Category: AUSTRALIAN

HUME Council will introduce a liquor licensing policy aimed at minimising the adverse impact of alcohol on the community.

At their meeting last Monday, the councillors voted to support the document, the first in the council’s history.

Under the plan, council officers will have more power to reject planning applications if a venue is seen as inappropriate in an area or if it is deemed to have an adverse impact on amenity.

Cr Jack Medcraft said this was only the start of what was needed to clamp down on alcohol issues in Hume.

“There are many assaults and a number of people are in hospital or have been killed by drunks who’ve come out of venues and taken someone out.

“The other areas we are really concerned about is the deaths and injuries caused by drink-driving, and it’s a real concern.

“We need to have a proactive approach with the police and services that maintain the regulations. It’s a major problem that some people think will go away, but it won’t.”

Cr Helen Patsikatheodorou said the policy was well overdue and she hoped it would help put a stop to increasing incidents of violence against women.

“We all understand the harm caused by alcohol and I think the alcohol [abuse] among our community is rife and it’s a factor in the health of our community.”

Cr Drew Jessop said he hoped that with the policy Hume would no longer be at the top of several lists that highlighted alcohol problems.

“We see Hume compared to a number of councils, but I particularly want to compare interface areas like Hume, Whittlesea, Melton and Wyndham.

“In virtually everyone of them, Hume Council is either top or second in density wise [number of] outlets, ambulance attendances, alcohol-related [hospital] admittances, assaults, serious road injuries and alcohol-related deaths.”

The document will be on exhibition until February 28 for public comment.

A culturally diverse group of approximately 200 women of different ages met for the annual Women’s Power Forum to discuss their battles with finding work.

The discussions varied from their settlement experiences to the problems faced entering a foreign workforce and being financially independent. Many shared their views on the belief that often their “foreign” name on their CV would act as a barrier, despite having all the right qualifications.

Discrimination is still something that many younger migrant women feel, and speaker Cr Kris Pavlidis sympathised with them. “In my view the systemic barriers that many migrants and particularly women encounter, are not a new phenomenon.

“We continue to have small reminders, of significant impact, that the ‘dominant Anglo host society syndrome’ is alive within our successful multicultural Melbourne, when a second generation Greek, Australian born and educated person is referred to as a ‘migrant woman’ because her name is Kris Pavlidis,” she said.

The forum centred on a panel of ethnically diverse women elected into local government, and was hosted by Hume City Cr Helen Patsikatheodorou. It is an initiative of the Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Coalition. Women still receive 70 cents to every dollar a man earns.

A primary school girl, understood to be in Year 5, brought the potentially deadly device to the Hunter Christian School in Newcastle this morning, showing a teacher what she had brought for the day’s show and tell session.

Staff immediately evacuated the school’s 450 students and called triple-0.

Police then cordoned off the area, evacuating homes in an adjacent street.

An explosive ordnance disposal technician and another defence force officer removed the device without incident shortly after arriving at 11.20am.

The device was sealed in a steel munitions tin before being loaded into their 4WD to be taken back to base for testing.

Newcastle police duty officer Gerard Lawson said the RAAF personnel had deemed the grenade a sufficient risk to conduct further examinations.

“There’s no doubt that it did pose a potential threat and the actions we’ve had today are appropriate in the circumstances,” he said.

Insp Lawson said the girl’s family had taken possession of the grenade several weeks ago, unaware of its danger.

“When they were given it, they were assured it was safe but we can’t rely on that information,” he said.

“In a classroom, certainly if it was live and it was a fully functioning device it would cause serious injuries to all the occupants.”

The school has 450 students but many were yet to arrive for school when the alarm was raised.

Police say the school had activated its SMS system alerting parents to the situation and advising them to keep their children home.

Insp Lawson said police and teachers wanted to reassure parents that all students were safe and well.

“I want to warn members of the public that if they have or are aware of military ordnance they should not touch or move it but contact police immediately,” Insp Lawson said.

School principal Boyd Allen said the students had been evacuated to a nearby club, where parents had been invited to pick them up. About 80 children were still waiting to be collected after the grenade was removed and would be looked after by staff for the rest of the day.

AROUND AUSTRALIA RIDE

David Psaila captured amazing shots of the ‘blue lantern’ at Malabar beach. Source: News Limited

These photos have not been digitally enhanced – in fact, photographer Dr David Psaila said the water was an even more spectacular colour blue than that shown in these images, the Southern Courier reports.

“The organism responsible, Noctiluca Scintillans known as “night lantern” is very aptly named, as it will luminesce a bright blue when it is disturbed by waves,” he said.

The Chifley scientist said the red algae that crept along the east coast last week contained a chemical called luciferin which was a common protein found in bioluminescent animals.

David Psaila captured amazing shots of the ‘blue lantern’ at Malabar beach.

“It’s a chemical reaction that causes light,” he said. “It is often found in deep sea creatures and is the exact same chemical that causes fire flies to glow.”

Dr Psaila said although he had seen this effect before but never to this degree.

“The reason why there are probably not seeing it at other beaches is that those beaches would have a lot more lights around so its really hard to see whereas at Malabar – you see the waves rolling in and they are all blue,” he said.

David Psaila captured amazing shots of the ‘blue lantern’ at Malabar beach.

Several dugout homes are for sale in Coober Pedy / File

The unique property is a short stroll to shops, close to the golf course and in a super quiet part of town. Sounds perfect. Or maybe not.

The catch? The home is underground, in the middle of the desert and short on features. In fact, it doesn’t even have windows or a kitchen. But it does have electricity so maybe think of it as a cave with lights.

That must be the front entrance … without a door, now that’s easy living.

Proving that real estate agents really can talk up any property – even a cave in the middle of nowhere – the “home” is advertised as secluded, a blank canvas for personal touches, offering “multiple family areas”. Family areas? Good luck convincing modern city kids to live in this rural gem.

The property is on the market for $80,000 and one of several “dugout” homes for sale in Coober Pedy, 846km north of Adelaide.

Minimalistic decor in the guest room or is it a garage?

Most of the town’s 1700 residents live in underground homes to escape the opal capital’s extreme summer heat – temperatures reach 50 degrees in summer – and the total lack of shade, with few trees in Coober Pedy.

Nice wide hallway with bedrooms off to the side.

Fans of the dugout say they are a renovator’s dream. That’s no surprise. Need a pantry? Dig a hole in the wall. Pantry not big enough? Dig a bit deeper.

Want a walk-in wardrobe? Dig a big hole. Another bedroom? Dig an even bigger hole. And there’s always the off chance of finding some opals.

This looks like it’s the backyard. Low maintenance and think of the serenity.

ON THE RISE: Perth’s sea level is on the rise, three times faster than the global average.Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: PerthNow

In a statistic that federal Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese described as “disturbing” and “extraordinary”, readings since 1993 have indicated sea levels are rising by between 9mm and 10mm per year.

The global average is around three millimetres per year.

With temperatures rising and rainfall falling, environmental changes are having little effect on the numbers of people moving to Perth, with the city population growing by 2.6 per cent since 2001 – making it the fastest growing capital in the country.

That expanding population was having little impact on transport habits, with almost 80 per cent of people still travelling to work by car and only 12 per cent by public transport.

Perth also has the lowest proportion of people walking to work of Australia’s capitals, with only 2.6 per cent of people leaving their car or bike at home.

In 2011, Perth also experienced 50 days over 35C, which was the peak of a three-year spike in temperatures.

Perth mayor Lisa Scaffidi said the report highlighted major issues the city would deal with in the next decade.

“The worsening traffic congestion we are experiencing should act as a wake-up call to us all,” Ms Scaffidi said.

“And of particular concern in the State of Australian Cities report is the observation that Perth has experienced a reduction in average annual rainfall between 1952 and 2011, so obviously we all need to be smarter in terms of building design and water efficiency.”

Food manufacturer Gourmet Food Holdings and Waterwheel was placed into receivership following the appointment of voluntary administrators on Friday.

The group’s interests include sauce, spice and chutney manufacturer Rosella, based at Seven Hills, NSW; Auckland-based organic soups and pre-made meals maker Pitango; and crispbreads and cracker maker Waterwheel, based at Dandenong, Victoria.

Receivers Ferrier Hodgson said they will be undertaking an “urgent assessment” of the financial position of the group.

“We will be engaging in discussions with key stakeholders including employees, customers and suppliers to determine whether operations can be continued,” said partner Steve Sherman.

Former employee Ben O’Neill who worked at the Rosella factory as a cook for four months until three weeks ago, said his former colleagues were ”not very happy”.

”They just said there’s no more work. They’ve finished work today,” Mr O’Neill said.

“I’m sad to see it go because it’s an Australian company.”

An expressions-of-interest campaign will be launched in the next few days to find potential buyers for the group or its individual businesses.

The group employs about 275 people, who’ve been warned that their jobs could be affected by some restructuring of the companies.

Ferrier Hodgson has released a statement to employees, saying they are unable to determine whether employee entitlements will be paid in full due to the uncertainty surrounding the realisable value of floating charge assets and the prospects of securing a sale of the business.

“The receivers cannot guarantee continued employment, however, it is the receivers’ intention to explore all options to ensure that your employment can be preserved,” Ferrier Hodgson said in a statement to employees.

“We will endeavour to provide you with a further update as soon as possible.

“At this stage, we are unable to determine whether employee entitlements will be paid in full due to uncertainty surrounding the realisable value of floating charge assets and the prospects of securing a sale of the business.”