Is Aboriginal Intervention Working?

Abraham Cook and family

The community of Yuendumu sits on the edge of the Tanami Desert and has a population of approximately 800 people. It’s a long way from anywhere and its a dry area - no alcohol is allowed here and you must have a permit to visit.

Catfish Waterhole

In 1948 the Native Affairs Branch of the Federal Government needed to establish another Aboriginal Reserve because Yuendumu was suffering a severe drought and becoming overcrowded as more people from outlying areas came into the settlement. They decided on Catfish, around 600 miles north of Yuendumu, because it had a permanent waterhole. The government ordered that 25 Warlpiri be taken by truck to Catfish but they camped for the night at Hooker Creek, about 35 miles from Catfish, and when they discovered that the creek was flowing and there was a bore, they decided to settle there instead.

Hooker Creek in the wet

Over the years as more people arrived at the new settlement, they began to miss their relatives and their country so much, they decided to walk the 600 kms back to Yuendumu. Welfare rounded them up and trucked them back to Hooker Creek again but they walked back to Yuendumu a second time. As time went on, another attempt was made and even though their spiritual homeland remained to the south, the people decided to stay and when children were born, they started to call the place home. Hooker creek ceased to be a welfare settlement in the 1970s and the Lajamanu Council was the first community Government council to be formed in the Northern Territory.

Abraham Cook and his family live in Yuendumu today and say the government's intervention is working for them. Welfare cards and income management has resulted in people spending more money on food from the local well-stocked store. Abraham 21 has a maintenance job with the local council but more jobs are needed and there's talk of a bakery being opened in the near future. But Abraham’s house is in urgent need of repair, the windows are boarded up against the cold desert night and other major repairs are needed. Yesterday, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin announced that $8.7 million would be spent on improving the town’s housing.

Local elder Jerry Jangalad said “It is the alcohol that has been breaking our families for a long time now, this is a true story for all of us. If the government can do something because it is killing our people too much and separating husbands from wives and kids.” Even though there are ‘no alcohol’ signs everywhere, Abraham says people still manage to bring grog into the community.

The wheels of change grind ever so slowly.

Tony Windsor Sells Property to Coal Company

It seems that Tony Windsor has a good head for business. In February last year his family company Cintra Investments sold 376 hectares of land near Tamworth for $4.625 million, nearly three times more than other farms nearby. Werris Creek Coal bought the land which works out at about $12,300 a hectare. There is bad blood between Windsor and the National Party so it was no surprise when they accused him of being a hypocrite pointing out that he had campaigned with farmers from the lush Liverpool Plains against mining, worried that their groundwater would become contaminated. But Windsor insists his property Cintra is not located on the Liverpool Plains and there is no groundwater to contaminate.

According to land titles searches, there were three other large farms in the area that were also sold to the mining company, but for much less than Mr Windsor’s property. A 351 ha nearby property was sold to the coal group for $1.8m in 2008 –working out at $5128 a hectare -- and another 317 ha parcel changed hands for $2767 a hectare in April this year.

So why is Windsor’s property worth $12,300 a hectare? When asked about the differences in sale prices between his property and those of his neighbours he got angry and said "You listen to me pal, you mind your own business, it's my family's business. If you want to make up some bullshit story, go for your life, I don't care." To be fair, variation in the price of land parcels would depend on the volume and quality of underground deposits and the fact that his home is 800 metres from the coal face, would also make the land more desirable.

Hatred towards the three Independents in this hung parliament is getting worse. Windsor was quick to share with the media the death threat left on his phone by a man concerned about the proposed carbon tax. So is someone trying to make him look bad or is he doing it all by himself?

He recently spent nearly $6 million to buy three NSW farms in an area near Coonamble earmarked for coal-seam gas exploration. He said he has purchased the properties for his family to farm and for no other reason. Petroleum giant Santos and Eastern Star Gas hold an exploration licence covering thousands of hectares around Coonamble but Mr Windsor said he “wouldn’t have a clue” if his properties were likely to be affected. “There may be a licence over them – I don’t know” he said “They have licences over a vast slice of country and it doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be or couldn’t be licences in the future, but that’s not what’s driving me.”

So at the end of the day it comes down to what he's done for the people he represents. The Gillard government has decided to give Albury $65 million in funding for its long-awaited cancer clinic. Not bad for an Independent nobody from the bush.

Bob Hawke's Wife and Daughter Clash

Bob Hawke’s daughter Sue Pieters-Hawke has written her mother’s biography and there is something in it that Bob’s second wife Blanche d’Alpuget doesn’t like. It seems that Blanche has a hot temper and is alleged to have slapped Sue at Brisbane airport last week.

Blanche's recent biography about former Prime Minister Bob Hawke was not well received by his daughter Sue who was disgusted at the way her mother was portrayed in her book Hawke: The Prime Minister. She says her mother, who is in advanced stages of dementia, cannot speak for herself so it's up to her to speak for her. Banche referred to Hazel as a loyal doormat whose "marriage had been unstable for decades" plus other unflattering comments.

Sue Pieters-Hawke issued a statement yesterday to set the record straight, she said she did not touch Blanch in any way and it was she who called police. No further action was taken because no charges were laid. Her mother's biography Hazel: A Biography will be released in November.

China slowly buying up Australia

China is slowly buying up Australian land by making farmers an offer they can’t refuse. Property owners near the NSW township of Gunnedah have become instant millionaires as Shenhua Watermark Coal – a subsidiary of the world’s biggest coal company Shenhua Energy – buys land to drill for coal. Forty three farmers were happy to sell out to the Chinese in the past two years because they were prepared to pay much more than their property was worth. One example is a house on 594 hectares in Breeza that sold for $376,000 in 2002 sold for $5.2 million last November. The Chinese government have paid the NSW government $300 million for an exploration licence covering 19,500 hectares and promised not to mine within 150m of the productive "black soil" farming country.

But alarm bells are ringing and the Mayor of Gunnedah Adam Marshall is worried. He said "It's perfectly legal, and some of the people have been able to make some very, very good money out of their properties and are very, very pleased.” He went on "But the concern is more that the Foreign Investment Review Board allows overseas-owned companies -- and in this case an overseas state-owned company -- to buy Australian land, to mine Australian resources and take them out of our country."

Let's hope the Foreign Investment Review Board is awake and taking note.

Geert Wilders Acquitted

When Geert Wilders was acquitted by an Amsterdam court on charges of hate speech against Islam, it came as a shock to many, especially Muslim extremists. His personal crusade for free speech could have landed him in jail for two years after he was charged with five counts of hate speech for anti-Islamic remarks made on the Internet and in Dutch newspapers and compared the Quran to Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf. He also made a controversial movie called Fitna which he released online in March 2008 which shows disturbing images of terrorist acts superimposed over verses from the Quran to prove that Islam is a threat to Western society.

“I am overjoyed and very happy” he said “It means it is legal to criticise Islam.” The judge said his comments, although gross and denigrating, did not give rise to racial hatred.

Policians in the know are saying that Geert Wilders doesn’t have much else to offer as a politician, apart from his anti-Islamic philosophy, his party is only the third most popular in The Netherlands. But his acquittal could be seen by us, the silent majority, who have had multi-culturalism thrust upon us, as a long awaited victory.

Richo Major Player in Kevin Rudd's Demise

Today is the 12 month anniversary of Kevin Rudd's sacking. Graham Richardson has admitted to being a “major player” in his political assassination and said he would do it all over again. “I was there on the phone with a few people offering my view of the world” he said. He also said that Labor MPs would rather “go over a cliff” with Julia Gillard than have him back in the top job.

Julia Gillard is in dire straights and in urgent need of a friend and “Richo” has come to her rescue to tell the people there will be no challenge to her leadership, as leader, she's home and hosed.

Although Richardson could be described as having a “colourful past” after his close friendship with Renee Rivkin, when he speaks, people usually listen. It’s clear that he doesn’t like Kevin Rudd and tells us it took just two days of active plotting to roll him. He firmly believed at the time that Rudd wouldn’t win as many seats as Julia Gillard, a view many would argue with today.

There will be no move against Julia Gillard, he says, she will will go to the next election as PM. The strongest threat to the Labor Party he thinks is Andrew Wilkie who is holding the government to ransom over poker-machine reform. He added “But make no mistake, without a quick turnaround in the polls, Labor is facing electoral slaughter”.

Kevin Rudd's First Sacking Anniversary

It is now common knowledge in Parliament that Kevin Rudd refers to the Lodge as “Bogan-ville”, ever since Julia Gillard and Tim Mathieson moved in. Yesterday Julie Bishop went all out to embarrass the government when she said “Will the Foreign Minister advise the House when he intends to return to Bogan-ville?” Her jibe had a double-edged meaning – she could have meant the Papua New Guinean province of Bougainville but she didn’t, she really meant Bogan-ville – a place where Bogans (yobbos) live. The opposition fell about laughing but Kevin Rudd refused to bite. Instead he said "The Australian Government remains deeply seized of the Bougainville peace process, the upcoming referendum on Bougainville's future, and therefore what we might do as a country to ensure that that peace process is brought to a proper conclusion.”

It will be 12 months tomorrow since Kevin Rudd was politically assassinated and his popularity far exceeds that of Julia Gillard. He was planning on having a party to celebrate but had second thoughts. It is truly a unique situation, a sitting Prime Minister who was told that Rudd had to go and that she would bring Labor ‘back on track’. Instead, this Labor government is hanging on by its fingernails and is the most unpopular in Labor Party history.

But there’s still a long way to go before the next election so what will they do about Kevin. They can’t be seen to demote him again and even if they did, he’d still be sitting there quietly in the back benches. I can still remember watching Paul Howes on Lateline the night before Rudd was axed – he seemed so sure of himself and obviously believed what they were about to do was the right decision. But Kevin is having the last laugh.

White Witch Claims Fertility Success

An English couple who had been trying to have a baby for two years without success had two babies 15 months apart after accepting treatment from a white witch. Claire Anderson 28 and her husband Stephen 41, were devastated to learn that it was unlikely they would ever conceive a child naturally because Claire suffered from polycystic ovaries and her husband had a very low sperm count. Then Claire met Wendy Binks - also known as a white witch - when she accompanied her sister to get her belly button pierced at her "Enchanted" shop. Clare agreed to a reading with Ms Binks who immediately picked up on Claire's problem and insisted that she saw baby blue ribbons in her future.

They visited the high priestess several times, undergoing cleansing and fertility spells and were given a specially designed lunar sex schedule to follow. As time went on, they changed to a healthy eating regime, Claire lost 2 stone and her husband stopped carrying his mobile phone in his pocket. Six months later Claire was pregnant with a baby girl, six months after that, she was pregnant will a boy and a third child is predicted soon.

Wendy Binks, the high priestess of her coven said "Claire's not the only one I've had success with, but she's the only who has admitted that pagenism or magic helped her and I think Stephen saw that his wife was desperate."

Muslim Woman's Jail Sentence Overturned

Carnita Matthews (centre)

When a Muslim woman falsely accused a police officer of trying to rip off her veil during a random breath test last November, a magistrate said she was “malicious” and “ruthless” and sentenced her to six months jail. But Carnita Matthews walked out of court yesterday after a successful appeal against her conviction of knowingly making a false complaint. She emerged from court surrounded by 20 men screaming “Allahu Akbar”.

She was stopped for a random breath test last year and refused to remove her veil so the police officer could identify her. He then fined her for not properly displaying her P-plates and she became outraged and began arguing with him, unaware that a video of the incident was being recorded on tape inside the police vehicle. She started screaming at the officer that he was a racist, the fine was unfair and she would not accept it. “You are racist. All cops are racists... you are feeling guilty, I can see it in your eyes.” Two days later the mother of seven went to Campbelltown police station to lodge a statutory declaration stating that the officer had tried to pull off her veil. However, it is clear from the video shown to the court that the officer reached into the car to breath-test the woman but did not touch her veil.

Judge Clive Jeffreys said there was no evidence the statutory declaration had been made by Mrs Matthews or even that it was knowingly false. ''All we know is that a person with a black burqa came in to Campbelltown police station with a man in a brown suit with an envelope and that's it,'' he said. ''I'm not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that she made the complaint and even if I was … I would not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that it was knowingly false.'' The judge will deliver his formal judgment tomorrow.

Tony Abbott's Plebiscite on Carbon Tax

Toby Abbott’s proposed $70 million plebiscite bill will read “Are you in favour of a law to impose a carbon tax?” A plebiscite, which sounds like a medical condition, is similar to a referendum but voting is optional and is non-binding. The Coalition will lodge notices of motion in the House of Representatives and the Senate today. Will the Independents come to the aid of the party?

Nick Xenophon has hinted he would support it and Family First Senator Steve Fielding is a known climate sceptic but as usual, it will be left up to the three independents - Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott or Tony Windsor - to decide the issue in the house.

Abbott said "It wouldn't be cheap, but let's not forget that this is an $11.5 billion a year tax that the prime minister wants to impose on people, a tax that she wasn't honest about before the last election." Asked if he expected to gain the support of cross bench MPs, Mr Abbott said: "In the end, it's their call.

Afghan Warlord Courted by Australia

Why is Australia trying to do a deal with a bloodthirsty Warlord in Afghanistan when the Americans and the Dutch think he's too corrupt to deal with? In order to keep an important Warlord on side, Australian officials are talking about sending his children to school in Australia.

Matiullah Khan, or King of Oruzgan as he is known, is being encouraged to accept and abide by laws of accountability after the withdrawal of Australian troops in 2014. He is a powerful figure in the Oruzgan province and it's reported that he's accumulated $45 million dollars in six years. He's been accused of corruption and murdering business rivals and tribal opponents so why would Australia want this man to be the police chief when the Americans blocked the move and the Dutch refused to work with him.

It seems Canberra has been naive about Khan, and are now having second thoughts. This man has made millions from the war, mainly from payment for his fighters who are the best paid and most effective in the country - they are the men who work alongside the American and Australian troops. He also controls security contracts for roads and construction projects and benefits from multi-million dollar fuel contracts crucial for Western reconstruction teams. He is also very well connected with close tribal links to President Karzi.

Matiullah confirmed that Australia wanted to appoint him Police Chief but said "They mentioned it, but I don't want to do this, it's not good to work with this (Afghan) government". US Commander of all forces in Oruzgan, Colonel Jim Creighton said "I personally did not support that" and added "I can't begin to imagine everything he's involved in - I understand there are certain allegations that may or may not be true but my impression is that he genuinely wants Oruzgan to be a better place to live."

The warlord denies having discussed sending his children to school in Australia but said he would be happy to accept such an offer.

Labor Party's Worst Day in Parliament

Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard were locked in a closed-door meeting yesterday, the result of which is plain to see as they later walked to a cabinet meeting. And things only got worse for the PM when a motion that the government scrap the Malaysian refugee swap was carried after key crossbench MP’s voted against it - the same motion that had already been rejected by the Senate.

Unfortunately for our first female PM, yesterday will go down in the history books as the first time in Australian political history that a government policy was condemned by both houses of Parliament. Although it won’t stop 800 asylum seekers from being sent to Malaysia, the Opposition and the Greens are saying the government is now acting against the Parliament.

It’s been almost 12 months since Julia Gillard was asked to put her hand on the knife that stabbed Kevin Rudd and now her approval rating is the same and getting worse every day. The back room boys told her she held the key to bringing Labor back on track and wonder what they are saying now. And can she hold her nerve?

Kevin Rudd, who has been undermining the PM at every turn, has not been invited to address fellow Labor members at tomorrow’s ALP Queensland Conference in his own electorate. And when the suggestion was made that Kevin could win back the leadership, faction bosses said that his support was the size of a “netball team".

Asylum Seeker Swap Now Unlikely

The government needs the okay from the UNHCR before the refugee swap with Malaysia can go ahead so Chris Bowen has sent a delegation to Geneva. Malaysian officials have also been sent to Switzerland to give their guarantee that refugees sent by Australia will receive humane treatment. But it’s a slow process and there’s no guarantee as yet - UNHCR officials will fly to Malaysia in the next few days to see for themselves.

But they like the idea of a 4,000 to 800 swap and why wouldn’t they? We will take 4,000 long term refugees from Malaysia in exchange for 800 asylum seekers who arrive by boat. The 800 will spend an initial period in a processing centre in Kuala Lumpur to determine health and identity checks, then they will be issued UNHCR cards and live in the community to wait years for UNHCR processing.

Australia will provide funding to the UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to cover the health and education costs of the group as well as all the Malaysian government’s costs, including final re-settlement. It sounds like an excellent deal for Malaysia and a very expensive one for Australia.

But things aren’t looking good for the government, the House of Reps voted to condemn it but the vote was close. They voted 70-68 in support of a motion by Greens MP Adam Bandt who called on the Government to immediately abandon the proposal and was backed by the Coalition. The Senate has already rejected the same motion.

Wind Farms Bad For Your Health

Infigen Energy will be showing off their Capital Wind Farm today as part of international wind energy day. But could wind farms be bad for our health? Ruth Corrigan thinks so and says the noise disturbs her sleep. She will open her house to show the impact wind turbines have on rural communities. She can see 17 turbines to the northwest and another 17 to the southwest of her property, the closest of which is 2 km away. A further 22 turbines have been erected in the past few days and she is getting no help or co-operation from the companies involved. They have put noise monitoring equipment into the paddock "But we have not been able to get any data from them” she said.

She lives near Capital Wind Farm which has 67 turbines, near Bungendore, just outside of Canberra. There is a Senate committee looking at the health effects of wind farms which should have been tabled to parliament yesterday but they are split and can't agree.

The National Health and Medical Research Council says “There is no published scientific evidence to positively link wind turbines with health effects.” But medical expert Max Whisson believes the world is “likely to face a very serious plethora of fatal diseases as a result of current wind farm operation. He went on “We have all been disastrously misled by focusing on noise” Dr Whisson said “This has let laboratories around the world to completely miss the catastrophic effects of lower frequency vibration.”

Have you noticed that people pushing wind farm technology don’t live in the country, they are safely tucked away in city suburbs? Maybe they should pay a visit Ruth Corrigan and just see what it’s all about.

Teacher Arrested for Child Pornography

A teacher at an exclusive Sydney boys' preparatory school is among 11 men arrested in four states over images of child sexual abuse, bestiality and child sexual assault. Two children were removed from harm during the four month operation. Gregory John Coupland, 40, a teacher at The King's Preparatory School in Parramatta, was arrested by federal police last month. Coupland who is also a Scout leader and lives in Forestville, was granted conditional bail and has resigned from the school where he was employed for the past ten years.

Headmaster, Tim Hawkes said ''The school is shocked and dismayed" and ''The matter relates to alleged activities engaged in by this person outside of the school - the police have assured us that they are satisfied that there is no boy at risk at King's.''

Police used undercover agents to infiltrate the world-wide file sharing network and is part of an international effort to stamp out child abuse material on line.

Carbon Tax Will Cost 14,000 Jobs

Martin Ferguson

The Australian Coal Association (ACA) have dropped a bombshell on the government, warning that coal mines will have to close and investment will be forced offshore if a carbon tax is introduced. They support a price on carbon but are urging the government to phase it in over time like the European Union was doing. When they analysed data from 82 coal mines, they found that 5,000 jobs will be lost in the first three years.

Andrew Forrest

ACA Executive Director of ACA Ralph Hillman said they surveyed 82 coal mines in Queensland and New South Wales and gathered sensitive cost data for each mine. It then used assumptions about future carbon tax rate prices and future coal prices. "We put those numbers together and what they are designed to do is see how the cost of individual coal mines will be impacted by the tax and whether they can stay above water" he said. "What we found is that by 2020, 18 mines will no longer be above water, will no longer be profitable and are therefore at risk of closure." He went on "There are 4,700 direct mining jobs and another 10,000 indirect jobs because there are three jobs associated with every one coal mining job - so about 14,000 Australian jobs."

Resources Minister Martin Ferguson looked very stressed in an interview on television this morning and said the ACA had got it all wrong. He also lashed out at Fortescue Chief Executive Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest over his threat of a High Court challenge against Labor's mining tax.

Martin Ferguson said "We accept that there are some gaseous mines that are going to be challenged under a carbon tax, that's why we are engaged in discussions with the industry" he said. Opposition spokesman Ian Macfarlane was quick to point out that Mr Ferguson's comments were an admission that some coal mine jobs would be "sacrificed" under a carbon tax. He added "No matter what spin the government tries to put on its carbon tax, the truth is that it will cost Australian jobs as well as send up the cost of living for Australian householders."

There is an important meeting being held in Canberra today. Andrew Forrest, Wayne Swan, Martin Ferguson and Independents Andrew Wilkie and Bob Katter will hopefully resolve the continuing saga of the carbon tax, one way or the other.

Julia Gillard and Tim Mathieson on 60 Minutes

I wonder how many Australians tuned into 60 Minutes last night to see our Prime Minister and her live-in lover bare their souls and declare their love for each other. When Australia's first bloke Tim Mathieson was asked if he was in love with Julia Gillard he said "Yes, absolutely." He would like at some point to marry her but "I want to do the asking" and reiterated "certainly not any time soon."

So what's the problem, why doesn't he ask her? When Charles Wooley made reference to the royal wedding and suggested another wedding might be on the cards he said "One wedding I think is enough this year."

His attitude tells us that Chauvinism is still very much alive and well in Australia and unfortunately for Julia, she's hooked up with an Australian man who believes women have no place in a man's shed. As they approached the Lodge's shed, Julia said "No girls allowed.......Ill let you two enjoy the shed." Mathieson said "She's doing as she's told, that's really good." Wow, what a big man he is and how embarrassing to see our Prime Minister waiting outside like a naughty child, not game to enter.

Mathieson must be pinching himself at his good luck, a lowly hairdresser rubbing shoulders with royalty and world leaders. They were the first de facto couple to be received by the Japanese emperor - what an honour for Australia.

We don't know why Australia's first couple went on 60 minutes last night but we can speculate. Julia Gillard's popularity with the people is at an all-time low and perhaps the back room boys thought it would give her a much needed lift in the polls. But for me, it had the opposite effect, I now feel sorry for Julia Gillard that she has chosen a man who has little regard for her reputation and chooses to avoid any commitment. He is very happy to just keep enjoying the ride.

Search for Racehorse Dam

Riders head off yesterday

Deep in the Hunter Valley near Scone, a herd of 100 polo mares and four stallions run free in 3,000 acres of bush and scrub. Their owner rounds up the foals occasionally to break and train as the next generation of polo ponies. Kitchwin Hills Stud are looking for a very special mare they have aptly named No Finding, who was released to run with the polo pack after her owner decided he no longer wanted her. Her first eight foals had produced only two minor winners and her papers were stamped "dud".

Dane Shadow

Kitchwin Hills has an exciting new stud, Dane Shadow. He is the son of champion sire Danehill and the champion Centaine mare Slight Chance and he covered No Finding in 2005 and 2006 which produced outstanding results. Her first foal, a colt (now a gelding) named Coroner is a promising city winner in Queensland and the second foal, also a colt was weaned from No Finding by Stud Manager of Kitchwin Hills Mick Malone before he released her into the hills of the Hunter Valley. The colt, now named Turnitup, could be trainer Peter Moody's next Stakes winner because the three year old gelding charged over the top of his rivals to win 3 year old Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield last Saturday.

Mick Malone and some of his staff have been meticulously sifting through the polo mares but so far, they can't find the one that got away. Then they had a brilliant idea - with such a huge area to cover, they put out a call to experienced riders to register and gather at 1 pm yesterday to join the search. And the prize? A 30 per cent stake in the mare and $1,000 reward for the safe return of No Finding.

And she's still out there.

Live Cattle Exports to Indonesia

Terry Redman

Australian were sickened and outraged by the cruelty our cattle are receiving at the hands of Indonesian abattoirs on ABC's Four Corners program. Bob Katter dropped a bombshell when he said that the cattle industry and everyone associated with live animal exports knew it was going on but decided it was too hard to do anything about it. That decision has come back to bite them in spades and the buck stops at Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA). Mr Katter says that because of their incompetence, they should pay compensation to farmers caught up in the crisis.

WA Agriculture Minister Terry Redman said it's a lazy decision by the federal government - they didn't think it through and don't understand the problem. WA supplies 65 per cent of cattle to Indonesia and there are around 7,000 people involved in the process - producers, stockyard workers, truck drivers, helicopter pilots and all their support staff are now affected. He said "I hear today there's a group being pulled together in the Federal Department of Agriculture to find out the impact of their decision."

David Farley

But there's another side to the story. Julia Gillard said yesterday that Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig had written to industry "for a further plan on animal welfare" in March but the proposed plans were sent back because "they weren't up to scratch." She went on "We understand that there has been an impact on industry but they did have our perspective about animal welfare concerns raised with them as early as January this year."

David Farley, head of the Australian Agricultural Company said they have been hit hard by the ban but it will definitely accelerate moves to establish an abattoir in Darwin. His company had been planning a $50 million Darwin abattoir before the ban but now it's likely to be even bigger. "There are going to be a lot more cattle in northern Australia, the cost of fuel is continuing to go up and a carbon tax will impact heavily on the cattle industry ..... through transport" he said.

Is it possible that we Australians care more about the welfare of our cattle than asylum-seekers?

Ricky Nixon Vindicated

The teenage girl who ruined the career of AFL player-agent Ricky Nixon now says she made the whole thing up. Kim Duthie said she had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol when she spoke to AFLA Barrister David Galbally QC about her relationship with Nixon but Mr Galbally said "If she'd been under the influence of drugs or alcohol or incoherent in any way, the interview wouldn't have gone ahead." Nixon said he had seen the girl's statement withdrawing her claims and has vowed to sue the AFL Players Association for loss of income and future earnings and who could blame him?

In March this year, Nixon's company, Flying Start, representing 45 AFL players was banned by the AFLPA from acting as player-manager for two years. Today they said they won't change their decision to ban Nixon from managing footballers even though the Chairman of the Board had received a new statement from the teenager retracting her original claims. They claim they did not solely rely on Ms Duthie's statement in its investigation.

In March, Nixon pre-empted dismissal and stood down from his role indefinitely and released a statement "With the understanding and support of family and close friends, I have decided that I will go to a rehabilitation clinic to seek treatment for a substance problem that has impacted on my life and my decision-making, particularly over the last eight weeks" he wrote. The written statement ended with an apology.

I remember the television interview when Ms Duthie said she had sex and shared drugs with Nixon in a hotel room and had a picture of him in his underpants on a bed to prove it. So why has she suddenly changed her story? Someone is telling porkies.

Johnnie Walker's Diamond Jubilee Scotch Whisky

Next year in 2012, it will be 60 years since a young Queen Elizabeth II took the throne of England and to commemorate this great occasion, Diageo will sell 60 decanters of limited-edition Scotch whisky for $150,000 each. Diageo was formed in 1997 after the merger of GrandMet and Guiness. The name comes from the Latin for day - dia and the Greek for world - geo.

The Diamond Jubilee Johnnie Walker drop will be a blend of whiskies distilled in 1952, partially aged in a cask made from oak trees grown at Sandringham and sold in a lead crystal decanter with a silver collar featuring a half-carat diamond and individually numbered seal. Each decanter comes with two hand-engraved crystal glasses and a personalised lealther-bound artefact book, all housed in a cabinet made of wood from the Balmoral and Sandringham estates.

I suspect they should have made available more than 60 decanters - surely this would be a coveted prize that rich people around the world would die for, but they will be offered for private sale by invitation only and the company won't say who they are.

The first bottle will be presented to the Queen as a gift and all profits will go to the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust. Like her mother, the Queen likes Dubonnet and gin and Queen Victoria enjoyed the occasional dram of Royal Lochnagar, distilled close to her beloved Balmoral. Johnnie Walker whisky is the world's leading Scotch brand.

Aboriginal Housing Facility Opens in Alice Springs

Julia Gillard is coming to Alice Springs today to open an $8 million housing facility called Percy Court. It will provide 75 beds to help homeless Aboriginal people make the transition into public housing after growing up in town camps, sleeping rough with no electricity, no running water, and no bathroom facilities.

Both Labor and Liberal parties have pledged bipartisan support to tackle the problem of homeless Aboriginal people in Alice Springs but the reality is things have not improved in the town camps and elderly people are suffering. David Winjinana has a wooden leg and sits in a wheelchair outside his tent in the scrub, surrounded by dirty blankets, water-logged mattresses and empty beer cans.

In another camp on the other side of town, famous artist Albert Namatjira's descendants sit among wrecked cars, rubbish, and mangy dogs. Diabetes has blinded Gladys Drefen and cost Sedwick Namatjira both legs - they grew up in this camp without electricity in corrugated iron shacks over decades. Both are just days away from being moved into public housing.

"Julia Gillard won't come here" says Aboriginal activist and local MP Alison Anderson. "That's what frustrates me so much" she says "Everything is dressed up to make politicians look good, we shouldn't be afraid to tell the truth." She worries that Gladys and Sedwick won't be able to cope in their new home, they need support, otherwise they will be evicted. But Phillip Leslie, the NT director of Mission Australia who will run Percy Court, said that things are improving and the facility will provide this support.

We tried to help once before but were accused of stealing a whole generation, let's hope this new approach works.

Bob Katter's Australian Party

Bob Katter, the member for Kennedy in north-west Queensland launched his new Australian Party on Friday and promises to keep Canberra's bastards honest. So is it just another publicity stunt under the guise of politics or is there enough dissatisfaction in the Queensland electorate for him to give the major parties a headache?

His main concerns are more support for farmers, legalising to limit the monopoly of Coles and Woolworths to 22.5 per cent market share each, repealing the carbon tax if it gets up, deregulating the dairy industry and others, making ethanol mandatory to reduce petrol prices, increasing customs duty on goods coming into Australia and softening the grip of Greenies on recreational fishing rules. But probably one of his most controversial aims is to give indigenous Australians formal deeds to land they hold under native title. "At present, they can't own a home, they can't open up a business - banks want a mortgage but you can't get a mortgage if you haven't got a title deed." he said.

Pauline Hanson hopes his party will succeed and said "He will come up against brick walls as I did and no doubt I think if Bob shows any promise to do well with the party, they will preference against him as they did with me." She said the major parties adopted One Nation politicies but "couldn't afford to let me go any further" and sabotaged her career.

Bob won't speculate on his chances of success but said "If you'd told me when One Nation kicked off that they would get 11 seats at the 1998 Queensland election, I would have thought you were mad" he said.

Katter admits he's short on funds and will try to recruit sitting and former MPs to build a regional support base. His first prority is to win seats in the Queensland election and depending on how that goes, to then concentrate on the next federal election in 2013.

Refugee Deal with Malaysia Unacceptable says UN

The Government's hopes of finalising a refugee swap with Malaysia looks likely to collapse after the UN said it was not informed in advance that unaccompanied children would be sent to Malaysia. Yesterday Chris Bowen confirmed on Lateline that unaccompanied children will be among the 800 people sent to Malaysia. This is causing a split in the ranks as several MP’s have said that Labor has lost its moral compass. Draft documents show that Malaysia has removed all references to human rights. Chris Bowen said "I don't want unaccompanied minors, I don't want children getting on boats to come to Australia thinking or knowing that there is some sort of exemption in place," he said. But the Geneva office of the UN issued a statement saying it could not support the deal unless changes are made.

Oh the irony, refugee lawyer Marion Le who once demanded the closure of the Nauru detention centre now wants it reopened. She was a huge critic of Howard’s Pacific Solution but told the ABC that it is a less costly solution than Malaysia and Australia would be in control over what happens to the people there. "Having been to Nauru myself three times at the height of the Pacific Solution, I would much rather see people taken to Nauru than I would to any of the other alternative places that Julia Gillard's come up with," she said.

So why won't the Prime Minister swallow her pride and admit that Nauru is the best solution for the country?

Penny Wong insulted by Sexist Slur

Sexism is alive and well in Australian politics. This week, Tasmanian Senator David Bushby insulted Finance Minister Penny Wong with a sexist slur. When she was trying to explain the absence of Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson from the hearing, he interrupted her with the word "meow". Shocked and disgusted, Ms Wong said "The blokes are allowed to but if a woman stands her ground, you make that kind of comment". And then Senator Bushby, described as "immature", made this extraordinary comment: "The reaction to the issue was like that of an angry cat - it could have been a male or female cat." But after lunch, the Senator changed his tune and made a hurried apology in writing "I am sorry that Senator Wong was offended by my reaction" the statement said but when he tried to contact her personally, she was not available.

The uproar carried over to the House and was raised by Minister Tanya Plibersek but Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella called out "You feminist hypocrite" before the Minister could begin speaking and Tony Abbott told the House that Mr Bushby had apologised to Senator Wong. Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop demanded that Ms Plibersek withdraw claims that Opposition members were sexist but she was the one who started it. Back in 2008, when Julie Bishop was addressing Julia Gillard, she also used the word "meow" and made hand motions of a cat's claws. So our politicians from both sides are behaving very badly and it's a miracle that House Speaker Harry Jenkins, hasn't died of a heart attack or suffered a stroke by now. When he threatened this week to "consider his position", both sides were quick to reassure him that they would behave from now on.

I think that Penny Wong is probably the most courageous woman in Australian political history. Ex-Barrister Wong was born in Malaysia to a Malaysian Chinese father and an Australia mother and moved to Australia when she was eight. She has had to endure major disappointments in the bear pit over the years, but she's still standing. She and Kevin Rudd were going to make Australia one of the first countries to recognize that global warming was really happening and were prepared to bite the bullet and bring in laws to reduce carbon emissions. But their world fell apart at Copenhagen when they realized that the rest of the world wasn't interested. The Senator is also openly gay and is the first sitting member of the Labor Party to "come out" while still in Parliament. Love her or loathe her, you have to admit this lady has guts.

Germany to Close Nuclear Plants

'Every day of nuclear power is one too many'

Japan's Fukushima disaster has had a huge impact on the future of nuclear power. Once a vibrant, industrialized nation, the country was suddenly rendered helpless after an unforeseen natural disaster. Last weekend, all across Germany, protesters made it quite clear that they do not want nuclear power and on Monday Angela Merkel announced her intention to shut down all nuclear plants by 2022. She said "As the first industrialised nation, we can achieve such a transformation toward efficient and renewable energies with all the opportunities that brings for exports, developing new technologies and jobs." Nuclear energy currently provides 23 per cent of Germany's energy supply.

So where does that leave Europe and especially France who have a whopping 58 nuclear plants. The European Commission announced that stress tests would be performed on all plants in Europe to make sure they are safe but critics say it's only a tactic to reassure the public. French Energy Minister Eric Besson has a good point when he said "Germany would become more reliant on fossil fuels (coal) and their electricity will be more expensive and more polluting and renewable energies won't be able to fully compensate."

Germany wants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent by 2020 and hopefully they will set a precedent that the rest of the world can follow.

Spanish Cucumbers Not to Blame for E.coli

Spanish Minister for Agriculture eats a cucumber

German authorities conceded last night that contaminated Spanish cucumbers are not to blame for the E.coli outbreak that has killed 16 people and infected 1,200 others. More women than men are falling ill in what is now one of the world’s most deadly E.coli outbreaks. Things are now getting very serious - Russia has threatened to extend its ban on German and Spanish produce to the whole of the European Union, and growers have demanded millions of euros to compensate them for the collapse of cucumber, tomato and lettuce sales.

The Spanish authorities are still fuming at being accused of being the source without any proof and said it caused irreparable damage to their reputation. Denmark, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Hungary, Sweden and Belgium have stopped importing Spanish produce and Germany told consumers to stop buying it.

The French have accused the Germans of handling the crisis badly and the British have told everyone to wash and peel all fruit and vegetables. So far only three people in the UK have been infected, all of them Germans.

So why are more women being affected than men? One theory is that women are more likely to eat salads than men but no one knows for sure. The problem seems to lie in Germany because victims from Spain, Denmark, France, Netherland, the Czech Republic and Sweden all returned from a recent visit to Germany. The number of people infected in Europe has now passed 1,200 and health authorities are scrambling to find the source.