This blog is open to any who wish to comment on Australian society, the state of the environment or political shenanigans at Federal, State and Local Government level.
This
shark swam among surfers at Pippi Beach, Yamba, for 20 or so minutes.
Seemingly surfers were oblivious to the shark’s presence. Image:
Jesseaphoto.com
It
was just like any other day at Pippi Beach, Yamba, on Saturday
February 27; the sun was shining, the waves were breaking and the
wind was favourable … as a shark swam among surfers for at least 20
minutes – and no one noticed or, if they did, they didn’t care.
Surf
and ocean orientated photographer Jesse Jennings captured the
extended moment on camera.
Jesse
says she has lived in Yamba “for the last year or so” and she
that particularly likes flying her drone around Pippi Beach and Yamba
Point at its northern end.......
Green Turtle hatchings making their way to the sea near Evans Head, NSW IMAGE: Rick Pagotto
NSW
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment,
media
release,
9 March 2021:
Furious
flipper action has been seen on a remote beach near Evans Head as
tiny sea turtle hatchlings emerged from their buried nest and made a
break for the ocean.
Green
turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchling, Evans Head
Andy
Marshall from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said
more than 100 Green Turtles hatched last week and their first moments
were caught on camera by a local photographer coincidently walking
the beach.
“These
eggs have been incubating underneath the sand since around December
and the hatchlings all emerged over a few hours in the early dawn,”
said Mr Marshall.
“NPWS
and NSW TurtleWatch are keeping a keen eye on around 7 more sea
turtle nests along the coast as they should also hatch over the next
few months.
“Along
the NSW coast we expect the hatchlings will either be green turtles
(Chelonia mydas) like the ones we saw at Evans Head or the endangered
loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), both are generally around 5cm in
length when born.
“If
anyone sees a hatchling please don’t pick it up or interfere with
its path to the sea, instead report it immediately to NPWS or NSW
TurtleWatch so we make sure these little ones make it safely to the
water,” Mr Marshall said.
Holly
West from NSW TurtleWatch says early reports and information from the
public is vital in being about to monitor these hatchlings.
“With
such a large coastline to cover it is likely that we could have
missed some nests being laid and may miss them hatching so public
help at this time is vital,” said Ms West.
“Hatchlings
should emerge at night as they are safer from predators and the heat
of the sand but there are of course always stragglers, so we are
asking people to keep their eyes peeled, especially close to sunset
and sunrise.
“As
well as reporting all sightings, you can help these baby turtles by
removing your rubbish from the beaches, drive slowly along the
beaches, and stay off the dunes,” Ms West said.
If
you find a sea turtle hatchling along the beach please notify NSW
TurtleWatch immediately on 0468 489 259, or contact NPWS on 1300
0PARKS.
NSW
TurtleWatch has been developed by Australian Seabird Rescue, in
partnership with NSW Government's Saving Our Species program. Visit
Saving
Our Species for more information on green
turtles.
Public
hearings begin on 19 March in Sydney, with one hearing scheduled for
the NSW North Coast at Lismore on 16 June 2021.
Submission
excerpts as examples of what the Inquiry has heard thus far
“Increase
in work load adding pressure to perform unreasonable duties on your
shift, resulting in working past your finishing time to complete
patient notes and not getting paid to stay back, missed morning teas
and lunch breaks due to patient work loads, overtime due to staff
calling in sick and staff leaving the service due to burn out and not
getting replaced, bullying from senior management is rife, medication
errors due to over worked and high stress levels all caused by
management, staff are being put on performance management programs
due to, not being able to perform duties on shift, due to patient
work loads, morale is at its lowest, nurses victimised for
complaining or putting in an imms, lack of recruitment
and the process being very complex and sometimes taking over 3 months
to recruit a single nurse, our patients deserve much better from the
health system which is broken and putting nurses registration at
risk, with no support from management”[Name Suppressed, Submission No.2 out of 703 submissions received by
Inquiry Into Health Outcomes And Access To Health And Hospital
Services In Rural, Regional And Remote New South Wales]
“In
November 2016 my mum had a fall and broke her pelvis. She was taken
to Maitland Public hospital . She had suffered brain surgery and
radiation treatment earlier in the year. She was 84. On the first day
of her admission to hospital a resident doctor shocked both my father
and myself telling us she would probably die not from the broken
pelvis but from being in hospital. My dad and myself visited her
every day for the next 8 weeks. She was sent to a neighbouring
hospital at Kurri Kurri 3 times and returned twice with infections
and delirious and we were never actually told why she was
deteriorating so much. She would be very agitated saying she was not
attended to when she wanted to go to the toilet. Then she was told
she needed to try to walk and was using a walker, then all of a
sudden that was taken away and a nurse said she was never supposed to
start rehab yet. So much confusion and no one still explained to us
exactly what would happen to her. No communications or accurate ones
anyway.
And
then it was Christmas we were going to try to get her home just for a
couple of hours but on Christmas Eve she apparently had a stroke and
was transferred close to a nurses station for observation her
confusion level was beyond belief. On the day after Boxing Day I got
a call from my dad very upset saying they were transferring mum back
to Kurri hospital for rehab. I was very angry with this decision and
went straight to Maitland hospital mum was screaming pleading not to
be taken back there as she had already been there twice and sent back
very sick both times. I argued with the nurse that it should not
happen but she said there was no choice as it was about numbers. we
were allowed to go in the ambulance with mum and she was crying all
the way, even the ambulance drivers seemed upset. When we arrived at
Kurri hospital we were met by a nurse who made a comment that surely
someone else could have been transferred today.
Mum
died two days later she was broken by this stage and made a comment
to me that when you get to a certain age they don’t care about you
any more. I said it wasn’t true at the time but ponder that
question every day. Mum was a wonderful Wife, Mother, grandmother ,
great grandmother, sister and friend to many I miss her every day. My
daughter sent a letter to Maitland Hospital and we did receive an
apology for her treatment after an investigation.
Too
late.”
[Name
Supplied,
Submission No.7
out of 703
submissions
received by Inquiry Into Health Outcomes And Access To Health And
Hospital Services In Rural, Regional And Remote New South Wales]
“The
Tweed Hospital is a Peer Group B hospital that currently has 255 beds
and Level 5 emergency department.
Currently
at Tweed Hospital, Nursing Hours Per Patient Day wards (Medical and
Surgical) are funded at 5.5 hrs instead of the 6.0 hrs that Peer
Group A hospitals receive.
At
Tweed the Surgical and Medical Wards are no different to any other
wards of a city hospitals. The same type of patients with the same
level of acuity, but at Tweed Heads every patient receives 0.5 hrs
less care due to their postcode.
Our
Hospital routinely has between 95%-104% occupancy and 5.5 NHPPD has a
huge impact on delivering safe patient care and nursing workload.
Staffing
retention is also an issue here at Tweed Heads due to our proximity
to the Queensland Border, nurses no longer must put up with the
horrendous workload, risks to their registration or their ability to
deliver safe patient care. Many nurses have left the NSW system
preferring to work in Queensland at the University Hospital 20
minutes up the highway:
They
have Ratios 1:4
Education
Allowance of $1800 per year
100%
Salary Sacrifice
Higher
pay rate by $3,000 per year
Higher
penalty rates on Night Duty”
[Name
Supplied,
Submission No. 178
out of 703
submissions
received by Inquiry Into Health Outcomes And Access To Health And
Hospital Services In Rural, Regional And Remote New South Wales]
“In
March 2012 the LHD announced it would develop a Clinical Services
Plan for Coraki and surrounds to assess the health needs of the area
and make recommendations on how those needs could best be met. That
Plan was completed, with community input, in August 2012. It
recommended the adoption of a 'HealthOne Model of Care' - bringing
together Commonwealth- funded general practice and state-funded
primary and community health services in the one facility. After
considerable lobbying by the Reference Group the NSW Government
allocated $4 million for the construction of the HealthOne in 2016
and the facility was opened in May 2017.
According
to various publications by NSW Health the key features of the
HealthOne model that distinguishes it from other primary and
community health services are integrated care provided by co-located
general practice and community health services; organised multidisciplinary
team care; care across a spectrum of needs from prevention to
continuing care; and client and community involvement. In Coraki we
now have an impressive new HealthOne which has consulting rooms for
two GPs and houses a variety of community health practitioners.
Regrettably, since its opening it has not been possible to attract a
single GP to the purpose-built facilities. We feel we have a
HealthOne without a heart.
We
are aware the lack of a GP is not unique to Coraki and that it is
shared by many rural and regional communities across NSW. We are
hoping this inquiry will shine a light on this problem and spur
governments, both State and Commonwealth, to come up with solutions.
In
Coraki's case a possible solution might be to expand the HealthOne
into a Multi-Purpose Service. There is a 49-bed aged care facility
adjacent to the HealthOne (operated by Baptist Care) and the future
expansion of the HealthOne was allowed for in its planning and
design. The Reference Group notes that a recent Commonwealth
Government Report (Review of the Multi-Purpose Services Program -
2019), which was done in consultation with state and territory
governments, found that the MPS is a sound model for delivering
integrated health and aged care services in rural and remote
communities and made recommendations, which have in large part been
accepted by the Commonwealth Government, to strengthen and expand the
MPS program. An MPS in Coraki, with its expanded range of health
services and clients, would enhance the attractiveness of Coraki for
prospective GPs.
Finally,
we wish to draw the Committee's attention to the lack of an ambulance
in Coraki. While ambulances are available from Casino, Evans Head and
Lismore, the extra half hour they take to reach Coraki can be
critical….”[Name
Supplied,
Submission No. 179
out of 703
submissions
received by Inquiry Into Health Outcomes And Access To Health And
Hospital Services In Rural, Regional And Remote New South Wales]
“To
support our submission we would like to highlight anecdotal evidence
of an issue that is raised time and time again – The need for
increased funding for public health professionals working across the
cancer care coordination/ social work areas to be more available to
patients.
We
have heard of many case studies from patients across the Northern
Rivers and Far North Coast, ranging from private and public treatment
centres about such barriers to better health outcomes.
One
case study – a gentleman with Basal Cell Carcinoma of the outer
nose, lost most of the features of his nose after surgery. This
patient continued about his daily life with social anxiety, unable to
go back to a normal daily life. Until one day, quite simply he was
asked by a fellow patient to the reasons why he had not considered a
prosthetic nose free of charge through a charitable support scheme.
His heartbreaking response “I never had knowledge of such option,
or service available to someone like me with limited financial
means”. Please conceive, if only this patient had been linked to an
appropriate cancer care coordinator or social worker, his burden
could have been lifted much sooner and thus contributing to better
outcomes. How many more patients are currently in the same position?
Another
case study we would like to highlight is of a female who had
undergone lumpectomy just over the border in Queensland. A breast
cancer nurse who happened to be on shift advised - as this patient
was living in New South Wales and not Queensland, she was not
eligible to any support services. Therefore she was advised to go
home to Byron Hospital and request community social work support.
Once at Byron Bay Hospital, she was told that the hospital was only
issued with two community social worker services per week, and that
as it was now Thursday, they had already been handed out for the
week. This patient was left alone at home, without support and in
pain, not even able to slice a tomato for a salad. She was not even
given a phone number to contact. With so many questions and with no
one to turn to, she was left overwhelmed, scared and unsupported.
Had
there been a dedicated cancer care coordinator available to both
patients as highlighted in our case studies, they would have received
the appropriate care deserved and thus better health outcomes.
We
passionately could continue highlighting similar case studies as of
the two above, however we hope these testimonies clearly demonstrate
the priority need for increased funding for socio/emotional support
during and after treatment.”[Name
Supplied,
Submission No. 184
out
of 703
submissions
received by Inquiry Into Health Outcomes And Access To Health And
Hospital Services In Rural, Regional And Remote New South Wales]
All written submission made to the Inquiry can be found at
A
52 ha mixed soybean, corn and cane farm on the Casino Coraki Road in the NSW Northern Rivers plants sunflowers as a rotation crop.
When
the sunflowers are in full bloom in the roadside paddocks the mass
effect attracts both locals and tourists. Photos with the crop in the background seem to be the order of the day.
This
year cut sunflowers blooms were available at the roadside for a donation via a secure charity box to allow visitors depart
with a handful of sunshine.
All money raised went to the Casino
Cancer Group.
Hopefully
sunflowers will be a crop visible from the road again next year.
On
Wednesday 3 March 2021, Australian of the Year, 26 year-old Grace
Tame gave a televised National Press Club of Australia Address.
This
is the news.com.au
published transcript of that address. It does not include the
question and answer period at the end of the address:
“In
April of 2010, I was battling severe anorexia. Truth be told, I still
am.
“This
illness had nearly taken my life the year prior, and seen me
hospitalised twice. Bone thin and downed in fine down hairs from
malnourishment, I was picked on for the way I looked. My mum was
eight months pregnant at 45. I was a 15-year-old student at a private
girls’ school in Hobart.
“I
arrived later to discover the rest of my Year 10 classmates were
attending a driving lesson off campus I had completely forgotten
about. Lapses like this weren’t uncommon – I was barely there.
One of the senior teachers saw me walking around aimlessly in the
courtyard. He was very well respected, the head of maths and science
at the school for nearly 20 years. He taught me in Year 9. I thought
he was funny. He told me he had a free period and asked me to chat
with him in his office. He asked me about my illness, I talked, he
listened. He promised to help me, to guide me in my recovery.
“As
a teenager with no frame of reference, and thinking nothing odd of
this, I told my mother about the conversation. My parents had a
meeting with the school principal, requesting the teacher stay away
from me. In (a) meeting I then had, I think to apologise to him for
putting him in this position in front of the principal. I was told I
had done something wrong.
“Thus,
the first seeds of terror, confusion, and self-doubt were sewn in my
mind. Indeed, it didn’t make sense. In secret, he was adamant I
still come to see him. To talk. My parents were against me, he
insisted. I was not to tell them because they wouldn’t understand.
Pregnant women, he said, were full of hormones. That must be why my
mother and I were arguing.
“He
gave me a key in his office, where it was always music playing, and
the same music always, Simon and Garfunkel. Over a period of months
he made me feel safe. I was sexually abused as a six-year-old by an
older child who told me to undress in a closet before molesting me.
He told me he would never hurt me. Until he did. By way of a
masterful re-enactment I didn’t see coming. With a closet. And an
instruction to undress.
“Most
of you know the story from there. That is, how I lost my virginity to
a 58-year-old paedophile and spent the next six months being raped by
him at school nearly every day on the floor of his office. When I
reported him to police, he found 28 multimedia files of child
pornography on his computer. As per the lasting impact of and
manipulative grooming and a four months after the abuse, I
effectively defended him in my statement. I was terrified he would
find out I betrayed him and he would kill me. He was two years in
jail for maintaining a sexual relationship with a person under the
age of 17.
“Repairing
myself in the aftermath of all this was not a simple, linear
undertaking. For every step forward, there were steps back and to the
side, and some almost off the edge. I saw counsellor after
counsellor. But I also abused drugs, drank, moved overseas, cut
myself, threw myself into study, dyed my hair, made amazing
friendships, got ugly tattoos, worked for my childhood hero, found
myself in violent relationships, practised yoga, even became a yoga
teacher.
“I
starved, I binged, and I starved again. One of the toughest
challenges on my road to recovery was trying to speak about something
we were taught is unspeakable. I felt completely disconnected from
myself and everyone around me. Many people didn’t know how to
respond. That said, the ones who listened, the ones who were eager to
understand, even when they couldn’t, made all the difference.
“Still,
the doubt lingered. How could I have been so stupid, as to not see
what this man was doing from the outset? Was it my fault? Should I
have known it was a lie when he said he learned more from me than any
of his other students? Maybe I should have been more alarmed when he
asked me if I knew where my clitoris was. It was when the perpetrator
was released after serving 19 months for abusing me, correction,
maintaining a sexual relationship with me as a 15-year-old, and then
spoke freely to the media about how awesome it was, I realised we had
this all around the wrong way.
“Add
the fact this man was awarded a federally funded PhD scholarship to
the only university in my state. My mother was studying there. She
soon dropped out because of his presence. In fact, he was put in
student accommodation. Despite multiple reports to police by fellow
students of his predatory behaviour, and once again convicted and
jailed for his vulgar public comments during his PhD tenure, he was
eventually awarded a doctorate.
“After
all this, it became quite obvious to me why child sex abuse remains
ubiquitous in our society, while predators retain the power to get
what they want, to objectify their targets through free speech, the
innocent, survivors and bystanders alike, are burdened by a
shame-induced silence.
“I
connected with groundbreaking fellow survivor and journalist, Nina
Funnell. I needed to raise awareness and educate others about sexual
abuse and the prolonged psychological manipulation that belies it.
After months of recounting, retraumatising details, tearfully
transposed by Nina, we discovered we were barred by section 194k of
Tasmania’s evidence act, that made it illegal for survivors of
child sexual abuse to be identified by the media, even after turning
18, even with their consent. Nina created the Let Her Speak campaign
to reform this law. We were then joined by 16 other brave survivors
who lent their stories to the cause. The law was officially changed
in April last year, almost 10 years to the day from the beginning of
my story.
“It
is so important for our nation, the whole world, in fact, to listen
to survivors’ stories. “Whilst they’re disturbing to hear, the
reality of what goes on behind closed doors is more so. And the more
details we omit for fear of disturbance, the more we soften these
crimes. The more we shield perpetrators from the shame that is
resultedly misdirected to their targets. “When we share, we heal,
reconnect, and grow. Both as individuals and as a united strengthened
collective. History, lived experience, the whole truth, unsanitised,
and unedited, is our greatest learning resource. It is what informs
social and structural change. The upshot of allowing predators a
voice but not survivors encourages the criminal behaviour.
“Through
working with Nina, finally winning the right to speak, and talking
with fellow campaign survivors and countless other women and men who
have since come forward, it has become clear that there is the
potential to do so much more to support survivors of child sexual
abuse to thrive in life, beyond their trauma. And more so, to end
child sexual abuse. It is my mission to do so. And it begins right
now. As a fortunate nation, we have a particular obligation to
protect our most vulnerable. Our innocent children, and especially
those further disadvantaged through circumstance, being part of a
minority group, or geographical location. And there are three key
areas that we can focus on to achieve this.
“Number
one, how we invite, listen, and accept the conversation, and lived
experience of child sexual abuse survivors. You have heard me say it
before, it all starts with conversation. Number two, what we do to
expand our understanding of this heinous crime, in particular, the
grooming process, through both formal and informal education. Number
three, how we provide a consistent national framework that supports
survivors and their loved ones, not just in their recovery, but also
to disempower and deter predators from action.
“So,
what is it that we must do? First and foremost, let’s keep talking
about it. It’s that simple. Let’s start by opening up. It is up
it us as a community, as a country, to create a space, a national
movement where survivors feel supported and free to share their
truths. Let’s drive a paradigm shift of shame away from those who
have been abused and onto abusive behaviour. Let’s share the
platform to remind all survivors that their individual voice matters
amongst the collective. Every story is imbued with unique catalytic
educative potential that can only be told by the subject. Let us
genuinely listen, actively, without judgment, and without advice to
demonstrate empathy and reinsure it never was our fault. Further to
this point, while I must express my unflinching gratitude for this
new-found platform, I would like to take this particular opportunity
to directly address the media with a constructive reminder – the
need for which has become starkly apparent to me this past month.
“Hosts,
reporters, journalists, I say to you – listening to survivors is
one thing – repeatedly expecting people to relive their trauma on
your terms, without our consent, without prior warning, is another.
It’s sensation. It’s commodification of our pain. It’s
exploitation. It’s the same abuse. Of all the many forms of trauma,
rape has the highest rate of PTSD. Healing from trauma does not mean
it’s forgotten, nor the symptoms never felt again. Trauma lives on
in ourselves. Our unconscious bodies are steps ahead of our conscious
minds. When we’re triggered, we’re at the mercy of our emotional
brain. In this state, it’s impossible to discern between past and
present. Such is retraumatisation.
“I
cried more than once while writing this. Just because I’m been
recognised for my story doesn’t mean it’s fair game anywhere, any
time. It doesn’t get any easier to tell. I may be strong, but I’m
human, just like everyone else. By definition, truths cannot be
forced. So grant us the respect and patience to share them on our own
terms, rather than barking instructions like take us back to your
darkest moment, and ‘tell us about being raped’. The cycle of
abuse cannot be broken simply by replaying case histories, we cannot
afford to back track. Else, we’ll go around in circles, trapped in
a painful narrative, and we’ll all get tired, both as speakers and
listeners. We’ll want to switch off and give up. And retreat once
more into silence.
“On
average, it takes 23.9 years for survivors of child sexual abuse to
be able to speak about their experiences. Such is the success of
predators at instilling fear and self-doubt in the minds of their
targets. More so than they are masters of destroying our trust in
others, perpetrators are masters of destroying our trust in our own
judgment. In ourselves. Such is the power of shame. A power, though,
that is no match for love. When I disclosed my abuse to another of my
teachers, Dr William Simon, his absolute belief in me was the only
assurance I needed to tell the police. It helped me recover a little
of my lost faith in humanity. There certainly isn’t a single rigid
solution. Solutions will naturally come in due course by allowing and
enabling voices to be heard.
“Certainly,
talking about child sexual abuse won’t eradicate it, but we can’t
fix a problem we don’t discuss, so it begins with conversation.
Which brings me to my second point: from there, we need to expand the
conversation to create more awareness and education. Particularly
around the process of grooming.
“Grooming
– it’s a concept that makes us wince and shudder and as such, we
rarely hear about it. To the benefit of perpetrators. While it haunts
us, and we avoid properly breaking it down, the complexity and
secrecy of this criminal behaviour is what predators thrive on. In
turn, we enable them to charm and manipulate not just their targets,
but all of us at once, family, friends, colleagues and community
members, and this must stop. Our discomfort, our fear, and resulting
ignorance needs to stop giving perpetrators the power and confidence
that allows them to operate.
“As
a start, we should all be aware of what has been identified as the
six phases of grooming, that certainly ring true in my experience.
Number one, targeting. That is, identifying a vulnerable individual.
In my case, I was an innocent child, but I was anorexic, with
significant change happening at home. Number two, gaining trust. That
is, establishing a friendship and falsely lulling the target into a
sense of security, by empathising and assuring safety. For me, that
is what I thought was listening to my challenges. Empathising with my
situation, and providing me a safe space to retreat to when I needed
it. Number three, filling a need. That is, playing the person that
fills the gap in a target’s mental and emotional support. In my
case, although I was surrounded by an incredibly attentive family and
team of medical professionals, most of their support came in the form
of tough love. The teacher thus assumed the role of sympathiser,
telling me what I wanted to hear. Number four, isolating, driving
wedges between the target and their genuine supporters. This involves
pushing certain people away, but exploiting others. I remember
studying the film Iron Jawed Angels in history. The main character is
force fed, much like I had been. Aware of my distress upon seeing
this, my history teacher quietly led me out of the classroom. I said
nothing. But she took me straight to his office. Where she left me
with him. Panicked, in tears. It wasn’t until many years later I
questioned why she and other staff would take me to him when I was
upset. Staff he privately mocked and referred to as ‘the menopausal
virgins club’. He must have told them. Number five, sexualising.
That is, gradually introducing sexual content as to normalise it. In
my case, in conjunction with subtly explicit conversation, I was
carefully exposed to material that glorified relationships between
characters with significant age differences. There was one film in
particular he made me watch, called The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,
the last line of which, ‘Give me a girl at an impressible age, and
she is mine for life’.
“And
remember how I said Simon and Garfunkel was always playing? Their
music was the soundtrack to The Graduate. He made me watch that too.
It was, both literally and figuratively, The Sound of Silence. You
know the lyrics. The vision that was planted in my brain, still
remains, within The Sound of Silence. Number six, maintaining
control. That is, striking a perfect balance between causing pain and
providing relief from that pain. To condition the target to feel
guilt at the thought of exposing a person that also appears to care
for them. Abusers scare you into silent submission. At over six foot,
he towered above me. He once told me a story about a friend of his
who sought revenge on a woman by digging her eyes out with a spoon.
He told me he killed people as a soldier. He’d also sit outside on
my street at night in his car, to watch me undress through the
window. I was already embarrassed by my shape as a young teenager in
eating disorder recovery. I remember standing naked behind his desk
after he had just raped me, and asking him if he thought I was fat.
He looked me up and down and said, ‘You could do with some more
exercise’. Like I was a dog. But he also told me I was beautiful.
See, how it is all stiflingly, painfully complex?
“But
as we talk more about child sexual abuse, our lived experiences and
what we know, our understanding of this premeditated evil will
continue to develop. We need to warn our children, age appropriately,
of the signs and characteristic behaviours, while educating how to
report it, should it happen to them, or to those around them. This is
a serious enough topic, unfortunately too common in occurrence for us
to hope that kids know this. So I challenge our education system to
look for ways to more formally educate our children. Because we know
that education is our primary means of prevention.
“And
finally, to my third point, we need structural change. A national
system that supports and protects survivors and deals with crimes in
proportion to their severity. Let’s start by considering the
implications of linguistics related to offences. Through Let Her
Speak campaign efforts, we saw the wording of my abuser’s charge
officially changed from maintaining a sexual relationship to a person
under 17, to the persistent sexual abuse of a child. Think about the
difference in the crime according to the language of both of these.
Think about the message it sends to the community. Think about the
message it sends survivors. Where empathy is placed, where blame is
placed, and how punishment is then given. We need to protect our
children not just from the physical, mental, and emotional pain of
these hideous crimes, but from the long lasting sometimes lifelong
trauma that accompanies it. Whilst national structural change is no
small feat, nor is educating our children on the dangers and the
complexities of grooming, it is work that needs to be done and we
need to start somewhere.
“Let’s
start by reviewing our linguistics and agreeing between ourselves. We
have eight different state and territory jurisdictions and eight
different definitions of consent. We need to agree on something as
absolute as what consent is. We need a uniform, state and federal,
national standard definition of consent. Only then can we effectively
teach this fundamentally important principle consistently around
Australia.
“Since
I was announced as Australian of the Year just over a month ago,
hundreds of fellow child sexual abuse survivors have reached out to
me to tell their stories. To cry with me. Stories they thought they
would take with them to the grave, out of shame for being subjected
to something that was not their fault. Stories of a kind of suffering
they had previously never been able to explain. Stories of grooming.
I am one of the luckiest ones. Who survived, who was believed, who
was surrounded by love.
“And
what this shows me is that despite this problem still existing, and
despite a personal history of trauma that is still ongoing, it is
possible to heal, to thrive, and live a wonderful life. It is my
mission and my duty as a survivor and as a survivor with a voice to
continue working towards eradicating child sexual abuse. I won’t
stop until it does.
“And
so, I leave you with these three messages – number one, to our
government – our decision-makers, and our policymakers – we need
reform on a national scale. Both in policy and education. To address
these heinous crimes so they are no longer enabled to be perpetrated.
Number two, to my nation, the wonderful people of Australia – we
need to be open, to embrace the conversation, new information, and
take guidance from our experiences so we can inform change. So we can
heal and prevent this happening to future generations.
“Number
three, and finally, to my fellow survivors – it is our time. We
need to take this opportunity. We need to be bold and courageous.
Recognise that we have a platform on which I stand with you in
solidarity and support. Share your truth. It is your power. One
voice, your voice, and our collective voices can make a difference.
We are on the precipice of a revolution whose call to action needs to
be heard loud and clear. That’s right. You got it. Let’s keep
making noise, Australia.”
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
[Adopted and proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948]
Hi! My name is Boy. I'm a male bi-coloured tabby cat. Ever since I discovered that Malcolm Turnbull's dogs were allowed to blog, I have been pestering Clarencegirl to allow me a small space on North Coast Voices.
A false flag musing: I have noticed one particular voice on Facebook which is Pollyanna-positive on the subject of the Port of Yamba becoming a designated cruise ship destination. What this gentleman doesn’t disclose is that, as a principal of Middle Star Pty Ltd, he could be thought to have a potential pecuniary interest due to the fact that this corporation (which has had an office in Grafton since 2012) provides consultancy services and tourismbusiness development services.
A religion & local government musing: On 11 October 2017 Clarence Valley Council has the Church of Jesus Christ Development Fund Inc in Sutherland Local Court No. 6 for a small claims hearing. It would appear that there may be a little issue in rendering unto Caesar. On 19 September 2017 an ordained minister of a religion (which was named by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in relation to 40 instances of historical child sexual abuse on the NSW North Coast) read the Opening Prayer at Council’s ordinary monthly meeting. Earlier in the year an ordained minister (from a church network alleged to have supported an overseas orphanage closed because of child abuse claims in 2013) read the Opening Prayer and an ordained minister (belonging to yet another church network accused of ignoring child sexual abuse in the US and racism in South Africa) read the Opening Prayer at yet another ordinary monthly meeting. Nice one councillors - you are covering yourselves with glory!
An investigative musing: Newcastle Herald, 12 August 2017: The state’s corruption watchdog has been asked to investigate the finances of the Awabakal Aboriginal Local Land Council, less than 12 months after the troubled organisation was placed into administration by the state government. The Newcastle Herald understands accounting firm PKF Lawler made the decision to refer the land council to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after discovering a number of irregularities during an audit of its financial statements.The results of the audit were recently presented to a meeting of Awabakal members. Administrator Terry Lawler did not respond when contacted by the Herald and a PKF Lawler spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the matter. Given the intricate web of company relationships that existed with at least one former board member it is not outside the realms of possibility that, if ICAC accepts this referral, then United Land Councils Limited (registered New Zealand) and United First Peoples Syndications Pty Ltd(registered Australia) might be interviewed. North Coast Voices readers will remember that on 15 August 2015 representatives of these two companied gave evidence before NSW Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 6 INQUIRY INTO CROWN LAND. This evidence included advocating for a Yamba mega port.
A Nationals musing: Word around the traps is that NSW Nats MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has been talking up the notion of cruise ships visiting the Clarence River estuary. Fair dinkum! That man can be guaranteed to run with any bad idea put to him. I'm sure one or more cruise ships moored in the main navigation channel on a regular basis for one, two or three days is something other regular river users will really welcome. *pause for appreciation of irony* The draft of the smallest of the smaller cruise vessels is 3 metres and it would only stay safely afloat in that channel. Even the Yamba-Iluka ferry has been known to get momentarily stuck in silt/sand from time to time in Yamba Bay and even a very small cruise ship wouldn't be able to safely enter and exit Iluka Bay. You can bet your bottom dollar operators of cruise lines would soon be calling for dredging at the approach to the river mouth - and you know how well that goes down with the local residents.
A local councils musing: Which Northern Rivers council is on a low-key NSW Office of Local Government watch list courtesy of feet dragging by a past general manager?
A serial pest musing: I'm sure the Clarence Valley was thrilled to find that a well-known fantasist is active once again in the wee small hours of the morning treading a well-worn path of accusations involving police, local business owners and others.
An investigative musing: Which NSW North Coast council is batting to have the longest running code of conduct complaint investigation on record?
A which bank? musing: Despite a net profit last year of $9,227 million the Commonwealth Bank still insists on paying below Centrelink deeming rates interest on money held in Pensioner Security Accounts. One local wag says he’s waiting for the first bill from the bank charging him for the privilege of keeping his pension dollars at that bank.
A Daily Examiner musing: Just when you thought this newspaper could sink no lower under News Corp management, it continues to give column space to Andrew Bolt.
A thought to ponder musing: In case of bushfire or flood - do you have an emergency evacuation plan for the family pet?
An adoption musing: Every week on the NSW North Coast a number of cats and dogs find themselves without a home. If you want to do your bit and give one bundle of joy a new family, contact Happy Paws on 0419 404 766 or your local council pound.
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