Beyond Blue and Doctors

Beyond Blue says that doctors are killing themselves at a higher rate than the general public, in fact the figures are quite alarming. The suicide rate among male doctors is one and a quarter times that of the general population and the suicide rate among female doctors is two and a half times the rate of the general population.


Depression and anxiety disorders are widespread across the whole community and doctors are not immune. They are trained to see the signs in others, but won't seek help for themselves.
Mental illness is the one subject no one wants to talk about. People don't want anyone to know they are suffering depression or acute anxiety because that makes them guilty of not being able to cope with life and that's a put-down.

The industry already provides counselling services for doctors but the AMA's Federal President Dr Andrew Pesce said "Some doctors don't go to those for fear of being deregistered. Just imagine that you are working under pressure and you might have developed - say a drug dependence. It may not be affecting your performance with patients now but it might be in the future. It would be better if you sought early intervention and get it fixed".

But here's the bottom line - currently the rules state that if you do go to a doctor's advisory group, they are obliged to report you to the Medical Board. Because of the high expectation in our professional obligations, doctors are now subject to being reported if they have a problem because it's thought they may be placing the public at risk.

A commendable rule but it needs to be changed. A new rule is needed to still protect the public but also give doctors the confidence to seek help without fear of deregistration.

Ned Kelly

Book Review. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

Ned Kelly was a bushranger who murdered three policemen. He is also Australia's outlaw legend. Ned was a currency lad, the son of a convict. Those convicts who survived their sentences went on to start families, set up businesses, and tried to make a go of it on small selections. They were called currency lads and lasses because they insisted on being paid for their labour. This was most unusual in the colony at that time because the military were paid from London and the convicts were never paid at all - the government was very fortunate to have free convict labour on hand to build the founations of the new colony.

Peter Carey has taken Ned's own words and put them together into the story of his life and what happened leading up to his death. And it is an adjectival good read.

ASIO

ASIO stands for Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and their job is to keep us and the country safe. They are responsible for protecting us from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated violence, attacks on the Australian Defence Force, serious and major crime and terrorism.

Last week, the head of ASIO says Australia faces a growing threat of cyber espionage and cyber warfare. In a rare public lecture at the University of Canberra, ASIO Director-General David Irvine highlighted cyber security as a "key issue of the twenty first century" and warned that there were "constant attempts to steal the nation's secrets" but he didn't say who they were. He described the internet as "extraordinarily democratic" but it was also a "two edged sword" for national security in the covert gathering of information.

In March this year, ASIO announced they were looking for people on Facebook to join its ranks. ASIO openly advertising for recruits? How bizarre? Just imagine being an ASIO secret agent - a dream job. But they say it's nothing like a James Bond movie. "Most of the time you are sitting in a car waiting for something to happen and that can be quite boring. However, when things do happen, it can be quick and fast-paced and the adrenalin gets going" they said.

ASIO is looking for "high calibre" applicants and the selection process is highly competitive with about 170,000 people applying last year. The agency has been growing by about 170 officers every year. They are moving to new Canberra headquarters which are currently under construction. The 400,000 square metre building is costing taxpayers about $600 million and has raised some eyebrows among Canberra locals as contruction continues at a massive site near the north side of Lake Burley Griffin.

ASIO was responsible for sending Mansour Leghaei - the Sydney Islamic cleric - back to his birth country of Iran last month. The father of four flew out of Sydney with his wife and 14 year old daughter after a long campaign by Australian supporters. Dr Leghaei, an imam at the Shia Imam Husain Islamic Centre at Earlwood was ordered to leave Australia after ASIO said he was a security risk. But Neither ASIO nor the government will tell him the reasons behind the decision saying they don't have to because he's not an Australian citizen. He spent more than 10 years in the courts fighting the decision. ASIO translated Arabic diaries of Dr Leghaei and claimed they promoted jihad. An anonymous letter said he had links to an obscure French terrorism cell which was also used in ASIO's case and they declared that he had carried out "acts of interference".

In October 2009 ASIO was involved in the arrest and conviction of five Sydney Muslim men found guilty of terrorism offences involving an attack on Australia. The guilty verdict took five years from the time they were arrested after raids by police in November 2004. The five men were all provided with legal assistance - a barrister, junior and instructing solicitor each throughout the trial provided by Legal Aid. It has been estimated that the combined cost of the case - for the defence and prosecution by the Crown was $9 million and the operation by ASIO and the Australian Federal Police was $37 million.

So would you like to be a secret agent? If you have a Uni degree and think you have what it takes, go to http://www.asio.gov.au/

Carl Williams

Baby-faced Carl Williams was a convicted murderer and drug trafficker from Victoria and was the central figure in the Melbourne gangland killings. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 35 years for ordering the murders of three people and conspiracy to murder a fourth (which was unsuccessful). On the 19th April 2010 Williams was murdered while he sat quietly reading the newspaper in the maximum-security unit of Barwin prison in Victoria.

The hit television drama 'Underbelly' was based on events surrounding the Melbourne gangland wars from 1995 to 2004 and Gyton Grantley played the part of Williams in the 2008 series.

The autopsy report shows that he died almost instantly from extreme violence. The official cause of death is "head injury caused by blunt force trauma". He was struck once to the right side of the head from behind and fell to the ground and was struck again up to seven times on the left side of the head. He was then dragged face down by his attacker to his cell where he remained for 30 minutes before being found by prison guards. The weapon used was from an exercise bike seat later found in the laundry.

The entire attack was captured on cctv cameras and should have been seen immediately on the guards' screens. Prisoners in maximum security are supposed to be monitored 24/7 but the closest prison officer was in a room only 10 metres away on the telephone while it was going on -how convenient. It was not until another prisoner "Little Tommy" Ivanovic told the guard to check on Williams 25 minutes later that the murder was discovered.

Ever since the Rum Corp, crooked cops have thrived all over our country but thankfully, in recent times, undercover police work has managed to put many so-called respected pillars of the community in gaol. Carl Williams was killed on the same day that the Melbourne Herald Sun outed him as a possible police informer. Incredibly, Premier John Brumby didn't want an inquiry. He dismissed a royal commission as a waste of time and money and said that 'although Williams murder was "obviously unacceptable" the victim was a serial killer. "If I had the choice of putting tens of millions of dollars into an anti-corruption body, or putting it into hospitals, or bushfires, or more police, I'd choose the latter".

So the Rum Corp tradition of crooked cops continues in Victoria, unchallenged.

Matthew Newton

Actor Matthew Newton is a tortured soul. After his success in Underbelly, his future looked assured, but it's all ended in tears. He seems to have a problem with women and hotel rooms.

The 33 year old beat up his then girlfriend Brooke Satchwell in 2006. He repeatedly punched her in the head on more than one occasion and attempted to gouge her eyes and face. On the 21st May 2007 he pleaded guilty to one count of common assault if police agreed to drop the other three charges. Because he is the child of popular television stars Bert and Patti Newton, people fell over themselves giving him character references and swore it was a one off lapse of sanity. Magistrate Paul Cloran acknowledged that the actor was of good character but felt compelled to record a conviction and he was put on a 12 month good behaviour bond. In court, his lawyer revealed that Newtown had been in the care of a psychiatrist for six years.

In 2007, Newton was successful in having the conviction overturned. Celebrity solicitor Chris Murphy tended a letter from Newton's psychiatrist which outlined his depressive illness and said he was unlikely to re-offend. Judge Joseph Moore said "It does not in any way lead the court to give special consideration to his case because he is a person of high profile. The way in which he has been given media attention has acted as a considerable measure of punishment."

Rachel Taylor

In November 2009, Newton's hotel room in Kings Cross was trashed after an awards night in Sydney which resulted in $9000 worth of damage. The room was booked in the name of his girlfriend Rachel Taylor and he departed the next day without checking out. Police investigated the matter but no charges were laid.

In March 2010 Newtown was ejected from the Cullen Hotel in Melbourne. The hotel discovered $4000 worth of damage to the hotel room and bathroom during his 3 week stay. Two months later in April he was admitted to Malvern Private Hospital which specialises in a 28 day drug and alcohol addiction recovery program.

Not long after, the 7 Network gave Newton the dream job on a platter - hosting the multi-million dollar X Factor. He somehow managed to convince producers that he was up to the job. Now they are in damage control and have to spend a fortune of reshooting everything with a new host.

He and girlfriend Rachel Taylor were on holiday in Rome recently. He allegedly bashed her on two separate occasions in their Rome hotel. She has serious injuries from blows to the face and body after a public argument in the foyer of the hotel. Newton had to be sedated by paramedics at the scene and was later escorted home to Australia by a Channel 7 producer. Taylor now fears for her safety and has taken out an AVO against him.

Newton arrived at Sydney's Northside West Clinic on Wednesday and his highly agitated state alarmed his counsellors. "He is not being treated for alcohol or drugs - that is nothing to do with how he is" they said. "It is a very, very severe depressive condition".

It's obvious that Matthew Newton is seriously ill and in urgent need of care. But after this latest assault on his girlfriend, his future in showbusiness is probably over. And future girlfriends better beware - this boy doesn't slap - he punches, so watch out!

Crocodile Dundee Grounded in Australia

Paul Hogan appeared rather over-confident in his interviews about his argument with the Australian Tax Office. He laughed it off when they said he had 37.6 million dollars worth of undeclared income which comes with a tax bill that must be paid. And he's just had a big shock - the ATO have slapped a Departure Prohibition Order on him and he can't leave Australia until it's paid or settled. He flew in last Friday for the funeral of his mother Flo.


The size of the bill is not known but has been estimated at around $15 million plus interest charged from the date the tax was due plus other penalties.


Hogan's lawyer, Andrew Robinson slammed the ATO who have never laid charges against Hogan despite a five year court battle. But last month they served him with an amended tax bill for the undeclared income. "He is stunned and very disappointed that the government could treat him as a flight risk" his lawyer said.

Hogan isn't the only celebrity to fall foul of the tax office recently - Glenn Wheatley, John Farnham's manager and close personal friend will never forget it. In 2007 he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to 30 months gaol with a minimum of 15 months to be served.

Everyone was stunned, including Wheatley. Commonwealth Prosecutor Richard Maidment SC said "The fraud that was instigated (by Wheatley) can be described as sustained and sophisticated. Tax fraud is not a victimless crime". He was released from gaol and moved to home detention at his mansion in Melbourne with electronic surveillance for the remainder of his sentence. In a television interview on 'Australian Story' this year, he said that his gaol experience almost destroyed him.

So did the tax office know Hoges was on the way to attend his mother's funeral, were they lying in wait for him, maybe someone dobbed him in, I guess we'll never know. Anyway, good luck Hoges, if your lawyers are good enough, you might just get away with it but I wouldn't hold your breath.

Germaine Greer and the Australian Election

UK-based Australian feminist Germaine Greer has called Tony Abbott a "clown" and said he should have been unelectable. Writing for London's Daily Telegraph, she felt that Ms Gillard was targeted by the media during the election campaign because she was a woman.


She said "Gillard was pilloried for her 'deliberate' childlessness, her clothes, her morals, her looks, her undeniably unimpressive boyfriend and her betrayal of Rudd. In any grown-up country, Tony Abbott would have been unelectable. He looks and sounds like a clown".

"The election wasn't fought on policies or issues or ideologies, but on sound-bites and gossip and sex - not the kind you do, but the kind you are. If there was something new about it, it was that women voted for a woman just because she was a woman. The tabloids did their best to represent Gillard as a treacherous Jezebel who stabbed her predecessor, Kevin Rudd - otherwise known as the milky bar kid - in the back".

Greer didn't seem very impressed with Julia Gillard either. "Australia's future looks grim enough with Gillard, but with Abbott, it would look terrifying" she said.

Germaine has always said what she thinks and to hell with it. I remember when Steve Irwin died - she made a very insensitive comment about how, in her opinion, he teased and tormented helpless crocodiles for personal gain and suggested that he should have left them alone. You can imagine how his fans reacted. I saw her on Q and A recently and was pleasantly surprised. Because of her reputation of being a rather bizarre old lady, I found her opinions intelligent and thought-provoking. Love her or hate her, Germaine Greer, sometimes called 'The Mouth from the South' has not mellowed with age - she's as feisty and candid as ever.