The ultimate horror for any man is to be falsely accused of rape - and then named and shamed in the national media. That is exactly what happened to a thirty-four year old man who had the misfortune to be the only other occupant of a train carriage with a seventeen year old girl.
This girl went to station staff at Strathfield rail station and claimed that the man had forced her off the train and taken her to a disabled toilet - where he had raped her. The police were called, cctv footage examined and the alleged attacker identified - and promptly arrested.
He spent four nights in Silverwater prison as the case began to unravel. On Sunday, the police withdrew their objection to bail and this was granted. When the accused was placed before a magistrate it was revealed that there were " significant changes to the police case " - and subsequently all charges were dropped. The accused walked free.
Days earlier another young woman claimed a car pulled up beside her and a man tried to abduct her. She gave a vivid description of her assailant and the police began a search of cctv footage - and quickly found this to be a false story. The cctv coverage revealed the accuser standing in a nearby lane having a smoke when this claimed abduction was happening.
Making a false claim is a crime but the police are unable to say whether charges will be laid in either of these two cases. If this seventeen year old girl is charged the fact that she is classed as a juvenile will see her name and photograph barred from media publication. Her victim was not so lucky !
Rape is a horrible crime and a rapist deserves public vilification, but even when complete innocence is proven, the stigma sticks in the eyes of some people. It can hover in the background and affect career prospects - and in some cases ruins marriages.
Many people will wonder why we are seeing a surge of false accusations. Is it a feminist act of revenge against men ? Is it an attempt to attract publicity in the hope that this may launch a media career ? Is it sheer boredom - and an attempt to liven things up ? Is it a mental derangement caused by drugs ?
It will certainly do a disservice to women. The next time a victim cries rape or some other type of sexual attack there will be a doubt in many people's minds. It is essential that the police pursue all false reports of crime with vigour. Only then do the full details get an airing in the media - which helps to clear those falsely accused - but it also brings home to the accuser the price they will pay for this type of senseless action.
If these cases are quietly dropped - a false accuser gets all the benefits they hoped for - without a penalty !
Friday 31 January 2014
Thursday 30 January 2014
When love turns to hate !
The news that the bodies of a thirty-five year old man and his four year old daughter have been found side by side in sand dunes will chill the hearts of many separated couples who share access rights to the children of their former union. This man was supposed to return his daughter to her mother on January 11 after an access visit and their disappearance sparked a huge search by police and SES workers. Nineteen days later their badly decomposed bodies were found near the handover location.
The safety of such children comes close to paranoia to many people. Relationships between parents often end bitterly and both parties can be guilty of using a child as a pawn in an ongoing war. Usually, a court grants custody of the child to one parent and grants visiting access to the other, and this can be the point of friction that lights the fuse of revenge.
It is not unknown for one parent to abscond with the child and disappear into an overseas country. Religious laws in some parts of the world are used to gain protection and it is not unusual for a suspicious parent to have a child's name and details entered into a customs embargo to prevent their child from being processed outward at an Australian airport.
This is not always successful if the absconder is a wealthy person. Many will remember a Prince from a northern neighbouring country who spirited his children overseas on a luxury yacht while here on an access visit. He clearly broke Australian law and his country not only refused extradition, but also ignored the Hague convention which required stolen children to be repatriated. That mother only regained access when her children reached the age to make their own legal decisions.
Shared access is fraught with friction. Many separated couples continue to play the blame game. Most genuinely love their children, but love is a double edged sword. It can become a weapon to deprive the other partner of his or her emotional empathy and union with the child - as the ultimate form of revenge - or it can become a self centred obsession that leads to murder/suicide as the only way out of a situation that this person rejects.
Fortunately, only a small fraction of child sharing turns so deadly. Many separated people continue to bicker, but the vast majority put their lives in order and children seem to possess an uncanny ability to adapt to the middle ground between warring parents. In many instances, it is the children who are the peace makers.
Unfortunately, news of this tragic event will send an undercurrent of fear through many people's minds. Many will wonder at the mental stability of their former partner - probably quite irrationally - and dread the timing of the next access visit. There will be a tendency to refuse access - and that can only make a difficult situation worse.
The safety of such children comes close to paranoia to many people. Relationships between parents often end bitterly and both parties can be guilty of using a child as a pawn in an ongoing war. Usually, a court grants custody of the child to one parent and grants visiting access to the other, and this can be the point of friction that lights the fuse of revenge.
It is not unknown for one parent to abscond with the child and disappear into an overseas country. Religious laws in some parts of the world are used to gain protection and it is not unusual for a suspicious parent to have a child's name and details entered into a customs embargo to prevent their child from being processed outward at an Australian airport.
This is not always successful if the absconder is a wealthy person. Many will remember a Prince from a northern neighbouring country who spirited his children overseas on a luxury yacht while here on an access visit. He clearly broke Australian law and his country not only refused extradition, but also ignored the Hague convention which required stolen children to be repatriated. That mother only regained access when her children reached the age to make their own legal decisions.
Shared access is fraught with friction. Many separated couples continue to play the blame game. Most genuinely love their children, but love is a double edged sword. It can become a weapon to deprive the other partner of his or her emotional empathy and union with the child - as the ultimate form of revenge - or it can become a self centred obsession that leads to murder/suicide as the only way out of a situation that this person rejects.
Fortunately, only a small fraction of child sharing turns so deadly. Many separated people continue to bicker, but the vast majority put their lives in order and children seem to possess an uncanny ability to adapt to the middle ground between warring parents. In many instances, it is the children who are the peace makers.
Unfortunately, news of this tragic event will send an undercurrent of fear through many people's minds. Many will wonder at the mental stability of their former partner - probably quite irrationally - and dread the timing of the next access visit. There will be a tendency to refuse access - and that can only make a difficult situation worse.
Wednesday 29 January 2014
Respecting our flag !
Purists are appalled at the way we treat the Australian flag at events such as Australia day. Not only is it worn as an item of clothing but some drape it over their shoulders like a cape and it is not unusual to see it spread on the ground and used as a rug at picnics. Australia day brings a sea of flags and these include those fluttering from the radio masts of cars to flags used as window ornaments in apartment blocks.
There are strict protocols that apply to national flags. They should only be flown on flag poles between sunrise and sunset and etiquette applies whenever they appear on social occasions. This even dictates how they should be arranged when used as a mark of respect on the coffin at a funeral. Entire books have been written detailing the customs and procedures that apply to flags.
We once despaired that Australians had turned their backs on our national flag. Early in the last century it was the Union Jack that flew on most public occasions and many lamented that the flag poles of Australian cities were bare on national days. At war, Australian soldiers were more likely to be fighting under the Union Jack than the Australian flag, and in many cases our flag was unknown to those from other countries.
Australian tourists visiting the United States were amazed at the reverence with which the " Stars and Stripes " was held in that country. The flag was everywhere - outside citizens homes and proudly flying from most public buildings. It seemed that Americans identified with their flag in a way that had not taken hold here in Australia.
That changed several decades ago. It was probably Australian sporting successes that created a desire in spectators to show their identity, but suddenly Australian flags began to appear in the crowd at the Davis cup and at the cricket. Years later - both the Australian flag and the " Boxing Kangaroo " became a crescendo of flag waving when the Americas cup victory became a national event - and from there it was unstoppable !
The purists may grumble, but this is a country that has always disdained the rules and regulations handed down by those who consider themselves the elite. The Australian custom of addressing others by their given name shocked the class conscious people of Britain and our early beginnings required the tradition of " helping a mate " for sheer survival in this new country.
The way we " show the flag " is the Australian way - and it shows no disrespect. Rather than flying the flag on a remote flag pole, the individual bearing the flag as a painted ornament on their face or as something they wear or carry is proclaiming to the world their origin. Our flag has taken it's place amongst the flags of the world - and anyone seeking to change it would suffer a huge backlash.
The more it becomes the flag of the Australian people, the less likely to suffer change if we ever become a Republic.
There are strict protocols that apply to national flags. They should only be flown on flag poles between sunrise and sunset and etiquette applies whenever they appear on social occasions. This even dictates how they should be arranged when used as a mark of respect on the coffin at a funeral. Entire books have been written detailing the customs and procedures that apply to flags.
We once despaired that Australians had turned their backs on our national flag. Early in the last century it was the Union Jack that flew on most public occasions and many lamented that the flag poles of Australian cities were bare on national days. At war, Australian soldiers were more likely to be fighting under the Union Jack than the Australian flag, and in many cases our flag was unknown to those from other countries.
Australian tourists visiting the United States were amazed at the reverence with which the " Stars and Stripes " was held in that country. The flag was everywhere - outside citizens homes and proudly flying from most public buildings. It seemed that Americans identified with their flag in a way that had not taken hold here in Australia.
That changed several decades ago. It was probably Australian sporting successes that created a desire in spectators to show their identity, but suddenly Australian flags began to appear in the crowd at the Davis cup and at the cricket. Years later - both the Australian flag and the " Boxing Kangaroo " became a crescendo of flag waving when the Americas cup victory became a national event - and from there it was unstoppable !
The purists may grumble, but this is a country that has always disdained the rules and regulations handed down by those who consider themselves the elite. The Australian custom of addressing others by their given name shocked the class conscious people of Britain and our early beginnings required the tradition of " helping a mate " for sheer survival in this new country.
The way we " show the flag " is the Australian way - and it shows no disrespect. Rather than flying the flag on a remote flag pole, the individual bearing the flag as a painted ornament on their face or as something they wear or carry is proclaiming to the world their origin. Our flag has taken it's place amongst the flags of the world - and anyone seeking to change it would suffer a huge backlash.
The more it becomes the flag of the Australian people, the less likely to suffer change if we ever become a Republic.
Tuesday 28 January 2014
Ten Pound Poms !
There are a lot of people living in Australia who think they are Australian citizens - until they need a passport to have a cruise or take a holiday in Bali - and find that their status remains merely that of a " permitted resident " !
It all harks back to the days after the end of the second world war when the Australian government adopted the " Populate or perish " theme and urgently installed what became known as the " Ten Pound Pom " offer. People holding British citizenship were invited to migrate to Australia with the Australian government paying their fare in exchange for their contribution of ten English pounds for each adult. Children travelled free and between 1945 and 1969 80,000 people arrived on our shores.
This offer contained conditions that did not apply to other immigrants from Europe. People from Britain were granted all the rights that native born Australians take for granted. They were immediately able to vote in Federal, state and council elections, stand for parliament and access social services on equal terms. Most saw no difference and assumed that this included citizenship, hence few bothered to start the process of applying for citizenship in Australia.
Many who arrived as little children - and some who were actually born on board the boat during the journey - grew up and went to school believing they were normal Aussie kids. Today - many of them are approaching old age and have families of their own, born in this country and therefore legal citizens. It comes as a shock to learn that their own status is not so secure.
Should one of these " Ten Pound Poms " commit a serious crime that results in a gaol sentence, upon release the Australian government could deport that person back to England by cancelling the " permitted resident " status. This has happened on occasion, much to the dismay of those who thought they were enjoying all the protection and safety of Australian citizenship - only to find that this was not so. !
Many people who have lived here their entire adult lives have had no reason to question their citizenship. It is usually when need for a passport arises that they discover that they are denied this document and must apply to a country which to them is completely " foreign ".
Those finding themselves in that situation would be well advised to rectify the omission - and lodge a citizenship application !
It all harks back to the days after the end of the second world war when the Australian government adopted the " Populate or perish " theme and urgently installed what became known as the " Ten Pound Pom " offer. People holding British citizenship were invited to migrate to Australia with the Australian government paying their fare in exchange for their contribution of ten English pounds for each adult. Children travelled free and between 1945 and 1969 80,000 people arrived on our shores.
This offer contained conditions that did not apply to other immigrants from Europe. People from Britain were granted all the rights that native born Australians take for granted. They were immediately able to vote in Federal, state and council elections, stand for parliament and access social services on equal terms. Most saw no difference and assumed that this included citizenship, hence few bothered to start the process of applying for citizenship in Australia.
Many who arrived as little children - and some who were actually born on board the boat during the journey - grew up and went to school believing they were normal Aussie kids. Today - many of them are approaching old age and have families of their own, born in this country and therefore legal citizens. It comes as a shock to learn that their own status is not so secure.
Should one of these " Ten Pound Poms " commit a serious crime that results in a gaol sentence, upon release the Australian government could deport that person back to England by cancelling the " permitted resident " status. This has happened on occasion, much to the dismay of those who thought they were enjoying all the protection and safety of Australian citizenship - only to find that this was not so. !
Many people who have lived here their entire adult lives have had no reason to question their citizenship. It is usually when need for a passport arises that they discover that they are denied this document and must apply to a country which to them is completely " foreign ".
Those finding themselves in that situation would be well advised to rectify the omission - and lodge a citizenship application !
Monday 27 January 2014
The " Power " game !
Our entire society is governed by use use of " power " to control the way we live. The government has the power to enact laws that dictate what level of taxes we will pay. The police enforce the laws that control personal behaviour across the broad spectrum of our daily lives. The " Boss " dictates the rules we must follow in whatever job delivers us a pay check. This same " power " decides everything from the way we drive a car on the road to what constitutes an illegal substance that we are forbidden to possess.
It has become abundantly clear that the baton of power in the education system has passed from the hands of the teaching profession and now is firmly controlled by the students. In almost every incidence of disharmony between teacher and student, the education department sides with the student and often this ends with the teacher being reprimanded - or dismissed from his or her job.
There is simply no check on what students choose to do in the classroom. If they answer calls on their mobile phone or decide to make outward calls during the lesson the teacher is restricted to politely asking that the phone be handed over. If the student refuses - the teacher must accept that refusal, despite further phone traffic interrupting the class lesson for other students.
If a student punches a teacher or in any way delivers violence, the teacher is at fault for any defensive action. One teacher who put such a student into a headlock was dismissed from further service and is now taking legal action against the education department. The only punishment available to a school for disruptive behaviour by a student - is suspension from classes for a period of time.
Students can be insolent, deliberately disruptive, manipulative, violent - and often totally supported by coddling parents who are quick to run to the media with complaints against any form of threatened discipline. Today's kids have access to a wide band of social media. They may be disinterested in learning English and maths - but they are very interested to learn their " rights " - and astute in developing ways of using those rights to their advantage.
They have learned that the threat to claim " sexual misconduct " is a very powerful weapon, and even the suggestion that they have been " inappropriately touched " by a teacher will have immense consequences for that person. In most cases, the education department will stand down that person from active teaching while the matter is investigated - and even if the claim is dismissed, it will have a long term effect on further promotional prospects.
This passing of the baton of power has resulted in a failed education system. We are churning out a proportion of students without the skills to hold down a paying job and this is developing into an underclass to the detriment of our society.
If removing those who refuse to learn is the only way of restoring excellence to our education system - then so be it ! It is essential that power be restored to those tasked with guiding students in their studies and that those with aspirations to a better life have access to education that is not disrupted by a noisy minority.
Education is a privilege that costs the taxpayer a lot of money. Those same taxpayers have a right to a system that rewards parents who encourage their children to obey the rules and learn in an environment where they have every chance of success. Sadly, those that reject that opportunity have no place disrupting the achievements of the many and there is no point in forcing their attendance at school.
If they are destined to fall by the wayside in life - it is by their personal choice !
It has become abundantly clear that the baton of power in the education system has passed from the hands of the teaching profession and now is firmly controlled by the students. In almost every incidence of disharmony between teacher and student, the education department sides with the student and often this ends with the teacher being reprimanded - or dismissed from his or her job.
There is simply no check on what students choose to do in the classroom. If they answer calls on their mobile phone or decide to make outward calls during the lesson the teacher is restricted to politely asking that the phone be handed over. If the student refuses - the teacher must accept that refusal, despite further phone traffic interrupting the class lesson for other students.
If a student punches a teacher or in any way delivers violence, the teacher is at fault for any defensive action. One teacher who put such a student into a headlock was dismissed from further service and is now taking legal action against the education department. The only punishment available to a school for disruptive behaviour by a student - is suspension from classes for a period of time.
Students can be insolent, deliberately disruptive, manipulative, violent - and often totally supported by coddling parents who are quick to run to the media with complaints against any form of threatened discipline. Today's kids have access to a wide band of social media. They may be disinterested in learning English and maths - but they are very interested to learn their " rights " - and astute in developing ways of using those rights to their advantage.
They have learned that the threat to claim " sexual misconduct " is a very powerful weapon, and even the suggestion that they have been " inappropriately touched " by a teacher will have immense consequences for that person. In most cases, the education department will stand down that person from active teaching while the matter is investigated - and even if the claim is dismissed, it will have a long term effect on further promotional prospects.
This passing of the baton of power has resulted in a failed education system. We are churning out a proportion of students without the skills to hold down a paying job and this is developing into an underclass to the detriment of our society.
If removing those who refuse to learn is the only way of restoring excellence to our education system - then so be it ! It is essential that power be restored to those tasked with guiding students in their studies and that those with aspirations to a better life have access to education that is not disrupted by a noisy minority.
Education is a privilege that costs the taxpayer a lot of money. Those same taxpayers have a right to a system that rewards parents who encourage their children to obey the rules and learn in an environment where they have every chance of success. Sadly, those that reject that opportunity have no place disrupting the achievements of the many and there is no point in forcing their attendance at school.
If they are destined to fall by the wayside in life - it is by their personal choice !
Sunday 26 January 2014
Australia Day !
Australia Day means different things to different people. For most of us, it is an opportunity to reflect on how Australia has evolved into a world country with a steadily growing population and think of what remains to be done in the years ahead. To some of our original Aboriginal citizens it is a day of sorrow. They regard our arrival in 1788 as "Invasion Day " and consider Australia their " lost land " !
Unfortunately, some Aboriginal activists chose to vent their spleen by conducting a racist graffiti attack on the place where Captain Cook landed and on the historic Captain Cook's cottage in Melbourne. It is not possible to turn back the clock and it is totally impossible to right the wrongs of the past - and we accept that our early settlers ran roughshod over the rights of those that preceded them.
The arrival of Europeans brought change to many other continents. The opening up of America to migration saw it's native people herded into reservations. The Spanish conquest of the entire continent of South America resulted in it's native people forced to adopt both the Spanish language and the Catholic religion. The Europeans had a huge advantage in that they had mastered the art of building wooden ships and using the wind to take them to far places - and their use of gun powder gave them a weapon far superior to the spear or arrow.
To all the native people of the world, they have the choice of two options. They can look back and resist the inevitable tide of history that brought an ever expanding world - or they can look forward to the opportunities that our fast developing society can deliver to them and their children.
Those who choose to look back and sullenly resent the presence of non Aborigines are destined to the misery of a life of protest. There is no going back to the life that existed 226 years ago. Change is constant and every living Australian has to cope with the relentless flow of new technology and lifestyle change. It is not possible to swim against that tide.
Fortunately, many Aboriginal people have accepted that the newcomers are here to stay and have grasped the opportunities they bring with them. Many have chosen to live in cities and adopt the lifestyle that pays the bills and creates personal wealth. Their educated children are making their mark in life and are an integral part of modern society.
This Australia Day seems to be an opportunity for decision. The graffiti rejecting integration between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal brings this subject to the fore. Aboriginal people need to decide whether they belong in the new Australia of today - or if they see their place as trying to return to a past that no longer exists.
Hopefully, that decision will be to join the vast multicultural Australia that is taking this country to new heights !
Unfortunately, some Aboriginal activists chose to vent their spleen by conducting a racist graffiti attack on the place where Captain Cook landed and on the historic Captain Cook's cottage in Melbourne. It is not possible to turn back the clock and it is totally impossible to right the wrongs of the past - and we accept that our early settlers ran roughshod over the rights of those that preceded them.
The arrival of Europeans brought change to many other continents. The opening up of America to migration saw it's native people herded into reservations. The Spanish conquest of the entire continent of South America resulted in it's native people forced to adopt both the Spanish language and the Catholic religion. The Europeans had a huge advantage in that they had mastered the art of building wooden ships and using the wind to take them to far places - and their use of gun powder gave them a weapon far superior to the spear or arrow.
To all the native people of the world, they have the choice of two options. They can look back and resist the inevitable tide of history that brought an ever expanding world - or they can look forward to the opportunities that our fast developing society can deliver to them and their children.
Those who choose to look back and sullenly resent the presence of non Aborigines are destined to the misery of a life of protest. There is no going back to the life that existed 226 years ago. Change is constant and every living Australian has to cope with the relentless flow of new technology and lifestyle change. It is not possible to swim against that tide.
Fortunately, many Aboriginal people have accepted that the newcomers are here to stay and have grasped the opportunities they bring with them. Many have chosen to live in cities and adopt the lifestyle that pays the bills and creates personal wealth. Their educated children are making their mark in life and are an integral part of modern society.
This Australia Day seems to be an opportunity for decision. The graffiti rejecting integration between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal brings this subject to the fore. Aboriginal people need to decide whether they belong in the new Australia of today - or if they see their place as trying to return to a past that no longer exists.
Hopefully, that decision will be to join the vast multicultural Australia that is taking this country to new heights !
Saturday 25 January 2014
The fear factor !
This week a seventeen year old girl was forced off a Sydney train and raped in a station toilet. The fact that this happened in broad daylight on the busy inner city line has brought public outrage and a demand for more police and Transit officers to patrol the rail network.
There will never be enough security people to absolutely guarantee safety on the rail system. On that same day, hundreds of thousands of other passengers travelled by train without incident. This complete stranger was the other occupant of a carriage with the girl and struck up a conversation. When the train stopped at Strathfield station at 1 pm he forced the victim to leave the carriage and took her to a disabled toilet on the platform - and there she was subjected to a rape ordeal that took half an hour.
Immediately he departed she alerted station staff and security swung into action. Train carriages and rail stations are covered by the cctv network and both the victim and the attacker were quickly identified. The attacker was in handcuffs and off to a cell in a paddy waggon minutes later.
These events will play out in a law court when the offender faces a judge. Rape is a horrible crime, feared by all women. Some will contend that the victim should have screamed and resisted but this ignores the disabling influence of fear - and in the past week a story had circulated about a woman someone tried to abduct - and whose screams were ignored by others. It follows that this was a fake and designed to attract media attention - but it certainly could have had an influence on this victim's state of mind.
Perhaps the most pertinent benefit arising from this crime is the swiftness and certainty of retribution. Being alone in an otherwise vacant carriage with a victim presents opportunity - and the illusion of safety for the offender. Sheer economics limit the number of security people who can be tasked with guarding the rail system, but the ubiquitous camera eye is everywhere these days - and that is now the main limiting factor to crime on the rail network.
The security system has done it's job and nabbed the offender. Now it is up to the judiciary to ram home the the consequences for the attacker. No doubt the defence will get out the violins and claim all sorts of excuses in the aim for a light sentence, but the two things that dissuade the criminal mind when opportunity offers - is the high risk of getting caught - and the inevitable heavy penalty that will follow.
There will always be a risk when we travel on a train. That can never be totally eliminated - only reduced to a reasonable level of acceptance by rail passengers !
There will never be enough security people to absolutely guarantee safety on the rail system. On that same day, hundreds of thousands of other passengers travelled by train without incident. This complete stranger was the other occupant of a carriage with the girl and struck up a conversation. When the train stopped at Strathfield station at 1 pm he forced the victim to leave the carriage and took her to a disabled toilet on the platform - and there she was subjected to a rape ordeal that took half an hour.
Immediately he departed she alerted station staff and security swung into action. Train carriages and rail stations are covered by the cctv network and both the victim and the attacker were quickly identified. The attacker was in handcuffs and off to a cell in a paddy waggon minutes later.
These events will play out in a law court when the offender faces a judge. Rape is a horrible crime, feared by all women. Some will contend that the victim should have screamed and resisted but this ignores the disabling influence of fear - and in the past week a story had circulated about a woman someone tried to abduct - and whose screams were ignored by others. It follows that this was a fake and designed to attract media attention - but it certainly could have had an influence on this victim's state of mind.
Perhaps the most pertinent benefit arising from this crime is the swiftness and certainty of retribution. Being alone in an otherwise vacant carriage with a victim presents opportunity - and the illusion of safety for the offender. Sheer economics limit the number of security people who can be tasked with guarding the rail system, but the ubiquitous camera eye is everywhere these days - and that is now the main limiting factor to crime on the rail network.
The security system has done it's job and nabbed the offender. Now it is up to the judiciary to ram home the the consequences for the attacker. No doubt the defence will get out the violins and claim all sorts of excuses in the aim for a light sentence, but the two things that dissuade the criminal mind when opportunity offers - is the high risk of getting caught - and the inevitable heavy penalty that will follow.
There will always be a risk when we travel on a train. That can never be totally eliminated - only reduced to a reasonable level of acceptance by rail passengers !
Friday 24 January 2014
Loans fraud !
Thinking back to the great financial crash of 2008, it is clear how we managed to get into that mess. A " housing price bubble " saw the price of homes rising on an almost daily basis. People desperate to get their foot on the ownership ladder found willing accomplices in the finance industry who padded their loan applications with false documents to get housing loans that they could not afford.
The big banks then bundled these housing loans into securities with a high credit rating and sold them to unsuspecting hedge funds, superannuation entities and the general investment market. It quickly became similar to a game of " Musical Chairs " - there were no problems just so long as the music kept playing. In 2008 - the music stopped !
The house price market crashed and many people suddenly found that they had a bigger mortgage than their house was worth - and for those with insufficient income to service their loan - repossession because of loan default. The banks were stuck with housing property they could not move and the buyers of house loan securities faced ruin. We are only now just climbing out of that great black hole !
Incredibly, it is all starting along the same road again. There seems to be a new housing bubble as house prices recover and climb to dizzy heights - and now we learn that there are crooked mortgage brokers who are padding loan applications with spurious pay checks and evidence of wealth to get people house loans that they lack the ability to service. Eight such mortgage brokers have been busted - and banned from offering their services in the past three months.
In many cases, the applicant is complicit in this scam, but these mortgage brokers are enticing legitimate borrowers by padding applications with a " nod and a wink " to ensure that the loan goes through smoothly - and they get their commission.
Providing false information on a loan application is a crime, and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission ( ASIC ) is now reviewing applications. Applicants for loans involving mortgage brokers would be wise to carefully check the documents - and decline to proceed if the figures they see " don't add up " !
The last thing we need is a repeat of the 08 debacle !
The big banks then bundled these housing loans into securities with a high credit rating and sold them to unsuspecting hedge funds, superannuation entities and the general investment market. It quickly became similar to a game of " Musical Chairs " - there were no problems just so long as the music kept playing. In 2008 - the music stopped !
The house price market crashed and many people suddenly found that they had a bigger mortgage than their house was worth - and for those with insufficient income to service their loan - repossession because of loan default. The banks were stuck with housing property they could not move and the buyers of house loan securities faced ruin. We are only now just climbing out of that great black hole !
Incredibly, it is all starting along the same road again. There seems to be a new housing bubble as house prices recover and climb to dizzy heights - and now we learn that there are crooked mortgage brokers who are padding loan applications with spurious pay checks and evidence of wealth to get people house loans that they lack the ability to service. Eight such mortgage brokers have been busted - and banned from offering their services in the past three months.
In many cases, the applicant is complicit in this scam, but these mortgage brokers are enticing legitimate borrowers by padding applications with a " nod and a wink " to ensure that the loan goes through smoothly - and they get their commission.
Providing false information on a loan application is a crime, and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission ( ASIC ) is now reviewing applications. Applicants for loans involving mortgage brokers would be wise to carefully check the documents - and decline to proceed if the figures they see " don't add up " !
The last thing we need is a repeat of the 08 debacle !
Thursday 23 January 2014
Biting the Bullet !
There was a sense of inevitability about the new drinking laws that Barry O'Farrell will impose on Sydney. Drunken violence has cascaded out of control and the 1-30 am " Lockout " and 3 am " Last drinks " laws that were trialled in Newcastle successfully tamed that city. These restrictions are simply " logic " - and will have the support of the majority of people.
All forms of violence will now attract mandatory prison terms and that seems to be a desperate attempt to curb the spate of " Coward punches " that have become a new form of drunken thuggery in recent times. Most of the existing laws have had their maximum sentences increased and there is now a minimum eight years for assaults that result in death - where drugs or alcohol were involved.
A range of 2, 3 and 4 year minimum terms apply for other forms of assault, including " Reckless bodily harm ", Affray, " Reckless wounding " - and assaults on police. The power of the magistrates has been reduced and with that the ability to intervene where " exceptional circumstances " apply. The public has long complained that the judiciary were " soft " on crime. Now the pendelum has swung the other way and mandatory sentencing applies.
The Newcastle experiment - on which these new laws are based - proved that public drunkenness is heavily reduced when the opportunities to drink are curtailed. That would be a welcome result in Sydney and the government is trying to get people to safely go home by increasing transport services from night spot areas and an increased police presence.
There seems no doubt that more people will serve a gaol term as a result of these laws and that will have a severe social impact. A moment of drunken stupidity that brings a year or so in a prison will end some careers and probably many marriages. It is even likely that the state will need to build a new prison to accommodate these increased numbers.
The mystery remains as to why some people go out for a night on the grog and feel the need to assault complete strangers without provocation. In many instances, not as a single incident, but as an attack on several people picked at random. That has been the cause of several deaths - and the main reason that this legislation has been put in place to try and curb violence.
Hopefully, we will see a big reduction in the carnage television reporters serve up to us every night of the weekend and fewer people will be turning up in hospital emergency rooms. These new laws will need fine tuning - because it is inevitable that there will be unintended consequences.
At last we are taking the first step in a new direction !
All forms of violence will now attract mandatory prison terms and that seems to be a desperate attempt to curb the spate of " Coward punches " that have become a new form of drunken thuggery in recent times. Most of the existing laws have had their maximum sentences increased and there is now a minimum eight years for assaults that result in death - where drugs or alcohol were involved.
A range of 2, 3 and 4 year minimum terms apply for other forms of assault, including " Reckless bodily harm ", Affray, " Reckless wounding " - and assaults on police. The power of the magistrates has been reduced and with that the ability to intervene where " exceptional circumstances " apply. The public has long complained that the judiciary were " soft " on crime. Now the pendelum has swung the other way and mandatory sentencing applies.
The Newcastle experiment - on which these new laws are based - proved that public drunkenness is heavily reduced when the opportunities to drink are curtailed. That would be a welcome result in Sydney and the government is trying to get people to safely go home by increasing transport services from night spot areas and an increased police presence.
There seems no doubt that more people will serve a gaol term as a result of these laws and that will have a severe social impact. A moment of drunken stupidity that brings a year or so in a prison will end some careers and probably many marriages. It is even likely that the state will need to build a new prison to accommodate these increased numbers.
The mystery remains as to why some people go out for a night on the grog and feel the need to assault complete strangers without provocation. In many instances, not as a single incident, but as an attack on several people picked at random. That has been the cause of several deaths - and the main reason that this legislation has been put in place to try and curb violence.
Hopefully, we will see a big reduction in the carnage television reporters serve up to us every night of the weekend and fewer people will be turning up in hospital emergency rooms. These new laws will need fine tuning - because it is inevitable that there will be unintended consequences.
At last we are taking the first step in a new direction !
Wednesday 22 January 2014
Security - and safety !
Sydney has no option than to embrace the " Vertical Village " concept. Residential towers just get taller and bigger as more and more people swap the horrors of the daily commute for inner city living. Regis Towers - on the edge of the CBD - has 653 units and hence the number of people living in that one building is equal to many a small town.
The rules that apply to these buildings is decided by the Body Corporate and that works in a similar manner to the way we run both the Federal and the state governments. The buildings owners vote the office holders into office and the general rules that apply are open for discussion at the annual general meetings. The general tenets of democracy apply. The majority vote decides issues.
Unfortunately, there always seems to be a few people who disagree and the safety regulations that apply to Regis Towers are upsetting some people. Access to the building is by way of a swipe card which includes personal ID. In the event that this card is used by other than the nominated holder, it is deactivated and no longer works. A fee of $ 150 is required to reactivate the card.
Two issues underpin this security operation. Requiring each individual actually living in the building to be issued with a personal swipe card allows control of the numbers living in each unit. Both health and hygiene are involved where excessive crowding occurs and these numbers are legally decided by city ordinances.
Security is becoming an ever bigger issue in our crowded cities. We like to think that we live in a secure building and that can only be achieved if strict rules apply. One resident cited an instance where he lent a visiting friend his ID swipe card to go and buy a bottle of milk. Not only was the friend denied access - it also cost him $ 150 to regain future access to his own home. Such is the price of maintaining a security system that works !
The weakest link is the factor that breaks the strongest chain, and the moment ID swipe cards are casually loaned to others - our building security fails. Perhaps the most effective way to enforce the rules is to apply a hefty money penalty for breaches. Either the unit owner needs to accompany that friend on a milk buying journey - or if the stay is to be longer - ensure that he or she is issued with their own ID swipe card.
It is a fact of life that many only obey rules which involve a severe monetary penalty if breached !
The rules that apply to these buildings is decided by the Body Corporate and that works in a similar manner to the way we run both the Federal and the state governments. The buildings owners vote the office holders into office and the general rules that apply are open for discussion at the annual general meetings. The general tenets of democracy apply. The majority vote decides issues.
Unfortunately, there always seems to be a few people who disagree and the safety regulations that apply to Regis Towers are upsetting some people. Access to the building is by way of a swipe card which includes personal ID. In the event that this card is used by other than the nominated holder, it is deactivated and no longer works. A fee of $ 150 is required to reactivate the card.
Two issues underpin this security operation. Requiring each individual actually living in the building to be issued with a personal swipe card allows control of the numbers living in each unit. Both health and hygiene are involved where excessive crowding occurs and these numbers are legally decided by city ordinances.
Security is becoming an ever bigger issue in our crowded cities. We like to think that we live in a secure building and that can only be achieved if strict rules apply. One resident cited an instance where he lent a visiting friend his ID swipe card to go and buy a bottle of milk. Not only was the friend denied access - it also cost him $ 150 to regain future access to his own home. Such is the price of maintaining a security system that works !
The weakest link is the factor that breaks the strongest chain, and the moment ID swipe cards are casually loaned to others - our building security fails. Perhaps the most effective way to enforce the rules is to apply a hefty money penalty for breaches. Either the unit owner needs to accompany that friend on a milk buying journey - or if the stay is to be longer - ensure that he or she is issued with their own ID swipe card.
It is a fact of life that many only obey rules which involve a severe monetary penalty if breached !
Tuesday 21 January 2014
A new Ice Age ?
For those utterly confused by the claims and counter claims about global warming, stand by for the latest predictions of doom and gloom for our home planet. It seems that our sun is having some sort of conniption fit !
We have long known that the sun runs on an eleven year cycle that ranges from a solar maximum to a solar minimum. It should now be at it's solar maximum peak and shooting out great bursts of thermal flaring that usually interferes with earth's communications and sends satellites and computers haywire. That is simply not happening. For unknown reasons, our sun has entered a dormant period - and the extend of that lasting is unknown.
Some scientists relate this to a phenomenon that occurred in the late half of the seventeenth century. Solar observation was less advanced in that period but it seems reasonable that a similar event was happening - and that had a dramatic effect on the world weather. It seems that Europe had a number of unusually cold and bitter winters, causing historians to refer to that period as the " Mini Ice Age ".
This southern hemisphere summer has been delivering record breaking heat. It would certainly cloud the picture if this was followed by winter extremes in the northern hemisphere - and that could tip the balance in a lot of factors that the world population relies on. Life on earth is very dependent on our sun delivering the goods as per it's regular timetable.
Europe and it's surrounding areas are experiencing civil wars that have sent refugees pouring over borders and many are now living in primitive conditions in makeshift camps. A temperature plunge could kill thousands and if the cold extends crop failures there will certainly be famine in Europe. The northern hemisphere has just experienced a " Polar Vortex " which stopped air, rail and road traffic and brought industry to a standstill. Could this become a regular event, until the sun resumes it's normal cycle ?
The chilling thought is the possibility that this cyclical change in the sun's cycle may be long term. We know that planet earth had several ice ages when most of the planet was encased in ice and this killed much of the flora and fauna of that period. Perhaps the increase in CO2 that we are desperately trying to reduce will be our salvation, warding off a new ice age by increasing world temperatures at the same time as the sun is giving off less warmth.
It seems to be a " wait and see " situation. The sun is a law unto itself and as yet we do not fully understand it's inner workings. Hopefully, this cyclical interruption will be a minor hiccup that will sort itself out. At least it will give the climate change people a new topic with which to enliven the conversation !
We have long known that the sun runs on an eleven year cycle that ranges from a solar maximum to a solar minimum. It should now be at it's solar maximum peak and shooting out great bursts of thermal flaring that usually interferes with earth's communications and sends satellites and computers haywire. That is simply not happening. For unknown reasons, our sun has entered a dormant period - and the extend of that lasting is unknown.
Some scientists relate this to a phenomenon that occurred in the late half of the seventeenth century. Solar observation was less advanced in that period but it seems reasonable that a similar event was happening - and that had a dramatic effect on the world weather. It seems that Europe had a number of unusually cold and bitter winters, causing historians to refer to that period as the " Mini Ice Age ".
This southern hemisphere summer has been delivering record breaking heat. It would certainly cloud the picture if this was followed by winter extremes in the northern hemisphere - and that could tip the balance in a lot of factors that the world population relies on. Life on earth is very dependent on our sun delivering the goods as per it's regular timetable.
Europe and it's surrounding areas are experiencing civil wars that have sent refugees pouring over borders and many are now living in primitive conditions in makeshift camps. A temperature plunge could kill thousands and if the cold extends crop failures there will certainly be famine in Europe. The northern hemisphere has just experienced a " Polar Vortex " which stopped air, rail and road traffic and brought industry to a standstill. Could this become a regular event, until the sun resumes it's normal cycle ?
The chilling thought is the possibility that this cyclical change in the sun's cycle may be long term. We know that planet earth had several ice ages when most of the planet was encased in ice and this killed much of the flora and fauna of that period. Perhaps the increase in CO2 that we are desperately trying to reduce will be our salvation, warding off a new ice age by increasing world temperatures at the same time as the sun is giving off less warmth.
It seems to be a " wait and see " situation. The sun is a law unto itself and as yet we do not fully understand it's inner workings. Hopefully, this cyclical interruption will be a minor hiccup that will sort itself out. At least it will give the climate change people a new topic with which to enliven the conversation !
Monday 20 January 2014
Tennis madness !
Is a piece of silver and a sporting title worth dieing for ? That was the question players were entitled to ask at the Tennis at Melbourne Park as Australia sweltered in a summer heat wave. The temperature on the centre court reached 43.3 degrees - and on the outer unshaded courts it rose to 52.3 degrees - before the " Extreme Heat policy " was invoked at 2 pm.
Allowing athletes to perform at maximum exertion in those conditions can be fatal. It caused several players to withdraw and concede matches and it will certainly draw extreme criticism from other parts of the world that the final outcome was influenced by the playing conditions.
Even sitting in the stands and watching the games required the paramedics to attend to 970 spectators who suffered heat exhaustion. We are told that global warming will result in each summer being hotter for longer and all sporting codes need to adopt a common policy - at which temperature play stops.
This is a medical decision rather than something to be decided by the committee of a sporting body. It needs to be enshrined in law because there is a tendency to push on with contests in extreme heat conditions by balancing the financial outcome to the detriment of damage to contestants. Individuals who show a reluctance to expose their bodies to this risk level fear they may not gain future team selection as a punishment.
It is a reasonable expectation that every athlete should not be asked to compete in conditions that have an elevated health risk - and that applies on a world basis. The selection of Doha as the venue for a world cup competition raises concern that it's sizzling summer temperatures were not seriously taken into consideration when that decision was made. As usual, world politics trumps common sense in all avenues of decision making.
If we establish a protocol at which play ceases when the temperature reaches a certain level it will have a huge new influence on the scheduling of contests. The financial aspect of interrupted play will need to be taken into consideration in planning events and in many instances more moderate weather months will be preferred to high risk mid summer timing. It may even require the rescheduling of the start and finish of the seasons for entire sporting codes.
Some may argue that this heat wave was a pure aberration of nature and should be disregarded but that is not the outlook of weather scientists. We are living in a hotter world - and we need to plan accordingly from a safety point of view !
Allowing athletes to perform at maximum exertion in those conditions can be fatal. It caused several players to withdraw and concede matches and it will certainly draw extreme criticism from other parts of the world that the final outcome was influenced by the playing conditions.
Even sitting in the stands and watching the games required the paramedics to attend to 970 spectators who suffered heat exhaustion. We are told that global warming will result in each summer being hotter for longer and all sporting codes need to adopt a common policy - at which temperature play stops.
This is a medical decision rather than something to be decided by the committee of a sporting body. It needs to be enshrined in law because there is a tendency to push on with contests in extreme heat conditions by balancing the financial outcome to the detriment of damage to contestants. Individuals who show a reluctance to expose their bodies to this risk level fear they may not gain future team selection as a punishment.
It is a reasonable expectation that every athlete should not be asked to compete in conditions that have an elevated health risk - and that applies on a world basis. The selection of Doha as the venue for a world cup competition raises concern that it's sizzling summer temperatures were not seriously taken into consideration when that decision was made. As usual, world politics trumps common sense in all avenues of decision making.
If we establish a protocol at which play ceases when the temperature reaches a certain level it will have a huge new influence on the scheduling of contests. The financial aspect of interrupted play will need to be taken into consideration in planning events and in many instances more moderate weather months will be preferred to high risk mid summer timing. It may even require the rescheduling of the start and finish of the seasons for entire sporting codes.
Some may argue that this heat wave was a pure aberration of nature and should be disregarded but that is not the outlook of weather scientists. We are living in a hotter world - and we need to plan accordingly from a safety point of view !
Friday 17 January 2014
Reluctant Heroes !
Dozens of people witnessed an event that happened on a busy Liverpool street at 4-30 in the afternoon. " Aida " - a young woman too scared to reveal her surname - was waiting to cross the road opposite the railway station when a red car carrying several men pulled up beside her. One of the men - a complete stranger - got out and ordered her to get in the car. She refused - and he grabbed her by the wrist and attempted to force her into the car.
Wisely, she resisted and began to scream for help. The struggle ended when this man released her, jumped back in the car and it roared away. Aida was astonished that despite this happening in the full view of a great number of people, not a single person made even the slightest attempt to come to her aid.
Welcome to the world that Sydney has become ! The fact that this happened in broad daylight in a busy street was one of the factors that would deter heroes from coming to the rescue. To most people, this would appear to be a " domestic " - a tiff between a man and his wife or girl friend - and that would be a dangerous situation in which to intervene. They would assume that either may be affected by drugs or alcohol and in many such circumstances it is the well meaning person seeking to help that ends up getting bashed.
Unfortunately, this incident illustrates the vulnerability of women to be abducted in plain sight on a busy street. A bold attacker can rely on any altercation between a man and a woman being regarded as some sort of " domestic " incident - and provided no extreme violence is used - ignored by most people. Strangely, if the same thing happened at night in a more secluded area, many people would respond differently. The unlikelihood of a brazen abduction happening in a crowd of people works in the attacker's favour.
Hopefully, this incident will result in a successful conclusion. Aida gave a very good description of her attacker and this busy street scene is well covered by cctv cameras. We have seen how the police use this coverage to track down street thugs who bash innocent victims in areas like Kings Cross and there is every chance that this " red car " may be the attackers undoing.
At least Aida's response can be a lesson for other women experiencing a similar situation. She survived that attack by vigorously resisting - and by making plenty of noise. While nobody came to her assistance her screams caused the attacker to desist - and flee.
Wisely, she resisted and began to scream for help. The struggle ended when this man released her, jumped back in the car and it roared away. Aida was astonished that despite this happening in the full view of a great number of people, not a single person made even the slightest attempt to come to her aid.
Welcome to the world that Sydney has become ! The fact that this happened in broad daylight in a busy street was one of the factors that would deter heroes from coming to the rescue. To most people, this would appear to be a " domestic " - a tiff between a man and his wife or girl friend - and that would be a dangerous situation in which to intervene. They would assume that either may be affected by drugs or alcohol and in many such circumstances it is the well meaning person seeking to help that ends up getting bashed.
Unfortunately, this incident illustrates the vulnerability of women to be abducted in plain sight on a busy street. A bold attacker can rely on any altercation between a man and a woman being regarded as some sort of " domestic " incident - and provided no extreme violence is used - ignored by most people. Strangely, if the same thing happened at night in a more secluded area, many people would respond differently. The unlikelihood of a brazen abduction happening in a crowd of people works in the attacker's favour.
Hopefully, this incident will result in a successful conclusion. Aida gave a very good description of her attacker and this busy street scene is well covered by cctv cameras. We have seen how the police use this coverage to track down street thugs who bash innocent victims in areas like Kings Cross and there is every chance that this " red car " may be the attackers undoing.
At least Aida's response can be a lesson for other women experiencing a similar situation. She survived that attack by vigorously resisting - and by making plenty of noise. While nobody came to her assistance her screams caused the attacker to desist - and flee.
Thursday 16 January 2014
Economic Terrorism !
The suggestion from the Business Council of Australia ( BCA ) that the family home be included in the asset test for the age pension must strike terror into the heart of most Australians. Owning their own home has been the prime ambition of most people from the very start of their working life and it became the crown jewel in their quest for security in old age. Until now, it has been immune from all other assets accumulated over our lifetime in the machinations of the tax man.
Residents of Sydney would fare worst if the proposal became reality. Even an average Sydney homes inclusion in the asset test would see many denied a full pension and residents of this city would be severely disadvantaged in comparison with those owning a home in a distant country town. It would be a disincentive for many to even attempt to become a home owner if this asset became a pawn that worked against it's owners wish to have safe and secure retirement years.
The suggestion opens the door to all manner of " social engineering " theories. By making it financially impossible for the elderly to continue to live in big cities, it would free-up housing for those of working age and relocate the retired to cheaper, government approved " villages ". This could solve the dilemma of saving many small country towns with a diminishing population. Forcing the aged to cheaper rural accommodation would make such towns economically viable.
It also creates an opportunity to impose " death duties " in a new guise. Most home owners hope that at their end of life they will be able to bequeath the asset of the family home to their children, but the hidden agenda seems to be to make them sell and use the proceeds for their upkeep until it's value decreases to the extent that the pension will be granted. Extraordinary power will be invested in the people who control the valuation of assets.
There seems a certain inevitability that the intrusions that have been applied to people's earnings and assets will eventually apply to the family home. Income tax was a new innovation a few centuries ago, at the time described as a " temporary tax " to pay for a war. In more recent times we have seen the imposition of Capital Gains tax, Fringe Benefits tax, and the government is even dipping into the money we set aside by way of Superannuation by way of tax. That huge, ever increasing value of the family home must be a tempting target for a cash strapped treasury.
It will probably not happen in the near term. The groundswell of indignation will see to that - but the writing is on the wall and the theory will dangle - just out of reach - until the day comes that sheer economic necessity drives a treasurer to risk political suicide - and go for the pot of gold !
Residents of Sydney would fare worst if the proposal became reality. Even an average Sydney homes inclusion in the asset test would see many denied a full pension and residents of this city would be severely disadvantaged in comparison with those owning a home in a distant country town. It would be a disincentive for many to even attempt to become a home owner if this asset became a pawn that worked against it's owners wish to have safe and secure retirement years.
The suggestion opens the door to all manner of " social engineering " theories. By making it financially impossible for the elderly to continue to live in big cities, it would free-up housing for those of working age and relocate the retired to cheaper, government approved " villages ". This could solve the dilemma of saving many small country towns with a diminishing population. Forcing the aged to cheaper rural accommodation would make such towns economically viable.
It also creates an opportunity to impose " death duties " in a new guise. Most home owners hope that at their end of life they will be able to bequeath the asset of the family home to their children, but the hidden agenda seems to be to make them sell and use the proceeds for their upkeep until it's value decreases to the extent that the pension will be granted. Extraordinary power will be invested in the people who control the valuation of assets.
There seems a certain inevitability that the intrusions that have been applied to people's earnings and assets will eventually apply to the family home. Income tax was a new innovation a few centuries ago, at the time described as a " temporary tax " to pay for a war. In more recent times we have seen the imposition of Capital Gains tax, Fringe Benefits tax, and the government is even dipping into the money we set aside by way of Superannuation by way of tax. That huge, ever increasing value of the family home must be a tempting target for a cash strapped treasury.
It will probably not happen in the near term. The groundswell of indignation will see to that - but the writing is on the wall and the theory will dangle - just out of reach - until the day comes that sheer economic necessity drives a treasurer to risk political suicide - and go for the pot of gold !
Wednesday 15 January 2014
Deporting Criminals !
Visa cancellation for the criminals of other countries who commit crimes in Australia has become something of a joke. Their deportation is usually appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal ( AAT ) and in the majority of cases it cancels that visa cancellation and allows the offender to remain in this country.
The purpose of an appeals tribunal is to have a case review to ensure that justice has been served and the usual expectation is that only a very small number of appeals would be successful. In the case of the AAT - it is rare for a deportation order to stand as this tribunal seems to lean over backward to find in favour of the offender. It is the reasoning that the tribunal gives for it's decisions that rile many Australian citizens.
A New Zealand citizen here on a visa was convicted of an unusually vicious robbery of a prominent Melbourne doctor. After serving his sentence he was due to be deported back to New Zealand, but the AAT decided that " he would have difficulty adjusting to life in New Zealand " - and allowed him to continue his life in Australia. This certainly raises the question of how the lifestyle of Australia and New Zealand differs ?
The case of a 40 year old Vietnamese man living here on a visa riles many people. This man has a seventeen year criminal record that includes theft, robbery and weapons offences - and he is a heroin addict. The AAT heard that he had a high risk of continuing to reoffend, and yet the tribunal cancelled the deportation order. It seems that Australia is stuck with the presence of a foreign criminal who will continue to fund his heroin addiction by criminal activity - because the AAT has considered the differing attitude to drugs in Australia and Vietnam.
Australia punishes drug offenders with moderate gaol terms. In Vietnam, these offences bring the death penalty. It seems that the AAT invoked the rule that Australia does not deport felons where this action might lead to capital punishment - despite that only becoming a possibility if he commits drug offences after he is returned to Vietnam. It seems he may resume his crime spree in Australia because he will receive an unacceptable form of punishment if he chooses to continue to do that in Vietnam after deportation. This shows little concern for the inevitable victims of his continued Australian presence !
It seems that the Federal Immigration Minister has the power to cancel visas on " character grounds " - and that these are not subject to appeal by the AAT. If that is the only way we can get rid of criminal offenders in this country it is a sad state of affairs. It is clearly evident that the AAT is not doing the job it was formed to do and that each deportation that appears before it should get an impartial review and a considered verdict - and that is not happening.
When a part of the judiciary becomes corrupted by adopting a stance that varies from both the law and the expectations of the office it holds, that function needs review and replacement by a body which has been purged of contamination - and that is the function of the Federal parliament. The political divisions of the parliament make this difficult, but it must surely be the long term aim of any government in office to ensure that the nation's judiciary obeys the balance of fair and impartial hearings of all matters before them.
We do not need other nation's criminals given a free pass to continue their activities here !
The purpose of an appeals tribunal is to have a case review to ensure that justice has been served and the usual expectation is that only a very small number of appeals would be successful. In the case of the AAT - it is rare for a deportation order to stand as this tribunal seems to lean over backward to find in favour of the offender. It is the reasoning that the tribunal gives for it's decisions that rile many Australian citizens.
A New Zealand citizen here on a visa was convicted of an unusually vicious robbery of a prominent Melbourne doctor. After serving his sentence he was due to be deported back to New Zealand, but the AAT decided that " he would have difficulty adjusting to life in New Zealand " - and allowed him to continue his life in Australia. This certainly raises the question of how the lifestyle of Australia and New Zealand differs ?
The case of a 40 year old Vietnamese man living here on a visa riles many people. This man has a seventeen year criminal record that includes theft, robbery and weapons offences - and he is a heroin addict. The AAT heard that he had a high risk of continuing to reoffend, and yet the tribunal cancelled the deportation order. It seems that Australia is stuck with the presence of a foreign criminal who will continue to fund his heroin addiction by criminal activity - because the AAT has considered the differing attitude to drugs in Australia and Vietnam.
Australia punishes drug offenders with moderate gaol terms. In Vietnam, these offences bring the death penalty. It seems that the AAT invoked the rule that Australia does not deport felons where this action might lead to capital punishment - despite that only becoming a possibility if he commits drug offences after he is returned to Vietnam. It seems he may resume his crime spree in Australia because he will receive an unacceptable form of punishment if he chooses to continue to do that in Vietnam after deportation. This shows little concern for the inevitable victims of his continued Australian presence !
It seems that the Federal Immigration Minister has the power to cancel visas on " character grounds " - and that these are not subject to appeal by the AAT. If that is the only way we can get rid of criminal offenders in this country it is a sad state of affairs. It is clearly evident that the AAT is not doing the job it was formed to do and that each deportation that appears before it should get an impartial review and a considered verdict - and that is not happening.
When a part of the judiciary becomes corrupted by adopting a stance that varies from both the law and the expectations of the office it holds, that function needs review and replacement by a body which has been purged of contamination - and that is the function of the Federal parliament. The political divisions of the parliament make this difficult, but it must surely be the long term aim of any government in office to ensure that the nation's judiciary obeys the balance of fair and impartial hearings of all matters before them.
We do not need other nation's criminals given a free pass to continue their activities here !
Tuesday 14 January 2014
National Service.
Between 1951 and 1959 all young men in Australia were required to register for compulsory military training when they turned eighteen. During that period, 287,000 wore the country's uniform with the majority in the Australian Army. Smaller numbers served in the Navy and the Air Force. At the expiration of their six months stint, they were placed in a Reserve listing for an indefinite period. In a later age, a lottery based on date of birth sent National Service conscripts to fight in the war in Vietnam.
Many have suggested that Australia needs a return of National Service to foster a sense of discipline in the young and to use this as an opportunity to train them with the basic skills necessary to hold down a paying job. Today's emphasis has swung away from the pure military aspect. We no longer need vast numbers of " grunts " carrying a rifle. Today's serviceman or servicewoman is an individual highly trained in the weapons and tactics of war. They are fewer in number but their skills make them formidable on the battlefield and reaching those standards is the result of very long term training.
Unfortunately, many school leavers lack an acceptable level of proficiency in either maths or English and supporters of National Service see it as means of correcting those deficiencies. The original National Service was restricted to males, but in this more enlightened age it would be totally unacceptable unless it embraced both genders.
There seems little prospect that such a scheme will get the nod from either side of politics. It would involve a huge cost and the present mind set in this country seems to rebel against anything that can be labelled " compulsory ". The correction effort seems to be directed at reforming the school system to ensure that those leaving have attained a better grade of education - and that skills are more aligned with the jobs available in the work force.
There is no doubt that a large number of school leavers have little to offer potential employers. Maths is an optional subject in the HSC and yet a basic ability to count and measure is essential in most trades. A carpenter who can not read a rule or a bricklayer who can not calculate the number of bricks to build a wall is useless to an employer.
We started on the right road many years ago with the separation of " academic " and " Trade " employment training options. Those aiming to work in the professions did their HSC and went to University - and those who were more suited to a " Trade " career went to TAFE and learned skills applicable to the many professions open to " Tradesmen and now Tradeswomen " !
It sounds as if the call for a return of " National Service " is simply a rebranding of separating effective training under a new name. It would be a lot cheaper to simply upgrade the school system and rejuvenate the TAFE colleges to achieve the desired result.
Tinkering with the system is the main reason that what worked well previously is no longer effective today !
Many have suggested that Australia needs a return of National Service to foster a sense of discipline in the young and to use this as an opportunity to train them with the basic skills necessary to hold down a paying job. Today's emphasis has swung away from the pure military aspect. We no longer need vast numbers of " grunts " carrying a rifle. Today's serviceman or servicewoman is an individual highly trained in the weapons and tactics of war. They are fewer in number but their skills make them formidable on the battlefield and reaching those standards is the result of very long term training.
Unfortunately, many school leavers lack an acceptable level of proficiency in either maths or English and supporters of National Service see it as means of correcting those deficiencies. The original National Service was restricted to males, but in this more enlightened age it would be totally unacceptable unless it embraced both genders.
There seems little prospect that such a scheme will get the nod from either side of politics. It would involve a huge cost and the present mind set in this country seems to rebel against anything that can be labelled " compulsory ". The correction effort seems to be directed at reforming the school system to ensure that those leaving have attained a better grade of education - and that skills are more aligned with the jobs available in the work force.
There is no doubt that a large number of school leavers have little to offer potential employers. Maths is an optional subject in the HSC and yet a basic ability to count and measure is essential in most trades. A carpenter who can not read a rule or a bricklayer who can not calculate the number of bricks to build a wall is useless to an employer.
We started on the right road many years ago with the separation of " academic " and " Trade " employment training options. Those aiming to work in the professions did their HSC and went to University - and those who were more suited to a " Trade " career went to TAFE and learned skills applicable to the many professions open to " Tradesmen and now Tradeswomen " !
It sounds as if the call for a return of " National Service " is simply a rebranding of separating effective training under a new name. It would be a lot cheaper to simply upgrade the school system and rejuvenate the TAFE colleges to achieve the desired result.
Tinkering with the system is the main reason that what worked well previously is no longer effective today !
Monday 13 January 2014
Weekend Clearways !
The working day clearway system has been with us for a long time and traffic flow would be impossible without it to aid the morning and afternoon peaks. The city's main arterial roads are it's life blood and now we are finding that travel times on the weekends are reaching saturation point - and it seems inevitable that weekend clearways will be introduced.
The first will commence this March on a section of Victoria road at Rozelle - and it will ban parking from 8 am until 8 pm on a trial basis. The logical extension of weekend clearways includes Mona Vale road, King Georges road, Lane Cove road and the Princes Highway.
Banning parking from 8 am to 8 pm seems heavy handed. The weekday peak was caused by people trying to get to work in the morning and heading home after work in the late afternoon, but the steady expansion of Sydney as a city extended the traffic flow and the clearways became a longer parking ban.
At this stage, the weekend traffic starts later and a clearway from 10-30 am would be more appropriate. In most cases, weekend traffic slows after 5-30 pm and ending the clearway restrictions then would give some relief to those who actually have their homes along our highways.
Weekend clearways will obviously impose a financial change on many people. It is likely that their imposition will result in a loss of value on premises fronting major highways - at least in the short term. They will be a disaster for many retail businesses that rely on the passing traffic for trade and they will be bitterly opposed by many trade associations.
Eventually, it seems inevitable that the arterial roads will become a 24/7 clearway, but just as the weekday clearway times applied to restricted hours originally, the time factor became an extension as the need increased. This same thinking would be appropriate to the hours to be applied to weekends.
The usual demand for compensation will be aired by those likely to suffer financial loss from this imposition, but the writing has been on the wall for a very long time and establishing a business on a heavily congested road has carried very apparent risks.
Residents living on a road subjected to weekend clearways face a changed lifestyle. Those with more cars than onsite parking will face a parking headache that will extend to those living in nearby streets, and the loss of ability to host a BBQ or other social gathering on the weekend because of guest access will be resented by many.
Unfortunately, the passage of time brings with it change - whether we like it or not. The ability to travel across this city is a requirement that imposes restrictions on others and brings with it the inevitability that more changes will become necessary in the future.
The wise will take that into their considerations when making future plans.
The first will commence this March on a section of Victoria road at Rozelle - and it will ban parking from 8 am until 8 pm on a trial basis. The logical extension of weekend clearways includes Mona Vale road, King Georges road, Lane Cove road and the Princes Highway.
Banning parking from 8 am to 8 pm seems heavy handed. The weekday peak was caused by people trying to get to work in the morning and heading home after work in the late afternoon, but the steady expansion of Sydney as a city extended the traffic flow and the clearways became a longer parking ban.
At this stage, the weekend traffic starts later and a clearway from 10-30 am would be more appropriate. In most cases, weekend traffic slows after 5-30 pm and ending the clearway restrictions then would give some relief to those who actually have their homes along our highways.
Weekend clearways will obviously impose a financial change on many people. It is likely that their imposition will result in a loss of value on premises fronting major highways - at least in the short term. They will be a disaster for many retail businesses that rely on the passing traffic for trade and they will be bitterly opposed by many trade associations.
Eventually, it seems inevitable that the arterial roads will become a 24/7 clearway, but just as the weekday clearway times applied to restricted hours originally, the time factor became an extension as the need increased. This same thinking would be appropriate to the hours to be applied to weekends.
The usual demand for compensation will be aired by those likely to suffer financial loss from this imposition, but the writing has been on the wall for a very long time and establishing a business on a heavily congested road has carried very apparent risks.
Residents living on a road subjected to weekend clearways face a changed lifestyle. Those with more cars than onsite parking will face a parking headache that will extend to those living in nearby streets, and the loss of ability to host a BBQ or other social gathering on the weekend because of guest access will be resented by many.
Unfortunately, the passage of time brings with it change - whether we like it or not. The ability to travel across this city is a requirement that imposes restrictions on others and brings with it the inevitability that more changes will become necessary in the future.
The wise will take that into their considerations when making future plans.
Making a charge stick !
The options before the Director of Public Prosecutions ( DPP ) have just notched up to a higher grade with the news that Daniel Christie has died. This eighteen year old was celebrating the new year in Kings Cross when he became the victim of a " King Hit " - or as it is now renamed - a " Coward Punch " delivered by a complete stranger.
That punch's aftermath caused this young man to lapse into a coma and for eleven days he hovered between life and death. He lost that battle - and now the DPP must decide which charge to lay against his assailant.
There are two options - Murder or Manslaughter ! In similar cases in the past the DPP has allowed the attacker to plead guilty to manslaughter, avoiding a trial and escaping with gaol time of just a few years. The fact that this offence has grown in numbers has thrown the spotlight of the media to seek answers - and to tailor the punishment to the crime.
The basic difference of interpretation between murder and manslaughter is that murder requires an " intention to kill ". A well instructed jury could believe that the assailant did not expect that outcome and therefore that intent was missing. It could be argued that death was an unexpected outcome. The reason the blow was struck is immaterial - just so long as it was not intended to cause death.
Perhaps we need a law change to clarify exactly what responsibility an assailant undertakes when delivering a blow of such severity as to cause " grievous bodily harm " or which constitutes " reckless indifference towards human life ". The task of a jury is to decide on precisely what the law stipulates, and we now seem to be facing a new requirement to clarify that law so that the requirements to bring in a verdict of murder are quite clear.
There is a fine line between many actions that cause a death. When someone fires a gun or drives a car in such a manner that harm to others is a likely outcome, that person shows reckless indifference towards human life - but does not consciously intend to cause death. The outcome is the same. In many cases, someone dies.
The people who frame the law now need to consider whether " intention to kill " falls within the actions of " indifferent to the outcome ". If an assailant takes action that has a high chance of ending someone else's life the charge of manslaughter seems to just confer the element of " luck ". It infers that the victim was " unlucky " rather than that the assailant was intentionally guilty of subjecting that persons fate to " life's lottery ".
The people who today deliver a " Coward punch " as their form of entertainment do so with the full knowledge that it may cause death. It would seem a simple solution to include the punishment for this type of offence to be identical with that of " willful murder ".
The law - is just what the framers of that law - intend it to be !
That punch's aftermath caused this young man to lapse into a coma and for eleven days he hovered between life and death. He lost that battle - and now the DPP must decide which charge to lay against his assailant.
There are two options - Murder or Manslaughter ! In similar cases in the past the DPP has allowed the attacker to plead guilty to manslaughter, avoiding a trial and escaping with gaol time of just a few years. The fact that this offence has grown in numbers has thrown the spotlight of the media to seek answers - and to tailor the punishment to the crime.
The basic difference of interpretation between murder and manslaughter is that murder requires an " intention to kill ". A well instructed jury could believe that the assailant did not expect that outcome and therefore that intent was missing. It could be argued that death was an unexpected outcome. The reason the blow was struck is immaterial - just so long as it was not intended to cause death.
Perhaps we need a law change to clarify exactly what responsibility an assailant undertakes when delivering a blow of such severity as to cause " grievous bodily harm " or which constitutes " reckless indifference towards human life ". The task of a jury is to decide on precisely what the law stipulates, and we now seem to be facing a new requirement to clarify that law so that the requirements to bring in a verdict of murder are quite clear.
There is a fine line between many actions that cause a death. When someone fires a gun or drives a car in such a manner that harm to others is a likely outcome, that person shows reckless indifference towards human life - but does not consciously intend to cause death. The outcome is the same. In many cases, someone dies.
The people who frame the law now need to consider whether " intention to kill " falls within the actions of " indifferent to the outcome ". If an assailant takes action that has a high chance of ending someone else's life the charge of manslaughter seems to just confer the element of " luck ". It infers that the victim was " unlucky " rather than that the assailant was intentionally guilty of subjecting that persons fate to " life's lottery ".
The people who today deliver a " Coward punch " as their form of entertainment do so with the full knowledge that it may cause death. It would seem a simple solution to include the punishment for this type of offence to be identical with that of " willful murder ".
The law - is just what the framers of that law - intend it to be !
Sunday 12 January 2014
Mental Illness !
It took the tragic death of art curator Nick Waterlow and cookbook author Chloe Heuston to finally get legislation before the New South Wales parliament to address the need for the compulsory medication of those suffering from a psychotic illness. In November 2009, the son and brother of this pair refused to take the medication that was keeping his paranoid schizophrenia under control - and in a rage stabbed them to death.
We have seen similar scenarios before the courts, and in most cases the finding is that the person is unfit to stand trial because of mental illness, and is then placed in involuntary care in a mental institution. The sad thing is that earlier intervention could have prevented this mental illness reaching a critical point.
Families visited by mental illness know the despair of trying to get help - and finding that way blocked by the reluctance of doctors, the police, hospitals and all manner of services to grasp the nettle and make what is in many cases a " life or death " decision. The law allows for involuntary medication - but it is such a grey area that few wish to put their reputation on the line be making a positive decision.
In many cases the unwell has been prescribed medication that is keeping this illness under control, but then for some reason the patient stops taking the drugs and refuses all entreaties. In a lot of cases, this involves no threat of physical danger to either the patient or others, but it can present chilling scenarios to loved ones - and sometimes the balance between deranged behaviour and homicide can be wafer thin !
This new legislation will need to be carefully crafted. Refusal to conform to ethnic values can be seen as mental illness by some traditionalists and too liberal an interpretation of interdiction can cut across legal lines. We do not wish to create a monster that will see mildly depressed people refused their liberty and this would be a good time for a round table with the medical people, the law - and the drug companies that medicate those with mental illness.
A lot of progress has been made with slow release medication. In particular, this has progressed well with " under the skin " capsules that last a matter of months. This innovation could be a boon if it could be linked to anti psychotic drugs to eliminate the need for a daily conscious decision to continue the treatment. It is possible that such a solution could provide the balance that stops patients slipping over the edge and becoming totally irrational. That would be a worthy aim for the drug people to strive for.
It is clear that the system in place is not working. The politicians are tasked with finding a new way to ease this problem and that will only be achieved if a clear pathway emerges that can be easily understood by those who have the authority to implement it. It will obviously need checks and balances to ensure that it is not abused, but medical intervention appears essential if we are not to see a continuation of tragic events linked to the refusal to continue medication.
Getting it right will require wise decisions and innovative thinking !
We have seen similar scenarios before the courts, and in most cases the finding is that the person is unfit to stand trial because of mental illness, and is then placed in involuntary care in a mental institution. The sad thing is that earlier intervention could have prevented this mental illness reaching a critical point.
Families visited by mental illness know the despair of trying to get help - and finding that way blocked by the reluctance of doctors, the police, hospitals and all manner of services to grasp the nettle and make what is in many cases a " life or death " decision. The law allows for involuntary medication - but it is such a grey area that few wish to put their reputation on the line be making a positive decision.
In many cases the unwell has been prescribed medication that is keeping this illness under control, but then for some reason the patient stops taking the drugs and refuses all entreaties. In a lot of cases, this involves no threat of physical danger to either the patient or others, but it can present chilling scenarios to loved ones - and sometimes the balance between deranged behaviour and homicide can be wafer thin !
This new legislation will need to be carefully crafted. Refusal to conform to ethnic values can be seen as mental illness by some traditionalists and too liberal an interpretation of interdiction can cut across legal lines. We do not wish to create a monster that will see mildly depressed people refused their liberty and this would be a good time for a round table with the medical people, the law - and the drug companies that medicate those with mental illness.
A lot of progress has been made with slow release medication. In particular, this has progressed well with " under the skin " capsules that last a matter of months. This innovation could be a boon if it could be linked to anti psychotic drugs to eliminate the need for a daily conscious decision to continue the treatment. It is possible that such a solution could provide the balance that stops patients slipping over the edge and becoming totally irrational. That would be a worthy aim for the drug people to strive for.
It is clear that the system in place is not working. The politicians are tasked with finding a new way to ease this problem and that will only be achieved if a clear pathway emerges that can be easily understood by those who have the authority to implement it. It will obviously need checks and balances to ensure that it is not abused, but medical intervention appears essential if we are not to see a continuation of tragic events linked to the refusal to continue medication.
Getting it right will require wise decisions and innovative thinking !
Saturday 11 January 2014
Falling through the cracks !
This week the media presented a story that made many Sydney people feel uncomfortable. This is a rich, cosmopolitan world city and we tend to ignore those fringe dwellers that exist in the shadows. It came as a shock when a thirty-nine year old woman who used to work in a nursing home was discovered by police living rough in parkland - with agonising acid burns to her face and body.
As the story of " Monica " unfolded we learned that she was a well known identity in Parramatta, Cabramatta and Green Valley. A mother of three, she was separated from her husband - who cares for the children - and often begged for money at the railways station. Dozens of residents remembered her kindly as a pleasant person who they were glad to help with small change, food and life's necessities. She sometimes found shelter at refuges, but she never stayed long and some people remember letting her charge her mobile phone at their homes, to allow her to keep contact with her children.
Why a pleasant, friendly woman who was a threat to nobody chose to live life as a homeless person remains a mystery, as is the circumstances that resulted in acid burning her face and body. She is now in hospital receiving treatment and the publicity this case has received ensures that a dozen welfare agencies will converge and try to give help the moment she is released.
This story stirs a range of emotions. We often look no further than the bright lights and hospitable Sydney scenes of this great city and choose to ignore the fringe dwellers that exist out there in the shadows. We pretend that sort of thing only happens in the slums of third world countries and we quickly look the other way if it unexpectedly comes to our notice.
It seems that a lot depends on the attitude and appearance of those who have " fallen through the cracks " of society as to how we react. We shun those who appear menacing or disgust us with their mode of dress and presentation. We leave that to the welfare bodies that prowl the city underworld and run soup kitchens.
We appease our conscience by donating a few dollars to the Salvos from time to time - and feel that we have done our share towards helping solve the " homeless " problem !
It is refreshing to learn that Monica received kindness and help from a lot of ordinary people who chose to interact with her, give her money or clothes and let her use their home to charge her mobile phone. Many of them will wish they had done more and are appalled to think that she hid the ravages of that acid attack from them.
This media revelation will prick a few more consciences. Perhaps a few more people will put their hand in their pocket and make a small donation to one of the various charities. Perhaps it will result in a more kindly attitude to those sleeping rough in the local park.
If nothing else, it will be a reminder to many that fate can take some very devious twists - and perhaps one day that unfortunate person may be someone close to you !
As the story of " Monica " unfolded we learned that she was a well known identity in Parramatta, Cabramatta and Green Valley. A mother of three, she was separated from her husband - who cares for the children - and often begged for money at the railways station. Dozens of residents remembered her kindly as a pleasant person who they were glad to help with small change, food and life's necessities. She sometimes found shelter at refuges, but she never stayed long and some people remember letting her charge her mobile phone at their homes, to allow her to keep contact with her children.
Why a pleasant, friendly woman who was a threat to nobody chose to live life as a homeless person remains a mystery, as is the circumstances that resulted in acid burning her face and body. She is now in hospital receiving treatment and the publicity this case has received ensures that a dozen welfare agencies will converge and try to give help the moment she is released.
This story stirs a range of emotions. We often look no further than the bright lights and hospitable Sydney scenes of this great city and choose to ignore the fringe dwellers that exist out there in the shadows. We pretend that sort of thing only happens in the slums of third world countries and we quickly look the other way if it unexpectedly comes to our notice.
It seems that a lot depends on the attitude and appearance of those who have " fallen through the cracks " of society as to how we react. We shun those who appear menacing or disgust us with their mode of dress and presentation. We leave that to the welfare bodies that prowl the city underworld and run soup kitchens.
We appease our conscience by donating a few dollars to the Salvos from time to time - and feel that we have done our share towards helping solve the " homeless " problem !
It is refreshing to learn that Monica received kindness and help from a lot of ordinary people who chose to interact with her, give her money or clothes and let her use their home to charge her mobile phone. Many of them will wish they had done more and are appalled to think that she hid the ravages of that acid attack from them.
This media revelation will prick a few more consciences. Perhaps a few more people will put their hand in their pocket and make a small donation to one of the various charities. Perhaps it will result in a more kindly attitude to those sleeping rough in the local park.
If nothing else, it will be a reminder to many that fate can take some very devious twists - and perhaps one day that unfortunate person may be someone close to you !
Friday 10 January 2014
Council amalgamations !
New South Wales has 152 local councils and the $ 1.8 million Sanson report into their finances and viability suggests that amalgamation has become a necessity. Some of these smaller councils are just hanging on financially because of annual grants from the state government.
Premier Barry O'Farrell is resisting forced amalgamations because one of the policy planks he carried to his election win was a promise to retain the status quo. It seems that there will be no action until this matter is resolved in a fresh public discussion prior to the next state election.
We have an ever decreasing patchwork of councils from the days when each suburb of many cities and towns was a village far separated from one another. The local council was responsible for the roads and footpaths - and providing a tip to accommodate the residents rubbish. Each council today has a vastly expanded community role.
Today's councils have a responsibility to manage street parking, inspect food premises for hygiene, provide a pet shelter and dog pound, collect household rubbish, provide libraries and pre-school centres - and manage a work force that is one of the biggest sources of employment in their statistical area. Councils are big business - with rates running into millions of dollars.
Rate rises are pegged to inflation and the size of each council places a limit on the services it can provide. The number of residents serviced by each councillor can be as low as 150 or as high as 20,000.
There is no doubt that amalgamation has it's merits from a functional point of view. It provides economy of scale and avoids the duplication of machinery that is necessary - but infrequently used. Some progress has been already made in pooling plant between councils to share these costs.
Most ratepayers hate the very idea of forced amalgamations. They fear that their needs will be " forgotten " by a huge behemoth that controls a vast area and that this will destroy the cozy relationship whereby they can contact their local councillor - and " get things done ! "
There is a certain inevitability about the shrinking of council boundaries and the coming of mega councils. At the end of the second world war, the number of councils was huge compared with the present day. The amalgamations usually happened by sheer necessity - and against the wishes of the residents involved. What is on the horizon now is just the natural progression of cost cutting to fit within the rates income pool.
It may not proceed within this term of government because of an election promise, but the alternative is declining services - and a bigger rates bill each year !
Premier Barry O'Farrell is resisting forced amalgamations because one of the policy planks he carried to his election win was a promise to retain the status quo. It seems that there will be no action until this matter is resolved in a fresh public discussion prior to the next state election.
We have an ever decreasing patchwork of councils from the days when each suburb of many cities and towns was a village far separated from one another. The local council was responsible for the roads and footpaths - and providing a tip to accommodate the residents rubbish. Each council today has a vastly expanded community role.
Today's councils have a responsibility to manage street parking, inspect food premises for hygiene, provide a pet shelter and dog pound, collect household rubbish, provide libraries and pre-school centres - and manage a work force that is one of the biggest sources of employment in their statistical area. Councils are big business - with rates running into millions of dollars.
Rate rises are pegged to inflation and the size of each council places a limit on the services it can provide. The number of residents serviced by each councillor can be as low as 150 or as high as 20,000.
There is no doubt that amalgamation has it's merits from a functional point of view. It provides economy of scale and avoids the duplication of machinery that is necessary - but infrequently used. Some progress has been already made in pooling plant between councils to share these costs.
Most ratepayers hate the very idea of forced amalgamations. They fear that their needs will be " forgotten " by a huge behemoth that controls a vast area and that this will destroy the cozy relationship whereby they can contact their local councillor - and " get things done ! "
There is a certain inevitability about the shrinking of council boundaries and the coming of mega councils. At the end of the second world war, the number of councils was huge compared with the present day. The amalgamations usually happened by sheer necessity - and against the wishes of the residents involved. What is on the horizon now is just the natural progression of cost cutting to fit within the rates income pool.
It may not proceed within this term of government because of an election promise, but the alternative is declining services - and a bigger rates bill each year !
Thursday 9 January 2014
Medicare - and visit numbers !
Medicare - our universal health system - is forty years old and a few cracks are starting to show. The most urgent of these - is finance ! Taxpayers pay a 1.5% surcharge on their income to fund Medicare and this brings in about $ 10 billion - roughly half the cost of Medicare and the economists expect that will increase the future deficit.
The statistics show that we made 115 million visits to our GP last year and that averages at about five visits per person each year. The big question is - are we overusing the system ? Is it possible to safely lower the number of visits to save money ?
Not without drastic changes to the system. For a start, every person who needs at least one prescription medicine on a continuing basis is locked in to make two visits to their GP a year - simply to renew prescriptions. Prescriptions come with five repeats and it would be possible to lower costs by making renewal a function of a trained nurse in place of the GP, but that would dilute the GP function of a regular review of the patient's progress.
Most patients present to their GP from time to time with symptoms that require further investigation by way of medical tests. A followup visit to the GP is necessary to get the interpretation from those tests and often the GP will refer the patient to a specialist for specific care of the revealed ailment. In most cases, the specialist refers the patient back to the GP for ongoing treatment and it is easy to see how an expanding visit count can accumulate.
We have a mix of people who rarely visit a GP and in that mix are the elderly and those with chronic ailments that need constant care. There are probably many people in the community who see their GP less often than they should, either because of lack of a bulk billing GP where their finances are tight, or because they live in a country town that completely lacks a local resident doctor.
Every doctor probably encounters the occasional hypochondriac - the type of person who suffers from imaginery illness and is a regular patient in his or her waiting room. They are impossible to satisfy, but fortunately they represent a very small percentage of those presenting for treatment and are usually given a very brief consultation.
Comparing our Medicare with systems operating in overseas countries generally rewards it with a high mark. It is head and shoulders better than the system in place in the United States of America and it compares at least equally with the systems in place in Britain and the EU. Sadly, a decent medical system is almost non-existent in many small countries of the world.
Our problem seems to be purely a matter of money. We have a system that works well - and we need to increase the finance to keep it running. No doubt all functions would be the better for a close examination to avoid waste, but the real question concerns raising more funds - and that means either we pay more tax in an indirect way - or we raise the Medicare levy on income.
The only remaining question - is which one we choose !
The statistics show that we made 115 million visits to our GP last year and that averages at about five visits per person each year. The big question is - are we overusing the system ? Is it possible to safely lower the number of visits to save money ?
Not without drastic changes to the system. For a start, every person who needs at least one prescription medicine on a continuing basis is locked in to make two visits to their GP a year - simply to renew prescriptions. Prescriptions come with five repeats and it would be possible to lower costs by making renewal a function of a trained nurse in place of the GP, but that would dilute the GP function of a regular review of the patient's progress.
Most patients present to their GP from time to time with symptoms that require further investigation by way of medical tests. A followup visit to the GP is necessary to get the interpretation from those tests and often the GP will refer the patient to a specialist for specific care of the revealed ailment. In most cases, the specialist refers the patient back to the GP for ongoing treatment and it is easy to see how an expanding visit count can accumulate.
We have a mix of people who rarely visit a GP and in that mix are the elderly and those with chronic ailments that need constant care. There are probably many people in the community who see their GP less often than they should, either because of lack of a bulk billing GP where their finances are tight, or because they live in a country town that completely lacks a local resident doctor.
Every doctor probably encounters the occasional hypochondriac - the type of person who suffers from imaginery illness and is a regular patient in his or her waiting room. They are impossible to satisfy, but fortunately they represent a very small percentage of those presenting for treatment and are usually given a very brief consultation.
Comparing our Medicare with systems operating in overseas countries generally rewards it with a high mark. It is head and shoulders better than the system in place in the United States of America and it compares at least equally with the systems in place in Britain and the EU. Sadly, a decent medical system is almost non-existent in many small countries of the world.
Our problem seems to be purely a matter of money. We have a system that works well - and we need to increase the finance to keep it running. No doubt all functions would be the better for a close examination to avoid waste, but the real question concerns raising more funds - and that means either we pay more tax in an indirect way - or we raise the Medicare levy on income.
The only remaining question - is which one we choose !
Wednesday 8 January 2014
Discipline !
There is growing concern at the number of school children being suspended from classes for misbehaviour. Last year this punishment was inflicted on 2337 primary kids and it is fast increasing in our high schools. In 2008 high school suspensions totalled 10,514 and this increased in 2012 to 12,922.
Suspension from classes range from five to twenty days - and the reason given is usually " persistent misbehaviour ". Students who refuse to follow the class rules and obey the teacher's instructions disrupt the orderly class routine and make it near impossible for others in the class to progress. Usually suspension is a last resort - after numerous warnings have been given.
The education system sees suspension as a punishment, but to the offenders it is often viewed as a reward. Those that do not want to be in school quickly learn that disruptive behaviour will inevitably result in them being set free - to do what they please, free of the burdensome rules that they have no intention of following.
If this tactic succeeds in primary school it is likely to persist through the entire schooling years and the student will eventually face his or her adult years without the skills to attract employment. In many cases, this causes resentment at what they consider the " system " that failed them - and rarely do they attribute the blame to their own anti-social behaviour.
The problem seems to be that the " system " has no weapons to use to curb disruptive behaviour - except suspension. The days of sending an offender to the headmaster for " six of the best " are long gone. Corporal punishment is no longer an option and the old standby of ordering " detention " requires supervision by a teacher - and will probably be ignored.
Clearly, the starting point of this disruptive behaviour starts in the home. If children learn and obey simple house rules that apply to eating meals at regular times, keeping their room tidy and going to bed at a regular hour they are unlikely to have problems in the classroom. Many parents are now utterly confused by the rules that society imposes when it comes to the disciplining of children. It seems that administering a slight smack on the leg of a naughty child is now considered in the same league as capital punishment. Even lecturing a naughty child in a supermarket brings frowns and displeasure from members of the general public.
There seems an ever growing number of " experts " who lecture constantly on the evils of punishment and the benefits of rewards for good behaviour, but when these fail to deliver - they have no answer on how to cope !
The meat in the sandwich - is the school teacher. Gaining a position in a " good " school in a " good " suburb in which the majority of students will be civilized and well behaved allows their career to prosper. Those allocated a position on " the wrong side of the tracks " face an ongoing battle with kids that don't want to learn - and parents that are unhelpful in solving problems. Their teaching track record will as a consequence - not attract promotion.
So far, nobody has solved the problem of those who refuse schooling. At least the option of suspension removes the source of the disruption and allows the remainder of the class to progress, but we are creating a vast underclass which will cling like some tumour on the dark side of society. For some, being shut out of earning a decent living because of lack of education leaves only the option of survival by joining the criminal classes - and operating on the other side of the law.
Sadly, the children of migrants who risked their lives to get here form a minuscule proportion of problem children. Getting a good education is almost fanatical in the minds of their parents and consequently this rejection of schooling is concentrated almost exclusively on those who term themselves " old Australians ". If it continues to persist - it will result in many becoming outcasts in their own country !
Suspension from classes range from five to twenty days - and the reason given is usually " persistent misbehaviour ". Students who refuse to follow the class rules and obey the teacher's instructions disrupt the orderly class routine and make it near impossible for others in the class to progress. Usually suspension is a last resort - after numerous warnings have been given.
The education system sees suspension as a punishment, but to the offenders it is often viewed as a reward. Those that do not want to be in school quickly learn that disruptive behaviour will inevitably result in them being set free - to do what they please, free of the burdensome rules that they have no intention of following.
If this tactic succeeds in primary school it is likely to persist through the entire schooling years and the student will eventually face his or her adult years without the skills to attract employment. In many cases, this causes resentment at what they consider the " system " that failed them - and rarely do they attribute the blame to their own anti-social behaviour.
The problem seems to be that the " system " has no weapons to use to curb disruptive behaviour - except suspension. The days of sending an offender to the headmaster for " six of the best " are long gone. Corporal punishment is no longer an option and the old standby of ordering " detention " requires supervision by a teacher - and will probably be ignored.
Clearly, the starting point of this disruptive behaviour starts in the home. If children learn and obey simple house rules that apply to eating meals at regular times, keeping their room tidy and going to bed at a regular hour they are unlikely to have problems in the classroom. Many parents are now utterly confused by the rules that society imposes when it comes to the disciplining of children. It seems that administering a slight smack on the leg of a naughty child is now considered in the same league as capital punishment. Even lecturing a naughty child in a supermarket brings frowns and displeasure from members of the general public.
There seems an ever growing number of " experts " who lecture constantly on the evils of punishment and the benefits of rewards for good behaviour, but when these fail to deliver - they have no answer on how to cope !
The meat in the sandwich - is the school teacher. Gaining a position in a " good " school in a " good " suburb in which the majority of students will be civilized and well behaved allows their career to prosper. Those allocated a position on " the wrong side of the tracks " face an ongoing battle with kids that don't want to learn - and parents that are unhelpful in solving problems. Their teaching track record will as a consequence - not attract promotion.
So far, nobody has solved the problem of those who refuse schooling. At least the option of suspension removes the source of the disruption and allows the remainder of the class to progress, but we are creating a vast underclass which will cling like some tumour on the dark side of society. For some, being shut out of earning a decent living because of lack of education leaves only the option of survival by joining the criminal classes - and operating on the other side of the law.
Sadly, the children of migrants who risked their lives to get here form a minuscule proportion of problem children. Getting a good education is almost fanatical in the minds of their parents and consequently this rejection of schooling is concentrated almost exclusively on those who term themselves " old Australians ". If it continues to persist - it will result in many becoming outcasts in their own country !
Tuesday 7 January 2014
Increasing danger !
Being a serving police officer has always contained an element of danger, but the scale of danger has been increasing sharply - and often in unexpected ways. This week police responded to a call from relatives of a man who was threatening to commit suicide. In most cases of self harm, the method consists of an overdose of drugs, cut wrists, hanging or a fall from a tall building. Rarely does it constitute danger to the police response team.
This man was barricaded in a unit and the police, with help from firemen - broke in from a balcony. They could smell gas and were in the process of removing a gas cylinder when it exploded. Two policewomen are in intensive care with critical burns and other members of the team sustained lesser damage. The intended suicide received only minor damage and is in hospital under police guard.
Even day to day duties such as administering breath tests to motorists can be hazardous to police doing this duty. One officer reached into a car to hold the breath test instrument when the driver grabbed his arm and accelerated away - dragging the man and causing injuries. It seems that the incidence of driving under the influence of alcohol is decreasing - but is being replaced by those who have drug incapacity in their system behind the wheel.
More frightening are the gang wars being waged on our streets involving firearms. Spraying houses with bullets as a warning and the actual shooting of competitors is no longer a rare event. Huge profits are to be made from criminal activities such as drug distribution and the crime gangs guard their turf with relentless ferocity. When the police stage a raid, they do so wearing body armour and backedup with a Bearcat light tank - equipped with a machine gun.
Unfortunately, this is having a detrimental effect on the relationship between police and the general public. Pulling over a car for a driving offence used to be a casual approach and an amicable conversation. Today - the police may ask the driver to keep their hands in sight and stand clear of the vehicle while a pat down search is conducted - and the vehicle searched.
When police arrive at a crime scene everyone present is a suspect, and even spectators may be subjected to a demand that they submit to a search. Even suspicion that a weapon may be present is enough for police demand that those present adopt a kneeling position and place their hands on their head. This is often resented as an over-reaction - but it is a fact of life that desperate people do desperate things - and today's police are not trained to take chances.
It seems that the gulf is ever widening between police and the public. In some countries, the police are more feared than the criminals because of the heavy handed tactics they use and it is hoped that this situation never develops in Australia, but it is also necessary to observe a responsible level of safety. The police have a reasonable expectation that they will conclude each shift - still alive !
This man was barricaded in a unit and the police, with help from firemen - broke in from a balcony. They could smell gas and were in the process of removing a gas cylinder when it exploded. Two policewomen are in intensive care with critical burns and other members of the team sustained lesser damage. The intended suicide received only minor damage and is in hospital under police guard.
Even day to day duties such as administering breath tests to motorists can be hazardous to police doing this duty. One officer reached into a car to hold the breath test instrument when the driver grabbed his arm and accelerated away - dragging the man and causing injuries. It seems that the incidence of driving under the influence of alcohol is decreasing - but is being replaced by those who have drug incapacity in their system behind the wheel.
More frightening are the gang wars being waged on our streets involving firearms. Spraying houses with bullets as a warning and the actual shooting of competitors is no longer a rare event. Huge profits are to be made from criminal activities such as drug distribution and the crime gangs guard their turf with relentless ferocity. When the police stage a raid, they do so wearing body armour and backedup with a Bearcat light tank - equipped with a machine gun.
Unfortunately, this is having a detrimental effect on the relationship between police and the general public. Pulling over a car for a driving offence used to be a casual approach and an amicable conversation. Today - the police may ask the driver to keep their hands in sight and stand clear of the vehicle while a pat down search is conducted - and the vehicle searched.
When police arrive at a crime scene everyone present is a suspect, and even spectators may be subjected to a demand that they submit to a search. Even suspicion that a weapon may be present is enough for police demand that those present adopt a kneeling position and place their hands on their head. This is often resented as an over-reaction - but it is a fact of life that desperate people do desperate things - and today's police are not trained to take chances.
It seems that the gulf is ever widening between police and the public. In some countries, the police are more feared than the criminals because of the heavy handed tactics they use and it is hoped that this situation never develops in Australia, but it is also necessary to observe a responsible level of safety. The police have a reasonable expectation that they will conclude each shift - still alive !
Monday 6 January 2014
" Threat " to Soccer !
Several decades ago, fan behaviour nearly killed football as a sport in England. England's Soccer fans were so feared that at one stage the country was barred from the European competition. Host cities dreaded their venue being invaded by fans from across the Channel because they arrived like an invading army, not intending to watch a game of football - but to wreak havoc on the city amenities and intimidate opponents - both on and off the playing pitch.
It got to the stage that stadiums were divided by barbed wire petitions. Separate entrances for supporters of either team, but in many cases riots erupted and English fans surged across the barriers to attack those supporting the opposition team, resulting in serious injuries - and in some notorious cases - even death !
In that era, Soccer as the game is known here - was a minor sport, mostly played by girls and certainly no competition to League or Aussie Rules. It is now flexing it's muscles and has grown into a major national competition - and the Socceroos are making their mark on the world stage.
The " British disease " is starting to make it's appearance in the Australian game. Fan misbehaviour is marring matches with fighting within the crowd, the letting off of flares in stadiums and a growing hard core of organized fans who seem determined to foment trouble.
A new team from western Sydney has had a remarkable rise from obscurity, winning matches and attracting a huge support base. Unfortunately, an organized rebel group within those supporters seems determined to challenge authority and go on the rampage wherever the team plays. They seem to be trying to create an image of western Sydney as a team to be feared - not only for their prowess on the pitch - but as a movement that does not tolerate opposition.
The danger is that this hard core is growing in numbers. If it reaches critical mass, then Soccer in Australia is in trouble. It is in the games administration interests to crack down hard - and that will need a range of options to be effective. The police and the courts need to hand down appropriate penalties for crowd misbehaviour - and not mere slaps on the wrist. The game organizers need to use face recognition technology and entry refusal to bar repeat offenders from attending matches - and most effective of all - use the " money weapon " to enforce control.
The vast majority of fans do not cause trouble. If a minority persists, simply refuse to allow that clubs matches to be played as a live sport. No spectators at the ground - and television coverage the only way to view the game.
Loss of the share of gate takings will quickly bring that club to order, but it will be necessary to reimburse their competitor who suffered similar damage. As happened in England, the vast majority of fans turned on the trouble makers - and made them unwelcome. It quickly cleaned up the game.
This spectator problem is in it's infancy. Decisive action now will nip it in the bud.
It got to the stage that stadiums were divided by barbed wire petitions. Separate entrances for supporters of either team, but in many cases riots erupted and English fans surged across the barriers to attack those supporting the opposition team, resulting in serious injuries - and in some notorious cases - even death !
In that era, Soccer as the game is known here - was a minor sport, mostly played by girls and certainly no competition to League or Aussie Rules. It is now flexing it's muscles and has grown into a major national competition - and the Socceroos are making their mark on the world stage.
The " British disease " is starting to make it's appearance in the Australian game. Fan misbehaviour is marring matches with fighting within the crowd, the letting off of flares in stadiums and a growing hard core of organized fans who seem determined to foment trouble.
A new team from western Sydney has had a remarkable rise from obscurity, winning matches and attracting a huge support base. Unfortunately, an organized rebel group within those supporters seems determined to challenge authority and go on the rampage wherever the team plays. They seem to be trying to create an image of western Sydney as a team to be feared - not only for their prowess on the pitch - but as a movement that does not tolerate opposition.
The danger is that this hard core is growing in numbers. If it reaches critical mass, then Soccer in Australia is in trouble. It is in the games administration interests to crack down hard - and that will need a range of options to be effective. The police and the courts need to hand down appropriate penalties for crowd misbehaviour - and not mere slaps on the wrist. The game organizers need to use face recognition technology and entry refusal to bar repeat offenders from attending matches - and most effective of all - use the " money weapon " to enforce control.
The vast majority of fans do not cause trouble. If a minority persists, simply refuse to allow that clubs matches to be played as a live sport. No spectators at the ground - and television coverage the only way to view the game.
Loss of the share of gate takings will quickly bring that club to order, but it will be necessary to reimburse their competitor who suffered similar damage. As happened in England, the vast majority of fans turned on the trouble makers - and made them unwelcome. It quickly cleaned up the game.
This spectator problem is in it's infancy. Decisive action now will nip it in the bud.
Sunday 5 January 2014
Consular " Costs " !
When an Australian citizen gets into trouble overseas, the Australian embassy is the first port of call. It is expected that our diplomatic service will establish contact and see that the citizen is not mistreated, has access to legal aid and is promptly put before a court and that any charges will be made clear.
A row has now broken out because a Greenpeace activist claims that our embassy did not do enough to gain his freedom when he was arrested and placed in a Russian prison. This is denied by the government which claims that representation on his behalf cost " tens of thousands of dollars " - and raises the question of whether such money should be reclaimed because Greenpeace is threatening to repeat the incursion that got this activist arrested.
The Russians are exploring for oil and minerals where retreating ice in the Arctic makes access possible. This breaks no international law, but Greenpeace objects on ecological grounds and sent in a protest ship manned by an international consortium of activists who tried to storm aboard a Russian drilling platform. They were met by armed special forces, arrested at gun point and their ship was seized. These activists were initially charged with piracy, but this was later downgraded to " Hooliganism " and they seemed set for a prison term. Eventually, an amnesty was declared and they were freed.
Greenpeace claims to be above the law. Here in Australia, it's members broke into a test farm plot growing a test crop of a genetically modified crop to evaluate it's safety. Greenpeace opposes all forms of genetic modification and this crop was destroyed by the activists, denying science the opportunity to prove or disprove it's benefits - and costing the Australian government a great deal of money.
That raid on a Russian drilling platform contravened international law and the Russians were justified in taking invaders into custody. Russia is an authoritarian regime and it's laws are different to Australia. Just as visitors to another country are subject to prevailing law there, Greenpeace has no mandate to break laws with impunity - but that is just what it does !
Whenever an Australian is in trouble in a foreign country he or she has the right to representation by our diplomatic services. Whether they are innocent or guilty, this country tries to ensure that they are given fair due process. Greenpeace has a long history of ignoring any law with which it does not agree, and when faced with the consequences, pulling media strings to try and gain sympathy with the claim that the end justifies the means.
Australia certainly has an obligation to try and help Greenpeace activists in trouble overseas, but where that organization has knowingly and willingly sent them on these missions, the bill for this assistance should be claimed against the organizations assets.
There seems to be a fine line between what some consider " terrorist action " and what others define as " crossing boundaries to achieve change ".
In simple terms - Breaking laws involve consequences !
A row has now broken out because a Greenpeace activist claims that our embassy did not do enough to gain his freedom when he was arrested and placed in a Russian prison. This is denied by the government which claims that representation on his behalf cost " tens of thousands of dollars " - and raises the question of whether such money should be reclaimed because Greenpeace is threatening to repeat the incursion that got this activist arrested.
The Russians are exploring for oil and minerals where retreating ice in the Arctic makes access possible. This breaks no international law, but Greenpeace objects on ecological grounds and sent in a protest ship manned by an international consortium of activists who tried to storm aboard a Russian drilling platform. They were met by armed special forces, arrested at gun point and their ship was seized. These activists were initially charged with piracy, but this was later downgraded to " Hooliganism " and they seemed set for a prison term. Eventually, an amnesty was declared and they were freed.
Greenpeace claims to be above the law. Here in Australia, it's members broke into a test farm plot growing a test crop of a genetically modified crop to evaluate it's safety. Greenpeace opposes all forms of genetic modification and this crop was destroyed by the activists, denying science the opportunity to prove or disprove it's benefits - and costing the Australian government a great deal of money.
That raid on a Russian drilling platform contravened international law and the Russians were justified in taking invaders into custody. Russia is an authoritarian regime and it's laws are different to Australia. Just as visitors to another country are subject to prevailing law there, Greenpeace has no mandate to break laws with impunity - but that is just what it does !
Whenever an Australian is in trouble in a foreign country he or she has the right to representation by our diplomatic services. Whether they are innocent or guilty, this country tries to ensure that they are given fair due process. Greenpeace has a long history of ignoring any law with which it does not agree, and when faced with the consequences, pulling media strings to try and gain sympathy with the claim that the end justifies the means.
Australia certainly has an obligation to try and help Greenpeace activists in trouble overseas, but where that organization has knowingly and willingly sent them on these missions, the bill for this assistance should be claimed against the organizations assets.
There seems to be a fine line between what some consider " terrorist action " and what others define as " crossing boundaries to achieve change ".
In simple terms - Breaking laws involve consequences !
Friday 3 January 2014
The " King Hit " Phenomenon !
The problem of over indulgence of alcohol and fighting has been with us since the days of the First Fleet. Imported Rum was the favourite tipple of that time, and it was actually used as currency because of the lack of coinage in the new colony.
Now a new trend is emerging in the battle with alcohol and this is causing the authorities to take a long, hard look at the venues that serve it and the times that it is available to the public. The term " King Hit " has entered the lexicon. This describes a punch that is delivered without warning to a complete stranger and in many cases it will be of sufficient strength to render that person unconscious. We have had a number of cases where that person has fallen and hit their head, causing skull fractures and brain bleeding - and sometimes death as a result.
This seems to be phenomenon of the twenty-first century. In previous times fights between men who overindulged in alcohol were common, but both parties clearly signalled their intention and mostly the issue was satisfied if one or both sustained a bloody nose. The big difference with the " King Hit " is that it is delivered at random to a perfect stranger - and there is the absence of any sort of previous altercation to provide a reason.
Clearly, excess alcohol plays a part in this growing phenomenon, but we need to look a lot deeper to determine what causes some people to deliberately stalk and attack perfect strangers with the intention of causing them severe bodily harm. That is an action some would described as " psychopathic " !
We know that the drug " Ice " causes users to become very aggressive. Could it be that the previous use of Ice leaves a residue in the body that reacts to alcohol in this way ? At the same time, domestic drug labs are churning out an unknown mix of ingredients that are sold to the public - and this includes pseudo imitations of many drug combinations that skirt the law of legality. We have no idea of what mind altering drugs are emerging to meet the constant demands of the party scene - and we need to know if this is the cause of the King Hit phenomenon.
Entertainment technology has advanced in the gaming field to the extent that war games now achieve a reality that entrances players. This has been adopted by the world's military as a means of combat training and speeding the reflexes of troops on the battlefield. Sitting at a console and killing vast numbers of a supposed " enemy " can blur the edges of reality. Could it be that these simulations affect the mind of some people when alcohol provides the trigger - and sends them on a frenzy of acting out the scenarios playing in their minds ?
Cleaning up the alcohol scene will certainly help, but we need to know why some people are now launching attacks that seem to be unpremeditated murder on perfect strangers. When such a new trend emerges, there has to be a reason - and simply blaming it on excess alcohol misses the point !
Now a new trend is emerging in the battle with alcohol and this is causing the authorities to take a long, hard look at the venues that serve it and the times that it is available to the public. The term " King Hit " has entered the lexicon. This describes a punch that is delivered without warning to a complete stranger and in many cases it will be of sufficient strength to render that person unconscious. We have had a number of cases where that person has fallen and hit their head, causing skull fractures and brain bleeding - and sometimes death as a result.
This seems to be phenomenon of the twenty-first century. In previous times fights between men who overindulged in alcohol were common, but both parties clearly signalled their intention and mostly the issue was satisfied if one or both sustained a bloody nose. The big difference with the " King Hit " is that it is delivered at random to a perfect stranger - and there is the absence of any sort of previous altercation to provide a reason.
Clearly, excess alcohol plays a part in this growing phenomenon, but we need to look a lot deeper to determine what causes some people to deliberately stalk and attack perfect strangers with the intention of causing them severe bodily harm. That is an action some would described as " psychopathic " !
We know that the drug " Ice " causes users to become very aggressive. Could it be that the previous use of Ice leaves a residue in the body that reacts to alcohol in this way ? At the same time, domestic drug labs are churning out an unknown mix of ingredients that are sold to the public - and this includes pseudo imitations of many drug combinations that skirt the law of legality. We have no idea of what mind altering drugs are emerging to meet the constant demands of the party scene - and we need to know if this is the cause of the King Hit phenomenon.
Entertainment technology has advanced in the gaming field to the extent that war games now achieve a reality that entrances players. This has been adopted by the world's military as a means of combat training and speeding the reflexes of troops on the battlefield. Sitting at a console and killing vast numbers of a supposed " enemy " can blur the edges of reality. Could it be that these simulations affect the mind of some people when alcohol provides the trigger - and sends them on a frenzy of acting out the scenarios playing in their minds ?
Cleaning up the alcohol scene will certainly help, but we need to know why some people are now launching attacks that seem to be unpremeditated murder on perfect strangers. When such a new trend emerges, there has to be a reason - and simply blaming it on excess alcohol misses the point !
A " Failed " Festival !
Nine thousand people had a thoroughly miserable New Year's eve when the music festival for which they had tickets was cancelled - with just six hours notice ! The venue had been the " Wet'n Wild " theme park in western Sydney and they had been promised a musical extravaganza to bring in the new year - and tickets were not cheap - running through the $ 110 to $ 200 category.
The official reason given for the cancellation was a vague " Production and Transportation management issues problem " - and it was promised that those who held onto their tickets would be accommodated at a similar event to be held on Australia day.
Fair Trading has stepped in and is negotiating a better deal, including a demand that the promoters refund the ticket price when customers reject this alternative event offer. It also raises the issue of compensation where ticket holders have come from another state or a distant venue and there is hotel accommodation and air fares involved. Simply cancelling an event at the last moment raises a host of liabilities and legal obligations.
This fiasco has also raised the suggestion that the event promoters may have been " out of their depth " in organizing a show of this magnitude - and that throws the spotlight on the entire entertainment industry.
By it's very nature, getting people to pay big money for an event relies entirely on big ticket promotion and the promise of highly attractive performers. An entrepreneur with the right skills can dress up an event and create a grand illusion - but having the skills to put the parts together to make it work is an entirely different matter.
A successful event relies on two factors - the " Hoopla " that reaches the target audience and results in ticket sales that deliver the right economic bottom line - and " Logistics " that bring together the nuts and bolts that make the show actually work. That includes ensuring the venue can meet the needs of both the performers and the public and that public access, facilities and safety are catered for.
As things stand, it seems that there are no hard and fast rules to ensure that a promoter has the skills to deliver this outcome. In the past, there have been event failures where insufficient funds are held to reimburse ticket holders, often because sale numbers have been disappointing or performers have pulled out because of grievances over performing fees. In many such cases, Fair Trading has been unable to help because the operating company is composed of " straw figures ".
To demand that promoters hold ticket money in a trust account until after the show ends would kill most entertainment events or at least restrict them to giant public companies with the funds to meet this obligation. Most forms of public entertainment actually deliver the goods and often the promoters are people without recognised skills - who just happen to have good know how and probably a degree of good luck - in putting together a successful event.
It would be just too easy to bring in a tough set of rules that throws the baby out with the bath water. It is up to the public to evaluate what is being offered and what is involved before they part with their money. Judging by past history - the number of event failures is in the minority !
The official reason given for the cancellation was a vague " Production and Transportation management issues problem " - and it was promised that those who held onto their tickets would be accommodated at a similar event to be held on Australia day.
Fair Trading has stepped in and is negotiating a better deal, including a demand that the promoters refund the ticket price when customers reject this alternative event offer. It also raises the issue of compensation where ticket holders have come from another state or a distant venue and there is hotel accommodation and air fares involved. Simply cancelling an event at the last moment raises a host of liabilities and legal obligations.
This fiasco has also raised the suggestion that the event promoters may have been " out of their depth " in organizing a show of this magnitude - and that throws the spotlight on the entire entertainment industry.
By it's very nature, getting people to pay big money for an event relies entirely on big ticket promotion and the promise of highly attractive performers. An entrepreneur with the right skills can dress up an event and create a grand illusion - but having the skills to put the parts together to make it work is an entirely different matter.
A successful event relies on two factors - the " Hoopla " that reaches the target audience and results in ticket sales that deliver the right economic bottom line - and " Logistics " that bring together the nuts and bolts that make the show actually work. That includes ensuring the venue can meet the needs of both the performers and the public and that public access, facilities and safety are catered for.
As things stand, it seems that there are no hard and fast rules to ensure that a promoter has the skills to deliver this outcome. In the past, there have been event failures where insufficient funds are held to reimburse ticket holders, often because sale numbers have been disappointing or performers have pulled out because of grievances over performing fees. In many such cases, Fair Trading has been unable to help because the operating company is composed of " straw figures ".
To demand that promoters hold ticket money in a trust account until after the show ends would kill most entertainment events or at least restrict them to giant public companies with the funds to meet this obligation. Most forms of public entertainment actually deliver the goods and often the promoters are people without recognised skills - who just happen to have good know how and probably a degree of good luck - in putting together a successful event.
It would be just too easy to bring in a tough set of rules that throws the baby out with the bath water. It is up to the public to evaluate what is being offered and what is involved before they part with their money. Judging by past history - the number of event failures is in the minority !
Thursday 2 January 2014
This changing world !
In the days of the first Olympic games, countries that were at war declared a truce so that their finest warriors could bring glory by competing. When the Olympics ended, the war resumed !
There was a break for many years before the modern Olympics, and since then the games have seen major changes. We now have a split to accommodate sports in the summer Olympics and then the winter Olympics - and handicapped people compete in a special contest that takes account of the limitations imposed by their incapacity's.
Unfortunately, this world contest has now evolved into an opportunity for dissident groups to use it as a showcase to highlight publicity and pressure the host country to bring about the changes they desire. It is a form of blackmail. They make demands and if these are not immediately met, they carry out atrocities aimed at both contestants and spectators as a form of revenge.
This years winter Olympics are just a few weeks away and are scheduled to be held in the Russian city of Sochi. Parts of Russia and surrounding republics are followers of Islam and there has been pressure to hive off these areas and form an Islamic republic. The leaders of this movement have embraced terror and revolt as their weapons and they are threatening to disrupt the Sochi games by using such methods.
This week, twenty-seven innocent civilians have been killed and scores more injured when two bombs were detonated - one in a train station and the other on a suburban trolley bus. The leaders of this insurrection are threatening similar attacks on both contestants and spectators if their demands are not met.
As is usual in these circumstances, the leaders orchestrating acts of terrorism are fanatics who desire an extreme form of Islam to be forced on the areas they control. If they gain control they will remove all forms of choice from their subjects and rule with an iron fist - with power flowing from the barrel of a gun. It is likely that the vast majority of the civilian population are quite happy with the status quo and wish nothing more than to be able to follow their chosen religion in peace.
Religion is a powerful motive force and many have been convinced to sacrifice their lives as suicide bombers. Even the toughest protective regime can not guarantee protection against a person who conceals explosives on his or her body - and activates that detonation to wilfully kill others in close proximity in a public place.
Some people will withdraw from competition at these games and many spectators will have second thoughts about attending. There is no prospect that the games will be cancelled. As well as a contest between sports people, it will be a contest between the authorities and the terrorists. When the games conclude, the scores will be examined - and the dead counted !
We seem to be moving towards an era where the contests of both the sporting and the religious worlds coincide - and the Olympics are now the chosen venue for both !
There was a break for many years before the modern Olympics, and since then the games have seen major changes. We now have a split to accommodate sports in the summer Olympics and then the winter Olympics - and handicapped people compete in a special contest that takes account of the limitations imposed by their incapacity's.
Unfortunately, this world contest has now evolved into an opportunity for dissident groups to use it as a showcase to highlight publicity and pressure the host country to bring about the changes they desire. It is a form of blackmail. They make demands and if these are not immediately met, they carry out atrocities aimed at both contestants and spectators as a form of revenge.
This years winter Olympics are just a few weeks away and are scheduled to be held in the Russian city of Sochi. Parts of Russia and surrounding republics are followers of Islam and there has been pressure to hive off these areas and form an Islamic republic. The leaders of this movement have embraced terror and revolt as their weapons and they are threatening to disrupt the Sochi games by using such methods.
This week, twenty-seven innocent civilians have been killed and scores more injured when two bombs were detonated - one in a train station and the other on a suburban trolley bus. The leaders of this insurrection are threatening similar attacks on both contestants and spectators if their demands are not met.
As is usual in these circumstances, the leaders orchestrating acts of terrorism are fanatics who desire an extreme form of Islam to be forced on the areas they control. If they gain control they will remove all forms of choice from their subjects and rule with an iron fist - with power flowing from the barrel of a gun. It is likely that the vast majority of the civilian population are quite happy with the status quo and wish nothing more than to be able to follow their chosen religion in peace.
Religion is a powerful motive force and many have been convinced to sacrifice their lives as suicide bombers. Even the toughest protective regime can not guarantee protection against a person who conceals explosives on his or her body - and activates that detonation to wilfully kill others in close proximity in a public place.
Some people will withdraw from competition at these games and many spectators will have second thoughts about attending. There is no prospect that the games will be cancelled. As well as a contest between sports people, it will be a contest between the authorities and the terrorists. When the games conclude, the scores will be examined - and the dead counted !
We seem to be moving towards an era where the contests of both the sporting and the religious worlds coincide - and the Olympics are now the chosen venue for both !
Wednesday 1 January 2014
The " Bulk Billing " Concept !
The original " Medicare " idea was to bring a visit to the doctor within the reach of every Australian. The cost would be shared with the government paying part of the doctor's bill and the patient paying a co-payment, but even that was out of financial reach for some people.
So a " Bulk Billing "option was introduced. Doctors had the option to accept less than their normal consultation fee when treating low income patients by simply billing the government directly - at no cost to their patient.
This had a mixed reception. In some areas it became near impossible to find a doctor willing to bulk bill, and in others there emerged the " thirty second consultation " doctor who made a motza ramming an incredible number of people through in an hour. Generally, bulk billing worked well - and after the economic crash of 08 there were few doctors not offering that option.
These are tough economic times and it is suggested that bulk billed patients pay a five dollar co-payment to access the service. The obvious down side to this is that it will cause some people to avoid the fee by seeking help at their local hospital emergency department as an out patient. Logic dictates that this five dollar charge should then also apply to hospital emergency rooms.
The suggestion exempts pensioners and those with a concession card, and exempts all families until they exceed twelve doctor visits in a calendar year - which brings this scheme into a similar concept to the " safety net " that applies to pharmaceutical prescriptions.
The aim is to recoup government costs with a saving of $ 750 million a year, but of course there will be a new cost of setting in place the " administration " that will be needed to run the scheme. It is inevitable that this $5 fee will require a form to be signed by the patient and a record forwarded by the doctor - and somewhere in the health bureaucracy there will be the need for a whole lot of civil servants to tie all the loose ends together and account for the outcome.
The problem with any fee structure - is that it tends to rise on a regular basis. Inflation is always a valid reason and in hard times the Treasury is nickel and diming everything it can target to bring in a few more dollars. There is every chance that a few years into the future, that innocuous five dollar fee has grown into a monster - and we are right back where we started before Medicare came to the rescue !
Maybe this is not a good idea ! Maybe - if we need to generate more money for the public purse - we would do better to look elsewhere.
The Medicare system in general and bulk billing in particular are working well and meeting the needs of the community. That old adage - "If it 'aint broke - don't fix it " comes to mind !
So a " Bulk Billing "option was introduced. Doctors had the option to accept less than their normal consultation fee when treating low income patients by simply billing the government directly - at no cost to their patient.
This had a mixed reception. In some areas it became near impossible to find a doctor willing to bulk bill, and in others there emerged the " thirty second consultation " doctor who made a motza ramming an incredible number of people through in an hour. Generally, bulk billing worked well - and after the economic crash of 08 there were few doctors not offering that option.
These are tough economic times and it is suggested that bulk billed patients pay a five dollar co-payment to access the service. The obvious down side to this is that it will cause some people to avoid the fee by seeking help at their local hospital emergency department as an out patient. Logic dictates that this five dollar charge should then also apply to hospital emergency rooms.
The suggestion exempts pensioners and those with a concession card, and exempts all families until they exceed twelve doctor visits in a calendar year - which brings this scheme into a similar concept to the " safety net " that applies to pharmaceutical prescriptions.
The aim is to recoup government costs with a saving of $ 750 million a year, but of course there will be a new cost of setting in place the " administration " that will be needed to run the scheme. It is inevitable that this $5 fee will require a form to be signed by the patient and a record forwarded by the doctor - and somewhere in the health bureaucracy there will be the need for a whole lot of civil servants to tie all the loose ends together and account for the outcome.
The problem with any fee structure - is that it tends to rise on a regular basis. Inflation is always a valid reason and in hard times the Treasury is nickel and diming everything it can target to bring in a few more dollars. There is every chance that a few years into the future, that innocuous five dollar fee has grown into a monster - and we are right back where we started before Medicare came to the rescue !
Maybe this is not a good idea ! Maybe - if we need to generate more money for the public purse - we would do better to look elsewhere.
The Medicare system in general and bulk billing in particular are working well and meeting the needs of the community. That old adage - "If it 'aint broke - don't fix it " comes to mind !
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