e-Health: something's rotten in the State of Kevin

"The End User Security Reviews clearly found that there are instances in which particular users may share user credentials (whether they be passwords or tokens) to facilitate their obligation to patient care.

In situations such as a hectic Emergency Department or a large onsite trauma situation, the adherence to business processes which promote unique identification and authentication of users of the HI Service may not be practically possible.
The security controls and awareness levels found in these assessments have been varied." {NEHTA - HI Service Security and Access Framework 13/11/09 PUBLIC}

The Medicare smart card and national health information database rolls on.
According to the National e-Health Transition Authority this is its board which is facilitating the progress of this giant collection of the nation's most personal information:

David Gonski AC - NEHTA Chair
Australian public figure and businessman.

Dr David Ashbridge
Chief Executive of the Northern Territory Department of Health and Families.
Mark Cormack
ACT Health Chief Executive.
Dr Peter Flett
Director-General of the Department of Health of WA.
Jane Halton
Secretary of the Australian Department of Health and Ageing.
Prof Debora Picone AM
Director-General of NSW Health.
Mick Reid
Former chief of staff for Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon, now the Director-General of Queensland Health.

David Roberts
Secretary with the Department of Health & Human Services in Tasmania.
Dr Tony Sherbon
Dr Tony Sherbon is the Chief Executive of the South Australian Department of Health.
Fran Thorn
Secretary of the Victorian Department of Human Services.

Notice the complete absence of anyone from a consumer health lobby group in the key positions of importance?
No, the board is full of former bankers, accountants, bureaucrats, and gawd help us, a couple of individuals who helped drive the North Coast Area Health Service into the dismal state it's in today.
It is only in a list of organisations invited to attend the NEHTA Stakeholder Reference Forum that one consumer health group is invited inside the tent.
I imagine it's no coincidence that this single consumer organisation in that 33 strong group is an organisation which is firmly guided by government, receives funding from the Dept. of Health & Aging, was actively engaged in creating a so-called consumer demand for e-health and remains committed to the database scheme regardless of emerging concerns.
Even this feeble form of consumer protection is not participating in each internal working group.

NEHTA's Stakeholder Reference list:

Jurisdictions

ACT Health Department

Department of Health and Ageing

Northern Territory Department of Health and Community Services

NSW Health

Queensland Department of Health

South Australia Department of Health

Tasmanian Department of Health and Community Services

Victorian Department of Human Services

Western Australia Health Department

Industry Associations and Peak Bodies

Aged Care IT Council

Allied Health Professions Organisation (AHPA)

Australian Association of Pathology Practices (AAPP)

Australian Association of Practice Managers (AAPM)

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in HealthCare (ACSQH)

Australian General Practice Network (AGPN)

Australian Health Insurance Association (AHIA)

Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA)

Australian Medical Association

Australian Medical Association (AMA)

Coalition of National Nursing Organisations (CONNO)

College of Nursing (CON)

Consumers Health Forum (CHF)

HCF Australia

Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA) and Coalition for e-health

Medical Software Industry Association (MSIA)

National Coalition of Public Pathology (NCOPP)

Pharmacy Guild of Australia

Private Hospital CIO Forum

Private Hospital CIO Group

Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP)

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS)

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR)

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)

Federal election campaign information 2010: Who is funding Australian hospitals?

By now no-one is in doubt that this is an election year across Australia and, if Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce, Joe Hockey, Stephen Conroy, Jenny Macklin and Nicola Roxon are any indication, this will be a year filled to the brim with politically motivated misinformation.

Although I (like many others) have come to expect a high degree of doublespeak and obfuscation from those elected to federal and state parliaments, it is not something the electorate should tolerate.

The 2007 federal election campaign demonstrated that NSW North Coast candidates for elected office had not always factored in the possibility that voters would use the Internet to check the 'facts' they presented. At least one of these local candidates had obviously hoped that his face and a soundbite would last longer in voters' minds than the truth - needless to say he was spectacularly unsuccessful in his bid for a parliamentary seat.

Hopefully this year's local candidates will be mindful of that salutary lesson and stick to factual accounts and realisitic promises.

The public hospital system is a constant source of concern and debate on health will likely form part of the election campaigns of all major political parties during the 2010 federal election.
To offset at least some of the inevitable mudslinging, here are excerpts from The state of our public hospitals:June 2009 report (C'wealth Dept of Health & Aging) with regard to beds, funding sources and basic costs.

How many hospitals were there?

At June 2008, Australia had 1,314 hospitals, of which 58 per cent (762) were public.

There were 742 public acute hospitals in Australia, ranging from small remote hospitals with a few beds providing a narrow range of services, to large metropolitan hospitals providing a wide range of specialist services.

How many beds were there?

The number of available beds indicates the availability of hospital services. An available bed is defined as a bed which is immediately available for use by a patient and may include same-day beds, neonatal cots, hospital-in-the-home and overnight beds.

In 2007–08, the total number of available beds nationally was 84,235.
In 2007-08, the number of available public hospital beds was 56,467 (67 per cent). This means there were around 2.5 beds per 1,000 people.
The number of available private hospital beds was 27,768 or about 1.3 beds per 1,000 people.

Who funds hospitals?

Australia spent an estimated $94 billion on all health care in 2006–07 (the latest year for which this figure is available). More than a quarter ($27 billion) was spent on public hospital services. Almost 8 per cent ($7.1 billion) was spent on private hospitals.

The Australian Government funded around 40 per cent of public hospital services expenditure ($10.8 billion) through public hospital funding, rebates for private health insurance, hospital services for veterans and direct expenditure such as payments for blood products, specialised drugs and grants for diagnostic equipment.

State, Territory and Local Governments contributed 53 per cent ($14.3 billion) of public hospital services funding. Private sources contributed 7 per cent ($1.9 billion), these included private health insurance benefits and out-of-pocket payments from patients.

In comparison, more than 70 per cent (nearly $5 billion) of private hospital expenditure came via private health insurers. Of this, over 23 per cent (nearly $1.7 billion) was provided by the Australian Government through health insurance premium rebates and 47 per cent ($3.3 billion) came from premiums paid by contributors and other revenue to insurers. These figures do not include funding provided by the Australian Government through the Medicare Benefits and Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedules or for blood and blood products for patients in private hospitals.

What was the cost of an average patient?

The average cost of a patient treated in a public hospital in 2007–08 was $4,232 (excluding depreciation). This cost covers nursing and medical staff, supplies such as surgical dressings and support services such as meals, cleaning and security.

Salaries for medical and nursing staff represent 50 per cent of admitted patient costs.

Placing those climate change denialists into perspective

Information Is Beautiful attempts to visulise those oft cited numbers used to support anti-global warming claims.

Click on images to enlarge

26 January 2010 is also a day we celebrate........

.......the courage and resilience of those original Australians, the Aboriginal communities across this nation.

A thought on Australia Day 2010: 'according to local laws, regulations and policies, some search results are not shown'

The Great Rudd screenshot found at The Orstrahyun

据当地法律法规和政策，部分搜索结果未予显示。
According to local laws, regulations and policies, some search results are not shown.

This is the current legend at the bottom of a Google China search result page due to that country's mandatory national Internet censorship.

This is also the information Australians may see at the bottom of a Google Australia, Yahoo! or Bing search result page sometime after Australia Day 2011 if the Rudd Government insists on censoring the Australian Internet.

The Scot and A Currency Lad battle it out over Teh Republic

There is nothing like a uninformed argument over constitutional monarchy versus republic and it was played out again in the letters column of The Daily Examiner on 23 January 2010 between a Scots-born Aussie letter writer and a Currency Lad deputy editor.

Yawn..............

The crown

SUBJECT: Throwing in the crown. I do not think that the editorial by Mr Carroll in the DEX edition of January 20 served his newspaper well. A referendum on the subject of Australia becoming a republic was held just a few years ago. The case for a republic was led by Malcolm Turnbull and failed at the ballot box. I wonder if Mr Carroll seriously considered why this should be.

Was he aware that the most stable countries in the world are constitutional monarchies and that most of the world's refugees are escaping from republics controlled by despots and the like.

A lot of those people have found sanctuary in this country and many more wish they were here.

Leave the subject alone Mr Carroll. It will resolve itself in time and is deserving of more than your immature and vain comments in the editor's column.

THOMAS MACINDOE, Yamba.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The referendum was held more than 10 years ago, and not 'a few' as you suggest in your missive. Times have changed, Thomas. Yes, the case for a republic was led ineptly - by Malcolm Turnbull. The republicans were divided over the proposed republican model - and the rest, as they say, is history. As most would agree, the referendum should never have been about the proposed model. Thomas, are you seriously suggesting Australia would descend into anarchy without the guiding influence of Queen Elizabeth? Rot. -Adam Carroll.

Budgie smugglers from Google Images

The Iraq Inquiry: so what did the then Australian PM John Howard know and when did he know it?

The Brown Labor Government has convened an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the unlawful invasion of Iraq by Britain (as part the Coalition of the Willing) and lack of evidence supporting the reasons given for going to war.

This coalition included Australia, but thus far former Prime Minister John Howard and his Cabinet are escaping scrutiny at home, with the exception of an October 2003 censure motion passed by the Senate.

Perhaps the Chicot-led inquiry (which is still conducting public hearings through 2010) will give some indication as to Howard's role in staging the invasion, given he was so publicly proud of this role and his association with then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush on 28 March 2003:

Prime Minister John Howard held a lengthy discussion late last night with United States President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on the war in Iraq.

Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski also joined in the four-way, 20-minute conference call, a spokeswoman for Mr Howard said.

Mr Bush and Mr Blair, both at Mr Bush's Camp David, said they were pleased with the progress of the conflict and thanked Australia for its contribution.

The four leaders also spoke of the need for post-war reconstruction in Iraq and the role of the United Nations in the rebuilding.

"They had a brief discussion about how the military campaign is going," the PM's spokeswoman said.

"Mr Bush and Mr Blair expressed great satisfaction with the progress being made.

"They expressed thanks and admiration for Australia's contribution."

Howard of course picked up the ball and enthusiastically ran with it without too much urging as he had earlier told the National Press Club on 13 March 2003:

I did speak to him [President GW Bush] yesterday. He didn't ask me to lobby anyone, but if you want to know, I have already spoken to a number of countries and I hope to speak to others. I had a conversation with President Musharraf of Pakistan last week. I'm pleased to say that part of the conversation was an indulgence by both of us in our common love of a particular sport. And I spoke two nights ago to President Fox of Mexico, and I hope to speak to one or two other leaders over the course of the next day or so. But I have not been asked to lobby by President Bush. I have not been asked to lobby by Tony Blair. There are somethings that I can usefully do, and I'm doing them, but we haven't been sent a list of countries to lobby. It doesn't work that way, whatever may be the view.......
In the end, all of these things involve questions of judgement. We're not talking about proving to the, beyond reasonable doubt, to the satisfaction of a jury at the Central Criminal Court in Darlinghurst, if you'll excuse my Sydney origins, I mean if you wait for that kind of proof, you know, it's virtually Pearl Harbour. You've got to make judgements, and judgements are made and I have given you the judgement of the [inaudible] and I've given you our judgement. I mean, people are saying well, you know, where is the further proof? I mean, what I am saying is you have Iraq with weapons of mass destruction, Iraq's terrible track record, refusing to disarm, the world in effect buckles at the knees and doesn't disarm Iraq....
Iraq is demonstrably, to use my language, a rogue state. If we don't make sure that Iraq is disarmed, that of itself will encourage other rogue states to acquire and develop weapons of mass destruction....

Of course the British inquiry may never reveal any information on the part Howard played, as it is well within the realms of possibility that as soon as this inquiry was mooted the Australian Government made representations to the effect that all mention of our involvement should be kept to a minimum during proceedings. The Rudd Government would not enjoy talk of war criminals and national culpability in an election year, given its current tacit support of the War on Terror.

From The Iraq Inquiry website:

The Prime Minister announced on 15 June 2009 that an Inquiry would be conducted to identify lessons that can be learned from the Iraq conflict. The Iraq Inquiry was officially launched on 30 July 2009. At the launch the Chair of the Inquiry, Sir John Chilcot, set out the Inquiry's Terms of Reference:
"Our terms of reference are very broad, but the essential points, as set out by the Prime Minister and agreed by the House of Commons, are that this is an Inquiry by a committee of Privy Counsellors. It will consider the period from the summer of 2001 to the end of July 2009, embracing the run-up to the conflict in Iraq, the military action and its aftermath. We will therefore be considering the UK's involvement in Iraq, including the way decisions were made and actions taken, to establish, as accurately as possible, what happened and to identify the lessons that can be learned. Those lessons will help ensure that, if we face similar situations in future, the government of the day is best equipped to respond to those situations in the most effective manner in the best interests of the country."
The Inquiry committee members are Sir John Chilcot (Chairman), Sir Lawrence Freedman, Sir Martin Gilbert, Sir Roderic Lyne and Baroness Usha Prashar.
The Inquiry will take evidence over a number of months, with as many hearings as possible held in public. Hearings will begin in the autumn and continue into the New Year. A report of the Inquiry's findings will be published at the end of this process, but as the Inquiry has such a complex task ahead of it the report is unlikely to be ready for publication before summer 2010. The Inquiry committee intends to include in the report all but the most sensitive information essential to our national security. The report will then be debated in Parliament.

So far over sixty witnesses have been heard in sitting days spread over seven weeks. Evidence presented so far is posted on the website as transcript or video.

• John Howard and George Bush 2002
• John Howard and Tony Blair 2006

Censored! Great Australian Internet Blackout

As part of ******

EFA questions about mandatory national ISP-level Internet filtering which shoud be answered by Austrlaia's Comminications Minister

Colin Jacobs of Electronic Frontiers Australia has posted the following questions for the Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy:

The top 10 filtering questions yet to be answered

The Rudd Government's mandatory ISP filtering bill will soon be introduced into Parliament, and we can only hope that the debate there will focus more on the real merits of the scheme – which are few and far between – than empty rhetoric about protecting children. When the debate happens, here are some questions the Government needs to answer under the glare of public scrutiny.

1. Given the trouble and expense of this policy, you must have some pretty convincing evidence that children are being constantly exposed to RC material. How was your research conducted and will it be released to the public?

(In fact, research indicates that of all the threats kids face online, accidental exposure to disturbing content is about the least significant.)

2. Two-thirds of Internet-connected households don't have school-age children. Isn't forcing a filter onto them as well as businesses unnecessary?

(We have never heard a cogent explanation why the filter should be mandatory and not opt-in, or why it's a better solution than more comprehensive and customisable PC-based filters.)

3. Given the reasonably poor uptake of filters by parents in the past, what makes you so sure the Australian people want a filter at a national level?

(Survey data shows that parents who don't install filters do so mainly because they consider them unnecessary or too restrictive, not for technical or cost reasons.)

4. Why did you meet with the Australian Christian Lobby before making last week's announcements? Have you met with groups opposed to the filter?

(Conroy's office ignores our polite requests to make our case.)

5. In targeting child pornography, isn't the blacklist mechanism, which relies on the media regulator and the Australian public, a poor way to track down this material compared to investigations by law enforcement professionals?

(Illegal material is not typically published on the open web, and when it is, is usually taken down quickly.)

6. In the past you have indicated that the blacklist will include material imported from overseas groups like the Internet Watch Foundation. Is it still the case that lists prepared by unaccountable third parties overseas might be part of Australian censorship?

(The Internet Watch Foundation's list caused controversy in Britain when it added a Wikipedia page to its list in 2008.)

7. The Enex trial indicated tests at speeds far below those promised by the new National Broadband Network. Won't the filter interfere with the rollout of this much more important project?

(We can't understand why the Government is pursuing the filtering policy so zealously when the $43 billion NBN is so clearly a higher priority for the country.)

8. Experts say than an ISP filter is easy to circumvent by anyone who wants to. Doesn't that undermine the usefulness of the entire enterprise?

(It's inevitable that getting around the filter will be easy. Therefore, it only prevents accidental access to any site on the list.)

9. When they reach banned websites, will Australians see a message from the government informing them why the page was blocked, or will the page just refuse to load?

(We have many more worries about transparency in the system, especially concerning the oversight of the list itself.)

10. What would stop some future conservative governments adding to the blacklist in a campaign against dangerous or immoral content?

(Of course, this question only has one answer: Nothing. Once the blacklisting has begun, it's hard to imagine it will never expand, let alone ever be rolled back.)

Sadly, EFA suspects that if these issues have been considered at all by the Government, they do not have good answers ready. We maintain that until all of them can be addressed satisfactorily, mandatory ISP filtering amounts to nothing more than a political stunt designed to wedge the opposition and garner some easy votes.

Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon is not telling the truth about the Medicare e-card

Remember over the course of 2009 the Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon assuring everyone within hearing that the new Medicare smart card would contain data and, give access to a database, which could be checked for accuracy by individual patients and that information would only be given out if the individual patient agreed to participate in the e-health scheme?
This is what the Minister was putting about at the time:
Eventually, the plan is for each person to have an individual e-health record, which holds their personal details; a summary health profile that can be shared with the person's permission between treating doctors; event summaries such as hospital discharge reports, care plans and test results, and a self-care management record where people can add their own material. and Ms Roxon has said participation in e-health records schemes would be voluntary and yet again All Australian residents will be allocated an Individual Healthcare Identifier (IHI) to support better communication between healthcare providers involved in patient treatment – but no patient will be forced to use it to access any health service.
Believed her did you?
Well, she told whoppers - barefaced and knowingly.
The proof is in the draft Healthcare Identifiers Bill 2010 which contains no precise provisions along those lines.
All the bill does is allow for the collection, storage and dissemination of personal and health information without the patient's explicit knowledge or consent.
This outrageous bill relies on p*ss poor protections found in the Commonwealth Privacy Act, which has few teeth to redress bureaucratic wrongdoing in relation to misuse of personal information or inaccurate record keeping.
The Privacy Act was never designed to cover a national health information datatbase and National Privacy Principles also only contain general intents that informed consent be given for data collection and dissemination or that an individual be given access to their information {thanks to Clarencegirl for pointing that out to me}
As for what looks like exemption for incorporated medical practices from any application of the Criminal Code in relation to improper handling or misuse of personal health information compiled for or received from the national database - well the mind boggles.
While NEHTA's claim that “There is also a very strict audit trail so that any individual can know that someone has accessed their record in the system which is an additional layer of security" is just plain absurd when there is no legislative requirement in place which would allow any individual patient to be informed if their records had been accessed and by whom.
But what really has the Rudd Government falling down that rabbit hole into an alternative reality is the fact that politicians and "well-known personalities" will be given special false identities to prevent their medical records falling into the wrong hands.
Apparently the threat of your personal medical details falling into the wrong hands is an acceptable risk, but the risk is not acceptable when it comes to the personal medical details of Rudd & Roxon or their mates. {Yep, three cheers here for egalitarian Australia}
And what is the Rudd Government going to do with all this very detailed information (right down to whether a twin was delivered first or second) it intends to collect?
Well b#gger all, because no state or territory or hospital or medical practice or doctor or community nurse is anywhere near geared up for this giant trawl though the nations' private life and may never be.
For state governments have not proceeded past a sort of glorified memorandum of understanding on e-health in effect until 30 June 2012.
Roxon's information collection through compulsory sixteen-digit health identifiers is looking more and more like a national identity database in disguise.
No wonder there's such an uproar among the privacy watchdogs.
When did the Australian Labor Party lose its basic common sense?

• So you want to look through my medical records?
• Federal Labor and Health Minister Roxon crossing a bridge too far

You don't have to pay peanuts to get monkeys

Our local newspaper just announced that Tweed councillors are asking for a hefty pay rise.

TWEED councillors have "selflessly" voted to push for a 55 per cent pay rise – not for themselves but for the many other people they say will consequently be encouraged to stand for election.
Councillors voted six to one on Tuesday night to ask the NSW Remuneration Tribunal to raise their annual councillors' fees by $8500 with only Greens Party councillor Katie Milne voting against the motion.
The move will take their pay to $24,000 a year except for Mayor Warren Polglase who will get $57,840 as well as a car, if the tribunal approves the increase."If you pay peanuts you get monkeys," said Cr Kevin Skinner. "By providing a higher form of remuneration we give an opportunity to someone in the community who otherwise could not afford to be a councillor."

I thought I'd share this particular 'poll' on simian pay rates.

If a pay rise was performance based, who do you think should not get one?

G & T
Tweed

UN State of the World's Indigenous Peoples report does not paint a flattering picture of Australian society

According to Inter Press Services on 14 January 2010:

"Indigenous peoples suffer from poorer health, are more likely to experience disability and reduced quality of life and ultimately die younger than their non-indigenous counterparts," says the State of the World's Indigenous Peoples report released by the Department of Social and Economic Affairs (DESA) at the United Nations. This alarming statement is corroborated by statistics in the report which find that consistently, and internationally, indigenous communities are more likely to contract tuberculosis, malnutrition, diabetes, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and to commit suicide than non-indigenous communities. There are also significant gaps in life expectancy between indigenous and non-indigenous people – a difference of as much as 20 years in Australia and Nepal. A collaborative study produced by the Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada shows that the Inuit are over 150 times more likely to contract tuberculosis than the non-indigenous population. Suicide rates among indigenous youth are strikingly high when compared with non-indigenous youth, particularly in Brazil, where a study carried out by the Brazilian Ministry of Health found that between 2000 and 2005, the rate of Guaraní youth suicide was 19 times higher than the national average. The report also finds that indigenous women and children are particularly vulnerable to poor health, and women are disproportionately affected by violence because of structural discrimination and racism, and the added dimensions of gender bias and poorer levels of education. The report links the denial of certain fundamental rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to poor health among indigenous communities, and cites a failure of the Millennium Development Goals to identify and consider indigenous concepts of health, which, beyond the individual's physical and mental well-being accounts for the well-being and spiritual balance of the community.

The State of the World's Indigenous Peoples report is the result of a collaborative effort, organized by the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Chapters were written by independent experts.

The report acknowledges that in February 2008 the Australian Government formally apologized to the Stolen Generation and that in August 2009 it also endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, reversing the position of the previous Howard Government.

The UN report further noted the disproportionate percentage of indigenous Australians serving time in goals around the country and broadly linked this to discrimination in earlier stages of the justice process.

The report highlighted the fact that indigenous Australians generally live shorter lives, have poorer health care and education, higher than normal levels of inadequate housing and endure higher unemployment rates.

The Koori Mail reported on 15 January 2010 that the Rudd Government rejects elements of the UN findings:

A UNITED Nations report, The State of the World's Indigenous Peoples, is based on outdated information, according to the Federal Government. A spokesperson said rather than a 20-year gap in life expectancy, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced in May 2009 the new figures were now between 9.7 years for women and 11.5 years for men...

The State of the World's Indigenous Peoples:
Foreword by Mr. Sha Zukang Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs
Introduction by the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Chapter I: Poverty and Well Being by Joji Carino

Chapter II: Culture by Naomi Kipuri

Chapter III: Environment by Neva Collings

Chapter IV: Contemporary Education by Duane Champagne

Chapter V: Health by Myrna Cunningham

Chapter VI: Human Rights by Dalee Sambo Dorough

Chapter VII: Emerging Issues by Mililani Trask

Foreword by Mr. Sha Zukang Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs

Introduction by the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Chapter I: Poverty and Well Being by Joji Carino

Chapter II: Culture by Naomi Kipuri

Chapter III: Environment by Neva Collings

Chapter IV: Contemporary Education by Duane Champagne

Chapter V: Health by Myrna Cunningham

Chapter VI: Human Rights by Dalee Sambo Dorough

Chapter VII: Emerging Issues by Mililani Trask

NASA releases updated chart showing just how hot the hemispheres are becoming

NASA-GISS chart released on 15 January 2010

The Nationals Murray Lees gone after four DUI convictions

In the Tweed Daily News yesterday:

MURRAY Lees has resigned from his position as Tweed National Party chairman after being convicted of his fourth drink-driving offence at Murwillumbah Local Court yesterday.

Read the rest here.

Well, that's one blessing in an election year - Mr. Lees' style of election campaigning was always one of the more annoying aspects of NSW North Coast politics.

Lismore Community Garden is underway and wants to help you learn how to produce a bumper crop

The Lismore Community Garden at 50 Brewster Street is a joint project of Rainbow Region Community Farms Inc and the Northern Rivers Social Development Council, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health & Ageing and land supplied by Lismore City Council for the establishment of an urban community garden benefiting all Lismore residents.

Ground was seriously broken at the beginning of December 2009 and numerous training events will be held this year.

So if you live in the Lismore area and are interested learning about healthy food and sustainable productive gardening, here is the timetable for on-site training from early February to early July 2010:

Sat 6 Feb 2010 Making Compost
Tue 9 Feb Backyard Gardening
Fri 19 Feb Basic Health Eating
Sat 27 Feb Introduction to Permaculture
Sat 6 Mar Backyard Gardening
Thu 11 Mar Starting a Community Garden
Sat 13 Mar No Dig Gardens
Tue 16 Mar Introduction to Permaculture
Fri 9 Apr Filling Up on Fruit and Veg
Tue 13 Apr Backyard Gardening
Sat 24 Apr Introduction to Permaculture
Sat 1 May How to start a worm farm
Sun 2 May Permaculture Design Course (Week 1)
Sat 8 May Backyard Gardening
Sun 9 May Permaculture Design Course (Week 2)
Tue 11 May Introduction to Permaculture
Fri 14 May Fats, Sugars & Fats
Sat 15 May Seed Saving
Sat 15 May Introduction to Permaculture
Sun 16 May Plant Propagation
Sun 16 May Permaculture Design Course (Week 3)
Sun 23 May Permaculture Design Course (Week 4)
Sun 30 May Permaculture Design Course (Week 5)
Sat 5 Jun How to start a worm farm
Sun 6 Jun Permaculture Design Course (Week 6)
Tue 8 Jun Backyard Gardening with Kids
Sat 12 Jun Good Bugs, Bad Bugs
Sun 13 Jun Permaculture Design Course (Week 7)
Sun 20 Jun Permaculture Design Course (Week 8)
Fri 25 Jun Modifying Recipes
Sun 27 Jun Permaculture Design Course (Week 9)
Sun 4 Jul 2010 Permaculture Design Course (Week 10)

For more information contact Linda 02 6620 1815 or Carla 0400 680 300 or Donna 02 6620 1800.

Vegetable & Fruit photograph from Google Images

Journalist discovers that Tony Abbott is a living example of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle

I once read a very simple explanation of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle applied to quantum mechanics which went something like this - you can make predictions about how x will behave over the long run but you can never say how x will behave over the short run.

It looks as though Jacob Saulwick from The Sydney Morning Herald is discovering that about Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

I split my sides over "Pole-asked: Why Abbott gets in a muddle about middle Australia":

"Abbott, therefore, spokesman for John Howard and now Leader of the Opposition, tells us that if you are a certain type of person, he will not be informing you that you are in the wrong. You could be up a pole, starving yourself, on an argument of dubious merit. You could be convinced that rising carbon dioxide emissions are good for the environment. But if you broadly identify as ''Middle Australia'', you'll mostly hear what you want to hear.

A corollary in much of what Abbott says is that if you are that certain type of person, you will not be imposed upon. You will not be hit with taxes or restrictions on living the life that you want. No, if the government does intrude into your life, it will be to entice you with incentives and encouragement.

This argument sets the Coalition up to harangue any suggestions for tax reform that come out of the Henry review in the coming months. It also begs the question of how it will pay for its incentives and encouragements.

And the third, and related, idea is that if this pitch to middle Australia throws up internal contradictions, then let's not spend time worrying about them........

But don't you want to plant more trees to soak up carbon dioxide? Isn't that going to be part of your climate change policy? Never mind."

Yep, there's no doubt about it - teh Mad Monk is set to say and do anything (go in four different directions at once if necessary) to get himself into Australia's driving seat. But in the long run he's bound to revert to all those regressive 1950's values and discredited political strategies he shares with John Howard and the country will be stuft.

Pic from 2009 astrology reading for Tony Abbott

Australia Day celebrations on the NSW North Coast 24-26 January 2010

Clarence Valley Australia Day 2010 Awards Ceremony
Event Begins at: 10:00 AM
Event Ends at: 12:30 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
The Event will be Held at: Nip Welsh Park, Minnie Water
Event Type: Awards & Presentation, Citizenship Ceremony, Family Fun Day, Food & BBQ's, Music & Entertainment, Novelty Events, Official Ceremonies
This Event is Suitable for: Matured, Family, Disabled Access
Best Vantage Point is: Minnie Water
Getting there: Parking located close by
Event Web Site: http://www.clarence.nsw.gov.au/

Coffs Harbour - Australia Day 2010 Celebrations
The day commences at 8.30 am with a Flag Raising Ceremony at the Cenotaph in Vernon Street. Morning tea is being held from 9.00 am in the Blue Room at the Coffs Harbour Ex-Services Club in Vernon Street. New citizens registration takes place during this time. The Citizenship and Award Ceremonies commence at 10.00 am in the Grand Auditorium of the Coffs Ex-Services Club.
Event Begins at: 8:30 AM
Event Ends at: 12:30 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Event Web Site: http://www.coffsharbour.nsw.gov.au/

Richmond Valley - Australia Day 2010 Celebrations
Event Begins at: 9:45 AM
Event Ends at: 4:00 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
The Event will be Held at: Ellengowan
Event Type: Art & Exhibitions, Awards & Presentation, Competitions, Family Fun Day, Flag Raising , Food & BBQ's, Music & Entertainment, Novelty Events, Official Ceremonies
This Event is Suitable for: Kids (6-9), Teenagers (14-18), Children (10-13), Adults, Matured, Family
Best Vantage Point is: Paddocks around hall
Event Web Site: http://www.visitrichmondvalley.com.au/

Tweed Shire - Australia Day 2010
Main Event Begins at: 10:30 AM
Event Ends at: 1:30 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
The Event will be Held at: Burringbar Primary School Event Type: Awards & Presentation, Citizenship Ceremony, Official Ceremonies
This Event is Suitable for: Tots (<5), Kids (6-9), Teenagers (14-18), Young Adults (19-30), Children (10-13), Adults, Family, Disabled Access
Best Vantage Point is: next to Burringbar Sports Grounds
Getting there: past the Burringbar Village
Event Web Site: http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/

2010 Tweed Village Celebrations
Event Begins at: 7:00 AM
Event Ends at: 8:00 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
The Event will be Held at: Villages across the Tweed Shire
Event Type: Family Fun Day
This Event is Suitable for: Tots (<5), Kids (6-9), Teenagers (14-18), Young Adults (19-30), Children (10-13), Adults, Family, Disabled Access
Event Web Site: http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/

Bellingen - Australia Day 2010 Celebrations
Event Begins at: 7:30 AM
Event Ends at: 3:00 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
The Event will be Held at: Dorrigo
Event Type: Art & Exhibitions, Awards & Presentation, Citizenship Ceremony, Family Fun Day, Flag Raising , Food & BBQ's, Music & Entertainment, Novelty Events, Official Ceremonies
This Event is Suitable for: Family, Disabled Access
Best Vantage Point is: Hickory Street
Getting there: Free Bus from Urunga, Mylestom, Bellingen
Event Web Site: http://www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au/

Lismore - Australia Day 2010
Citizenship Ceremony
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Time: 8.30am
Goonellabah Sports and Aquatic Centre, 50 OLIVER AVENUE
Beginning with a Welcome to Country by local Aboriginal elders.
Other activities include Flag Raising, Address by Australia Day Ambassador Craig Foster, presentation of Australia Day Awards and musical entertainment.
The celebrations will be followed by Morning Tea when you will have an opportunity to meet Craig Foster.
For further information contact Council on 1300 87 83 87

Kyogle - Australia Day 2010 Celebrations
Kyogle & Woodenbong Celebrations will be held at Woodenbong Hall on 26 January 2010.
Formal proceedings commence from 9.15 am, presentation of awards together with a showcase of local students performing.
Free lunch available including spit roast rolls, sandwiches, cakes, tea coffee & cool drinks.
Weather permitting, a fun afternoon of Cricket at the Woodenbong Recreation Ground—all welcome.
Contact Chris 66305900.
West of the Range Celebrations will be held in Tabulam at the Racecourse commencing 10.00 am.
Lots of fun for the family with jumping castles, street stalls, sumo wrestling,
BBQ and award ceremony
Ph: Neville O’Malley 0427 285 144 for more information.

Byron Bay - Australia Day Paddle 2010
The Australia Day Paddle January 26 2010
Wategos Beach at 10am Two courses – the original 2.2km course as well as a 6.5km course for the more serious paddler.
Seven divisions for men and women:
Nipper paddle boards
Surfboards up to 7'
Surfboards 7'1" to 9'
Surfboards 9'1" to 10'
Open divisions:
Stand-up paddle boards
Racing skis

Ballina - Australia Day Celebrations 2010
Fawcett Park, Ballina at 9am January 26
Ballina Shire Concert Band performing and East Ballina Lions Club serving a barbecue breakfast.
Official proceedings will begin at 10am with the flag-raising ceremony, followed by the Citizenship ceremony and the Australia Day award ceremony.

Bangalow - Flickerfest 2010
19th International Short Film Festival
22rd - 24th January 2010 - A&i Hall, Bangalow
Screening: International 1 on Friday night
International 2 on Saturday night
Best Of Australian Shorts on Sunday night
Doors: 7.30pm each night - Films start: 8.30pm Tickets(available @door):
Friday: $20/15conc includes Opening Night Party with Jameson whiskey, Coopers beer, Rosnay organic wine & Phoenix drinks.
Sat or Sun: $15/10ea
Festival Pass: $35/30con
www.flickerfest.com.au

Say again - you did what??

A friend sent me a link to Just Answer Law (Ask an Australia Law Question, Get an Answer ASAP!) which had me wondering where on earth some people park their common sense as they grab the keys and decide to take a little ride on the NSW North Coast.

I was riding my un-registered, unregisterable mottorbike with no bike lisence. I was pulled up by a police officer on yamba rd and he let me off with a warning. One month later I received 3 fines in the mail, all adding up to over $1500. All fines stated that I was done riding on "Angourie rd". All i know is that I was pulled over by an officer on yamba rd and given a warning, I get fines saying I was riding on "angourie rd", when i was never pulled over by an officer, let alone ever riding on that angourie rd. I have sent the fines back so the matter can be resolved in court. Please let me know what you think.

Who's driving drunk on our roads?

When the subject of driving while on the turps comes up at my local watering hole quite a few fellow greybeards immediately start pointing a finger at young drivers.

Now if there's one thing northern NSW is known for it's the imbalance between age groups in the local population - with the number of older people steadily growing over the years and those in the late teens to twenties thin on the ground in towns and villages because many are moving away to get steady work .

So who exactly is responsible for the high number of drink-drivers on our North Coast roads?

Well a clue or two can be found in The Daily Examiner piece on 17th September 2009 when it reported that the Coffs-Clarence Area Command district had twice the state average of recorded driving under the influence nabs by police.

That works out as about 1 in every 75 drivers pulled over clearly testing positive for over-the-limit alcohol consumption.

But are they mostly youngies?

Nup and they're not tourists either.

Of the 49 drink-drivers mentioned in that newspaper since the very end of August 2009 up to last Monday, a whopping 33 of these drivers were between 30 and 68 years of age (half of these were middle aged and older).

They clearly trounced the young when it came to being caught with a skinful and accounted for all the high range PCAs highlighted.

Only 8 of the 49 drivers could be definitely tagged as tourists.

So the next time a mate at the bar starts mouthing off about the trouble with the young generation - tell him to pull his head in and watch how much he's knocking back himself.

Pic from Google Images

Like a bad smell on the bottom of your shoe some editors continue to reek long after

When Peter Chapman resigned as editor of The Daily Examiner at Grafton on the NSW North Coast to move to a similar position with the Frazer Coast Chronicle in Queensland, the Clarence Valley almost seemed to echo with a collective sigh of relief.

Still, when one leaves a job after less than fifteen months, with more than a few locals giving you a here's-your-hat-what's-your-hurry send-off, it would appear that there is an intermittent urge to revisit - like an itch you just can't satisfactorily scratch.

Therefore every so often, rather like that sudden bad smell on the bottom of your shoe, the former editor unexpectedly turns up on a page in The Daily Examiner.

This time in a letter to the editor on 16 January 2010, bemoaning the fact that his favourite small time developers did not have costs awarded to them in the NSW Land & Environment Court and using his letter to lobby against the re-election of five Clarence Valley shire councillors.

Chapman's huge ego knows no bounds.

Perhaps he should return to complaining about local government in the new home town, his weight, past hangovers, the price of a good steak, or upsetting the locals as he has been doing in the Fraser Coast Chronicle since at least 12 September 2009 and cease taking defensive pot shots elsewhere because he can't make a editorial sow's ear into a silk purse no matter how hard he might try.

When Japan hunts adult whales in the Southern Ocean this is what can be left to die

Photograph taken by Kate Westaway & found in The Sun

This is a very young Humpback Whale still reliant on its mother.
The Government of Japan is yet to give an unequivocal assurance that its whaling fleet operating in the Antarctic does not leave calves like this to die when it takes their mothers for meat.

• Background article The Japan Times: Whaling — for nationalism or science?