Monday, 26 February 2007

Family still fear for tug-of-love kids, The Australian, 26 February, 2007.



Family still fear for tug-of-love kids: [1 All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 26 Feb 2007: 5.
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Mr [Lawyer Chris Jurd] believed the action taken by Ms Hawach in the NSW Supreme Court last year to begin suing the family for emotional distress was in fact a "blind" so she could organise the return of her children, who had been taken to Lebanon by the father at the height of the Israel-Hezbollah war last July.
After the girls disappeared while in Sydney on a visit to Mr [Melissa Hawach]'s parents, Ms Hawach applied for and was granted sole custody in the Canadian courts.
An international arrest warrant has been issued for Ms Hawach by Lebanese authorities, while the Canadian courts have issued a warrant for child abduction against Mr Hawach.

THE family of the Australian father in a custody dispute stretching from Canada to Lebanon was last night still concerned about the fate of the children who were spirited back to North America by their mother.
Lawyer Chris Jurd said the parents of Joseph Hawach were relieved that Hannah, 5, and Cedar, 3, were alive and well after their mother Melissa Hawach, revealed in The Sunday Telegraph that they were back with her in Canada.
"The family are happy that the kids are alive and well," he said. "The footage in the media is the first time any of the family in Australia have seen the kids since July last year. The family remains very, very concerned for the welfare of the kids."
Mr Jurd believed the action taken by Ms Hawach in the NSW Supreme Court last year to begin suing the family for emotional distress was in fact a "blind" so she could organise the return of her children, who had been taken to Lebanon by the father at the height of the Israel-Hezbollah war last July.
"These were two very determined people," he said.
"They both went to extreme steps. I don't support the steps, but the family in Australia continue to support Joseph and wish the matter had been resolved simply. From the start, it seemed this was impossible."
Ms Hawach told The Sunday Telegraph she couldn't have cared less about the prospect of going to jail for snatching her children in December from their father, who had obtained custody of them under Lebanese law.
She revealed she had cut and dyed her blonde hair black and kept her daughters in hiding in Lebanon for seven weeks before smuggling them out of the country last week.
Two of the men she hired, David Pemberton and Brian Corrigan, remain in a Beirut prison charged with child abduction.
Canadian-born Ms Hawach and Mr Hawach married in Sydney. The couple separated in Canada in 2005.
After the girls disappeared while in Sydney on a visit to Mr Hawach's parents, Ms Hawach applied for and was granted sole custody in the Canadian courts.
An international arrest warrant has been issued for Ms Hawach by Lebanese authorities, while the Canadian courts have issued a warrant for child abduction against Mr Hawach.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Ms Hawach said her greatest fear was losing her children.
"I was never worried about the courts, I was never worried about being arrested," she said. "I couldn't have cared less if I was thrown in jail. But I knew that if I was caught, my children would get turned back over, I wouldn't know where they would go and I would never see them again. My greatest fear was losing them again."
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Pilot dies in glider accident The Australian 26 February 2007





Pilot dies in glider accident

A GLIDER pilot was decapitated yesterday when his aircraft hit a barbed-wire fence in northern NSW.
The 38-year-old Sydney man was learning to fly and was being towed by another plane when his glider was prematurely released, sending him into the fence.
The accident occurred at the Keepit airstrip, near Tamworth, on the NSW northern slopes.
A NSW police spokeswoman said the man, who was in the front seat of the glider, was killed instantly when the aircraft crashed into barbed wire at the end of the airstrip.
The instructor, who was in the second seat behind the victim, received only minor injuries to his arm and was treated by ambulance officers at the scene.
A spokesman for the Lake Keepit Soaring Club, Geoff Neely, said the glider had been linked via a 60m cable to a propeller plane and was being towed down the runway. He said both the plane and the glider had lifted off but the pilot of the plane had been forced to release the cable because the plane was in danger of hitting trees at the end of the runway.
"If for any reason you're not climbing, either pilot can release the cable," Mr Neely said. "The power aircraft, relieved of that drag, has a bit of a chance of climbing away."
The propeller plane recovered and landed safely.
The glider made a controlled landing on the runway but was unable to stop as it ran off the end of the runway and slammed into the fence.
The dead man's instructor said thunderstorms in the area may have played a part in the death.
The accident is the third fatal glider crash in NSW in six months. In September, a 48-year-old pilot died when his plane crashed in southern NSW, and in August, a father and son were killed when their motorised glider crashed in a paddock at Catherine Field, in Sydney's southwest.
Additional reporting: AAP
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Saturday, 24 February 2007

National Museum takes top honour, Weekend Australian, 24 February, 2007.

National Museum takes top honour: [1 All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 24 Feb 2007: 10.
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The Northern Territory's Discovery EcoTours Australia won the Heritage and Cultural Tourism award for its small group tours covering Uluru, the Olgas, theMacDonnell Ranges, Kakadu National Park and the Cobourg Peninsula.
Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who attended last night's event, said the awards demonstrated the quality of tourism operators across Australia.
Host of last night's event, National Tourism Alliance chairman Col Hughes, said tourism in regional Australia had been flat over the past two years because of intense competition for the consumer dollar and the winners represented not just "the best of the best" but showed the industry's resilience.
FROM nationally renowned attractions to obscure ecotourism operations, last night's 2006 Australian Tourism Awards celebrated the best of the $75billion industry.
The National Museum of Australia took out the Major Tourist Attraction Award at last night's ceremony, attended by 800 industry players at Star City casino in Sydney.
The late Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo was named Tourism Retailer of the Year and perennial favourite the Sydney Royal Easter Show won the Major Festival and Special Events category.
NSW also took home the Tourism Wineries prize, which went to the Hunter Valley's Bimbadgen Estate Wines.
Less well known, Western Australia's Kooljaman at Cape Leveque won the Ecotourism award.
Owned by the Aboriginal communities of One Arm Point and Djarindjin, it is a wilderness camp 220km north of Broome. Visitors to this remote location can sleep in traditional palm frond shelters on the beach or stay in rustic cabins.
The Northern Territory's Discovery EcoTours Australia won the Heritage and Cultural Tourism award for its small group tours covering Uluru, the Olgas, theMacDonnell Ranges, Kakadu National Park and the Cobourg Peninsula.
Fantasea Cruises, the largest day cruise operator in the Whitsunday region, took out the Significant Tourist Attractions category. Their Great Barrier Reef platform includes an underwater viewing chamber.
Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who attended last night's event, said the awards demonstrated the quality of tourism operators across Australia.
She described the Australia Zoo as a worthy winner for its appeal to the key US market and for its "huge contribution to conservation and tourism".
"Every dollar earned at Australia Zoo is re-invested back in the zoo for conservation efforts," she said.
Host of last night's event, National Tourism Alliance chairman Col Hughes, said tourism in regional Australia had been flat over the past two years because of intense competition for the consumer dollar and the winners represented not just "the best of the best" but showed the industry's resilience.
"The finalists all go through a stringent review process before five judges over a three-day period, the results are then audited and the winners kept secret until the night by accountants Ernst & Young," he said. "These awards showcase the industry's enthusiasm and ability to bounce back."
Full list of winners -- The Weekend Australian Magazine
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Free holidays for farmers hits snag, Weekend Australian, 24 February, 2007.

Free holidays for farmers hits snag: [2 All-round First Edition]

Stapleton, John. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 24 Feb 2007: 10.
The NFF promoted the offer late last year through its state member organisations and commodity councils, including Wool Producers and the Cattle Council of Australia, as well as through the federation's weekly newsletter. The NFF, the Federated Farmers of New Zealand and Jetstar last month began a joint promotion for the free holidays.
"To minimise the impact on farmers, the Government is working with the National Farmers Federation to try to make sure farmers receiving exceptional circumstance payments inform Centrelink about their departure and make contact with Centrelink once they return to reinstate their drought assistance," he said.

Full Text

A SCHEME to give drought-stricken Australian farmers a free holiday in New Zealand has hit problems, with Centrelink refusing to continue welfare payments while the cockies are overseas.
Australia's National Farmers Federation began a campaign yesterday to alert its members to the fact their exceptional circumstance payments, provided under the Howard Government's drought-assistance program, would be cancelled for the duration of their overseas holiday.
Centrelink regulations state that for drought-affected farmers to be eligible for income support, they must be in Australia to recieve the money.
Under the scheme, Jetstar had offered to provide 100 free flights, while the Farmers Federation of New Zealand offered to provide free accommodation. The idea evolved from a proposal made at the FFNZ's annual general meeting in August, and Jetstar later came on board.
The NFF promoted the offer late last year through its state member organisations and commodity councils, including Wool Producers and the Cattle Council of Australia, as well as through the federation's weekly newsletter. The NFF, the Federated Farmers of New Zealand and Jetstar last month began a joint promotion for the free holidays.
NFF president David Crombie said some farmers might now decide it was not worth taking up the offer of the holiday.
"We had hoped the generous offer from New Zealand farmers and Jetstar to provide some respite for our drought-stricken farmers might yield a reprieve from the Government on what appears to be an overly bureaucratic detail," he said.
"But we have been advised an exemption is not possible."
A spokesman for Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran said all farmers in receipt of emergency government benefits had their payments suspended while they were out of the country.
"To minimise the impact on farmers, the Government is working with the National Farmers Federation to try to make sure farmers receiving exceptional circumstance payments inform Centrelink about their departure and make contact with Centrelink once they return to reinstate their drought assistance," he said.
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Islam before nation: Willie's ex, The Australian, 24 February, 2007.

Islam before nation: Willie's ex: [3 All-round Metro Edition]

Stapleton, John. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 24 Feb 2007: 10.
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Ms [Melanie Brown] met and married [Willie Brigitte] in 2003 while he was visiting Australia. He was suspected of planning to bomb Australia's electricity grid and is reported to have questioned his wife about high-security military installations such as Pine Gap.
The Australian first broke the news of Ms Brown's marriage to Brigitte, and later revealed the devout Muslim was studying to be a teacher at Sydney University and had taken to playing women's cricket wearing a hijab.
THE former wife of terror suspect Willie Brigitte believes her religion comes first and Australia second.
Speaking on the Nine Network's Sunday program, Australian Melanie Brown says she is a Muslim first and foremost.
She says that as a Muslim she did not support a terrorist attack on Australia, but is more ambivalent about attacks overseas.
"Who says it's a terrorist attack?" she says. "That's a hard question to answer. There is a fight on overseas and it's hard to come up with a clear understanding of what's going on."
Ms Brown met and married Brigitte in 2003 while he was visiting Australia. He was suspected of planning to bomb Australia's electricity grid and is reported to have questioned his wife about high-security military installations such as Pine Gap.
Ms Brown, formerly employed by the Australian army as an electronic warfare specialist, told authorities her husband had regularly grilled her about military intelligence.
Two months after they married, Brigitte was arrested and then deported on visa irregularities. He is now in a Paris jail while being tried for terrorist- related charges.
The Australian first broke the news of Ms Brown's marriage to Brigitte, and later revealed the devout Muslim was studying to be a teacher at Sydney University and had taken to playing women's cricket wearing a hijab.
When Ms Brown travelled to Paris to visit her husband in 2004, she was jailed and interrogated by French intelligence officers. She was released after several days, but not before telling them that Brigitte had acted suspiciously during their time together in Sydney. She later recanted, complaining of undue pressure.
She tells the Sunday program she now regrets co-operating with ASIO and the French authorities. She says she wishes she had remained silent. "If you marry someone you have loyalty to them," she says.
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Tunnel to open as polls close - NSW DECIDES, Weekend Australian, 24 February, 2007.

Tunnel to open as polls close - NSW DECIDES: [1 All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. Weekend Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 24 Feb 2007: 7.
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Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal said his Government had wanted the Lane Cove tunnel open "as soon as possible", that they had never suggested a specific opening date to the owner-operators and that the day had been decided soley by Connector Motorways.
THE NSW Government has brushed off criticism that the opening of the Lane Cove Tunnel on Sydney's North Shore the day after theelection had been timed to avoid a voter backlash.
Earlier this year, Premier Morris Iemma claimed he wanted to see the controversial tunnel opened before the poll.
Connector Motorways chief executive Ian Hunt said the opening of the tunnel on March25 was "absolutely a coincidence".
"I can say to you, categorically, that there has been no leaning on us, whatsoever, to come up with that date," he said.
Opposition road infrastructure spokesman Andrew Stoner said Labor was seeking to avoid another Cross City Tunnel-style controversy on the eve of an election.
Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal said his Government had wanted the Lane Cove tunnel open "as soon as possible", that they had never suggested a specific opening date to the owner-operators and that the day had been decided soley by Connector Motorways.
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Friday, 23 February 2007

Brough defends housing move, The Australian, 23 February, 2007. Picture Lindsay Moller.


Brough defends housing move: [1 All-round Country Edition]

Patricia Karvelas, John Stapleton, Additional reporting: Anthony Klan. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 23 Feb 2007: 4.
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MORE than $100 million a year would be slashed from Aboriginal housing in urban areas under a Howard Government plan aimed at ending corruption by indigenous land councils and forcing city Aborigines to join the mainstream housing market.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough said yesterday that 600 indigenous housing bodies were mismanaging taxpayer money, but his proposal to divert thefunds from major urban centres to remote communities would only affect a small proportion of urban Aborigines.
Yvonne Simms, 55, has lived at La Perouse all her life and is angry at Mr Brough, who visited the community last year, for falsely raising hopes that something would be done about the derelict state of the homes. But she agrees with Mr Brough about the corruption in indigenous land councils.

MORE than $100 million a year would be slashed from Aboriginal housing in urban areas under a Howard Government plan aimed at ending corruption by indigenous land councils and forcing city Aborigines to join the mainstream housing market.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough said yesterday that 600 indigenous housing bodies were mismanaging taxpayer money, but his proposal to divert thefunds from major urban centres to remote communities would only affect a small proportion of urban Aborigines.
"The overwhelming majority of indigenous Australians in cities live in state public housing, private rental properties or either own or are buying their own home," he said.
Mr Brough said while Aborigines in cities had access to housing through a variety of sources, only 40 per cent of the $240 million spent on new indigenous housing and maintenance reached remote communities.
"This imbalance needs to be addressed if we are serious about tackling housing issues in remote communities," he said.
Mr Brough's views on corrupt land groups won agreement from some Aborigines living in urban indigenous housing.
At La Perouse -- 30 minutes' drive from Sydney's central business district -- Aborigines occupy 28 houses with spectacular views across Botany Bay that would deliver a windfall of up to $20million if sold to developers.
But the houses themselves are basic and poorly maintained.
Yvonne Simms, 55, has lived at La Perouse all her life and is angry at Mr Brough, who visited the community last year, for falsely raising hopes that something would be done about the derelict state of the homes. But she agrees with Mr Brough about the corruption in indigenous land councils.
She believes that millions of dollars are being wasted or rorted through the land council system, wasted on bureaucrats and useless reports while the families themselves continue to live in poverty.
She also believes that Aboriginal bureaucrats show no respect for the indigenous elders in La Perouse.
"There is a big story here," Ms Simms said. "I would love to tell him about the rorting and the way the NSW Government has covered it up. Even in our own mob, the system is rife with nepotism."
Ms Simms said that while she admired the Lands Rights Act, she would like to see the land councils themselves abolished.
"They are rotten to the core," she said. "We want the Government to show us respect, to understand how significant La Perouse is to the traditional land owners."
Mr Brough said a recent review found one land council in a major city provided housing to five current or former board members and gave priority to people already in mainstream public housing.
It also had more than $500,000 sitting in a bank account.
And he cited other examples: one of a major regional centre with seven separate organisations involved in Aboriginal housing; and another of a land council that had six brand new houses sitting vacant because of poor management within the organisation.
But Labor's indigenous affairs spokeswoman, Jenny Macklin, said Australia's housing crisis would only get worse if the Howard Government scrapped support for indigenous housing in cities.
"Responsibility for indigenous housing was transferred to the commonwealth from ATSIC in 2004, so the Government has had the power for 2 1/2 years to stamp out this alleged rorting," Ms Macklin said.
"Taking away money from indigenous Australians in urban areas will not solve these problems. In fact, it will only make them worse. Stripping money from maintenance of existing urban housing stock won't help the situation either."
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