Friday, 14 November 2008

Furious dads not only ones wanting tests, The Australian, 14 November, 2008.

I did not agree with the anti-male anti-father bias in this story. It was out of my control.


Furious dads not only ones wanting tests

Dayton, Leigh. John Stapleton The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 14 Nov 2008: 5.
"For me, DNA testing has been a very positive thing," Mr [James Fitzclarence] said. "I have another little girl now from another relationship and she has a sister. They all love each other dearly and get on very well."
"He refused to acknowledge he was the father," said Ms James, who has since married. "He would not pay for or take a (paternity) test."
"These situations often arise in very volatile relationships that have already broken up," she said. "There is already unhappiness and no longer a relationship between the partners."

Full Text

ANGRY fathers wanting to shirk financial responsibility are not the only group of people going to court over paternity issues.
In an analysis of legal cases in which people intentionally seek a genetic test, US researcher Gregory Kaebnick found that women seeking testing to impose paternal responsibilities were also highly represented.
Dr Kaebnick -- from the Hastings Center in Garrison, New York -- also found two other categories: women attempting to deny paternity rights, and men seeking to obtain them.
Lyn Turney, a sociologist at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne who has studied the experiences of people involved in paternity tests, said that Dr Kaebnick's categories also applied in Australia, although people had many motivations for wanting DNA paternity tests.
"I think most fathers (who seek testing) have a genuine desire to be the father of the child," Dr Turney said.
James Fitzclarence would certainly agree. His relationship with his child's mother broke up shortly after she became pregnant. From previous experience, Mr Fitzclarence had come to believe he could not have children and this was the child he had always wanted.
Despite his wishes to be involved, the child was born without him even knowing. He hired a solicitor and with the co-operation of the mother, who had previously declared she was not certain he was the father, he paid for genetic tests.
They proved he was the father of his daughter Katya, now four years old. Eventually, he was able to establish a close relationship with her.
"For me, DNA testing has been a very positive thing," Mr Fitzclarence said. "I have another little girl now from another relationship and she has a sister. They all love each other dearly and get on very well."
"Joan James" -- who chose not to use her real name, to protect her now six-year-old son -- had a very different experience. After a short relationship she became pregnant and the father disappeared.
"He refused to acknowledge he was the father," said Ms James, who has since married. "He would not pay for or take a (paternity) test."
She claimed it took nine months of stressful legal action to obtain a court order demanding the man take the test. Despite a positive test he has continued to deny any association with the child, even refusing to sign documents needed for Ms James to acquire a passport for her son.
According to Dr Turney, emotions surrounding disputed paternity are often intensified by the marketing of paternity tests by private firms and the vocal concerns of fathers' rights groups.
"These situations often arise in very volatile relationships that have already broken up," she said. "There is already unhappiness and no longer a relationship between the partners."
The external push for "peace of mind" tests can be the final end to a less traumatic end to an already damaged relationship.
This week's release of a discussion paper for public consultation about new laws covering DNA theft has fuelled the emotions of people involved in paternity disputes. The proposed laws would make it unlawful to obtain a sample of someone's DNA for testing without permission.
Not everyone in a dispute disagrees with the premise of consent. Mr Fitzclarence sought permission from his child's mother and even Ms James backs the proposed law.
"It's really, really important that there is regulation to ensure genetic testing is used responsibly," she said.
Credit: Leigh Dayton, John Stapleton
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Thursday, 13 November 2008

One in five doubting dads right, The Australian, 13 November, 2008.

One in five doubting dads right

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 13 Nov 2008: 5.
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"I was shocked, upset. The fact that I spent three years of my life being lied to," he said. "I read that first letter over and over again. It was just unbelievable to me. It is hard to put into words.
Director of Queensland DNA Andrea Hayward also said about 20 per cent of their tests proved non-paternity. "The stronger message is that 80 per cent of those people who have doubts get good news, and have their doubts wiped away," she said.
John Flanagan from the Fairness in Child Support group said legislation to jail fathers if they obtained a DNA test was outrageous. "The Family Court often deliberately obstructs fathers seeking natural justice through a DNA test," he said.
AT least one in five DNA tests sought by fathers doubting their paternity return a negative result, representing more than 1200 Australian men.
This is consistent with results overseas.
While there are no hard figures, industry sources estimate there are at least 6000 paternity tests conducted every year, two-thirds of these with the mother's involvement.
Genetic Technologies conducts more than half of all the paternity tests undertaken in Australia. Its business development manager, Ian Smith, said its negative rate was about 20 per cent.
Mr Smith said if Australia were to jail fathers who did DNA tests off their own bat, it would be only the second country in the world to do so, after France.
"I am sure that many of the people we have tested have had a positive outcome, have had great peace of mind as a result, and it has allowed them to stay in a relationship or bond with a child," he said.
Under legislation being considered by the Rudd Government, these fathers could be jailed if they conducted this test or took a DNA sample from their child without the permission of the mother or a court.
Martin Hunt, 27, a machinist from Adelaide, would have faced jail under such legislation. He was 17 when his then girlfriend became pregnant. Four months into her pregnancy they broke up.
Mr Hunt saw the boy every weekend and paid out $10,000 in child support, which he has never recovered.
When his "son" was three years old, Mr Hunt decided to obtain a DNA test through an online laboratory in Canada. When the result came back negative, he had the test repeated in Australia, with the same result.
"I was shocked, upset. The fact that I spent three years of my life being lied to," he said. "I read that first letter over and over again. It was just unbelievable to me. It is hard to put into words.
"I took the mother to court for a year to get my name off the birth certificate.
"I believe DNA tests should be mandatory at birth for all parties. It would stop the lying."
DNA BioServices director Gary Miller said about one in four of their tests was negative.
"I think everyone has a right to know if they are bringing up their own child," Mr Miller said.
"We live in the 21st century. If you have parental responsibility, you should be able to check the paternity of a child."
Director of Queensland DNA Andrea Hayward also said about 20 per cent of their tests proved non-paternity. "The stronger message is that 80 per cent of those people who have doubts get good news, and have their doubts wiped away," she said.
Ms Hayward said considering the many thousands of dollars involved, a great deal of heat would be taken out of the situation if theChild Support Agency demanded a paternity test before payments began.
"It's better if everyone knows early. Then people don't bond with children and later find they're not theirs."
John Flanagan from the Fairness in Child Support group said legislation to jail fathers if they obtained a DNA test was outrageous. "The Family Court often deliberately obstructs fathers seeking natural justice through a DNA test," he said.
"There is no reason why someone who wants a DNA test on their child shouldn't be allowed to do so.
"Why should fathers have their lives ruined by having to pay tens of thousands of dollars for someone else's children?"
Credit: John Stapleton
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Tuesday, 11 November 2008

News and Conflict Course, News Limited, November, 2008.


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Monday, 10 November 2008

Car buyer fears bailout will push up prices, The Australian, 10 November, 2008.

Car buyer fears bailout will push up prices

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 10 Nov 2008: 2.
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"I don't think they should give any assistance," he said. "I think the Government should let them sweat for a while."
"Eventually it's the taxpayer who pays for it."
"Hopefully, Rudd's financial package will build confidence within the motor industry, meaning there will be a future for people in dealerships and for car manufacturers."
THERE are many who doubt the wisdom of pumping billions of dollars of taxpayer funds into huge car companies.
One of those is Stephen Brooks, 60, who was one of the few customers out shopping for a new ute at Muirs Holden in Sydney yesterday.
He said he did not support more than $2billion being spent to rescue the industry.
"I don't think they should give any assistance," he said. "I think the Government should let them sweat for a while."
He said that all government assistance packages tended to do was artificially inflate prices.
"It's attitudes that need adjusting," he said.
"Whatever pain the car companies are going to have to suffer, the Government is just postponing the pain at our expense.
"Eventually it's the taxpayer who pays for it."
Mr Brooks said he was choosing carefully before buying.
"Previously, if people saw something they wanted they bought it," he said.
"Now everybody is thinking twice. And if they're not at the stage of thinking twice before spending, they need to be."
Des Frizelle, manager at Muirs Holden at Ashfield in Sydney's inner west, said sales had certainly been affected by the global financial crisis and he hoped thebailout package would boost confidence in the industry.
"Retail is down -- whether it's cameras, suits or cars, people have backed off," he said.
"They're not spending money.
"We could do with a boost, but it is consumer confidence that is important."
Mr Frizelle said some component suppliers had already shut down, forcing people to get equipment from countries with cheap labour.
While Muirs were not sacking any staff, he said, they were not replacing people who left.
"The global financial crisis has definitely affected the market -- it's human nature," he said.
"Hopefully, Rudd's financial package will build confidence within the motor industry, meaning there will be a future for people in dealerships and for car manufacturers."
Mr Frizelle said he had watched sadly as Australian manufacturing declined since the 1970s and 80s.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has reported a drop of more than 11 per cent in the sales of new cars and trucks last month.
Credit: John Stapleton
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Saturday, 8 November 2008

Who's a lucky hippo? The Australian 8 November 2008

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/news/whos-a-lucky-hippo/story-e6frg8gf-1111117975793

Who's a lucky hippo?

Monifa
Monifa is the first of her kind to be born at Taronga Zoo in 23 years Source: The Australian
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FOR now, Monifa is your typical newborn.
"She is just amazing, she doesn't look real. She is cute, fragile and tiny, hopefully I don't have to part with her too soon," her doting surrogate mum, zookeeper Renae Zammit, said at Sydney's Taronga Zoo yesterday.
"She's very, very special."
At her birth three weeks ago, the pygmy hippopotamus weighed less than 4kg. Monifa has since gained 2kg, but still measures no more than 50cm.
She won't be so cute for long.
In a couple of years, Monifa will weigh in at just under 300kg, and is unlikely to be nuzzling up to anyone.
Pygmy hippopotamus are nocturnal, secretive, forest-dwelling animals and are rarely ever seen, being one-fifth the size of their larger cousins.
There are estimated to be fewer than 3000 still in the wild in the swamps and forests of western Africa. They spend almost their entire lives alone, only ever coming together to mate.
Because they are so rarely ever spotted in the wild, most of the research recorded about the species has been learned from those cared for in zoos.
Monifa - which means "I am lucky" in Nigerian - was separated at birth from her mother and father for her own safety. In any case she would have rejected her mother by the time she was a year old.
"This is the only period of her life when she will interact with her keepers, or indeed with any other living creature," Ms Zammit said.
The zookeeper said they had hoped that the baby's mother Petre would be able to raise her, but signs of aggression towards her daughter finished that.
"She definitely would have died if we didn't step in," Ms Zammit said.
Monifa is the first of her kind to be born at Taronga Zoo in 23 years.
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Friday, 7 November 2008

Leak leaves hospital with humour intact, The Australian, 7 November, 2008.

Leak leaves hospital with humour intact

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 07 Nov 2008: 3.
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"It seems a bit unjust to me -- you've been watching an American election for two years, suddenly it culminates, and what am I doing? Lying on my back," [Bill Leak] says.
He also recognises one thing: "I'm very lucky to be alive, incredibly lucky. I've had a miraculous recovery, that's what the doctors said."
Leak expresses an increasingly urgent desire to get back to his cartoons, the work he loves so much. "I'm champing at the bit," he says. "Anyone hoping I wasn't coming back will be disappointed."
AFTER two brain operations following a fall off a balcony on the NSW central coast almost three weeks ago, there's one thing everyone wants to know: is Bill Leak still himself?
The evidence would suggest yes, most definitely.
Released from hospital on Wednesday, he's rather upset that some bloke over in the US won an election on the same day, and he wasn't there to record a moment in history.
"It seems a bit unjust to me -- you've been watching an American election for two years, suddenly it culminates, and what am I doing? Lying on my back," Leak says.
While in remarkably good humour, happy to be at home with his much-loved dog, Gus, and surrounded by his family, Leak still appears pale and a little fragile, and complains repeatedly of a headache.
As he might. The scars where a section of his skull has been lifted out are clearly visible. "I have a feeling I am in a constant snowstorm; it's all foggy in there," he says.
But he also recognises one thing: "I'm very lucky to be alive, incredibly lucky. I've had a miraculous recovery, that's what the doctors said."
Leak expresses an increasingly urgent desire to get back to his cartoons, the work he loves so much. "I'm champing at the bit," he says. "Anyone hoping I wasn't coming back will be disappointed."
He quips constantly over the incident. "As an attention-seeking device, falling head-first off a balcony was second to none," he says.
Leak retells with some hilarity how his stocks went way up among the nurses at Royal North Shore Hospital when Dame Edna Everage, aka Barry Humphries, rang to wish him well. "I was the darling of the ward," he says.
______________________________
>> Watch Leak talk
about his recovery at www.theaustralian.com.au
Credit: John Stapleton
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Monday, 3 November 2008

Panic sellers at top end, eager buyers at bottom, The Australian, 3 November, 2008.

Panic sellers at top end, eager buyers at bottom

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 Nov 2008: 4.
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At the bottom end -- $300,000 to $500,000 -- the market is being labelled "white hot", at least in terms of buyer interest, thanks to recent increases in the first-home buyers grant.
One happy couple is Risto and Makedonka Sterjovski, who last week looked like they were going to miss out when the bidding for a four-bedroom house at South Morang, in Melbourne's north, failed to reach the reserve price.
"A lot of people have been caught short with margin calls, having to make substantial repayments on share portfolios on 24 hours' notice," he said.
THE Australian property market has become polarised, with analysts pointing to high levels of activity at the top and bottom of themarket -- and a wasteland of falling prices and disappointed sellers in between.
Real estate agents in Sydney and Melbourne are reporting that thousands of executives caught short on margin calls are dumping real estate for any price they can get, with many properties being snapped up by cashed-up Asian investors taking advantage of the weakAustralian dollar.
At the bottom end -- $300,000 to $500,000 -- the market is being labelled "white hot", at least in terms of buyer interest, thanks to recent increases in the first-home buyers grant.
One happy couple is Risto and Makedonka Sterjovski, who last week looked like they were going to miss out when the bidding for a four-bedroom house at South Morang, in Melbourne's north, failed to reach the reserve price.
A week later, agents negotiated a price of $440,000 -- believed to be less than the reserve.
Ray White auctioneer Tony Lombardi said the Sterjovski family were part of trend where buyers, aware the market was down, were forcing owners to keep prices realistic. He said any property deemed overpriced was not selling.
Kevin Lee, financial analyst with mortgage brokers Smartline, said the number of prestige homes for sale in upmarket suburbs had jumped sharply, but vendors were not getting their desired price.
"A lot of people have been caught short with margin calls, having to make substantial repayments on share portfolios on 24 hours' notice," he said.
"All that money they were playing with has vanished. They need money in a hurry. People are selling homes over $2 million for much less than they hoped and much less than they were worth six or 12 months ago."
Melbourne real estate agent Jeanine Dwyer, from RT Edgar Toorak, said properties in the Victorian capital in the $2million to $2.5 million range were still receiving strong inquiries from international investors looking to take advantage of the falling Australian dollar.
Quarterly figures to be released by Australian Property Monitors this week are expected to show a flattening market.
Senior economist with APM Liam O'Hara said he expected a 10 per cent price drop in house prices across the board.
Credit: John Stapleton, Andrew Trounson, Additional reporting: Sanna Trad
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