School children used as weapons in flying fox fight

This whole sorry saga could have been avoided if the Gulmarrad Public School staff member responsible for choosing articles to be submitted to The Daily Examiner had acted as a responsible educator.

One has to suspect that one or more adults having direct contact with these primary school children decided to use them as a vehicle to spread their own particular anti-flying fox bias. The level of misinformation in the short article in question defies any other explanation.

Children have a right to participate in community debate, but do not have an automatic right to always be protected from learning from their mistakes. Hopefully they will learn that one does not necessarily implicitly trust the views of another person simply because they are older in years or blindly accept the opinions of journalists because these have been published in print or online.

One has to also hope that those who learnt the most valuable lesson from this episode will be the parents and teachers of Clarence Valley school children, so that in the future they provide information supported by fact with regard to Australian native wildlife.

The Daily Examiner 23 May 2012:

Bat track success

I WRITE to thank the numerous people that assisted the Maclean High School Bat Tracking Project and contributed to providing a quality experience for the students.
The project aimed to engage local students of Maclean High School in wildlife research and forms part of their HSC Biology Course. It involved trapping and collaring flying-foxes to track their movements. Despite a few initial obstacles and very early starts, the students (and their parents) persevered and thoroughly enjoyed the field work component.
Everyone worked well as a team and learnt a lot - about each other, about bats and about the controversy of working with this particular group of animals.
The team caught a total of 63 flying-foxes at the Yamba colony and attached four satellite transmitters to adult males. Already we are getting great movement data from these tagged animals. One flying-fox (named "Wayne" by the students) is flying a huge 32km nightly to feed in coastal paperbark forest south of Sandon Village.
A lot of volunteer work by many people over many months made this project a success and I am truly grateful for all the hard work.
The project was supported by a handful of dedicated volunteers, parents of students, local businesses and community groups as well as both local and state governments. Thank you also to Deborah Novak for donating her time and expertise to produce great photos and videos of the project.
Lastly, it was a pleasure to work with these inquisitive, hard-working and bright students and I look forward to continuing to track the activities of the flying-foxes with them over the coming months. Such projects are extremely rewarding for so many people and I hope that similar wildlife project continue at local schools.
To see a small one-minute film go to http://vimeo.com/42398697.

BILLIE ROBERTS

Wildlife Biologist

Harwood

The Gulmarrad Gazette in The Daily Examiner 29 May 2012:

Bats, bats, bats

WHAT do you think about bats? We have been around most of the classrooms at Gulmarrad School to see what students think about the bats.
A high percentage of the children recommend that that the bats should be removed from Maclean.
It is a health hazard and not to mention the destruction of our rainforest.
The bats are a big health hazard because their poo is dropped all over the school grounds and all over the kids' lunches. This is terribly bad because it spreads horrible diseases including the Hendra virus. This disease can make people and students very sick and can even result in death.
Secondly the bats are destroying the rainforest and killing all the native animals and their native habitats. Bats are also destroying our beautiful trees and shredding their branches. If the bats do not go soon there might not be a rainforest left for your child and their children to enjoy.
Thirdly students are getting distracted in class because of all the noise the bats are making. Also when a loud sound is made the bats go crazy and circle around the school creating an even louder racket.
In conclusion, the students of Gulmarrad School strongly believe that the Maclean bats should be removed immediately. It is a giant health hazard for the students of Maclean High School and members of the wider community and we hope that when we go there next year they are gone forever and only a distant memory.
Think about your kid's health and education; it might be on the line.

Kalisha Mueller and Matilda Arndell

The Daily Examiner 2 June 2012:

Flying foxes faux pas

PERHAPS the Gulmarrad Gazette Newspapers in Education pages published by the Examiner on 29/5/2012 should be called Newspapers in Miseducation.
I refer to the piece entitled "Bats, bats, bats," which contains far more fiction than fact about flying foxes. If I were a teacher at Gulmarrad School, I would be ashamed to be exposing to the general public mine and my students total lack of knowledge about these animals. Presumably a teacher read this poor excuse for an article before sending it for publication, and chose not to take the opportunity to educate these misinformed students so that they could provide a factual, useful story, instead propagating lies and unnecessary worries about the situation at Maclean High School.
Just a couple of the falsehoods in the story are:
1. the bats' "poo...spreads horrible diseases such as the Hendra virus." It doesn't. Hendra simply cannot be contracted by humans from flying foxes.
2. "Bats are destroying the rainforest and killing all the native animals and their native habitats". They aren't. Humans have already destroyed almost all of the rainforest so that flying foxes are now concentrated in the remnants. Many rainforest trees would die out if it weren't for flying foxes pollinating them and dispersing their seeds, contributing significantly to rainforest ecology. And flying foxes are herbivores, causing the deaths of no native animals.
As for the statement that when a "loud sound is made the bats go crazy and circle around ... making an even louder racket": wouldn't this be an argument against the illegal noise used by residents, and illegal and legal noise made at times by the Maclean High School, to intentionally disturb the bats?
I understand that the Examiner editorship thinks that demonising bats sells more newspapers than presenting facts, let alone good news stories about them. A case in point is the article published recently about the vandalism by residents of equipment being used in the project involving Maclean High students in satellite tracking some flying foxes.
The Examiner seemed desperate to highlight the only negative aspect of the whole fascinating project, rather than take the opportunity to present a truly good news story, where students are learning some state-of-the-art scientific techniques, and thereby gaining insights into these animals that may lead to our managing bat-human interrelations better.
But I would seriously question the ethics of a newspaper publishing misinformation, albeit presented by teachers and students, in any context, without at least acknowledging that it is not factual.

Linda Wright

Lawrence NSW

ED'S NOTE: The Gulmarrad School has since arranged for an expert to visit the school to educate pupils further on flying foxes.

The Daily Examiner 6 June 2012:

Lay off the kids!

THE Newspapers in Education offered by the DEX is a wonderful and important opportunity for local school kids to share their opinions with our community.
This opportunity for a class of Gulmarrad kids has sadly resulted in a personal attack on their efforts, their teacher and their school.
While Linda Wright's (DEX, June 2) intention may have been to highlight misinformation presented by students in regard to Maclean's bat colony, such a personal attack on children as young as 10 and 11, hard working teachers, an entire school was inappropriate.
Regardless of "the context", what will the kids ultimately learn from this experience?
Simply, that if you make a mistake in your delivery, an adult in your community will personally attack and humiliate you, your teacher and your school for it.
Have you considered the kids whose first attempts at persuasive writing you described as "a poor excuse," and worse, to be "ashamed" of their efforts?
Your intention may have been to correct misinformation, your approach was heavy handed.
I feel for the parents of the children who wrote the article, who must now explain why an adult feels it is acceptable to defame a child's character, and school, for expressing a different opinion to their own - with or without facts. We are talking about kids here.
Furthermore, teachers at Gulmarrad are not in the habit of deliberately peddling untruths as you suggest.
I am offended that you have questioned the ability of a quality teacher, without knowing anything about the dedicated professional he is.
You speak of the Maclean High School Project. I attended the counting night as an interested community member (with my two excited Gulmarrad children in tow), so that they could understand more about our fascinating colony.
On return to school, my daughter's teacher invited her to share the same facts you list in your letter.
She was so proud of her involvement in the study, and that her knowledge was valued by her teacher and shared in her classroom. Unfortunately she is now upset and offended by your letter, because you claim she is bereft of the knowledge she learnt first hand from this experience.
Linda, your passion and knowledge could have been best shared, (and so greatly appreciated), in the classroom speaking with these kids, rather than publicly shaming not only them, but their entire school.
This would at least have given the class a chance to present all their knowledge on this controversial topic.
In future, please leave Gulmarrad kids out of your ongoing argument with the Examiner.

BELINDA CAMERON

Gulmarrad

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.”