Monday, 14 April 2003
Tuesday, 8 April 2003
Turnbull to be first woman at city helm, The Australian, 8 April, 2003.
Turnbull to be first woman at city helm: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 08 Apr 2003: 7.
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The last council minute presented by Mr [Frank Sartor] as Lord Mayor, at a council meeting last night, recorded his gratitude to family, friends, staff and Ms Turnbull, his deputy for 3 1/2 years.
A statue of Ms Turnbull's great grandfather, Thomas Hughes, who in 1902 was the city's first lord mayor, looked on as the council voted unanimously for her to be the city's next lord mayor. Also watching were her husband, Malcolm Turnbull, daughter Daisy, 18, and father Tom Hughes.
Ms Turnbull will be acting lord mayor until such time as the Governor of NSW, Marie Bashir, confirms the position. Full council elections will be held in September.
LUCY Turnbull becomes the City of Sydney's first female lord mayor at midday today, replacing Frank Sartor, the man who saw Sydney through the Olympics and was elected last month to the Carr Government.
Mr Sartor is Sydney's longest-serving Lord Mayor, having begun his reign in 1991. He is known for his frenetic energy and combative but pragmatic style.
Even his old sparring partners, such as Councillor Kathryn Greiner, were complimentary at ceremonies at Sydney's Town Hall last night. "You've been waiting years for me to say nice things about you," Ms Greiner, wife of former NSW premier Nick Greiner, said as she praised his "undoubted energy, capacity and commitment to the city".
Mr Sartor is credited with making Sydney and the city council more user-friendly.
As he officially loses the lord mayoral position at lunchtime today, he will be in his office acting as the new Minister for Energies and Utilities, among other titles, in the revamped Carr Government.
The last council minute presented by Mr Sartor as Lord Mayor, at a council meeting last night, recorded his gratitude to family, friends, staff and Ms Turnbull, his deputy for 3 1/2 years.
A statue of Ms Turnbull's great grandfather, Thomas Hughes, who in 1902 was the city's first lord mayor, looked on as the council voted unanimously for her to be the city's next lord mayor. Also watching were her husband, Malcolm Turnbull, daughter Daisy, 18, and father Tom Hughes.
Spirited applause from observers and council staff showed the historic significance of the moment was appreciated. Daisy said: "She is setting a great precedent for women in politics. We are very proud of her."
Ms Turnbull will be acting lord mayor until such time as the Governor of NSW, Marie Bashir, confirms the position. Full council elections will be held in September.
Ms Turnbull said she would continue with Mr Sartor's reforms "to enhance people's experience of the city".
Monday, 7 April 2003
Saturday, 5 April 2003
Championing whale shark conservation - MATTHEW FLINDERS CIRCUMNAVIGATION VOYAGE 1803-2003, Weekend Australian, 5 April, 2003.
Championing whale shark conservation - MATTHEW FLINDERS CIRCUMNAVIGATION VOYAGE 1803-2003: [1 - All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 05 Apr 2003: 014.
Abstract
In 2001, Mr [BRAD Norman], 35, submitted a successful nomination to the Government to have the whale shark listed as a threatened species, and therefore protected in commonwealth waters. Internationally, he assisted in getting the whale shark's status upgraded to "vulnerable to extinction".
Mr Norman, working in London for a leading conservation agency, the Marine Stewardship Council, was recently awarded funding from the Rufford Foundation to teach communities in developing countries to replace unsustainable whale shark hunting with sustainable whale shark ecotourism.
BRAD Norman has an obsession with the world's biggest fish, the whale shark, which has made him one of the pre-eminent authorities on it.
Ningaloo Reef, on the northwest coast of Western Australia, is the only place known to be regularly visited by the whale shark.
It was here that the conservationist and marine scientist from Perth first saw and became fascinated by it. He has campaigned relentlessly to have it protected ever since.
In 2001, Mr Norman, 35, submitted a successful nomination to the Government to have the whale shark listed as a threatened species, and therefore protected in commonwealth waters. Internationally, he assisted in getting the whale shark's status upgraded to "vulnerable to extinction".
His work has led to him being chosen as The Australian/Coastcare Coastal Champion.
The competition was sponsored by The Australian and Coastcare, a program of the federal Government's Natural Heritage Trust, which are both supporting the recreation of Matthew Flinders's circumnavigation of Australia 200 years ago by the brigantine Windeward Bound.
Mr Norman, working in London for a leading conservation agency, the Marine Stewardship Council, was recently awarded funding from the Rufford Foundation to teach communities in developing countries to replace unsustainable whale shark hunting with sustainable whale shark ecotourism.
"One of the big things is getting the community involved in understanding the marine environment, so the public can help through understanding and concern," he said. "I try to involve the community in volunteer projects."
He said he intended to travel back to Australia to take up his prize, which is a berth on the homeward-bound, 14-day leg of the Windeward Bound's voyage, starting in Port Welshpool on July 10 and ending in Sydney on July 23.
Follow Windeward Bound's historic voyage in a special liftout of The Weekend Australian.
Word count: 297
Thursday, 3 April 2003
Pakistan to free Australian 'al-Qa'ida trainee' - War on Iraq, The Australian, 3 April, 2003.
Pakistan to free Australian `al-Qa'ida trainee' - WAR ON IRAQ: [3 All-round Metro Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 Apr 2003: 4.
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Jack Thomas, a 29-year-old former Melbourne taxi driver who became known as "Jihad" after converting to Islam, was arrested in Pakistan in January on suspicion of having trained with al-Qa'ida.
Mr Thomas's Australian lawyer, Rob Stary, condemned the Australian Government last night for its inaction and said he believed Mr Thomas, a fifth-generation Australian, should be allowed to return to Melbourne and his family voluntarily, and not in custody.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Australian high commission in Islamabad was seeking advice fromthe Pakistan authorities about their intentions and clarification of Mr Thomas's legal situation.
AN Australian man accused of training with al-Qa'ida terrorists could be freed from a Pakistani prison without charge as early as tomorrow.
Jack Thomas, a 29-year-old former Melbourne taxi driver who became known as "Jihad" after converting to Islam, was arrested in Pakistan in January on suspicion of having trained with al-Qa'ida.
Under Pakistan's security laws, he can be detained only for three months without charge, a period, which is up tomorrow.
But neither the Pakistan nor Australian governments seem to know what to do with him.
The Pakistani Government has said it will not charge Mr Thomas and is waiting on Australia to ask for his release.
Pakistan's Interior Ministry claims the Australian consulate in Islamabad has been informed and asked to arrange a handover, but it has had no response.
Mr Thomas's Australian lawyer, Rob Stary, condemned the Australian Government last night for its inaction and said he believed Mr Thomas, a fifth-generation Australian, should be allowed to return to Melbourne and his family voluntarily, and not in custody.
"The Australian Government, in a sensitive political climate, simply don't want to know about someone who has been studying to be an Islamic cleric in the northwest frontier of Pakistan," he said.
"They have completely abandoned this man.
"It is unacceptable for a government purporting to abide by the rule of law to allow one of its citizens to remain in a foreign country without trial or charge."
Mr Stary said none of the allegations against Mr Thomas had been substantiated, and it was apparent he had not broken any Pakistani or Australian law.
"It appears that this man's most heinous crime has been his conversion to Islam," Mr Stary said.
"We need the Australian Government to intervene to facilitate his return. It can't be done just at a consular level, it has to be done at a government-to-government level.
"The Government has so far been completely unhelpful."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Australian high commission in Islamabad was seeking advice fromthe Pakistan authorities about their intentions and clarification of Mr Thomas's legal situation.
"We understand that the authorities are continuing their investigations," she said.
Illustration
Caption: Thomas; Photo: Photo
Monday, 31 March 2003
Thursday, 13 March 2003
Conduct cloud on navy doctor - COUNTDOWN TO WAR, The Australian, 13 March, 2003.
Conduct cloud on navy doctor - COUNTDOWN TO WAR: [3 All-round Metro Edition]
John Stapleton, Patricia Karvelas. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 13 Mar 2003: 6.
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Deputy Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Rowan Moffitt, told ABC TV last night the navy was aware of the allegations against Dr [McKenzie], but were confident theclaims were unrelated to his ability to do the job.
For almost three years, Lieutenant Commander Robyn Fahy has been involved in a dispute over Dr McKenzie's professional misconduct. Her father, Tom Fahy, speaking on her behalf on ABC TV, said while Dr McKenzie was acting Medical Officer at the Sterling naval base in Western Australia, he saw Robyn Fahy who complained of headaches.
A NAVY doctor under investigation for professional misconduct has been sent to serve on the Australian war ship Kanimbla in the Gulf. Douglas McKenzie, a naval reserve officer, is under investigation by the Medical Board of Western Australia, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and the Defence Ombudsman.
Dr McKenzie was also the doctor who supervised the controversial anthrax injections.
Deputy Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Rowan Moffitt, told ABC TV last night the navy was aware of the allegations against Dr McKenzie, but were confident theclaims were unrelated to his ability to do the job.
"We've made the judgment ... that there is no reason for us to have any concerns about his ability to do his job on this occasion in a theatre of potential operation," Admiral Moffitt said.
"We're confident that the issues that these allegations relate to are not such as should cause us any concern for his employment in the Gulf."
Admiral Moffitt said Dr McKenzie had not been found guilty of anything.
For almost three years, Lieutenant Commander Robyn Fahy has been involved in a dispute over Dr McKenzie's professional misconduct. Her father, Tom Fahy, speaking on her behalf on ABC TV, said while Dr McKenzie was acting Medical Officer at the Sterling naval base in Western Australia, he saw Robyn Fahy who complained of headaches.
Ms Fahy is unable to talk on the public record due to her employment with the navy. However, her father claims that after a 10- minute consultation, Dr McKenzie wrote a letter to a psychologist that ultimately led to her forced retirement.
Admiral Moffitt said the navy would fully assist any medical board inquiry.
Wednesday, 12 March 2003
Bali heroine makes Blair sweat, The Australian, 12 March, 2003.
Bali heroine makes Blair sweat: [3 All-round Metro Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 12 Mar 2003: 7.
Abstract
HANABETH Luke has confronted horror few could imagine. And the young Australian student, who not only survived the Bali bombings but was heroic in rescuing others, confronted Tony Blair yesterday in a bid to persuade the British Prime Minister that war against Iraq was not an option.
" Ms Luke, who lost her boyfriend in the Bali attacks and became an inspiration after she was captured in a photograph dragging a stranger from the fiery remains of the Sari Club, was among 18 women, including mothers of September 11 victims, chosen to front Mr Blair on the high-profile British news program Tonight With Trevor McDonald.
After appearing on the program, Ms Luke presented Mr Blair with a photograph of herself and her boyfriend, Marc Gojard, taken the day before the Bali bombing.
HANABETH Luke has confronted horror few could imagine. And the young Australian student, who not only survived the Bali bombings but was heroic in rescuing others, confronted Tony Blair yesterday in a bid to persuade the British Prime Minister that war against Iraq was not an option.
After facing a large national television audience in Britain, Ms Luke told Mr Blair: "If you had experienced the horrors I have seen, known the grief I have known, you would be doing everything in your power to ensure that no other individual would ever have to go through this terrible experience.
" Ms Luke, who lost her boyfriend in the Bali attacks and became an inspiration after she was captured in a photograph dragging a stranger from the fiery remains of the Sari Club, was among 18 women, including mothers of September 11 victims, chosen to front Mr Blair on the high-profile British news program Tonight With Trevor McDonald.
"Like the women here," the 22-year-old told Mr Blair,"if you knew that your son was not coming home, or there was a good chance he was not coming home, you would be thinking differently."
Ms Luke told The Australian that Mr Blair began the program looking composed, but by the end was "in quite a sweat".
"I tried to say: will your conscience allow you to bring death to thousands of innocent Iraqis? Will your conscience allow you to bring more death and destruction on innocent people?" she said "The women, one of whom for example had lost her only son on September 11, were very articulate and very passionate and Tony Blair didn't have a chance. There was nothing he could say."
After appearing on the program, Ms Luke presented Mr Blair with a photograph of herself and her boyfriend, Marc Gojard, taken the day before the Bali bombing.
She said one of the only compensations for the whole tragedy was the near-perfect days they had together leading up to the blasts.
"We were looking extraordinarily happy," Ms Luke said.
"On the back was just the words '11 October 2002', which I think speaks volumes."
Her horrific experience in Bali last October was compounded when the 17-year-old boy she rescued, Tom Singer, the photograph of which became one of the first and most searing images of the event, died a month later.
She said last night of the TV confrontation with the British leader, who has been the US's strongest ally in backing military conflict against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein: "I just tried to appeal to Tony Blair on a personal level."
Ms Luke, who is vehemently opposed to war, said she took issue with John Howard's attempts to link Bali with Iraq, saying that the impending war "is not in the name of the Bali bombing".
"There is no link," she said.
"The Government is not realising that as long as they treat the symptoms and not the causes, terrorism will increase."
Illustration
Caption: Campaign: Ms Luke in London Face to face with reality: Ms Luke confronts Mr Blair after appearing on British television program Tonight with Trevor McDonald; Photo: Photo
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