Codswallop in the Aussie media

With all that's been occurring in the international arena which could affect Australian foreign affairs during Kevin Rudd's present overseas tour, it was 'Mr. & Mrs. Star-chaser and Frumpy-dresser' who became the thème de la journée for The Australian and The Courier Mail.

What a load of codswallop!

I don't mind if Rudders likes to have an occasional meal or meeting with an Aussie celebrity and I certainly don't care one whit if Therese wears the same dress, shoes or handbag more than once.

The Daily Telegraph also jumps into the manure pile by raising a stink about Rudd and Macklin giving the go-ahead for Centrelink to hire Dun and Bradstreet to collect 62,000 debts worth between $20 and $100 from welfare clients, dating back eight to 12 years, but neglecting to remind its readers that the Australian Tax Office is also using this law firm to collect $10.1 billion in unpaid taxes mostly from errant companies.

DESPERATELY NEEDED: A Federal Government that's prepared to take on Exclusive Brethren

Is someone, anyone, in the Rudd Government prepared to stand up and be counted in relation to the continued funding of Exclusive Brethren schools?

The issue is a simple one. Exclusive Brethren schools receive federal government funding that should be directed towards the education of the nation's poorest children.

Funding deals for Exclusive Brethren schools were set up by the Keating government. They continued and were promoted under the Howard government and still operate under the Rudd government.

The Sunday Age (April 6, 2008) reports rich Exclusive Brethren schools are receiving the same generous rate of government funding as the nation's poorest schools, including those in impoverished Aboriginal communities.

The Rudd Government has pledged to continue paying millions of dollars to the religious sect despite the group boasting that its students are "found in the middle to upper levels of the socio-economic group".

Exclusive Brethren schools are being funded as if they are Category 12 schools, which are the poorest schools in the lowest-income communities in the country. In other words, Category 12 schools serve communities which have very low incomes. Does that sound like the communities Exclusive Brethren school students come from?

Government documents obtained by The Sunday Age show Brethren schools in NSW and South Australia receive category 12 funding despite not meeting these criteria.

Federal school funding documents show that the Brethren's multi-campus NSW school, Meadowbank, and the South Australian school, Melrose Park, were funded at the same rate as "special schools", giving them the same per-student funding as Nyangatjatjara College, in the Northern Territory, the Giant Steps school for autistic students and schools for the hearing-impaired.

The Brethren's MET school in Meadowbank does not meet the criteria for category 12 funding: it is in suburban Sydney, has small class sizes, and is financially supported by a community that boasts it has no poverty.

This scandalous matter need to be addressed, and soon!

Bernard Salt says Angourie is dead; Angourie villagers and visitors fall about laughing

Never having visited Angourie on the Clarence section of the NSW North Coast, KPMG partner Bernard Salt (who describes himself as "a compelling and entertaining speaker, enjoyed by blue-chip companies to stimulate thought provoking discussion at conferences, seminars and workshops") decided last week to declare this beautiful little community dead as an urban locality.

The "lost towns" include places such as Bethanga, Girgarre, Merino and Balmoral in Victoria and Moorook, Iron Knob, Mintabie, Brukunga and Fregon in South Australia. There is only one in Tasmania: Leith. Queensland has Yuleba, Minden, Marpuna, Yelarbon and Croydon. NSW has two: Cullen Bullen and Angourie. There are three in the Northern Territory: Peppimenarti, Gulin Gulin-Weemol and Belyuen, which was formerly known as Dellisaville.

This of course is news to local government which treats Angourie as a distinct urban locality; a complete surprise to village businesses which thrive on local and visitor patronage; and a great puzzlement to residents, who are used to being identified as coming from Angourie rather than from Brooms Head, Wooloweyah or Yamba.

Being a tolerant place, Angourie's response in The Daily Examiner was typically laid back.
Although a gust of laughter could be heard bouncing across the Clarence Valley when morning papers were flicked open yesterday.

Bernard Salt is one of those people invited to Kevin Rudd's Australia 2020 summit in Canberra this month.

Paws and Laws information session, Lismore 17 April 2008

The Northern Rivers Echo

 

Marianne Maquire, who established the Pro Bono Animal Law Service (PALS) will be speaking on animal rights from 2pm on Thursday, April 17, at the Lismore Workers Club.

At 3pm there will be a discussion on the viability of a pro bono animal rights service for the Northern Rivers. Ms Pollard is encouraging lawyers who might be prepared to help to attend as well as interested members of the community.

"There is no funding, so this would have to run with the support of volunteers. If you have a genuine interest then come along and see if you would like to get involved," Ms Pollard said.

 

The Paws and Laws information session, presented by the Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre, will be at 2pm on Thursday, April 17, at the Lismore Workers Club. Please RSVP to Angela Pollard on 6621 1005 or Angela_Pollard@clc.net.au.

Is Northern Rivers regional living bad for your health?

The Northern Star published this account yesterday.

"I got there half an hour later and they said 'he's right to go home'; but I persisted because I knew he was not alright," Ms Randall said.
North Coast Area Health Service clinical operations executive director Denice Fletcher rejected suggestions staff at the Casino and later Lismore hospitals did not take Rhys' condition seriously, saying he was kept under close observation in the emergency department while he was at Casino.
"The patient's outward condition did not give cause for major concern," Ms Fletcher said. "Only when the patient's observations began to alter did the medical officer decide it was necessary to transfer the patient to Lismore Base Hospital for further assessment."
Despite the close observation and despite Ms Randall's persistence, it was not until 8.30pm that Rhys was transferred to Lismore Base Hospital for a detailed examination; but his reception there was no better than the one he got in his home town.
By the time Ms Randall reached the hospital, Rhys had already been put on the floor with a thin white blanket strewn over him. At that point he was drifting in and out of consciousness and Ms Randall said he did not appear aware of what was happening around him.
"I don't know if it was the ambulance staff or the hospital that put him on the floor," Ms Randall said.
"There were beds available because there was another woman come in from Casino after us and she got a bed. They obviously thought it (Rhys' condition) wasn't that bad."

This is not the first incident of its kind. It is past time for the North Coast Area Health Service to get its act together and deliver a decent service for everyone living in this region.

I have long been disturbed by the strong hint of inherent racism within the public health system, the indifference frequently displayed to individuals at the bottom of the local socio-economic scale, the moral judgements which flourish, and the marked bias of some staff doctors and private GPs working within the hospital system who appear to see themselves as gate keepers first and medicos second.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that a Northern Rivers resident is more likely to receive prompt, comprehensive assessment and vigorous, effective treatment if he/she is white, reasonably affluent, articulate, established in the community and visibly supported by family.
For everyone else regional health care is becoming something of a lottery.