The Casino Times takes Nats colour coordination too far?

In The Casino Times on 20th October 2011 - a picture in purple is Nats hopeful Chris Gulaptis with skin tone and tie tastefully coordinated.
Or is this a Gulpatis campaign team blooper?

Catholic priest really blew it! One of the highest blood alcohol readings ever recorded in NSW by police

 
Message for drivers: Don't try to keep up with the Joneses

NSW Police reported last week that a 58-year-old male driver returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.341 after driving on the Pacific Highway near Maclean.
The driver is reported to be a Saint Patrick's South Grafton priest.
A case of too much alter altar wine?

Today's Daily Examiner reports:
Saint Patrick's South Grafton parish priest, Father Peter Jones, earned himself the dubious honour of returning one of the highest blood alcohol readings ever recorded in NSW by police.
An off-the-chart +.5 roadside reading was followed by registering .341, almost seven times the legal limit, on Wednesday when the 58-year-old Catholic priest was pulled over on the Pacific Highway at Maclean.
A concerned motorist allegedly saw the white Toyota Camry being driven by Father Jones crossing lanes at Harwood and reported the incident to police. 
Police caught up with Father Jones as he turned off the highway onto Yamba Rd and pulled him over for a roadside breath test. 
The hand-held breathalyser used by police was unable to accurately measure Fr Jones' blood-alcohol content, only indicating it was more than .5 – ten times the legal limit. 
Fr Jones was then taken by police to Maclean police station where he recorded the high-range blood-alcohol reading of .341. 
Police immediately cancelled Fr Jones' driver's licence and issued him with a court attendance notice ordering him to appear in Maclean Local Court on December 13. 
A senior police source told the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper Fr Jones' reading was one of the highest recorded in recent times in NSW. 
Fr Jones was bailed by police into the custody of St Mary's Grafton parish priest Fr Rex Hackett due to his level of intoxication. 
The Telegraph reported Fr Jones' car, which is owned by the Catholic Church, was confiscated by police and Fr Hackett transported his colleague home. 
Drug and Alcohol educator Paul Dillon told the Telegraph Fr Jones' reading could not have been reached by drinking beer, but would have required sustained prolonged drinking of hard liquor. 
“Generally speaking it would be very hard to imagine someone could get to a level about 0.3 with beer, which is between three to five per cent alcohol,” he told the Telegraph. 
“You really would be looking at significant amounts of spirits, which are 35 to 50 per cent alcohol – over a period of time.” 
Two standard drinks in an hour can see a man reach the legal limit for drivers of .05, with women only needing one standard drink.

In NSW 24,00 children may be in care by 2013

A September 2009 Boston Consulting Group report to the NSW Government stated:

NSW has the highest rate of children in Out of Home Care (OOHC) in Australia —and one of the fastest growth rates. NSW also has the second lowest rate of children commencing intensive family preservation services (to avoid OOHC and/or facilitate restoration)…

Based on today's system, up to 24,00 children may be in care by 2013/14 (if carers can be found).

The Coalition O’Farrell Government response to this scenario?

It is a reduction in payments for carers of :

* 16 year old and over foster children entitled to Youth Allowance – down approximately $5,530 per annum

* children fostered for over two years whom their foster families are formally adopting - $16,172 per annum down to approximately $1,500 per annum.

In June 2010 The Daily Examiner reported that:

Figures from Fostering NSW show 282 children in the [Clarence] Valley are in out-of-home care, part of the 16,524 across the State – a number which has increased by 78 per cent since 2002. Fostering NSW attributes the rapid rise to societal factors including domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse and mental health issues.

In July 2010 The Northern Rivers Echo reported:

There are now twice as many Aboriginal children in some form of foster care than were forcibly removed from their parents during the era of the Stolen Generations. The Casino-based Ngunya Jarjum is the first Aboriginal organisation in NSW to be a fully accredited out of home care service, and according to general manager Lenore Marlowe (aka Minna), most of the kids are being placed with white families. “There are just not enough Aboriginal carers... we’re trying to keep kids in the Bundjalung nation, that’s why I want Bundjalung carers. We need to keep them in their own community, their own nation,” she said. Lenore said that 40% of Aboriginal kids in NSW are in care. It’s a staggering statistic that she said is a direct effect of the Stolen Generations.

Earlier in May 2010 The Northern Star had also looked at foster care:

With no emergency youth accommodation and no adolescent foster care programs in Lismore, young people between 10 and 16 years old included in these rising statistics are taking to sleeping it rough in an attempt to leave their dysfunctional homes.

In September 2011 the position does not appear to have improved by much as an ABC News report states:

There are 3,500 children currently under the care of the state and more than two-thirds are looked after by foster or relative carers….
Last month, figures from the Department for Child Protection revealed almost 20 per cent of children under 10 had been moved more than three times while under the care of the state.

Many current foster parents take in more than one child, as it is estimated that across New South Wales there are four times the number of children in need in relation to the number of people willing to foster.

The O’Farrell Government approach to this issue does not appear designed to encourage more people to take on the responsibility of caring for these children in the family home rather than an institution and, it is no excuse for it to ever point to the fact that slashing foster care funding has been a feature of governance in this state for some time.

An Australian Institute of Family Studies 2007 research brief notes:

McHugh (2002) reported that the standard subsidy to meet the basic costs of care was felt to be inadequate by carers, agencies and other associations. It was reported that few jurisdictions were reimbursing carers by way of standard subsidy payments at a level that would meet the basic, everyday costs associated with fostering. Estimates of the costs of caring for children based on children living with their families were not adequate to meet the needs of children in out-of home care, as children in care tend to have more complex needs than children who have never lived in care (e.g., they might have heightened physical and mental health problems). This was exacerbated by inconsistent departmental policies in relation to the reimbursement of carers, and caused high levels of stress for carers and non-government agency staff attempting to meet the needs of children.

Australia-wide there were 35,895 children in out-of-home care on 30 June 2010, according to the Australian Institute of Child Studies.

Ellem calls for support of local abattoir workers

NSW Country Labor website in October 2011:

“Country Labor candidate for the Clarence by-election, Peter Ellem today expressed his concern for up to 200 local abattoir workers set to lose their jobs – and called on the Liberal State Government to invest in the region to support local jobs.

"This is devastating news for the South Grafton Abattoir workforce – many of whom have mortgages to pay and families to look after," Mr Ellem said.

"While I understand some of the workers may be able to work in Casino, we need to ensure all affected workers are given immediate support and assistance.

"The O'Farrell Stoner Government needs to immediately act to ensure these hardworking people are not cast adrift in the lead up to Christmas.

"The loss of up to 200 jobs at the South Grafton abattoir comes on top of news that the unemployment rate for Northern NSW has risen from 6 per cent to 6.3 per cent in August alone.

"I'm calling on the O'Farrell Stoner Government to immediately pump support services into Grafton to help these workers and their families get back on their feet.

"It is absolutely vital we respond quickly to these job losses - the Government must intervene and provide training, financial advice and support services to these workers right away."