to reflect traditional values and discipline.
The same ‘tough love’ strategy was applied at Djarragun College in Gordonvale in far north Queensland, once a crumbling school with low attendance. Educator Jean Illingworth oversaw its incredible transformation into a well-maintained, high functioning school where children from indigenous communities in Cape York and the Torres Strait are achieving outstanding results.
For many students across Australia, social disadvantage is being translated ineluctably into educational disadvantage year after year. The evidence from Australia and elsewhere is that this need not be the case.
The above is part of a press release dated October 2 from the Centre for Independent Studies. Enquiries to cis@cis.org.au. Snail mail: PO Box 92, St Leonards, NSW, Australia 1590. Telephone ph: +61 2 9438 4377 or fax: +61 2 9439 7310
Dumb bureaucrats won't protect you from con-men
A CONMAN posing as a psychologist was able to fool NSW health authorities with a PhD bought for $250 on the internet, police say. Using the alias Dr David Kaye, 45-year-old Ali Davut Sarikaya was allowed to treat police officers and public servants with the blessing of the state Government.
Mr Sarikaya, who was arrested by Harbourside police as he attempted to board a flight to New Zealand at Sydney airport, appeared in Central Local Court on Wednesday on fraud charges and was granted conditional bail. Police alleged the Turkish-born "doctor" claimed to be a trained psychologist, despite holding no formal qualifications apart from a bachelor of arts. His patients included police officers, prison guards and senior legal figures who were referred to his medical practice in central Sydney through WorkCover NSW.
A statement of facts tendered to the court said Mr Sarikaya had "deceived" numerous government departments and organisations since moving to Sydney in 1997. The court heard Mr Sarikaya had been convicted of fraud offences of a "dishonest ... identity-type nature" in Victoria in 1994. In the years since, Mr Sarikaya, who runs trauma clinics in Sydney and Parramatta, had been building a profile as the fictitious Dr David Kaye. Police said he used this alias to avoid scrutiny of his Victorian criminal record.
The court heard that Mr Sarikaya had gained membership of several prestigious organisations, including the NSW Bar Association, by touting himself as a doctor, which he justified using a spurious PhD. "Inquiries indicate this PhD was purchased via the internet from an organisation in Minnesota, USA, for $249.95, and is by no means an official document enabling use of titles such as doctor," the court heard.
The police facts stated that Mr Sarikaya also obtained several identity cards, including an Australian Health Professionals Association card, in the name of Dr David Kaye to help bolster his identity. The alleged facade was so convincing that Mr Sarikaya was approved to work as a psychologist under the NSW Health Department's Official Visitors Program. In 2006, he was appointed to the program for three years by then health minister John Hatzistergos, now the Attorney-General, who personally signed off his accreditation. It allowed the alleged fraudster to visit mental health patients in northern Sydney hospitals.
SOURCE
Update:
On 22 May, 2010, a series of abusive comments supporting "Dr Kaye" were posted on this blog. I passed the most substantial one for publication and you can read it below. To get 4 comments on the same day after many months of no comment suggests orchestration and even the one now readable here is implausible. The writer claims to be a barrister but uses most unjudicial language.
As a fully qualified psychologist myself, I am aware of the sort of pap that "Kaye" purveys and know that it always has a certain following. I have however seen no evidence that its therapeutic outcomes are better than placebo.
Public hospital sued for negligence
The actions of the hospital staff do seem extraordinarily negligent. In a private hospital they would not have stopped until they found the cause of the problem
A TEENAGER who had part of her skull removed as a result of bacterial meningitis is suing the State of Queensland, claiming a public hospital sent her home four times without diagnosing the infection. Sharna Gallagher, 18, is seeking more than $337,000 in personal injury damages, alleging negligence by Kingaroy Hospital staff.
Ms Gallagher was almost 16 when she first went to the hospital on January 10, 2007, complaining of severe pain in her right ear, with associated bleeding, headache and general pain. In her claim filed in the Supreme Court in Brisbane last month, Ms Gallagher alleges medical staff who saw her failed to diagnose a severe infection, refer her to a specialist or order tests.
It is alleged that Ms Gallagher returned to the hospital over the next two days but was not seen to and then sent home. Ms Gallagher claims that when she went back to the hospital on January 14, she had extreme ear pain and bleeding, fever and rigor, headache and back pain, and was seen by staff but again sent home. On her return to the hospital just over a week later, staff transferred her to Toowoomba Base Hospital, where she was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and middle ear infection.
Ms Gallagher underwent surgery at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital two days later and remained in hospital undergoing treatment for more than a month. Part of her skull was permanently removed, and it is claimed she suffered conductive hearing loss, ongoing ear infections, scarring and also a related major depressive disorder.
In her claim to the court, it is alleged Ms Gallagher was unable to finish school, return to her casual job at a fast-food outlet or undergo career training because of physical pain, ear problems and psychological injuries. Ms Gallagher claimed she would require further medical treatment, including surgery to repair her skull and ear drum, and ongoing psychological counselling.
Queensland Health said it could not comment as the case was before the court.
SOURCE
Watchdog swamped by phone complaints
CONSUMERS are making up to 350 complaints a day to authorities about the high cost of owning new generation smartphones in a phenomenon known as ''bill shock''. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Deirdre O'Donnell, said customers, confused by caps on downloading emails and data, were being hit with exorbitant charges. ''We get around 1000 complaints a day, and about 33 to 35 per cent will be around bill shock,'' Ms O'Donnell said. ''It's the advent of smartphones that have really elevated this issue. We'll get examples of parents going 'my daughter said she was just updating her Facebook page on the way home but here I have a $700 bill'. I don't want to just pick on iPhones … it's any of those smartphones.''
Ms O'Donnell said consumers were easily confused by data downloading caps because they were expressed in terms of megabytes or gigabytes. Typical plans include caps set at 25 megabytes, 200 megabytes, 500 megabytes or one gigabyte. Ms O'Donnell said it was hard for consumers to envisage what those caps mean in terms of time spent on the internet or sending emails. ''People don't seem to have - and I don't - any sense of what the cost will be.''
The chief executive of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Group, Allan Asher, said data caps expressed in terms of megabytes were the root of the problem. ''Getting a contract that says three megabytes per month … there's a lot of folk who don't know what that means … until they get a $600 bill when they were expecting a $200 bill.'' He said consumers needed plans stating that a cap ''is the equivalent of downloading two movies or playing computer games for six hours''.
Mr Asher said bill shock for premium services, international roaming, horoscopes, television voting and ringtones was common. ''I've heard of someone getting a bill for $23,000 after being overseas for a period of three weeks. It just turned out that all the data, satellite navigation and emails were being billed at a very high roaming rate. The more typical examples are bills of $1000 plus, when the customer was paying what they thought was their contract rate of $100 to $200 a month.''
Ms O'Donnell said the Ombudsman's office was working with mobile phone providers on expressing caps in practical terms - a certain number of emails, YouTube uploads or internet surfing time. She said the industry code specified that consumers should be sent a message or email by the provider if they were exceeding the cap.
A spokesman for Choice, Christopher Zinn, said that while mobile phone firms were doing nothing illegal or misleading, ''we generally have a jaundiced view of mobile phone plans because they're so complicated … it's impossible to compare where the value lies. We find it hard to compare, and we're not surprised that many consumers find it hard to compare.''
Sam had a $49 per month capped plan. His first two bills were for $7102 and $3766, respectively. He received an SMS saying he had reached his capped limit. He stopped using mobile internet but when his landline was cut due to bushfires he had to rely on his mobile for a week, which resulted in huge bills.
Mrs C used global roaming on her mobile while in India. She checked her internet usage online, as suggested by her provider, but the charges were not updated. After three months she had incurred a bill of $4500.
SOURCE
Saturday, October 03, 2009
PENALIZE THE INNOCENT AND PARDON THE GUILTY?
They regularly do that sort of thing in Britain so it is alarming that Australia seems to be on that road too. Compare the two reports immediately below
What do you need to do in order to go to jail?
The most gross and repeated misbehaviour is going to escape with no real penalty? Way to go if you want more crime
A TEENAGER crashed a stolen car into an elderly woman's living room and left her pinned under the wheels as she screamed for help, a court has heard. The 18-year-old youth was 17 and on a learner’s permit when he stole a Holden Rodeo ute at a party at Cheltenham in Melbourne's southeast, the Moorabbin Kingston Leader reports. The teenager did burnouts and tried to “drift” the car around corners before he lost control and smashed into the house. He later blew a blood alcohol reading of 0.10.
Police prosecutor Stephen Healy told a children’s court that none of the boys in the car tried to help the victim, who spent weeks in hospital after the incident. “The vehicle crushed the victim underneath the front passenger wheel and among the wreckage," Sen-Constable Healy said. “The vehicle crashed through the wall of the house with such force, it was partially lodged into the next room.” Sen-Constable Healy said the other occupants the car provided statements that the woman was calling out for help.
The crash was the final act in a two-month crime spree the teenager driver carried out from January to March this year. He pleaded guilty to 13 charges including using a private residential spa in Patterson Lakes without authority, graffitiing a truck in Carrum, stealing two jackets from the Tommy Hilfiger store at Direct Factory Outlets while on a good behaviour bond and stealing alcohol from a Bentleigh East bottle shop and Dan Murphy’s in Parkdale.
The youth’s defence lawyer said his client had suffered significant personal hardship and that alcohol played a major role in his offending. “Once he leaves home and gets with his mates and gets on the alcohol he does these things,” the lawyer said.
Magistrate Thomas Barrett said he was unlikely to sentence the teen to a term of detention despite a police submission that the boy had shown “callousness” and no remorse and should receive a custodial sentence. He will be sentenced on December 16 and was ordered to take part in a group conference before that date.
SOURCE
Mistake by an Australian immigration official led to three years behind bars for a legal resident
This is a disgrace. Three years in jail without a judicial review?? He should have been brought before a court within a week at the outside. Immigration abuses like this do happen in the USA and UK as well but that is all the greater reason for vigilance against such official negligence
THE locking up of an Australian resident for more than three years in what is said to be the nation's longest and worst case of wrongful detention has prompted demands for an overhaul of federal laws by the Commonwealth Ombudsman. Revelations that a Sydney man, Van Phuc Nguyen, spent 1173 days at the Villawood detention centre because of bungles and indifference by public servants have sparked calls for an apology from the Rudd Government.
While Cornelia Rau was given $2.6 million after being wrongfully detained for 10 months, the Government offered Mr Nguyen only $57,900 - less than $50 for each day he was held. His barrister described the offer as a ''wholly inadequate and inappropriate'' response to a ''bureaucratic bungle of enormous proportions''. Last month the ACT Supreme Court awarded $55,000 to a man wrongfully detained for just 29 days.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Mr Nguyen said he was routinely threatened by other detainees and left severely traumatised by his three years, two months and 16 days at Villawood, between November 2002 and February 2006. Mr Nguyen said he witnessed suicide attempts, stabbings and widespread drug use while at Villawood's notorious Stage One wing, which the Human Rights Commission said last year was so bad it should be demolished. ''It was terrible. I was so scared all of the time of the other inmates … after a while, my mind started to shut down. I just sat there and stared at the wall.''
Mr Nguyen fled his native Vietnam by boat as a 14-year-old, spent four years in a refugee camp in the Philippines and was given permanent residency in 1989.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman, John McMillan, told the Herald the Immigration Department repeatedly failed to act on information that could have avoided Mr Nguyen's ''alarming and serious'' predicament in the worst case he had seen. ''Arguably it should not have occurred at all and certainly not for anything like the period of time,'' Mr McMillan said.
The catalyst occurred in 1995, when an immigration official unlawfully and mistakenly issued Mr Nguyen with a one-month visa that led to the cancellation of his residency on his return from a trip to Vietnam.
Before Villawood, Mr Nguyen served several stints in prison for drug offences linked to a heroin addiction formed after an illness and the death of his mother in the mid-1990s. He said he had been clean for several years.
The 37-year-old's barrister, Robert Sutherland, SC, said his client had been subject to ''high-handed, humiliating and unnecessarily long detention. This man deserves an apology and appropriate compensation.'' Mr Nguyen's lawyers said his doctors had found he was traumatised and suffering mental health problems as a result of his wrongful detention.
Mr McMillan has stated Mr Nguyen's case should result in legislative reform to provide a safety net for people adversely affected by government decisions and laws, ranging from improper detention to unfairly missing out on government benefits.
He said it was a foundation principle of civilised society that people should not be unlawfully deprived of their liberty. ''Wrongful detention for over three years is a matter of grave concern, and it is equally a matter of concern that our legal framework does not confer powers necessary to address problems and disadvantage of this kind,'' Mr McMillan said.
The Federal Government denied that bungling and indifference led to Mr Nguyen's detention in its compensation offer. The offer concedes that he was wrongfully detained for 108 days but says that during the rest of his detention officials had no reason to suspect a mistake had been made.
SOURCE
Protectionist threats a lot of hot air
THE threat of punitive tariffs on imports from countries not acting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been raised by Kevin Rudd as a reason Australia should adopt his carbon pollution reduction scheme. He has cited threats apparently made by France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and others. Provisions in the US emissions trading scheme bill are perceived the same way. Paul Kelly (The Weekend Australian, September 26-27) is one of the latest to retail these arguments.
This trade retaliation red herring, per se, is no reason to adopt the CPRS. It doesn't stand up to cursory analysis. At best, it adds another layer of confusion to a confused policy. At worst, it's rubbish.
Existing World Trade Organisation rules are clear. First, countries generally are not allowed to discriminate between imports from different countries by imposing border taxes (for example, tariffs) on imports differentiated by source country, unless that has been enshrined in existing agreements. No such agreements are based on whether different countries have adopted policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Punitive tariffs would violate existing WTO rules and constitute grounds for seeking remedies under WTO processes.
Second, countries are not allowed to discriminate in favour of locally produced goods and services by taxing them less than imports of the same products. Punitive tariffs (that is, higher ad valorem equivalent taxes on imports than applied to locally produced substitutes) would breach existing WTO rules and be a basis for seeking remedies under WTO processes.
In both cases, such punitive action is protectionist. The WTO's role is to punish those adopting such measures. Besides, widespread adoption ofsuch measures by relatively wealthy developed economies would amount to "doing a Samson" on world trade, dragging down global economic growth and living standards in the process. This is the trade policy bogeyman raised by our Prime Minister as a competitiveness threat to Australia if we don't adopt his CPRS. (Let's ignore the negative protection competitiveness threat embodied in the CPRS itself for now.)
Assume the threat is implemented. Assuming substantive failure at Copenhagen (however it's dressed up in the communique), it implies world trade collapses as the developed world, led by Europe, sets off a round of protectionist tariff increases, others retaliate, and chances of even an anaemic global economic recovery are destroyed. Everybody loses, including the European Union, which needs to seek out new, growing markets to buffer growth in living standards from its own slowing domestic markets driven by its ageing (in some cases shrinking) population.
This outcome implies the WTO is ineffective. (Given inaction against present breaches by most members of the Group of 20 - the so-called new driver of the global policy agenda - of their own pious communiques preaching the evils of protectionism, this may be plausible.)
But let's be more realistic. Assume instead all countries decide stronger world growth takes priority over trying to force some to adopt policies they don't want to adopt. That is, governments decide to trade off gains in near-term employment recovery against early action reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (The national politics are obvious. Large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions wrought by the global recession are a convenient excuse.)
What will governments do on climate policy? The easiest courses are (a) to implement "emissions watch" climate policies or (b) do nothing.
The first option has symbolic appeal but does little or nothing to reduce global greenhouse gases. For those adopting option (a), international competitiveness is not undermined (or at least not much). There is little need to violate WTO rules by imposing punitive border taxes on imports. In this case, the punitive tariff threat is empty and the climate policy adopted is pusillanimous. Interested in spin rather than substance? This policy is for you.
Option (b) is just the status quo for many. There's another option: comply with WTO rules and put a serious price on emissions, initially unilaterally. Do border tax adjustments have a place here? Absolutely.
Australian taxes differentiate between different products already. The GST is not uniform. Some food, health and education products are GST-free. So are imports of these products. Some are input-taxed under the GST, including imports. Most products are taxed at 10 per cent, including imports. The luxury car tax is a special higher tax on expensive cars, applied equally to locally produced cars and imports. The same applies to the wine equalisation tax. The excises applied to petroleum products, alcohol and tobacco produced in Australia apply equally to imports of these products (revenue customs duties).
The principle's clear. Whatever tax (as a percentage of value or as a dollar amount per physical quantity) is applied to locally produced goods and services can be applied to imports of those products under present WTO rules. Any country can set a tax on a given product, determined any way you like, apply it equally to local products and substitute imports, and not breach WTO rules.
Suppose any country sets such taxes based on (i) the carbon emissions price in that country and (ii) the emissions intensity of locally produced goods and services. Suppose that process also determines the border tax adjustment to be applied to imports of the same products, so that percentage or specific tax burdens on imports are the same as on local substitutes. Such border tax adjustments are WTO-compliant. They are not protectionist. They are competitiveness-neutral. They are an integral part of a national emissions consumption approach to climate policy.
By eliminating losses of trade competitiveness otherwise incurred by "first movers", they make an effective (as opposed to pusillanimous) global deal on climate policy likelier. They remove an obstacle impeding consummation of a global deal in this area since 1992 and, on present trends, likely to continue impeding such a deal in December and beyond.
SOURCE
When too much self esteem is just too much
This is a remarkably long-lived fad. I remember back in the '80s when psychologists regarded self-esteem as one of the most important indicators of mental health. And faddy California even had an official government body charged with boosting self-esteem! The evidence has however now long been in that promoting high self esteem is more likely to do harm than good. See e.g. here
Every year multitudes of young people line up to unleash their hidden talents at the auditions for the Australian Idol competition. As viewers we are entertained by the many – alas, too many – whose efforts fall well short of what may be objectively regarded as talent. Most interesting is their surprised reactions to being rejected. They truly believe they have something special to offer and cannot fathom that the judges disagree.
How is it that in all the years prior no one around these people, family or friends, had shared reality with them, tapped them on their shoulder and suggested they may be better off pursuing another hobby?
This scenario is representative of the wider outlook and attitudes of young people today, and the younger they are the more this seems to prevail. The mantra for modern parenting is self-esteem. In countless interviews with Australian mums and dads they insist the most important quality they wish to instill in their kids is a high level of self acceptance.
The rationale for this comes for two different angles. On the defensive side parents fear the implications of low self-esteem. Their greatest concern for their kids is that they develop depression or an eating disorder. While the media and public domain are filled with discussion on obesity parents are more concerned with the opposite. They turn a blind eye to the obesity debate worried that focussing on their children’s weight may have negative consequences on their self-image. (Here, there is a clear contradiction, for while mums attempt to instill in their kids self-acceptance and loving their body, they themselves do not believe it for their own bodies, and their kids know it).
On the proactive side parents believe high self-esteem is necessary in order to succeed in today’s competitive society. When they were growing up success could be achieved by going through the ropes, getting an education and skills and entering the workforce. Today’s society is all about self-reliance with success requiring an entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to showcase oneself. So they encourage their kids to do from the earliest.
From the youngest of age kids are encouraged to speak their minds and express opinions. Parents are loathe to simply say ‘no’. Rather they discuss and negotiate, urging their kids to put forward their viewpoint, express an opinion and feel they are being listened to. The result of this focus on the individual and their talents will be felt acutely by our society in the years to come. The reality is that while everyone wants to be above average less than half the population can be.
Kids are being set up with the expectation for great achievement having been told over and over ‘you can do anything as long as you set your mind to it’. Well, no they can’t. And when they discover this truth the disappointment will be great. For some it may too great.
We are already seeing this with Gen Y as they approach their late 20s. Their expectations are high and goals quite profound. Their role models are the billionaires entrepreneurs who started Facebook, or actors and models plucked from obscurity by talent agents, not the millions of others who remain unknown or have failed. On reaching their late 20s and realising they will not be millionaires by 30, not even close, many young people enter a third life crisis. With the past decade of growth and prosperity giving way to uncertainty many will have their dreams shattered earlier.
By focusing on success and achievement we are, with the exception of the lucky and talented few, setting our kids up for failure, something we are not teaching them to cope with.
SOURCE
They regularly do that sort of thing in Britain so it is alarming that Australia seems to be on that road too. Compare the two reports immediately below
What do you need to do in order to go to jail?
The most gross and repeated misbehaviour is going to escape with no real penalty? Way to go if you want more crime
A TEENAGER crashed a stolen car into an elderly woman's living room and left her pinned under the wheels as she screamed for help, a court has heard. The 18-year-old youth was 17 and on a learner’s permit when he stole a Holden Rodeo ute at a party at Cheltenham in Melbourne's southeast, the Moorabbin Kingston Leader reports. The teenager did burnouts and tried to “drift” the car around corners before he lost control and smashed into the house. He later blew a blood alcohol reading of 0.10.
Police prosecutor Stephen Healy told a children’s court that none of the boys in the car tried to help the victim, who spent weeks in hospital after the incident. “The vehicle crushed the victim underneath the front passenger wheel and among the wreckage," Sen-Constable Healy said. “The vehicle crashed through the wall of the house with such force, it was partially lodged into the next room.” Sen-Constable Healy said the other occupants the car provided statements that the woman was calling out for help.
The crash was the final act in a two-month crime spree the teenager driver carried out from January to March this year. He pleaded guilty to 13 charges including using a private residential spa in Patterson Lakes without authority, graffitiing a truck in Carrum, stealing two jackets from the Tommy Hilfiger store at Direct Factory Outlets while on a good behaviour bond and stealing alcohol from a Bentleigh East bottle shop and Dan Murphy’s in Parkdale.
The youth’s defence lawyer said his client had suffered significant personal hardship and that alcohol played a major role in his offending. “Once he leaves home and gets with his mates and gets on the alcohol he does these things,” the lawyer said.
Magistrate Thomas Barrett said he was unlikely to sentence the teen to a term of detention despite a police submission that the boy had shown “callousness” and no remorse and should receive a custodial sentence. He will be sentenced on December 16 and was ordered to take part in a group conference before that date.
SOURCE
Mistake by an Australian immigration official led to three years behind bars for a legal resident
This is a disgrace. Three years in jail without a judicial review?? He should have been brought before a court within a week at the outside. Immigration abuses like this do happen in the USA and UK as well but that is all the greater reason for vigilance against such official negligence
THE locking up of an Australian resident for more than three years in what is said to be the nation's longest and worst case of wrongful detention has prompted demands for an overhaul of federal laws by the Commonwealth Ombudsman. Revelations that a Sydney man, Van Phuc Nguyen, spent 1173 days at the Villawood detention centre because of bungles and indifference by public servants have sparked calls for an apology from the Rudd Government.
While Cornelia Rau was given $2.6 million after being wrongfully detained for 10 months, the Government offered Mr Nguyen only $57,900 - less than $50 for each day he was held. His barrister described the offer as a ''wholly inadequate and inappropriate'' response to a ''bureaucratic bungle of enormous proportions''. Last month the ACT Supreme Court awarded $55,000 to a man wrongfully detained for just 29 days.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Mr Nguyen said he was routinely threatened by other detainees and left severely traumatised by his three years, two months and 16 days at Villawood, between November 2002 and February 2006. Mr Nguyen said he witnessed suicide attempts, stabbings and widespread drug use while at Villawood's notorious Stage One wing, which the Human Rights Commission said last year was so bad it should be demolished. ''It was terrible. I was so scared all of the time of the other inmates … after a while, my mind started to shut down. I just sat there and stared at the wall.''
Mr Nguyen fled his native Vietnam by boat as a 14-year-old, spent four years in a refugee camp in the Philippines and was given permanent residency in 1989.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman, John McMillan, told the Herald the Immigration Department repeatedly failed to act on information that could have avoided Mr Nguyen's ''alarming and serious'' predicament in the worst case he had seen. ''Arguably it should not have occurred at all and certainly not for anything like the period of time,'' Mr McMillan said.
The catalyst occurred in 1995, when an immigration official unlawfully and mistakenly issued Mr Nguyen with a one-month visa that led to the cancellation of his residency on his return from a trip to Vietnam.
Before Villawood, Mr Nguyen served several stints in prison for drug offences linked to a heroin addiction formed after an illness and the death of his mother in the mid-1990s. He said he had been clean for several years.
The 37-year-old's barrister, Robert Sutherland, SC, said his client had been subject to ''high-handed, humiliating and unnecessarily long detention. This man deserves an apology and appropriate compensation.'' Mr Nguyen's lawyers said his doctors had found he was traumatised and suffering mental health problems as a result of his wrongful detention.
Mr McMillan has stated Mr Nguyen's case should result in legislative reform to provide a safety net for people adversely affected by government decisions and laws, ranging from improper detention to unfairly missing out on government benefits.
He said it was a foundation principle of civilised society that people should not be unlawfully deprived of their liberty. ''Wrongful detention for over three years is a matter of grave concern, and it is equally a matter of concern that our legal framework does not confer powers necessary to address problems and disadvantage of this kind,'' Mr McMillan said.
The Federal Government denied that bungling and indifference led to Mr Nguyen's detention in its compensation offer. The offer concedes that he was wrongfully detained for 108 days but says that during the rest of his detention officials had no reason to suspect a mistake had been made.
SOURCE
Protectionist threats a lot of hot air
THE threat of punitive tariffs on imports from countries not acting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been raised by Kevin Rudd as a reason Australia should adopt his carbon pollution reduction scheme. He has cited threats apparently made by France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and others. Provisions in the US emissions trading scheme bill are perceived the same way. Paul Kelly (The Weekend Australian, September 26-27) is one of the latest to retail these arguments.
This trade retaliation red herring, per se, is no reason to adopt the CPRS. It doesn't stand up to cursory analysis. At best, it adds another layer of confusion to a confused policy. At worst, it's rubbish.
Existing World Trade Organisation rules are clear. First, countries generally are not allowed to discriminate between imports from different countries by imposing border taxes (for example, tariffs) on imports differentiated by source country, unless that has been enshrined in existing agreements. No such agreements are based on whether different countries have adopted policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Punitive tariffs would violate existing WTO rules and constitute grounds for seeking remedies under WTO processes.
Second, countries are not allowed to discriminate in favour of locally produced goods and services by taxing them less than imports of the same products. Punitive tariffs (that is, higher ad valorem equivalent taxes on imports than applied to locally produced substitutes) would breach existing WTO rules and be a basis for seeking remedies under WTO processes.
In both cases, such punitive action is protectionist. The WTO's role is to punish those adopting such measures. Besides, widespread adoption ofsuch measures by relatively wealthy developed economies would amount to "doing a Samson" on world trade, dragging down global economic growth and living standards in the process. This is the trade policy bogeyman raised by our Prime Minister as a competitiveness threat to Australia if we don't adopt his CPRS. (Let's ignore the negative protection competitiveness threat embodied in the CPRS itself for now.)
Assume the threat is implemented. Assuming substantive failure at Copenhagen (however it's dressed up in the communique), it implies world trade collapses as the developed world, led by Europe, sets off a round of protectionist tariff increases, others retaliate, and chances of even an anaemic global economic recovery are destroyed. Everybody loses, including the European Union, which needs to seek out new, growing markets to buffer growth in living standards from its own slowing domestic markets driven by its ageing (in some cases shrinking) population.
This outcome implies the WTO is ineffective. (Given inaction against present breaches by most members of the Group of 20 - the so-called new driver of the global policy agenda - of their own pious communiques preaching the evils of protectionism, this may be plausible.)
But let's be more realistic. Assume instead all countries decide stronger world growth takes priority over trying to force some to adopt policies they don't want to adopt. That is, governments decide to trade off gains in near-term employment recovery against early action reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (The national politics are obvious. Large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions wrought by the global recession are a convenient excuse.)
What will governments do on climate policy? The easiest courses are (a) to implement "emissions watch" climate policies or (b) do nothing.
The first option has symbolic appeal but does little or nothing to reduce global greenhouse gases. For those adopting option (a), international competitiveness is not undermined (or at least not much). There is little need to violate WTO rules by imposing punitive border taxes on imports. In this case, the punitive tariff threat is empty and the climate policy adopted is pusillanimous. Interested in spin rather than substance? This policy is for you.
Option (b) is just the status quo for many. There's another option: comply with WTO rules and put a serious price on emissions, initially unilaterally. Do border tax adjustments have a place here? Absolutely.
Australian taxes differentiate between different products already. The GST is not uniform. Some food, health and education products are GST-free. So are imports of these products. Some are input-taxed under the GST, including imports. Most products are taxed at 10 per cent, including imports. The luxury car tax is a special higher tax on expensive cars, applied equally to locally produced cars and imports. The same applies to the wine equalisation tax. The excises applied to petroleum products, alcohol and tobacco produced in Australia apply equally to imports of these products (revenue customs duties).
The principle's clear. Whatever tax (as a percentage of value or as a dollar amount per physical quantity) is applied to locally produced goods and services can be applied to imports of those products under present WTO rules. Any country can set a tax on a given product, determined any way you like, apply it equally to local products and substitute imports, and not breach WTO rules.
Suppose any country sets such taxes based on (i) the carbon emissions price in that country and (ii) the emissions intensity of locally produced goods and services. Suppose that process also determines the border tax adjustment to be applied to imports of the same products, so that percentage or specific tax burdens on imports are the same as on local substitutes. Such border tax adjustments are WTO-compliant. They are not protectionist. They are competitiveness-neutral. They are an integral part of a national emissions consumption approach to climate policy.
By eliminating losses of trade competitiveness otherwise incurred by "first movers", they make an effective (as opposed to pusillanimous) global deal on climate policy likelier. They remove an obstacle impeding consummation of a global deal in this area since 1992 and, on present trends, likely to continue impeding such a deal in December and beyond.
SOURCE
When too much self esteem is just too much
This is a remarkably long-lived fad. I remember back in the '80s when psychologists regarded self-esteem as one of the most important indicators of mental health. And faddy California even had an official government body charged with boosting self-esteem! The evidence has however now long been in that promoting high self esteem is more likely to do harm than good. See e.g. here
Every year multitudes of young people line up to unleash their hidden talents at the auditions for the Australian Idol competition. As viewers we are entertained by the many – alas, too many – whose efforts fall well short of what may be objectively regarded as talent. Most interesting is their surprised reactions to being rejected. They truly believe they have something special to offer and cannot fathom that the judges disagree.
How is it that in all the years prior no one around these people, family or friends, had shared reality with them, tapped them on their shoulder and suggested they may be better off pursuing another hobby?
This scenario is representative of the wider outlook and attitudes of young people today, and the younger they are the more this seems to prevail. The mantra for modern parenting is self-esteem. In countless interviews with Australian mums and dads they insist the most important quality they wish to instill in their kids is a high level of self acceptance.
The rationale for this comes for two different angles. On the defensive side parents fear the implications of low self-esteem. Their greatest concern for their kids is that they develop depression or an eating disorder. While the media and public domain are filled with discussion on obesity parents are more concerned with the opposite. They turn a blind eye to the obesity debate worried that focussing on their children’s weight may have negative consequences on their self-image. (Here, there is a clear contradiction, for while mums attempt to instill in their kids self-acceptance and loving their body, they themselves do not believe it for their own bodies, and their kids know it).
On the proactive side parents believe high self-esteem is necessary in order to succeed in today’s competitive society. When they were growing up success could be achieved by going through the ropes, getting an education and skills and entering the workforce. Today’s society is all about self-reliance with success requiring an entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to showcase oneself. So they encourage their kids to do from the earliest.
From the youngest of age kids are encouraged to speak their minds and express opinions. Parents are loathe to simply say ‘no’. Rather they discuss and negotiate, urging their kids to put forward their viewpoint, express an opinion and feel they are being listened to. The result of this focus on the individual and their talents will be felt acutely by our society in the years to come. The reality is that while everyone wants to be above average less than half the population can be.
Kids are being set up with the expectation for great achievement having been told over and over ‘you can do anything as long as you set your mind to it’. Well, no they can’t. And when they discover this truth the disappointment will be great. For some it may too great.
We are already seeing this with Gen Y as they approach their late 20s. Their expectations are high and goals quite profound. Their role models are the billionaires entrepreneurs who started Facebook, or actors and models plucked from obscurity by talent agents, not the millions of others who remain unknown or have failed. On reaching their late 20s and realising they will not be millionaires by 30, not even close, many young people enter a third life crisis. With the past decade of growth and prosperity giving way to uncertainty many will have their dreams shattered earlier.
By focusing on success and achievement we are, with the exception of the lucky and talented few, setting our kids up for failure, something we are not teaching them to cope with.
SOURCE
Friday, October 02, 2009
Aussies top world list of national pride
I just don't believe this. I think the result must be an artifact of poor sampling. Australian patriotism is generally very low key -- unlike the flag-waving American version. Most Australians are pleased to be Australians and believe that Australia is "The lucky country" (In Donald Horne's unfortunate phrase -- Donald meant it as an insult!) but overt expressions of patriotism are rare and understated
AUSTRALIANS have the highest degree of support for their own country out of 33 nationalities polled in a survey published in The Economist. The British newspaper quotes a survey by the Reputation Institute, a branding consultancy based in New York but with worldwide affiliations, that says Australians have a higher "trust, admiration, respect and pride" in their country than do the citizens of any other developed country, The Australian reports.
The high regard Australians apparently have for their nation gives it a score of just over 90 points from a possible 100 point score compared with last-placed Japan, for instance, which rates approximately 56.
The newspaper does not reveal the sample size, survey date or methodology but concludes that "Australians are almost as exuberant about their country as they are about sport".
Closely following Australia in descending order are Canada, Finland, Austria, Singapore and India while the US, usually seen as a global benchmark for national pride, rates 11th with a score in the high 70s.
What is clear from the survey, as the newspaper indicates, is that the results may be affected by the relative scale of economic recession. Australia is regarded by most experts as the country least affected by recession. That said, Spain rates two places above the US, despite having an unemployment rate approaching 15 per cent.
SOURCE
Ambulances get seriously ill patients to government hospitals quickly but then cannot offload them for hours
PARAMEDICS spent about 1000 hours "ramping" outside Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital in the three months to the end of August, their union says. The Liquor Hospitality Miscellaneous Union said the time "wasted" by paramedics looking after patients while they waited to be accepted by the hospital's emergency department had cost taxpayers more than $50,000.
LHMU organiser Kroy Day said some ambulances spent more than four hours at a time waiting outside the hospital's emergency department to hand over a patient. "While a crew is ramping at a hospital, they're unable to respond out in the community to the lady who's had the stroke, the man who's had the heart attack," Mr Day said. "What nobody can gauge is who's died and suffered because a crew has been ramped there."
Mr Day said the problem was an issue statewide, not just at the PA, and was costing taxpayers millions of dollars that would be better spent on medical care. "On Friday night, for example, at Nambour Hospital, we had eight ambulances ramped for up to three hours," he said. "On the week of September 14 at Logan . . . at one point we had 11 ambulances ramped for up to two hours. The public need to be very scared about what's happening."
The LHMU, which is in the 11th month of enterprise bargaining negotiations with the Queensland Ambulance Service, has called for an extra 500 paramedics over the next two years.
Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Queensland chairman David Rosengren said ambulance ramping was problem at all public hospital emergency departments, including the PA. "Every single emergency physician, every single paramedic and every single patient who comes by ambulance knows that the ability to offload our ambulance patients into emergency departments is extremely difficult and there are quite often lengthy delays," Dr Rosengren said. "The problem of ambulance ramping is a systemic problem that's been around for a long time and is progressively getting worse year after year."
Dr Rosengren said a shortage in public hospital beds was to blame. "If an emergency department doesn't have a trolley to put a patient on, ambulances can't offload them," he said. "There's an inability to make space in emergency departments because they're so full of patients that can't get a bed in a hospital ward. That's clogging up the system."
SOURCE
Amazing! The Rudd government has actually rejected a few "asylum seeker" claims
NINE Sri Lankan men are set to become the first asylum-seekers to be forcibly returned home since the Rudd government was elected. Last night the men were being flown from Christmas Island, where they have been detained since arriving in November, to Perth. They are expected to be detained for two days before being placed on a commercial flight to Sri Lanka.
The men were part of a group of 12 whose boat reached Shark Bay, 800km north of Perth, before being spotted by campers. Two of the men have already returned home voluntarily. The Australian understands the nine men were found by Department of Immigration and Citizenship to have come to Australia in search of work. Another man from the group remains on Christmas Island where he is appealing the rejection of his asylum claim through the Federal Court.
Last night Immigration Minister Chris Evans said none of the men would be in danger when returned to Sri Lanka. "All protection issues raised by this particular group have been fully assessed against Australia's international treaty obligations and there are no protection issues which would prevent their return to Sri Lanka," hesaid.
But refugee advocate Ian Rintoul said it was outrageous the government was deporting one of the men, Sarath Tennakoon, after he claimed his life would be in danger if forced to return. In an interview with The Australian in August, Mr Tennakoon said he had told the Department of Immigration and Citizenship that his life was in danger after he was identified by the Tamil Tigers as a member of the air force intelligence unit in 2002.
"The appalling human rights abuses of the Sri Lankan government is well known to the world," Mr Rintoul said. "It is too dangerous for anyone with problems with the Sri Lankan government, Tamil or Sinhalese, to be sent back." Mr Rintoul said he was attempting to lodge a last-minute appeal to the Federal Court against Mr Tennakoon's deportation.
All nine men appealed against the department's decision to the refugee review tribunal but were unsuccessful. They then lodged claims for the minister to intervene and allow them to stay but this was also rejected. The appeals lodged by the men were only possible because they were found so close to shore and classified as mainland arrivals. Asylum-seekers found outside Australia's migration zone do not have such appeal rights.
To date, 22 people detained on Christmas Island have returned home voluntarily and a further 58 Indonesian men are expected to leave voluntarily this weekend. The men arrived on a boat intercepted near Barrow Island last month and were believed to have come to Australia in search of work.
SOURCE
A timely warning about teeth whitening
A MELBOURNE magistrate has effectively ruled that teeth-whitening procedures must only be carried out by registered dentists, after a beauty therapist was fined $2000 for carrying out the treatment.
The trial of the beauty therapist, held in March, was the first time the legality of teeth-whitening by an unregistered practitioner was tested in Australia. The therapist was convicted and fined at the Heidelberg Magistrates' Court yesterday for practising dentistry while not being registered as a dental care provider. Magistrate Jill Crowe said teeth-whitening was an "invasive and irreversible procedure" and should only be performed by registered dental care providers.
The Dental Practice Board of Victoria brought the charge against the beauty therapist after a customer complained following a teeth-whitening procedure in August 2007. The customer suffered severe mottling and marbled teeth, gum ulcerations and chemical burns, the board said. A board spokesman said the ruling set a precedent and would ensure that teeth-whitening was only performed by people with dental training.
SOURCE
Climate folly before failure
THE inconvenient truth is that there is no hope the UN climate change negotiations that start in Copenhagen on December 7 will deliver a new Kyoto treaty, with a global agreement on binding emissions targets. This was, of course, the original aim of the meeting but has been abandoned. On Monday The Guardian in Britain quoted a top European official who described the idea of negotiating on targets as naive and said the best that could be expected was that countries would put up what they wanted to commit to.
Just as well, really, if we consider figures published in an article in The Washington Post, also on Monday, by Danish statistician and environmentalist Bjorn Lomborg.
His Copenhagen Consensus Centre commissioned well-known climate economist Richard Tol, a contributor to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to estimate the cost of emissions targets needed to keep the rise in global temperature to under the 2C limit suggested by the IPCC's work. Tol's answer is a global price tag of $US40 trillion in 2100, to avoid expected climate damage costing $US1.1 trillion. These figures are based on mainstream economic models and subject to the usual limitations of modelling over long periods.
But the global warming projections behind all the alarm about climate change are based on complex climate models that also have serious limitations and, according to Lomborg, Tol's estimates are best-case outcomes. They aren't the only reason to be uneasy about the present thrust of UN climate change policy.
Kevin Rudd has been using various arguments to push his case for urgent, substantial action on climate change and one he used in the US last week is the threat of a European carbon tax on exports from countries "not doing their bit on climate change". Rudd only mentioned remarks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, but it is actually a joint initiative by France and Germany's newly re-elected Chancellor Angela Merkel. Instead of, at least implicitly, accepting this as a legitimate tactic by the Europeans, Rudd should be denouncing it at every opportunity. The last thing Australia and the world need is a global trade war sparked by European attempts to bully the world into adopting its climate change policies, which are under attack in the EU itself, to shelter its industries from the economic damage its climate policies will impose.
Some more figures from Lomborg. Economic estimates suggest freer trade would deliver global benefits of the order of $US50trillion. Why put these gains at risk to avoid global warming damage estimated at $US1.1 trillion? Fortunately there has already been a reaction in Europe and in other countries against the Franco-German threat.
The looming failure at Copenhagen is a powerful argument against Australia rushing to pass the Rudd government's flawed emissions trading scheme, which isn't even proposed to start operating until 2011. For Australia, with an economic structure heavily dependent on cheap, carbon-based energy, to move ahead of the rest of the world is foolish.
Rudd and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong see things differently. In their view, getting the legislation through the Senate in November is essential for Australia's negotiating position at Copenhagen. According to Wong the eyes of the world are on us, waiting to see if the government succeeds. Nonsense, of course, as Rudd gave away in an interview with CNN in New York. Asked whether the US negotiating position had been weakened by the Obama administration's inability to get emissions trading legislation through the US Senate, Rudd replied that his own legislation had been recently blocked by Australia's Senate. He continued: "That doesn't impede me from being active in these negotiations and my observation of President Obama is that it doesn't impede him either." So much for the importance of passing legislation before Copenhagen and, in any case, the UN knows what Australia's position is on targets and emissions trading.
Rudd, of course, has other arguments. He declared in New York that what drove his government's interest in an emissions trading scheme was the need for business certainty. There can be no certainty in a scheme that has flexible emissions targets that will vary with global action.
Another scare tactic is to paint water problems in the Murray-Darling Basin as a product of climate change. More nonsense. The problems on the Murray-Darling rivers have nothing to do with climate change and everything to do with gutless and short-sighted politicians. Bureau of Meteorology records of rainfall during 108 years examined by Australian physicist Tom Quirk show no statistically significant trend, with rainfall variations entirely random. So much for the impact of global warming.
The government's attempts to create a sense of urgency and set a timetable that demands its legislation be passed in November are a stunt. The issue is whether Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has the courage to do what he says is the only sensible course of action, to wait until after we know the outcome in Copenhagen.
However, having said this, Turnbull, who is in a complete funk over the possibility of a double-dissolution election on the issue, left the door open to negotiate with the government to pass its legislation, with amendments, in November. A clear majority of his back bench and probably at least half his front bench don't agree with this policy.
Both former Labor prime minister and treasurer Paul Keating and former Liberal deputy leader and treasurer Peter Costello have warned a double dissolution is not without risks for Rudd because the electorate likes governments to run their full term. Rudd has said more than once he doesn't want a double dissolution and also believes governments should run their full term.
Turnbull should take him at his word and have the guts to stand by what he says he believes is the right policy, and is indeed the sensible policy: wait until after Copenhagen.
SOURCE
I just don't believe this. I think the result must be an artifact of poor sampling. Australian patriotism is generally very low key -- unlike the flag-waving American version. Most Australians are pleased to be Australians and believe that Australia is "The lucky country" (In Donald Horne's unfortunate phrase -- Donald meant it as an insult!) but overt expressions of patriotism are rare and understated
AUSTRALIANS have the highest degree of support for their own country out of 33 nationalities polled in a survey published in The Economist. The British newspaper quotes a survey by the Reputation Institute, a branding consultancy based in New York but with worldwide affiliations, that says Australians have a higher "trust, admiration, respect and pride" in their country than do the citizens of any other developed country, The Australian reports.
The high regard Australians apparently have for their nation gives it a score of just over 90 points from a possible 100 point score compared with last-placed Japan, for instance, which rates approximately 56.
The newspaper does not reveal the sample size, survey date or methodology but concludes that "Australians are almost as exuberant about their country as they are about sport".
Closely following Australia in descending order are Canada, Finland, Austria, Singapore and India while the US, usually seen as a global benchmark for national pride, rates 11th with a score in the high 70s.
What is clear from the survey, as the newspaper indicates, is that the results may be affected by the relative scale of economic recession. Australia is regarded by most experts as the country least affected by recession. That said, Spain rates two places above the US, despite having an unemployment rate approaching 15 per cent.
SOURCE
Ambulances get seriously ill patients to government hospitals quickly but then cannot offload them for hours
PARAMEDICS spent about 1000 hours "ramping" outside Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital in the three months to the end of August, their union says. The Liquor Hospitality Miscellaneous Union said the time "wasted" by paramedics looking after patients while they waited to be accepted by the hospital's emergency department had cost taxpayers more than $50,000.
LHMU organiser Kroy Day said some ambulances spent more than four hours at a time waiting outside the hospital's emergency department to hand over a patient. "While a crew is ramping at a hospital, they're unable to respond out in the community to the lady who's had the stroke, the man who's had the heart attack," Mr Day said. "What nobody can gauge is who's died and suffered because a crew has been ramped there."
Mr Day said the problem was an issue statewide, not just at the PA, and was costing taxpayers millions of dollars that would be better spent on medical care. "On Friday night, for example, at Nambour Hospital, we had eight ambulances ramped for up to three hours," he said. "On the week of September 14 at Logan . . . at one point we had 11 ambulances ramped for up to two hours. The public need to be very scared about what's happening."
The LHMU, which is in the 11th month of enterprise bargaining negotiations with the Queensland Ambulance Service, has called for an extra 500 paramedics over the next two years.
Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Queensland chairman David Rosengren said ambulance ramping was problem at all public hospital emergency departments, including the PA. "Every single emergency physician, every single paramedic and every single patient who comes by ambulance knows that the ability to offload our ambulance patients into emergency departments is extremely difficult and there are quite often lengthy delays," Dr Rosengren said. "The problem of ambulance ramping is a systemic problem that's been around for a long time and is progressively getting worse year after year."
Dr Rosengren said a shortage in public hospital beds was to blame. "If an emergency department doesn't have a trolley to put a patient on, ambulances can't offload them," he said. "There's an inability to make space in emergency departments because they're so full of patients that can't get a bed in a hospital ward. That's clogging up the system."
SOURCE
Amazing! The Rudd government has actually rejected a few "asylum seeker" claims
NINE Sri Lankan men are set to become the first asylum-seekers to be forcibly returned home since the Rudd government was elected. Last night the men were being flown from Christmas Island, where they have been detained since arriving in November, to Perth. They are expected to be detained for two days before being placed on a commercial flight to Sri Lanka.
The men were part of a group of 12 whose boat reached Shark Bay, 800km north of Perth, before being spotted by campers. Two of the men have already returned home voluntarily. The Australian understands the nine men were found by Department of Immigration and Citizenship to have come to Australia in search of work. Another man from the group remains on Christmas Island where he is appealing the rejection of his asylum claim through the Federal Court.
Last night Immigration Minister Chris Evans said none of the men would be in danger when returned to Sri Lanka. "All protection issues raised by this particular group have been fully assessed against Australia's international treaty obligations and there are no protection issues which would prevent their return to Sri Lanka," hesaid.
But refugee advocate Ian Rintoul said it was outrageous the government was deporting one of the men, Sarath Tennakoon, after he claimed his life would be in danger if forced to return. In an interview with The Australian in August, Mr Tennakoon said he had told the Department of Immigration and Citizenship that his life was in danger after he was identified by the Tamil Tigers as a member of the air force intelligence unit in 2002.
"The appalling human rights abuses of the Sri Lankan government is well known to the world," Mr Rintoul said. "It is too dangerous for anyone with problems with the Sri Lankan government, Tamil or Sinhalese, to be sent back." Mr Rintoul said he was attempting to lodge a last-minute appeal to the Federal Court against Mr Tennakoon's deportation.
All nine men appealed against the department's decision to the refugee review tribunal but were unsuccessful. They then lodged claims for the minister to intervene and allow them to stay but this was also rejected. The appeals lodged by the men were only possible because they were found so close to shore and classified as mainland arrivals. Asylum-seekers found outside Australia's migration zone do not have such appeal rights.
To date, 22 people detained on Christmas Island have returned home voluntarily and a further 58 Indonesian men are expected to leave voluntarily this weekend. The men arrived on a boat intercepted near Barrow Island last month and were believed to have come to Australia in search of work.
SOURCE
A timely warning about teeth whitening
A MELBOURNE magistrate has effectively ruled that teeth-whitening procedures must only be carried out by registered dentists, after a beauty therapist was fined $2000 for carrying out the treatment.
The trial of the beauty therapist, held in March, was the first time the legality of teeth-whitening by an unregistered practitioner was tested in Australia. The therapist was convicted and fined at the Heidelberg Magistrates' Court yesterday for practising dentistry while not being registered as a dental care provider. Magistrate Jill Crowe said teeth-whitening was an "invasive and irreversible procedure" and should only be performed by registered dental care providers.
The Dental Practice Board of Victoria brought the charge against the beauty therapist after a customer complained following a teeth-whitening procedure in August 2007. The customer suffered severe mottling and marbled teeth, gum ulcerations and chemical burns, the board said. A board spokesman said the ruling set a precedent and would ensure that teeth-whitening was only performed by people with dental training.
SOURCE
Climate folly before failure
THE inconvenient truth is that there is no hope the UN climate change negotiations that start in Copenhagen on December 7 will deliver a new Kyoto treaty, with a global agreement on binding emissions targets. This was, of course, the original aim of the meeting but has been abandoned. On Monday The Guardian in Britain quoted a top European official who described the idea of negotiating on targets as naive and said the best that could be expected was that countries would put up what they wanted to commit to.
Just as well, really, if we consider figures published in an article in The Washington Post, also on Monday, by Danish statistician and environmentalist Bjorn Lomborg.
His Copenhagen Consensus Centre commissioned well-known climate economist Richard Tol, a contributor to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to estimate the cost of emissions targets needed to keep the rise in global temperature to under the 2C limit suggested by the IPCC's work. Tol's answer is a global price tag of $US40 trillion in 2100, to avoid expected climate damage costing $US1.1 trillion. These figures are based on mainstream economic models and subject to the usual limitations of modelling over long periods.
But the global warming projections behind all the alarm about climate change are based on complex climate models that also have serious limitations and, according to Lomborg, Tol's estimates are best-case outcomes. They aren't the only reason to be uneasy about the present thrust of UN climate change policy.
Kevin Rudd has been using various arguments to push his case for urgent, substantial action on climate change and one he used in the US last week is the threat of a European carbon tax on exports from countries "not doing their bit on climate change". Rudd only mentioned remarks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, but it is actually a joint initiative by France and Germany's newly re-elected Chancellor Angela Merkel. Instead of, at least implicitly, accepting this as a legitimate tactic by the Europeans, Rudd should be denouncing it at every opportunity. The last thing Australia and the world need is a global trade war sparked by European attempts to bully the world into adopting its climate change policies, which are under attack in the EU itself, to shelter its industries from the economic damage its climate policies will impose.
Some more figures from Lomborg. Economic estimates suggest freer trade would deliver global benefits of the order of $US50trillion. Why put these gains at risk to avoid global warming damage estimated at $US1.1 trillion? Fortunately there has already been a reaction in Europe and in other countries against the Franco-German threat.
The looming failure at Copenhagen is a powerful argument against Australia rushing to pass the Rudd government's flawed emissions trading scheme, which isn't even proposed to start operating until 2011. For Australia, with an economic structure heavily dependent on cheap, carbon-based energy, to move ahead of the rest of the world is foolish.
Rudd and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong see things differently. In their view, getting the legislation through the Senate in November is essential for Australia's negotiating position at Copenhagen. According to Wong the eyes of the world are on us, waiting to see if the government succeeds. Nonsense, of course, as Rudd gave away in an interview with CNN in New York. Asked whether the US negotiating position had been weakened by the Obama administration's inability to get emissions trading legislation through the US Senate, Rudd replied that his own legislation had been recently blocked by Australia's Senate. He continued: "That doesn't impede me from being active in these negotiations and my observation of President Obama is that it doesn't impede him either." So much for the importance of passing legislation before Copenhagen and, in any case, the UN knows what Australia's position is on targets and emissions trading.
Rudd, of course, has other arguments. He declared in New York that what drove his government's interest in an emissions trading scheme was the need for business certainty. There can be no certainty in a scheme that has flexible emissions targets that will vary with global action.
Another scare tactic is to paint water problems in the Murray-Darling Basin as a product of climate change. More nonsense. The problems on the Murray-Darling rivers have nothing to do with climate change and everything to do with gutless and short-sighted politicians. Bureau of Meteorology records of rainfall during 108 years examined by Australian physicist Tom Quirk show no statistically significant trend, with rainfall variations entirely random. So much for the impact of global warming.
The government's attempts to create a sense of urgency and set a timetable that demands its legislation be passed in November are a stunt. The issue is whether Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has the courage to do what he says is the only sensible course of action, to wait until after we know the outcome in Copenhagen.
However, having said this, Turnbull, who is in a complete funk over the possibility of a double-dissolution election on the issue, left the door open to negotiate with the government to pass its legislation, with amendments, in November. A clear majority of his back bench and probably at least half his front bench don't agree with this policy.
Both former Labor prime minister and treasurer Paul Keating and former Liberal deputy leader and treasurer Peter Costello have warned a double dissolution is not without risks for Rudd because the electorate likes governments to run their full term. Rudd has said more than once he doesn't want a double dissolution and also believes governments should run their full term.
Turnbull should take him at his word and have the guts to stand by what he says he believes is the right policy, and is indeed the sensible policy: wait until after Copenhagen.
SOURCE
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Hatred of charitable donors who don't do what they are told
We see below a simple outpouring of hate against successful people. There is NOT A WORD about the reasons why they opposed what others sought. Could it be that conservative businessmen created an alternative to the Left-dominated Melbourne university and did not want to lose that?
A SMALL but powerful group of Melbourne establishment figures, including ANZ Bank chairman Charles Goode, has scuttled a proposal to create one of the world's top business schools. In a deeply embarrassing setback for the star-studded Melbourne Business School board, the donor members who helped establish an independent MBS in the 1980s spurned the directors' unanimous recommendation yesterday to merge with Melbourne University's faculty of economics and commerce.
With recrimination thick in the air, one observer commented: "This is a gigantic f**k-up; it's like the board of a blue-chip company unanimously agreeing to a takeover, only to have their own shareholders vote it down."
Three key players, all called John and listed in Who's Who as Melbourne Club members, lobbied heavily against the merger, which required a change to the MBS constitution that called for a 75 per cent voting majority, The Australian reports. Former ANZ chairman John Gough, 81, former Woolworths chairman and Corrs corporate lawyer John Dahlsen, 74, and MBS founding dean John Rose, 73, mobilised their longstanding business networks. But the critical individual, according to close observers, was Gough's protege, Goode, also a Melbourne Club member, who succeeded him as ANZ chairman.
The 79 MBS donor members, most of them large corporates, were allocated votes according to the size of their contributions. In a poll, 54 of them have a total of 16,512 votes and 25 individual donors retain one vote each. Goode, 71, was critical because he is chairman of both ANZ and the charitable Ian Potter Foundation, each a large MBS donor. No one ever had any doubt where the foundation's loyalties lay - Rose and Gough are also on its board of governors.
The three Johns, as they will be forever known, were said to have marshalled a blocking stake of more than 25 per cent, relying on ANZ, the Ian Potter Foundation, the Dahlsen holding and a couple of other like-minded organisations. The merger resolutions will now not be put to the planned MBS extraordinary meeting on October 7.
For this generation of the Melbourne establishment, the MBS battle was probably the last power play. Consistent with its signature style, there was no one to comment yesterday. Networks were activated, business was conducted behind closed doors, influence was wielded, an outcome was achieved and that was it. Dahlsen, Rose and Gough could not be reached for comment, and Goode is now overseas for two weeks.
SOURCE
Silence on red tape due to red tape
Leftist politicians usually talk the talk about "openness" etc. but they don't walk the walk
THE NSW Government cannot talk about its attempts to cut red tape due to … red tape. A freedom of information request for details of the Government's efforts to cut red tape has been denied, because they remain subject to ''cabinet in confidence provisions'' before any public announcement.
The Premier sent a memo to all government departments to report efforts to cut red tape by July 24, but the Government is refusing to disclose the responses. After years of lobbying, the Government set a target of reducing red tape by $500 million, but progress is unclear.
The freedom of information request, lodged by the NSW Business Chamber for details of the departmental responses to the Premier's memo, was refused because "many of these initiatives are subject to cabinet approval or have been approved by cabinet but are yet to be announced", the Government said. The Government said there was ''strong public interest against disclosing the information'' sought.
The chief executive of the NSW Business Chamber, Stephen Cartwright, said: "The NSW economy is bringing up the rear of all the states and territories, and yet the State Government is holding back on announcing much-needed changes while it waits for the right time in the media cycle.''
SOURCE
Stupid breast fear again
A MELBOURNE mother says she was left in tears after a Tiger Airways flight attendant repeatedly asked her to hide her breastfeeding baby from other passengers on a flight earlier this month.
Kathryn Ward said she was feeding her three-month-old son, James, on a flight between the Gold Coast and Melbourne when a crew member asked her if she had a blanket to cover him. ''I didn't say anything because at the same time she asked me she saw a padded insert underneath him and put it on top of him without asking my permission,'' Mrs Ward said. ''She said, 'I know it's natural, but some people may not like to see it.' ''
Mrs Ward said she told the attendant that she had a right to breastfeed, but was asked again to cover her baby because a man seated near her ''might not like to see it''. ''I said to [the man], 'Does this offend you?' and he said, 'No, not at all.' [The flight attendant] said, 'Well, people walking down the aisle might not like it.' '' The mother of two said she felt embarrassed and humiliated after the incident.
A spokeswoman for Tiger Airways said the airline had reviewed the incident and planned to apologise to Mrs Ward for the error. The flight attendant had been disciplined and informed of a new policy as a result of the complaint. ''All relevant staff will undergo training immediately to ensure this situation does not occur again.''
Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission chief executive Helen Szoke said six formal complaints had been received about discrimination over breastfeeding last financial year, although ''that's just the tip of the iceberg''. She said the law protected women breastfeeding in public, including at work, in shops and on public transport.
SOURCE
Hard Leftists boo religion
The organizer of this little shindig was Meredith Burgmann, a long-time hard Leftist. Her audience would undoubtedly be similarly oriented
AN evangelical church pastor who blamed the Victorian bushfire tragedy on the state's abortion laws has taken out the annual top gong for sexist comments. Now in its 17th year, the Ernie Awards are bestowed on those whose public utterings are regarded as the most sexist. The winner is determined by how loud the crowd boos and hisses.
About 250 women who attended the gala [galah?] event at NSW Parliament House last night decided that comments by Pastor Danny Nalliah, head of the Catch the Fire Ministries, were worthy of the top prize, the Gold Ernie. Shortly after the deadly February bushfires, the pastor said: "God's conditional protection has been removed from the nation of Australia, in particular Victoria, for approving the slaughter of innocent children in the womb.''
Second prize, the Silver Ernie, was shared among several men, including shock jock Kyle Sandilands, as well as the NSW Police Force for exhibiting outstanding sexism.
The police force came under fire from equality groups in September after reports an employee was made to work overtime for every minute she spent expressing breast milk for her baby.
Sandilands, who also took out the Clinton repeat offender award, earned his Silver Ernie for his response during a radio stunt in which a teenage girl revealed she had been raped. Sandilands replied: "Right, is that the only experience you've had?'' before the interview was brought to an end. His award was cemented by his second blunder for the year, in which he said actress Magda Szubanski could become skinny if she was in a concentration camp.
The Sporting Ernie, the Warnie, went to Newcastle under-20s centre Simon Williams who insensitively remarked on recent NRL scandals involving group sex: "It's not during the act, it's the way you treat them after. (It) could have been avoided if they had put them in a cab and said thanks.'' The club said his comments had been taken out of context.
The most hostile response at the awards is often reserved for the winner of the Elaine - the woman whose remarks were regarded as "the least helpful to the sisterhood''. This year's Elaine went to journalist Miranda Devine for writing in a comment piece: "Decades of androgynous feminism have stamped on chivalry, deriding men who opened doors or stood back for women as being sexist and patronising. It would have been better for women if feminism had appealed to men's better natures.''
Organiser Meredith Burgmann said Pastor Nalliah was a deserving winner, but he was nearly pipped by the NSW Police Force.
SOURCE
People power: Vegemite 'iSnack2.0' is toast, says Kraft
It's actually not the first such backdown. Vegemite was once called "Parwill" -- for equally ludicrous reasons
JARS of Vegemite labelled 'iSnack 2.0' are destined to become collectors items after Kraft announced today it will change the name. Just four days after Kraft announced the name of the new Vegemite, the company has issued a press release admitting that Australians “just don’t like the name”.
Kraft chose the name from more than 48,000 suggestions collected from a public competition. But the name - announced during the AFL Grand Final on Saturday - attracted an unprecedented outpouring of derision from Australians. About 3 million jars of the new, creamier version of vegemite have been sold since it was launched in July.
“The new name has simply not resonated with Australians - particularly the modern technical aspects associated with it,” Kraft corporate affairs boss Simon Talbot said. “At no point in time has the new Vegemite name been about initiating a media publicity stunt. “We are proud custodians of Vegemite, and have always been aware that it is the people's brand and a national icon."
The “iSnack 2.0” jars would not be recalled and thousands of jars already containing the new label would continue to be distributed around the country for several months. A second vote would be held to decide a new name, Mr Talbot said.
SOURCE
Unrest over illegal immigrants on Christmas island
Community leaders on Christmas Island say they are being treated like second-class citizens in comparison to asylum seekers arriving in Australian waters by boat. Islanders blame the $400 million immigration detention centre at North West Point - where all sea arrivals are taken for health and security checks - for many of the problems facing the remote Australian territory. Inflated food prices, a lack of accommodation for tourists, a shortage of rental cars and even crumbling roads are all due to the immigration detention centre's growing hunger for resources, they say.
Almost 1,500 people on 29 unauthorised vessels have been picked up on their way to Australia this year. There are currently 890 asylum seekers and 16 crew members being held on Christmas Island, which is 2,600km northwest of Perth and just 500km south of Jakarta. Some 726 are behind barbed wire in the detention centre itself. Another 145 are in the unfenced Phosphate Hill and construction camp facilities while 35 are living in the community. They're generally processed and flown to the mainland within three months.
This week, Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce visited the island and declared the asylum seekers ``seem very happy here - which is a concern''. Many had arrived with multi-vitamin tablets, an indication, Senator Joyce declared, that they were economic migrants rather than genuine refugees. Immigration department figures suggest otherwise: 641 people sent to Christmas Island have been found to be genuine refugees this year, while just 29 have been returned home. The rest are still being processed.
The island has a 1,500-strong permanent population, including large ethnic Chinese and Malay communities. Many are sympathetic to Senator Joyce's view. Local Islamic Council president Zainal Abdul Majid says the federal government uses taxpayers' money to look after the detainees while the islanders are neglected. ``They are being very well looked after, whereas the local community has got nothing out of the detention centre,'' Majid said. ``We feel as if we are second-class and not being looked after as well.''
Like most island leaders, Majid doesn't want the detention centre closed down now that it's been built at such expense. Rather, he wants more money to flow into the pockets of locals. ``Even if one per cent of the total amount spent on detainees is invested into the local community then they will say there's a balance and the government is looking after both sides.''
Christmas Island councillor Nora Koh, who is also president of the local women's association, claims food prices have increased 50 per cent since the new detention centre opened in late 2008. ``The traders are taking advantage of the increase in the population,'' she says. ``They know the economy on Christmas Island is up now but the refugees may not stay here long.'' Koh believes the island's four stores are essentially making hay while the sun shines.
When Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor visited earlier this month she pleaded for him to subsidise freight so fruit and vegetables could be sold more cheaply. It could be funded by increasing taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, which are currently duty free, Koh said. Others have suggested locals should be given an ID card that allows them to purchase goods at a discounted rate compared with the asylum seekers living in the community.
Those not locked up in the detention centre receive cash, phone cards and access to a store account equivalent to 90 per cent of the Newstart Allowance. That equates to $410 a fortnight. O'Connor says the assertion that the immigration department's increased presence on the island has pushed up food prices needs to be tested. ``We'll look at that,'' the minister said, adding that it could form part of the work of a newly formed commonwealth taskforce which is examining the economic and environmental sustainability of Christmas and nearby Cocos islands.
On a recent trip, journalist David Marr found prices weren't as high as claimed. ``But the food argument is as much about passion as price, and the feeling there should be something in this for them,'' he wrote.
The immigration department itself insists it goes to great lengths to ensure its presence on Christmas Island doesn't inflate prices. ``The department monitors any impact on the community very carefully and takes appropriate steps such as freighting in food as required to provide for staff as well as the people that are in detention,'' a spokeswoman said. ``The arrival of a large number of asylum seekers doesn't affect the community's food supply.''
There are 50 departmental staff working on the island. About 100 locals are employed by the contractor which runs the detention centre, the food caterer and maintenance companies. Immigration says the ``vast majority'' of staff travel to and from work in a mini-bus provided by the department. It also sponsors a community bus service. But sometimes the department does hire rental cars, which are in short supply.
Tourism association development officer Bill Tatchell blames immigration for monopolising cars and accommodation beds. The island turns away more tourists than it accepts due to capacity constraints, he says. ``We don't have the resources to deliver because the resources are being used by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.'' Like the Islamic Council and shire councillor Nora Koh, the tourism association wants the immigration department to invest in the island and build ``key infrastructure''. In particular, islanders say the road to the detention centre needs to be upgraded before it crumbles from heavy use.
SOURCE
We see below a simple outpouring of hate against successful people. There is NOT A WORD about the reasons why they opposed what others sought. Could it be that conservative businessmen created an alternative to the Left-dominated Melbourne university and did not want to lose that?
A SMALL but powerful group of Melbourne establishment figures, including ANZ Bank chairman Charles Goode, has scuttled a proposal to create one of the world's top business schools. In a deeply embarrassing setback for the star-studded Melbourne Business School board, the donor members who helped establish an independent MBS in the 1980s spurned the directors' unanimous recommendation yesterday to merge with Melbourne University's faculty of economics and commerce.
With recrimination thick in the air, one observer commented: "This is a gigantic f**k-up; it's like the board of a blue-chip company unanimously agreeing to a takeover, only to have their own shareholders vote it down."
Three key players, all called John and listed in Who's Who as Melbourne Club members, lobbied heavily against the merger, which required a change to the MBS constitution that called for a 75 per cent voting majority, The Australian reports. Former ANZ chairman John Gough, 81, former Woolworths chairman and Corrs corporate lawyer John Dahlsen, 74, and MBS founding dean John Rose, 73, mobilised their longstanding business networks. But the critical individual, according to close observers, was Gough's protege, Goode, also a Melbourne Club member, who succeeded him as ANZ chairman.
The 79 MBS donor members, most of them large corporates, were allocated votes according to the size of their contributions. In a poll, 54 of them have a total of 16,512 votes and 25 individual donors retain one vote each. Goode, 71, was critical because he is chairman of both ANZ and the charitable Ian Potter Foundation, each a large MBS donor. No one ever had any doubt where the foundation's loyalties lay - Rose and Gough are also on its board of governors.
The three Johns, as they will be forever known, were said to have marshalled a blocking stake of more than 25 per cent, relying on ANZ, the Ian Potter Foundation, the Dahlsen holding and a couple of other like-minded organisations. The merger resolutions will now not be put to the planned MBS extraordinary meeting on October 7.
For this generation of the Melbourne establishment, the MBS battle was probably the last power play. Consistent with its signature style, there was no one to comment yesterday. Networks were activated, business was conducted behind closed doors, influence was wielded, an outcome was achieved and that was it. Dahlsen, Rose and Gough could not be reached for comment, and Goode is now overseas for two weeks.
SOURCE
Silence on red tape due to red tape
Leftist politicians usually talk the talk about "openness" etc. but they don't walk the walk
THE NSW Government cannot talk about its attempts to cut red tape due to … red tape. A freedom of information request for details of the Government's efforts to cut red tape has been denied, because they remain subject to ''cabinet in confidence provisions'' before any public announcement.
The Premier sent a memo to all government departments to report efforts to cut red tape by July 24, but the Government is refusing to disclose the responses. After years of lobbying, the Government set a target of reducing red tape by $500 million, but progress is unclear.
The freedom of information request, lodged by the NSW Business Chamber for details of the departmental responses to the Premier's memo, was refused because "many of these initiatives are subject to cabinet approval or have been approved by cabinet but are yet to be announced", the Government said. The Government said there was ''strong public interest against disclosing the information'' sought.
The chief executive of the NSW Business Chamber, Stephen Cartwright, said: "The NSW economy is bringing up the rear of all the states and territories, and yet the State Government is holding back on announcing much-needed changes while it waits for the right time in the media cycle.''
SOURCE
Stupid breast fear again
A MELBOURNE mother says she was left in tears after a Tiger Airways flight attendant repeatedly asked her to hide her breastfeeding baby from other passengers on a flight earlier this month.
Kathryn Ward said she was feeding her three-month-old son, James, on a flight between the Gold Coast and Melbourne when a crew member asked her if she had a blanket to cover him. ''I didn't say anything because at the same time she asked me she saw a padded insert underneath him and put it on top of him without asking my permission,'' Mrs Ward said. ''She said, 'I know it's natural, but some people may not like to see it.' ''
Mrs Ward said she told the attendant that she had a right to breastfeed, but was asked again to cover her baby because a man seated near her ''might not like to see it''. ''I said to [the man], 'Does this offend you?' and he said, 'No, not at all.' [The flight attendant] said, 'Well, people walking down the aisle might not like it.' '' The mother of two said she felt embarrassed and humiliated after the incident.
A spokeswoman for Tiger Airways said the airline had reviewed the incident and planned to apologise to Mrs Ward for the error. The flight attendant had been disciplined and informed of a new policy as a result of the complaint. ''All relevant staff will undergo training immediately to ensure this situation does not occur again.''
Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission chief executive Helen Szoke said six formal complaints had been received about discrimination over breastfeeding last financial year, although ''that's just the tip of the iceberg''. She said the law protected women breastfeeding in public, including at work, in shops and on public transport.
SOURCE
Hard Leftists boo religion
The organizer of this little shindig was Meredith Burgmann, a long-time hard Leftist. Her audience would undoubtedly be similarly oriented
AN evangelical church pastor who blamed the Victorian bushfire tragedy on the state's abortion laws has taken out the annual top gong for sexist comments. Now in its 17th year, the Ernie Awards are bestowed on those whose public utterings are regarded as the most sexist. The winner is determined by how loud the crowd boos and hisses.
About 250 women who attended the gala [galah?] event at NSW Parliament House last night decided that comments by Pastor Danny Nalliah, head of the Catch the Fire Ministries, were worthy of the top prize, the Gold Ernie. Shortly after the deadly February bushfires, the pastor said: "God's conditional protection has been removed from the nation of Australia, in particular Victoria, for approving the slaughter of innocent children in the womb.''
Second prize, the Silver Ernie, was shared among several men, including shock jock Kyle Sandilands, as well as the NSW Police Force for exhibiting outstanding sexism.
The police force came under fire from equality groups in September after reports an employee was made to work overtime for every minute she spent expressing breast milk for her baby.
Sandilands, who also took out the Clinton repeat offender award, earned his Silver Ernie for his response during a radio stunt in which a teenage girl revealed she had been raped. Sandilands replied: "Right, is that the only experience you've had?'' before the interview was brought to an end. His award was cemented by his second blunder for the year, in which he said actress Magda Szubanski could become skinny if she was in a concentration camp.
The Sporting Ernie, the Warnie, went to Newcastle under-20s centre Simon Williams who insensitively remarked on recent NRL scandals involving group sex: "It's not during the act, it's the way you treat them after. (It) could have been avoided if they had put them in a cab and said thanks.'' The club said his comments had been taken out of context.
The most hostile response at the awards is often reserved for the winner of the Elaine - the woman whose remarks were regarded as "the least helpful to the sisterhood''. This year's Elaine went to journalist Miranda Devine for writing in a comment piece: "Decades of androgynous feminism have stamped on chivalry, deriding men who opened doors or stood back for women as being sexist and patronising. It would have been better for women if feminism had appealed to men's better natures.''
Organiser Meredith Burgmann said Pastor Nalliah was a deserving winner, but he was nearly pipped by the NSW Police Force.
SOURCE
People power: Vegemite 'iSnack2.0' is toast, says Kraft
It's actually not the first such backdown. Vegemite was once called "Parwill" -- for equally ludicrous reasons
JARS of Vegemite labelled 'iSnack 2.0' are destined to become collectors items after Kraft announced today it will change the name. Just four days after Kraft announced the name of the new Vegemite, the company has issued a press release admitting that Australians “just don’t like the name”.
Kraft chose the name from more than 48,000 suggestions collected from a public competition. But the name - announced during the AFL Grand Final on Saturday - attracted an unprecedented outpouring of derision from Australians. About 3 million jars of the new, creamier version of vegemite have been sold since it was launched in July.
“The new name has simply not resonated with Australians - particularly the modern technical aspects associated with it,” Kraft corporate affairs boss Simon Talbot said. “At no point in time has the new Vegemite name been about initiating a media publicity stunt. “We are proud custodians of Vegemite, and have always been aware that it is the people's brand and a national icon."
The “iSnack 2.0” jars would not be recalled and thousands of jars already containing the new label would continue to be distributed around the country for several months. A second vote would be held to decide a new name, Mr Talbot said.
SOURCE
Unrest over illegal immigrants on Christmas island
Community leaders on Christmas Island say they are being treated like second-class citizens in comparison to asylum seekers arriving in Australian waters by boat. Islanders blame the $400 million immigration detention centre at North West Point - where all sea arrivals are taken for health and security checks - for many of the problems facing the remote Australian territory. Inflated food prices, a lack of accommodation for tourists, a shortage of rental cars and even crumbling roads are all due to the immigration detention centre's growing hunger for resources, they say.
Almost 1,500 people on 29 unauthorised vessels have been picked up on their way to Australia this year. There are currently 890 asylum seekers and 16 crew members being held on Christmas Island, which is 2,600km northwest of Perth and just 500km south of Jakarta. Some 726 are behind barbed wire in the detention centre itself. Another 145 are in the unfenced Phosphate Hill and construction camp facilities while 35 are living in the community. They're generally processed and flown to the mainland within three months.
This week, Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce visited the island and declared the asylum seekers ``seem very happy here - which is a concern''. Many had arrived with multi-vitamin tablets, an indication, Senator Joyce declared, that they were economic migrants rather than genuine refugees. Immigration department figures suggest otherwise: 641 people sent to Christmas Island have been found to be genuine refugees this year, while just 29 have been returned home. The rest are still being processed.
The island has a 1,500-strong permanent population, including large ethnic Chinese and Malay communities. Many are sympathetic to Senator Joyce's view. Local Islamic Council president Zainal Abdul Majid says the federal government uses taxpayers' money to look after the detainees while the islanders are neglected. ``They are being very well looked after, whereas the local community has got nothing out of the detention centre,'' Majid said. ``We feel as if we are second-class and not being looked after as well.''
Like most island leaders, Majid doesn't want the detention centre closed down now that it's been built at such expense. Rather, he wants more money to flow into the pockets of locals. ``Even if one per cent of the total amount spent on detainees is invested into the local community then they will say there's a balance and the government is looking after both sides.''
Christmas Island councillor Nora Koh, who is also president of the local women's association, claims food prices have increased 50 per cent since the new detention centre opened in late 2008. ``The traders are taking advantage of the increase in the population,'' she says. ``They know the economy on Christmas Island is up now but the refugees may not stay here long.'' Koh believes the island's four stores are essentially making hay while the sun shines.
When Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor visited earlier this month she pleaded for him to subsidise freight so fruit and vegetables could be sold more cheaply. It could be funded by increasing taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, which are currently duty free, Koh said. Others have suggested locals should be given an ID card that allows them to purchase goods at a discounted rate compared with the asylum seekers living in the community.
Those not locked up in the detention centre receive cash, phone cards and access to a store account equivalent to 90 per cent of the Newstart Allowance. That equates to $410 a fortnight. O'Connor says the assertion that the immigration department's increased presence on the island has pushed up food prices needs to be tested. ``We'll look at that,'' the minister said, adding that it could form part of the work of a newly formed commonwealth taskforce which is examining the economic and environmental sustainability of Christmas and nearby Cocos islands.
On a recent trip, journalist David Marr found prices weren't as high as claimed. ``But the food argument is as much about passion as price, and the feeling there should be something in this for them,'' he wrote.
The immigration department itself insists it goes to great lengths to ensure its presence on Christmas Island doesn't inflate prices. ``The department monitors any impact on the community very carefully and takes appropriate steps such as freighting in food as required to provide for staff as well as the people that are in detention,'' a spokeswoman said. ``The arrival of a large number of asylum seekers doesn't affect the community's food supply.''
There are 50 departmental staff working on the island. About 100 locals are employed by the contractor which runs the detention centre, the food caterer and maintenance companies. Immigration says the ``vast majority'' of staff travel to and from work in a mini-bus provided by the department. It also sponsors a community bus service. But sometimes the department does hire rental cars, which are in short supply.
Tourism association development officer Bill Tatchell blames immigration for monopolising cars and accommodation beds. The island turns away more tourists than it accepts due to capacity constraints, he says. ``We don't have the resources to deliver because the resources are being used by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.'' Like the Islamic Council and shire councillor Nora Koh, the tourism association wants the immigration department to invest in the island and build ``key infrastructure''. In particular, islanders say the road to the detention centre needs to be upgraded before it crumbles from heavy use.
SOURCE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
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
