Monday 27 January 2003

Villages evacuated as blaze breaks defence lines - Summer terror, The Australian, 27 January, 2003.

Villages evacuated as blaze breaks defence lines - Summer terror: [3 All-round Metro Edition]

John Stapleton, Misha Schubert. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 27 Jan 2003: 7.
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Authorities in Jindabyne rehoused more than 150 people from the tiny hamlets and farming districts of Penderlea, Tigers Hill, Moonbah, Gullies Road and theGatton Trout Hatchery area. But authorities warned that Jindabyne, Michelago, Williamsdale and Ingebirah were under threat from fires burning out of control.
Rural Fire Services spokesman John Winter said the blaze was gigantic. "There's a big cluster of fires stretching from Kosciuszko through the north to Yass, with 400,000 hectares of primarily national park and other bushland ablaze," he said. "It's threatening farms and holiday houses right along the Alpine Way."

FIRES in the Snowy Mountains caused the evacuation of several NSW villages yesterday, with more than a hundred residents gathering in the main town of Jindabyne.
The fires that started in remote country weeks ago are now threatening farms, holiday houses and townships all along the Alpine Way, and yesterday broke containment lines throughout the Kosciuszko National Park.
Authorities in Jindabyne rehoused more than 150 people from the tiny hamlets and farming districts of Penderlea, Tigers Hill, Moonbah, Gullies Road and theGatton Trout Hatchery area. But authorities warned that Jindabyne, Michelago, Williamsdale and Ingebirah were under threat from fires burning out of control.
Rural Fire Services spokesman John Winter said the blaze was gigantic. "There's a big cluster of fires stretching from Kosciuszko through the north to Yass, with 400,000 hectares of primarily national park and other bushland ablaze," he said. "It's threatening farms and holiday houses right along the Alpine Way."
The Thredbo resort, which has been a base for firefighters and emergency personnel for the past week, has been almost fully evacuated, with only emergency staff remaining.
Shauna Hulbert, owner of a deer farm at Moonbah near Jindabyne, and her family were forced to evacuate yesterday afternoon.
"I might not have a home to go back to," she said.
"I'm very worried about the deer. This is a farming community, you either work the land or work the resorts. The whole community in Jindabyne has opened their homes to the farming community.
"Ninety-nine per cent of our husbands and older boys are out fighting the flames.
"The fires have been going on for so long that everyone is just tired. You can't live on that stress level forever."
The fires were being fed by wind gusts of up to 70km/h, Mr Winter said. "We're seeing conditions that were always going to make containment lines break in this mountainous country."
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Domestic Violence; Relationship Conflict; The Great Experiment, with Richard Torning, Dads On The Air, 27 January, 2003.





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Monday 6 January 2003

Experiments in Social Engineering: The Fatherless Family, with Matilda Bawden, Dads On The Air, 6 January, 2003.





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Friday 3 January 2003

Rare beetles in airport seizure, The Australian, 3 January, 2003,

Rare beetles in airport seizure: [1 All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 Jan 2003: 3.
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There is a huge demand for stag beetles in Japan, where collecting them is a hobby akin to keeping koi carp or bonsai. The highest known price paid so far is about $150,000 for a single stag beetle, although breeding programs and intense competition is now driving down the price.
"It is important to ensure the beetles are returned as close to their original habitat as possible because the beetles are quite sensitive and only occupy a specific type of rotten log with a pithy centre."
SIX hundred of the world's rarest stag beetles, believed to be worth at least $1000 each, have been seized at Sydney airport.
The giant, iridescent green stag beetle, prized by collectors, is noted for both its size and unusual horn-like protuberances. It is found only on Lord Howe Island, east of Australia.
There is a huge demand for stag beetles in Japan, where collecting them is a hobby akin to keeping koi carp or bonsai. The highest known price paid so far is about $150,000 for a single stag beetle, although breeding programs and intense competition is now driving down the price.
Early this week customs officials at Sydney airport discovered the 600 Lord Howe stag beetles and 60 larvae in cereal and biscuit packets in the luggage of two Japanese men en route to Thailand.
Dr Chris Reid from the Australian Museum said the beetles could represent a large proportion of the entire world's population of Lamprima insularis, which has no common name.
"This is an event which threatens extinction of this species."
Insect expert with the National Parks and Wildlife Service Simon Nally said it was crucial to get the beetles back to their habitat as the breeding season is due to start shortly.
The unusual task of repatriating the beetles will happen over the next couple of days.
"A lot of detective work will be undertaken to ensure a successful operation," Mr Nally said.
"It is important to ensure the beetles are returned as close to their original habitat as possible because the beetles are quite sensitive and only occupy a specific type of rotten log with a pithy centre."
The beetles are being kept in a customised air-conditioned room to help slow down their metabolism and fed on mango, paw paw, banana and fresh flowers.
Travis Rigbye from the shop Bizarre Pets in Sydney said insects like rare stag beetles are always in big demand.
"People always want something that is a unique creature," he said.
"They go to ridiculous lengths to get rare and beautiful animals."
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Scare halts Qantas jet, The Australian, 3 January, 2003.

Scare halts Qantas jet: [U WA Metro Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 Jan 2003: 5.
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A SECURITY scare grounded a German-bound Qantas flight from Sydney last night, stranding hundreds of passengers at the airport for hours as federal authorities examined the plane.
A SECURITY scare grounded a German-bound Qantas flight from Sydney last night, stranding hundreds of passengers at the airport for hours as federal authorities examined the plane.
The flight, which was to fly to Frankfurt via Singapore, was initially delayed because of a "technical" issue and subsequently by a "security" issue, according to officials.
QF5 was due to leave Sydney airport at 5pm but was still on the tarmac early this morning. During the time the plane was grounded for technical reasons, there was an incident, which the airline described as a "security issue".
Neither Qantas nor the Australian Federal Police would detail the security fears.
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Thursday 2 January 2003

Road toll hits 57, The Australian, 2 January, 2003.

Road toll hits 57: [3 All-round Metro Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 02 Jan 2003: 2.
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NSW recorded its first road fatalities for 2003 with two people killed, one on the state's mid-north coast and another on the far south coast, bringing the state's holiday road toll to 11.
THE Christmas road toll reached 57 yesterday following an early morning fatality in South Australia.
Just 25 minutes into the new year the state recorded the first road death for 2003, bringing its toll for the holiday season to 10.
A 43-year-old man from Broken Hill died after being hit by a car at Gilles Plains in Adelaide's northeast.
Victoria's toll for the holiday period, already the highest in the nation, hit 21 yesterday after an 87-year-old man died in hospital after a two-car collision.
NSW recorded its first road fatalities for 2003 with two people killed, one on the state's mid-north coast and another on the far south coast, bringing the state's holiday road toll to 11.
Over the holiday period 10 people have been killed in Queensland, four in Western Australia and one in the Northern Territory.
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Road toll hits 55, The Australian, 2 January, 2003

Road toll hits 55 - John Stapleton - ASYLUM RAGE: [1 All-round Country Edition]

The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 02 Jan 2003: 2.
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NSW recorded its first road fatalities for 2003 with two people killed, one on the state's mid-north coast and another on the far south coast, bringing the state's holiday road toll to 11.

THE Christmas road toll reached 55 yesterday following an early morning fatality in South Australia.
Just 25 minutes into the new year the state recorded the first road death for 2003, bringing its toll for the holiday season to 10.
A 43-year-old man from Broken Hill died after being hit by a car at Gilles Plains in Adelaide's northeast.
Victoria's toll for the holiday period, already the highest in the nation, hit 21 yesterday after an 87-year-old man died in hospital after a two-car collision.
NSW recorded its first road fatalities for 2003 with two people killed, one on the state's mid-north coast and another on the far south coast, bringing the state's holiday road toll to 11.
Over the holiday period 10 people have been killed in Queensland, two in Western Australia and one in the Northern Territory.
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Wednesday 1 January 2003

Breakout foiled, fifth refugee centre burns, The Australian, 1 January, 2003. Page One.

Breakout foiled, fifth refugee centre burns: [3 All-round Metro Edition]

Kathryn Shine, Andrew McGarry, Sophie Morris, John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 01 Jan 2003: 1.
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The Villawood and Christmas Island arsons were the latest in a sequence that started on Saturday night when detainees set fire to the Baxter facility, at Port Augusta in South Australia. Blazes followed at Woomera and Port Hedland in Western Australia.
The Woomera disturbances -- in which detainees reportedly pelted guards with stones and threatened them with metal bars -- came after a security upgrade at centres around Australia. Damage at Baxter and Port Hedland is estimated at $5million. The Villawood and Christmas Island damage has not yet been quantified.
Mr [Daryl Williams] said South Australian police were yesterday called in to patrol the perimeters at the Baxter and Woomera centres. "The detainees at Baxter have been screened and their belongings screened and there has been a review of the policy in relation to cigarette lighters and matches."
SIX buildings were burning at Sydney's Villawood detention centre last night after police foiled a major breakout attempt and inmates reportedly attacked guards and lit a number of fires.
Villawood became the fifth detention facility to be set ablaze by asylum-seekers within four days -- and the third yesterday -- as the total damages bill climbed well beyond $8 million.
NSW police said 20 inmates attempted to escape about 10.30pm by ramming Villawood's front gate with a commandeered vehicle.
A police vehicle was parked across the gateway to thwart the escape bid.
In another maximum-security area of the Villawood centre, guards were attacked with iron bars and at least three buildings were set ablaze. Police said 60 to 80 inmates had rioted.
By midnight, eight ambulances were standing outside waiting for the centre to be secured. A number of guards and inmates were believed to have been injured.
Earlier yesterday evening rejected asylum-seekers on Christmas Island set their quarters alight, and another fire was started at South Australia's Woomera detention centre.
The Villawood and Christmas Island arsons were the latest in a sequence that started on Saturday night when detainees set fire to the Baxter facility, at Port Augusta in South Australia. Blazes followed at Woomera and Port Hedland in Western Australia.
Last night a fresh fire was reported at Woomera. Smoke was rising from the centre and water cannons were deployed as guards conducted perimeter patrols, but the blaze was quickly brought under control.
The Christmas Island fire started late yesterday afternoon. Detainees, reportedly armed with poles and sticks, ended a stand- off with guards after fire gutted the dining hall of the processing centre.
The island detainees had been accommodated in the dining hall since deliberate fires destroyed their sleeping quarters in November.
Forty-six people are held at the island processing centre. All have had their visa applications rejected.
The new fires yesterday came less than 12 hours after firefighters at Woomera contained blazes that damaged or destroyed 33 accommodation units, eight shower blocks and two mess halls, causing an estimated $2.5 million damage.
A Department of Immigration spokeswoman said heightened security at Woomera -- which yesterday included security officers in riot gear in one compound -- had not stopped what appeared to be co- ordinated protest action.
"The additional measures were not enough to counteract the carefully orchestrated plan by people to sabotage the facility," she said.
About 20 male detainees tried to stop firefighters from putting out the Woomera blaze, and attacked guards who were trying to help.
Continued -- Page 5
More reports -- Page 5
From Page 1
"As fires were being put out, others were being lit," said Country Fire Services commander Kevin May.
The Woomera disturbances -- in which detainees reportedly pelted guards with stones and threatened them with metal bars -- came after a security upgrade at centres around Australia. Damage at Baxter and Port Hedland is estimated at $5million. The Villawood and Christmas Island damage has not yet been quantified.
Australian Federal Police are investigating the arson at Woomera, Baxter and Port Hedland. Any detainees convicted over the offences will be jailed before being deported.
Attorney-General and Acting Immigration Minister Daryl Williams said the Woomera detainees' actions in hindering firefighters were unacceptable.
"There were reviews of security at detention centres where there hadn't been fires but this still occurred," he said.
"There is a range of measures that can be taken, but you cannot supervise every individual in a detention centre on a 24-hour, seven- day-a-week basis."
Mr Williams said South Australian police were yesterday called in to patrol the perimeters at the Baxter and Woomera centres. "The detainees at Baxter have been screened and their belongings screened and there has been a review of the policy in relation to cigarette lighters and matches."
Refugee advocates yesterday denied the burnings were an orchestrated campaign by the asylum-seekers.
Australian Greens member Pamela Curr claimed detention centre management had not acted diligently in extinguishing the fires.
"There's no doubt that these fires have not been diligently extinguished by the guards," she said.
Ms Curr said she heard reports the Port Hedland fire started in a building detainees did not have access to and guards had "sat on their hands and watched them burn".
"I'm alleging there are questions about who started it (the fire)."
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