That mossie may do more than make you itch

Australian Government Dept. of Health National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System - current CDNA fortnightly report:

Between 7 and 20 February 2015, there were 1,073 notifications of Ross River virus (RRV) infection, compared with 542 during the previous period and 226 during the same period last year. During the past quarter there were 2,858 notifications, 2.3 times the quarterly rolling mean of 1,226 notifications (Figure 1). Notifications from Queensland account for most of this increase, and comprise 74% (799) of the notifications during the current fortnight.

Barmah Forest virus infection: this reporting period 38 notifications

Dengue virus infection: this reporting period 112 notifications.

UPDATE

The Daily Examiner 23 March 2015:

So far this year reported cases of Ross River Fever in the Northern Rivers district have totalled 319. For the same period last year there were 19 reported cases.

These figures have been mirrored across the state with almost 550 reported cases so far this year, compared to just 79 in the same period last year.

Autumn is the prime breeding season for mosquitoes and mosquito-borne viruses such as Ross River Fever and Barmah Forest Fever so the number of reported cases is expected to grow in the coming months.

Baird Government selling off the NSW Home Care Service if it wins 28 March 2015 state election

Over 18,000 people in New South Wales received federally funded high or low care community age care packages enabling them to continue living at home in 2011-12, their median age was 84.2 years.  

Most were women living in their own homes and many lived alone.

The most common reasons for people ceasing to use their age care packages was death or admission to residential age care.

The majority of agencies providing this care are not-for-profit organisations. [Australian Government Institute of Health and Welfare, Aged care packages in the community 2010–11: A statistical overview]

Before accessing this range of packages, a number of these older people would have received short-term or crisis assistance through federal government funded Home and Community Care programs administered by the state via its own Home Care Service of NSW.

This includes services such as personal care, respite care, veterans’ home care, light housework, shopping and in remote areas meals and transport [www.adhc.nsw.gov.au, 2015]. Again, many of these services are run at local levels by not-for-profit organisations.

These are the vulnerable people (along with individuals under 65 years with a disability) within the est. 50,000 Home Care Service client base that the NSW Baird Government appears to be targeting in its announcement that it intends to fully privatise this service in or before July 2016 by sale to one successful bidder.

Seventy-eight per cent of Home Care Service clients are 65 years of age or older and from culturally diverse backgrounds, most receive less than ten hours assistance per week but 2 per cent receive sixty hours or more per week [NSW Family & Community Services, 2014].

Two foreign multinational corporations have expressed an interest in this privatisation.

The first is BUPA which is predominately a private medical insurer with some hospital and age care facilities and the second is SERCO which operates public and private transport and traffic control, aviation, military weapons, detention centres, prisons, non-clinical hospital management & support services and schools on behalf of its current customers.

As the result of two separate investigations SERCO had to repay over £70 million to the U.K. Government in 2013 due to overcharging for justice/prison services and is alleged to have millions more in overcharging for national health services on the books in 2014.

It has also been the subject of a number of human rights abuse allegations and was once described as having a culture of “institutional meanness” by the U.K. Chief Inspector of Prisons [Centre for Policy Development, March 2012].

BUPA has been implicated in “inadequate treatment”/”sub-optimal nursing care” during respite care at one of its facilities on the NSW North Coast [State Coroner’s Court, Inquest 140588, 26-28 March 2014].  

In 2011 its Bexley Aged Care Facility was the scene of “unsatisfactory professional conduct…professional misconduct” including a staff member on more than one occasion making an elderly man beg for a cigarette on his hands and knees [Nursing and Midwifery Tribunal of New South Wales, Matter No: 028/2013].

In 2011-12 the U.K. Care Quality Commission found a Southampton care home run by BUPA & others in oversight partnership was “at risk” of failure two years after opening [Hon John Denham MP, February 2012] and a 2007 U.K. inquest reportedly found BUPA’s level of care provided to the 91-year-old “seriously disturbing” [Watford Observer, “Coroner condemns Bupa nursing home for death”, 23 April 2009].

Media reports state that NSW Disability Services Minister John Ajaka refused to rule out a sale of the Home Care Service to either BUPA or SERCO.

I fear this privatisation move by the Baird Government will not end well for people living in the Clarence electorate and elsewhere in the Northern Rivers region.

Australia: still discovering the wonders it contains

CBS NEWS 4 March 2015:

A moth with iridescent gold and purple wings that dates back to at least 40 million years ago has been discovered in Australia.

About the size of a small coin, scientists are calling Enigmatinea glatzella a living dinosaur. Using DNA analysis, an international team described their find in the journal Systematic Entomology.

It is the first time since the 1970s that a new family of primitive moths has been identified anywhere in the world.

The enigma moth lives on Kangaroo Island of South Australia's coast in Southern Cypress pine trees, a very ancient element of our flora going back to the supercontinent Gondwana. The lives of these adult moths are short. They emerge from their cocoons, mate, females lay their eggs, and then die - all in one day....

International Women's Day 2015 in Australia: now this is irony at its best

The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) hosted its official International Women’s Day event at the Tattersalls Club, a private membership club for men since 1865.

Women have access to this club but only as partners of members. They are welcome to obtain a Partners Card, providing them with access to Club facilities and services. Partners are also welcome to bring guests to the Club, or enjoy the amenities at their own leisure.

The advertised keynote speaker at this event on 6 March 2015 was acting Parliamentary Speaker Fiona Simpson who cannot apply for membership of this club on the basis of her gender.

Other listed speakers were Federal President of the Nationals Christine Ferguson and wife of the Deputy Prime Minster Lyn Truss.

Most of the women attending this function were able to do so because the club has commercial function rooms available to non-members for corporate events, private functions or weddings and the LNP availed itself of these facilities.

This was the Australian Minister for Women, Prime Minister Tony Abbott, mockingly misleading both parliament and voters on the subject according to Hansard on 4 March 2015:

 See: http://youtu.be/z9I32hpoQeo

Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (14:54): Madam Speaker, this is just how wonderful this broad church is that I lead. Obviously, they have now broken down the last barrier, and they have made the men-only club admit women.

Government members: Hear, hear!

Mr ABBOTT: Isn't that fantastic! At last this bastion of chauvinism has admitted women. They have admitted women, and they have done it on International Women's Day because of the Liberal National Party. Good on the Liberal-National Party for smashing the glass ceiling yet again. Yet again, we are smashing the glass ceiling. I say congratulations, and thank God! Thank God that bastion of old fashioned chauvinism has finally collapsed like the walls of Jericho at the trumpet cry of the Liberal-National Party!

LNP Women vice-president Peta Simpson when questioned about the choice of venue invited ridicule by attempting to compare using these public function rooms with African-American Rosa Parks’ defiance of white supremacy in Alabama in 1955 and also saying in further defence of this choice; “But how can we celebrate international women’s day knowing that there’s not an international men’s day – and then when the men do want to have something that’s for themselves, we can’t respect it?”.

The irony of this position is noted in a nation which while expressing aspirations towards gender equality still exhibits structural disadvantage/institutional and cultural bias against women.

In Australia an estimated 1 in 6 women have experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner [Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety] and, in the fifty-two weeks of last year 81 women died by violence. In 2015 the count had reached 17 women by 2 March – that’s two women killed each week [Destroy the Joint 2015].

Historically and currently working women earn less per week on average than their male counterparts with official statistics showing that by November 2014 male average weekly earnings was $1,371.50 which represented a growth in males earning of est. $46 a year since November 2004, but for females average weekly earnings was the much lower $887.90 which represented a growth in female earning of less than est. $30 a year since November 2004 [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6302.0].

The national unemployment rate for persons 20-74 years in 2012-13 was the same for both males and females, however the underemployment rate for this same age cohort was 9.0% for females and 5.1% for males [Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender Indicators, Australia, Feb 2015].  

In addition, The Australia Institute in December 2014 stated; women account for almost half of the workforce (46 per cent), they have enjoyed only a 32 per cent share of income tax cuts dealt out since 2005. Of a cumulative total $169 billion delivered back to workers, $115 billion has gone to men, and $54 billion has gone to women…. Women earn less and stand to lose more, with 55 per cent of the government’s budget cuts set to come from the pockets of Australian women between now and 2017.

Although more females than males between 15 and 65 years of age had completed high school or its equivalent and, more females in that age group had a Bachelor degree or higher tertiary qualification in 2014 [Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014], only 19.8% of all companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) have women as directors and on 31 January 2015 the percentage of women on ASX 200 boards was 19.4% [Australian Institute of Company Directors, 2015]. This month it was reported that were only 23 female chairs or chief executive officers of ASX 200 companies, with the remaining 377 chair and CEO positions held by males [Perth Now, 6 March 2015].

Women are not equally represented in the public service sector either, but do fare better as the Latest data from the Australian Public Service Commission shows that women occupied 40% of Senior Executive Service positions, and 47% of Executive Level positions in the Australian Public Service in 2014. These figures are unchanged from 2013 [Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender Indicators, Australia, Feb 2015].

Starting salaries for new university graduates show a 4.4 per cent wage gap between average annual salaries offered to men and those offered to women across 22 occupation groups, with men receiving up to $4,700 more than women [Graduate Careers Australia, June 2014].

Across Australia women continue to be significantly under-represented in parliament and executive government, comprising less than one-third of all parliamentarians and one-fifth of all ministers [Parliament of Australia, Politics and Public Administration Section, July 2014].

According to the Right Now organisation; In a 2013 survey, women account for only 20% of partners in Australian law firms. In other recent data, women account for only 20% of the bar where women barristers have shorter appearance times than their male counterparts. Women constitute 16% of the bench in the Federal Court. A 2013 Monash University gender study indicated that a female barrister making oral argument before the High Court of Australia, with a male barrister opposing, is less likely to receive the vote of a justice in the majority.

In Australia women born in 2010-2012 have a life expectation 3.4 years longer than men. However, indigenous women in the same cohort have a life expectation which is 11.3 years less than non-indigenous women and 6 years less than non-indigenous males. In 2012, almost 1,500 of the deaths of Indigenous people living in NSW, Qld, WA, SA and the NT were avoidable. After age-adjustment, the rate of avoidable deaths was 3.7 times higher for Indigenous people than for their non-Indigenous counterparts. [Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, Mortality, 2013].

It is noted that institutional racism may be a factor in female mortality rates as the Chair of The Social Determinants of Health Alliance stated in February 2014; "When an Indigenous person is admitted to hospital, they face twice the risk of death through a coronary event than a non-Indigenous person and concerningly, Indigenous people when having a coronary event in hospital are 40 percent less likely to receive a stent* or a coronary angiplasty. ...institutional racism is resulting in Indigenous people not always receiving the care that they need from Australia's hospital system" and a spokesperson for the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association added "Whereas Aboriginal people may present to hospitals often later and sicker, the sort of treatment they might get once in hospital, is not necessarily reflect[ing] that higher level of ill health. We've got to ask some questions there and why is it that the sickest people are not necessary getting the equitable access to healthcare."

Despite there being no evidence to suggest that an increase in actual crime accounted for the prison increase, female imprisonment rates have doubled since 2004 and indigenous women appear to account for much of this increase [Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014].

The scant data that exists on human slavery or slavery-like practices in Australia to date suggests that the majority of persons kept in slavery, servile marriage, sexual servitude and/or forced labour within this country are female. In 2009 of those identified victims suspected of being trafficked 188 were female and 21 were male.

When it comes to dissemination of information on female participation in the arts, this is the September 2013 example I offer; Stella Count shows the literary pages of Australia's newspapers have once more featured fewer books by women than by men.

I sincerely doubt that many of the Liberal and Nationals supporters who attended that luncheon at the Tattersall's Club would even be aware of the extent of female vulnerability and disadvantage in this country, because the current crop have so obviously drunk the political Kool-Aid supplied by their leader, Tony Abbott.

Tweet of the Week

On the subject of Australian Government policy changes and budget cut backflips.....

Celebrating language and song

Wildflower - Galiwin'ku

http://youtu.be/rmLVxRS_Sxs

The Abbott Government's first Intergenerational Report examined through jaundiced eyes

Peter Martin, Economics Editor of The Age newspaper observed on 3 March 2015:

The Intergenerational Report is required by law every 5 years. It assesses the long-term sustainability of the government's policies 40 years into the future. This one will take us through to 2055. It's 2 month's late, although that's not the fault of the treasury. Finance minister Mathias Cormann was keen to tell the Senate that it's a report of the government, not the treasury. It's inherently political. Sensitivities over its immigration projections (and possibly what it will say about climate change) have delayed it as government ministers have tossed drafts back and forth.

So what does the Abbott Government tell us in its first and Australia’s fourth Intergenerational Report?

Well, it tells us in those 145 pages that Australia has an economy that has had an unprecedented 23 year stretch of unbroken economic growth that is continuing today as I write.

It seems the nation also has a well-functioning health system.

Both of these admissions will come as a surprise to many because since the Coalition won government in September 2013 we have been repeatedly told that the country was facing a ‘debt and deficit disaster’ and, the health system was on the financial sick list so we needed to put our hands in our pockets to pay GPs a bit extra because government couldn’t afford to continue paying the Medicare rebate bill.

For some strange reason the federal government appears to believe that all males and females born since November 2013 have an average life expectancy at birth of 91.5 and 93.6 years today when what the Australian Bureau of Statistics actually said on 7 November 2013 was; "A boy born today could expect to live 79.9 years, while a girl could expect to live 84.3 years. For those approaching retirement age, say 65 years, males could expect to live a further 19 years and females a further 22 years". It defies belief that Joe Hockey and Mathias Cormann believe that in just on sixteen months life expectancy at birth has risen 11.6 years for males and 9.3 years for females.

The federal government also informs us that the elderly are living an inconveniently long time and, in its opinion more of them should remain at work or go back to work after retirement age because they are costing the government too much to keep alive - even at the minimum levels of income support and physical care it is willing to fund.

It tells us that workers’ average weekly wage will increase over the next forty years, but not at the rate wages have over the last forty years and government expects all workers to put shoulders to the wheel in order to be more productive – and swallow the reforms allegedly required to make them all that bit more competitive and flexible.

To that end its review of Australia’s workplace relations framework is apparently an important building block in facilitating the development of new markets, and allow businesses and the public sector to harness innovation.

The young had a national unemployment rate of 14.2% in January 2015 and will probably face a high unemployment rate into the future as it appears the only solution the Abbott Government has to date is to make applicants under 25 years of age wait six months before unemployment benefits and make them also ‘work for the dole’.  Presumably because, along with people with disabilities, young unemployed people are expected to generate gains in GDP and income growth over the next 40 years.

By 2055 the Abbott Government thinks that government will only need to spend an extra $400 of its own money per student to keep primary, high school and tertiary education in tip top shape.

It expects that federal government won’t be spending more money in forty years’ time on defence materiel than it does today.

Infrastructure is good to have and the nation needs MOAR & MOAR, but the Abbott Government is not quite sure how we are going to get all those roads, tunnels, by-passes, bridges, railway lines and ports it is lusting after - except perhaps by 'efficiently' selling off some which exist already to its rich mates and the foreign power best new friends of Tony Abbott.

The Abbott Government has included a handy little graph at Page 35 which shows that by 30 June 2014 its own spending spree had increased the underlying cash balance and output gap deficit to around 3% and 1.75% of GDP respectively.

Apparently the nation needs strong economic growth and a sustainable budget before it can tackle climate change. Part of any effort to mitigate those pesky adverse impacts caused by global warming is to take a proverbial broom to the countryside – because we need “Clean land” and “Clean air”– and one of the best ways to achieve that is to continue hacking away at ‘green tape’ thereby weakening the community’s ability to protect the environment.

Confident that it will get its data retention legislation through parliament the Abbott Government intends to deliver government services digitally, thereby making the forthcoming  mass surveillance of the populace as detailed as possible. Australia is about to become a hackers Nirvana sometime before 2055 and, people living in remote and rural regions will probably still face a level of difficulty in reliably accessing the Internet and therefore have intermittent problems accessing these same government services.

As for net migration, it is expected to be an est. 215,000 people per annum from 2018 onwards and, Australia’s population is predicted to be 39.7 million in 40 years’ time. Which must leave local governments across the country wondering where they are collectively going to put around 427,027 extra residents each year.

The bottom line appears to be that if Australia wants a bright and prosperous future, then every one of the Abbott Government’s punitive policies and budget cuts, rejected by voters and the Senate to date, need to be implemented.

Now who didn’t see that coming?