Boy, 8 years old locked in shed

When police found an 8 year old boy locked in a tin shed on a property not far from the little town of Elans, near Taree, they were stunned.

It's alleged he spent the entire September/October school holidays locked up in his tiny cell with only a thin mattress, a stool and an old paint tin to use as a toilet.  He was only allowed out to work on the farm and had to survive on potato chips, muesli bars and no water.

In March, his family paid $420,000 for the five hectare property and he moved in with his three other siblings, their mother, her boyfriend, the mother's brother and several other adults.

When authorities were notified that the boy had been missing a lot of school time, officers turned up to check on his welfare, but he was found to be okay and they left.

In July, there was a standoff when the family repeatedly refused Telstra technicians access to their property.  Police were called and the matter was settled.

In October, another woman living on the property presented at the Manning Base Hospital in Taree with injuries but wouldn't sign a statement about what happened.  Police already knew an 8 year old boy living on the property had been missing a lot of school so they decided to pay another visit.  

Although police suspected there was a drug farm somewhere on the property, they could find no evidence of it and left. 

Still suspicious, they approached Detective Inspector Peter McKenna who granted a search warrant and they returned on 17 December.

As they moved around the property, at the back of a corrugated iron shed, they discovered a locked room and inside, they found the malnourished 8 year old boy they had checked up on just one month earlier. 

The boy and his three siblings, aged between 12 months and nine years, were taken into care.

Frustrated police were about to leave when one of the officers spotted a switch on a wooden deck that held a spa and some furniture.   

Suddenly there was a loud humming noise as the hydraulics kicked in and the deck started rolling away with police still standing on it, to reveal the trapdoors to one of the most elaborate hydroponic cannabis set-ups ever seen.

The woman's partner said he put the boy in the shed because he needed disciplining.  Inside Kempsey jail, he was bashed by other inmates on Christmas Eve and had to be removed to protective custody.

What a shame.

Salim Mehajer charged with electoral fraud

Property developer and Auburn City Council Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer is about to be charged with electoral fraud.

The Australian Federal Police claim a 29 year old man from Lidcombe and a 25 year old woman from Merrylands will be charged with using forged documents and producing a false or misleading document.

Six others are charged with producing a false or misleading document and all eight will appear in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on 2 February 2016.

The NSW Liberal government has recently changed the law to stop councillors voting in matters they have a pecuniary interest in.

In 2012, the NSW Labor government thought it was a good idea to allow property developers on the council to vote on development applications, even when their own properties were involved so Mehajer has been laughing all the way to the bank ever since.  Why the Labor Party were ever allowed to pass such a law defies logic.

It hasn't been a very happy year for Mehajer since he launched himself on the public by holding the most expensive wedding of all time.  Along with his other worries, Salim has also been charged with intimidation. It's alleged there was a confrontation between Mehajer 29 and Bruce Herat 52, at the Anytime Fitness gym in Burwood.

Bruce Herat

In a court document tendered to Burwood Local Court, personal trainer Bruce Herat said to Mehajer "Excuse me, can you take care not to drop the weights, it damages the machines and in the long run causes more costs for members of the club."

Mehajer allegedly replied "Who the **** are you to talk to me? What gives you the right to tell me anything about how I use this machine?"

Mr Herat replied "All I'm doing is to let you know the rules and directives of this club."

Mehajer allegedly replied "Don't you know who I am?  I pay my fees."

Herat then left the gym and Mehajer followed him to his car and standing six inches from his face he said "Who do you think you are... talking to me the way you did?"

Mr Herat replied "Back away from me, you're aggressive and in my personal space."

Mahejer allegedly replied "You have no right to speak to me the way you did, you're just a personal trainer and beneath me...I'm going to find out where you live.....and kidnap your children."

Mr Herat then asked "Who are you?" and Mehajer replied "I'm Salim Mehajer."

Mehajer's lavish wedding this year - estimated to have cost over one million dollars - had to be postponed until his father, also a property developer was released from jail for trying to bribe a bank employee.

Just goes to prove the old saying is true - the apple never falls far from the tree.

Kris Jenner - businesswoman extraordinaire

Kris Jenner is undoubtedly one of the most successful business women in the world.  Her talent for making money knows no bounds and as a result, the Kardashian family's every move is recorded every day of the year to an eager audience.

Kim, Kayne and baby North

But this week, her security team slipped up.  They allowed a 60 year old man to enter her home posing as a member of her Christmas decorations crew.

As her daughter Kim and husband Kayne West and their two children were staying with her while their home is being renovated, she was understandably upset.  So upset in fact, she sacked her entire security team.

Khloe and Lamar Odem

Kayne West organised his own security team made up of former police officers to take over security 24/7 on the home until Kris decides on a new team of bodyguards.

The man took a bus all the way from Texas to meet the 60 year old, but when he came into her office, she called the Sheriff's office before security removed him.  He is currently at a hospital on a psychiatric hold.

Like her daughters Kim and Khloe who married black men, Kris is now dating Corey Gamble.

Kris and Corey Gamble

He's in his 40's and likes dating older women.  "I love older women, that's all I usually date, though I have never been with anyone over 52" he said.

The mind boggles.

Police fail domestic violence victim

After all the publicity and money spent on a campaign to stop violence against women and children, NSW police have been accused of dismissing the brutal bashing of 19 year old Ashlee Savins.  They allegedly told her there was not enough evidence to convict her 21 year old boyfriend Justin Toro because he said she hurt herself when she fell on her face.

On Friday night in the Sydney suburb of Oxley Park, Ashley said Justin Toro punched her twice in the face and once on the side of her head, breaking her nose and chipping her teeth.

Her housemate Ellie Sutton was shocked when Ashlee came into her room covered in blood, and they immediately called police.

The police who responded to their 000 call were very supportive and interviewed Ashley from her bed at the Nepean Hospital but the next day she was horrified to learn that her boyfriend denied the assault and it was her word against his.

Pictures of her bloody face and a report from her dentist stating that her injuries could not have been the result of a fall, were not enough evidence to pursue the case any further, police allegedly said.

Ms Savins has several messages from Toro begging her not to tell anyone and blamed her for not allowing him to "vent."

"Ashlee, please don't tell anyone I can't get done for this I'll lose everything" Toro said in a private message to her on Facebook.

But when housemate Ellie Sutton posted an angry message on a user-generated Facebook page for St Marys Local Area Command with the images of Ashlee's face, there was a miraculous change of attitude.

In a statement to the media, a spokesman for NSW Police said "Police are investigating the full circumstances surrounding the alleged domestic assault that occurred about 12.45 am on Saturday 12 December 2015 at an address in Oxley Park."

Ashlee Savins before the attack

"Both parties have been formally interviewed and follow-up enquiries are continuing with the investigation.

Ashlee said "I had to do this for myself and every other woman who goes through this or will potentially go through this."

Well done Ashlee.

New UK Visa rules for Australians

New Visa rules that come into effect in the UK next year is a shock to the system as thousands of Australian workers will have to leave the country. Two thirds of businesses surveyed said it would "significantly impact their ability and willingness to recruit Australians."

So it looks like our unique UK/Australia bond is over and it's all because of the EU's open border policy.

In 2011, there was an influx of skilled and semi-skilled workers coming from eastern Europe and elsewhere in the EU so the British decided to put a cap of only 20,000 skilled workers from outside the EU allowed to take up residency.

The Australian government tried to change their minds but so far, they will not be moved.  They said if they make an exception for Australia, they would have to made the same exception for other Commonwealth countries.

London Mayor, Boris Johnson, who studied in Melbourne in his youth, said he would take the case to David Cameron for consideration.  

But I fear it is already a done deal.

Aboriginal elder dances with granddaughter

Gali Yalkarriwuy Gurruwiwi lives  on a remote out-station on Galiwin'ku, north-east of Arnhem Land and likes to dance.  He doesn't know his real age and doesn't speak English but when he heard that his granddaughter was about to have her Year 10 graduation ceremony in Melbourne - 3,000 kms away, he was overjoyed at having the opportunity to celebrate with her through dance. 

Sasha Mulungunhaway Yambulul and another of Gali's granddaughters Alicia, have been boarding at Worawa Aboriginal College in Healesville, north-east of Melbourne for two and a half years.

Gali said through his wife who translated for him "I am proud of my grandchildren Sasha and Alica, I am proud that this college has taken care of them and they got a good education."

But he added "They need to know who they are and where they come from" and now Sasha walks proudly in both worlds.

"I love hunting, looking for oysters and fishing and looking for mango worms and dancing traditional, we call it bunggul, that's what I miss, telling stories around the campfire" Sasha said.

So it's hats off to the founder of Worawa, Hyllus Maris, who started the college in 1983 with the aim of educating young Indigenous people while at the same time allowing them to embrace their own culture and history - no mean feat.   The girls come from 30 remote and often disadvantaged Aboriginal communities across the country.

Sasha plans to complete Year 11 and 12 at Clontarf Aboriginal College in WA and pursue a career in nursing.

Hyllus Noel Maris (1933-1986), Aboriginal rights campaigner, community worker, educator, poet and scriptwriter, was born on 25 December 1933 at Echuca, Victoria, third of nine children of New South Wales-born parents Selwyn Roderick Briggs, labourer, and his wife Geraldine Rose, née Clements. Hyllus was of Yorta Yorta and Wurundjeri (Woiworung) descent and spent her early childhood at Cummeragunja Aboriginal station, New South Wales. Her grandmother educated her in Aboriginal culture, genealogy and history, and both parents were activists; her father was also a prominent sportsman.

Traditional Chinese medicine warning

That these medicines have been available to the general public for years without first checking what is actually in them is beyond disgraceful.  Surely this wouldn’t happen in any other country in the world.

Article by Laura Gartry, ABC News, Sydney, 11 December 2015

Some traditional Chinese medicines are laced with pharmaceuticals, heavy metals and even endangered animals, new research has revealed.

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have long been thought by some as a more natural, herbal approach to curing ailments.

But now a study carried out by Curtin University, Murdoch University and the University of Adelaide has found 90 per cent of 26 widely available medicines tested were not fit for human consumption.

Key points:

·         Study found 90pc of 26 widely available medicines not fit for human consumption

·         Half contained illegal substances, including toxic metals, prescription medication, stimulants

·         Some contained arsenic, lead, Viagra, rat poison and DNA of endangered species

·         Researcher says 'honour system' of TGA listing being exploited

Half contained illegal substances, including toxic metals, prescription medications, stimulants and animal DNA, none of which were listed on the product's label.

TCMs are a multi-billion-dollar industry and it is estimated 50 per cent of Australians have used alternative therapies at some point.

Researchers employed a new method involving highly sensitive DNA sequencing, toxicology and heavy metal testing to assess the composition of the TCMs.

The study does not disclose the brands of medicines checked, but confirmed they were purchased in Adelaide and available for sale in retailers and markets nationally.

Curtin University lead researcher Professor Michael Bunce said the results were shocking.

"Half of them have illegal ingredients in them, we've determined from DNA, half of them have got pharmaceuticals added to them that are clearly synthetic in nature and have not come from natural compounds," he said.

"Another proportion of them have heavy metals beyond the safe ingestion recommendations ... 90 per cent of them are really not fit for human consumption."

Murdoch University biochemist Dr Garth Maker said contamination by undisclosed pharmaceuticals was a health concern.

He said over-the-counter drugs like paracetamol and ibuprofen were found but also steroids, blood thinner warfarin and even sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra.

"We were surprised but at the same time, there definitely seems to be an element of deception in designing these things to have a specific outcome," he said.

"They may contain ephedrine, which will give a lot of people a buzz, and therefore they feel good and they think 'this is fantastic medicine, I should keep taking it'."

Arsenic, lead, strychnine found in some medicines

Arsenic, cadmium and lead were found in some of the Chinese medicine.

One of the herbal concoctions contained over 10 times the recommended daily limit for arsenic exposure.

Another contained strychnine, which is used as a rat poison and at lower levels as a performance-enhancing drug.

"Obviously if someone has been taking this for a very long time, they may have unwittingly exposed themselves to reasonably high levels of the poison strychnine," Dr Maker said.

"If we don't know what's in them, it's very difficult to predict the interactions, and also [they can be] taken with other medications.

"That's obviously of great concern if they [have] been given to children, or pregnant women, the potential outcomes there are very serious," he said.

DNA of endangered species detected

Professor Bunce said one of most alarming results was the DNA presence of endangered species.

"One herbal medicine that's for sale had trace amounts of snow leopard DNA in it," Professor Bunce said.

"We also found DNA from pit vipers, frogs and trace amounts of cat and dog DNA."

Whether the animal products were primary ingredients or the result of poor manufacturing processes is yet to be determined.

Curtin University researcher Dr Megan Coghlan said the result demonstrated that despite heavy penalties for illegal trafficking of protected wildlife, poaching and smuggling was still occurring, with traditional medicine a significant "push-factor".

"Moreover, consumers of this particular medicine would be unaware that they have been ingesting content from this species, as it was not listed as an ingredient," Dr Coghlan said.

Push for more regulation of herbal imports

Professor Bunce said each herbal medicine sold in Australia needs to be listed with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), but only 12 of the products tested were registered with the agency and are deemed "low-risk".

The remaining 14 were not registered by the TGA and therefore should not be available to Australian consumers in a commercial quantity.

The TGA relies on the importer to make a true declaration about the ingredients, an honesty system Dr Garth believes is being exploited.

"We would hope there would be a rigorous screening procedure adopted by the TGA to actually monitor these compounds, medicines before they are actually put on sale," said Dr Garth.

The TGA declined to be interviewed but a spokeswoman said in a statement that most complementary medicines are listed medicines and considered to be of relatively low-risk to consumers.

"[They are] complementary because they may only contain pre-approved low-risk ingredients and must not make claims or imply that they have benefit for the treatment or prevention of a serious illness," she said.

"The TGA has worked directly with persons responsible for introducing the product to the Australian market referred to in the article to ensure compliance with the requirements of Australia's therapeutic goods legislation."

At least one of the products found to illegally contain ephedrine has since been placed on a Customs watch list and authorities have been told to stop any future imports.

The ABC can reveal at least five of the tested products already had customs warning alerts overseas, including two in Malaysia and one in the United Kingdom.

Mr Maker said the practise is widespread and increasing.

Contamination 'not widespread': Chinese medicine proponent

National President of the Federation of Chinese Medicine Society of Australia Professor Tzi Chiang Lin said he did not believe such findings would be widespread across the industry.

"Of course, there are some people ... that are not that good and they might be making something not very nicely," he said.

"[But you] can not [put] blame on the whole profession, it will be one or two individuals. It may be one or two cases [that have] happened, but not many," he said.

Professor Lin said the TGA's current regulatory regime is "perfect".

"The low-risk herbal medicines [are] already regulated very closely by [the] TGA, and they supervise very strictly the manufacturers in China," he said.

"Over-regulation will mean trouble for the industry and [would not be] fair for the profession."

Professor Lin said traces of heavy metal contamination were not particularly unusual and probably linked to the soil ingredients were grown in, as they had chemical fertilisers added.

The study's findings have been published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

Researchers plan to now scrutinise up to 300 other widely available herbal medicines.