New high terror alert issued for Australians travelling to Indonesia

New travel advice has been issued for Australians travelling to Indonesia urging them to exercise caution due to the high threat of terrorist attacks.   The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade last updated travel advice for all areas of Indonesia, including the tourist hub of Bali, on Monday.

Australian tourists are being urged to exercise a high degree of caution while on holidays with the government continuing to receive information that indicates terrorists may be planning attacks.

'Terrorists have previously attacked or planned to attack such places, including nightclubs, bars, restaurants, international hotels, airports and places of worship in Bali, Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia,' DFAT said.  'These types of venues could be attacked again.'

The terrorist bombings on a Bali nightclub in 2002 killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

'You should take particular care to avoid places known to be terrorist targets,' DFAT said.

'Tourist areas and attractions throughout Indonesia and tourists travelling to or from these places, including those in tour groups or tour buses, could be targeted.'

It comes as the US government warned of a potential threat against US-associated hotels and bank in Surabaya, north west of Bali.

'Terrorist groups remain active throughout Indonesia despite police disruptions,' DFAT said.

'Police continue to conduct operations against these groups and have stated publicly that terrorist suspects remaining at large may seek to attack western targets.  'In planning your activities, consider the kind of places known to be terrorist targets and the level of security provided at venues.'

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No contraception, no dole

By former Australian Labor Party politician GARY JOHNS.  As so often happens, Gary has drifted Rightward over the years

IF a person’s sole source of income is the taxpayer, the person, as a condition of benefit, must have contraception. No contraception, no benefit.

This is not an affront to single mothers or absent fathers, or struggling parents. Such a measure will undoubtedly affect strugglers, it undoubtedly will affect Aboriginal and Islander people in great proportions, but the idea that someone can have the taxpayer, as of right, fund the choice to have a child is repugnant.

Large families of earlier generations were the result of the combination of absent contraception and the need to have many children, in order that some survive to care for parents in old age.

These conditions do not now apply. Infant mortality is minuscule in all sectors of society, and the taxpayer picks up the tab for aged care.

Therefore, there should be no taxpayer inducement to have children. Potential parents of poor means, poor skills or bad character will choose to have children. So be it. But no one should enter parenthood while on a benefit.

It is better to avoid having children until such time as parents can afford them. No amount of ‘‘intervention’’ after the fact can make up for the strife that many parents bring down on their ­children.

As commissioner Tim Carmody wrote in the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry report in 2013, ‘‘some families will never rise to the challenge or have the capacity or commitment needed to take responsibility for the children they bring into the world’’.

And so it was that taxpayers were confronted with two cases over Christmas. Both happened to be indigenous, but of course, many non-indigenous cases abound. The first, in Cairns, involved a single mother with nine children from five fathers.

The usual allegations of failure to support were levelled at authorities. Gracelyn Smallwood, the enduring indigenous north Queensland activist, wanted ‘‘a 24-hour culturally appropriate service’’ for such mothers.

Indeed, all manner of culturally appropriate support has been forthcoming, but as Carmody found, ‘‘the growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care has severely outpaced the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers’’.

Better this woman had fewer children. Better men on benefits also could be prevented from having children.

Which recalls the second case, in Redfern, of contested parenting between the NSW Department of Family and Community Services and a grandmother for her daughter’s, and an absent father’s, six children.

Until June, the grandmother was caring for her six grandchildren and two of her daughters at different times, in a small two bedroom house in Redfern.

The department had taken the children and placed them in foster care.

The facts suggest the outcome was fraught, whatever the court’s decision about who ultimately cared for the children.

The grandmother, the mother and the absent father have been long-term alcoholics and drug abusers. But again, the large number of children made the burden intolerable.

The department outlined a long list of issues that faced the grandmother, for which it suggested multiple interventions.

These included help with her parenting; child protection counselling; drug and alcohol relapse prevention; literacy and numeracy assistance; respite care service; medical, dental and school appointments for the children; issues with the children’s behaviour; issues with people (including family members) staying overnight in the home; children spending time with the parents; children spending time outside the home; housing problems; fin­ancial problems; and other concerns about the safety or welfare of the children.

Other than that, everything was just fine.

The department had a long history of involvement with the grandmother from when she was 16, with her first child.

The grandmother had started drinking alcohol at age 12 and went on to use a range of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine and heroin. The grandmother was not focused on her children when they were young. Indeed, her mother was the main carer of her first three children.

The mother acknowledged drinking alcohol to excess, being subjected to assaults by the father and leaving the children unsupervised. There had been a number of ‘‘risk of harm’’ reports related to both parents’ abuse of alcohol and poor supervision, for example, leaving the children unattended while they were at the local pub.

There was serious domestic violence between the parents.

Some families, some communities, some cultures breed strife. Governments cannot always fix it. Compulsory contraception for those on benefits would help crack intergenerational reproduction of strife. As for inadequate non-beneficiaries, we just have to grin and bear it.

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Dangerous eccentric who doesn't believe in vaccinating children defends controversial tour to Australia

Sherri Tenpenny's not worth a dime

A prolific U.S. anti-vaccine campaigner who will be speaking at child health seminars across Australia has defended them after pro-immunisation parents labelled them as 'disgusting'.

Sherri Tenpenny, who has written books such as Saying No to Vaccines and Flu and Flu Vaccines: What's Coming Through That Needle?, will be touring in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney in February and March.

But pro-vaccination campaigners have hit out at the Raising Healthy Children Naturally, and Birth, Baby and Beyond seminars.

Dr Tenpenny said she found the backlash on social media 'curious'.

'I planned to be in Australia for a holiday and was asked to speak with a few groups who are interested in discussing the pros and cons of vaccines,' she told Daily Mail Australia via email.

'It is curious why the public health, pro-vaccine community is so outraged over my visit and the opportunity to share information sourced from conventional medical journals.

'If vaccines were so effective, so protective and so incredibly safe, no one would be interested in these gatherings.  'The public health community should be willing to openly discuss they problems associated with vaccines, how to improve vaccine safety, and how to restore the health of those who have been vaccine-injured.'

As soon as next month, Australians will also get the chance to sit down and have dinner with the high-profile anti-vaccination campaigner, with tickets ranging from $125 to $200.

On her website, Dr Tenpenny writes she believes 'vaccines can cause more harm to the health of the individual' and is against 'a system that forces parents to inject their children, against their better judgment'.

Her views on immunisation are further demonstrated by the T-shirts sold on her site, which read: 'I didn't deny my children vaccines... I spared them' and 'Fact: 1 in 50 = Autism Overall, Fact: 1 in 25,000 = Unvaccinated, Prove Me Wrong'.

But Dr Tenpenny's visit have people so outraged they have vowed to write to local politicians to stop her from spreading her message, with Stop the AVN - a group who are for vaccines - leading the charge. 

Stop the AVN's Dave Hawkes told Daily Mail Australia the group's concern was Dr Tenpenny 'peddled misinformation'.  'She’s giving information that's not supported by evidence and marketing it to people with alternative views and possibly leaving them in danger by not vaccinating their young children,' he said.

Dr Hawkes - who has a PhD in HIV research - said it was also concerning that people who were joining Dr Tenpenny, like Isaac Goldman, were spruiking homeopathic vaccines, which are 'essentially water'.  'The evidence shows they don’t work… and leaves their kids susceptible,' Dr Hawkes said.

'Recently a seven-month-old child who was not vaccinated died from whooping cough.'

One of Stop the AVN's supporters wrote on social media she was going to write to federal politicians asking for their intervention.

'I'm writing to the Hon. Sussan Ley and Fiona Nash (health minister and assistant health minister). Vaccines are recommended by every state body in Australia. They are incentivised by our federal govt,' one woman said on Facebook.

While others have expressed their disgust on the social media pages of the venues holding the seminars.  'I am beyond disgusted that you are hosting an anti vaccination seminar in March... Children die each year in this country as a result of this misinformation, is the small amount of money you are going to get... worth it?' a Facebook user wrote on Melbourne's Bayview Eden page.

Another wrote: 'Cannot believe you are hosting an anti vaccine seminar in March, disgusting. Never staying here, ever.'

This comes after the Federal Court ruled against Homeopathy Plus, finding homeopathic vaccines were not scientifically proven to be effective, and said the health website had mislead people into thinking they could be used as a substitute for medical vaccines, News Corp reported.

National Centre of Immunisaiton Research and Surveillance director Peter McIntyre told Daily Mail Australia Dr Tenpenny was tapping into people's 'fear factor'.

'When we've got no disease to see, it's very easy to look at something like autism - unfortunately it's something we still don't understand - and start to suggest it has something to do with being vaccinated. You can understand why people would believe that,' he said.  'But there are hundreds of studies that disprove that.'

Professor McIntyre added there was no scientific evidence homeopathic vaccinations protected people against infectious diseases.  He said it was like asking someone if they wanted to be vaccinated with 'sterile water'.  'It’s just laughable really,' Professor McIntyre said.

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Cripes!  Dangerous jellyfish in Brisbane

That means that the entire coast of Queensland is at risk.  Thank goodness for the Wynnum lagoon, I guess

A late afternoon ocean swim for a mother and her children turned into a complete nightmare which almost cost her young son his life.

Raelene Murphy and her two children Ruth, 9, and Sebastian, 6, were enjoying the 'warm bath water' at Wellington Point beach, Brisbane, at about 4pm on New Year's Eve.   But it wasn't long before Raelene realised she had been stung by a creature and when Sebastian came towards her in the knee-deep water he began to scream in pain.

Paramedics revived the young boy on the way to the hospital after he lost consciousness, the Brisbane Times reported.

'I took off my reef shoes and pulled the tentacles off my feet,' Raelene told Daily Mail Australia.  'The tentacle that was wrapped around my shoe was about 50cm long in total.'

She said her son must have walked straight into the creature as he was only about a metre away from her as he walked towards his mother after she was stung.

'Then I asked people nearby to take care of Sebastian and make sure he was OK because I was having problems breathing and I had pains in my chest,' she said.

Raelene was convinced that she was having a heart attack as the unbearable pain spread to her lower back, legs and arms.  'I thought I was dying and my son said he thought he was dying too,' she said.

'The first ambulance took my son who was vomiting, frothing at the mouth and his lips had turned blue.'

Sebastian needed three shots of adrenalin and one shot of morphine before being monitored in hospital for the night.  While Raelene received two shots of morphine for the excruciating pain to begin to subside.

'Sebastian is a very healthy and fit kid but if it was someone half his size - it would have been a very different situation,' his mother said.

'Initially we were terribly worried as he is quite a talented pianist and cellist, however, he will make a full recovery.'

Royal Life Saving Society national medical adviser Professor John Pearn and world marine stinger expert Lisa-ann Gershwin were sent a sample of the creature's tentacles and identified it as an irukandji morbakka fenneri, which is coincidentally the species Gershwin discovered in Moreton Bay and named in 2008.

'The specimen that stung Sebastian was unusual and the second most potent I've ever seen,' Dr Gershwin told the Brisbane Times.

This incident follows, Dr Gershwin's warning back in August that the dangerous creatures were around Broadwater beach on the Gold Coast and that the numbers would increase as the earth warmed.

Dr Gershwin said the Morbakka species was responsible for a diver being put on life supports off Cairns in 2000.

'In this case the woman saw the critter whack into her while she was diving, and then the specimen was captured by her dive buddy so the ID was pretty reliable,' she told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

A lifelong Wellington Point resident who has swum at the beach since she was child, Raelene wanted to share her story to warn others about the dangers of the beach as she had never heard of this specific creature ever sighted in the area.

'I don't want anyone else to go through it,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'I would never have taken my son into the water and put him at risk if I had have known.  'I don't think we were unlucky we were stung, we are lucky to have survived and gained an appreciation of the sea and have been able to warn others.'

Redland council erected warning signs at Wellington Point within hours of being notified about the incident and were unaware of the species ever being sighted along the council's beaches.

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A sweeping triumph for Greenies: Cyclist liberation in Queensland

This is dream legislation for Greenies.  They hate cars (except their own, of course) and this facilitates an alternative to cars.  But it goes way too far.  Cyclists should always be obliged to use cycle lanes where they are available.  I wouldn't be surprised if angry motorists knocked a few of them down over unnecessary but now legal obstruction.  Whoever put this legislation through must have bypassed all consultation

Since January 1, cyclists have been allowed to ride in any lane on a multi-lane road, ride across pedestrian crossings without dismounting and are no longer required to ride inside designated cycle lanes.

Cyclist Stewart Moore of Tarragindi said riders and drivers needed to learn how to better share the road.  “As soon as people start getting aware (of the rules) the whole road culture changes, and that has to happen over a period of time where we learn to better share the road,” Mr Moore said. “Cyclists have to understand their role, and it goes the same for cars.”

Mr Moore said many cyclists were not clear on the previous road rules, and the new changes have helped to formalise the situation.

Cyclist Tony O’Brien of Sunnybank Hills said the changes to cycling rules were “common sense”, including allowing cyclists to ride their bikes across pedestrian and children’s crossings.

“We don’t make people get out of their car and push it across the road,” he said.

However, RACQ executive manager of public policy Michael Roth said the rules had cleared up common misunderstandings about what cyclists were allowed to do.

“The new rules have made it clearer to understand what cyclists can do,” Mr Roth said.

“But it’s important for the government to educate the public on the cycling rules.”

NEW RULES OF THE ROAD

* Cyclists are NOT obliged to ride in the bicycle lane, and can ride on the road instead.

* A cyclist is able to ride across a zebra or children’s crossing as long as they come to a complete stop before doing so.

* Cyclists can choose to take up the whole lane at a single-lane roundabout.

* Cars must give a minimum passing distance of at least 1m in a 60km/h zone, or 1.5m in a speed zone of above 60km/h.

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Why halal certification is in turmoil

I put up yesterday Kirralie Smith's objections to the article by Chris Johnston below.  The first paragraph is largely untrue and would in my view support an action for defamation.  He supplies a nice picture of her though.  The issues concerned over Halal certification have at least now made it into the mainstream press -- JR



Kirralie Smith is a permaculture farmer from northern New South Wales and a mother of three. She is also the public face of the virulent campaign to boycott halal food and products.

Halal means permissible for Muslims to eat or use, and the Facebook page "'Boycott Halal in Australia" has 41,000 supporters.

Smith speaks at events organised by "Islam-critical" groups such as the Q Society, which has also been involved in local campaigns to stop mosques being built. Her "Halal Choices" website, she says, gets 80,000 visitors a month.

She says her objection is not to Islam itself but the extra cost she thinks is imposed on Australian consumers by companies paying to have products – everything from milk to pies and shampoo – certified halal.

Halal products are certified as being free from anything that Muslims are not allowed to eat or use (such as pork and alcohol). The products must be made and stored using machines that  are cleansed according to Islamic law.

Large processing plants will have Muslim staff members who are accredited in some instances to bless the factory. Halal slaughtering of animals in Australia is done after they are stunned.

Smith and her supporters claim halal certification is a scam by Muslim interests to raise money for mosques and therefore for "jihad." They base this assertion on media reports in France, Canada and the United States claiming certification funds had been paid to organisations linked to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Yet neither Smith nor her unofficial patron, the Q Society, could elaborate on the Australian situation. "To the best of our knowledge no one has yet undertaken similar research," says Q Society's national president Debbie Robinson.

Mohammed Eris, the treasurer of the Supreme Islamic Council of Halal Meat in Australia, says he is "saddened" to hear regular accusations that Muslim halal certifying bodies funnel money to terrorism. His organisation has the contract with Coles to certify supermarket products. "We are Australians," he says. "I love my footy, my cricket, my meat pies. Halal pies of course."

He says the council has funded youth groups and non-Muslim youth cancer organisations such as the Starlight Children's Foundation Australia which supports children with cancer and their families. "We practise our beliefs but with respect for the others around us."

The Australian Crime Commission told NewMatilda.com  recently that no links were found between the "legitimate halal certification industry" and the "financing of terrorist groups".

Still, Smith maintains halal certification is a religious tax and jihad is more subtle than terrorism.

A significant amount of products in Australian stores are halal certified including food from SPC, Sanitarium, Cadburys, Nestle, Kelloggs, Master Foods, Mainland, La Ionica and Kraft. Supermarket chains such as Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Ritchies pay for certification for some products, as do dairy factories and meat processors.

According to the Q Society, 75 per cent of poultry suppliers, the four major dairy companies, 60 per cent of sheep abattoirs and more than half of Australian cattle abattoirs produce certified goods.

Still, the Australian Food and Grocery Council says halal certification costs are "negligible" and "highly unlikely" to change pricing.

One of the main things that Smith and the anti-Halal movement objects to is foods or products that are deemed intrinsically halal  – such as white milk, honey and nuts – having halal certification.

She claims certifiers put undue pressure on companies, blackmailing them with the threat of being branded anti-Islam or racist if they don't comply.

So far, South Australian dairy company Fleurieu has dropped its halal status – due to perceived negative publicity on anti-Halal social media pages – losing a big deal with Emirates Airlines in the process. It paid only $1000 to be certified. The costs of certification vary between $1000 for a small company to $27,000 a month for a large abattoir.

Prominent brands such as Four 'N Twenty, Kelloggs, Byron Bay Cookies, Cadburys and Pauls have been targeted in online anti-Halal campaigns but have stood firm, all stating that halal certification means they can export their product to Muslim countries.

Yet, behind the headlines, the booming halal certification industry is wracked by upheaval and recriminations both domestically and in export markets, with allegations of bribes paid by Australian certifiers to an Indonesian Halal agency.

The new Indonesian government has dismantled Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) – the country's main Islamic body and halal controller –  which approves halal imports, shifting the goalposts significantly in a highly competitive $12 billion export industry.

The MUI has held a stranglehold on Australian halal exports by being able to dictate which Australian certifiers are favoured. But in one of the former Indonesian government's last acts, a new body – the Halal Product Assurance Organising Agency – was set up. It will be phased in over the next three years.

"The full impact on Australian exports will emerge only once detailed regulations are developed and implemented," an Australian department of agriculture spokesperson said. "The department will continue to work with the relevant halal-approving bodies in Indonesia to support Australian exports."

The bribery allegations were initially aired in Indonesian news magazine Tempo this year. Fairfax Media has established a Melbourne whistleblower wrote to three Australian government departments including the Federal Police in March telling them of corruption allegations between the MUI and Australian halal certifiers trying to firm up the lucrative export market in Indonesia.

The allegations include bribes paid to the MUI. Fairfax Media has seen an MUI contract sent to Australian certifiers requiring them to "contribute in activities for the halal product service in Indonesia".

A Department of Agriculture spokesman said: "The department is unable to comment on any investigation that may currently be underway."

Halal certification in Australia is dominated by four big Islamic groups – one in Melbourne and three in Sydney. They are the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, the unofficial peak body; the Halal Certification Authority Australia, the Supreme Islamic Council of Halal Meat in Australia and the Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria.

There are 21 Islamic groups approved by the federal government to issue halal certificates but many – in regional areas – service only small meat processors. The big four, all classed as not-for-profit enterprises, do the bulk of the work across meat and non-meat products. 

Internationally, the halal market is valued in the trillions with 20 per cent annual growth, fuelled by a rising Muslim middle class in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia and the increasing reach of affluent Muslim travellers.

Big Australian certifiers are heavily regulated by the Australian Quarantine and Export Service (AQIS; a federal government body within the Department of Agriculture) but this covers only export products. Halal certification for domestic products, restaurants and butcher shops is unregulated. This is estimated to be about 10 per cent of the total halal market.

"I can make cheese in my little factory and get a local organisation to certify it halal," says Ahmed Kilani, who runs a Sydney halal consultancy and co-founded the website Muslim Village.

 "I could set up tomorrow to certify butchers and restaurants. I can charge whatever I want. Who certifies the certifier? It should be written into the law but it isn't."

Mohammed Khan, of certifiers Halal Australia, says he has been pushing the government for tighter domestic halal standards since 2008 with no traction. He says certain certifiers enjoy a state-by-state monopoly at the expense of other hopefuls.

In contrast, the big export certifiers are audited by the Australian government and also by Islamic governing bodies in countries that receive the products.

"These are mainstream organisations. They are not start ups," says Ahmed Kilani. Just "one local scandal," he says – misuse of funds or non-halal products being certified – could have a major economic impact.

"If a product is exported to say Indonesia or Saudi Arabia then the governments of those countries have whole departments full of scholars and food scientists looking closely at what happens. They are not going to give a backyarder permission to certify."

Under Islamic law, the money the certifiers earn is supposed to cover costs and if there is any left it goes to the Muslim community organisations that the certifying company is aligned with – mosques, schools and welfare groups.

Those who control the certification rights can also fund imams and bring preachers to Australia. Sydney-based Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) set up an Islamic school in Tarneit in Melbourne's west and an Islamic centre on Christmas Island for Malaysian Muslims, says chief executive officer Amjad Mahboob.

"The international halal market is huge," Mahboob says, "and Australia being a primary producer of food items means we are relied upon so it's very important the credibility of what we do is protected at all times."

Yet that credibility has sometimes been brittle. In 2003, a court case involving Shafiq Khan, an influential figure around Sydney's Supreme Islamic Council of Halal Meat in Australia, saw former supporters swear he had diverted without approval more than $1 million to charities, including his own Al-Faisal College, at the expense of constituent charities. Former Prime Minister John Howard opened the college in 2000. Mr Khan negotiated a settlement and agreed to return the money to the council.

In 2009, the Victorian Supreme Court found the Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria (ICCV) had defamed a competitor in the lucrative halal trade, and ordered damages be paid.

Then in 2012 a Sydney Islamic school aligned to the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils was ordered to pay back $9m in NSW government funding after it was found money had been allegedly diverted to the federation the peak body for halal certification in Australia. "It is a matter that is before the court," said Mahboob. "We are disputing the [NSW] minister's findings."

This year, in a Federal Court trademark case it was revealed two Sydney kebab shops got free fake certificates from a wholesaler, which if they'd opted to buy them elsewhere would have cost $5000 each.

In Melbourne and Sydney, the certifying industry has begun to move away from predominantly Middle Eastern interests  towards businesspeople from Turkey and the Balkans.

An investigator familiar with the industry said it was a "highly competitive"  and "very incestuous" market. "It is riven with factions," he said.

Credibility can also be an issue to those seeking a boycott on halal products can also face. Theirs is a campaign that has been hijacked to an extent by extreme right-wing groups such as Restore Australia, the Australian Defence League and the Patriots' Defence League.

Last year, a Queensland woman was charged with food tampering after stickers stating that halal food funds terrorism were attached to coffee in a supermarket. The woman charged bought the stickers from former One Nation candidate Mike Holt -- who has raised funds for a contentious campaign to stop a mosque being built in Bendigo.

Kirralie Smith, meanwhile, says she is being courted by all kinds of small political parties to stand for Parliament.

"All of the minor parties have asked me to represent them. 'You have to be our senator,' they say, 'you have to be our candidate'. The Christian parties, the right wing parties. I really like [right-wing Christian Democratic Party politician in Sydney] Fred Nile, I think he is great. He would love me to join his party."

Early in 2015, Q Society will present a petition to federal parliament demanding the Corporations Act 2001 be changed to mean only Muslims bear the cost of halal certification on everyday products.

When pressed on the lack of evidence that Australian consumers are being ripped off by halal cartels – and that money raised funds nefarious activities – Smith says her  "primary focus" is lack of choices for consumers and she is "happy to be wrong" in her claims.

"I understand it is complex. I felt deceived that companies pay halal certification fees and there was no way as a consumer and an ordinary mum that I knew."

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Australia’s future teachers could be lacking basic literacy skills

They already are

A new study has highlighted alarmingly low levels of literacy among undergraduates studying high school teaching, with the results suggesting the graduating teachers could have worse literacy skills than some of their future students.

Some of the would-be teachers who participated in the study did not spell one word correctly out of a list of 20, while only one third managed to get more than 50 per cent of the answers right.

Not one of the 203 student teachers from an unnamed Australian university were able to spell all 20 words correctly.

Published by the Australian Journal of Teacher Education, the study listed some of the more frequently misspelled words. They included 'acquaintance', 'definite', 'exaggerate', and 'parallel'.

The study, conducted by Dr Brian Moon from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia, also found the university students struggled with the definitions of particular words.

The word 'candid' was given definitions including 'something hidden', 'burned sugar', and 'cooked in sugar'. Hyperbole was thought to be 'a poem' or a type of Jamaican fruit, and kosher was defined as 'a type of bean' and 'a weapon'.

Dr Moon writes that some of these guesses show "a tendency for subject specialists to make guesses that reflected their narrow knowledge base."

Dr Moon said these poor literacy results are a big problem.  "Analysis of the results showed high rates of error on general spelling and vocabulary tasks," wrote Dr Moon.

"The raw evidence of student performance on spelling, vocabulary and writing tasks still suggests that some graduating teachers have literacy skills below the ability level of the students they will be hired to teach."

The study pointed out while the accuracy – or lack of – in the student spelling tests is an issue, a closer look at how the students attempted to spell showed a range of problems with their 'personal literacy competence'.

"While the occasional near miss is to be expected, many of the errors reported here point to significant - and probably longstanding - deficits in spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation," Dr Moon noted.

"Many undergraduate students appear to have literacy problems so fundamental that remediation in the late stages of their degree program cannot hope to overcome a lifetime of poor literacy performance."

Dr Moon suggests setting a higher - or different - university admission standard for teaching degrees, but also working to fix this literacy problems much sooner in their school and university careers.

The Federal Government is due to release a report on possible improvements to teacher education soon.

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The army of death

To a certain extent, Australia’s jihadist contribution to the Islamic State cause in Syria and Iraq is a self-solving problem. Our brave soldiers of Allah are evidently such incompetent warriors that they are being killed at almost the same rate as they arrive.

“The overall number of Australians currently fighting with or supporting Islamic extremist groups in Syria and Iraq has remained consistent over recent months,” ASIO deputy director-general Kerri Hartland told a Senate hearing earlier this month.

“However, this does not reflect a reduction in the number of Australian travellers. Instead it reflects the relatively high casualty rate for Australians, with the numbers of new arrivals roughly keeping pace with the fatalities.”

Keep it up, lads. Danish jihadists may be slightly more intelligent, not only surviving in greater numbers but also running back to Denmark after realising that glorious martyrdom is not a great long-term career choice. This presents obvious problems for Danish authorities, who besides dealing with an already-agitated Islamic minority in their small nation – less than one-quarter of Australia’s population – must now cope with extremists made even crazier by their Syrian frolics.

Police in the Danish port town of Aarhus have opted for the total wimp approach with their jihad returnees. “Rather than jail time, they’re given medical care for their wounds, a therapist for post-traumatic stress, and even help with homework and job applications. Their parents are also offered counseling,” reports Public Radio International.

So they are actually rewarding Islamic State extremists. It’s a “get ahead by removing heads” jihadi cuddle program.

“We see this as crime prevention,” Jorgen Illum, the police commissioner in charge of the ridiculous program, told PRI. “We want to prevent young people from becoming radicalised to an extent that they might be a threat to the society.”

Considering that they’ve already signed up for warfare, it might be a little too late to worry about further radicalisation. They’re already as radicalised as they can be. It might also be doubtful that Danish therapy and homework assistance can overcome some of the education programs being run for jihadists in Syria.

The Wall Street Journal‘s Maria Abi-Habib last week revealed the full horror of Islamic State’s training regimen for new recruits. For example, children as young as eight are given lessons in beheading – using captured Syrian soldiers as practice victims.

Abi-Habib spoke with former Islamic State fighter Jomah, who has since fled for Turkey. The 17-year-old described instructors bringing three terrified Syrians before the class and calling for volunteers to behead them."The youngest boys shot up their hands and several were chosen to participate,"Abi-Habib reports. “Afterward, the teachers ordered the students to pass around the severed heads.”

“It was like learning to chop an onion,"Jomah recalled. “You grab him by the forehead and then slowly slice across the neck.”

Good luck to any western authorities attempting to recalibrate blood-drenched graduates from Islamic State’s killbot colleges, although Jomah himself seems quite unmoved by his introduction to throat-slashing. “I’d become desensitised by that time,” he said. “The beheading videos they’d shown us helped.”

That’s nice of them.

Following 45 days of training and a 15-day post grad course, junior jihais are divided into roles that suit their particular levels of extremist madness: becoming suicide bombers, joining the battlefield, guarding military installations or serving as bodyguards. According to a 14-year-old ex-trainee interviewed by Abi-Habib,"the stupid ones were always chosen for suicide bombers.” Which possibly explains the high Australian fatality rate.

Those Australians who survive their jihadi holidays and crawl back to our country face less friendly treatment than is dished out by the Danes. “Obviously you don’t go off fighting in foreign lands –not as a member of the Australian Defence Force – and come back and think you are not going to be on our radar,” Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said last week. “And that’s because of the experiences that they have, and the skill set that they pick up by being involved in fighting elsewhere.”

Stewart continued: “There is a potential for those within the community to commit terror, a criminal act and I don’t think we can drop our guard for one second.”

This seems like a realistic approach. Even better, of course, would be to subject all returnees to the long jail sentences available under new counter-terrorism laws. Word of these laws is said to have convinced some jihadists to hide in Syria rather than return home, which is the best outcome of all.

Well, second best.

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Australia’s Islamic leadership: condemning alcohol and regretting the death of a murderer

by Bernard Gaynor

Australia’s Islamic leadership: condemning alcohol and regretting the death of a murderer
Sigh.

Sometimes I despair for the future. It is difficult not to. Especially when supposed news organisations publish articles about the Lindt Café Islamic State murderer with the following quote:

“why exactly he took 17 people hostage inside a busy Sydney cafe with a gun and a fake bomb strapped to his chest, we may never know.”

We all know why Man Haron Monis did these things. He was following the blueprint laid out by Mohammad.

What we cannot possibly answer is this: why is news.com.au allowed to pretend to be a ‘news’ organisation? The only way anyone would know that what it publishes is allegedly ‘news’ is because it has the word ‘news’ in its web address. Otherwise, sensible people would simply assume they had stumbled upon the deluded musings of a bunch of 15 year old school girls and their cool, gay BFF. And sensible people would then flee from the site and never return.

I hate to say this, but news.com.au very often makes the ABC look like a bunch of professionals. And that is scary.

At least the good news is that Tony Abbott has called for a complete, thorough and transparent investigation into Man Haron Monis and how and why he ended up here in Australia and was then able to walk into a café with a shotgun.

I support this inquiry.  If it does what it should.

But I will also point out that it is likely to cost millions. And at the end of it we will probably be told that, unfortunately, there is nothing much we can do in a peaceful, democratic society to stop the Man Haron Monises of the world from doing what they do. And that would be a complete waste. So, free of charge, here is all the Prime Minister needs to know.

We need to stop the bleeding hearts from allowing people who believe that Mohammad was a good guy from coming into our country. And then these problems will disappear.  It’s that simple.

Unfortunately, that’s unlikely to happen and we’ll get a bunch of multicultural mumbo-jumbo.

And I will say bollocks to that right here and now. Peaceful and democratic does not mean unable to do anything to defend oneself. Mr Monis was only here because, under governments both Liberal and Labor, bleeding heart public servants decided that security was less important than stupidity.

I will say that again.  Our nation has made a virtue of stupidity.

As a result, people who hold the same beliefs as the Taliban and Osama bin Laden have been allowed to settle in Australia, claim social security payments and then plot and plan the death and destruction of the rest of us. They have even been able to write foul and abusive letters to the families of slain Aussie Diggers. And get away with it.

Given that, it is no surprise that they have now started taking lethal pot shots at innocent civilians.

This is the entirely logical outcome of the public policy settings of the last decades based on the assumption that multiculturalism is infallible.

And like they say in the movies, assumptions are the brothers of words starting with f and ending in up.

That is exactly what we have seen over the past few days.

And with ‘news’ organisations like news.com.au running around and setting the public agenda, not much is likely to change in the future. Because, for the most part, the journalists are a bunch bleeding heart morons with a death wish for this nation.

They can’t even report the news. They make up fairy tales instead. Like the ‘fact’ that the leadership of the Islamic community has condemned the ‘Lone Wolf’ Monis.

It has done no such thing. Instead, it has tailored its message for the audience. The Islamic community has been exhorted to withstand the heat and informed that ANIC regrets the way the siege ended. It’s the rest of Australia that’s been told the siege was not Islam at work.

And Monis had more social media followers than Australia’s Grand Mufti. So I don’t really know who the Grand Mufti speaks for anyway.

We can see the media’s bulldust when we look at the webpage of the Australian National Imam’s Council (ANIC).

For your information, ANIC are the same bunch of imams that wrote to the Federal Senate in October to tell our nation’s parliament that laws prohibiting the advocacy of terror infringed their religious freedom.

Not that you would know that. That little admission was not deemed ‘newsworthy’.

Yet it is the smoking gun, fired by the nation’s most senior Islamic cleric, that proves Islam is a violent ideology. No other religious organisation felt compelled to tell our 76 Federal Senators not to vote for new anti-terror laws because it impacted on their religious freedoms. I’m guessing that’s because none of the other religious organisations follow a religion that advocates terror. But, you never know, maybe the Islamic leadership were simply trying to defend their peaceful beliefs from the nutters out there offering to ride with oppressed hijab wearing women on the local bus.

Anyway, ANIC’s press releases over the last 8 days are very revealing.

In short, one has condemned a fake imam. And the other has expressed regret at Man Haron Monis’ demise. One has condemned alcohol. And the other has told the Islamic community to remain strong after one of its members murdered two Australians at Christmas time.

As this link shows, ANIC had a go at a fake imam on 10 December. His name is Mostafa Rashed. And he preached that you can drink alcohol as long as you don’t get drunk.

It is a message so outrageous that Australia’s Islamic leadership were compelled to act. Rashed has been named, shamed and condemned. And, guess what? The Koran was even quoted.

But can you find any press releases on ANIC’s website naming, shaming and condemning Monis? Or even quoting from the Koran about why coffee shop slaughter is not halal?

No. No. No and No.

There’s not one having a go at him for sending abusive letters to the families of Australian Diggers.

Not one having a go at him for being a fake sheikh.

Not one having a go at him for setting his ex-wife on fire.

There is not even a press release having a go at Monis after he was charged with 40 criminal sexual offences. For your interest, there is a press release praising marriage laws in Lebanon. They allow old men to make brides of nine year old girls.

In fact, there is no press release having a go at Monis for killing two people in the Lindt Café either.

There is a press release, however, expressing regret at the way the siege ended. I suppose that makes sense. After all, every Muslim in the Lindt Café was slain. That’s Islamophobia for you and it would also explain why ANIC then told the Islamic community to call the Multicultural hotline if they feel the slightest bit threatened by all the racist Australians out there.

So there you have it. Australia’s Islamic leadership have shown the capability and intent to name, shame and condemn fake imams when they break Islamic law. On alcohol. But not when other fake sheikhs make national news headlines for murder. Or sexual offences. Or sending letters to the families of Australia’s war dead.

ANIC obviously thinks that prohibition of alcohol is more important than coffee shop killings. That’s moderate Islam for you.

Now there’s a real news story. And that’s why you will never see it on news.com.au.

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Fairfax rags support Muslim protection racket

Kirralee Smith’s introduction to Fairfax style journalism was a rude awakening for a country mum with a legitimate halal beef. She explains here:

“Sunday 28th December 2014 was either a very slow news day or halal certification rackets are finally getting the attention they deserve. Chris Johnston of The Age in Melbourne wrote a story called “Stewing over certifying halal” that was published in the print and online versions of The Age and Sun Herald.

“While it appeared in the “Extra” section of the print versions it was one of the top two trending stories online. And I use the word ‘story’ in the context of fiction and fairy tales.

“I gave Chris Johnston a very long and detailed interview over the phone quite a few weeks ago. I explained to him several times that I founded and direct Halal Choices – an online website and facebook page that aims to give Australian consumers accurate information about the halal certification status of products to give each person the ability to make an informed choice.

“Notice the word CHOICES. It was a deliberate decision to make that a part of our name. We believe most Australians are more than capable of making responsible choices but they need information to be able to do so.

“The catalyst for starting the website was that many companies, especially the big ones, like Cadbury, Nestle, Mars, Kelloggs and Sanitarium don’t respect the consumer enough to give them the choice. Close to 500 companies or brands on Australian supermarket shelves neglect to make plain and clear that they pay halal certification fees. It is not marked on the label and often it is quite difficult to find evidence on the website.

“Chris Johnston is described as a “Senior Writer” for The Age. I was under the impression that would mean experience, fairness and the reporting of facts. However Chris Johnston made a decision to write a piece of fiction about me.

“The opening statement of his story is, “Kirralie Smith is a permaculture farmer from northern NSW and a mother of three. She is also the public face of the virulent campaign to boycott halal food and products.”

“Well, he got my name right. And I do live in NSW.

“Calling me a permaculture farmer is ridiculous and I told him so several times. I have recently moved to a farm and we have aspirations to follow some permaculture principles. I made it clear that that part of my life has nothing to do with Halal Choices.

“I began Halal Choices in 2010. I moved to our farm 3 months ago! He was persistent in trying to get a photographer to my house to capture me farming. I refused, stating over and over again, that it had nothing to do with the report and no-one was coming to my house. He clearly had an agenda from the outset and was most unhappy I would not cooperate.

“Primarily I am a proud and happy wife and mother of three. That is who I am! I love my role as wife and mum and it is this that drives me to pursue Halal Choices for Australian consumers. I believe we all deserve the right to choose whether or not we want to participate with and fund Islamic religious practices. If you do, fine, it is your choice. But if you don’t, for whatever reason, you also should be able to choose. Islamic religious practices do not need to be imposed upon everyday Australians and we certainly don’t need to fund them.

“As for being ‘the public face of a virulent campaign to boycott halal food and products’ all Mr Johnston has done is prove his gross incompetence or deliberately deceptive agenda.

“There is a facebook page called “Boycott Halal in Australia.” I do not run it. I am not an admin. I don’t have any influence with the group other than they like or share some of my posts. I don’t represent or lead boycotts at all. I promote information and choices. Chris Johnston has been deliberately misleading in writing such a nasty, opinion based, harmful description of me in his opening paragraph and trying to pass it off as fact.

“But it says far more about him than it does about me.
“Even after asking him to correct this and apologise he changed a few words to make it more factual but the sentiment remains and no apology issued.

“The word virulent is especially nasty. It means, “(of a disease or poison) extremely severe or harmful in its effects.” In exposing his agenda to harm my reputation it confirms that the media is afraid of an intelligent and rational debate when it comes to giving accurate and extensive information about halal certification. It seems easier to try and stifle debate with petty name-calling and insults.

“He reports that I am concerned about the extra costs imposed on consumers. I explained to him that is certainly a factor BUT not our main concern. It is the deception and corruption which are much bigger factors. He omitted very key points as well as this. Yes halal certification has been linked to funding terrorism overseas and as yet there has been no thorough investigation into the Australian situation.

“What he omitted from my concerns is that nearly all the money raised goes to mosques in Australia, to build more mosques, Islamic schools and to support Islamic charities. Those pursuits need to be funded by the Islamic community, not every day Australians who are not even aware of it because the information is not on the label. We deserve a CHOICE!

“Mr Johnston reports that Fleurieu Milk lost their lucrative deal with Emirates as result of dropping halal certification. This is what many news agencies also reported in mid November. However, as of the 9th December Nick Hutchinson from Fleurieu said that the contract stills stands, it had not ceased at all.

“To his credit Chris Johnston did mention some of the corruption in the industry but was very careful not to target or demonise anyone else, even though I had passed on quite a few of the reports myself. I guess one house-wife, mother-of-three, aspiring-permaculture-farmer- villain is enough for any fairy tale about choices magically turning into boycotts.

“Be careful what you take in from the media. The apple might look bright and juicy but it could be laced with poison.”

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The 2UE/2GB merger and how it may affect the news you hear

2UE & 2GB have been solid commercial rivals for close to 90yrs. As of today, two of Australia's oldest radio stations have the same ownership. Go back a decade or two and what’s happened today would be as unimaginable as Channels 7 and 9 merging or Parramatta and Manly becoming the same team – but this is a move for survival.

Both stations need to reduce costs to maintain profitability, as the share of advertising revenue going to radio is not keeping pace with rising operational expenses.

That said, I think people who think 2UE will cease being a talk station are misreading the market.

Despite all that the management has done to the station over the years, 2UE’s share of 4 or 5% listenership likes what’s there – and if 2UE wasn’t a talk station, they may go elsewhere and probably not to 2GB. It’s too great a risk for to many listeners for the new partnership.

2UE has a cumulative audience across the week of about 270k versus 2GB’s 520k. That’s a stack of people to risk let going elsewhere.

My prediction; 2UE will remain a low-cost but better-managed talk station.  The best hope will be the end of the era of constant changes to the 2UE line-up. Talk radio is about familiar voices.

I’ve felt for UE programme directors Peter Brennan and Clinton Maynard who’ve had to watch as decisions were made ‘around them’ by consultants and so-called experts, often to the detriment of the station.  Even in the 3 years that I worked at the station, 14 changes to the primetime line-up were made – versus 2GB, which had made only one.

By contrast, 2UE’s weekend stars, George Moore and Paul B Kidd have been doing their great show for over a decade - largely untouched – and they are constantly number 1 in town. Not bad for two blokes on the number 7 station. There’s definitely something to that!

Sadly, the newsrooms again will probably end up feeling the impact of the merger the most. Radio newsrooms everywhere are under-resourced and the staff flog their guts out to cover the happenings in the country’s largest and wildest city.

Some sales and administration functions of the stations will probably be combined and that too will cause job losses.

Another prediction; 2CH will have to be sold but will continue to be operated by MRN but ‘controlled’ (as defined by legislation) by someone other than the present ownership – perhaps a friend of the present owner.

2CH has successfully ticked along as a budget operation for years. For much of the 90s (pre-Alan Jones) at 2GB, it was 2CH that actually propped-up the rest of the company financially.

2CH’s biggest fan is John Singleton who has always been very fond and supportive of the station.

22 years ago when 2MMM and 2DAY FM in Sydney merged, it stunned the radio industry. “How could two bitter rivals co-exist?” people asked. And, they’d only been up against each other for a decade!

Strange days indeed.

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Green-left ruining living standards

GINA Rinehart has hit out at “haters” and the left-wing “propaganda” she says will stop at nothing to “ruin” the mining operations that keep Australia wealthy.

The West Australian, our nation’s richest person with an estimated fortune of about $20 billion, has also criticised the “notoriously expensive” bur­eaucracy and “time consuming over-regulation” holding back crucial business opportunities.

And she said she doesn’t agree with a recent move by the Barnett Government to offer an assistance package to the state’s junior iron ore miners struggling because of the price crash.

“The haters are quite happy to take all the benefits of mining – and spend all the tax revenue from the industry, but in the next breath they want us closed down. It’s just plainly irrational,” Ms Rinehart told The Sunday Times.

“I cop a lot of the flak for being pro-mining and pro-free enterprise, both necessary to raise living standards in our country.

“When the green-left can’t win on facts, they get personal. “They will try at anything to ruin those people and companies they see as those who don’t support their propaganda.

“The mining and related ­industries need to speak up for themselves and that responsibility shouldn’t fall to just a few.”

She said mining created jobs for about 250,000 Australians “in places where there may otherwise not be work”.

Ms Rinehart spoke to The Sunday Times after her Roy Hill iron ore project in the Pilbara was named the Asia-Pac­ific Deal of the Year by Project Finance International.

“Despite what many in the media seem to believe, getting a mega project like Roy Hill this far takes enormous risk, personal effort, and perseverance,” she said.

“Roy Hill is one of the largest mainland construction projects anywhere in Australia.  “There’s been many years of work, studies and investment to get to here but some still think you just get a tenement and, presto, it all happens, and money starts to roll in. Nothing could be further from reality.”

Ms Rinehart said Roy Hill was the “last of the big projects in the immediate pipeline for WA”. She said it was on track to complete its first iron ore shipment in September, but the biggest problem would be the cyclone season.

“We are ahead of our already aggressive schedules,” she said. “Australian projects are not renowned for making their schedules so our achievements are sending a strong message to Asia that Aussies can do it.”

The falling iron ore price, which recently hit a five-year low of $US68 a tonne, doesn’t concern Ms Rinehart.  But, she said Australia must act “urgently” to cut bureaucracy costs.

“Roy Hill is better placed than many with our low-cost business model,” she said.  “We are a project for a generation as well, so we look to the long-term iron ore pricing.

“There will always be a market for iron ore but like everything – at a competitive price, and Australia needs to recognise this and act to lower its costs, starting with urgently and significantly cutting the costs of bureaucracy.

“Everyone talks about our declining productivity, but too few consider the time wasted and productivity loss caused by very costly and time consuming over-regulation.”

Ms Rinehart said all levels of government “must wake-up and give Australia a chance”.

“People are not going to buy our resources just because they love Aussies,” she said.  “We face competition from emerging nations who can supply sometimes higher-grade ore at lower prices.  “Common sense tells you what is going to happen unless governments wise up and act.

“Just to get to here today, my team at Roy Hill has had to navigate more than 3000 regulatory hurdles. Some of them require thousands of pages of paperwork taking months and years to comply.”

Ms Rinehart said governments “shouldn’t be bailing out businesses”; instead they “should be getting out of the way”.

The Barnett Government recently said it would provide a 50 per cent rebate on iron ore royalties for up to 12 months, subject to the iron ore price remaining below an average of $US73 a tonne over the period.

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Labor’s long decline from glory to gutless

Piers Akerman

It’s Day Two of Year Two for the Abbott Coalition government but there is no indication that the motley collection of senate crossbenchers or even the once-grand Labor Party has any intention of letting the government govern.

It might seem incredible to most intelligent people but Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said last May there was no budget emergency.

He is, of course, capable of extraordinary stupidity, having once gone resolutely on the record saying in 2012 of his then leader prime minister Julia Gillard: “I haven’t seen what she said, but let me say I support what it is that she’s said.”

Right. As it happens, Gillard was in Turkey talking about whether her hand-picked speaker, Peter Slipper, should return to the speaker’s throne while remaining the subject of civil claims of sexual harassment.

It mattered nought for Shorten. He was behind Gillard, on her side, in her pocket, whatever the issue was and no matter what she thought.

It is easy then to understand why an individual of such vacuity might — after being part of a series of dysfunctional governments that repeatedly promised budget surpluses and failed to deliver anything but deficits — hold such an irrational view of the state of the economy.

Of course Shorten, having stated that there was no budget emergency, did not stop there. Like most fools, he went further, saying: “Australia is fundamentally strong, and so is the legacy Labor left behind.”

Having the effrontery to claim that the smoking ruin of an economy Labor left in its wake was “fundamentally strong” was funnier than any of the gags in this year’s Christmas crackers. It’s just a pity that the line was so tragically wrong.

Re-reading Shorten’s Budget reply speech now, seven months on, is soul-destroying but it’s worth revisiting in the light of comments made by the last three responsible former prime ministers coinciding with the release of cabinet papers from 1988 and 1989.

Having experienced the blighted Labor leadership of Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and now Bill Shorten, it is difficult to contemplate a time when Labor was actually led by individuals who accepted that they were accountable for their deeds and policies.

Shorten, who said last April that he subscribed to “thoughtful responsibility” and was cognisant of “what needs to done and going about the job of doing it” has done just the opposite — unlike prime ministers Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and John Howard.

Throughout last year — and with increasing frequency as his term as treasury secretary came to an end last month — Martin Parkinson sounded the alarm about Labor’s lack of budgetary strategy.

He warned that Australia was living beyond its means, with too much government spending on health, welfare and education.

He called for “politically tough decisions” like those in the 1980s to ­address the “structural problem at the heart of the budget”.

What a difference 25 years has made to the Labor Party.

In the 1980s, when Hawke was PM and Keating the treasurer, the Labor government picked up the challenge of reform which had begun even earlier when Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser and his treasurer John Howard commissioned the ground-breaking Campbell Report into the nation’s financial system.

When Labor began implementing some of the report’s important recommendations, the opposition, under Howard, gave the government its political backing and ensured those measures were put in place.

Recalling those times in an interview with The Australian, Howard said: “The lesson is that at crucial times you do need an acceptance on both sides … that bipartisanship around measures that are clearly in the ­nation’s long-term interest is essential if the long-term interest is to be promoted.

“There was only one sustained period — and even then not on everything — of bipartisanship ­between government and opposition on economics and that was the period we’ve been talking about (the 80s).

“Most of the reforms they undertook I supported (such as) tariff reform, financial deregulation and most of Labor’s fiscal consolidation … I did argue that Hawke should have gone further on reform in some areas.

“So, politically, adopting that (bipartisan) position made it easier for the government of the day.”

Former treasurer and prime minister Keating endorsed that bipartisanship and agreed that the ­opposition should support the government’s program, provided it was credible and in the national interest.

Australia needed to address the underlying structural problem in the Budget as spending in some areas had become unsustainable, he said. This required a vision, political courage, and the capacity to make a compelling ­argument to voters.

“Policy ambition and urgency, that’s the lesson for today,” he told The Australian.

“Without policy ambition, and without the core of the government believing changes are absolutely necessary and competently selling them, and doing it with urgency, then these sorts of tasks can’t be undertaken.”

Hawke said there was a need to educate the electorate about the economic challenges facing the country and to convince voters of the need for reform.

He said the deteriorating budget bottom line had to be addressed ­because governments “can’t just keep pushing up taxes”.

Somewhere over the past quarter of a century the Labor Party has lost all the residual wisdom displayed during the Hawke-Keating era.

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CFMEU slapped with fines after bullying inspectors

BUILDING inspectors tasked with stamping out illegal union behaviour on worksites should enjoy the same protections as police officers against harassment and intimidation.

The finding from a Federal Court judge emerged as he fined the militant building union and 10 of its officials more than $200,000 for illegal worksite entry and intimidatory behaviour towards Fair Work building ­inspectors in Adelaide.

The case involved four occasions of unauthorised entry by Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union officials, including an aggressive attack on an inspector that was captured on video and examined by the royal commission investigating trade union governance and ­corruption.

Organiser John Perkovic faces the prospect of criminal charges for his actions at the Ibis Hotel site in May.

The exchange, filmed by ­another Fair Work inspector and the union, shows Mr Perkovic standing close to inspector ­Seamus Flynn and shouting he was a “f. king piece of shit” and a “c. t’’.

“You’re shitting yellow, you piece of shit,” Mr Perkovic yelled. “You f. kin’ coward, I’d f. kin’ take you to school, you f. kin’ piece of shit.”

He and a colleague had earlier responded to requests to show their entry permits by telling the site manager to “f. k off’’, “f. k yourself” and “grow some balls”.

Judge Richard White said ­assaults against police and other law enforcement officials were ­regarded as serious criminal ­offences warranting severe penalties, and he believed penalties for attacks on building inspectors should be treated similarly.

“Inspectors should be able to discharge their duties without harassment, bullying or intimidation from anyone, let alone from persons who are present on a site only in the exercise of a right of entry granted for a limited purpose,” he said.

Royal commissioner Dyson Heydon last month recommended South Australian and federal prosecutors consider laying criminal charges against Mr Perkovic, questioning whether his behaviour was legitimate use of industrial muscle or “the ­triumph of barbarism”.

Justice White described the CFMEU’s record of industrial law contraventions as “dismal” and indicative of an indifferent attitude. The union has been ­ordered to pay $180,000, with fines of up to $5000 laid against Mr Perkovic and each of the other union ­officials.

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British asylum-seeker compensation claim rejected

A BRITISH citizen who smuggled himself to Australia almost five years ago deserves $140,000 compensation for his “arbitrary” detention while he pursued futile court action, the Australian Human Rights Commission has urged.

Samad Ali Jafari, a dual-­citizen of Britain and Afghanistan, did not disclose his British citizenship or the fact he had previously visited Australia after ­arriving on Christmas Island and requesting asylum on April 15, 2010. The truth emerged three months later, after his fingerprints were checked against border control records.

The Department of Immigration refused his visa application, arguing he could easily escape persecution by returning to Britain. An independent reviewer agreed, but his deportation was further delayed by an unsuccessful appeal to the Federal Magistrates Court.

Under the strain of boat arrivals, the Gillard government in October 2011 transferred thousands of asylum-seekers to live in the community on bridging visas. Mr Jafari was considered for this but rejected because of the government’s desire to deport him as soon as his “futile” court action was rejected.

Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs, in her ­report of the case, wrote: “Mr ­Jafari was detained for over two years and the commonwealth has not explained why he was not able to reside in the community or in a less restrictive form of detention — if necessary, with appropriate conditions imposed to mitigate any identified risks — while his immigration status was initially resolved and for the ­period of his judicial review proceedings were ongoing.”

The Immigration Department rejected the recommended payout, claiming his treatment was legal and did not offend his human rights.

The commission’s recommendations are not binding on the ­department.

“Mr Jafari was not honest and open in his dealings with Aus­tralian authorities.

“He arrived by boat at Christmas Island and failed to disclose his prior travel to Australia. Mr Jafari was a naturalised citizen of the United Kingdom and had resided in the UK for up to seven years between 2001-09. Both of these facts were never disclosed to the department.’’

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Auditors to blitz troubled national rental scheme

FEDERAL auditors have confirmed they are poised to begin a sweeping audit of the troubled National Rental Affordability Scheme, which has been plagued with computer glitches, delays and claims of fraud during the year.

The scheme has also been ruthlessly exploited by univer­sities and property developers to build housing for foreign students instead of low-income working Australians. It is believed the audit will focus more on the way the scheme is run by the Department of Social Services than the issues with its design.

The audit office has been eyeing a probe of the NRAS for some time, with the scheme listed among a range of prospective ­audits, but The Weekend Australian has learned it is now about to be “actioned”.

The audit’s terms of reference are being finalised, but documents on the Australian National Audit Office website referring to a possible investigation suggest a broad remit.

“An audit would examine aspects of DSS’s management of the NRAS in line with policy ­objectives, legislative requirements and the National Affordable Housing Agreement, as well as changes made to the scheme’s operations in 2014,’’ the office’s planning documents say.

The audit is not the only official probe into the Rudd-era social housing program.

Victoria Police is investigating allegations of fraud surrounding NRAS entitlements sold to charities in Victoria by a NSW developer. The incentives turned out to be useless as they could not be transferred.

The confirmation of the audit ends a troubled year for the NRAS program, which despite its flaws has been used to construct many thousands of reduced-­rental accommodation units and houses for low-income workers.

The $4.5 billion scheme provides a $10,000-a-year-per-dwelling incentive for owners prepared to install a tenant at 20 per cent below market rent.

The fact the incentive was the same rate for a unit as a house, and that the government at the time favoured large projects by big ­developers, allowed universities to seize on the program to boost their stocks of housing for foreign ­students.

The government has since sought to close that loophole, and has moved to stamp out an illegitimate trade in incentives where developers would stockpile incentives and then sell them to others for a profit.

Problems with the scheme continue to surface, however, with the restrictions on transferring entitlements leading indirectly to the fraud allegations in Ballarat, where several charities paid a bounty of $15,000 per incentive to a developer only to find the ­incentives could not be shifted to their projects because of the crackdown.

Then the bungled rollout of a new computer system in the ­department resulted in delayed payment of incentives in the latter part of this year, meaning that some investors had to seek permission from the tax office to file their returns late for the 2013-14 ­financial year.

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Liberal Party MP promotes natural gas rather than coal as the future for developing nations

NSW Liberal MP Angus Taylor, who was elected the member for Hume in the 2013 election, says gas is the better way to reduce carbon emissions and supply countries such as China and India with the energy they need to continue their rise.

Mr Taylor, a Rhodes scholar and former partner at McKinsey, told Fairfax Media that the fastest way for the world to reduce carbon emissions while containing energy prices "is to build new natural gas generators, instead of coal generators, in the developing world".

"This is an enormous economic and environmental opportunity for Australia – as a supplier of relatively cheap, secure, lower-emission natural gas," he said.

"The IPCC itself accepts that gas can drive sharp reductions in emissions," he said.

Mr Taylor said Australia's impact on reducing global emissions through encouraging gas-fired power in the developing world would "dwarf any domestic emissions reductions efforts".

Economist Frank Jotzo said Australia is uniquely placed to exploit all changes in global energy demand. "Australia is not just rich in coal, Australia is rich in gas, Australia is rich in uranium, Australia is rich in renewable energy potential," he said.

He said natural gas was an option but not the end game for the developing world.  "Gas is about half the carbon intensity for coal for electricity generation so it can be a useful transition fuel on the way to a low-carbon energy system," he said.

However he said because gas is expensive, developing countries were investing in renewables and also coal.  "India is the standout, where expansion of power generation is happening in coal or solar," he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in December that Australia's natural gas exports increased by nearly 20 per cent last year, making it the third largest exporter of LNG in the world.   But natural gas is Australia's fifth largest export item behind iron ore, coal, gold and education services.

Australian company Origin Energy will begin exports of natural gas to China and Japan in mid-2015.  When both its production plants are fully operational, it will be capable of producing 9 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

Under existing supply contracts, 7.6 mtpa will be sold to China's Sinopec and 1 mtpa to Japan's Kansai Electric.

A company spokesman said: "Each tonne of emissions produced in Australia as part of LNG production reduces emissions in China by four tonnes when it's used in place of coal to generate electricity."

Recently, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said any honest conversation about reducing Australia's domestic emissions had to include a debate about nuclear power, describing it as an "obvious direction" for a country blessed with uranium supplies.

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Focus of Immigration Department moves from resettlement to enforcement

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton wants to create the "hardest borders possible" for criminals, as he prepares to merge the immigration and customs departments into the Australian Border Force to focus heavily on weaponry and force rather than processing and settlement.

In his first announcement as Immigration Minister this week, Mr Dutton said customs officers would be able to carry guns and personal protection equipment at all Australian airports. The decision, which came into effect on Wednesday, was made to ensure officers could be respond to a number of potential "border-related threats" across an "evolving transnational crime and national security environment".

"The government is committed to ensuring that the future Australian Border Force is as well trained and well equipped as possible, to ensure that the public is protected from the range of new and emerging threats our nation faces at the border," a spokesman for Mr Dutton said.

But the overhaul of the Immigration Department to guard the country's borders, rather than focus on settlement and migration, is causing rifts.

Fairfax Media understands tensions within the department are rising before the two departments merge. More than five senior immigration staff recently left the department after former Customs chief executive Michael Pezzullo was announced as immigration secretary in October.

Former deputy secretary Mark Cormack has since left the department, while another former deputy secretary, Elizabeth Cosson, moved to the Health Fepartment. Dr Wendy Southern, who was deputy secretary of immigration policy and chairwoman of the Irregular migration research advisory group, has also left.

The department confirmed a "small number" of senior executive staff had recently left the department.

"It is common for senior executives in the Australian Public Service to transfer from one agency to another. The senior executives concerned leave the department with the best wishes and full support of the secretary," said a departmental spokesman.

This week, Mr Dutton described the Australian Border Force as "a single frontline operational border agency with statutory responsibilities to enforce our customs and immigration laws".

"Its focus will be getting on with the job of border protection and building a system where criminals are faced with the hardest borders possible, but legitimate traders and travellers are unimpeded by border processes," a spokesman for Mr Dutton said.

And in a sign of the renewed focus of the department, during an Australian Strategic Policy Institute speech on December 4, Mr Pezzullo said as secretary he was charged with "protecting our borders".

"I prefer to see borders in a very different way. I see them as mediating between the imperatives of the global order, with its bias towards the flow of people, goods, capital, data and knowledge, and the inherent territoriality and capacity for exclusion which comes with state sovereignty."

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Alan Jones loses lengthy legal battle with Muslim leader Keysar Trad:  Tribunal rules that calling Lebanese men ‘vermin’ and ‘mongrels’ constituted racial vilification

Jonesy was clearly a bit too sweeping. "Some" is a magic word.  He should use it more often

Alan Jones has lost his lengthy legal battle with the Muslim leader Keysar Trad and been ordered to pay him $10,000 plus costs after a tribunal ruled that calling Lebanese men “vermin” and “mongrels” constituted racial vilification.

In a 2005 broadcast on his popular 2GB morning radio program, Jones described Lebanese men as “idiots” who hated “our country and heritage”.

The inflammatory comments went to air when Jones read a letter he said he had received from a listener. The letter, which he also commented on, was in response to a story on Nine’s A Current Affair program the night before about young men taunting police and showing disrespect for the Anzac tradition.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal said in its judgment: “The assertion is made that these men simply rape, pillage and plunder a nation that’s taken them in. They are then described in sub-human terms as ‘vermin infest[ing] our shores’.

“These words, which are highly insulting and inflammatory, portray Lebanese men in an extremely negative way, suggesting that they rape and are warlike and violent. The words ‘vermin’ also carry the inference that they are unwanted parasites. Lebanese males are a threat – a ‘national security problem in the making’.”

The tribunal said although Jones claimed to be reading from a listener’s letter he was responsible for the statements that were read out.

“It was Mr Jones who had the ultimate choice as to which letters and emails to read out and who to speak to,” it said. “There is no doubt that Mr Jones endorsed the views of the correspondent.”

The tribunal found that because of Jones’ high profile and status “his opinions are respected and carry significant weight with his listeners”.

An allegation by Trad that the letter was written by Jones himself or a member of his staff was never proven but 2GB’s owner, Harbour Radio, failed to produce evidence the letter existed.

On 19 December the tribunal found Trad’s complaint of racial vilification against Jones and 2GB was substantiated and ordered them to pay the applicant damages of $10,000.

The tribunal also ordered 2GB to undertake a critical review of its 2005 programs and policies on the prevention of racial vilification “with a view to developing and implementing revised programs and policies aimed at eliminating unlawful racial vilification”.

In its judgment, the tribunal rejected Harbour Radio’s assertion that it provided regular training to all presenters and production teams and that in 2004 – before the incident – Jones had attended training which covered the offence of racial vilification.

“This evidence is very general and does not satisfy us that Mr Jones has received professional training in relation to what does and does not amount to racial vilification,” the tribunal found.

Trad’s battle to hold Jones responsible has been a long one with many twists and turns. In 2009 the tribunal found that part of his complaint of racial vilification under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) against Jones and Harbour Radio had been substantiated and ordered they pay him $10,000.

But subsequent legal challenges by Jones and Harbour Radio resulted in the tribunal’s order being set aside and in November 2013 Trad was ordered to repay the $10,000.

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Iron ore caps year of decline as Morgan Stanley says worst is over

Iron ore is poised to cap the biggest annual decline in at least five years as surging supplies from the world's biggest producers outstrips demand growth in China, with the raw material dropping for four straight quarters in 2014.     

Ore with 62 per cent content delivered to Qingdao, China, lost 47 per cent this year to $US71.15 a dry tonne on Tuesday, according Metal Bulletin.

The commodity fell to $US66.84 on December 23, the lowest level since June 2009, before rebounding with four daily gains to complete the longest run of advances since July.

This month prices are just 0.2 per cent lower.     

"In terms of price downside, the worst is probably over," said Tom Price, an analyst at Morgan Stanley in London. "The major factor that undercut ore prices in 2014 was the Australian-led supply surge."     

The steel-making ingredient entered a bear market in March as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto expanded low-cost supplies, betting that increased volumes would offset lower prices while forcing less-competitive mines to close.

Concern that China is slowing, with the biggest buyer set for the weakest expansion in almost a quarter century, exacerbated the rout.

Some are less optimistic than Morgan Stanley: The raw material may drop to below $US60 next year, according to Citigroup and Roubini Global Economics.     

The market shifted to a surplus in mid-2014 and that excess will widen to about 300 million tonnes by 2017, Goldman Sachs Group analysts Fawzi Hanano and Eugene King said in a November 6 report.

Producers led by BHP and Rio have embarked on $US120 billion of spending on new mines since 2011, Goldman said.                          

The rout has hurt producers' shares, while hurting government revenues in Australia, the world's largest exporter.

Rio Tinto lost 16 per cent in local trading this year, while BHP tumbled 22 per cent and Fortescue Metals Group sank 53 per cent.     

Australia this month cut its iron ore estimate for next year by 33 per cent, forecasting that prices will average $US63 a tonne, according to the Department of Industry.

That compares with $US94 a ton forecast in September by the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics, which is now part of the department.     

Iron ore's 47 per cent loss this year compares with the 16 per cent retreat in the Bloomberg Commodity Index.

While the gauge tracks 22 raw material including crude oil, gold and crops, it doesn't include iron ore. The biggest decliner in the index is Brent crude, which dropped 47 per cent in 2014 in the global oil rout.

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Pensioners, unemployed, sport, schools and solariums to be hit by laws on New Year's Day

Thousands of seniors could lose access to the valuable Commonwealth seniors health care card from New Year's Day, as the income test for the seniors card becomes a lot stricter.

Account-based pensions and superannuation income streams will no longer be exempt from the seniors card income test.

Retired couples with an income of more than $80,000 a year or singles who earn more than $50,000 a year could lose access to the concession card, which provides discounts on utility and medical bills, pharmaceuticals and transport, as well as an $886 yearly payment.

The unemployed will also be subject to stricter conditions on their Centrelink benefits, which have already been tightened during 2014.

Since July, employers have been able to report to Centrelink employees who have failed to attend work. The move resulted in a 54 per cent increase in welfare payment suspensions, the Department of Human Services said.

Under the new laws from January 1 the number of suspensions looks set to rise again. If a person misses an appointment with their employer, their Centrelink support payment will be suspended until they attend another one.

From July the laws will become even tougher. Income support will be suspended if a person fails to provide an adequate excuse for missing an appointment.

"This is the same standard of behaviour that is expected of a worker if they can't make it to work, and it is an important principle that the same standard applies to job seekers in receipt of taxpayer-funded income support," Assistant Minister for Employment Luke Hartsuyker said.

In NSW, solariums will be closed on December 31, following years of criticism by health care bodies.  "There is irrefutable scientific evidence that exposure to UV radiation in solaria is a high risk for melanoma and other skin cancers," the Cancer Council said.  Solarium owners believe the laws will only encourage a black market of tanning bed operators.

In the sporting world, Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority's efforts to curb the doping market will step up a gear with amendments to the ASADA act.  Sportspeople will be forbidden from associating with anyone in a professional capacity who has been banned, criminally convicted or disciplined by any doping body.

ASADA chief executive Ben McDevitt will also maintain a publicly available "violations list" of people who commit doping offences.

ASADA will also become responsible for the prosecution of offenders, because the previous system of having individual sports target doping cheats was found to be too cumbersome.

While ASADA will gain a broader spectrum, other sectors will have theirs slashed.

Schools, sporting clubs and other organisations that use microphones in the 700 MHz spectrum will have to re-equip themselves when the estimated 150,000 wireless microphones in that range become illegal on January 1.  The spectrum is privately owned now by Telstra and Optus, after the former labour government sold it for more than $1 billion in 2013.

The sale might have boosted the government's budget temporarily, but one that will increase the coffers for years to come is the 50 per cent increase in the cost of a permanent partner visa for immigrants.

From New Year's Day Australians who marry or fall in love with a foreigner will have to pay  up to $6865 for the right for them to live and work legally in the country. That fee is up from $4575 in 2014. The move is expected to bring in $373.6 million in revenue over the next four years.

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First coal-seam gas loaded for export from Australia



The world's first coal-seam-gas to LNG facility starts up.  Greenies hate coal seam gas, of course, but both the Queensland and Federal government support it

BG Group began loading the first cargo of LNG from its Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) facility to the vessel Methane Rita Andrea December 28. The second cargo of LNG from the facility will be loaded onto the Methane Mickie Harper, which is expected in Gladstone in the first week of January.

QCLNG is the world's first LNG project to be supplied by coal seam gas. The start of production from the plant's first LNG train is the result of more than four years of development and construction on Curtis Island.

The project will expand further with the startup of the second train in the third quarter of 2015. At plateau production, expected during 2016, QCLNG will have an output of around 8 million metric tons of LNG a year.

Andrew Gould, interim Executive Chairman, said, "This is an immense achievement which demonstrates the company's ability to deliver a highly complex LNG project. The start-up of QCLNG is testament to the hard work, skill and dedication of all our employees, partners and customers including the thousands of individuals who have been involved in physically building the plant.

The ongoing support from both the State Government of Queensland and the local councils of our upstream region and in Gladstone has also been pivotal in this development. We thank them all."

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Work and pay prospects for graduates deteriorated in 2014, a survey shows

More evidence that a university education is now not worth it for many.  Catching up for years of lost earnings is now increasingly unlikely

Recent university graduates are more likely to be out of full-time work than ever before and starting salaries for graduates have stagnated, new figures show.

The latest annual survey by Graduate Careers Australia shows that full-time employment rates and the earnings advantage of completing a degree both hit record lows in 2014 for recent graduates.

Thirty-two per cent of university graduates who wanted a full-time job had not found one four months after completing a degree in 2014 - up from 29 per cent last year and topping the previous record set in 1992.

"These figures are really concerning," said Grattan Institute higher education program director Andrew Norton. "They are worse than the 1990s recession but without the recession."

Mr Norton said the decline was most likely due to the growing number of students enrolling at university and a reluctance among employers to take on new workers since the global financial crisis.

Undergraduate university enrolments have soared by 23 per cent, or 110,000 students, since 2009 following the uncapping of student places.

In 2008, before the global economic downturn, 85 per cent of university graduates had found a full-time job four months after finishing their degree, compared with just 68 per cent this year.

More than 100,000 recent graduates completed the Australian Graduate Survey (AGS).

"These figures indicate that the labour market prospects of new bachelor degree graduates, which fell in the 2009 AGS as a result of the global financial crisis and did not change notably between 2010 and 2012 before falling again in 2013, have again fallen," the report says.

Recent pharmacy, medicine and mining engineering graduates were most likely to have full-time jobs, whereas social sciences, chemistry and psychology graduates were among the most likely to be unemployed or underemployed.

Employment opportunities have deteriorated significantly for recent law graduates. A quarter of law graduates were seeking permanent employment in 2014 four months after finishing their degree, up from nine per cent in 2008.

The GCA report stresses that the medium and long-term job prospects for graduates remain strong despite the tough employment market for new graduates. Only 3.2 per cent of university graduates are unemployed compared to 8.2 per cent for those with no post-secondary qualifications according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

The latest figures also show that starting salaries for graduates have declined when compared to wage of an average Australian male.

The median starting salary for a bachelor degree holder aged under 25 was $52,500 in 2014 or 74 per cent of male average weekly earnings. This is the lowest proportion relative to the average male wage since records began in 1977 and is significantly down from the recent peak of 83 per cent in 2009.

The median graduate starting salary rose by just $50, or 0.1 per cent, from 2013 while the wage of an average male rose by $411 or 0.6 per cent.

The higher earnings potential for university graduates, which remains significant over a lifetime, has been a key selling point for the Abbott government in its bid to deregulate university fees. Education Minister Christopher Pyne has repeatedly cited the figure that university graduates will earn 75 per cent more over a lifetime than school leavers.

New male graduates earned a median salary of $55,000 in 2014 while new female graduates started work on a median salary of $52,000. The difference is largely explained by the fact men are more likely to choose degrees which lead to high starting salaries - such as engineering - than women, according to the GCA report.

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Customs staff to be armed at airports, new Immigration Minister announces

Customs officers will be armed at airports in the new year, the Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has announced as he cements his plan to crack down on crime gangs and drug traffickers in his new portfolio.

As of next year customs and border protection officers will be permitted to carry "personal defensive equipment", which includes firearms, while on duty at Australian airports, Mr Dutton announced on Tuesday in his first media release as Immigration Minister.

"This measure will not only increase the capability of our future Border Force officers, it will also add another layer of deterrence at our borders, and will ensure that the travelling public is as safe as possible," Mr Dutton said.

"This government is serious about border protection. People smugglers, transnational crime gangs and narcotic traffickers should be under no illusion. The government is committed to enhancing our nation's border protection arrangements.

"The border of the future will be far more complex than the environment we face today, however, and so the Australian Border Force must be well trained and well equipped if they are to deal with the range of new and emerging threats our nation faces."

The announcement comes as the immigration department prepares to merge with the Customs Service in July next year as the Australian Border Force, with increasing focus on deterrence at Australia's borders and continuing the Abbott government's resolve to "stop the boats".

One day after the former health minister was sworn in as the Immigration Minister this month he took to Facebook to list his priorities as the incoming minister.

"If you're an illegal bikie, if you're part of an outlaw motorcycle gang involved in organised criminal activity, you've just made it to the top of my list," wrote Mr Dutton on his fan page.

"Coming to Australia is a privilege and if you're coming here harming Australians, ripping off our welfare system, committing serious crimes, then you're at the top of my list for deporting."

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What a silly old year 2014 has been for Left commentators

HAS there ever been a year so ­afflicted with massive exaggeration, wide-scale false prophecy, appalling judgment, wilful omission and narcissism? You be the judge, on a monthly basis.

January

In a faux encyclical, Fairfax Media religious reporter Barney Zwartz praises Pope Francis and calls for Cardinal George Pell to step down as archbishop of Sydney. Soon after, Francis promotes Pell to a senior role in the Vatican and Zwartz retires.

ABC presenter Jonathan Green declares he will never be able to convince himself that Tony Abbott is “a man of intelligence … while he keeps wearing those blue ties”. In The Canberra Times, Jenna Price discusses her “diseased uterus” and announces an intention to send immigration minister Scott Morrison one tampon a month. Price is an academic who teaches journalism.

February

Morry Schwartz’s The Saturday Paper is launched, stating its intention to be read by wealthy inner-city professional types who have Netflix accounts and are “lighthouse consumers”. In fact, it’s just another boring rant against the Coalition — an upmarket version of the Green Left Weekly. The Age’s Martin Flanagan asserts that Rupert Murdoch “has become Catholic”. He provides no evidence for his claim. In The Sydney Morning Herald, Mike Carlton describes Tony Abbott as “pure Vladimir Putin”, overlooking the fact Abbott does not lock up opponents.

March

On the ABC’s Q&A, Guardian Australia editor Katharine Viner depicts Australia as “a globally infamous human rights abuser”. Like North Korea or Syria, presumably. Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs objects to criticism of her organisation’s $60,000 Christmas party. The learned professor maintains she does not intend to “do things in some sort of shabby way” or “want to be in the village hall in Koo Wee Rup”. That’s a Victorian town where there are no “lighthouses” and few, if any, read The Saturday Paper. Hardly a place for human rights professionals.

April

Melbourne writer Helen Garner ventures to the Victorian town of Castlemaine to express solidarity with fellow leftists Arnold Zable, Robert Manne and Rai Gaita. All are opposed to the construction of a chicken factory in nearby Baringhup. You see, Gaita has said the “rhythm” of his “sentences” can be traced to his home town of Baringhup and he and his comrades do not want the land interfered with. Fair dinkum.

Film director Anna Broinowski talks about her recent visit to North Korea where she “had to educate” the communist regime “about coal-seam gas” as it educated her on “how to make a propaganda film”. She expresses no objection to human rights abuses in the totalitarian state.

May

Monash University academic and ABC TV presenter Waleed Aly appears on Channel 10’s The Project. Invited to describe the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram, he fails to refer to its identification with the Islamist cause.

Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser identifies with the conspiracy theory that Israel consciously bombed the USS Liberty in 1967. Artist Maria Fernanda Cardoso argues that “spiders are artists themselves” since “they know how to make visual display … while mating”. She received a taxpayer-funded grant from the Australia Council to study the artistic merit of insect sex organs.

June

Carlton bags the Abbott government as a “gang of punishers and straighteners (sic), of cutters and slashers, run by the sort of bossy former private school prefects who enjoy enforcing dress codes at golf clubs”. Carlton attended Barker College on Sydney’s north shore, where he wrote appalling poetry in the private school’s magazine.

Guardian Australia journalist David Marr prophesises that “there is a very real possibility that the Arab world is going to respond to Australia’s unique stand on East Jerusalem by saying: ‘Well we won’t buy your wheat.’ ” It didn’t.

July

It’s time for false historical comparisons again. Palmer United Party supremo Clive Palmer labels Queensland Premier Campbell Newman a Nazi. Just like Heinrich Himmler, apparently. Fraser says that returning asylum-seekers to Sri Lanka is “redolent of handing Jews to Nazis in the 1930s”.

Australian National University professor Hugh White has another look at his crystal ball and sees a “most worrying parallel between 1914 and 2014”. There wasn’t, consequently a third world war did not begin.

August

Carlton steps down as a Sydney Morning Herald columnist after refusing to accept a suspension for abusing his readers, one whom he labelled a “Jewish bigot”.

He dir­ected another reader to “kiss my arse”, an offer that was declined. Human Rights Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane says he is “agnostic” as to whether Carlton’s abuse is offensive.

But what if a conservative, say, had called someone a Muslim bigot?

Writer Frank Moorhouse attends outgoing ASIO director-general David Irvine’s address at the National Press Club where Irvine warns about the danger of lone-wolf terrorists. Moorhouse senses the “dangerous ‘for-us-or-against-us’ paradigm resting in the PM’s term Team Australia”.

September

Man Booker Prize winner Richard Flanagan says he is “ashamed to be Australian”. He indicates his concern that the Prime Minister has supported the coal industry. Flanagan seems unaware that coalmines pay company tax and royalties that help to fund the artistic community. Jane Caro reckons that “traditional marriage … was a form of prostitution”. Anne Summers mourns the (greatly exaggerated) death of Mungo MacCallum, who hears of his passing while enjoying lunch.

The Age’s columnist Jonathan Holmes says there is no evidence to support the view that his employer runs lots of anti-Catholic diatribes.

The Age’s editor subsequently spikes a letter from reader Chris Curtis documenting 15 articles containing what he terms “anti-Catholic bigotry”.

October

The Saturday Paper’s Mike Seccombe debunks the Abbott government’s national security legislation, which is supported by Labor, with a smirk, saying: “This is very much taking a sledgehammer to crack a walnut.” Activist journalist Margo Kingston announces she has received a scholarship from Macquarie University to write about, wait for it, herself. It’s not clear whether Kingston’s analysis of herself will be assessed by herself. But, why not? After all, Kingston is the world expert on Kingston.

November

Not to be outdone in the narcissism stakes, former failed Labor leader Mark Latham uses his Australian Financial Review column to write about himself. He employs the words “I”, “I’ve”, “me” and “my” on no fewer than 20 occasions while whingeing about something that allegedly happened to him in 2007. Cate Blanchett puts in an Oscar-worthy performance at Gough Whitlam’s memorial service. She claims to have received “free” tertiary education under the Whitlam government, seemingly unaware that her campus days were paid for by taxpayers. In reviews of Whitlam’s time as PM, there is virtually no mention of his opposition to Vietnamese refugees, support for the Soviet incorporation of the Baltic States or decision to accept cash for Labor’s 1975 election campaign from Saddam Hussein’s regime.

December

The Left intelligentsia responds to Man Haron Monis’s Sydney siege with denial. Monis calls himself an Islamist terrorist but many commentators, especially on the ABC, choose not to believe him. Writing in The Conversation on December 16, academic Clarke Jones decries the “hype about terrorism”, declaring that if you took out the words “terrorism”, “Islamic” and “Islamic State”, the siege would have received scant attention. He seems to accept that the words “siege” and “hostage” could still have been used. Fancy that. The year ends with ABC chairman Jim Spigelman declaringthat critics want ABC personnel with whom they disagree “taken out at dawn and hung (sic)”. Enough said.

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