Murder Most Foul !

It is now over two years since the passengers and crew of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 died a horrible death in the skies over Ukraine.  Two hundred and ninety eight men women and children were slaughtered when their airliner was hit with a missile and simply disintegrated around them.

The aftermath contained criticism that airlines were persisting in travelling over war zones but what was happening below was viewed as merely a civil war.  Russian speaking Ukrainian residents of the border area were proclaiming their allegiance to Russia and the Ukrainian government was trying to bring them under control.

In reality, Russian troops with their national identity patches removed were fighting with the rebels, although this was denied by Russia.  Airlines deemed travel over the area to be safe because the planes were flying higher than twenty thousand feet and shoulder held "Stinger " anti aircraft missiles only served vastly lower altitudes.   Nobody imagined that the latest high altitude missile technology would be deployed in such a minor skirmish.

The aftermath made it quite clear that was exactly what happened.   Pictures emerged of a Russian BUK mobile missile battery trundling over the border with four missiles in place, and after MH17 disintegrated, this BUK was again sighted scuttling back onto Russian soil - with one missile missing.

The obvious question is whether that missile was fired by Russian troops, or by partisan Ukrainian rebels.  Russia denies its troops were involved and refuses to admit that it provided the BUK launcher, but intercepted phone and radio traffic tell a very different story.

An International consortium led by the Dutch held an exhaustive enquiry into the crash.   The recoverable parts of the airliner were assembled on a frame and it was proven that the crash occurred when the missile detonated and sprayed the cockpit and forward section of the plane with shrapnel, causing it to tear apart.

This evidence was sufficient for a United Nations Criminal Tribunal to launch an investigation to prosecute those responsible for what was clearly murder.   Russia used its veto to cause that prosecution to be abandoned.

Clearly, the limitations of the United Nations is there for all to see.   One of the five countries invested with the power of the veto because at the time the UN was formed they had a monopoly of being nuclear armed - is accused of a major crime.    It is a denial of natural, justice that they are able to invoke that veto - and shut down that investigation.
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Lesser bodies may choose to take the matter further, but Russia will stand behind the power of that veto and simply refuse to cooperate, and there is absolutely no chance that this case will appear before an International Criminal Court - and be judged on its merits.

So much for the power of a world body to deliver justice  !

The " Renewable " Issue !

South Australia is Australia's most advanced state in replacing coal based power generation with "renewables "" such as wind and solar.  Yesterday the most extreme storm in fifty years hit the state and at 3-30 pm the power failed and the entire state was plunged into darkness - and that was expected to persist for twelve hours.

There was chaos in Adelaide.  The trams and trains stopped running and all traffic lights turned to black.  Residents rushed to supermarkets to buy candles, matches and spare batteries.  There was concern for people stuck in lifts and for those with life support equipment in their homes. The SES swung into action.

Theoretically, the Australian power grid is supposed to be self supporting, and in such an emergency South Australia would draw power from Victoria, but the extent of the South Australian demand caused the " Interconnector " to be shut down.   This massive storm toppled many of the high voltage power lines that interconnect the states.

This disaster seems certain to renew the debate on the base load question. South Australia has invested heavily in wind and solar and consequently many older and less efficient coal fired generators have been closed.   When the storm hit, dark clouds negated the input from solar and the wind turbines had to be immediately shut down because very high winds would cause them to destruct.   South Australia draws forty percent of its power from wind turbines.
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The weather bureau uses the term " perfect storm " to describe the fury that nature sent on a visit to South Australia yesterday.  It was unprecedented, but it is exactly what we have been warned will become the new normal if we continue to burn fossil fuel and heat the planet by generating excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The old thinking was to site base load coal based power stations as near as possible to the source of need.   Many were located within cities, but the change to wind power in particular saw massive wind farms dotted about the country with careful selection of where wind was most reliable.  Many ended up offshore - and they do have a liability that they must be shut down if the wind becomes obsessive.

There are also problems with the growing number of householders installing solar panels on their homes.   The power generated is in direct contrast to the amount of sunlight they collect.  If it is a day of intermittent cloud with full sun appearing from time to time the power company is getting rising and falling power volumes which are hard to integrate with the base load supply.   As the solar input surges and then dwindles, it is the base load that needs to adjust to deliver a constant load to homes and industry.

The fact that an entire state suffered a twelve hour blackout will send the boffins back to their drawing boards.   The interconnectivity of a multi state grid is a theoretical answer.  Australia is vast continent of different time zones - and therefore different peak loads.   Wind and solar certainly have their place in power generation, but the cabling that delivers power between state needs a new reliability factor.

Yesterdays South Australian experience could well be a portend to the future !

The Lengthening Arm of the Law !

Excluding gangland murders it is reasonable to suppose that in most instances where someone ends up dead it is the result of anger or some spur of the moment situation that was not foreseen.  Only a minuscule number of killings are carefully planned and orchestrated to a known scenario.

The police freely admit that unless they have a suspect within the first forty-eight hours of starting an investigation the chance of solving the case diminishes rapidly.  Because the killer must hide the body and establish an alibi in haste there s every chance that a tiny error will be the killers undoing.  In every police jurisdiction there are usually a number of murders with ever lengthening periods without a solution that must convince the guilty party that they have escaped justice.

A news story this week must send shivers of apprehension through those with a guilty conscience.  Thirty-three years after a murder is sufficient time for any undetected murderer to be congratulating themselves on committing the perfect crime.  This time the police came a knocking on an alleged killers door and the march of science provided compelling evidence.

On September 24, 1983 Sydney nurse Mary Louse Wallace was celebrating with friends when a stranger joined the group, and offered Mary Louise a lift home in his car.  She was never seen again.
Robert Adams admitted to being that man and he claimed that they kissed, cuddled and had sex, and after that he went to sleep.  When he awoke, Mary Louise was no longer in the car with him.
 

The police carefully searched his car with attention to the boot area.   This was vacuumed and the residue filed away in evidence bags, but there was nothing that the science of that period could connect to a possible murder.   Nothing changed for thirty-three years, until the "cold case " files were resurrected  for a fresh examination by forensics.

This time the evidence bag delivered two strands of female hair and this was matched to Mary Louise's genetics by comparison with hair on a hairbrush  taken from her flat.  There was evidence that Adams was seen scrupulously cleaning his car the day after Mary Louise's disappearance.  The front seat covers were washed and hung on the line and Adams was seen carefully cleaning the boot area.  All this was unusual because he had never previously been known to bestow care on his car.

The prosecution has seen fit to proceed with a murder charge, to the relief of her relatives.  Her body was never discovered and a fresh search will certainly be part of the investigation.

This is exactly the outcome which will strike fear into the heart of murderers who have evaded the long arm of the law by either sheer good luck or the inability of science to interpret the evidence they have left behind.   That gap is ever closing and the indications are that the wheels of science will grind ever finer in a much shorter time span.

Unfortunately, that is unlikely to decrease the murder rate.  Most murders occur because of rage or lust - and the thinking only starts after the deed is done.    Perhaps it may slow the hand of the calculating types who murder for gain.  In such cases the reward needs to be considered in relation to the risk - and the risk ratio is ever shortening.

What will cause increasing worry to those with an old murder on their conscience is those cold case files locked away in police evidence rooms.   The day looms closer when that evidence will give up its secrets !

The Menzies Years !

Earlier this month the ABC ran a two part series on following Sunday nights which amounted to a presentation of the years in which Robert Menzies was prime minister of Australia.  The presenter was recent prime minister John Howard.

No doubt this pageant to Menzies caused anguish to the left of politics and had them grinding their teeth.  They claim that this was a period in Australia when "nothing happened "and it was a time of "lost opportunities ".

It was certainly a time when Australia had to face a new reality.  We had just seen the Japanese hordes sweep south and we had come close to an invasion.   The "populate or perish " theme was very real and we opened our doors to the Europeans fleeing both the war and the ever encroaching Red army digging in to rule liberated countries.

Unfortunately, we failed to heed the warning that was happening in South Africa where the apartheid regime was imposing minority white rule.  We endorsed the " White Australia " policy, and to our shame we failed to recognise our Indigenous people.  They were not counted in the census and they were not recognised as citizens.  Those that served in the Australian armed forces were refused entry to RSL clubs - and prevented from marching in victory parades.

This was a time of "housing "and jobs " !   We were receiving hundreds of thousands of "New Australians  " and the country was undergoing a building boom.   It was still a time of austerity but government money was pouring into vast projects like the Snowy Mountain Scheme and each of the states was building new infrastructure that soaked up the expanded work force available.

The Menzies era started in 1949 when then Labor prime minister Ben Chifley went to an election promising to nationalise the Australian banks.  This alarmed middle Australia and so long after the end of the war we were still experiencing petrol rationing.   The Liberals won in a landslide.

Menzies recognised that the balance of world power had changed and that the United Kingdom had passed both the military and the financial baton to the United States.  It made perfect sense when the ANZUS treaty came into being to ensure that if Australia and New Zealand were attacked, we would have the military support of the United States.

There was a brief hiccup when Egypt seized the Suez canal and Britain and France invaded to take it back.  America opposed this action and Australia unwisely backed the British and French.  This caused a rift that strained relations with America and for a time excluded us from defence information, but the ANZUS treaty survived.

Menzies came close to defeat several times during his sixteen year rule.  At the critical moment the first secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra defected, bringing on what became known as the "Petrov Affair ".  Petrov divulged details of Russian spying in Australia and his wife was rescued when she was being hustled back to Russia.   Menzies used this to generate his famous "Reds under the beds " electoral success.

The fact that Bob Menzies held office for a record sixteen years was mainly attributable to the confusion in the opposition Labor party.   Apart from inept leadership the movement split when those with Catholic leaning formed the Democratic Labor Party (DLP ) and ran in opposition at Federal elections.   This division of loyalties ensured that the Liberal/Country party coalition retained office.

The Menzies years may not have been exciting, but the "Steady as she goes " policy was just what the nation needed at that time.   We were recovering from a war and we were receiving a vast population increase.   It is a historic fact that we successfully settled a vast number of foreign nationalities, speaking many different languages into the homogenised Australia that exists today.

Hopefully, the period ahead will be similarly successful !

World Standards !

New South Wales is spending 2.3 billion dollars to bring our passenger rail system up to world standards.  Early in 2019 the first of these new trains will come into service and there is the expectation that there will be opposition from the militant rail unions.

This rail upgrade will involve the arrival of five hundred double decker train sets to replace the old V-Set trains that serviced the Blue Mountains, Newcastle and the Illawarra.   This contract was won by Korea and in keeping with modern practice each train is crewed by a driver and the position of a guard is no longer required.

It seems likely that this will involve the job losses of the three hundred and eighty guards employed in the rail system, although some jobs will remain for the diesel services that will be retained.  The rail unions are disputing the loss of guards on safety grounds, but in reality this was a necessity that belonged to the steam age.   In that era guards waving flags signalled to the driver that all passengers were on board and the train was clear to proceed.

The driver of a modern train sits in a cabin not unlike the cockpit of an airliner.  He is connected to an array of cctv cameras within the train and covering stations and he is tasked with answering passenger queries and giving general information.  The introduction of a card swiped on a terminal to subtract the fare from each passengers holding deposit did away with conductors on trams and buses and on some overseas rail systems. We are fast approaching the age of full automation, with driverless cars - and soon driverless trains.

That is on the horizon from 2019 when the new Metro line connects the north west with Chatswood. Fully automatic trains will flow at short intervals and both trains and stations with be under observation from a central control room.  It is envisaged that the arrival of a train every few minutes will even out passenger peaks and judging by events overseas Metro lines introduce a level of efficiency not possible with other systems.

The planners predict that Sydney will have a population of six million people by mid century.  Those numbers are impossible without an adequate transport system and we are investing in both light rail, an extended rail system and a vast road upgrade which will eventually require a second harbour tunnel crossing.

Sadly, many people are clinging to old ways as a form of nostalgia and that includes unions trying to protect jobs.   The fact that driverless trains are operating both safely and efficiently overseas and that guards are no longer required on most urban services is a sign of an era that has passed.  If the unions try to sabotage this new rail system they will be doing their members a disservice.   To try and limit modern rail to the steam age will ultimately fail - and leave this city behind on the world stage !

Drug Pushers !

Perhaps there is a fine line between the people who make illegal drugs available and are sought by the police and the legitimate industry that serves the big pharmaceutical companies.  The entire commercial world employs a sales force to move its products and nowhere is this more hotly contested than in the drug world.

The medical profession is well served by medical journals which provide indepth analysis of new drugs entering the market and expert comment on their benefits.   In some cases a new entrant is replacing an older treatment, but very often it is simply providing an extra benefit to other drugs and may be at a much higher price to generic counterparts.   That is something a medico may take into consideration when writing scripts.

Big Pharma employs well trained sales Representatives who visit doctors in their surgeries and promote their companies products.   In many cases these representatives come bearing gifts that may include expensive new diagnostic equipment or even items like a new Smartphone.   The aim is to achieve a cordial relationship and the hope that the doctor will favour that company's products.

A decade or so ago pharmaceutical promotions came under the spotlight when it was learned that many companies were holding medical conferences at exotic resorts.   Invitations to key doctors and their wives included air fares and while the conferences spanned several days, the actual medical briefings were sparse, leaving much time for holiday activities.  It was concluded that these were little more than bribes to influence the movement of the sponsors products - and they fell into disfavour.

Bringing a new drug to market comes at enormous cost.   The development process contains many hazards and there is a long delay while the testing process seeks any side effects and then come the work to gain a patent.  The company owning that patent can expect protection during the patent period and that will be a time of big profits, but once the patent expires competitors will be able to copy that formulae and market a generic product.   In most cases, the price will fall precipitously.

It is in the company's interest to heavily promote their patented drug during patent protection and that is why they deploy a sales force to achieve maximum penetration.  Many doctors do not readily accept new drugs and prefer to stick with older drugs that have served them well.   It is the task of the drug task force to change their minds.

We now learn that the drug companies are targetting nurses with lengthy medical conferences held at luxury resorts.   While nurses do not write scripts, they are hugely influential in most medical practices.  This seems to have been the line of approach with promoting the newly released Hepatitis C drug Daklinza.   That encompassed bringing seventy nurses to an educational conference at the luxury Langhams hotel in Melbourne.

The industry needs to watch carefully to ensure that product promotion remains within commercial guidelines.   Should it stray order the border and bring accusations of bribery - there will be consequences !

Life - After IS !

The "Caliphate " that  IS staked out in Iraq and Syria is shrinking.  Its creation was a matter of sheer luck.  A small band of Wahabist terrorists from Saudi Arabia took advantage of social media to project themselves as an unstoppable force and the western trained Iraqi army fled in panic, abandoning tanks, artillery and a trove of weapons that allowed IS to attract recruits and arm them with modern weapons.

The various tribes pushing them back are becoming more organized and IS is fast losing territory. When it seemed an unstopable force it attracted many western converts and it deliberately engaged in sickening cruelty which some young men felt as an attraction.    It is still attracting zealots, but the numbers of western converts is shrinking as the news depicts death and destruction reigning down on this terrorist army.

The western powers hoped to see the Middle East emerge as secular democracies.  Exactly the opposite happened.   The " Arab Spring " certainly deposed tyrants and there was a brief hope that better regimes would emerge, but everywhere except Tunisia new dictators seized power or the country remained a fighting mass of opposing tribes.   This Arab " revolution " simply changed the faces of those oppressing the masses.

This mess which is the Middle East was primarily caused by the victors of the first World War drawing lined on a map to designate countries with no regards to the religion or tribal loyalties of the people who lived there.  These divisions were drawn to suit their national interests and were maintained with military force.

Now the west is locked in battle trying to maintain those unrealistic divisions of territory into National countries.   This is fast developing into a power play.  America is training and arming the tribes which suits its purpose while Russia has committed air power to assist the Syrian dictator hold on to his divided capital.

Logic insists that if both the western countries and Russia completely withdraw then eventually the Middle East will settle into national groupings dictated by religion, race and customs.  Unfortunately, it will probably take years of internal warfare as regimes try and hold onto land that was never originally part of their domain.   It is also inevitable that there be vast movements of people as what will be new countries emerge.  At present, the dispossessed are heading to Europe in the hope of a better life.   That can be turned around once the prospect of tribes amalgamating along religious and customary lines becomes a reality.

Unfortunately, this will never happen.  Theoretically, the United Nations was supposed to be a symposium of equals who would adjudicate world problems as a world court.   The fact that five nations were granted super powers and equipped with the power of veto completely negated that possibility.    The oil in the Middle East and the control of that commodity ensures that there will never be great power agreement.

It seems that when IS fades into history the Middle East will still roil the world.

The " Boomerang " Comes Back !

Mike Baird thought he was on a winner when the sordid story of Greyhound trainers using live bait to "blood " their dogs broke in the media.    There was a wave of revulsion from animal lovers and this was concentrated in the city of Sydney.  It was more of a knee jerk reaction than a carefully thought out action plan when Baird suddenly announced that he was banning Greyhound racing from this state in 2017 and he expected plaudits from the voters.

The problem was that while Greyhound racing was losing appeal with city folk it was still widely supported in the bush.   It was the " battlers " sport and for those financially unable to even consider racing a thoroughbred horse owning a champion Greyhound was their ticket to fame and fortune.  They reacted badly to the ban.

How badly is now coming to back like the proverbial Boomerang and seems likely to hit the premier where it hurts most - causing a loss of votes.    It is also causing a damaging split in coalition ranks. The Liberals tend to hold city seats while their National partners are strongest in country electorates. Polling is revealing a disastrous drop in National support and the party is aware that the issue is this dog ban.

The issue that is causing panic in National circles is a coming by-election in the seat or Orange.   Voters go to the polls on November 12 and from a previously "safe seat " advantage support has dropped to just 34%.    If that same result was to spread across the country at the next election, the government would lose office.

The lights are burning far into the night in Macquarie street as ministers go into a huddle and try and find ways to mitigate this disaster.   It has been suggested that the ban date be extended from 2017 to 2020 to give more time to implement counter measures.   The option with the most appeal seems to be the idea of offering compensation for Greyhounds stripped of their racing earning capacity.  A payment of $ 1500 for each racing dog has been suggested, with a lesser amount for retired champion dogs now at stud in the breeding stakes.

One of the promises Mike Baird made with his Greyhound racing ban announcement was that valuable land now used for Greyhound racing circuits would be quarantined and retained for public use.   The Mecca of Greyhound racing in Sydney is Harold Park and the development vultures have been gathering.   There is a strong rumor that the government will quietly dispose of Harold Park and use the multi million gain for other state projects.  The government is firm with a denial, but public opinion seems to believe that rumor.

Mike Baird seems stuck between a rock and a hard place.  To back off and lift the ban would be embarrassing, but to go with the compensation option would involve a lot of public money. The better option may have been a draconian crackdown on the few low lifes who were giving the industry a bad name.   Solid prison terms and an industry ban for life may have weeded out those who persist in animal cruelty, but instead the entire industry was put to the sword.

It seems that the government now has the task of extricating itself from this mess that arose from its own decision making  !

Foster Care !

Once again the fate of children under the care of the state is getting a bad press.   A girl in a care institution was repeatedly raped by the very people tasked with looking after her.  She later died of a drug overdose and the DPP is resisting putting her rapists before a court despite overwhelming evidence of their guilt.

In another instance a young girl living with a carer family succumbed to the sexual advances of a male step-brother and there was the fear of a pregnancy.   The family response was to murder the girl and leave her naked body on a beach.   The step-father is facing a murder charge and the step-brother a charge of rape on a person under the age of consent.

The government is threatening dire action to cleanup the stench that has long hovered over foster care.   Government run care homes have had their share of scandal and those run by the various church denominations seem to have been rife with rapist priests and ministers.   Perhaps the greatest safety has come from ordinary families who have opened their hearts - and their homes - to take in the needy and give them the benefit of their happy home, but even here the occasional mismatch has ended in tragedy.

The government faces an impossible task.   Those needing care range in age from newborn babies to juveniles in their teens.   Many little kids have experienced violence and suffered the fighting between parents addicted to alcohol or drugs.  Many have suffered deprivation and hunger - and regularly gone to bed cold and hungry.   They have developed survival tactics - and that can not merge swiftly when they encounter a caring facility.

It is not unusual for some families to have a tolerant attitude to sex.  Many experience sexual intrusion by so called "uncles " or other family members and actual incest is prevalent in some cultures.   Many teens are of the "wild child " sort who have developed a craving for alcohol or drugs - and think casual sex is perfectly normal.   Providing care for such a mix would test the outer limits of any care institution.

Probably the safest option is some sort of government run institution that is run by professional staff and is subjected to strict oversight.   The problem is that it can only be seen as an "institution " and that can not provide the individual love and care that each waif so badly needs to gain confidence and develop their potential.   It is also impossible to mix the range of ages in a single care home without the possibility that the older children will become the predators of the younger age group.

It seems that the only available option is to stick with the mix of what we have - government care institutions supplemented by care homes provided by the various church and charitable organizations, and the wide mix of private citizens who make themselves available to offer shelter in their own homes.

The missing link is the creation of a supervising body of people with the training to regularly visit each place of care and have the time to spend conversational periods with each of those under care and also liaise with the carers.  It is essential that these people have the ability to generate the confidence of the cared and not be seen as government "inspectors " merely carrying out a government function.

Obviously, creating such a body will cost money, but in the long run it will be the cheapest option to resolve the problem.   What we have in place is workable.   What it needs is a conduit to listen to those in care and have the power to make whatever changes are necessary, and to provide guidelines where necessary to those people who are  providing care.

If that is going to work it will need the government to be realistic on numbers.  There is no point in having liaison people with such workloads that they can make a one minute call once every three months.   There may be a tendency to appoint those with tertiary qualifications in child care.  It may be better to recruit from charitable members of the public who would provide their services free of charge, or in exchange for a petrol allowance.

 The main attribute such "visitors "will need is a kind heart and a wise mind - and the ability to be good listeners - and to range over the full spectrum of care facilities !

Fire Safety Certification !

When the expansion of cities causes a scarcity of new building sites the price of land rises and the only option to house more residents is to adopt the phenomenon known as " the vertical village ".
The city of Sydney now has a skyline of huge apartment towers and these are fast becoming the style of building in its suburbs.

Concern is growing that this construction boom is far outstripping the laws that apply in ensuring that apartments meet fire safety standards and this was illustrated by a fire fatality in Bankstown in 2012.
In that instance a very ordinary flashover fire in a BBQ on an apartments balcony trapped two female overseas students from their escape because the lounge room had been illegally subdivided to provide an additional bedroom,

The rapidly advancing fire forced them into a bedroom with a single window with a several floors drop to the street outside.   They were forced to hang from this window with the aluminium frame actually melting in their hands before the heat forced them to let go and take the fall.   One died instantly and the other received severe permanent disabilities.

The coroners report was scathing.   This relatively new building had never attained the necessary fire safety rating even at the fitting out stage and subsequent work had been carried out without authority to further increase the fire hazard.   This building is still occupied - and even today it fails to meet the relevant fire safety standards.

One of the failings that the government seeks to correct is a multiplicity of organizations who are permitted to issue fire certification certificates.   In many cases, these can involve a conflict of interests and it seems likely that the numbers will be reduced to those hard core entities with the expertise to demand strict compliance.

Another issue is the timing of inspections.  A fire safety certification is required before any new building is cleared for occupation by residents, but there seems to be few - if any - followup requirements.   Some buildings rely on fire certification that may have been issued decades earlier.

The government plan is not clear, but there have been calls for a new fire certification every time a unit in a tower block changes hands.  Just what that involves is controversial.   It could apply to just that single unit, but many would like to see such certification renewal applied to the entire building.  That would certainly flush out the many units furnished with false walls and many beds and rented on a " hot bed " basis to multi tenants.

An entire building re-certification would also ensure that the full fire safety code got a thorough check.  Exit doors must swing outwards and escape routes must be clear.  Fire extinguishers must be in working order and under present regulations smoke detectors must be installed - and in working order.   Where sprinkler systems are installed, renewal compliance should be on an annual basis as a bare minimum.

Of course such a regimen will involve cost and inconvenience but it seems certain that many of Sydney's stock of high rise apartments would fall short of what the law requires.   That tragedy at Bankstown was a wakeup call.    The fire safety laws are not meeting standards and urgently need renewal.  Many living in high rise apartments will sleep soundly at night in the knowledge that their building meets fire safety standards if the government toughens the requirements.

Simply A Bad Tax Idea !

It is generally conceded that Joe Hockey's 2015 budget was not his finest hour.   One of the concepts  awaiting implementation is a proposal to change the way foreign workers are taxed when backpackers provide the essential labour to bring in Australia's fruit crop and harvest the vast agricultural enterprises that keep the fruit and vegetable markets fully stocked.

The present tax regimen allows an $18,200 tax free threshold for each worker before the ordinary tax scale cuts in.   Unlike most of the working public, backpackers are constantly on the move following the crop ripening cycle and most alternate this means of sustenance with their holiday regimen of seeing the country as tourists.

The proposal seeks to abandon that tax free threshold and apply a tax of 32.5 cents in the dollar on the first dollars those backpackers earn.   There is consternation in backpacker circles and a fear in fruit and vegetable growing areas that foreign backpackers will abandon Australia and instead bestow their patronage on another foreign country.

Few of the public realise that this backpacker stream is essential to bringing in the harvest in Australia - and without it a major portion of the crop will rot on the trees and the vegetable supply will be seriously truncated.  This is hard work in the hot sun and youthful backpackers cheerfully accept it as a means of financing their holiday in Australia.   It is work that many Australians reject and at the same time as there are labour shortages in bringing in the crops, there are also many people drawing unemployment benefits in fruit growing areas.

This uncertainty is having an effect on farming schedules.  There are reports that Queensland lettuce growers have reduced plantings because they fear they will not be able to attract sufficient workers to process the crop.  Summer is fast approaching and it is essential that the tax regimen that will apply to backpackers be settled quickly.   Decisions on coming to Australia - or to another country - are being made now and obviously a punitive tax to lower earnings is a topic being discussed in backpacker circles.  Uncertainty will not work in our favour.

There is speculation that a different approach is under consideration.  Because backpackers are an essential service to this country it is envisaged that they be able to apply for a special visa describing them as temporary farm workers.  There seems reluctance to continue to grant that $18,200 tax free threshold, but there seems to be support for a lower tax of somewhere between 15c and 19 c in the dollar to apply.

The fate of the Australian fruit harvest depends on how this is received in backpacker circles. If the tax regimen is judged heavy and unfair by the journalists who cater to backpacker opinion we may  see a sharp cutback in numbers this summer and a consequent rejection of this country as a welcoming host.

It is essential that the Treasurer get the tax mix right.   Hopefully, the people who know what is happening in backpacker circles are whispering in his ear - and the farm lobby is accurately predicting the numbers needed to harvest the crop.

Once a country loses favour as a destination, it usually takes both time and a lot of money to restore that situation !

Legal Obscurity !

There is no doubt that a well turned out prisoner in a court will create a favourable impression on a judge and jury.  Defence Counsel usually strive to have their client suitably attired and those who stand confidently and promptly answer questions in a clear voice are more likely to be believed. It is often felt that such a presentation influences the length of the sentence handed down.

That opportunity to impress a judge is fast becoming a thing of the past.   It is being replaced with a video appearance whereupon the prisoner is sitting before a camera in a prison and the image is simply pixels on a small screen within the courtroom.   In most instances, the picture shown is only the accused persons face and there is no indication of height or other attributes.   Usually, the prisoner is attired in "prison Greens " which reinforce the fact that he or she is under lock and key.

The use of video in this way is sharply increasing as the equipment is installed in more prisons and courts and in recent times it has increased by four hundred percent.   There were 8605 instances of such use in 2002 and this increased to  44,802m in 2014.

Prior to the use of video, each prisoner had to be transported physically to each court appearance by prison transport.   This required being locked in holding cells under the courthouse until the hearing and most prisoners found it a very disagreeable experience.    Increasingly, video has replaced live appearances for such minor matters as "mention ", bail applications, pre- sentencing hearings and now even sentencing is delivered in this manner.

Disturbingly, the very confidential briefings between the accused and their counsel are being conducted by video.  This certainly frees counsel from the long drive to country prisons but the loss of face to face contact in person makes it harder to achieve a more intimate relationship in which nuances and nods and winks can impart information.   Some prisoners doubt the security sanctity of video conversations with their counsel.   We live in an age of electronics and in some jurisdictions the police are known for "bending"  the rules.

We are living in an age of overcrowded prisons and a lack of judges to speed cases through the courts.   The past procedure of transporting prisoners to court for each and every procedure was time consuming and a waste of court time.  Video certainly speeds things up, but at a cost that is yet to be measured.  In some instances, judges barely glance at the video screen and rely entirely on the audio.  It is almost impossible for a prisoner to demand attention in the same manner as if he or she is standing in the dock and giving evidence.

Another outcome of video presentation is a sharp rise in the accused entering a guilty plea.   Many feel that their inability to be present in court and exert a favourable influence on the outcome means that the justice system is "rail roading " them to an inevitable conviction.   They simply plead guilty in the hope of a lesser sentence.

We have a court system that is supposed to dispense justice. It requires the intervention of the boffins to improve the electronics to the extent that the video appearance of an accused in court meets much the same standards as an actual physical appearance.

Anything less is justice denied !

Killing Off a Breed !

The knee jerk decision to ban Greyhound racing in New South Wales in 2017 brought with it a host of lesser matters that is being examined by a transitional task force.   One of those issues is the expected  surrender of working Greyhounds to animal welfare agencies the moment their racing days end and they can no longer deliver a dividend to their owners.   That could become an avalanche, far outside the capability of welfare to find a new home for most of the dogs - and hence euthanasia.

This transitional authority seems to be leaning on progressive dates for both training and breeding Greyhounds.   This raises the question of Greyhound owners still being able to breed and train dogs in this state to compete in Greyhound racing in other states where racing remains legal.    It is thought that such an arrangement would dilute the surrendered option and make the numbers manageable.

It also seems to be heading in the direction of making Greyhounds a forbidden breed of dog in this state.   The transitional authority seems to favour outlawing breeding from 2019 and outlawing any form of training from 2022.    There is no mention of what law would apply to any member of the public continuing to own a Greyhound as a pet, but that breeding ban seems to end continuity of the breed.

At the stroke of a pen it seems that the New South Wales government is about to extinguish a noble breed of dog that is recognised by the world Kennel Associations and which has a place in competition at dog shows.   Well before racing, this breed was a sporting dog valued for its speed in running down wounded game.   The Greyhound is recognised on the world scene and it seems doomed to extinction here simply because of the illicit actions of a small number of trainers who consistently break the law.

We are constantly faced with attacks on the public by many breeds of dogs which seem to have a very aggressive nature if they are badly trained by their owners, and yet there is little interest in applying a similar ban to resolve that problem.    The Greyhound has an enviable reputation as a pleasant and docile pet and is not known to be aggressive.    It is not this dog which is the problem. The point of contention is other humans who break the law with their attempt to employ illegal winning tactics to training methods.

It seems that the New South Wales government needs to think long and hard as to its intentions.  If that objective is to prevent recognised Greyhound racing as scheduled events in this state then that can be achieved by a simple legal ban on the format.   It seems a big step outside its jurisdiction to prevent the breeding and training of a breed of dog that has legal sanction to be raced in other states of this country.  That could be argued as an infringement of the constitution which guarantees the freedom of trade between the states.

It seems that we are perilously close to implementing legislation that will make it illegal to own a world breed of dog - even as a family pet - that was once bestowed on our native dog in some other states.    The Dingo had that shame eventually lifted.

Hopefully, a lesson learned !

A Public Danger !

The timing could not have been worse.   It was 5-20 on a Friday afternoon and the Sydney commute was at its peak.   The maximum flow of cars, buses and trains was taking the citizens of Sydney across the Sydney Harbour bridge when a flicker of flame from his engine bay at the rear of his  bus alerted the driver to make an emergency stop.

The traffic  controllers watching their computer screens in the bridge control room were horrified at what happened next.   Within seconds the entire engine bay was a mass of fire with plumes of flame reaching high into the sky and great columns of black, oily smoke enveloping other traffic.  Immediately all traffic control signals turned to red - and the bridge became a giant parking lot !  All this was watched live on the television channels as the story was treated as  breaking news .

That alert driver acted promptly and began to evacuate his passengers.  Fortunately, there were only seven people riding in that bus, but such was the intensity and speed of the fire that two passengers and the driver needed to be taken to hospital by attending paramedics to be be treated for smoke inhalation.   Had that bus been packed with passengers in every seat and the usual number of strap hanging standing people the casualty outcome would have been horrific.

This news story filled television screens for the next hour or so.  Eventually a heavy vehicle towed the burned out bus carcass off the bridge and the traffic flow resumed, but the delay had a cumulative effect and most drivers were seriously delayed.

The inevitable follow-up of what happened to this twenty-year old bus is causing consternation to the travelling public.   It seems that similar bus fires are common - and it is a fact that this incident was the thirty-sixth similar bus fire so far this year - and we have three months of the year remaining.

It seems that we have 2,700 similar Sydney buses in service awaiting a contract to be let to have installed a fire retardant system that automatically releases a high pressure spray that snuffs out any fuel fire.   Even if that contract was let immediately, the amount of work required installing the system in a fleet of buses would probably cause a delay well into 2017.

These are the same buses that get school children to classes and run packed to the rafters in morning and afternoon peaks.   It is an ageing fleet that will shortly face the expectation that summer may deliver exceptionally hot days because of global warming.   We have no idea what caused that fire on the Sydney Harbour bridge but it is a fact that an engine fire is possible at speeds in which an orderly evacuation will deliver casualties.

The public must learn to move promptly when an evacuation is ordered, and processing that fire retardant contract needs to move to high priority !

A Tale of Two Cities !

It seems curious that the former entertainment Mecca of Sydney - Kings Cross - has strict closing hours and limits on alcohol consumption while our sister city to the south - Melbourne - is entirely free of similar restrictions.

Is it because Melbournians are better behaved ?    Those Sydney restrictions were hastily imposed back in 2014 after a spate of senseless street bashings resulting in deaths and the spectacle of huge crowds surging from one alcohol serving venue to another in search of the nightly  " action " !

Supporters of the curfew point to a dramatic drop in street crime immediately these time limits were imposed.   There was an immediate 45.3% drop in domestic assaults in Kings Cross and a 20.3% drop in common assault across the entire city CBD.

The restrictions were draconian. 1-30 became the lockout witching hour.   Those inside a venue could stay but no new entrants could enter and when someone leaves their only option was to go home.  Last drinks call was at 3.00 am - and there were restrictions on the types of alcohol allowed to be served.

The entertainment industry protested that this was not the sort of regimen expected in a world city - and Sydney is certainly in that class.   It was particularly galling when International visitors openly compared the drinking and entertainment laws between Sydney and Melbourne.   Sydney was operating well below the accepted world standard.

High Court judge Ian Callinan has just completed a review of these lockout laws and has suggested  changes.   He suggests the 1-30 am lockout be extended to come into force at 2 am and the last drinks call moved from 3 am to 3-30 am, but only for establishments that are providing live music entertainment.

At present, bottle shops are forced to close at 10 PM.   Callinan suggests that 11 am closing may be more appropriate, and that home delivery of alcohol be allowed until midnight.   The state government will consider this review and probably make a decision by early in the new year.

Some critics of the Sydney restrictions hold the view that Melbourne is a less congested city and that its watering holes are widely spaced..  From its earliest days Kings Cross was the bohemian red light district and in the R and R days of the Vietnam war the cluster of entertainment venues expanded exponentially.  By 2014 it was completely out of control and drawing crowds on a city wide basis.

Perhaps imposing these draconian laws just on Kings Cross is a little tongue in cheek.   Many venues closed their doors as the crowds dwindled and new venues appeared in the suburbs where the laws do not apply.   By watering down the laws it may be possible to create a new Kings Cross which will not morph into the prime city attraction because it will have to compete with the new crop of widely spread venues serving the Sydney night life traffic.

Unfortunately, the old Kings Cross had become a monster that was completely out of control.   It had become a lethal place to visit because of drunken patrons and the government had little options other than to slay the dragon.    Now might be an appropriate time to breather new life into the corpse, provided the revival can be controlled.

Perhaps if that revival goes to plan Sydney may be able to quietly dump those lockout laws some time into the future !

The " Rehabilitation " Rorts !

As a country, Australia has a rigid licensing regime when it comes to recognising professional  qualifications.  Doctors - lawyers - all those who have served the apprenticeship of university and on job training are protected against shonks by their jealous professional bodies.   We are slow to accept qualifications earned in another country and in many cases we demand such an entrant start at the bottom and re-train here.

It seems that there are glaring gaps in this accreditation system.   When Ice  burst onto the drug scene it brought with it a new dimension of opportunity for the unqualified.     Ice  was plentiful - and cheap - and amazingly addictive.   Very quickly families found that they had a son or a daughter completely out of control and in need of rehabilitation.

The number of rehabilitation beds in the health system is hopelessly inadequate.   Waiting lists run to months - and sometimes years.   When a family has a teenager tearing themselves apart in a frenzy of need for Ice the need for intervention is  immediate - and in most cases the only help available comes from the private sector.

The law of supply and demand comes to the fore.   We are seeing a vast increase in the number of private "for profit "clinics springing up offering help to combat drug addiction generally and with specific care to combat Ice addiction.

Sadly, many families are so desperate to save the life of a cherished son or daughter that they are prepared to mortgage - and sometimes even sell - their family home to raise the cash necessary for treatment.   Most clinics provide live in accommodation and have courses that are of many months duration.  The cost can run into thousands of dollars - with no guarantee of success.

What is alarming is that this source of what seems to be a medical practice is totally unregulated. There are no recognised qualifications for those tasked with managing the withdrawal of users from drugs and the tactics employed change from clinic to clinic.   Some go for what is termed "Cold Turkey " while others use distractions such as bush walks and exercise to regain control.

Many seem successful - while the user remains within the control of the clinic, but the moment they return home and restart contact with old friends - who are still using drugs -  the drop back into the abyss starts again.

At least the authorities are clamping down on clinics which promise high success rates without any statistics to validate the claim.   They are being subjected to the " Truth in Advertising "regime that is cleaning up the industry, but obviously the industry needs professional standards to apply so that families considering care for a son or daughter know what they are getting in exchange for their money.

The big decision is whether these private clinics are providing a medical service or some sort of lesser health regimen like a spa.   They are free to set whatever fees they feel appropriate but the government has a duty to determine that they provide value for money - and to intervene if they are making promises they can not keep.

Drug rehabilitation is a murky world with no professional standards.   The desperate families who are gambling their family wealth to try and save a son or daughter deserve better protection than is presently available !

The Tax Case Of The Century !

One of the reasons the world has not recovered from the 2008 recession is because rich companies have squirrelled away their profits in overseas tax havens instead of investing in new ventures, creating wealth and jobs in their home countries.  It is estimated that American firms alone have 2.4 trillion laying idle, unable to be repatriated because of the tax that would be due once it crossed its home border.

Tax for the immensely rich is a matter of negotiation.   When they generate profits similar to the GST of many world countries they get an eager audience from the government of tax havens ready to accommodate their tax plans.   Such is the situation with Apple, the worlds biggest and most profitable company.

Back in 1991 and again in 2007 Apple came to an arrangement with Ireland to circumvent its low 12.5 % tax regime with what was called a " Double Irish " arrangement, that allowed Apple to combine the world profits from its business as taxable in Ireland - and it paid tax at somewhere between 0.005% and 1% of it's European profits.

Now the cat is well and truly amongst the pigeons.  The EU has declared this " Double Irish " illegal under its tax laws and levied a $ 14.5 billion evaded tax bill on the company.  Apple is appealing the ruling, but where charges for intellectual property must be divided up between where a product is designed, parts manufactured and then assembled and then where the end product  is finally sold it creates an almost inpenetrable maize from an accountable point of view.

The American government is showing signs of panic.   The EU has moved quickly to bring this tax matter to court and the American legal system is nowhere ready to do similar battle.   The Americans are demanding that the EU either backoff - or slow the action.   Should the EU win its case there seems a real chance that they would scoop the tax pool and when the American court action reached a conclusion - the cupboard might be bare !

This Apple case is merely the tip of the iceberg.   Action is pending on a similar tax rort by Starbucks in the Netherlands and Fiat in Luxembourg, and lesser tax cases will probably clog the courts for years to come.  The Americans are threatening tax action against EU companies with branches in the United States.

Hopefully, the final outcome may be some sort of universal tax agreement to nullify individual tax arrangements between countries.   Tax evasion by individuals has been a slowly closing net in recent times and the banking industry has been forced to end that time honoured anonymous haven of the " numbered Swiss bank account ".   Banks that refuse to open their books for the tax authorities are simply refused entry to the world banking system.

It seems that Apple will be the poster boy when this tax matter is finally settled.  It has all the classical components of intellectual property and a diverse network of assembling its end products by partial production and later assembly in a number of different countries.  Nailing down precisely where the element of profit actually occurred would be an accountants nightmare.  An even bigger nightmare will be getting universal acceptance of a common tax system by the diverse governments of world countries.

Achieving consensus might be the means of bringing our troubled world out of the economic doldrums.   The fact that $ 2.4 trillion is sitting in tax havens simply because that seems the only way to dodge punitive taxes is illogical.    If that money was put to work in a productive manner this world slump could turn into a jobs bonanza.

Unfortunately, unscrambling this tax omelet through the courts may take decades rather than months.   When it comes to tax agreements, the final outcome is a step into the unknown !

A " Taxing " Problem !

The eight million United States citizens who live abroad in any of 192 countries - including Australia - are finding that United States law requires them to file an American tax return that includes their world earnings - and that includes those who hold a "green card " entitling them to work in the  United States.

This is not a new law but one that has been virtually ignored because the US lacked the ability to track overseas earnings by its citizens, and all that changed in 2010 when FATCA arrived on the legal books.   FATCA stands for " Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act " and is now a legal requirement on world banks to divulge foreign earnings to US tax authorities.   Any bank refusing to comply would be automatically cut off from trade with the American banking system.

What daunts many Americans living abroad is the complexity of the US tax legislation.   It runs to 74,608 pages compared to its Australian counterpart - which is a modest 3657 pages.   There is also a glaring anomaly in how the US tax law relates to the Superannuation requirements in the Australian tax system, resulting in many Americans suffering double taxation.

We are now seeing a steady stream of US citizens living abroad relinquishing their American citizenship simply because it is now uneconomical to retain it, and that includes those who managed to hold joint citizenship in both countries - but even that has problems.  The US is one of only two world countries that insists on levying tax on the world earnings of its citizens - and it does not retreat from that stance lightly.

It seems reasonable that any citizen living permanently abroad would seriously consider citizenship in that country but the 1996 Reed Act imposes a penalty.    It states that if any citizen relinquishes citizenship " primarily for the purpose of avoiding tax " that person will be permanently refused reentry to the United States for the duration of their life.

Along with paedophiles, terrorists and known criminals, those who insist on paying tax only where the money is earned are consigned to criminal class and will not be allowed to visit relatives or friends in the US - permanently.

It is obvious that the Australian tax system is much more benevolent that the tax regime in the United States.   Here winning a motza on a horse race or by winning the lottery is tax free.   In the US, that win is added to your anual earnings - and you are taxed accordingly.   As a result, few lotteries insist on a lump sum prize and usually pay on the basis on regular annual dividends over a period of years to spread the tax take.

Should a visiting American tourist have the good luck to win one of the regular Australian Lotto jackpot prizes of thirty million dollars at least half of that would be confiscated by the US tax system because it would be added to his or her yearling earnings when paid as a lump sum.  Certainly a good reason to consider relinquishing citizenship, even though that may permanently close the entry shutters to their former homeland.

When we grizzle about the tax system we may be wise to do a few comparison tests with the rest of gthe world.

The " Greenslip " Enigma !

In the far distant past the government realised it had a problem with the ever falling price of used cars.  Vast numbers of second hand cars were being used by low income owners who needed this method of personal transport but could not afford to cover them with insurance.   When they did damage to property or another vehicle any debt that accrued was virtually unrecoverable.

Unfortunately, exactly this same lack of compensation applied to damage the uninsured car may inflict on other humans with which it may come into contact.   We were seeing innocent men, women and children suffering life debilitating injuries such as Paraplegia denied any form of compensation.

The answer was to require a universal indemnity against human damage by way of insurance cover as a requirement of legally registering vehicles for road use.   It was named a " Greenslip Insurance Policy " and was available from most insurance companies.

The public is becoming alarmed at ever rising premiums.   Greenslips have been very profitable to the insurance industry and they have gained $ 2.9 million profits from it over the past fifteen years. There are predictions that the average minimum premium for Greenslips will slip past the six hundred dollar mark for the first time next year unless something is done to stem the growing industry of false insurance claims.    This is now inflicting a $ 400 million loss on insurers.

Staged accidents are becoming an art form.   In some cases they are choreographed by experts and two cars packed with victims come together in a low speed crash which will result in a number of insurance claims - all of which are hard to medically verify.   Some sections of the legal industry now specialise in representing such claimants.

The New South Wales government is aware that this state has the highest Greenslip premiums and is proposing draconian measures to reign in increases.   One of those proposals is to slap a five year limit on all forms of compensation, and another is to exclude specific injuries which feature heavily on suspicious insurance claims.

Injuries that form less than ten percent of bodily function may be excluded from cover and these would include whiplash, muscular back injuries, spinal disc protrusion, shinbone fracture - and post traumatic stress disorder resulting in inability to work !

Controversially, it is also proposed that litigants be refused the aid of legal representation in presenting their claim and that any form of appeal against the compensation handed down be barred.

This proposed solution  is causing alarm.  The likely outcome will leave genuine cases at a disadvantage and if the insurance industry decides to play hardball the courts will lean heavily on the side of the insurers.  If ordinary people are denied legal representation the scales of justice are weighed against them.

The main objective in restoring Green Slip insurance to affordability is to eliminate this burgeoning fake claim industry, and by removing the majority of hard to prove injuries from the covering legislation the fraudsters are going to be disadvantaged.   At the same time, the police need to pay special attention to all forms of road trauma with the aim of identifying false claims.   The widespread cctv network and the fact that most citizens now have a mobile phone with camera capacity makes fraud a risk.

The danger is that if the government persists with the plan it has suggested those genuinely suffering major industry as a result of car accidents will face a barrier to just compensation.   If the insurance industry is allowed to be represented legally in court, then the public must have similar protection.

Anything less is a denial of justice  !

An Education Disaster !

Alarming figures from our Universities revealing that of the one million domestic students now studying at Australian Tertiary Education facilities, one in five drops out without completing their course.  It is noticeable that this attrition rate increases with the distance the campus diverges from the centres of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

In  New South Wales the universities  Charles Sturt, Southern Cross and New England have a drop out rate of between 22% and 24% and in Tasmania the university in Hobart loses 46% of those enrolled before graduation.    Those that walk away accrue a HECS  debt that will haunt them for the rest of their commercial life.

It seems that the traditional city universities do better in retaining students.   The drop out rate at the University of Sydney is a much more modest 6%.

Attitudes have changed and many families now pressure their children to gain a university education in the belief that this will; ensure a high pay career.  At the same time ATAR scores  slip ever lower and some students are probably aiming well above their mental capacity.   That old axiom that some are destined to work with their heads - and others to work with their hands - still applies.

The problem is that university education has eclipsed the traditional methods that allowed the less academically gifted to  pursue a trades career.  A century ago those ambitious people determined to succeed enrolled in "night school "- which was the term for the nations Technical Colleges.

The other pathway to qualification was to gain an apprenticeship.   Master tradespeople enrolled apprentices who they taught their trade and in the early years the pay was low.   Often, this was a mixture of on the job training and time at TAFE to learn the technical aspect of the work.

Unfortunately, it fell into disfavour.  Training apprentices was almost a public service.   They were fairly useless on the jobs in the early stages and when wages began to rise they immediately left their training employer on graduation and were snapped up by firms that did not train apprentices.  Today, such training opportunities are rare.

As a result, there is a dire shortage of qualified trades and those with qualifications are now earning at the level of many professionals.   In particular, bricklayers are in such short supply that a rate of one dollar per brick laid has now expanded to ten dollars where job completion is critical on a contract basis.   Some tradesmen simply work a two day week to modify the tax take.

There seems little point cramming unsuitable students into universities if they are going to fail to complete their courses.  ATAR's need to rise rather than be lowered to ensure that those accepted have the capacity to meet the needs to qualify.

It is very clear that TAFE needs work.  Their original purpose was to supply trade qualifications and they have degenerated from that aspect of their tuition.  A university dropout rate of one in five is not sustainable.   These are the very people we are failing when we fail to deliver a realistic alternative to tertiary education.

Sometimes the answer to a major problem is so obvious that the academic mind ignores it because of its simplicity !

The " Over Use " Question ?

Over a decade ago we had a serious health problem in our hospitals.  "Golden Staph " was an infection with increasing resistance to antibiotics that was spreading from patient to patient.   Health professionals were urged to be meticulous and wash their hands frequently.  The limited wash facilities and the number of people involved was quickly found to be causing time bottlenecks.

Anyone recently visiting a hospital will notice a major change.   At the foot of every patients bed is a bottle of strong disinfectant, and similar bottles are handily positioned in doorways and on walls throughout all the wards.   Doctors and nurses now have the ingrained habit of squirting a little disinfectant on their hands and rubbing them together every few minutes as they make their rounds.  Hospital infection figures have improved accordingly.

The commercial world is not slow to act on opportunity.   Where industry used to sell bars of soap it now pushes anti-bacterial wash in one form or another.  Commonly, these products claim to kill 99% of all germs, although that claim seems to be fast disappearing from product advertising.

Alarm bells are ringing because an "over use " factor is causing harm.    Just as patient demand for antibiotics caused scripts to be written for unsuitable illnesses and for patients to discontinue when they felt a little better, the germs began to build immunity.   We now have a very limited base of antibiotics at our disposal.

The American health authorities have slapped a ban on nineteen ingredients commonly used in antiseptic hand washes.  All these quickly degrade with constant use and the bugs they are supposed to kill gain the ascendancy.   They are no more effective than soap and water.

The situation here in Australia is alarming.   The industry has heavily advertised germicidal hand washes and much of this has been directed at children.   The presentation is appealing.   The product comes in bright and appealing colours and the smell is very attractive.  The advertising industry is aware of the power of child demand.   What the kids want - Mum will buy !

Chemical analysis reveals that a product called Triclocarban is the main ingredient of the anti bacterial washes sold in Australia, and this is subjected to the time decay of exposure by way of over use.   Unfortunately the good properties of common soap have been discarded in favour of colour and smell in most handwash products and we can expect a sharp efficiency drop in the near future.

The solution would appear to be simple.   A rebalancing of handwash products to reduce the germicidal effect and replace it with common soap will eliminate the problem.  Advertising has been effective in training kids to wash their hands and there is no reason that the appealing smell and colour of an adjusted product can not be retained.    The only problem would be to justify the price disparity - because soap is a lot cheaper than germicide  !

A " "Tiny " Problem !

It has been an iconic Australian custom since Federation.   Men and women emerging from their morning shower dust their bodies with Johnsons Baby Powder.  There is something refreshing in the smooth feel it imparts and the delicate aroma announces that "just showered " message to the world. As the name implies, this "baby powder "was liberally applied to all infants after their bath - and after the numerous "clean-ups " that littered their day.

Now it seems that the firm of Johnson and Johnson and even the huge mining company that actually produces the raw material for talcum powder is under siege in American courts.   Johnson and Johnson and Rio Tinto are being sued because it is claimed that when women apply talcum powder to their genital area it has the propensity to develop ovarian cancer.

A clear message is emerging. Two US women have been successful in a Missouri court in gaining a $ 172 million ruling that talcum powder caused their ovarian cancer.   Their case was supported by fifteen separate studies from such respected bodies as the World Health Organization ( WHO ) and the US Health Department.   In Australia, the jury is still "out " on accepting this claim.

There seems no clear cut cause and affect beyond the theory that because talcum powder is composed of tiny particles it has similar properties to asbestos.   If it gains entrance to the female body this theory supposes it can activate whatever induces ovarian cancer.

The wise will probably heed this warning and impose strict limitations on how talcum powder is used in future, but the message will probably be ignored by many unless Australian health decides to issue a national warning.   Perhaps talcum powder is just the first of many new dangers arising from new industries based on what are called "nano particles " !

In recent years, industry has learned how to grind matter ever smaller and we now have these nano particles as the integral base of cosmetics, sun screen and an ever widening range of products and little thought has been given to their disposal.

The after effect of nano particles in toothpaste sees the waste flushed down the drain and a similar fate awaits most cosmetics.   Eventually, these particles arrive in the ocean - with unknown effects on other living matter.  At present, the use of nano particles in manufacturing is not subjected to any form of control law.

This furore over talcum powder should be ringing alarm bells.   It is a product that has been used for over a century with no known effects, although ovarian cancer has also cut a swathe through women for that same period.   It would be interesting to know if the product has been refined to include nano particles because of the cost savings involved - and if the raw product mined has been further modified before passing into general use.

What seems to be lacking is a filter through which new discoveries need to pass before they go into general manufacturing use.   Without that, we may face some very unpleasant surprises when ingenuity comes back to bite us on the bum !

The Safety Enigma !

It is an all too familiar news item heading the news reports.   A stolen car being driven at more than three times the posted speed limit and totally ignoring red lights crashes headlong into another innocent motorist.   The other driver - often a woman accompanied by a child - is killed or seriously injured.   The errant driver - usually a young male - sustains some injuries but jumps from the wreck and makes his escape.

The vast majority of these criminals eventually end up in police custody.  Either their injuries force them to seek treatment or they leave finger prints and DNA in the wreck.  Sometimes they even abandon injured companions.   We often see supporting family demonstrating outside courts when they face charges and money is forthcoming for the best lawyers.   Alcohol or drugs are usually blamed for their actions.

What is astonishing in this electronic age is that the average car is still capable of being stolen by those with average intelligence and little better equipment than a coat hangar and a screw driver.  Not just cars at the bottom end of the price range, but cars right across the price spectrum.  In an age when we have visited the moon and put Rovers on Mars we are yet incapable of securing a common means of transport from thieves.

There have been many failures.   Remember when steering locks became mandatory ?  When the key was removed from the ignition and the steering wheel was rotated kerbside locking pins slid into place and immobilised steering.    This innovation was overcome in days and no attempt was made to strengthen the assembly to make it a viable option.    The inference was that the car industry was ambivalent about car theft.   After all, a stolen car simply presented an opportunity for a new car sale as a replacement.

More recently we had the age of the " immobilizer ".    In Australia this form of protection became mandatory and it was claimed that it made simple crossing a few wires to get an electrical contact impossible.   For more than a decade all new cars sold in Australia have this device factory fitted - and theft figures speak for themselves.

It is probably impossible to design a modern car that can not be entered by a committed criminal.  There are just too many points of entry and as a last resort smashing a window will avoid all other forms of protection.   The ultimate form of protection is creating a barrier between starting the engine other than at the instigation of the owner - and that is sadly missing.

The car industry spends trillions of dollars in research and development and every new model is a repository of whiz bang electronics.  Fuel economics constantly improve and all sorts of safety devices become standard.   The modern car is a marvel of safety to its occupants by way of air bags and crumple zones - but it is little better protected from theft than the cars of the 1950's.

The motoring public deserve better.  Stolen cars are over represented in fatal crashes and even with insurance the loss of a cherished family car to theft usually means a heavy financial loss.   Perhaps it is time to lean on the car industry and force them to improve car theft safety or suffer a price penalty in the market place.

Right now we test all cars for a crash safety rating, with five stars being the optimum.  It is hard to sell a model with less than five stars and should new cars be subjected to a similar theft rating with a financial impost graded to the stars awarded this would certainly get the manufacturers attention.

The car industry will not take theft seriously until it has a financial reason to undertake the R and  D that will make car security a reality.   That will never happen - until it becomes required by legislation!

Justice Delayed !

It is a very old adage, but it is certainly true !   Justice delayed - is justice denied !   When we are accused of a crime we have an expectation that we will be promptly put before a judge or a Magistrate to have the matter settled.   In reality, we may spend years sitting in a prison cell on remand, waiting our turn to get a place on a court docket, or at best being granted bail and allowed to live at home in the limbo between "prisoner "and "freedom ".

Those on bail are usually required to regularly attend a police station and "sign the book " to prove that they have not  " escaped".   Even in low level cases they are publicly shamed and their case may get regular media attention.   Children of the accused share this shame.

In New South Wales the delay between charge and trial is ever lengthening.  At the start of July there were 3042 criminal trials awaiting a hearing and 1195 sentencing matters to be decided.   This compares with 2010 when the numbers were 977 and 722 in comparison.

Clearly, we do not have enough judges nor available courts to diminish the backlog. Since last year just five new judges have been appointed and this is part of a $ 59 million funding package.   We are building new prisons and extending the bed numbers, but the availability of judges to clear cases is facing a growing backlog.

One of the problems is the propensity of the accused to enter a not guilty plea when charged and wait hopefully for the forensic case to fall apart.   If that fails to happen, the accused will most likely change to a guilty plea on the eve of the trial to gain concessions for avoiding trial, but completely wrecking the courts trial docket procedure.Both prosecution and defence need adequate notice to go to trial.   Either may call for an adjournment if a case is brought forward.

It seems that when the government needs more judges it treats the matter like any other form of employment - and advertises that is has vacancies.   Obviously these jobs are only open to those from a legal background and many in the legal profession face a dilemma.  Tenure of office is attractive for some and judges salary is considered generous, but it pales into significance when compared what the top silks earn for a day in court.    In some legal circles, elevation to the bench is seen as the graceful exit from an unsuccessful legal career.

It is very much a ranking comparison.  When an admired legal entity is elevated to sit as a judge on a higher court the move attracts plaudits.   Unfortunately, judges bring with them personal likes and dislikes and as a result some are constantly challenged on appeal. We have in the past had a litany of judges with very strange verdicts which fall way outside normal parameters.  In fact, one judge sat and heard cases for years without ever delivering an actual finding.

Appointing new judges is a step into the unknown.  We might be wise to consider new judges on a short tenure.  The whole law/courts/prison system needs revision if we are to break the cycle of repeat offenders recycling without meaningful rehabilitation.  At present, once a judge attains tenure it is virtually for life.   We need new legal minds that "think outside the nine dots  " to explore the divide between crime and punishment.

What is absolutely clear - is that the present regime is not delivering what the government needs and what it is promising to achieve !

The " Fear Factor " !

This week a curious thing happened in the Australian Parliament.  It was a closing session and the routine was being settled on the voices when an astute member of the Opposition noticed the numbers on the government benches were thin - and called for a division.

The government lacked the numbers to prevail and it was defeated on the floor of a chamber in which it held government.  It was not a political disaster, but it was a major embarrassment and it threw the spotlight on leader Malcolm Turnbull's leadership.   Some compared it to a fractious schoolroom under the control of an incompetent new teacher when the bell signals class end.

It seems that senior ministers took an early mark and obviously the party whips who must ensure that the numbers are correct at all times did not do their jobs properly.   This breach of party discipline had the wise heads of party elders seeking a solution.

Politics and business share a common leadership need.    Whoever sits at the top of the management pyramid needs to exercise a "fear factor ".This certainly manifested itself during the years that the Liberal party held power in Australia.   During his long years in office Robert Gordon Menzies was referred to as "Ming the Merciless  " and his grip on power was absolute.  Any form of revolt against his policies was almost a death sentence and many a promising minister found himself on the back bench.     On retirement, his successors - Harold Holt and Billy McMahon lacked that "fear factor "- and governed accordingly.

Then came the John Howard years.  It took time for Howard to accumulate that "fear factor " but he ran a disciplined party that was constantly reelected  The rank and file moved in lockstep with the leader.  The leader was astute at discerning the mood of the voting public and so the party enjoyede a long term in office.

Then Kevin Rudd burst onto the scene and offered completely new thinking.   It was a phenomenon that caught the public mood ans he swept into office only to lose focus and be replaced by Julia Gillard.  Tony Abbott took up the reigns of the Opposition and eventually wrested back government, but proved better as an "attack dog "than a prime minister.   In despair, the party replaced him as leader with Malcolm Turnbull.

Malcolm  Turnbull is an enigma.   His school years were brilliantly successful and he became a Rhodes Scholar.   He achieved business success and became a billionaire at a young age, before scaling the heights as a barrister in a legal action that defeated the best legal minds of the United Kingdom government.    Turnbull came to politics as one of the richest men in Australia, a public figure that simply defined success in every venture he had chosen.

The question many people ask - is what does he hope to achieve as a politician ? It seems obvious that he has no intention of offering anything other than government by consensus.   He shows no indications of using his authority as leader to instill a "fear factor " to instill immediate compliance from subordinates.  Policy now seems to be the play thing of the factions.

Unfortunately, the time factor is not moving in Australia's favour.   We live in a fractious world of changing military alliances and our economy is in urgent need of a re-set.  The recent election indicated that the voters are disenchanted with both the major political, parties and we may see the "Balkinization " of splinter parties emerging to create endless divisions.

Malcolm Turnbull needs to take the reigns and assert his authority as prime minister and implement sound policies - or step aside and make way for a new leader prepared to us the "fear factor " to implement the hard decisions that are so clearly needed !

The " Fear Factor " !

This week a curious thing happened in the Australian Parliament.  It was a closing session and the routine was being settled on the voices when an astute member of the Opposition noticed the numbers on the government benches were thin - and called for a division.

The government lacked the numbers to prevail and it was defeated on the floor of a chamber in which it held government.  It was not a political disaster, but it was a major embarrassment and it threw the spotlight on leader Malcolm Turnbull's leadership.   Some compared it to a fractious schoolroom under the control of an incompetent new teacher when the bell signals class end.

It seems that senior ministers took an early mark and obviously the party whips who must ensure that the numbers are correct at all times did not do their jobs properly.   This breach of party discipline had the wise heads of party elders seeking a solution.

Politics and business share a common leadership need.    Whoever sits at the top of the management pyramid needs to exercise a "fear factor ".This certainly manifested itself during the years that the Liberal party held power in Australia.   During his long years in office Robert Gordon Menzies was referred to as "Ming the Merciless  " and his grip on power was absolute.  Any form of revolt against his policies was almost a death sentence and many a promising minister found himself on the back bench.     On retirement, his successors - Harold Holt and Billy McMahon lacked that "fear factor "- and governed accordingly.

Then came the John Howard years.  It took time for Howard to accumulate that "fear factor " but he ran a disciplined party that was constantly reelected  The rank and file moved in lockstep with the leader.  The leader was astute at discerning the mood of the voting public and so the party enjoyede a long term in office.

Then Kevin Rudd burst onto the scene and offered completely new thinking.   It was a phenomenon that caught the public mood ans he swept into office only to lose focus and be replaced by Julia Gillard.  Tony Abbott took up the reigns of the Opposition and eventually wrested back government, but proved better as an "attack dog "than a prime minister.   In despair, the party replaced him as leader with Malcolm Turnbull.

Malcolm  Turnbull is an enigma.   His school years were brilliantly successful and he became a Rhodes Scholar.   He achieved business success and became a billionaire at a young age, before scaling the heights as a barrister in a legal action that defeated the best legal minds of the United Kingdom government.    Turnbull came to politics as one of the richest men in Australia, a public figure that simply defined success in every venture he had chosen.

The question many people ask - is what does he hope to achieve as a politician ? It seems obvious that he has no intention of offering anything other than government by consensus.   He shows no indications of using his authority as leader to instill a "fear factor " to instill immediate compliance from subordinates.  Policy now seems to be the play thing of the factions.

Unfortunately, the time factor is not moving in Australia's favour.   We live in a fractious world of changing military alliances and our economy is in urgent need of a re-set.  The recent election indicated that the voters are disenchanted with both the major political, parties and we may see the "Balkinization |" of splinter parties emerging to create endless divisions.

Malcolm Turnbull needs to take the reigns and assert his authority as prime minister and implement sound policies - or step aside and make way for a new leader prepared to us the "fear factor " to implement the hard decisions that are so clearly needed !