Ever wondered how the Oz print media is faring now we are all off surfing the Web?

Circulation				Readership
	Oct-Dec 2007	Oct-Dec 2006	% variation	12 mths to Dec 2007	% variation
National
Australian	135,000+	134,610	0.29	485,000	11.49
Weekend Australian	300,000+	298,107	0.64	840,000	1.45
Aust Financial Review	88,247	86,287	2.27	265,000	3.92
Aust Financial Review (Sat)	96,166	92,781	3.65	149,000	– 13.87
NSW
Daily Telegraph	375,000+	3912,832	–4.30	1,177,000	2.79
Daily Telegraph (Sat)	319,000+	341,917	–6.70	975,00	5.29
Sunday Telegraph	670,000+	648,072	–2.06	1,749,000	–1.46
Sydney Morning Herald	211,170	212,300	–0.53	942,000	7.66
Sydney Morning Herald (Sat)	360,000+	360,000+	0.00	1,204,000	2.64
Sun-Herald	500,000+	510,000+	–1.96	1,365,000	1.26
Victoria
Herald Sun	530,000+	535,000+	–0.93	1,484,000	1.02
Herald Sun (Sat)	509,500+	509,000+	0.10	1,418,000	1.58
Sunday Herald Sun	623,500+	615,000+	1.38	1,542,000	1.25
Age	204,100+	202,000+	1.04	767,000	5.21
Age (Sat)	298,500+	298,000+	0.17	949,000	0.96
Sunday Age	226,000+	214,000+	5.61	722,000	0.98
Queensland
Courier-Mail	220,850+	218,648	1.01	622,000	1.30
Courier-Mail (Sat)	305,215	322,188	–5.27	871,000	–2.13
Sunday Mail	581,418	601,357	–3.31	1,440,000	–4.95
South Australia
Advertiser	190,374	191,100+	–0.38	521,000	–6.96
Advertiser (Sat)	262,591	263,843+	–0.10	675,000	–6.64
Sunday Mail	320,684	321,590+	–0.28	753,000	–1.18
Western Australia
West Australian	198,316	200,687	–1.18	588,000	0.17
West Australian (Sat)	344,432	357,030	–3.53	911,000	–4.61
Sunday Times	341,500+	341,000+	0.15	816,000	–3.89-
Tasmania
Mercury	46,654	46,603	0.11	120,000	–6.98
Mercury (Sat)	61,664	61,451	0.35	148,000	–4.52
Sunday Tasmanian	60,225	60,471	–0.41	138,000	–4.17
Sunday Examiner	41,854	42,388	–1.30	103,000	–1.00
Northern Territory
Northern Territory News	20,508	20,431	0.38	44,000	–12.00
NT News (Sat)	30,697	30,605	0.30	44,000	–7.94
Sunday Territorian	21,603	21,773	–0.78	47,000	0.00
ACT
Canberra Times	35,701	35,193	1.4	106,000	–4.50
Canberra Times (Sat)	61,976	63,644	–2.60	166,000	0.60
Canberra Times (Sun)	35,564	34,720	2.45	98,000	1.00

Table in Australian Newspaper History Group Newsletter No. 46

House of Reps crib sheet

Image from http://www.crikey.com.au/

Can't find your local member at Question Time.? Here's a guide to the House after the last round of musical chairs.

Click lower right corner to enlarge.

Australia preparing to come in from the cold and support UN declaration on indigenous rights

Yet another sign that Australia may just possibly be putting the neo-fascist Howard era behind it - the Rudd Government is currently doing spade work for the move to support the UN declaration of indigenous rights.

Australia was one of only four countries to hold out against endorsing the declaration in 2007. The others being the United States, Canada and New Zealand. There were eleven abstentions.

As this declaration is a non-binding text, the Howard Government's objections were always on rather dubious grounds.

 

Rats in the ranks Liberal Party-style

I'm really looking forward to tonight's ABC1 Four Corners episode on John Howard's end.

I foresee the amusing spectacle of Downer, Abbott, Hockey, and other Liberal Party luminaries, all vowing that they are truly intelligent politicians in tune with Australian voters, who just happened to be led by an old, stubborn man in November 2007.

This is going to be good for a belly laugh, because Hansard and newspaper archives clearly show that this baying mob of arrogant, right-wing bullies eagerly helped turn into law every one of the former PM's biased and misinformed notions of what Australian society should be.

This mob must really think we came down in the last shower, if they believe that they can distance themselves from their previous actions by a sly knife job on their former leader.

'Specially as the Liberals are now saying that they will resist any reform of their most oppressive acts and regulations.

And the Commonwealth 2008 Bills roll on

The 42nd Parliament is powering ahead with its bill schedule, including bills put forward by private members.

Although many of these bills will wither on the vine due to the lack of government sponsorship, the sheer number is becoming both impressive and somewhat disturbing when looking at those affecting the Australian Constitution.

 

This is last Friday's ComLaw list of published bills.

 

Alcohol Toll Reduction Bill 2007 [2008]
C2008B00019
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Fair Bank and Credit Card
Fees) Amendment Bill 2008
C2008B00020
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill 2006 [2008]
C2008B00021
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Constitution Alteration (Appropriations for the Ordinary Annual Services of
the Government) 2001 [2008]
C2008B00022
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Constitution Alteration (Electors' Initiative, Fixed Term Parliaments and
Qualifications of Members) 2000 [2008]
C2008B00023
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Electoral (Greater Fairness of Electoral Processes) Amendment Bill 2007
[2008]
C2008B00025
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Electoral Amendment (Political Honesty) Bill 2003 [2008]
C2008B00024
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Euthanasia Laws (Repeal) Bill 2004 [2008]
C2008B00026
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Genetic Privacy and Non-discrimination Bill 1998 [2008]
C2008B00027
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment (2008 Measures No. 1)
Bill 2008
C2008B00029
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Marriage (Relationships Equality) Amendment Bill 2008
C2008B00030
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Ministers of State (Post-Retirement Employment Restrictions) Bill 2002
[2008]
C2008B00031
Date Published: 15/02/2008

National Market Driven Energy Efficiency Target Bill 2007 [2008]
C2008B00032
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Parliamentary Charter of Rights and Freedoms Bill 2001 [2008]
C2008B00034
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Patents Amendment Bill 1996 [2008]
C2008B00035
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Peace and Non-Violence Commission Bill 2007 [2008]
C2008B00036
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Poker Machine Harm Reduction Tax (Administration) Bill 2008
C2008B00038
Date Published: 15/02/2008

 

Privacy (Data Security Breach Notification) Amendment Bill 2007 [2008]
C2008B00040
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Privacy (Extension to Political Acts and Practices) Amendment Bill 2006
[2008]
C2008B00041
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Protecting Children from Junk Food Advertising Bill 2006 [2008]
C2008B00043
Date Published: 15/02/2008

 

Public Interest Disclosures Bill 2007 [2008]
C2008B00045
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Qantas Sale (Keep Jetstar Australian) Amendment Bill 2007 [2008]
C2008B00046
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Renewable Energy Legislation Amendment (Renewable Power Perecentage) Bill
2008
C2008B00047
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Repatriation of Citizens Bill 2007 [2008]
C2008B00048
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Republic (Consultation of the People) Bill 2001 [2008]
C2008B00049
Date Published: 15/02/2008

 

Rights of the Terminally Ill (Euthanasia Laws Repeal) Bill 2008
C2008B00050
Date Published: 15/02/2008

 

Same-Sex Marriages Bill 2006 [2008]
C2008B00051
Date Published: 15/02/2008

 

Same-Sex: Same Entitlements Bill 2007 [2008]
C2008B00052
Date Published: 15/02/2008

State Elections (One Vote, One Value) Bill 2001 [2008]
C2008B00053
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Stolen Generation Compensation Bill 2008
C2008B00054
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Taxation Laws Amendment (Scholarships) Bill 2005 [2008]
C2008B00028
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Textbook Subsidy Bill 2003 [2008]
C2008B00033
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Therapeutic Goods Amendment (Poisons Standard) Bill 2008
C2008B00037
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Trade Practices (Creeping Acquisitions) Amendment Bill 2007 [2008]
C2008B00039
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Uranium Mining in or near Australian World Heritage Properties
(Prohibition) Bill 1998 [2008]
C2008B00042
Date Published: 15/02/2008

Workplace Relations (Guaranteeing Paid Maternity Leave) Amendment Bill 2007
[2008]
C2008B00044
Date Published: 15/02/2008

"Obama for America" team worries about superdelegates

Well the e-mails keep coming and now the Obama for America campaign team begins to marshal forces to win-over those Democratic "superdelegates".

Come on down, Superdelegate Lewis!

US oil money seems to be swinging Clinton's way and some commentators are saying that Clinton has the stronger support amongst these uber-delegates.

 

Yesterday's e-mail.

"As you've probably heard, there could be a wildcard in the race for the Democratic nomination.

We firmly believe that the candidate who has won the most pledged delegates -- the result of having more voters in more places supporting your campaign -- will be the Democratic nominee.

But to be safe, we are working to attract the support of "superdelegates" -- party officials and Democratic officeholders from across the country -- who also have a vote at the Democratic National Convention.

You may already know some superdelegates -- they include senators, governors, and even former presidents and vice presidents. But many others are ordinary people who hold positions in the state and local party operations.

These nearly 800 superdelegates will vote alongside the more than 3,000 pledged delegates who are chosen in the various state primaries and caucuses. The candidate that gets a majority of all delegates (superdelegates and pledged delegates combined) will be the Democratic nominee for president.

Right now, Barack is ahead in the contest for pledged delegates. We've won 23 contests out of the 35 that have been held so far -- including the last 8 in a row. And with our decisive victories in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC on Tuesday, we now lead by more than 135 pledged delegates in the race for the Democratic nomination.

While we intend to continue winning states and expanding our lead among the pledged delegates, and believe that will likely ensure that Barack is the Democratic nominee, we're also doing the work of reaching out to superdelegates and making sure as many as possible support Barack Obama.

Here's where you can play a key role.

Our work so far has taught us one important lesson: that your personal story about why you support Barack Obama is often the most powerful persuasion tool for someone who's undecided. That's true whether that undecided voter is your neighbor or a superdelegate.

The story of where you're from, what brought you into the political process, the issues that matter to you, and why you became part of this movement has the potential to inspire someone who could cast a deciding vote in this contest.

Our staff will compile stories from supporters like you and make them a key part of the conversation with superdelegates as Barack asks for their support.

Share your story to help persuade superdelegates now:

http://my.barackobama.com/superdelegates

I've received a lot of email from folks asking how best to help with the superdelegate effort, and this is it.

Your note, combined with those of other Obama supporters, will tell the story of an extraordinary movement of ordinary people -- a story with a common thread of hope that becomes all the more powerful when it brings together the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our supporters.

Together we're building something historic, and your story can help make someone else a part of it.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America"

The high price of sea views on the NSW North Coast

The Victorian Government and local media are coming to grips with the projected effects of climate change on coastal towns and villages in that state.

Media on the NSW North Coast is virtually silent on this issue.

 

Unlike Victoria, the NSW Government does not appear to have taken a comprehensive look at its coastline. Preferring instead to do two case studies at Batemans Bay in the south and Wooli Wooli in the north.

 

Clarence Valley Council has a draft Wooli Wooli Estuary Management Plan on exhibition, but this is hardly an adequate whole-of-shire adaptation plan.

 

The NSW Greenhouse Office leaves the NSW North Coast with little more than broad brushstrokes on climate change effects and the final report on coastal erosion case studies.

If it wasn't so serious an issue, State Government and North Coast local government climate change adaptation plans so far would be laughable.

 

By keeping the North Coast in the dark as long as possible, neither tier of government is actually going to stop residents from finally realising that there is a high price to pay for their sea and river views.

They are simply stopping residents from planning an early personal response to property risk due to potential negative climate change impacts.

After all, we all know from the source documents mentioned here that the NSW coastline is likely to experience higher sea-level rises than the predicted global average.

It's time that the Iemma Government and local councils stopped protecting the short-term interests of developers and gave real thought as to how coastal communities are going to cope with global 

warming and coastline retreat.

Utility Allowance for Disability Support pensioners and carers to be in place by end of March 2008

Another Rudd Government election promise is about to be rolled out at the end of March.

Those on Disability Support or Carers pensions should see the Utility Allowance turn up in their first Centrelink payment for April, if all goes well.

The increase for those already receiving this allowance should show up at the same time.

The expanded telephone allowance with internet connection component is also due to receive the go-ahead this month.

Nice to see this example of the Howard Government's inequitable welfare delivery bite the dust.

Those NSW North Coast Area Health Service 'surge' beds again

ABC News reported that nurses met with the North Coast Area Health Service (NCAHS) yesterday to "clarify implementation of a 'surge bed' plan."

New Auditor-General's findings show that service did not meet admission benchmarks last year.

"Fewer than 80 per cent of patients needing a bed were admitted within eight hours of seeing a doctor or nurse.

The union's general secretary, Judith Kiejda, says the figures make it hard for the health service to justify the conversion of 86 acute beds to surge beds."

It seems that NCAHS CEO Chris Crawford had some explaining to do.

While Mr. Crawford is in explanation mode perhaps he will explain to the Yamba community why it hasn't yet been approved for a HealthOne facility. The actual need was identified years ago.

Leader of the Opposition cut down to size by Koori woman

This week Opposition leader Brendan Nelson fell at the first hurdle when he failed to understand that in Aboriginal cultures the conventions and customs surrounding information sharing are different from those in the wider Australian society.

He has caused deep offence and distress to one Koori woman.

This was entirely avoidable - he should have asked for permission.

Now the Liberals Tony 'Mad Monk' Abbott wants the Opposition to have a direct and equal say on the direction of the Rudd Government's indigenous affairs policies and has indicated that the Coalition will act as Senate spoiler if the government attempted to amend Howard's NT Intervention legislation. 

Heaven help us all.

ALP increases poll lead prior to saying sorry

According to the latest Roy Morgan Research poll of federal voting intentions released on 15 February 2008:

"With much talk and anticipation surrounding the Labor Government-led apology to the stolen generation of Aborigines, ALP primary support is 54% (up 5% from the previous face-to-face Morgan Poll) and L-NP support is 33% (down 3%), the latest face-to-face Morgan Poll (conducted February 2/3 & 9/10) finds.

On a two-party preferred basis, the ALP has extended its already significant lead by 5%: 62.5% cf. 37.5%."

Wonder how the Coalition is performing if you factor in that Clayton's apology from the Opposition Leader?

A link to that IR bill which has the Coalition frothing at the mouth

Although the Opposition Deputy Leader's hissy fits at Question Time have been rather amusing, they have hardly added to our understanding of how WorkChoices will come to an end.

Here is a link for those interested.

Workplace Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward With Fairness) Bill 2008 - first reading.

Morrie does a mass mail-out to bail out his latest privatisation scheme

Morris Iemma has just mailed out a letter to all NSW pensioners giving them an "iron-clad guarantee" that "my Government will continue to provide the $112 annual rebate on electricity bills for all pensioners" after privatisation of the State's electricity supplies.

Well that's settled. I'm vastly reassured. Hold on there a minute?

There's no mention of the fact that Morrie's "my Government" legally only lasts until the next election (John Howard taught us that with his weasel words on the GST).

Neither is there any guarantee that power company service fees and charges will not rise, and rise substantially, in the first three years of the electricity privatisation roll-out.

Missing also is any assurance that the cost to consumers per kilowatt hour will not start a sharp upward spiral within five years.

If other state privatisations are any indication, then the annual pensioner rebate is unlikely to pay for even one quarter's electricity account in the future.

Yes, Morrie my little mate, your fine pensioner rebate promises aren't worth the paper they're printed on.  

Yaegl woman named 2008 Clarence Valley Woman of the Year

It was nice to see Lenore Parker recognised for her tireless community work and longtime support of reconciliation.

On 13 February 2008 she became Clarence Valley Woman of the Year.

Ms. Parker was nominated by her daughter, well-known artist Frances Parker.

"Ms Parker was yesterday humble in her acceptance of the honour, acknowledging the contributions of other nominees and the generations of women who walked before her.

The Yaegl woman said she was honoured to accept the award, but emphasised she was doing so on behalf of all women."

Coles and Woolworths show an unexpectedly racist underbelly

With the Howard and Rudd governments' Northern Territory Intervention rapidly devolving into a punitive and racist quagmire, it is more than interesting to note that the giant supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths have enthusiastically entered into the ration book system which so bedevils and taints the recent practice of indigenous income management.

Calling a spade a spade, one would have to point out to these supermarket chains that they are knowingly colluding in institutional racism.

 

Extracts from 14 February 2008 Senate Hansard at page 76 (the bolding is my own).

Senator Siewert:

Is the government aware that income quarantining in

the Northern Territory is viewed by the community as

going back to ration days and is causing huge hardships

in the NT?.......................quarantined money is being

given to people in the form of gift cards, that aged pensioners

—including a lady who has worked for 48

years, has been retired for 10 years and has raised 10

kids—are being subjected to quarantining and that parents

are unable to send food money to children who are

away attending college? How does the government see

ration cards as a new beginning? Isn't the Northern

Territory intervention an example of an old approach

which is clearly failing? Will the government commit

to immediate review of the NT intervention?...........

People are being provided with a ration card. By the

way, this is a copy of the card people are given by

Coles. This is how big it is—it is small. It says 'Coles gift

card'. What an insult to the Aboriginal people of

the Northern Territory. Mothers at the meeting yesterday

were outlining the extreme shame that they feel

when they are standing in a queue at Coles or Woolies

—they are the two main places you can get a card

for. They are standing there with no cash in their hands

and they are told that they have to take some of the

things back because they cannot buy them on the card.

They are standing there with people who have cash,

and they do not. They described the deep shame they

feel. It takes them back to the ration days, when they

can remember that their parents, in some cases, were

given rations in old sugar bags. That is how these people

in the Northern Territory feel. It is outrageous."

 

On 12 February 2008 thousands of people marched in Canberra against this legislation.

Me, I'm going to make sure I spend a lot less at any supermarket chain which takes ration cards for goods and, if the Rudd Government doesn't get it's finger out and roll back this racist legislation then it won't be seeing my support at the ballot box.

Promises, promises, Mr. Hockey

I seem to remember that about three weeks out from the November 2007 polling day, Joe Hockey (then Federal Minister for Workplace Relations) flamboyantly vowed that he would quit the front bench if the Government made substantial changes to WorkChoices legislation.
Well, the Government may be of a different hue this year and Joe may be sitting on the shadow front bench, but will he keep his promise now that Julia Gillard has introduced the first bill to start dismantling WorkChoices?
Nah, didn't think so. :-) The man who tried to wish nation-wide AWAs on us all just won't go away. Even Kevin Rudd's 2008-09 parliamentary salary freeze won't shift him - the private sector job offers just aren't all that attractive yet. Or is it that he sees himself as Opposition leader?

The Brethren still have friends in high places

Question: Just how stupid is Brendan Nelson?

Answer: Very!

He provided first-hand proof of his idiocy when he spoke in reply to The Apology in parliament on Wednesday. However, confirmation that his idiocy knows no bounds has arrived in the news that he sponsored a leader of the Exclusive Brethren sect getting a special pass to Parliament, thus giving the Brethren unfettered access to the corridors of the legislature.

The Sydney Morning Herald (14/02/2008) reports that Nelson and former Tasmanian Liberal MP Michael Ferguson sponsored a pass application for Brethren elder Stephen Hales, who is the brother of the sect's Australian leader, Bruce Hales, to roam the corridors of power in Canberra.

Dr Nelson's days as Leader of the Opposition are surely numbered.

Read the Herald's report at http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/brethren-lobbyists-given-passes/2008/02/13/1202760399016.html

$50M in wasted government spending and I'm so glad

One of the most pleasing things the Rudd Government has done was to scrap the Howard Government's pseudo national identity card, the Access Card.

The government department set up to facilitate this card, which spent more than $50 million on consultants, administration and advertising, is gone.

At least 18 million Australians can rest easy until the next time this daft idea surfaces.

The estimated $1.178 billion required to roll-out the Access Card will now stay in government coffers to be spent on other policies.  

"Senator Ludwig says the money will boost savings and help fund the government's promises in education and health." A much better idea with positive outcomes.

The Access Card and Consumer Privacy Taskforce discussion papers and received submissions revealed that the card was never going to address the Coalition's favourite over-rated bogeyman, welfare fraud, or the estimated $100 million in annual 'losses' due to Centrelink administrative error.

Nelson loses it, Tuckey abuses it, Schultz who?

Personally I think Opposition leader Brendan Nelson lost it during the second half of his speech on the floor of Parliament yesterday supporting Parliament's apology to the Stolen Generations, but you may have another opinion.

Link to full text of speech.

 

However the most unedifying moment of the day was the churlish boycott of the apology by WA Liberal Wilson Tuckey and NSW Liberal Alby Schultz.

 

I did catch sight of the Nationals Luke Hartsuyker, local member for Cowper, as he sat on the new Opposition front bench. At least he turned up, even if he appeared rather po faced during yesterday's historic proceedings.

Nelson hit in the face with a dead mullet during Question Time

Opposition leader Brendan Nelson learnt a hard lesson yesterday when he asked the first Question Without Notice of the 42nd Commonwealth Parliament.

Don't mention election promises, because your own party's track record is bound to be dismal. 

That's why election promises exist - to fill the holes in an incumbent government's policy.

Before Nelson had even finished his question on lower grocery and petrol prices you could almost see that wet fish being pulled out of the bucket and heading towards his unfortunate head.

Rudder's reply was a small gem in its own right.

"In the period of the previous government, which had more than 11 years to act on both these matters, they did nothing and nothing. I would strongly suggest that the leader of the opposition reflects on the performance of his government in relation to these matters before reflecting on what might be achieved through both of the measures we promised in opposition and have delivered on.''

One almost had to feel sorry for the little fella now on the wrong side of the dispatch box.

Australia tries to solve mystery of disappearing Minke whale numbers

Despite Japan's assurances that whale numbers are at sustainable levels, the case for its annual whale kill is not that simple. 

In 2000 the International Whaling Commission admitted that Minke whale numbers in the Southern Ocean had probably been overestimated.

Research has shown these whales are not experiencing a population boom as argued by Japan.

"A female sperm whale may produce one calf every five years, after reaching sexual maturity at nine years. Males reach breeding age in their late twenties. It is not known how many calves a female may bear before reaching menopause or the rate of natural sperm whale mortality. A young whale may suckle from her mother for up to 15 years.----

Scientists believe that it takes around 20 years on average for a female whale to replace itself with one mature female offspring. This does not account for the potential adverse impacts of new human-induced threats to whales such as bycatch, climate change, ozone depletion, marine pollution, ship strikes and underwater noise pollution."

 

After twenty years of international Minke whale surveys, Australia is now using aerial surveys.

"For the first time, Australian scientists will use aircraft to count minke whales in the pack ice around Antarctica.

Since 1978 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has been counting whales in the Southern Ocean for management and conservation purposes. Each year ships, provided by Japan, cover about one-tenth of the Southern Ocean, with each survey in the unstrengthened vessels necessarily ending at the edge of the pack ice around Antarctica. Thus, every 10 years, a circumpolar snapshot of whale abundance is obtained.

Surveys over the past two decades, however, suggest there has been a significant decline in minke whale abundance, leading to disputes over whether the decline is genuine, or an artefact caused by the survey technique.

One theory is that changes in the ice edge boundary each year, and changes in the number of minke whales present in the pack ice beyond this boundary, could be responsible for the differences in estimates of the whales in open water. In other words, could there be more minke whales hiding under the hundreds of kilometres of pack ice (and open areas within the pack ice), where the ships can't search?"

 

Japan's whale meat market has been slashing prices since 2002 and still the general public has not taken to eating whale meat on a regular basis.

Australia apologises to indigenous Stolen Generations

Montage photograph at www.crikey.com.au

Today the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia will apologise to indigenous traditional owners for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss, and especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, communities and their country. Parliament will resolve that the injustices of the past must never happen again.

Here is the full and historic text which was tabled in Parliament yesterday.

"Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and fathers, the brothers and sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australian.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have changed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country."

One NSW North Coast sorry day story

The Northern Rivers Echo last Thursday.

"I was taken in 1960 from a mission in Moree. I was two years old so I don't remember it… but I was told a gun was held at mummy's head".

That's how 49-year-old Lismore woman Priscilla Wightman described the traumatic forced separation from her parents in the lead-up to next week's national apology by the federal government to members of Australia's stolen generation.

Priscilla – along with other local members of the stolen generation, their family and supporters – will travel to Canberra for the sorry ceremony at Parliament House next Wednesday.

A member of the Lismore Aboriginal Justice Group and Lismore People for Reconciliation, Priscilla did not mince words about what the day meant for her and others of the stolen generation."

Well duh, M'lud

Soon to retire Australian Chief Justice of the High Court, Murray Gleeson, predicts that attempts by governments to divide water rights among states, businesses and individuals would inevitably spill into the courts.

 

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald this week he said; "If someone asked me to predict - and said it was income tax 30 years ago, and it is immigration cases now - I would say in 30 years from now it will be water … When there is an important topic of public policy and the likelihood of government regulation, then lawyers are likely to get involved, too."

 

No doubt about it. Years of tertiary education, more years in legal practice, hundreds of hours on the Bench, and a judge comes out with a polished thought on something that has been bl**dy obvious to the hoi polloi on the NSW North Coast for yonks.

Ain't education and a decent income wunnerful?

NSW North Coast battening down the hatches today

There will be little boating or fishing on parts of the NSW North Coast this afternoon. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) weather warning for today.

 

"PRIORITY
Coastal Waters Wind Warning
For NSW Waters North of Wooli and South of Ulladulla.
Issued at 4:10 am EDT on Tuesday 12 February 2008

Synoptic situation
High over the Tasman Sea directing an easterly flow tending northerly in the south. A cold front expected to affect the far southern coast overnight Tuesday before continuing further north on Wednesday, whilst a low pressure system expected to develop off the coast near the Queensland/NSW border Tuesday afternoon or evening.

Gale Warning
For the Far North Coast, from Point Danger to Cape Byron

E/SE wind 20/30 knots increasing to 30/40 knots in the afternoon or evening. Sea 2 to 3 metres rising 3 to 4 metres. Swell of 1.5 to 2 metres increasing to about 3 metres later.

Strong Wind Warning
For the Far North Coast, from Cape Byron to Wooli

E/SE wind increasing to 20/30 knots in the afternoon. Sea rising to 2 to 3 metres, on a swell of 1.5 to 2 metres.-----

Please be aware
Wind gusts can be a further 40 percent stronger than the averages given here, and maximum waves may be up to twice the height."

 

Peter Singer argues that whaling and lethal whale research are unethical

The Japan Times ran this opinion piece under the rather inapt title Hypocrisy weakens West's whaling protests.

 

Peter Singer, an Australian professor of bioethics at Princeton University, wrote this:

"I did not argue that whaling should stop because whales are endangered. I knew that many expert ecologists and marine biologists would make that claim. Instead, I argued that whales are social mammals with big brains, capable of enjoying life and of feeling pain — and not only physical pain, but very likely also distress at the loss of one of their group.

Whales cannot be humanely killed — they are too large, and even with an explosive harpoon, it is difficult to hit the whale in the right spot. Moreover, whalers do not want to use a large amount of explosive, because that would blow the whale to pieces, while the whole point is to recover valuable oil or flesh. So harpooned whales typically die slowly and painfully.

Causing suffering to innocent beings without an extremely weighty reason for doing so is wrong. If there were some life-or-death need that humans could meet only by killing whales, perhaps the ethical case against it could be countered. But there is no essential human need that requires us to kill whales. Everything we get from whales can be obtained without cruelty elsewhere. Thus, whaling is unethical."

Time for Rudd Government to look Howard's NT Intervention squarely in the face

It is no use pussy footing around the issue. John Howard's NT Intervention was a thinly disguised attempt to quash new native title applications on affected land, a grab at indigenous community assets and a dress rehearsal for controlling the income of all Australian welfare recipients.

It is based on 1940s-style racism and bigotry.

In The Age today a call went out for the Rudd Government to overhaul the legislation that it cravenly voted for when in Opposition.

 

"A GOVERNMENT human rights watchdog has called for an overhaul of the landmark emergency intervention legislation to remove "punitive and racist" provisions that discriminate against Aborigines.

A report prepared by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has found that the "racially based legislation" contravenes a number of international human rights conventions and the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act.

The Age believes the report outlines a 10-point program on how to unscramble the legislation and endorses moves by the Government to reimpose permits, reinstate the work-for-the-dole scheme, known as CDEP, and provide a strategy to close the life expectancy gap for indigenous people.----

"Tom Calma, the commissioner responsible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice issues and author of the report, said yesterday: "The whole intervention is questionable, especially the racist way it was imposed on Aboriginal people."

While declining to discuss the contents of the report, he said there was a problem with the legislation because "it contravened most of the international conventions Australia had signed up to … There will be a lot of detail and arguments identifying what changes need to be made."

It's the little things that finally drive you mad

Nearly chocked on my morning cuppa yesterday - I kid you not.

ABC News Radio broadcast Liberals leader Brendan Nelson saying that he was the most important person Kevin Rudd should negotiate with about wording of the apology to the Stolen Generation.

Not the Stolen Generation, not indigenous leaders or their communities - just Brendan should be the main focus.

The mind boggles at how little most Coalition MPs understand.

Little Brennie's statement was so 'out there' that it deserves a link. 

 

Almost knocked over a beer at dinner that night - my oath I did.

ABC TV showed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd beaming from the box as he assured us all that privatising the NSW power industry was good for Australia.

In one fell swoop betraying Labor Party principles and NSW voters.

Rudders support was such a 'rat out' that it also deserves a link for posterity.

 

Of course it's always the minor things which drive you screaming from the room - too right.

All night with that new, bright blue solid ABC1 logo, winking and blinking and intruding on every televised scene. Aaaggh!

Wondering exactly where Japan might be made answerable for its Southern Ocean whale kill? Here's one venue Australia may be considering

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea online information.

 

"The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was opened for signature at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 10 December 1982. It entered into force 12 years later, on 16 November 1994. A subsequent Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the Convention was adopted on 28 July 1994 and entered into force on 28 July 1996. This Agreement and Part XI of the Convention are to be interpreted and applied together as a single instrument.

The origins of the Convention date from 1 November 1967 when Ambassador Arvid Pardo of Malta addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations and called for "an effective international regime over the seabed and the ocean floor beyond a clearly defined national jurisdiction". This led to the convening, in 1973, of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, which after nine years of negotiations adopted the Convention.

The Convention establishes a comprehensive legal framework to regulate all ocean space, its uses and resources. It contains, among other things, provisions relating to the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the continental shelf, the exclusive economic zone and the high seas. It also provides for the protection and preservation of the marine environment, for marine scientific research and for the development and transfer of marine technology. One of the most important parts of the Convention concerns the exploration for and exploitation of the resources of the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (the Area). The Convention declares the Area and its resources to be "the common heritage of mankind". The International Seabed Authority, established by the Convention, administers the resources of the Area.

Part XV of the Convention lays down a comprehensive system for the settlement of disputes that might arise with respect to the interpretation and application of the Convention. It requires States Parties to settle their disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention by peaceful means indicated in the Charter of the United Nations. However, if parties to a dispute fail to reach a settlement by peaceful means of their own choice, they are obliged to resort to the compulsory dispute settlement procedures entailing binding decisions, subject to limitations and exceptions contained in the Convention.

The mechanism established by the Convention provides for four alternative means for the settlement of disputes: the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Court of Justice, an arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VII to the Convention, and a special arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VIII to the Convention.

A State Party is free to choose one or more of these means by a written declaration to be made under article 287 of the Convention and deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (declarations made by States Parties under article 287).

If the parties to a dispute have not accepted the same settlement procedure, the dispute may be submitted only to arbitration in accordance with Annex VII, unless the parties otherwise agree."

 

Both New Zealand and Australia have previously used the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to stop Japan's overfishing of Southern Bluefin Tuna.

Exclusive Brethren fleece the public purse

The Sydney Morning Herald (11/2/2008) reports that a secret review by the federal Education Department reveals how the Exclusive Brethren and other organisations that have been identified as receiving an already too-generous share of government funding are exploiting a loophole to claim even more money from taxpayers - simply by building more campuses.

The report shows the Exclusive Brethren to be the "biggest winner" in this rort by establishing 16 campuses around NSW.

The MET School at Meadowbank, run by the Brethren, is an example of what the Education Department sees as schools getting an unfair advantage. The MET School is the parent school for the other 15 campuses. Only one of these, at Kellyville, is within 50 kilometres of the parent school. One, Lavington, is 600 kilometres away in Albury. If they were called new schools, they would not qualify for the same generous funding. But as "campuses", they keep it.

The department is critical of the "inequities" being entrenched because these schools, under a deal struck with the Howard government, have had their funding maintained at the same level as before the SES system was introduced in 2001.

The overfunding has cost taxpayers more than $2 billion over four years and, according to the review, will cost $2.7 billion over the next four-year funding cycle, starting next year.

Despite having previously criticised the Funding Maintained system as unfair, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, locked Labor into keeping it before the federal election.

The Department of Education's internal review of the funding for private schools was commissioned by the Howard government and completed last year.

The Rudd Government refused to release it to the Herald under a freedom of information request. The leaked report recommends dealing with the extra funding by gradually taking money away from many schools until they receive their correct entitlement.

When John Howard was Prime Minister he had meetings with senior members of the Brethren. Why? Perhaps the sect, which does not allow its followers to vote, but has been linked to funding and advertising campaigns supporting the Liberal Party was getting a few tips on the rort directly from the horse's mouth.

Read the Herald's report at:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/loophole-keeps-schools-in-clover/2008/02/10/1202578600919.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

NRMA making limited ex-gratia payments to some policyholders affected by NSW North Coast flooding

According to The Northern Star the "NRMA announced it would make ex-gratia payments to about 40 policy-holders whose homes were damaged in the flood, but were not eligible for an insurance payout because the company, like most others, did not cover flood.

NSW claims manager William Reilly said the payment would be the same as if the homes were covered for flood damage. However, that did not mean NRMA covered floods."

 

This is welcome news, but many other people are still waiting for resolution of claims lodged with other insurance companies.

Page MP Janelle Saffin praised the NRMA and invited "People with outstanding flood insurance problems can contact me on 6621 9909."

 

Finally, a local member who actually cares.

Barack dances in a policy vacumn to the tune of money, money, money

Watching the US race for presidential nomination, it is fascinating to observe the almost complete lack of stated policy or real political goals. 

To an outsider it seems that both Democrat and Republican candidates view dollars to be as important as delegates.

According to the Obama for America team its fundraising had produced US$7,596,326 between 5th and 7th February.

American politics is certainly a moneyed sport.

 

Here's the latest fundraising e-mail from the Obama camp yesterday.

"We just learned that we won all three contests today -- in Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington State.

We've now won 18 out of 28 states, with New Mexico still in the balance.

What's more, we also estimate that we at least doubled our delegate lead today.

Our momentum is strong, but another round of tough contests is about to begin.

Tomorrow, Democrats will caucus in Maine. And on Tuesday, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia will have their turn.

To win, we need to bring as many people into the process as possible. We're pushing towards 500,000 donors this year by March 4th, when Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont vote.

Now is the time to make your first online donation of $25 -- if you do, it will be matched by another supporter, doubling your impact:

https://donate.barackobama.com/match

This race is still extremely close, and we need your support to remain competitive.

Thank you for making this possible.

Barack"

Frank Sartor tries to finally kill-off local government

The Northern Rivers Echo reported last Thursday on Sartor's mad plan to completely control major regional development from Sydney or locally through his little mates club.
This plan now includes the Minister taking complete control of all developer contribution funds normally held by councils.
It is obvious that the Iemma Government has a death wish.

"Under proposed reforms of the state's planning laws, the planning minister can agree to a 20-storey high-rise building in the middle of Lismore or Ballina and the local council would have absolutely no say.

That is just one of the alarming scenarios facing all mayors on the Northern Rivers – and throughout the state – which sparked a crisis meeting in Sydney recently attended by over 100 mayors including those from Lismore, Ballina, Richmond Valley and Kyogle.

Late last year Mr Sartor announced the proposed changes, which are designed to reduce processing times of development applications, and introduce a new system for approving development applications. It also decreases the amount of money big developers have to contribute to local government by up to 40 per cent.

The mayors fear that local council decision-making will be affected and the reduction in developer contributions (called Section 94 funds) could make community facilities such as new pools and playgrounds unaffordable.

Kyogle mayor Ernie Bennett, the president of the Northern Rivers Regional Organisation of Councils (NOROC), said the changes would undermine local democracy by taking many of the checks and balances out of the planning system.......

"The package of changes gives more power to unelected planning panels and private certifiers, and sets a target of allowing up to half of all new development to be approved by private certifiers using a 'one size fits all' checklist," Cr Bennett said. "That will be a significant change and will put the future character of our communities at risk."

Cr Bennett said the NSW Government's plan to slash developer contributions posed a great threat to small regional communities who relied on those funds to build vital social facilities."

Whale meat market stagnates in Japan but still it hunts in the Southern Ocean

Asahi.com reported the following yesterday.

"Japan's research whaling has long been criticized from around the world as commercial whaling in disguise. Now, research whaling faces a domestic blow--stagnant sales of whale meat."

It went on to say that despite an increase in whale kill numbers and the amount of whale meat supplied to the domestic market jumping by 30% between 2005-2006, the Japanese Government sponsored Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR) had to reduce it's wholesale whale meat price by 20%.

The Institute now appears to be seriously in debt to the Government.

 

The Japan Times online also featured an article yesterday condemning the current practice of killing whale calves and lactating females. 

 

While the European Union, never happy with Japan's 2008 whale kill quota increase, has now called for a unified stance on whaling.

 

The current state of play is that the population of Japan is not regularly eating whale meat even with a price decrease and lethal 'scientific' research is not financially viable in its own right.

So why does Japan continue its annual lethal research in the Southern Ocean, when non-lethal methodology is likely to cost less and be just as effective?

Why does the Japanese Government continue to allow and subsidise a whale hunt which is not paying its way and reimbursing grants given to ICR ?

If whale meat is not enjoying high sales for domestic human consumption, where is this whale meat going? Is it being stockpiled or is it being converted into pet food?

Estimates of the annual worth of the whale meat industry show that someone's making an end product profit, but who?

Australia and the rest of the world deserve an answer from the Government of Japan.

Two Australians go to court to censor Google but dynamic Internet beats them

Two South Yarra real estate agents, from the firm Castran Gilbert, are suing Google for the removal of allegedly defamatory material (concerning that firm's agent dealings with a single disabled person) shown on the results page when using an ordinary Google search.

Google Inc. has since denied public access via it's search engine to the primary material/article.

 

Until these men went to court I had never heard of any person connected with this court case.

However my curiosity was piqued. I found that typing one name into the search box and three mouse clicks yielded a result. I was able to read the entire original article from a secondary source.

 

Thus proving that i) the real estate agents have unnecessarily highlighted the alleged defamation they want suppressed and ii) the Internet is so large and dynamic that it is almost impossible to remove any information once it is posted.

 

I guess the last laugh belongs to the original article's author.

Land

I had reason the other day to pull out the land title deeds for the family farm. It is a Torrens title, a very common form of land deed in Australia. It contains such things as the address and a description of the land in the form of lot/ section/plan.
On looking out my window I reflected on how little of what was written on that piece of paper was actually related to what I was seeing before me, and decided that it is an artificial construct that relates to our society rather than the land itself.
My grandson had excitedly told me that dinosaurs had walked here, I couldn't argue with that.
This got me to thinking about ownership in our society. How could anyone claim definitive ownership of land or any object that was there before they were a twinkle in their father's and mother's eyes, and will be there generations after they have gone.
Perhaps in the light of what we are finding our about the planet, life systems, greenhouse problems etc, we should re-think our language and our use of it.
I think stewardship might be a better word and concept suited to our times. This has rights attached to it as well as responsibilities.
I for one am aiming to hand this small plot on to future generations with the best biodiversity of native flora and fauna I can and still be economically viable. I am amazed at the number of people who believe that the society they live in and its economy have nothing to do with the environment that supports them. Who don't understand that if that fails so do they. Perhaps I should spend less time on the tractor, it gives you too much time to think.

Only the rich and trendy eat whale meat in Japan?

Although support for whaling is still strong in Japan according to a recent telephone survey conducted by Asahi Shimbun, the younger generation is not as enthusiastic. 

 

"Consumption of whale meat has decreased to 30 grams (one ounce) per person -- equivalent to a slice of sashimi -- compared with 2.5 kilograms (five and a half pounds) in the early 1980s."

This domestic consumption had in fact been dropping well before the 1980s and the introduction of the international ban on commercial whaling.

 

Among Japanese restauranters the enthusiasm for whale meals has been tempered by the fact that whale meat has not been available to ordinary people for a long time and many have not tasted whale meat.

 

It has been reported that Japan's whale meat industry generated the equivalent of around AUS $74 million annually by 2006.

Either this is making for incredibly expensive meals that only the rich can afford or whale meat and by-product are being used by industry for other purposes - pet food perhaps?

 

Might be time for those with companion animals to contact Australian pet food companies and seek assurances that they are not buying generic seafood product from Japan to include in local cat and dog food.

Will Rudd's razor gang rein-in ASIO's building plans?

Somewhere on the national books there appears to be a plan to supply ASIO and ONA with a new building to the tune of an estimated $460 million.

The spooks are not exactly living in squalor at present, so will Rudd and Tanner put this new building on hold for a year or two as they try to rein-in government spending?

I'm one voter who fervently hopes so.

Why would ASIO need extra office space anyway? When they assist with common law kidnapping they are more likely to use public parks and private homes, according to court records.

Kevin Rudd returns to NSW North Coast to inspect flood damage

Having Labor's Justine Elliot and Janelle Saffin as federal MPs for Richmond and Page seems to be paying dividends.
Kevin Rudd has again visited the North Coast and yesterday, as Prime Minister, he inspected flood damage in the Kyogle area.
Locals are hopeful that this on-the-spot look around will result in more funding for flood damage repairs to infrastructure, roads and businesses.
With Elliot and Saffin on the case I expect a shoe-in. On ya!

Japan's gory 'science' in pictures

http://www.theage.com.au/

Photos taken by Australian Goverment of the 2008 Antarctic whale kill.

Australian Government to extend its surveillance after seeing whale mother and calf kill

Japan's whalers managed to shoot themselves in the foot after Australia's hunt monitoring vessel observed the whaling vessel Yushin Maru 2 dragging a slaughtered Minke whale and calf onboard.

 

The Australian Government now intends to extend its Antarctic surveillance and evidence gathering.

 

"Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett says the pictures released today support Australia's position.

"I think it's explicitly clear from these images that this is indiscriminate killing of whales, where you have a whale and its calf killed in this way," he said.

"To claim that this is in anyway scientific is to continue the charade that surrounded this issue from day one."

ABC News article and video link.

2008 Australian society snapshot makes for interesting reading

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released Yearbook Australia 2008.

It shows that half of the Australian population is on the wrong side of thirty-nine years of age.

That we are living longer, are reasonably healthy, often a bit overweight, are mostly not having enough babies to replace ourselves once we die, care more about the state of our neighbourhoods than the big issues and continue our love affair with the family car.

Economic inequalities haven't really been reduced, renewable energy is still marking time, and even though most of us now recycle, we still have a long way to go to reduce the amount of household waste we produce.

For all the details on everything from natural hazards through to government and the economy go to:

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/1301.0?OpenDocument

 

 

I'm mad as hell, Mizz Bishop

In the long lead into the November 2007 federal election the Labor Party promised that if it were elected to govern it would abolish Australian Workplace Agreements.

Every Labor candidate (old or new) repeated that promise.

Opinion polls taken during the same period showed that most voters were concerned about existing industrial relations law.

Now Opposition Deputy Leader Julie Bishop, her leader and a long conga line of Coalition hacks are saying that the Rudd Government doesn't have a mandate to abolish AWAs and that they will use their Senate majority to block any legislation to remove these agreements.

Mizz Bishop, you are either the most cynical of MPs or you are seriously deluded.

Either way, you better not pass my way or you'll get a bl**dy ear full.

Isn't it enough that your mob stuck taxpayers with an $1,111 election loss booze-up bill.

Do you have to act like addled drongos in Federal Parliament as well? 

A Japanese perspective on Antarctic whaling

UPI Asia Online reported yesterday on Antarctic whaling and the Japanese perspective.
It appears that there is some domestic questioning of the right to hunt whales in the Southern Ocean, but the Government of Japan is holding out for concessions which allow it to increase its coastal whale kill elsewhere.
By canvassing a suggestion of concessions, the US-based Pelham Charitable Trust has opened Pandora's Box and encouraged the intransigence of Japan's whalers.

An Australian perspective can be found in The Daily Telegraph today.
Along with this article and photo of a slaughtered female Minke whale and calf.

The Australian Government continues to monitor Japan's Antarctic whale hunt with a view to taking legal action.
It should be noted that Japan is not conducting indigenous subsistence whaling in the Southern Ocean. This is a large-scale commercial kill for profit under the guise of 'scientific' research.

The Barack Obama 'Super Tuesday' dog and pony show

In 2007 I found myself on the Obama for America campaign team's electronic mailing list.

Since then I have received innumerable e-mails from almost everyone associated with Democrat presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama, except his family dog.

I have even been thanked for my 'help' in the Massachusetts primary. Which came as a complete surprise as I had no idea that I had been so busy!

At the end of Super Tuesday I received this e-mail from an obviously exultant team.

 

E-mail text

"The votes will be counted into the night and into tomorrow, but today we won states and we won delegates in every part of the country.

As of right now, we have won more states and delegates than Senator Clifton. It's a remarkable achievement we can all be proud of.

Tonight, we know one thing for sure -- our time has come, our movement is real, and change is coming to America.

At this moment in history, the stakes are too high and the challenges too great to play the same Washington game with the same Washington players and expect a different result.

This time must be different.

There will be those who say it cannot be done. But we know what we have seen and what we believe -- that when ordinary people come together we can still do extraordinary things.

Yes, we can.

Thank you so much,

Barack"

Partial solar eclipse over NSW North Coast today

"People from Brisbane to Adelaide will see varying degrees of the astronomical event in the afternoon with the most dramatic effects observed in Sydney, Canberra and Hobart. Sightings will begin at 2.19pm (AEST) in Brisbane and conclude at 4.27pm (AEDT) in Canberra."

On the NSW North Coast we can expect to see between 6-14% of this eclipse as the moon passes in front of the sun.

Coalition hopes for caveats to that apology?

The weight of public opinion has finally forced Liberals Leader Brendan Nelson, spitting and kicking, towards 'in principal' support for an apology to the indigenous Stolen Generation.

He now wants every Coalition MP to be heard on this matter before it goes to a vote by Parliament.

I suspect that what Brennie is really after is an opportunity for right-wing MPs to slip in a few on-the-record caveats to this historic apology. Hoping that a few spoilers will take the sting out of the event and lessen its national impact.

The Liberal Party has not covered itself in glory so far, in relation to either the apology or recognising the past injustices which make this apology necessary.

Look 'ere! It's the Saffin-Cansdell dog fight

The Daily Examiner today reported on the dispute between Federal Labor's Janelle Saffin and NSW Nationals'  Steve Cansdell as to who exactly arranged a meeting between canegowers and the NSW Minister for Roads, with the Federal Minister for Primary Industries also attending.

The NSW Minister supports Ms. Saffin's version of events.

Sorry, Mr. Cansdell - you are not all that believable.

On the Lower Clarence you already have a reputation for running to the media and taking credit for funding obtained through the local community's own lobbying efforts.

The fact of the matter is that Ms. Saffin has been steadily delivering for the Page electorate since her election in November 2007.

Just yesterday she confirmed a hefty funding boost for Grafton District Meals-on-Wheels, which provided more than 42,000 meals to aged and incapacitated people in the Clarence Valley district in 2007.

The Daily Examiner yesterday:

http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3762703&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=