Wild Rivers Legislation

It wasn't a good start for the Labor Government yesterday. They lost a vote when Independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott gave their support to the Coalition. It must have hurt. It was a minor issue - an amendment to the changes to Parliamentary rules and procerdures and it snuck in by one vote. I was surprised to find out that Bob Katter, Independent from Queensland who sided with the Coalition after the election, decided to go with Labor this time. It didn't affect Labor's hold on power but but the 73-72 vote loss was a boost to Coalition morale.

Today, Tony Abbott wants Aboriginals to have the right to undertake commercial tourist ventures in the Wild Rivers area of Queensland. The Queensland Labor government passed a law that said they weren't allowed to do this and he hopes to have it over-ridden today. It's absurd to think that Aboriginal people are going to damage the land in some way by introducing new tourist ventures. Local and overseas tourists are crying out for more Aboriginal-run tourist attractions, they have a lot to each us. Good friend of Tony Abbott, Noel Pearson, is behind the move to overturn the legislation. "If the Prime Minister is serious about indigenous empowerment, she will unlock indigenous land in Cape York" Tony Abbott said.

But there is a clear division between indigenous communities - some are fiercely opposed to the idea. This is an important issue and one that I hope will give power back to the Aboriginal people so they may prosper at doing what they excel at - teaching us more about our country.

Footnote: Noel Pearson slammed the government's decision to have a parliamentary inquiry into the Wild River legislation. A delegation of indigenous leaders and Cape York traditional owners were in Canberra yesterday and welcome the inquiry. Noel Pearson says that a Senate inquiry has already been completed and it's a pointless waste of time to have another one.

Opening of Parliament 28/9/2010

The pomp and ceremony of yesterday's opening of Parliament was a colourful affair. It started with the MP's and senators gathered together at the front of Parliament House for the 'welcome to country' ceremony by the local Aboriginal people of Canberra. Then everyone moved inside where the bizarre old-world ceremonies were carried out. Our first indigenous member of the House of Reps MP Ken Wyatt wore a kangaroo skin cloak and Ed Husic became the first MP sworn in with his hand on the copy of the Koran.


But there were broken promises flying around. Tony Abbott went back on a deal he struck with the independents before he knew which party they would go with. He agreed to give the speaker a "pair" so the Government wouldn't lose a much needed vote. Then he changed his mind.

Peter Slipper

Julia Gillard also broke a promise. She announced that a committee would be formed to find out how to cut our emissions. But on the run up to the election she said "There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead." So they both have short memories.

But there was a real turn up for the books which must have stunned Tony Abbott. Out of the blue, Liberal MP Peter Slipper was elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Reps. Nominated by the Labor Party, he beat his own leader's candidate - Nationals MP Bruce Scott by 78 to 71 in a secret ballot. I can't imagine what this man is thinking, he must be insane - they will eat him up and spit him out. People got a bit suspicious when Mr Slipper didn't attend the Coalition party room meeting, they rightly speculated that he might be doing a deal with Labor about the Deputy Speaker's job. The deputy is normally drawn from the government's ranks.

So it was an interesting first day with lots more to come. Who said politics was boring?

Aboriginal People Flee Homeland

Yuendumu is a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory and is home to many Aboriginal artists. It's 293 km northwest of Alice Springs on the edge of the Tanami Desert, population 817. They have 3 community stores, a school, airstrip, swimming pool, church, old people's program, womens centre and safe house.

After a tribal fight, 101 people left Yuendumu in a hurry last week and made an 1800 km journey to Adelaide. At least 30 children were in the group and they arrived in a convoy of buses and cars and were squeezed into emergency accommodation. A frustrated South Australian Premier Mike Rann said it was the media, not the Northern Territory government who advised him the displaced Aboriginal people were on their way. "South Australian have been left to pick up the pieces as more than 100 people have been bussed in with no notice, no preparation and no planning." But there's always two sides to a story.


Wendy from Adelaide is furious and writes:


Why the hell does Elizabeth (a suburb of Adelaide) have to cop all these Aboriginals with their anti-social behaviour? We have way too many here now who do not work, loiter, break and enter, and harrass people of Elizabeth daily. How stupid is it to bring in even more of them? They just rocked up, expecting us to take them in with love and care - NO WAY - they started their fights, send them back and make them deal with it, let them blow themselves up for god's sake! The houses they are staying at are already trashed and their kids run riot day and night, the neighbours are furious. The kids just climb into people's yards, go into their back gardens, they have no boundaries at all, it is disgusting. Make these lousy parents care for their kids or have them removed like any white family would have done to them or would that constitute 'stolen generation'.... jezuz .... send the filthy mongrels back before there is trouble - SERIOUS trouble.



Someone made the comment "I hear what you are saying but do not have an answer to your problem." She responded:



I know, we are all made to feel sorry for them, yet in our area, all they do is trash everything they own and everyone elses for that matter and if anyone says anything, they are branded racist. Now with 100 more to deal with we are all at our wits end. Their kids are never taught boundaries and just tonight, they are all running up and down the roads, yelling and annoying the elderly people, crushing their gardens by running all over them... out in the bush they just sit around and have no control over their kids but this is suburbia, these people should not have been dumped here. Now they will get free household appliances, cash, food, all because they were at war in their own town. We have poor and needy too, but if they were to ask for a free washing machine because of their situation, they would be laughed at. Enough is enough. If they want to be at war with one another, then they should have to deal with it. Even the Northern Territory police can't control them - it's time everyone stood up to the Aboriginals and told them to get their acts together and start behaving like members of society - but because they are Aboriginals they feel they have more rights, they dislike white people, and believe they can do what they want but by crikey if something goes wrong, the white fella is the first person they run to for help... makes no sense to me.... the houses they have here at Elizabeth Grove will need to be demolished when they move on, what a waste of community housing where the average waiting list for one is over 10 years....it's selfish and stupid...as Jennifer Rankine says I hope the NT pay for the cost of all this, SA should not have to food the bill!


Now the reasons behind the riot are starting to emerge. A prominent indigenous family, the Watsons, involved in the Yuendumu riots, have drafted an agreement to permanently ban 30 residents from returning to the community unless they agree to the Aboriginal law of "payback" for the death of a brother." The agreement names 22 individuals and one entire family who are their sworn enemies. It says that these people are banished for life and is signed by the Watsons and three registered traditional landowners.


A representative of the exiles, community leader Harry Nelson attended a mediation meeting where Watson's demand were put. Local police officer Peter Davies also attended who said that because they couldn't get payback, they did the next best thing which was to chase them out of the community. During the riots, police gathered vulnerable residents into the women's shelter. "Once they stepped outside that secure area out there, no one could guarantee their safety" Officer Davies said.


Sebastian Watson was stabbed on the night of his brother's murder and is the instigator of the agreement and warned that if the exiles returned before "payback" had occurred, there would be more violence. However, he pointed out that if they agreed to tribal punishment "they can come back" he said. Mr Watson is facing charges relating to the riots, along with 16 others. Dennis James Nelson 20 from Yuenduma has been charged with the murder of Mr Watson's brother.

Acting Senior Sargeant Shaun Gill, officer in charge of Northern Territory's southern region, confirmed that police were aware of the list of the exiles but did not support any such ban. He said police would not allow tribal punishments to occur. "We don't support any form of traditional payback" he said.

New Hung Parliament Ready to Begin

Laurie Oakes wrote an interesting column yesterday. He talked about another hung Parliament that happened way back in 1944. The Labor Party had a crucial vote coming up on a bill to control the coal industry and the Labor whips found one of their senators was missing.

John Curtin's government faced defeat if he wasn't found so a search party went out to find Senator Thomas Arthur, a man who loved a drink. Hard to believe, he'd been kidnapped by the Opposition who wanted to block the legislation. They didn't have far to look, they eventually found him in the Hotel Canberra with a bottle of whiskey.

The story was told by political journalist Don Whitington in Strive To Be Fair, an unfinished autobiography published a year after his death in 1977. "The amiable Senator allowed himself to be transferred, still with his bottle of whiskey, to a room in Parliament House in the suite of Labor's Senate Leader" he wrote. "There he spent the rest of the day being assisted into the Chamber for divisions and so the coal legislation was passed."

What a great story and it shows what can happen in a hung parliament. Every member from now on will have to be present when the house is sitting. Every time there is a division, an Opposition win is possible and Tony Abbott will be waiting in the wings.

For the Government to maintain control of the House, even the PM - normally excused from such duties - will have to be available and ready to dash into the Chamber for a division at any time. The Opposition will get more opportunities to attack the Government and Parliament may need to sit an extra four weeks a year.

Ministers wont be able to travel overseas unless under exceptional circumstances, so that grounds Kevin for a while. And the independents wont be exempt. Windsor missed 158 divisions in the last Parliament, Bob Katter missed 264, and Oakeshott missed 71 of the 237 votes he could have taken part in. From now on though, absences by independents won't be tolerated.

So Australian politics should be anything but boring when they go back this week. I wonder who among our esteemed MP's might be swayed from his or her duty by a bottle whiskey. What? Aussie pollies tempted by the opportunity to knock off early and go to the pub? Never!

Dianne Brimble Case

It's been nearly 8 years since Dianne Brimble was found dead on the floor of a cabin on the Pacific Sky cruise ship. Mark Wilhelm finally owned up to giving her the drug believed to have contributed to her death and he was charged with manslaughter. But there was a deal done and he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of supplying an illegal drug and escaped a gaol sentence.


The autopsy showed she died from a combination of an overdose of alcohol and the illegal drug GHB also known as "fantasy" or the date rape drug. Wilhelm and Mrs Brimble met in the nightclub and went back to his cabin and had sex.



At the first trial, the court heard that Mrs Brimble willingly took the drug but it was complicated. Wilhelm was still responsible for her manslaughter if the jury found he had supplied her with the drug that "significantly contributed" to her death. The jury could not reach a verdict and after 4 weeks they had a hung jury. So they had to have another trial.


Many people were distressed that Wilhelm escaped punishment but it was noted in court that his life had been "destroyed" in the years following the inquest and trials. "No punishment I can give will be anything like the punishment he has suffered over the years" Justice Roderick Howie said at the time of sentencing. He's breaking my heart - not!


Yesterday, the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Nicholas Cowdery said that justice had been done in the Dianne Brimble case. Surely he jests. There are no words to describe the way these men behaved towards this poor woman and the treatment she received at their hands is hard to believe. I think Mr Cowdrey is an ass.

Nicholas Cowdery made the comments yesterday at a book launch, Abandoned - The Sad Death of Dianne Brimble. He heaped praise on the author Geesche Jacobsen. He said she charted every aspect of the case from the time Mrs Brimble boarded the Pacific Sky with her sister, daughter and niece, to the final moments of the of Wilheim's trial.

"As we might expect from a professional of her education, competence and experience and high reputation, Geesche has tackled an extraordinarily complex and drawn-out case spanning almost eight years."

Abandoned - The Sad Death of Dianne Brimble is published by Allen and Unwin

Ban the Burqa Mural in Newtown

Newtown is a trendy, inner-city, multi-cultural suburb of Sydney.

Shop owner Sergio Redegalli painted 'Say no to burqas' on the outside of his workshop this week to start a debate about the practice of wearing face coverings. He said that burqas and niqabs are symbols of religious extremism and were becoming more prevalant in Australia. He said his sign wasn't about being anti-Muslim, it's anti-burqa. "If you let the practice of covering your face go, someone, somewhere down the line will say we would like Sharia law" he said.

Mr Redegalli said the image had already been defaced twice since he started painting it on Monday. He also drives a ute with stickers on the front which say "Australians have nothing to hide, say no to burqas".

It's caused quite a stir and people have gone to the council to complain. They sent two officials out to talk to him about removing it but apparently it's not illegal - it's a freedom of speech issue and they can't do anything about it.

Mr Redegalli told the local newspaper "This mural has come from frustration that political correctness has gone so far, you can't say anything about Muslims without getting into trouble" he said. "This is a stance on rights for ourselves, we can say something peacefully without having violence."

Clearly, Mr Redegalli is a brave man and knows what he's getting himself into. In a box beside the mural are printed copies of an article from the New York Times by an Egyptian feminist who supports banning the burqa. Also taped to the wall is an A4 page containing the Australian Human Rights Commission's definition of racial hatred.

Suicide Websites

The painful affliction of loneliness strikes again. Two lonely people meet on a suicide website in the UK and decide to kill themselves together. Joanne Lee, using the name Heaven's little girl, wrote: 'I haven't the strength to do this alone. I have all the ingredients and want to do it asap."

Steve Lumb 35, saw the ad and drove across the country to meet Joanne and shortly after they were dead. Their bodies were found in his car and fireman had to wear protective clothing to remove them as it was filled with lethal gas. They had put warning signs on the windows to protect the people they knew would be taking their bodies away.

Joanne lived alone with her two cats and from suffered depression and anorexia. In the weeks before her death she posted her plans to kill herself on suicide internet forums where cyber friends offered advice on how to do it. She wanted to know if she could make a lethal gas to use in her bathroom and an online friend advised "If your bathroom is small, it could work if you ensured it was airtight."

That attempt failed and Joanne then advertised for a suicide partner and Mr Lumb answered. Last Sunday he wrote a farewell message on a website revealing his plans to CTB - catch the bus - the online phrase used for commiting suicide. He wrote "I'm just saying goodbye im ctb today and to all you people suffering, I hope you find what you are looking for." He then drove 200 miles to meet Joanne and soon after they were both dead.

Mr Lumb's father said his son spent a lot of time on the internet playing games but he had no idea what he had planned. He was a truck driver and had spent an ordinary weekend at home with him before saying goodbye on Sunday afternoon. He didn't show any indication that something was wrong. "I lost my wife Elizabeth a few years ago, whether that preyed on his mind I dont know. I thought the world of him. I couldn't have had a better son. But he was a very lonely lad.

Joanne Lees father Jeffrey separated from her mother and she has since re-married. She was registered with NHS for depression and anorexia right to the end. "We thought her condition was improving, she seemed more content and happy even" they said.

Having internet sites out there explaining how to kill yourself is wrong. If there isn't already a law to ban them, we should make one. We should be able to solve feelings of loneliness but we can't. There is almost a theory about that people are lonely because they want to be. You hear people advise others to join a club, stop moping around, pull your socks up and get out into the world. We are slowly getting better in Australia, The Black Dog Institute and Beyond Blue and others do a good job of educating people about the problems of depression but we need to do more because it's not enough.

National Broadband Network Australia

Successful businessman Graeme Wood said yesterday that the NBN would be a "$43 million hi-tech babysitter." By that, I think he means we will all be spending more time in front of a TV screen. Founder of wotif.com, he questioned the value of pouring taxpayer funds into a system that most households would mainly use to download games and movies. "If all you're doing is speeding up the rate at which we entertain ourselves, can you justify that from a public expenditure point of view?" he told the Australian. "Is there any value to society in just delivering entertainment faster? He added that a public debate hasn't happened, they don't know the true end cost and the benefits to society are minimal. I see his point.

A few weeks ago when Independent MP Tony Windsor had us hanging by a thread, he said it was the NBN that finally clinched his decision to go with Labor. We later found out that he couldn't even turn a computer on, let alone use one. So basically we have a hung parliament because a man made a major decision on something he knows absolutely nothing about.

Tony Abbott will continue to push its more modest broadband plan, although it didn't go down well with voters at the election. Andrew Robb said they didn't do a good enough job of selling it, they put it out too late and no one understands it anyway. "We would have had in remote Australia a full satellite service in 30 months" he said.

Despite his criticism of the NBN, Graeme Wood criticized Tony Abbot's plan to "demolish" the NBN. He made the point that Malcolm Turnbull had made most of his fortune from the dot com revolution. BTW his wotif.com business is now worth $43 billion. He said broadband would be a boom to business, hospitals and education but the government needed a policy to encourage more positive returns to society. "Which part of the $42 million investment is going to provide hi-tech babysitting?" he said "What are the costs to society if people spend an extra two hours a day in front of a screen instead of walking the dog or talking to their neighbour?"

Then he had a shot at the big miners. He said Australia could not continue its reliance on being "a quarry" for miners and needed to come up with new ideas. He accused the government of kowtowing to BHP Billiton boss Marius Kloppers over the ETS and the mining tax. "So who's running the joint, is it the bloody government or Koppers?" he asked.

This proposed broadband plan is causing a lot of angst and because most of us don't understand it, we have to rely on the experts to make the right decision for us. Let's hope they do. I like the comment made by Vocus Communications Chief Executive James Spenceley last month - he likened NBN to "giving everyone a Farrari" when they might be content with a Commodore.

Villawood Detention Centre

One of Australia's most contentious issues is asylum seekers. Every time another boat arrives our blood pressure rises. It's hard to know exactly why but I would guess it's because we're worried that criminals and terrorists could be sneaking into the country under the radar.

We woke this morning to a protest on the roof of the Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney. Nine Tamels, one Iraqi and one Afghan are protesting because their visa applications have been rejected and they must return to their country of origin. They have exhausted all avenues open to them in appealing their rejected application and have now cut their wrists. Yesterday a Fijian man killed himself saying he would rather die in Australia than go back to Fiji where he said he would be killed.

But the federal government says nothing will prevent their deportation. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said their actions would do nothing to help their cause. "Our immigration officials determine who gets asylum after a very rigorous process. And it's not determined by protest, and a protest won't change the outcome" he said.

The men are demanding that their cases be reviewed again before they will come down. They also want an independent and transparent review of their cases and want to meet with immigration officials. I'm amazed that there are any refugees being sent home at all after a report was released that said 95 percent of rejected visas were overturned on appeal. One wonders what calibre of people have already been granted permission to stay here.

There are now 500 people waiting for their visa applications to be processed in detention centres on Christmas Island and the mainland. And more boats arrive every day.

Burqa Ban in Australia

What a surprise! Muslim women telling us that Islam values are far superior to our "flawed" Western ones. They were out in force yesterday at Lakemba in Sydney trying to convice us that the hideous garment, the burqa, has nothing to do with the oppression of women.

Fautmeh Ardati, member of the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahir said "Despite the intense negative propaganda against Islam and in particular, the lies about its treatment of women, the number of western women embracing Islam continues to rise at a rapid rate" she said. "By turning their backs on this flawed way of life, it is testament of the superiority of Islamic values over Western values". No arrogance there.

But she wasn't finished. Women had two options, she said. "The Western secular way of life, which robs a woman of her dignity, honour and respect, where she is considered a little more than a commodity to be bought and sold, or the option of Islam, where a woman's dignity, respect and honour are priceless". It's obvious she hasn't seen the video of a young woman being stoned to death or heard about the young girl who was buried alive by her angry brother and father.

There were about 2000 people at the rally yesterday and the women and men were segregated. Sheik Shady al-Suleiman said Muslims loved Australia (yeah right) but rejected interference in the practice of their religion. "Keep away from our affairs" he said.

Well Shady, someone needs to give you an important message. Every display of hatred towards Australians like this one only makes things worse. Why won't you go and live in a Muslim country and leave us alone?

Euthanasia in Australia

The Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill was passed by the Northern Territory's Lesislative Assembly on 25th May 1995. Nine months later, John Howard had the bill overturned. But now the terminally ill could be granted to right to die because Julia Gillard has backed a conscience vote on restoring the authority of territories to legalise euthanasia. Greens leader Bob Brown promised that his first priority would be to restore the territories' power to pass euthanasia laws. "This won't bring in euthanasia, but it will restore the rights of the territorians to be able to legalise for euthanasia, they'll be given the same rights as the states.

It's been proved that it can be done right. The Dutch Euthanasia Act states that euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are not punishable if the doctor acts in accordance with certain criteria. That criteria is the patient's request, the patient's suffering, the presence of reasonable alternatives, a second doctor's opinion and the proposed method of ending life. After all that doctors have to report intended euthanasia patients to a review committee who have the final say. Some forms of voluntary euthanasia are legal in Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and some state in the US.

When the Northern Territory bill was overturned, Dr Philip Nitschke was shattered. On 29 March 1997, reporter Jodie Brough wrote: It was a surreal scene. The Senate had just passed Liberal MP Kevin Andrew's private member's bill overturning the Northern Territory's historic euthanasia law and now the man who had helped 4 patients to die, Philip Nitschke was in a raw rage at the Senate door at 1.30am. Surrounded by a huddle of journalists and photographers in the autumn chill, Nitschke branded the Act as now worthless, holding copies of the act and the Andrews bill in shaking hands in a lonely act of defiance. Then he burned them with a cigarette lighter as the cameras clicked. A few of the victorious anti-euthanasia senators came to watch and shook their heads at the bizarre spectacle. Senator Julian McGauran (Nat, Vic) called out "It's all over doctor. Always a stunt."

Philip Nitschke is head of Exit International and has promoted the drug Nembutal as the "peaceful pill" and gives advice to elderly people with a terminal illness or chronic pain on how to end their lives. People can download Exit's instructions from the Peaceful Pill handbook which has been published on line in the USA since the drug was banned in Australia in 2007. But here's the bit to keep us all in line. In Australia, it's illegal to use a phone, fax, email or the internet to discuss or research assisted suicide. Downloading the handbook carries a maximum $110,000 fine but no one has been charged with the offence so far. There is also a 25 year gaol sentence for importing the drug and a $550,000 fine. We all remember what happened when Qantas pilot Graeme Wiley asked for help to die. His wife went to gaol and the long-time friend who went to Mexico to get the drug for him committed suicide rather than face a gaol sentence.

So let's hope that common sense prevails and our pollies make it possible to end the suffering of many. We kill animals don't we?

Spartacus

It's hard to believe that the star of Spartacus, Kirk Douglas, is now 93 years old. He and his 80 year old wife Anne, have temporarily moved to New York from their Los Angeles home, as the family rallies around Michael who has throat cancer.

Michael is reported to have an 80 per cent chance of beating the disease. I wonder if he's stopped smoking yet.

Michael Douglas is one of my favourite actors, I loved him as Gordon Gekko in 'Wall Street' and can't wait to see the sequel.

Pope Benedict's Visit to the UK

The Pope's visit to the UK is causing headaches. Responding to questions submitted in advance on the way to Britain, the Pope said abusive priests should never have access to children and that they suffered from an illness that mere "goodwill" could not cure. He said he was shocked and felt "great sadness" that church authority had failed to be sufficiently vigilent to take the "necessary measures" to stop the abuse and prevent it.

But we've heard it all before and we know it's a lie. He and his predecessors had ample opportunity to stop the abuse but they chose not to. Instead they protected the priest by sending him somewhere else, knowing full well that he would continue his violent sexual acts on innocents. German Cardinal Kasper is one of the Vatican's most important advisers on the Church of England but at the last minute, the Pope was forced to travel without him. He made some comments that embarrassed the Pope - he said that an "aggressive aethism" was rife in Britain and that the UK is now a third world country. A spokesman for the Vatican explained that his absence was due to "health reasons".

Survivors of abuse at the hands of priests have turned out in force, angry that the Queen is welcoming the Pope while meetings with victims, not yet confirmed, are to be held in secret as happened in Australia and the US. People are fed up and angry that they are rolling out the red carpet for a seriously evil rape facilitator. "Pope Benedict XVI is the boss of a church that acts as a patron, protector and financier of child rape" said one writer.

I will never forget watching Cardinal Pell a few years ago, showing his support by walking side by side with a paedophile priest on his way to court, charged with raping little children. So many shattered lives ruined by the trusted, pious men of the Catholic Church.

Australian Ernie Awards

The Ernie Award is a unique Australian gong award for comments deemed to be sexist by prominent people. It's named after Ernie Ecob when he said "Women aren't welcome in the shearing shed - they're only after sex" which is why there is a sheep on top of the Gold Ernie. The awards night is in celebration of him resigning from the Labor Council of NSW. There is also an Elaine award reserved for women who make comments considered to be unhelpful to the sisterhood - it's called the Elaine, named after Elaine Nile and the Clinton award for repeat offenders.

A dinner is held every year for 400 women and the winner is determined by the person who receives the loudest booing and hissing when their sexist comment is read out. Last night Tony Abbott won the silver Ernie for his comment "Housewives of Australia need to understand as they do their ironing .....". But the well bred, well heeled university gentlemen of St Paul's College in Sydney took the gold Ernie for setting up a pro-rape Facebook page last November. Tony Abbott also took out the Clinton award for repeat offenders. Joe Hockey won for his comment "Wayne Swan is to surpluses is what Paris Hilton is to celibacy."

Former David Jones CEO Mark McInnes shared this year's Industrial Ernie with mining magnate Clive Palmer. McInnes said his former secretary was "over-reacting" when he touched her breast. Clive Palmer got his for saying to a heavily pregnant Tanya Plibersek on the panel of Q and A "You shouldn't get too excited in your fragile condition".

The Elaine, was taken out by ABC radio presenter Genevieve Jacobs when she asked Tanya Plibersek "Do you feel bad that other people are raising your children?" Ouch!

Last year's gold Ernie went to Pastor Danny Nalliah who blamed the Black Saturday bushfires on Victoria's abortion laws.

Young Girl Saved from Arranged Marriage

Yesterday, the Family Court saved a 14 year old girl from an arranged marriage with someone she had never met. Her father was about to take her overseas to marry a man he had chosen to be her husband. The Melbourne teenager is one of many Australian-born girls forced into unwanted marriages. She had to surrender her passport and the court has barred her from travelling overseas until she turns 18.

In June, child protection officers received a report that a 13 year old girl had been taken out of school ahead of her intended marriage. Federal police placed the girls name on the official Watch List at airports around the country. Her family are Muslims from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. She had been engaged for a month to a 17 year old boy from another country but they had never met and she had only seen a photograph of him.

The officer said he formed the opinion that the girl did not understand the concept of having sex with her new husband and hadn't discussed her feelings with her parents. She didn't know what her mother thought about the marriage.

"It is my belief that it would not be in her best interests to be married as she is still a child and does not appear to understand the consequences of marriage" the officer's affidavit said. "Furthermore, she would be deprived of an education and may be at risk of sexual exploitation and emotional harm."

The Islamic Council of Victoria vice-president Sherene Hassan said arranged child marriages were a perverse practice not mandated by Islam. "According to Islamic law, a woman must give her consent to marriage without any form of collusion" she said yesterday. "Sadly there are some Muslims that fail to discern the difference between culture and religion."

Just another reason why we should close the door to Muslim immigration. Their stone-age beliefs have no place in Australian society.

Malcolm Turnbull - Demolition Man

Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004 and was Leader of the Opposition of the Liberal Party for 15 months. Before entering politics he was employed as a journalist, barrister, company legal counsel and merchant banker. In 2009, his estimated wealth was $178 million and he is considered to be a man of many talents.


Turnbull graduated from the University of Sydney with a double degree in arts and law. He then studied law at Oxford and like his colleague Tony Abbott, is a Rhodes Scholar. While at Oxford he worked for the Sunday Times and wrote for magazines and newspapers in the United States and Australia. I wonder if there is anything this man can't do.


When he was Leader of the Opposition, he was keen for his party to support the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme proposed by Kevin Rudd to take to Copenhagen, but there was a lot of opposition circulating in the Liberal Party at that time and many members weren't convinced that climate change was real. People were saying that he should move over to the Labor Party because he was so adamant that it should be introduced. This resulted in a challenge to his leadership and he was voted out on 1st December 2009 and Tony Abbott suddenly found himself Leader of the Opposition by one vote.

In April 2010, Turnbull announced that he was going to retire from politics but changed his mind a month later. Yesterday, Tony Abbott saved him from a life on the back benches by promoting him to the Opposition's Communications Minister - he said there was no better qualified person to prosecute a case against the National Broadband Network (NBN) adding that it was his intention to "demolish" it. Fighting words indeed! The Labor government intends to spend $43 billion on a plan that many believe is far too expensive and it's now his job to prove that it's a waste of money and that the Coalition has a much more efficient and cheaper alternative.

"It is such a waste spending $5000 per houshold to deliver an information super-highway whether people want it or not" he said yesterday. He added that the Coalition was "hungry to hold the government to account". He replaces Tony Smith who was demoted to parliamentary secretary for tax reform.

Terrorist Plot to Kill Australians

This is the second time we've had 5 Muslims stand before a court on terrorism charges, but this time it was in the Supreme Court in Melbourne. Yesterday five devout Muslims were accused of planning an attack on a Sydney Army Base, intending to kill as many people as possible with bombs and guns.

Wissam Mahmoud Fattal 34 from Melbourne, Nayef El Sayed 26 of Glenroy, Saney Edow Aweys 27 of Carlton North, Yacqub Khayre 23 of Meadow Heights and Abdirahmin Mohamud Ahmed 26 of Preston have all pleaded not guilty.

It's alleged that they were motivated by Australia's involvement in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and said they were on a mission to defend their Islamic faith. A panel of 15 jurors were selected to hear the case. The trial is expected to last up to a year and will include hundreds of witnesses.

Crown Prosecutor Richard Maidment SC opened the case. He said they were part of a group who believed the world was divided into two camps - those who strictly adhere to the Muslim faith and those who did not. He told the jury the men felt it was their religious obligation to carry out the defence of Islam and other Muslims. He said they possessed images and vidoes of planes going into the twin towers, ritual beheadings and step-by-step instructions on how to make a bomb. ASIO had the men under constant surveillance for some time, tapping their phones and following their movements.

As he prepared to martyr himself by attacking the Holesworthy Army Base in Sydney, Wissam Fattal asked his mother "Don't you want paradise? Don't you want your son and yourself to go to paradise to the highest degree? This terrestrial life is pain mum." In the courtroom, Islamic women were dressed in the hijab. In the dock, the five accused men, two Lebanese and three Somali, wore suits and ties. Because of the expected duration of the trial, the jury is made up of 10 men and 4 women.

In an intercepted phone conversation, Mr Fattall tells a man called Aref that he should stay in an Arabic country. "It is decadence here" he said "I want out of here". He prepared his parents in Lebanon of his martydom. He told his mother "I am entrusting my cause to Allah, the Glorious and Almighty." In September 2008 he said to his mother "Supplicate for me to be killed at the hands of the False Messenger." And his mother said "my sweetheart" and "my darling" and later said "Thanks be to Allah I am so happy with you."

Mr Robinson said that the men took steps to obtain a fatwa, or religious decree, to endorse the raid on the army base. When they couldn't get one from an Islamic sheik in Australia, Walid Mohamed went to Somalia to get it and was obviously successful.

So there were Muslim sheiks in Australia who knew about the proposed attack and what I would like to know is - what did they do about it?

Rob Oakeshott, Independent MP for Lyne

In 2007 when Morris Iemma was Premier of NSW, he had a meeting with Independent MP Rob Oakeshott. Oakeshott asked to be considered for the job of a minister in the Iemma Labor government. But last Friday, he said he couldn't remember any such meeting taking place.

This upstart is a total fraud and pretender. Last Tuesday he put on a good show of pretending to weigh up all promises made from both parties but he didn't realize that his meeting with Iemma would become common knowledge. Iemma thought about the request and consulted several senior ministers including Michael Coster, who has confirmed that the meeting took place. Prime Minister Gillard offered this man a ministry and wonder what she thinks of him now and how glad she must be that he declined to take it.

Oakeshot grew up on Sydney's north shore, son of a prominent doctor and went to Barker College. After graduating from Sydney University he worked briefly at the Road Transport Forum before becoming a staffer for Mr Vaile, the newly elected National Party Federal MP for Lyne. Six years later in 2002, he split with the Nationals to become an independent.

Last month, he was re-elected with a large majority but Lyne is an anti-Labor electorate, in fact their anti Labor/Greens vote was the second biggest in the country. So what did he do? He pretended to weigh up all offers from both parties and do the right thing for the country, when all along, he followed his heart and voted Labor - the exact opposite of what the people of his electorate wanted.

I suspect his time in the bear pit of Canberra will be an interesting one.

Killer on the Run

There's a man hiding in dense ravines and cliffs of the rugged Barrington Tops who is wanted for two murders. Malcolm Naden is the state's most wanted man and has been on the run for five years. He's the only fugitive since Ned Kelly, to have a bounty put on his head.

He's been creeping up to remote rural houses and sneaking into their roof at night and when the owners leave the house, he steals what he needs and moves on. So far he's stolen a shotgun, two rifles, camping equipment, gravy sachets and weet-bix.

In June 2005, police found the body of his cousin Kristy Scholes in his bedroom at his grandparents house - he had lived with them since Year 7. He is also suspected of murdering another cousin Lateesha Nolan. He is responsible for leaving two families and six children without mothers.

In 2007, the government posted a $50,000 reward for information leading to his capture. He is a former shearer and worked as a skinner and boner at the Dubbo abattoir. He became obsessed with religion and believed the end of the world was near. His excellent bushman skills have kept him on the loose for 5 years and he leaves behind butchered carcasses of kargaroos wherever he goes. In 2007, he left his fingerprint in a break and enter in a home in the Barrington Tops area but he got away and wasn't seen again for two years. Police now suspect he is back there.

Because he hasn't killed anyone yet, he could be considered non-violent and the country folk seem rather relaxed about his presence. "Nobody has ever seen him" one local said "He goes into these places and only takes food and supplies for survival and hardly leaves a trace".

And yes, you've guessed it - he's becoming a legend. Police warn that he is not a romantic hero - he killed two defenceless women, hardly someone you would look up to. But Paula Muddle in the local store at Barrington said his legend is growing.

It's cold and rugged this time of year up in that part of the world and it's not surprising he's finding refuge in people's roofs. Coincidentally, this is the country where Captain Thunderbolt hung out 140 years ago. "Thunderbolt's Trail" is a 4WD fire trail in the Barrington Tops State Forest which follows his original route. A bullet hole in the wall of Moonan Flat pub, made by the bushranger during a hold-up, is proudly on display near Scone, New South Wales.

Book Review: Secret River by Kate Grenville

William Thornhill, a petty criminal from London, is sentenced in 1806 to New South Wales for the term of his natural life. When he gets his 'Ticket of Leave', he stakes him claim on some rich, fertile land on the banks of the Hawkesbury River and takes his wife Sal and their children to live there. They clear a small area, build a bark hut and work hard to establish a crop of corn. Not long after they arrive, they see some smoke on a hill behind the hut and Thornhill comes face to face with the native Aboriginal people. A battle then begins between the old and new settlers.

Beautifully written, it's easy to relate to this ambitious, determined man William Thornhill as he struggles to establish a new start in the harsh Australian bush. We also see the innocence of the Aboriginal people and the fury and power of the white man when his world is threatened.

Kate Grenville dedicates her book to the Aboriginal people: past, present and future.

Wyatt Robb - Youngest MP Ever

The new 20 year old Member for Longman was the main attraction yesterday as he wandered the halls of Parliament House. He is one of several new Liberal National Party faces who took nine seats off Labor. He said he couldn't wait to move into his office, hire staff, and get cracking on his maiden speech. I'll be interested to hear it.


"I've sort of started it over the last couple of days and getting some ideas for what's in it, so any advice, I'd love some advice" he said. Tony Abbott thanked everyone for doing a great job in getting elected and singled out "first indigenous MP, Member for Hasluck, Ken Wyatt.



But Wyatt Robb stole the show. Scary old men with death stares were all smiles as they welcomed the lad into the fold. At the end of the day, they all headed for home but they'll be back when Parliament resumes on 28th September which is bang in the middle of the school holidays.


Will this young man get eaten alive in the bear pit? Only time will tell.

Prime Minister Gillard begins her rule

There's something different going on in Canberra. There was a line of ministers lined up outside Julia Gillard's office yesterday. They must "re-apply" for their jobs and have a personal interview with her before she makes up her mind as to whether they get their job back. A bit like Donald Trump's 'The Apprentice' - they will have to give her good reasons why they should stay or otherwise - you're fired! She is also interviewing junior ministers, parliamentary secretaries and backbenchers who are looking for promotion. Ministers are generally stunned at getting this unprecedently access to the PM. One minister said "It's fantastic to be able to go to the PM and have a chat about your port folio and tell her what you'd like to do and hear what she wants."

Ms Gillard entered the caucus room at 10.30am yesterday to a standing ovation but she was quick to point out the reality of trying to govern with a one-seat majority.

"We have to articulate what Labor stands for in the 21st Century" she said.

Labor will road-test its fragile new government on the floor of the Parliament on 28th September. It will sit for 5 weeks before it breaks again for Christmas. Interesting days ahead.

New Labor Cabinet Announcement Imminent

Kevin Rudd's future is about to be revealed any minute as Julia Gillard reshuffles her cabinet. Will she keep her promise and give him the job he wants - Foreign Minister? I wonder how Stephen Smith feels, tipped to be moved to Defence, recently vacated by John Faulkner - he said he was very happy being Foreign Minister. I also wonder what she will do with Bill Shorten and Mark Arbib, the men who brought Kevin Rudd down in June. I would guess that the promotion of either man would go down like a lead balloon. And there's Rob Oakeshott who was so crucial in her re-election? Decisions, Decisions.

Peter Garrett could go because of the insulation debacle and also Penny Wong's job looks threatened. Heads are rolling in Canberra today. "It's the worst Federal campaign I have ever seen" Labor pollster Rod Cameron said. "The fact that Labor just snuck into government is an absolute disgrace" and added that those in charge should not be allowed to direct a campaign ever again.

Coalaition leader Tony Abbott also has his problems - the main one being Malcolm Turnbull. Surely he wouldn't be so bold as to challenge for the leadership - Tony did a pretty good job in almost toppling a first term government. But Malcolm's personal ambition and political savvy is well known. If Turnbull were given the Communications portfolio, his job would be to fight Stephen Conroy over the net filter and the national broadband network. Now that would be interesting.

Labor Wins By a Nose

The new government is having problems with Independent Tony Windsor already over the mining tax. He wants the mineral resource rent tax to be discussed at a Tax Summit next year but Treasurer Wayne Swan says the tax would not be on the summit's agenda. Naturally, the Opposition says Labor's minority government has failed at the first hurdle. "Labor is already sliding away from the deal they made with the country independents" said Christopher Pine.

Tony Abbott must be spitting chips, he offered big money for regional areas. What a shock it must have been when his offer of $1 million to Tasmanian Independent Wilkie to rebuild Hobart Hospital was knocked back because he thought the offer was "reckless" and went with Labor anyway. But in the end, they said broadband was the clincher - even though Labor's model was more expensive, they still wanted it to go ahead.

Yesterday Oakeshott delivered the most boring, drawn-out speech in history and really believed that we were actually interested in how he came to his conclusions. All we wanted was an answer as to which way he was going to go and when we learned later on that he was offered a cabinet position, we nearly threw up. Bob Katter, on the other hand, was the only Independent in my view who came out smelling like a rose with his integrity and credibility firmly in place.

It will be interesting to see what their constituents have to say about their decision to go with Labor. Oakeshott's mid-north coast electorate of Lyne was held by the Nationals and their predecessors from 1949 until he took it from his old party in a by-election two years ago.

Tony Windsor's seat of New England had an even stronger Nationals pedigree: it has only been in Labor hands for 7 of its 109 years. When Windsor took the seat from the Nationals in 2001, he ended the party's 79 year hold on the seat.

The Independents have shown they are quite content in the limelight and wish to continue in it, as displayed by Windsor's comments this morning. This new parliament will be quite different with the independents throwing their weight around and it's been said that the Labor/Green alliance will produce the most left-wing government since Federation. It should be anything but boring.

Tony Blair's Memoir - A Journey

Tony Blair got a shock in Ireland yesterday at his book launch - they pelted him with eggs and shoes and called him a war criminal. He was signing his memoir - A Journey - at a bookshop in Dublin. Now he's been warned to stay away from today's scheduled promotion in central London where anti-war protesters were ready to turn out in force.






About 400 people were queueing up around the side of the store in Middle Abbey Street in Dublin to buy the book, meet Blair and have their book signed. But they were harrassed by protesters who said they should be ashamed and yelled "Hey Tony, how many kids have you killed today?"

The Dublin tram service was shut down and shops were closed. Buyers had to hand over bags and mobile phones before entering the store. Undercover detectives mingled with the crowds taking names before Blair arrived.

The book has become one of the fastest selling autobiographies on record but his decision to donate 5 million pounds from the proceeds to the British Legion has not impressed his critics. His appearance on Irish TV the night before enraged the anti-war movement even further when he said he would support military action against Iran to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons. In other words, he's prepared to go to war again when the feeling around the world is that people are sick and tired of it and are crying out - enough - stop meddling in the business of other countries.

In the book, he defends his decision to go to war with Iraq even though Saddam Hussein didn't have any weapons of mass destruction. Rumour has it that he chose Ireland for his only live interview because he thought the people would appreciate his efforts in briging about peace in Northern Ireland. He said "When we finally got the whole lot together, literally weeks before I left office in 2007, and there was Martin McGuinness sitting with Ian Paisley, it was such a strange and extraordinary sight, it was one of the few times in politics I felt really proud."

How wrong could he be?

Kevin Rudd still campaigning for Labor

Loree Rudd

The Rudd's are a forgiving lot. Kevin Rudd's sister, long time nurse Loree Rudd, pleaded with voters not to punish "team Labor" over Kevin Rudd's axing by Julia Gillard. She said while she felt bad about what happened to her brother, the last thing he or she wanted was for Tony Abbott to win the election.

Kevin Rudd's wife Therese Rein joined her husband recently to entertain Independent Bob Katter in their Canberra home. All three Queenslanders go back a long way to when Mr Rudd worked for Queensland Premier Wayne Goss.

Kevin Rudd knocked himself out trying to get Labor elected - quite amazing really for a man who was treated so badly by his own party - it was a cruel ending for a leader who at one stage had the highest approval rating of any Prime Minister in our history. I don't think anyone will forget his appearance outside Parliament with his family, all looking totally distraught. Still in shock, we watched him as his voice broke with emotion and on the verge of tears, make his last speech as Prime Minister. And instead of immediately leaving the building, he went into the house and sat way up on a backbench, all alone with a look of devastation written all over his face. Yet he appears to have no malice.

The question remains - if Labor wins office today, how will Julia Gillard bring Kevin Rudd back into the fold. The Labor Party was shocked to learn that we didn't like the way Kevin was treated - regardless of which party you follow - it wasn't a good look for Labor. They now enter the history books as the only political party to sack their leader during their first term of office. Julia Gillard now needs to restore some dignity to Kevin Rudd and in so doing, restore some dignity to the Labor Party.

New Zealand's Relationship With America

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key

Australia's relationship with New Zealand is a close one - brothers in arms in all wars and the same British colonial heritage. But there is one area where we strongly disagree - they were brave enough to stand up to the might of the United States of America - and they are still standing. We need to go back to World War II to begin the story.

On 12th March 1942 the Prime Minister of Imperial Japan General Tojo, made this declaration:

Australia and New Zealand are now threatened by the might of the Imperial Japanese forces and both of them should know that any resistance is futile. If the Australian government does not modify her present attitude, their continent will suffer the same fate as the Dutch East Indies.

Luckily for Australia and New Zealand, the American Navy successfully inflicted serious damage to the Japanese in the Battle of the Coral Sea and a month later the Battle of Midway near Hawaii. After the war, the ANZUS treaty was formed between the US, New Zealand and Australia. It stated 'The parties will consult together whenever in the opinion of any of them - the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened in the Pacific.

In 1984, Labor Prime Minister Peter Lange barred the US Navy nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships from using New Zealand ports or entering New Zealand waters. The original three way defence pact between the US and New Zealand was then scrapped.

On 10th July 1985 the French bombed the Greenpeace protest vessel Rainbow Warrior in Auckland. The failure of Western leaders to condemn what they considered an act of war on New Zealand by France caused a great deal of change in their foreign and defence policies. They then distanced themselves from their traditional ally - the United States.

A few days ago New Zealand had a 7.1 magnitude earthquake and yesterday, America offered to send aid. Prime Minister John Key said he was grateful for the offer but assistance was not required.

Australia's Hung Parliament

At the eleventh hour, Tony Abbott has made a last-ditch plea to the remaining three Independents to vote for the Opposition. As he sees his future as our next Prime Minister slowly slipping away, he implores them not to go with Labor. All the Independents have been basking in the limelight and enjoying every minute of it, never before have they had such an opportunity to help their electorates. It's been rather embarrassing to see our two most senior politicians falling over themselves offering deals that will put them into office.

It was a shock when fourth Independent MP Andrew Wilkie decided to go with Labor last week. Tony Abbott offered him a billion dollars to rebuild the Royal Hobart Hospital so why did he go with Labor who offered him much less? Wilkie said he thought Abbott's offer was "reckless".

In an open letter Abbott promised all three that his government would be the most "country-oriented" since World War II. He also warned that a Labor/Green alliance spells doom for country Australia and not to forget the Greens policy on the Afghanistan War - they would pull our troops out which could threaten our American alliance.

Bob Katter is good mates with Kevin Rudd, both Queenslanders, who go back a long way. He visited his Canberra flat twice last week. He praised Labor for their help over the past 3 years and critisized the Liberals for their general lack of support to rural Australia over many years.

But there have been some positive outcomes. Tasmanian Independent Andrew Wilkie, backed up by South Australian Nick Xenophon, have forced both parties to do something about gambling. A recent report revealed that 600,000 Australians play the poker machines every week and 95,000 of these are problem gamblers. If there hadn't been a hung parliament, I doubt if this would ever have happened. The states will scream bloody murder but Julia Gillard has promised to over-ride them if necessary.

Rob Oakeshott is responsible for sweeping reforms, one being question time. New time limits will be put on answers and ministers won't be able to avoid answering a question. (Yes, that's what I thought too - totally impossible). Parliament will have to sit for an extra four weeks a year. A Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner will be appointed to act as watchdog to MPs' ethics and spending of their entitlements. MPs' declarations of their interests, including real estate and share holdings, will be published on line. All good outcomes.

So even though we are all fed up with waiting to find out who wins, there have been positive lessons learned and I think this pause in political proceedings has been generally good for the country.

Darwin Detention Centre Breakout

Eighty two Afghan asylum-seekers pushed over two electrified fences at the Darwin Immigration Centre yesterday - one inside the centre, the other on the perimiter, both carrying 11,000 volts. The men eventually gave themselves up to police and then staged a 7 hour peaceful protest on the side of the busy Stuart Highway. They have been transferred to the Curtin Detention Centre in the far north - in the middle of nowhere. So what's it all about? They told reporters the majority were rejected applicants for refugee status and have been in detention for nine or ten months. They are tired of waiting for their appeals for visas to be processed.

Four days earlier, 120 accused Indonesian people smugglers set fire to mattresses and rubbish at the Darwin facility.

WA Premier Colin Barnett is concerned about over-crowding in detention centres. Shifting more asylum-seekers into already crowded facilities could lead to serious trouble. "There is no doubt that if you have people crowded into into a facility, some of them very angry and frustrated and you have hot conditions over summer, that is an ingredient for unrest" he said.

There are 500 people detained at the Curtin centre and 150 at Leonora in the goldfields. After the removal of the Afghans yesterday, there are about 400 people left at the Darwin centre.

There was confusion last night as to how the men managed to break out of the supposed secure Darwin facility. A private security company Serco has the contract to run the centre and will be issuing a report to the Department of Immigration in the near future.

The Reverend Fred Nile

Reverend Fred Nile is the National President of the Christian Democratic party, a conservative party which focuses mainly on important moral issues. He is vehemently opposed to drug use, violence against women and children and the mistreatment of Aboriginal people by state and federal governments. He is also against pornography, abortion and homosexuality.

So it was a big shock today to learn that Fred's Parliamentary office computer is one of the biggest viewers of pornography. But Fred says 'Not me' - he has never looked at pronography on his computer but his staff have used his log-on for research purposes - 200,000 hits have been recorded on his log on - that's a lot of research!

There are also several other MPs, including one from the Coalition, who have been gambling and watching porn at work. A staffer for Fred Nile confirmed he had looked at sites to research the activities of the Sex Party and also the proposed internet filter.

Paul McLeay was forced to resign from the front bench yesterday. He admitted accessing porn and gambling sites in his ministerial office and also as a back bencher. He is the fourth minister to resign during Premier Keneally's nine months in the job. Not long ago, happily married family man David Campbell was outed for visiting a gay sex club, Ian McDonald over travel rorts, Karyn Paluzzano for lying to ICAC and John Della Bosca for having an affair in parliament. NSW Labor members are indeed a motley crew and one wonders who will be next.

There were rumours that members were gambling on line so a fire wall was installed in July but Legislative Council President Amanda Fazio chose not to install a fire wall for the upper house because she "was against internet censorship".

This outcome could resonate across the whole country where every day, people feel free to access unsavoury sites at work. Maybe now they'll realise that their computer knows everything about them and their true character is hidden inside.