Guilty !

Last December, George Pell, the man cited as the third ranking Catholic of the world, was found guilty of sexually abusing two choirboys at St Patricks Cathedral in Melbourne in the 1990's.  Because he was facing trial in another court a suppression order prevented that verdict being reported in the media.   That second trial failed to proceed because of a lack of admissible evidence and the suppression order has now been lifted.

Pell has served at the highest ranks in the Catholic church and that included the position of Archbishop of Melbourne.  He went on to serve in the Vatican as head of that church's bank and he was a close confidant of the Pope.  It is evident that the Vatican has been cautiously distancing itself from George Pell and this guilty announcement comes after a four day summit on sex abuse by priests came to an unsatisfactory conclusion.

Many victims of the priesthood will be overjoyed that justice has been served at last.  Pell served as the administrator of compensation funds awarded to victims and he was less than generous in his decisions.  He was scathing in his dismissal of claims of abuse that had indicted priests from a multitude of sources and sheltered the church behind a very shaky legal defence that has since been dismissed.

It seems inevitable that Pell will face a prison term when sentencing commences, but in the interim he has signalled that he will appeal this guilty verdict.  Priests are not wealthy people by the very nature of the office they hold and it will be interesting to see whether the church funds his legal representation. In the eyes of many people,  guilt will only be confirmed when the appeals process is completed and no further appeals are possible.

This appeal hearing is not likely to take place for many months and that raises the question of bail. Pell is an old man and claims to be in poor health.  It is highly likely he will seek bail rather than stay in prison on remand and that brings the question of where this bail money will come from  - and what figure will be set for his release.   He does not pose a flight risk because his face is well known across Australia but past precedent demands that bail fits the severity of the crime.

This guilty verdict brings disgrace to both George Pell and his church.  For a very long time the rumours of sexual crime have been studiously ignored by the police and disbelieved by many Catholic families.   Some victims have committed suicide and happy lives have been ruined. Sadly, the church procedures to excise this cancer from the priesthood are yet to be accepted and put in place.

There is also a civic honour that was bestowed on George Pell that now seems inappropriate. He was invested in the Order of Australia and when his appeal is rejected that would be an appropriate time for it to be withdrawn.   Otherwise, his name on that honour roll brings discredit to the other recipients.

Just Another " Talk Fest " !

That four day summit convened by the Pope to settle sexual abuse within the Catholic church disappointed most people.   This is a scandal that seems ever widening and it started with Pope Francis explaining what he hoped would be achieved.   It ended with no such concrete measures being put in place.

In reality, all that is really required is for the church to obey the law.  If a priest has sex with an underage child or practises sodomy those accusations need to be reported to the police for investigation.  If that investigation leads to a prosecution and a conviction it is up to the church to remove that priest from clerical duties.  Civil society demands that such a priest be sacked because he is clearly unfit for the job.

A bishop who fails to report such an accusation to the police is also guilty of a crime. This whole scandal of coverup and moving erring priests to distant parishes has been for protecting the good name of the church at the expense of the victims.  In that respect, the church has believed that its divinity places it above mere civil law.

To most people, the Catholic church is a mystery.  Even Catholics are unsure of where power resides within the walls of the Vatican but whoever is elected Pope is clearly the nominated leader and for centuries that has been unquestioned.  This summit now raises troubling questions.  Exactly where does power lay within the Vatican  ?

The Pope has clearly stated what he wishes to be put in place - and that did not happen.  This was at a gathering of senior bishops from all parts of the world and it seems that they rejected his authoritarian stance.   There is another convention of bishops known as the curia and it is unclear if they were integrated into this summit, or where they stand in the panoply of power.

It seems quite clear that at least in this past century the Catholic church has shed much of the domination that it had over the laws of many countries.  In both Ireland and the Philippines that law of the church and the law of the land marched in lockstep.  Catholics have gone to the ballot box to ease those restrictions in much of the world and now many predominantly Catholic countries encourage contraception and approve of same sex marriage.

This failure to enact the revisions that Pope Francis desired may have fatally undermined the authority of the Papal office.  For over two thousand years the Catholic church has been a feared institution which crushed dissent.   It was at times vicious and overbearing and quite capable of starting holy wars, but those powers have diminished and this summit seems to illustrate that the power of the Pope is now limited.

Failure to curb the sexual sins of the priesthood can only further diminish the church in the eyes of it members.

Industrial Manslaughter Laws !

When we go to work each day it is a reasonable expectation that we will return home alive and well. There are national work and safety laws in place that are supposed to deliver that outcome but unfortunately industrial accidents are a fact of life and every year the statistics reveal a toll of workers who died or were seriously injured doing their job.

Where their employer has been grossly negligent and this negligence has been the cause of death or injury it can set a prosecution in progress, but securing a conviction is notoriously difficult.  One of the factors in play is the difficulty of identifying the individual who had the ultimate responsibility for the safety breach that caused the work accident.

Where the employer is a giant corporation many levels of management may be involved. It could be the board of directors which failed to provide the correct financial outlay to buy equipment that delivers safety, or it could be a lowly supervisor who set that equipment aside in the interest of speeding the job.  It is usually possible to investigate and determine precisely why each and every accident happened, and what would have been necessary for it to have been avoided.

There are calls for the creation of uniform industrial manslaughter laws to cover all states and territories.  If we are to take safety seriously, there needs to be areas of responsibility in place to ensure that a breach of standards which causes death or serious injury is treated as an act of criminal negligence with consequent legal consequences.

The business world views this approach with trepidation.  They rightly claim that most building sites have an element of danger because of the nature of the work involved and it is usually worker skill to avoid injury.  Working at heights has an unavoidable fall danger, despite the best working conditions and if legal responsibility rests on the shoulders of the employer it delivers an impossible onus of care. In many accident cases the cause is the worker acting irresponsibly.

Obviously, each accident needs to be investigated and the cause determined but in an overwhelming number of cases there is a clear breach of existing safety laws.  In some cases where people are working unsupervised they elect to not use safety equipment provided in the interest of speed and convenience, but in others the employer is blatantly expecting work to be done in a hazardous way and should a worker object employment would cease.

Industry is also aware that safety laws are used by the unions in nit picking work delays as attempts are made to impose work conditions and pay increases, but ultimately a safe working environment is in everybody's best interests.  The main gain from a common industrial manslaughter law would be to deter glaring risks to worker safety.  Where the work to be performed is totally outside the relevant safety guidelines, the person who authorises that work is legally responsible for the consequences.

It is a matter for a court to delegate that responsibility.

The Right to Die !

It is sad to learn that a 54 year old former firefighter had to travel to Switzerland to legally end his life in one of their euthanasia clinics.  He was suffering multiple system atrophy which is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no treatment. It is not the sort of death you would wish on your worst enemy.

It was his wish that he could die here in Australia,  surrounded by his loved ones but a merciful release for the dieing is either not available in this country or beset by a plethora of strict rules that bar access.  In New South Wales the legislation necessary to make it a reality failed - by just one vote.

It is legal in Victoria, but this man could not find two doctors who could say with absolute certainty that he would die naturally within the coming twelve months - and that was a requirement of that state legislation.

What a weird attitude we have to death.   It is the one thing which we can all be certain will eventually end our life, but what form the grasp of death will take depends entirely on luck.  If we are lucky we may suffer a massive heart attack or stroke and our life be instantly over, or we may suffer an agonising and lingering death in a public hospital bed as some vile disease like cancer slowly ends our life.

The one thing most people hope for - is a painless death.  If we fail to take a dog or a cat to the vet for an euthanasia needle we would be prosecuted for cruelty but the doctors and nurses who have that ability at their fingertips are forbidden to deliver mercy.  Instead we have what are euphemistically called a " Hospice  " where the balance of pain killing drugs administered and the ending of life enters a legal grey area.

The law used to treat death by suicide as a crime.  If your attempt failed and you survived you probably faced a magistrate, but today it is quite legal as long as nobody else assists in any way.  As a consequence we have people jumping in front of trains or falling from high buildings, or sometimes deliberately driving cars into oncoming traffic.  Sometimes desperation makes people put others in danger as they seek relief.

What a strange attitude we have to death.  As rational human beings we are entitled to end our lives by our own hand, but the tools we need are selectively locked away out of reach.  We are no longer able to easily own a gun, which was a popular means of committing suicide and the drugs that cause a quick death are locked away behind import bans.

We are so obsessed with keeping people alive that we seem to be ready to ban popular entertainment like music festivals because patrons die by taking mood altering drugs to enhance the enjoyment.  A single death at a music festival features heavily in the media, and yet every day big numbers of people die in hospital beds from terminal diseases that deliver an unpleasant death.

It is inevitable that a decade or so from now we will be aghast at the attitude that prevails today.  Public opinion will deliver a law change and a painless end of life will become within reach of those who wish it to end.

Deporting Kiwis !

When Australia adopted the " Populate or Perish " mantra at the end of the second world war and opened its doors to emigration it granted special rights to citizens of the United Kingdom.  Not only did we heavily subsidize their fare in coming to Australia but we granted immediate eligibility to vote in Federal, state and council elections.  In the eyes of many, we granted a form of Australian citizenship and few bothered to seek a legal definition of citizenship which was so sought after by people from other European countries.

By rule of thumb, where you are born defines citizenship and many kids born in the United Kingdom and brought to Australia as babies had no reason to think they were not automatically Australian.  It came as a great shock if they became convicted of a serious crime later in life and find that Australia could - and would - deport them back to Britain.

Now a very similar situation is roiling relations with our near neighbour across the Tasman, New Zealand.  There has always been a very special relationship between the Aussies and the Kiwi's and it was forged closely when soldiers of the two nations fought side by side in both world wars.  In fact it is mutually celebrated in the ANZAC spirit.

The citizens of these two countries holiday in each other countries without the need for visas and work exchanges are almost formality free.  There are few Aussies who do not know a Kiwi living in their street or one in their workplace.  Apart from a slight accent difference the language is the same and even the two countries flags have a close similarity.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has raised this nationality issue with Australian prime minister Scott Morrison at a recent meeting.  It really is a divergence of outlook.  Australia insists that citizens must undergo the naturalization procedure if they were born outside this country and New Zealand accepts that little Australian kids brought to New Zealand as babies have identical rights with those who are New Zealand born.  In the event they are convicted of a major crime, they are not deported back to Australia.

We actually came close to becoming one country before the dawn of the twentieth century when representatives of the Australian colonies and New Zealand met together to plan a national confederation.  As is the situation now, there was a significant population unbalance and New Zealand decided to go its own way but both defence forces were integrated closely.

There are probably no two countries that have tighten integration than Australia and New Zealand and to conclude a joint citizenship agreement would not be difficult.  There seems little to be gained when a person who has spent the majority of their life in one of the countries and has both home and family there being deported because they have offended at law.

In this instance, perhaps Australia would be wise to adopt the New Zealand custom.  The number of Kiwis deported back to New Zealand usually runs less than half a dozen a year.  It is a point of friction easily resolved.

The Cost of a " Legal Defence " !

One of the tenets of law in Australia is that an accused is deemed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.  Along with that comes the expectation that an accused person will have the assistance of a qualified lawyer in preparing a defence.  When a defence lawyer is one appointed by the court it is usually a person at the start of their legal career who lacks the expertise to act effectively against the high profile legal team mounted by the prosecution.

Just such a battle is emerging in a trial in the New South Wales Supreme court.  In what is termed " the Family Court bombing case " a man is charged with incidents that occurred between 1980 and 1985 when the Family Court in Parramatta, the Jehovah's Witness Hall in Casula and several judges homes were bombed, causing death and injuries.

Six months into the trial, the accused has asked for the trial to be set aside because he has run out of money to pay his legal council to defend him. His lawyer has ceased acting for him, but has stayed on in a pro bono capacity during the hearing to have the trial stayed.

This lawyer has told the court that defending the trial would be far too complex and resource intensive for the accused to do alone.  He has no hope of dealing with it and this is a great outstanding case.  There is no case like this in our history.

To complicate the issue, the defendant is married and his wife is the sole owner of the home in which they both lived.   His spouse has not agreed to have the home encumbered due to her incapacity to support herself and the dependency of a young child.

In adjourning the trial to hear this weeks stay application the judge said that if the application was rejected the trial would need to resume with the accused not legally represented.  Given the circumstances that have been arrived at, it is appropriate that the accused be provided with documents to enable him to prepare for the resumption of his trial on the basis that his application for a temporary stay until alternative legal representation is arranged is  unsuccessful, that no alternative funding is made available and no alternative legal representation is made available.

Should the trial proceed with the accused unrepresented the avenues of appeal that would open would be legendary.  It could easily end up in the High Court.  In fact it breaks new ground given that this is a trial that involves a physical attack that ended in murder on the very institution of law as it applies in Australia.

Perhaps the main hope is that the media appeal of this extraordinary case may convince a leading lawyer to step forward and act in a pro bono capacity to reap the publicity that such an act of charity would generate.  Legal practitioners gain fame by appearing in cases which draw strong public interest and there is no doubt that this Family Court bombing will hold media interest.

If nothing else, a threat to stand alone against a bevy of practised prosecutors is a clever defence strategy in its own right.

Early Learning !

There are many in the community that joyfully remember those years of enjoying their childhood until they reached the age of five or six, when they were first required to attend primary school. Few of todays children experience that period of freedom because of the mantra that it is never too early to start the learning process.

Today we live in the era of either pre-school or long daycare and that can start when the toddler is still in nappies.  With an election looming, both sides of politics are in the cross hairs of the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia  ( ELCCCA ) which insists that Australia is below the average participation rate for three year old compared with the advanced world.

A long time ago, conventional wisdom recognised that some children were ready for school at lot earlier than others and commencement was staggered accordingly.  The needs of the Australian economy have changed to the point that two income families are almost a necessity and early learning needs are being masked by the provision of childcare to make that possible.

In New South Wales, 200,000 families use daycare and 40,000 use preschool.  We seem to be fast heading into a regimen that insists that preparation for regular school starts at age three or four and the child that has not had this advantage will not attain the excellence gained by others.

Staffing this child care need is a fast expanding career choice which will eventually have well established attainment levels and rewarding pay levels, but we need a clear indication of the objectives to be gained.  Are we trying to get a head start on academic learning or are we using this opportunity to train children to be civilized and avoid the anti social traits so evident in the adult population  ?

Little kids are at the formative stage of their lives and in many cases standards taught in child care will clash with the attitudes held by their parents.  Kids in a class with other kids with different skin colours are unlikely to be so deeply swayed by parents who display that form of rejection.  Much of the prejudice that does such harm in the community can at least be softened in this early leaning process.

In the past, school was simply training people for a very predictable future life.  At the end of their   school days they would choose a vocation and work in that field until they retired,.   It is now anticipated that the average person may change careers a number of times over their working life and each time they will need to retrain as each of these new careers needs deeper skills.

What we need now is the ability to change course and learn new skills when that becomes necessary, but probably of even deeper importance is the ability to avoid conflict with the other humans we will encounter in our changing career paths.

" Dud " Subs !

A search of Australia's military history reveals a few things we would prefer to forget.   Back in the 1930's a political row broke out over buying new planes for our air force.  It was claimed we should be designing and building them ourselves and so the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation ( CAC ) was formed to do exactly that !

That raised the question of whether we needed fighters ?   Or  bombers ?    The planners decided to split the difference and so we got a fighter/bomber, and this new aircraft was termed the " Wirraway ".   It was a single engine aircraft with a pilot and a gunner, too small to carry a useful bomb load and too slow to be competitive with the opposing aircraft of our likely enemies.  This became painfully clear when we found ourselves at war a short time later.

What should be abundantly clear to our defence people is that it is fatal to rely on military ordinance that does not meet the challenge posed by a likely aggressor.  Our defence planners contend that our submarine fleet will be essential in any future conflict in  keeping a hostile force away from our shores and yet this is an era where we are facing an obvious deficiency.

At present we are defended by six obsolete Collins class submarines of which rarely is more than one ready for sea duty.  It seems that this ageing fleet is expected to hold the line for quite a number of years and this is at a time when there are very serious challenges taking place to the oceans not far from our north coast.

Our defence planners have decided that we need to double the number of submarines in our navy and an order has been placed for twelve, which will be built in a French shipyard and fitted out here in Australia.   What is alarming is the proposed time scale.  This will take the form of progressive deliveries and the first is scheduled to arrive in 2032 and be combat ready in 2035.

Of course, that time frame depends on everything running to schedule, and with defence matters it is not unusual for technical upgrades to delay completion for many years.  It is a big ask to expect those clunky, noisy old Collins class subs to do sea duty and hold the line until whatever it takes to get twelve spanking new submarines combat ready.

Fortunately, it is a long time since we last saw a direct threat of invasion and our defence needs are based on treaties with other nations but submarines are an essential in denying access to our near waters by hostile forces.  We may be lucky and find that no threat eventuates until those replacement subs become operational, but we would do well to remember when we went to war with those Wirraway aircraft.

The Price of Milk !

It seems that the product of the dairy industry  is exactly the reverse direction to how the general price structure of industry works.  The price of milk is determined by what the composium of three giant retail chains decide they will offer it to their customers.

When Coles, Woolworths and Aldi thought they would attract more customers by selling milk at a dollar a litre that was a " gun at their head " approach to the dairy industry.  Based on a retail price of a dollar a litre plus the sellers profit margin, that determined the price the grocery chains were prepared to pay to the dairy industry.  Unfortunately that was close to production costs and left little in the way of a profit margin for the producer.

Election Blackouts !

For the last twenty years television has had to conform to a law that prevents them running political advertising from the close of the Wednesday before an election until the closing of the polls on election day.   The purpose of that ban was to stop political parties making untested last minute claims of a volatile nature which could sway the vote of the uncommitted.

In that twenty years much has changed.  Television has competition from both Facebook and Google and a growing number of other platforms and they are not included in this advertising ban.  The television industry complains that this is not  a level playing field.

Most people have a feeling of relief when this political blackout comes into force.  The success of political parties relies on the money they can raise to bring their message to public attention and as a consequence we are bombarded with flyers stuffed into our lettterboxes and advertisements in newspapers.   The visual arts play a big part of television advertising and this has long been an important media for getting the message across.

Unfortunately, politicians are under no obligation to be truthful when it comes to political promises. When it comes to casting a vote in parliament they usually vote on party lines and lack of available funds is the usual excuse when an election promise is unfulfilled.  Most voters treat political promises before an election with that proverbial grain of salt.

It seems abundantly clear that the advertising impetus that decides elections has changed away from political advertising on conventional media to using the popularity of Facebook, Twitter and the like to spread what is now termed " fake news " to bolster public opinion.  It is possible to create a pool of people working computers to create the impression that public opinion has swung behind a point of view and this can be used to influence the vote from outside the country.

The very nature of social media invites individuals to express their views and consequently  when the majority appear to be in favour that can become very persuasive.   Going against the tide can make individuals feel out of touch and negative.  We have reason to believe that concerted efforts by the regimes of other countries is actively manipulating elections to gain trade advantages.

It is not possible to extend that election blackout to social media.  What is said on Facebook and Twitter is what citizens using their smartphone or computer choose to contribute and this is vulnerable to manipulation when linked computers signal support.  We tend to be enthused when our ideas appear to have popular support.

It is unlikely that removing that blackout on television advertising will have any real effect on election outcomes either way.  Social media is now the decisive force and that will not lose its power until individuals learn to evaluate claimed support for unusual points of view.  If that is unexpected, it probably comes from linked computers based somewhere else on this planet.

It seems doubtless that many do not make a final voting decision until they are in the voting booth on the day, pencil in hand.  Hopefully, they have given the choice careful thought - and make a responsible decision  !

Just shoot the Bastards !

The final battle with Islamic State is imminent.   Islamic State fighters are cornered in Baghouz village in Syria, near the Iraqi border and taking fire from all sides.  They will be over run within days and President Trump is trying to make arrangements with European countries to take back any of their nationals involved, put them on trial and send them to prison for the crimes they have committed.

There is the expectation that about eight hundred fighters will be involved and that raises a very interesting question.  These are people who willingly accepted the doctrine of an extreme view of Islam and inflicted it on captured citizens who practised a  more moderate version of that same religion. It is likely that there will be Australians amongst those survivors.

Somehow this relates to the end of the second world war when allied forces discovered the concentration camps that saw the murder of millions of innocent men, women and children. Many of the people responsible faced trial in Nuremberg and were found guilty - and hanged.  Others who escaped are being hunted and prosecuted to this day.

Those Islamic State fighters are murderers without a conscience.  When an opposing army surrendered they took delight in filming the captured soldiers kneeling as they were beheaded.  The civilians who did not immediately obey their orders suffered a similar fate and captured women were sold in the slave markets or forced into sexual relationships.  The cities, towns and villages under their control were subjected to their whims and all forms of entertainment were banned.

They exercised their control without mercy. Hundreds of thousands of people have abandoned ruined homes and fled across borders to escape Islamic State and if these fighters serve time in prison they will continue to infect others with their vile ideology.  They are unrepentant and ready to again spread this form of terror should the opportunity offer.

Justice would be served by inflicting on them what they delivered to others.  A bullet in the brain would be a just reward for the crimes they have committed and it should be delivered without mercy. There is nothing to be gained by subjecting them to a court trial and a common punishment by death is justified.

If individual countries demur because of their internal laws that have ceased the death penalty the solution is simple.  Hand these Islamic State fighters to the people they subjected to their rule and let them decide what punishment is required.  The relatives of the dead are entitled to make that decision.

Just as happened with those second world war concentration camps, many of the guilty will have escaped and settled back in hiding.  We need to find them and make them pay for their crimes, but there is no justice in just jailing them at a cost of millions of dollars while they continue to spread the ideology that causes such immense suffering.

The logical answer is to simply shoot the bastards  !

Resigning Citizenship !

Citizenship is something most people cherish.  Particularly migrants who have waited in a refugee camp to be admitted to this country and who celebrate when they finally receive that piece of paper that recognises them as Australian citizens.

That does raise the question of whether we have the right to resign from being a citizen of either our country of birth or our adopted country.  And if we do abandon that citizenship, do we have the right to change our mind and demand it back - later ?

That is a question being debated in the United Kingdom.  When Islamic State started practicing its extreme version of Islam in Syria and Iraq many young girls in western countries got a romantic urge to join this movement.  Three British schoolgirls managed to fly across borders and joined IS with the intent of becoming brides for what they termed " freedom fighters "

One of them, a fourteen year old named Shamima Begum stole jewellery from her parents home to finance her travel and simply disappeared into the conflict in the desert..  That was in 2015 and she has now reappeared, heavily pregnant and demanding to be allowed to return to Britain so that her unborn child will have automatic British citizenship.  It seems she had two other children while she was with IS but both died from the privation and danger that existed during the fighting.

Britain's Home Secretary is opposed to her return and has vowed to do whatever is necessary to prevent that happening.  Shamima, who is now nineteen years old is near full term and if her baby is born outside the UK it will automatically gain the citizenship of whatever country it is in when birth occurs.

Most people would agree that when a person willingly rejects their citizenship and acts in defiance of their country the relationship is permanently severed. They are free to seek citizenship in any country that will accept them.  But surely that rejection is a two way deal.  Why does any country feel an obligation to restore that citizenship simply because the ex-citizen now has had a change of mind.

Many Australians remember a finance entrepreneur who absconded overseas with his family - and with a lot of other people's money - and lived a life of luxury in  a fine estate described to the media as an " unrenovated farmhouse ".   Despite countless attempts to enforce deportation to return to Australia to face court for his crimes this family publicly disavowed their Australian citizenship and happily lived well on the stolen money.  After the death of this tycoon - and with the money dwindling - his wife made a tearful plea to be allowed to reclaim her Australian citizenship and return to this country - and that was granted !

What happens to Shamima Begum is for the United Kingdom to decide, but we have people who willingly committed murder for religious reasons by joining Islamic State and some of them will try and return to Australia.  It is within our powers to grant citizenship and with that comes the right to accept that citizenship has ceased when it is rejected by a person covered by its benefits.  Being a citizen of Australia does come with mutual obligations.

A Murderer Goes Free !

On January 12, 1970 a three year old girl went missing from Fairy Meadow beach in News South Wales and this sparked a search that went on for many days.   Police and volunteers intensely searched the thickly studded foreshore known as Puckey's Estate but no trace of Cheryl Grimmer was ever found. Nearly fifty years later the police arrest a sixty-five year old man and proceeded to charge him with the little girl's murder.

What is astonishing is it has now been made clear that this man confessed to abducting and killing Cheryl Grimmer when police interviewed " persons of interest " during the investigation that followed her disappearance.    That began when the manager of the Metropolitan Boy's Shelter told police that one of its guests  " may be in possession of information that could be of interest to their investigation. "

The confession quickly followed and it was learned that the body had been concealed on farm property at Balgownie.  This was intensely searched, but without result and some parts of the confession was at variance with the locations described. Police prosecutors decided that there was not enough evidence to support a murder charge in court and the seventeen year old suspect was released.

This week the public again got a shock when the murder charge collapsed.  That confession was the integral part of the prosecutions case and it was determined that it could not be used because when it was obtained the suspect was a juvenile and did not haver an adult present during the interview, nor did he receive the required warning before the interview proceeded.  It was also noted that the accused was vulnerable, had below average intelligence and had a very disturbing upbringing.

 Policing fifty years ago was very different from the standards that exist today.  Many of the older police of that era had been recruited on the basis of their good character and simply learned their tradecraft on the job by instruction from their seniors.   The police of today undergo long and intensive training at the police academy at Goulburn and are required to do followup training as their career progresses.   The world of forensics is ever expanding and uniformed police are supported by technical services that are capable of extracting evidence by the use of science as it evolves.

The evidence of crime today is carefully preserved to await the time when advancing science may reveal facts that can not be extracted at the time the crime was committed.  It is not uncommon for prosecution to proceed many years after a case has been consigned to the " cold case " department.  In fact, such cold cases are regularly reviewed in light of the advances made and sometimes deliver surprising results.

It is unlikely that the Cheryl Grimmer case will find resolution.  It seems the identity of her killer is now known, but prosecution is technically impossible.   But we can be sure that the police will not stop looking.

A War on Music !

We have a drug culture here in New South Wales and where it openly manifests itself seems to be wherever live music is played.  Most events where the audience is measured in thousands ends with a death in the crowd and usually a host of peopled carted off in ambulances suffering from drug overdoses.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the festival organizers.  It seems that young people need the mood enhancing effect of what they term " party drugs " to enjoy their night or day out and despite the best efforts of the police and other law enforcement measures the supply of drugs seem unstoppable.

In what many see as a desperation measure, the New South Wales government is imposing an alternative to their earlier threat to ban music festivals.  This takes the form of requiring event organizers to have doctors, paramedics, ambulance crews and their vehicles and a heavy police security contingent standing by to treat those adversely affected by drugs.   The cost of this is to be borne by the event organizers and in many cases could run well in excess of a hundred thousand dollars for a big national music event.

Basically, this seems destined to drive live music venues out of existence in this state.  The cost of this impost will certainly be reflected in the admission price, resulting in smaller crowds - and many music festivals deciding to move the venue to another state.  This government initiative seems little more than a declaration of war on live music in New South Wales.

The only thing that is new - is the cost of police and paramedics becoming a charge against the event organizers.  They attend all music festivals as a matter of course and this is  paid by the government at present and it clearly represents a move to drive the music festivals out of business by saddling them with impossible costs.

By now we should have learned something.  Ordinary, law abiding young Australians have developed a determination to take the risk by imbibing unknown substances with the expectation of mood enhancement and this usually runs parallel with the enjoyment of music.   Party drugs are an accepted item in " young Australia " and that is not going to change, despite the risk of sudden death.

The other factor that is impossible to ignore is that such drugs are keenly sought by this party crowd, and supply will always be met when demand delivers easy profits to the people who run the drug trade.

If loading music festivals with treatment and security costs achieves the objective of closing down the music scene we may be creating a bigger danger.  Decades earlier we had the staging of such events at secret locations deep in the bush.  The venue location was a secret only revealed late and revellers journeyed by car, and that resulted in drug affected people driving home after the event with consequent casualties.

We long ago lost the war on party drugs.  Now we would be wise to start learning how to live with them.

Killing " Nature " !

Queensland has just had an abnormal rain event which reversed a drought with a flood.  It has been catastrophic for the cattle, sheep and dairying industries with television pictures bringing lurid images of dead animals rotting in the sun as the waters reside.  Breeding is a slow process and it may take decades before the numbers are restored to the level that preceded this flood.

The rest of Australia is suffering the usual summer plague of bushfires and this is adding to the decline in the bee population.  Across the world, the bee population has decreased by about sixty percent because the use of pesticide is reducing the number of plants that they need to survive. Without bees we have a problem with crop pollination and the bee industry moves its hives in crop rotation in accord with farm interests for their mutual benefit.

Crop pollination relies on more than bees.  Another natural pollinator are the fruit bats found across Australia and this hot weather had decimated their numbers.  As well as commercial food crops, this pollination is necessary to keep the reproduction process alive in the vast timber industry.  In fact, bee hives are deliberately sited in the deep bush to gain the flavours to their honey from particular timber types and these brands bring a premium in the shops.

In the past, bees were a common sight in the suburbs of Australian cities, but that was a time when most homes were on a quarter acre block and we prided ourselves on our gardens.  Today that block has shrunk and homes occupy most of the land or high rise and the time of the " vertical village " has eliminated most gardens.  Encountering a bee in the city is becoming rare.

Smoke from bushfires is fatal for bees.  It is smoke the honey industry uses to calm bees when this product is removed from hives and in a sudden bushfire the smoke disorients bees and prevents their return to their hive - and they settle on the land and die.  The industry rushes to remove hives when a bushfire threatens, but then fires are sporadic and quickly bring smoke to huge areas.

When a ever growing world population is facing a coming food crisis this reduction in bee numbers is a critical danger.  Without the bees we will have lower crop numbers to sustain markets and in many cases - no crop at all.  There simply is no other natural pollinator that can be relied upon to nurture a wide range of crop types other than bees.

Now we have a new menace about to impinge on bee numbers.  The east coast of Australia was recently faced with a massive dust storm as winds picked up soil from the inland and brought it to the coast.  This seems to be a growing phenomenon and as it is as unpredictable as smoke, it is something that hive managers are unable to manage.

Plans are underway to create strategically placed " floral pit stops " for bees throughout our cities.   The average bee needs to stop and rest every 500 metres and the more of these to provide resuscitation the better.   We also need to curb our enthusiasm for pesticide.   Weeds have flowers and those industrious little bees do not distinguish between the type of flowers they service.   If we  starve bees of their source of income we automatically reduce our own food supply.

In the long term, the humble bee holds the key to human survival.

An Unwise Decision !

This week, for the first time since 1941 the government holding office in Australia suffered a defeat in the House of Representatives when Labor, the Greens and the crossbench combined to deliver a  75 to 74 rejection of government legislation.

We are heading to a Federal election, scheduled for May and it seems likely this defeat will increase pressure to bring that election forward and immediately dissolve parliament.  That will probably be successfully resisted but the outcome of this parliamentary defeat probably now hinges on how that event is interpreted in the refugee camps in Indonesia.

The price paid for stopping refugee boats crossing to Australia was a  promise that after a certain date no such people would ever gain permanent settlement in this country, and this was backed by the creation of what became internment camps on offshore islands.  Entire families were contained behind barbed wire, waiting in the hope that they might be granted entry to a third country.  Now some have been settled in America but many remain locked away indefinitely and this has become a humanitarian issue.

The remainder in the offshore camps are men and many have been interned for years. One of the issues in contention is the reluctance of health authorities to gain approval for their transfer to Australia when medical treatment becomes urgent.   The medical facilities in these camps is regarded as " basic " and lives are at risk unless access is granted to the standard of care only available in mainland Australian cities.

The rejected legislation was based on moving the decisive power to grant removal to an Australian hospital for treatment from the authorities to a panel of two doctors.  Such a decision - made on medical grounds - would probably ensure that most would gain a favourable decision, and once in Australia they could appeal their return to the islands when treatment ends.

While the defeat leaves the government with the over-riding power to decide transfers there will be some in the refugee camps in Indonesia who see this as the end of the " stop the boats " policy.  The people smugglers may declare they are again open for business and start packing people on boats for that perilous sea crossing.

Labor, the Greens and the crossbench claim this is a humanitarian decision and the plight of the refugees contained in island camps does have resonance in Australia, but all that could change dramatically if a boat full of refugees makes an appearance in our waters.  That could easily backfire and raise the immigration issue to the decisive factor in the coming Federal election.

Public favour is fickle.  A resurgence of boat people trying to force their way into Australia would harden attitudes and back the policy that clearly stopped the boats.  Perhaps the outcome of this test of parliamentary strength will be decided offshore.  The final decision may depend on the people smugglers ability to persuade refugees to pay money and climb aboard unseaworthy boats.

This may be the starters gun to the next episode of the defence of our shoreline.

A " Cheaper " NBN ?

Remember the furore over the National  Broadband Network  ?   We were told that it was essential to bring Australia into the electronic age and what we eventually got was years behind schedule and grossly over budget, and to  make matters worse, it failed to deliver the  speeds we were promised.

The NBN was funded out of the pockets of the taxpayers and it is owned by the Federal government.  Subscriber takeup has been slow for two reasons.  The fees demanded deter many people and it has an active competitor in the mobile phone system, with an updated 5G system coming into service later this year.

The NBN cost to subscribers is dictated by the access cost charged to the telcos who distribute the service to homes and businesses across the nation. Getting a connection requires negotiating service provision through Telstra, Optus,Vodaphone or TPG.  If the government chooses to lower that access cost this NBN service would be reflected in a drop in monthly bills to subscribers.

Such a price drop is being resisted on the grounds that is would delay moving the Federal budget into surplus.   The government expects the NBN will deliver revenue of $ 5.6 billion annually by 2021 and this represents a return of 3.2% on the amount invested in NBN.   To reach that return the user cost would need to average $ 51 per months.

Perhaps that 3.2% return is optimistic in the financial market that currently prevails.  It is far more than self funded retirees can hope to achieve when investing their nest egg and many in the money market would deem it unrealistic.   The NBN was created from taxpayers funds and if it is as essential as has been suggested its provision should be regarded as an essential service.

One of the problems is the NBN is still a work in progress. It has still to reach some parts of the country and provision must extend to newly created housing developments.  There is also the cost of maintenance and the ever developing world of electronics may find new usage that strains space availability.

There is always the possibility that some time in the future an Australian government may consider selling the NBN to relocate the capital into another needed direction.  That is exactly what happened when state governments sold their electricity interests and this created the power shortages we are presently experiencing.

The need for funding power generation renewal became a commercial decision to the detriment of reliability.  That decision is no longer in government hands and consequently we have both power shortages - and elevated prices for the electricity available.

It may be a wise decision to lower NBN access costs to achieve the widest possible coverage and cement NBN in place on the national scale.  It was created with taxpayer funds, and taxpayers expect a dividend by way of relief on what it costs to access this service.

Coming " Aged Care " Crisis !

Royal Commissions have a tendency to create lurid newspaper headlines and this coming enquiry into the aged care industry will unearth many horror stories, but it also presents an opportunity to create standards that will benefit every living Australian at some time in their lifetime.

The people who today are looking for care accommodation for their aged parents will be seeking similar accommodation for themselves a decade or so down the track and one of the problems is a bewildering mix of terms and conditions that apply to all the aspects of aged care in our communities.  This can take the form of villages for the self supporting aged to care homes for those who have deteriorated past self care to nursing homes delivering end of life care.

Most aged people need to make progress from one level of care to another and it is important  that this be financially possible.  Some providers impose a hefty " restoration " fee when a facility is vacated and often this is hidden in the terms that apply.  One of the benefits from this Royal Commission is the expectation that there will be uniformity in the terms and conditions that are contained in the agreements residents sign when they enter care.

This is a growth industry.  We have an ageing population and care of the elderly is fast becoming as important a career path as mainstream medicine. Aged care at present is a mix of " for profit " providers and charitable organizations and it is likely that this will continue, but supervision will be required to ensure that meal standards and staff ratios are satisfactory.

Many of the bigger aged care providers have in-house entertainment facilities.  This often takes the form of group games and the provision of a bus enables excursions and shopping opportunities.  It is likely that independent operators will be encouraged to provide such services to be shared amongst the smaller aged care establishments.

What is not needed is a heavy handed approach that imposes impossible staff ratios and destroys the small operators.  It is a fact of life that some patients become disruptive if afflicted with dementia and do not fit within the care standards that apply.  It is essential that the government supply a facility to provide the specialised care needed and the one place that previously catered for this problem has been closed down.

Hopefully, this Royal Commission will do its job with compassion.  It needs to deliver just the right degree of control to ensure that a common standard exists across the entire spectrum of aged care and does nothing to diminish the excellent relationships many existing carers have with their clientele.

A Political Warning.

There is a lot we can learn politically from the South American country of Venezuela.   It has the highest inflation in the world and its citizens are pouring out over its borders because of food shortages. Its president clings to office with the support of the army and most of the rest of the world is now prepared to recogniser its opposition leader as the legitimate president.   It is hard to see this situation being resolved short of a civil war.

Venezuela became a Spanish colony when Cortez invaded South America in 1522.  They imposed the Spanish language and the Roman Catholic faith and when they were deposed a cabal of wealthy landowners ruled the country.  Late in the twentieth century it suffered a "Bolivian " revolution when Hugo Chavez seized power and installed a populist social welfare state.  The future looked promising because oil had been discovered in Venezuela and this oil field rivalled Saudi Arabia in size.

Venezuela was able to fund socialist states like Cuba while the oil price remained high, but Chavez died of cancer and the presidential mantle passed to Nicholas Manduro, a former bus driver. When the oil price slumped Venezuela had difficulty paying its bills and in 2017 it defaulted.  Maduro has since clung to power by rigging elections and using force to suppress his citizens.   There is a very real danger of mass starvation.

Like most of South America, Venezuela was a country of great inequality.  Rich landowners lived a life of luxury in comparison to the peasants who scratched a bare living from the land.  This inequality made it almost certain that eventually a populist leader would arise to install a regime that offered change.   As we are seeing in Venezuela that quickly changed to a dictatorship as an incompetent president brought financial ruin and military rule as his means of clinging to power.

The western world is suffering an unnerving wealth division between the average wage earner and the captains of industry.  We are fast reaching the stage where the top 0.1% of the population owns more wealth than the other 90% combined.  This is reflected in the variance between a typical top CEO's pay and that of the average worker.  In the 1970's that held a ratio of 30 to one.   Today it is nearer to 312 to one.

It is starting to manifest itself in a rejection of the old two party political system.   We are seeing the emergence of small political parties with limited manifestos and populist independents are being successful in gaining office.  In such a situation a strong leader eventually emerges and may gather popular support to demolish the democratic rules that apply to office.   We are seeing sheer desperation bring unusual leaders to power in other countries  and some may cite  Donald Trump's elevation to the presidency in America as a sharp illustration of that trend.

Whenever the pay balance between the top and bottom of the pay pyramid becomes too wide the pressure for political change becomes inevitable.  It is up to the political system in place to ensure that does not happen, and there are warning signs evident now in many economies.

It does raise the question of whether any person deserves a multi million dollar pay packet.  As we have seen in recent Royal Commissions and similar enquiries, these highly paid people are quite capable of making disastrous mistakes in their stewardship of major companies - and in many cases this is deliberate and to their personal benefit.

Maybe the mayhem in Venezuela is a portend of what lays ahead if we do not average earning ratios and return to a practical political system.

Lockout Laws !

Five years ago Sydney did have a very evident problem in Kings Cross.  It had become the night life Mecca of Australia's biggest city and the crowd numbers surging through its streets in the wee small hours of the morning was becoming dangerous.  Unprovoked fights became an item which regularly resulted in death in the streets.   Intoxicated patrons swinging what were termed " Coward punches " were a phenomenon peculiar to Kings Cross.

Kings Cross became synonymous with drugs and sex.   The drinking establishments promoted live entertainment that consisted of " girly " shows and patron behaviour was almost unbelievably bad.  It was out of control and in desperation Barry O'Farrell's government slapped draconian lockout laws in place.  From 1-30 am entry to establishments was barred.  Patrons were free to stay wherever they were but could not move from show to show - and last drinks were imposed at 3 am.

The result was dramatic.  The crowd numbers retreated to the stage that within a few months most of the entertainment  shows had closed their doors and Kings Cross was shuttered at night.  That famous " Golden Mile " has been converted to accommodation and commerce and the Sydney nightlife scene has moved elsewhere, but unfortunately this has been at the expense of the rhythm expected in a world city.

Sydney is compared unfavourably with Melbourne, where the nightlife scene is widely divided. These lockout laws have been amended and now entry ceases at 2 am and last drinks are imposed at 3-30 am, but this is much more restrictive than the expectations of world travellers.   There is increasing pressure for these lockout laws to be lifted entirely.

They were never intended to be permanent, and in fact the legislation that imposed them required review at two yearly intervals.  Unfortunately, the politicians on both sides of politics fear the reaction of elderly voters with a conservative outlook to alcohol and what they see as " lewd " entertainment.   This fear of losing voter support is preventing a sensible reappraisal of these lockout laws from taking place.

Without doubt they were the right law choices at that time and they tamed the excesses of Kings Cross, but we face a coming state election that is likely to give independents and minor parties the balance of power.  These laws were selective and only applied to Kings Cross and the central CBD. If they are lifted, they would remain in reserve to be applied in the event that some other part of Sydney  redeveloped the excesses that applied to Kings Cross.

The danger is that once laws are in place they become set in stone.  We are constantly enacting new laws, but rarely re-examining those on the books and withdrawing those that have passed their use by date.   These Sydney lockout laws fit that category.

The Enemy Within !

Identity theft seems to be the crime of the twenty-first century.   The banks and a host of government departments legitimately hold all the information that thieves need to assume our identity and run up massive debts in our name   Our personal wealth is locked away behind passwords and pin numbers and should those defences be breached we faced financial ruin.

Before the computer began to rule the financial world life was simple.  Many people had passbook savings accounts and were personally known to the staff of the bank branch they usually visited.  It was difficult to cash a personal cheque unless you were a regular customer  with a known financial record.  Those were the days when cash was king in settling most debts.

In todays world, money changes hands electronically.  We make small purchases with a tap of a credit card or even our personal smartphone.  We are fast reaching the stage when most bills are paid via the internet and for that to happen the banks and other financial institutions that handle our money need to be able to establish our identity.   Within such organizations, thousands of people sit at computer terminals with access to that information.

How safe is our personal information  ?   It seems the police arrested a 28 year old financial services worker as he boarded a plane at Sydney airport with his wife and six month old baby with the intention  of flying to China.   A luggage search disclosed twenty-three identification documents relating to the customers of the financial institution for which he worked.    These contained names and addresses, date of birth, drivers licenses and passport photos.

This man came unstuck when he attempted to install a " dark web "  internet browser on his company supplied laptop.  His employers counter espionage system detected this discrepancy and alerted the security people - who called in the police.   It is very encouraging to know that the financial world has a high degree of protection in place to detect similar intrusions.

Had that browser been undetected it might have divulged the details of thousands of people to be sold to crooks across the world but there is a risk factor because every day a vast number of people need to legitimately access those personal details as they monitor money movements seeking to detect unusual buying patterns that seem suspicious.   Without that browser installation, the details collected would have gone unnoticed.

People without security clearance accessing computer information set off alarms, but the numbers legitimately handling personal information across the financial spectrum is vast.  It does raise the issue of whether contract workers should be employed in this sort of work when their allegiance is to another country and to which they are free to return.

Ending Bulk Billing ?

What you pay when you visit a general practitioner doctor depends on where you live.  It seems that the GP's who practice in affluent suburbs either have very restricted bulk billing rules or do not offer that discount at all.  In suburbs known for low income residents bulk billing seems to be the standard charged across the entire patient spectrum.

Health is a big ticket item in the Federal budget and what is in contention is the Medicare fee the government pays doctors for each patient visit.  This is calculated in response to the level of wage increases in Australia and in recent times pay has been stagnant.  That rebate moved from $37.05 to just $37.60 in July.  Doctors want this rebate standard coupled with the consumer price index instead of wages and had that been in force a GP consultation would have attracted a rebate of $ 41.84 in the 2017-18 year.

Doctors complain that the health visit rebate is falling behind the cost of running their surgeries to an increasing degree.  There is the threat that many may cease offering bulk billing and if that happens the number of people with illnesses that are untreated may rise sharply.  The whole concept of Medicare was to bring medical services within reach of all patients.

Bulk billing as a concept was supposed to filter the needs of patients.  The average person who visits a GP once a year for an annual checkup, or twice a year to have scripts renewed would expect to pay a small out of pocket expense, but the aged or chronically ill who need constant attention and make frequent visits would be better handled on a bulk billing basis.   Some doctors bulk billed all child visits on the basis that it encouraged poorer parents to have their children's health attended on a regular basis.

Doctors are wanting a fee rise of about four dollars for each bulk billed visit.   The standard out of pocket expense for a patient seeing a GP who does not bulk bill is expected to reach  $ 40.69 in this next financial year and a continuation of bulk billing will be essential if we are not going to see a sharp increase in people claiming they can't afford to see a doctor.   If that is allowed to happen, presentation at hospital emergency departments will inevitably increase.

There is also the risk that we will see clinics offering all services bulk billed that will offer what are termed " thirty second consultations ".   An astonishing throughput of patients per hour for the briefest face to face time with a qualified doctor, making the medical experience consistent with the cost factor flowing back to the provider.

It is essential that the provision of medical services be rewarding for practitioners and available to patients.  Unless this health rebate question is solved we will see GP's congregate in wealthy suburbs and absent from the poorer parts of the city and country towns.  That would be detrimental to the excellent health system that exists in this nation.

Keeping Them Honest !

The Royal Commission into the banking industry was certainly a revelation that Australia was at the mercy of a banking consortium that had little respect for the law and used practices that were clearly illegal to inflate its profits.  The report runs to a thousand pages and the ball is back in the governments court when it comes to enforcing the legal standards that apply to banking.

There has been criticism of the banking regulators who are on the government payroll and whose purpose was to ensure that banking standards in Australia were squeaky clean.  Now there is talk of giving APRA and ASIC new powers with the hope that in the future they will regulate banking and prevent the type of malpractice this Royal Commission has exposed.

What seems to be missing is any measure to hold those regulators responsible for the mess that happened on their watch.  The banks were able to ignore the law because of the cosy association they had with both the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the  Australian Securities and Investment Commission.  That Royal Commission would not have been necessary if these banking watchdogs had been doing their duty.

Here in Australia there seems a strange reluctance to take strong action when dereliction of duty by regulators becomes evident.  The crash of 2008 came about when home mortgages in a rising home price market were packed into an investment category called " Derivatives " and this was given a triple A rating by the industry that appraises investment standards.   Unfortunately, these mortgages were " sliced and diced " and many were certain to fail and consequently many public investors found themselves holding worthless securities.

No action was taken against those regulators who granted triple A rating to securities that caused loss and precisely the same firms are today responsible for granting the rating that applies to securities on the investment market.  That lack of a response would have been abundantly clear to the well paid honchos who head APRA and ASIC.

Such failures need to bring a swift response.  The entire hierarchy of both those regulators need to be shown the door and that clear out should extend to middle management level.  In fact all at a supervisory level should be stripped of whatever tertiary qualifications they hold and banned from ever again working in the financial industry for the rest of their lives.  Where failure to act is clearly a law breach, they should be put before a court and required to account for their actions - or lack of actions.

Regulatory authorities in all their many forms will not take their responsibilities seriously unless failure brings both job termination and a status loss that reflects their future earning ability.  The banks got away with defrauding the public simple because the regulators allowed that to happen. The regulatory industry delivers well paid jobs, but they also come with responsibility.

This Royal Commission underlines what went wrong.  What is missing is the consequences that should apply to those who allowed it to happen.

Was Nostradamus a Prophet ?

The life of Michel de Nostradame occurred from 1503 until 1566 but this French physician is more commonly known as Nostradamus.  He was Jewish, but converted to the Catholic faith and he is remembered for a vast litany of prophesies which his followers contend have come true with amazing accuracy.

Unfortunately, those were grim times for anyone who challenged the Catholic church.  Disagreement with its teachings in even the slightest way could bring a charge of heresy and the punishment for that could result in the transgressor being publicly burned at the stake.   It was a time when witchcraft was forbidden and many women who dabbled in finding cures in the healing abilities of plants suffered this fate.

Nostradamus lived in tumultuous times.  That was the time the plague swept  Europe and it took his wife and both of his children.  He would also have been aware of the fate of Gallileo, who invented the telescope and discovered that the planets revolved around the sun, not around the Earth as the church taught.   For that alleged heresy he spent his entire life under house arrest in abject poverty.

As a result, Nostradamus was careful to mask his prophecies in rhyme and hint rather than make forceful declarations.  They are open to interpretation to avoid that charge of heresy which the church was swift to apply. Nostradamus suffered from crippling gout but his death was not suspicious. He became more famous after his death because his prophesies are believed to be devastatingly accurate.

If Nostradamus is to be believed, we have a major problem about to descend on humankind.  It is chilling to find that this seer foretells of the coming of a third world war which will destroy two thirds of the population of planet Earth.   That is not predicted to start sometime in the future and many now believe that Nostradamus was telling us that the fateful date will be next year - when we turn the calendars to 2020.

Some religious people find a strange relevance between what Nostradamus predicts and the end described in the bible's book of Revelations.  Both could easily encompass the result of a nuclear war and the major powers have just torn up a few old treaties and seem determined to engage in a new arms race.  We have long feared fire falling from the skies and a vast food shortage, and all that fits in well with a massive nuclear exchange.

Of course, the end of the world has been predicted many times before.  Most people remember the dismay when it was predicted that our computers could not handle the changeover to the twenty-first century and we would face accounting chaos.  Then Islamic State promised us a religious war between the world's great religions, but they are now nearing being a spent force.

In all probability we will celebrate new year's eve at the end of 2020 with our world still intact but then we do live with a multitude of nuclear weapons standing ready to respond to a first strike if someone chooses to put a finger on that button.

Maybe its not a good idea to write Nostradamus off too readily.  His track record has delivered an enviable degree of accuracy so far.

Debt - And Death !

The Hayne  Royal Commission into the banking industry has already publicly exposed acts of bastardry in the areas of overcharging for their services - and even billing for services they knowingly did not provide.  Year after year this continued unabated while the publicly funded industry setup to police banking sat on its hands and did nothing to impose justice.

One of the areas that caused distress to the families of bank customers was the lack of compassion from the banks when the family breadwinner died with an unpaid debt remaining.   The banks are relentless in recovering money owing and usually this resulted in a stream of demanding letters addressed to that dead person arriving in the family letter box.

Many people contend that when a person dies, their debts die with them, but that is not the case under Australian law.  It is helpful if the deceased has left a will to instruct the distribution of assets, but in the absence of a will that distribution proceeds according to a formulae and registered debts are recovered in that process.

It is necessary for the assets of a deceased person to be granted probate by the Supreme court and that is best handled by a trained lawyer.  It requires a notice to be inserted in the local newspaper requiring debts against the estate to be proven within a time scale and the granting of probate is merely the official sanction for the remaining assets to be distributed.

If the deceased was living alone there may be debts for phone and electricity, and perhaps work done on the deceased car by a local mechanic.  It becomes more complex if the deceased was a partner in a business or if property is involved.  If a home is subjected to a remaining mortgage recovery of the money owing may necessitate the sale of the property, or the beneficiary may agree with the bank to accept liability for the mortgage in their own name.

The vast majority of deceased estates are settled without problems.   It becomes more complex if the deceased was running a business in partnership with someone else and the value of that business depends on it continuing operation without pause.  It can become very complex if the business involved is a family farm and both the value of stock and plant and equipment needs to be taken into account

Such complex issues are usually beyond the ability of the average person to negotiate and the banks are notorious for safeguarding their own position.  Should the assets of the deceased have complexities it is essential that processing the estate be put in the hands of a competent person with legal knowledge who will force the banks to act within the statutes of the law.

Despite the findings of this banking Royal Commission it is unrealistic to expect the banks to err on the side of generosity when it comes to finalising estates.  Dependents would be well advised to immediately seek legal representation to avoid the recriminations that are unavoidable when dealing with institutions that will always make judgements in their own favour.

Ghost Guns.

When a hand gun is used in a crime it leaves behind " fingerprints " which help law enforcement trace it back to the user.  The bullet or even the cartridge case can identify the weapon and whether it has been used in any other reported crime and the makers serial number will trace the weapon to its original point of sale.

Criminals place high value on what they term a " clean skin " weapon.  One that has not been used in a crime and from which the serial number has been erased, but now the combination of technology and human ingenuity is producing what are termed " ghost guns "  from a " do it yourself " kit.

This kit is delivered to the customer in the form of a sealed hard plastic case, the outer surface of which is marked to indicate where drilling is necessary.  The customer needs an electric drill and a range of drill bit sizes and after drilling where indicated this outer case needs to be destroyed to reveal all the necessary components to construct the gun.

Should the case be X-rayed before the drilling, the contents appear meaningless.  The drilling separates the individual components and the customer has the task of fitting it all together.  It usually takes about two hours to produce a fully functional weapon that lacks any form of identification. This format can produce anything from the Glock 9 mm pistol used by police to the assault rifles used by the military.

Unfortunately, this seems to avoid the lax gun laws in the United States and because they are difficult to identify in their kit form they are being exported to many world countries.  The cost of these ghost guns is comparable with legally produced weapons, but the big attraction to criminals is the ability to access weapons which are totally untraceable.

The other big problem is that these kits can pass through most forms of customs control undetected. The marketing people go to great lengths to present the kits in innocuous form and they may come disguised by passing through a third world country known for high volume toy production.  The sheer volume of imports make individual inspection of each and every item impossible.

Several years ago the invention of 3D printing caused alarm when it was reported that it was possible to produce a working firearm from this method of layered construction.  Samples produced proved the theory but with limitations and this has not become a problem for law enforcement.   The quality of these ghost guns in kit form lacks the fine tolerance of legally manufactured weapons, but they are certainly deadly and open to further refinement n the hands of skilled tradespeople.

Australian criminals can certainly access illegal weapons if they have the money and the main source is rebel bikie gangs.   The danger is that if this ghost gun supply in kit form attains volume we may see guns appearing in the hands of the juvenile gangs that are producing such mayhem in America. At this stage of their development, these gangs here are unarmed.

Ghost guns are a completely new development.  How we deal with this problem awaits resolution !

A Salmonella Alert !

A warning from the New South Wales Food Authority sends a chill through people who are fond of any sort of food that is derived from eggs.   It seems that a batch of eggs may be lurking on the shelves of household refrigerators that are contaminated with Salmonella.

Fortunately, suspect eggs can easily be identified.  The people doing the cooking should look for the letters " BEC " or " BEC115 " printed on the eggshell.  If this is found, it is imperative that the eggs be thrown out and not used.

This warning comes at the very worst of time with many households turning to salads because of the extreme hot weather this summer.   The humble egg is a major ingredient of many meals and now we find that it is susceptible to salmonella infection during its journey from high intensity egg faming to the supermarket shelves from which our food supply is drawn.

Along with the warning about these branded eggs, the Food Authority has issued a general warning that people preparing food should use extreme caution when handling this farm product.  They should be diligent in washing their hands before and after contact with eggs and be vigilant in avoiding contact with the raw egg product.

We typically see a rise in Salmonella poisoning in the warm summer months and the people most vulnerable are those with a compromised immune system,  those under two years of age or over seventy - and women who are pregnant.  There has been 412 cases of Salmonella infection in New South Wales this year and a month of summer remains.

Salmonella is an unpleasant affliction.  It usually announces its presence by way of fever, headaches, diarrhoea, abdominal pains, nausea and vomiting.  It requires prompt medical attention.  Hopefully, this health warning may bring the risks associated with egg products into sharper focus.  The egg is so commonplace that most people think it is harmless.

One of the dangers present over a lingering lunch is the fact that salad remains on the table and exposed to warm temperatures when it would be better returned to the refrigerator after the initial serving.  Cooks would also be wise to pay close attention to the use-by date on the eggs in storage in their refrigerator.

Considering that eggs are an ingredient in a wide range of cooked products, this warning is timely. It is highly likely that most of the " unsettled stomach " incidents we experience from time to time are a mild exposure to the perils that eggs deliver.

The " Co-Ed " Question ?

It seems that Sydney's eastern suburbs has a peculiar problem that is fast becoming a divisive political issue for the coming state election.  The education department is juggling numbers in that areas state schools to try and achieve a balance and running into that thorny issue of single gender schools or whether to embrace co-education.

The eastern suburbs is homed to several prestigious  private schools, all of which have strict same sex policies and at present it is served by two state high schools - Randwick Boys High and Randwick Girls High which both observe that same sex intake of pupils.

The problem emerges when numbers are taken into account.   Randwick Girls High is bursting at the seams while Randwick Boys High has many student vacancies.  Logical thinking suggests that this could be solved by making Randwick Boys High school co-educational.  That suggestion has created a furore and it seems that there is a deep division in parents minds.  What has emerged is that many parents prefer a single sex education for their daughters, but prefer that their sons be educated where the genders are mixed.

Most of the fight seems to be coming from Randwick Girls High which has inundated the suburb with a letter campaign opposing the change, probably thinking that their own school may be forced to go co-ed in the long term if that happens.  The political dimension widens with the Labor party promising an entirely new school for the suburb if it wins office.

There is no suggestion of imposing Co-ed status on Randwick Girls High but if Randwick Boys High goes Co-ed then obviously excess girl students will be turned away from the girls school. It is evident that many parents believe that girls attain a better education when they are separated from the distraction of nearby boys.

Co-ed supporters see that differently.  Concentrating males in a same sex educational establishment tends to heighten the division between the genders.  Social mobility is enhanced when the mix of girls and boys is seen as natural and not something that happens suddenly when both enter the work force.  The move towards gender equality is not enhanced by a sharp division in the school system.

In many ways, single gender high schools are an anomaly that has been preserved from an earlier age.  Primary schools are overwhelmingly Co-ed, and when students end their formal education and go on to university that form of higher learning is also Co-ed.  In earlier times we seem to have had a distraction about separating the genders in their teenage years, and perhaps we are paying a price for that in the resistance to equality as women claim career opportunities that were once closed to their gender.

It is unfortunate that this problem has emerged in proximity to an election.  The outcome that emerges will have more to do with political reality than with either school economics or the task of easing the relationship change between the genders in our emerging equal society.

A Parking " Freebie " !

Its easy to see that this is an election year. Yesterday a new regulation came into force that allows a ten minute period of grace after your parking meter expires before the council ranger can legally write you a fine.  Of course, that ensures that there will be many heated arguments on the validity of the watches in use to establish that ten minutes have elapsed.

This only applies to street parking and is unlikely to be granted in store car parks or in commercial car parks that are outside council control and this grace period will only apply to parking meters that grant parking for an hour or more.

There seems every chance that some people will misinterpret this new rule and think that it applies to all sorts of other parking infringements.   It certainly is not applicable to parking on clearways, stopping in bus lanes or transit lanes, parking in mail zones or where streets are marked to restrict special event parking.  Nor is it applicable to parking meters that do not issue tickets to establish the timing end of paid parking.

The thinking behind it is to grant fairness in a system that is not a safety issue but merely a social necessity to filter the available parking spots across the widest spectrum of motorists.  It also has the added benefit of not costing the state government any revenue as the income from parking fines flows to the council in which the parking restrictions apply.

It will certainly add to the frustration of parking rangers by adding a new dimension to issuing fines. The efficiency of writing a fine on the evidence of an expired meter is over and that ranger will be required to wait the expiration of the grace period.  It will obviously slow the time taken to cover whatever range of streets is under each ranger's control and consequently many people seriously overstaying their time allocation will escape the penalty.

The days are long gone when street parking in major cities was without restrictions.  We are fast reaching the stage where just about every citizen above the age necessary to obtain a driving license is now the owner of a car - and uses it for personal transport.  That shiny new car is now within the financial reach of most people and we can only hope that when the era of self driving cars eventually arrives we will embrace a shared fleet use to restore sanity on our roads.

Until that happens, the parking of cars offers an opportunity for vote gathering legislation to enhance the prospects of the government, and the opposition is quick to promise that should it win the coming contest it will ensure that this measure remains in place.   The only loser in this equation are the councils which can expect a drop in parking fine revenue.