In 2016 there was a ghastly accident in a New South Wales hospital when a newborn baby died and another suffered severe brain damage when there was confusion in the piping of medical gases and the children received nitrous oxide instead of oxygen.
The aftermath is only now becoming apparent. In September , Safe Work NSW dropped the charges against the hospital after it entered an enforceable undertaking to improve its contracting and safety systems at a cost of $536,600. What is amazing is that work on the installation of medical gas systems is still unregulated. The people who carry out this exacting work are not required to have any formal training or to be the holder of a proficiency certificate.
That decision is surprising as the Coroner has not completed the enquiry into this death and a directive hearing is scheduled to be held on November 19. It has so far failed to address the core issue which is that individuals in NSW are not required to have either adequate training or a license in mechanical services or medical gas. That requirement was recently imposed in Queensland.
Medical gases are an important service provision in all hospitals and the Plumbing Trade Union has called for people installing medical gas to be qualified to at least Certificate 111 level and undertake additional training in installing medical gases.
In 2016 the state's chief health officer reported that this accident was a case of mislabelling. The line carrying nitrous oxide was incorrectly labelled as oxygen. A simple but deadly mistake that took the life of a child.
Another gas danger that goes unrecognised is the use of unflued gas heaters so common in Sydney homes during the winter months. It is essential that such a room have a source of fresh air to combat the buildup of toxic carbon monoxide which is safely carried away up the chimney when a heating source is connected to a flue.
There is a danger that if an unflued gas heater is used in a small room with the door and windows tightly shut that the buildup of carbon monoxide may result in the death of the occupant. In recent years there have been tragedies when unsuspecting people have brought gas BBQ's indoors in a desperate attempt to keep warm, not realising that this sort of equipment is specifically manufactured for outdoor use.
Unflued gas heaters sold in the shops carry little in the way of warnings and in the public mind they are thought to be safe. Gas cooking and gas hot water heating are common in this state and the connection of gas to our homes must be carried out by qualified tradespeople. The essential services people like the fire brigade are very conscious of what damage a gas leak explosion can cause. Even the hint of a gas leak can cause the entire area to be evacuated.
We need a degree of caution when we use gas indoors for heating, and it is glaringly apparent that the people who install medical gases in hospitals should have adequate trade certification. That is a requirement that should be required without delay !
Thursday 31 October 2019
Wednesday 30 October 2019
A Killer Dies a Lonely Death !
The world will be a better place with the death of Ivan Milat. Australia's worst psychopath shuffled off the mortal coil in a prison hospital over the weekend, mercifully administered the relief of pain that he withheld from the victims he tortured to death in the lonely Belanglo state forest in New
South Wales.
Milat was seventy-four years old when he died and his cause of death was oesophagus and stomach cancer. In 1996 he was convicted of the murder of seven backpackers between 1989 and 1993 and there is deep suspicion that he was also responsible for several other unsolved murders. Milat professed innocence and during the years he spent in Bathurst's maximum security prison he steadfastly refused to admit his guilt.
Australia was considered a safe place for backpackers to visit before Milat started befriending those he met and offered lifts. He came unstuck when he produced a gun and threatened a young British backpacker who escaped from his car and waved down a passing motorist to make his escape. Paul Onions reported this incident to the police, but later when suspicion fell on Milat, Onions was brought back to Australia and positively identified Milat as the man who tried to kidnap him.
A search of his home produced damning evidence. He had kept souvenirs from the young people he killed and these items could be clearly identified as their personal property. At least his conviction brought closure to the families of victims from various other parts of the world.
Fortunately, people like Ivan Milat are rare and the medical fraternity are undecided whether this urge to repeatedly kill complete strangers is insanity or some sort of strange evil which they are so far unable to identify. There was nothing in Ivan Milat's life or background that could explain his actions in deliberately bringing his victims to the same killing ground in a remote state forest and subjecting them to unbelievable cruelty for his own strange satisfaction.
For some time, backpackers and hitchhikers were scarce on Australian roads after Milat's arrest made world headlines. The passage of time has restored our safe image and once again young people from around the world are visiting Australia and this labour force is essential in bringing in seasonal agricultural crops.
The one thing that has not regained favour is hitchhiking. In earlier years it was common to see young people with their pack at their feet waving a thumb to indicate they they were seeking a lift. That was a common sight on most highways and the danger is obvious. It was certainly the way that Ivan Milat came into contact with the majority of his victims.
The backpacker of today is much more likely to invest in a car or a van which is recycled by way of sale to the next generation of visitors when their holiday in Australia comes to an end. Personal safety is now a greater concern. There are few world countries that have not experienced a serial predator killer like Ivan Milat. Caution is the only defence against becoming a victim !
South Wales.
Milat was seventy-four years old when he died and his cause of death was oesophagus and stomach cancer. In 1996 he was convicted of the murder of seven backpackers between 1989 and 1993 and there is deep suspicion that he was also responsible for several other unsolved murders. Milat professed innocence and during the years he spent in Bathurst's maximum security prison he steadfastly refused to admit his guilt.
Australia was considered a safe place for backpackers to visit before Milat started befriending those he met and offered lifts. He came unstuck when he produced a gun and threatened a young British backpacker who escaped from his car and waved down a passing motorist to make his escape. Paul Onions reported this incident to the police, but later when suspicion fell on Milat, Onions was brought back to Australia and positively identified Milat as the man who tried to kidnap him.
A search of his home produced damning evidence. He had kept souvenirs from the young people he killed and these items could be clearly identified as their personal property. At least his conviction brought closure to the families of victims from various other parts of the world.
Fortunately, people like Ivan Milat are rare and the medical fraternity are undecided whether this urge to repeatedly kill complete strangers is insanity or some sort of strange evil which they are so far unable to identify. There was nothing in Ivan Milat's life or background that could explain his actions in deliberately bringing his victims to the same killing ground in a remote state forest and subjecting them to unbelievable cruelty for his own strange satisfaction.
For some time, backpackers and hitchhikers were scarce on Australian roads after Milat's arrest made world headlines. The passage of time has restored our safe image and once again young people from around the world are visiting Australia and this labour force is essential in bringing in seasonal agricultural crops.
The one thing that has not regained favour is hitchhiking. In earlier years it was common to see young people with their pack at their feet waving a thumb to indicate they they were seeking a lift. That was a common sight on most highways and the danger is obvious. It was certainly the way that Ivan Milat came into contact with the majority of his victims.
The backpacker of today is much more likely to invest in a car or a van which is recycled by way of sale to the next generation of visitors when their holiday in Australia comes to an end. Personal safety is now a greater concern. There are few world countries that have not experienced a serial predator killer like Ivan Milat. Caution is the only defence against becoming a victim !
Tuesday 29 October 2019
A War on Cash !
This proposed war on cash payments has some interesting undertones. If this law comes into effect, from next year it will be a criminal offence to offer cash in any transaction where the amount paid is above ten thousand dollars - and the person receiving such a payment will also face criminal penalties.
So the person who saves and wants to buy a new small car for cash would be likely to serve both a two year jail term and a fine that exceeds the value of the car, and the person who accepted that cash would probably be a neighbour in an adjoining cell.
Of course the intent of this legislation is to crack down on money laundering which is rife in the drug trade and perhaps the government also has in mind that hundred thousand dollars in cash in an Aldi shopping bag that changed hands by way of a donation prior to the last election.
This idea emerged from the government's " black economy " task force in 2018 and was designed to undercut tax avoidance and organised crime. We are fast reaching the stage where simply having a large amount of cash money will become a crime, and that has a worrying overtone in the way our economy is moving.
The Reserve bank has cut interest rates and appears likely to continue that option to the point that we may face negative interest. In other words, the banks charge us interest to mind our money in their bank. Don't laugh ! That was exactly the situation that developed in some European countries during the 2008 recession.
Just think about all those self funded retirees who have their nest egg invested in term deposits. The shrinking interest rates are depleting the money they need to live on and if interest rates go into reverse gear they face the prospect of becoming poorer. That would be a big incentive to draw the money out of the bank and keep it in a safe under the bed.
That is exactly what governments fear. When people start withdrawing their savings that is termed a " run on the banks " and their lending is crippled, sending the economy into a nose dive. When that last recession happened in 2008 it was the government that had to bail out the banks to keep the economy afloat.
This new law does seem suspiciously like a plan to lock people's money safely away in the banking system and the cynics will doubt that it has much to do with stopping organized crime. Maybe the government's crystal ball is showing coming trends that look ominous for our economy. It is probably not as innocent as it seems at face value !
So the person who saves and wants to buy a new small car for cash would be likely to serve both a two year jail term and a fine that exceeds the value of the car, and the person who accepted that cash would probably be a neighbour in an adjoining cell.
Of course the intent of this legislation is to crack down on money laundering which is rife in the drug trade and perhaps the government also has in mind that hundred thousand dollars in cash in an Aldi shopping bag that changed hands by way of a donation prior to the last election.
This idea emerged from the government's " black economy " task force in 2018 and was designed to undercut tax avoidance and organised crime. We are fast reaching the stage where simply having a large amount of cash money will become a crime, and that has a worrying overtone in the way our economy is moving.
The Reserve bank has cut interest rates and appears likely to continue that option to the point that we may face negative interest. In other words, the banks charge us interest to mind our money in their bank. Don't laugh ! That was exactly the situation that developed in some European countries during the 2008 recession.
Just think about all those self funded retirees who have their nest egg invested in term deposits. The shrinking interest rates are depleting the money they need to live on and if interest rates go into reverse gear they face the prospect of becoming poorer. That would be a big incentive to draw the money out of the bank and keep it in a safe under the bed.
That is exactly what governments fear. When people start withdrawing their savings that is termed a " run on the banks " and their lending is crippled, sending the economy into a nose dive. When that last recession happened in 2008 it was the government that had to bail out the banks to keep the economy afloat.
This new law does seem suspiciously like a plan to lock people's money safely away in the banking system and the cynics will doubt that it has much to do with stopping organized crime. Maybe the government's crystal ball is showing coming trends that look ominous for our economy. It is probably not as innocent as it seems at face value !
Monday 28 October 2019
" Right to Know " Laws !
On Monday, October 21, every newspaper in Australia came out with precisely the same front page. It gave the impression that censorship of the news was happening when the print of what you are allowed to read is obliterated by government decree.
Australia has what we proudly call a " free press ". There are few restrictions on what a newspaper may print in its pages beyond the right of people adversely named to claim damages by way of pursuing vilification reimbursement through the courts. While there is no legal protection enacted by law, journalists claim the right to protect the identity of their informants - to the point of defying a court order if that becomes necessary.
This " right to know " is supported by freedom of information laws but government agencies also have the right to block what they deem " sensitive content " by applying the censors marker pen to obliterate specific information contained in that statement. The government claims the right to suppress this content in " the national interest " !
What sparked this latest " freedom of information " campaign was a Federal police raid on the home of a journalist and a similar information seeking protrusion into the offices of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. It seems that the government was trying to suppress a story which may have revealed that the army or other government agencies may have broken Australian law in the way they carried out their duties. The revelation of this crime may have been conscience action by what we call a " whistle blower ".
There are obviously matters concerning our defence plans for this country that the government may want to keep secret from potential enemies. An infamous Australian named Julian Assange convinced a serving member of the American armed forces to copy data he was tasked with processing and when Assange released this for world publication it revealed not only homicide perpetrated by the American military but technical information that would be of great value to a potential enemy. Assange has now been arrested and is likely to pass into American hands to be punished for what they describe as a crime.
The Australian government has the delicate job of putting laws in place that will guard the nation's legitimate secrets - and at the same time give journalists the freedom they need to reveal government wrongdoing, even if that provides immense embarrassment to the very people who orchestrate those laws. The government itself must be held accountable for the actions of the minions who carry out the affairs of state under its direction.
This is a tug of war that will never fully satisfy both sides. We are probably better served by a degree of ambiguity in the wording of whatever law applies which makes the final decision on individual questions a decision by the courts.
In such matters, the wisdom of the court is essential in deciding exactly where the public interest is best served. The possibility of public disclosure is the threat to the law makers that " keeps the bastards honest " !
Australia has what we proudly call a " free press ". There are few restrictions on what a newspaper may print in its pages beyond the right of people adversely named to claim damages by way of pursuing vilification reimbursement through the courts. While there is no legal protection enacted by law, journalists claim the right to protect the identity of their informants - to the point of defying a court order if that becomes necessary.
This " right to know " is supported by freedom of information laws but government agencies also have the right to block what they deem " sensitive content " by applying the censors marker pen to obliterate specific information contained in that statement. The government claims the right to suppress this content in " the national interest " !
What sparked this latest " freedom of information " campaign was a Federal police raid on the home of a journalist and a similar information seeking protrusion into the offices of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. It seems that the government was trying to suppress a story which may have revealed that the army or other government agencies may have broken Australian law in the way they carried out their duties. The revelation of this crime may have been conscience action by what we call a " whistle blower ".
There are obviously matters concerning our defence plans for this country that the government may want to keep secret from potential enemies. An infamous Australian named Julian Assange convinced a serving member of the American armed forces to copy data he was tasked with processing and when Assange released this for world publication it revealed not only homicide perpetrated by the American military but technical information that would be of great value to a potential enemy. Assange has now been arrested and is likely to pass into American hands to be punished for what they describe as a crime.
The Australian government has the delicate job of putting laws in place that will guard the nation's legitimate secrets - and at the same time give journalists the freedom they need to reveal government wrongdoing, even if that provides immense embarrassment to the very people who orchestrate those laws. The government itself must be held accountable for the actions of the minions who carry out the affairs of state under its direction.
This is a tug of war that will never fully satisfy both sides. We are probably better served by a degree of ambiguity in the wording of whatever law applies which makes the final decision on individual questions a decision by the courts.
In such matters, the wisdom of the court is essential in deciding exactly where the public interest is best served. The possibility of public disclosure is the threat to the law makers that " keeps the bastards honest " !
Sunday 27 October 2019
A New Online Abortion Service !
In September, abortion became legal in New South Wales when the state parliament finally removed a law banning it from state legislation. It was the last state in Australia to take that action, and it only got the required numbers after eight weeks of agonising debate.
In fact, very little has changed. Abortion has long been freely available in New South Wales because of an interpretation that it is a medical procedure that may be used to save the life of the expectant mother - and " save " has a very wide definition. Women seeking an abortion had little trouble finding a doctor providing that service, as long as they lived in a city or a major country town.
There were many complaints that abortion was really a " postcode lottery ". Abortion provision or even referral was at the option of individual doctors and many refused because of religious or ethical reasons. It was often necessary for a woman living in a country area to undertake expensive travel and overnight accommodation to obtain an abortion and this imposed severe financial stress.
Abortion can take one of two forms. It can be a surgicall procedure, or it can be performed with the use of drugs and in the past a national tele-abortion service provided this service to women across the country. This Tabbot Foundation closed its doors earlier this year because of financial stress. It is being replaced by a new service titled " Abortion Online " which it is hoped will fill a very big gap.
Women in remote areas seeking an abortion will need to move quickly. This form of medical abortion using drugs is only available during the first nine weeks of pregnancy and will first require an ultra sound and a blood test. The abortion procedure then proceeds by way of two drugs. The first is Mifepristone, and the second drug taken two days later is Misoprostol. A follow-up consultation ensures that the procedure has been successful.
This telephone and online service has been welcomed by Family Planning NSW. Now that the criminal stigma has been removed from abortion it is hoped that more general practitioners will offer this service. This form of medical abortion should be readily available from a range of GP's and gynaecologists or from this new tele-abortion service.
There is an expectation that many women will choose an online abortion service in preference to attending an abortion clinic because of the harassment delivered by anti abortion fanatics who congregate outside on the footpath. The decision to have an abortion is usually a matter of private stress and that is exacerbated when entrance to a clinic is by way of a screeching bevy of harridans delivering accusations of moral sin. Areas near abortion clinics are being declared exclusion zones to limit this stress.
Medical abortion does come at a financial cost. The Abortion Online cost is usually $ 395 above the cost of the tests and the precriptions, and this is higher than the $250 charged by the former Tabbot Foundation.
In fact, very little has changed. Abortion has long been freely available in New South Wales because of an interpretation that it is a medical procedure that may be used to save the life of the expectant mother - and " save " has a very wide definition. Women seeking an abortion had little trouble finding a doctor providing that service, as long as they lived in a city or a major country town.
There were many complaints that abortion was really a " postcode lottery ". Abortion provision or even referral was at the option of individual doctors and many refused because of religious or ethical reasons. It was often necessary for a woman living in a country area to undertake expensive travel and overnight accommodation to obtain an abortion and this imposed severe financial stress.
Abortion can take one of two forms. It can be a surgicall procedure, or it can be performed with the use of drugs and in the past a national tele-abortion service provided this service to women across the country. This Tabbot Foundation closed its doors earlier this year because of financial stress. It is being replaced by a new service titled " Abortion Online " which it is hoped will fill a very big gap.
Women in remote areas seeking an abortion will need to move quickly. This form of medical abortion using drugs is only available during the first nine weeks of pregnancy and will first require an ultra sound and a blood test. The abortion procedure then proceeds by way of two drugs. The first is Mifepristone, and the second drug taken two days later is Misoprostol. A follow-up consultation ensures that the procedure has been successful.
This telephone and online service has been welcomed by Family Planning NSW. Now that the criminal stigma has been removed from abortion it is hoped that more general practitioners will offer this service. This form of medical abortion should be readily available from a range of GP's and gynaecologists or from this new tele-abortion service.
There is an expectation that many women will choose an online abortion service in preference to attending an abortion clinic because of the harassment delivered by anti abortion fanatics who congregate outside on the footpath. The decision to have an abortion is usually a matter of private stress and that is exacerbated when entrance to a clinic is by way of a screeching bevy of harridans delivering accusations of moral sin. Areas near abortion clinics are being declared exclusion zones to limit this stress.
Medical abortion does come at a financial cost. The Abortion Online cost is usually $ 395 above the cost of the tests and the precriptions, and this is higher than the $250 charged by the former Tabbot Foundation.
Saturday 26 October 2019
That " Drug Testing " Option !
The enquiry by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) into police action at the Splendour in the Grass music festival has moved beyond the legality of strip searches to discover drugs and unearthed alarming discrepancies on what happens when illicit drugs are discovered.
The enquiry heard that one music attendee was found to have 0.4g of MDMA but this was recorded on the arrest form as 3.18 grams which brought it from personal use to the much more serious " trafficable quantity ". There was a high chance that such a quantity would result in a prison sentence. The officer who made this mistake could not explain the discrepancy beyond saying " It is quite easy to get muddled up ".
A person with legal training who manned a free legal advice booth at the festival reported that police frequently handed out a form to those caught with minor amounts of drugs which would allow them to post in a formal guilty plea. It was suggested that this would allow the magistrate to dismiss a charge without recording a conviction, which is known in court circles as a " Section 10 ".
The police are not in a position to speculate on how a magistrate will view a case appearing before him or her. Some people not appearing before a court could be viewed as not taking the charges seriously and in the mind of some magistrates drugs at a music festival could be interpreted as ignoring the explicit warnings that precede such events. Simply mailing in a guilty plea invited an unknown view by the magistrate.
One thing that is becoming quite clear is the change in police attitude to drugs and the methods used to screen crowds at music festivals. This changed markedly from 2018 and now it is like a military operation with a mass of uniformed police accompanies by sniffer dogs forming a barrier through which entrants must proceed. Hanging in the air is the threat that anyone can be randomly selected - and ordered to undertake a strip search.
The hidden issue behind all this drug controversy is whether or not to allow drugs in the possession of music festival patrons to be tested. For that to happen, as amnesty around the testing facility would be required and watching police would not be allowed to intercept patrons walking away from that facility. Drug testing can never be entirely reliable, but it would help to screen out the more lethal rubbish brewed and sold by underground drug laboratories.
When someone dies at a music festival there are usually one of two causes. They had the misfortune to buy a lethal concoction sold by an incompetent drug cook, or they overdosed on what would have been a perfectly safe drug if taken in a responsible quantity. That may happen in response to fright at the presence of police - or in a vain search for the purity of that elusive " high " that is the reason people take drugs.
The one thing that is now perfectly clear is that the public will evade whatever restrictions are imposed and continue to take drugs at music festivals. Pill testing is the lesser evil. It doers not deliver the ultimate safety, but it is a vast improvement on what serves as drug screening presently happening on the drug scene.
The enquiry heard that one music attendee was found to have 0.4g of MDMA but this was recorded on the arrest form as 3.18 grams which brought it from personal use to the much more serious " trafficable quantity ". There was a high chance that such a quantity would result in a prison sentence. The officer who made this mistake could not explain the discrepancy beyond saying " It is quite easy to get muddled up ".
A person with legal training who manned a free legal advice booth at the festival reported that police frequently handed out a form to those caught with minor amounts of drugs which would allow them to post in a formal guilty plea. It was suggested that this would allow the magistrate to dismiss a charge without recording a conviction, which is known in court circles as a " Section 10 ".
The police are not in a position to speculate on how a magistrate will view a case appearing before him or her. Some people not appearing before a court could be viewed as not taking the charges seriously and in the mind of some magistrates drugs at a music festival could be interpreted as ignoring the explicit warnings that precede such events. Simply mailing in a guilty plea invited an unknown view by the magistrate.
One thing that is becoming quite clear is the change in police attitude to drugs and the methods used to screen crowds at music festivals. This changed markedly from 2018 and now it is like a military operation with a mass of uniformed police accompanies by sniffer dogs forming a barrier through which entrants must proceed. Hanging in the air is the threat that anyone can be randomly selected - and ordered to undertake a strip search.
The hidden issue behind all this drug controversy is whether or not to allow drugs in the possession of music festival patrons to be tested. For that to happen, as amnesty around the testing facility would be required and watching police would not be allowed to intercept patrons walking away from that facility. Drug testing can never be entirely reliable, but it would help to screen out the more lethal rubbish brewed and sold by underground drug laboratories.
When someone dies at a music festival there are usually one of two causes. They had the misfortune to buy a lethal concoction sold by an incompetent drug cook, or they overdosed on what would have been a perfectly safe drug if taken in a responsible quantity. That may happen in response to fright at the presence of police - or in a vain search for the purity of that elusive " high " that is the reason people take drugs.
The one thing that is now perfectly clear is that the public will evade whatever restrictions are imposed and continue to take drugs at music festivals. Pill testing is the lesser evil. It doers not deliver the ultimate safety, but it is a vast improvement on what serves as drug screening presently happening on the drug scene.
Friday 25 October 2019
Russian Roulette with House Prices !
Uncertainty in the financial market saw the prices of houses in Sydney retreat in price a few months ago, and now they have come roaring back. In the last quarter prices rose by about fifty thousand dollars and once again the gap between home affordability and earnings is widening.
Many people are in financial debt up to their neck because housing has become the money roller-coaster. They reason that if that pressure becomes unbearable they can simply slap the house back on the market and collect a nice profit because of house price inflation, and that is a truism as long as the bubble doesn't burst.
The sharp object hovering over that housing bubble is global warming. The ice cap at both poles is melting and sea levels will rise in the lifetime of most of todays children and the first to feel the effect will be the most desirable homes fronting beaches. We had a taste of that over a year ago when a storm surge undermined beachfront homes at Collaroy.
Now the insurance industry is shining the light on rising premiums, and it is surprising the number of home owners who have quietly dropped insurance cover because the premiums have become unaffordable. In the distant past insurance in many minds was protection from damage by fire and storm, and against loss from burglary.
In todays reasoning, the value is not the building that sits on the block of land, it is the value of that block of land itself. If the house burns down, the land will probably bring much the same price as would be asked before the fire. Many people buy existing homes with the intention of demolition and building the new home of their dreams on the vacated land.
Surprisingly, this house price inflation has lulled the usually sharply aware money market into complacency. The scientific world has been giving warning of where rising sea levels will invade low lying land and they are still financing the sale of homes that will be under water before the mortgages are finally paid off. Surprisingly, councils are still permitting building on blocks of land they know will be under water by the end of this century.
Rising sea levels will become very apparent by the middle of this century - and that is just thirty years from now. There is an expectation that world government will come to its senses and take the action that will stop temperatures topping two degrees, but so far that is all talk and little action. Governments are afraid that the actions necessary to stop global warming will make then unpopular - and lose office. Retaining the awesome power of being in government is the stronger incentive.
Unfortunately, it will all become glaringly apparent when we get the next big storm to attacks the coastline and drives water inland to inundate homes and forecast the future. When the money market withdraws finance from unviable homes reality will finally underpin the housing market. That will deliver financial catastrophe on those who have made a losing bet on this global warming question !
Many people are in financial debt up to their neck because housing has become the money roller-coaster. They reason that if that pressure becomes unbearable they can simply slap the house back on the market and collect a nice profit because of house price inflation, and that is a truism as long as the bubble doesn't burst.
The sharp object hovering over that housing bubble is global warming. The ice cap at both poles is melting and sea levels will rise in the lifetime of most of todays children and the first to feel the effect will be the most desirable homes fronting beaches. We had a taste of that over a year ago when a storm surge undermined beachfront homes at Collaroy.
Now the insurance industry is shining the light on rising premiums, and it is surprising the number of home owners who have quietly dropped insurance cover because the premiums have become unaffordable. In the distant past insurance in many minds was protection from damage by fire and storm, and against loss from burglary.
In todays reasoning, the value is not the building that sits on the block of land, it is the value of that block of land itself. If the house burns down, the land will probably bring much the same price as would be asked before the fire. Many people buy existing homes with the intention of demolition and building the new home of their dreams on the vacated land.
Surprisingly, this house price inflation has lulled the usually sharply aware money market into complacency. The scientific world has been giving warning of where rising sea levels will invade low lying land and they are still financing the sale of homes that will be under water before the mortgages are finally paid off. Surprisingly, councils are still permitting building on blocks of land they know will be under water by the end of this century.
Rising sea levels will become very apparent by the middle of this century - and that is just thirty years from now. There is an expectation that world government will come to its senses and take the action that will stop temperatures topping two degrees, but so far that is all talk and little action. Governments are afraid that the actions necessary to stop global warming will make then unpopular - and lose office. Retaining the awesome power of being in government is the stronger incentive.
Unfortunately, it will all become glaringly apparent when we get the next big storm to attacks the coastline and drives water inland to inundate homes and forecast the future. When the money market withdraws finance from unviable homes reality will finally underpin the housing market. That will deliver financial catastrophe on those who have made a losing bet on this global warming question !
Thursday 24 October 2019
Curbing " Strip Search " Law !
To be given a police badge and to wear the distinctive blue uniform that goes with it is the culmination of months at the police academy at Goulburn. A police officer has enormous power and it is necessary to know the law to a similar degree to that of a lawyer. A police officer's job is to interpret and implement the laws in place in the state of New South Wales.
A hearing before the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) is hearing disquieting evidence from police- whose identity is suppressed - that people passing through the entrance to the " Splendour in the Grass "music festival this year were strip searched if a sniffer dog showed interest as an indication that illegal drugs were present.
Nineteen such strip searches were conducted and only one delivered an item of interest. It was an anti depression tablet which was quite legal. One of those people searched was a sixteen year old girl who gave evidence that she found the experience very distressing. She was required to take off all her clothes in front of a female police officer and this included the panty liner in her briefs examined for the presence of drugs. It was humiliating and she doubts she would feel comfortable calling in the police in the event of a future emergency.
The law in New South Wales clearly requires the search of a minor - which is anyone under eighteen years of age - to be conducted in the presence of a parent or a similar guardian. This may only be disregarded if a sense of " urgency " is present and it was clear that this was not an issue on the day this search happened.
Quite clearly, this strip search was illegal and it is now revealed that of the nineteen such searches conducted that day none delivered the presence of illegal drugs. It seems that people pulled from the entrance line for a strip search either had the misfortune to have a sniffer dog show interest, or were selected on the whim of observing police.
Conducting strip searches at music festivals is a relatively new tactic used by police and it must have been sanctioned at the highest levels of the police structure. This " very invasive " procedure was carried out without adherence to the necessary legislation that required a parent or guardian to be present when a minor was searched. Clearly, search procedure was lax if the relevant legal requirements were not embedded in the minds of the officers tasked with carrying out these searches.
It seems likely that the threat of a strip search is being used as a bluff by police when they question suspects for information. Many ordinary citizens have an advanced notion of modesty and the thought of being forced to totally disrobe in front of strangers is terrifying. That the police do have the power to make such an order is little short of mental torture.
There will obviously be times when a body search is necessary to obtain critical evidence and that " urgency " motive will be applicable, but perhaps the person may need to be arrested and taken to a place such as a hospital where that search will be carried out in a sterile environment with a medical witness.
That would open the door to a charge of false arrest. As things stand, a strip search is an indignity that may be undertaken with nothing more than malicious intent. It puts immense power to inflict humiliation in police hands without the necessity to lay a charge or even give a logical reason.
Unless power comes with necessary oversight it will inevitably be abused !
A hearing before the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) is hearing disquieting evidence from police- whose identity is suppressed - that people passing through the entrance to the " Splendour in the Grass "music festival this year were strip searched if a sniffer dog showed interest as an indication that illegal drugs were present.
Nineteen such strip searches were conducted and only one delivered an item of interest. It was an anti depression tablet which was quite legal. One of those people searched was a sixteen year old girl who gave evidence that she found the experience very distressing. She was required to take off all her clothes in front of a female police officer and this included the panty liner in her briefs examined for the presence of drugs. It was humiliating and she doubts she would feel comfortable calling in the police in the event of a future emergency.
The law in New South Wales clearly requires the search of a minor - which is anyone under eighteen years of age - to be conducted in the presence of a parent or a similar guardian. This may only be disregarded if a sense of " urgency " is present and it was clear that this was not an issue on the day this search happened.
Quite clearly, this strip search was illegal and it is now revealed that of the nineteen such searches conducted that day none delivered the presence of illegal drugs. It seems that people pulled from the entrance line for a strip search either had the misfortune to have a sniffer dog show interest, or were selected on the whim of observing police.
Conducting strip searches at music festivals is a relatively new tactic used by police and it must have been sanctioned at the highest levels of the police structure. This " very invasive " procedure was carried out without adherence to the necessary legislation that required a parent or guardian to be present when a minor was searched. Clearly, search procedure was lax if the relevant legal requirements were not embedded in the minds of the officers tasked with carrying out these searches.
It seems likely that the threat of a strip search is being used as a bluff by police when they question suspects for information. Many ordinary citizens have an advanced notion of modesty and the thought of being forced to totally disrobe in front of strangers is terrifying. That the police do have the power to make such an order is little short of mental torture.
There will obviously be times when a body search is necessary to obtain critical evidence and that " urgency " motive will be applicable, but perhaps the person may need to be arrested and taken to a place such as a hospital where that search will be carried out in a sterile environment with a medical witness.
That would open the door to a charge of false arrest. As things stand, a strip search is an indignity that may be undertaken with nothing more than malicious intent. It puts immense power to inflict humiliation in police hands without the necessity to lay a charge or even give a logical reason.
Unless power comes with necessary oversight it will inevitably be abused !
Wednesday 23 October 2019
Living Under the Microscope !
From the moment they were born, Prince William and Prince Harry knew they were " different " from the other boys and girls with which they came into distant contact. One of them was destined to sit on the throne of England and they became known as " the heir and the spare ". Efforts were made to protect them from probing cameras during childhood but the people of Britain had an insatiable appetite for the entire Royal family and as they grew they became accustomed to sharing their lives publicly with their " subjects ".
Both eventually married and their choice of brides were both " commoners ". In the distant past, Royal marriages were carefully arranged between the children of monarchs from other countries. That was all about forming both commercial alliances and bolstering military capabilities and little thought was given to the happiness of the couples. These couplings were more in line with livestock matings in the equestrian world. Combining the right bloodlines was the important issue.
The British Royal family broke new ground when both Kate and Meghan were chosen by that very old fashioned method known as a " love match ". There were trepidations in the circle of Royal watchers because of the intense pressure exerted by the media to capture and share every moment of their lives with an adoring public. It was remembered how this pressure eventually destroyed Princess Diana, to whom the mantle of Royalty was more easily accessed because of her background on the fringe of aristocracy.
William and Kate have settled into what they regards as their "jobs " with elegance and have produced children. Harry and Meghan married in May, 2018 and recently produced a child. They are now in a lower ranking in the line of access to the throne and yet as newlyweds the media concentration with their lives has yet to abate.
Meghan - now the Duchess of Sussex has spoken frankly about the stress of adjusting to Royal life. She is American born and was a fast emerging star in the film industry. Her parents were divorced and she is the child of a mixed colour marriage, and that was definitely a first in Royal genealogy. So far Royal watchers give her an excellent accolade although some criticism has arisen about the use of private jet aircraft in an age when jet travel is harming the global warming problem.
Harry is supportive to her efforts to protect their privacy from media intrusion. Legal action is underway over the publication of a private letter she wrote to her estranged father and many phone conversations have been intercepted and appeared in newspapers. The Duchess of Sussex admits that private friends tried to persuade her not to marry Harry. The complications of adjusting to Royal life have been greater than she expected.
It seems likely that Harry and Meghan will try to separate their official and private lives by part time living in America. The media stalking in Britain makes any sort of private life impossible and spending some time outside the country seems to be the only answer. How this sits with their adoring public waits to be seen.
The British Royal family has changed more in the present Quern's lifetime than for many centuries. An ageing Charles is next in line for the throne, and then this next generation will have their turn to create the throne as more tuned to the modern world.
It seems that Kate and Meghan are the catalyst for how the Royals will be portrayed in the future. The Royal family will be more like the men and women with which they rub shoulders in the street. Hopefully, media pressure will be less intense.
Both eventually married and their choice of brides were both " commoners ". In the distant past, Royal marriages were carefully arranged between the children of monarchs from other countries. That was all about forming both commercial alliances and bolstering military capabilities and little thought was given to the happiness of the couples. These couplings were more in line with livestock matings in the equestrian world. Combining the right bloodlines was the important issue.
The British Royal family broke new ground when both Kate and Meghan were chosen by that very old fashioned method known as a " love match ". There were trepidations in the circle of Royal watchers because of the intense pressure exerted by the media to capture and share every moment of their lives with an adoring public. It was remembered how this pressure eventually destroyed Princess Diana, to whom the mantle of Royalty was more easily accessed because of her background on the fringe of aristocracy.
William and Kate have settled into what they regards as their "jobs " with elegance and have produced children. Harry and Meghan married in May, 2018 and recently produced a child. They are now in a lower ranking in the line of access to the throne and yet as newlyweds the media concentration with their lives has yet to abate.
Meghan - now the Duchess of Sussex has spoken frankly about the stress of adjusting to Royal life. She is American born and was a fast emerging star in the film industry. Her parents were divorced and she is the child of a mixed colour marriage, and that was definitely a first in Royal genealogy. So far Royal watchers give her an excellent accolade although some criticism has arisen about the use of private jet aircraft in an age when jet travel is harming the global warming problem.
Harry is supportive to her efforts to protect their privacy from media intrusion. Legal action is underway over the publication of a private letter she wrote to her estranged father and many phone conversations have been intercepted and appeared in newspapers. The Duchess of Sussex admits that private friends tried to persuade her not to marry Harry. The complications of adjusting to Royal life have been greater than she expected.
It seems likely that Harry and Meghan will try to separate their official and private lives by part time living in America. The media stalking in Britain makes any sort of private life impossible and spending some time outside the country seems to be the only answer. How this sits with their adoring public waits to be seen.
The British Royal family has changed more in the present Quern's lifetime than for many centuries. An ageing Charles is next in line for the throne, and then this next generation will have their turn to create the throne as more tuned to the modern world.
It seems that Kate and Meghan are the catalyst for how the Royals will be portrayed in the future. The Royal family will be more like the men and women with which they rub shoulders in the street. Hopefully, media pressure will be less intense.
Tuesday 22 October 2019
On Shaky Ground !
If Sydney is to ever have a modern road system it is becoming clear that underground tunnels will play a big role in speeding cars across the city. We are lucky that this city sits on a massive sandstone underlay that is ideal for those giant boring machines that are bringing road and rail systems to reality.
What has long worried home owners is the extent of the tunnelling proposed and the twisted, spaghetti like interchanges that are taking place at an ever shallower depth beneath their feet. The initial plans promised that this work would be undertaken 35 to 65 metres deep in most parts of the city but revisions are now taking it to just eight metres below the surface.
What has many residents worried is the uncertainty about how house repairs caused by tunnelling cracks will be arbitrated when it comes to compensation and repair. Many houses that were perfectly stable before the tunnelling have developed movement cracks which the road builders deny are caused by their activities. They are quick to lay the blame on the drought. This lack of rain has caused the soil to dry out and consequent land movement is simply nature doing its thing. It is becoming obvious that finality will come into play in the courts when these road construction problems reach finality.
Some new plans envisage tunnels just six metres below the surface and this raises the question of what road noise residents will hear in their homes. Some residents claim to hear a " vague grinding noise " in the night and believe this is caused by the boring machine working below. They wonder how traffic noise will impinge on their home once these tunnels become part of the road system.
The other unknown is how these tunnels will impact on house prices in the general real estate system. This is a particular worry to owners with a large mortgage which they will still be paying off years into the future. In Real Estate the motto " position is everything " is a valid truism and we simply do not know how the market - and importantly the banks and their lending policies - will react to homes situated above a road tunnel.
All this raises a huge question mark over people living in south Sydney. A divided road to link the St Peters exchange with the F6 at Waterfall is long overdue and it seems the land set aside for its construction is now deemed unsuitable. Land resumption for such a corridor will probably force this road underground because of the cost factor. It is therefore likely that the residents of the Sutherland Shire will one day have to live with a new road tunnel beneath their homes and all the uncertainty that goes with its planning.
One thing is fairly certain. Tunnelling damage is more pronounced in older homes constructed with materials that are no longer in use. The main value is the land beneath and it seems likely that damage will be discounted because of this age factor. If residents with what they consider tunnelling damage expect to receive adequate compensation then that will be a legal fight to be fought in the courts a long way into the future.
What has long worried home owners is the extent of the tunnelling proposed and the twisted, spaghetti like interchanges that are taking place at an ever shallower depth beneath their feet. The initial plans promised that this work would be undertaken 35 to 65 metres deep in most parts of the city but revisions are now taking it to just eight metres below the surface.
What has many residents worried is the uncertainty about how house repairs caused by tunnelling cracks will be arbitrated when it comes to compensation and repair. Many houses that were perfectly stable before the tunnelling have developed movement cracks which the road builders deny are caused by their activities. They are quick to lay the blame on the drought. This lack of rain has caused the soil to dry out and consequent land movement is simply nature doing its thing. It is becoming obvious that finality will come into play in the courts when these road construction problems reach finality.
Some new plans envisage tunnels just six metres below the surface and this raises the question of what road noise residents will hear in their homes. Some residents claim to hear a " vague grinding noise " in the night and believe this is caused by the boring machine working below. They wonder how traffic noise will impinge on their home once these tunnels become part of the road system.
The other unknown is how these tunnels will impact on house prices in the general real estate system. This is a particular worry to owners with a large mortgage which they will still be paying off years into the future. In Real Estate the motto " position is everything " is a valid truism and we simply do not know how the market - and importantly the banks and their lending policies - will react to homes situated above a road tunnel.
All this raises a huge question mark over people living in south Sydney. A divided road to link the St Peters exchange with the F6 at Waterfall is long overdue and it seems the land set aside for its construction is now deemed unsuitable. Land resumption for such a corridor will probably force this road underground because of the cost factor. It is therefore likely that the residents of the Sutherland Shire will one day have to live with a new road tunnel beneath their homes and all the uncertainty that goes with its planning.
One thing is fairly certain. Tunnelling damage is more pronounced in older homes constructed with materials that are no longer in use. The main value is the land beneath and it seems likely that damage will be discounted because of this age factor. If residents with what they consider tunnelling damage expect to receive adequate compensation then that will be a legal fight to be fought in the courts a long way into the future.
Monday 21 October 2019
" Cruelty " Exposed !
This is the height of the horse racing season. The weekend saw the running of the Caufield Cup in Melbourne and in Sydney the Everest breaks new ground when it is billed as the richest race in the world - on turf. On the first Tuesday in November the nation will stop to watch the running of the Melbourne cup.
The winning horses in these events become celebrities. If asked, ordinary Australians can usually rattle off the names of a dozen Melbourne cup winners going back over many decades and starting with Phar Lap. In fact, past winners are usually paraded in the Melbourne street event that precedes the running of that famous race.
Unfortunately, not every horse is destined to become a celebrity. Some show early promise and then fade away as the competition stiffens and even winners age and are withdrawn from racing. Viewers got a sharp shock when an ABC investigation went to air with scenes of almost unbelievable cruelty as terrified horses were being beaten and kicked by workers at Meramist abattoir in Queensland.
It is simply a fact of life that the death of most old hoses comes to an end in an abattoir or a knackery where their hides are used in the leather trade and their residue becomes an ingredient in the pet food industry. Very little is wasted and they feature heavily in the glue preparation industry.
We like to think that the magnificent animals we watch on the race track are put out to pasture when they age. We picture them in a new identity, perhaps as riding horses for children, but at least given the peace to crop grass in a pleasant paddock on a farm somewhere. That Queensland abattoir is known to receive more than four thousand race horses for processing each year and there are similar operations present in other states.
Unfortunately, Australia has a horse problem. We call them " Brumbies " but they are wild horses that escaped when their species was brought to Australia and now great herds are wrecking the high country by transferring weed growth and caving in the banks of streams. Some are in very poor condition because the feed can not sustain their numbers and yet methods of culling are subjected to laws that prevent a sensible action programme. Many will face an agonising death from malnutrition unless a number reduction solution is found.
That ABC disclosure of cruelty to horses brought a strong public reaction. Legendary trainer Gai Waterhouse proposes that we need what is really a " superannuation plan " for race horses. She suggests that one percent of prize money be set aside to provide comfortable retirement when a horse retires from the race track. Unfortunately, that would only apply to a very few horses who achieve fame and would do nothing for the many destined to never win a race in their lifetime., nor would it be applicable to those " Brumbies".
It is quite possible to handle horses - and in fact all manner of animals - through abattoirs without the cruelty shown in that ABC disclosure. Perhaps it needs the presence of an animals ombudsman at such facilities to oversee the methods used and to arbitrate on standards that are applicable. It seems that we humans have a tendency to treat whatever we dominate harshly unless a code of conduct is imposed.
That does underline the need for a free press to bring such matter to public disclosure. That cruelty to horses would go unchecked without a journalist recording the event and his or her employers having the courage to air it in the public domain. That is a form of freedom that some wish to curb. Where ever that has been allowed to happen, personal freedom in its other forms is usually quick to face restrictions.
The winning horses in these events become celebrities. If asked, ordinary Australians can usually rattle off the names of a dozen Melbourne cup winners going back over many decades and starting with Phar Lap. In fact, past winners are usually paraded in the Melbourne street event that precedes the running of that famous race.
Unfortunately, not every horse is destined to become a celebrity. Some show early promise and then fade away as the competition stiffens and even winners age and are withdrawn from racing. Viewers got a sharp shock when an ABC investigation went to air with scenes of almost unbelievable cruelty as terrified horses were being beaten and kicked by workers at Meramist abattoir in Queensland.
It is simply a fact of life that the death of most old hoses comes to an end in an abattoir or a knackery where their hides are used in the leather trade and their residue becomes an ingredient in the pet food industry. Very little is wasted and they feature heavily in the glue preparation industry.
We like to think that the magnificent animals we watch on the race track are put out to pasture when they age. We picture them in a new identity, perhaps as riding horses for children, but at least given the peace to crop grass in a pleasant paddock on a farm somewhere. That Queensland abattoir is known to receive more than four thousand race horses for processing each year and there are similar operations present in other states.
Unfortunately, Australia has a horse problem. We call them " Brumbies " but they are wild horses that escaped when their species was brought to Australia and now great herds are wrecking the high country by transferring weed growth and caving in the banks of streams. Some are in very poor condition because the feed can not sustain their numbers and yet methods of culling are subjected to laws that prevent a sensible action programme. Many will face an agonising death from malnutrition unless a number reduction solution is found.
That ABC disclosure of cruelty to horses brought a strong public reaction. Legendary trainer Gai Waterhouse proposes that we need what is really a " superannuation plan " for race horses. She suggests that one percent of prize money be set aside to provide comfortable retirement when a horse retires from the race track. Unfortunately, that would only apply to a very few horses who achieve fame and would do nothing for the many destined to never win a race in their lifetime., nor would it be applicable to those " Brumbies".
It is quite possible to handle horses - and in fact all manner of animals - through abattoirs without the cruelty shown in that ABC disclosure. Perhaps it needs the presence of an animals ombudsman at such facilities to oversee the methods used and to arbitrate on standards that are applicable. It seems that we humans have a tendency to treat whatever we dominate harshly unless a code of conduct is imposed.
That does underline the need for a free press to bring such matter to public disclosure. That cruelty to horses would go unchecked without a journalist recording the event and his or her employers having the courage to air it in the public domain. That is a form of freedom that some wish to curb. Where ever that has been allowed to happen, personal freedom in its other forms is usually quick to face restrictions.
Sunday 20 October 2019
The " Garnishee " Option !
When a branch of the government decides that you owe it money all the power is in the hands of a well oiled apparatus that is unleashed to extract recovery. It could be the Australian Taxation Office making that claim or it could be Centrelink chasing after an overpayment by way of robo-debt.
You - as a humble taxpayer - are confronted with a monolith prepared to go to court with a phalanx of costly lawyers to which both time and money are not options. The courts are mostly over awed by the sheer power of the Commonwealth and in most cases the onus is on the taxpayer to prove that they do not owe that claimed money.
In the majority of cases the relevant department threatens court action but takes recovery action before it proceeds to a hearing stage. It has the power to intercede and redirect your taxation refund to its own coffers or to take money from your bank account without prior warning. When this involves a small business it is often the withdrawal of what was " working capital " that causes it to close its doors.
There is another option that government agencies are starting to use and that is the " garnishee " applied to drawing a weekly repayment stipend from the debtors wages. This was an option once applied in an earlier century and has lately been revived. When a garnishee is served on a debtors employer a nominated amount is withheld weekly from the pay packet and paid to the claimant.
All this came under the focus of an enquiry spotlight after a taxation department employee faces life in prison for disclosing details of tax office debt collection methods. Millions of dollars have been re
directed from the bank accounts of claimed debtors and garnishees are being used to extract funds from those with negative bank balances.
The Australian tax office claims that this is all a result of a " misunderstanding " , caused by " miscommunication " about the use of enduring garnishees - and this has now been corrected. All this arose from a joint enquiry held by the Sydney Morning Herald and Four Corners, which disclosed that the tax ombudsman was virtually powerless to protect whistleblowers who disclose wrongdoings.
A Griffith University professor of public policy and law has called for legislation to protect whistleblowers be completely overhauled at a separate Senate enquiry into press freedom. He said protection for public officials who disclose official information on suspected wrongdoing is inadequate.
The " deafening silence " in this enquiry is the outcome that will be taken against that tax department employee who disclosed to the public wrongdoing in the way debts were being recovered. This virtual " public service " looks like being rewarded with many years in a prison cell !
You - as a humble taxpayer - are confronted with a monolith prepared to go to court with a phalanx of costly lawyers to which both time and money are not options. The courts are mostly over awed by the sheer power of the Commonwealth and in most cases the onus is on the taxpayer to prove that they do not owe that claimed money.
In the majority of cases the relevant department threatens court action but takes recovery action before it proceeds to a hearing stage. It has the power to intercede and redirect your taxation refund to its own coffers or to take money from your bank account without prior warning. When this involves a small business it is often the withdrawal of what was " working capital " that causes it to close its doors.
There is another option that government agencies are starting to use and that is the " garnishee " applied to drawing a weekly repayment stipend from the debtors wages. This was an option once applied in an earlier century and has lately been revived. When a garnishee is served on a debtors employer a nominated amount is withheld weekly from the pay packet and paid to the claimant.
All this came under the focus of an enquiry spotlight after a taxation department employee faces life in prison for disclosing details of tax office debt collection methods. Millions of dollars have been re
directed from the bank accounts of claimed debtors and garnishees are being used to extract funds from those with negative bank balances.
The Australian tax office claims that this is all a result of a " misunderstanding " , caused by " miscommunication " about the use of enduring garnishees - and this has now been corrected. All this arose from a joint enquiry held by the Sydney Morning Herald and Four Corners, which disclosed that the tax ombudsman was virtually powerless to protect whistleblowers who disclose wrongdoings.
A Griffith University professor of public policy and law has called for legislation to protect whistleblowers be completely overhauled at a separate Senate enquiry into press freedom. He said protection for public officials who disclose official information on suspected wrongdoing is inadequate.
The " deafening silence " in this enquiry is the outcome that will be taken against that tax department employee who disclosed to the public wrongdoing in the way debts were being recovered. This virtual " public service " looks like being rewarded with many years in a prison cell !
Saturday 19 October 2019
Threat to " Generic " Medication !
The powerful Pharmacy Guild is trying to wrest away the need to consult a doctor to renew prescriptions by having both oral contraceptives and travel vaccinations brought into the pharmacy orbit. This is being vigorously resisted by doctors who see it as an intrusion on their turf.
They have wisely chosen the female contraceptive pill as their battleground because a prescription need is unique to Australia. In most of the world it is freely available over the counter and this prescription need was imposed on moral grounds when this medical breakthrough turned the sexual revolution loose in the public domain.
One of the arguments used is the fact that pharmacies are open during a wide range of hours over the entire seven day week. Doctors surgeries usually open on that old nine to five regimen within a five day week. It is quite possible for a patient to be disadvantage should a script run out over the weekend or during a holiday period.
In the past the role of doctor and pharmacist has been legally kept apart. The law in place prevents doctors owning pharmacies and that is now under review in government circles. In fact a change is already taking place in many Australian cities where pharmacies are building consulting room within their structure and inviting doctors to set up practice without the cost of establishing their own facilities. This can be very attractive to a newly qualified doctor wanting to enter private practice.
Obviously, there is a benefit for the pharmacist. A patient with a newly minted prescription is most likely to have it fulfilled just a few steps away from where he or she consulted the doctor, but it does raise the ethics that now surround generic medication.
Drug manufacturers have the right to exclusive use of patented new drugs while that patent is in force and then competitors are free to make generic substitutes and sell them for a lesser price. Independent pharmacists usually ask the patient which they prefer, but if doctors own the pharmacy they would dictate what drug brands it stocked and sold.
Many scripts have an option to preclude substitution by a generic product and some doctors make heavy use of that option. Its legality is open to question and as generics are an exact copy of the original the pharmacy ownership decides if patients have access to cheaper medication.
In Australia pharmacists are a trusted profession. Their medical knowledge is similar to that of a doctor and they are often consulted for advice by patients who rarely visit a medical professional. Many such pharmacists already prescribe under a doctors supervision in areas such as palliative care and specialist clinics.
The government would be wise to think carefully before it makes changes to a system that delivers the right checks and balances to health provision in Australia.
They have wisely chosen the female contraceptive pill as their battleground because a prescription need is unique to Australia. In most of the world it is freely available over the counter and this prescription need was imposed on moral grounds when this medical breakthrough turned the sexual revolution loose in the public domain.
One of the arguments used is the fact that pharmacies are open during a wide range of hours over the entire seven day week. Doctors surgeries usually open on that old nine to five regimen within a five day week. It is quite possible for a patient to be disadvantage should a script run out over the weekend or during a holiday period.
In the past the role of doctor and pharmacist has been legally kept apart. The law in place prevents doctors owning pharmacies and that is now under review in government circles. In fact a change is already taking place in many Australian cities where pharmacies are building consulting room within their structure and inviting doctors to set up practice without the cost of establishing their own facilities. This can be very attractive to a newly qualified doctor wanting to enter private practice.
Obviously, there is a benefit for the pharmacist. A patient with a newly minted prescription is most likely to have it fulfilled just a few steps away from where he or she consulted the doctor, but it does raise the ethics that now surround generic medication.
Drug manufacturers have the right to exclusive use of patented new drugs while that patent is in force and then competitors are free to make generic substitutes and sell them for a lesser price. Independent pharmacists usually ask the patient which they prefer, but if doctors own the pharmacy they would dictate what drug brands it stocked and sold.
Many scripts have an option to preclude substitution by a generic product and some doctors make heavy use of that option. Its legality is open to question and as generics are an exact copy of the original the pharmacy ownership decides if patients have access to cheaper medication.
In Australia pharmacists are a trusted profession. Their medical knowledge is similar to that of a doctor and they are often consulted for advice by patients who rarely visit a medical professional. Many such pharmacists already prescribe under a doctors supervision in areas such as palliative care and specialist clinics.
The government would be wise to think carefully before it makes changes to a system that delivers the right checks and balances to health provision in Australia.
Friday 18 October 2019
Car " Warranty " Extensions !
A lot has changed in the car industry over the past seventy years. That was a time when a new car came with a warranty of " twelve months or twelve thousand miles " and it needed a " grease and oil change " every thousand miles driven.
A few years ago, Korean car maker Kia shocked the motoring world when it extended its five year new car warranty - to seven years. Now stablemate Hyundai is matching that seven year warranty and joining Mitsubishi, Honda and MG in what looks like a trend that the other brands will be forced to follow.
That servicing regimen has also changed. It differs from brand to brand but servicing intervals of fifteen thousand kilometres are now common. Todays car engine is a marvellously crafted piece of technology encased in a body engineered to provide safety to the occupants in the event of a crash. Every new make and model is tested to determine crash proficiency and this is gauged by a star system. Any vehicle with less than five stars now meets buyer resistance.
Never have the Australian driving public had the advantage of the car fleet on our roads consisting of state of the art vehicles with five star safety ratings. The number of cars older than ten years in the traffic stream continues to dwindle and this is confirmed in the much smaller number of used car dealers practising their trade. The trend is now to buy a new car rather than take the risk of driving something no longer on the cutting edge of safety.
Change is also taking place in the area of those newly licensed to drive. In the distant past many young people began their driving career behind the steering wheel of a " bomb ". It was reasoned that they needed time to eradicate the faults in their driving technique and it was better to put those dents in an older car of little value. Such vehicles were notorious for both oil leaks and unreliability.
The lower end of the new car market today provides a range of cars at or under the twenty thousand dollar price range - and these cars now have that seven year manufacturers warranty. Parents are becoming more conscious of the safety aspect and happier to see a son or daughter driving a car with a proven safety record. They do not miss the oil stains in their driveway left by these old " clunkers " from yesteryear.
The build precision and safety aspects of the modern motor car have a bearing on the crash statistics. Considering the sheer volume and high speeds of cars on Australian roads we compare very favourably with some other parts of the world. All deaths and serious injuries are a tragedy but as a percentage of car numbers on the road the statistics are falling. It seems that the Australian car fleet has never been in better shape !
A few years ago, Korean car maker Kia shocked the motoring world when it extended its five year new car warranty - to seven years. Now stablemate Hyundai is matching that seven year warranty and joining Mitsubishi, Honda and MG in what looks like a trend that the other brands will be forced to follow.
That servicing regimen has also changed. It differs from brand to brand but servicing intervals of fifteen thousand kilometres are now common. Todays car engine is a marvellously crafted piece of technology encased in a body engineered to provide safety to the occupants in the event of a crash. Every new make and model is tested to determine crash proficiency and this is gauged by a star system. Any vehicle with less than five stars now meets buyer resistance.
Never have the Australian driving public had the advantage of the car fleet on our roads consisting of state of the art vehicles with five star safety ratings. The number of cars older than ten years in the traffic stream continues to dwindle and this is confirmed in the much smaller number of used car dealers practising their trade. The trend is now to buy a new car rather than take the risk of driving something no longer on the cutting edge of safety.
Change is also taking place in the area of those newly licensed to drive. In the distant past many young people began their driving career behind the steering wheel of a " bomb ". It was reasoned that they needed time to eradicate the faults in their driving technique and it was better to put those dents in an older car of little value. Such vehicles were notorious for both oil leaks and unreliability.
The lower end of the new car market today provides a range of cars at or under the twenty thousand dollar price range - and these cars now have that seven year manufacturers warranty. Parents are becoming more conscious of the safety aspect and happier to see a son or daughter driving a car with a proven safety record. They do not miss the oil stains in their driveway left by these old " clunkers " from yesteryear.
The build precision and safety aspects of the modern motor car have a bearing on the crash statistics. Considering the sheer volume and high speeds of cars on Australian roads we compare very favourably with some other parts of the world. All deaths and serious injuries are a tragedy but as a percentage of car numbers on the road the statistics are falling. It seems that the Australian car fleet has never been in better shape !
Thursday 17 October 2019
Drugs !
Gladys Berejiklian is a strong minded premier running Australia's most populous state. It was so evident that her policy on combatting drugs at music festivals was a failure that it was scrapped by the state's upper house last month. We are back at the drawing board to chart a new approach and a leaked report from the coroner has urged the premier to reconsider pill testing and discontinue the use of sniffer dogs and strip searches.
Recreational drugs are a world problem. When thousands of young people gather for a music festival research shows that the greater majority have the intention of achieving a " high " to compliment the effect of the music and this will be achieved by taking a drug stimulant. They know this is illegal - and dangerous - but they will persist even if the outcome is death.
The reason this is dangerous is because we have made these sorts of drug stimulants illegal and this encourages a vast industry of often incompetent drug " cooks " to create their version of legitimate mood enhancing drugs. Their ambition is to make money and the end result is often something lethal circulating amongst the crowd.
Drug profits are so high that the flow of drugs into the country is unstoppable. We regularly see drug busts where merchandise worth millions are seized, but the sale of drugs remains unchanged on city streets. Even in country's where the death penalty applies for drug possession, both the suppliers and the users take that risk. The only difference is the price rises because of that elevated risk factor.
One of the outstanding things about deaths at music festivals is not the small number of deaths but the vast number who took drugs - and survived. That begs the question of whether our drug illegality laws are rational considering the illegal trade has no control on drug strength. We need to ask ourselves if this insistence in taking a mood stimulant to enhance the enjoyment of music should have a legal foundation ? Should a substance of safe purity to be legally available to meet that need ?
That raises the question of Marijuana. Would the legalizing of Marijuana solve the problem of drugs at music festivals ? Illegal drugs are small capsules smuggled in and taken in secret. If Marijuana was legal it could be openly smoked - and it is not a substance that can produce an overdose. It would deliver an enhanced safety factor.
Our politicians are very edgy on drug issues. They fear being branded " soft " on drugs and yet a vast percentage of each electorate are young people using drugs at music festivals. When demand remains strong for drugs, supply will inevitably follow and nowhere in the world have the authorities managed to stop the drug flow.
It is time for a new approach. Just following the same old failed regimen will solve nothing. If a mood stimulant is something the public demand at music festivals we would be wise to make sure supply follows the safety guidelines. Laws that run headlong against public opinion are doomed to fail.
Recreational drugs are a world problem. When thousands of young people gather for a music festival research shows that the greater majority have the intention of achieving a " high " to compliment the effect of the music and this will be achieved by taking a drug stimulant. They know this is illegal - and dangerous - but they will persist even if the outcome is death.
The reason this is dangerous is because we have made these sorts of drug stimulants illegal and this encourages a vast industry of often incompetent drug " cooks " to create their version of legitimate mood enhancing drugs. Their ambition is to make money and the end result is often something lethal circulating amongst the crowd.
Drug profits are so high that the flow of drugs into the country is unstoppable. We regularly see drug busts where merchandise worth millions are seized, but the sale of drugs remains unchanged on city streets. Even in country's where the death penalty applies for drug possession, both the suppliers and the users take that risk. The only difference is the price rises because of that elevated risk factor.
One of the outstanding things about deaths at music festivals is not the small number of deaths but the vast number who took drugs - and survived. That begs the question of whether our drug illegality laws are rational considering the illegal trade has no control on drug strength. We need to ask ourselves if this insistence in taking a mood stimulant to enhance the enjoyment of music should have a legal foundation ? Should a substance of safe purity to be legally available to meet that need ?
That raises the question of Marijuana. Would the legalizing of Marijuana solve the problem of drugs at music festivals ? Illegal drugs are small capsules smuggled in and taken in secret. If Marijuana was legal it could be openly smoked - and it is not a substance that can produce an overdose. It would deliver an enhanced safety factor.
Our politicians are very edgy on drug issues. They fear being branded " soft " on drugs and yet a vast percentage of each electorate are young people using drugs at music festivals. When demand remains strong for drugs, supply will inevitably follow and nowhere in the world have the authorities managed to stop the drug flow.
It is time for a new approach. Just following the same old failed regimen will solve nothing. If a mood stimulant is something the public demand at music festivals we would be wise to make sure supply follows the safety guidelines. Laws that run headlong against public opinion are doomed to fail.
Wednesday 16 October 2019
Evaluating Surgical Outcomes.
Welcome to the wonderful world of " surgery " which most of us will need sometime in our lifetime. The medical profession refers to us as " patients " , but in reality we are " customers " seeking a surgeon with the skill to perform the intricate work within our bodies for which they have trained. There are usually several offering their services and we tend to pick the one we think has the best outcome reputation, or we are guided by the general practitioner who writes an introduction known as a " referral ".
There are seven thousand specialist doctors in Australia who profess to be surgeons and they are scattered across the wide area of medical specialities. The fees they charge for their services is a matter of negotiation between doctor and patient, but in many cases it exceeds the fee schedule provided by the government health service. As a consequence, the patient needs to meet those out of pocket expenses.
These medical specialities tend to be well defended fortresses. The existing members decide how many new entrants will be admitted each year and newcomers are carefully selected to conform to the ethics of the " club ". A new entrant may charge a little less than a long serving surgeon, but selection is based on guidelines of assuring that price stability is maintained and nobody " rocks the boat " !
Now a leading surgeon has broken ranks and published a five year audit on his website which reveals the number of surgeries he has performed and benchmarked his complication rate against clinical indicators published by the Australian Council of Health Standards.
This is like a breath of fresh air in a musty room. Surgeons are required to conduct yearly audits of their surgical outcomes and submit them for peer review as a condition of their registration, but in reality this is ignored. Should pressure ensure that this happens the public would have the ability to compare the success rate of individual surgeons when making their choice.
Of course, adverse outcomes are a possibility with any surgical treatment, no matter who is doing it. That doesn't mean they are a bad surgeon but in that profession reputation is everything and disclosure was avoided because of fear about how the data would be interpreted.
Australia's chief medical officer has called on surgeons to end guarding this data on their outcomes. The other concern expressed by patients is the difficulty in determining the final cost outcome of various surgical procedures. A surgeon is entitled to charged a premium based on his or her skill with that particular medical procedure. Like any other financial transaction, the buyer is entitled to know the final cost before proceeding further.
It seems that new ground is being broken. Hopefully, the mystery behind the hospital door might be about to dissipate.
There are seven thousand specialist doctors in Australia who profess to be surgeons and they are scattered across the wide area of medical specialities. The fees they charge for their services is a matter of negotiation between doctor and patient, but in many cases it exceeds the fee schedule provided by the government health service. As a consequence, the patient needs to meet those out of pocket expenses.
These medical specialities tend to be well defended fortresses. The existing members decide how many new entrants will be admitted each year and newcomers are carefully selected to conform to the ethics of the " club ". A new entrant may charge a little less than a long serving surgeon, but selection is based on guidelines of assuring that price stability is maintained and nobody " rocks the boat " !
Now a leading surgeon has broken ranks and published a five year audit on his website which reveals the number of surgeries he has performed and benchmarked his complication rate against clinical indicators published by the Australian Council of Health Standards.
This is like a breath of fresh air in a musty room. Surgeons are required to conduct yearly audits of their surgical outcomes and submit them for peer review as a condition of their registration, but in reality this is ignored. Should pressure ensure that this happens the public would have the ability to compare the success rate of individual surgeons when making their choice.
Of course, adverse outcomes are a possibility with any surgical treatment, no matter who is doing it. That doesn't mean they are a bad surgeon but in that profession reputation is everything and disclosure was avoided because of fear about how the data would be interpreted.
Australia's chief medical officer has called on surgeons to end guarding this data on their outcomes. The other concern expressed by patients is the difficulty in determining the final cost outcome of various surgical procedures. A surgeon is entitled to charged a premium based on his or her skill with that particular medical procedure. Like any other financial transaction, the buyer is entitled to know the final cost before proceeding further.
It seems that new ground is being broken. Hopefully, the mystery behind the hospital door might be about to dissipate.
Tuesday 15 October 2019
The " Good Value " Option !
The housing market in Australia's major cities is very much like that child's party game called " Musical chairs ". When the music stops the group circling those chairs rushes to sit down, and some are left standing because the number of chairs have decreased.
It took us two hundred and fifty years to create the stock of ten million homes on individual blocks of land that serves the twenty-five million people who live in Australia, but in just sixteen years we have created one million high rise apartments within our eight major cities.
Within those cities the number of free standing homes is diminishing as the land is bought for high rise development and the new homes on individual blocks of land are being created on what was farm land on the city perimeter. As a result we are spending billions of dollars to build both a road network and public transport to get those people to their jobs in the city.
The ultimate dream for most families is to live in a home with a backyard in a nice city suburb. The ever escalating price of such homes is making that financially impossible. The alternative is the " vertical village ", an apartment in a high rise building and this has become financially viable because such apartments are increasing in price at about half the rate of individual houses.
In fact the price of many high rise apartments has actually decreased due to a scare about building faults causing subsidence and the use of flammable cladding on exteriors. The prices for apartments varies widely, depending on whether they are located in the more salubrious suburbs and what views can be seen from their windows.
The statistics are compelling. In the ten years where house prices rose a hundred percent, apartments in Strathfield rose by just twenty-nine percent and those in Ryde by twenty-five percent. There is every indication that this will be the trend in the future. New tower blocks will hook up to existing water and sewage and avoid the huge cost of supplying these services to new estates on the city perimeter. The other great advantage is that community transport is already in place and providing service right at the apartment dwellers doorway.
In fact, the impetus of spending has dramatically changed and the public transport option is now dominant.in Sydney. After a long absence city trams are returning and both existing rail and the new Metro systems are encouraging commuters to consider alternatives to the use of cars. In many parts of the world the adoption of " congestion taxes " is decreasing the number of cars coming into the centre of cities.
For many, the advantages of apartment living is the new reality. All housing has become very expensive, but in comparison high rise represents good value.
It took us two hundred and fifty years to create the stock of ten million homes on individual blocks of land that serves the twenty-five million people who live in Australia, but in just sixteen years we have created one million high rise apartments within our eight major cities.
Within those cities the number of free standing homes is diminishing as the land is bought for high rise development and the new homes on individual blocks of land are being created on what was farm land on the city perimeter. As a result we are spending billions of dollars to build both a road network and public transport to get those people to their jobs in the city.
The ultimate dream for most families is to live in a home with a backyard in a nice city suburb. The ever escalating price of such homes is making that financially impossible. The alternative is the " vertical village ", an apartment in a high rise building and this has become financially viable because such apartments are increasing in price at about half the rate of individual houses.
In fact the price of many high rise apartments has actually decreased due to a scare about building faults causing subsidence and the use of flammable cladding on exteriors. The prices for apartments varies widely, depending on whether they are located in the more salubrious suburbs and what views can be seen from their windows.
The statistics are compelling. In the ten years where house prices rose a hundred percent, apartments in Strathfield rose by just twenty-nine percent and those in Ryde by twenty-five percent. There is every indication that this will be the trend in the future. New tower blocks will hook up to existing water and sewage and avoid the huge cost of supplying these services to new estates on the city perimeter. The other great advantage is that community transport is already in place and providing service right at the apartment dwellers doorway.
In fact, the impetus of spending has dramatically changed and the public transport option is now dominant.in Sydney. After a long absence city trams are returning and both existing rail and the new Metro systems are encouraging commuters to consider alternatives to the use of cars. In many parts of the world the adoption of " congestion taxes " is decreasing the number of cars coming into the centre of cities.
For many, the advantages of apartment living is the new reality. All housing has become very expensive, but in comparison high rise represents good value.
Monday 14 October 2019
Implementing " Work Safety " Standards !
When someone leaves to go to work in the morning they should have a reasonable expectation of returning home alive later that day. Unfortunately work place accidents are a common cause of death in Australia and in many cases the cause is unsafe working conditions.
We have a mass of rules and regulations in place to achieve safety standards but when these are breached - and someone dies - there is no law in place to convict and punish the person responsible. Public pressure has been mounting to pass " industrial manslaughter " laws to make employers responsible for ensuring that the workplace is safe for those they employ.
This is becoming reality in the other states. Queensland introduced industrial manslaughter laws in 2017 and the ACT in 2004. The Northern Territory, Western Australia and Victoria are in the process of passing similar laws but New South Wales has rejected this option. The minister responsible has claimed such a law would only serve as a " catchy title ".
In particular, industrial safety laws would be pertinent to the building industry. In this day and age the " builder " is little more than the " project manager " who contracts with specialist companies who provide the services that put the structure together. A vast array of individual firms with particular work specialities tender their services and usually the lowest price wins. That lowest price often comes at the cost of safety. Deficient equipment and short cuts taken are at the expense of workers lives.
This should be a law that makes the company with the overall management of a building site responsible for ensuring that sub contractors meet industry standards. Equipment deficiencies and poor work practices should not be condoned on a price quoted basis. The " builder " would need to provide supervision to ensure that sub contractors were meeting standards.
In the event of a death, the builder would need to prove to a court that the required safety standards were enforced and the sub contractor could face prosecution for whatever lapse caused the accident. It would be up to a court to apportion blame on its merits but failure to provide a safe worksite that results in the death of a worker is clearly manslaughter.
There would be a clear incentive for building companies to employ sub contractors with a reputation for ensuring high work standards in preference to just the price offered. The cost of the supervision needed if a contractor with a dodgy safety record was chosen would need to be taken into account when tenders were considered.
There is the expectation that public pressure will see this issue return to the NSW parliament. It seems likely we will soon be the only state lacking the will to protect workers lives from avoidable workplace accident and that is clearly unacceptable !
We have a mass of rules and regulations in place to achieve safety standards but when these are breached - and someone dies - there is no law in place to convict and punish the person responsible. Public pressure has been mounting to pass " industrial manslaughter " laws to make employers responsible for ensuring that the workplace is safe for those they employ.
This is becoming reality in the other states. Queensland introduced industrial manslaughter laws in 2017 and the ACT in 2004. The Northern Territory, Western Australia and Victoria are in the process of passing similar laws but New South Wales has rejected this option. The minister responsible has claimed such a law would only serve as a " catchy title ".
In particular, industrial safety laws would be pertinent to the building industry. In this day and age the " builder " is little more than the " project manager " who contracts with specialist companies who provide the services that put the structure together. A vast array of individual firms with particular work specialities tender their services and usually the lowest price wins. That lowest price often comes at the cost of safety. Deficient equipment and short cuts taken are at the expense of workers lives.
This should be a law that makes the company with the overall management of a building site responsible for ensuring that sub contractors meet industry standards. Equipment deficiencies and poor work practices should not be condoned on a price quoted basis. The " builder " would need to provide supervision to ensure that sub contractors were meeting standards.
In the event of a death, the builder would need to prove to a court that the required safety standards were enforced and the sub contractor could face prosecution for whatever lapse caused the accident. It would be up to a court to apportion blame on its merits but failure to provide a safe worksite that results in the death of a worker is clearly manslaughter.
There would be a clear incentive for building companies to employ sub contractors with a reputation for ensuring high work standards in preference to just the price offered. The cost of the supervision needed if a contractor with a dodgy safety record was chosen would need to be taken into account when tenders were considered.
There is the expectation that public pressure will see this issue return to the NSW parliament. It seems likely we will soon be the only state lacking the will to protect workers lives from avoidable workplace accident and that is clearly unacceptable !
Sunday 13 October 2019
The Leadership Enigma
When Lenin's Communism took hold in Russia at the height of its struggle in the first world war the regime quickly became based on a lie. The Communist leadership insisted that the countries to the west were enduring even worse poverty than the Russian people, and to maintain that myth the country's borders were sealed.
Those were the days when Russia imposed strict censorship on what the Russian people heard - or saw - or read. No foreign newspapers or magazines were allowed into the country. Radio jamming stations on the country's borders interrupted broadcasts from other countries and even the thought of personal travel to see the world would land a citizen in a prison cell.
That became a time of forced isolation during the war with Germany. Convoys of war material from the west arriving in Murmansk or Archangel risked this secret escaping and so western crews were isolated from contact with Russian stevedores. Ships crews formed the impression that Russia was the most unfriendly regime on the planet.
Of course such a dastardly secret was impossible to maintain and to Russia's embarrassment, every time any cultural exchange of orchestras, ballet or sporting teams were sent to the west half their number simply " disappeared ", sought " political asylum " and refused to return home. In the end, those sent abroad usually had their family held hostage to ensure that they would return.
During the cold war this same imposition was forced on countries captured during the second world war and which had Communism installed with the barrel of a gun. People who had previously enjoyed freedom were saddled with the Communist yoke and this was partially responsible for the collapsed of the Soviet Union.
It is interesting to compare that with Communism in China. Initially - under Chairman Mao - this same isolation was imposed, but eventually Deng Xiaoping came to power and the impetus changed. China adopted a capitalist economy and " being rich " became acceptable. China now has a rigid Communist government structure that imposes a firm political hold and a freewheeling economy where millions of Chinese have passports and travel the world. In fact the Chinese economy is fast threatening to dominate by both volume and value the competition from the western world.
Once again the leadership has changed with Xi Jinping rising to supreme power, and his ambition seems to be to take China to the height of military power in this world. Given the spending power of the Chinese economy, it is inevitable that such parity will be reached - and that raises the question of what happens next ?
It seems the dogma espoused by Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin still has adherents and Chinas is faced with irritants to its unity from both Hong Kong and Taiwan. What gets written in the history books of the future probably depends on where Xi Jinping decides to take his country. As so many times in the past, the decisions of a single person with power will decide the fate of the world.
Those were the days when Russia imposed strict censorship on what the Russian people heard - or saw - or read. No foreign newspapers or magazines were allowed into the country. Radio jamming stations on the country's borders interrupted broadcasts from other countries and even the thought of personal travel to see the world would land a citizen in a prison cell.
That became a time of forced isolation during the war with Germany. Convoys of war material from the west arriving in Murmansk or Archangel risked this secret escaping and so western crews were isolated from contact with Russian stevedores. Ships crews formed the impression that Russia was the most unfriendly regime on the planet.
Of course such a dastardly secret was impossible to maintain and to Russia's embarrassment, every time any cultural exchange of orchestras, ballet or sporting teams were sent to the west half their number simply " disappeared ", sought " political asylum " and refused to return home. In the end, those sent abroad usually had their family held hostage to ensure that they would return.
During the cold war this same imposition was forced on countries captured during the second world war and which had Communism installed with the barrel of a gun. People who had previously enjoyed freedom were saddled with the Communist yoke and this was partially responsible for the collapsed of the Soviet Union.
It is interesting to compare that with Communism in China. Initially - under Chairman Mao - this same isolation was imposed, but eventually Deng Xiaoping came to power and the impetus changed. China adopted a capitalist economy and " being rich " became acceptable. China now has a rigid Communist government structure that imposes a firm political hold and a freewheeling economy where millions of Chinese have passports and travel the world. In fact the Chinese economy is fast threatening to dominate by both volume and value the competition from the western world.
Once again the leadership has changed with Xi Jinping rising to supreme power, and his ambition seems to be to take China to the height of military power in this world. Given the spending power of the Chinese economy, it is inevitable that such parity will be reached - and that raises the question of what happens next ?
It seems the dogma espoused by Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin still has adherents and Chinas is faced with irritants to its unity from both Hong Kong and Taiwan. What gets written in the history books of the future probably depends on where Xi Jinping decides to take his country. As so many times in the past, the decisions of a single person with power will decide the fate of the world.
Saturday 12 October 2019
Too Little - Too Late !
Quad bikes are the popular, all terrain vehicles that are proving to be an essential transport means on Australia's farms. They are far cheaper than a conventional truck or tractor and have a big advantage over a motorbike in that they have the capacity to carry tools and repair materials to where they are needed.
The Federal government is imposing a new law standard on Quad bikes imported into Australia, but it will not come into force for a two year gap period - and it will not apply to Quad bikes already here. Already some overseas manufacturers have signalled that they will quit the Australian market rather than reschedule their product to conform.
The problem is that these are heavy machines and in a rollover they have a tendency to crush the rider. This piece of legislation simply requires that they be fitted with a rollover cage to stop that happening. The statistics show that accidents with Quad bikes are the major cause of death and injury on farms and that two thirds of injuries suffered were caused by vehicle rollovers. It is also pertinent that research shows that over fifty percent of those fatalities would not have happened had the bike been fitted with a roll cage.
Getting that legislation onto the law books has been the result of a long campaign by the very people who have insight into the problem. That includes the National Farmers Federation, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and the Country Women's Association, and it also has the support of the both the Australian Medical Association and the Royal College of Surgeons.
It is the people who see and need to respond to these accidents that are calling for action. Quad bikes are used on steep inclines and the provision of a roll bar will give the rider a chance to survive when the weight of the machine would otherwise cause crushing injuries and where the presence of water may deliver a drowning risk. Its addition would be a low cost safety measure.
The other issue that has been ignored is the age limit that should apply to riders. Quad bikes are amazingly attractive to children and teens tend to want to race them like motorbikes. Often indulgent parents or grandparents turn them loose on farms - with tragic results.
Quad bikes can not be registered or driven on government or council roads, but farms are private property and age limits would be difficult to enforce. Perhaps the only way to enforce an age restriction is in the area of legal responsibility. Should a rider be killed or injured in an accident with a Quad bike that lacked a safety rollbar both the owner of the Quad bike and the owner of the property on which the accident happened should share legal liability.
Giving a two year time extension and not tackling the age problem will ensure that Quad bikes continue to cause dismal farm accident statistics. The parliament should hang its head in shame !
The Federal government is imposing a new law standard on Quad bikes imported into Australia, but it will not come into force for a two year gap period - and it will not apply to Quad bikes already here. Already some overseas manufacturers have signalled that they will quit the Australian market rather than reschedule their product to conform.
The problem is that these are heavy machines and in a rollover they have a tendency to crush the rider. This piece of legislation simply requires that they be fitted with a rollover cage to stop that happening. The statistics show that accidents with Quad bikes are the major cause of death and injury on farms and that two thirds of injuries suffered were caused by vehicle rollovers. It is also pertinent that research shows that over fifty percent of those fatalities would not have happened had the bike been fitted with a roll cage.
Getting that legislation onto the law books has been the result of a long campaign by the very people who have insight into the problem. That includes the National Farmers Federation, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and the Country Women's Association, and it also has the support of the both the Australian Medical Association and the Royal College of Surgeons.
It is the people who see and need to respond to these accidents that are calling for action. Quad bikes are used on steep inclines and the provision of a roll bar will give the rider a chance to survive when the weight of the machine would otherwise cause crushing injuries and where the presence of water may deliver a drowning risk. Its addition would be a low cost safety measure.
The other issue that has been ignored is the age limit that should apply to riders. Quad bikes are amazingly attractive to children and teens tend to want to race them like motorbikes. Often indulgent parents or grandparents turn them loose on farms - with tragic results.
Quad bikes can not be registered or driven on government or council roads, but farms are private property and age limits would be difficult to enforce. Perhaps the only way to enforce an age restriction is in the area of legal responsibility. Should a rider be killed or injured in an accident with a Quad bike that lacked a safety rollbar both the owner of the Quad bike and the owner of the property on which the accident happened should share legal liability.
Giving a two year time extension and not tackling the age problem will ensure that Quad bikes continue to cause dismal farm accident statistics. The parliament should hang its head in shame !
Friday 11 October 2019
Racing Industry Charges !
We are less than a month away from the Melbourne cup - billed as the " race that stops the nation ", but unfortunately all is not well in the horse racing industry. A leading trainer who has had Melbourne cup wins to his credit is facing charges of animal cruelty and faces banishment from the sport.
Animal lovers will recoil at the news that these magnificent animals have been subjected to pain in an effort to make them run faster, The Victorian Police 's Sporting Integrity Intelligence unit raided a training property where they seized what is believed to be battery powered shock devices, known in the industry as " jiggers " !
Charges have been laid and these include conspiracy to defraud Racing Victoria's Stewards, three counts of engaging in the torturing, abusing, overworking and terrifying a thoroughbred race horse and three counts of causing unreasonable suffering to a race horse. These charges will apply to a number of people working at the training establishment.
Horse trainers gain fame from the success they achieve in races. Owners are attracted to place their horses with a successful trainer and this is a big money industry. Unfortunately, anywhere gambling is involved it seems that crime quickly follows. Many punters complain that the horse they backed was not allowed to run on its merits - and that is often correct.
Across Australia a vast army of punters place bets with bookmakers and the TAB every race day. They carefully study the racing form and they are guided by racing celebrities offering advice. It is the job of both the police and the racing stewards to ensure that standards are met and the horses in each race compete in a fair competition.
The news that a leading trainer has been charged with a form of cruelty will cause dismay and shed a bad light on the entire horse racing industry. There is the expectation that the big name racing stables are squeaky clean and this prosecution will spread doubt. Just how widespread is the use of devices like " Jiggers " in creating winning horses ?
It also raises the interesting question of what happens to horses that fail to achieve their expected prowess at the race track ? Owners quickly become discouraged when their investment fails to win and those training charges soon multiply. For a trainer, a horse like Winx comes just once in a lifetime. What happens to the horses discarded as never likely to win a race ?
Horse racing is described as " the sport of kings ". In Australia it is the choice of millions of people who like to have a bet. It is encouraging to know that the industry is under direct surveillance to ensure that industry standards are being met.
Animal lovers will recoil at the news that these magnificent animals have been subjected to pain in an effort to make them run faster, The Victorian Police 's Sporting Integrity Intelligence unit raided a training property where they seized what is believed to be battery powered shock devices, known in the industry as " jiggers " !
Charges have been laid and these include conspiracy to defraud Racing Victoria's Stewards, three counts of engaging in the torturing, abusing, overworking and terrifying a thoroughbred race horse and three counts of causing unreasonable suffering to a race horse. These charges will apply to a number of people working at the training establishment.
Horse trainers gain fame from the success they achieve in races. Owners are attracted to place their horses with a successful trainer and this is a big money industry. Unfortunately, anywhere gambling is involved it seems that crime quickly follows. Many punters complain that the horse they backed was not allowed to run on its merits - and that is often correct.
Across Australia a vast army of punters place bets with bookmakers and the TAB every race day. They carefully study the racing form and they are guided by racing celebrities offering advice. It is the job of both the police and the racing stewards to ensure that standards are met and the horses in each race compete in a fair competition.
The news that a leading trainer has been charged with a form of cruelty will cause dismay and shed a bad light on the entire horse racing industry. There is the expectation that the big name racing stables are squeaky clean and this prosecution will spread doubt. Just how widespread is the use of devices like " Jiggers " in creating winning horses ?
It also raises the interesting question of what happens to horses that fail to achieve their expected prowess at the race track ? Owners quickly become discouraged when their investment fails to win and those training charges soon multiply. For a trainer, a horse like Winx comes just once in a lifetime. What happens to the horses discarded as never likely to win a race ?
Horse racing is described as " the sport of kings ". In Australia it is the choice of millions of people who like to have a bet. It is encouraging to know that the industry is under direct surveillance to ensure that industry standards are being met.
Thursday 10 October 2019
Circle the Wagons !
Ever since the end of the second world war we in Australia have lived with the security that we have the protection of an iron clad security treaty with the United States of America. In particular, we live under the protection of the US's " nuclear umbrella ". We have renounced the option of having our own nuclear weapons on the understanding that America will stand shoulder to shoulder with us if we ever encounter a nuclear threat.
That is of course, a two way deal. This treaty obliges us to support the US and we have fought alongside them in many conflicts, including the Vietnam war, but unfortunately the US of today has a very different outlook from the past.
America always had an isolationist tendency and this has been pronounced under the leadership of its current president. Donald Trump has firmly stated his policy of not getting the US involved in foreign wars and this results in country's like Australia living in a more dangerous world.
When the Soviet Union imploded and the Warsaw Pact countries gained their freedom, Ukraine found itself the site of nuclear weapons. It surrendered those weapons in exchange for a security pact with the United States and other great powers. Despite this pact Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and the great powers turned their backs and simply declared it a " civil war ".
Donald Trump seems to have made it very clear that treaties signed by former presidents will have no standing unless they meet his approval and in particular he does not feel bound to respect treaties that came into force under any Democrat president. He simply walked away from the deal put in place with Iran to prevent that country developing nuclear weapons despite Iran meeting the required conditions faithfully.
We are now in the process of concluding a territorial war with Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq. The Americans fought side by side with the stateless Kurds in bringing down the Caliphate that enslaved millions of people and now they are proposing to pull their forces out of Syria without any sort of prior notice of arrangement with the other players in that conflict. The likely outcome will be Turkey filling that vacuum in Syria and as Turkey regards the Kurds as enemies they will suffer oppression. Turkey has signalled its intention to drive them from the lands they have liberated.
Fortunately this isolationist stance is the sole outlook of the present US president whose term in office may end next year, or possibly a four year term later. It is possible that future US policy may return to the status of leading the world but Australia would be wise to look to its own defences and to carefully nurture our defence in association with other powers in this region.
The policies emanating from the Trump White House are disclosing gaping holes in that US nuclear umbrella. Like the early settlers finding themselves in a hostile environment it is becoming necessary to circle the wagons and look to our own defence.
That is of course, a two way deal. This treaty obliges us to support the US and we have fought alongside them in many conflicts, including the Vietnam war, but unfortunately the US of today has a very different outlook from the past.
America always had an isolationist tendency and this has been pronounced under the leadership of its current president. Donald Trump has firmly stated his policy of not getting the US involved in foreign wars and this results in country's like Australia living in a more dangerous world.
When the Soviet Union imploded and the Warsaw Pact countries gained their freedom, Ukraine found itself the site of nuclear weapons. It surrendered those weapons in exchange for a security pact with the United States and other great powers. Despite this pact Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and the great powers turned their backs and simply declared it a " civil war ".
Donald Trump seems to have made it very clear that treaties signed by former presidents will have no standing unless they meet his approval and in particular he does not feel bound to respect treaties that came into force under any Democrat president. He simply walked away from the deal put in place with Iran to prevent that country developing nuclear weapons despite Iran meeting the required conditions faithfully.
We are now in the process of concluding a territorial war with Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq. The Americans fought side by side with the stateless Kurds in bringing down the Caliphate that enslaved millions of people and now they are proposing to pull their forces out of Syria without any sort of prior notice of arrangement with the other players in that conflict. The likely outcome will be Turkey filling that vacuum in Syria and as Turkey regards the Kurds as enemies they will suffer oppression. Turkey has signalled its intention to drive them from the lands they have liberated.
Fortunately this isolationist stance is the sole outlook of the present US president whose term in office may end next year, or possibly a four year term later. It is possible that future US policy may return to the status of leading the world but Australia would be wise to look to its own defences and to carefully nurture our defence in association with other powers in this region.
The policies emanating from the Trump White House are disclosing gaping holes in that US nuclear umbrella. Like the early settlers finding themselves in a hostile environment it is becoming necessary to circle the wagons and look to our own defence.
Wednesday 9 October 2019
Citizenship " Rights " !
Probably the most essential document to have in Australia is a birth certificate. In this electronic age producing one is required to open a bank account, gain a driving license or enrol children in school. What is surprising is the number of unregistered births that take place each year, resulting in applicants turning to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in later life to obtain one. This involves a fee of sixty dollars.
Unregistered births are scattered across the wide spectrum of society and only births occurring in hospitals are certain to be recorded. That unregistered number is unknown and can only be calculated when we take a census. It is often unrecorded where it was a home birth or took place amongst our indigenous population in country areas.
In New South Wales unrecorded births are common in many suburbs and they reach a peak in country areas. Having a baby is a natural and uncomplicated process and home births are the preferred cultural practice in many of our migrant communities. A birth certificate is a testament to who we are and it is essential in proving our Australian citizenship.
Finding that sixty dollars can be a hardship for the homeless, children under eighteen who are not at school, those experiencing domestic violence and those incarcerated In New South Wales the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages waives that fee in such circumstances. Such applications have increased ten fold in the past two years as the computer age drives more and more functions online. In New South Wales the number of free birth certificates increased from 80 to 953 in that two year period. There is the expectation that it will mushroom further as this electronic age tightens.
To some degree, this reluctance to register births is connected to the changing attitude to marriage. Half a century ago it would have been difficult for a couple to rent a house without the woman wearing a wedding ring. Our social habits have vastly changed. That church ceremony has gone out of favour and couples usually live together openly and often create a family with children. Birth certificate rejection seems to run in tandem with that same avoidance of the marriage certificate.
In 2018 it is calculated that the number of unrecorded births in New South Wales was about thirty percent of total births. The government is making it easier to register a birth online to avoid the necessity of attending a registration centre and ensure that the new born has access to the many services available to every citizen.
Gaining a birth certificate is simply establishing the legality that we have the right to live in this country.
Unregistered births are scattered across the wide spectrum of society and only births occurring in hospitals are certain to be recorded. That unregistered number is unknown and can only be calculated when we take a census. It is often unrecorded where it was a home birth or took place amongst our indigenous population in country areas.
In New South Wales unrecorded births are common in many suburbs and they reach a peak in country areas. Having a baby is a natural and uncomplicated process and home births are the preferred cultural practice in many of our migrant communities. A birth certificate is a testament to who we are and it is essential in proving our Australian citizenship.
Finding that sixty dollars can be a hardship for the homeless, children under eighteen who are not at school, those experiencing domestic violence and those incarcerated In New South Wales the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages waives that fee in such circumstances. Such applications have increased ten fold in the past two years as the computer age drives more and more functions online. In New South Wales the number of free birth certificates increased from 80 to 953 in that two year period. There is the expectation that it will mushroom further as this electronic age tightens.
To some degree, this reluctance to register births is connected to the changing attitude to marriage. Half a century ago it would have been difficult for a couple to rent a house without the woman wearing a wedding ring. Our social habits have vastly changed. That church ceremony has gone out of favour and couples usually live together openly and often create a family with children. Birth certificate rejection seems to run in tandem with that same avoidance of the marriage certificate.
In 2018 it is calculated that the number of unrecorded births in New South Wales was about thirty percent of total births. The government is making it easier to register a birth online to avoid the necessity of attending a registration centre and ensure that the new born has access to the many services available to every citizen.
Gaining a birth certificate is simply establishing the legality that we have the right to live in this country.
Tuesday 8 October 2019
Harsh Law Overturned !
Serving New South Wales police have had a hard fought win to overturn a draconian drug test that resulted in an officers dismissal. In 2015 a long serving sergeant had a test administered that relied on the result obtained from a single hair follicle.
The analysis returned a finding that the process picked up "low levels " of both MDMA and methamthetamine. The then Commissioner, Andrew Scipione concluded that " on the basis of probabilities " the sergeant knowingly ingested drugs. He was dismissed from the police force.
Last week the full bench of the Industrial Relations Commission ordered that the sergeant be reinstated, but that does not seem to be the end of the matter. It is possible the senior police management may challenge this unanimous finding of the IRC in the NSW Court off Appeal.
The fact that a police sergeant has had his career terminated by a test on a single strand of hair is of immense interest to the serving members of the NSW police force. Recruits undergo extensive training at the police academy and policing has become a well paid but demanding career choice with equal standing with many other professions.
Police senior management has spent over $500,000 defending their dismissal decision, and this is despite leading forensic experts having grave doubts about the test outcome. They claim there is no " evidence " that the residue found on the sergeants hair was " ingested " and it may have been caused by " external contamination ".
The sergeant in question had an unblemished career and was the recipient of medals for good conduct. He became the first officer fired over the controversial hair follicle test and much of his work was performed in the area of controlling the drug trade. As such, he would frequently be in situations where drug residue would be present.
The world of forensic evidence is fast expanding but there are misgivings that juries are being swayed by the contrived story exploitation used in popular crime shows. There is a growing belief in the minds of the public that the expanding world of forensics is capable of producing results that defy logic. In the hands of an eloquent lawyer, a forensic claim can be very convincing.
Now it seems that the senior ranks of the police force may be making a similar error. Despite the contrary findings of forensic experts they have ignored the probability of error and have terminated a senior sergeant on what the IRC has now found to be " dubious grounds ".
It is obvious that testing on the base of a single strand of hair should be discontinued. The men and women who serve in this state's police force deserve a better level of justice.
The analysis returned a finding that the process picked up "low levels " of both MDMA and methamthetamine. The then Commissioner, Andrew Scipione concluded that " on the basis of probabilities " the sergeant knowingly ingested drugs. He was dismissed from the police force.
Last week the full bench of the Industrial Relations Commission ordered that the sergeant be reinstated, but that does not seem to be the end of the matter. It is possible the senior police management may challenge this unanimous finding of the IRC in the NSW Court off Appeal.
The fact that a police sergeant has had his career terminated by a test on a single strand of hair is of immense interest to the serving members of the NSW police force. Recruits undergo extensive training at the police academy and policing has become a well paid but demanding career choice with equal standing with many other professions.
Police senior management has spent over $500,000 defending their dismissal decision, and this is despite leading forensic experts having grave doubts about the test outcome. They claim there is no " evidence " that the residue found on the sergeants hair was " ingested " and it may have been caused by " external contamination ".
The sergeant in question had an unblemished career and was the recipient of medals for good conduct. He became the first officer fired over the controversial hair follicle test and much of his work was performed in the area of controlling the drug trade. As such, he would frequently be in situations where drug residue would be present.
The world of forensic evidence is fast expanding but there are misgivings that juries are being swayed by the contrived story exploitation used in popular crime shows. There is a growing belief in the minds of the public that the expanding world of forensics is capable of producing results that defy logic. In the hands of an eloquent lawyer, a forensic claim can be very convincing.
Now it seems that the senior ranks of the police force may be making a similar error. Despite the contrary findings of forensic experts they have ignored the probability of error and have terminated a senior sergeant on what the IRC has now found to be " dubious grounds ".
It is obvious that testing on the base of a single strand of hair should be discontinued. The men and women who serve in this state's police force deserve a better level of justice.
Monday 7 October 2019
Threat to the Christmas Ham.
Here we are, just a few weeks from Christmas when a traditional ham will be on most peoples shopping list. Unfortunately, the massive Australian pork industry is facing a threat from a deadly disease that has been sweeping through Asia and has now reached East Timor to our orth.
African Swine Fever has the capacity to wipe out Australia's $5 billion domestic pork industry which provides employment for thirty-six thousand people. While it poses no threat to humans, once it gains a hold pigs swiftly hemorrhage and die within five to fifteen days of contacting symptoms It is now rampant in China and this has resulted in the death of 200 million pigs so far this year..
The Australian pig industry is bolstering its defences. Clothing and footwear worn by workers needs to be disinfected daily and farms are reluctant to welcome visitors because this virus is exceptionally infective. Our tourist trade is a massive threat to the pork industry. Travellers carrying the disease on their shoes or clothing could unwittingly introduce it to this country.
Perhaps the biggest threat of African Swine Fever comes from undeclared food products brought through customs by visitors. Since the alert sounded last November, customs inspectors have seized twenty-seven tonnes - that is a hundred kilogram a week - of illegal pork products visitors have had in their luggage and which was not declared on their entry documents.
In Asia, the pig is often a part of domestic households. It has high priority in Asian diets and it is common for visitors to bring a favoured delicacy as a treat for friends or relatives in Australia. All it would taker is for an infected item to make it through the custom check for African Swine fever to gain a bridgehead in Australia and decimate our pig population.
Our vibrant universities attract big numbers of students from Asian countries and when they holiday in their homes countries there is a high risk of the disease being transferred back here on their clothes. Parents are particularly prone to ask friends visiting Australia to deliver a home cooked delicacy that their son or daughter would cherish. Unfamiliarity with the English language results in much of this not being declared.
It seems that custom screenings will be stepped up with particular attention given to visitors from affected countries. In the past, confiscation with a warning was often the outcome but perhaps we need to impose heavy fines to get the message across that undeclared meat items are a serious security threat.
Australia's 2.5 million domestic pigs are an important industry, but we also have about fifteen million feral pigs. If African Swine fever got a hold in the feral pig population that would be something we would never manage to eradicate.
African Swine Fever has the capacity to wipe out Australia's $5 billion domestic pork industry which provides employment for thirty-six thousand people. While it poses no threat to humans, once it gains a hold pigs swiftly hemorrhage and die within five to fifteen days of contacting symptoms It is now rampant in China and this has resulted in the death of 200 million pigs so far this year..
The Australian pig industry is bolstering its defences. Clothing and footwear worn by workers needs to be disinfected daily and farms are reluctant to welcome visitors because this virus is exceptionally infective. Our tourist trade is a massive threat to the pork industry. Travellers carrying the disease on their shoes or clothing could unwittingly introduce it to this country.
Perhaps the biggest threat of African Swine Fever comes from undeclared food products brought through customs by visitors. Since the alert sounded last November, customs inspectors have seized twenty-seven tonnes - that is a hundred kilogram a week - of illegal pork products visitors have had in their luggage and which was not declared on their entry documents.
In Asia, the pig is often a part of domestic households. It has high priority in Asian diets and it is common for visitors to bring a favoured delicacy as a treat for friends or relatives in Australia. All it would taker is for an infected item to make it through the custom check for African Swine fever to gain a bridgehead in Australia and decimate our pig population.
Our vibrant universities attract big numbers of students from Asian countries and when they holiday in their homes countries there is a high risk of the disease being transferred back here on their clothes. Parents are particularly prone to ask friends visiting Australia to deliver a home cooked delicacy that their son or daughter would cherish. Unfamiliarity with the English language results in much of this not being declared.
It seems that custom screenings will be stepped up with particular attention given to visitors from affected countries. In the past, confiscation with a warning was often the outcome but perhaps we need to impose heavy fines to get the message across that undeclared meat items are a serious security threat.
Australia's 2.5 million domestic pigs are an important industry, but we also have about fifteen million feral pigs. If African Swine fever got a hold in the feral pig population that would be something we would never manage to eradicate.
Sunday 6 October 2019
Mediation in Hong Kong !
It is very obvious that the unrest in Hong Kong is reaching a critical stage. The city has been paralysed for the past seventeen weeks as raging mobs have roamed the streets and police have countered with water cannon and tear gas. This public protest has now reached the stage where live rounds have been fired and public damage has been inflicted on 82 of the city's 94 railway stations. The economic health of the city of Hong Kong is now in question.
This protest is reaching a climax at a critical time frame. Mainland China is celebrating the seventieth anniversary of its Communist party coming to power in a civil war with the Nationalist government. That is a showcase of the rise of China in world affairs and the elevation of its population from agrarian poverty to the status of a middle class that is now the world's most numerous overseas travellers. It is a conundrum that confounds the west. The tyrannical rule of Communist ideology in a country with a fast expanding capitalist economy.
In 1997 that same Communist government crushed a democracy movement in its own capital when it sent tanks and soldiers into Tiananmen square and gunned down protesting students. The People's Liberation army is massed on the border with Hong Kong and there has been the expectation that leader Xi Jinping will eventually send in the troops when his patience expires.
China is believed to have adopted the " long game " strategy. Students started the unrest over a bill instigated by Beijing that would allow arrested Hong Kong residents to be moved to mainland China for trial. Chinese courts are notorious for obeying the wishes of the government and the verdicts return a ninety-eight percent ratio of " guilty ". That law did not proceed and Hong Kong residents face trial in their own courts and under the laws left behind by the former British rule.
Up to half the population of Hong Kong have taken part in these demonstrations and Xi Jinping shrewdly knows that eventually they need to attend to earning their own living. They are obviously angering the residents who are not part of the protest and this disorder is seriously affecting trade within the city. There is hope that enthusiasm will wane and the protest will attract fewer numbers, until it eventually collapses.
The main impetus has come from students and one of the features of this protest has been the wearing of face masks. The protesters are aware of the huge advances in face recognition technology and as the protest is being photographed they fear future retribution for their involvement. The Beijing appointed chief executive, Carrie Lam has now invoked an emergency law that makes face covering illegal. It gives the police the power to demand the removal of face masks with a six month prison penalty applying for disobedience.
The " Umbrella Movement " has certainly demonstrated the power it commands to bring people into the streets but all disputes reach settlement by way of compromise. Now might be a very wise time to invite dialogue between Beijing and the protest movement, under the auspices of the United Nations to work out a settlement. Such a settlement would then be monitored by the world body to ensure that both sides hold to the terms reached.
That would be a far better solution that intervention by the P.L.A. !
This protest is reaching a climax at a critical time frame. Mainland China is celebrating the seventieth anniversary of its Communist party coming to power in a civil war with the Nationalist government. That is a showcase of the rise of China in world affairs and the elevation of its population from agrarian poverty to the status of a middle class that is now the world's most numerous overseas travellers. It is a conundrum that confounds the west. The tyrannical rule of Communist ideology in a country with a fast expanding capitalist economy.
In 1997 that same Communist government crushed a democracy movement in its own capital when it sent tanks and soldiers into Tiananmen square and gunned down protesting students. The People's Liberation army is massed on the border with Hong Kong and there has been the expectation that leader Xi Jinping will eventually send in the troops when his patience expires.
China is believed to have adopted the " long game " strategy. Students started the unrest over a bill instigated by Beijing that would allow arrested Hong Kong residents to be moved to mainland China for trial. Chinese courts are notorious for obeying the wishes of the government and the verdicts return a ninety-eight percent ratio of " guilty ". That law did not proceed and Hong Kong residents face trial in their own courts and under the laws left behind by the former British rule.
Up to half the population of Hong Kong have taken part in these demonstrations and Xi Jinping shrewdly knows that eventually they need to attend to earning their own living. They are obviously angering the residents who are not part of the protest and this disorder is seriously affecting trade within the city. There is hope that enthusiasm will wane and the protest will attract fewer numbers, until it eventually collapses.
The main impetus has come from students and one of the features of this protest has been the wearing of face masks. The protesters are aware of the huge advances in face recognition technology and as the protest is being photographed they fear future retribution for their involvement. The Beijing appointed chief executive, Carrie Lam has now invoked an emergency law that makes face covering illegal. It gives the police the power to demand the removal of face masks with a six month prison penalty applying for disobedience.
The " Umbrella Movement " has certainly demonstrated the power it commands to bring people into the streets but all disputes reach settlement by way of compromise. Now might be a very wise time to invite dialogue between Beijing and the protest movement, under the auspices of the United Nations to work out a settlement. Such a settlement would then be monitored by the world body to ensure that both sides hold to the terms reached.
That would be a far better solution that intervention by the P.L.A. !
Saturday 5 October 2019
The " Charity " Dollar !
We are not experiencing the " good times " in Australia at present. Many people think we are heading into another recession and wages have not been increasing at the same ratio as profits. The big end of town is doing well but the rewards are not being evenly spread,
Many people are irritated by the constant incoming phone calls from charity canvassers seeking donations for a host of worthy causes. This is accompanied by a flood of letters in the mailbox depicting tragic hardship which can be alleviated with the donation of a few dollars. It makes some wonder how their name got on a charity contact list ?
Those contact lists have become big business in the charity realm. If you have ever made a donation where your name and address was noted on the receipt this becomes a valuable asset for the charity involved. It is not unusual for a charity to sell its donor list to other charities as a legitimate method of obtaining funds.
The reason you are receiving phone calls requesting a donation and the reason well produced colour brochures are arriving in tour mailbox - is because this form of charity collection brings results. In fact it is the only source of revenue for many charities and so they colour their appeal to stand out and gain attention in the myriad business of charity collection.
Phone canvassing is often the work of unpaid volunteers who donate their time but the majority of incoming calls originate in " call centres " in low wage countries where staff are paid on the basis of their call success. Postage is about to increase above the rate of a dollar per letter, but bulk mailings get a discount rate. Charities complain that in the present economic climate, the rejection rate to both phone and mail appeals has sharply increased.
All charities are required to be licensed by the state government and need to file an annual financial return. In some cases, the money flow to the intended purpose of donation collections is failing due to the cost of running the charity absorbing most of the incoming funds. The charity overheads consist of an office, staff and probably a car for the use of the chief executive. Some of these charities are deficient at submitting annual audits.
We are now finding instances where charities are ending up in liquidation when they face insolvency. One such charity has slipped $ 840,000 into the red according to its annual report and the jobs of its twenty-eight employees seem certain to be terminated.
The right to collect charity money from the public needs to be carefully monitored. The big charities such as the Salvation Army and the Smith Family are above reproach but a responsible government audit of many smaller money raising functions will reveal working methods that are clearly uneconomic. Many would not withstand an objective scrutiny !
Many people are irritated by the constant incoming phone calls from charity canvassers seeking donations for a host of worthy causes. This is accompanied by a flood of letters in the mailbox depicting tragic hardship which can be alleviated with the donation of a few dollars. It makes some wonder how their name got on a charity contact list ?
Those contact lists have become big business in the charity realm. If you have ever made a donation where your name and address was noted on the receipt this becomes a valuable asset for the charity involved. It is not unusual for a charity to sell its donor list to other charities as a legitimate method of obtaining funds.
The reason you are receiving phone calls requesting a donation and the reason well produced colour brochures are arriving in tour mailbox - is because this form of charity collection brings results. In fact it is the only source of revenue for many charities and so they colour their appeal to stand out and gain attention in the myriad business of charity collection.
Phone canvassing is often the work of unpaid volunteers who donate their time but the majority of incoming calls originate in " call centres " in low wage countries where staff are paid on the basis of their call success. Postage is about to increase above the rate of a dollar per letter, but bulk mailings get a discount rate. Charities complain that in the present economic climate, the rejection rate to both phone and mail appeals has sharply increased.
All charities are required to be licensed by the state government and need to file an annual financial return. In some cases, the money flow to the intended purpose of donation collections is failing due to the cost of running the charity absorbing most of the incoming funds. The charity overheads consist of an office, staff and probably a car for the use of the chief executive. Some of these charities are deficient at submitting annual audits.
We are now finding instances where charities are ending up in liquidation when they face insolvency. One such charity has slipped $ 840,000 into the red according to its annual report and the jobs of its twenty-eight employees seem certain to be terminated.
The right to collect charity money from the public needs to be carefully monitored. The big charities such as the Salvation Army and the Smith Family are above reproach but a responsible government audit of many smaller money raising functions will reveal working methods that are clearly uneconomic. Many would not withstand an objective scrutiny !
Friday 4 October 2019
" Eat-In " Supermarkets !
Seventy- years ago the "Supermarket " concept swept into Australia and started to change the way we shopped for our food. The incentive was cheaper prices. It became an era when " specials " were heavily promoted in mass advertising to take trade away from the " corner stores " where price control from the war years was still the common practice.
It was a huge change in how we shopped. We were invited to take the place of store staff and wheel a trolley around the aisles and select from the merchandise packed on shelves. We were exposed to many new and exciting products and manufacturers enhanced the packaging of their products to gain our attention. Speed was part of the experience when a line of " checkout " girls priced the items in our trolley, packed the goods in plastic bags for us to carry to our cars. Each supermarket was served by a copious amount of off street parking.
Gradually, the selling of groceries devolved into a duopoly of two store chains that competed with opposing branches in every suburb of out cities and dominated the country towns spread across the nation. The main battleground was " price ". This duopoly was ruthless in extracting lower prices from food suppliers because of the power their franchise gave them. The media took great delight in comparing the price of similar items bought from both to nominate a winner. Smaller, independent food competitors were driven out of business.
It seems that this food war is about to gain a new battlefront. The duopoly has competed for the housewives dollars in buying the food they prepare for their families. Now they are casting their eyes of the food we eat outside our home. Trials are underway to compete with the Hungry Jacks and McDonalds by creating similar fare in store where shoppers are actually on supermarket premises and once again price will be an incentive.
At this experimental stage they are trying to determine what is attractive to shoppers. It is yet to be determined if this will devolve into simply coffee and a snack or extend to a sit down meal with a wider menu. It is something the public needs to consider with caution. We should remember how the supermarket age displaced the huge number of butcher shops and greengrocers scattered about our cities when they used the price weapon to bankrupt competitors.
This move by the Coles and Woolworths duopoly will clearly threaten the vast array of small cafes and coffee shops scattered across Australia. Many offered an opportunity for a hard working family to establish their own business by giving good service and offering an innovative cuisine. They are about to encounter a ruthless competitor. Not all can survive a price fight for the shoppers dollar. It will certainly have an impact on the job market and in particular, the casuals who work in cafes and coffee shops on a part time basis. Supermarkets now offer an extended hours service.
We live in an ever changing world. With change good fortune or disadvantage are an inevitable consequence on how some people will be affected.
It was a huge change in how we shopped. We were invited to take the place of store staff and wheel a trolley around the aisles and select from the merchandise packed on shelves. We were exposed to many new and exciting products and manufacturers enhanced the packaging of their products to gain our attention. Speed was part of the experience when a line of " checkout " girls priced the items in our trolley, packed the goods in plastic bags for us to carry to our cars. Each supermarket was served by a copious amount of off street parking.
Gradually, the selling of groceries devolved into a duopoly of two store chains that competed with opposing branches in every suburb of out cities and dominated the country towns spread across the nation. The main battleground was " price ". This duopoly was ruthless in extracting lower prices from food suppliers because of the power their franchise gave them. The media took great delight in comparing the price of similar items bought from both to nominate a winner. Smaller, independent food competitors were driven out of business.
It seems that this food war is about to gain a new battlefront. The duopoly has competed for the housewives dollars in buying the food they prepare for their families. Now they are casting their eyes of the food we eat outside our home. Trials are underway to compete with the Hungry Jacks and McDonalds by creating similar fare in store where shoppers are actually on supermarket premises and once again price will be an incentive.
At this experimental stage they are trying to determine what is attractive to shoppers. It is yet to be determined if this will devolve into simply coffee and a snack or extend to a sit down meal with a wider menu. It is something the public needs to consider with caution. We should remember how the supermarket age displaced the huge number of butcher shops and greengrocers scattered about our cities when they used the price weapon to bankrupt competitors.
This move by the Coles and Woolworths duopoly will clearly threaten the vast array of small cafes and coffee shops scattered across Australia. Many offered an opportunity for a hard working family to establish their own business by giving good service and offering an innovative cuisine. They are about to encounter a ruthless competitor. Not all can survive a price fight for the shoppers dollar. It will certainly have an impact on the job market and in particular, the casuals who work in cafes and coffee shops on a part time basis. Supermarkets now offer an extended hours service.
We live in an ever changing world. With change good fortune or disadvantage are an inevitable consequence on how some people will be affected.
Thursday 3 October 2019
Paying their Debt !
There are about twenty young women in a squalid Syrian displacement camp who claim to be entitled to Australian citizenship and are pleading to be returned to Australia. Between them they have about forty small children whose fathers are either in prison for the crimes they committed, still on the run somewhere in the wasteland they created, or dead because of battle wounds.
Most of these women claim that trickery was used to entice them into Syria and they committed no crime. They were there simply for the material comfort of their freedom fighters and to churn out a production line of a child a year to eventually swell Islamic State ranks. Now that war is lost they want to return to Australia and resume their old life with the freedom their vile regime refused to the prisoners that came under their control.
You can be assured that the moment these women set foot on Australian soil they would be making a welfare claim at Centrelink and joining the queue for public housing. They are reclaiming their citizenship as a right, but the right of others was something they willingly denied when they joined Islamic State and shared the spoils of victory with their husbands.
Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in Syria are either dead or refugees somewhere in the world trying to gain entry into a new country. Islamic State made no secret of the punishment it inflicted when it forced its extreme version of Islam on the people it captured. Prisoners captured from defending armies were publicly executed with a shot to the head - or decapitation. Women that came under their control were either used as sex slaves, or were sold for profit in the slave markets that still exist in the Middle East.
These women were part of the same Islamic State that declared war on Australia,. It publicly appealed for followers to use their cars, a knife or any weapon that came to hand to murder " unbelievers " on the streets of our cities - and some responded. We still have Islamic State adherents here plotting to bring down airliners with bombs or commit murder in the name of their intolerance of other religions.
These women committed a crime when they left Australia to engage in a foreign war. They wilfully abandoned their links to Australia and now they owe a debt to the other unfortunates from Syria stranded in those same displacement camps. They are now stateless people like the people their war forced out of their homes and it would be grossly unfair if they became cheque jumpers, allowed entry when those around them are still refused.
Australian citizenship comes with responsibilities. These women chose to burn those bridges and now they must survive as stateless refugees. Hopefully, they may eventually become loyal citizens of another country. The door to Australia should remain closed !
Most of these women claim that trickery was used to entice them into Syria and they committed no crime. They were there simply for the material comfort of their freedom fighters and to churn out a production line of a child a year to eventually swell Islamic State ranks. Now that war is lost they want to return to Australia and resume their old life with the freedom their vile regime refused to the prisoners that came under their control.
You can be assured that the moment these women set foot on Australian soil they would be making a welfare claim at Centrelink and joining the queue for public housing. They are reclaiming their citizenship as a right, but the right of others was something they willingly denied when they joined Islamic State and shared the spoils of victory with their husbands.
Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in Syria are either dead or refugees somewhere in the world trying to gain entry into a new country. Islamic State made no secret of the punishment it inflicted when it forced its extreme version of Islam on the people it captured. Prisoners captured from defending armies were publicly executed with a shot to the head - or decapitation. Women that came under their control were either used as sex slaves, or were sold for profit in the slave markets that still exist in the Middle East.
These women were part of the same Islamic State that declared war on Australia,. It publicly appealed for followers to use their cars, a knife or any weapon that came to hand to murder " unbelievers " on the streets of our cities - and some responded. We still have Islamic State adherents here plotting to bring down airliners with bombs or commit murder in the name of their intolerance of other religions.
These women committed a crime when they left Australia to engage in a foreign war. They wilfully abandoned their links to Australia and now they owe a debt to the other unfortunates from Syria stranded in those same displacement camps. They are now stateless people like the people their war forced out of their homes and it would be grossly unfair if they became cheque jumpers, allowed entry when those around them are still refused.
Australian citizenship comes with responsibilities. These women chose to burn those bridges and now they must survive as stateless refugees. Hopefully, they may eventually become loyal citizens of another country. The door to Australia should remain closed !
Wednesday 2 October 2019
The Prison " Lottery " !
The Special Enquiry into the drug " Ice " has revealed one of the curious aspects of the fate awaiting addicts who face a judge for the crimes they have committed. It seems that their names go into a barrel and the lucky ones go into a drug treatment programme instead of going to prison.
An independent evaluation of the Drug Court of NSW has shown it to be more cost effective than prison in reducing reoffending in people whose crimes were drug related. Participants were less likely to be reconvicted than those who received the sanction of imprisonment. Unfortunately, the number who could be so managed was limited by the number of designated treatment facilities available.
The enquiry heard that this opportunity existed for 170 participants in Parramatta, 40 in central Sydney and 80 in the Hunter. Selection takes place in the rather brutal way of simply conducting a ballot. The lucky ones go to a treatment centre - and the unlucky ones serve time behind bars.
The enquiry was told of the capricious nature of this selection. Some offenders were excluded for simply living on the wrong side of the street. That placed them in a local government area which was not in the catchment for a drug court. Others had the misfortune to be scheduled in a particularly busy week.
The capricious nature of this selection sometimes splits life partners when both are involved in crime that is drug related and this is becoming more common when Ice is involved. Obviously, the fate of dependent children is determined by the sentence handed down by the court and so the ballot outcome can have far reaching consequences.
The other big problem is the huge area of this state that is not covered by a drug court. Regional communities such as Dubbo, The Illawarra, the Central Coast and Northern Rivers have been agitating for the provision of a drug court without success. This omission gives the lie to the depiction of " justice " that stands above many courts. The statue of a blind woman, holding the sword of vengeance in one hand and the scales of decision in the other. Only some of those found guilty of drug crime get the chance for rehabilitation. For the others there is no chance because they didn't even get their name in the ballot draw !
Not only does rehabilitation enable many addicted to Ice to lead productive lives, it is a far cheaper option than keeping prisoners behind bars.
An independent evaluation of the Drug Court of NSW has shown it to be more cost effective than prison in reducing reoffending in people whose crimes were drug related. Participants were less likely to be reconvicted than those who received the sanction of imprisonment. Unfortunately, the number who could be so managed was limited by the number of designated treatment facilities available.
The enquiry heard that this opportunity existed for 170 participants in Parramatta, 40 in central Sydney and 80 in the Hunter. Selection takes place in the rather brutal way of simply conducting a ballot. The lucky ones go to a treatment centre - and the unlucky ones serve time behind bars.
The enquiry was told of the capricious nature of this selection. Some offenders were excluded for simply living on the wrong side of the street. That placed them in a local government area which was not in the catchment for a drug court. Others had the misfortune to be scheduled in a particularly busy week.
The capricious nature of this selection sometimes splits life partners when both are involved in crime that is drug related and this is becoming more common when Ice is involved. Obviously, the fate of dependent children is determined by the sentence handed down by the court and so the ballot outcome can have far reaching consequences.
The other big problem is the huge area of this state that is not covered by a drug court. Regional communities such as Dubbo, The Illawarra, the Central Coast and Northern Rivers have been agitating for the provision of a drug court without success. This omission gives the lie to the depiction of " justice " that stands above many courts. The statue of a blind woman, holding the sword of vengeance in one hand and the scales of decision in the other. Only some of those found guilty of drug crime get the chance for rehabilitation. For the others there is no chance because they didn't even get their name in the ballot draw !
Not only does rehabilitation enable many addicted to Ice to lead productive lives, it is a far cheaper option than keeping prisoners behind bars.
Tuesday 1 October 2019
Macquarie Island Restoration !
We are well aware of Christmas Island to Australia's north, but few people could put their finger on the map and instantly identify Macquarie island, a mere dot in the sea between Tasmania and the vast Antarctic continent.
It was discovered by sealers in 1840 and as it was home to over a million penguins and about fifteen thousand elephant seals this valuable resource was plundered for the oil they contained. Unfortunately the island faced a new threat when cats, rats and mice escaped from visiting ships and quickly decimated the local fauna. Years later, the rabbit was introduced and their grazing destroyed both the " tussock " that covered the hills and what is known as the " Macquarie island cabbage ". It became a desolate place before it was granted World Heritage status in 1997 and this started an Australian initiative to clean up the mess.
Macquarie island is just 34 kilometres long and 5.5 kilometres wide and it juts out of the ocean 1500 kilometres south of Hobart. It was used as a radio base by Douglas Mawson during his epic 1911-14 Antarctic expedition and it was described as the " Galapagos of the South ".
A huge and very expensive baiting initiative has destroyed the rats, mice, cats and rabbits and the island has finally returned to its natural state. Both the tussock and the cabbage are again dominating the landscape and specially trained dogs inspect all supplies arriving on the island to ensure that no vermin gain re-entry.
This remarkable resurgence is watched over by a force of Australian rangers. In winter they number about fourteen with that number doubling during the summer months. It is a lonely posting and supplies are delivered by the Australian icebreaker during summer when the surrounding sea is navigable. Rebuilding the station accommodation forms part of the $450 million plan to modernise Australia's four Antarctic stations.
Our presence in the deep south serves various scientific purposes including monitoring radioactive particles as part of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. It seems that Macquarie island has a very special charm. Despite the isolation, the ranger team seem ever ready to sign on for another winter in the deep south.
It was discovered by sealers in 1840 and as it was home to over a million penguins and about fifteen thousand elephant seals this valuable resource was plundered for the oil they contained. Unfortunately the island faced a new threat when cats, rats and mice escaped from visiting ships and quickly decimated the local fauna. Years later, the rabbit was introduced and their grazing destroyed both the " tussock " that covered the hills and what is known as the " Macquarie island cabbage ". It became a desolate place before it was granted World Heritage status in 1997 and this started an Australian initiative to clean up the mess.
Macquarie island is just 34 kilometres long and 5.5 kilometres wide and it juts out of the ocean 1500 kilometres south of Hobart. It was used as a radio base by Douglas Mawson during his epic 1911-14 Antarctic expedition and it was described as the " Galapagos of the South ".
A huge and very expensive baiting initiative has destroyed the rats, mice, cats and rabbits and the island has finally returned to its natural state. Both the tussock and the cabbage are again dominating the landscape and specially trained dogs inspect all supplies arriving on the island to ensure that no vermin gain re-entry.
This remarkable resurgence is watched over by a force of Australian rangers. In winter they number about fourteen with that number doubling during the summer months. It is a lonely posting and supplies are delivered by the Australian icebreaker during summer when the surrounding sea is navigable. Rebuilding the station accommodation forms part of the $450 million plan to modernise Australia's four Antarctic stations.
Our presence in the deep south serves various scientific purposes including monitoring radioactive particles as part of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. It seems that Macquarie island has a very special charm. Despite the isolation, the ranger team seem ever ready to sign on for another winter in the deep south.
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