" Rare " ? or " Well Done " ?

When we order steak in a fashionable restaurant it is customary for the waiter to ask us how we would like it cooked.  Tastes vary, but often the choice is between " Rare " and " Well Done " !
When cut with a knife a " rare " steak certainly shows " pink " in the middle and often the juices show traces of blood.   Many discerning diners claim that " rare " is the only way to enjoy the taste that comes with a good steak cooked to perfection.

Until now, the fast food industry offering " burgers " has not offered a choice.  The meat pattie served up in most " Burger joints " is flipped on a hot plate and thoroughly cooked before it is slapped onto a sliced bun.  Often the only choice is if the salad ingredients on offer will have raw onion added.

Now it seems that some of these " Burger Joints " have gone upmarket. In the search for patronage they are offering burgers cooked to the customers specifications and this means lightly cooking the pattie somewhere between 60 and 55 c - and this has brought the Department of Health into the picture.

The Health Department insists that burger patties must be cooked at 71 C.   There must be no sign of " pink " showing in the middle and the juices must run clear.   Many gourmet cooks protest and claim that this makes the meat " dry and tasteless ".   They cite the custom of steak served " rare " to support their contention.

Food technicians step into that gap and point to the different procedures involved.   It seems that cooking a burger pattie at between 60 and 55 c is quite safe, provided that the meat has been minced at the establishment where it will be cooked and that it is cooked and served on the same day as it was minced.

It is the mincing that poses a risk if the product is exposed to the air and stored briefly at the wrong temperature - and most mince used in burgers is prepared by either a local butcher or an external food preparation company, and may be months old and held frozen until it is actually used.   If this is served under cooked it can pose a serious health hazard.

There is also the practice of some meat outlets disposing of older meat treated with suphur dioxide to give it a fresh appearance by putting it through the mincer.  The vast majority of burger outlets source their meat patties externally and few actually prepare the product on their own premises.  There are stringent laws in place that apply to food safety - and fines of $ 1450 a day can be imposed for a serious breach.

This seems to be a " Buyer Beware " scenario for both diners and those offering upmarket burgers cooked to the customers specification.    A burger joint offering what is obviously frozen meat patties claimed to be cooked to customer satisfaction should be avoided, but a genuine provider of such fare will need to demonstrate to health official that the correct procedure has been followed and that the food is safe.

Our " Wild " West !

The founding father's of Sydney placed national parks at it's north and south, and as it skirted the ocean to the east the only way to expand was to the west.   Eventually, suburban creep will be blocked by the Blue Mountains barrier.

Unfortunately western Sydney has lacked the amenities that pre-war Sydney takes for granted.Only now are we finally building the road system and new train lines to give western commuters access to city jobs. It seems that in all this planning there is a " missing link " that fails to connect people from where they live to where they earn their living.    We urge them to use public transport, but car parking space at rail stations falls far short of demand.

One of the problems is that inner Sydney is served by a state government owned bus system that provides regular services that are often uneconomical.  The west is served by private bus systems that work on a " for profit " basis - and only run when customer use is economical.  As a result, most commuters have no option other than using a car for travel between home and their nearest rail station - and finding a parking spot is becoming impossible.

Parking in the streets surrounding rail stations is usually subjected to time limits and in many cases finding an all day legal parking spot can involve more than a twenty minute walk to the station - and such a return walk later in the day to reclaim the car.   As a result, many choose to drive to work and this adds pressure to an already congested road system.

The state government is adding more parking at rail stations, but this is falling far short of demand. Most commuters report that finding any sort of legal car space after 7-30 am is becoming impossible.  The new train routes under construction will miss their capacity targets unless their intended passengers have their parking problems solved.

Car parks are services that require a great deal of open space, and in Sydney land use is premium priced.  The only logical way to keep costs under control is to copy what is happening to living space in this city - to go upwards.  Multi story parking towers near stations would be a possible answer to this problem - but charging for their use would add a new dimension to the woes of western Sydney.

For some strange reason we accept the need for metered parking in shopping centres but expect car parking for commuter rail use to be free.   In the past, providing car parking usually only involved paving an area of vacant land and painting individual parking lines, but thinking of parking towers is a huge capital cost that would involve lifts and the need for fire safety sprinkler systems. That is an entirely new dimension.

Perhaps there is a cheaper option that has not claimed attention.   Our existing rail corridors are open space and the air space above them is unused.   Decking the area around stations to park cars not only connects the car park and stations for commuter use but is a far cheaper option that a multi story building.   The other great advantage, the land involved is already in government ownership.  There are no acquisition fees.

New stations are included in the rail roll out and parking decks above could be an economical way of solving one of the west's most troublesome problems !

State Duty of Care ?

It is a fair question to ask ?   Just where does the duty of the state to intervene to stop self destruction begin and end ?   If a person is standing at the edge of " The Gap " in Sydney the cops and medics will wrestle them to the ground and take them to hospital for their own protection.  Suicide is not illegal, but jumping off the Gap breaks a littering law.

Sydney has long been fascinated with the ongoing story of a mother and her two daughters who live   in Boonara Avenue, Bondi.   These women are notorious hoarders and for years have crammed all sorts of rubbish into the rooms of their seaside cottage and enveloped the yard and garden with putrefying junk that has depressed nearby home values and made life a living hell for their neighbours.

Complaints to Waverley council have resulted in the issue of " clean up " orders  - which were ignored. In the full glare of the media, trucks and council work crews have descended on Boonara avenue and cleared the property.  As soon as they finish, the women start raiding wheelie bins and collecting all and anything that takes their fancy.   This growing pile attracts flies, rats and other vermin and the smell is beyond description.

Fourteen months ago the council demanded repayment of their costs in cleaning up this mess.  Once again their demands were ignored and legal recovery action saw the home listed for auction.   The neighbours rejoiced - but at the last minute the women managed to come up with $ 180,000 and the auction was cancelled.

This Boonara cottage is again a pile of stinking rubbish and once again council demands for the cost of recent clearing action are ignored.  This time the debt to be recovered is $160,000.  It is again listed for auction on May 19 and Real Estate predictions are that it may sell for more than two million dollars.   But it is very much a case of " Buyer Beware ".    The new owner will be responsible for clearing the remaining rubbish - and removing the women occupants to get possession of the property. They may not go easily and that could develop into a messy legal fight.

This entire matter raises a thorny question.  These three women have - over a period of years - been committing  " financial suicide " !   Their actions in surrounding the home they fully owned broke various laws and they were allowed to amass debt when the council was forced to move in work crews to overcome what was really a danger to the public.   There is the very real prospect that the sale will take place and they will eventually be evicted by the new owner - and they will have the balance between what was paid for Boonara avenue and the amount owing to council.

Probably sufficient funding to buy somewhere else - and once again this cycle of collecting rubbish may perpetuate the problem and inflict misery on whoever has the misfortune to live in the street of their choice !

Surrounding your home with junk is not the usual action of a sane person.   It would seem evident that these women are suffering some sort of mental disorder and because they are mother and daughters it is likely to have a genetic link.   Surely there are limits in the " privacy " and " personal freedom " we cherish in our society that permits intervention when someone is on a course of self destruction ?

Perhaps a time for public discussion of what laws should be put in place - to save people from themselves.

That " Rogue State " !

The Democratic Republic of Korea is an enigma !  Technically it is still at war with the rest of Korea and the two states are divided by a heavily fortified truce line that runs across the Korean peninsula - and at times shots are fired. A few years ago a North Korean submarine torpedoed a South Koreran naval vessel in a show of hostility.

Despite that word " Democratic " in this state's title North Korea has been a family dynasty with the population little more than serfs. The current president is a fat young man who has never travelled outside his country and who heads one of the biggest and best equipped armies in the world. Thousands have died of starvation when famines have struck and building bigger and better armed forces have always taken precedence in the national budget.

Pictures from the International space station are compelling.  At night the cities of South Korea, China, Japan and the rest of the world blaze with light.   Apart from the North Korean capital - Pyongyang - the rest of the country is in darkness.  The economy is a shambles, subjected to International sanctions because of it's threats to launch a nuclear war against Japan and America.

Since the dawn of the nuclear age, the original five nuclear powers have seen their monopoly breached by India and Pakistan. Israel refuses to comment but is suspected to have a nuclear capability and various other countries could be near breakout.   North Korea has conducted several open nuclear test firings and is clearly a new member of the nuclear club.

Kim Jong-un's regime has the protection of China. The Communist state fears a unified Korea would bring American influence close to it's border and prefers this shambolic neighbour as no threat to it's citizens.  In fact, North Koreans trying to escape to South Korea cross it's border and evade it's police as their main conduit to freedom.  Those caught are returned to North Korea - for execution !

What is disturbing to many people is the steady progress North Korea is making in building it's arms race.  Initially, it's nuclear weapons were primitive by today's standards and consisted of Hiroshima type bombs.  It recently tested what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb, but world experts doubt that claim, but building such a weapon is clearly their intention.

They are also spending time and effort in upgrading their delivery systems.  Under the guise of launching a satellite they achieved what would otherwise be an ICBM with the range to threaten the cities of the United States, and most recently they demonstrated a missile launch from a submarine. The North Korean nuclear threat must now be taken seriously.

The problem is how to contain North Korea before the advancement of it's weapons systems goes further ?   Negotiations towards a settlement are out of the question.   Past " deals " where the west provided oil and food in exchange for promises were blatantly broken and there are steady threats from Pyongyang to reduce western cities to cinders because of perceived injustices.

The decisions in North Korea rest entirely in the hands of it's president and he regularly struts his personal power by shuffling the pack of surrounding generals.  Demotion and execution are his means of striking fear into subordinates, and yet his own knowledge of the rest of the world is probably no better than high school level.

It seems that the day is fast approaching when a tyrant has sole control of a country armed with nuclear weapons and the means of delivering them.   There is no doubt that in a nuclear exchange North Korea would be wiped off the map, but at what cost to the rest of the world ?

That is a question that may disturb the sleep of many other world leaders !

Catch 22 !

"  Day Care " is the term used to describe what many know as " Child Care " and this is a contradiction of how the modern workplace is evolving.   The vast majority of " Day Car " places are configured on the old nine to five/Monday to Friday working week, although some now offer extended hours.

Finding a place in " Day Care " seems to work on the assumption that once the numbers it is licensed to serve are reached the centre is " full " and further applicants must wait for a vacancy to occur.  The scale of charges are on a full day basis, hence any parent who finds a job on a part time basis will find the gain from this limited employment wiped out by the all day care charges.

The government is considering the option of " pay by the hour " child care and this is certainly necessary if we are to integrate more women into the workforce.   The creation of part time positions now far outstrips the creation of full day long term work as industry moves to cover peak demand spread on a seven day basis.

Most of the business world bases its charges on a time factor.  When we hire a taxi the cost is determined by the time/distance involved in the journey.  Hiring tools from a plant hire company is a cost based on the time factor and what we are buying in a child care centre is a service during our particular time/need.   The only problem is that it is not costed on that basis.

It is probably impractical to insist that all child care services convert to a time charge basis because those in permanent employment need consistency of care, but this idea opens up a rewarding new industry for entrepreneurs to tap into a new business model.   There seems to be demand for both casual and regular child care on a short time basis and at present that demand is not being met.

It is highly likely that meeting that demand will introduce " Catch 22 "  situations.  Because there is a desperate shortage of full time child care place availability, long care need parents will snap up the entire working day schedule availability short term centres offer.  Short term hour charges will probably need a small premium but such is the unmet demand that even this would not stop working mothers using this service while waiting for a long care vacancy to become available.

Short term child care would initially serve women with a permanent work schedule of short term need but would provide availability to casual users just like any other service industry.  For instance, women scheduled to attend a medical appointment with a specialist may prefer to leave their child in care rather than face the prospect of a cranky infant disrupting an event of some importance.  It simply levitates child care into this twenty-first century on a business basis.

One of the problems long care users face is that to secure a permanent place for their child they are charged even when a day is a gazetted public holiday and the centre does not open.  This is contrary to general industry practice where staff holidays and down time is absorbed within the general tariff.  Child care traditionally charges on a " day " rather than an " hourly " basis.

Implementing casual hourly charged child care looks like becoming a new option quite separate from the existing industry.  Providers will need entrepreneurial skills to balance places available against industry needs but this is a service extension that seems natural in our evolving market place.

Bite of the " Bush Tick " !

It seems that the " march of medicine " to cure the diseases that inflict new horrors is evenly matched by the ability of old diseases to take new forms and migrate to different parts of the world. When HIV and AIDS entered the lexicon decades ago the dreaded result of a blood test was a virtual death sentence.  Today - with careful management - sufferers expect an extended lifetime.

The siting of the Olympics this year in Africa is coinciding with the arrival of the Zika virus.  People from all over the world will gather in a country where this is rampant, and desperate measures are being taken to reduce the mosquito population which is its host.  The danger seems to be confined to infected women who become pregnant with Zika resulting in babies born with smaller than usual heads and consequent less developed brains.   To the consternation of many, it now seems that males infected with Zika may sexually transfer this virus to their partners.

Here in Australia an old enemy is appearing in a new guise.  The bush " Tick " is common on the entire east coast and it is known to infect dogs taken for a walk where their coat comes into contact with shrubs and ferns.  It also attaches to humans, but both dogs and people usually recover quickly if given treatment.

We are now seeing a new reaction to Tick bites on humans. Those with it's poison in their system find themselves unable to eat red meat without getting an anaphylactic reaction.  This may develop months after coming into contact with a Tick and it may not become evident until eight hours after eating a meal that contained meat.   This is very similar to the anaphylactic reaction to nuts that seems to have become much more prevalent in today's children.   Sufferers are urged to carry an epipen with them at all times.

It is unclear how this transfer to a meat rejection has occurred in Tick venom but general practitioners on Sydney's north shore, where ticks are prevalent are now treating one or two sufferers a week and it is evident that this problem is becoming expansive. Sufferers face meal choices restricted to fish and chicken and great care must be taken when ordering fare such as pizzas to make sure that any red meat derivative is excluded.

It also has changed the procedure for dealing with Tick bites.  Removing them with tweezers risks pressure causing more of their poison to enter the body and it is recommended that they be " frozen " with a spray obtainable from chemists.   For those unable to gain access to this spray, it is better to ignore the Tick and let it drop off of it's own accord - usually within three hours of initial attachment.

Many will wonder if global warming is the factor causing old diseases to develop new properties. Sydney has just had the warmest and driest summer on record and it seems that a warmer ocean is causing bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef.   If we are to become more tropical, it stands to reason that we can expect more of the conditions that affect the tropics to become prevalent here.

Avoiding the common bush Tick is now a must for those who wish to avoid a serious lifestyle change - the inability to enjoy the pleasure of red meat on the nightly dinner plate !

Space Travel !

Perhaps the age of rockets taking us into space is coming to an end.  Research is now taking a serious look at one of the outcomes arising from the " Theory of Relativity " - which states that while light has no mass, it does have momentum !

This means that if a light is shone onto a mirror, the power of the light causes the mirror to move. It is reasoned that if a laser of adequate power was directed at a mirrored sail on a spacecraft it could accelerate that craft to about a third of the speed of light - achieving a speed of 80,000 kilometres a second.  It would become possible to reach other stars in months rather than years of travel.

The problems to be overcome to achieve success are daunting.  For a start, the power of the laser required to achieve these speeds would need to be about one Gigawatt - and a Gigawatt is a million watts.  Basically, it would take the entire output of a nuclear power station for several hours to generate the spacecraft to that incredible cruising speed, but the craft would need no engine of it's own nor fuel supply.

Science is scaling down this power need by using the magnifying principle employed by the telescope. If a light source is reflected to a central point by a number of mirrors the power is concentrated and enhanced beyond that of the original light source.   That works in similar manner to the solar farms where many mirrors reflect light to a central tower where sodium is heated to generate electricity.

There is one obvious disadvantage.  Such a spacecraft would have no brakes.At such speeds, reverse thrust from rockets would be impractical from both a weight and fuel point of view, but that only limits it's use for passenger travel.  A laser/sail propelled space craft to photo graph and explore distant space as an unmanned traveller could be a viable option.

Over a hundred million dollars has been earmarked for this project and it has the attention of those engaged on the " Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence. ( SETI ).   It could be a very cheap way of powering miniature space vehicles on missions to the far Cosmos to see if life exists other than on this planet. For well over a hundred years our discovery of radio waves have sent out signals into space and probes have gone to distant parts of the universe - without a reply.  Perhaps we should be grateful.   If others exist, they may be more scientifically advanced than us Earthlings - and they may not be friendly.

There is another aspect of this research that is troubling.  Several individual research projects are under way headed by scientists of various nationalities and in differing countries.  This would be better handled under the auspices of the United Nations as an international project with funding from the combined membership of sponsor nations.

A long time ago the balance of power on earth was under threat when the world's military considered what was termed " Star Wars " as new military technology.  Essentially, this involved the use of high power lasers reflecting off mirrors in space to direct death and destruction back to enemy targets below.  Fortunately, it was resolved by a treaty, but should research on space travel whet the appetite of an ambitious country with expansionist ambitions, this research could quickly return to military use.

Sometimes a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing !

" Human Rights " Appeal !

The " Brexit " debate in Britain on leaving the EU will certainly be enlivened by the outcome of a human rights appeal in a Norwegian court. Many chafe at the rules enacted by Brussels and imposed on all members of the European Union and this particular appeal finding comes at a time when many Britons are deciding how they will cast their vote.

The events of July 2011 hit the news headlines across the entire world , and the name " Anders Behring Breivik " entered infamy. This exponent of the old Nazi Nationalist Socialism type of politics launched a bomb attack in Oslo that killed nine people, and then - dressed in a police uniform - systematically hunted down and killed sixty-nine young people attending a youth camp on a Norwegian island.

Captured and put before a court he insisted on giving the Nazi stiff arm salute to court officials. He showed no remorse and was sentenced to life imprisonment.Since then he has been held at Skien prison, 140 kilometres from Oslo and housed in a separate cell block to protect him from attack by other prisoners.  His quarters provide both a computer and Playstation, but he is not permitted to be connected to the Internet.

Breivik - now 37 - launched an appeal against the state claiming that his " human rights " had been violated.  To the astonishment of many, the court partially agreed with his claim.  The listing of events which he provided to support this allegation makes interesting reading.

It seems that he was provided with essentially the same type of meal on two consecutive days - and was forced to eat with plastic cutlery.   Some strip searches were carried out in the presence of female prison warders, and when he was on suicide watch his sleep was disturbed at hourly intervals by prison officers checking that her was still breathing.

He is also complaining about being held in isolation, despite the threat of harm by other prisoners, and this is despite the clear obligation of his captors to ensure that his safety is paramount. Despite the court agreeing with this claim the prison would be held accountable if he suffered injury or death.  How this should be rectified has not been stipulated by the court and is a conundrum left for the prison to solve.

This finding handed down by a Scandinavian court on a European Union statute of human rights will have no bearing on decisions in courts in the rest of the world, but it will be used by civil rights exponents to buttress their cases whenever such issues arise.

It is likely that Breivik will live another forty years and should he gain release he would probably kill again.  Most world countries have at least some prisoners who have been responsible for a mass slaying and will never be released - and in Australia the Port Arthur massacre fits that mould.

When we abolished the death penalty it was a decision on what sort of punishment would apply. A prison is a place of punishment - and that seems to be forgotten when human rights enter the issue of appeal.  A prisoner loses many of the human rights that ordinary citizens take for granted and our laws decree the extent to which that applies.  We shield prisoners from the degree of inhumanity that was practised in past centuries but there is a danger that constant erosion will see prisons lose the fear factor that deters criminality.

Prison was not meant to be a convivial health resort or holiday centre !

Cyber Security !

One of the biggest items of expenditure in our Federal budget goes to defence.  We need to constantly upgrade the ships in our navy and the planes in our air force to contain the armed forces of neighbouring countries who may wish to do us harm.  By world standards we have a very small army and to be effective it needs the best equipment and be at the focal point of the arms race.

It seems unlikely that Australia faces any immediate threat of an invasion.  We have alliances with friendly great powers that we would expect to come to our defence if we were attacked, and  generally there are no territorial disputes or old scores to settle with other countries, nor are we harbouring plans for conquests to add to our overseas territories.

Unfortunately there is a constant war in progress in the electronic field that is carried on out of sight. Most world countries - and even those we deem to be our friends - are constantly snooping and trying to penetrate the world of computer traffic to unveil both military and commercial secrets, and to be brutally honest - we reciprocate with our own cyber penetration methods.

We are warned that the next war may be fought in cyber space and it may start with a knockout punch that simply shuts down the communication and commerce of the target country.  Not only would this throw the defensive armed forces into chaos, the power grid, water reticulation and the banking system brought to a standstill would bring paralysis.

The wonderful world of computers and the information technology industry manage so much of the national infrastructure that the number one item of defence must be to guard it against cyber penetration.  We need to not only mount such a defence, but also have the capability to cripple an attacking enemy by delivering this same form of warfare to their infrastructure.

Little is known about the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the men and women who counter cyber intrusions, but it has been revealed that this country responds to at least a thousand serious incidents every year - and the numbers are growing.  An extra $230 million has been allocated to the Computer Emergency Response Team  ( CERT ) and it will be beefed up with a hundred extra operatives trained to meet this challenge.

This is not only "passive" defence.  We have developed the capability to launch viruses and malware to systems trying to penetrate our security and we are aware that in particular - China and Russia - have both recently enhanced their interest in Australia's infrastructure, and both have vast cyber espionage networks probing world communications.

We are also widening the scope of our cyber defences to include the Australian business world. Ten million dollars has been allocated to establishing liaison with the business community to help them upgrade their computer systems to keep out intruders.   So much of the communication network is input from component manufacturers that contribute vital parts.  Should such a manufacturer have loose security that enables malware to be embedded it's presence could compromise the entire system.

In today's world  - cyber defence holds equal part with guns, planes and ships !

Judging the Judges !

An interesting case in the Sydney court system will certainly whet the appetite of the many people dissatisfied with the cavalier attitude of some judges when it comes to sentencing.  A man walking a street in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria had two leashed dogs when he encountered another man coming in the opposite direction - who also had leashed dogs.

Both pairs of dogs showed aggression to one another and the first man backed up against a parked car and drew his dogs close to avoid a fight.  Without provocation,  the other man launches an attack with his fists and hammered his face with many blows. This broke bones, closed one of his eyes and left him with permanent numbness on one side of his face.

Fortunately, this incident was recorded by a nearby cctv camera and the police arrested the attacker and put him before a judge. The attacker was a 33 year old professional boxer - with a string of previous assault convictions. It is the custom to regard the fists of boxers as "deadly weapons "when they are used outside a boxing ring.  The assaulted man had every reason to expect redress from the judge.

To his astonishment the judge refused to view the camera footage and declared it was "not relevant ". He simply dismissed the charge and allowed the attacker to walk free.  This led to an appeal that was held before a higher court and this time the video got the full attention of the judiciary.  It showed a sickening degree of force against a helpless man totally unable to defend himself - and the court awarded a twelve month prison term against the attacker - who was not in court and is now on the run.

This - and many similar cases - raises the question of what review exists to determine that judges are performing their duties to a level consistent with the law. The constitution requires separation between the judiciary and the parliament and a judge can only be dismissed by a special sitting of both houses of parliament - sitting together - who come to a seventy percent common vote to achieve that aim.

That is extremely rare.   We once had a judge who suffered a disability that seemed to prevent him reaching conclusions.  For years he heard cases, reserved his judgement and failed to ever deliver a verdict.  This reached such a stage of embarrassment that this form of impeachment was under way - when he saw sense and resigned.

Within the law community it seems that a clever little evaluation of merit prevails. The entire court system is an overlaying system of seniority.  Decisions are open to "appeal " and when an appeal is heard it goes before a higher court whose judges are deemed to be wiser that those of the lower court - and this can extend to the ultimate decisions by the High Court of Australia.

Having a verdict over-ruled is seen as a slap on the wrist for an erring judge.  They glow with pride when an appeal is dismissed and that higher court validates their verdict. Unfortunately, a judge that consistently gets it wrong seems to hold tenure without review.   Some judges are well known for overlaying their personal foibles when it comes to the law and there seems no reasonable mechanism in place to ensure consistency.

Perhaps we could learn from the points system used to weed out traffic offenders and get bad drivers off the road.   It would be up to the senior judiciary to settle on a point score under which a judge should be automatically stood down, and every time a judge had an appeal upheld against his or her verdict that would deliver a demerit point against that score.

It would certainly have judges pay strict attention to protocol - and avoid some of the glaring deficiencies that denigrate respect for the law !

A Double Dissolution Election !

So both houses of Federal parliament will go to the people to decide who governs Australia.  Perhaps the thinking of many could be summed up by a thought expressed by some people.  " It will be a choice between a government that deserves to lose power and an opposition that doesn't deserve to gain power ".

Great things were expected of Malcolm Turnbull when he became Prime Minister.  Now some brand him as "indecisive " because of constant planning changes. Bill Shorten is not a popular leader and middle Australia will not approve of his shielding a bunch of thugs masquerading as a union which is holding the building industry to ransom.  It is a moot point whether the unions control the ALP - or if it is the other way around.

There are certainly benefits to be gained from this election.  Many will rejoice at the opportunity to give the odious Clive Palmer his marching orders.   In fact the decision by the "Suicide Squad "of eight to reject the Australian Building and Construction Commission bill is likely to see them replaced by a new grouping headed by Nick Xenophon. Neither major party is likely to gain a majority in the Senate.

This will be an extraordinary long campaign of seventy-four days, but a decisive factor in which way the vote sways will rest on the budget which Treasurer Scott Morrison will bring down on May 3. There is no doubt that world events have moved against Australia's traditional source of income as a commodities supplier.  We urgently need to re-balance our income and expenditure - and that dreaded word "Taxation " - will play a part in that re-balancing.

No doubt both the major parties will employ shock tactics in their claims of what the future holds but the intelligence of the general public is under rated.  Some sections of the electorate simply vote from party loyalty but the vast majority consider the issues and are quite capable of accepting unpleasant facts - if they are convinced that these are necessary.  A lot will depend on who can present a coherent action plan - that is believable.

This is certainly the "information age " and to a great extent whatever the parties propose will pass through the filter of respected "commentators ".   Both print and electronic media have elevated journalists with expertise on political matters who provide their interpretation of how policies will play out if implemented.  It is inevitable that personal political preference will colour the tone of that presentation, but in the main most maintain a degree of objectivity.

No doubt the media will be saturated with paid advertising and interested third parties in the commercial world will try and swing the vote behind whichever political party will best serve their interests.  Self serving always comes to the fore at election time and the commercial world has a lot to gain or lose on the outcome of any Federal election.

On July 2 the will of the people will be decided by which side of politics was the most persuasive. The future of Australia will rest in the hands of it's citizens !

Grievous Bodily Harm !

Will we dumb humans ever learn ?  The search for a "party high " seems to induce us to try just about anything offered on the illicit drug scene, often without the slightest knowledge of what danger may be involved.   This weekend eight people ended up in intensive care at St Vincents hospital - and one died - because an old drug reappeared on Sydney streets.

This is known as "GHB "- but years ago users mangled the letters to refer to it as "Grievous Bodily Harm " because of the danger it delivered.  In its latest form it is sometimes called "Fantasy "or simply "G ".   From a chemical point of view - Gamma-hydroxybutyrate.   It seems to be the latest addition on the drug scene to be imported from overseas.

What is truly frightening is the effect it has on the human body.   It slows down the central nervous system to the point of the user losing consciousness - and for that reason it has been called a "Coma in a bottle "- because it comes in liquid form, and is usually combined and taken with alcohol.  As a result, the user finds it difficult to measure the dose.

This is a drug that can very easily kill a first time user and because it is "new " in the sense that it is not usually available on the Australian market, many will rush to give it a try.   That seems to be the type of thinking that totally mystifies those tasked with trying to understand the drug scene - because it makes absolutely no sense.

People drink alcohol to get a "high " and they are aware of how it will affect them. Many use "Ecstacy " - either on it's own or mixed with alcohol - because of previous experience with this drug . Unfortunately, if they encounter a bad batch produced in some backyard kitchen it can deliver unintended results - and sometimes death, but that is a risk known to all users. But the odds are in the users favour.  Every weekend perhaps hundreds of thousands of Ecstacy pills are popped - and when a death occurs it makes a news item on the media.

Somewhere in  this drug culture lurks the risk of "addiction ".   Some people get addicted to alcohol. Many find themselves addicted if they progress to heroin or cocaine, but Ecstacy seems more of a substitute for alcohol for many people.  They seem to think it delivers that "high " without the stumbling incoherence that goes with alcohol - and for that reason it is a "safe "drug.

One of the problems with the drug culture is the more successful the police and customs are in seizing imports and shutting down drug labs the more reason users have to try something new when the supply chain is interrupted.  In many instances, success is counter productive when something like GHB suddenly appears on the market.

Apart from the surge of patients being treated in intensive care - and the likelihood that there will be more deaths - factors like road safety  come into the picture.  Anyone driving a car with a suppressed central nervous system would be lethal - and it remains to be seen if GHB can be detected in the usual roadside screening regimen.

Many have lost hope that we will ever win the war against drugs - and now it seems that the police sniffer dogs will have to add a new scent to their repertoire !

Righting a Wrong !

The experience many people had last Christmas when the Dick Smith electronic stores folded has caused the politicians to introduce legislation to cleanup the rules that apply to the gift card industry.Over the years, many strange and illogical conditions have been quietly put in place by individual card companies and the outlets which accept them as payment.

When gift cards were first introduced many years ago they were open ended.   The introduction of a one year expiry date made no sense.  It was sneaked in silently and some outlets began to refuse to honour cards on lower priced sale items.  They insisted that the cards could only be applied to full priced merchandise - and that was legally questionable.   The legislation being considered in Federal parliament seeks to mandate a five year validity on all gift cards.

Basically, a gift card is simply a more socially acceptable alternative to cash in the eyes of the donor.  The card company is paid the amount shown on the card and this can be exchanged for goods in either the store nominated on the card, or in an open market of accepting stores.  There is really no valid reason that a gift card should have any conditions imposed that do not equally apply to banknotes.

The legislation before parliament also requires any final balance under ten dollars to be redeemed in cash.  In most cases the card holder finds a few dollars still remaining on the card but is unwilling to buy an unwanted and expensive other item to eliminate that balance.  As a result, those dollars remain in limbo and deliver extra profit to the card issuer.  It would make sense to round off what amounts to loose change by a cash withdrawal rather than insist that the total amount must form part of a purchase.

Another anomaly that will be addressed with this legislation is the rules that apply to gift cards when the involved stores come under financial administration.  The Dick Smith administrator refused to honour this company's gift cards which were widely sold in the run up to Christmas and the appointment of an administrator happened early in the new year.   Several years earlier, a similar situation happened with a national bookselling chain.

The sticking point was that while the gift cards were refused, in both cases the stores continued to trade for a long period - before finally closing their doors.  This legislation will forbid the refusal to honour gift cards - while ever trading continues.

Hopefully, the parliament may also consider requiring the issuer of gift cards to either insure their face value for redemption in the event the nominated stores cease trading or require the funds backing the cards to be held in an account administered by a trust company until redemption requires these funds to be transferred to the retailer who issued goods in return for the card.

The public should be able to purchase gift cards with confidence and the sure knowledge that they are protected by law.  This legislation is long overdue and it would be a shame if it suffered the fate bestowed by party politics.   So often, whatever is proposed by one side of the house is automatically rejected by whoever is in opposition, further complicated by third party legislators who have their own axe to grind.   This legislation deserves a better fate !

Health Records !

There is no doubt that the Federal governments initiative to collate every Australians health records onto a personal health file is a good idea.  It would enable us to make a complete record of our previous medical history available to the doctor treating us and that information would be only available if we consented to it being shared. Nomatter whether it was a general practitioner or a specialist, the decision to allow or withhold would remain in our hands.

Sadly, despite a one billion price tag already spent and four years into launching this programme the results are dismal. Only seventy-five thousand records have been compiled - and only three hundred doctors are bothering to tap into " My Health " - as this programme is titled.

Even worse, we are seeing SNAFU's that are throwing a doubt into the minds of many people who were enthusiastic supporters of this idea.   Families have been getting letters from the IT company tasked with compiling the data to advise that they are starting a health file on family members - who have been dead for over twenty years.

There is a very reasonable explanation for this happening.  It seems that the Health departments records are incomplete and there has been no record of such a death recorded.  At least such indignant replies from families serves to set the record straight, but it does throw a doubt in many minds that this is a bureaucratic nightmare.

Perhaps what we set out to achieve is simply " a bridge too far " !  The intent was to have on record everything from childhood vaccinations to the records of every GP visit over a lifetime, supported by X-Rays, Pathology reports and hospital summaries.   It will be near impossible to round up all that scattered information on each individual and we may be better to set an achievable guideline.

The obvious starting point is to create a " My Health " record as each baby is born and progress from that to children attending baby early learning centres and hence to the school system.  Each and every health event should be added to this record as a matter of course.  The medical fraternity should be encouraged to automatically add every encounter with a patient directly to that ongoing health record. In that way we would develop health records that progress with the citizen for their entire life.

The health record of older Australians should at least start with their next doctor visit.  Most people have incomplete memories, but they should be urged to add to that record and forgotten items would be included when they emerge by chance.  Perhaps a referral to a specialist to whom that same patient had been treated years earlier.  Such records would be patchy, but gaining constant additions would increase the value to a treating doctor.

It seems to be a matter of separating the possible from the impractical. All medical people keep a record of the patients they treat and it is a mere click of a mouse to transfer the details of each days consultation to the " My Health " national file on those patients.  When that person is sent for a blood test or other procedure, as a matter of course any earlier treatment would be added to the file.  In that way, a growing and useful record of a persons health would become available to all who needed that information.

Properly explained, the medical profession would see the value of such a system and would give it their support.   It seems that delving too far into the past - and the inaccuracies that brings - is bringing a good idea into disrepute !

Time Served !

In January 1989 a media " breaking news " item told Australia that an Assistant Commissioner of the Federal Police had been murdered.   Colin Winchester had parked his car in the driveway of his Canberra home when an assassin fired a shot from the darkness that hit him in the head.

Initially, it was rumoured that this was a " Mafia hit ".  Winchester had been heavily involved in the investigation of Marijuana crops being grown in the Murrumbidgee area of Griffith and this was developing into a lurid tale of corruption and crime that involved payoffs to local police, huge profits enabling gangsters to build " grass castles " and a ruthless suppression of locals seeking to turn the spotlight on this festering sore.

The investigation showed interest in David Eastman, a former Treasury official who had been petitioning Colin Winchester as he tried to regain employment in Treasury.  He had been dismissed for an irregularity and needed a reference from the police to gain reinstatement, and Winchester had consistently refused this request.

Eventually, the police laid murder charges against Eastman and he was sent to trial.  It was claimed that he had a personal vendetta running against this Assistant Commissioner and this was supported by forensic evidence.   Eastman was found guilty and given a life sentence for the murder.

After serving twenty years in prison Eastman launched a successful appeal and his conviction was quashed  in 2014.  The court decided that there was a fundamental error in the forensic analysis and that this seventy year old man should face a retrial.   Eastman launched a further appeal, seeking a stay of proceedings and dismissal of another trial - and that has been denied.

It is hard to see how a new trial twenty-seven years after the event can possibly hope to reach a fair conclusion.  Many of the witnesses who appeared at that earlier trial are either now dead or will have an impaired memory of events. Eastman's assets have been disposed of and he will probably have to rely on a lawyer appointed by the court to run his defence and because this case involves a police killing the full resource's of the police will swing behind the prosecution.  It is a fact of life that the death of a policeman on duty is taken as an assault against the integrity and safety of police generally - and results in what is really a police vendetta to ensure there is a conviction.   Many claim that was the motif behind that earlier charge and conviction.

It also raises the question of new thinking on penalties that apply in murder cases.  There was a time within living memory when hanging was still an outcome and when that was abolished it was replaced by a life sentence.  Today, even a life sentence may be reduced to an earlier release if the prisoner is of good behaviour and shows clear signs of reform.   In most cases, a term of twenty years is considered " time served ".

There is obviously a financial motif in insisting on a new trial.  Having a conviction quashed opens the door for a compensation claim for those twenty years served behind bars.  What the court has upheld is really a " wrongful conviction " and unless that is served by a new conviction the murder of Colin Winchester will go into the " unsolved " file - and Eastman may be entitled to a multi million payout.

Vendettas can have a place on either side of the law !

High Risk Prisoners !

Events at Kempsey prison this month have thrown the spotlight on the need for special arrangements when housing radicalized young men who have switched their allegiance to Islamic State. By an error of judgement a prisoner who had served in the Australian army ended up sharing a cell with a man convicted of terrorism charges.  This led to a fight in which the terrorist carved the IS slogan - e4e - into the ex-soldiers forehead and poured boiling water over his face.

It was a clear breach of prison guidelines to house a prisoner with the highest security rating with another low security rated prisoner and as a result the Superintendent of that prison has been stood down.  In this case, open antagonism between the two men should have sent warning signals that trouble was brewing.

The Inspector of Custodial Services is developing a new protocol for housing high risk prisoners.  There are twenty-nine in this terrorist category - and twenty-four of these are contained in the Supermax at Goulburn.  Their visitors must undergo a security check for past criminal history, their permitted phone calls and letters exchange must be in English or an approved foreign  language and their is minimum contact between inmates.

The Supermax was specially constructed to provide maximum security for the most dangerous prisoners in this state, but the category of crime is vastly mixed.  Some are serving sentences for murder, others are notorious rapists while others have been transferred from more normal prisons for attacks on prison officers.   They have little in common - except a propensity for violence and the desire to break out of confinement

Radicalized terrorists have a very different agenda.   They have a desire to kill and mutilate anybody who is not of their faith. Nomatter how tough a prison, it always develops a clandestine communication network and the exchange of prison "currency " allows the distribution of illicit luxuries - amongst which the mobile phone reigns supreme.  This will not be curbed until the authorities see sense and allow the installation of technology that creates a mobile phone "dead zone " around prisons.

Forward planning depends heavily on whether Islamic State continues to spawn adherents, or whether events in the Middle East war eventually winds down.  If the numbers of terrorists in Australian prisons continues to increase we will have a growing danger that far exceeds the normal criminal risk of housing prisoners. Religious fanaticism probably needs a special prison to contain that risk.

We once had a secure prison named "Katingal ".   It was hated by civil rights champions who described it as an "Electronic Zoo " !  It certainly served it's purpose and over the years that it housed our most dangerous prisoners there was never an escape. Every inch of that prison was under constant electronic surveillance.  Security at all times was paramount.

Eventually, the civil rights champions got their way and Katingal was bulldozed.  The Supermax was supposed to be another Katingal - with a more friendly face.    Perhaps now we need to have a rethink because the type of prisoner conditioned to behead innocent men, women and children on the streets of cities and towns simply because they follow a different religious belief is an advanced form of depravity that deserves an ultimate form of detention.

If a trickle of those radicalized becomes a flood, perhaps we need the type of prison they deserve. !

Defining " Disability " !

The crackdown on eligibility for the Disability Support Pension  ( DSP ) has certainly produced results.   For the first time in six years - since 2010 - the numbers have dropped below eight hundred thousand Australians drawing this pension.

The DSP delivers $ 794.80 each fortnight and this pension has declined from 5.5 to 4.9 as the percentage of the working population of this country, a lowering of the welfare bill by sixteen billion dollars.   It represents thirty-three thousand fewer people drawing DSP benefits.

It is expected that there will be a corresponding increase in the numbers  transferring to "Newstart "- which is the term that is now applied to "the Dole ".   The saving to the Treasury between these two classifications amounts to $7,000 a year.

Most people agree that those who are capable of work should get a job and be self supporting.  There has been a suspicion that many are rorting the system and the numbers have been culled by having a further look at the extent of the claimed disability.  In the past, once granted the DSP was rarely reviewed and fell into a "set and forget "category.   Those days are now past !

Unfortunately, our changing views on welfare will probably bring a less compassionate attitude to those working at the coalface of welfare distribution.  Many years ago the cancellation of the "Widow's Pension "came as a profound shock to many women whose breadwinner husband died, leaving them a few years short of eligibility for the aged pension.   There are still women who class themselves as "Homemaker "and have never held a paid job in their married life.   To find themselves "unemployed "and subjected to job search requirements for the meagre benefits of Newstart can be a daunting experience.

There are also people of both genders who lack the intelligence and capacity to hold down any sort of job than demands even moderate skill.   All they can contribute to an employer is a degree of labouring capacity - and those sort of jobs have almost disappeared from the lexicon.   They are the "misfits "of our society - almost "unemployable " - and many have ended up on the DSP.

From the other side of this coin, the demands that Centrelink makes to justify job searches means that employers are constantly finding a stream of people making application for any jobs offering. In the vast majority of cases valuable time is taken interviewing applicants who totally lack the credentials for success.  Is it any wonder that many employers fail to answer job applications because many are simply fulfilling a Centrelink demand that they prove they are actively looking for work.

It is also likely that these improving DSP figures will be matched by an artificial increase in the unemployment rate.  There has been a tendency for doctors to show compassion for people who are obviously unemployable by exaggerating any evident minor disability to make them fit within the DSP guidelines.   The medical profession has acted as a filter to create within the DSP a repository of those who fall through the cracks - lacking the ability to meet work standards but unable to otherwise qualify for assistance other than the dole.

Government planning is reliant on statistics to set in place the policies that bring results.   If a change of standards skews demographics to give a false readout all sorts of unintended consequences become possible.   The influx of many virtually unemployable people onto the Centrelink job search regimen may make employers less interested in conducting what they consider "time wasting "" interviews that only serve to meet  Centrelink guidelines.

Benefits gained at one end of the scale may mask an illusion happening elsewhere !

Battles over Children !

It is an all too familiar tragedy.   A marriage that involves children ruptures and one of the couples is overseas born and has dual nationality rights.  Either the children are spirited out of the country - or taken on a legitimate holiday and not returned.   The distraught Australian mother or father is desperate to regain custody of their children.

This situation is supposed to be covered by the Hague Convention.  That is a United  Nations sponsored agreement between signature countries that ensures that children illegally taken out of their country of birth are returned.  Unfortunately, many world countries have not signed because of religious objections.

The problem has spawned many cloak and dagger operational groups who provide their recovery services - for a fee.  Usually this breaks the law of the country in which the children are now living. One such recovery action has gone seriously awry - with spectacular results.

The country in the spotlight is Lebanon, and it is not a signatory to the Hague Convention. A Lebanese father with dual nationality took his children, aged six and four on a holiday to his former homeland and refused to return them to their Australian mother.    This man was well connected in Lebanon and retaining the children seems to comply with that country's law.

The details are murky but somehow that Australian mother gained help from a British group called "Child Abduction Recovery International " and this involved the Channel Nine flagship programme "Sixty Minutes ".   A fee of $ 115,000 was forthcoming to fund the operation and Sixty Minutes sent a film crew and one of it's personalities to Lebanon to cover what was expected to be a story "scoop " !

It certainly had it's share of drama.  The  "snatch " took place by armed men on a busy Beirut street but security had been breached.   The police were waiting and not only the abductors but the television crew were arrested and all now face serious charges under Lebanon's law.  The Australian  mother was present when the recovery took place and has also been arrested.

Australia's Foreign Minister has ensured that our diplomatic staff are keeping contact and trying to sort out the legalities but the Lebanese government is taking this matter seriously.  At best there will be delays as it wends it's way through the courts and there is a distinct possibility that lengthy prison terms may be served.

From an Australian legal point of view our law was infringed when the children were not returned after a holiday visit to Lebanon.   Should they pass through any Australian airport they would be sized by customs and returned to their Australian mother, but there is little that Australia can do to mitigate what is clearly a law breach on Lebanese soil.

This whole matter is certainly raising ethical conjecture here in Australia.   Many may think that Sixty Minutes overstepped what is expected of the television industry by joining an abduction of children and providing finance for an illegality in the hope of gaining a ratings winning news story.

There is a very real chance that a crew of five people, which includes an award winning producer and one of the networks leading female  celebrities - may actually spend time behind bars in a Lebanese prison.

Perhaps the television industry needs to have a hard look at it's code of conduct and decide what barriers should apply in the search for audience enhancing stories !

A Big Wide Wonderful World !

Many will wonder how we managed to live before someone thought up that marvellous invention -  the  " App ".   Today there seems to be an App for just about everything - and in most cases they can be downloaded onto our Smartphone - for free.

That Smartphone is also something we could not imagine life without .  Not only does it open up a world of communication, it delivers us to the "information age "  and has become the way we listen to music, access social media and play games.  It has become one of life's necessities.

Running in tandem with the Smartphone is the world of social media.  This brings an element of competition to many lives.  We compete with others to see how many "friends "we can accumulate and how many people will hit  the "like "button for our offerings on Facebook.

It was probably inevitable that this Internet would develop a "dating " App.  When Tinder appeared it was very logical.   People interested in hooking up with someone of the other sex would supply their details, photograph and likes and dislikes to be put on the dating merry-go-round -  and it would quickly become something of a dating smorgasbord.   It was a way of putting those mutually attracted into contact with one another.

Of course, the wise will treat that with caution.  There is no check on the details supplied and obviously many will enhance their good points and fail to mention matters less flattering.  It is quite possible for a prankster to create a fictional person - not even of the claimed sex - for their titillation in drawing out intimate details from those they attract.   That is relatively harmless while this liaison remains restricted to online contact, but should it develop further obvious danger arises.

Alarm bells are ringing because Tinder now has an 13 - 17 age section and restricts contact to those in that age group.  There are fears that this will attract sexual predators using the service to "groom " victims towards later physical contact.  Once again, the fact that there is no check on the age or sex of those entering their supposed details opens this App to danger.

Putting a Smartphone into the hands of juveniles has become a necessity and now that we have this world of Apps control has moved beyond parents.  Most teenagers resent parental overview and become secretive about their social activities.  The storms and scenes are legendary when parents have told their offspring that they are "too young " for some sort of risky activity - and usually all that is achieved is that activity continues out of sight.

We live in a sexual world.  Many parents were horrified to discover that "texting " had become a custom where teenagers with a crush on one another were exchanging nude photographs.  The age of the digital camera and the simplicity of email transmission had made this possible.  The pressures of the teenage world forced compliance.  Someone who resisted was labelled a "prude " and immediately lost "street cred " -   in a world where it is important to be "cool "!

Fortunately, the police are also playing this cat and mouse game on Apps like Tinder and catching sexual predators.  Parents need to be ever watchful and fully explain the dangers to their children.
What the future holds is unclear - except that the ever expanding world of new Apps will continue to deliver danger.

Forcing Union Pay Rates !

The  " Road Safety Renumeration Tribunal " was a body established by the last Federal Labor government at the insistence of the Unions.  It has now delivered a ruling that has incensed the thirty-five thousand Australian owner/drivers and sent the trucking industry into a tail spin !

Traditionally, owning a big trucking rig and being your own boss has been the way many entrepreneurs have chosen to either make their fortune - or go bankrupt.  It is not for the faint hearted !   You need the right contacts to get permanent work and you need a meticulous mind to keep track of the money.  Buying a massive rig runs to hundreds of thousands of dollars and it can be a costly mistake to fall short on regular maintenance.

The way to make money is to have that rig on the move twenty four/seven.   In some cases the swap of drivers to achieve this is a family affair.  The law requires all drivers to keep log books and there are laws to ensure rest stops deliver safety.  It is this owner/driver network that keeps freight prices at reasonable levels as they compete for work with the big multi national trucking fleets.

The Tribunals ruling that came into effect on April 4 required all drivers to be paid at the regulated rate of pay, even if they are family members or a part of a consortium with a financial interest in the business.  This would require a hefty increase in freight rates and the industry is refusing to negotiate - and is withdrawing hires.  A $54,000 fine awaits those owner drivers who fail to pay mandated pay levels.

Basically, this is an attempt to bring a competitive market in freight movement under union control. Freight has a great bearing on the end price of goods in the market place and this network of owner drivers has served to put a lid on what the big trucking fleets can charge.   Each driver negotiates on the basis of what will deliver an acceptable profit.  Often, taking freight to a remote location may involve offering a very cheap back load to make the overall trip financially viable.  That is the essence of running a business free of a rigid pricing structure - which is anathema to union thinking.

The owner/driver industry resents this union intrusion and has called on the government to abolish the tribunal.  That would require a law change, and it seems unlikely that this would pass in the Senate.  Consequently, pressure is mounting to organise a convoy of massive rigs to descend on Canberra to deliver a message that the government may not want to hear with an election in the offing.

The union position is that this impost is needed to ensure that truck maintenance levels improve.  There has been a rash of highway crashes involving big trucks and low rates of pay have forced some owner drivers to skip maintenance - with disastrous results.

Th trucking industry values self regulation. It needs the right business acumen to succeed and those that have it prosper.  The last thing entrepreneurs need is union imposed rules and limitations to stifle ingenuity, nor will such intrusions save those who lack the skill to run a business that relies entirely on their own planning ability.

This could well become a decisive issue in this coming election !

Baby Safety !

The arrival of a new born baby is a time of safety concern for parents.  They need to ensure that they have the correct type of safety capsule to even bring their new son or daughter home from the hospital.  Choosing a safe cot is also beset with worries.  Some popular designs have been criticised for dangers posed in trapping their occupants.  Each decision requires careful research to keep baby safe.

One thing that strikes fear into new parents is SIDS - Sudden Infant  Death Syndrome.  Why some babies die without an apparent cause is still not fully understood by medical science but there are a lot of practices that have been proven to help preventing that happening.  There is copious  advice on sleeping positions and the type of covering that may prevent SIDS.

Recently, a method popular in past centuries has regained popularity and what was known as "Swaddling " is on the increase.  This consists of firmly wrapping the child in an outer cloth to restrict limb movements.   It is claimed that this enables baby to "settle "quickly for a nights sleep in what is seen as a "cocoon ".

Some sections of the medical profession are sounding the alarm that swaddling is producing a condition known as  "clicky hips ".    That in medical terminology is known as " Dysplasia of the  Hip " or DDH.   When the child progresses to the walking stage it requires surgery and braces to correct.

Doctors specialising in child care warn that it is important that babies have the freedom to to bend their legs in a " frog like " position and turn them outwards.  Young bones are still flexible and restricting movement can do permanent damage.

What is worrying is the speed with which the garment industry has seized on this return of swaddling to rush off the shelf cocoon garments into stores that service the infant trade.  In the hope of keeping SIDS at bay, swaddling is being presented as an option without warning of the danger that this form of limb restriction may cause.

The fact that swaddling cloths are being freely advertised and presented in baby apparel stores will be seen by some mothers of validation that this is now an approved practice.  Even as this early stage the medical profession has noticed a sharp increase in children presenting with problems that are clearly" clicky hips ".

Just as advertising has been the main weapon in promoting child vaccinations against a cult making spurious claims against their safety, ultra tight swaddling needs warnings before it becomes a fad that works against the good health of infants.

The " Stadium " Issue !

Sydney is falling behind the other state capitals in creating a world class stadium to rival the size and splendour of one recently built in Adelaide.   The government is prepared to fund such a project but both placement and design are bogged down in acrimony between the various sporting codes.

The main impediment seems to be coming from the NRL.  Sports Minister Stuart Ayres wants to site this new super stadium at Moore Park while the NRL seems to favour a major upgrade of either Parramatta or ANZ stadium.  The cost is estimated to run to $ 1.6 billion.

It would be ideal if a super stadium could serve the needs of all forms of sport.  That would justify the enormous financial outlay and become the focal point of media coverage in this city.  Sporting grounds usually achieve fame over time and many in Europe are now seen as hallowed venues in the minds of sporting fans.

What seems to be the base of this problem is the shape needed by the various sporting codes.  Rugby League, Rugby Union and Soccer all play on a rectangular pitch, while Australian Rules and Cricket are played on a ground of oval design.

These two traditional arrangements are not compatible when it comes to the best viewing positions for patrons, hence the differing enthusiasm for this super stadium idea.   It would seem impossible to design a suitable venue that would serve both requirements.

There would also be an issue with the ground surface.  Some codes are kinder to a grass pitch than others and a stadium encompassing all sports would have problems, and there has been ongoing friction on the merits of artificial turf in comparison with natural grass.

If common ground can not be achieved it is likely that the state government will turn away from this super stadium idea and take a two pronged approach.  Split the promised money to achieve an upgrade of either Parramatta or ANZ stadium and also proceed with the planned refurbishment of the Sydney Cricket Ground.

That would certainly be a win for Australian Rules, which is fast becoming a major national sport. The iconic SCG is already the venue for AFL home games and this sport is compatible with cricket. It would certainly solve the rectangular or oval configuration problem, but whether Rugby and Soccer could coexist on a common playing surface is entirely another matter.

Perhaps this is a time to consider futuristic design and material aspects if we are to achieve a stadium which can be configured to the needs of various sports - and meet their differing requirements. Both engineering and materials are constantly progressing and what was considered impossible in the past is now becoming a reality.

Unfortunately, even the best forms of innovation require a degree of compromise.  At best, a stadium for all sports will meet some of the requirements of each sport - but not all !   There is also the problem of putting all our sporting eggs into one basket.   If a new universal stadium falls short of expectations it will be a complete fiasco.

That old saying "Horses for courses "comes to mind.   Perhaps spreading the venues to accommodate the various sports would be a better idea !

Double Dipping !

The Australian population recently ticked over the twenty-four million mark and it's growth is reliant on the inflow of migrants rather than the natural increase by way of the fertility rate.  Cost of living pressures make the two income family necessary and one of the consequences of that is an ever decreasing number of children born each decade.

This phenomenon is repeated in many other countries and is delivering a frightening demographic. As the population ages the ratio of taxpayers supporting the elderly moves out of balance - with disastrous economic results.   The obvious remedy is to encourage families to have more children and it is hoped that this can be achieved by offering paid parental leave as an inducement.

Australian families are at present entitled to eighteen weeks parental leave ( PPL ), paid at the minimum wage level, for the birth of each child and this delivers $11,828 to each household.   The source of this funding comes from what is euphemistically called the " public purse ", otherwise known as that vast source of various forms of income which runs this country.

What makes this attractive is it's universality.   It ignores salary levels and type of employment and allows time for a mother ( or father ) to bond with their child.  It helps with the expense of adding a child to the household and it receives wide community support.

Before PPL came into being many companies introduced their own maternity leave schemes with varying grades of benefits.  In many cases these were not entirely altruistic.  They were a way of attracting and retaining valuable women employees whose skills were in short supply.  They enhanced the attractiveness of such companies in recruiting talented people and improved staff turnover rates.  The outlay was more than matched by increased productivity.

Now we have a new problem.  These two ways of treating maternity are running in tandem and some women are " double dipping " by exploiting both benefits.  This manifests itself in the sheer time some lucky women are granted in the way of maternity leave as well as a vast pay differential conferred by the different outcomes between the two schemes.

That is certainly an unintended consequence and legislation to achieve balance is blocked in Federal parliament - on political grounds.  Debating the way balance can be achieved offers a wide scope for political mischief and is seems unlikely that any form of consensus will be achieved anytime soon.

There seems to be two schools of thought.   The " socialist " outlook is that all should be treated equally and therefore only the universal PPL benefit should apply.   That could only be achieved by either banning private maternity leave or reducing the benefits to just the public PPL level.

The other way of thinking is to bar access to the public PPL wherever a private scheme delivers benefits of at least that level.   Should a private scheme deliver both an extended period of time and elevated pay above the PPL level that would simply be a bonus for the receiver.    The main outcome sought would be to prevent anyone participating in and gaining the cumulative benefits arising from both schemes.

It is the " double dipping " aspect that offends most supporters of paid maternity leave !

Stamp Duty - and Land Tax !

A KPMG study has suggested that replacing stamp duty with a universal land tax would inject five billion dollars into the New South Wales economy - and create ten thousand new jobs.  There is no doubt that stamp duty is a huge hurdle to first home buyers.  Now that the median Sydney home price is reaching a million dollars the stamp duty payable is a staggering forty-one thousand dollars, requiring years of extra savings to get into the market.

Land tax already applies to all property valued at more than $ 482,000, but both farmers and owner/occupiers of homes are exempt.  This proposal removes what is really a " purchase tax " whenever a property changes hands and replaces it with an annual small tax that applies to every existing home in this state.

Obviously, it would be welcomed by first home buyers, but the people who have paid stamp duty on the home they now live in may not be so enthusiastic.  Stamp duty is a one off tax and existing home owners would see no benefit from it's abolition.  Replacing it with an annual land tax would be to them a new imposition, similar to the annual rates imposed by their local council.  Many people would accuse the state government of " double dipping ",  having charged stamp duty on the home they now own and changed the rules mid play to extract a new annual fee.

There is also the danger that such a change may bring a reduction in home values.  Often the mortgage loan is padded to fund stamp duty, hence the asking price may decrease - to the detriment of what the seller may expect to receive.   It may also create a price disparity between old homes and new constructions.  The scarcity and value of land for new buildings will not decrease and without the imposition of stamp duty the gap between old and new may widen.  It will be impossible to predict what outcome will emerge in advance of such a change.

Stamp duty is indeed a hoary old chestnut.  Probably a reversal to impose it on the seller rather than the buyer might have been an earlier option because it would cause less financial distress by those receiving the value of the property sold than the buyer struggling to put together the deposit needed for purchase.   That suggestion failed because of the imbalance implementing it would cause between buyer and seller - at the time of bringing it into use.

Stamp duty - as the name implies - was a clever little tax measure enacted  centuries ago in merry olde England - which came to Australia with the first fleet.  Like postage, the Crown required the buying of a stamp and having this affixed to official documents of monetary exchange as a form of validation.  The rate was quite low but it ensured a steady trickle of funding because of the widespread net it cast.

Today, it exists in a variety of new names.  Whenever we buy a new car a tax applies when the vehicle is registered in our name and this is really stamp duty in a different guise.   This KPMG study only applies to stamp duty on real estate and there is no plan to abandon its use in the wider economy.

It is also unlikely that this suggestion will proceed to implementation.  Making land tax universally payable on all homes would be seen as a new tax and be fiercely resisted.  There is also the problem that stamp duty delivers twenty percent of New South Wales tax revenue - and that is $ 8.7 billion.
The Treasurer would think twice before signing away that sort of money.

Financial Bolt Holes !

It used to be so easy !   Swiss banks were legendary for their discretion and the anonymity of numbered bank accounts kept fortunes safe from the prying eyes of tax officials.  It all fell apart in the aftermath of the second world war.   When Hitler came to power in Germany many Jewish citizens transferred money to Switzerland, only to die in the death camps.  Some of the Swiss banks refused access to these accounts by relatives - because they demanded to first see a death certificate.

This wall of silence came crashing down when a security guard discovered records from the war years being prepared for incineration - and the Swiss banks began to cooperate with authorities.  World banking disclosure rules came into play, and suddenly a host of small countries scattered across the globe enacted laws that enabled them to become " tax havens " in the eyes of those seeking to minimise tax.

It has become impossible to discover the true owners of " shelf companies " registered in a foreign regime with rigid secrecy laws and many of these are used to launder drug money.  They are also bolt holes for those who choose to hide their wealth because the means of acquiring it would not stand scrutiny - and that includes many public figures.

A treasure trove of such secrets has just been revealed when a leak from a highly respected Panama law firm became public property.   The records of Mossack Fonseca suddenly appeared on the Internet and they list the banking and wealth holding of kings, presidents, prime ministers, sporting stars and captains of industry.   Included are the names of eight hundred Australians, many of who appear regularly in the public realm.

Having an overseas bank account is not proof of illegal activity.  In many cases it is quite legitimate and may involved necessary commercial secrecy, but few will welcome this disclosure which leaves it open to public conjecture.   It will certainly fuel the rumour mill and embarrass many who lead on the world stage.

If nothing else, it illustrates the near impossibility of maintaining secrecy in this electronic age.  Even the full power of sovereign governments have been unable to prevent penetration and the revealing of state secrets.   The names " Assange " and " Snowden " strike fear to heads of state, even though they have become pariahs locked away out of reach by their protectors.

The world has been closely following the efforts of the American FBI to persuade Apple to break the secrecy lock of a terrorists I-Phone.   Apple resisted, but that request was withdrawn when it was learned that internal FBI teckies had managed to break the lock.   It must now be obvious to all users of mobile phones that their secrecy has been compromised.   Another barrier has fallen.

In the distant past, industrial spying involved the use of small cameras by spies trained to infiltrate. It was slow and tedious work - with high risk of getting caught.   Today a mouse click can send an almost unimaginable amount of data speeding across the Internet - without leaving a trace.  It is feared that cyber attacks will become a primary weapon of any new world war.

It seems that the age of absolute reliable secrecy - has ended !

Closing the Circle !

In the distant past the annual car registration procedure in New South Wales required a visit to a RTA office and these were known for their incredible length of queues - and surly and unhelpful administrative staff.   But at least you knew that your vehicle was legally registered when they handed you that all important sticker to afix to the windscreen.

Today, the age of computers have shortened that procedure.  When you contact a Green Slip provider online or by phone and pay by credit card your cover is transmitted electronically to the registering authority within seconds.   If your vehicle is older than four years you need to visit a registered motor mechanic for a safety check and exactly the same procedure notifies the registering authority.   There is now no need to visit an RTA office or stand in a queue because the entire procedure can be concluded with the click of a mouse or a telephone call.

Unfortunately, there is a missing link in this registration process.   In this state over four hundred thousand drivers are required by law to have an annual  medical check as part of their driving license procedure.  This is an automatic requirement for those who reach the age of seventy-five and for others certified as suffering from a range of diseases that include epilepsy, sleep disorders and diabetes.

Those that pass this medical examination by their general practitioner - which includes an eyesight test - are handed their report and have the responsibility of presenting it to the licensing authority.  They must either take it to an RTA office or put their trust in the postal system.   There is no procedure in place to automatically advise that it has been received and recorded.

Now very welcome moves are underway to link these medical tests to the licensing authority in the same way that green slips and pink slips travel electronically.   It is surprising that this has not taken place sooner because all doctors are linked electronically to Medicare and the equipment is already in place to streamline this service.

There is no doubt that this electronic world leaves a niggling doubt in the minds of many elderly car owners and drivers that their requirements have been fully met.   In the past, this was given confirmation by the issue of the registration sticker, but now that has been discontinued there is no visible certainty that their vehicle is legally registered.   That can be checked by accessing the RTA website and entering the registration plate number, but such a check is not available to those who have yet to gain computer skills.

It is not unknown for car registration and driving licenses to be erroneously cancelled or for SNAFU's in registration to occur.  Both registration and medical check confirmation can be easily verified by a simple procedure.   The last stage of car registration takes place when the mechanic submits the safety check to the RTA and they confirm that the green slip of compulsory insurance is also in place.  All it would take is for an official print out to be handed to the car owner certifying that the car is now registered, which should also be the procedure when a required medical check has been lodged electronically at the doctor's office.

A simple but necessary procedure to prove all correct in this paperless age !

Credentials Needed !

The term "Pub " is simply an abbreviation for "Public House " which is the official name for an establishment that serves liquor and usually welcome all members of the public.   In the distant past, its bars and public rooms were strictly segregated.   The main bar was "men only " although the beer was usually pulled by pretty barmaids and most establishments had what was called a "Ladies lounge " - with a discreet separate entrance.   A patron who imbibed too heavily was "asked to leave "!

After the end of the second world war a strange metamorphose happened in the Pub world.  Some began to engage bands to play music for patrons and deliver what they termed " entertainment ".   The era of the nightclub had come to Australia - and the price of drinks rose accordingly.

Today is a very different situation.  Along with liquor the entertainment scene is rife with drugs and patron misbehaviour has resulted in extreme control measures.  Controversial lockout laws are in place and most popular nightspots have introduced scanners. Entrances are staffed with " bouncers " and after midnight plastic drink containers replace glass because a beer glass became be a lethal weapon in the hands of an intoxicated patron.   A rash of " glassings " introduced this measure.

We are now seeing a new phenomenon where people are being denied entrance to popular pubs because they can not produce acceptable personal identification - and that means either a passport of a photo drivers license, and this is delivering some strange results.

An aged second world war veteran using a walking frame  was turned away from one venue because he was not carrying such a means of identification.   A party to celebrate a young man's twenty-first came to a standstill when his aged grandmother - who neither drove a car or had need for any sort of photo ID - was refused entry and turned away.

There is now a timing factor that causes dismay.   Usually the need for photo ID comes into play after 9 pm - when this device is turned on.   Because smoking is banned inside all enclosed premises it is common for smokers to nip outside to have a cigarette - and one man who did so was refused reentry because he was not carrying his ID.   The problem was that his wife was sitting at a table on which their meals had been served - hence the meals were put into " doggy bags ", his wife joined him outside the pub and their glorious night out ended as a fiasco.   They hailed a taxi and went home !

Unfortunately, deteriorating patron behaviour has made this ID scanning regime necessary.  Dance floor fights have become common and these scanners record both the name and picture of all who enter.  In the event of an altercation, the culprit can be quickly identified and a common restriction of that person from all entertainment centres is coming into play.  Serial offenders simply find that no venue will grant them entry.

At this stage scanners are only in use in popular, high volume pubs in recognised " entertainment "  districts but if troublemakers disperse to the suburbs it seems certain that these control measures will inevitably follow.    It seems that the custom of many people to " drop in " to the local Pub on the way home for a convivial cooling beer is about to change.     There will be no way past that inviting doorway - without photo ID !

The Enigmatic Xi Jinping !

The waters of the South China Sea serve the commercial interests of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam directly and are a vital shipping route for the rest of the world. The fact that China has laid claim to submerged reefs and rocks and is actively dredging to create artificial islands is a concern because it ignores the universally accepted law of the sea.

Now a military presence has been established with missiles and radar installations and it seems that Chinese hegemony has been further extended.   The Chinese claim in the South China Sea rests on what they call the "Nine Dash Line " and the Natuna islands - owned by Indonesia - fall outside of that claim.  Recently a Chinese fishing boat was detected illegally fishing inside the Indonesian twelve mile territorial zone and was arrested by an Indonesian customs vessel.   As it was being towed to port, a Chinese naval vessel rammed the custom vessel and China is demanding the fishermen be released - because it claims these waters are "traditional Chinese fishing grounds ".

It seems to be a Chinese territorial claim that encompasses a world ocean and the airspace above it and that is not recognised by any world body, including the United Nations.  That does raise the question of just what are China's intentions.  Will China demand the right to grant or deny access to ships that travel through the South China Sea or aircraft that fly above it ?   Will it back that right of ownership with military force ?

Xi Jinping has accumulated power to the point where his will is paramount in China.  He is an enigma because he is playing his cards close to his chest.  He recently gathered the commanders of the People's Liberation Army ( PLA ) and made it clear that their prime mission was not to guard China as a country, but to ensure that the Chinese Communist party remained it's government.

The Chinese economy is reaching a critical point in it's development. The manufacturing boom years lifted many out of poverty but now it is moving towards a consumer model and there has been a drift from the villages to the cities.  Vast numbers of SOE's  - State Owned Enterprises - are monoliths of a distant age, but to reform them will create a pool of unemployed.   There is a danger of mass unrest and the Communist state will react with force to any challenge to it's control.

The history books relate what happened in the past when supreme power rested in the hands of one person.   When Adolph Hitler became the dictator in Germany it was quite clear that his aim was world domination.  Strong leaders in past centuries led their armies on a rampage across Europe, but the end of the second world war brought with it the nuclear age - and the sheer horror of the level of destruction that poses has since prevented world war three.

Lenin's dream of world revolution installing Communist regimes seems to have died with the implosion of the Soviet Union.  Neither Communism in either China or Vietnam seem interested in exporting that style of government to other countries, but both put down dissent with a firm hand.
If Xi Jinping is not interested in world military domination, what is the purpose of seeking  dominion over the South China Sea ?

China seems to be playing the waiting game over two major irritants.  It claims Taiwan as a renegade province but has retreated from earlier threats to invade, and the "One country, two systems " deal with Hong Kong expires in 2147.

It now seems clear that whatever course China takes will originate from the mind of Xi Jinping.  The danger will come if the transition from a manufacturing economy to a consumer model goes awry because the Communist upbringing lacks the knowledge skills to manage this western model of commerce.

It would be tempting to artificially create an external threat and invoke nationalism to keep a restless population under control - and an incident in the South China Sea could easily spin out of control and start a shooting war.    Let us hope that Xi Jinping's mind is up to the task of successfully turning China into a prosperous trading nation !

" Legal " Warnings !

Back in the days when the government first introduced "Booze Buses " it was common for drivers to flash their headlights to warn others that an alcohol check lay ahead.  That actually breached a state law but it was rare for police to lay a charge.  Today the random breath test is so common that light flashing seems reserved for warning of a mobile roadside speed camera.

What is surprising is that Facebook has a service supplied by one of the Greens elected members of parliament that gives notice of where police will be using sniffer dogs to detect people carrying drugs.  It has the approval of 11,000 members of the public who have ticked the "like " box to give their assent.   The Greens consider public screening by using canines to be an "affront to human rights  " and want it banned.

Probably the greatest area of dispute over "human rights " has been the control measures on the sale and consumption of alcohol.  We well remember the assault on human dignity when the law decreed that the serving of all alcohol would cease on the dot of six pm - Monday to Saturday, which resulted in the nefarious "Six O'Çlock Swill ".   Swarms of patrons on the footpath outside hotels with as many glasses of beer that they could carry when the door slammed shut at six.

The pubs were not permitted to open on Sundays, but a curious "tourist " provision allowed a traveller to be served alcohol provided they were twenty miles from wherever they had slept the previous night.  Hotels that met that criteria outside the city did a roaring Sunday business - and of course those "travellers "were city car drivers and their passengers.   It was very unhelpful from a safety point of view.

That was an era when it was almost impossible to get a license to serve alcohol in a restaurant or cafe. Australians travelling overseas were astonished at the Continental custom of a glass of wine with a meal available at almost all eateries.  Alcohol in Australia was under such heavy censure that it almost verged on prohibition.

When the alcohol laws were relaxed it seems that the pendulum swung the wrong way.  We almost embraced twenty-four hour trading and it was abused by many.  Draconian restrictions now apply and once vibrant night spots have become ghostly quiet.   The crowds have dissipated to more scattered venues and Sydney night life seems more orderly.

Now another irksome restriction is under review.  Sydney harbour hosts one of the world's most watched new year fireworks display and vast crowds line the parks and beaches to watch this spectacle.   Often, people queue almost a day ahead to choose a preferred vantage point and many bring food and alcohol to sustain them during their vigil - and some abuse the quantity consumed. There now seems an almost total ban on any alcohol on Sydney's parks and beaches.

That ban is now under review.   It is argued that the majority of people behaving sensibly and enjoying a picnic atmosphere that involves the moderate use of alcohol should not be put under curfew because of the excesses of a few other people.   There are laws that control that overuse and these should be applied to remove offenders.

Relaxation is being strongly opposed by both the police and the usual "Wowser " element and it is claimed that patrons will use this facility to "pre-load " with cheap liquor shop alcohol before going on to imbibe the expensive drinks available at entertainment venues.   Once again the liberty of the law abiding many suffer restrictions because of the actions of a tiny minority.

Some will wonder why the rest of the world seems to control such excesses while here in Australia the only answer seems to be a heavy handed prohibition.  Our parks and beaches are there for our use and relaxation all year and not only on new year's eve.   Surely a glass of alcohol with a picnic meal should not be out of the question on all occasions in this country !