Nov 18

Abc.net.au - The Church of Scientology says allegations made in the Australian Federal Parliament by Independent Senator Nick Xenophon are an abuse of parliamentary privilege.

Senator Xenophon used a speech in Parliament last night to raise allegations of widespread criminal conduct within the church, saying he had received letters from former followers detailing claims of abuse, false imprisonment and forced abortion.

He says he has passed on the letters to the police and is calling for a Senate inquiry into the religion and its tax-exempt status.

"I am deeply concerned about this organisation and the devastating impact it can have on its followers," he told the Senate.

November 16

BBC -
Australian PM Kevin Rudd has apologised to the hundreds of thousands of people, some British migrants, who were abused or neglected in state care as children.

Under the Child Migrants Programme - which ended just 40 years ago - the UK sent poor children to a "better life" in Australia, Canada and elsewhere. As they were compulsorily shipped out of Britain, many of the children were told - wrongly - their parents were dead. Many parents did not know their children, aged as young as three, had been sent to Australia.

Care agencies worked with the government to send disadvantaged children to a rosy future and supply what was deemed "good white stock" to a former colony.In many cases they were educated only for farm work, and suffered cruelty and hardship including physical, psychological and sexual abuse.

Breaking The Great Australian Silence |John Pilger | November 5

Thank you all for coming tonight, and my thanks to the City of Sydney and especially to the Sydney Peace Foundation for awarding me the Peace Prize. It's an honour I cherish, because it comes from where I come from.

I am a seventh generation Australian. My great-great grandfather landed not far from here, on November 8th, 1821. He wore leg irons, each weighing four pounds. His name was Francis McCarty. He was an Irishman, convicted of the crime of insurrection and "uttering unlawful oaths". In October of the same year, an 18 year old girl called Mary Palmer stood in the dock at Middlesex Gaol and was sentenced to be transported to New South Wales for the term of her natural life. Her crime was stealing in order to live. Only the fact that she was pregnant saved her from the gallows. She was my great-great grandmother. She was sent from the ship to the Female Factory at Parramatta, a notorious prison where every third Monday, male convicts were brought for a "courting day" - a rather desperate measure of social engineering. Mary and Francis met that way and were married on October 21st, 1823.

Philanthropy is not a life style choice for most of Australia's rich and famous.
But Australian science, especially the federal Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO )got a major financial boost due to a 10 year struggle fighting with HP, Apple, Dell et al. over the invention of WiFi; that was settled back in April.

However, Australian politics and science remain closely related, and casting aspersions on the ruling parties attitude to global emissions is not kosher.

Kathy Marks | Oct 28

The Independent - Government report shocks country where 80 per cent of population lives on coast

Australia's love affair with the beach is in danger of being rudely terminated. A parliamentary report released yesterday suggests that the government may have to force people to abandon prime oceanfront homes along thousands of miles of coastline vulnerable to rising sea levels.

The report, published in the run-up to the Copenhagen summit on climate change in December, sent a shiver through a country where 80 per cent of the population lives on the coast. With more than 700,000 homes within two miles of the ocean and less than 20ft above sea level, rising seas – together with more frequent storm surges and higher tides – are a serious threat.

A parliamentary committee spent 18 months investigating the state of Australia's coastline, and MPs were shocked by what they found. Mal Washer, deputy chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Climate Change, said yesterday: "There's little in reality left of our coast. It's all breakwaters or sandbags... It's a disaster."

Mr Washer said that popular beaches, such as those lining the Queensland Gold Coast, a popular tourist destination, would not exist if sand was not pumped on to them artificially.

The report, entitled The Time to Act is Now, calls for national guidelines to govern development in sensitive coastal areas, replacing the current piecemeal approach by local councils. Mr Washer told ABC radio that a line should be drawn around the coast, "and beyond that there should not be development".

September 23

BBC - Australia's biggest city, Sydney, has been shrouded in red dust blown in by winds from the deserts of the outback.

Visibility is so bad that international flights have been diverted and harbour ferry traffic disrupted.Emergency services reported a surge in calls from people suffering breathing problems. Children and the elderly have been told to stay indoors.

Sydney's landmarks, including the Opera House, have been obscured, and many residents are wearing masks. Traffic has been bumper-to-bumper on major roads. The dust blanketing eastern parts of New South Wales has been carried by powerful winds that snatched up tons of topsoil from the drought-ravaged west of the state.   Photo: Bloomberg

~by Don Welch

I was in the U.S. last December and had a talk with a RWR (Right Wing Relative) about health care reform. She was horrified at the prospect of socialized medicine. I asked her if she would like to hear my experiences with the health care system in New Zealand. The answer was no.

I didn’t know it then but her response was a harbinger of the health care ‘debate’ that would soon follow. Simply put, for many in the U.S. there can be no debate about health care reform. There can be no fact gathering or analysis. There can be no comparative shopping.

There are just over 4 million people in New Zealand in a land/sea area roughly equal to California. More than 25% of those folks live in Auckland, which means there are a lot of little places in the wap-wap. I live in Nelson, a town of 56,000 , which makes us the 13th largest urban area in the country. Delivering consistent health services is not easy.

Kathy Marks | Sydney | Sept 6

The Independent - Australia is to apologise for the appalling treatment meted out to thousands of boys and girls shipped to its shores as orphans

Bindoon Boys Town: it sounded like an adventure camp to the pale-faced youngsters who emerged blinking into the sunlight at Fremantle, in Western Australia, after their six-month voyage from Southampton. Among them was Laurie Humphreys, looking forward to his new life in the "land of milk and honey", where food was plentiful and children rode to school on horses, so he had been told.

It was September 1947, and the SS Asturias had just docked in Fremantle with 147 boys and girls, the first to arrive under a post-war plan to empty overflowing British orphanages and repopulate the former colonies with "good white stock". Humphreys and other boys were dispatched to Bindoon, an isolated institution 60 miles north of Perth, run by the Christian Brothers, a Catholic lay order.

The first shock was the desolate landscape; the second was the place itself, an abandoned farm property. It was the boys who were to build Bindoon, and children as young as 10 were set to work, constructing schools, dormitories and kitchens. They hacked at the ground with picks and shovels, and mixed concrete by hand in the blazing heat. Those unable to cope with the back-breaking labour were flogged, sometimes until their bones were fractured.

But the routine thrashings – meted out for "offences" as trivial as bed-wetting or stealing fruit to supplement a miserable diet consisting mainly of bread and dripping – were not the worst of it. Sexual abuse was rife at Bindoon, and the boys dubbed their religious guardians the "Christian Buggers". This grim regime was presided over by Brother Francis Keaney, 6ft tall and 17 stone. "I guess you could call him a sadist," says Humphreys, one of an estimated 10,000 British children sent to Australia between 1947 and 1967.

Kathy Marks | Aug 21

The Independent -

Lonely Planet's decision to bestow its ultimate accolade on Tasmania's Bay of Fires has angered Aborigines and tourism chiefs who fear a backpacker invasion

The Bay of Fires, a beautiful, isolated spot on Tasmania's north-east coast, was until recently a well-kept secret. Then Lonely Planet declared it the world's "hottest" destination for 2009. Now an almighty row is shattering its tranquillity.

Shortly after Lonely Planet bestowed its accolade, the state premier, David Bartlett, announced plans to turn the Bay of Fires – a 20-mile strip of picturesque coves and deserted white beaches – into a national park. This came as a surprise, for there had been no consultation. And Mr Bartlett appeared to have forgotten a long-standing promise to return the area to Aboriginal ownership. Aboriginal activists are now threatening to mount a blockade and reclaim it by force.

While environmentalists have welcomed the designation of a national park, they disagree about the merits of the indigenous land claim. Green politicians and the island's leading conservation organisations back it but others accuse Tasmanian Aborigines of being poor land managers and say that conservation must take precedence over social justice.

Then there is a third interest group: tourism operators and other businesses, itching to exploit the area's newly-acquired international profile. They want neither a national park nor Aboriginal control, but seek planning curbs to be relaxed to allow more development, and they are cynical about everyone else's motives.

"We've been trying to raise recognition of the Bay of Fires for years and we were ignored," said Peter Paulsen, who is president of the local tourism association. "It wasn't until Lonely Planet decided it was important that everyone got excited."

Melbourne | August 4th

Australian.com.au - IT was a single phone call that sparked the second-largest terror investigation in Australian history, known as Operation Neath. A plot by Islamic extremists in Melbourne to launch a suicide attack on an Australian Army base has been uncovered by national security agencies.

* Police swoop on Melbourne homes after Somali Islamists' terror plot exposed
* Terror suspect to face prolonged grilling
* Out of Africa, a new terrorism threat dawns

Roger Maynard | Sydney | July 27

The Independent -

Brought to the country as beasts of burden in 1840, today there are one million camels eating the outback

There are more than a million of them and they pose one of the greatest social and environmental challenges to Australia's outback.

They munch their way through desert vegetation, further denuding this arid nation's heartland and threatening its sensitive ecosystem. They damage Aboriginal communities in their search for water, fracturing pipes and knocking air conditioning units off walls. And their population is more than doubling every eight to nine years.

The camel – which was introduced to Australia in 1840 to help transport heavy goods to the remote interior of the country – has now become one of its greatest pests. Dealing with the alarming population growth of one-humped Camelus dromedarius has been vexing governments, conservation bodies and scientists for years.

Now the federal government is to set aside nearly £10m to address the problem, which will almost certainly be solved at the barrel of a gun.

One option being considered is a mass aerial shoot – which experts regard as the most effective and humane method of culling the animals.

Raw Story - A popular Australian comedy show took the fight over the US's torture program straight to John Yoo's law class at the University of California-Berkeley.

A performer from The Chaser's War on Everything interrupted a lecture by John Yoo -- the former Department of Justice lawyer who wrote many of the legal memos justifying the Bush administration's torture program -- by standing up on a desk dressed in "Abu Ghraib" fashion -- a dark cloak and a black, pointed hood.

"Professor, I've got one question," the comedian asked. "How long am I required to stand here until it counts as torture?"

When students suggested that the comedian leave, he replied: "I'd love to move but every time I do my balls get buzzed."

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to end the class," Yoo said, gathering his papers and moving towards the exit. more

July 22

BBC -

A massive earthquake last week has brought New Zealand closer to Australia, scientists say.

The 7.8 magnitude quake in the Tasman Sea has expanded New Zealand's South Island westwards by about 30cm (12in).

Seismologist Ken Gledhill, of GNS Science, said the shift demonstrated the huge force of the tremor.

But correspondents say that with more than 2,250km (1,400 miles) separating the countries, the narrowing will not exactly be visible.

Nor, as the New Zealand media have observed, is it likely to bring cheaper air fares.

On July 15, the Fiji Times headline was METHODISTS IN DEFIANCE. STATE FIRM ON CHURCH. At issue is the annual conference organised by the Methodist Church that was going to have several past political figures as speakers. The government banned the August conference. Over the past 24 hours matters have come to a head. The paramount lady chief Ro Teimumu Kepa of the Suva region is in detention, as are five or six Methodist Ministers, all allegedly held for questioning. Tribal and church tensions rise with warnings of civil unrest.

The Fiji Daily Post is 'ignoring' the story, but is reporting that "the Prime Minister has defended his local government’s media censorship at a conference of Asia-Pacific broadcasters in his country. Commodore Frank Bainimarama told guests at the conference that the regulations were achieving its desired impact in inspiring positive changes in the local media industry and the community. " Positive change meaning no letters to the editor I guess.

Blogs updates: sympathetic to the Methodist position and hardline support for Bainimarama.

Kathy Marks | Sydney | July 13

The Independent - With a distinct lack of greenery, and an average of 50 miles between holes, the Nullarbor Links may not appeal to every golfer. But those fed up of swinging their clubs in suburbia may relish the challenge of the world's longest course, which will open later this year in the Australian Outback.

The par-72 course straddles the inhospitable, sparsely populated Nullarbor Plain, stretching 850 miles from the gold-mining centre of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to the fishing town of Ceduna on the South Australian coast.

Most visitors traverse the Nullarbor – named for its lack of trees – at speed, but locals hope the new golf course may persuade them to linger.

Suva | July 11

Xinhua - Fiji's interim government said it has won the support of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) for lifting the suspension of Fiji from the Pacific Islands Forum, the Fijilive website reported Saturday.

Acting permanent secretary in Fiji Prime Minister's Office Pita Wise said in Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu, that the MSG nations have agreed to help lobby for Fiji to regain its place in the Pacific Islands Forum and be able to participate in important trade discussions.

* NZ's Key firm on Fiji expulsion
* Fiji banned from Pacific forum, says Australia
* MSG pushes for other Fijians to be consulted in Bainimarama roadmap

July 9

The Guardian - Residents of a rural Australian town have voted to ban the sale of bottled water. They are possibly the first community in the world to take such a step.

Residents of Bundanoon cheered after their near-unanimous approval of the measure at a town meeting on Wednesday. It was the second blow to Australia's beverage industry in one day. Hours earlier, the New South Wales state premier banned all state departments and agencies from buying bottled water, calling it a waste of money and natural resources.

"I have never seen 350 Australians in the same room all agreeing to something," said Jon Dee, who helped spearhead the "Bundy on Tap" campaign in Bundanoon, a town of 2,500 about 100 miles south of Sydney. "It's time for people to realise they're being conned by the bottled water industry."

We all like to escape from reality, through a good book, the movies, or television. But how about escaping to reality? That’s what 17 year old Mike Perham has been doing as he attempts the youngest solo circumnavigation on a sailboat. What’s it like being all alone on a sailboat facing the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans? Mike will tell you; he has all the latest satellite-connected equipment to send videos out to a growing audience, and keep up a blog on the challenges, dangers, and joys of navigating a boat by yourself around the world.

I’ve been following Mike’s journey for about half a year now. He left his home in England sailing south to Brazil, cut across the South Atlantic to reach the Cape of Good Hope, traversed the Indian Ocean stopping off eventually in Tasmania, and has just now crossed the Pacific and is ready to sail through the Panama Canal.

July 8

abc.net.au - Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith has revealed that an Australian employee of the mining giant Rio Tinto has been arrested in China on suspicion of spying. Stern Hu and three Chinese colleagues have been detained in Shanghai since Sunday.

This afternoon Mr Smith revealed that the man is suspected of espionage and stealing state secrets. "Our officials have been advised in the course of the afternoon that the reason for Mr Hu's detention is suspicion of espionage and stealing state secrets," he said. "That came as a surprise to our officials and to the Australian Government, as it came as a surprise to Rio Tinto the employer."

ABC.net.au - Five months on from the Victorian bushfires, there are concerns that some people who lost everything are struggling to cope with their new restricted lives. A charity worker in Kinglake, one of the worst-affected areas, says some people have retreated to their caravans and no-one seems to be helping them.

The Bushfire Recovery Authority says help is available, but people in bushfire-affected towns also need to look out for each other.

{snip}Dr Rob Gordon is a consultant psychologist to the Victorian emergency recovery plan. He says on top of the loss and grief it is not unusual for people to struggle with how much their daily lives have changed.
"People have to use almost all their mental and emotional resources to just get through each day. But this then becomes exhausting," he said. Dr Gordon says many people who have withdrawn will re-emerge when they have got the energy; others will need more help.

_{Silent witness: An Australian flag amid snow in Kinglake (User submitted via ABC Contribute: LouLouBell)}

Michael Janda | July 6

abc.net.au - A leading commodity forecast predicts that prices for many major Australian agricultural commodities will remain subdued over the next year. The Rabobank Agri Commodities Monthly report says that prices for wheat and oilseeds (such as canola) are likely to fall slightly lower over the near-term, before remaining flat later this year, and gradually recovering into 2010.

The bank says corn prices have been hit in large part by sales from speculators, and wheat prices have also been affected by the growing perception that the 'green shoots' of economic recovery in the US are actually yellow and stunted.

On 21 June 2007, the Australian Government announced a ‘national emergency response to protect Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory’ from sexual abuse and family violence. The "Intervention" as it became known was an attempt to assist indigenous people move beyond child abuse, alcoholism and improve educational outcomes; going to the extreme of using the military to bolster police presence in traditional lands. Background reading:
The Howard Government’s Northern Territory Intervention: Are Neo-Paternalism and Indigenous Development Compatible? - 19 pages and Command in action: the NT intervention case - brief overview.

Today the review, Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage was released: an epic FAIL. Over $AUD85 million in funding has not achieved any significant results.
The depressing details reported here and here.

little children are sacred was the name of the original report, they remain sacred, but not helped :(

June 25

The Independent - Wallabies snacking in opium poppy fields are getting "high as a kite" and hopping around creating crop circles.

Tasmania is the world's largest producer of legally-grown opium for the pharmaceutical market.

Tasmania attorney-general Lara Giddings told a budget hearing yesterday that she recently read about the wallabies in a brief on the state's large poppy industry.

She said: "We have a problem with wallabies entering poppy fields, getting as high as a kite and going around in circles.

"Then they crash. We see crop circles in the poppy industry from wallabies that are high."

It's got screaming panic inducing headlines down-under in Australia "Killer Flu". Plans to immunise half the population, government warnings on the radio and television. Tamiflu and Relenza buy-ups by the government. Cruise liner problems, footballers and the known infections double and triple daily over the past week, with dire warnings of an upsurge in cases over the coming weekend. Australians love of sport is also being posited as increasing the spread this weekend at sporting events. There's reports of the usual 3000 annual flu deaths tripling this year.

So is the panic overrated?

Stephen de Tarczynski | Melbourne | May 27

IPS - The Rudd government’s recently-released defence white paper outlines a substantial boost to the nation’s military capabilities and places a high priority on stability in neighbouring countries, including Indonesia and South Pacific states.

After the principal task of defending Australia from direct attack, "our next most important strategic interest is the security, stability and cohesion of our immediate neighbourhood," says the paper - specifically noting Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor.

The white paper signals naval, air and special forces capabilities as areas for improvement over the next twenty years.

The build-up to what the Kevin Rudd-led government calls ‘Force 2030’ will include additional submarines, destroyers and frigates for the navy, while the air force will receive around 100 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.