Historic beams halt quay work

The works down at Elizabeth Quay have uncovered what could be a very old jetty. Workers have uncovered some very old wood pillars. Source: News Corp Australia

Men's Shed overseer measures a wood pylon. Source: News Corp Australia

WORK had to be stopped on Perth's waterfront project this week after a "sizeable wooden beam" was dug up that may have major archaeological significance.

The Sunday Times was alerted to the discovery by workers concerned about the lack of protocols around heritage on the $2.6 billion Elizabeth Quay project.

Historians and the Opposition have seized on the find to renew calls for tougher measures on-site to protect the history of the esplanade area – which dates back to 1868 and is a permanent entry on the State Register of Heritage Places for its "very high historic value".

However, this would prove a nightmare for builders and cause delays to one of the Barnett Government's most important projects.

The Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority, who is running the project, confirmed last night the wooden beam "artefact" was located during excavation works at Barrack St jetty.

"Works in the area ceased immediately and Archaeological and Heritage Management Solutions attended (the) site to assess and catalogue the artefact," MRA chief executive Kieran Kinsella told The Sunday Times.

"Under instruction from AHMS, works are continuing in order to extract the timber for further assessment and preservation."

Mr Kinsella also revealed a "series of timbers" thought to be piles from the William St wharf dated about 1900 were found late last year.

The timbers were simply "donated to a local Men's Shed who indicated they would reuse the wood to make furniture".

Mr Kinsella said the State Heritage Office was advised of the find.

Men's Shed promotions officer Brett Pollock said they received about 30 wooden pylons, each a couple of metres long.

Some of the "magnificent timber" was now being used as seats around an oval at Tom Perrott Reserve in Mosman Park.

History Council of WA president Lise Summers said she was "flabbergasted" to learn how the timber pylons had been dealt with.

"That (find) should've been made public," she said.

"Anything to do with heritage they hide away in embarrassed silence."

Dr Summers said the newly discovered wooden beam could be part of the original Barrack Square jetty, dating about 1904.

"If they found it where they are dredging now that is very much in the City Baths area (a former public swimming facility dating back to 1898 of major historical importance)," she said.

Dr Summer called for the way heritage is dealt with at the Elizabeth Quay site to be overhauled.

Opposition heritage spokeswoman Margaret Quirk said the current strategy in place at Elizabeth Quay to protect the site's history was "toothless".

"This is a registered heritage site that is being destroyed without any regard to its significance," she said.

"Finds like this are simply an inconvenience to the Government who wants to just get on with the project."

Mr Kinsella said there were "significant strategies" in place to monitor the heritage and environmental values of the Elizabeth Quay site during construction of the inlet.

"The MRA has worked closely with specialist contractors Hocking Heritage Studio and AHMS, the SHO and a range of stakeholders to inform planning for Elizabeth Quay and assist in documenting the heritage values of the site," he said.

The Sunday Times approached Planning Minister John Day for comment but was redirected to the MRA.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Greens are ‘toxic’: PM fires back

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has dismissed an attack by Greens Senator Scott Ludlam. Source: News Corp Australia

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has labelled the Greens as "toxic" in his first salvo for next month's WA senate election.

Ahead of a visit to Perth this week, Mr Abbott fired back at a vicious attack by Greens Senator Scott Ludlam in federal parliament, in which he labelled the Prime Minister as "homophobic" and "racist".

The Prime Minister yesterday labelled the Greens and other minor parties who were contesting the fresh election as toothless tigers, whose major contribution to the Australian Parliament was to "attract media attention".

He said Mr Ludlam's attack was water off a duck's back.

"I am defamed every day in parliament, and I have learnt to be fairly oblivious to it I have got to say," Mr Abbott said.

"I think West Australians are fairly resistant to the kinds of toxins which emanate from the Greens."

Laughing he retorted: "I might have to have an extra half glass of good Margaret River wine tonight to console myself.''

WA Greens Senator launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister during his final parliamentary speech ahead of the April 5 senate vote.

Senator Ludlam invited Mr Abbott to visit WA, but urged him to leave his "excruciatingly boring three-word slogans at home".

The speech concludes with Senator Ludlam telling the Prime Minister to take his "heartless racist exploitation of people's fears and ram it as far from Western Australia as your taxpayer funded travel entitlements can take you".

"Western Australians are a generous and welcoming lot, but if you show up waving your homophobia in people's faces and start boasting about your ever more insidious attacks on the trade union movement and all working people, you can expect a very different kind of welcome."

WA will vote for six senators on April 5, after the bungled poll in September saw that result quashed.

West Australians have to go back to the polls after 1370 votes were lost.

After securing three senate positions at the September election, the Liberals are now in danger of losing one of those positions, which would make it even more difficult for Mr Abbott to pass legislation in the senate.

He currently holds 33 seats in the senate, but needs 39 to pass laws.

Mr Abbott said losing another Liberal senate position would make it more difficult to scrap the mining and carbon taxes.

"The election is important because the result will make it easier or harder to get rid of anti WA taxes like the carbon or mining taxes," he said.

In a pot shot at the Greens and minor parties, Mr Abbott said: "Ask yourself: What do minor parties actually get done, other than make it harder for government to do its job?

"Minor parties are much better at attracting media attention rather than getting things done.

"Don't vote for a minor party and in particular don't vote for a minor party that is going to be constantly with the Opposition.

"The Greens are really the second wing faction of the Labor Party – that's what they are.

"I think people want a strong voice in the federal parliament, rather than people who just make a noise. To do that, you need to vote for people who are part of government."

Mr Abbott said West Australians had every right to be angry about having to vote again.

"It is monumental incompetence,'' he said.

"I am annoyed. I think everyone is annoyed.

"I can't imagine they (Australian Electoral Commission) would make the same mistake twice."

Mr Abbott is expected to arrive in Perth late Monday.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

What worries kids: self image a primary concern

YouthCare chaplain Helen Hames at Hawker Primary School in Warwick. Picture: Theo Fakos Source: News Corp Australia

PRIMARY school students are twice as worried about their self image as their high school peers, WA research shows.

Primary pupils raised self concept and image as concerns with school chaplains during more than 2700 confidential discussions last year. This was compared with about 1100 in secondary schools.

And younger students were also more concerned about loneliness, violence and mental health issues.

But high school pupils were more likely to be raising issues around self harm and suicide, along with drug and alcohol use, and leaving home.

The latest report from YouthCARE, which provides chaplains to most of the 598 WA public schools now offering the service, details the reasons behind almost 100,000 school chaplain discussions in 2013.

Most children visited the school chaplain for a "general catch-up" (28,288), followed by issues relating to family relationships (15,750), followed by peer relationships (14,697) and bullying and harassment (7093).

Education Minister Peter Collier said the report revealed the "plethora of complex issues" that children took to school. "Gone is the notion that bullying is hitting someone in the shoulder or hitting someone in the arm," he said.

Mr Collier said almost 600 public schools now had chaplains, up from just 148 in 2007.

He denied they formed part of the "Christian indoctrination" of public schools, saying they provided a contemporary role that brought the public system into line with the private sector.

"There was a perception and I emphasise this, a perception, that private education provided more in terms of better quality pastoral care," Mr Collier said. "If we're going to do our job as a government, and do our job as a community, we must support to students who are bringing this plethora of complex issues with them on a day-to-day basis."

YouthCARE chief operating officer Fiona Beermier said many children turned to chaplains because "they're a non-disciplinarian within the school environment".

"While YouthCARE chaplains are Christian people, their role in the school is actually about providing pastoral care to the school community," she said.

LONLINESS STARTS AT HOME

HELEN Hames is working on the front-line in schools every day.

The nurse-turned-school chaplain counsels primary and secondary students at Hawker Park Primary School and Mirrabooka Senior High School.

Mrs Hames said even she was surprised by how often loneliness and self-esteem issues came up in young primary school children.

"Certainly young children do think about it perhaps even more than even I thought they would," she said.

"And I think perhaps people are so busy these days, they don't have as many people to express their feelings to because of time-poor situations or whatever it is going on at home.

"The main issues that I deal with are peer relationships and family relationships in primary schools.

"And then when we get into high school, we're dealing more with the bullying, the behavioural issues – and by that time of their life, a lot of the children have experienced some sort of grief and loss.

"I certainly find that if there are issues at home, children have trouble concentrating in class and participating in activities so having someone to voice their concerns with tends to help them settle in class and participate more actively."

Mrs Hames said personal battles, which had seen her overcome being adopted and abused, helped her connect with her students.

"I think it gives me more empathy towards children and it helps me to understand them a little bit better and help them work through their issues," she said.

"I am very busy as a chaplain. I have a lot of students, family members, members of the school community access the service and then I'm able to then refer them out to appropriate services, either within the school or outside the school."

WHAT'S WORRYING OUR PRIMARY STUDENTS:

Family relationships (11,578 visits vs 4172 in secondary schools)

Peer relationships (10,201 visits vs 4496 in secondary schools)

Bullying and harassment (4697 visits vs 2396 in secondary schools)

Self concept and image (2719 visits vs 1152 in secondary schools)

Loneliness (1497 visits vs 258 in secondary schools)

Violence (1197 visits vs 406 in secondary schools)

WHAT'S WORRYING OUR SECONDARY STUDENTS:

Self harm and suicide (1300 visits vs 458 in primary schools)

Academic issues (750 visits vs 632 in primary schools)

Sex and sexuality (609 visits vs 503 in primary schools)

Drug and alcohol use (540 visits vs 64 in primary schools)

Leaving home (250 visits vs 60 in primary schools)

TOTAL: 98,894 visits in 2013

Source: YouthCARE

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Inexperience kills on WA mine sites

New Zealander Wayne Fowlie with wife Raewyn and with family members was killed in February after an underground rock fall at Central Norseman Gold's Harlequin mine in the Goldfields. Source: Supplied. Source: Supplied

ONE in two workers killed on WA mine sites is under the supervision of inexperienced bosses in the job for less than a year.

And vehicles plunging over edges, runaway vehicles and collisions are the biggest killers, an analysis of mining deaths has revealed.

The most deadly occupations are fitters (nine deaths), haul truck drivers (five deaths), and technicians and service vehicle drivers (four deaths each), according to a study reviewing the 52 mining-related fatalities from 2000 to 2012.

The toll caused by inexperience and high staff turnover is also revealed in the Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) report.

It showed just under half the workers killed were in their first year at a mine site or were performing a new role, and almost half of the fatal accidents involved supervisors in their first year on the job.

Onsite procedures were not complied with in two-thirds of fatalities, while there was no procedure in place at all in a quarter of mine site deaths.

It comes as Mines Minister Bill Marmion last week admitted a "cowboy" culture still exists in mining.

WA mines had a fatality-free year in 2012, but four workers have been killed on mine sites since. All four cases are still under investigation by the DMP and the results will remain confidential unless the employers are prosecuted.

New Zealand electrician Kurt Williams, 26, was killed while doing machinery maintenance in August and Perth contractor Allen Zuvela, 33, died from injuries he suffered at a heavy vehicle workshop in December, both at Fortescue Metals Group's Christmas Creek mine in the Pilbara.

Also in December, a 43-year-old mining contractor died at Newcrest Mining's Telfer goldmine after being struck by plastic piping.

And in February, New Zealander Wayne Fowlie was killed after an underground rock fall at Central Norseman Gold's Harlequin mine in the Goldfields.

The Sunday Times last year revealed nearly three WA mine sites a week were being shut down over safety breaches that could kill or seriously injure workers.

DMP resources safety executive director Simon Ridge said clusters of deadly accidents occurred at times when fatigue set in among workers.

"We believe high staff turnover can also further influence the number of accidents in the first year of a new role," he said.

Of the 52 deaths between 2000 and 2012, more than half occurred at gold and nickel mines and a third at iron ore mines, with 35 surface fatalities and 17 underground deaths.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union claimed workers at many mine sites were scared to complain about safety amid fears they would lose their jobs.

Mineral Council of Australia safety director Melanie Stutsel said the recent spike in fatalities highlighted the need for companies constantly to reinforce a culture of safety.

Mark Quinn who was killed at the Perseverance Mine in Leinster in 2006. Source: Supplied

PAIN OF LOSS IS 'NEVER-ENDING'

CASE STUDY 1

GRAEME and Marilyn Quinn say they will always carry the devastation and heartache of losing their son Mark to a WA mine site accident.

The couple say they have lived with "never-ending pain" since their 32-year-old son died when explosives blew up in a cannon he was assembling to free an ore blockage at BHP Billiton's Perseverance Mine in Leinster in 2006.

The coroner ruled his death was an accident but recommended better safety instructions on fuses. BHP pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe working environment and was fined $50,000.

The company has said "we were, and remain, deeply saddened by the death of Mark".

But since then the Quinns have called for tougher fines and penalties so mining companies and contractors are held to account.

Graeme and Marilyn Quinn say they will never get over the grief of losing their son Mark, 32, an underground miner who died in an explosives accident in Leinster in 2006. Source: Supplied

"We'll bleed for the rest of our lives," Mr Quinn said.

"Our lives are stuffed. You don't enjoy anything any more. Things haven't got the same value. It's survival. You just try to get through. The zing of life it's gone.

"My son is dead and nothing will bring him back, but a tiny fine like that for a company making billions of dollars – it's like the price of a stubby to them. It's nothing."

BHP said, in the event of a serious incident, it provides wide-ranging support to affected family members and colleagues.

Electrician Kurt Williams, who was killed in August at Christmas Creek mine, with his mother Diane Andrew. Source: supplied. Source: Supplied

DAILY GRIEF IS MOTHER'S SAD ROUTINE

CASE STUDY 2

NEW Zealand electrician Kurt Williams came to WA's Pilbara to make his fortune in the mines.

But the 26-year-old was sent home in a coffin after just a year when he was crushed while doing machinery maintenance in August at the Christmas Creek iron ore mine run by billionaire Andrew Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group.

His mother Diane Andrew now grieves daily at the shrine she has made to Kurt in her Auckland backyard.

"I can't begin to describe the pain," she said. "It's all about what I won't get to enjoy with Kurt anymore."

"I won't get to see how handsome he looks on his wedding day.

"I won't get to see that proud glint in his eyes when he hands me his firstborn baby.

"I can't give him any more advice, whether he wanted to listen or not. I can't have a drink or joke with him again. I can't worry about him anymore.

"I can't tell him how proud I am of him and how much I love him. I can't have one of his big cuddles. All these things I won't get to do with Kurt are breaking my heart."

Ms Andrew said she still didn't know exactly how Kurt was killed.

"It's under investigation, they are limited as to what they can tell me. I don't really know what happened and if it could have been avoided," she said.

"Kurt was all or nothing so he went over there so he could earn the big money, (but) I didn't worry about him. He was very sensible, safety-conscious person."

Mr Williams' death was one of a series of incidents at Christmas Creek. In October, a truck driver had his leg amputated and in December contractor Allen Zuvela, 33, was killed at the mine's heavy machinery workshop.

Ms Andrew said: "Has (Kurt's) death been in vain? At least if he'd died and no more deaths were going to happen... but the fact that they're still happening and there are injuries… there's something wrong with the safety."

But Fortescue chief executive Nev Power said safety was a core value and he wanted to "make it absolutely clear that no-one on a Fortescue site is ever expected to do anything that compromises safety".

The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) ordered the company to tighten safety procedures and its investigation into Mr Williams' death is ongoing.

DEATHS SINCE 2012:

● New Zealand electrician Kurt Williams, 26. Fortescue Metals Group's Christmas Creek mine. August 2013.

● Perth contractor Allen Zuvela, 33. Fortescue Metals Group's Christmas Creek mine. December 2013.

● A 43-year-old mining contractor. Newcrest Mining's Telfer goldmine. December 2013.

● New Zealander Wayne Fowlie, 59. Central Norseman Gold's Harlequin mine. February 2014.

THE SCENARIOS:

● Runaway vehicles

● Vehicles over edges

● Vehicle collisions

● Electrical contacts

● Rock falls

● Pit wall failures

● Tyre handling

● Incorrect use of fall arrest equipment

●Departure from original equipment manufacturer

●Poor procedures

Source: Department of Mines and Petroleum

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

WA home burglaries a national high

Speaking about WA's high burglary rate, Police Minister Liza Harvey says "West Australians have had enough". Picture: File image Source: News Limited

WA homes are more likely to be broken into than properties in any other state, according to new statistics that have prompted Police Minister Liza Harvey to say "West Australians have had enough".

Data obtained by Ms Harvey's office reveals there are 4472 burglaries across WA for every 100,000 households – 55 per cent higher than the national average.

It is the second worst rate in the country behind the Northern Territory.

In NSW, the rate is just under 3000 per 100,000 households. In SA, it's nearly as low as 2000 per 100,000.

WA also has the highest rate of attempted break-ins for any state at 3442 per 100,000 households. The national average is just 2261 per 100,000.

The data, contained in the Report on Government Services, comes as new police figures reveal the most common time of day for burglaries is actually 6am–9am.

WA homes are more likely to be broken into than properties in any other state, according to new statistics. Picture: File image

The most common item stolen from WA homes is cash followed by rings and laptops.

Ms Harvey said "West Australians have had enough".

"We all have the right to feel safe and be safe in our own home," she said.

"It is now time as a state we make the victims of home burglaries the priority."

Ms Harvey said she looked forward to bringing the "toughest home invasion laws in the country" into Parliament shortly.

At the 2013 state election, the Barnett Government promised to introduce laws forcing judges to impose at least 75 per cent of the maximum prison sentence available for adult offenders who commit serious physical or sexual assaults in a home invasion.

Edith Cowan University criminology lecturer Natalie Gately said wealth discrepancy among West Australians fuelled the high rate of burglary.

Dr Gately said Perth's hotter temperature also increased break-ins.

"Perth's hot climate means than many people live an outdoor 'alfresco' lifestyle," she said. "So they are often out the back, and many times there is an ease of entry for opportunistic burglars.

"Also, many people seek relief from the hot days and nights by leaving doors and windows open, another known security risk."

WA police Inspector Dominic Wood said 30 per cent of home burglaries were to obtain car keys.

"WA has the largest percentage of immobilisers fitted to vehicles which means thieves generally need access to car keys to steal a car ," Insp. Wood said.

Researchers at Edith Cowan University interviewed 69 alleged burglars in 2012 to find out the tricks of the trade.

Sixty-six per cent said they usually entered a home through open doors or windows.

VICTIM OF BREAK-INS

WA: 4472 per 100,000 households

National average: 2873 per 100,000 households

VICTIMS OF ATTEMPTED BREAK-INS

WA: 3442 per 100,000 households

National average: 2261 per 100,000 households

(From the Report on Government Services)

TOP FIVE MOST COMMONLY STOLEN ITEMS

Money — 5.2%

Jewellery Rings — 5.0%

Portable Laptops/Notebooks — 4.2%

Mobile Phones — 3.3%

Necklaces — 3.3%

MOST COMMON TIMES BURGLARY OFFENCES OCCUR

6am-9am — 16%

9pm-midnight — 15.6%

MOST COMMON ENTRY POINTS

Doors — 67.4%

Windows — 31.0%

FIVE TIPS

• Simply locking your doors and windows is the first and biggest deterrent.

• Keys should never be left in door locks as nearby window panels could be smashed to access those keys.

• If valuables like keys wallets and phones are not left in view a burglar is more likely to leave your house alone.

• Consider leaving a light or other "sign of life" when you are out in the early evening and it is starting to go dark.

• Lock all doors with your key and leave with the key. Don't just flick the latch. If it is hard for a burglar to get back out through a broken window they will struggle to get out safely quickly and with big amounts of property.

Source: WA Police

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Woman admits fertility fraud

A Perth woman has admitted to forging her estranged husband's signature so she could use a stored embryo to get pregnant. Picture: Think Stock Source: News Limited

A PERTH woman has admitted to forging her estranged husband's signature so she could use a stored embryo to get pregnant.

Megan Jane Hooper, 41, pleaded guilty to one charge of document fraud in Perth Magistrate's Court.

The court had previously heard how Ms Hooper and her husband had created several frozen embryos in 2007, and the couple had a child in 2009 following IVF treatment.

Police claimed that in late 2010, she said she wanted to have a second child, but her husband was against it.

After the couple parted ways, Hooper forged her husband's signature on a fertility clinic consent form in 2011, giving her access to one of the frozen embryos and allowing her to proceed with her plan.

Hooper was handed a conditional release order for six months, fined $500 and given a spent conviction.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

West Coast sticking by jailed Newman

THE career of West Coast footballer Murray Newman could be in doubt after he was found guilty of grievous bodily harm.

WEST Coast is standing by footballer Murray Newman, who is spending his first night in jail after being sentenced to 12 months for a nightclub attack.

In a statement, the club says it wants to keep Newman on the rookie list for 2014.

Despite a plea for mercy by Newman's lawyer that a jail term could end his AFL career, Judge John Staude decided the 20-year-old should serve time in jail.

Newman was convicted by a jury last year in the Perth District Court of causing grievous bodily harm when he broke the jaw of Brett Marris, then aged 20, in November 2012.

Newman, then 18, had a ``deep grudge'' against Mr Marris who had slept with the AFL player's girlfriend, Judge Staude found.

West Coast Eagle Murray Newman has been jailed for a nightclub attack which broke a man's jaw.

After weeks of threats from Newman on Facebook, including telling Mr Marris to ``start digging a grave'', the pair saw each other at the Library Nightclub in Northbridge.

Newman was sober but ``angry and agitated'' when the pair fought briefly before bouncers broke up the fight, the court heard.

He must spend six months behind bars before being eligible for parole.

In the statement issued this afternoon, West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett said the club did not condone Newman's actions but would continue to support him despite his "10-second loss of control".

The victim of the attack, Brett Marris, leaves court.

Judge Staude did not accept that Newman was acting in self-defence against a taller man.

``You struck Marris precisely because he would not rise to your challenge for a fight,'' Judge Staude said.

``You were the aggressor, not he.''

Judge Staude was also critical of Newman for only showing remorse after the verdict.

West Coast Eagles representatives leave the District Court after player Murray Newman was sentenced today. Picture: Stewart Allen

``This was not a spontaneous or instinctive reaction to a situation you did not expect, but a consequence of you developing an antipathy towards Mr Marris over a period of time,'' he said.

While Judge Staude accepted the sincerity of Newman's letter to his victim in which he said he did not intend to fracture Mr Marris' jaw, the judge did not accept the claim that Newman did not intend to confront Mr Marris.

Judge Staude noted that Newman had a supportive family and that his football career was important to him, citing a letter from Mr Nisbett who said he was pleased with Newman's progress.

He also referenced a victim impact statement from Mr Marris explaining his anxiety and fear of encountering Newman again.

Brett Marris in hospital after his jaw was broken by West Coast Eagle Murray Newman. Picture: Channel Seven

Judge Staude accepted the crime was at the lower end of the scale in terms of grievous bodily harm and that Newman had no prior record.

Defence lawyer David Grace argued the victim's pain did not last more than a few days.

Mr Grace said Newman had begun ``buckling down'' and said he was ``pleading for mercy'' on behalf of his client for a spent conviction because a jail term could end his AFL career, but the prosecution said deterrence was paramount.

Mr Nisbett said the club unreservedly accepted the court's decision.

The club does not condone Murray's actions, or similar violent acts, but will continue to support him," Mr Nisbett said.

"As we have done throughout this case, we will continue to work closely with the AFL on this difficult issue.

"We would like to retain Murray on the club's rookie list for the 2014 season as the club believes that it will be an important part of his rehabilitation and his re-integration to society – and football – upon his release.

"Since this incident occurred, Murray has been exemplary around the club, and is deeply sorry for his actions.

"That 10-second loss of control obviously now has dire consequences for Murray as he will spend at least the next six months in jail."

Mr Marris told Nine News today that he wanted to move on from the incident and was "happy to see the back of it."

He said he had recovered well from the attack. Mr Marris said there was no place for violence on Perth streets.

Newman played four games for the Eagles in his debut season in 2012, but spent last year playing in the second tier WAFL.

He also has a permanent restraining order against him and cannot be within 25 metres of Mr Marris.

Newman was supported in court during the trial by West Coast teammates including captain Darren Glass, Dean Cox, Nic Naitanui and Josh Kennedy.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

MPs slam Rinehart's ‘entitlement’ views

Gina Rinehart's criticism of Australia's "entitlement" mentality has drawn return fire. Picture: File image Source: Supplied

AS she predicted, Gina Rinehart's criticism of Australia's "entitlement" mentality has drawn return fire, with left wing MPs inviting her to leave the country, and leave the nation's battlers alone.

Ms Rinehart, who's worth almost $20 billion, took aim at welfare recipients and the political left for spending the "bottomless pit" of revenue created by mining.

The mining tycoon predicted "forests and splinters" of articles from "people boiling with rage that I dare challenge their bottomless pit and belief money doesn't have to be earned before it is spent mentality".

And she was right.

Former Labor leader Mark Latham accused Ms Rinehart of double standards.

"She wants to be a bigger welfare recipient herself," Mr Latham told the Seven Network.

WA Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan says Gina Rinehart "just doesn't get what has made Australia such a safe place for her to make her billions." Picture: File image

"She's against social welfare but she's very much in favour of business welfare for herself.

"I think that's an appalling double standard. There is no bottomless pit of money and that should apply to Gina as much as the people she's bagging today."

WA Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan said Ms Rinehart "just doesn't get what has made Australia such a safe place for her to make her billions".

"Enterprise and achievement is built on education, inspiration and opportunity, not by bringing in truckloads of overseas workers so that Ms Rinehart can live in even greater grandiosity and have even bigger pearls, if that is at all possible," Ms MacTiernan said.

And Greens Deputy Leader Adam Bandt said Ms Rinehart was "a threat to Australian egalitarianism".

"Gina Rinehart is full of suggestions about how to balance the budget, but none of them involve her paying a fairer share of tax and all of them involve getting the rest of us to pay more," Mr Bandt said.

"If Gina Rinehart thinks Australians are paid too much and have health care that's too good, she's welcome to leave." Writing in a resources magazine, the billionaire espoused her admiration of former British PM Margaret Thatcher, while saying Australia was "living beyond our means".

"Australians have to work hard or actually harder and smarter to create the revenue to be able to pay that bill ... something has to give - we can't do it all," Ms Rinehart said.

In her column titled 'The Age of Entitlement - has Consequences', Ms Rinehart urged action from politicians, saying "now is the time to change some thinking and urge leadership". "The left don't want to address the issue. Instead they get hysterical and personal about who speaks out," she wrote.

Rinehart this week tumbled 10 places on the latest Forbes Magazine global rich list, despite getting richer in the past year. She was easily Australia's richest person on the list, ahead of 208th-ranked James Packer with $US6.5 billion.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Perth secure minor premiership

Damian Martin finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Source: Getty Images

THE Perth Wildcats secured the NBL minor premiership – and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs – following an 81-69 win over Townsville.

Damian Martin produced a magnificent all-round performance to again lead his side, while James Ennis provided the dazzle and the knockout blows late to help settle the contest.

Martin flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals in his best game of the season.

Ennis (20 points) and the evergreen Shawn Redhage (18) were also important as the Cats registered their fourth straight victory.

Martin gets off the ground to lay up with his left hand despite being up against Jacob Holmes. Source: Getty Images

Perth had a late scare when Matt Knight hit his head on a baseline advertising board after jostling for a rebound.

The big man – who missed six weeks after he suffered successive concussions earlier in the season – left the court but appeared to be all right.

Townsville was led by Russell Hinder and Josh Pace, who scored 13 apiece, but simply couldn't find enough offensive grunt to trouble the Cats.

The clash between the NBL's top and bottom sides looked exactly that early, with Perth racing to a 10-2 start in the opening minutes.

The visitors channelled the experience of Hinder and Steve Markovic to claw back the deficit and hang tough for most of the opening half, with the two sides level just three minutes from the main break.

The woolly visage of Matt Knight is a picture of intensity as he pulls down a rebound. Source: Getty Images

But paced by Martin, a stagnant Perth began to find its groove in transition. The Cats skipper produced a fine around-the-back pass to set up a thunderous Jermaine Beal slam, before Beal returned the favour with a pinpoint alley-oop pass to Ennis moments later.

An offensive putback by Martin on the half-time horn gave the home side a 45-37 advantage at intermission, and they pulled further clear upon resumption.

Ennis produced a huge block on Pace to deliver an emphatic defensive statement, before a pair of Drake U'u threes from either side of the court pushed the margin out to 12.

Ennis then sealed the deal with two early baskets in the final term – including a long-range triple from the top of the arc – to ensure Perth would send its fans home happy.

The Wildcats now prepare for a potential playoff preview matchup with the 36ers in Adelaide, while Townsville heads to the City of Churches for the second leg of their 'Doomsday Double' roadtrip tomorrow.

In tonight's other game, Melbourne produced a stunning 44-point final term to overcome a 14-point three-quarter-time deficit and beat New Zealand 97-84.

Follow Chris Robinson on Twitter: @CJKRobinson

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pistorius said ‘it’s fine’ after shots

Oscar Pistorius has shielded his ears as he heard evidence about attempts to save Reeva Steenkamp's life.

The accused ... Oscar Pistorius, second right, arrives at the high court before the start of the fifth day of his trial. Source: AP

Day four of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial in South Africa saw testimony from one of the first people on the scene. Nathan Frandino reports.

OSCAR Pistorius told security at his estate that "everything is fine'' shortly after shots were reported from his home on the night his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was killed.

"Mr Pistorius said to me 'security, everything is fine','' security guard Pieter Baba testified about what the athlete told him on the phone.

"That's when I realised that Mr Pistorius was crying,'' he added.

Pistorius called Mr Baba back.

"He just started crying over the phone. That's when the line went off again.''

The guard, who spoke to Pistorius by cellphone after driving to his house, then described seeing the athlete coming down the stairs with Steenkamp in his arms.

"I saw Mr Pistorius coming down with Reeva. My lady I was so shocked that I couldn't even think for a few moments,'' he said.

"I got such a fright seeing Oscar carrying Reeva down, after he had told me everything was fine.''

Earlier, an ex-girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius testified that the Paralympian star sprinter often carried a gun with him and once fired at a traffic light after a confrontation with police.

An emotional Samantha Taylor, who met Pistorius in 2010 when she was 17 years old, tearfully described the sprinter as someone familiar with guns, prone to fits of anger and an unfaithful boyfriend.

Ms Taylor took to the stand on Friday, testifying that in 2010 on the way back from a day trip to a popular city getaway Pistorius was in a car that was pulled over by the police for speeding.

When a police officer inspected Pistorius's weapon, left on a seat when he exited the car, Pistorius became angry, "Oscar shouted at the policeman and said he shouldn't touch his gun,'' said Ms Taylor.

He later shot at a traffic light, "out of spite after being stopped.''

"He was angry at the police after being stopped, thereafter when they wanted to fire a shot they found it funny,'' she said, referring to Pistorius and a friend who was with him at the time.

The firing of the weapon is one of three firearms charges Pistorius faces in addition to a charge of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013.

Frequently breaking down in tears, Taylor recounted the history of the pair's troubled relationship.

Taylor said they met at a rugby match and later "he added me on Facebook.''

Their relationship ended in 2011, Taylor claimed, because "he cheated on me with Reeva Steenkamp.''

Feeling the pressure ... Oscar Pistorius gestures in the dock on the fifth day of his trial. Source: AFP

Ms Taylor also dismissed the defence's assertion that witnesses heard Pistorius and not Steenkamp scream on that February 14.

"That is not true, he sounds like a man'' when he screams, she said.

Earlier Dr Johan Stipp was asked questions about how much time elapsed between the gunshots and screams that he heard on the night of the murder.

Dr Stipp was asked about the number of screams, based on two separate statements he gave.

The defence wanted to show that Dr Stipp's statements did not match the evidence he gave on the sequence of events he witnessed and heard in his bedroom.

Mr Roux implied that screams would not have carried as far as the inside of Dr Stipp's bedroom, and used sound tests conducted on February 27 to back up his point.

Earlier Judge Thokozile Masipa started proceedings by telling the public and press: "if you misbehave, you will be chucked out."

OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL DAY 4: Oscar — 'I shot her ... I shot her'

Reeva Steenkamp, 29, a model and TV reality personality, was shot dead by the Olympic and Paralympic athlete Pistorius, fondly known as "The Blade Runner", on Valentine's Day last year.

Pistorius is pleaded not guilty to murder and says he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder.

Yesterday, Pistorius struggled to cope with the first detailed, public description of the immediate aftermath of the shooting at his home in Pretoria.

As Steenkamp lay dead or dying in his home, a weeping, praying Pistorius knelt at her side and struggled in vain to help her breathe by holding two fingers in her clenched mouth, witness radiologist Johan Schipp told the high court in Pretoria.

"'I shot her. I thought she was a burglar. I shot her,''' Dr Stipp recalled Pistorius saying in the minutes after the fatal shooting.

Tough gig ... Barry Roux, legal representative for Oscar Pistorius, speaks on the fifth day of his trial. Source: AP

"Oscar was crying all the time.

"He was praying to God: "Please let her live.'"

"It was obvious that she was mortally wounded,'' Dr Stipp said as he described what he saw at Pistorius' villa.

"At the bottom of the stairs ... there was a lady lying on her back on the floor.''

"I tried to assist her.'' Dr Stipp said. "I tried to open an airway.''

Gone too soon ... Reeva Steenkamp poses on set in Jamaica during the shooting of the reality show Tropika Island of Treasure. Source: News Limited

"She had no pulse in the neck, she had no peripheral pulse. She had no breathing movements that she made."

OSCAR PISTORIOUS MURDER TRIAL DAY 3: Pistorius fired gun in restaurant

Sitting on a courtroom bench, Pistorius bent forward and put his hand over his face, then moved them to cover both ears, as Dr Stipp spoke. He stayed that way for a while, even when one of his lawyers reached back and touched him on the head.

OSCAR PISTORIOUS MURDER TRIAL DAY 2: Pistorius breaks down in court

OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL DAY 1: What really happened

WHAT THE OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL WILL CENTRE ON

Dr Stipp also testified that he saw a bathroom light on at Pistorius's house and a figure moving from right to left as a woman screamed.

The defence case is that all the screams came from Pistorius.

The state is seeking to convince the court that Pistorius had an argument with Steenkamp before Pistorius fired the shots that killed her.

Celebrity couple ... Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp. Source: AFP

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police probe sailor’s mystery death

Sailor Roger Liebmann who was found dead on his yacht in the South-West. Picture: Twitter/Nine News Source: Supplied

POLICE are investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding the tragic death of a sailor who was missing on his yacht in the South-West.

This afternoon, police released the 69-year-old's name — he was Roger Liebmann of Donnybrook.

He had left Bunbury's Koombana Bay Sailing Club on his 18-foot catamaran about noon yesterday.

Police also revealed this afternoon that the catamaran was found in the water in an upright position, not upside down as previously reported.

However, the vessel had a broken mast.

It is believed Mr Liebmann, who had been missing overnight, was found about 9.35am when a rescue aircraft spotted his catamaran. His body was found in the vessel.

South West District Acting Inspector Mark Smith said conditions in the water last night were "favourable."

Insp Smith said a full examination of Mr Liebmann's boat would occur soon and a joint investigation between Water Police and South-West police officers was already in progress.

"The conditions last night on the water were very favourable," Insp Smith said.

"Low seas, light winds…it was one of those nights where many people would go out and do an overnight fish.

"It's terribly tragic."

Insp Smith said it was too premature to speculate on the cause of death.

No emergency beacon was detected by authorities.

Mr Liebmann's family were too distraught to comment, but Koombana Bay Sailing Club Commodore David Doherty said the loss of Mr Liebmann was a very sad day for the club and the community.

Mr Liebmann was reported missing about 10.20pm last night when police were told a 69-year-old man who went sailing from the Koombana Bay Sailing Club earlier in the day had not returned.

He was sailing the catamaran with white pontoons and red sails with white stripes, which is believed to have suffered some damage as he was leaving.

Two Water Police vessels, two Busselton Sea Rescue vessels, one Bunbury Sea Rescue vessel, one fixed wing aircraft, the police helicopter and two additional helicopters searched an area 250 square nautical miles seaward of Koombana Bay.

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shona and her princess farewelled

Corrigin teenagers Alex Riley, 18, and his fiancee Shona Leigh Caley, who was killed in a car accident last week. Picture: Facebook Source: Supplied

THE mother of Shona Caley, the heavily pregnant teenager killed in a horrific car accident last week, says she draws comfort from how happy her daughter was in her last days.

Hundreds of mourners gathered at the cemetery in the small Wheatbelt town of Corrigin today united in grief to farewell the popular young mother-to-be and her unborn daughter.

A tiny white coffin was placed on top of Shona's coffin, in a heartbreaking reminder that there were two lives lost in this tragic accident.

The 19-year-old died when her fiancé Alex Riley, 18, lost control and slammed into a tree on Brookton Highway, near Brookton, about 120km south-east of Perth on Monday, February 24.

Hundreds gathered in Corrigin today to farewell young mother to be Shona Caley. Picture: Twitter/Nine News

They had only celebrated their impending arrival at a baby shower the weekend before the crash.

Alex had his licence for just three days when the accident happened, it was reported.

The couple were eagerly anticipating the arrival of their daughter in four weeks, who Nine News reported they planned to name Princess.

Corrigin teenagers Alex Riley, 18, and his fiancee Shona Leigh Caley. Ms Caley, heavily pregnant, was killed in a car accident. Picture: Facebook

After the funeral, Shona's mother Jen Higgins said she hoped her daughter and unborn grandchild's deaths would be a stark warning to all motorists.

"It's hard, it's not something you would want to do ever," she said.

"It's very, very comforting to know that she was very happy in her last days.

"If this will save one life, then Shona's death will not be in vain."

Ms Higgins said Alex was by her and her family's side at the funeral, sitting with them and standing with her as she delivered the eulogy.

"He was my daughter's love, I have to respect that," she said.

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Baby found dead in street

The Ruth St and Emily St intersection in St Albans, near where a baby was found dead. Source: News Corp Australia

POLICE are questioning an 18-year-old woman over the death of a baby found on a footpath in Melbourne's northwest.

Homicide detectives were called to the scene on Ruth St, St Albans, around 3pm on Thursday.

According to sources, the newborn's body was found alone on the pavement by authorities.

It is understood a family member alerted police after the body was found.

The exact circumstances of the shocking broad daylight death are yet to be determined.

Homicide investigators were at the scene for several hours.

Authorities could reveal little and were keen for witnesses to come forward.

A post mortem was expected to be carried on the newborn's body overnight.

But authorities would not reveal if the 18-year-old St Albans woman being questioned by police, was related to the child.

The age or gender of the baby remain unknown and homicide detectives could not be contacted.

Ruth St residents reported seeing a large number of police near the Ruth and Emily St corner during the afternoon.

One neighbour, 39, who did not wish to be named, told the Herald Sun he came home from work about 6pm to find "plenty of people" - neighbours and police officers - gathered near the intersection.

"People were coming outside to see what was going on," he said.

"People had no idea what happened. I was thinking it was something very bad."

The man, who has lived in Ruth St for two years, said the neighbourhood was normally quiet.

Another neighbour, who did not give her name, said she also saw police gathered at the intersection.

She said she was shocked by the tragedy.

Police are calling for anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au.

samantha.landy@news.com.au

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Welfare is not an infinite pit: Gina

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart. Picture: AAP Source: Supplied

MINING billionaire Gina Rinehart has criticised welfare recipients for dragging the country into debt and attacked the political left for spending the "bottomless pit" of revenue generated from mining taxes and royalties.

"We are living beyond our means," Ms Rinehart, worth an estimated $19.89 billion, wrote in an opinion article. "This 'Age of Entitlement' and its consequences is creating problems for all of us, our children and our grandchildren."

In her latest column for Australian Resources and Investment magazine, Ms Rinehart echoed Treasurer Joe Hockey's call for an end to the age of entitlement — albeit with a sharper attack on the $130 billion spent annually on the five million citizens receiving income support.

"Australians have to work hard or actually harder and smarter to create the revenue to be able to pay that bill … something has to give, we can't do it all."

Treasurer Joe Hockey escaped Gine Rinehart's barbs. Picture: Gary Ramage Source: News Corp Australia

She heaped praise on the late Margaret Thatcher and quoted one of her favourite lines from the controversial former British prime minister: "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."

"Great quote. Let's learn from it," she wrote.

The billionaire predicted an outpouring of personal attacks on her for the comments.

"I can already hear the left boiling with rage that I dare challenge their 'bottomless pit' and the belief that money doesn't have to be earned before it is spent mentality.

"More nasty twisted articles will appear, forests and splinters of them. But every day Australia goes further into debt with no clear planning operation to get back even close to where we were.

"The political left is torn and confused. One moment they hate our very existence and even want us closed down — but in another, they don't want to stop spending the revenue that they count on from us in taxes and royalties."

She urged leadership, said the government could learn from Mrs Thatcher and claimed she was not alone in wanting politicians to act.

"Now is the time to change some thinking and urge leadership. We all have a role to play in mitigating the thinking that's not helping our country's future, including the entitlements mentality of individuals, companies — and our leaders.

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Picture: AAP Source: AP

"The left don't want to address the issue. Instead they get hysterical and personal about who speaks out — in this case, sometimes me."

Rinehart this week dropped 10 places on the Forbes Magazine rich list, despite getting richer. Her current wealth is estimated to have increased in the last year by $US700 million but her ranking dropped from 36 to 46.

In her own family, a bitter battle over who was entitled to control a $5 billion family trust has been dragging through the courts for two years.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Oscar prayed over dying Reeva’

Day three of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial sees a witness who says the track star asked a friend to take the blame for a gun incident a month before the murder of Reeva Steenkamp. Nathan Frandino reports.

Day four ... Oscar Pistorius at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. Source: AFP

OSCAR Pistorius shook slightly, his hands covering his ears as a neighbour described in court how the famous athlete knelt next to his dead or dying girlfriend, praying as he tried to help Reeva Steenkamp breathe.

The testimony in high court in Pistorius's murder trial was riveting and was the first detailed public description of the immediate aftermath of the shooting of Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, by the double-amputee Paralympic champion in the pre-dawn hours of February 14 — Valentine's Day — last year.

"It was obvious that she was mortally wounded," said Johan Stipp, a radiologist, as he described what he saw at Pistorius' villa. Stipp said he was one of the first there.

"At the bottom of the stairs ... there was a lady lying on her back on the floor," Mr Stipp testified.

A few minutes later, Mr Stipp said, Pistorius went upstairs - the area where he had shot Steenkamp - and then returned. At that point, Mr Stipp said he was concerned that the gun used in the shooting had not been recovered and that a distraught Pistorius was going to harm himself. The testimony did not address what Pistorius did when he went upstairs.

Hard to hear ... Oscar Pistorius, puts his hands to his head while listening to evidence from a witness speaking about the morning of the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Source: AP

Sitting on a courtroom bench on Thursday, Pistorius bent forward and put his hand over his face, then moved them to cover both ears. He stayed that way for a while, even when one of his lawyers reached back to reassure him and touch him on the head.

"I went near her and as I bent down, I also noticed a man on the left kneeling by her side,'' Stipp said under questioning by prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

"He had his left hand on her right groin, and his right hand, the second and third fingers in her mouth. I remember the first thing he said when I got there was 'I shot her. I thought she was a burglar. I shot her.'"

Mr Stipp, who said he didn't know that man was Pistorius until later, said he tried to help, but that he knew it was probably no good because Steenkamp showed no signs of life. Mr Stipp said he noticed a wound in her right thigh, in her upper arm and in the right side of the head, and there was brain tissue around the skull.

Distressed ... Oscar Pistorius was emotional during the testimony of neighbour Johan Stipp. Source: AP

Pistorius is charged with shooting Steenkamp three times out of four shots through a toilet door in his home. Prosecutors said the athlete intentionally killed Steenkamp after an argument but Pistorius says it was a mistake.

"She had no pulse in the neck, she had no peripheral pulse. She had no breathing movements that she made," Mr Stipp said. "Oscar was crying all the time," he said. "He was praying to God, 'Please let her live.'"

Pistorius said he would dedicate "his life and her life to God" if she would live and not die that night, according to Mr Stipp.

Flanked ... Oscar Pistorius, centre rear, arrives at the high court for the start of the fourth day of his trial. Source: AP

Pistorius, who ran at the 2012 Olympics on his prosthetic legs and who was known as the Blade Runner, is charged with murder with premeditation.

Pistorius's lead defence lawyer started the fourth day of the trial by cross-examining another neighbour and questioning whether the man heard a woman screaming and then gunshots on the night Steenkamp died.

The neighbour, Charl Johnson, said he also owned a gun, a 9mm pistol, and knew what gunfire sounded like.

"I can confidently say I heard gunshots," Mr Johnson insisted on cross-examination by Barry Roux. Later, Mr Johnson said: "I'm convinced that I heard a lady's voice."

OSCAR PISTORIOUS MURDER TRIAL DAY 3: Pistorius fired gun in restaurant

OSCAR PISTORIOUS MURDER TRAIL DAY 2: Pistorius breaks down in court

OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL DAY 1: What really happened

WHAT THE OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL WILL CENTRE ON

Lonely figure ... Oscar Pistorius at the Pretoria High Court on March 5. Source: Getty Images

The sequence of events soon after 3am on the morning of February 14 last year is a critical aspect of the case. Prosecutors say there was a loud argument between Pistorius and Steenkamp before the shooting. Pistorius says there was no argument and he killed Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, by accident thinking she was an intruder in his home.

Mr Roux, who was at times interrupted by the judge to clarify some of his questions, also attempted to throw doubt on the validity of Johnson's testimony and that of his wife Burger.

Mr Roux says the banging sounds were actually Pistorius hitting a toilet door with a cricket bat and the screaming was the distressed athlete calling for help — and there were no sounds from Steenkamp who had been shot in the head.

Mr Johnson said he "disputed" some of what Roux was saying and described in more detail what he heard on the night Pistorius shot his girlfriend to death. Mr Johnson and his wife live around 177 meters from Pistorius' villa.

"The fear ... in the lady person's calls contrasted with a very monotone male voice," Mr Johnson testified. "The man almost sounded embarrassed to be calling for help."

Model and reality TV personality ... Reeva Steenkamp. Source: News Limited

Awakened by a sound — Mr Johnson admitted he is unsure of what — he told the court that he heard screaming and awoke his wife, jumped out of bed and ran to the balcony of their home.

The screaming continued and Mr Johnson said he called a security company at 3.16am, speaking for 58 seconds according to his mobile phone log, before running approximately 30 feet back out to the balcony.

Earlier, Mr apologised to Mr Johnson reading his mobile phone number out in court.

Mr Johnson told the court this week that he was inundated with calls after Mr Roux read his number out on Tuesday.

One call was from a person accusing him of lying in court. As a result, he had to keep his phone switched off.

Blade runner ... Oscar Pistorius wins gold in the men's 400-meter T44 final at the 2012 Paralympics in London. Source: AP

###

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shark cull drum lines to stay on WA coast

Anti shark cull campaigners have lost their bid to stop the WA Governments controversial shark-kill policy.

WA's controversial drum lines used to catch and kill big sharks will remain after an application for an injunction to have them removed was rejected. Source: Supplied

ANTI shark cull campaigners have lost their bid to stop the WA Government's controversial shark-kill policy.

WA Supreme Court Justice James Edelman threw out the application from Sea Shepherd Australia for an immediate injunction to have the baited drumlines removed.

The conservationists had argued the decision by the government to exempt itself from its own laws was invalid because it had not been published in the Government Gazette.

In his decision, Justice Edelman not only threw out the injunction but essentially ruled the government did not need to publish its decision to allow the killing of great white, tiger and bull sharks over three metres that ventured in designated "kill zones".

"As I explained at the outset, this hearing involved a purely legal question," he said."It is a legal question that is not without considerable difficulty.

"The line between the administrative act and the legislative act is blurred.

"The application of this approach in this case means the exemption instruments and particularly these made under the Fish Resources Management Act do not have legislative effect.

"I would also conclude that if they did have legislative effect, then the requirement of public exemption in the Gazette...would be inconsistent with the scheme and provided in the Fish Resources Management Act.

"For these reasons the preliminary question must be answered no."

Sea Shepherd Australia director Jeff Hansen said despite today's ruling the group would continue its fight to stop the WA Government's policy.

He said they were now hoping the Federal Environmental Protection Authority will carry out a full environmental assessment of the catch and kill strategy.

"They have two weeks from tomorrow to make a decision and we are hoping they will show some urgency with that decision and call for a full environmental impact to be done at a state level and call for the drumlines to be removed immediately," Mr Hansen said.

"We will continue to do whatever we can to ensure that our beaches are safer, that are oceans have this healthy marine environment that we rely on.

"An ocean without sharks is a dead ocean. And that's a planet without people. So we will continue no matter what. We have right on our side. We are right.

"What the Premier is doing is completely wrong."

Sharon Burden, who son Kyle died after he was bitten by a shark off the south west coast in 2001, said while she was disappointed with the outcome she believed taking the legal action was the right thing to do.

"If you are in a situation where a state government can just exempt itself from a law so easily that disturbs me. And I think any situation where you feel uncomfortable you should do what is necessary to find out if that process was done correctly and what other avenues are open to you and what comes of that decision as well.

"I raised Kyle to believe that if you firmly believe in something, an idea, or a value, that you should pursue it and shouldn't just let it go because it seems difficult or that you may not get the outcome that you were hoping for. If you are passionate about something you should pursue it and that is why I have stepped forward on this particular issue."

Greens MLC Lynn MacLaren said she was disappointed at the decision.

"While the request for the drum lines to be pulled immediately was denied, we are still hopeful that we will win the fight," she said.

"Despite both environmental and legal concerns surrounding the catch and kill policy, the drum lines remain.

"This is an upsetting decision for 80-95 per cent of Australians that are against the cull."

WA Premier Colin Barnett today welcomed the Supreme Court decision.

"We felt we had followed a rigorous, legitimate process in deploying drum lines at popular beaches in the South West and metropolitan area," he said.

"This policy has been driven by concerns for public safety, given the increased number of fatal shark attacks in Western Australian waters in the last three years.

The drum lines will stay in place until April 30, as we work with the Federal Government to extend the program into next summer."

Environmental group Sea Shepherd Australia launched the legal action yesterday, arguing the WA Government's decision to exempt itself from the Fisheries Resources Act was illegal.

In order to carry out the "mitigation" policy, the WA Government granted itself an exemption to allow the killing of any white, tiger and bull shark over three metres which ventured in to designated "kill zones".

The campaigners were also seeking an interim injunction against the program to have the baited drumlines removed from WA waters immediately.

The state will seek to recover $19,000 in costs from activists over the legal battle.

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Revealed: Where to buy for $35k

RUSTIC living at Sapphire in Queensland for only $29,500. picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

Move aside Kensington Palace, the price tags on these homes are nothing to sneeze at on Hot Homes this week.

AFFORDABLE houses aren't as hard to find as many may think, you just need to travel further afield, Oh, and be prepared to spend quite a bit on renovating.

While median house prices much higher in all capital cities are much higher than that, there are still plenty of bargain houses to be bought throughout the country.

There are 34 suburbs or towns in Australia where the median house price is below $100,000.

In New South Wales there are 12 suburbs or towns with a median house price of less than $100,000.

The cheapest is in north western New South Wales at Collarenebrin where the median is only $28,200, followed by Ungarie in the central west which has a median of $60,000.

Among the cheapest on offer are a former church in the Ootha township of Forbes which has an asking price of just $35,000.

The iron-clad building has power and town water.

WITH a little divine intervention this former church in the Ootha township in Forbes NSW could be converted into a home. Picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

For something more traditional a three-bedroom home in Aubrey St, Fords Bridge in New South Wales comes with a price tag of just $30,000.

It is advertised as perfect for a "weekend getaway'' just 70kms from the township of Bourke.

UNFORTUNATELY for $30,000, you don't get much grass with this home at 9 Aubrey St, Fords Bridge NSW. Picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

In Victoria there are ten suburbs or towns with median house prices below $100,000, with Rainbow in the Wimmera region the cheapest at $72,000, Ouyen in the Mallee region is $73,750 and Jeparit also in the Wimmera is $76,000

Bargains include a one bedroom, one bathroom home at Vernon St, Korong Vale for only $20,000. There is a fireplace in the lounge, but as you can see from the pictures, it is a little breezy.

VERNON St, Korong Vale, Victoria is listed as a "golden opportunity'' within a short drive of the gold mining town of Wedderburn. Picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

THERE is a fireplace but the lounge area could do with a bit of work. Picture: Supplied realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

It's technically not a house — well actually not even technically, it isn't a house, but we couldn't resist this boat shed and landing at Nelson in Victoria.

Who cares what your house looks like if you can spend all your spare time here. The shed has one bathroom, and a new Colourbond roof and gutters. It also comes with a 1920 built fibreglass riverboat and has been reduced to $25,000.

NOT a house, but a riverfront shed for $25,000. Picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

The Northern Territory has proven to be one of the country's more expensive real estate markets and doesn't have any suburbs or towns with a median house price of less than $100,000.

In fact the cheapest is Zuccoli in Palmerston which has a median house price of $232,000, followed by Johnston in the same region at $240,000 and then Tennant Creek at $245,000.

The cheapest property listed for sale in the Northern Territory is a "handyman's delight'' priced between $159,000 and $179,000 at Ambrose St, Tennant Creek.

It has two bedrooms and one bathroom.

AMBROSE St, Tennant Creek is one of the cheapest houses listed in the Northern Territory. Picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

Queensland has only one town with a median house price of less than $100,000 — Cunnamulla in the south west of the state, which has a median house price of $77,500 based on 14 house sales in the past 12 months.

Otherwise the suburbs or towns with the cheapest median house prices are Monto in the Wide Bay Burnett region, $124,000; Hughenden in the north west $125,500 and Quliplie in the south west, $128,500.

You can secure yourself a three-bedroom home in Blackwater for $40,000, the only problem is land isn't included. The home has to be removed.

BYO land if you are keen on securing this Blackwater, Queensland home for $40,000. Picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

In South Australia there are four suburbs or towns with a median house price of less than $100,000 with Coonalpyn in the Coorong Murray Lands the cheapest at $73,750.

It is followed by Nangwarry in the southeast of the state $80,000 and Peterborough in the north at $92,250.

A cute cottage at Stephen's St, Booleroo Centre is seeking offers of $40,000.

The two-bedroom one-bathroom stone cottage has a sleep-out.

A quaint cottage in Booleroo Centre, South Australia will set you back $40,000. Picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

If you are after something a little more rugged you can buy a freehold dugout site in Coober Pedy for $39,500.

It has three street frontage and is 1.43 ha. It has already been checked out by 2195 visitors at online listing site realestate.com.au.

FOR the more adventurous a dug out in Coober Pedy is listed for $39,500. Picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

Tasmania has three suburbs or towns where the median house price is less than $100,000.

All three are in the West Coast council region with Zeehan the cheapest at $65,000, followed by Queenstown, $70,000 and Rosebery $71,500.

Among the cheapest properties are a three-bedroom house in Grafton St, Queenstown with an asking price that has been reduced to $40,000.

The covered porch leads into a lounge area with wood heating.

36 Grafton St, Queenstown, Tasmania, is surrounded by greenery. Picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

In Western Australia there are four suburbs or towns with a median house price of less than $100,000.

They include Norseman in the South eastern region $30,000, Mount Magnet in the central region $60,875 and Carnamah in the central region $62,500.

You can grab yourself a three-bedroom, one bathroom home in Norseman for $30,000, which has been described as a "renovators delight''.

A renovators delight in Norseman, Western Australia. Picture: realestate.com.au Source: Supplied

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Ram your racist exploitation’: Ludlam

WA Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister during his final parliamentary speech ahead of next months election re-run.

SUNDAY TIMES SPECIAL - Greens Senator Scott Ludlam at Parliament House in Canberra . Source: News Limited

WA GREENS Senator Scott Ludlam has launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister during his final parliamentary speech ahead of next month's election re-run.

During the adjournment debate speech, delivered on Monday night, Senator Ludlam invites Tony Abbott to visit WA, but urges him to leave his "excruciatingly boring three-word slogans at home".

The speech concludes with the Greens Senator telling the Prime Minister to take his "heartless racist exploitation of people's fears and ram it as far from Western Australia as your taxpayer funded travel entitlements can take you".

"When you arrive at Perth airport... understand that you are now closer to Denpasar than to Western Sydney, in a state where an entire generation has been priced out of affordable housing," Senator Ludlam told Parliament.

"Recognise that you are standing in a place where the drought never ended, where climate change from land clearing and fossil fuel combustion is a lived reality that is already costing jobs, property and lives.

"Mr Prime Minister, at your next press conference we invite you to leave your excruciatingly boring three-word slogans at home. If your image of Western Australia is of some caricatured redneck backwater that is enjoying the murderous horror unfolding on Manus Island, you are reading us wrong. Every time you refer to us as the 'mining state' as though the western third of our ancient continent is just Gina Rinehart's inheritance to be chopped, benched and blasted, you are reading us wrong.

"Western Australians are a generous and welcoming lot, but if you arrive and start talking proudly about your attempts to bankrupt the renewable energy sector, cripple the independence of the ABC and privatise SBS, if you show up waving your homophobia in people's faces and start boasting about your ever-more insidious attacks on the trade union movement and all working people, you can expect a very different kind of welcome."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott during Question Time in the House of Representatives in Parliament House Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage Source: News Corp Australia

Senator Ludlam is one of six WA Senators preparing for a fresh WA Senate election on April 5 – six months after winning back his lost seat in the controversial recount, which saw 1370 votes go missing.

He hopes to win a crucial balance of power seat in the new poll.

"People are under enough pressure as it is without three years of this government going out of its way to make it worse," his speech continued.

"It looks awkward when you take policy advice on penalty rates and the minimum wage from mining billionaires and media oligarchs on the other side of the world-awkward, and kind of revolting. It is good to remember that these things are temporary. For anyone listening in from outside this almost empty Senate chamber, the truth is that Prime Minister Tony Abbott and this benighted attempt at a government are a temporary phenomenon. They will pass, and we need to keep our eyes on the bigger picture.

Just as the reign of the dinosaurs was cut short to their great surprise, it may be that the Abbott government will appear as nothing more than a thin, greasy layer in the core sample of future political scientists drilling back into the early years of the 21st century...

"Mr Abbott, your thoughtless cancellation of half a billion dollars of Commonwealth funding for the Perth light rail project has been noted. Your blank cheque for Colin Barnett's bloody and unnecessary shark cull has been noted. Your attacks on Medicare, on schools funding, on tertiary education-noted. The fact that your only proposal for environmental reforms thus far is to leave Minister Greg Hunt playing solitaire for the next three years while you outsource his responsibilities to the same Premier who presides over the shark cull has been noted too."

Senator Ludlam went on to tell the Prime Minister "every time you open your mouth, the Green vote foes up", before telling him to ram his "heartless racist exploitation of people's fears".

"You and your financial backers in the gas fracking and uranium industries have inspired hundreds of people to spend their precious time doorknocking thousands of homes for the Greens in the last few weeks," he said.

"Your decision to back Monsanto's shareholders instead of Western Australian farmers has inspired people across the length and breadth of this country to make thousands of calls and donate to our campaign.

"As for the premeditated destruction of the NBN and Attorney-General George Brandis's degrading capitulation to the surveillance state when confronted with the unlawful actions of the US NSA-even the internet is turning green, 'for the win'. Geeks and coders, network engineers and gamers would never have voted Green in a million years without the blundering and technically illiterate assistance of your leadership team.

"For this I can only thank you.

"And, perhaps most profoundly, your determined campaign to provoke fear in our community-fear of innocent families fleeing war and violence in our region-in the hope that it would bring out the worst in Australians is instead bringing out the best in us. Prime Minister, you are welcome to take your heartless racist exploitation of people's fears and ram it as far from Western Australia as your taxpayer funded travel entitlements can take you.

"What is at stake here, in the most immediate sense, is whether or not Prime Minister Tony Abbott has total control of this parliament in coming years. But I have come to realise that it is about much more than that. We want our country back. Through chance, misadventure, and, somewhere, a couple of boxes of misplaced ballot papers, we have been given the opportunity to take back just one seat on 5 April, and a whole lot more in 2016.

"Game on, Prime Minister. See you out west."

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Witnesses ‘colluded on testimony’

Oscar Pistorius gets emotional at graphic evidence presented at his murder trial, and a heated exchange occurs between his defense lawyer and witness Michelle Burger. Jillian Kitchener reports.

Day 3 ... South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp arrives to attend a hearing of his trial at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. Source: AFP

OSCAR Pistorius's defence sought to prove that a married couple who heard screams on the night of Reeva Steenkamp's death colluded in their testimony, hoping to discredit key witnesses

Pistorius's lawyer Barry Roux attempted to show written statements and testimony from husband and wife couple Charl Johnson and Michelle Burger contained "remarkable coincidences'' that could not be accidental.

Earlier, in vivid testimony that cast doubt on the Paralympian's claims of a "tragic accident,'' the pair told the court they heard a screams then gunshots on Valentine's Day 2013 at Pistorius's home.

— Barry Bateman (@barrybateman) March 5, 2014

The couple's account would undermine Pistorius's claim that he shot his girlfriend, a 29-year-old model and law graduate, through a locked toilet door after mistaking her for an intruder.

As the trial resumed, Roux sought to put the defence back on the front foot, submitting Johnson to pointed cross-examination a day after his wife was reduced to tears in the witness box.

"You have not favoured the court with a strong, independent version,'' he railed at Johnson, citing identical syntax and vocabulary used in Johnson and his wife's written statements to police.

The allegation could lessen the impact of the pair's testimony.

RELIVE DAY TWO OF THE OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL

THE OPENING DAY OF THE OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL

WHAT THE OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL WILL CENTRE ON

Killed ... Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Stimulii) Source: AP

Model ... Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed at Pistorius' home. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Stimulii-HO) Source: AP

"Maybe you and your wife should have stood together in the witness box,'' Mr Roux said, prompting Judge Thokozile Masipa to step in.

"Aren't you going a bit far?'' she asked.

Ms Masipa did not comment on Mr Johnson's complaint that his "privacy has been compromised severely'' by the reading in court of his cell phone number, and that he had received threatening messages.

Johnson earlier told the court that on February 14, 2013 he was woken by a woman's screams and ran to his balcony, less than 200 metres from Pistorius's home.

"At that point the fear and intensity of her voice escalated and it was clear that this person's life was in danger,'' he said on Tuesday.

"That's when the first shots were fired,'' although Johnson could not recall how many.

Charged with murder ... Oscar Pistorius (C) leaves North Gauteng High Court amid a media scrum after the second day of his trial accused of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

On Tuesday the court heard emotional evidence from Ms Burger about her recollection of that event.

"When I'm in the shower, I relive her shouts. The terrifying screams,'' university lecturer Burger said, her voice cracking with emotion as she was unable to hold back the tears.

Another neighbour, second witness Estelle van der Merwe, who lives less than 100 metres (yards) away from Pistorius's home, also told the court she heard arguing coming from the house.

Defence on attack ... Oscar Pistorius' attorney Barry Roux put to husband and wife witnesses that they colluded on their testimony. Source: AP

"I woke up in the morning at 1:56am to sounds of someone talking loudly and fighting,'' she told the court. "It lasted about an hour.''

Later she recalled waking up to the sound of loud bangs.

Pistorius, 27, a double amputee known as the "Blade Runner'' for his carbon-fibre running blades, has pleaded not guilty to murder and three unrelated gun charges.

If found guilty of premeditated murder, Pistorius faces 25 years in South Africa's notoriously brutal jails and an abrupt end to his glittering sporting career.

The track star has appeared composed in court during three days of prosecution testimony, except when the court heard a statement explaining the violent nature of Steenkamp's death.

Emotional ... Oscar Pistorius places his head down while sitting in the dock in court on the third day of his trial at the high court in Pretoria. Source: AP

Seeking to cast doubt on the witnesses' statements, the defence has disputed their claims that they continued to hear Steenkamp's fading screams after she suffered a final shot to the head.

"The person with that brain damage will have no cognitive response,'' continued Roux. "It cannot be. She could not have screamed.''

Hearing this, Pistorius put a handkerchief to his face bowed his head and folded his hands behind his neck.

Prosecution lawyer Gerrie Nel interjected to say it was the last of four shots that struck Steenkamp's head, the first three hitting her right side, the wall and her shoulder.

Meanwhile, across the court, one of Steenkamp's relatives touched a photo of Steenkamp, who had been a budding reality TV star, as a man put his arm around her.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

US, Russia hold talks on Ukraine

Russia says it will do 'everything to prevent bloodshed' in Ukraine as the crisis continues in the country.

On alert ... Russian forces look out at the Ukrainian navy ship Slavutich in the harbor of the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol. Source: AFP

• EU commits $15 billion in aid
• Top diplomats meet in Paris
• Putin steps back from brink of war
• Ukraine says war is now unlikely

THE European Union prepared $15 billion in aid to Ukraine and top diplomats from the West and Russia gathered in Paris to defuse tensions over the Russian military takeover of the strategic Crimean Peninsula.

NATO prepared to take up the issue directly with Russia in an extraordinary meeting of the military alliance, originally created as a counterbalance to the Soviet Union, and an international team of military observers headed to tense Crimea.

The ultimate goal in Paris is to get the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in the same room, negotiating directly in the fast-moving dispute that has raised tensions to nearly Cold War levels.

Paris meeting ... US Secretary of State John Kerry, waves to the media as he arrives for a meeting on the Ukraine crisis in Paris. Source: AP

"It will be a test this afternoon of whether Russia is prepared to sit down with Ukraine, and we will strongly recommend that they do so,'' British Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

The Paris gathering, originally scheduled to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis, came after Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to step back from the brink of war, but the crisis is far from resolved.

"This is my first trip to such an important venue where the Ukrainian future, maybe the future of the region, will be decided,'' Andriy Deshchytsia, Ukraine's foreign minister, said of the meetings in Paris. "We want to keep neighborly relations with the Russian people. We want to settle this peacefully.''

On the flight from Kiev to Paris, Deshchytsia told reporters that Ukraine was unlikely to go to war to prevent Russia from annexing Crimea but said doing so wouldn't be necessary because Russia would be unwilling to suffer the resulting economic penalties and diplomatic isolation.

Back from brink ... Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov arrives at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris for a diplomatic meeting dedicated to the situation in Lebanon. Source: AFP

The $15 billion European Union offer matched the Russian bailout for fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych. Mr Yanukovych took the Russian loans instead of a wide-ranging trade and economic agreement with the EU, which fuelled the protests that eventually led to his ouster.

The United States has pledged to financially prop-up Ukraine and Mr Putin denied invading the country as his troops ransacked an air base, his ships were repositioned to block a harbour and his troops took over the border checkpoints to the country.

Both Washington and the Kremlin have agreed on formal talks on the future of the now more than 16,000 Russian backed troops on the Crimea.

ROUNDUP OF KEY EVENTS FROM UKRAINE'S CRISIS

These talks to also involve Germany's leader Angela Merkel could see a cap of 11,000 Russian troops work with international monitors on the ground in Crimea to ensure no human rights are abused by either side.

In a show of support for Ukraine's interim government, the US Air Force One arrived in the capital Kiev with Mr Kerry holding high level talks with the new leadership.

Diplomatic tour ... US Secretary of State John Kerry walks at the barricade at the Shrine of the Fallen of anti-government protesters in Kiev. Source: AFP

The US administration said Congress was close to finalising economic sanctions against Russia for its passive invasion of the southern Ukraine state of Crimea in support of ousted Ukrainian president Mr Yanukovych.

Mr Kerry toured a street near Maidan Independence Square where the people's revolution overthrew the Yanukovych regime with 95 people killed in clashes and 500 others injured.

He lay a bunch or red roses and a shrine close to where protesters were gunned down by police snipers two weeks ago.

"We will be helping," he told locals who had gathered about him.

"We are helping. President Obama is planning more assistance."

Helping hand ... US President Barack Obama comments on the situation in Ukraine. Source: AFP

The US has also pledged to provide Ukraine with technical expertise to track down the billions of dollars Mr Yanukovych and his senior ministers are believed to have laundered out of the country.

Meanwhile about the same time Mr Putin broke his one week of silence to accuse the West of having driven Ukraine to anarchy and supporting the coup to rid Mr Yanukovych who he still considered the real president.

But then in a baffling series of denials and half moves toward reconciliations, Mr Putin said he was pulling back from the brink of war but reserved the right to use force if Russians in the Ukraine were threatened.

In his declarations, he denied Russia had sent any forces to Crimea, said force was a "last resort" only and described the ousting of Mr Yanukoych as an "anti-constitutional takeover and armed seizure of power".

"We reserve the right to use all available means. And we believe that this is fully legitimate. This is a last resort,'' he said.

Keeping us guessing ... Russian President Vladimir Putin looks on during a press conference in his country residence of Novo-Ogaryova outside Moscow. Source: AFP

"We cannot stand aside if we see that they start to persecute or destroy. We very much hope that it does not come to this."

He said the Kremlin had given Mr Yanukovych sanctuary because otherwise he would have been killed.

On Ukrainian and US estimates of 16,000 Russian troops on the ground in Ukraine, Mr Putin said this was wrong and indeed he had none.

"You can go into a shop and buy any kind of uniform. These were local (pro-Russian) self-defence forces,'' Mr Putin claimed.

"Thank God that this was done without a single shot and everything is in the hands of the Crimean people."

But as he came up with that bizarre claim, Russian forces, many of whom have declared their status now, remained in control of Crimea and today the first shots were fired at a column of unarmed Ukrainian soldiers marching back to their air base.

A tense stand-off ensued as the reported Russian troops fired several rounds into the air over the Ukrainian heads and demanded they turn around.

Under orders ... Pro-Russian soldiers guard Ukraine's infantry base in Perevalne, Ukraine. Source: AP

At another air base near Yevpatoria 150 Russian troops broke in, while Russian navy ships have blocked off the Kerch Strait which separates Ukraine's Crimea region and Russia, the Ukrainian border guard service said on Tuesday.

The border guards have said that Russian servicemen are in control of the Crimean side of the narrow channel and that Russian armoured vehicles have been sighted on the Russian side.

"The Kerch Strait is blocked by two Russian ships — from the north and from the south," Pavel Shishurin, the deputy head of the border guards, told reporters.

The Russian military has not confirmed his comments.

The Kerch Strait provides access to the Black Sea for ships carrying grain and other commodities from southern Russian regions.

In the east of the country, troops forced border guards at checkpoints to abandon their posts.

In an unrelated but provocative event, the Russian also chose yesterday to test long range missiles on their home soil.

Sticking together ... people take part in a rally in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don in support of ethnic Russians in the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. The posters read: "No to Fascism in Ukraine!" "We are together with Ukraine!" "Ukraine without Nazis!" "We stand for Russian Crimea!" "Stop Fascism!" "Don't betray Crimea and Russians!" "Shame on Stepan Bandera's successors!" Source: AFP

###

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bid to kill shark laws on technicality

A tiger shark caught on a drum line. Activists have launched a legal challenge to have the shark catch-and-kill laws overturned. Source: AFP

THE WA Government has tried to "carve out its own island of immunity" by exempting itself from its own laws, WA's Supreme Court was told today.

And unless the controversial shark-kill policy is stopped immediately, more protected species will continue to be take, a lawyer representing environmental campaigners also said.

Environmental group Sea Shepherd Australia launched legal action, arguing the WA Government's decision to exempt itself from the Fisheries Resources Act was illegal.

In order to carry out the "mitigation" policy, the WA Government granted itself an exemption to allow the killing of any white, tiger and bull shark over three metres which ventured in to designated "kill zones".

The campaigners, which also includes Sharon Burden, mother of shark bite victim Kyle Burden who died after he was attacked while bodyboarding off Gracetown in 2011, were also seeking an interim injunction against the program to have the baited drumlines removed from WA waters immediately.

Around 50 anti-shark cull supporters packed the courtroom to hear the lengthy legal challenge.

Barrister Richard Hooker, who was representing the campaigners, told the court the WA government was trying to "carve out its own island of immunity" in reference to its decision to exempt itself from its own laws.

He argued that because it had not been given the final rubber stamp, the exemption was not valid.

He also said there was a "strong public interest" in the way the government administered its laws.

"For every day this program continues unrestrained ... more and more sharks are taken, and they are protected sharks.

"If this program isn't restrained right away, on the face of it the program continues to take protected sharks, that's what is critical to the case and why we seek interim injunction."

On February 16, the government said a total of 66 sharks had been caught in the first three weeks of the policy.

A total of 17 of those sharks were killed and another nine were found dead on the hooks, according to data provided by Fisheries Minister Ken Baston.

Earlier, lawyers representing the WA Government raised safety concerns about publishing the names of employees involved in the shark kill strategy.

He said recent allegations of threats made against those contracted to carry out the policy meant it was not in the public interest to "disseminate" their names.

In January baited drumlines were deployed off Perth beaches and the south-west as part of the "mitigation" strategy.

The lawyer representing the government told the court the shark kill policy was an "important public safety program" and that it wasn't going to let anything interfere with it.

He also argued that if the court granted the interim injunction, the government would need to enough time to remove drumlines.

Mr Hooker said his clients would not press for "immediate relief" but if the court did decide in their favour it would expect the policy to cease and would accept reasonable amount of time for it to be implemented.

Justice James Edelman reserved his decision until 4pm tomorrow.

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More