Thursday, 26 June 2003

Prices soar, but egg industry cracks, The Australian, 26 June, 2003.

Prices soar, but egg industry cracks: [1 - All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 26 June 2003: 3.
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South Australia and Queensland have been hardest hit, with the price of a carton of eggs on supermarket shelves rising by as much as 60c to more than $3, while Western Australian has been relatively unaffected.
"This is likely to cause immediate shortages of certain sizes and brands of eggs on supermarket shelves, and an end to the long-term trend of low egg prices and egg-price discounting," he said.
THE drought, winter and an exodus from the poultry industry have caused the price of eggs to soar by 50 per cent this year.
South Australia and Queensland have been hardest hit, with the price of a carton of eggs on supermarket shelves rising by as much as 60c to more than $3, while Western Australian has been relatively unaffected.
Australian Egg Industry Association president Jeff Ironside said yesterday the deregulation of the poultry industry since the 1980s had led to so much over-production that by Christmas last year some growers were selling their eggs at below cost and were forced out of the industry. Production is now at near-record lows.
"This is likely to cause immediate shortages of certain sizes and brands of eggs on supermarket shelves, and an end to the long-term trend of low egg prices and egg-price discounting," he said.
The chief executive of egg marketing company Nova Foods, Murray Wilson, said the average price increase was about 30c a dozen, but it could be as high as 60c in some areas.
Mr Wilson said the high prices would continue until 2004.
Mr Ironside said producers had to decide whether they would stay in the industry. "The entire industry is undergoing a major restructure as a result of mandatory changes to layer-hen cage sizes, which will impose massive capital costs."
There are about 11 million laying hens in Australia. Half are in NSW, 3 million are in Victoria, and 2.5 million are in Queensland.
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Wednesday, 25 June 2003

Cross delivers message in a brothel, The Australian, 25 June, 2003.

Cross delivers message in a brothel: [1 - All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 25 June 2003: 3.
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BUSINESS owners in Kings Cross have reacted with disbelief to a move by Sydney Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull to stop further development of the sex industry.
A number of strip clubs and sex shops are concentrated along Darlinghurst Road, the main thoroughfare through the heart of Kings Cross.
Ms Turnbull denied she was attempting to sanitise Kings Cross or deprive Sydney of a red-light district.
BUSINESS owners in Kings Cross have reacted with disbelief to a move by Sydney Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull to stop further development of the sex industry.
The Sydney City Council voted on Monday night to discourage any new sex businesses in Australia's most famous red-light district.
Kings Cross Chamber of Commerce and Tourism president Malcolm Duncan said it was unbelievable his members had not been consulted.
Local businesses needed help to go through major economic changes in the area, not someone "telling us what is going to happen and patting us on the head", he said.
One measure being adopted by the council is an "anti-clustering" policy, forcing new brothels, strip clubs and adult shops to be separated by at least 75m.
A number of strip clubs and sex shops are concentrated along Darlinghurst Road, the main thoroughfare through the heart of Kings Cross.
Mr Duncan said the area was already going through a major downturn after the closure of 16 hotels.
A number of shops are boarded up and the Pink Pussycat, one of Australia's oldest strip clubs, is closed.
"All the strip joints are already going bust," he said. "They are closing in droves. The purveyors of dildos and blow-up dolls are going the same way.
"There is no tourism up here anymore because the hotels have closed.
"It was all happening anyway."
He said the idea of the 75m rule was "just crazy stuff". Brothels needed to be concentrated in a red-light district. "You (otherwise) end up with a planning hotchpotch, which entirely depends on who has the money to go to the Land and Environment Court, and we all know what that's like."
Sex shop owner Rio Hauser-Speelman said the council's strategy would double the value of his business.
"(But) it is like they have plugged a leak that doesn't exist," he said.
"It is not like the sex industry is expanding. It has reached saturation point. I don't see what the huge hoo-hah is all about. The sex industry is not destroying the area, but the drug industry doesn't help."
Ms Turnbull denied she was attempting to sanitise Kings Cross or deprive Sydney of a red-light district.
"This is an attempt to bring back diversity and a variety of businesses," she said. "There is no proper mix of uses. We don't want to take the character out of Kings Cross.
"We want to give it back to the people who live there."
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Monday, 23 June 2003

Leaders critical of 'missed chance', The Australian, 23 June, 2003.

Leaders critical of `missed chance': [1 - All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 23 June 2003: 2.
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LACK of consultation, the missed opportunity to appoint the first woman as governor-general and questions over the appointment of a military figure were common criticisms yesterday, but there was none against former major-general Michael Jeffery.
Opposition Leader Simon Crean said Mr Jeffery had served his country with distinction. But Greens leader Bob Brown said he hopedthe appointment would be the last before the nation became a republic.
West Australian Premier Geoff Gallop said he believed Mr Jeffery would be a popular governor-general who showed a genuine interest in people.

LACK of consultation, the missed opportunity to appoint the first woman as governor-general and questions over the appointment of a military figure were common criticisms yesterday, but there was none against former major-general Michael Jeffery.
Premiers, federal MPs, republicans and monarchists all welcomed the new governor-general.
But Women's Electoral Lobby spokeswoman Sarah Maddison said it was incredibly disappointing that yet again the Howard Government has passed up the opportunity to appoint a woman. She said John Howard had failed to address the gender imbalance in significant public positions.
"Given that we have been involved in a war and a significant percentage of the population has been involved in a peace movement, it seems sad and ironic that the Prime Minister has chosen to appoint a military bloke as our symbolic head of state," she said.
Social commentator Eva Cox said overlooking a woman for the role and appointing an SAS commander validated the concept that "leadership relates to hairy chests and military might".
Labor and the Democrats congratulated the new governor-general, but said the lack of consultation was regrettable.
Opposition Leader Simon Crean said Mr Jeffery had served his country with distinction. But Greens leader Bob Brown said he hopedthe appointment would be the last before the nation became a republic.
Monarchist David Flint described the choice as "absolutely superb" and said Mr Jeffery would serve with dignity and impartiality.
"He is very much a man of the people; he has the dignity you would expect of a military officer but at the same time the accessibilityAustralians will expect."
The Australian Republican Movement praised Mr Jeffery as a "good man who will do a good job", but said the nation should still have an Australian head of state.
"He is still only the Queen's representative," ARM director James Terrie said.
Prominent Republican and author Tom Kenneally said he seemed like a good man, "non-controversial after such a difficult period". "We knew we wouldn't get a bishop!"
The Queensland Government also welcomed the appointment, but said the federal Government should have followed Queensland's example by having the appointment endorsed by parliament.
West Australian Premier Geoff Gallop said he believed Mr Jeffery would be a popular governor-general who showed a genuine interest in people.
Constitutional experts were not opposed to the appointment of Mr Jeffery.
University of NSW professor George Williams said there was clearly a systemic problem, in that a woman had never been appointed tothe role. But, he added, Mr Jeffery could not be regarded as the wrong appointment just because he was male, nor should his military background disqualify him.
Another expert, professor of law George Winterton, said the appointment could be interpreted as a thankyou to the troops and might be an attempt to kill the exaggerated public interest in the office.
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Exposing The Truth. With Dr Jean Lennane, Whistleblowers Australia, 23 June, Dads On The Air, 2003.






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Saturday, 21 June 2003

Out of Iraq and into a city's embrace, Weekend Australian, 21 June, 2003.

Out of Iraq and into a city's embrace: [1 - All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. Weekend Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 21 June 2003: 3.
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WIDE-EYED and weary, 6500 American servicemen, many touching land for the first time since Iraq, poured off five US warships in Sydney yesterday eager to experience all the local attractions.
Ten per cent of the US crews are women. Some of them had similar things in mind. Petty Officer Ginger Schultz, 28, said she had dreamed of coming to Sydney since she was a teenager and her plan was "to take full advantage of everything Sydney has to offer, bars, clubs, historic sites, shows, even mingling with the locals!"

WIDE-EYED and weary, 6500 American servicemen, many touching land for the first time since Iraq, poured off five US warships in Sydney yesterday eager to experience all the local attractions.
While most headed straight for the nearest bars, Sergeant Joseph Gicewicz went straight into the arms of his wife, Ulani, who had flown from California for the teary reunion.
The Marine was delighted to finally be with his wife, and in a "nice friendly country".
The Marines and naval personnel have been on active duty since January, and most could number on one hand the beers they'd had in the past six months. Many of them, still wearing their desert fatigues, had faced death or seen friends die.
But yesterday the men and women from USS Boxer, Bonhomme Richard, Pearl Harbor, Dubuque and Cleveland had one one thing on their minds: to have a good time.
Official liaison officer Major Bob Strong appeared at the wharf yesterday morning armed with a six-pack, declaring his commanding officer would kill him if he didn't present him with a beer immediately on arrival.
Sydney was chosen as a stopover above Bangkok and Singapore, so Major Strong flew out ahead of the ship to check out the pubs, clubs and hotels and predicted the city would be a big hit with the troops.
"This is their first `liberty' port since January," he said. "This is their first chance to meet a girl, to have a nice blow- out, the first opportunity to totally enjoy themselves. There are so many good places to go."
For the men, that would involve a beer, another beer, and meeting the local girls, not, of course, always in that order.
Ten per cent of the US crews are women. Some of them had similar things in mind. Petty Officer Ginger Schultz, 28, said she had dreamed of coming to Sydney since she was a teenager and her plan was "to take full advantage of everything Sydney has to offer, bars, clubs, historic sites, shows, even mingling with the locals!"
Another woman said she just wanted to pretend she was a civilised person in a civilised country. She was going to drink tea, go shopping and drink more tea.
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Wednesday, 18 June 2003

Fluffy's a head of her time, The Australian, 18 June, 2003

Fluffy's a head of her time: [1 - All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 18 June 2003: 6.
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Workers spent yesterday taking the skeleton apart and packing it in boxes ready to be sent from her long-time home at the Australian Museum in Sydney to a new museum being built in the central western NSW town of Bathurst. No one is quite sure whether Fluffy, valued at more than $200,000, is male or female, but staff at the museum affectionately refer to Fluffy as "she".
FLUFFY, Australia's only full-size Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton cast, is going bush.
Workers spent yesterday taking the skeleton apart and packing it in boxes ready to be sent from her long-time home at the Australian Museum in Sydney to a new museum being built in the central western NSW town of Bathurst. No one is quite sure whether Fluffy, valued at more than $200,000, is male or female, but staff at the museum affectionately refer to Fluffy as "she".
"We are all going to miss Fluffy," said one of the exhibition's project officers, Mike Dingley. "The public like to see dinosaurs and she has been in a great position near the restaurant,"
Fluffy's enormous skull attracted lots of stares as it was being taken down and moved.
It no doubt will create plenty more when it goes on display at the front of its new home this coming weekend.
The deputy director of the Australian Museum, Patrick Filmer- Sankey, said Fluffy had been a great part of the museum. "We don't want to see her go," he said. "She is a very well-known dinosaur."
Mr Filmer-Sankey said Fluffy originally had been dug up in North America during the late 19th century.
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Monday, 16 June 2003

Knowledge is Power: How the Internet has Changed Gender Politics, With Lindsay Jackel, Dads On The Air, 16 June, 2003.




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Friday, 13 June 2003

Accused denied parents' cash, The Australian, 13 June, 2003.

Accused denied parents' cash: [1 - All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 13 June 2003: 6.
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Sef Gonzales, 22, has been charged with the murders of his parents, Teddy and Loiva Gonzales, and his 18-year-old sister, Clodine, who were found hacked to death in their Sydney home two years ago.
NSW Supreme Court judge Joseph Campbell yesterday refused Gonzales access to the estate. He said that as a matter of public policy, someone accused of murder cannot inherit from the victim.
A STUDENT accused of murdering his parents and sister will be forced to use legal aid after a judge refused to grant him access to their estate.
Sef Gonzales, 22, has been charged with the murders of his parents, Teddy and Loiva Gonzales, and his 18-year-old sister, Clodine, who were found hacked to death in their Sydney home two years ago.
Mr Gonzales had launched legal action against his maternal grandmother, Amelita Claridades, the executor of the family estate, to gain access to the $1.2million inheritance to pay for his legal costs.
But NSW Supreme Court judge Joseph Campbell yesterday refused Gonzales access to the estate. He said that as a matter of public policy, someone accused of murder cannot inherit from the victim.
"The court cannot be satisfied on the present evidence that as a matter of practical certainly Sef will ultimately become entitled to the residue," he said in his judgment.
While stressing that Mr Gonzales had yet to face trial for the alleged murders, Justice Campbell said: "There is a principle of public policy whereby a person who unlawfully kills another person cannot acquire any benefit that arises from the death of that person."
Solicitor Dieb Khoury said Mr Gonzales would appeal against the decision.
"Both lots of his grandparents have refused access to any money which would enable him to defend himself properly," he said. "They could quite easily consent to use some of the estate to fund Mr Gonzales's defence. They are simply refusing to do that."
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