Buswell away due to ‘health issue’

Premier Colin Barnett says Treasurer Troy Buswell is away on personal leave due to a health related issue.

PREMIER Colin Barnett says Treasurer Troy Buswell is away on personal leave due to a "health related" issue.

Just after 10am, the Premier put out a statement saying Mr Buswell would be on leave for the next two weeks due to "health'' reasons.

"Treasurer Troy Buswell will be on personal leave for the next two weeks. The reasons for this leave are health related,'' the Premier said.

"Mr Buswell has requested privacy during this period. As Premier, I ask that his request for privacy be respected.

"I have assumed responsibility for the Treasury and Transport portfolios. This temporary arrangement was put in place last Friday, though in practical terms it applies from today.

WA Treasurer Troy Buswell who is on three weeks personal leave due to a health-related'' issue.

"Finance Minister, Dr Mike Nahan, will assist me in the ongoing budget process.

"All Ministers have the responsibility of finalising their departmental budgets over the coming weeks.''

Speculation had been rife about why Mr Buswell has had to take time off work.

As revealed by PerthNow political editor Joe Spagnolo on social media on Sunday morning, Mr Buswell is on indefinite personal leave — two months out from releasing his May Budget.

Premier Colin Barnett released a statement this morning saying Treasurer Troy Buswell would take a further two weeks personal leave due to "health related'' issues.

Energy Minister Peter Collier told the media today he was concerned about his "mate" but had no idea why the Treasurer was away.

Mr Buswell's chief-of-staff Rachael Turnseck is also believed to be on leave.

As we revealed, Mr Barnett told the party room last week his Treasurer was away because he was sick.

Senior Liberal sources this morning told PerthNow Mr Buswell and Mr Barnett had been at odds over the framing of the May Budget.

Mr Buswell's absence throws into turmoil the State Government's planning for the crucial May Budget.

The government is under massive pressure to restore the state's AAA credit rating and peg back the state's $20 billion debt.

Mr Buswell's absence could not have come at a worse time.

His under treasurer, Tim Marney resigned recently to take up a position with the Mental Health Commission.

It means that both the Treasurer and Under Treasurer are both absent — just two months out from the budget.

Premier Colin Barnett told the Liberal party room last Tuesday that Mr Buswell was sick and would be back Wednesday.

But following questions put to the government on Saturday by The Sunday Times, it was revealed the treasurer was on indefinite personal leave.

Up until this morning the Premier's office wouldn't say why Mr Buswell was on leave.

The Premier will handle the Treasury and Transport portfolios until at least March 14.

OPPOSITION: WA NEEDS AN ANSWER

Before the Premier's announcement this morning, Opposition spokesman Ben Wyatt called for a proper explanation, saying the timing raises ``curiosity'', with the budget expected to be delivered in the first two weeks of May and the cut-off for many details to be determined by mid-April.

``What that means is all the key decisions surrounding the budget will happen over the next four-week period,'' he told 6PR radio today.

``The treasury's normally very, very busy, the under treasurer is normally very, very busy finalising the budget process, so I think that's what's got people curious.''

The government says only that Mr Buswell is taking personal leave and the budget won't be affected.

Mr Wyatt says Mr Buswell has a right to privacy if he has personal issues, but the explanation given (thus far) by the state government is insufficient.

``I think people are entitled to a broader explanation, bearing in mind that Troy also is entitled to a certain level of privacy,'' he said.

Long-serving under treasurer Tim Marney resigned last month with his deputy, Michael Barnes, now acting in the role in the lead-up to the budget.

In 2010, Mr Barnett acted as treasurer while Mr Buswell went to the backbench after agreeing to pay back entitlements he claimed during a trip with former partner and Greens MP Adele Carles.

PerthNow was told yesterday that a meeting of the important economic and expenditure reform committee had to be cancelled this week because of Mr Buswell's absence.

Follow Joe Spagnolo on Twitter: @SpagnoloJoe

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Witness ‘can’t forget screams’

The first witness at Oscar Pistorius' murder trial told the court she heard bloodcurdling screams from a woman followed by shots, while Pistorius pleads not guilty in the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Jillian Kitchener reports.

Too much ... Oscar Pistorius blocks his ears inside the high court on the second day of his trial in Pretoria, South Africa. Source: AP

The accused ... Oscar Pistorius sits in the dock on the second day of his trial at the high court in Pretoria, South Africa. Source: AP

A KEY witness who testified to hearing screams then gunshots from Oscar Pistorius's home the night his girlfriend was killed, broke down and wept in court Tuesday, saying she still relives the "terrifying screams'' she heard.

In an emotive second day of the South African Paralympian's murder trial, a shaken Michelle Burger sobbed after tough cross-examination, saying the events of Valentine's Day 2013, when Reeva Steenkamp was killed, still haunted her.

"When I'm in the shower, I relive her shouts. The terrifying screams,'' she told the North Gauteng High Court.

The university lecturer has testified that she heard screams, then gunshots, then more screams from Pistorius's Pretoria home less than 200 metres away from her own.

OSCAR PISTORIUS TRAIL: DAY ONE

OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRAIL TO CENTRE ON FORENSICS

Her account of events directly contradicts the sports star's claim that he shot Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder.

The second day of proceedings began with Pistorius's lawyer redoubling efforts to pick apart Ms Burger's account of events, accusing her of jumping to conclusions.

The face of a guilty man? Oscar Pistorius (centre), before court proceedings on the second day of his trial. Source: AFP

"You made up your mind that his version could not be,'' said defence advocate Barry Roux.

"You interpreted cricket bat shots to be gunshots and screaming to be a woman and not Oscar. If you didn't do that, his version would make sense.''

Criminal law advocate Dave Smith, who is not linked to the case, said that Ms Burger "looks solid as a rock'' in the witness stand.

"It's important to prove her wrong but I don't think he will,'' he said. "I'm happy I'm not him.''

Tensions in court were further heightened when a statement was read explaining the violent nature of the 29-year-old model and law graduate's death.

Oscar's corner ... Aimee Pistorius (second left) sits with other family members as she attends the second day of the trial of her brother. Source: AFP

As Roux claimed a gunshot wound to the head would have made it impossible for Steenkamp to scream, Pistorius bowed his head and folded his hands behind his neck.

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

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

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

Murder of girlfriend trial ... South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp. (AP Photo/Lucky Nxumalo-Citypress) Source: AP

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.

While admitting killing Steenkamp, the sprinter described it as a "tragic accident'', denying murderous intent and saying "we were in a loving relationship''.

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.

His defence came under further attack when another neighbour Estelle van der Merwe, who lives less than 100 metres away, told the court she heard arguing coming from Pistorius's home on February 14, 2013.

"I woke up 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.

Ms Van der Merwe has yet to come under cross-examination

As well as relentlessly trying to pick holes in the testimony of state witnesses, the defence is also expected to call into question the reliability of the prosecution's forensics.

Pistorius walked free on bail a year ago as the chief detective and the prosecution's star witness, Hilton Botha, was sacked amid a scandal over botched handling of evidence.

A single judge, Thokozile Masipa, aided by two assistants, will rule in the case, which has already been likened to the murder trial of American footballer OJ Simpson over the killing of his ex-wife and a friend in 1995.

Tough gig ... Barry Roux, legal representative for Oscar Pistorius, on the second day of the murder trial. Source: AFP

With a landmark ruling allowing the trial to be partly televised, Ms Masipa slammed the media for showing a photograph of Ms Burger.

The witness had requested her image not be shown while the audio of her testimony was broadcast.

"I must say this is very disturbing, I am warning the media, if you do not behave, you will not be treated with soft gloves,'' she warned.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Beds face axe at major hospital

Opposition health spokesman Roger Cook. Source: News Limited

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Source: News Limited

BOSSES at one of Perth's major hospitals have angrily defended their decision to reduce its number of beds and staff, saying it is merely keeping up with the times.

As revealed exclusively in The Sunday Times today, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital will lose at least 8 per cent of its beds under a plan to get patients in and out quicker.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital workers were this week told 81 full-time jobs would be lost as part of a bid to reduce "length of stay" at the hospital.

The Sunday Times has learnt staff were also told this would require closing hospital beds, which was last night confirmed by North Metropolitan Health Service chief executive Shane Kelly.

Dr Kelly said 48 of the hospital's 615 beds would go.

But, the Health Services Union has warned it could be as many as 100 beds.

The Australian Medical Association (WA) said cutting beds made "no sense" given it believed the state was 400 beds short, while a top WA Health insider told The Sunday Times the public health system had descended into a "complete shambles".

Today Professor Bryant Stokes, Western Australia's acting director-general of health, said the cuts were a response to what was needed.

"Patient activity at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Osborne Park Hospitals is not increasing at present and has been reasonably steady for the past couple of years. As a result, existing staffing levels are not suited to current activity levels,'' Professor Stokes said.

Claims that the cuts would lead to longer waiting lists and longer waits were ``unsubstantiated'', Professor Stokes said.

"Moves to reduce the average length of stay in hospital for some specialties will bring Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in line with other high-performing hospitals,'' he said.

Dr Kelly said the process of closing the beds would "init­ially be gradual" and done in small groups of "pods".

"The beds would be available for reopening if there was demand," he said. "However this is not anticipated given the expansion of Joondalup Health Campus."

The insider said claims pat­ient care would not be affected were "ludicrous".

"You've got people who are on long waitlists, people who can't meet targets, you still can't get into beds at appropriate times and you're going to make that situation worse," the insider said. "That will clearly affect patient care.

"It's a complete fiasco. To do it like this, just to slash and burn will destroy great services and great people and lose all cohesion in the system. We will watch patient outcomes go backwards."

The Sunday Times revealed in October the hospital was poised to slash the equivalent of 250 full-time jobs, 81 of which are part of a plan to cut "length of stay."

Dr Kelly said patient levels at SCGH had been "reasonably steady" in the past few years and existing staffing levels were "unsustainable".

"One way SCGH will achieve the staff reductions is through reducing the average duration of patients' stays in hospital (known as average length of stay) in some specialties to bring them into line with those at other high performing hospitals," he said.

"These hospitals demonstrate that this can be achieved without any impact on safety or patient outcomes. Through the process of reducing the length of stay, the number of hospital beds needed to deliver the same amount of activity reduces. As a consequence, staffing requirements also reduce."

AMA (WA) vice-president Michael Gannon said it was "laughable" to suggest the hospital could close beds and still meet its emergency and elective surgery targets.

"All year the hospital has been barraged with complaints and pressured about the fact that it's not meeting its targets," he said.

"If they take 50 beds out of that hospital, there is no chance they would reach those targets this year."

Health Services Union secretary Dan Hill believed the reduction of 81 full-time equivalent positions would result in a loss of about 100 beds. There was a "real danger" in getting patients in and out of hospital.

"If you get them out of hospital quicker there is the higher risk of re-admissions within a short period of time," he said.

Opposition health spokesman Roger Cook said: " This is a retrograde step and another indication of the chaotic mess which is the Barnett Government's approach to health."

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Mad heat proof of climate change’

Sisters Ange and Steph Coote with dog Ila, watering their veggie patch, which they've had to water tirelessly every day through the dry and hot Perth summer. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: News Limited

THE weather bureau says Perth's record-smashing summer was "madness" and it has used temperature and rainfall data to lash out at climate change sceptics.

And the state's top meteorologists are warning West Australians they face decades of rising temperatures – with hotter, drier and more extreme summers.

The 2011-12 summer was Perth's hottest on record and this summer was the second hottest on record, tied with both the 2009-10 summer and the 2010-11 summer with an average maximum of 32C.

This summer was also the driest in five years for Perth, with just 2mm of rain, and the driest on record for Mandurah.

Perth had only three days where rain fell and not one drop fell last month – the first dry February since 2000.

It might have been the start of autumn but there was no respite yesterday, with temperatures nudging 37C in Perth.

The weather bureau is normally conservative, but Bureau of Meteorology climate expert Neil Bennett said the data was staring climate change sceptics "in the face".

"It's climate change. It's warming. It's staring you in the face," he said.

"This is crazy. This is madness, what's going on now.

"The climate doesn't change like this. This is really remarkable. The last four summers have all either been the hottest or second hottest on rec­ord.

"It's not just Perth – in Bunbury eight of the hottest summers have occurred since the turn of the century.

"What we are saying is when you look and see the trend is going up, it seems foolish to try to ignore that trend.

"This is really, really unusual. It's a sign that the temps across Australia are warming. There is no getting away from it."

Mr Bennett said the climate models for "30, 40 and 50 years ahead" were also all "pointing upwards".

Water Corp said Perth's water use has surged above target as homeowners tried to keep thirsty gardens alive.

Perth sisters Ange and Steph Coote said their vegetable patch needed water every day through summer.

SUMMER SCORCHER

Ave max - 32C

Rainfall - 2mm

Rain days - 3

Record - 2nd hottest summer ever recorded

SUMMER WATER USE

Perth's daily – 1 billion litres OR

equal to 444 Olympic pools

HOW TO BE WATER WISE

* Perth has a two-day a week sprinkler roster before 9am or after 6pm.

* Apply a 5-10cm layer of mulch to your garden.

* Apply soil improver for water retention.

* Check Water Corp's H2O Assist program to see if your irrigation system is set right.

* See Water Corp's waterwise plants for those suited to WA.

* Re-use water that would otherwise be wasted.

* See watercorporation.com.au for your roster days.

Source: Water Corporation (www.watercorporation.com.au/save-water)

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Law to target professional beggar gangs

People walk past a beggar in the Perth CBD. Source: News Corp Australia

A CRACKDOWN on begging in Perth is being planned amid fears a syndicated cartel of professional beggars is operating on the city's streets.

Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said there was strong anecdotal evidence some "professional beggars" were potentially earning hundreds of dollars a day.

It's thought some are part of an organised "cartel" working together to profit from the generosity of workers and visitors in the CBD.

WA Police said it had received complaints some beggars were becoming more forceful and aggressive towards people they approach for money.

City of Perth officers are working on a potential bylaw to give rangers and police more power to deal with beggars.

"There is a suggestion there is a group of people making a living out of it, commuting into the city like every other worker does, for the purpose of begging," Ms Scaffidi said.

A beggar asks for money in Perth city.

"They live in a home and they are using the collections from their begging to pay their way in life. It's pretty shocking."

She said there was no short-term fix and called on the public to stop giving money to beggars, saying there were services to provide food and shelter to the genuinely homeless.

"As harsh as it sounds, people walking past beggars have their heartstrings pulled thinking 'there but for the grace of God could go anyone one of us'," she told The Sunday Times.

"But the reality is that it's so easy to put 50c or a dollar in the cap and if that person is potentially a professional beggar you are just helping them pay for their rent."

Perth councillor James Limnios said the number of beggars had risen dramatically over the past three years and there were now "five on every street".

A beggar in the Perth CBD.

"I believe that there could be some genuine cases, but I also believe there are more non-genuine cases. I have been led to believe by certain people that this is actually a bit of an organised scenario," he said.

Inspector Craig Parkin said residents, businesses and visitors to the CBD had raised concerns about anti-social behaviour linked to begging and confirmed there was anecdotal evidence some were "professional beggars".

"Recent complaints suggest some beggars are becoming more forceful and aggressive towards people they are approaching for money. WA Police is working closely with the City of Perth to identify solutions to this issue," he said.

Salvation Army spokesman Warren Palmer said evidence indicates the rise in begging was linked to the growing number of people falling into poverty.

Mr Palmer said the charity was investigating the underlying causes of begging in Perth and that legal action should not be the first response.

"While we acknowledge that begging can be very confronting, we need to be careful that in our response to address this, we do not inflict further humiliation on genuine people in need and have to then deal with legal issues such as fines," he said.

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Chef puts blame on posh prices

Celebrity chef Anna Gare. Source: Supplied

WA's "ridiculously expensive" food is one of the main issues fuelling obesity, celebrity chef Anna Gare says.

Speaking to The Sunday Times as part of the Get Active Get Healthy campaign, Gare said retailers who put up the price of ingredients purely because they had become popular only made matters worse.

FULL COVERAGE

● GET ACTIVE GET HEALTHY

● TRUTH ABOUT KIDS' LUNCHES

● OBESITY IS 'NEXT FRONTIER'

● EATERIES RISE TO CHALLENGE

"I don't know how some people survive," Gare said. "We have a family of six and the amount of money we spend on food is ridiculous.

"It makes me so cross (how) things that used to be cheap, like lamb shanks, once they become trendy the butchers put the price up. Like lamb ribs, that's the bit they used to throw away or give to dogs, now they're all in fashion."

The celebrity chef, who has joined forces with HBF to promote the benefits of healthy eating, said families faced an uphill battle in the fight against obesity.

She said making mandatory nutrition lessons part of the school curriculum would go a long way towards helping people change their habits.

"I think one of the most fantastic things I've seen, which I think can help this whole situation, is the Stephanie Alexander School Garden because it gets kids having a relationship with food from a young age," she said.

"Start with the kids. Give them food education. Make it a part of the school curriculum.

"That's a skill you will give kids for the rest of their lives and that will change their life and their whole attitude towards food."

Gare said she had recently hosted cooking demonstrations at several Perth shopping centres and was "amazed" at how little some people knew about cooking.

"I would stand there and say, 'OK, who cooks at home?' and no-one would put up their hand," she said.

CHAT WITH ANNA

Celebrity chef Anna Gare will answer your cooking questions as part of The Sunday Times Get Active Get Healthy Campaign during a live PerthNow blog on Wednesday.

A chef with more than 22 years' experience, Gare has a raft of culinary achievements to her name, including cookbooks, TV appearances and her own catering company.

She will answer all your cooking questions for an hour from noon as the second of three experts to take part in a live chat with PerthNow readers as part of the campaign.

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Live: rain halts Clarke’s charge

Michael Clarke has continued his impressive tradition of making big hundreds, pushing past 150 as South Africa's bowlers finally move into Australia's tail.

Michael Clarke's hundred put Australia well on top in Cape Town. Source: Getty Images

MICHAEL Clarke has continued his impressive tradition of making big hundreds.

The Australian captain went past 150 for the 10th time in his career as Australia dominated the third and final Test at Newlands, before rain brought an early end to day two.

Bad weather stopped play midway through the second day with Australia 7-494 and Clarke unbeaten on 161.

The wind was so strong that groundsmen holding the covers were blown over, and while the wind eventually died down, the rain did not, with play officially called off about an hour after tea. Day three will start half an hour earlier as a result (7pm AEDT).

MATCH CENTRE: VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS, LIVE SCOREBOARD, STATS AND MORE

After spending 25 balls on 99 runs, Michael Clarke got just rewards for his gritty play this innings with a morale boosting century.

Australia must win this Test to claim the series and history says they're well on the way.

Just five times has Australia scored more runs during an innings in South Africa, and won every match.

Resuming on 92, Clarke took 24 balls to move from 99 to 100, eventually cover driving Vernon Philander to the boundary, breaking the tension and bringing up Test century number 27.

It broke a drought of 11 innings where his top score had been just 24.

Steve Smith appeared as though he would become the third Australian to reach a hundred behind Clarke and David Warner but on 84 chopped a wide long-hop from occasional left arm spinner Dean Elgar into his stumps, ending as partnership of 184 with Clarke.

Resuming on 50, Smith played some delightful strokes. He lifted a ball from Philander back over his head for six and spanked a lofted cover drive from the dangerous Morne Morkel, which also cleared the fence.

Michael Clarke salutes after reaching his 27th Test century. Source: Getty Images

Shane Watson, in the all-rounders spot at number six, was in a hurry, scoring 40 in just 32 balls with three sixes before holing out to long off.

Brad Haddin (13) did something similar swatting a catch to mid-off and Mitchell Johnson made a first ball duck when a lengthy review overturned a not out decision for a catch down the leg side off JP Duminy. It appeared Johnson's bat may have hit the ground, making the noise that snicko showed which convinced video umpire Richard Illingworth contact had been made between bat and ball.

Using the Fox Sports iPad app, the boys discover an issue with Morne Morkel's length on day one which played into Michael Clarke's hands.

Clarke showed no sign of the battering he received from Morkel on Saturday after being struck a number of times.

Given the problems that Morkel caused Clarke on the opening day it was a great surprise that the tall paceman did not start proceedings on day two.

This was particularly so with Dale Steyn off the field carrying a right hamstring injury. He is hoping to bowl in the second innings but will need to pass a fitness Test.

Even if Steyn was fit to bowl he would have been unable to resume in the first innings given he spent so long off the ground on day one.

It is the second time in as many matches that South African captain Graeme Smith has been a bowler down after Wayne Parnell suffered a groin strain in Port Elizabeth.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR MATCH CENTRE

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Beds face axe at major hospital

Opposition health spokesman Roger Cook. Source: News Limited

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Source: News Limited

ONE of WA's biggest hospitals will lose at least 8 per cent of its beds under a plan to get patients in and out quicker.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital workers were this week told 81 full-time jobs would be lost as part of a bid to reduce "length of stay" at the hospital.

The Sunday Times has learnt staff were also told this would require closing hospital beds, which was last night confirmed by North Metropolitan Health Service chief executive Shane Kelly.

Dr Kelly said 48 of the hospital's 615 beds would go.

But, the Health Services Union has warned it could be as many as 100 beds.

The Australian Medical Ass-ociation (WA) said cutting beds made "no sense" given it believed the state was 400 beds short, while a top WA Health insider told The Sunday Times the public health system had descended into a "complete shambles".

Dr Kelly said the process of closing the beds would "init­ially be gradual" and done in small groups of "pods". "The beds would be available for reopening if there was demand," he said. "However this is not anticipated given the expansion of Joondalup Health Campus."

The insider said claims pat­ient care would not be affected were "ludicrous".

"You've got people who are on long waitlists, people who can't meet targets, you still can't get into beds at appropriate times and you're going to make that situation worse," the insider said. "That will clearly affect patient care.

"It's a complete fiasco. To do it like this, just to slash and burn will destroy great services and great people and lose all cohesion in the system. We will watch patient outcomes go backwards."

The Sunday Times revealed in October the hospital was poised to slash the equivalent of 250 full-time jobs, 81 of which are part of a plan to cut "length of stay."

Dr Kelly said patient levels at SCGH had been "reasonably steady" in the past few years and existing staffing levels were "unsustainable".

"One way SCGH will achieve the staff reductions is through reducing the average duration of patients' stays in hospital (known as average length of stay) in some specialties to bring them into line with those at other high performing hospitals," he said.

"These hospitals demonstrate that this can be achieved without any impact on safety or patient outcomes. Through the process of reducing the length of stay, the number of hospital beds needed to deliver the same amount of activity reduces. As a consequence, staffing requirements also reduce."

AMA (WA) vice-president Michael Gannon said it was "laughable" to suggest the hospital could close beds and still meet its emergency and elective surgery targets.

"All year the hospital has been barraged with complaints and pressured about the fact that it's not meeting its targets," he said.

"If they take 50 beds out of that hospital, there is no chance they would reach those targets this year."

Health Services Union secretary Dan Hill believed the reduction of 81 full-time equivalent positions would result in a loss of about 100 beds. There was a "real danger" in getting patients in and out of hospital.

"If you get them out of hospital quicker there is the higher risk of re-admissions within a short period of time," he said.

Opposition health spokesman Roger Cook said: " This is a retrograde step and another indication of the chaotic mess which is the Barnett Government's approach to health."

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Mad heat proof of climate change’

Sisters Ange and Steph Coote with dog Ila, watering their veggie patch, which they've had to water tirelessly every day through the dry and hot Perth summer. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: News Limited

THE weather bureau says Perth's record-smashing summer was "madness" and it has used temperature and rainfall data to lash out at climate change sceptics.

And the state's top meteorologists are warning West Australians they face decades of rising temperatures – with hotter, drier and more extreme summers.

The 2011-12 summer was Perth's hottest on record and this summer was the second hottest on record, tied with both the 2009-10 summer and the 2010-11 summer with an average maximum of 32C.

This summer was also the driest in five years for Perth, with just 2mm of rain, and the driest on record for Mandurah.

Perth had only three days where rain fell and not one drop fell last month – the first dry February since 2000.

It might have been the start of autumn but there was no respite yesterday, with temperatures nudging 37C in Perth.

The weather bureau is normally conservative, but Bureau of Meteorology climate expert Neil Bennett said the data was staring climate change sceptics "in the face".

"It's climate change. It's warming. It's staring you in the face," he said.

"This is crazy. This is madness, what's going on now.

"The climate doesn't change like this. This is really remarkable. The last four summers have all either been the hottest or second hottest on rec­ord.

"It's not just Perth – in Bunbury eight of the hottest summers have occurred since the turn of the century.

"What we are saying is when you look and see the trend is going up, it seems foolish to try to ignore that trend.

"This is really, really unusual. It's a sign that the temps across Australia are warming. There is no getting away from it."

Mr Bennett said the climate models for "30, 40 and 50 years ahead" were also all "pointing upwards".

Water Corp said Perth's water use has surged above target as homeowners tried to keep thirsty gardens alive.

Perth sisters Ange and Steph Coote said their vegetable patch needed water every day through summer.

SUMMER SCORCHER

Ave max - 32C

Rainfall - 2mm

Rain days - 3

Record - 2nd hottest summer ever recorded

SUMMER WATER USE

Perth's daily – 1 billion litres OR

equal to 444 Olympic pools

HOW TO BE WATER WISE

* Perth has a two-day a week sprinkler roster before 9am or after 6pm.

* Apply a 5-10cm layer of mulch to your garden.

* Apply soil improver for water retention.

* Check Water Corp's H2O Assist program to see if your irrigation system is set right.

* See Water Corp's waterwise plants for those suited to WA.

* Re-use water that would otherwise be wasted.

* See watercorporation.com.au for your roster days.

Source: Water Corporation (www.watercorporation.com.au/save-water)

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obesity ‘next frontier’ after smoking

Health Minister Kim Hames says obesity is the next frontier for public health campaigns. Picture: File image Source: News Limited

OBESITY is the "next frontier" and should be tackled as aggressively as smoking was, WA's Health Minister says.

Speaking with The Sunday Times this week in support of our Get Active Get Healthy campaign, Kim Hames said the obesity epidemic wasin WA's was the biggest public health battlegroundfacing public health since smoking.

FULL COVERAGE

● GET ACTIVE GET HEALTHY

● TRUTH ABOUT KIDS LUNCHES

● CHEF BLAMES POSH PRICES

● EATERIES RISE TO CHALLENGE

"(It's)Obesity is the next big epidemic that's coming in the same way smoking was,'' he said. "It will need the same sort of combined efforts of state and federal governments and the population itself to target it.

"While we're still getting people with respiratory diseases and cancers from smoking that chew up a lot of hospital time and space, more and more it's becoming related to obesity.''

Dr Hames, a former GP, said one of the biggest problems contributing to the disturbing incidence of obesity in children was big portion sizes.

"Mums and grandmums need to realise that they're not doing their children any favours by dishing them up large servings at a meal, or encouraging them to have seconds,'' he said.

"By continually stretching children's stomachs you just encourage them to eat more, to feel hungry all the time and to need to have more food to feel full.

""The fewer times you stretch a child's stomach, in particular, the less likely they are to be obese when they get older.''

He said parents had a responsibility to help their children maintain a healthy weight and learn how to eat healthily, including not having treats, such as like potato chips and soft drinks, readily on hand.

"Those are things no parent should have in the cupboard waiting for kids when they come home,'' Dr Hames said.

"Not to say you should never have it. But if you're going to have them, they should be well hidden away and pulled out on rare occasions, not have your child come home and know exactly where the pack of potato chips is.

"They need to recognise that overweight children will almost inevitably become overweight adults unless they learn sensible eating habits along the way.''

As reported in The Sunday Times last week, new Heart Foundation research shows WA is the second-fattest state in the country, with 65.2 per cent of adults overweight or obese.

But Dr Hames said he did not believe the State Government should subsidise healthy food or gym memberships.

"While it does become a burden on the state when people are unhealthy, the same way as smoking was, we're not going to start wielding the whip,'' he said.

"We're not a nanny state; people have responsibility for their own health and their own wellbeing.''

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