Buddy deal a year in the making

Lance Franklin is set to line up in a Sydney jumper next year. Digitally altered image. Source: HeraldSun

LANCE Franklin's plans to move to Sydney began soon after the 2012 Grand Final loss to the Swans.

Franklin's manager Liam Pickering contacted the Swans and said Franklin would like to play for them in 2014.

Talks were held during this season, before they were ramped up in the past eight weeks, culminating with today's stunning development — and nine-year deal worth $10 million.

Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland confirmed to the Herald Sun Franklin contacted Sydney and not vice versa.

"We got a general sense around the end of last season he would like to play for us,'' Ireland said.

"The difficulty was the Kurt Tippett thing was going through and we did that, and then nothing much happened.

"During the Liam indicated he was still keen to play for us if that was achievable and I guess probably over the past six to eight weeks, we had more conversations about it.''

Asked who contacted who, Ireland said: "Liam was the one who first indicated to us."

He admitted the club was stunned with the approach.

"It's not very often a player of his stature actually wants to approach you on the basis he wants to play for your club,'' Ireland said.

"Clearly, through the discussions along the say he loves the Hawthorn football club and the fishbowl of Melbourne has taken it s toll, and he wanted to get out of that.''

All Ireland's discussions with Franklin and his management will be investigated by the AFL for any potential rule breaches.

A statement from the league yesterday said it's Legal, Integrity and Compliance Department would interview key people.

The Swans coup has left Greater Western Sydney reeling, and the AFL blindsided.

Late last week they tabled an offer of $1.2 million over six years, well short of the Swans offer.

Ireland said Franklin's salary fitted into the cap, alongside the estimated $900,000 a year salary for Tippett.

"I don't want to go into the method of (payment) other than to say it's something that works with our salary cap,'' Ireland said.

He agreed it was a risk. "Once before I was involved in this sort of deal with Alastair Lynch (To Brisbane from Fitzroy) and he played 11 years after being recruited as a 26-year-old.''

Asked if the money was unconditional, Ireland said: "The contract is the contract.''

Despite the development, Ireland said the club was aware the Hawks had the ability to match the offer.

"The one thing we were respectful of, with free agency, is clearly Hawthorn have got an opportunity to match the offer, and so, we're not presumptuous to think Buddy is playing for us yet,'' Ireland said.

The official paperwork will be lodged on Friday.

Ireland hit out at critics of club's allowance.

"The reason why we were able to secure Kurt last year and hopefully secure Franklin this year, is because we've got enough space in the cap and the space in the cap comes about because players who were on our list will not be on our list, so therefore there is space,'' Ireland said.

"The reality is every player on our list shares in the cost of living allowance, it's in their contracts, the AFL know that, the AFL sees that, so there's no pool of cost of living for us to be able to hand it to players individually.

"People who spread that are not really honest about how it's used.''

How can the Swans afford Buddy?

Anderson questions salary cap bonus

Fans react to Buddy move

Footy's biggest trade bombshells

Buddy deal small change on world stage

HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE CHAT WINDOW BELOW

The news comes after News Limited today revealed that the Sydney Swans had launched a last-minute offer to snare Franklin, with the offer believed to be in the vicinity of $7 million across five seasons.

The Giants sensationally tweeted today that they had taken their offer to Franklin, believed to be worth $2 million a season, off the table. 

AFL writer Jon Ralph doubts whether Sydney needs cost-of-living allowance for players and warns of repercussions as Buddy Franklin makes his move.

Giants coach Leon Cameron said GWS still had several experienced players on its radar, despite being knocked back by key targets Franklin and Essendon ruckman Tom Bellchambers, who signed a two-year extension at Windy Hill.

"You're not going to lie about it (and it is a blow) but we've gone on the record this year that we're looking for mature-age players to come into our football club to help our young list ... and Lance was one of five or six that we've been looking at throughout the year," Cameron said.

"We're confident in where we're heading, we're confident in our list management strategy.

"To fast track our performance we need some players to join our football club and we're very confident we'll do that in the next couple of weeks."

Join Mark Robinson and Gerard Whately for a special edition of AFL360 tonight. Source: FoxSports

Five time premiership player, and GWS forwards coach Dermott Brereton reacts to news Lance Franklin has gone to rivals, Sydney Swans.

Former Kangaroos star and Fox Sports commentator David King says the Swans have scored an amazing coup in signing Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin.

Clarko takes Mike to task

Latest trade news, whispers and more

GWS coach Leon Cameron chats to AFL 360 about Lance Franklin coming to the club.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Finding Perth's finest BYO haunts

The STM have selected their top Perth BYO restaurants. Source: PerthNow

STM foodies Gail Williams, Max Veenhuyzen and Fleur Bainger sat down in WA's finest bars, cafes and restaurants to come up with the 100 hottest dining and drinking venues.

Now it's over to PerthNow readers for your verdict.

Today, we look at BYO establishments. Do you agree with their choices or did they miss your favourite out?

The Prophet Lebanese Cafe. Picture: Theo Fakos Source: PerthNow

The Prophet Lebanese Cafe
907A Albany Highway, East Victoria Park, 9361 1101

The lure of robust Levantine flavours and smiley service keeps this casual, cash-only favourite packed. While crunchy balls of falafel are rightly lauded (they were hailed by Feast magazine as Australia's best), there's depth to the entire playing squad.

House-made dips – the smoky baba ghanoush in particular – are invariably good. The kitchen is equally proficient with the fleshier stuff, as evinced by skewers of juicy chook and lamb. Finish off with the crunchy baklava – a must.

University Asian Restaurant
Basement, 88 Broadway, Nedlands, 9389 1168

When it comes to lazy susan fun, this western suburbs stalwart delivers big-time. During winter, it's all about the slow-braised pork belly served with fluffy mantou buns, but the extensive menu and specials sport plenty of highlights.

In particular, there's the excellent Singapore-style chilli crab, fragrant chicken and vibrant seasonal vegetables lit up with a piquant house sambal. Just as the cooking is of a higher order, so too is the service, led by charismatic owner Richard Choo.

Cecchi's
965 Beaufort St, Inglewood, 9271 6366

Picking up where Da Bruno's left off, Cecchi's is another family-owned Italian restaurant looking beyond the greasy-spoon staples. Here, patron-chef Mark Cecchi serves an entree of quail as a crunchy fried ball of boned-out bird served atop parmesan custard.

Then there's his take on zuppe de pesce that pairs a fat slab of barramundi with prawn and mussels in a tomato broth. This is contemporary, thoroughly enjoyable cooking, and reason aplenty to put Cecchi to the top of your restaurant watch list.

West End Deli. Picture: Bohdan Warchomij Source: PerthNow

West End Deli
95 Carr St, West Perth, 9328 3605

After earning his stripes in Nic Trimboli's stable of fine diners (Balthazar, Il Lido, Duende), Justin Peters set his sights on doing something a little smaller, a little more local and a little closer to home.

Enter West End Deli. From great coffee and baked brekkie goods to satisfying dinner fare such as terrine of Baldivis rabbit, everything this deli does is tailored towards its loyal regulars. Fixed-price menus on Wednesday and Thursday evenings are an excellent introduction to the restaurant's brand of modern Aussie cooking.

Northbridge Chinese Restaurant
26 Roe St, Northbridge, 9328 9288

When it comes to dim sum options, Perth eaters have it good, especially if they're queued out the front of this prosaically named favourite. Don't be put off by the numbers – lines move fast and before you know it it'll be your turn to get stuck into excellent siu mai, har gow, char siu bao, congee and other winning examples of dim sum wonderment.

Northbridge Chinese's liu sha bao (salted egg-yolk custard bun) is one of the city's best, while the restaurant's dinner menu offers equally impressive Cantonese dining thrills.

Clarke's of North Beach
97 Flora Tce, North Beach, 9246 7621

Despite recently acquiring its licence, the northern corridor's finest diner still offers BYO from Tuesday to Thursday. The question now is what to bring? Do you go hard with big-textured whites in anticipation of the lush confit salmon or deconstructed crab sandwich? Or do you look to the honey-roasted duck and bring along a top-shelf pinot noir?

Still, for fans of technique-heavy cooking, it's a quandary worth struggling with, not least because of the eatery's recent renovations and much-improved service.

An's Kitchen
305 William St, Northbridge, 9227 9667

While Cantonese flavours have long dominated the local Chinese food discussion, Perth is home to a growing number of restaurants specialising in regional Chinese flavours. At An's Kitchen, for instance, the focus is on the tastes of mainland China.

While solo diners can choose from dishes-for-one, such as Shanxi-style sliced noodles, dining with friends really is the best way to go exploring, especially with the offer of deep-fried lamb ribs and chewy pieces of beef tendon bathed in a tingly "ma la" ("hot and numbing") chilli oil. Crunchy pickled vegetables, mercifully, offer some respite from the chilli sweats.

Senoji
1/885 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park, 9362 2979

Sake with Japanese food, wine with Western. Or so the rule used to go. In this age of cross-cultural dining, eaters from east and west are exploring what the other brings to the table.

Decide which you prefer (at least with Japanese food) at this homely eatery – you bring the grape wine, they'll supply the rice wine. As well as hosting all the food and drink matching games you desire, Senoji's food is a draw in its own right. Best are the share dishes where the likes of juicy chicken karaage, gyu tataki (rare seared beef) and sashimi rule.

Cantina 66. Picture: Karin Calvert-borshoff Source: PerthNow

Cantina 663
663 Beaufort St, Mount Lawley, 9370 4883

Hanging its hat on the seasonal and the delicious, Cantina 663 is the high-energy local you wish existed in your postcode, doubly so on Mondays and Tuesdays when BYO is available. While Gordon Kahle values provenance as much as his predecessors, the restaurant's new head chef isn't afraid to give the boat a gentle nudge.

Check out the unusual but undeniably pleasing likes of lamb parmigiana and an escabeche of cuttlefish, radish and cucumber. Alternatively, the chef's selection menu puts the decision-making in the kitchen's hands, leaving you free to focus on the social aspect of dining.

Mom Dumpling House
687 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park, 9470 2088

When it comes to the flavours of north-eastern China, Mom's the word. True to the region's history of wheat production, dumplings are a strong suit with varieties ranging from pan-fried pork to steamed beef. Construct a low-rise of bamboo steamers filled with various dumplings, then go to town.

There's good eating throughout the rest of the menu. Fine ribbons of lamb laced with cumin and spicy pig's ear are typical of the region's way with spice and animal offcuts. The restaurant's spring onion pancakes rate as some of Perth's crispest and flakiest.

STM Hottest 100, part one: Breakfast

STM Hottest 100, part two: Sunday lunch

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kicked out of school for being gay

Adam and his partner Rick. Picture: Supplied Source: NewsComAu

THESE are the letters that will sicken any fair-minded Australian to their core.

Gay Australians have opened up about the discrimination they faced from teachers, staff and peers at school in a series of heartfelt letters.

Today we publish two of these letters.

The letters were originally shared with Independent NSW State MP Alex Greenwich. They are honest, raw, heartfelt and shockingly revealing of the entrenched discrimination and homophobia which still exists in many schools.

Mr Greenwich is lobbying for the NSW State Government to change its Anti Discrimination Act so private and independent schools cannot expel students on the basis of their sexuality.

"A number of students reached out and were brave enough to share their stories," he said, adding that gay and lesbian children faced discrimination across the country. "A number were anonymous as they were threatened with expulsion if they talked."

Ros Philips, from Christian group FamilyVoice Australia, said Mr Greenwich's proposed change was "Orwellian" and threatened "freedom of speech, association and religion".

Dear Alex,

Back in 2007 while I was in Year 12, I was in Girlfriend magazine with a coming out story and because of that I was asked with my partner to make an appearance on Sunrise.

Because of these media appearances, students and teachers at my school found out I was gay. This didn't go down well.

It was six weeks before my HSC and they set a meeting with me and my mother to talk to them about the "issue" of my sexuality. I was called up to the office, in tears, with two teachers, the assistant principal and my mother.

We were up there for over an hour talking about what I had done, why I did it and who I was.

After this meeting the conclusion was that they would take it to the school board to see what will be done and whether or not I would be expelled. I was stressed out not knowing what would happen.

A week later I had another meeting with them which ended in the school saying I could stay in school - on these conditions:

1. I could not mention or talk about my sexuality at school to anyone.

2. My partner Rick was to have nothing to do with the school or functions.

3. I had to see a counsellor weekly until I left school.

I didn't agree with this but with only six weeks left I had to suck it up and deal with it. It left me feeling very angry and stressed.

I contemplated leaving the school and seeing the counsellor was the hardest part. Knowing who I was, and having the school make me try to "fix" myself wasn't easy. Growing up with a very supportive family, I didn't think I needed to be "fixed".

Even in our Bible Studies class I recall hearing 'if you are a homosexual you are going to hell'.

I did have two teachers who were very supportive through my situation and I thank them for that as it helped me get through my last weeks of school.

Then the school formal was another issue all together as I wanted Rick to be there. My date card was rejected because another male's name was on the card. They did not allow same sex partners to attend the formal.

It took a lot of planning to get Rick there. He ended up going as a date with one of my good friends and I took a friend of mine from outside of school.

When teachers found this out I was hounded with questions and assumptions like "he's not 30 or something is he?" Or "you won't make out with him on the dancefloor" at the actual formal?

We did sit next to each other, but we were clearly looked down upon. We did not dance together or be affectionate towards each other because it was very uncomfortable.

I thought that I had dealt with this but when the school said that they "find it offensive for people to even suggest they discriminate against students" it made me stop and think because I was discriminated against and I found it "offensive" for them to say that.

-- Adam L

Hurt ... Beci Jay was asked to leave her school. Picture: Supplied Source: NewsComAu

Dear sir/madam,

I've been gay for as long as I can remember.

I've had good male and female role models, I come from a decent family, and most people would say I am a good role model to others (now).

When I was 14, my parents and I moved to regional Queensland for a new start. In high school, I was the textbook 'gifted underachiever'. I acted out in school because I was disengaged, unchallenged and couldn't relate well to the purpose of such a 'sausage machine model' of education (one that churns out lots of copies of the same thing).

We moved to the area for a new start in my father's business and in my education. I was enrolled at a Christian school and I settled in happily in the first few months. But in Year 10 things went downhill.

I started to acknowledge and accept my own 'gay' feelings that I'd always had and experimented with another girl. It was outside of school hours, outside of school property, in the privacy of my family home.

Because I trusted one of my teachers I sat her down and told her about my feelings. But rather than help me, she told the principal ... a lie about how she'd seen me engaged in a sexual act with a girl on the bus.

I was absolutely indignant and so hurt. In the end I was asked to leave the school because after they outed me to my parents my parents supported me and not their homophobia. Apparently, our 'values' didn't align with their 'values'.

So it came to be - I ended up in public school.

The letters were first sent to Alex Greenwich, right, the independent MP for Sydney. Source: NewsComAu

After that, I tried to convert myself to heterosexuality by going to church and praying about it. Of course, nothing happened. It's like holding your breath to change your eye colour. Even if you really want it to happen, it won't. I was gay.

In such frustration and anger, I started cutting myself, binge drinking and taking risks. Later on, I started taking drugs. At the end of Year 11, I had had enough of my feelings and having to hide my true self. I thought nobody would ever accept me. Not long after that, I tried to take my own life.

My parents saw what nobody should ever have to see - their 16-year-old daughter unconscious on her bedroom floor with a pile of empty pill bottles on the shelf.

After I finished high school I moved back to Brisbane. It was much more accepting and I was free of school. Because I'd suffered so much in Years 11 and 12, I didn't bother going to uni.

After two years of working awful jobs, I finally pulled myself together and went. I am now in the final semester of my teaching program, working with a great school, getting marks within the top 15 per cent of my cohort, and blitzing life with the new-found confidence of having people around me who accept and love me.

I get treated with dignity and respect at work, university and at home. It's amazing what a difference it makes.

So why, then, should any school have the right to expel gay students? A student generally doesn't decide which school they go to and they certainly don't decide to be gay.

What a student does outside of school or in their personal life is no business of the school.

It's like expelling a student because you've heard a rumour that they are having sex out of marriage. Or if they get pregnant - imagine if someone was expelled from a school for being pregnant and told their bastard child is going to hell, as well as ten generations of their children (as it says in the Bible). Imagine the uproar then.

But because it's gay students, it's okay. Well, no it is not.

It's time for a change.

Kind regards,

-- Beci Jay

Continue the conversation on Twitter @alexgreenwich | @drpiotrowski | @newscomauHQ

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shutdown: 800,000 won't get paid

President Barack Obama took his healthcare reforms to an election, but the Tea Party Republicans have refused to pass them in the budget.

US government agencies were ordered to close for the first time in more than 17 years after Congress stalemated over Republican efforts to block President Barack Obama's health care law.

US government agencies were ordered to close for the first time in more than 17 years after Congress stalemated over Republican efforts to block President Barack Obama's health care law.

More than 800,000 federal workers were to spend Tuesday, the first day of the new fiscal year, on unpaid leave as agency managers executed contingency plans for the costly process of closing down operations indefinitely.

The official word to shut down came from the White House just before midnight Monday. Hours earlier, the Senate, by a 54-46 party-line vote, killed a House measure that would have funded government agencies for six weeks but delayed key parts of Obamacare for a year.

Shutdown: What happens now?

It was the second such vote that the Senate took during a day in which the two chambers exchanged volleys of legislation with little expectation that any of it would become law.

The one exception to the legislative futility was a bill to ensure that military service members would be paid during the shutdown. Obama signed it into law late Monday night.

The Statue of Liberty is a government facility and will be closed during the shutdown.

The House's final legislative effort passed 228-201, mostly along party lines. It would have delayed for one year the requirement in the health care law that individuals have insurance or pay a fine and would have reduced benefits for members of Congress and some of their staff members.

Late at night, Republican leaders moved to set up a House-Senate committee that could seek a compromise in coming days. Democratic leaders asserted that they would not negotiate under duress and insisted that the House first pass a measure temporarily providing funds for government agencies.

Visa panic: Will this affect your travel?

"You know, with a bully you cannot let them slap you around," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after the Senate's initial vote. "They slap you around today, they slap you five or six times. Tomorrow it will be seven or eight times. We are not going to be bullied."

Obama warned that a shutdown would harm the nation's economy and vowed that the health care law, his signature domestic policy achievement, would move forward.

Indeed, among the ironies of the standoff is that a shutdown will have no effect on the law the Republicans tried to block. The money to implement the law does not depend on the annual spending bills stuck in the congressional logjam. A major element of Obamacare, online marketplaces that consumers without insurance can use to buy coverage, will open to the public Tuesday.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"That funding is already in place. You can't shut it down," Obama said during a short appearance earlier in the White House briefing room.

"This is a law that passed both houses of Congress, a law that bears my signature, a law that the Supreme Court upheld as constitutional, a law that voters chose not to repeal last November," he said, referring to his re-election.

"I'm always willing to work with anyone of either party to make sure the Affordable Care Act works better," he added. "But one faction of one party in one house of Congress in one branch of government doesn't get to shut down the entire government just to refight the results of an election."

Republicans, for their part, insisted that blame for the stalemate fell on Democrats. The president and his party, they said, had put preserving Obamacare ahead of keeping government agencies running.

"Americans didn't want Obamacare forced on them, and they don't want a shutdown forced on them either," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement. "Once again, Democrats are unwilling to listen."

Obama spoke with the four leaders of the House and Senate on Monday evening, including a 10-minute conversation with House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, but neither side indicated progress toward a deal.

Members of the House of Representatives file into the Capitol in the dark as ideological enemies battle into the night over the US budget. Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP

Late in the evening, after the Senate's second set of votes, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, one of the few remaining GOP moderates, urged colleagues to compromise. "There are real lives, real families, laying awake wondering what the rest of the week is going to mean to them," she said. "It's not just about the next election."

But on both sides, many more lawmakers were looking beyond Monday's midnight deadline and focusing on which party would bear the brunt of public anger if a standoff disrupts government services.

The stalemate happened because Congress failed to pass any of the annual laws, known as appropriations, that provide money for government agencies. Federal law says agencies cannot spend money without an appropriation except when necessary to protect life or property, or in cases of programs that have permanent sources of funds.

Widespread disruption of services probably will not occur for a while. Many basic government functions do not depend on annual spending bills. Social Security cheques will go out as always, for example, as will payments under Medicare. Mail delivery will be unaffected. Courts, which have reserve funds that can last for some time, will still hear cases.

But as other government functions close, economists say, a prolonged shutdown will slow growth. A two-week standoff would shave about three-tenths of a percentage point off the current growth rate, projections indicate. Although not huge, that punch would sting in an economy expanding at less than 2 percent per year. A longer standoff would cut growth more.

The last time the government closed, during the Clinton administration, two shutdowns took place. One lasted five days; the other, affecting only part of the government, ran three weeks.

Democratic Representative from Florida Alan Grayson wears a Stars and Stripes tie as he stands outside the Senate chamber on a night of idealogical impasse. AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM

Who gets the political blame for a shutdown will have a big impact on how the standoff ends.

Nearly all Democratic strategists and many Republican ones think Democrats hold the upper hand in the current fight, indicating that Republicans would eventually have to yield. Polls so far have indicated that Americans are somewhat more likely to blame congressional Republicans than Obama for the stalemate, although the advantage Democrats have is much smaller than the one they enjoyed in the Clinton-era standoff.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Monday showed majorities of the public disapproving of the way all the major actors in the budget drama have handled their roles, but giving congressional Republicans the worst reviews. Obama got the approval of 41 percent and the disapproval of 50 percent. Congressional Republicans got just 26 percent approval and 63 percent disapproval; congressional Democrats, 34 percent approval and 56 percent disapproval.

Some conservative Republicans argue that Obamacare's unpopularity ultimately will give them an advantage. Although polls show the health law is unpopular, the same surveys show the public does not support shutting down the government to block it.

In a CNN/ORC poll also released Monday, for example, Americans said, 60 percent to 34 percent, that it was "more important" for Congress to pass "a budget agreement that would avoid a government shutdown" than to approve legislation "preventing major provisions in the new health care law from taking effect."

As several polls have shown, Democrats remain largely united behind Obama, but significant numbers of Republicans disapprove of their party's leaders. That has proved true in Congress as well. Relatively conservative Democrats, such as Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Mark Pryor of Arkansas, have consistently voted with Reid during the current standoff. By contrast, divisions on the Republican side have been open and bitter and continued to plague the party Monday.

US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi strongly rejected Republican efforts to water down the healthcare bill. AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM

In closed-door meetings, some of the most conservative members objected to the leadership's plans on the grounds that the latest House proposal would delay only part of Obamacare - the requirement that individuals buy health insurance - rather than the entire law.

On the other side, a group of Republicans, mostly from Northeastern and Midwestern states, said they believed the GOP should drop its efforts to block Obamacare and simply approve a measure to keep government agencies open. The group failed to round up enough support to block the Republican leadership's plans on Monday, but it could become a factor if the standoff drags on.

The party's current strategy is "a dead end," said Rep. Peter T. King, R-N.Y. "We're going to shut the government down, and, when all is said and done, we're going to get blamed for it.

"We have too many people who live in their own echo chamber."

The "Ohio Clock" outside the Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill as the midnight deadline passes and the government goes into shutdown. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

WA prisoners cost $115,000 each

New figures show it costs $115,000 a year to keep each prisoner locked up in WA jails. Pictured is Perth's Hakea Prison. Picture: file image Source: PerthNow

IT costs $317 per day - or more than $115,000 a year - to keep each prisoner locked up in West Australian jails, new figures have revealed.

And it is even more expensive to keep a young offender behind bars.

After a horror year for the state's Department of Corrective Services (DoCS), including a riot at WA's only juvenile detention centre, it has also been revealed that the cost to keep prisoners locked up has shot up in 2012/13.

With WA's prison population topping 5000 for the first time during the period, the daily cost per inmate has risen from $291 in the previous financial year to $317.

And with some juvenile prisoners still being kept in the adult Hakea prison after the Banksia Hill riot in January, the cost to imprison a young offender was $645 a day - or more than $235,000 a year - exceeding the target cost of $558 a day.

It costs more to detain a juvenile offender than an adult one because of staffing requirements.

For every eight young detainees, there must be one guard, but the ratio is much higher for adult prisoners.

The department's annual report revealed there were 11 escapes from WA prisons in the past 12 months, but none of them were the result of malfunction or damage to the physical security of a prison, and all prisoners were returned to custody within 24 hours - two on their own accord.

There are also now 16 dangerous sex offenders in the state being tracked by controversial GPS technology, just months after it was introduced.

New laws came into effect in February to allow GPS tracking of sex offenders classified under the Dangerous Sex Offenders Act.

And the department is considering extending the use of the tracking devices to criminals convicted of arson and serious violence, which would require legislative changes.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Response wasn’t delayed: Morrison

The federal govt has expressed its sympathies to the victims of an asylum seeker boat sinking off Indonesia.

IMMIGRATION Minister Scott Morrison rejects claims the Australian government delayed its response to distress calls from an asylum seeker boat that sank off Indonesia, leaving scores of people dead or missing.

"The government completely rejects allegations of a 26-hour delay in response to this tragic incident by Australian agencies," Mr Morrison's office said in a statement issued today.

"Suggestions Australian authorities did not respond to this incident appropriately are absolutely and totally wrong.

"Australian agencies acted on the information provided on this tragic incident."

One survivor told ABC TV that a GPS location was sent to Australian authorities when multiple distress calls were made on Thursday.

"We called the Australian government for 24 hours. They were telling us 'we're coming, we're coming, we're coming', and they didn't come," he said.

Labor says the coalition must provide a full briefing of the latest asylum seeker tragedy off Indonesia.

"This is because of the Australian government. I want them to know that," he said of the tragedy.

Mr Morrison said initial searches failed to find the boat, which was reported to be about 25 nautical miles off the Indonesian coast.

"The Australians who work for our rescue and border protection agencies respond to all such events with great professionalism and a keenly felt sense of duty, as they did on this occasion," the statement said.

Rough seas off Java today continue to hamper rescue efforts and Indonesian authorities were expecting more bodies to wash up on shore, the ABC reported.

An asylum-seeker rescued by Australian navy boards an Indonesian search and rescue boat in the waters off western Java. AFP PHOTO

Aussie cousin got call from boat

Meanwhile, horrific details of the tragedy have emerged with the Melbourne cousin of a family on board the doomed vessel revealing they feared they were in trouble when the boat was turned back to Indonesia.

The man received a phone call from the boat on Friday — and now Melbourne's Lebanese community is in mourning after the drowning of at least 21 people, mostly children, while many are still missing.

The Lebanese foreign ministry says at least 29 Lebanese asylum seekers are missing while Indonesian police say 28 people were plucked from the water but around 30 people are still missing after the boat sank off Java on Friday.

Local authorities say it's believed the boat was carrying about 80 passengers.

However the Lebanese foreign ministry says there were 68 Lebanese people on board the boat and only 18 of those survived the ordeal.

Dr Michael Kheirallah, the chairman of the Victorian Lebanese Community Council, said Melbourne man Abdulah Abdulah last heard from his cousin on-board when it was turned back to Indonesia, because "something was wrong with the boat".

Dr Kheirallah said there were other Lebanese families in Melbourne who had relatives on the boat and most were in limbo waiting to hear if their loved ones were among those who had survived.

"They're very stressed and the whole community here in Melbourne are getting together to mourn the deaths of the people who perished in the sea," Dr Kheirallah said.

"They're very depressed and very stressed."

An Australian naval personnel holds documents beside Indonesian search and rescue personnel after the transfer of rescued asylum seekers in the waters off western Java. AFP PHOTO Source: AFP

At least 18 of the victims were Lebanese, including 13 members from two families, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

NNA said Hussein Khodr survived but his wife Kawsar and the couple's eight children perished, while Asaad Ali Asaad was also rescued but lost his wife Reyya and their three children.

A Lebanese official said Mr Khodr had called people in his home village "and told them that the boat sank at dawn, when waves destabilised the vessel", AFP reported.

Sources have confirmed Australian Customs vessel RV Triton was at the scene helping Indonesian authorities.

Navy frigate HMAS Parramatta was also involved in another incident on Friday, rescuing 55 people on a stricken boat in international waters and returning them to Indonesia.

Abbott due in Jakarata on Monday

The Australian Greens are calling for an immediate inquiry into the "heartbreaking" boat tragedy.

"We certainly will be wanting an inquiry into what has happened with the most recent tragedy, in terms of what the Australian authorities knew and what they did or didn't do," Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne told Sky News today.

"I would expect that to happen before the next parliament sits."

The government has remained tight-lipped on the boat tragedy ahead of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's crucial meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta on Monday.

The first deaths at sea since the election threaten to further disrupt the talks between the leaders which Mr Abbott had hoped would not focus on his new government's asylum seeker policy.

It comes after a week in which Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop's private meeting with her Indonesian counterpart was released to the media.

A member of the Australian navy assists rescued asylum-seekers as they transfer to an Indonesian search and rescue boat in the waters off western Java. AFP PHOTO Source: AFP

After the PM dodged questions about the incident, Mr Morrison finally responded to questions over an asylum seeker boat.

Mr Morrison said Australian authorities were initially in charge of the search for the asylum seeker vessel after receiving a phone call about the incident Friday morning.

Initial reports placed the vessel 25 nautical miles off the Indonesian coast, inside the Indonesian search and rescue region, but a Border Protection Command aircraft and a merchant vessel responding to an all ships broadcast were unable to find it.

Residents help a group of asylum-seeker survivor on the beach after being rescued by locals in the coastal village of Cianjur located in Indonesia's western Java island. 21 people, mostly children, drowned and scores are missing. AFP PHOTO Source: AFP

The search and rescue operation is now being handled by Indonesian authorities, Mr Morrison said.

"Australian Government officials in Jakarta are seeking additional information from their Indonesian counterparts, including seeking to confirm where the vessel foundered. It is believed to have gone down in Indonesian territory."

He said Australian authorities would continue to provide whatever help was required by the Indonesian government but could not say what assistance was currently being offered.

Acting Labor leader Chris Bowen called on the government to reveal what role Australian authorities had played in the incident.

At least 22 people have drowned and many are still missing after an asylum seeker boat sank off Indonesia.

"The government has previously said that when there was a tragedy or a significant event at sea, then they would provide briefings," he said.

"This can't wait for Mr Morrison's weekly briefing. These updates should be provided as and when the government can."

Associate Professor Greg Fealy, an Indonesia expert at the Australian National University, said the boat tragedy would "make things more difficult" for Mr Abbott's meeting with the Indonesian president.

A group of asylum-seeker survivors rest on the beach after rescued by residents in the coastal village of Cianjur located in Indonesia's western Java island on September 27, 2013. AFP PHOTO Source: AFP

"I suspect Tony Abbott is going to be very gentle in the way he's going to put things," Prof Fealy said.

"If they're too blunt or undiplomatic in their language, too assertive, they could well find there are more boats coming rather than less."

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

New drugs 'can cure skin cancer'

Experts say the drugs offer real hope to those who suffer from advanced melanoma. Source: News Limited

SKIN cancer suffers could be cured of the disease with new breakthrough drugs, experts claimed, as they hailed the "beginning of a new era".

Seriously ill patients are said to have seen "spectacular effects" after receiving the medication, which could eventually be used to combat other forms of the condition.

It is the first time scientists have come this close to providing a remedy for advanced melanoma.

The development will bring hope to thousands of people who are diagnosed with skin cancer in Britain each year.

Until now the prognosis for advanced melanoma has been very poor and many patients die within months of diagnosis.

Professor Peter Johnson, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK, said: "We're just at the beginning of a new era of cancer treatments using the immune system.

"These drugs that can turn the body's own defences against a tumour are starting to show real promise for melanoma and other types of cancer.

"It's only through research that we can gain the insights needed to develop new treatments for cancer patients."

The new cure contains two types of drug — ipilimumab (known as ipi) and anti-PD1s, which break down the defences of cancer cells and are still in clinical trials.

Doctors can effectively reboot a patient's immune system by combining the two.

One in six patients are already being saved by the groundbreaking treatment, the European Cancer Congress has been told.

A new combination of drugs could mean more than half are cured of the deadly condition.

Professor Alexander Eggermont of the Institut Gustave Roussy in France said: "Advanced melanoma could become a curable disease for perhaps more than 50 per cent of patients within five to 10 years." "If I'd made this bizarre prediction five years ago, people would have said I was mad," he told The Mail on Sunday.

"But it now looks like we are going to have control of advanced melanoma for years, in a substantial proportion of patients." Advanced melanoma is diagnosed when the disease has spread and can no longer be surgically removed.

Advice on the Cancer Research UK website currently warns patients that this form of skin cancer "can't be cured".

It states: "Treatments are available that can shrink the melanoma or stop it growing. It may be possible to control it for quite a while."

####

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cops 'happy' with GF party: 19 arrests

There was trouble outside the Sail n Anchor on South Terrace during the grand final coverage. Picture: Jordan Shields Source: PerthNow

ROWDY footy fans have marred Grand Final celebrations in Fremantle with liquor enforcement officers restricting the service of alcohol at some venues.

The Sail and Anchor's balcony was restricted to water only midway through the game after reports of people pouring beer on people below.

Normal service continued downstairs in the main bar area.

WA Police figures show 19 people were arrested, four will be charged by summons and 46 move-on orders and eight liquor infringements were issued across the day.

A 19-year-old man was arrested at the Norfolk Hotel and charged with assault after Grand Final celebrations turned sour about 7pm.

Police said the young man argued with a 44-year-old man, punched him in the face and caused him to fall and hit his head on a kerb.

The teenager ran away but was chased by police and arrested.

The victim was treated in hospital for a cut on his chin and abrasion to the back of his head. The accused man is due to appear in Fremantle Magistrates Court on October 11.

A WA Police spokesman said officers were 'generally happy' with the crowd's behaviour.

WA Hotels Association executive director Bradley Woods said the lack of alcohol-fuelled crime proved that the industry could self-regulate, despite an uproar earlier in the week from the police commissioner about some pubs opening several hours before the midday game started.

The massive crowd in Freo for the grand final. Picture: Jordan Shields Source: PerthNow

HOW THE ACTION UNFOLDED YESTERDAY

Follow our live coverage of events around town here

Liqorland in the Woolstores building and Fremantle Liquor Store was ordered by Liquor Enforcement officers to stop trading because of problems with patrons outside the two stores, including people drinking in nearby carparks.

It comes as tens of thousands of AFL fans poured into Fremantle to cheer on the port city's beloved Dockers as they watched the grand final in pubs and on big screens on the cappuccino strip.

The crowd on South Terrace in Fremantle for the AFL grand final. Picture: Jordan Shields Source: PerthNow

The main drag of South Terrace, which has been closed to traffic, filled rapidly with crowds in the lead up to game time.

The crowd on South Terrace in Fremantle for the AFL grand final. Picture: Jordan Shields Source: PerthNow

Mayor Brad Pettitt said he was too young to have experienced the America's Cup celebrations in 1983 but, almost 30 years to the day, was told the partying in the port city was exceeding that historic win.

The crowd on South Terrace in Fremantle for the AFL grand final. Picture: Jordan Shields Source: PerthNow

At the Norfolk Hotel, a queue of about 150 footy fans formed long before the pub could open its doors at 10am.

Freo fans' dream of watching their club storm the MCG on Grand Final day had been a long time coming, and they weren't about to let it pass by without a celebration.

Dripping in purple from head to toe, the "Freo!" battle cry rang out from every corner of the city – from Kings' Square to South Terrace and beyond.

The crowd on South Terrace in Fremantle for the AFL grand final. Picture: Jordan Shields Source: PerthNow

 THE Dockers' heartland came alive as tens of thousands of diehard fans packed the streets of the Fremantle CBD.
Their dream of watching their club storm the MCG on Grand Final day had been a long time coming and they weren't about to let it pass by without a celebration.
Dripping in purple from head to toe, the "Freo!" battle cry rang out from every corner of the city – from Kings' Square to South Terrace and beyond.

Callum McNeill, 27, from Winthrop said he'd been part of the Freo faithful since 1996.

He said it was "pretty special" to be able to celebrate such a historic milestone in the port city.

"I think Ross Lyon has done such an amazing job with the team," he said.

Alannah Ashfield began following the Dockers five years ago after moving to Perth from the UK.

"I have given up soccer and come to the AFL and absolutely love Freo," she said.

"Dockers are rockers."

Five big screens were put up by the City of Fremantle in and around the Fremantle cappuccino strip.

And supporter stood shoulder-to-shoulder throughout the game.

Other packed the city's many iconic pubs.

A handful of Hawthorn supporters were among the crowd, including 11-year-old Jarrod Wearing.

Jarrod started following the Hawks three years ago, much to the dismay of his Fremantle-supporting parents.

His father, Ashley Wearing, said he was already looking into buying Grand Final ticket for next year.

"We came down to Freo after last weekend's preliminary final and thought this is the place to be," he said.

"We have say through all the hard years, with Damien Drum and all those horrible times getting beaten. "This is just fantastic."

Peter Bottcher, manager of the Sail and Anchor, said being in Fremantle was almost as good as being at the MCG.

"We had people camping out the front at 6am when I got here," he said.

"We're doing purple beers, big screens everywhere. It's as close as being at the game as possible being in here."

He said the crowd had been well behaved, but it was possible the pub may run out of some varieties of beer before the end of the long weekend.

"We triple ordered this week and it looks like we are going to run out of a few products," he said.

"We were ordering so much beer that our suppliers hadn't made it yet and they had to do two deliveries during the week."

Two men were ejected from the venue by police shortly after 1pm for throwing glasses off the balcony at police.

Watching the game from the balcony of Kulcha Multicultural Arts of WA, Mr Pettitt said he was blown away by the turn out on Saturday.

"It's electric and very purple," he said.

"The whole of Freo is behind the Dockers.

"The Esplanade has got 5,000 people, the whole of Kings Square behind the town hall is full so everywhere you look, it's just amazing.

"Win or lose today it's been a great season and they have really done us proud."
 

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Two airlifted to hospital after crash

A young woman was airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital last night after a cliff fall in the South West. Source: PerthNow

THE RAC Rescue helicopter has airlifted a man and a woman to hospital after a motorcycle crash north of Perth.

The rescue chopper was sent to the crash just after 11am with reports of a motorcyclist injured near Crest Hill Road in Mooliabeenee, near Gingin.

The two-seat motorcycle was carrying a rider and a passenger when it collided with a kangaroo.

The pair have been taken to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment but police say their injuries are not life-threatening.
 

View Larger Map

Woman airlifted after cliff rescue

A WOMAN was airlifted to Perth last night after being injured in a cliff fall at Redgate, near Margaret River in the State's South West.

The woman in her 20s last night was airlifted by RAC Rescue Helicopter to Jandakot Airport where it landed just before 9pm.

The woman was then transferred to Royal Perth Hospital by St John Ambulance.

A spokesperson for St John Ambulance said it appeared the woman had fallen down some sand dunes or a cliff face.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brandis coughs up $1683 for trip

Federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann responds to suggestions that two of his party members claimed $3000 in expenses to go to a friend's wedding.

ATTORNEY-General George Brandis will repay almost $1700 in expenses he claimed to attend the wedding of a Sydney radio shock jock two years ago.

After the expense claims came to light today, Senator Brandis this afternoon said he would repay the money to avoid any uncertainty about the circumstances of the wedding of former radio host Michael Smith in December 2011.

But he said he still considered he was within parliamentary entitlements to make them.

"I considered that those costs were within parliamentary entitlements, since they were incurred in the course of attendance at a function primarily for work-related purposes. I remain of that view," he said in a letter written today to the Finance Department.

AUSSIE COUSIN GOT CALL ABOUT BOAT

Senator Barnaby Joyce at the wedding of radio host Mike Smith (left) and Katarina Kroslakova (centre) at Bells hotel in Killcare, NSW. Picture: Sunday Telegraph

"It is clear that the relevant criterion is the purpose of the travel, not the nature of the event. However, I accept there can be uncertainty about the circumstances in which attendance at a private function for work-related purposes is within the entitlement. Each occasion must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

"I would prefer to resolve any uncertainty in favour of the taxpayer. I therefore enclose my cheque for $1683.06, which I understand to be the full costs incurred in undertaking that travel."

BOAT TASKFORCE HEAD ON HOLIDAYS ALREADY

The move comes after mounting pressure on Senator Brandis and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce as Labor moved to ramp up the pressure on the Abbott government over the wedding claims.

George Brandis was also a guest at the wedding who claimed the trip on expenses.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann today told Meet The Press all claims made by politicians needed to be made within entitlement.

"I don't know all the facts of the events reported this morning," Senator Cormann said.

"I understand obviously that Senator Brandis and Senator Joyce made a judgment at the time that the claims were within entitlements but I gather they will be having another look at those things and, if there is a need for change, those changes will be made."

Labor called for an investigation and a full refund from Senator Brandis and Mr Joyce after they claimed a trip to a radio shock jock's wedding on expenses.

Leadership candidate Bill Shorten predicted the pair, now Attorney-General and Agriculture Minister, would have to pay back about $3000 on flights, hire cars and incidental expenses on the trip to Mr Smith's wedding.

Senator Brandis has defended the claim because he was networking with a journalists who at the time was working on Labor MP Craig Thomson's HSU scandal and the AWU affair involving then prime minister Julia Gillard.

Mr Joyce has insisted there were lots of people from politics attending the wedding, held on the NSW central coast.

But Mr Shorten today said he expected an investigation to clear up the matter, which he described as ironic given his role as lead attack dog against former speaker Peter Slipper's expenses scandal.

"I think George Brandis and Barnaby Joyce will most likely have to refund the money," he said.

Guidelines allow MPs to claim travel and accommodation expenses for official business including "meetings of a government advisory committee or taskforce'' or '"functions representing a minister or presiding officer'' but not to meet journalists.

Mr Smith today took to his blog to say Mr Joyce had also appeared in a Sydney television studio to appear on the Bolt Report that day and could not appear on the show from his hometown of St George in western Queensland.

"The crux of Fairfax's story is that a member of the federal Parliament should not be reimbursed expenses for meeting with, travelling to see, or any other travelling expenses associated with attending on journalists," he said.

"I would like to know how many parliamentary expense claims have been approved for out of state attendees on Q & A, Lateline, or any of a range of other TV or radio shows or interviews with journalists/magazines/receivers of leaks."

He added: "I can tell you that the journalists at our wedding did not simply see George Brandis and Barnaby Joyce as normal wedding guests. George and Barnaby do not have the luxury of anonymity. Every move they make is analysed and reported on as it was that night too."

Mr Shorten today also questioned how Senator Brandis, who repeatedly target Labor while in opposition over the Thomson and Slipper scandals, could be now drawing up a new ministerial code of conduct.

"He was the opposition's lead attack dog on Peter Slipper," he said.

"I don't know if he is going to have a section on weddings."

Asked if there should be a police or Finance Department probe, Mr Shorten said: "I just wonder what George Brandis would say if it was a Labor person."

###

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More