Aged Care Risk !

There are eighty thousand aged care workers in Australia - and they are predominantly women.   Caring for the elderly is not one of Australia's highly paid industries and the work is often stressful.    It seems to attract dedicated workers who are aware that their absence will create problems in a nursing home if they take sick leave.   Consequently, they are more likely to "soldier on " if they contract a dose of the flu !

The annual influenza season is something nursing homes dread.   Last year the flu was linked to the death of forty-five of those in residential care, and yet statistics reveal that only forty-four percent of aged care workers are protected by the annual flu jab.

We seem to have some strange variations in our mandatory health laws.   Aged care workers are required to be immunised against Hepatitis B, Tetanus, Diphtheria and Whooping Cough - but there is no requirement for an annual flu jab.

That flu jab is free to all those over sixty-five, but all others outside that age group need to consult a general practitioner and buy the vaccine from a chemist.  Each year the flu jab contains hopeful protection against the main variety of flu infections expected but there are no guarantees.  The public is warned to maintain regular hygiene and wash hands before preparing food - and most nursing homes plead with relatives not to visit if they are suffering the flu.

Now the health people are sitting up and taking notice that we have this great extraordinary gap where only forty-four percent of those who work in nursing homes have had their annual flu jab.   More than half the people attending to the elderly are probably contaminated and their presence could be the main source of flu infections that plague the nursing home industry.

Some nursing homes pick up the tab for getting their workers a flu jab but many others stick carefully to the award, and it makes this optional.   At the very least, flu protection needs to be added to the vaccination chain that already applies to all those working in nursing home care.

Surely, this makes common sense. Nursing homes are a concentration of elderly people who mostly lack the health and vigour of the average citizen to ward off infection.  Very strict legislation applies to every aspect of the building and its services.  Fire sprinkler systems are required and evacuation procedures are tested on a regular basis.  Meal preparation must meet exacting health standards.

It seems to be a strange anomaly that nursing homes that close their doors to all visitors when a flu outbreak strikes also have the vast majority of their care workers potentially spreading the infection because they lack that simple annual flu jab.

Something that can be solved by the stroke of a bureaucratic pen !

Ausgrid - and Security !

The New South Wales government made a brave decision to lease the poles and wires that distribute electricity in this state to the highest bidder to freeup billions of urgently needed upfront dollars to provide the vital rail and road networks and other public works we so desperately need.

The negotiations have been long and tedious and two front runners have emerged.  One is a Chinese company tightly connected to the Communist government and the other is a private enterprise outfit based in Hong Kong.   Suddenly, the Federal government has nixed this ten billion dollar deal on the grounds that it infringes national security.

A lot of people agree with that sentiment, but it seems to run counter to what is happening in other areas of infrastructure which are now in foreign hands, much of which is of a Chinese character.  For instance, the entire South Australian electricity supply is leased to CKI which is the Kong Kong based applicant just knocked back for the NSW poles and wires.

Many of our ports are foreign run and we welcome investment in this country.  There was a time when the money flow came predominantly from Britain but after the end of the second world war Americas was the richest country in the world and it was feared that America was "buying "Australia. We have become sensitive to foreign ownership of farmland and now it is money from all over the world that keeps our economy humming along.

Perhaps there is a degree of confusion between "ownership "and "leasing "of infrastructure.   The NSW poles and wires will never leave Australian ownership and for a number of nominated years they will be leased by the successful applicant who will be responsible for maintenance.  Obviously that company expects to make a profit on the deal.

There is every expectation that the Australian work force presently maintaining this poles and wires operation will continue to do so.   There will obviously be top management changes but the management of poles and wires will still be within the reach and overview of the Australian government.   Some may wonder if this security concern is over rated.

We now live in a very inter connected world.  The very presence of nuclear weapons has kept the major powers from waging direct war for nearly a century and there is every prospect that this situation will continue.  Foreign investment is now viewed as coming from a "friendly "country or from a nation that we view as a potential threat to our future.  China has been emerging as an Asian giant with military aspirations but is also one of our foremost trading partners.   If we ever find ourselves at war with China it will undoubtedly be allied with another similar power.

In the event of a military clash with China there seems little doubt that Chinese hackers could quickly damage our economy.   Perhaps the greatest protection against economic intrusion could be the risk to existing Chinese investment suffering loss in such an event.    There is an old saying that if you owe the bank a hundred dollars the bankers have you in their pocket, but if you owe the bank a few
 million dollars - you have them in your pocket !

Chinese investment in Australia is a double edged coin .   We would do well to think this through carefully before making a final decision !

A Timely Warning !

On Census night the server crashed and a vast number of people were not able to enter their Census details on line.   That was a rather predictable result considering that more people are now expected to be computer savvy and use this media than those still beavering away with a pen on a paper form.

Every one of the twenty-four million residents of Australia who are in this country on Census night need to be counted and this was undeniably the biggest test of a mass computer use yet to be devised.What is incomprehensible is the total lack of coordination and ability to provide a logical explanation of the problem when the service went down.

Users were urged to "keep trying "long after the service had been deliberately taken down and a litany of excuses was forthcoming, including the story that the Census had been hacked by foreign unfriendly governments.  Even now a mix of stories are still doing the rounds, but we are assured that the details we submitted were not put at risk.

This fiasco simply underlines the risk factor that the age of the computer has delivered to the world economy.   Every aspect of our lives is controlled in some way by computers and the way to bring about disruption to services is a war aim in just about every country on Earth.  A cyber attack is high on the list of priorities when any country tries to do harm to another and many cyber warfare units are eternally on standby with that aim in mind.

Computers are so integrated in every essential service that a disruption would stop the economy in its tracks.  If hackers managed to cripple the banking system - taking ATM 's and card payments off line - we would be reduced to whatever cash we had in our wallet or purse.   Should a computer attack bring down the electricity supply our world would come to a stop.   The reticulation on water and pumping of sewage would cease - and we could forget filling up with petrol at service stations.

We worry about a sudden nuclear exchange if a rogue nation decided to press the button, but an attempt to shut down a nations computers is a much more likely scenario.   We could not even be sure of the origin of that attack and one of the outcomes would be a total communications paralysis.

In the edgy world of espionage we know that certain competitor nations are constantly probing our computer systems by way of hacking teams trying to gain entry and secure secrets.  Our own cyber people are responding in kind and in the event of a cyber war there would be failures and successes on both sides.  What seems assured is that no nation has a sure fire defence in place to stop widespread damage should a serious attack take place.

That Census fiasco throws light on the suggestion that we move to computer voting at coming elections.   Will the servers ever be capable of handling the volumes that Census delivered and will we ever be free of interference from foreign sources ?

We might do well to plan a quick way to get finances, electricity and general services up and running in the event of a computer failure rather than fine tuning against a form of penetration that is impossible to control.

Perhaps that Census fiasco delivered a timely warning !

Pleasing the Factions !

Untold books and movies have depicted the home town hero who has stood for elected office against all odds - and won a magnificent victory.   In real life, the chances of that happening are becoming ever slimmer.  In today's world of politics getting endorsed to represent a political party with a chance of winning the poll is very much a " numbers game " !

That is very much the subject of hype here in Wollongong at the present time.  A state office holder is standing down and what is regarded as a " safe " Labor seat is up for grabs.   The big question awaiting answer is whether the local branches will select the candidate who will run for office under Labor endorsement, or whether that will be decided far away at Labor head office.

There seems a chance that a labor luminary will be " parachuted " in to claim this prize.  That has happened many times in the past.  It is usually the outcome of a " factions " brawl in which the squaring up of the factions balance is necessary to achieve a voting balance.

Even if head office takes a neutral stance, the selection of a branch candidate can encounter heavy going.   Those " factions " exist within the branches and it is not unusual for a spate of " branch stacking " to try and influence the outcome.   Many branches disenfranchise the vote of new members to try and counter a suspicious rush to join once a poll is announced.

Sadly, the men and women who beaver away doing the mundane work that keep the branches alive are usually the last to get recognition and an opportunity to serve.   Politics is the art of spruiking an appealing message at just the right time and there is always an opportunist waiting in the wings to grab public attention.   If the timing is right this will garner support and quickly lead to an endorsement by the branches.

This contest for the Wollongong seat is fast developing into a tactical battle.   It is likely the state government will not field a candidate, opening the way for an appealing independent to garner voter disenchantment.  Several contenders have put up a hand for the job and back room deals are hoping to solidify the vote under a single candidate.

One of the issues that may be decisive in this poll is the decision by the state government to ban Greyhound racing in this state.   Wollongong is one of the centres for this sport and the " Dapto Dogs "  are a prime racing venue.   The Labor opposition have come out in support of retaining dog racing and the public attitude seems evenly split.

Wollongong is a fast changing regional centre which is retreating from the days when it was just coal and steel.  Coal mining is coming to an end and the future of the steel plant is far from certain.  It is developing a manufacturing capacity around an innovative university and its eighty kilometre distance from Sydney means a fast commute for many.   Its mild winter and plentiful beaches are an appealing alternative to westward expansion in Sydney.

The rail link between Wollongong and Sydney is in urgent need of high speed replacement and the F-6 multi lane expressway is missing the link from Heathcote to St Peters.   Those are the issues that could well determine who becomes the new member for Wollongong.

Those " Greyhound " Issues !

When Mike Baird made a decision to close down the entire $350 million Greyhound racing industry in New South Wales it seemed a knee jerk reaction to a small number of glaring cruelties.  Standing head and shoulders above the rest was the practice of " live baiting " to improve the killer instinct in Greyhounds and make their pursuit of the hare more powerful.

Many old time trainers believe that this is essential to breed a prize winning dog.  It is usually conducted on secret bush tracks where a live rabbit, chicken or other small animal is attached to the lure.   The dog in training is allowed to " catch " the lure and tear this animal to pieces to generate a " blood lust " that applies to its attitude to future lures.

The other industry practice that horrified the Premier was the number of Greyhound puppies that met an early death because they were just " too slow " to win races.   Over half of all Greyhound puppies born each year never race and only a small percent actually achieve fame as race winners.  There is some evidence that callous owners and trainers have engaged in the mass put down of unwanted dogs in cruel circumstances.  There are claims that some mass graves have been discovered.

It seems that the Greyhound racing industry is so fragmented that the government is convinced that a degree of control is impossible, hence the heavy handed approach to simply legislate it out of existence.   That is not an approach supported by the other states and it seems that this orphan ban will only apply in New South Wales.

It seems that many parliamentarians are having second thoughts.   This seems to be one of those pieces of legislation that comes under the heading of " be careful what you wish for " !   The legislation does not ban the Greyhound breed of dogs in this state.  It merely makes it a criminal offence to engage them in racing.   There is a very real threat that Greyhounds will continue to be bred and trained here - and raced in other states.

It is also drawing a very long bow to declare that this is an industry that is impossible to control.  It is quite clear that many owners love and cherish their dogs and are appalled at the small number of trainers who stick to methods that give the entire industry a bad name.  The very threat of legislating it out of existence should be enough to raise the stakes sufficiently to have the industry enact draconian controls to satisfy the government.

There has to be give and take on both sides.  The horse racing industry also relies on fast horses to win races - and not all yearlings become champions.   Many rats face an unpleasant death in medical laboratories.  Sometimes chicken farms are ravaged by a disease and all the hens need to be slaughtered to stop the outbreak.    Sometimes death is a necessity.   Surely the best legislation is to ensure that it is delivered as humanely as possible.

The government might be wise to listen to the industry and hold back on that death sentence.   It is the insiders within who know precisely who is breaking the law when it comes to live baiting and if the industry is to be saved it will be the combined actions of the men and women who are the industry that will put in place the measures that are effective - rather than the police.

Like the Sword of Damocles that threat of extinction hanging over the industry is more likely to achieve compliance than the threat of prosecution by the police.   This is make or break for the industry and the incentive exists to turf out the troublemakers and make dog racing a squeaky clean industry.

The Census !

A lot of meticulous people will not fill out the Census form until today because the whole purpose of a census is to establish exactly where the twenty-four million people that call Australia home will sleep on census night.  In practice, many forms will be filled in days in advance and more will follow until the deadline for lodging arrives next month.

It really is an innocuous document.   It simply wants to know who you are and where you live and it helps to know a bit about your background.   Were you born in Australia and what overseas family background relates to your family.   That can be very important to the medical people in screening out diseases that are relative to national groups and we do need to know how and where out indigenous people are located in this great land.

There is a degree of hysteria from the people who see a government spy behind every tree.  Past census papers were shredded after eighteen months and this census will be kept longer.  The boffins think they can extract more analysis and they do promise that the actual names and addresses will be discarded before this fine tuning begins.

One question may result in some navel gazing.  The census wants to know how much we earn ?  The form offers a range of weekly amounts that add to an annual total and that certainly suits those who get a weekly pay packet, but it will probably confuse pensioners - who get their pension fortnightly.  Many of the self employed may also fill in that question - with the proverbial grain of salt !

The census also provides a working snapshot of how we are housed, and that can be very valuable to those tasked with making more land available for housing and allocating city densities in relation to transport.    There is no doubt that what this census reveals will be worked over by numerous Federal and state government depatrtments - and that worries some people.

We now live in the information age and few people are spared a constant barrage of letters through the mail soliciting donations for worthy charities.    Despite " Do not call " registers we are constantly having meals interrupted by inward phone calls offering unwanted services and many of these are impossible to end with a firm refusal.

We hope that this census does not result in an avalanche of government department mailouts seeking to correct anomolies that have been discovered in the census.    Many people are cautious about giving personal information because the age of the computer has become an information sorting house that feeds into commercial applications by cross checking to develop ever accurate mailing lists.

Hopefully, the personal information we reveal in this census will retain the promised confidentiality and not leak into the commercial sector.

Robbing The Elderly !

There has been a very noticeable uptick in assaults on the elderly which involve robbery in recent months.   This manifests itself in elderly women having their bag snatched as they walk home from the supermarket and elderly men being accosted in the street and made to hand over their wallet.   The degree of violence varies, but some of these thugs take no account of the physical condition of their victims.

The problem is that many of our elderly are now standing out from the herd at a time when the attitude of the herd to money is fast changing.   The electronics industry and the banks are promoting all sorts of ways for paying for small purchases without the need to count out money.    We simply tap a credit card or our Smartphone on a terminal at the pay desk and those cups of coffee or sale items are paid electronically.

The elderly are usually the last to take up these new innovations.    They are fast becoming the main section of the public still drawing cash from ATM's and many still insist in paying their household bills in cash.   It is not unusual for some pensioners to draw their entire fortnightly pension in cash and use it to pay their way until the next installment is due.

Before the days of ATM's most pensioners banked with a savings account and on pension days there were vast queues at bank counters as they made withdrawals.  When pension cheques were replaced with automatic account transfers pensioners were forced to use access cards and now the main grocery stores serve as providing money top ups at the check outs.

Unfortunately, the low life's of this world are equally cunning.   Standing as an observer  near an ATM or watching the line processing through a supermarket checkout can deliver likely targets.  It is a very open process and the transfer of cash is obvious.   In so many cases the elderly person has completed their shopping and they start the journey to walk home alone.

Their main danger is from drug dependent thugs who are desperate for their next " hit " !   They do not expect to score a large amount of money, but they see the pensioner as low risk and liable to divulge enough to take care of their immediate need.   In many cases the violence used is way out of proportion to the money involved.   An old person shoved to the ground may suffer injuries that are life threatening.

Unfortunately, convincing many elderly to adopt new methods and take safety precautions is fraught with rejection.    Most are reluctant to abandon the " old ways " that have served them so well.   In some cases their carers may be more successful in convincing them to adopt a " shopping in company " approach to safety.

A small group of friends may be convinced to share their shopping experience and enjoy the trip home with a communal cab ride.   At least it removes the risk of being alone and vulnerable - on a public street.