Friday, 21 October 2005

Crisis talks on ports, The Australian, 21 October, 2005. Page One.

Crisis talks on ports: [1 All-round Country Edition]

John Stapleton, Simon Hayes. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 21 Oct 2005: 1.
Show highlighting
CUSTOMS Minister Chris Ellison was last night considering shutting down the new $250million computer system at Australia's major sea freight terminals as delays in shifting goods plunged ports into chaos.
Senator Ellison is holding crisis talks with industry representatives and major importers to overcome the massive bottlenecks that have brought the nation's ports to a grinding halt.
Senator Ellison said if Customs did go back to the old system there would be "no timeline" to reintroduce the new software. "We'll (wait) on implementing it until we think we're ready."
CUSTOMS Minister Chris Ellison was last night considering shutting down the new $250million computer system at Australia's major sea freight terminals as delays in shifting goods plunged ports into chaos.
Senator Ellison is holding crisis talks with industry representatives and major importers to overcome the massive bottlenecks that have brought the nation's ports to a grinding halt.
He will decide by midday today whether ports will switch back to the old system or not.
Just two months out from Christmas, and with importers and retailers on the verge of their biggest period of the year, containers full of everything from toys to white goods, computers, pharmaceuticals and even urgent medical supplies are mounting up in warehouses, air terminals and on wharves.
NSW Ports Minister Eric Roozendaal said at least 13 ships were likely to be turned away from Sydney's Port Botany over the next few days.
Delays caused by the "Integrated Cargo System" -- introduced last week despite predictions of chaos -- are causing enormous aggravation among customs brokers, freight forwarders and major importers, such as Coles Myer.
"I've told Customs all stops have to be pulled out to fix this problem," Senator Ellison said yesterday.
Continued -- Page 2
From Page 1
"If Customs is not able to address (the problems) we'll roll back the system," the minister said.
Senator Ellison said if Customs did go back to the old system there would be "no timeline" to reintroduce the new software. "We'll (wait) on implementing it until we think we're ready."
The switch back to the old system affects only sea cargo, with air freight staying with the new system. Senator Ellison denied ships were about to be turned back.
"There is no question of any vessel being turned back."
Opposition Customs spokesman Joe Ludwig described the new system as a "disaster".
"Why has the minister left Australian industry unprepared to use what Customs itself describes as one of the largest e-government projects ever undertaken in Australia?" he said.
The $250million project, originally planned for 2003, is a highly complex piece of software allowing brokers and freight forwarders to clear their goods through Customs electronically. It replaces a 20- year-old system.
It enables the federal police, Customs and the quarantine service to profile importers and follow each item brought into Australia.
Peter Levett, co-owner of wholesale air freight forwarder UAC, said the new system had created chaos. "We normally process 300 imports a day, and are lucky to be doing 100," he said. "We are backing up 200 shipments a day."
The imports not being cleared are clogging the company's warehouses. Even an urgent blood sample from a patient in Norfolk Island was delayed.
Small importers -- from CD wholesalers to computer keyboard companies -- are screaming for their goods, while Coles admitted feeling the effects.
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Thursday, 20 October 2005

Our winning team dominates the inaugural News Awards, The Australian, 20 October, 2005.

Our winning team dominates the inaugural News Awards: [3 All-round Metro Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 20 Oct 2005: 2.
Show highlighting
Renee Nowytarger was nominated for Photographer of the Year for her images from Aceh after the tsunami and a warts-and-all portrait of actor Max Cullen. Cartoonist Peter Nicholson and News Limited's Eric Lobbecke, whose work appears in The Australian, were named as Artist finalists.
Other journalists from The Australian shortlisted for the Sir Keith Murdoch Award were Jeremy Roberts and Michelle Wiese-Bockmann for revealing the first extracts in the Palmer report on illegal detention, Tony Koch for articles on indigenous and other issues, and Ean Higgins and Brad Norington for revealing the drink-driving of then NSW Supreme Court judge Jeff Shaw.
Those short-listed in other categories were Elizabeth Colman (young journalist), Blair Speedy (business), Greg Denham (sport), Leigh Dayton (specialist), Martin Chulov (specialist), Kimina Lyall (specialist), Seumas Phelan (sub-editing), James Croucher (photography), Andrew Bunting (design) and Jason Bitneris (design).
THE Australian has dominated the inaugural News Awards, scoring 12 finalist spots in eight of 13 categories, from feature writing and business journalism to photography and cartooning.
This includes being one of the four finalists, from a national field of 36, for the Best Newspaper of the Year award.
News Limited chairman and chief executive John Hartigan said yesterday he hoped to create awards that would recognise the best journalists and photographers in the country.
He said while the better-known Walkley Awards had a rich history, the fact News Limited was the biggest employer of journalists inthe country was often held against it at the Walkleys.
"But we have the best people and we should recognise and reward them," he said. "Hopefully the News Awards will become the pre- eminent awards in the country.
"The News Awards are judged by the journalists' peers and I think it is a fairer system, rather than some of the social justice representatives the Walkleys have had in the past."
The Australian's finalists include Cameron Stewart, nominated for the Sir Keith Murdoch Award for Journalism for a range of investigative pieces, including the story of convicted terrorist Jack Roche and the rise and fall of Labor leader Mark Latham.
Two of the three finalists for Business Journalist of the Year came from The Australian. Communications writer Michael Sainsbury led the national coverage of Telstra, revealing how closely the business was entwined with its political ownership. And Richard Gluyas's scoop "NAB cuts 4000 jobs in global shake-up" was published the day before the bank's interim profit was announced.
Matt Price was nominated in the Specialist Writer of the Year segment for his Sketch column. Mr Hartigan said it was "an often whimsical, occasionally serious, look at politics which nevertheless still manages to break stories".
Indonesian correspondent Sian Powell, a Specialist Writer finalist, was also nominated for Features Journalist of the Year for her reporting on issues ranging from the Boxing Day tsunami to the trial of Schapelle Corby.
Mike Safe from The Weekend Australian Magazine was a finalist in the same category for a range of work that included the trauma felt by the families of hit-and-run victims and a dramatic reconstruction of the execution-style killing of a psychiatrist.
Ian Gunn is a finalist for Sub-Editor of the Year for his headlines, including one on a story about the farcical attempts by two Greek athletes to avoid a drugs test before withdrawing from the Olympics with "Greek heroes exit stage, wearing scandals".
Renee Nowytarger was nominated for Photographer of the Year for her images from Aceh after the tsunami and a warts-and-all portrait of actor Max Cullen. Cartoonist Peter Nicholson and News Limited's Eric Lobbecke, whose work appears in The Australian, were named as Artist finalists.
Along with The Cairns Post, the Herald Sun and The Courier Mail, The Australian was nominated as a finalist for The Newspaper ofthe Year. The winners will be announced at a black tie dinner in Adelaide on November 15.
Other journalists from The Australian shortlisted for the Sir Keith Murdoch Award were Jeremy Roberts and Michelle Wiese-Bockmann for revealing the first extracts in the Palmer report on illegal detention, Tony Koch for articles on indigenous and other issues, and Ean Higgins and Brad Norington for revealing the drink-driving of then NSW Supreme Court judge Jeff Shaw.
Those short-listed in other categories were Elizabeth Colman (young journalist), Blair Speedy (business), Greg Denham (sport), Leigh Dayton (specialist), Martin Chulov (specialist), Kimina Lyall (specialist), Seumas Phelan (sub-editing), James Croucher (photography), Andrew Bunting (design) and Jason Bitneris (design).

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Road death of Fraser's friend fuelled house attack, The Australian, 20 October, 2005.

Road death of Fraser's friend fuelled house attack: [1 All-round Country Edition]

John Stapleton, Annabelle McDonald. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 20 Oct 2005: 6.
Politicians from Premier Morris Iemma down condemned Mr [Andrew Fraser]'s violent outburst, but the daughter of his late friend said she supported Mr Fraser's actions.
Ms [Marina Prendergast] said Mr Fraser was at the hospital when her father died and had gone to the funeral. She said she entirely understood Mr Fraser's reactions.
On the day Mr [Tripodi] said Mr Fraser was not in his electoral office when Mr Tripodi was visiting the area, Mr Fraser said he was at the funeral of a friend who had committed suicide.

Full Text

REPENTANT but unbowed, Andrew Fraser left NSW Parliament House yesterday afternoon with these words: "Do what you can to get this bloody highway fixed."
With tears in his eyes, Mr Fraser blamed the NSW Government for the car crash that killed his friend Brinos Notaras on the Pacific Highway two months ago, saying it was the catalyst for his attack on Roads Minister Joe Tripodi on Tuesday night in parliament.
Politicians from Premier Morris Iemma down condemned Mr Fraser's violent outburst, but the daughter of his late friend said she supported Mr Fraser's actions.
"I completely understood where he was coming from," Marina Prendergast said. "Andrew Fraser and my father were from the same part of the country. They were good friends and allies on many political matters."
Mr Fraser said Mr Notaras's death had exacerbated his anger at the Government's failure to upgrade the highway in his north coast electorate of Coffs Harbour.
He said he had asked the Government to put barriers on the road and had been ignored. Instead, he said, the Government found $800,000 to put in speed cameras, which were not effective in saving lives.
"Go up there and talk to those people who have lost kids, who have lost parents," he said.
"An old mate of mine for 20 years was picking his wife up three weeks or four weeks ago and died on that bit of road.
"If Tripodi had put those dividers in, he (Mr Notaras) would be alive today."
On August 30, Mr Fraser was called to Coffs Harbour Hospital.
Mr Notaras, 75, who owned a sawmill for 50 years at South Grafton, had been on the way to pick up his wife from Coffs Harbour airport when he had a head on collision with a truck, which jackknifed and pushed
the car into the metal barrier.
Ms Prendergast said Mr Fraser was at the hospital when her father died and had gone to the funeral. She said she entirely understood Mr Fraser's reactions.
"My father was a very loving, charismatic, passionate, hard working and active man," she said. "If there was dual carriageway, I do believe he would still be with us. He drove that road a million times in his lifetime. He knew it like the back of his hand.
"The fact that it was that road was very emotional for Andrew."
A week before the accident, Mr Fraser said he had hand-delivered a letter to Mr Tripodi after the death of 21-year-old Kylie Wilson, whose family he knew well. Mr Tripodi did not "have the courtesy" to respond, he said. "If the road had been fixed, she would not have died."
On the day Mr Tripodi said Mr Fraser was not in his electoral office when Mr Tripodi was visiting the area, Mr Fraser said he was at the funeral of a friend who had committed suicide.
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Road death of Fraser's friend fuelled house attack, The Australian, 20 October, 2005.

Road death of Fraser's friend fuelled house attack: [1 All-round Country Edition]

John Stapleton, Annabelle McDonald. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 20 Oct 2005: 6.
Politicians from Premier Morris Iemma down condemned Mr [Andrew Fraser]'s violent outburst, but the daughter of his late friend said she supported Mr Fraser's actions.
Ms [Marina Prendergast] said Mr Fraser was at the hospital when her father died and had gone to the funeral. She said she entirely understood Mr Fraser's reactions.
On the day Mr [Tripodi] said Mr Fraser was not in his electoral office when Mr Tripodi was visiting the area, Mr Fraser said he was at the funeral of a friend who had committed suicide.

Full Text

REPENTANT but unbowed, Andrew Fraser left NSW Parliament House yesterday afternoon with these words: "Do what you can to get this bloody highway fixed."
With tears in his eyes, Mr Fraser blamed the NSW Government for the car crash that killed his friend Brinos Notaras on the Pacific Highway two months ago, saying it was the catalyst for his attack on Roads Minister Joe Tripodi on Tuesday night in parliament.
Politicians from Premier Morris Iemma down condemned Mr Fraser's violent outburst, but the daughter of his late friend said she supported Mr Fraser's actions.
"I completely understood where he was coming from," Marina Prendergast said. "Andrew Fraser and my father were from the same part of the country. They were good friends and allies on many political matters."
Mr Fraser said Mr Notaras's death had exacerbated his anger at the Government's failure to upgrade the highway in his north coast electorate of Coffs Harbour.
He said he had asked the Government to put barriers on the road and had been ignored. Instead, he said, the Government found $800,000 to put in speed cameras, which were not effective in saving lives.
"Go up there and talk to those people who have lost kids, who have lost parents," he said.
"An old mate of mine for 20 years was picking his wife up three weeks or four weeks ago and died on that bit of road.
"If Tripodi had put those dividers in, he (Mr Notaras) would be alive today."
On August 30, Mr Fraser was called to Coffs Harbour Hospital.
Mr Notaras, 75, who owned a sawmill for 50 years at South Grafton, had been on the way to pick up his wife from Coffs Harbour airport when he had a head on collision with a truck, which jackknifed and pushed
the car into the metal barrier.
Ms Prendergast said Mr Fraser was at the hospital when her father died and had gone to the funeral. She said she entirely understood Mr Fraser's reactions.
"My father was a very loving, charismatic, passionate, hard working and active man," she said. "If there was dual carriageway, I do believe he would still be with us. He drove that road a million times in his lifetime. He knew it like the back of his hand.
"The fact that it was that road was very emotional for Andrew."
A week before the accident, Mr Fraser said he had hand-delivered a letter to Mr Tripodi after the death of 21-year-old Kylie Wilson, whose family he knew well. Mr Tripodi did not "have the courtesy" to respond, he said. "If the road had been fixed, she would not have died."
On the day Mr Tripodi said Mr Fraser was not in his electoral office when Mr Tripodi was visiting the area, Mr Fraser said he was at the funeral of a friend who had committed suicide.
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Monday, 17 October 2005

New threats needle supplies of blood, The Australian, 17 October, 2005.



New threats needle supplies of blood: [1 All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 17 Oct 2005: 4.
Show highlighting
DESPITE a dramatic improvement in the purity of hospital blood supplies over the past 40 years, new threats to transfusion services, as serious as HIV and hepatitis B and C once were, are emerging.
Roger Dodd, an adviser on blood safety to the World Health Organisation, said a recent outbreak of blood-borne dengue fever in Queensland demonstrated the speed with which viruses could spread from other parts of the world to Australia.

DESPITE a dramatic improvement in the purity of hospital blood supplies over the past 40 years, new threats to transfusion services, as serious as HIV and hepatitis B and C once were, are emerging.
US statistics suggest the risk of transfusion-transmitted infection is only a quarter of what it once was, due to improvements in donor selection, testing and quality management.
However new, rare and potentially deadly diseases are emerging that could have devastating effects, particularly on patients weakened by aggressive medical therapies such as transplants.
Roger Dodd, an adviser on blood safety to the World Health Organisation, said a recent outbreak of blood-borne dengue fever in Queensland demonstrated the speed with which viruses could spread from other parts of the world to Australia.
"While it was contained, it demonstrated the threat that blood- borne illnesses, including resistant strains of malaria, can pose to theblood transfusion service," he said.
"It is now well recognised that many infections are increasing in frequency, and we need to be ever vigilant in preventing their transmission through blood donation. Many of these diseases are being transmitted around the world, and therefore to Australia, through the rapidity and ease of modern travel."
Dr Dodd, the vice-president of research and development for the American Red Cross, was in Sydney yesterday as the keynote speaker at a conference of blood transfusion experts.
He said recent examples of infection risks to healthy blood supplies, including hepatitis B and C and HIV, were well-documented and now well-controlled in the blood supply.
More recently, there was an outbreak of West Nile virus across the US and evidence two people contracted mad cow disease through blood transfusions in Britain.
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Andy backs mission to moon, The Australian, 17 October, 2005.




Andy backs mission to moon: [1 All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 17 Oct 2005: 5.

Abstract

Dr Thomas said Mars posed enormous problems, including the difficulty of carrying enough fuel to get there and back, while themoon was a far more accessible option.
"When these great explorations to the moon and Mars do start, Australian children are going to look up in awe at them, but sadly there won't be any Australian contribution to them, which I think is tragic," he said.
Other winners of Australian Geographic Society awards included Menna Jones, for her work on the disease ravaging the Tasmanian Devil, David Noble for the discovery of the prehistoric Wollemi Pine and Rex Pemberton, the youngest Australian to climb Mount Everest.

Full Text


AUSTRALIA'S first man in space, Andy Thomas, has backed NASA's controversial plans to focus its space program on revisiting themoon.
The public, along with much of the scientific community, sees Mars as a far more exciting and potentially fruitful destination.
Dr Thomas said Mars posed enormous problems, including the difficulty of carrying enough fuel to get there and back, while themoon was a far more accessible option.
"I think we need to go to the moon first," he said.
"We have never done planet exploration before. You have to learn to drive around the block before you drive to Perth."
Dr Thomas said NASA's current plan was to retire the shuttle in 2010 and develop a new exploration vehicle that could support theinternational space station and travel to the moon and back.
He said he hoped to return to Houston shortly to help develop the vehicle, which should be launched by 2013. He said there was unlikely to be any more Australians going into space in the near future, partly due to the enormous competitiveness of getting a spot in the program.
"When these great explorations to the moon and Mars do start, Australian children are going to look up in awe at them, but sadly there won't be any Australian contribution to them, which I think is tragic," he said.
Dr Thomas is in Australia for three weeks. He helped open the new Adelaide airport -- where a road is named after him -- and yesterday was given the Chairman's Award from the Australian Geographic Society.
Speaking at the awards ceremony held in Sydney's Botanic Gardens, he said he had never thought of himself as a geographer until going into space, when he had recognised the characteristic landforms as he circled Earth every 90 minutes.
He said that seeing the darkness of the Indian Ocean give way to the red of the Australian deserts, mixed with the great salt lakes and the rich texture of the land, was a "gorgeous sight".
Other winners of Australian Geographic Society awards included Menna Jones, for her work on the disease ravaging the Tasmanian Devil, David Noble for the discovery of the prehistoric Wollemi Pine and Rex Pemberton, the youngest Australian to climb Mount Everest.

Also published in The Courier-Mail.


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