Thursday, 19 March 2009

Kennett slams package plan, The Australian, 19 March, 2009.



Kennett slams package plan

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 19 Mar 2009: 5.
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"We are throwing money at the community a second time, billions of dollars," Mr [JEFF Kennett] said. "No one asked for a second handout. It was just a gift. It was wrong. A lot of people are saying, `We don't need it; we didn't ask for it'." Mr Kennett said federal Treasury secretary Ken Henry "seems to have become political" and added it was "unclear whether Ken Henry is running the Government or the Government is running Ken Henry".
"It was never going to address the underlying problems," he said. "Now it is happening a second time. I am not opposed to governments going into debt, but not if you are throwing money like confetti in the air.

JEFF Kennett has slammed Kevin Rudd's fiscal stimulus and questioned whether the Government is being run by its top Treasury official.
The former Victorian premier told business economists in Sydney yesterday that throwing money "like confetti" to stimulate the economy was a flawed policy that would leave future generations paying for the folly.
The Rudd Government has dispensed $3.9billion to low- and middle-income families over the past fortnight as part of its $42 billion economic stimulus package, following on from the $10billion handed out in December.
"We are throwing money at the community a second time, billions of dollars," Mr Kennett said. "No one asked for a second handout. It was just a gift. It was wrong. A lot of people are saying, `We don't need it; we didn't ask for it'." Mr Kennett said federal Treasury secretary Ken Henry "seems to have become political" and added it was "unclear whether Ken Henry is running the Government or the Government is running Ken Henry".
Mr Kennett said an economic downturn was an opportunity to step back and review the fundamentals of an economy.
He said the Government needed to provide genuine tax cuts for individuals and companies and create infrastructure projects. He also said the Government needed to stop talking down the economy and to encourage a more positive atmosphere for investment and job creation.
Mr Kennett said the payments had not produced long-term jobs, and at best may have produced a few weeks' casual work for a few employees at Harvey Norman.
"It was never going to address the underlying problems," he said. "Now it is happening a second time. I am not opposed to governments going into debt, but not if you are throwing money like confetti in the air.
"The pity is we have generated enormous amounts of debt we have no capacity to pay."
Mr Kennett said that with welfare payments now consuming half or more of the nation's budget, the potential social impacts of the payments were also retrograde.
"We are increasingly looking to governments to provide. We are losing our independence. We are taking away a lot of the creativity of individuals and groups. As soon as we start understanding government doesn't have the capacity to be all things to all men, the better."
Credit: John Stapleton
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Thursday, 12 March 2009

Colin Griffith, Obituary, 2009.



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Saturday, 7 March 2009

Pacific in push for $7m grant, Weekend Australian, 7 March, 2009.

Pacific in push for $7m grant

Hannan, Ewin. John Stapleton. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 07 Mar 2009: 4.
A spokeswoman for Industry Minister Kim Carr, said the grants process was "not a process the Government controls" and was "done at arm's length".
The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union said the company's strategy of offering to fund retraining while seeking more taxpayers funds would "only deepen the level of public anger and cynicism" towards the company.
"I think this company is absolutely shameless," said the union's national secretary, Michele O'Neil.

Full Text

PACIFIC Brands is pressing ahead with a contentious plea for millions of dollars in extra taxpayer assistance, and the Rudd Government appears largely powerless to stop the company from getting most of the funding despite the loss of 1850 jobs.
In a move branded as "shameless" by unions, Pacific Brands yesterday offered to provide at least $1 million to help retrain its redundant workers, while confirming it was pursuing about $7million in government grants.
Kevin Rudd said yesterday the company's decision to cut local jobs and shift its clothing manufacturing operations to China was "frankly, in so many respects, beyond the pale".
"In terms of the monies that they have got from the Government, we'll go through all of that in terms of what can be extracted back from them," the Prime Minister told Melbourne radio.
Pacific Brands responded by detailing its offer of a "seven-figure sum" to help retrain the redundant employees, while confirming it was pursuing its application for about $7 million in taxpayer grants.
The application seeks to have taxpayers reimburse the company's investment for research and development under the industry's Strategic Investment Program Scheme.
Under the scheme, companies are entitled to a proportion of what they invested in the previous financial year. Pacific Brands has already received $14.5 million from the two previous years.
"Yes, we have an application for funding," a company spokesman said.
"It's for money spent on Australian-based research and development."
A spokeswoman for Industry Minister Kim Carr, said the grants process was "not a process the Government controls" and was "done at arm's length".
The spokeswoman said the only way the Government could claw back funding from Pacific Brands was if the company moved any factories or equipment offshore before 2015.
The company has said it does not intend to move any equipment offshore.
The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union said the company's strategy of offering to fund retraining while seeking more taxpayers funds would "only deepen the level of public anger and cynicism" towards the company.
"I think this company is absolutely shameless," said the union's national secretary, Michele O'Neil.
She said she had been approached by a number of businessmen about buying out either whole or parts of the business to keep manufacturing in Australia.
Ms O'Neil said the Government should continue to press the company to reverse its decision and, if that failed, broker serious discussions about selling it off to a local interest.
Workers from the Bonds factory at Wentworthville in Sydney yesterday held a rally to protest against the jobs cuts.
Union organiser Jim Owen said the workers wanted their entitlements protected.
"We've asked the company to put money into a trust fund so we know the entitlements are protected fully," he said.
Union officials restated their commitment not to allow machinery from the factories to be moved overseas by either rail, road, ship or air.
But a threatened product boycott has not been activated while officials work through options to try to save the jobs.
Credit: Ewin Hannan, John Stapleton
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Friday, 6 March 2009

We were sitting ducks, say umpires - Terror Strikes Cricket, The Australian, 6 March, 2009. Additional reporting.

We were sitting ducks, say umpires - TERROR STRIKES CRICKET

Hodge, Amanda. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 06 Mar 2009: 7.
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AUSTRALIAN and British umpires caught in Tuesday's bloody ambush on the Sri Lankan cricket team have accused Pakistan's security forces of leaving them like "sitting ducks", amid mounting speculation their attackers had an accomplice within the team's security detail.
Broad said he had been promised "presidential-style" security after raising concerns ahead of the tour and was "extremely angry" atthe Pakistani Government's failure to deliver.
Australian umpire [Simon Taufel] said he could not understand why the team's security force had failed to protect them when theambush occurred. "We were promised a nine (out of 10 security detail) and got delivered a two," he said yesterday. "The gunfire, it just kept going. We thought, `When's it going to stop? Who's going to come and save us, how are we going to get out of here?'
AUSTRALIAN and British umpires caught in Tuesday's bloody ambush on the Sri Lankan cricket team have accused Pakistan's security forces of leaving them like "sitting ducks", amid mounting speculation their attackers had an accomplice within the team's security detail.
While Pakistan has hailed its security officers and police as heroes and martyrs, Australian umpires Steve Davis and Simon Taufel, and their British counterpart Chris Broad, claimed their security officers abandoned them as 12 heavily armed and masked gunmen attacked their convoy, spraying the Sri Lankan team bus and accompanying vehicles with bullets and grenades.
The cricketers were travelling in the convoy to Lahore's Gadaffi stadium on Tuesday morning when the terrorists ambushed them atthe Liberty Chowk roundabout, less than 100m from the stadium gates.
Six policemen and two civilians were killed in the 25-minute attack. Six Sri Lankan players and an assistant coach were wounded.
The attack has highlighted the Pakistani Government's inability to contain terrorism within its borders -- so much so that its foreign office was forced yesterday to deny rumours a military coup was imminent, aimed at stabilising the failing state.
And the ambush has ensured Pakistan's isolation from the international cricket fraternity for years to come.
In Britain yesterday, Broad questioned why the Pakistani cricketers changed their morning schedule by leaving five minutes after theSri Lankan team.
"On the first two days both buses left at the same time with escorts," the former England cricket player told reporters on his return home.
"On this particular day, the Pakistan bus left five minutes after the Sri Lankan bus. Why?
"I thought maybe they were having five or 10 minutes more in the hotel and would turn up later, but after this happened you start to think: `Did someone know something and they held the Pakistan bus back?"'
Broad said he had been promised "presidential-style" security after raising concerns ahead of the tour and was "extremely angry" atthe Pakistani Government's failure to deliver.
"There was not a sign of a policeman anywhere," he said. "They had clearly left the scene and left us to be sitting ducks."
While Pakistani cricket board chief Ijaz Butt expressed amazement at Broad's comments, Lahore police commissioner Khusro Pervez yesterday admitted there had been "very vivid and very clear" security lapses.
"The gunmen were meant to be combated by back-up police who didn't arrive," he said. "We accept the tragic security failure, and we will learn from it."
Australian umpire Simon Taufel said he could not understand why the team's security force had failed to protect them when theambush occurred. "We were promised a nine (out of 10 security detail) and got delivered a two," he said yesterday. "The gunfire, it just kept going. We thought, `When's it going to stop? Who's going to come and save us, how are we going to get out of here?'
"You tell me why supposedly 20 armed commandos were in our convoy, and when the team bus got going again we were left on our own. I don't have any answers to these questions."
Taufel said a great deal of attention had been paid to the losses of the Sri Lankan team, but his own group of officials had lost their driver; their fourth umpire, Ehsan Raza, was in hospital fighting for his life; and their liaison officer was injured.
"It's just a bloody game of cricket and we are in a war. It is not the way life should be or the way sport should be," Taufel said.
"We were left there stranded and helpless. We were isolated, alone, unaccounted for ... We were left on our own in our time of need. We were all expecting to be shot. We knew there was no one around us."
Australia has offered to send forensic police to Pakistan to assist investigators, who are still struggling for a breakthrough.
Authorities had reportedly rounded up more than 50 suspects yesterday, and raids were continuing around the nation. Investigators believe some of the attackers may have stayed in one of the many hostels dotted around the stadium in the lead-up to Tuesday's ambush -- a theory bolstered by the discovery of bloodstained clothes and a rocket launcher in one hostel.
Suggestions the gunmen had an accomplice inside the team's security detail grew yesterday following the broadcast of CCTV footage showing the attackers walking away from the scene in Lahore, with no one in pursuit.
The footage, taken from a department store near the Liberty Chowk roundabout, showed eight armed men, in groups of two and three, walking unhurriedly away.
Some of the men can be seen dumping their backpacks, which police later discovered, laden with high-energy food, water and hand grenades.
The grainy footage appears to show three of the alleged terrorists riding away on one motorbike, and two escaping on a second. A third group could be seen walking unharassed through the streets of Lahore, away from the stadium.
Retired Pakistani general and military analyst Shankar Prasad said: "This is proof enough that the entire operation was staged andthe attackers had been allowed to run away. The least that was required was a security lockdown of the area, but even that was not done."
Sri Lankan cricket captain Mahela Jayawardene added weight to suspicions, saying the gunmen appeared to be firing at will. "They were not under pressure -- nobody was firing at them."
Security experts and Punjabi officials say the attack bore striking similarities to November's deadly co-ordinated terrorist strikes on Mumbai, which killed more than 170 people, including two Australians.
Foreign minister Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan had shared "important leads" with visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohita Bogollogama.
Credit: Amanda Hodge, South Asia correspondent, Additional reporting: John Stapleton
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Monday, 2 March 2009

Call for action after fresh shark attack, The Australian, 2 March, 2009.

Call for action after fresh shark attack

Clayfield, Matthew. John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 02 Mar 2009: 3.
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"We loaded up a four-wheel-drive buggy that we've got and brought all the equipment up," [Mike] said. "[CHARLES Lindop] knew exactly what he had to do. If it had been two kids alone, it might have been different."
"I'm pretty sure the shark wouldn't have hung around," said Dillon Cram, 18. "You have to go back in eventually,"
Michael Brown of Surfwatch Australia also blamed the Government. "These sharks are not here to cruise. They are here to eat," he said. "The beaches need to be signposted and the Government needs to educate the public as to when the safest times are, and really make a point."
CHARLES Lindop had just finished riding a wave at Sydney's Avalon beach yesterday when he heard his son Andrew scream.
Turning to the sound, he saw his 15-year-old boy thrashing wildly in the ocean, being attacked by a predator he could not see.
Andrew had been sitting on his surfboard, watching his father catch an early morning wave, when the shark hit him, sinking its teeth far enough into his thigh to hit the bone.
Mr Lindop, a senior patrol captain at the Avalon Surf Club on the northern beaches, swam to his son and helped him paddle back tothe beach. He wrapped the surfboard's legrope around the boy's thigh as an impromptu tourniquet.
The shark attack, which happened at 6.45am, was the third in three weeks and has prompted renewed warning about surfing at dawn or dusk, when sharks feed.
Navy diver Paul de Gelder lost a hand and a leg after being mauled by a 2.7m bull shark in an early morning attack off Garden Island, in Sydney Harbour, on February 11. A day later, 33-year-old surfer Glenn Orgias nearly lost his hand after he was attacked by a 2.5m great white at Bondi Beach at dusk.
Yesterday, two off-duty surf lifesavers, Volker and Mike, who declined to give their surnames, watched Mr Lindop and his son emerge from the surf at the northern end of Avalon beach.
"We loaded up a four-wheel-drive buggy that we've got and brought all the equipment up," Mike said. "Charles knew exactly what he had to do. If it had been two kids alone, it might have been different."
Andrew Lindop was stabilised by paramedics before being flown by rescue helicopter to Royal North Shore Hospital, where he underwent surgery for bites on his calf, hip and ankle. He was in a stable condition last night.
Local surfers said yesterday's conditions had made an attack all the more likely. Warm waters -- 23C -- and coastal rains had attracted large numbers of baitfish to the area, bringing marine predators with them. Local surfer Audrey Styman-Lane, 14, said she had seen sharks chasing fish at South Avalon in the past week, and the mood among surfers had become increasingly wary.
Police and politicians yesterday pleaded with surfers to avoid dangerous times and look for warning signs, such as birds flocking abovethe water.
"Please be wary, don't swim at dawn and dusk, don't swim if you see a lot of birds flocking in the water, or if you see a lot of fish and fishermen," Northern Beaches duty officer Richard Anjelkovich said.
NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the three shark attacks had followed a pattern.
"All three attacks have been either early in the morning or in the evening, which lines up pretty conclusively to some extent with shark feeding habits," he said.
"Our thoughts are obviously with (Andrew Lindop) and his family, and our praise particularly goes to the emergency services who responded so quickly."
Witnesses agreed yesterday the boy's rescue could not have been handled better, singling out Mr Lindop for praise.
Six northern beaches were closed for several hours yesterday, with shark patrols conducted all the way down to Bondi. Further south, swimmers were ordered out of the water after a shark sighting at Maroubra beach.
While Avalon officially remained closed all day, it was not long before local surfers were back among the waves.
"I'm pretty sure the shark wouldn't have hung around," said Dillon Cram, 18. "You have to go back in eventually,"
Shark experts yesterday questioned why, when shark attacks elsewhere in Australia and globally are in decline, the number of attacks and the number of sharks coming near to the city's beaches has skyrocketed.
Australian Underwater Federation national chair Adam Smith said more than 6000 of the 11,000 shark sightings reported to the GreatAustralian Shark Count had been in NSW.
Opposition industries spokesman Duncan Gay called on the NSW Government to immediately increase the quotas on fishing sharks.The small 60-tonne quota in NSW has already been reached for this financial year.
"Shark fishermen have been telling the state Government shark numbers are in plague proportions and the quota needs to be overhauled, but they are being ignored because Labor's policy is dictated by the Greens preferences they rely on at election time," he said.
"The state Government should lift the quota on shark fishing and reinstate funding for air patrols. It also needs to urgently look at more shark nets at swimming beaches."
Michael Brown of Surfwatch Australia also blamed the Government. "These sharks are not here to cruise. They are here to eat," he said. "The beaches need to be signposted and the Government needs to educate the public as to when the safest times are, and really make a point."
Credit: Matthew Clayfield, John Stapleton, Additional reporting: Fred Pawle
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Fear at the beach as sharks strike again, The Australian, 2 March, 2009.

Fear at the beach as sharks strike again

Clayfield, Matthew. John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 02 Mar 2009: 3.
Show highlighting
"We loaded up a four-wheel-drive buggy that we've got and brought all the equipment up," [Mike] said. "[CHARLES Lindop] knew exactly what he had to do. If it had been two kids alone, it might have been different."
"All three attacks have been either early in the morning or in the evening, which lines up pretty conclusively to some extent with shark feeding habits," he said. "Our thoughts are obviously with ([Andrew Lindop]) and his family, and our praise particularly goes to theemergency services who responded so quickly."
"I'm pretty sure the shark wouldn't have hung around," Dillon Cram, 18, said. "You have to go back in eventually."

CHARLES Lindop had just finished riding a wave at Sydney's Avalon Beach yesterday when he heard his son Andrew scream.
Turning to the sound, he saw the 15-year-old thrashing wildly in the ocean, being attacked by a predator he could not see.
Andrew had been sitting on his surfboard, watching his father catch an early morning wave, when the shark hit him, sinking its teeth far enough into his thigh to hit the bone.
Mr Lindop, a senior patrol captain at the Avalon Surf Club on the northern beaches, swam to his son and helped him paddle back tothe beach. He wrapped the surfboard's legrope around the boy's thigh as an impromptu tourniquet.
The shark attack, which happened at 6.45am, was the third in three weeks and prompted renewed warnings about surfing at dawn or dusk, when sharks feed.
Navy diver Paul de Gelder lost a hand and a leg after being mauled by a 2.7m bull shark in an early morning attack off Garden Island, in Sydney's harbour, on February 11. A day later, surfer Glenn Orgias, 33, nearly lost his hand after he was attacked by a 2.5m great white at Bondi Beach at dusk.
Yesterday, two off-duty surf lifesavers, Volker and Mike, who declined to give their surnames, watched Mr Lindop and his son emerge from the surf at the northern end of Avalon beach.
"We loaded up a four-wheel-drive buggy that we've got and brought all the equipment up," Mike said. "Charles knew exactly what he had to do. If it had been two kids alone, it might have been different."
Andrew Lindop was stabilised by paramedics before being flown by rescue helicopter to Royal North Shore Hospital, where he underwent surgery for bites on his calf, hip and ankle.
A hospital spokesman said much of the damage was repaired and Andrew was in a satisfactory condition.
Local surfers said yesterday's conditions had made an attack all the more likely. Warm waters -- 23C -- and coastal rains had attracted large numbers of baitfish to the area, bringing marine predators with them. Local surfer Audrey Styman-Lane, 14, said she had seen sharks chasing fish at South Avalon in the past week, and the mood among surfers had become increasingly wary.
Police and politicians yesterday pleaded with surfers to avoid dangerous times and look for warning signs, such as birds flocking above the water.
"Please be wary, don't swim at dawn and dusk, don't swim if you see a lot of birds flocking in the water, or if you see a lot of fish and fishermen," Northern Beaches duty officer Richard Anjelkovich said.
NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the three shark attacks had followed a pattern.
"All three attacks have been either early in the morning or in the evening, which lines up pretty conclusively to some extent with shark feeding habits," he said. "Our thoughts are obviously with (Andrew Lindop) and his family, and our praise particularly goes to theemergency services who responded so quickly."
Witnesses agreed yesterday the boy's rescue could not have been handled better.
Six northern beaches were closed for several hours as shark patrols were conducted all the way down to Bondi. Further south, swimmers were ordered out of the water after a shark sighting at Maroubra Beach.
The attack was not enough to stop the annual Harbour Swim Classic, with 888 entrants -- a record number -- competing in the 2km swim around the Opera House. The race had six safety divers who patrolled the course beforehand, and remained on standby duringthe event.
While Avalon officially remained closed all day, it was not long before local surfers were back among the waves.
"I'm pretty sure the shark wouldn't have hung around," Dillon Cram, 18, said. "You have to go back in eventually."
Experts questioned why, when shark attacks elsewhere in Australia and globally are in decline, the number of attacks sharks coming near to the city's beaches has skyrocketed.
Australian Underwater Federation national chair Adam Smith said more than 6000 of the 11,000 shark sightings reported to the GreatAustralian Shark Count had been in NSW.
Opposition industries spokesman Duncan Gay called on the NSW Government to immediately increase the quotas on fishing sharks.The small 60-tonne quota in NSW has already been reached for this financial year.
"Shark fishermen have been telling the state Government shark numbers are in plague proportions and the quota needs to be overhauled, but they are being ignored because Labor's policy is dictated by the Greens preferences they rely on at election time," he said.
"The state Government should lift the quota on shark fishing and reinstate funding for air patrols. It also needs to urgently look at more shark nets at swimming beaches."
Credit: Matthew Clayfield, John Stapleton, Additional reporting: Fred Pawle
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