A warning sign for the Rudd Government?

Choice online poll status 11 July 2009

Choice the consumer advocacy group is running a poll on the question; Do you think the government is doing enough to drive competition in the grocery sector?

With straightened economics time still ahead of us all, it might be wise for the Rudd Government to take heed of community sentiment.

The now defunct GroceryChoices as set up by government may have been doomed to disappoint the consumer, but that doesn't mean that the big supermarket chains should be able to continue dominating market/pricing policy in the same manner as they have in the past.

If Choice goes forward with its reported 'war' on Coles and Woolworths, I suspect that it will quickly garner more sustained support than these corporate giants and, a wise politician would be looking now to effect a compromise that would allow an non-industry based price comparison website to go ahead with some government funding involved.

Save the Children says no to Rudd Government's Internet censorship plan

Cute Kittehs from The Hughes Family

Save the Children (Australia) celebrates its 90th anniversary this year and has joined the National Children's and Youth Law Centre, Civil Liberties Australia, Australian Library and Information Association, Dr Alex Byrne FALIA, UTS University Librarian, GetUp!, Liberty Victoria, National Association for the Visual Arts, NSW Council for Civil Liberties, and the QLD Council for Civil Liberties in opposing the Rudd-Conroy scheme to impose a national mandatory ISP-level Internet filtering scheme which will censor Australian access to the Internet.

Joint Statement on Internet Censorship
We oppose the Government’s plan to censor the internet through mandatory ISP-level internet filtering technology.
While we wholly support measures that effectively prevent the distribution of material refused classification under laws that properly respect free speech, this proposed filter does not meet that aim.
The proposed filter fails to meet the test of an effective child protection measure that respects the rights of children. Mandatory internet filtering curtails our human rights without offering any effective protection for children.
The proposed scheme will also block a range of material that it is perfectly legal to view both online and offline. It will be shrouded in secrecy: there will be no effective oversight of the secret blacklist of banned material. The content to be blocked is currently sites that are ‘refused classification’; it could easily and covertly be expanded to include any material that a Federal Government wishes to suppress.
Any limits on the rights and freedoms of Australians must be accompanied by rigorous transparency and scrutiny; this proposed system does not allow for either.
The filter will be easily circumvented by those with even a basic understanding of information technology or the content providers. It will also miss the vast majority of unwanted content, normally shared using email or file-sharing networks – not through web traffic.
We argue that the tens of millions of dollars that such a scheme will cost should instead be diverted to appropriate child protection authorities and police to prevent the abuse of children, and towards effective community-based education strategies that give children and parents the skills to protect themselves.
Further, PC-level filtering software should be promoted to and provided to parents that wish to protect their children from inappropriate internet content.
No other Western democracy has mandatory ISP-level internet filtering. Australians should not have to sacrifice their freedoms to make Australia a world-leader in ineffective Internet censorship.

Save the Children opposes internet filter

ICANN says Web filters will "embarrass" Aussie Govt

Final departures

Letter writers in The Oz have put THAT event held in the U. S. of A. this week in perspective.

The phony cacophony

I THOUGHT the world had gone mad but was reassured when I read so many letters (Most Talked About, 10/7) questioning the ridiculous adulation of Michael Jackson and the phony cacophony heard in much of the media. Graham Pascoe’s letter was interesting; I thought I knew just about everything about Bing Crosby, until I read how quietly he departed this world. It was a similar situation with his buddy Bob Hope. No fanfare, just resting in hospital at the end, in the presence of his wife Dolores. A comic to the end, his reply to his wife’s question “Where would you like to be buried?” was a simple, “Surprise me”.

Frank Bellet
Petrie, Qld

Okay, so you'd like to know what Graham Pascoe had to say in his letter. Read it below.

THE Hollywood-style hoopla surrounding Michael Jackson’s memorial service contrasts with another Hollywood funeral almost 32 years ago. Great as he was, Jackson’s accomplishments are dwarfed by Bing Crosby, who had the most number one pop music hits ever (38), was the number one movie box-office attraction five years in a row (1944-48) and in the top 10 a total of 15 times and was a major US radio star from 1931 to 1954.

Believing a man had a right to “die in privacy”, Crosby was buried at 6am (when the blue of the night meets the gold of the day) on October 18, 1977. Only his immediate family and closest friends were allowed to be present. Crosby revolutionised popular music in the 1930s but is now largely forgotten. Will Jackson’s achievements suffer the same fate?

Graham Pascoe
Bathurst, NSW

Source: The Australian

It's Enrol To Vote Week across Australia from 27 July - 2 August 2009

From Australian Electoral Commission media release on 30 June 2009:

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is encouraging more secondary schools to register for national Enrol to Vote Week to be held from 27 July to 2 August this year.

Electoral Commissioner Ed Killesteyn said over 1550 secondary schools and colleges across Australia had already registered to participate in Enrol to Vote Week and there was still time for other schools to get involved.

"Enrol to Vote Week involves the AEC working in partnership with Australian secondary schools to encourage 17- and 18-year-old students to enrol to vote."

Mr Killesteyn said Enrol to Vote Week last year received strong support from over 1700 participating schools, with over 20,000 enrolment forms collected as part of the initiative.

"Currently one in five 18 to 24-year-olds is not enrolled to vote, increasing to around one in two 18-year-olds not enrolled. In addition, many 17-year-olds are not aware that they can enrol now so they are able to vote as soon as they turn 18," he said.

"This year the focus of Enrol to Vote Week is to encourage and assist 17-year-olds to enrol so they are automatically able to vote as soon as they turn 18. Our message is that enrolling to vote is not something you have to wait until you're 18 to do."

Mr Killesteyn said AEC officers would be available for in-school visits during Enrol to Vote Week and would support students in completing their enrolment forms at school.

Schools can register to participate in Enrol to Vote Week 2009 by visiting www.enroltovoteweek.aec.gov.au or by calling 13 23 26 and selecting the Enrol to Vote Week option.

The website has more information about the initiative, as well as a search feature to enable anyone to see which schools in their local community are participating.

Website: http://www.enroltovoteweek.aec.gov.au/
Hotline: 13 23 26 (select the Enrol to Vote Week option)

For all those who grew up in 1950s Australia and.......

.......had a little difficulty reconciling Beatrix Potter's cute anthropomorphized English rabbits with the annual rabbit drive down on the grandparent's farm.

The distance of years rekindles the enchantment.

LOL from I Can Has Cheezburger

Clarence Valley Council's 'man in the kilt' retiring

Happy retirement, Bob!

The Maclean office of the Clarence Valley Council just won't be the same after today. Its happy meet-and-greet face, aka Bob Nicoll, is taking his leave from that place today.

Bob is well known for his work attire - in fact he is very readily identified because he dons a kilt. Well, Maclean does claim to be Australia's Scottish town!

Bob's attention to local ratepayers and other visitors to the council's Maclean office has been A-1 and he'll be sorely missed.

Well done, Bob!

Read a piece about Bob in The Daily Examiner here.
Images from The Daily Examiner.

Lower Clarence Art & Crafts Spectacular

The Lower Clarence Art & Crafts Association presents its
44th open competitive original arts and crafts exhibition.

Art & Craft Spectacular 2009

at the Maclean High School
9am- 4pm, 17-19 July 2009
Refreshments available
Admission $3.00
Children under 16 - no charge

For further information, contact LCACA on (02) 6645 3700 or

http://www.ferryparkgallery.org.au/