What on earth is happening at Teh Egg Timer?

Teh Good Ol’ Egg Timer (purveyor of news since 1859) may rarely have looked into local matters in depth, but with the exception of the period when Chappo was editor, it at least checked its facts.

Not anymore, the canary down the journalism mine is lying on the cage floor.
Now it seems any local mischief maker or neighbourhood stirrer can take a lend of the news room.
Here’s the latest not-so-hilarious lurch along the way.
 
The Daily Examiner 2^nd April 2012:
 
“High school poison scare
THE parent of a Maclean High School student has told The Examiner that a prank at a school social last week resulted in up to 10 students being hospitalised.
The woman said during an all-years social held at the Yamba Bowling Club on Thursday evening, one or more students poured "glow stick" fluid into jugs of drinks.
She said in addition to her own son being sick for two days following the event, she had since heard that up to 10 students were taken by ambulance to hospital.
The Daily Examiner will follow up on this story in tomorrow's paper.”  
 
The Daily Examiner 3^rd April 2012:
 
“Poison claims "wrong"
SCHOOL authorities have dismissed reports up to 10 students became ill after consuming a drink spiked with the contents of a glow stick during a Maclean High School social last week.
One parent told The Examiner a number of students got sick after consuming the drink, but school principal Tony Carr said the claim was wrong. He said one male student had the contents of a glow stick poured into his drink, but he tipped it out. However, he refilled the glass and reported being ill after that. Mr Carr said he was collected by his parents. He said the social was a success.”  

The Daily Examiner 9^th June 2012:

“The Examiner: 'spiked drink' story apology
ON APRIL 2, 2012, The Daily Examiner published a news brief claiming up to 10 students of Maclean High School had become ill and had to be taken by ambulance to hospital after consuming drinks spiked with the contents of glow sticks at a school social dance. The brief was based on the claims of a parent of one of the students at the school.
The Examiner acknowledges the report was inaccurate and that further checking of the information contained in the brief should have occurred before publication.
The parents of two of the school's students have since said their children were ill after attending the dance and their children reported others were ill.
The children told their parents it was their understanding the contents of a glow stick were poured into drinks.
The ambulance service has no record of attending the dance.
The Examiner apologises for any embarrassment caused to the school or to teachers who were on duty at the social.”
 

In the loop? Out of the loop? Fruit loop? Decide for yourself.

A few years back The Daily Examiner had a prize (a Lottery/Lotto ticket pack) for the week's best letter to the editor. If such a prize still existed it would surely have to go to John  Edwards of South Grafton for his letter in today's Examiner.

Shooters and Fishers

Following the announcement of a Shooters and Fishers Party-sponsored inquiry into the management of public land, the Clarence Environment Centre wrote to the Member for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, posing three questions.

One of these was: "Would you support the opening up of national parks to recreational hunting?"

On May 22 we received the following response: "There is no proposal for recreational hunting in national parks in the Clarence electorate being considered by me or the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government."

Less than 10 days later the Government announced 79 national parks and nature reserves where recreational hunting will be allowed.

I'll let readers form their own opinion on their member's response.

Among the affected parks that have been reported in the media are Kosciuszko and Dorrigo, which are among the most visited reserves in Australia, and where tourists will now experience the tranquillity of those forests being shattered by the noise of gunfire, and the possibility of being shot.

The decision has outraged many in the community, but has been welcomed by hunters who claim they are the answer to feral animal control.

However, if there is a serious feral animal problem, it is because successive governments have failed to properly fund control programs.

Recreational shooters have been hunting in state forests for over five years, and I challenge anyone to produce evidence that they have had any significant impact on feral species in those forests.

In fact last year the national parks service had to run local eradication programs for feral pigs which they believe were deliberately introduced by hunters.

In trying to justify breaking an electoral promise, Barry O'Farrell claims it was necessary to balance political expedience with public interest.

This isn't the first time this government has sacrificed public interest, and I'll guarantee it won't be the last.

John Edwards, South Grafton

Sometimes the young make my heart sing - Part Six

http://youtu.be/lU-Uwl7AZ7o

Published on Apr 11, 2012 by southlandification

It has become a morning habit to sing Bohemian Rhapsody on the way to school in the morning. Depending on traffic, we can usually start the song as we pull out of the driveway, and pull into the school just as the song ends.

From the 'How Stupid Can A Federal Government Be' file

This year the Gillard Labor Government signed off on a reduction of ‘green tape’ between the federal government and state government over approval of development projects.

The results were always predictable – monumental state defaults.

“Prime Minister Julia Gillard has written a strongly worded letter to Queensland Premier Campbell Newman, accusing his Government of undermining community confidence in the approval process for major resource projects.

The letter is a further escalation in the war of words between the Commonwealth and the Queensland Government over a multi-billion-dollar mining project in central Queensland.

The Alpha Coal Project's location in the Galilee Basin means it could have an impact on the health of the Great Barrier Reef.

The state and federal governments had been working together on a single environmental approval process for the $6.5 billion project, but Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke says Queensland has not upheld its end of the deal.

He says the Queensland approval process had been "hopeless" and falls "abysmally short" of what is required under the bilateral agreement.

In a letter to Mr Newman, Ms Gillard writes that any "breach of this agreement is unacceptable to the Commonwealth".

"I am particularly concerned that Queensland's decision has immediately put at risk community and business confidence in the ability of Queensland to work with the Commonwealth," she wrote.

"The Commonwealth will, as a result, work directly with Alpha Coal to complete the assessment process and resolve any remaining uncertainties for the project."

Now watch Gina do Julia over!

The real losers in all this are The Great Barrier Reef and the Australian electorate.

Pic from Google Images

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and his ministers have questions to answer

There always was a political stench attached to the Howard Government in relation to its handling of Wheat Board trade contracts, which saw Government fail in its duty of care and allow a breach of UN sanctions which aided Saddam Hussein by corruptly paying $300 million in kickbacks to the Iraqi regime.

Unease over the role of the Prime Minister and his ministers was apparent before, during and after the Inquiry into certain Australian companies in relation to the UN Oil-for-Food Programme

This article wafts that stench under voters’ nostrils once more.

In The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 June 2012:

THE man who led the Australian Federal Police investigation into the AWB scandal has alleged he was offered a promotion to shut down the inquiry.
In an explosive statement lodged with the Federal Court, the former AFP agent Ross Fusca said another senior officer told him that if he could ''make the oil-for-food taskforce go away, he would be appointed as next co-ordinator''.
Mr Fusca, a 30-year AFP veteran, has declared the inquiry into the wheat marketing body was never given enough resources and was shut down prematurely.
And he has alleged the police's AWB taskforce - which ran from late 2006 to August 2009 - had a high-level political informant who indicated that federal government officials were aware of AWB's payment of kickbacks.
In an interview with the Herald and ABC television's 7.30, Mr Fusca said he believed the offer of a promotion represented an improper inducement.
Mr Fusca's Federal Court claim also alleges that a day after the offer of promotion was made, another senior AFP officer pressured him into
Court documents state: "[The officer] insisted that the brief be completed by April 2009, claiming that the taskforce was out of budget. The applicant [Mr Fusca] maintained his position that an April 2009 deadline for the brief was unachievable" and that the earliest it could be finished was December 2009.
In a statement last night, the AFP said it was aware of Mr Fusca's claims, but that it could not comment.
The AFP shut down the taskforce in August 2009, handing responsibility for the case to the corporate watchdog ASIC………………..
The federal police-led taskforce was set up in late 2006 as a result of the Cole Royal Commission. The commission found that AWB Limited and some of its executives had corruptly paid $300 million of kickbacks to the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, but that no Australian government officials knew of these payments. But Mr Fusca said a credible political informant had provided the AFP with intelligence that suggested ''senior government officials were aware … of the kickbacks''.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott, a Cabinet Minister in the Howard Government from 2001-2007, has set the I know nothing tone for Liberal Party and Nationals response:

"I'm just not aware of those reports, just not aware of them. [I'm] afraid I haven't yet read the newspapers, not aware of that report, so I just can't comment on it,"

The Tele comes a cropper and deservedly so

I have little sympathy for Mark Latham but do not consider that his children should be made to suffer for the political foolishness and grandstanding of their father, so this Press Council of Australia determination is applauded:

“Adjudication No. 1531: Mark Latham/The Sunday Telegraph (May 2012)

Document Type:

Complaints

Outcome:

Adjudications

Date:

21 May 2012

The Australian Press Council has considered a complaint by Mark Latham about articles in The Sunday Telegraph on 11 and 18 December 2011. They concerned his behaviour at a swimming lesson run for the NSW Education Department at a local pool and attended by his young children.

The first article alleged he had been reported to the Education Department for intimidating one of the swimming teachers, who is the mother of two famous Australian sportsmen. It said he approached the teacher from behind, told her “As far as I can see, they are not learning anything” and, after she replied, said “a lot of parents are going to be pulling their children out of the scheme”. It added that teacher was “visibly shaken”.

The article identified the public pool at which the swim program, which still had a week to run, took place and also the school that Mr Latham's children attended. The first article also stated the reporter approached Mr Latham at the pool three days later but he refused to comment, saying the matter had nothing to do with her.

The second article reiterated some of the earlier report and added that Mr Latham had withdrawn his children from the classes after the first article was published.

Mr Latham complained that, as the reporter was the daughter of one of the other swim school teachers, she had a conflict of interest which should have been disclosed in the articles. He said at least one of his children had been taught by the reporter’s mother during some of the lessons and he provided what he said were his children’s descriptions of their interaction with her.

The newspaper denied that she taught either child at any stage or had any direct contact with them, and also denied there was any conflict of interest. It said she was one of the three-person team teaching the course and, on the day in question, was under the supervision of the teacher to whom Mr Latham spoke. It added, however, that she was not a frequent member of the team.
Mr Latham also complained that the articles breached the privacy of his family, especially his children while engaged in an educational program, without any justification in the public interest.

The newspaper replied that he was a public figure because he was a former Leader of the Federal Opposition, received a parliamentary pension and was a very active media commentator on politics and national affairs. It said the report related to a “loudly audible confrontation at a publicly-funded swimming school between a public figure with a reputation for bullying and intimidation” and the teacher who was well known because of her famous sons. Mr Latham denied, however, that the encounter was a loudly audible confrontation.

The Council has concluded that the reporter’s relationship with the supervisor should have been disclosed in her articles. This conclusion is based on the agreed fact that her mother was one of the very small team conducting the program (and on the day in question was being supervised by the woman with whom Mr Latham spoke). It is not based on any decision about whether the mother taught the Latham children or was the source for the story. The Council emphasises that in accordance with generally-recognised principles a conflict of interest exists where there is a reasonable possibility that the conflict will affect a reporter’s impartiality, irrespective of whether it actually does so. Accordingly, this aspect of the complaint is upheld.

The Council considers that Mr Latham remains a public figure despite ceasing to be a Member of Parliament, at least by virtue of his high-profile role as a media commentator. In some circumstances, reports which intrude on the privacy of a public figure may be justifiable if they relate to his or her public activities or views and are in the public interest. But Mr Latham’s complaint related to the privacy of his family, especially his young children, not himself. Accordingly, this adjudication does not consider whether his own privacy was intruded upon without adequate justification.

The Council has concluded that Mr Latham’s alleged conduct at the pool was not of sufficient importance in the public interest as to justify seriously intruding on the privacy of his young children in the manner caused by these articles. This applies especially to the initial disclosure that they are participating in an ongoing educational program in a named place, the disclosures in both articles that their father had criticised the program to one of their teachers, and the claim in the second article that their father had withdrawn them from the program. There is no evidence that these matters had become widely known before being disclosed in the Sunday Telegraph, a mass circulation newspaper.

Mr Latham reiterated much of the material in an online news site twelve days later and his regular magazine column a further eight days later. But as the children were no longer participating in the program, this disclosure did not retrospectively justify the initial breaches of privacy (even though he also mentioned, without apparent need, the name of one of his children). His alleged behaviour in unrelated contexts, including possible breaches of other people’s privacy, also does not justify a newspaper’s breach of his children’s privacy in the absence of a public interest justification. Accordingly, this aspect of the complaint is upheld on the ground of unreasonable intrusion on the children’s privacy.”

On the subject of stupidity as opposed to identity theft....................

This telephone exchange would be funny if not for the fact that versions of it are repeated every day.

From the pages of NO HELP Not Always Working:

(I have just checked my credit report for the first time, and notice a store credit card I had never opened. I call the credit company to report this.)

Me: “My report lists a delinquent account on a [store] credit card. I’ve never had a card with that store.”

CSR: “It says here the account was opened in 1974.”

Me: “Well, that must be a mistake. I wasn’t born until 1978.”

CSR: “Could you have opened the account and then forgotten about it?”

Me: “…I’m going to need to speak to someone else.”

When it comes to the crime of murder, don't believe everything you read in NSW North Coast newspapers

On 2 June 2012  The Northern Star  and The Daily Examiner online trumpeted that:

WHEN they think of the North Coast, most people think of the relaxed lifestyle, idyllic beaches and lush hinterland - not Australia's regional murder capital.
But statistics obtained from the state homicide squad have revealed the strip between Newcastle and the Queensland border had the second highest number of murders in the state last year, even as NSW topped the nation for the number of people murdered.
The Northern Star spoke to police in every state and confirmed that the NSW northern region was the regional murder capital of Australia.
Of the 84 murders across NSW in 2011, 20 were in the Northern Region police command, which runs from north of Newcastle to the border....
The state had 15 more murders than in 2010....

The Northern Region takes in Police Local Areas Commands in Brisbane Water, Central Hunter, Coffs-Clarence, Hunter Valley, Lake Macquarie, Manning-Great Lakes, Mid North Coast, Newcastle City, Port Stephens, Richmond, Tuggerah Lakes, and Tweed-Byron.

A rather wide net to cast when trying to include the Northern Rivers into a tag of regional murder capital of Australia.

The Northern Rivers where these two APN daily newspapers circulate is traditionally thought to include Bellingen, Coffs Harbour, Clarence Valley, Richmond Valley, Lismore, Ballina, Kyogle, Byron and Tweed local government areas only.

These are the actual murder victim numbers officially recorded by NSW BOSCAR for the Northern Rivers region in 2011:

Ballina 2

Byron 1

Lismore 2

Richmond Valley 2

Total: 7

Sounds a lot less alarming and probably sells less newspapers, but it was the truth about recorded murder statistics in Northern Rivers communities last year.

The discrepancies don’t end there however. These are BOSCAR official statistics for NSW murder victims: 75 in 2010 and 77 in 2011. Even if one added manslaughter victim numbers and missing persons unofficially presumed murdered to these totals, one doesn’t come up with fifteen more violent deaths in 2011 when compared with the previous year. In fact when combining all categories, the annual totals remain constant.

Later on in the article the NSW body count inexplicably rises to ninety-four for which, again, there is no logical explanation. One has to suspect that somewhere along the line these two newspapers have possibly confused the numbers of persons charged with the crime of murder* in New South Wales with the number of murder victims – which are not necessarily identical totals.

One interesting fact remains unreported entirely. Since 1990 the number of NSW murder victims has been steadily falling, so that in 2011 there were 42 fewer recorded victims compared with 1990.

* Murder is defined in s 18(1)(a) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) in the following terms:

“Murder shall be taken to have been committed where the act of the accused, or thing by him or her omitted to be done, causing the death charged, was done or omitted with reckless indifference to human life, or with intent to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm upon some person, or done in an attempt to commit, or during or immediately after the commission, by the accused, or some accomplice with him or her, of a crime punishable by imprisonment for life or for 25 years.”

For murder and manslaughter only, the counting units used are victims. Under the definition of a criminal incident (same parties, same time, same place, same offence and same incident type) one murder or manslaughter incident could involve two or more persons being killed. Because of the seriousness of these offences and their relatively small numbers, it is considered to be more appropriate to count the number of victims, rather than the number of criminal incidents. Hence, where one murder incident involves a person killing six people, six murder victims are counted.

Let's hear it for the chickens! Greens urge Stoner to show leadership for free-range egg farmers

Media Alert: 5 June 2012

Greens NSW MP John Kaye will be joining local community members in Bellingen this Saturday to urge local member and Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner to stop the large industrial producers exploiting the label "free-range."

John will be distributing action kits designed to help community members outraged by the misuse of free-range label to lobby Mr Stoner to assert some leadership within the O'Farrell government to safeguard the future of genuine free-range egg farmers.

With the Egg Corporation pushing ahead with their plans to increase the free-range stocking density from 1,500 to 20,000 birds per hectare, the only way to ensure "free-range" means free-range is through legislation.

When: Saturday, 9 June 2012, 9am

Where: Bellingen Growers Markets, The Bellingen Showground Corner of Hammond and Black Streets

Who: Greens NSW MP John Kaye

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455

Photograph from Free Range Eggs

In 2012 Christopher Monckton goes way beyond being a media tart

The point at which Viscount Monckton of Brenchley changes from an irritating media tart into a pathetic media whore?

http://youtu.be/Br9imjm1kvk

The plot begins to unravel - will Abbott and Pyne be left holding the thread?

It must have been a hard twenty-four hours for the Coalition lynch-mob headed by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and his trusty henchman Christopher Pyne.

First a Federal Court judge asked for reasons to be presented as to why he should not find Health Services Union (HSU) national secretary Kathy Jackson in contempt of court because she allegedly attempted to inappropriately contact him without other parties being aware.

The judge also referred to a June 1 affidavit of Ms Jackson which contained "potentially scandalous allegations" and unless it was read in court, he would not allow the public access to the document. "This case is going to be conducted in court and not in the newspapers," he said on Tuesday.

Then a former sex worker (pictured below) at the heart of one of their favourite allegations went on television and stated she was out of the country in May 2005 and couldn’t have met with Craig Thomson.

Transit of Venus: I saw'd it, I saw'd it!

Transit of Venus on 6 June 2012, University of Sydney Physics Society
(Photo: Terry Cuttle)

Using the tools of my childhood - two white cardboad sheets acting as both 'pinhole camera' and photographic paper - I saw the 6th June 2012 Transit of Venus.
It was as magical as the first time I, in my skewed tie, baggy shorts and long woollen socks, used this crude instrument to watch my first solar eclipe in the schoolyard so many years ago.

Paul Howes - braggart extraordinaire

Once more the National Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union (pictured on left) has been caught doing a little background bragging to the media in 2012:

Howes' famous threat to withdraw support for the carbon price if it cost "one job" paid off when the government delivered a package containing large free permits for trade exposed industries, a $300 million steel transformation package and big support for coal industry jobs.

There is just one small problem with any brag, one can get quickly caught out. Howes does not appear to have publicly made this threat until 13 April 2011 at the earliest.

Yet the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Green Paper of July 2008 clearly stated:

The Government also recognises that there will be adjustment costs for businesses as they move to a low carbon economy. That is why the green paper outlines programs to assist these businesses in the transition period. This assistance involves providing free permits to the most emissions intensive trade exposed activities…

In November 2009 the NSW Farmers Federation reported:

The Government says that it recognises that emissions-intensive coal mines need transitional assistance to adjust to the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. It will target assistance to the most gassy mines, and has on the table a $750m package to assist these mines investigate and implement abatement opportunities and ease their transition to the introduction of a carbon price.

On 17 March 2011 the Prime Minister; promised she will not allow jobs in heavily polluting trade-exposed industries to go overseas under her emissions pricing regime.

The same day the Garnaut Climate Change Review Update Paper 6 recommended assistance to trade exposed industries for ninety per cent of their obligation.

While on 23 March 2011 it was reported that; compensation packages [are] now being negotiated by Labor in closed-door meetings with the directors [of] trade-exposed companies. This resulted in federal government funding worth $300 million going to Australian steel manufacturing, in addition to other assistance being offered to steel as one of the emissions-intensive trade exposed industries The coal and aluminum sectors were also included in this trade exposed industries compensation.

Although Australian Workers' Union formal submissions to government may have assisted in shaping government policy on carbon pricing, Paul Howes’ self-promoting ‘threat’ had next to nothing to do with any influence this union exerted.

OMG! It's 2012 - let's announce a celestial tragedy expected in 4 billion years

Presuming no possible knock-on effect from a collision between Andromeda and The Milky Way, NASA has blithely announced this event scheduled for around 4 billion years’ time.

After all; by then climate change, population pressure, government inaction and the dominance of multinational corporations will have extinguished human life on Earth anyway and the Sun will have probably begun to die of its own accord.

But hey, the 24hr news cycle is alive and kicking right now – so let’s put out a press release!

A celebration of the timeless poetry of voice and instrument

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

http://youtu.be/x8-YMpYbRqY

Mārrma djiḻawurr ŋāthinana, nambawu ḻarruŋana Guwalilŋawu
rirrakayunmina ḻiyanydja milkarri, nambawu ḻarruŋana Murrurrŋawu
roŋiyirri rirrakayyu. y..a barrawaḻayu y..a Mutjwutjŋa gaḻaṉiṉiyu

Ga namba Guwalilŋa, ga namba Warraḏika, ga namba Yumayŋa, m..m

Yä wulman ŋäthinana, yä dhiyaŋuna ḻanyiŋdhu dhungununayu
yä bāpa Kamba-Djuŋadjuŋa. miḻŋ'thurruna bayma Mayaŋ-ŋaraka
yä ŋäṉḏi maṉḏa. marrkapmirri maṉḏa. nhumanydja ŋayathaŋana Ruypu Milinditj
yä ŋäṉḏi maṉḏa. marrkapmirri maṉḏa. nhumanydja ŋāthiyaŋa milŋurr Burarrapu
yä namba guwalilŋa, yä gunambal warraḏika, yä namba Yumayaŋa
m..m
(english)

Two scrub fowl crying out, looking for Guwalilŋa
the calls like women crying, looking for Murrurrŋawu
the cries returning his mind to the jungles at Mutjmutjŋa

oh place Guwalilŋa, Warraḏika, Yumayŋa, m..m

Oh the old man cries, from this drink
oh dad Kampa-Djuŋadjuŋa, home Mayaŋ-ŋaraka bright in his mind
oh my two mums, beloved mums, hold Ruypu Milinditj
oh my two mums, beloved mums, cry for the sacred spring Burarrapu
oh the place Guwalilŋa. Warraḏika, Yumayŋa, m..m

 

*Djiḻawurr, the orange footed scrub fowl are family and relatives to the Gumatj---

Wiyathul as written by Yunupingu
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powerd by LyricFind
Read more at http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858831261/#dsPWVgkbbJwFDFwQ.99

Barry O'Fibba's perfidy exposed

Like a bad dream, the party whose leader appears to happily involve himself in the disreputable slaughtering of African elephants for their ivory, has this to say in Shooting News on 30 May 2012 about his backroom deal with the O'Farrell Coalition Government:

"Hunters in NSW will be stalking in national parks and eating wild duck by Christmas under a deal done between the Shooters and Fishers Party and the Coalition Government.
Despite losing the fight against the ammunition control bill last night, the SFP is celebrating this significant win, which comes in return for their qualified support for the privatisation of the state's electricity assets.
The SFP has also guaranteed support for its amendments to the privatisation legislation that will protect workers affected by the sale of power generators and other infrastructure.
The SFP has been pushing to legalise hunting in national parks for some time, and has succeeded in forcing O'Farrell to back down on his opposition to it after blocking the electricity sell-off in the upper house.
"We expect to have that legislation through by the end of June and, subject to the implementation program, we expect to be hunting in some national parks by Christmas," SFP MLC Robert Borsak said. "It will be rolled out progressively."
NSW hunters should also be able to hunt duck and quail by then, too.
"These are all positive changes for NSW, which has seen our precious national parks suffer under the idealistic 'protection' of the Greens," Mr Borsak said.
"Australia's once vibrant hunting heritage has been smothered and primary producers have been devastated by ducks in plague proportions. We will at last begin to bring some sense and balance back."
He said government support for the legislation wasn't without conditions. Wilderness and heritage zones will not be gazetted for hunting and a number of high-use national parks close to metropolitan areas would not be included in the program.
Only about 70 of the state's almost 800 parks and conservation areas are to be opened up, although whether more may be added in the future is not clear.
Permission to hunt in parks would be run under the same model as conservation hunting in state forests, but the state's duck and quail shooting would follow a new 'adaptive' model.
"What we're talking about is not your traditional open and shut duck season," Mr Borsak said. "We're talking about a new model for sustainable, progressive utilisation based on species, populations, periodic need for mitigation and so on."
Both national park and gamebird hunting would be managed under the Game Council, which has overseen conservation hunting under R- and G-licences since being formed in 2004.
Hunters will also gain protection from harassment under the legislation intended to reduce the likelihood and seriousness of attacks by protesters, although the details of this are still to be worked out.
"Conservation Hunters save the people of NSW millions of dollars and their impact on pest and feral animal populations has been proven," Mr Borsak said.
"There are around 20,000 licensed Conservation Hunters active in State Forests and on private property, and they remove over 600,000 feral animals every year, a huge benefit for our native flora and fauna."

Sorry Mum, The Devil Made Me Do It!

Latest revelation - Christopher Pyne’s reveals his true opinion of Teh Rabbit here.

NSW Nationals 'Steve' Gulaptis MP places his ignorance on display once again

Theft represents one of most likely sources of firearms for the illicit market according to the Australian Institute of Criminality.

The AIC Monitoring Report 16 went on to observe that:

·     *   In 2008-09 of the total firearms reported as stolen, 89 per cent followed from an unlawful entry into a building or vehicle and, private residential premises comprised 77 per cent of all firearm theft locations.

·     *    A total of 77 per cent were taken from registered owners. In almost 18 per cent of incidents where private residential or business premises were broken into, the theft was aided by the premises being unsecured at the time of the burglary.

·     *    Ammunition was stolen with firearms in 27 per cent of reported incidents of firearm theft in 2008-09.

·     *    In the same financial year, 22 per cent of affected firearms owners were found in breach of firearms law by police. A large number had failed to secure their firearm/s.

In other words criminals are likely to obtain their guns and/or ammunition from ordinary citizens who have inadequately or carelessly stored these items or failed to secure the premises.

On 30 May 2012 the Daily Liberal reported that; Thieves gained entry to a property on Pilliga Road, Kenebri between 8.30am and 5pm Tuesday, making off with eight pistols, eight rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Clearly measures which might limit the amount of ammunition sold and track the lawful movement of such ammunition are in order.

Before the NSW Legislative Assembly on 29 May 2012 was a bill (apparently reflecting a request by the Police Commissioner) which seeks to:

(a) to prevent the sale of ammunition by a licensed firearms dealer to a shooter unless the purchaser is the registered owner of, or has a permit to acquire, a firearm that takes the ammunition (in addition to the existing requirement that the purchaser must hold a licence or permit for a firearm that takes the ammunition),
(b) to require licensed firearms dealers to keep records of purchases and sales of ammunition.

Yet the historically, civilly and politically ignorant NSW Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, rose to his feet and said this:

I have to say from the outset that this bill is fundamentally flawed. It is flawed because it targets the wrong people. This bill makes it tough on law-abiding registered gun owners instead of criminals. Once this bill is passed the law-abiding public will have to deal with the additional costs and red tape associated with owning a firearm. Farmers, sporting shooters and gun shop owners are the ones that will carry the cost, and for the criminals it is business as usual.

UPDATE: An investigation into Sydney gun crime has revealed a near 20% jump in the number of firearms stolen from legitimate owners. [7 News 8 May 2012]

“Dear JUSTICE VICKERY”: When bankruptcy goes all shouty and lands you in the Big Boys' Court

R v Vasiliou [2012] VSC 216 (25 May 2012)

Click on image to enlarge

It's whale watching time on the NSW North Coast

Whale breaching off the Australian east coast

The Sydney Morning Herald 2011

Although the Government of Japan’s sponsored Antarctic whale hunt last season killed an admitted 266 minke whales and one fin whale, the annual migration north to warmer waters is well under way.

Right Wales tend to summer in the Great Australian Bight, while Minke and Fin whales have rather secretive migration paths. So it is the Humpback Whale which is most often sighted between May and November as it travels to and from its northern feeding and breeding grounds.

From Emerald Beach (near Coffs Harbour) right up to Tweed Heads and the NSW-Queensland border, North Coast residents and visitors are sure to sight whales in 2012 as the Humpback migration is expected to be around 17,000 cetaceans strong.

If you are out on the water as a whale passes, remember that the law requires that you do not closely interact with these mammals.

From the NSW Dept. of Environment & Heritage:

Definitions

Approach distance—see figures 1-3 (referred to as 'prescribed distance' in the Regulation): a distance beyond which a vessel or person may not approach a marine mammal. 

Caution zone: a distance of between 100 m and 300 m from a whale and between 50 m and 150 m from a dolphin. In the caution zone, vessels must travel at a constant slow speed and leave a negligible wake.

Negligible wake: wake that does not create waves big enough to make nearby boats move.

Prohibited vessels: these are vessels that can make fast and erratic movements and not much noise underwater, so there is more chance they may collide with a marine mammal. Such vessels include personal motorised watercraft like jet skis, parasail boats, hovercraft, hydrofoils, wing-in-ground effect craft, remotely operated craft or motorised diving aids like underwater scooters.

Vessels: these are watercraft that can be used as transport including motorised or non-motorised boats, surfboards, surf skis and kayaks.

Figure 1: Approach distances for whales

Figure 2: Approach distances for dolphins

How close can vessels and aircraft get to whales and dolphins?

·        
For a vessel, the approach distance is 100 m from a whale or 50 m from a dolphin.

·      When calves are in the pod, the approach distance for a vessel is 300 m from a whale or 150 m from a dolphin.

·       For a prohibited vessel, the approach distance is always 300 m from a whale or dolphin.

·       Helicopters or gyrocopters must not get closer (in height or distance) than 500 m to a whale or dolphin.

·       Other planes must not get closer (in height or distance) than 300 m to a whale or dolphin.

Figure 3: Height restrictions for whales and dolphins

At what speeds can vessels travel around or approach marine mammals?

Vessels must always travel at a safe speed which will enable them to stop in time to avoid distressing or colliding with an animal. This speed cannot be expressed as a maximum number of knots as it will vary according to circumstances and conditions. In the caution zone, the speed must be constant and slow, and leave a negligible wake.

Whales and dolphins rely on sounds underwater to communicate, find food and navigate so vessel operators need to travel at a speed that will minimise the noise around them, and ensure their vessel does not suddenly change its direction.

For details of how to minimise wake from a vessel visit NSW Maritime's website or phone 131 256.

How should a vessel operator approach a whale or dolphin?

First, assess the direction the animals are travelling in then plan a course so your vessel will not cut across their path, or put the vessel directly in front of or behind them. Approach the caution zone at an angle of not less than thirty degrees from their direction of travel at a steady constant speed, being aware of changes in animal behaviour or direction.

Under the Regulation, a vessel operator cannot enter the caution zone if there are more than two other vessels already in it. This may mean waiting for other vessels to leave. If there are two or fewer vessels in the caution zone, continue on course at a constant slow speed and travel alongside the animals, no closer than 100 m away from whales or 50 m from dolphins.

If there is a calf in a group (defined as half the length of the adult of the same species), it is illegal under the Regulation to enter the caution zone.

Be aware of other vessel movements and changes in animal movement or behaviour. Never chase or encircle a whale or dolphin or drive through the middle of a group.