Australian politics August 21

31 August, 2021

Competitive political fundraising comes to Australia

This has been big and accepted in America for a long time

In announcing his move to the United Australia Party last week, Craig Kelly – presumably unintentionally – made a persuasive case for campaign expenditure reform. In a surprisingly frank explanation of his reasons for joining Clive Palmer’s UAP, the former Coalition MP boasted: “We have a huge war chest, we can run television commercials, ads, we can finance a proper campaign that no other minor party or independent can.”

Did Kelly, in extolling the capacity of the UAP to lavish enormous largesse on campaigning – a capacity unrivalled by other minor parties and independents – spare a passing thought for our democracy, and what the consequences are of inequality of opportunity to compete for election? For the reality that the less level the playing field, the more unrepresentative our constitutionally enshrined system of representative government becomes?

It is unarguable that our current system of uncapped electoral expenditure has produced a field that is not only not level, but substantially tipped in favour of those with resources. As the situation stands, what are minor parties and independents wishing to compete with the UAP’s ability to dump enormous sums into its campaigns to do? Desperately raise funds to plough into their own campaigns?

For as long as electoral expenditure remains uncapped, there will exist a temptation for parties and candidates to chase donations to fund their campaigns – donations that, in some cases, might come with no strings attached; in others, might openly be to buying access (though the High Court has reminded us that the line between ingratiation and access, and corruption, “may not be so bright”); and in yet others, may be for something that poses an even greater threat to our democracy.

Research by the Centre for Public Integrity has concluded that electoral expenditure caps should apply to political parties, associated entities and third parties, and be coupled with specific restrictions on political advertising.

The current arms race, where parties and candidates vie for donations to fund their campaigns, could be replaced by public funding and distribution of advertising space (based on existing models in Britain and New Zealand). This would avoid scenarios such as that in 2019, when the UAP’s digital spend was claimed to have driven up the price of purchasing and boosting digital ads, with the consequence that the ability of less well-resourced parties to access space was impeded.

By making the political advertising landscape more equitable, reforms such as these effectively democratise elections.

Kelly’s announcement also puts the issue of truth in political advertising squarely on the agenda, in light of the UAP’s claims during last year’s Queensland election that Labor planned to introduce a death tax – a claim Labor vehemently denied and sought to have removed from Facebook and Twitter.

Since the High Court decided in 1983 that a provision of the Commonwealth’s electoral law prohibiting false statements likely to mislead a voter “in or in relation to the casting of his vote” did not extend to statements influencing the voter’s formation of a judgment about the candidate they wished to vote for, there has been a clear case to adopt an appropriate truth in political advertising provision at federal level (and indeed, in the states and territories – currently, only South Australia and the ACT require truth in political advertising).

In offering his view that it would be unconstitutional to block his advertisements (presumably in reliance on the implied freedom of political communication), Kelly complained: “Now we are in a society where if you have an alternate [sic] opinion then shut up.” Opinion is one thing; material presented as fact, of course, is entirely another.

As former High Court Justice Mary Gaudron saw it, insofar as the freedom of political communication concerns information and ideas, false or misleading material does not enjoy the same protection. It is not constitutionally impermissible for a law to infringe upon the implied freedom of political communication, as long as – among other things – the law serves a legitimate end. In a representative democracy, can a law prohibiting citizens from being misled in exercising their democratic right to vote be anything other than a legitimate end? And how many of us would disagree with the proposition, put by Professor Dean Jaensch AO, that electors should have an equivalent “consumer protection” as that bestowed upon parties to commercial transactions?

While many additional reforms are needed to protect the right of citizens to engage with their information environment in a meaningful way, electoral expenditure caps and truth in political advertising are undoubtedly the most pressing.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/buying-power-it-s-legal-but-is-it-democratic-20210830-p58n29.html

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University students will be trained to spot foreign interference

Paranoia about China

University students will be trained to spot foreign interference threats on campus and report them to authorities under proposed new rules aimed at significantly beefing up universities’ responsibilities for countering Chinese government influence on campuses.

Academics and students involved in research collaborations with overseas institutions will also get specific training on how to “recognise, mitigate and handle concerns of foreign interference”, following security agencies’ concerns about critical research being stolen.

The measures are contained in new draft foreign interference guidelines for universities, which are being furiously debated among university leaders and government officials. The federal government has already been forced to review a key element of the guidelines, which would have required all academics to disclose their membership of foreign political parties over the past decade, following a fierce backlash from university chiefs.

Following growing concerns from Australia’s security agencies about the risk of research theft by China and other foreign actors, the guidelines state that students and staff are to “receive training on, and have access to information about how foreign interference can manifest on campus and how to raise concerns in the university or with appropriate authorities”.

The measures are also aimed at addressing reports of students and academics being harassed by pro-Beijing groups on campuses. They propose that orientation programs should be used to “promote to all staff and students ways to report within their university concerns of foreign interference, intimidation and harassment that can lead to self-censorship”. Universities will also be required to have policies that set out how reported “concerns are tracked, resolved and recorded and shared” internally and when they should be reported to outside authorities.

To oversee these measures, the guidelines state that universities must have an “accountable authority” – either a senior executive or executive body – that will have responsibility for research collaborations with overseas institutions, and reviewing security risks and communicating them with the government.

The guidelines have been drafted by the Universities Foreign Interference Taskforce (UFIT), a collaborative body that includes university vice-chancellors and government officials. The final version will replace existing guidelines, which are far less prescriptive. The proposal has prompted considerable concern among academic leaders about the mandatory language underpinning the new requirements, and what consequences, if any, universities will face from government if they fail to implement them.

Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge has declined to comment on “what is and isn’t in the draft guidelines”, but said earlier this year he was deeply concerned by a Human Rights Watch report that revealed accounts of Chinese international students being surveilled and harassed by their pro-Beijing classmates.

The report found that students were self-censoring in class out of fear comments critical of the Chinese Communist Party would be reported to authorities, with several students saying their parents in China had been hauled into police stations over their campus activities. Academics interviewed by Human Rights Watch also reported self-censorship practices, saying sensitive topics such as Taiwan had become too difficult to teach without a backlash from pro-Beijing students.

The report’s author, Sophie McNeill, said the draft guidelines indicated the government had taken the report’s findings into account.

“This focus had been missing from the previous guidelines, so it is very welcome these issues are now being recognised and addressed. It is critical the final guidelines include practical measures to safeguard academic freedom and address issues of harassment, surveillance and self-censorship faced by international students and staff,” Ms McNeill said.

Some universities have already taken steps to respond to the issues highlighted by Human Rights Watch. The University of Technology Sydney, for example, updated its orientation program for international students this semester to include guidance on acceptable behaviour and how students could report intimidation or surveillance by other students.

“We have certainly made it clear to students that what is discussed in classrooms is not something that should be reported on to the embassy,” Mr Watt, UTS deputy vice-chancellor, said.

“We’re not encouraging students to spy on each other. But rather, it’s saying: if you get doxxed or bullied or feel unable to express your views in a lecture here is the support available to you and here’s what you should do.”

The university’s misconduct rules allow for a range of penalties in response to unacceptable behaviour, including potential expulsion in serious cases.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/university-students-will-be-trained-to-spot-foreign-interference-20210830-p58n3s.html

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Dandenong councillor proposes separate seating for men and women

A Dandenong councillor's call for separate seating for men and women at a park so Muslim men and women can sit apart is "a disgrace," according to the IPA's Bella D'Abrera.

Councillor Jim Memeti has raised the idea of separate seating at Norine Cox Reserve in Dandenong South in order to accommodate Muslim men and women.

Dr D'Abrera told Sky News host Rita Panahi, the idea is "completely at odds" with the values of a liberal democracy.

"We've been struggling for decades to have equality between men and women.

"And in one fell swoop, this is a massively retrograde step, putting women on one side and men on the other is basically gender apartheid."

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/dandenong-councillor-proposes-separate-seating-for-men-and-women/ar-AANTCOf?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

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‘Barrage of abuse’: Molan denies Asian accent jokes were racist

Broadcaster Erin Molan has defended using Asian accents in a series of jokes with her radio co-hosts, denying the gags aired in 2019 – including one in which Molan imitates a Chinese sex worker – were racist or inappropriate.

Instead, the team’s “mimicking” of accents was funny because it was “self-deprecating”, she told the Federal Court on Tuesday.

Molan, 39, is suing the Daily Mail for defamation over an article and two tweets published in June 2020 which she says falsely implied she is racist, callous and arrogant.

The article and tweets in question refer to a May 30, 2020 broadcast of The Continuous Call Team show on Sydney radio station 2GB in which Molan used the phrase “hooka looka mooka hooka fooka” in reference to the names of Pacific Islander NRL players. But in its defence, the Daily Mail dug up more than 20 other examples of the show’s hosts, including Molan, using accents in a way it claims was racist.

Molan, who is employed by Nine – the owner of this masthead – is seeking aggravated damages from the Daily Mail. Fighting back tears on Tuesday, she told the court that after the stories were published she was in a “very bad place” and had received multiple death threats targeting herself and her young daughter.

She said she was “inconsolable” and “struggling to cope” after the articles were published and she received a “barrage of abuse” including from “a lot of people I respect and admire and a lot of prominent people”.

Under cross-examination from barrister Bruce McClintock, Molan was then played a series of clips of the show from 2019 in which she engaged in jokes, imitating Asian accents, with co-hosts including Ray Hadley and Darryl Brohman.

In the first of these clips, from April 1, 2019, Molan imitates an Asian accent saying “I wuv you wery long time, wery handsome man”.

After playing the clip, Mr McClintock challenged Ms Molan to repeat her words “in the way you said it on the program”. She said the words, but did so without the accent.

“That’s not what you said, is it? You changed the ‘r’ to a ‘w’,” Mr McClintock said. Molan agreed.

“I wuv you wery long time, wery handsome man”, he proffered. “You’re putting on, again, what I would say is a Chinese accent?”

Again, Molan agreed. But to his suggestion she was “imitating a Chinese prostitute”, she said no. Rather, she said she was quoting a movie – but “I coudn’t tell you” which one.

Asked why it was funny, she said: “I guess because my accent was so bad”. She told the court she wasn’t sure what was funny about some of the jokes, and “it’s just part of banter on our show”.

She denied multiple times that the accents constituted mocking.

Molan said her role on the show was sometimes to question whether they were “going too far”, which is why on a number of occasions during the clips played to the court she said: “sorry, was that racist?” or “how is that, in this day and age, allowed?”

However, she said she never concluded that the jokes were inappropriate.

Molan said she trusted the audience to let the show know if anyone found their jokes were offensive. “Not one person ever expressed offence, and as you know in this day and age there are plenty of platforms to express offence,” she said.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/barrage-of-abuse-molan-denies-asian-accent-jokes-were-racist-20210831-p58ngw.html

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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30 August, 2021

The key piece of evidence jurors NEVER heard before finding 'child-killer' Kathleen Folbigg guilty for the deaths of her four children

A clear and dreadful miscarriage of justice

Kathleen Folbigg may not have spent the last 18 years behinds bars had the jury been told at least eight families around the world had suffered multiple sudden infant deaths, as world-leading scientists continue their quest to prove her innocence.

The woman considered to be Australia's worst female serial killer and 'most hated woman' was jailed in 2003 for the murders of her children Patrick, Sarah and Laura - aged from eight months to 19 months - between 1991 and 1999.

She was also found guilty of the manslaughter of her first-born child, Caleb, who was just 19 days old when he died in Newcastle in 1989.

Folbigg, 53, has always maintained her innocence and has the support of dozens of scientists and medical experts who have called for her to be pardoned from her 30-year jail term.

Following her most recent unsuccessful appeal for freedom, she has written a four page letter to NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman urging him to 'soften his heart' as she pleaded again to walk free.

At Folbigg's trial in 2003, expert witnesses for the prosecution told the court that they didn't know of a single family in the world where three or more babies died suddenly of natural causes.

What the jury didn't hear is the same tragedy had happened to at least eight other families overseas.

Australian National University Professor of Immunology Carola Vinuesa was among the scientists tasked with analysing Folbigg's DNA and that of her four deceased children.

'At the time of Kathleen's trial, even though it has just been discredited, it still permeated the idea that four deaths in a family is just too rare,' she told 60 Minutes.

'Well, we know it isn't. These things happen.'

A genetic mutation called CALM2 G114R was found in Sarah and Laura's DNA, inherited from their mother, which can cause sudden cardiac arrest in infants.

Scientists in multiple countries ran biochemical and electrophysiological tests to prove the deadliness of the mutation.

The peer-reviewed findings were published in a world leading paper by Oxford University stating the mutation had 90 to 95 per cent chance of causing potentially fatal disease.

Professor Vinuesa believes 'it's very likely' that the Folbigg daughters died of a cardiac arrhythmia which led to sudden death.

'If that is not reasonable doubt, I don't know what is,' she said.

'The paper itself was co-authored by 27 scientists from seven different countries with experiments performed in at least four countries'

'The science was very strong. To date, there hasn't been a single criticism of the science.'

She is backed by Professor Peter Schwartz who's regarded as a world leader in cardiovascular genetics.

'The third and fourth deaths in that family were caused by calmodulin mutation,' he said.

'To find that is a smoking gun. It's hard to imagine it would be something else.

Scientists said the boys also had mutated genes which caused fatal epilepsy.

Former NSW District Court chief judge Reginald Blanch QC in 2019 found significant investigations had failed to find a reasonable natural explanation for any of the deaths of Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura. He ruled that it was beyond reasonable doubt that Folbigg was guilty.

Folbigg's own explanations and behaviour in respect of her diaries, which weren't available in any of the mother's criminal appeals, made 'her guilt of these offences even more certain', Mr Blanch concluded.

Folbigg's legal team has since sent her diaries to US research psychologist Dr James Pennebaker, who believes they show no premeditation for murder.

'There was no evidence for some kind of somebody who is devious, who is certainly planning to kill anyone,' he said.

He was shocked to learn that a judge couldn't find any reasonable doubt regarding her guilt by taking her diaries into account.

'I find that remarkable and I would urge them to look at the diaries in a different light,' he added.

Professor Vinuesa was among 90 scientists who signed a petition lodged with NSW Governor Margaret Beazley AC QC earlier this year which called for Folbigg's pardon and immediate release.

'I think it's distressing, it's shocking really. I think it should bring an embarrassment to Australians like myself,' she said.

'But I still have the hope that, you know, like Australia of high integrity, this evidence, since the inquiry, and say that it's time to have the science prevail, and listen to the science.'

Following her latest unsuccessful bid for freedom, Folbigg has written to Mr Speakman about the overwhelming support she's had from the public and how her day-to-day existence has changed her following the petition for a pardon.

She paid tribute to the scientists in the four page handwritten letter obtained by The Australian.

'To them, this isn't only about helping Kathleen Folbigg but rather about a need for scientific proof to be listened to, respected and heeded,' she wrote.

'They have removed the stigma of being perceived as an evil monster, removed the anxiety and fear that I have suffered every day for over 30-odd years.'

Folbigg maintains her innocence and spent the last three decades mourning the loss of her four babies.

She also expresses her regret at not give evidence in person at her trial, a decision she continues to pay a heavy price for.

'(My supporters) have known me my whole life, not just a decade of it, and have witnessed the love and care for my children. Also my devastating grief,' Folbigg wrote.

'Please soften your heart.'

Until now, US mum Meredith Schoenherr has never spoken publicly about the tragic death of two-and-a-half-year-old son Jack from a rare genetic mutation in 2013. It was the same type of abnormality found in the Folbigg girls.

'I was so excited that he was sleeping late for once in his life, but I went into the bedroom and when I went to roll him over, it was very obvious that he was gone,' she told 60 Minutes.

She recalled how close the authorities were to taking Jack's baby sister away from her and her husband Todd, who were interviewed separately at the hospital shortly after their son's death. 'She separated us and had us each tell our story of what happened,' Ms Schoenherr recalled.

'I was so in shock, it didn't really occur to me at that point that they were investigating us.' 'In the early days, nobody had any answers, which was very frustrating.'

She felt sick to her stomach after hearing Folbigg's story and shudders to think she too could have been jailed over Jack's death.

To be jailed for so many years for it, on top of losing her children, it's really hard for me to even try to comprehend how much that must hurt,' Ms Schoenherr said.

Lifelong friend Tracy Chapman said being jailed for the deaths of her children have had a devastating impact on Folbigg.

'She's cried a river over it because, she didn't kill her children, even though she knows she didn't have a hand in killing her children, she carried a genetic mutation that has done just that, anyway, she said.

She remains hopeful her friend will see eventually see justice. Otherwise everything I ever believed in the Australian legal system goes out the window,' Ms Chapman said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9937421/Jurors-never-heard-key-evidence-sentencing-child-killer-Kathleen-Folbigg.html

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Catholic schools look at value of jewellery, cars before waiving fees for those in lockdown hot spots

Catholic schools are demanding details of parents’ furniture and jewellery before waiving fees for families struggling financially in lockdown hot spots.

Parents applying for fee relief must reveal how much they spend on food, groceries, internet, mobile phones and pay-TV each month.

Some schools expect families to fill in forms resembling bank loan applications, listing all assets including cars, jewellery, furniture, boats, motorbikes, trailers, and “personal effects’’.

Parents have to provide their latest tax return and financial statements, pay slips, credit card and bank statements and rental statements.

In some cases, families are forced to give schools permission to probe their social security details by contacting Centrelink.

A spokeswoman for National Catholic Education (NCE) said it would be “highly unusual to expect families to sell jewellery (or) furniture to pay for school fees if they are expecting financial hardship.’’

The Catholic Archdiocese of Parramatta - one of the dioceses demanding the personal details - said it was reviewing the form it currently sends to parents, after being contacted by News Corp Australia.

He said more than 3000 parents had been given fee relief in 2020.

“The form we are currently using for applications for assistance is under review with a focus on making sure the process is simpler,’’ a spokesman said.

“We acknowledge that some of the details ... are not needed, nor used to determine fee support and so these details are being removed from the form.

“Our dedicated team responds to requests for fee support with care and sensitivity, taking into account the personal circumstances of each family.’’

https://www.couriermail.com.au/coronavirus/catholic-schools-look-at-value-of-jewellery-cars-before-waiving-fees-for-those-in-lockdown-hot-spots/news-story/8e52a040a8718982359e2f5ac56030be

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Education Queensland: Why our school information has become a state secret

Crucial school performance material has become a fiercely guarded state secret, with parents the big losers in the State Government’s move to quash the release of essential information.

Two major reports previously published by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority outlining every school’s NAPLAN and Year 12 results have been dumped entirely this year.

Until now, the QCAA released a detailed report outlining the OPs every student and school received, giving parents a comprehensive picture of each school’s performance.

It allowed parents to see both which schools had achieved the top academic results as well as how schools performed comparatively.

But under the new Queensland Certificate of Education system, where students are awarded an ATAR, only set of state-level data is publicly released.

Despite a vague promise from Education Minister Grace Grace that the release of each school’s median Year 12 ATAR score would be considered, parents are still in the dark months later.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk refused to comment on the information suppression, and yesterday handballed questions to Ms Grace.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli slammed the move, and called for the information to be made public without delay.

“This information belongs to our parents, teachers and students and should be released in real-time,” he said. “Honesty, accountability and transparency matters to Queenslanders, particularly for parents when it comes to their children’s education.”

But Ms Grace claimed the new reporting system “has worked well”, and said no changes would be made. She said it was “inappropriate to use the information not in the matter it was produced”.

“The ATAR is the primary mechanism used nationally for tertiary admissions and as agreed by all education ministers should not be used to rank schools,” she said.

“Parents who wish to compare different schools have a wealth of information available to them, including the My School website and school annual reports.”

Teachers’ Professional Association of Queensland secretary Jack McGuire said parents deserved to know why such key reports were now being kept secret, calling it a “kick in the pants”.

He also hit back at QCCA boss Chris Rider’s assertion that schools would still get their own individual information.

“This isn’t new, its standard practice and it’s been happening for decades but a statement like that proves the transition to the new QCE system of ATAR rather than an OP in 2020 has led to the decision to dump the report,” he said.

“Common sense goes out the window in favour of political grandstanding and for all the wrong reasons.”

NAPLAN results were also now under lock and key, with the QCAA previously releasing every school’s result at the same time as the national data was available, which occurred this week.

School information will be uploaded in March next year to My School – almost nearly a year after the tests were held.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/education-queensland/why-our-school-information-has-become-a-state-secret/news-story/6b82c6f77b43c5ead33cea7c7b5bb60f

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NSW Health switches to recording deaths 'with' instead of 'from' Covid

Long overdue

NSW Health has switched to recording patients as dying 'with' instead of 'from' Covid as it acknowledges not all of the country's 933 deaths were directly linked to the deadly virus.

Dr Jeremy McAnulty made the admission during Sunday's Covid briefing as the state recorded 1,218 new cases of coronavirus.

Six people died with Covid-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday bringing the total death toll of this outbreak to 89 death since June 16.

Dr McAnulty said the change in language was because it was 'very difficult to know' whether someone with Covid died from the virus, or another health complication.

'We know when elderly people die, they can have a range of comorbidities, and also, being old increases your risk of death,' he said.

'Covid may often play a role in the death, but it may not. Sometimes, some of our cases who have sadly died appear to have recovered from Covid, and then they have died of something [else].

'We report people who have died "with" Covid, unless there is a very clear alternative.'

He added that it was difficult for doctors who were looking after patients to know exactly how much the virus contributed to their death.

The symbolic change in language comes as NSW Health begins to acknowledge the country's 933 Covid deaths were not all direct results of the deadly virus.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/nsw-health-switches-to-recording-deaths-with-instead-of-from-covid/ar-AANRyFk?li=AAaeSy5

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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29 August, 2021

Indigenous footy star turned ABC presenter says Australians 'can't accept it's a racist country' that was 'built off the back of slavery and rape' of Aborigines

This is grossly offensive to the many white men who were the real builders of modern Australia. My ancestors were among them

An Aboriginal ex-AFL player has labelled Australia racist after weighing in on a new documentary that explores the appalling rates of Indigenous incarceration.

Tony Armstrong, who played 35 games across six seasons for three clubs, argued that Australians needed to accept they were living in a racist country after watching unsettling footage from 'Incarceration Nation'.

The documentary takes a deep dive into the imprisonment rates across the country with Aboriginal men making up 29 per cent of the male prison population and Aboriginal women making up 34 per cent of female inmates.

'This country still can't accept it's a racist country,' Armstrong said on Channel 10's The Project on Thursday.

'You still can't accept it's built off the back of slavery, it's built off the back of dispossession, it's built off the back of rape and pillage of Indigenous people.'

The former sports star turned ABC presenter had been invited onto the talk show panel to speak about the upcoming documentary.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rates have increased over the decade with 12,456 behind bars between July 2019 and June 2020.

The figure is up from 11,989 the previous year and 7,507 in 2010-2011.

The documentary revealed a startling number of young Aboriginal Australians were being thrown behind bars - some for committing petty crimes.

One included a 16-year-old who was thrown into detention for 28 days after he stole a bottle of water. Another was an 18-year-old who was jailed for 90 days for stealing 90 cents from a car.

A visibly emotional Armstrong admitted that it was 'hard to watch' the unsettling footage. 'My heart is going a million miles an hour,' he said. 'There's so many points to pick up on.

'We talk about incarceration rates, you're not seeing white kids getting jailed for stealing a bottle of water.

'You're trying to find a way to rehabilitate them, you're asking what are the reasons why they ended up stealing that bottle of water? You're not just throwing the long arm of the law at them.'

Footage also captured Aboriginal Australians being beaten, tasered and thrown around by police.

A 14-year-old Dylan Voller was shown hooded and bound to a chair while in youth detention in 2015.

ABC's Four Corners first aired the footage during an explosive investigative piece in 2016. The photos sent shockwaves across the country and raised questions about the treatment of young inmates.

'You saw the footage of the young fella, bound up like Guantanamo Bay,' Armstrong said.

'That's not on. But that happens in our country. And we talk about a sense of truth telling, we talk about, you know, needing to accept where we've come from to be able to move forward.'

'Incarceration Nation' will be aired on NITV at 8.30pm on Sunday. The documentary will also be available on SBS On Demand.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9931151/The-Projects-Tony-Armstrong-slams-racist-Australia-saying-country-built-slavery.html

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Brisbane private school rejecting kids over ‘gender balance’

Families are being rejected from a highly-regarded Brisbane school, with entry being blocked to some students in an attempt to achieve a specific gender balance.

Numerous families have received rejection letters from Cannon Hill Anglican College (CHAC) in Brisbane’s east that state key considerations for enrolment include gender balance.

Parents of one male student said their son was not permitted through to the second stage for enrolment.

“We are just disappointed that the reason our child didn’t get into the school was due to their gender,” the parent said.

The letter stated that demand for year 7 places in 2024 exceeded the college’s current enrolment capacity.

It said, “The key considerations within the current College Enrolment Policy include; whether a sibling is currently enrolled at CHAC, gender balance and date of application”.

A CHAC spokesman said due to the school’s strong academic success, holistic pastoral program and coeducational offering, each year it received more enrolment applications than there were places available.

“The College has a transparent enrolment policy, which is shared with parents prior to application and throughout the enrolment process,” the spokesman said.

“Places are primarily offered on two key considerations: whether a sibling is currently enrolled at the College and the date of application.

“As a coeducational College, we then aspire to enrol an appropriate balance of genders. CHAC also supports gender diversity within the College community.”

Professor Tamara Walsh at the UQ School of Law said it was likely this stance comes under an exemption in both the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/education-queensland/brisbane-private-school-rejecting-kids-over-gender-balance/news-story/d8ad6542852f0338f56201100d0b4d64

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Qld set to totally decriminalise prostitution

The State Government has moved to totally decriminalise prostitution, referring the matter to the Queensland Law Reform Commission.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman will today announce she has asked for the review to investigate how to set up a new system of laws to improve the health, safety, human rights and legal protections for sex workers across the state.

There are currently just two forms of legalised sex work in Queensland – services provided at a licensed brothel, and when a person is working alone from a premises, providing in-house calls, outcall services, or both.

All other forms are illegal – including escort agencies, unlicensed brothels, massage parlours, street workers who publicly solicit and those who work in small groups – although they by far make up the majority of services being offered.

Women cannot operate in pairs, check in with a colleague before or after calls, work with another person providing them security, or employ another person to screen or book clients.

Ms Fentiman said feedback from the industry was that current laws were actually making things less safe.

“We need to ensure appropriate and modern laws are in place for the industry and its associated safe working arrangements, and that these are also in the best interests of the community,” Ms Fentiman said.

“The review will consider how best to provide appropriate safeguards to protect sex workers.

“Feedback from the sector has been that current laws criminalise safety strategies used by sex workers.

“A key focus of this review is the safety of workers and putting in place proper regulation so the industry doesn’t operate in the shadows. “Sex workers shouldn’t have to choose between working legally and being safe at work.”

She said the QLRC would consult with the industry, and the community would also be able to provide submissions on the issue.

It will also consider laws in other jurisdictions, including the NT and NSW, which has already decriminalised sex work.

“This is an important step forward allowing us to consider what reform will benefit the industry and the agencies that provide support and regulation,” she said. “It is our hope that these recommendations will help reduce the barriers sex workers and businesses face.

“These barriers include appropriate access to health, safety and legal protections – which are rights that should be afforded to every Queenslander.”

The commission will provide its report, including any draft legislation required, by November 27, 2022.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/qld-politics/qld-set-to-totally-decriminalise-prostitution/news-story/e5ccf505b79a7398ffaef2a14f06b21e

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The ABC ignores half of Australia, let’s give it half the funds

If you defamed someone, would your boss pay the legal bill? That’s exactly what’s happened when the ABC paid the legal bills of journalist Louise Milligan, who defamed someone on her social media accounts.

If it had been any other government agency that forked out $79,000 in damages and $50,000 in costs — paid for by the taxpayer — for the same crime, the ABC would go feral.

The ABC, answering questions on notice recently, told the Senate there was a distinction between official ABC social media accounts and ABC staff using their social media.

“In the former case, the ABC accepts editorial responsibility for content provided on official ABC social media accounts and editorial policies apply,” it said.

“In the latter case, the ABC does not accept editorial responsibility and editorial policies do not apply.”

So why did they pay Louise Milligan’s legal bills?

“Particular and exceptional circumstances,” we are told.

A private media company would have to explain to its shareholders if they covered the legal costs from an employee’s personal social media account. But the ABC is not a private media company.

Its shareholders are the Australian taxpayer who can’t attend an annual AGM.

Since 2015, the ABC has had to pay court-ordered damages, costs, or settlements 18 times for defamation cases, and we don’t know the price.

We have a right to know this because we own and pay for this organisation whose operating budget is the price of two rural training hospitals, or $880.56 million a year.

As other businesses struggle and shed staff, the ABC has had the taxpayer-funded benefits of increasing them by 120.

When the ABC was asked on notice during Senate Estimates who was handed an eye-watering bonus of more than $50,000, about the annual wage of a regional reporter that would make a few Cartier watches seem cheap, the ABC made a Public Interest Immunity Claim: “The ABC believes that disclosure of this information could result in an unreasonable invasion of privacy for the individual, resulting in undue public attention and speculation.”

That’s an immunity that was never afforded Australia Post boss Christine Holgate — she of Cartier watch-gate — by the ABC.

And when asked about publishing unsubstantiated rape claims against Christian Porter and Bill Shorten from the ’80s? “ … that does not prevent in certain circumstances allegations of criminal conduct being reported”.

So no undue public speculation there?

When Extinction Rebellion protests against something, the headline generally reads: “Grandparents fighting for the future of their grandchildren.” But when backbencher George Christensen appeared at an anti-lockdown rally in Mackay, according to the ABC he “posed just metres from QAnon supporters”.

When Extinction Rebellion protests, they are carers; when George does, he is a terrorist.

When the ABC wants a dissenting voice from the Liberal Party, they go straight to Malcolm Turnbull.

But they never give Mark Latham the royal treatment, despite him being a former Labor leader.

What triggers the bush is when they don’t use regional reporters in their prestige programs.

A Four Corners hit job on Murray Darling Basin water was orchestrated from inner-city Ultimo instead of by the well-regarded ABC Shepparton correspondent Warwick Long.

Why have a city reporter do a rural story?

Ultimo urbane’s apparent assumption is that their city kids are more discerning, while us rural types are sitting backwards on a horse eating a banana — a generalisation about some 8 million Australians.

If they only talk to half of Australia, they only need half the budget, and we should give the other half to another view.

We could have The Drum with Julia Baird followed by The Drum with Peta Credlin.

We could have Late Night Live with Philip Adams followed by Catherine McGregor Live.

We could have Q&A with Virginia Trioli followed by Q&A with Alan Jones.

Would Ultimo pay for Sky News? Of course not. So why should the bush pay for someone else’s ABC?

The ABC claims to support the bush whenever they are under attack, so what new regional offices have opened?

Sydney ABC commentariat keeps calling for greater lockdowns — if they are the greatest advocate for staying at home, some Ultimo reporters should find a new home in Dubbo.

When Senator Ben Small asked where ABC content-makers lived by postcode, he was told that was “confidential”. That question remains unanswered and is overdue months after they took it on notice.

From Ultimo, they can see Glebe, Chippendale, Annandale, Pyrmont and Surry Hills. Moore Park is the bush. Parramatta is the outback.

As they say in the genuine regional areas, it’s cattle for the country; you buy the appropriate beast for the country you live.

The ABC’s country is the inner city, and this is the type of beast it is.

If the trotted out guilt trip is that funding cuts would hurt the regions, then move your legal budget to the west of the Great Dividing Range, and bring your management too.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/vikki-campion-the-abc-ignores-half-of-australia-lets-give-it-half-the-funds/news-story/2cb1341f30a670aca0de1df54bafd0de

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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28 August, 2021

Port Kembla power proposal deemed critical for the environment

This is tokenism. The new plant will rely 95% on natual gas -- a "fossil fuel"

A hydrogen-gas turbine power station proposed for the Illawarra region of NSW has been declared "critical state significant infrastructure", meaning the project will be fast tracked.

The plan by businessman Andrew Forrest to build the $1.3 billion project at Port Kembla will still need environmental approval, but will not be subject to third party appeal rights.

The project is in an area marked as a potential hydrogen gas hub.

The proposed power station has committed to using up to five per cent cent green hydrogen.

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the plant was a step towards safeguarding the state's energy needs while providing jobs.

"The Port Kembla power station will be a game changer, not just for NSW but Australia," Mr Barilaro said in a statement.

"It will provide the energy capacity our state needs as existing coal-fired power stations reach their end of life, and household power bills will be the big winner as the project maintains downward pressure on prices."

The coal-powered Liddell Power Station near Muswellbrook, in the NSW Hunter region, is due to come offline in 2023.

Planning Minister Rob Stokes said the proposed power station would produce up to 635 megawatts of electricity on demand and create 700 construction jobs.

"The Port Kembla power station will be a critical part of the NSW energy mix as we move to cleaner, greener renewables," Mr Stokes said.

The power station would sit adjacent to the import terminal the Forest-owned Squadron energy group is already building. It has the capacity to handle both LNG and green hydrogen.

The federal government has previously committed $30 million to support initial works for the Port Kembla power station, and has shortlisted it for future funding support.

The final approval will rest with Mr Stokes.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/port-kembla-power-proposal-deemed-critical/ar-AANNkDw?ocid=chromentpnews

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‘Sledgehammer': Plan to force university staff to reveal foreign political history

More China hysteria

A confidential plan to force tens of thousands of university staff to reveal a decade of foreign political and financial interests has met with such fierce backlash that the federal government is now reviewing the proposal.

New draft foreign interference guidelines for universities are proposing to demand academics disclose their membership of overseas political parties and any financial support they have received from foreign entities for their research over the past 10 years.

Multiple university sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there was widespread concern about the requirements, with one university executive describing it as "a sledgehammer, blanket approach" to the issue.

The proposed guidelines, which have been drafted by the University Foreign Interference Taskforce (UFIT), represent a major ramping up of scrutiny of academics' backgrounds in response to concerns within the federal government about research theft by the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign actors.

Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson, who serves on the UFIT steering committee, confirmed on Friday afternoon that "UFIT members have agreed that the relevant section will be reconsidered and redrafted". The decision to review the controversial section was made on Friday after a zoom consultation with NSW universities.

The taskforce, set up to address foreign interference issues in the university sector, includes vice-chancellors, government department officials and representatives from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. It has held zoom sessions with university leaders on the new guidelines over the past fortnight.

University of Sydney professor Duncan Ivison, deputy vice-chancellor for research, said universities had made clear to the government that the requirement for staff to disclose membership of political parties was "very, very problematic".

"We don't think it is reasonable to ask our staff their political affiliation. We've made that really clear, and government have agreed to take on board our concerns and come back to us," he said.

Professor Ivison said the consultation process was working and it was important the guidelines were proportionate to the risk security agencies were attempting to address.

"We also want to make sure they are compatible with the mission of universities. We're not ASIO, we're not a security agency."

Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge said he would not comment on "what is or isn't in the draft guidelines" but stressed that security agencies had made clear that universities were targets for foreign interference and espionage.

The decision to refresh the UFIT guidelines, which were first implemented in 2019, comes as the federal government has grown increasingly concerned about espionage at universities involving the theft of critical research and sensitive data by foreign actors. Under laws enacted last year, the government has the power to cancel research contracts between Australian universities and overseas universities controlled by foreign governments. They were widely viewed as targeting Chinese universities.

Security agencies have also repeatedly flagged their concerns. ASIO boss Mike Burgess warned earlier this year that the scale of foreign interference in universities was higher than at any time since the Cold War.

Under the current draft, which has been seen by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, the guidelines include a template of three "core declaration of interest questions" that universities must ask academic staff, including that they "outline any associations with foreign political, military, policing and/or security organisations". They must also declare whether they are receiving "any financial support (cash or in-kind) for research-related activities from a country outside Australia" and any "obligations that you have to any foreign institutions (including other academic bodies, research entities or private industry) or governments".

The draft stops short of imposing the same disclosure requirements on other university staff, including casuals and higher degree research students, proposing instead that the need for disclosures be "assessed based on risk level of activity."

Universities are also concerned about the potential legal complications of collecting such information from thousands of academics across every university, including whether it would breach anti-discrimination legislation or privacy laws. The guidelines contain no direction on what universities should do with the information once it has been collected.

One university executive described the measure as "McCarthyist", saying the guidelines had adopted "a sledgehammer, blanket approach" by requiring all academics to make disclosures on their overseas political links irrespective of risk.

"There's no sense of proportionality or any kind of risk profiling at all," the academic said.

"How is it possibly appropriate for this to apply across an entire university? You're requiring your lecturer in medieval poetry to declare her political affiliations and other foreign affiliations, in the same way that you would ask a researcher on missile guidance technology to disclose theirs."

The blanket disclosure approach means all foreign political links are captured, rather than those of particular interest to security agencies. For example, links to authoritarian governments, such as the Chinese Community Party must be disclosed, as must membership of British Labour or Conservative parties.

The Australian Research Council, which administers grant funding for research projects, has already adopted similar disclosure requirements. As first reported by The Australian, in its latest funding round the ARC required academics to disclose their affiliation with a "foreign government, foreign political party, foreign state-owned enterprise, foreign military or foreign policy organisation".

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/sledgehammer-plan-to-force-university-staff-to-reveal-foreign-political-history/ar-AANP4zL?ocid=chromentpnews

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Finally, the age of lockdowns is over

Delta has changed everything

The age of the lockdown is over. The only catch is we can’t quite celebrate yet because half the nation is in lockdown.

And there is perhaps no more fitting final act of the coronavirus saga than this tragi-comic theatre of the absurd.

After more than a year and a half of Orwellian doublespeak and Machiavellian powerplays, Australia has finally come to its senses. Unfortunately it has only done so in theory, not practice.

From the very beginning of the pandemic there were those of us who could clearly see that mass lockdowns were never going to be a long-term solution, let alone a humane one.

We pleaded the vital importance of children going to school and adults going to work and thus were naturally condemned as granny-killing capo-fascists.

It would be unbecoming to crow now that we were right but, well, we were right.

Victoria subjected its citizens to four months of lockdown across the bitter winter of 2020 in an effort to beat the bug. But the bug came back and the state went into lockdown again.

And again. And again.

Meanwhile NSW showed that with a well-managed and well-resourced contact tracing system you could beat Covid-19 without city or statewide lockdowns.

The Casula outbreak, the Northern Beaches outbreak, the Croydon outbreak, the Berala outbreak and countless other leaks from hotel quarantine were all contained and crushed.

This all changed with the Delta variant.

NSW officials clearly thought they could beat it as they had the others, first with just contact tracing, then with local lockdowns, then with a citywide “lockdown lite” and lastly with some of the harshest measures ever seen.

None of it has worked. As every health expert and Blind Freddy himself now knows, we will not be getting back to zero ever again.

The predictable Pavlovian response from the hardliners was that this was because we didn’t lock down fast or hard enough.

And sure enough when Delta went down south Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews locked down hard and fast. After a couple of weeks he announced they had reached zero overnight cases.

That very same day Melbourne went into lockdown again. For the sixth time.

On Wednesday it looked like Victoria might have again started to bend the curve, posting just 45 overnight cases. The next day that number almost doubled.

An exasperated Andrews finally admitted there were “not many more levers we can pull”.

In short, he has gone as hard and fast as possible and still the virus is circulating and still Melburnians are living under the yoke.

Maybe it was just bad luck but if so there’s an awful lot of that going around.

In Fortress New Zealand, the global poster girl for ultra-hard lockdowns, they shut down the country at one single case. On Thursday there were more than 60 new cases.

Sure, Delta might possibly be held at bay for a while in some sparser scenarios but unless these jurisdictions are planning on becoming hermit states it is difficult to see what their long-term strategy is.

It is also true that both the Victorian and New Zealand outbreaks were caused by people from NSW — sorry about that! — but NSW could equally argue that its outbreak came from somewhere else too.

Or indeed that Sydney’s big second wave scare came from Victoria. The problem with the finger of blame is that it always ends up pointing in a circular direction.

The important thing is that even the most reluctant and recalcitrant are now finally seeing the light: Hard and fast or soft and slow, lockdowns now belong in the same historical dustbin as eugenics and ether theory.

They were never truly necessary in Australia, as its most populous state proved time and again, and when it comes to the current outbreak they clearly don’t work.

The NZ and Victorian governments are now subtly suggesting what NSW has been shouting from the rooftops — that it is not possible to beat the Delta variant with such medieval measures.

It is also worth noting that as of Thursday NSW and Victoria had reached almost the exact same number of Covid cases – around 21,500.

In Victoria 820 people died, in NSW just 133.

That is the difference vaccination makes and that is why even with record high case numbers NSW is now lifting restrictions instead of tightening them.

Indeed, new Doherty Institute modelling confirms this will not increase the death toll but anyone who can count could see that with their own eyes.

Even one of the Andrews government’s key lockdown advisers, epidemiologist and former staunch eliminationist Tony Blakely, is now advocating a softening of the current lockdown.

Likewise federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese has now endorsed the national pathway out of lockdowns. And NSW Labor’s Chris Minns has delivered from opposition what some of his counterparts have failed to deliver in government: Leadership.

With Labor MPs representing virtually all the Sydney Covid hotspots, Minns last week instructed every local member to ensure their communities were getting vaccinated.

And this week he threw his weight behind a strategy to get kids back to school next term, for which opposition support will be critical.

This is Labor at its best, putting people ahead of pointscoring.

Meanwhile the isolationist premiers of Queensland and WA are looking increasingly like the apocryphal last Japanese soldier on the island, fighting a solitary long lost war.

The final irony in all of this is that those who are locked down now will perhaps be the longest free, as vaccination rates surge in NSW and Victoria and stagnate in the separatist states.

Soon we will be reunited with the world while the wallflowers chew their nails in the corner.

https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/finally-the-age-of-lockdowns-is-over/news-story/52f5063fae73ef21728e8fa021e1041a

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Young face ‘prolonged disruption’ as degrees no longer guarantee careers

The value of higher education in launching young Australians into the career of their choice is being eroded as universities churn out record numbers of graduates who are increasingly forced to take on low-paid, insecure work.

A report by Monash University’s new Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice argues young people face “the breakdown of a long-held assumption that higher education qualifications will lead to desirable and secure work”.

Instead, the report points to data that shows jobs for young people are increasingly concentrated in fields that are “seasonal, part-time, casual, low-wage and insecure”.

“The link between attainment of higher education qualifications and the movement into certain professions is not happening in a linear way any more,” centre director and report author Lucas Walsh said.

The link between post-school study and a higher income is also eroding, the report shows.

Higher education participation rates have risen by 41 per cent in the past decade, as more and more high school graduates defer full-time work. At the same time, the “earning premium” of a bachelor’s degree has shrunk, from 39 per cent in 2005 to 27 per cent by 2018.

Higher education has long involved an “opportunity bargain” in which high school graduates put off full-time work to gain qualifications that will lead to “a fulfilling career of one’s choice”, Professor Walsh said.

But that bargain has started breaking down in the past 20 years, putting young Australians in a position of “prolonged disruption” that has only got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Walsh argues in a new report titled Life, disrupted: Young people, education and employment before and after COVID-19.

The pandemic has “exacerbated existing” precariousness, Professor Walsh says.

“If you look at previous downturns, young people are the first to go and the last to come back in. We saw that profoundly during the pandemic.”

In the first six months of 2020, 157,000 teenagers lost work, and 13 per cent of women under 25 left the Australian labour force, the report states.

Even though the world of work is changing, for university students such as Meena Hana, study and qualifications are still the path to the job of their dreams.

A survey of more than 40,000 people has revealed which courses and universities landed graduates in jobs.

Ms Hana has wanted to work in healthcare ever since she did a stint of work experience inside a hospital while in high school, and says pharmacy appeals to her because it offers a stable and satisfying career, even if the pay is modest.

“Studying pharmacy is not just for the income, I’d rather do it and enjoy it than do something else and not have the same feeling about my career,” she said.

She said she was prepared to do further study beyond her bachelor’s degree to advance her career.

The Monash University report argues that schools that focus too heavily on academic performance and students’ tertiary destinations and not enough on careers counselling were doing their students a disservice.

“Schools have long been criticised as demoting careers education, of viewing it as extra-curricular activities taking time away from the curriculum that really matters and is assessable,” the authors say.

Leon Furze, the director of teaching and learning at Monivae College in Hamilton, said some schools were moving away from a focus on the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) for this reason.

He said today’s students faced a jobs market where employers want a broader skill set, not just a graduate with a degree in a particular field.

“We tell students to be open to the idea that you’re going to change courses, change qualifications part-way through and even that when you come out the other end you’re not guaranteed that you are going to cruise into the industry that you had your heart sent on when you were leaving year 12,” Mr Furze said.

https://www.smh.com.au/education/young-face-prolonged-disruption-as-degrees-no-longer-guarantee-careers-20210823-p58l4r.html

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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27 August, 2021

Why Qantas won't fly non-stop route to London through Perth anymore

Qantas is set to replace Perth as the airline's departure point for its lucrative non-stop flights to London in response to Western Australia's strict Covid border rules.

The airline said it was considering using Darwin as a hub for the route from December when it expects 80 per cent of Australians to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and the international border to re-open.

WA Premier Mark McGowan has declared he intends to keep his state's border shut even when Australia reaches that vaccination coverage level.

'Qantas' ability to fly non-stop between Australia and London is expected to be in even higher demand post-Covid,' a spokesman for the airline said on Thursday.

'The airline is investigating using Darwin as a transit point, which has been Qantas’ main entry for repatriation flights, as an alternative (or in addition) to its existing Perth hub given conservative border policies in Western Australia.

'Discussions on this option are continuing.'

Qantas first started offering the first-of-their-kind non-stop flights to London from the WA capital - a 15,000km journey that takes 17 hours - in March 2018.

The announcement came as Qantas revealed plans to restart international flights from December 2021 - just in time for Australia's Christmas travel rush.

Qantas said it expected the country to reach the 80 per cent vaccination target in December - triggering the re-opening of international borders as part of 'Phase C' of the federal government's path to pandemic normality.

The first available travel routes will be to destinations with high vaccination rates including the United States, Canada, the UK, Singapore, Japan and New Zealand, Qantas told the Australian Securities Exchange.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said Australia's rapid vaccination rollout would make international holiday travel possible again for the first time in almost two years, despite lockdowns in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

'The prospect of flying overseas might feel a long way off, especially with New South Wales and Victoria in lockdown, but the current pace of the vaccine rollout means we should have a lot more freedom in a few months' time,' he said.

'It's obviously up to government exactly how and when our international borders re-open, but with Australia on track to meet the 80 per cent trigger agreed by National Cabinet by the end of the year, we need to plan ahead for what is a complex restart process.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9927703/Covid-19-Australia-Qantas-wont-flying-non-stop-route-London-Perth-anymore.html

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NSW court makes key climate change ruling

A court has ordered NSW's Environment Protection Authority to develop goals and policies to ensure environment protection from climate change.

The landmark ruling came after a challenge from a community organisation founded in the ashes of a devastating bushfire that swept through Tathra in 2018.

Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action had argued the EPA had a duty to protect the environment from significant threats and climate change was a "grave" and "existential" threat.

The EPA had failed to do this, BSCA contended in the NSW Land and Environment Court, with whatever instruments the agency had developed to ensure environment protection were not enough or even intended to deal with the threat of climate change.

The government said its current measures were adequate, including measures that incidentally regulate greenhouse gas emissions such as methane in landfill. But first and foremost, it said its environmental protection duty was a general duty and wasn't a duty to ward off particular threats, such as climate change.

Chief Judge Brian Preston on Thursday found none of the documents the EPA presented to the court was an instrument that showed it was ensuring the protection of the environment from climate change.

He ordered it develop environmental quality objectives, guidelines and policies to meet their duty on climate change.

But the EPA will maintain discretion on how it fulfils its duty, as the judge knocked back the BSCA's wish for specific objectives including the regulation of sources of greenhouse gas emissions consistent with limiting a global temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

"This is a significant win for everyone who has been affected by bushfires," BSCA president Jo Dodds said in a statement.

"Bushfire survivors have been working for years to rebuild their homes, their lives and their communities. This ruling means they can do so with confidence that the EPA must now also work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state"

The Nature Conservation Council said most people would be astonished to learn the EPA had not regulated greenhouse gas but the ruling should "a chill through the state's most polluting industries, including the electricity and commercial transport sectors".

"Allowing politicians to set greenhouse gas emission targets and controls rather than scientific experts has led us to the precipice," NCC chief executive Chris Gambian said.

In a statement, the EPA said it was reviewing the judgment.

It described itself as an active government partner on climate change policy, regulation and innovation and was involved in work that "assists with and also directly contributes to measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change".

"The EPA supports industry to make better choices in response to the impacts of climate change," the agency said.

Last month, a federal judge ruled federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley had a duty of care to protect children from future personal injury caused by climate change.

Ms Ley is appealing the decision, which resulted from her involvement in the approval of the expansion of a northern NSW coal mine.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/nsw-court-makes-key-climate-change-ruling/ar-AANKLiZ?ocid=chromentpnews

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Electoral laws pass federal parliament

Small political parties will have a tougher test to get registered ahead of the next federal election.

Federal parliament on Thursday agreed to back three changes to electoral laws, but a fourth proposed reform dealing with charities has been put on hold.

Under one bill, small parties will need to provide evidence of 1500 members rather than the current 500.

The same bill tightens rules around the registration of party names which replicate a word in the name of an existing registered party.

The Greens opposed the registration change, saying it will stifle the voice of smaller parties, entrenching the two-party system.

Independent senator Jacqui Lambie said she was "disgusted" by the changed rules, which would undermine democracy.

Labor supported a change to the rules to impose a fixed pre-poll period of up to 12 days before an election.

A further change will provide for a jail term of up to three years for "interference with political liberty", such as violence, property damage, harassment or stalking in relation to an election.

However, the government has put on hold a more controversial bill to reduce the amount of "electoral expenditure" an individual or organisation can spend before they are required to register as a political campaigner.

This amount will decrease from the current $500,000 to $100,000 during the financial year, or for any of the previous three financial years.

The government argues it will bring groups closer in line with the transparency imposed on political parties, candidates and MPs.

But charities say they are not like parties and the move would effectively silence community voices.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/electoral-laws-pass-federal-parliament/ar-AANKu0U?ocid=chromentpnews

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Banks to be grilled again over coal and gas lending as Nationals turn up the heat on climate target

The major banks will be called to a federal hearing into lending disputes over coal and gas projects in a new push by the Nationals to back the resources industry amid a debate with the Liberals over whether to set more ambitious targets on climate change.

Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen wants the banks and the nation’s competition regulator to appear before a parliamentary inquiry next week, extending the controversial review into the lead-up to a United Nations climate summit in November.

With Prime Minister Scott Morrison yet to decide whether to take stronger climate change targets to the summit, the longer inquiry will give Nationals and some Liberals a forum to criticise climate action and urge banks to lend to projects like the Adani coal mine.

Big lenders including the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Group have infuriated the Nationals by choosing not to lend to the Carmichael coal project in central Queensland, which is run by Bravus Mining, a subsidiary of Adani Group.

Resources Minister Keith Pitt slammed the “corporate activism” in those decisions and asked Mr Christensen to set up the inquiry, which began in February after overcoming objections from Labor, the Greens and some Liberals.

But the attacks on the banks are at odds with Mr Morrison’s remarks two weeks ago about the way all lenders were taking climate change into account in their decisions, something governments could not control. “I mean, financiers are already making decisions regardless of governments about this,” he said when asked about his climate targets.

“I want to make sure that Australian companies can get loans. I want to make sure that Australians can access finance. I want to make sure that our banks will finance into the future so they can provide the incredible support that they provide to Australians buying homes and all of these things. The world economy is changing. That’s just a fact.”

Mr Christensen held a meeting with other members of the parliamentary committee on Wednesday morning to put plans for further hearings, with the discussion including the idea of hearing from former Nationals Senate leader Ron Boswell, a strong critic of banks that do not lend to coal projects.

The move for another hearing, planned for Friday of next week, surprised some committee members because they questioned executives from the four biggest banks on July 27 and did not believe another hearing was needed.

Mr Christensen said there were unasked questions that should be put to ANZ Group, the Commonwealth Bank, the NAB and Westpac.

“There will be one more hearing of the inquiry next Friday where we hope to have the big four banks before us again as well as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and some other individual submitters,” he said.

“There are questions for the banks that were unasked due to time constraints at the last hearing, plus new questions that have emerged.”

The committee has already heard from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Another committee member, Queensland Liberal Senator Gerard Rennick, said the banks had a social license that obliged them to provide finance on commercial terms rather than pursuing other objectives.

“They should lend to anyone who has a legal product,” he said.

Mr Pitt has been strongly critical of calls on the government to go further than its stated target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 per cent by 2030, a stance adopted by other Nationals ahead of the UN summit in Glasgow in November.

While Mr Morrison has signalled he wants to set a target of net zero emissions by 2050, he is yet to get an agreement from Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who would be expected to take the terms to a full meeting of the Nationals’ party room.

One Liberal on the committee, Katie Allen, declined to comment on the inquiry but has advocated greater action on climate change in the past.

“Climate change is real and affects us all,” she wrote in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald in November 2019. “This means the long game of transitioning toward renewables and a carbon-neutral future is not just an environmental imperative for this country– it is also an economic inevitability.”

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/banks-to-be-grilled-again-over-coal-and-gas-lending-as-nationals-turn-up-the-heat-on-climate-target-20210825-p58lwu.html

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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26 August, 2021

Lockdowns don’t just save lives, they cost lives too

Robert Bezimienny

As a practising doctor, it has become clear to me over the past 18 months that lockdowns not only inflict a financial cost – they also cost lives. The decision to impose a lockdown is not as simple as society making sacrifices to save lives. The decision is between losing lives to COVID-19 and losing lives to lockdowns.

The lives lost to COVID-19 are highly visible. In contrast, the lives lost to lockdowns have been and remain largely invisible.

Every life has equal moral value and our aim should be to reduce as many unnecessary deaths as possible, not just reduce deaths attributed to COVID-19.When I see a patient presenting with a disease that could have been diagnosed months, or even a year, earlier, I feel sad, angry and frustrated. The patient is not going to do as well. The difference can be as stark as that between a cure and the prospect of death.

During lockdown last year, patients avoided seeing GPs and specialists. Lockdowns made them fear stepping outside. They missed screening tests for breast cancer, for bowel cancer, for heart disease. Consequently, there will be an increased number of deaths from these conditions in the years to come.

While this avoidance will cost thousands of Australian lives, that toll feels less immediate than an unwell patient today. But lockdowns and the fear they provoke have done more than cost lives in future years – they are costing lives right now.

In the first lockdown, a patient with a lump was too scared to come in and see us at our practice. He will not do as well. The constant news stories had already made him fearful, but the lockdown had made him absolutely terrified. Once lockdown eased, he presented for a consultation, was examined and diagnosed with cancer – but the delay has affected his prognosis.

Another patient was referred to a specialist but deferred his appointment as he did not want to approach a hospital during lockdown. Once lockdown ended, he continued to defer his appointment as he waited for the world to return to normal. By the time he saw a specialist, a rare cancer had spread. This year he underwent palliative treatment. Sadly, he is now dead.

During lockdowns, patients have used the telephone and internet for consultations. This is much better than no consultation but it is not as good as seeing a patient in person. When a very old woman with multiple health problems called our practice with a cough, she was convinced that it was her bronchitis and she received two courses of antibiotics over the telephone. The cough persisted and despite great resistance she was persuaded to come in and allow a doctor to examine her. She did not have bronchitis, she had a much more serious condition: multiple blood clots throughout her lung – pulmonary emboli. She was hospitalised and pulled through.

A friend of mine is an emergency department specialist. During lockdowns he has seen people die from late presentations. He has seen more people die than he has ever seen before. Patients think it is dangerous to leave their own house, so those with chest pain stay at home and when they finally call an ambulance, a treatable heart attack has become fatal. Patients with strokes are too scared to go hospital and miss out on acute treatment that would have limited the damage to their brain. Patients with bacterial infections that would be simple to treat with prompt intravenous antibiotics wait at home and become septic and die.

The incidence of anxiety and depression has not just increased during lockdowns – it has exploded. In Australia, it has more than doubled. Depression can lead to suicide and every year 3000 Australians take their own lives. Many of them are young and their deaths are not visible.

If lockdowns are justified on the basis of potential lives saved, the actual lives lost to lockdowns must also be acknowledged.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/lockdowns-don-t-just-save-lives-they-cost-lives-too-20210825-p58lvu.html

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Covid-19 Qld: Hotels at capacity as state flooded by interstate exodus

Queensland’s hotel quarantine system is at capacity as authorities grapple with an influx of people from locked-down states wanting to relocate, along with Queenslanders returning home.

It’s understood the State Government has been trying to find additional space to alleviate the “extraordinary pressure” being placed on the system for days which is currently housing more than 5000 people.

And The Courier-Mail understands authorities may consider assessing the risk of particular domestic travellers and letting them quarantine at home for their second week.

More quarantine hotels have also been brought online.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk spruiked the Sunshine State’s current situation at yesterday’s press conference – which was that Queensland was not in lockdown and on track to further lift restrictions this Friday if no community outbreaks were recorded.

“You can go to work, you can go to school, you can go watch sport, you can play community sport, you can go to a restaurant, you can go out,” she said.

Six new cases of Covid-19 were recorded on Tuesday, including two truck drivers who travelled from NSW, but authorities are not concerned.

NSW on Tuesday reported 753 new cases, while Victoria recorded 50.

A Queensland Health spokesperson on Tuesday night said there had been a “steady rise” in the number of people from other states in extended lockdown moving to Queensland throughout the pandemic.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/coronavirus/covid19-qld-hotels-at-capacity-as-state-flooded-by-interstate-exodus/news-story/18f542355cb4d900aee10d5d8d2d4693

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Fury as health bosses erase the word 'women' from official Covid vaccine guide - using the 'inclusive' phrase 'pregnant people' instead

Federal health chiefs have rewritten a Covid-19 vaccination pregnancy guide that bizarrely erases all mention of 'women' and replaces it with 'pregnant people'.

The guide was originally published in February as 'COVID-19 vaccination – Shared decision making guide for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning pregnancy'.

But it was republished last week under its new subtly-tweaked title: 'COVID-19 vaccination decision guide for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning pregnancy'.

Some campaigning groups say using 'women' excludes non-binary or transgender people who may not identify as a woman but can still be pregnant or a mother.

The word 'women' has been replaced by 'pregnant people' in the new version of the official health guide. Federal health chiefs have rewritten a Covid-19 vaccination pregnancy guide that bizarrely erases all mention of 'women' and replaces it with 'pregnant people'.

The document does not mention woman or women anywhere except in links to other websites or in the title of footnote references to other publications.

The word 'mother' is used just twice in the entire eight page booklet.

In all, more than 50 different mentions of women have been deleted from the original version and replaced by 'people' or 'those who are pregnant', sparking fury among some women.

Included in the changes are non-specific sentences like: 'Pregnant people are a priority group for Covid-19 vaccination' and 'Those who are pregnant have a higher risk of severe illness from Covid-19'.

Sky News commentator Rita Panahi blasted the rewrite as nonsense and added: ‘We cannot allow this craziness to be normalised. 'Women get pregnant - that shouldn't be a controversial statement.'

She accused the federal health department of 'buying into radical gender theory' with the rewrite. 'It's seeping in everywhere,' she added. 'It started in academia but now it's the Department of Health.'

Commercial litigator Caroline di Russo added: 'If you asked the everyday person in the street they would be pretty sure that only women could get pregnant.

'This here frankly is silliness, except that there's an undercurrent to it. It's dressed up like inclusivity and caring and whatever. 'But actually, it just has the effect of cancelling women.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9925749/Coronavirus-Australia-Health-chiefs-replace-women-pregnant-people-Covid-19-vaccine-guide.html

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Murdoch’s Fox News issues ABC with legal threat over ‘Four Corners’ Trump episode

Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News has threatened the ABC with legal action over a Four Corners episode that examined the American cable TV network’s coverage of former US president Donald Trump and its role in the aftermath of last year’s general election.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have confirmed that Fox News’ general counsel Bernard Gugar sent a letter to ABC chair Ita Buttrose and managing director David Anderson on August 22, the day before the episode aired on Monday night. The letter, prompted by promotional clips the ABC shared publicly before the episode aired, warned that Fox would consider all options if the episode went to air.

Multiple people familiar with the letter’s contents who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Fox News also disputed any assertions it was responsible for riots that took place at the US Capitol on January 6. It also claimed Four Corners ignored Mr Trump’s criticism of Fox News’ coverage of the election. Fox News’ election desk was the first to call the key battleground state of Arizona for Joe Biden, who won the election. The call was aggressively disputed by members of the Trump administration with Fox’s senior management.

The letter marks the latest escalation in long-running tensions between Australia’s public broadcaster and media outlets controlled by the Murdoch family, which also include local newspapers The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun. Fox News is now expected to formalise a complaint with the ABC and the Australian Communications and Media Authority over what it claims is a breach of impartiality rules by the public broadcaster in the episode.

One senior media lawyer said it was not clear what legal options Fox could pursue over the episode in Australia, unless Four Corners defamed an individual or disclosed highly confidential information about the company. An alternative legal avenue is to seek an injunction on the second episode, the lawyer said, but that would be likely to attract more attention to the program. “The legal options are limited,” the lawyer said.

However, Fox News signalled it will also pursue its complaints about the episode with Australian regulators. Under current ABC guidelines, the national broadcaster is required to seek balance, fair treatment, open-mindedness and opportunities for relevant perspectives on matters of contention.

The Four Corners’ episode, which said Fox News had become a propaganda outlet for Mr Trump, has been heavily criticised by News Corp’s local publications and columnists such as Chris Kenny and Mark Day since going to air on Monday. Fox News is owned by Fox Corp, a separate company to News Corp, which owns its Australian assets, and is run by Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert’s eldest son.

“The episode clearly violates the basic tenets of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s published standards by exhibiting bias and a failure to maintain any level of impartiality in the presentation of news and information,” a Fox News spokesperson said when contacted for comment. “The use of five former deeply disgruntled employees, only one of whom was part of the company during our coverage of the 2020 US presidential election and its aftermath, single-handedly discredits all credibility of the program.

“As for the events of January 6th, implicating Fox News in any way is false and malicious. Congressional hearings this past February and the Biden Justice Department not only did not implicate Fox but other media companies were cited as platforms for inciting and coordinating the Capitol riots.“

The ABC rejected Fox’s claims, saying there are “no errors” or “falsehoods” in the program. “We are satisfied there are none,” a spokesperson said. “The program rigorously complied with the ABC’s editorial policies. Fox Corp and Fox News were repeatedly asked for interviews and declined to take part. Their responses and information they provided are incorporated in the programs.

“News Corp not enjoying scrutiny does not mean the scrutiny is unwarranted. The events around the critical 2020 US Presidential Election and the coverage of it are clearly in the public interest to investigate. The huge role played by Fox News is legitimate to examine.”

The ABC spokesperson said Fox was provided with a detailed outline of the proposed program and that the television network was helpful in providing footage and background material. “The program tried every avenue to get Fox News to provide its point of view,” the spokesperson said. “The program tried for two months to secure an interview with Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch and made a series of requests for various other senior Fox Corp representatives, as well as for Rupert Murdoch. It also submitted written questions. The responses and information that were provided are incorporated in the program.”

“The story was rigorously tested against the ABC’s Editorial Policies and the ABC stands by it.” The ABC also said it stood by claims Fox had amplified the election fraud storyline and denied that it blamed Fox News for the January 6 riots (Fox News says it called the election accurately for President Joe Biden and ran several programs that scrutinised “stolen election” claims).

https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/murdoch-s-fox-news-issues-abc-with-legal-threat-over-four-corners-trump-episode-20210825-p58lsc.html

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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24 August, 2021

Youth crims are smarter than our pollies, know they’ll get away with anything

The time has come for mandatory IQ testing of our Queensland politicians. Don’t laugh. I’m deadly serious. Any potential MP who comes in under the national average of 99 should be disqualified from running for, and holding, any form of public office.

These are the people who guide our future, debate major laws and put in place policy that is supposed to reflect community expectations. It is a huge responsibility but some of our MPs – and Cabinet Ministers for that matter – are way out of their depth.

When it comes to the Left faction of the Labor Party, many of these politicians wouldn’t hold down a job in the private sector. They do not represent the views of the majority of Queenslanders. Instead, they are a cabal of incompetent, mostly ex-union hacks, who have an ideology that makes Queensland unsafe and less attractive as a place to live and invest.

Now, there may be some people reading this who believe my IQ testing proposal is done with tongue planted firmly in cheek. But it makes sense. Why let dumb politicians ruin our lives? I have no doubt some of the Left faction of the ALP would not score an IQ over 100. How could they possibly be more intelligent than the average Queenslander when they advocate youth justice laws that not only fail miserably, but put innocent people in hospital.

The Toutai Kefu home invasion is just the tip of the iceberg. Nobody should be surprised that the three alleged attackers were on bail, two aged 15 and another 13. Yet the Palaszczuk Government persists with this revolving door policy on youth crime, believing that Nirvana awaits in some form of misguided rehabilitation that will take these little bludgers off the streets. The kids are smarter than the pollies. They know they can get away with just about anything.

It’s madness. Last week, it was reported that not one teen criminal had been fitted with a GPS tracker months into a Gold Coast trial to tackle youth crime. Kids accused of home break ins and car theft are roaming the streets freely on bail. Police are at their wit’s end.

Let’s be clear. The Palaszczuk Government is not fair dinkum about trying to bring youth crime under control. They know voters don’t care, unless of course you are the target of youth crime and then it gets your attention. The government has research – paid for by taxpayers – which shows that all people care about these days is that they keep them safe from a Covid-19 outbreak.

Nothing else matters. So while we can jump up and down as much as we like about youth crime, it’s not an issue for the government. They know it does not change voter intentions. Then there’s the Left’s links to the unions, who run Queensland.

Their latest ploy is to secure a six-day weekend for their members when the Ekka public holiday is moved to Friday, October 29. The CFMEU, plumbers and electrical unions have secured Monday November 1, Tuesday November 2 (Melbourne Cup Day) and Wednesday November 3 as rostered days off.

All in the middle of a pandemic when small business and tourism operators are closing down in droves because of border closures, lockdowns and a lack of certainty around opening hours. We are left with a moribund, fiscally reckless Cabinet with the combined intelligence of a hamster.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/peter-gleeson/gleeso-youth-crims-are-smarter-than-our-pollies-know-theyll-get-away-with-anything/news-story/3bfaf6fcdd992545725720bd54536653

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High school captain and classmates 'fight back' against woke 'orthodoxy'

Student Aiden Brennan has spoken to Sky News Australia about his fight as school captain against an "orthodoxy" that's telling young boys they are "oppressors" and are "guilty of sins" that happened well before they were born.

Mr Brennan said his classmates voted for him to be captain because he "wanted to stand up against that".

He said the school unusually made his cohort have multiple votes on school captain despite the outcome being the same each time.

"They sort of kept making us vote and they kept getting the same answer so eventually they had to accept me," Mr Brennan said.

According to Mr Brennan, the school's apparent apprehension over his captaincy was due to his "controversial" push to reinstate things like the "national anthem at assemblies".

"That I wanted to go in and change that became very controversial somehow, but it was the voice of the students that fought back," he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/high-school-captain-and-classmates-fight-back-against-woke-orthodoxy/ar-AANAAVT?ocid=chromentpnews

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New agriculture visa is set to be introduced

Migrant farm workers from Asian nations will be offered a path to permanent residency under a long-awaited agriculture visa.

The category, which will be in place from September 30, will apply to skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers according to new details released on Monday.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the government would negotiate with individual countries to join the scheme.

Vietnam, Thailand, The Philippines, South Korea and other Asian nations are expected to be among the first included.

"Ones that we have already got very close and long-lasting immigration arrangements with will be the easiest for us to sign up as quickly as we can," Mr Littleproud told the ABC.

The agriculture visa will initially be created under a tweak to regulations around another category while legislation is drafted.

Mr Littleproud said it would exist alongside Pacific farm labour schemes.

"This is the biggest structural reform to Australian agricultural labour in our nation's history," he said.

"It's also about bringing the next generation of migrants to rural Australia, to grow agriculture and grow regional Australia."

The program will offer a path to settle in regional Australia for migrant farm workers who enter on the visa.

It will include meat processing, fisheries and forestry sectors, as well as fruit and vegetable picking and other farm jobs.

While there is no cap on agriculture visa places, coronavirus travel restrictions could prevent large numbers of people entering under the category.

Mr Littleproud urged state governments to make more quarantine places available for farm employees.

"If it wasn't for resources and agriculture, our economy would be buggered during COVID-19," he said. "They were the ones that kept on going when everyone else was put under the doona.

"They kept on making a quid for this nation and we just need to repay that now with some courage and conviction."

The Nationals are claiming the visa category as a major win after years of coalition in-fighting.

Liberals relented after Australia agreed to scrap the requirement for UK backpackers to do an 88-day work stint in regional areas to extend working holidays.

National Farmers' Federation president Fiona Simson said workforce shortages were putting a handbrake on regional economies.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus, farmers' reliance on an international workforce, particularly during the peak seasonal work periods," she said.

"The onus is now on state and territory governments and their chief health officers to approve quarantine arrangements to safely house incoming foreign workers."

Ms Simson urged all sides of politics to back the legislation when it comes before parliament.

Australian Fresh Produce Alliance chair Anthony Di Pietro said all states should follow the lead of Queensland and Tasmania in quarantining overseas farm workers.

"Now that we have an agriculture visa and expansion of the Pacific programs, we need all states and territory governments to work with industry to develop quarantine solutions," he said.

https://au.yahoo.com/news/agriculture-visa-set-introduced-214305211.html

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No jab, no placement: Charles Sturt University mandates COVID vaccinations for health students

Australia's largest regional university, Charles Sturt University (CSU), has announced from next year it will be mandatory for all health students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

CSU said students who had not received both doses of a COVID vaccine would not be allocated a placement in 2022.

The university's executive dean of health and science, Professor Megan Smith, said there were about 4,000 students studying health, and at any one time about two-thirds were doing placements in hospitals and other health services.

"We already have that requirement for vaccines like hepatitis B and the flu vax.

"Ultimately for some students if they don't really want to be vaccinated, we'll have a conversation about whether or not there will be availability of placements and positions for them. If they're not vaccinated it may become difficult," she said.

Professor Smith said health students are part of phase 1A of the federal government's COVID vaccination rollout.

"They are going into environments where they're working with people that are in hospitals where people are unwell and vulnerable, so it's really important they are vaccinated," she said.

Professor Smith said despite the pandemic, most students had been keen to continue doing their placements.

"I think they know they're part of the future health workforce and it's really important the contribution they're making.

"Not surprisingly though they have the same anxieties that others do about the risks that are associated with COVID in their environment, but generally they're positive and are wanting to contribute as much as possible."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-24/csu-mandates-covid-jabs-for-health-students/100401500

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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23 August, 2021

What Australia can learn from Israel's Covid-19 experience

Australia should look at Israel to learn how to deal with Covid-19 once the country has achieved a high vaccination rate, a leading diseases expert has said.

Professor Tony Blakely of the University of Melbourne said Australia can 'learn a lot' from Israel which under one of the fastest jab rollouts in the world has vaccinated 78 per cent of over 12s, the majority with Pfizer, but is suffering a surge in cases.

Australia has targeted a 70 per cent vaccination rate to start living more freely and without lockdown; and 80 per cent to get back to 'normal' life without masks, social distancing and QR codes.

However, last Sunday, Israel brought back restrictions including vaccination certificates or negative coronavirus tests to enter a range of public spaces such as restaurants and bars, cultural and sports venues, hotels and gyms.

The nation of 9million is recording about 6,000 Covid-19 cases a day and 120 deaths a week.

Many of the infected are unvaccinated but 59 per cent of Covid-19 patients in hospital on August 15 were fully jabbed, with 87 per cent of them over 60.

This is largely because data shows the effectiveness of the Pfizer jab wanes over time. In response, Israel is now rolling out booster shots to anyone over 50 who had their second dose more than five months ago.

Professor Blakely said Australia and other countries around the world are learning from the Israeli experience.

'First of all, it's a bit gloomy, we can't escape that,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'They're seeing waning immunity I believe mostly amongst the elderly but we're learning as we go. After time the virus can take off again.'

Professor Blakely said the data shows booster shots are required to increase protection and said there are two options - either use the same vaccine for the third dose or mix and match.

'What we'll increasingly do is we'll use new mRNA vaccines to cover new variants,' he said.

This would involve giving someone who had two shots of Pfizer a shot of Moderna while people who had received AstraZeneca could get Pfizer as their booster. 'As soon as we're fully vaccinated we'd immediately go back and boost AstraZeneca recipients and offer them Pfizer,' he said.

'There is emerging evidence that you get a really good protection if you mix vaccines.

'After Christmas we'd be boosting all people over 60 and all people less than 60 who've had AstraZeneca,' he said.

'And then we'd open the international borders and hopefully be OK.'

Professor Blakely said the world will try out different combinations of vaccines to work out which gives the best protection.

'I'm confident we'll find a way to mix and match mRNA vaccines with each other or maybe people who've had Pfizer will be offered AstraZeneca because that comes in from another angle. We've got a lot to learn,' he said.

'I'm confident we'll find a way to win the arms race against the virus. But it's not going to be smooth sailing and Israel is another example of that.'

Professor Blakely warned that western nations will face backlash from the World Health Organisation for rolling out boosters while people in poor countries have not had a single dose.

He said that booster shots were 'not the best policy' from a global perspective because new dangerous variants could emerge in unvaccinated nations.

'The real threat to humanity is this virus mutating again to become completely resistant to vaccines and the chance of that goes up in direct proportion to the amount of infections across the planet,' he said.

However, the US and European nations are already planning to roll out booster shots, so Australia will likely follow suit.

In the likely event that booster shots are recommended in Australia - where 28.2 per cent are fully vaccinated so far - the Prime Minister has ordered 85 million doses of Pfizer to arrive in 2022 and 2023.

The first batch will enter the country in the first three months of next year, allowing the first vaccinated Australians - who had their second doses in March 2021 - to take a booster shot a year later.

Pfizer CEO Albert Boula confirmed in July that the effectiveness of the vaccine does steadily diminish, but said it reaches about 84 per cent effectiveness at six months.

The jab is most effective between one week and two months after the second dose, and drops by an average of 6 per cent every two months.

Moderna

Meanwhile, studies of the Moderna vaccine show 94 per cent effectiveness six months after the second dose.

AstraZeneca

Studies on AstraZeneca indicate that a single dose induced immunity for at least one year, with an even stronger immune response after either a late second dose or a third dose.

A delay of up to 45 weeks between the first and second jab was found to produce a very strong response, or a third jab after six months.

Source: AstraZeneca, Gavi Vaccine Alliance, The Lancet

The Government has also ordered 51 million doses of the American Novavax vaccine - which is expected to be approved and rolled out in the second half of this year - and 15 million doses of booster or variant-specific versions of the Moderna vaccine.

Both could act as booster shots.

Health Minister Greg Hunt told 2GB radio last week: 'The supplies are very deep and strong. The expectation is that if a booster were required – and frankly, it's far more likely than not on all the advice we have – it would be about a year after you had your vaccination.

'So, no decision yet, but the preliminary medical advice is that it will be in the order of 12 months after your first jab. But it's not a final decision.'

Professor Blakely also said some restrictions may still be required in Australia after 80 per cent of people are vaccinated, such as vaccine passports to enter venues.

He said this would be a 'good risk reduction strategy' but was 'no panacea' because vaccinated people can still catch and spread the virus even with fewer symptoms.

'I think it's a dumb idea because it gives a false sense of security and is going to be problematic to administer.

'But it will be used because it gives people an incentive to get vaccinated,' he said.

Professor Blakely warned that contact tracing and testing will 'probably' be in place for years to come, unless governments aim for herd immunity by letting infections circulate freely while vaccinations and boosters are administered.

'If that was our strategy - and I don't think we're ready for that yet - we'd basically want to get it over and done with as quickly as possible,' he said.

Health department's full statement on booster shots

'The Government has accepted the medical advice of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) that additional or booster doses beyond the two-dose course are not currently recommended.

'The Government is actively monitoring this evidence and has strong working relationships with a wide range of international agencies to discuss the development of COVID-19 vaccines.

'Australia is well prepared for booster vaccines if they are required. This has been taken into account in the purchase agreements already in place.

'The Australian Government has secured 60 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine for 2022 and 25 million doses for 2023. This is in addition to the 40 million Pfizer doses being delivered in 2021.

'The Government has also secured 25 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, including 15 million doses of booster or variant-specific versions of the vaccine.

'The Government also has an Advance Purchased Agreement with Novavax for 51 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. The Novavax protein-subunit based COVID-19 vaccine could be used as a booster dose

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/what-australia-can-learn-from-israels-covid-19-experience/ar-AANzVC1?ocid=chromentpnews

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Parents at “wits’ end’’ over home schooling as students struggle in lockdown

Parents are at their “wits’ end’’ with home schooling as lockdowns rob some children of six months of classroom learning, federal Education Minister Alan Tudge has warned.

Urging teachers to “get vaccinated tomorrow’’, Mr Tudge called for schools to reopen once 70 per cent of Australian adults have been immunised against Covid-19.

“I’m deeply concerned about kids not wanting to go to school or dropping out altogether because they’ve missed months of learning, in some cases,’’ he told News Corp Australia.

“I’m concerned about the number of teenage girls presenting to the Butterfly Foundation (charity) with eating disorders.

“I’m very worried about child abuse that might be occurring because in some cases school might be the only safe place for a kid.

“Many parents who are at home are also at their wits’ end as well.

“Kids are becoming addicted to their devices because sometimes the only way a parent can do their work is to give a device to their kid (to play with).’’

With a million Australian children in lockdown – including Victorian students who have missed out on 200 days of school – Mr Tudge said schools should only close as a “very last resort’’.

“Teachers should be getting vaccinated tomorrow,’’ he said.

“Based on the Doherty (Institute immunisation) advice, when we hit 70 per cent of the population vaccinated, schools can be open in areas without outbreaks.”

Queensland is the only state that has bumped teachers to the front of the queue for vaccines, while Victoria prioritises teachers who work closely with special needs children, and NSW gives priority jabs to teachers in hot spots.

An angry Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said she had been calling on the federal government for months to make teachers, principals and school support staff a priority for Covid-19 vaccines, as essential workers.

She said teachers would be “deeply offended’’ to be told to get a vaccine immediately, when they had to wait with everyone else for a jab.

“Education workers are ready to roll up their sleeves and get a vaccine,’’ she said.

“They have been ready for months. Our members are eager to return to the classroom as soon as possible … but can only return to face-to-face learning when it is safe to do so.’’

Mr Tudge said home schooling was tough on “parents trying to work at the same time’’.

He called for clearer lesson plans for parents helping children learn at home. “There’s too much gobbledygook language in education,’’ he said. “It’s not necessary, it’s confusing to parents and we should be using simple language that parents, teachers and others can understand.’’

The Smith Family, a charity that sponsors 58,000 school students from disadvantaged families, warned that many children do not have digital devices or internet to study at home.

“Disadvantaged kids are already behind in their learning and our big fear is that lockdowns will exacerbate the existing gap,’’ The Smith Family’s head of policy and programs, Wendy Field, said.

“One in five of the families we help on low incomes do not have a device connected to the internet.’’

Ms Field said some children from migrant households had to help their siblings with home schooling, while others were in lockdown caring for disabled parents.

“The longer the lockdown goes, the more worried we get,’’ she said.

A survey by online tutoring service Cluey Learning found that 60 per cent of Year 12 students fear the disruption from Covid-19 lockdowns will lower their tertiary entrance scores.

Six out of 10 students said they studied less at home, compared to learning in the classroom.

News Corp Australia’s series, Lockdowns: The Real Cost, has exposed the toll Covid-19 closures are having on children’s mental health, as cooped-up kids suffer unprecedented rates of anxiety, depression and eating disorders.

A Mission Australia survey of 25,000 teenagers aged 15 to 19 has exposed widespread distress over school closures, as teens struggle to learn at home alone.

And a Unicef Australia survey of parents found that two-thirds would vaccinate their children immediately if they could, and that half want their children to continue attend classrooms during lockdowns.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/coronavirus/parents-at-wits-end-over-home-schooling-as-students-struggle-in-lockdown/news-story/c7d1fb2d085c4290b082f7af5c665c9e

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Woodside-BHP merger paves way for Australia's 'last' major LNG development

For more than 50 years, the name Woodside has been synonymous with oil and gas in Australia.

Although preceded by Australian mining giant BHP in the petroleum game, Woodside rose to become the local champion of an industry that fuelled much of the world's economic activity.

Such was Woodside's financial and political importance in Australia, in 2001 the then treasurer Peter Costello famously torpedoed a takeover bid by Royal Dutch Shell on national interest grounds.

But as the ground shifted underneath the fossil fuel industry in recent years and investors began spurning fossil fuels, a little-acknowledged reality began dawning on observers.

Woodside was — without the successful execution of a last-gasp LNG development — seemingly a company without much of a future.

That was until this week when news of a proposed tie-up between Woodside and the oil and gas arm of mining giant BHP led analysts to say the company now had a path forward.

Deal 'clears path' for Woodside

The deal would involve the merger of the two businesses in a transaction valued at $41 billion.

Crucially, Graeme Bethune from consultancy EnergyQuest said the agreement would pave the way for the planned $US12 billion Scarborough LNG development off Western Australia's north-west coast.

Doubts had been growing about whether Scarborough would go ahead given BHP owns 26.5 per cent of the project and had been tight-lipped about when or whether it would commit to a final investment decision.

Mr Bethune said the proposed new Woodside would own 100 per cent of the project and have few qualms about proceeding.

"Getting other joint venture partners across the line on major investment decisions is always tough," Mr Bethune said.

"So, certainly, Woodside having 100 per cent of Scarborough will make it much easier to go ahead with the project."

As part of the deal, Woodside will acquire what Mr Bethune said was a raft of high-performing oil and gas assets around the world including some in the Gulf of Mexico.

He said these assets were "major generators of cash" and would significantly boost Woodside's financial firepower.

However, Mr Bethune said that, while Woodside would roughly double in size thanks to the BHP deal, the window of opportunity for big new "greenfield" oil and gas developments was closing.

Scarborough 'could be last'

Provided Scarborough went ahead, Mr Bethune said, it could be the last major LNG project of its kind developed in Australia.

"The cheapest kinds of expansions in LNG are brownfield projects, either incremental expansions of existing projects and backfilling them too," he said.

"I don't think we should be in a search for brand new projects.

"I think we've got a good basis for incremental expansion of our existing projects."

Recent uncertainty about the fate of Scarborough stands in contrast to the record of the gas industry over the past 15 years, when $300 billion was spent on giant new projects around the country.

Alison George, head of research at responsible investment firm Regnan, said concerns about the oil and gas industry's carbon emissions were making it much harder for new projects to go ahead.

Ms George said such concerns might have ensnared Scarborough but the BHP merger would "clear a path" and buy Woodside "time and money" to figure out a life beyond fossil fuels.

She noted Woodside itself had identified hydrogen and ammonia as other options to pursue as the world shifted towards net-zero emissions.

A narrow route widens

"The existing fields Woodside operates were starting to decline and had an outlook of decline," Ms George said.

"So, they were really looking for what were the next assets they could develop that were going to continue to let them operate the infrastructure they have. "The pathway to that was narrower. There were fewer choices for that.

"Now, with this much more diversified asset base, there are many more opportunities."

Benefits not without risks

According to Ms George, the BHP deal clarified Woodside's position as an oil and gas "pure play" while elevating it to a league among the world's biggest producers.

Ms George noted this could make it easier for Woodside to attract money from overseas investors but there were potential downsides as well.

She said that, by becoming a major oil and gas player internationally, Woodside "may be sticking its head above the parapet" regarding its environmental performance.

"With the scale that it's bringing to Woodside, it's going to bring it to the attention of a lot of investors who may not have necessarily paid attention in the past," she said.

"It's also going to bring it to the attention of climate activists in a new way.

"So, while Woodside has certainly heard strongly from its local institutional shareholder base on the climate transition in recent years, I think this move may well make that more intense and those conversations more diverse globally."

This week, Woodside's chief executive, Meg O'Neill, said the deal — which would be paid for by issuing scrip to BHP shareholders — took account of BHP's liabilities for decommissioning declining assets in places such as Bass Strait and Western Australia.

Ms O'Neill said the fact Woodside was not assuming any debt as part of the deal also meant it would be well placed to chase "low carbon opportunities" in the future.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/markets/woodside-bhp-merger-paves-way-for-australias-last-major-lng-development/ar-AANAq8s?ocid=chromentpnews

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The public can no longer turn a blind eye to repeat youth offenders

The tragedy of turning a blind eye to youth crime is that it has allowed Labor’s soft sentencing to continue and juvenile crime to escalate out of control, writes Peter Gleeson.

Peter Gleeson

Toutai Kefu is fighting for life after a home invasion turned into a horrific stabbing at his Brisbane home.

Why is the Queensland public so apathetic and disinterested in rampant juvenile delinquency and serious youth crime?

Why are we putting up with this madness where armed teens are terrorising families in their own homes?

Or drug-addled teens are allegedly crashing cars into people out on an afternoon walk, killing them, while on bail?

Is it because we now live in a society where unless it hurts or affects you or your family, nobody gives a toss?

What a terrible indictment on the transactional - some would say selfish - nature of society today.

The tragedy of turning a blind eye to youth crime is that voters have telegraphed to Labor politicians that they are okay with hoisting the white flag up on these errant monsters.

The Palaszczuk Government deserved to lose seats in North Queensland at the last election because it allowed - through soft sentencing and idealistic judicial decisions - juvenile crime to escalate out of control.

Yet Labor won every seat in Townsville and Cairns. What that demonstrates to Labor strategists is that they don’t have to worry about juvenile crime as an election issue.

Voters don’t care. So because the Palaszczuk Government is run by the Left faction, which believes kids deserve a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth - in some cases scores of chances - before they are put behind bars.

The kids think it’s Christmas because they can steal cars, rob people with knives, terrorise local communities, knowing that soft judges and magistrates won’t put them into detention.

Let’s not forget that Labor has ruled in this state for 26 of the past 30 years, meaning the judiciary is stacked with its lefty mates.

So the kids, through a smart lawyer, tell the magistrate that they’ve had a hard life and they give them a slap on the wrist.

The definition of a hard life right now is a former Wallaby legend named Toutai Kefu who nearly died after being stabbed during a home invasion, allegedly by a 15-year-old.

These kids need to stop playing the victim and harden up. The Labor Government will preach about how it is getting tough on these young crims, introducing stricter bail laws and even trialling GPS trackers on the youngsters to ensure police know their whereabouts.

But it’s all spin, a charade. This week, it was revealed that not one Gold Coast teenage criminal had been fitted with a GPS tracker months into a trial to tackle youth crime.

They’re not serious about youth crime, and Queensland voters, we’re the mugs for letting them get away with it.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/peter-gleeson/opinion-the-public-can-no-longer-turn-a-blind-eye-to-repeat-youth-offenders/news-story/84917faec9455c024601952f62f06328

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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22 August, 2021

Powerful new Australian vacine may beat Delta

Australia was left devastated when the University of Queensland was forced to scrap its Covid-19 vaccine. But now it’s poised to push ahead with an exciting new ‘Wave 2’ version.

The pandemic supercharged the vaccine development efforts of Big Pharma, governments and academia in a way never experienced before.

Scientists weren’t starting from scratch; coronaviruses have been studied for decades, with much understanding about spike proteins already garnered.

But as Covid-19 menaced the globe, scientists began sharing often jealously guarded data, myriad projects were shelved to focus on the virus and hard-to-get funding for development and trials was splashed about to find an answer.

In Brisbane, the UQ team had been plugging away on its vaccine technology for almost a decade when Covid-19 hit. For a number of years, the work was unfunded.

And if the virus had held off for just one more year, the issue that killed off the first clamp vaccine would have been discovered.

To be clear, the revised Clamp 2.0 does not use fragments of the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. Not a skerrick of it.

It was these pesky hints of HIV showing up as false positives in some HIV diagnostic tests that ended UQ’s first vaccine.

Not poor results from the first phase of clinical testing, not bad reactions, not anything that suggested the vaccine was unsafe. In fact, the clinical data the team got in from its initial human testing was “awesome”.

Patients were not at risk of contracting HIV and developing AIDS because only two peptides of HIV, not the entire virus, were used.

But explaining that to an already nervous populace was a communications challenge that, in the end, no-one involved was prepared to take on. At least, not when Pfizer and AstraZeneca had vaccines that were looking promising.

From the moment Covid-19’s genetic sequence was released on January 11 last year, Associate Professor Dan Watterson was designing the first vaccine construct.

On January 21, CEPI asked UQ to prepare a trial and commit to taking a vaccine to manufacture. So began 10 months of intense work to produce a Covid-19 vaccine.

Clamp 1 vaccine is gone, never to be rolled out. CSL had to dispose of tens of thousands of doses of already made vaccine. But in our community are people who put out their arm for a jab of the homegrown vaccine in the Phase 1 trials. They are still being monitored. Their bloods are tested, their results checked. There’s no hint of HIV anymore. But the vaccine-generated antibodies for Covid-19, those disease fighters of the immune system, remain at a protective level.

“It still looks,” Young says with a hint of melancholy, “like a really solid vaccine.”

The fact that UQ is developing a Covid-19 vaccine is thanks in large part to CEPI’s continued backing. It had pulled its funding on the first vaccine just prior to the Federal Government’s decision to terminate its deal with CSL for the manufacture of the vaccine.

But after a review of the data from Clamp 1, “the panel was really impressed and asked us to continue with Covid-19”, Young says.

No one in the team is setting a date for when the vaccine could be ready. The full range of clinical trials will be run, with the added complexity of dealing with a population that will have been vaccinated or exposed to the virus.

But variants are at the forefront of the team’s mind. Munro says screening of potential variants is being done now and a choice of which, if any, to target in the UQ vaccine will be made as close as possible to the time where decisions must be made on development and manufacture.

“We could make it Delta, we could make it Delta Plus,” Munro says. The consensus among the scientific community is that a diversity of vaccines will be needed.

“These protein vaccines in the future may have an important role to play,” he says. Munro says protein vaccines are tricky to develop and none of the candidates being devised globally have received approval yet. The most likely to get there first is Novavax, which released good data from large scale clinical trials in June.

“We’ll see over time, if people who may have a poor immune response to AstraZeneca or Pfizer may respond better to an adjuvanted protein vaccine,” Munro says. “That might be especially important in older individuals. We don’t know that but that’s one theory and you can imagine that being true.”

https://www.couriermail.com.au/lifestyle/qweekend/delta-plus-supercharged-new-uq-vaccine-to-fight-deadly-covid-strains/news-story/b91ed2fba2a833c82ee82da54fdbfb0a

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TGA approves new antibody drug sotrovimab to treat Covid-19 in Australia

Australians who test positive to Covid-19 and are at risk of being admitted to hospital will soon have access to a new drug to prevent virus symptoms from worsening.

Australia’s medical regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, on Friday granted provisional approval for the use of antibody treatment drug sotrovimab.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the government had secured an initial allocation of more than 7700 doses of the drug for the National Medical Stockpile.

The new treatment can reduce hospitalisation or death by up to 79 per cent in adults with mild to moderate Covid-19.

It is administered through an IV infusion in a healthcare facility.

Associate Professor Paul Griffin, practicing infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist, said the drug’s approval would have a “tremendous” impact in hard hit regions such Sydney.

“We are seeing the situation which we really wanted to avoid, our health care systems get to capacity and beyond that, get overwhelmed,” he told NCA Newswire.

“I’m getting some suggestions that NSW is getting to some of those thresholds.

“The potential for this therapy is to stop people progressing to severe disease, potentially keeping them out of hospital, potentially keeping them out of intensive care.

“Potentially it could free up the resources that would have otherwise been utilised and I guess get some capacity back to the health system.”

It is expected that sotrovimab will be targeted for the treatment of Australians over 55 years old who have Covid-19 and also have one or more of the following risk factors for disease progression – diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, lung disease and moderate to severe asthma.

The drug has also been approved for use in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Hunt said the drug was an important new tool doctors could use to treat Covid-19 and to reduce hospitalisations.

“This treatment will provide another tool in the ongoing challenge against COVID-19, in addition to the Covid-19 vaccines, which are being rolled out in record numbers across the country,” he said.

The TGA has given approval to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Australia Pty Ltd to make sotrovimab available for use in Australia.

It is the second Covid-19 treatment to receive regulatory approval in Australia, following the TGA’s approval of Remdesivir.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/tga-approves-new-antibody-drug-to-reduce-covid19-hospitalisations/news-story/96021d59bce68caf0f27c84f4eba51d7

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Mental health services report steep increase in calls since pandemic began

The true impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns is beginning to show, with a concerning increase in the number of Australians seeking help via emergency psychological helplines.

According to deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd, Lifeline and Beyond Blue have both reported a 30 per cent increase in calls compared to the time before the pandemic began.

“For those experiencing lockdowns, this is a time of disruption and frustration for many, and a time of isolation and fear for others,” Professor Kidd said.

“We need to be supporting each other and showing our love and our care to our family members and to our neighbours and our friends.”

In May 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged nations to “urgently increase investment” in services for mental health.

“The impact of the pandemic on people's mental health is already extremely concerning,” said Director-General of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Social isolation, fear of contagion, and loss of family members is compounded by the distress caused by loss of income and often employment.”

Through the Covid-19 national health plan, an extra $74 million has been invested into Australia‘s mental health services over 2020-21.

But mental health struggles are still at an elevated level among Australians, with mental health-related prescriptions and calls to mental health support lines maintaining significantly higher numbers than pre-pandemic times according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Professor Kidd urged anyone struggling with their mental health to contact Lifeline, the Kids Helpline, or Beyond Blue.

“More Australians than ever before are reaching out for help and support,” he said.

“If you feel you may need help or assistance or you need someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to reach out.”

https://www.couriermail.com.au/breaking-news/mental-health-services-report-steep-increase-in-calls-since-pandemic-began/news-story/2aed5212047a62c55a947dfa6e5d7ec0

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The chimera of carbon capture & storage

As the world digests the latest grim warning from the IPCC, attention is turning to Australia's "technology not taxes" approach. And central to that is carbon capture and storage (CCS).

New data shows that almost $4 billion of taxpayer money has been spent on the technology and after decades it is still not operating at industry scale.

But Mark McCallum, CEO of Low Emission Technology Australia (LETA, formerly Coal21), which is funded by the black coal industry, said the challenges for CCS had been overcome.

"In Australia we're actually in a really good position now that we've established these large-scale storage sites," he said, referencing progress at trial sites in Queensland and South Australia.

The insinuation is that deployment of the widespread industrial-scale CCS is not far away, and despite a huge surge in investment in renewables, Mr McCallum said carbon capture technology had to play a role in emissions reduction.

"We'll still need steel for the wind turbines, we'll still need cement for the homes and buildings we all live in, and we'll still need power when the wind's not blowing and the sun's not shining," he said.

"CCS gives us an option to generate that power, but cleanly."

The Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction has been speaking about carbon capture and storage technology as part of the federal government's push to overhaul clean energy investment.

But Richi Merzian, director of climate and energy at think tank The Australia Institute, said proponents had long claimed large-scale CCS was just around the corner.

"It's great that LETA, or Coal21 as they used to be called, say that they're close, but they've been saying that for the last 15 years," he said.

His team has crunched the numbers on how much taxpayer money has been spent so far on CCS research and development.

"Since 2003, Australian governments have committed over $4 billion of public money to carbon capture and storage, with hardly anything to show for it," Mr Merzian said.

"When it comes to the targets being set for carbon capture and storage, all the examples that we looked at — from the International Energy Agency, the Intergovernmental Panel, or local targets set by the Australian government, or the Australian Coal Association, or even industry groups — we've found that every single one of those targets has been missed."

Will CCS ever work at scale?

Carbon capture and storage technology is not new, it's been used commercially since the 1970s, and there are dozens of commercial-scale projects around the world.

Australia has the largest facility in the world at Chevron's Gorgon LNG project off the West Australian coast.

But while CCS technology is well understood, its implementation is proving problematic and very expensive.

Chevron has "deliberately mismanaged" its carbon sequestration project at the Gorgon gas facility in Western Australia in order to avoid its environmental commitments, a WA conservation group has alleged.

At the Gorgon project, for example, while the project started in 2016, CCS still was not operating until years later, and today the project has not met its target to capture 80 per cent of emissions in its first five years.

"Every single carbon and capture storage project is bespoke," said Greg Bourne, a climate and energy expert at the Climate Council, who also had an extensive career in the oil and gas industry.

Mr Bourne said unlike wind or solar technology, CCS plants had to be tailor-made for the project, be it a coal power station, LNG plant, or steel or cement making.

"It is highly expensive and really doesn't lend itself for economies of scale," he said.

The Global CCS Institute says currently "some 40 megatonnes of CO2 are captured and stored annually".

"What they don't talk about is it produces extra oil, which when burnt puts 74 million tonnes a year back into the atmosphere. So it's a net positive technology at the moment," Mr Bourne said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-21/taxpayer-bill-for-carbon-capture-and-storage-hits-4-billion/100375854

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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19 August, 2020

The "teenagers" who attacked prominent Queenslander WERE African. The media were zealous not to mention it but I suspected it from the beginning -- and said so in private

The president of Queensland’s police union has called for a radical penalty for the teenagers alleged to have stabbed a rugby legend in his Brisbane home.

Two teenagers are in custody over the Coorparoo home invasion that left Wallabies and Queensland Reds legend Toutai Kefu fighting for life and his family members seriously injured on Monday morning.

Ian Leavers, president of the Queensland Police Union, called for the teenagers to be deported should they be convicted and sentenced.

“As we know, they’re from an African background,” Mr Leavers told 4BC Radio on Tuesday. “If they were not born in this country, after their sentence … they should be deported back to their country.”

“If young people and juveniles go into a house armed with a machete, knives and an axe, they are not a young person making a simple mistake.”

Mr Leavers said the alleged offenders should be dealt with in the most serious ways, instead of being “let off by the courts”.

Police allege three people attended Mr Kefu’s home early Monday morning and a confrontation broke out.

Mr Kefu suffered serious stab wounds to his abdomen while his wife, son and daughter were also injured. Toutai Kefu has since recovered following lifesaving surgery after three people allegedly attacked him outside his Coorparoo house on Monday morning.

A 15-year-old boy from Goodna has been charged with attempted murder following his arrest at the scene.

The two other alleged offenders fled in a car that had allegedly been stolen from a Forest Lake address that same morning.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-qld/police-union-boss-called-for-teens-alleged-to-have-stabbed-wallaby-legend-to-be-deported/news-story/78984bfe3e851c1644d1742c3878cbf3

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’Seven-year witch hunt’: Linc Energy case sensationally dropped

The Crown has dropped its case against four former Linc Energy directors accused of serious environmental breaches.

The Crown has sensationally dropped its case against four former Linc Energy directors accused of serious breaches of the Environmental Protection Act.

Director of Public Prosecutions Carl Heaton QC wrote to the four defendants saying he was no longer satisfied there was “sufficient prospects of convictions”. He instructed Ralph Devlin QC to enter a nolle prosequi “at the earliest opportunity”.

Former Linc chief Peter Bond said the marathon case was a waste of $50m of taxpayers’ money. He said it was a witch hunt from the start and called for a commission of inquiry.

Mr Bond said compensation should be paid to farmers whose land values fell and whose incomes suffered when they were prohibited from certain farming activities after an emergency was declared in March 2015.

“I’m still in shock,” Mr Bond said in an exclusive interview.

“This has gone on for seven years. I said from day one it was a witch hunt. It has cost me a lot and I’m still trying to get over it.”

Linc Energy’s activities were publicly criticised by then environment minister Steven Miles, who said pollution from the firm’s underground coal gasification plant at Hopeland, 300km west of Brisbane, was potentially the biggest environmental disaster in Queensland history.

Linc Energy’s fall from grace was spectacular because premier Peter Beattie declared the project one of state significance in 2007, hailing it as a Smart State “clean-coal technology”. The process involved igniting coal underground and drawing off the gas through a series of wells. Linc told investors it also wanted to produce gas-to-liquid fuels, including diesel and aviation fuel.

Director Stephen Dumble said he was glad it was over.

“I’m relieved, but I can’t say I’m happy about it,” he said.

“I’ve had my life destroyed by it.”

Grazier Toby Trebilco, who lives next door to Linc’s plant, said he wept when he heard the decision. He describes it as “the disaster that never was” and wants a public apology from Mr Miles, who he believes was manipulated by green activists.

“They got it all wrong and gave our district a bad name,” he said. “We have suffered a great injustice.”

Mr Trebilco was critical of reports on the ABC on March 16, 2015, suggesting groundwater was contaminated and hundreds of thousands of tonnes of soil would have to be removed.

Grazier Max Thompson said 150 landholders had suffered. “It’s hard to put a figure on it, but the talk of an environmental disaster has had a negative impact on land prices.”

The initial underground gasification trials were bankrolled by state-owned power station operator CS Energy, not Linc.

Linc purchased the facility and was given a licence by the Mines Department to escalate the underground tests.

District Court judge Leanne Clare SC she had difficulty understanding the case brought by the Crown.

The summary of the essential facts presented by the DPP was gobbledygook, she told the court.

Judge Clare struck out the particulars presented by Mr Devlin.

A spokesman for Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the government would consider its options.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/sevenyear-witch-hunt-linc-energy-case-sensationally-dropped/news-story/6fd0fe0584e19623b1e42fd20b2c7476

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Once again: Poverty is a strong predictor of illness

Any amount of research confirms what the medicos call “the social gradient” – the well-off tend to be in much better health than those near the bottom. They’re less likely to be overweight and less likely to smoke.

The Mitchell Institute at Victoria University has just issued the second edition of its “health tracker by socio-economic status”. It finds that the 10 million Australians living in the 40 per cent of communities with lower and lowest socio-economic status have much higher rates of preventable cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases than others in the population.

Why then should we be surprised to learn that, though Sydney’s outbreak of the Delta variant seems to have started in the better-off eastern suburbs, it soon migrated to the outer south west, where it finds a lot more business?

Last week the welfare peak body, the Australian Council of Social Service, issued a joint research report on Work, Income and Health Inequality, with academics at the University of NSW.

ACOSS boss Dr Cassandra Goldie says “the pandemic has exposed the stark inequalities that impact our health across the country. People on the lowest incomes, and with insecure work and housing, have been at greatest risk throughout the COVID crisis. Now, they are the same people who are at risk of missing out in the vaccine rollout”.

Then there’s the question of trust. Social trust works through social norms of behaviour, such as willingness to co-operate with strangers and willingness to follow government rules. As in other rich countries, our trust in governments has declined over the years. Last year it seemed to lift, as many of us believed we could trust our leaders – particularly the premiers – to save us from the pandemic.

Whether that confidence survives this year’s missteps we’ll have to see. But the economic historian Dr Tony Ward, of Melbourne University, reminds us of a significant finding in this year’s World Happiness Report: in general, the higher a country’s level of social trust, the lower its COVID-19 death rate.

Stay with me. An experiment by the American behavioural economist Alain Cohn and colleagues in Switzerland involved “losing” 17,000 wallets in 355 cities across 40 countries and seeing how many of them were returned to their supposed owners.

The rate of wallet return was about 80 per cent in the Scandinavian countries and New Zealand, just under 70 per cent in Australia, less than 60 per cent in the US and less than 30 per cent in Mexico.

Ward did his own study and found that two-thirds of the difference between countries could be explained by their degree of inequality of income. The greater the inequality, the less trust. When he added survey data on people’s perceptions of corruption, his apparent ability to explain the differences in trust rose from 68 per cent to 82 per cent.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her minions tell us the virus is raging in certain “LGAs of concern” because people aren’t doing as they’ve been asked. Maybe their lack of co-operation reflects a lack of trust in the benevolence of those higher up the income ladder. Inequality doesn’t come problem-free.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/it-s-the-rich-wot-get-to-complain-and-the-poor-wot-get-infected-20210817-p58jfg.html

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BHP is selling its oil and gas business. Greenies moan

The move by BHP to sell its petroleum business isn’t an environmental coup by any stretch of the imagination, critics say.

Announced on Tuesday, the decision will see the resources giant rearrange its operations and merge its oil and gas assets with Woodside Petroleum. If approved, BHP shareholders will take a 48% stake in Woodside.

While news that the largest company on the ASX ‘getting out of’ petroleum may appear to great news for the environment, it’s anything but, according to the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR).

Environment and climate director Dan Gocher said the new merged entity will instead rank as Australia’s largest energy company, warning it will be “disastrous” for both Woodside shareholders and the climate.

“Woodside is doubling its exposure to oil and gas, while at the same time claiming the merger reduces risk,” Gocher said. “Woodside described an ‘enhanced portfolio of high return growth options’, which is completely at odds with the [International Energy Agency’s] conclusions that we cannot afford any further oil and gas development beyond this year.”

It follows similar criticisms levelled at AGL, which has seen the value of its shares fall 70% in the last four years as it resists pressure to divest from coal.

The deal will double Woodside’s oil production to around 200 million barrels, increase its reserves to more than 2 billion barrels, and see it take on ageing assets in Australia and the Gulf of Mexico.

Global investment manager VanEck, a shareholder of both BHP and Woodside, said the strategy flies in the face of global trends.

“Woodside is taking on petroleum assets at a time when the world is moving away from fossil fuels,” Jamie Hannah, deputy head of investments and capital markets, said. “While many energy companies are selling down their ‘dirty’ energy assets, Woodside is taking them up, contrary to good ESG management.”

At the same time that much of corporate Australia commit to net-zero targets and institutional investors avoid climate risk, Gocher says Woodside will need to contend with a shrinking customer and funding base.

“Woodside’s pre-existing climate commitments were dubious prior to this deal, and nothing has changed. It intends to rely entirely on land-based offsets to meet its 30% by 2030 target. Recent bushfires in Australia, Canada, Russia and Turkey prove it is utter folly to rely on offsets to reduce emissions,” he said.

Coming during a commodity boom, Hannah added that the deal was “unlikely to create long-term value for either company” and may struggle to find support among Woodside shareholders.

“This deal is one of the most expensive for an energy company and Woodside is one of the worst-performing companies within the energy sector globally post-COVID; the company doesn’t yet have a strong mandate to enter a deal of such questionable value and this could further drag on Woodside’s shares.”

The implications of the deal are wide-reaching with a deal likely to move the Scarborough project in the north-west of the country one step closer to being realised.

The controversial gas development has been likened to the Adani Carmichael coal mine, and could release 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon – the equivalent of around 15 coal-fired power stations – into the atmosphere if approved.

“BHP and Woodside’s Scarborough climate bomb will have a direct, disastrous impact on our precious marine life via a new pipeline from the Scarborough gas field to the Pluto facility,” Sea Shepherd Australia managing Jeff Hansen said.

“This would involve dredging straight through the pristine Montebello Marine Park with a disastrous impact on the migratory route of endangered pygmy whales, turtles nesting on nearby beaches, humpbacks, dugongs, dolphins, marine snakes and sawfish around the Burrup Peninsula and Dampier Archipelago.”

Even if the merger doesn’t get the green light, BHP has indicated that it would sell its stake in Scarborough to Woodside for $US1 billion, pending the project going ahead.

Climate group 350 slammed BHP for shirking its responsibility and turning a blind eye to the impacts of its assets. “Rather than take responsibility for the highly polluting petroleum business sites BHP has built, this is a cynical attempt to simply walk away,” campaigner Anthony Collins said.

“Ultimately, Woodside is acting as BHP’s ‘useful idiot’; taking on a burden that BHP has decided is too toxic to touch.”

https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/markets/bhp-is-selling-its-oil-and-gas-business-critics-say-itll-be-a-disaster-for-the-environment/ar-AANrl9K

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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16 August, 2021

Academic calls to scrap ‘English’ name from the curriculum

Another white "Aborigine" making a nuisance of herself

https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/675749056af7e878117cca6ec5b7728c

English would be renamed as a subject in the Australian curriculum and kids instead taught “Language Arts” under a radical proposal from a leading academic.

In a major address at the recent Australian Association for the Teaching of English conference, former Queensland school teacher and University of Melbourne senior lecturer Dr Melitta Hogarth described the use of the name English as an “act of assimilation”.

She offered alternatives, such as “Language Arts” or “Languages, Literacy and Communications”.

But the idea was shot down by Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge, who told The Courier-Mail in terms of changing the national curriculum he would be “firmly rejecting such nonsense”, claiming it would “lead to the dumbing down of our kids”.

“This is not just political correctness gone mad, but it actually makes me angry that such views are in our universities’ education faculties - the place that trains our future teachers,” he said.

“Everyday Australians are just sick of this sort of rubbish that infects our universities.”

Dr Hogarth, an Indigenous woman who spent many years teaching Indigenous children, said in her address her intent was to “disrupt and scrutinise” the role subject English played in maintaining the “status quo”, and “asserting the besieged sovereignty of the colonial state”.

“The power of the coloniser within colonial Australia is clear when we consider how essential to the teaching and learning and schooling in Australia is the privileging of Standard Australian English,” she said.

“It wasn’t enough that First Nations peoples had been disposed of their lands, their children stolen but also their languages were silenced and it was dictated within the government controlled missions that English should be spoken.

“A supposedly superior language, the language of the oppressor, and just to make sure you didn’t know who the oppressor was let’s call that subject English.

“So I’m left asking, is subject English just another act of assimilation?”

Dr Hogarth told The Courier-Mail her provocation for renaming the subject was “first and foremost to identify that there is no definitive English language but many Englishes”.

“Within the rationale of subject English, it refers to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the country but then counters this by stating that you need to be able to communicate in Standard Australian English,” she said.

“I feel as though subject English is limited in describing what it is we do in the subject and therefore, alternatives such as Languages, Literacy and Communications provide a much better scope of the teaching and learning.”

Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace said there were “no plans to rename English as a subject”.

“We adopt the Australian Curriculum and that includes the teaching of English in schools,” she said.

Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson said English was currently taught with a variety of names in senior subjects, including English, English & Literature Extension, English as an Additional Language, Essential English, Literature, and Literacy.

“We believe that curriculum should be reviewed and updated to meet the changing needs of students and their communities and that any change in curriculum must be adequately resourced,” she said.

Dr Hogarth said she knew her ideas would be provocative and controversial - and perhaps even cause “anger” or “outrage” – but said she had received “amazing feedback” from colleagues and peers.

“But of course, the provocation does not have an easy answer and demands a strong reaction so I am sure there were others challenged by what I had to share,” she said.

“If these past 18 months has shown anything within the education space, it is the inequity within education so I would hope that the education community at the very least is open to any innovations and ideas for change that will make things better for all.”

https://www.couriermail.com.au/education-queensland/academic-calls-to-scrap-english-name-from-the-curriculum/news-story/fe09a8a23272606715edbb337bb7ade1

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Qld considers laws allowing magpies to be shot

Queensland may adopt NSW-style laws allowing magpies to be shot on sight following a baby’s freak death.

Today Show host Karl Stefanovic has slammed a council over baby's tragic death from a swooping magpie

Rogue magpies like the one responsible for the tragic death of a baby girl in a Brisbane park last week can be shot on sight by cops in NSW.

And Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon has not ruled out similar laws here.

The baby, identified only as Mia, was crushed to death when her mother tried to duck a swooping magpie at Glindemann Park at Holland Park in Brisbane’s south last Sunday.

Brisbane City Council received five complaints about swooping magpies in the lead-up to the tragedy.

NSW police can and have used lethal force to control angry magpies if asked to do so by local councils.

Several magpies have been shot and killed by cops south of the border in recent years after launching aggressive attacks on passers-by during swooping season.

Sydney police pulled their guns on a ‘monster’ magpie in 2019 after more than 40 complaints to the local council.

In 2018, police shocked onlookers when they shot a rogue magpie outside a Lismore shopping centre.

In 2011, an aggressive magpie ordered destroyed by Tweed Shire Council was given a death row reprieve after reluctant police refused to pull the trigger.

A NSW Department of Environment spokesman some wildlife which posed a threat to public safety, including magpies, can be destroyed by permit.

“Wherever possible, the Department seeks to resolve negative interactions using non-destructive methods,” he said.

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon told the Sunday Mail she had not been approached by councils on proposals for any additional actions or powers.

“This was a tragic incident, and my thoughts go to the family,” she said of baby Mia’s death.

“Landholders have a general responsibility to manage the impacts of wildlife like magpies on their land, including councils where magpies are located in parks, reserves and on local roads.

“And councils are responsible for organising the removal and relation of native wildlife on their land, where appropriate, and installing signage during breeding season.”

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner launched an investigation into the council’s management of aggressive magpies following baby Mia’s death.

But he said he would not back the use of lethal force against the iconic Aussie birds.

“Firing weapons at magpies in highly populated suburban areas and busy public parks is just not practical or safe,” he told The Sunday Mail.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/qld-politics/qld-considers-laws-allowing-magpies-to-be-shot/news-story/e209868dee646d29731b8a6707ea84f9

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The despicable Punchard is going to jail after all

A police officer who leaked the home address of a friend’s ex-wife, after accessing a police database, has had a wholly-suspended prison sentence reinstated, after an appeal.

Senior Constable Neil Punchard had pleaded guilty to nine counts of using a restricted computer without consent, gaining the benefit of knowledge, in 2013 and 2014.

He successfully appealed against the sentence of two months jail, wholly suspended for 18 months, imposed by a magistrate.

Last year, District Court Judge Craig Chowdhury allowed the appeal, re-sentencing Punchard to 140 hours of community service.

But on Friday the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by the Commissioner of Police and set aside Judge Chowdhury’s orders.

The appeal court heard that Punchard had already completed the 140 hours of community service.

But the appeal court judges said that fact “did not cause such an injustice” to the officer to be an impediment to their orders that would effectively reinstate the magistrate’s sentence.

Punchard used police databases to find the address of his friend’s ex-wife, who was forced to move after the officer revealed the information to his friend.

He had been aware of the significant acrimony between his friend and his ex-partner and advised his friend to tell her he knew where she lived.

The court heard the woman had not given her ex-partner her address because she maintained she was a victim of domestic violence.

Punchard gave wholehearted and enthusiastic assistance to his friend, abandoning any sense that he was a police officer, the appeal court said.

The appeal court found the material before Judge Chowdhury did not reveal any error by the sentencing magistrate or that the sentence was manifestly excessive.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has previously said she would consider Punchard’s suitability to remain employed by QPS after the appeal process was finalised.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-qld/senior-constable-neil-punchard-who-leaked-address-of-a-mates-exwife-has-jail-sentence-reinstated/news-story/d93588e7e68beaee2dadb4b4b412ea5f

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Inland rail: Costs could exceed $20 billion as project based on ‘inadequate’ business case

Another rail boondoggle

The Melbourne-Brisbane inland rail will likely cost more than $20 billion due to planning failures, a scathing inquiry has found.

A scathing Senate report – entitled ‘Inland rail: Derailed from the start’ and tabled to parliament this week – says delivery of the landmark rail line is governed by an out-of-date business case with costings that were “inadequate” from the start, leading to a failure to properly plan and implement the $14.5 billion project.

The Labor-led Senate committee is calling for a full updated business case review and a dedicated oversight inquiry to keep an eye on its construction – two measures which Coalition senators have already opposed.

The report has been welcomed by NSW Farmers and the Country Women’s Association of NSW, who together sought legal advice on dealing with the Australian Rail Track Corporation after repeatedly raising concerns with the agency’s community consultation processes.

NSW Farmers inland rail task-force chair Adrian Lyons said it was the first time the group felt their issues had been heard.

“ARTC have continually had a ‘crash or crash-through’ mentality when it comes to the execution of this project. Well today, they have crashed – in a major way,” Mr Lyons said.

CWA NSW chief executive Danica Leys said the report vindicated their concerns, calling the project a “basket case of mismanagement and budget blowouts”.

The Federal Government promised $8.5 billion for the 1700km track in 2017, which was then estimated to cost about $10 billion in total. But costs have already escalated, with the Government allocating another $5.5 billion to the project in December last year.

The Senate committee was told parts of the line’s construction had been underestimated by more than three times, compared with the 2015 business case, and costs were predicted to now exceed $20 billion.

“Whether inland rail’s 2015 business case remains valid in light of the substantial increase in capital required for its completion is a key question,” the report stated, adding that parts of the route were yet to be finalised.

“The committee continues to be confused as to how a business case can be relied upon if the end point of the inland rail, and therefore the costs involved, are still to be decided.”

The report also questioned why the Federal Government insisted on a “arbitrary” 24-hour journey time, as that requirement had restricted ARTC from looking at other alignments that might better benefit regional communities.

It said there were “significant shortcomings” in ARTC’s engagement with landholders, and questioned why the route’s end point in Brisbane had still not been finalised.

“It is a failure of the Australian and Queensland governments for this uncertainty to remain, despite over a decade of investigation into the Inland Rail corridor,” it read.

The committee made 26 recommendations, including:

* Setting up an ongoing inquiry for oversight of the project;

* An independent review and update of the 2015 business case;

* Integrate the rail project with the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy;

* Investigate options to extend the line to the Port of Gladstone, in Queensland, and review the Narromine-Narrabri alignment in NSW; and

* Appointing an independent mediator to improve ARTC’s relationship with NSW Farmers and CWA, and improve local consultation processes.

Coalition senators opposed five of the 26 recommendations, as well as the report’s title: “The more appropriate title is that Labor has been determined to derail Inland rail from the start.”

The Government members stated calls for an oversight inquiry were unnecessary as the committee could question ARTC during Senate estimates three times a year, and did not support a review of the business case.

“A review, assessment or update of this business case would significantly impact the progress and stakeholders involved in the project, which is now well underway,” they said.

Originally published as Inland rail: Costs could exceed $20 billion as project based on ‘inadequate’ business case

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/inland-rail-costs-could-exceed-20-billion-as-project-based-on-inadequate-business-case/news-story/1076f12b1f8436a011005b019686fed4

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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August 14, 2021

Cowboy AGED TWO!

A pint-sized farmer has been filmed herding cattle on an Australian farm like a seasoned professional.

The two-year-old boy is seen confidently manning his miniature quad bike as he masterfully moves the herd along farmland.

Despite being outnumbered and outsized, the boy seems unfazed as he rounds-up the unruly cattle.

An unidentified woman keeps close watch from behind the camera as she films the talented toddler display skills well beyond his years.

As she nears closer to the boy, who has stopped for a brief pit stop, footage shows just how tiny he is, with a helmet almost too big for his body.

Depending on the herd number and cattle size rounding up the animals can be a tricky job, but it appears the job doesn't seem too big for the toddler.

Herding can be a tricky job depending on the number and size of the cattle, but it's no match for this pint-sized farmer

The video offers a unique insight into everyday life while growing up on farm in regional Australia, with children of all ages eager to get to work.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9878869/Toddler-confidently-herds-cattle-Australian-farm-driving-miniature-quad-bike.html (Video at link)

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National Seniors Australia survey reveals widespread support for Queensland’s VAD laws

A majority of Queensland seniors have backed a push for voluntary-assisted dying being made available for people with a terminal illness.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has formally introduced euthanasia laws into the state’s parliament which will now go back to a committee for an extended 12-week consultation process. Ms Palaszczuk said the entire parliamentary sitting period in September will be devoted to debating the issue when the…

More than 80 per cent of Queensland seniors would support voluntary-assisted dying being available to people with a terminal illness, new data has revealed.

A survey conducted by National Seniors Australia has revealed 86 per cent of older Australians support euthanasia in instances of a terminal illness while 8.7 per cent did not.

In Queensland, 65 per cent of seniors – aged 50 and above in the survey – said they would support VAD being available to a person with a non-terminal illness who met other eligibility criteria available in Victoria.

While 8.7 per cent of senior Queenslanders did not support VAD being available for people with a terminal illness, 84.4 per cent of people did.

The survey engaged with 3500 people from across the country, with 1260 from Queensland – the largest response from any state or territory.

Proposed euthanasia legislation is set to be debated in Queensland Parliament in September, with a committee report expected to be tabled later this month.

Go Gentle Australia CEO Kiki Paul said the survey was more evidence that Australians, no matter their age, supported choice at the end of their lives.

“Like all Australians, they want a say in the circumstances of their death should they be diagnosed with a terminal illness,” she said.

“Most of all they want the choice not to suffer needlessly.

“Four Australian states have already passed safe and compassionate laws that give terminally ill people this autonomy and control. “Now it’s time for Queenslanders to be allowed the same choice.”

More than 650 respondents from across the country penned comments about VAD which revealed the diverse reasons behind their views.

National Seniors Australia CEO John McCallum said one example of a comment read, “The quality of death should be given the same attention as the quality of birth”.

He said better information around VAD was needed.

Some respondents – people who did and didn’t support VAD – raised concerns that older people may feel coerced into using euthanasia by care organisations or family members.

“Our members asked us to do this survey and with our increasing ability to keep people alive at all ages this issue has to be discussed and addressed in the community,” Professor McCallum said.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/qld-politics/national-seniors-australia-survey-reveals-widespread-support-for-queenslands-vad-laws/news-story/b893e4bd3b3f87bb1e8d3525d92a6995

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Criminal trial delay in Australia could see more accused killers set free, mistrials and appeals

Grief-stricken families of homicide victims across Australia are enduring waits of up to two years to have Supreme Court trials finalised.

News Corp can reveal some lawyers have already been instructed by their clients to appeal if they are convicted on grounds including a denial of due process.

Legal experts warn the delays — brought about by a growth in trials, increasing complexity of cases and more recently Covid-19 — mean a right to a fair trial could be a genuine risk, with mistrials and hung juries expected to increase.

Innocent people could also languish behind bars for longer than necessary, and victims advocate say the stress of losing a loved one is being exacerbated by endless delays.

In New South Wales in 2019/20, 34.4 per cent of Supreme Court homicide trials were taking more than 12 months, and 7.3 per cent were taking two years.

Defendants are alreday planning to use trial delays as a way to appeal if they are convicted.

In Queensland in 2019/20, 25.7 per cent of Supreme Court homicide cases were taking more than 12 months, while 42.3 per cent of cases in the Magistrates Court were also taking more than a year.

In Victoria in 2019/20, 19.4 per cent were of Supreme Court homicide trials were taking more than 12 months, with 15.5 per cent at Magistrate Courts also taking longer than a year.

In Tasmania in 2019/20, 47.6 per cent of Supreme Court homicide trials were taking longer than a year, with almost 10 per cent taking two years.

In the ACT in 2019/20, 53.3 per cent of Supreme Court homicide trials were taking more than a year, with 6.7 per cent taking longer than two years.

In Western Australia in 2019/20, 31.7 per cent of Supreme Court homicide trials were taking longer than a year.

In South Australia in 2019/20, 12 per cent of homicide cases and a similar amount, 13.9 per cent, were taking longer than a year at Magistrates Courts.

The homicide cases – which include murder, manslaughter, attempted murder and driving causing deaths – are part of a wider backlog of criminal trials impacting courts across the country.

Hundreds of cases were still pending in 2019/20, according to the Productivity Commission, which represents a failure to meet the national benchmark that says no more than 10 per cent of lodgements pending completion in supreme, federal, district, county, coroners’ and family courts should be more than 12 months old.

Greg Barnes SC, national criminal justice spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said “aggressive” case management was needed to resolve cases before trial, as was increased use of restorative justice, and the diversion of drugs possession charges away from courts.

“The problem with justice delayed is that firstly you’ve got people who languish on remand losing connections with their families, losing chances at employment and their health suffering because they’re locked down in prisons. You’ve got victims who are suffering with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and various other mental health issues as a result of what’s happened to them, and awaiting trials – that’s unconscionable in a civilised society.”

Mr Barnes said “for the rule of law to apply” there needed to be respect of the human rights for defendants, victims and witnesses.

Victims advocate Howard Brown said cases were taking well over a year to get to trial from arraignment. “Many people have lost loved ones, they don’t need this – it’s bad enough having to deal with the loss,” he said.

Mr Brown said the saying “justice delayed was justice denied was 100 per cent correct”.

The delays also raised the possibility of people who were eventually acquitted being held in custody far longer than they should.

Dean of Newcastle Law School Professor Tania Sourdin said the delays were a serious concern.

“Nothing good happens when trials are delayed. Witnesses don’t remember and there are people in jail not able to access services who can be badly affected by their experience in general,” she said.

She expected a sharp rise in mistrials.

“I think that’s probably likely because if we had more delays, there’s more uncertainty in terms of people’s recollections. And once you have reasonable doubt it’s starting to really impact on the outcome of the trial,” Prof Sourdin said.

The pandemic could also lead to a greater case load with an expected avalanche of civil cases.

There could be quite a lot of litigation that arises out of Covid in the civil space, in particular,” she said.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/criminal-trial-delays-unconscionable-in-a-civilised-society/news-story/2b43ebc3e1a5354b6a26d5f0bd2d71e7

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Activism in its many forms all just misguided nonsense

Whether they’re loud and proud chaining themselves to bridges or quietly voting for the Greens as their ‘middle finger’ to the world, these activists have got it all wrong, writes Peter Gleeson.

Activists come in many guises. There’s the loud and proud variety who like to chain themselves to bridges and roads.

Then there’s the closet activist, who doesn’t say much but votes Greens because they want to save the planet – a very admirable aim. You’ve got the suburban warriors who try to stop development because they don’t like progress.

Lingerie-clad vegans have been popular. Then there’s the clever ones, who use social media and propaganda to delude mostly millennials into believing they will change the world.

Let’s get a better insight. Extinction Rebellion are the ones that use civil disobedience to push their agenda. What they don’t realise is that clogging up major roads through their antics makes others quite angry.

People are less likely to support any cause if they are angry with the activists. It sums up the Extinction Rebellion business model – they really don’t give a toss about the views of anybody else.

The closet activist lives in a wonderful world where they are so comfortably off that voting Greens is their middle finger to the world.

Just save the planet, and if your policies send us all down the gurgler, so be it.

The suburban warriors are those that have way too much time on their hands, and as such, they want to be professional complainers.

They appeal everything that’s going on around their neighbourhood, blissfully unaware that we’ve been building cities for the last few hundred years and progress stops for no man. Or woman.

The Toondah Harbour development at Cleveland is a good example. Residents have waged a campaign to have the project stymied on environmental grounds.

They have lost a number of appeals, but keep lodging fresh claims in the courts, delaying the project.

QCAT recently scolded resident’s group, Redlands2030, for continuing to lodge appeals, despite repeated judgments that the project had passed the environmental stringencies imposed by each tier of government.

The clever activists are well organised and resourceful. They target major corporations who have backed controversial projects through social media.

They advise their followers to boycott certain companies on the basis they had formed a relationship with a target.

Adani’s Carmichael coal mine has been a major target. A Coalition of environmental groups banded together to have the mine stopped.

It nearly worked. If Bill Shorten was prime Minister today, it would not be operational. Close to 600 people would be looking for work.

Worse, these clever activists embarrass and shame major corporations into abandoning their joint ventures with coal mines, or any industry deemed to be hurting the environment.

It is a form of corporate sabotage and the unfortunate outcome of that pressure often results in big companies ending their ties. They just don’t need the drama.

Helping to spread their message is a compliant Left-wing media headed up by the ABC, The Guardian and the Nine newspapers.

They blindly follow the script, going on exclusive “raids’’ with animal activists as they storm abattoirs to save pigs and chickens.

We’ve even seen bikini-clad vegans take to the streets of chilly Melbourne. They certainly know how to promote their cause.

The message for those wanting to enjoy prosperity and progress – and don’t we need it with the pandemic – is don’t fall for this misguided nonsense.

When we get the mix right between sustainable living and protecting jobs, everybody’s a winner.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/peter-gleeson/peter-gleeson-activism-in-its-many-forms-all-just-misguided-nonsense/news-story/dc80af4964ec6f21c5d6ec0ca9062635

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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August 08, 2021

‘Distressed’ Brittany Higgins accused Bruce Lehrmann denies allegations

Ms Higgins was found passed out in an office by guards at 4am so her recollection of what happened prior to that maybe unreliable. The barrister will tear her apart

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann can be identified as the man who has received a summons to appear in an ACT Court on September 16 over allegations that he sexually assaulted Brittany Higgins at Parliament House.

Mr Lehrmann, who is said to be “distressed” and shocked by the single charge of sexual intercourse without consent has vehemently denied the allegations and vowed to clear his name.

Lawyers acting for the Queensland man have told news.com.au that their client will defend the charge. They will argue he never had sex with Ms Higgins after they both returned to the office after midnight in March 2019.

Mr Lehrmann had worked for the Liberal Party for years holding jobs in former Attorney-General George Brandis’ office and for Nationals MPs.

Senator Brandis personally thanked him for his service in his valedictory speech when he retired from politics.

After his departure from Parliament he worked as a political lobbyist.

Police have confirmed they intend to charge the man with sexual intercourse without consent after a six-month investigation into former Liberal staffer Ms Higgins’ allegations. The maximum penalty for the offence under ACT law is 12 years jail.

“The man will face one charge of sexual intercourse without consent. The maximum penalty for this offence is 12 years imprisonment,’’ the ACT Police said.

In a statement, the man’s lawyer John Korn said that he would unequivocally reject the allegation. “My client absolutely and unequivocally denies that any form of sexual activity took place at all,’’ Mr Korn said. “He will defend the charge.”

Mr Korn is a specialist defence barrister in the NSW Supreme, District and Local Courts and his website states that he “appears most regularly in cases alleging murder, serious sexual Assaults and commercial drug charges”.

News.com.au broke the story on February 15, 2021 that Brittany Higgins alleged she had attended Parliament House with the man in 2019.

She was later found by security guards in Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds’ ministerial office at 4am in the morning.

Ms Higgins has given news.com.au legal consent to identify her as the alleged victim in the matter.

Police will allege the incident occurred in the early hours of March 23, 2019, after Friday night drinks in Canberra. It was just weeks before Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the election on April 10, 2019.

In her interview with news.com.au, Ms Higgins made explosive allegations concerning the Morrison government’s handling of the incident.

This included being brought to a formal employment meeting about the incident in the room Ms Higgins alleged the incident occurred – a decision the Morrison government has now accepted was an error by then Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds.

Senator Reynolds was later forced to apologise for calling Ms Higgins a “lying cow” in front of staff in her office.

She subsequently agreed to a financial settlement that Ms Higgins donated to a Canberra based sexual assault counselling service.

In June, the Australian Federal Police received advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether or not there was a reasonable prospect of conviction.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/distressed-brittany-higgins-accused-bruce-lehrmann-denies-allegations/news-story/0c535d67f3f811d078454302c9a8b1cb

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Tame v Porter: the presumption of innocence must apply to all, not only the most loveable among us

Christian Porter is not entitled to the presumption of innocence. If he were being tried before a criminal court, he would be. But because the police have determined there was insufficient admissible evidence to take allegations of a historical rape to court, Porter will never face that court, nor be afforded that presumption. Instead, his life is in a limbo, in which he will never be legally convicted, nor ever cleared.

The public was reminded of his impossible situation last week, when the Prime Minister handed Porter the task of temporarily filling in for the Leader of the House of Representatives. Australian of the Year Grace Tame penned a thundering column, in which she called Porter’s transitory role “a proverbial slap in the face of our entire nation”.

Tame argues it is “hard to process how an accused rapist … could be offered one of the highest positions of power in the country by none other than our nation’s leader himself”. A survivor of child sexual abuse, Tame contends “it isn’t just Porter’s character that’s in question here, it’s the morality of our current leadership”.

Therefore the question is whether it is moral to expel someone from office on the basis of an untestable accusation. Public opinion is divided on the answer.

On the one hand, the argument is as Tame has articulated it: that someone accused of rape cannot be a “fit and proper” person. On the other hand, as Porter has argued, if he loses his position over something that has not been proven at trial and never can be, “then any person in Australia can lose their career, their job, their life’s work based on nothing more than an accusation that appears in print”. There are good-faith arguments on both sides.

If the issue were simply whether Porter should be in cabinet, it might be easier for his detractors to rely on his character to condemn him. Whatever the truth of the rape allegations, plenty of evidence has emerged that he was a self-important teenager who grew into an entitled man. At university he allowed himself to be called by his famous father’s nickname, a trivial affectation, but if there is a bare-minimum standard of fitness to hold ministerial office, for me he failed at that hurdle.

Instead, the issue is the principle. Whether a certain type of accusation should automatically exclude its object from certain professions, or whether we should on principle reject the assumption of guilt.

The ABC has agreed to add a note to the story that originally aired the rape allegation, stating that “both parties accept that some readers misinterpreted the article as an accusation of guilt against Mr Porter”, a reading which “is regretted”.

Much as the ABC may regret that misreading, the story crystallised accusation into fact in many people’s minds. Twitter provides numerous examples. Following Tame’s article in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age last week, one tweet said “anyone with half a brain can see that Porter is guilty”. Another simply posted an image of Porter with the words “alleged rapist until proven innocent” emblazoned on it. Tame herself compares the “twice-convicted paedophile” who abused her in a horrific and unforgivable way to the accused Porter.

Bret Walker SC, widely considered one of Australia’s pre-eminent legal minds, is at pains to point out that the concept of the presumption of innocence is relevant in a trial circumstance only, and does not at any point imply that the defendant is actually innocent. “The presumption of innocence,” he says, “involves an open mind about the outcome of a trial but not the magical thinking that says until a person is convicted they were innocent, they should never have been tried”.

However, Walker says, the alternative to the presumption of innocence “leads you to such horrors as the exculpatory trial, where an accused person would have to demonstrate that they are not guilty”.

Our system is based on proving guilt rather than innocence because an individual cannot be expected to muster the resources to clear themselves of all suspicion. Given the historical nature of the accusation against Porter, and the sad fact his accuser is dead, he is left without the ability to exculpate himself. He has compounded his situation by suing the ABC and having the defence documents redacted.

Porter has been shown to have considerable character flaws, among them poor judgment in responding to his invidious situation. But if the question is one of morality and principle, then it is possible to argue that it is as immoral to presume Porter guilty as it is incorrect to presume him innocent.

Principles mean nothing if upholding them only rewards the loveable among us. In our secular society, the presumption of innocence has become an expression of the public understanding of the principle of fairness. And if a principle is worth defending, it is worth defending even when it benefits the least lovely among us. The public benefit is that, in defending them, we are protecting ourselves from potential future injustices.

It is unlikely now that Porter, who once declared he would be prime minister, will ever ascend to that office. But he has taken on a very different high-profile role in Australian culture. He provides us with an opportunity to consider justice in the era of the online lynch mob. There are plenty of other principles which this government can be shown to have flouted; there is no need to attack one that it is right to defend.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/tame-v-porter-the-presumption-of-innocence-must-apply-to-all-not-only-the-most-loveable-among-us-20210806-p58ghn.html

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Way We Were: The weather men who made Queensland’s meteorological history

During my childhood, Inigo Jones was much respected. His forecasts were on the news

The weather holds a special fascination in a land of floods, drought and cyclones, and during the century before Google, long-range forecasting belonged to Queensland.

Clement Wragge, Inigo Jones and Lennox Walker followed weather cycles and used the planets and sunspots to inform the decisions of farmers, business, builders and even the punters and brides of Australia. They had their detractors but were revered by primary producers. The dynasty began with Wragge, who founded the Meteorological Society of Australasia in 1886 and was the meteorological observer in the Queensland post and telegraph department.

He issued forecasts, pioneered research into cyclones in the Pacific, and is also credited with introducing the use of the Greek alphabet, biblical and personal names for cyclones and low pressure systems.

In 1891, at a world meteorology conference in Germany, Wragge was introduced to Eduard Bruckner’s ideas on the planetary effects on climate and this, with his own theories on the effects of sunspots on the weather, set the course for Queensland’s famous long-range forecasters. It was Wragge’s young apprentice, Inigo Jones, who took the theories further. Weather conditions, he contended, followed a uniform pattern based on sunspot activity varying the magnetic field of planets.

Jones was only 15, when he joined Wragge at the meteorology office. He left five years later when his parents bought a farm at Peachester in 1892, which they named Crohamhurst after a park near Inigo’s birthplace in Surrey.

For the next 30 years, Jones helped his father on the farm and continued his meteorological research as a hobby. He came to appreciate the farmer’s dependence on weather forecasts and in 1923, began issuing long-range predictions based on detailed charts and extensive records full-time.

The Queensland government appointed him director of the Bureau of Seasonal Forecasting of the Council of Agriculture, and the Inigo Jones Seasonal Weather Forecasting Trust was formed in October 1928. His forecasts, which appeared regularly in newspapers around the nation, were widely acclaimed during the 1920s and 1930s and his work quickly put the observatory he built at Crohamhurst on the map after it opened in 1935. Although Jones was a respected member of various scientific organisations, two government investigations concluded his methods had no scientific basis.

But the orthodox weathermen who criticised his forecasting, could not argue with Jones’ prediction of his own death.

In the weeks before he died, he wrote to a young man who had applied to become an assistant that if he intended to accept the offer, he had better hurry as there wasn’t much time left. He also told his chief assistant, Robert Lennox Walker, that he did not feel he would be going to the observatory the following day. He was right. He suffered a heart attack and died, aged 81, on November 14, 1954.

The death of “one of the best-known identities of the eastern states of Australia” was widely mourned. The premier, Vince Gair, said that although not everyone agreed with Jones’ methods of forecasting weather, they appreciated his desire to give service, while the Queensland Dairymen’s president said he hoped Jones’ work would continue.

It did. Within days of his death, Lennox Walker, a 29-year-old ex-serviceman was announced as his nominated successor. He had been working at Crohamhurst Observatory for 16 months.

Born in Sydney, Walker had served on the Kokoda Trail and on his return, studied as a surveyor and worked with the NSW and Queensland Forestry Commissions. An eager student of Jones, he also believed that weather could be predicted by past cycles. His first triumph came in 1956, with his forecast for the Melbourne Olympics. He predicted fine weather for the games despite intense rain during spring. The rain stopped in time for the opening ceremony on November 22.

He also forecast Cyclone Tracey, which devastated Darwin in 1974. As well as primary industry, Lennox was kept busy forecasting weather for weddings, holiday-makers, businesses, and regular reports to newspapers.

Punters asked about weather for race meetings so they could foretell track conditions. One called hoping for a wet track for the Melbourne Cup in 1976.

“It will be,” Walker told him. He was advised to back Van Der Hum. He did. It was one of the wettest Cups on record, and Van Der Hum won. At 68, after 41 years of forecasting, Lennox retired and handed the reins to his son Hayden Walker who continues to use the work of those who came before him and retains the extensive records, some dating back to the 19th century. He successfully predicted cyclones Larry, Yasi, Marcia and Olwyn and the April 2015 floods on the NSW coast.

Crohamhurst was sold in 2002, and was heritage listed in 2008.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/way-we-were-the-weather-men-who-made-queenslands-meteorological-history/news-story/35d325e8c73648fdd792c628fe0fd318

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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Thursday, August 05, 2021

Coalition argues over farm regulations to boost Great Barrier Reef health

This is another area in which the Greenies have panicked governments into doing stupid things. Run-off of sediment from farms seldom reaches the outer Great Barrier Reef, or areas where the vast majority of corals live, the head of the Australian Institute of Marine Science Paul Hardisty has said. So farm runoff could affect corals living close inshore but the vast majority of the reef is in no danger

Furthermore, the levels of pesticides and fertilizer in farm runoff would have been heavily diluted in the rivers before they reached the oceans and I have seen no evidence that such extreme dilutions are any problem to anybody

It may also be noted that coral bleaching is almost all in the Northern section of the reef, alongside Cape York peninsula. But soils on the peninsula are very poor so there is almost no farming there. And no farming means no farm runoff. So once again have a non-existent problem.

Coral bleaching is mostly caused by fluctuation in water levels

Divisions have emerged in the federal government over farming rules to improve water quality on the Great Barrier Reef, as the Coalition’s Special Envoy for Northern Australia slams regulations targeting harmful farm water runoff that has been endorsed by the Environment Minister.

Australia successfully lobbied last month to delay a decision on listing the reef as “in danger” of losing World Heritage status at a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation hearing.

A key to Australia’s pitch was its $3 billion investment to improve water quality, which is backed by Queensland government laws that mandate standards on fertiliser use for sugar cane growers to limit nitrogen runoff and for maintenance of ground cover on grazing country to reduce sediment washing into the ocean.

Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley said in July Australia is “on track to meet our 2025 Reef water quality improvement targets” and cited projections that factored in Queensland’s reef regulations, showing a rapid improvement in runoff to the reef.

UNESCO’s scientific advisors said poor water quality due to runoff from agricultural and urban areas and coral loss caused by mass bleaching events induced by global warming were the two key risk factors.

Queensland Senator and Special Envoy for Northern Australia Susan McDonald said Queensland’s regulations were “unnecessary overreach” and said she would “support a drastic scaling back” of the regime.

State regulations were unnecessary because farmers were already taking sufficient action, Ms McDonald said, and “improving land use methods without the need for draconian new laws”.

“[The reef regulation] applies a big stick approach to landowners to browbeat them into obeying the law rather than working with them to achieve balanced land management that helps productivity and reduces environmental impact.”

Ms Ley secured the backing of 12 of 21 countries on the committee to delay a vote on the ruling, and has until February next year to convince UNESCO its efforts to improve water quality and reduce global warming are sufficient.

Ms Ley told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age she had “seen first-hand the commitment and effort made by sugar cane, banana and cattle producers up and down the reef catchments” and regulators should work constructively with farmers.

“This isn’t the time for finger pointing – we need landholders and governments working together to achieve our 2025 targets and there are already some outstanding examples of that taking place,” Ms Ley said.

The Queensland government said penalties for non-compliance were a “last resort” and it was assisting farmers to get their practices into line with the regulations. The regulations will be implemented progressively across northern Queensland until the end of next year.

World Wide Fund for Nature Australia head of oceans Richard Leck said it would be a “terrible idea to scrap the regulations if we want to give the Great Barrier Reef a future”.

The latest Reef water quality report card produced by the Queensland government showed gains needed by 2025 outstrip the rate of progress that has occurred over the past 10 years of measurement.

“[In that time] nutrient pollution has been reduced by 25 per cent towards a 60 per cent target, and sediment by 14 per cent towards a target of 25 per cent,” Mr Leck said. “The regulations are not punitive, they implement a minimum standard that all good farms should be able to exceed.”

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/coalition-argues-over-farm-regulations-to-boost-great-barrier-reef-health-20210803-p58ff2.html

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Bondi Residents call for ban on leaf blowers

These noisy things are one of the worst extremes of modernity. What can they do that a good old-fashioned straw broom cannot do twice as fast? I know of nothing

A push by eastern suburbs residents to ban leaf blowers is likely to fail after Waverley Council distanced itself from their campaign and one councillor called the idea “nanny state gone mad”.

The community-based Bondi Beach Precinct asked the council to consider banning gas-powered leaf blowers, which it said inflicted psychological and health damage on residents forced to stay at home because of COVID-19 restrictions.

A precinct spokeswoman said noisy leaf blowers were a significant community concern. “With current lockdown orders in place and many residents in our high-density area spending more time indoors,” she said.

“The intrusive and environmentally unfriendly leaf blowers are a significant irritant, so we feel this conversation is worth having with the aim of transitioning to better alternatives.”

The council voted in favour of a motion from Greens councillor Dominic Wy Kanak to “liaise” with the precinct about the adverse effects of leaf blowers including excessive noise and low frequency vibrations.

But Waverley’s Labor mayor Paula Masselos said the council had not called for a ban on the use of leaf blowers. She said she supported the motion because “it is our role as elected officials to listen to concerns of residents when raised with council”.

The precinct passed its own motion detailing the impact of leaf blowers, which also said residents were disturbed by leaf blowers up to 15 times a day “often at extremely disturbing noise levels”.

“Most residents agree that gas powered leaf blowers achieve nothing,” the motion said. “One operator blows it from one property to the next or onto the road, and another operator comes along and blows it right back.”

The precinct’s resolution suggested gardeners could use electric versions of most power tools or “old school manual gardening methods”.

“Regardless of the alleged productivity loss, the psychological, environmental and economic arguments for banning gas powered leaf blowers are so overwhelming,” it said.

Neighbouring Woollahra Municipal Council received six complaints about leaf blowers in the past year, while Ku-ring-gai Council on Sydney’s north shore had 13 complaints.

A Woollahra Council spokesman said no council had the power to ban or restrict the use of leaf blowers, but legislation limited when they could be used.

“We use both petrol and battery-operated leaf blowers,” he said. “As battery-operated blowers are quieter, our staff use these versions in high-density residential areas and business centres.”

Bondi Beach landscape gardener Wojtek Skibowski said he was surprised by the campaign to ban gas-powered leaf blowers given other equipment such as lawn mowers and whipper snippers made a similar level of noise. “To be honest, in six years I’ve never heard anyone complain,” he said.

Mr Skibowski also uses electric leaf blowers but he said they were not as efficient. He said leaf blowers were used for more than just getting rid of fallen leaves.

“I also use it for blowing dust and rubbish that’s left over,” he said. “To do a clean up job, it’s almost impossible without a leaf blower.”

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nanny-state-gone-mad-residents-call-for-ban-on-leaf-blowers-20210722-p58c0h.html

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Labor finally dumps hated negative gearing policy after disastrous election loss and backs tax cuts for well-off Australians

Federal Labor has scrapped its disastrous negative gearing policy and decided to back tax cuts for well-off Australians.

Leader Anthony Albanese wants the next election, which is due before May, to be all about Scott Morrison's 'failure to manage the pandemic' instead of tax policy.

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten wanted to scrap the negative gearing policy which allowed property investors to deduct rental losses from their income tax.

But the plan went down like a lead balloon with landlords and aspiring investors - and contributed to his shock election defeat to Mr Morrison in 2019.

Labor has also declared it will not seek to overthrow the Coalition's stage-three tax cuts which come into play on July 1, 2024.

The cuts abolish 37 per cent income tax rate which kicks in at $120,001 and lift the upper threshold of the 32.5 per cent rate to $200,000.

Labor was previously divided on the cuts because they will benefit higher earners. The average full-time income in Australia is $89,000.

Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers even allegedly called the cuts 'offensive' during a shadow cabinet meeting in June 2019.

Mr Albanese has also ditched Mr Shorten's plan to halve the 50 per cent capital gains tax deduction for assets held for over 12 months.

The move brings Labor in line with the Coalition on tax policy, therefore avoiding an argument about it at the next election.

Mr Albanese announced his policies on Monday after a meeting with Labor MPs and senators.

He said: 'Our focus is on making sure Australia emerges from this crisis stronger and more resilient – with an economy that works for working families not the other way around.

'When it comes to the economy, the next election will be about the Prime Minister's dangerous and costly failures to manage the pandemic.

'His failures on vaccines and quarantines have caused lockdowns 18 months into this pandemic, and those lockdowns are causing billions of dollars in damage to the economy.'

Mr Albanese, who has represented Grayndler in Sydney's inner west since 1996, said he wanted to provide 'certainty and clarity to Australian working families after a difficult two years for our country and the world.'

Minister for Housing Michael Sukkar said voters should not trust Labor on tax and housing policies.

'In a cynical move that is unashamedly motivated by the pursuit of power, Anthony Albanese is now trying to convince voters that Labor doesn't want to abolish negative gearing or raise taxes on capital gains,' he said.

'Ending negative gearing is an issue that senior Labor figures are deeply committed to.'

Mr Albanese already ditched Mr Shorten's unpopular franking credits policy in January.

The policy would have stopped non taxpayers - mostly retirees - claiming money back from the government for tax paid on shareholder dividends.

It was branded the 'retiree tax' by the Coalition during the 2019 election campaign.

Mr Morrison is under huge pressure over the nation's stunted Covid-19 vaccination program which has only jabbed 16.13 per cent of over 16s, leaving millions in lockdowns across three states.

'His failures on vaccines and quarantines have caused lockdowns 18 months into this pandemic, and those lockdowns are causing billions of dollars in damage to the economy,' Mr Albanese said.

'Over eight long years in government, the Coalition's record is clear in the lives of everyday Australians: stagnant wages, insecure jobs, increased costs for health care and childcare, longer waits to see a GP, and a trillion dollars in debt

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9824831/Labor-finally-dumps-hated-negative-gearing-policy-backs-tax-cuts.html

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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August 04, 2021

Official photo of Ben Roberts-Smith was altered to hide Crusader’s cross

https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.478%2C$multiply_1.0582%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_19/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/7ab17256de68be9cbd6e333ff20fcb433ddc0944

Men in warzones often embellish ther kit and Ben was not only one to do so. The crusaders were a powerful military force who defeated Muslim armies so the symbol is reasonable

Former special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith displayed a contentious Crusader’s cross on his uniform while on duty in Afghanistan, with the symbol later digitally removed by the Department of Defence in a widely distributed photo of the decorated war veteran.

The photo released by Defence at some time near January 2011 shows Mr Roberts-Smith wearing a blank patch on the front of his uniform after exiting a helicopter.

But The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age has obtained the original photo, which was taken on April 6, 2010, revealing Mr Roberts-Smith was in fact bearing the Crusader’s Cross.

Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James said displaying the symbol was “wrong morally” and “counterproductive”.

The symbol dates back to the 11th and 12th centuries when the Crusaders captured parts of the Middle East from Muslim control. Many Muslims find the cross to be offensive, particularly when displayed by western soldiers in their country.

A spokesperson for Defence said it “does not condone or permit the use, display or adoption of symbols, emblems and iconography that are at odds with Defence values”.

Mr James said wearing a Crusader’s cross was “simply unprofessional” and part of the poor cultural standards that were unearthed by the long-running Brereton inquiry.

“We know from the Brereton report that a lot of the things that were allegedly done were due to unprofessional actions,” he said.

“You’re fighting people motivated by Islamist extremism, and you’re in effect kicking an own goal by providing them with propaganda. That’s exceptionally dumb to do in a counter-insurgency war.”

Displaying symbols such as the Crusader’s cross or Spartan-style insignia was widespread within the ADF at the time the photo was taken. In 2018, then-Chief of Army General Angus Campbell issued a directive to commanders that they should stamp out all instances of “death symbology and iconography”.

Under Defence policy, the department can make minor alterations to images for reasons related to operational security or privacy concerns. According to Defence, it has been unable to identify at what stage in the approval process the image was modified and whether this occurred in Afghanistan or Australia.

Australian Federation of Islamic Councils executive member Mohammed Berjauoi said Western forces should not invoke the Crusades when conducting military activity in the Middle East.

“Whoever uses that symbol provokes Muslims and increases anger against the West. It is the wrong thing to do,” he said.

“It undermines the Australian policy, which calls for peace in the world. We know it’s not the policy of the Australian government – but one mistake like this upsets a lot of people and makes them really think about the role of the Australian government in the Middle East.”

The altered image of the former SAS corporal was among several that were publicly released to coincide with the presentation of the Victoria Cross to Mr Roberts-Smith in 2011 and was published on the Defence image gallery. It has been published by multiple media outlets over the past decade, including News Corp papers and The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, as well as the Australian War Memorial.

A spokesperson for the AWM said the image with the blank patch was “supplied by the Department of Defence to the Australian War Memorial and is the only version held by the Australian War Memorial”.

“The photo was available to view on the Memorial webpage soon after the accession date in February 2011 and remained online until it was removed on 01/04/2021 when its status was changed as part of an internal collection management process,” the AWM spokesperson said.

The Australian Federal Police is currently investigating Mr Roberts-Smith over allegations he committed war crimes and intimidated war crimes witnesses. Mr Roberts-Smith has denied all wrongdoing and launched a defamation action against The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald over reports that he allegedly committed murder on deployments to Afghanistan.

The Brereton inquiry, which last year found credible evidence of 39 unlawful killings of Afghan civilians or prisoners by Australian soldiers who were not named, raised the alarm about a “warrior culture” within Australia’s special forces and “the clique of non-commissioned officers who propagated it”.

“Special Forces operators should pride themselves on being model professional soldiers, not on being ‘warrior heroes’,” Justice Paul Brereton said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/wrong-morally-official-photo-of-ben-roberts-smith-was-altered-to-hide-crusader-s-cross-20210726-p58cvu.html

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Alan Jones column pulled from The Daily Telegraph amid anti-lockdown, COVID-19 controversies

News Corp’s Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph will stop publishing columns from controversial broadcaster Alan Jones after weeks of anti-vaccination and anti-lockdown commentary.

Sources said The Daily Telegraph’s editor Ben English has informed Jones his column will no longer appear in the Sydney-based publication. The sources said the decision was made on the basis that the column failed to resonate with readers, a claim that Jones rejects.

Jones publishes a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph (which appears in The Gold Coast Bulletin and Courier Mail), and also writes a column for The Australian’s sports pages. He has not published a column in The Daily Telegraph since last Thursday. His column in The Australian usually appears on Friday.

News Corp declined to comment.

Jones confirmed he was no longer publishing the column, but denied that it wasn’t resonating with readers.

“If the argument has been it’s not resonating, I don’t have to defend myself,” Jones told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Have a look at Sky News YouTube, Sky News Facebook and Alan Jones Facebook and you can see. The same column that I write for the Tele goes up on my Facebook page.

“The public can check it for themselves. Thirty-five years at top of the radio and I don’t resonate with the public? Honestly.”

The end of Jones’ column follows another period of intense scrutinyon the veteran radio broadcaster, including fierce criticism from his former colleagues such as Ray Hadley and the ABC’s Media Watch program.

Hadley, 2GB’s mornings host who worked with Jones for decades, stepped up his war against the veteran broadcaster this week, describing his conduct as “scurrilous, contemptible and undignified”. 2GB is owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead.

“On Sky News every night Alan Jones is an apologist for these thugs,” Hadley said. “Let me tell you something, half of what Alan says is very well researched. The other half is bullshit.”

Earlier this month, Hadley said Jones was doing himself, Sky News and the Australian public “a great disservice” after he used British data to suggest the Delta strain of COVID-19 was far less dangerous than the original virus. Sky News was forced to correct the record after a Media Watch episode exposed Jones and Craig Kelly’s misleading information about COVID-19, vaccination safety and the Delta strain.

When Jones appeared on air with KIIS FM’s Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson, the radio company beeped out some of his claims about the coronavirus pandemic after he used the opportunity to rail against the current NSW lockdowns.

Jones says he does not believe his comments are controversial and argues that he removes himself from the topic and only cites experts. Jones has received the first dose of AstraZeneca.

Sources familiar with English’s decision said he had been considering replacing the column for some time, as it was not resonating with readers. But others indicated Jones’ commentary in recent weeks had contradicted News Corp’s pro-vaccination news coverage, and that was likely the reason for the change of heart.

The end of the column also coincides with Jones’ contract negotiations with Sky News. Jones began a four-night-a-week program on Sky News following his exit from 2GB breakfast radio last July. The Australian has reported his contract will expire in November. The negotiations are expected to begin next week.

Jones has spoken about the possibility of a return to radio multiple times in recent weeks. He floated the idea with KIIS FM breakfast stars Sandilands and Henderson, and more recently his former colleague, John Laws, who runs a show on 2SM. Jones also told The Australian he would consider a comeback. However, it is unlikely that such a move would result in him running a breakfast show against his 2GB replacement, Ben Fordham.

The likelihood of a return would also depend on whether a company believes it can still get support from advertisers with Jones back on air.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/alan-jones-column-pulled-from-the-daily-telegraph-amid-anti-lockdown-covid-19-controversies-20210729-p58dxd.html

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Why this document could change racial identity politics at Aussie universities forever - as Aboriginal Australians are forced to PROVE they are Indigenous

A regional Australian university will demand more proof that students are Aboriginal if they want to claim places meant for Indigenous candidates.

Newcastle University in the New South Wales Hunter Valley has introduced new measures to ensure Indigenous resources are going to those who need them.

The university already requires students to provide documentary proof of their Indigenous ancestry if they apply to access particular programs and services.

They must now also produce written evidence they are accepted by the community to which they claim to belong and have their identity assessed by a panel of experts.

Newcastle University has one of the nation's most stringent vetting processes to reduce the number of so-called 'box-tickers' who falsely claim to be Indigenous.

It also has one of the the highest Indigenous enrolments of any Australian tertiary institution, with more than 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Associate Professor Kathleen Butler, head of the university's Wollotuka Institute, said further procedures were introduced this year to meet demands from the Indigenous community.

'There's an expectation that we're going to be the guardians of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander money and make sure that it's going to genuine students that are in need,' Associate Professor Butler said.

'I think that there's a broader community expectation as well that people who are receiving the funding are genuine.'

The move comes as the number of Australians who identify as Aboriginal continues to soar and amid concerns over what has been labelled Indigenous identity fraud.

More Australians self-identify as Indigenous in each successive Census than can be accounted for by birth rates, in a phenomenon also known as 'race-shifting', which distorts official records.

Daily Mail Australia has reported some 'race-shifters' are taking positions meant for Indigenous Australians and that the practice is particularly prevalent in academia and the public service.

According to federal government guidelines, a person is considered Indigenous if he or she is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, identifies as such, and is accepted by their community.

Associate Professor Butler said Newcastle University was putting a greater focus on that third 'community' criteria.

'It's really about not just biologically do you have an Aboriginal heritage but it's about do you live it,' she said.

'The core value has always been it's not enough to just be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, you also have to have that lived experience in community and the acceptance by your community.

'That's always at the heart of the government's three-point definition but it's not how it has always been implemented in practice, nationally.'

A spokesman for the Department of Education, Skills and Employment told Daily Mail Australia: 'Verifying student and staff identities are matters for individual universities.'

Associate Professor Butler said Newcastle University's procedures for verifying identity had been refined over the years.

'I think for some universities they accept a statutory declaration,' she said. 'We have never accepted a statutory declaration.

'At every turn we've asked for something external to the individual but I don't think it would be fair to say that we've ever centralised it.'

Newcastle University's identity requirements apply to any applicant seeking access to study programs, student services or other opportunities specifically available to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australians.

They also apply to 'identified positions' for staff roles set aside for applicants who are Indigenous.

All applicants have to complete an 'Establishing Aboriginality and/or Torres Strait Islander Status Form'.

To prove they are of Indigenous descent an applicant can provide original or certified copies of birth records and/or evidence of an immediate family member's confirmed Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status.

Immediate family members are parents, siblings or grandparents. Birth records need to show the relationship between an applicant and a relative recognised as Indigenous.

Alternatively, an applicant can produce a letter confirming their Indigenous status signed by an executive leader of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisation, such as a local land council.

The applicant must then prove they are accepted by the community in which they live or have lived, with a letter signed by a prominent member of an incorporated Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisation.

'Not just anyone can write it,' Associate Professor Butler said. 'To have that institutional letterhead you have to be recognised with some standing in the community.'

Where any doubt remains, the onus will be on the applicant to prove their Indigenous status.

'Of course it's quite bureaucratic and some people say, "I shouldn't have to provide that level of proof" and we understand people's feelings,' Associate Professor Butler said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9782031/Newcastle-University-demands-proof-students-claiming-Aboriginal.html

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Australia Is the Canary in the Coal Mine of Eroding Liberty

Over the weekend, Australians protested against a new round of lockdowns imposed to curtail the spread of the latest COVID-19 variant. Police arrested dozens of participants, vowed to hunt down more, and threatened mass arrests in the event of future acts of dissent. It was a chilling reminder of how far a nominally free country can fall when the public panics and officials see opportunity to expand power.

"Anger is growing in Australia as 13 million people – about half the population – endure fresh lockdowns to quash Covid outbreaks," the BBC reported last week. "A third state went into lockdown on Tuesday. Stay-at-home orders are now in place in South Australia, Victoria and parts of New South Wales."

"You must stay home," the government of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, starkly commands residents of the city. "Only leave your home if you have a reasonable excuse."

Unsurprisingly, those exhausted by a year-and-a half of restrictions on travel, commerce, and other forms of human activity took to the streets. Thousands of protesters flooded into Sydney to express their dissatisfaction with restrictive government policies. They were met with a heavy police presence and dozens of arrests—and threats to round up anybody who returns.

"There is some information on the internet at the moment about a potential protest this Saturday," huffed Michael Fuller, the Police Commissioner of New South Wales. "You will be arrested and prosecuted. The community has spoken about that behavior. The Premier has spoken about that behavior and it won't be tolerated again."

While the protest featured some violence (as did similar demonstrations elsewhere in the world) officials made clear that the behavior they won't tolerate is public dissent. Civil liberties may have a place, the powers-that-be suggest, but they must give way to more important concerns.

"Covid-19 has given rise to extraordinary emergency powers that would previously have been unacceptable to Australians," Lydia Shelley and John Coyne of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute warned earlier this month about the need to better balance civil liberties with security priorities. "Australia is already conducting secret trials behind closed doors and allowing law enforcement raids on journalists' homes and on our national broadcaster," they added about developments predating COVID.

"A good 18 months into the pandemic, the nation is still trapped in April 2020," agrees James Morrow, federal political editor for Sydney's Daily Telegraph. "Australians need permission from the federal government to leave the country—applications succeed about half the time—and Australia's states throw up their borders against one another at the slightest hint of trouble."

What's remarkable is how quickly Australia has fallen. Just months ago, as reports from The Economist, Freedom House, and the University of Gothenburg's V-Dem Institute tracked the eroding health of liberal democracies in recent years, accelerated by authoritarian pandemic policies, Australia seemed to be holding on more effectively than countries including France and the United States. Admittedly, it wasn't so much swimming upstream as losing ground more slowly, but that was something.

Recently, though, Australia's decline has accelerated with remarkably little opposition. The Sydney Morning Herald even ran a piece headlined: "'Missing in action': What happened to the civil liberties movement?" about the tepid pushback against pandemic restrictions.

"We don't have much of a human rights culture, unlike, for example, Canada and America and Europe," Sarah Joseph, a professor of human rights law at Griffith University, told the newspaper in explanation.

"Australia also has no tradition of liberty in a sense Americans might understand, and appeals to freedom are looked at suspiciously," confirms Morrow.

One problem is that Australia has no Bill of Rights to which a liberty-concerned minority can turn when politicians push restrictions on freedom that enjoy at least temporary popular support, as they have in the United States as well as Australia. Some Australians even boast about that absence.

"The essence of my objection to a Bill of Rights is that, contrary to its very description, it reduces the rights of citizens to determine matters over which they should continue to exercise control," former Prime Minister John Howard told an audience in 2009. "I also reject a Bill of Rights framework because it elevates rights to the detriment of responsibilities."

True, constitutional protections for rights shield individuals from majority preferences—which is their whole purpose. In the U.S. during the pandemic, that has meant courts invalidate lockdowns, eviction moratoriums, and restrictions on private schools, even when a panicked public latches on to promises of safety. That's important partially because authoritarian dictates make trade-offs that many people wouldn't choose for themselves, and also because such impositions often prove to be ineffective.

Nor is this the first time protections for liberty have taken a turn for the worse in the land down under. As mentioned by Shelly and Coyne, Australian Federal Police raided media offices in 2019 after a series of embarrassing stories about military misconduct and domestic surveillance. The government also holds some trials in secret under the cloak of national security.

In 2018, the country's government gained the power to force access to encrypted communications and even to compel private companies to build in back doors. Anybody planning a new anti-lockdown protest via email or text messages should keep in mind that Big Brother might be watching.

"The truth is that, without constitutional guarantees, the measure of our freedom of expression has become that which remains after all the laws that restrict the right have been taken into account," Gillian Triggs, president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, noted during a 2014 Free Speech Symposium.

None of this should be taken as grounds for complacency on the part of Americans who want to pretend that liberty is more secure here. The United States might have stronger constitutional protections for liberty, but that only slows the decline if the culture embraces authoritarianism—it's not an absolute barrier. Pandemic restrictions are popular with much of the public here, too. The surveillance state is alive and well in America. And the health of liberal democracy in our country has eroded in recent years as Americans turn against each other.

Australia is suffering a surge of authoritarianism, in part because of its lack of constitutional protections for liberty. But developments down under may be showing where America is going.

https://reason.com/2021/07/28/australia-is-the-canary-in-the-coal-mine-of-eroding-liberty/

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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3 August, 2021

Pauline Hanson launches a blistering attack on Scott Morrison labelling him a 'fool' who has 'lost control' of Australia in epic tirade about Queensland's lockdown

At 4pm on Saturday, the local government areas of Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan City, Moreton Bay, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley and Scenic Rim faced the harshest restrictions the state has seen.

Residents in the affected areas can only leave home for essential work, study or child care, to exercise, buy food and supplies - and to receive healthcare, including being tested for COVID-19 or vaccinated against it.

Any non-essential travel must be within 10km from home, everyone must wear a mask when they are outside their home - and people doing exercise can do so with one person who does not live with them.

The lockdown, which Deputy Premier Steven Miles labelled the 'strictest we've seen', infuriated the One Nation Party founder.

'Like a lot of Aussies I was out enjoying my weekend but now we are going to have to be locked down,' Senator Hanson said in a video shared on Saturday.

'It is bloody ridiculous for only six cases of delta. I'm sorry this is over the top.'

'The prime minister said yesterday it would get no worse than what it is at this point, he's supposed to guide us through this with the premiers.

'As I've said all along the prime minister has lost control of the country and the premiers are doing whatever they want to do. I feel sorry for small businesses.'

A fuming Ms Hanson said premiers and chief health officers were calling lockdowns 'at the drop of a hat' and claimed Mr Morrison was 'foolish' for allowing them to do so.

'Give people clear direction and what's going on,' she said.

The new cases in Queensland are confirmed as the highly contagious Indian delta strain of the virus.

Deputy Premier Miles said the state had no choice but to impose the harsh restrictions.

'We have seen from the experience in other states that the only way to beat the Delta strain is to move quickly, to be fast, and to be strong,' he said. 'This will be the strictest lockdown that we have had.'

Funerals and weddings will be reduced to ten people and hospitality venues will be limited to takeaway only.

The restrictions apply to anybody who has been in any of the 11 LGAs from 1am on Saturday regardless if they've since left the area.

Masks will be required for both students and staff at high schools.

It comes a day after Indooroopilly State High School in Brisbane's inner west was forced to close for a specialist deep clean while Queensland Health performed contact tracing on a Covid positive 17-year-old schoolgirl and her family.

The six new cases recorded on Saturday are all linked to the teenager who is believed to have caught the virus from a medical science student and tutor from the University of Queensland.

The tutor was confirmed positive on Saturday and it's believed she contracted the virus from a returned traveller in hotel quarantine who was transported to hospital.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9846551/Pauline-Hanson-launches-blistering-attack-Scott-Morrison-snap-Queensland-lockdown.html

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The vindication of AstraZeneca: A vaccine trashed by Macron, politicised by Europe but quietly saving lives across the world

Last week research scotched claims the Oxford vaccine posed a blood clot risk. But the mixed messaging has caused lasting distrust

A new study of more than one million Covid-19 vaccine recipients has concluded a rare blood clotting side effect is as likely to occur from a Pfizer jab as the much-maligned AstraZeneca vaccine.

In a paper pre-released in The Lancet, researchers from the UK, Spain and the Netherlands said both jabs have a "similar" incident rate of thrombosis.

"In this study we have found the safety profiles of ChAdOx1 (AstraZeneca) and BNT162b2 (Pfizer), an mRNA-based vaccine, to be broadly similar," the paper explained.

The study of Spanish patients also found blood clots are more common in people who test positive for Covid-19 than those who have received either jab.

While the paper is not yet peer reviewed, it is an alarming development that will put into question the narrative around the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia, where confidence in the jab plummeted earlier in the year following the reporting of fatal cases of blood clotting.

Mixed messaging around the vaccine has led to hesitancy at a time when the nation, particularly NSW, needs to reach a high level of vaccination to fend off surging rates of the highly-infectious Delta variant.

While Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has repeatedly stressed the benefits of the AstraZeneca jab outweigh the risks, there has been conflicting advice from other health authorities, notably Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young.

When Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged under 40s to seek advice on the AstraZeneca jab last month, Dr Young said she "genuinely did not understand" why Mr Morrison would make such an announcement.

"I do not want under-40s to get AstraZeneca," she stressed, saying there was minimal death in young Australians from Covid.

As cases of blood clotting arose earlier in the year, believed to be thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) advised against under 60s receiving the AstraZeneca jab.

Such mixed messaging has led to an increase in people eligible for the jab holding out for the scarce Pfizer vaccine, including those who have had one AstraZeneca jab.

Weighing up the heightened risk with Delta outbreaks, ATAGI has since changed its advice, telling over 18s they can seek GP advice on the AstraZeneca.

Experts fear lasting damage from mixed messaging

Professor Greg Dore, an infectious diseases expert at UNSW's Kirby Institute, told the Sydney Morning Herald Australia will "look back on anti-AstraZenecism as one of the greatest public health failings in many years".

“Even though we’ve seen many young people coming forward for AstraZeneca, many more older people are still ‘waiting for Pfizer’ due to irreparable damage by some in the medical profession and other commentators," he said.

Dame Sarah Gilbert, the vaccinologist who co-developed the AstraZeneca jab, told the publication she feared people are "too worried" after receiving mixed messages.

"I think the problem is the messaging around the vaccination, because if you’re telling people at some stage, ‘oh you shouldn’t have this vaccine, it’s probably not the best thing for you’ and then you want to change that message and say ‘oh, no we’ve changed our mind, it is good’, I think that makes it difficult for people who are considering whether to get vaccinated and when to get vaccinated," she said.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/shock-finding-covid-vaccine-study-pfizer-astrazeneca-004137574.html

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Modern dating is a minefield at the best of times, let alone when you add QR codes, social distancing and face masks into the mix.

https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/4d2e27a3847f3c70f277bdc7e41aa305?width=650

Rebekah Scanlan

It makes the already difficult task of finding a “good one” amid the sea of never ending red flags – and those who just want to get a leg over – even harder than it was before.

It is impossible to meet someone in a nightclub or a bar, and don’t get me started on the cesspool known as dating apps. Even when you score a date with someone who doesn’t appear to be anti-vax or a covid-conspiracist (I wish I was joking), the natural flow of meeting up with them has been completely disrupted.

You can’t meet someone for a drink and see how the night goes. Even going to dinner is difficult – it requires a booking and down payment which is a big ask considering the chance of being ghosted is very real.

Granted, none of this makes dating impossible, but it certainly steals spontaneity – a widely credited ingredient for romance.

Juggling those covid-dating rules has become a moot point in recent weeks with the return of the lengthy lockdown in Sydney – which, for a 35-year-old woman, is a big deal.

The reality for me is that covid, and the endless lockdowns, come at a time when my biological clock is ticking – fast – and could cost me a chance at motherhood.

I get that lockdowns are devastating for everyone – they kill small businesses, families across different states have been separated for months, and there are thousands of Australians stranded overseas, unable to get home. But for me, the crisis is very personal.

It’s this feeling of frustration that led me to bash out 140 characters on Twitter when news broke that Sydney’s lockdown was being extended by four weeks.

“I’m really mad. Lockdown extended another 4 weeks. This is a joke. We’re being robbed of our lives, time we will never get back,” my tweet began. “As a 35-year-old single woman who would like to have a family one day, these months dictate whether or not that can happen for me. Mad is an understatement.”

Boy, did those few words resonate with the masses – more than 12,000 ‘liked’ my tweet – but there was also an avalanche of people who thought the price I’m likely to pay wasn’t worthy of my public complaint.

Some of the nicer critics rightfully pointed out that I was single before the pandemic, so I couldn’t blame my situation on lockdown.

I have been aware of the ticking of my biological clock for a while. It’s been shoved down my throat by society at every opportunity since turning 30, long before coronavirus became an everyday word in our vocabulary.

Dr Mikayla Couch, an obstetrics and gynaecology registrar at NSW Health, said many women feel this suffocating panic.

“The biological clock is a metaphor that society has created to describe the sensation of pressure many people feel when they are at the peak or past their peak of reproductive years,” she said.

She explained the average age of women having their first child had increased over time, largely because we are “seeking work and university studies before starting a family”.

In 2009, 27.9 years was the age women would, on average, have their first child. By 2019, that had risen to 29.4.

While men waiting until their 30s to settle down is often encouraged, for women it is seen by society as a “short-falling”.

This was evident in the backlash I received to the admission of my fertility fears.

I was called a “whining entitled adult” and told by many men I was well past my sell by date. Some even pleaded with me not to procreate, claiming a child born with my “wholly abhorrent selfishness” is something the world could do without.

Others tactfully told me to “get a grip”, labelling me a snowflake who was prioritising my own wants over the needs of the community.

These angry people were missing the point.

This isn’t a competition about who is getting screwed over the most by covid. Trust me, that’s a game no one wins.

Dr Couch is a single, 31-year-old Bundjalung woman who lives with anovulatory polycystic ovarian syndrome which means she doesn’t ovulate and has no chance of falling pregnant naturally. She’s also a fertility expert who informs me I’m not alone.

“We are now in the midst of the second year of the covid pandemic and for some women with lessening egg numbers, the fear of not having children is real,” she said.

“Everyone has their own priorities, but if starting a family or at least having the option of starting a family is your priority, these last two years will have impacted your fertility journey.”

This was echoed by women online, many sharing their own frustrations, including tales of fertility treatments being placed on hold and partners being stuck interstate or overseas – preventing them from starting their baby-making plans.

“It’s really hard when your biological clock is ticking & for (the) last 18 months all egg freezing & fertility treatments (& partner finding) disrupted. You can’t understand it unless you are living it,” one woman wrote.

Another stressed that the “indefinite revolving door of lockdowns impede the ability to create new relationships and build trust”.

The pandemic certainly isn’t to blame for anyone’s fertility or relationship struggles, but it certainly amplifies it.

Australia rightly has compassion for the countless small business owners who are on the brink and the couples who have lost thousands of dollars every time a lockdown forces their wedding plans into chaos — but it appears there’s a real lack of empathy and understanding for someone worried their dream of having a family is slipping away from them.

It certainly seems my tweet made people squirm. Dr Couch suspects it is down to the fact fertility and pregnancy issues are “prohibited topics”.

But fertility is a dire covid crisis, one no one is talking about, and I’ve got no problem being the “entitled” millennial who brings it to attention.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/being-worried-about-my-fertility-isnt-an-entitled-millennial-whinge/news-story/5e10617a68c1d61313f6cae18eebce4d

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‘Fox News of Australia’ temporarily suspended from YouTube for allegedly spreading coronavirus misinformation

Rupert Murdoch’s Sky News Australia has been banned from posting new videos and live-streaming on YouTube for a week after violating the platform’s policies by sharing clips that allegedly spread misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic.

The ban comes amid growing concern among some Australian political and media commentators about the way in which the once-niche pay TV station, which some have called the “Fox News of Australia,” has expanded its reach on social media by adopting methods that have helped make the Murdoch-controlled Fox News successful in the United States.

These include featuring some right-wing personalities that discourage viewers from taking the coronavirus threat seriously.

A YouTube spokeswoman said the company has “clear and established COVID-19 medical misinformation policies based on local and global health authority guidance, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 misinformation that could cause real-world harm.”

“We apply our policies equally for everyone regardless of uploader, and in accordance with these policies and our long-standing strikes system, removed videos from and issued a strike to Sky News Australia’s channel,” the spokeswoman told The Washington Post in an email.

YouTube didn’t disclose which videos violated its regulations and many remained visible on Sky News Australia’s channel Monday, including clips discussing potentially risky or unproven covid-19 treatments with limited context.

In October, Sky News produced a video in which Alan Jones, a high-profile Australian commentator, expressed doubts about mask-wearing and lockdowns, citing U.S. skeptics. Another video by Jones, titled: “Australians must know the truth — this virus is not a pandemic,” posted in September, garnered millions of views on Facebook. It isn’t clear if these videos were shared on YouTube.

(After having warded off the pandemic through a mix of geographical isolation and tight borders, Australia is facing a delta variant wave that it has struggled to quash.)

Sky News, which is no longer related to its better known British namesake, said in a statement Monday that it “expressly rejects that any host has ever denied the existence of COVID-19 as was implied, and no such videos were ever published or removed.”

Jack Houghton, an editor at Sky News, described the suspension as a “disturbing attack on the ability to think freely.” In a column posted Sunday, he wrote that “Holodomor, Auschwitz and Mao, are just three historical examples” where the “freedom to engage in debate and challenge conventional thinking and wisdoms were not always accepted as human rights.”

The Murdoch family took full control of Sky News Australia in 2016, through the local arm of News Corp. Its executives deepened the lineup of right-wing opinion shows that focused on hot-button topics such as immigration, climate change and, more recently, the pandemic.

News Corp didn’t respond to a request for comment. Fox News, which is owned by another Murdoch company, has also made a public service announcement featuring its anchors and correspondents encouraging vaccination. A Sky News Australia spokeswoman said the broadcaster supports “broad discussion and debate on a wide range of topics and perspectives which is vital to any democracy.”

Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister of the center-left Labor party, on Monday accused the broadcaster of “following the Fox News model” and “deliberately cultivating an anti-fact, non-science base of support around Australia.”

Sky News’s YouTube channel has grown rapidly in recent years from fewer than 100,000 to 1.85 million subscribers. These are relatively modest numbers by global standards, but it is more than the news platform of the state-funded Australian Broadcasting Corp. commands and sizable enough to give it large political sway, critics say.

“There’s a belief among Australian elites that nobody watches Murdoch’s Sky, but they’re wrong. Nine million Australians — that’s one in three of us — already do, and mostly online through YouTube and Facebook,” Rudd wrote in an email to The Post. “This is creating an alternative media ecosystem that encourages viewers to disbelieve science, disbelieve facts because Murdoch gets to make a boatload of money out of it.”

Rudd last year launched a petition calling for an inquiry into the political influence wielded by Murdoch’s Australian media empire, which he and at least one other prime minister have blamed for their political fall. The petition has garnered more than half a million signatures.

Murdoch, who was born in Australia and started building his empire there, has repeatedly played down his purported political influence in public over the years.

Sky News says it has published more than 20,000 videos on its YouTube channel over the past year. The clips draw viewers globally, including in the United States.

“Sky’s Australian stories get tiny audiences, but stories about the United States get vastly bigger ones, suggesting Sky has developed a following in the United States,” Denis Muller, a senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne, wrote in an article in the Conversation earlier this year.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/02/australia-fox-covid-murdoch/

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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