Are you around 10 years old and hankering to be a star? Look no further than the Lismore Show in October 2010

North Coast National Exhibition
125 Years Celebration
21 - 23 October 2010, Lismore, NSW

GIRLS - WHERE ARE YOU?

The search for a star continues across the Northern Rivers for a young girl to sing a feature song in LOCAL HEROES, the arena spectacular at the 2010 North Coast National (Lismore Show) in October.

The song will pay tribute to the SES volunteers who are always at the ready in times of need.

Local Heroes producer Mark Eady says he is looking for a girl, around 10 years old, who will have a leading role in the production and will be backed by a full choir. Mark is also looking for an experienced adult female singer.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for a girl and a woman with immense talent to sing to an audience of thousands," Mark said. "I've already cast the male roles but the perfect girl and feature female singer are still to be found!

The 125^th anniversary Arena Spectacular, held over the three nights of the Lismore Show (October 21 – 23), will celebrate those ordinary men and women who daily do extraordinary things within our community.

"Local Heroes will be the largest theatrical tribute to our emergency service people ever staged and a behind the scenes peak at these ordinary women and men who achieve extraordinary things.

In my view we can't thank them enough," says John Gibson, North Coast National President.

Some of the groups to be celebrated are NSW Fire, SES, Police, Ambulance, Westpac Helicopter Rescue, Lifeguards and Nippers, Road Safety Officers (lollypop ladies), Animal Rescue groups, and more.

Already chosen to appear in Local Heroes are singers Jesse Mathews-Cooke from Ballina, St John's College Woodlawn student Courtney Macdade and young actors Shyarnah Tryhorn, Matilda Pleace, Marnie Johnston and Kathleen Caughey, Year 9 and 10 dance students from Trinity College, Lismore, Year 9 and 10 dance students from St John's College Woodlawn, junior dancers and the choir from Our Lady Help of Christians, the Woodlawn Senior Choir and the Winsum Loosesum Gospel Choir.

Real life local heroes, members of our region's emergency services, will also be a vital part of the arena spectacular.

To audition for Local Heroes, contact the producer Mark Eady on 0418 150 306, or North Coast National secretary Janelle Hancock on 6621 5916. You can also apply to audition on-line at www.ozworks.net - Click on Local Heroes Auditions.

Media enquiries:

Tracey Mair

TM Publicity

For the North Coast National

Ph: 02 6680 7106 or 0419 221 493

Customer bites back at bank

It's not often a bank comes out on the wrong side of an argument concerning the status of an account, but Westpac did just that according to Banking Day this month:
"The High Court has ruled that a bank could not claim qualified privilege against a defamation claim when it sent dishonoured cheques back to payees, based on a clerical error.
In December 1997 Westpac dishonoured 30 cheques drawn by Homewise Realty, a real estate agency run by Paul Aktas. The cheques were returned to the payees or collecting banks marked "refer to drawer".
The term "refer to drawer" is widely understood to mean that there were insufficient funds to meet the cheque. According to the court record, some members of the Turkish community in the Sydney suburb of Auburn, where Aktas ran his business, "reacted adversely and with some hostility to Mr Aktas after it became known that trust account cheques had bounced."
Westpac made a mistake in dishonouring the cheques...."

Oh, why are we waiting.....

Why are we waiting

Could be fornicating

Oh, why are we waiting

So farcking long.......

What's in the news in Armidale? Part 2: The New State Movement ... still!

Again, in Wednesday's Armidale Express, Jim Belshaw who's been known to beat the New State drum more than once, is at it again.

Belshaw, who writes at his blog site New England, Australia and is not one who's known to be backward in coming forward, has called upon Tony Windsor, the Independent MP for New England, and the other 'country' (that's Belshaw's description, but I'd prefer to call then 'rural and regional') independents to do three things:
#1. Support the holding of a convention about state and commonwealth powers
#2. Support the holding of a (yet) another new state plebiscite in Northern NSW, and
#3. Apply a test to any specific initiatives to determine if the proposal has any real longer term impact on New England development, or whether it is just a 'band-aid'?

I have no real quarrels about #1 and #3, but as for #2 ... here we go round the mulberry bush again!

It seems Belshaw and the Mad Hatter from North Queensland are top-and-tailing it in the same bed. Belshaw is (figuratively) at the bottom end of the bed while the Mad Hatter is occupying the bed's top end

The Northern Star (Saturday, September 4) in a piece titled 'MP pushes for region to be split' states:

Bob Katter would have the Northern Rivers split in two, with towns such as Byron Bay, Kyogle, Mullumbimby, and Nimbin moving to Queensland, while places such as Lismore, Casino, Ballina,

The Channon, and Suffolk Park remain in NSW.
The split is part of a wider redrawing of state borders proposed by Mr Katter, which includes creating a new state of North Queensland, handing a big chunk of the Northern Territory to an expanded South Australia, and a rebranding of the Top End as North Western Australia as another new state that takes out the northern end of Western Australia.

The renamed ‘South Queensland’ would extend from Bundaberg south to Byron Bay, creating the Northern Rivers split.

Mr Katter’s argument is that the new division of state boundaries would let Australia better exploit its natural resources, improve farming in the north, and would accommodate an extra 100,000 people.

The idea would have to go to a referendum and is unlikely to ever see the light of day. It’s worth noting that the idea – although raised by the Kennedy MP as recently as last week – did not make his list of 20 ‘priorities’ handed to Labor and the Coalition on Thursday.

Here's a suggestion for both Jim and Bob: You need a cuppa tea, a Bex and a good lie down.

Sources: The Armidale Express (September 1) and The Northern Star (September 4)

Signwriting 101 - near enough is obviously good enough

Defamation litigation against Internet search engines continues and yet another blog thinks it's teflon-coated

In 2004 there was a shooting incident in a Melbourne suburb which was reported in The Herald-Sun at the time in an unexceptional manner.

Very little was heard of the incident after that until sometime between 2007 and 2009 a blogger appears to have created a post based on a second published news report.

This post was apparently capable of being read as a series of imputations that would lead the reader to believe that the named victim was associated in some way with unlawful activity. That original post is no longer displayed by Internet search engines.

The matter is are currently before the Court in what seems to be two separate defamation cases.

Which should have made OzSoapbox rather wary. Instead in July this year this second (and apparently unrelated) website owned by a Taiwan-based blogger has blithely proceeded to justify the Court's 2010 decision that parts of the original post were capable of giving rise to defamatory imputations and that litigation could proceed.

Indeed, OzSoapbox went even further with this particular comment after its 3 July 2010 post concerning the defamation litigation:

ozsoapbox
July 9th, 2010 at 4:02 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
_______________________________________________________
Buddy, Id be very careful with this article and what you are
implying, the person in question will be very interested in this,
that is for certain.
____________________________________________

That sounds a bit threatening.

I'd have thought [redacted by North Coast Voices] 'd have his hands full trying to get rich
suing search engines to send out hitmen after me.

If geographic distance didn't save Yahoo! and Google from being served, one wonders if OzSoapbox will also find itself involved in litigation.

Coalition frenzy peaks on Twitter with QLDYoungLNP

As decision time draws nearer for the three still un-aligned Independents, the Coalition frenzy at the thought of a Gillard federal minority government has reached new heights on Twitter.

QLDYoungLNP (Matthew Quinlan) appeared on the horizon on 1 September 2010 and the venom spewed forth in an almost inexhaustible stream until last night this particular tweeter was apparently advised to cool it by his political colleagues; For now, I have been instructed to make my tweets private, may change in future, stay tuned REAL conservatives, others.. no. #ausvotes 24 minutes ago via web

However, he is still getting well-deserved grief from the Twitterverse concerning his 'reconditioned' account:

Click on snapshot to enlarge

OhCrap's Archive has captured details of this strange twist on how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people and, there are 176 tweet highlights collected on Jame's Blog and downloadable in PDF form:

Do we trust the evil ALP who gave us $180000000000 debt or Coalition who has given us surplus and paid back the debt?

#ausvotes #auswaits 11:29 PM Sep 1st via web

I wonder what remains in the Left's bag of anti-democratic tricks.. surely their disdain for democracy is not at an end #ausvotes #auswaits 2:45 PM Sep 2nd via web

ALP & Greens discourage Gen Y from rocking the socialist boat, they're encouraged to be slothful leeches. #auswaits #ausvotes 3:00 PM Sep 2nd via web

Under the ALP & Greens, all the drive to succeed is sucked out of a person, replaced by success-hating and welfare dependence #ausvotes Thu Sep 02 2010 15:10:05 (AUS Eastern Standard Time) via web

Do we want prosperity under the Coalition or risk the ALP & Greens = poor, unaccomplished drunks and losers who hate success? #ausvotes Thu Sep 02 2010 15:13:15 (AUS Eastern Standard Time) via web

Under Coalition, OZ is a place that fosters excellence, not soft cowards and drunks on welfare like under the ALP. #ausvotes #auswaits Thu Sep 02 2010 15:19:56 (AUS Eastern Standard Time) via web

You should consider @QLDYoungLibs a no spin zone so if you're a sacred cow of the liberal left who is easily offended, leave now #ausvotes Thu Sep 02 2010 16:01:39 (AUS Eastern Standard Time) via web

@externallylaws from what I've seen there has been a fair bit of premeditated provocation by those of you on the left. Thu Sep 02 2010 17:14:54 (AUS Eastern Standard Time) via web in reply to externallylaws

@_Laverne this Twitter account is the official conduit for QLD Young LNP. Thu Sep 02 2010 17:23:51 (AUS Eastern Standard Time) via web in reply to _Laverne

ALP stands for one thing: spending money we don't have to win votes from the bottomfeeders of society. #ausvotes #auswaits Thu Sep 02 2010 20:25:34 (AUS Eastern Standard Time) via mobile web

Reminder 140 characters could cost you a smack in the mouth if you're not careful, plenty of deserving personal attacks from Left #ausvotes about 21 hours ago via web

I consider myself to be open minded on a lot of things however I will NOT tolerate a Communist OZ Gov't #ausvotes #auswaits about 21 hours ago via web

@ByronStafford unfortunately I am gifted with a little thing called personal responsibility, you lefties oughta try it some time #ausvotes about 22 hours ago via web in reply to ByronStafford

@MStrudwicke once again the debaucherous left displays their total lack of class! #ausvotes about 22 hours ago via web in reply to MStrudwicke

Do we want Gov led by those who want to strip OZ of its identity and heritage by turning it into Africa & the Middle East? NO NO #ausvotes Fri Sep 03 2010 20:33:57 (AUS Eastern Standard Time) via web

If you don't support the coalition, you are by extension supporting

communism. #ausvotes #auswaits Fri Sep 03 2010 14:41:59 (AUS Eastern Standard Time) via mobile web

@TheFacelessSpin thanks for the support, battling the tide of intellectually inferior lefties is bloody tough work on a Saturday! about 4 hours ago via web in reply to TheFacelessSpin

What's in the news in Armidale? Part 1: UNE

Having resided in Earle Page College during my under graduate days a few years back (Editor's comment: Nah! It was many moons ago!) I was somewhat upset when I picked up Wednesday's edition of The Armidale Express and saw its front page report (pictured above).

The University of New England is undertaking a $4.6 million program to have its seven residential colleges comply with fire code standards.

But, here's the rub. While the project covers all seven colleges, it's being done in two stages and for EPC only its ground and first floors will be upgraded in the project's first stage.That means the second (i.e. top floors) in EPC will be closed for accommodation purposes in 2011 so EPC will have to cut its student intake by 100 in 2011.

Credit: pic The Armidale Examiner

If you have a spare coin in your pocket - remember the Pakistan flood victims [photographs]

The Place

Images of Kot Addu district in 2009 and in 2010.
Flooding now affects an estimated 160,000 square kilometres in Pakistan since a heavy monsoon rain fell in July.

Donations can be made at:
Doctors Without Borders (Australia)
Oxfam (Australia)
Red Cross (Australia)
UN Emergency Response

The People

Amira, 2, a flood victim suffering from skin and stomach problems, cries at a hospital in Sukkur, in Pakistan's Sindh province September 1, 2010.


More flood photographs on Flickr here, here and here.

Photographs displayed here are from Google Images and Google Earth