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End live trade, activists urge Sydney MP
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on November 26, 2011
Animal activists are calling on the federal government to commit to phasing out live cattle exports.
The protesters donned sheep and cow outfits on Wednesday to march on the office of federal Labor MP Tanya Plibersek ahead of the issue being discussed at the ALP’s national conference in December.
A petition of more than 700 signatures was presented to the frontbencher’s office.
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“The Labor Party could officially end their support of the live export trade, or at the very least endorse a transition away from it,” said Jessica Borg from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPCA).
Ms Borg, who acts as the group’s campaigns manager, said the activists wanted to show Ms Plibersek how people within her electorate of Sydney supported a transition away from the live export trade.
“We are not calling for an immediate ban … we are advocating for a phase-out of live experts,” Ms Borg told AAP.
The live export trade came under fire in June after ABC Television aired footage of cattle in Indonesian abattoirs dying prolonged deaths and being beaten and tortured.
Ms Borg said the issue had drifted in and out of the public spotlight since then.
The federal government in October announced new rules for Australia’s $1 billion live export trade.
The changes were an extension of the system that was put in place for cattle exports to Indonesia in July.
Under the new regime – to be fully implemented by the end of 2012 – exporters will have to guarantee individual supply chains and ensure animals can be tracked all the way from departure to the point of slaughter.
Ms Borg said these measures do no go far enough because they cannot ensure that no animals will die in transport or that they will be stunned before being killed.
AAP
Eddington backs plan to overhaul Sydney transport
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on November 16, 2011
Getting back on track … state government told to fix Sydney’s roads, rail system and ports. Photo: Kate Geraghty
FIXING Sydney’s rail network and making its ports work better are infrastructure priorities for NSW, according to the head of Infrastructure Australia.
”Getting Sydney to work properly is critical to the national economy,” the Infrastructure Australia chairman, Sir Rod Eddington, said yesterday, two days after the NSW government submitted its list of priorities to the taskforce.
”It looks like their priorities are … making the city work better, which is around the rail network, in part, and roads, and making the port work better.
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”I haven’t had a chance to review it [in] any detail,” Sir Rod said, but ”clearly there was plenty that needed doing in NSW”.
”I’m hopeful that what we’ll now see in NSW is a plan for the state’s economy and community, and from that, a sense of what the investment infrastructure priorities should be.”
Sir Rod said Sydney faced a number of infrastructure problems.
”One of them is their urban rail network,” he said.
”If you look at many of the big cities in the world they’ve got underground rail networks in the urban city, so clearly NSW is beginning to think about their rail network, not necessarily below ground,” he said.
another was the port in Botany Bay, which the government committed to privatising on a long-term lease. But it could not be privatised without thinking about the road and rail infrastructure as well as the port, Sir Rod said.
”That’s the sort of holistic view you need to take if you’re going to make the right decisions,” he said.
Sir Rod said infrastructure was a prerequisite to a well functioning economy and community but would not enhance productivity if it did not have economic relevance.
”Building bridges over puddles and roads to nowhere simply creates debt, which ultimately has to be paid,” he said.
There needed to be an evidence-based analysis of what infrastructure was needed and why.
”But what’s also clear is that if you don’t build that infrastructure, the economy will suffer, he said.
”Having the right infrastructure and not having the skills in the community to take advantage of it is as bad as not having the right infrastructure.”
Sir Rod said he did not think it would be wise to mandate that superannuation funds invest a proportion of their portfolio in infrastructure projects.
”That’s a recipe for disaster,” he said. ”The trustees of our superannuation funds are required to get us the best return possible. to force them into specific asset classes, in my view, would absolve them of that responsibility.”
Sir Rod said funding mechanisms had to be simple.
”Getting a proper bond market up in Australia is an important piece of the jigsaw. It’s a missing link in the Australian financial services dimension … and infrastructure bonds may be a part of that.”
with AAP
Tripologist: birthday skiing in Japan
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on November 13, 2011
Niseko, Japan. Photo: Jacky Ghossein
For my 40th birthday, my husband is sending me to Japan skiing with my best friend, no kids. she is a snowboarder and I am a skier, both above-average ability, so looking for hard, steep slopes and powder. we will have about a week so are looking for something reasonably easy to get to from Sydney. our budget is mid-range. it would be great if there were fun bars/restaurants. where do you recommend and should we go in January or March?
N. Stapleton, Lane Cove.
Niseko is the place for you. On the island of Hokkaido between volcanic cones, this is Japan’s most popular ski resort for Aussies. it gets an average dump of more than four metres of dry powder each winter and consists of four resort areas that share a lift pass and connect at the top of the peak. At the bottom, shuttle buses link the ends of the runs, where all the accommodation is.
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Niseko’s 57 runs are serviced by 38 lifts and gondolas. there are more than 47 kilometres of groomed slopes. as well as powder, it offers half-pipes, quarter-pipes, table-tops, moguls and tree-lined cruiser runs.
Niseko is a 2½-hour drive from New Chitose Airport at Sapporo, which is a minimum one-stop flight from Sydney. Feisty nightlife and apres-ski you can take for granted. January or March is fine but you’ll probably find cheaper airfares in March.
Check Niseko Powder Holidays (nisekopowderholidays.com) and Niseko Ski Tours (nisekoski.com.au) for more information.
A Noel way to enjoy Italy
In December my partner and I are spending Christmas with his family in Rome. we plan to get away for about three days, prior to Christmas. Can you recommend some towns, villages or cities north of Rome that would be good to visit at that time of year? Since it will be cold, somewhere that does not require too many outside activities would be nice. we both speak Italian, so off the tourist track is OK. we are more into food and wine than museums.
A. Hiatt, Grafton NSW
I’d be looking at the Umbria region, with the spotlight on Gubbio and Todi. these are large, mediaeval hill towns with a wealth of historic attractions, including some that date back to pre-Roman times, although most of these require outdoors excursions.
Both are also fashionable with Italophiles, and well padded with bars, cafes, galleries, shops and restaurants.
Gubbio is famous as the home of the world’s biggest Christmas tree, outlined in lights on the slopes of Mount Ingino. You can find out more about these towns, including accommodation options, at Bella Umbria (bellaumbria.net).
Stay afloat while touring Paris
My wife and I are seniors and on December 17 we begin a river cruise tour with four nights in Paris. we have already booked a Moulin Rouge show, pictured, and dinner at the Eiffel Tower. with two days to spare, can you suggest places of historic or general interest to go? our tour will end with three nights in Prague. do you have any suggestions?
D. Jones, Newcastle.
One of the best things to do when you first get to Paris is to take a ride on the Batobus (batobus.com), a riverboat that makes a scenic circuit of some of Paris’s main riverside delights, including the Musee d’Orsay, the Louvre and the Hotel de Ville. A one-day ticket costs €14 ($19) and you can hop on and off as many times as you like.
One quarter of the city that I like a lot is the Ile St-Louis, which sits in the shadow of its far grander neighbour, Ile de la Cite, yet this is a lovely area to wander around. Another area for aimless wandering is the Marais district, a funky quarter of the city close to the river with some fine museums as well as lots of neighbourhood cafes and interesting shops. You could also spend a day at the Palace of Versailles, even though the gardens will not be at their best in the middle of winter.
In Prague, spend a couple of days wandering around the old city, the castle and the old Jewish cemetery. Another day could be spent on a trip to Cesky Krumlov, one of Bohemia’s loveliest towns.
Put Vietnam in the running for first trip abroad
My friend (who has never travelled overseas) and I are in our early 50s and we would like to go on a one-week trip next year for a girls’ break. we would like to experience a range of things — day trips, a different culture and cuisine, a spot of shopping (not a high priority), stay at a reasonably nice hotel and maybe have a bit of spoiling, all in a safe location. we are considering either Hong Kong or Singapore as our destination. which would you recommend as our best choice, and what time of year would be best for value and weather conditions? Is there a package with airfares, accommodation, day trips and even meals included?
G. Massey, Dundas.
Both Singapore and Hong Kong would be good choices. Hong Kong has a slightly more exotic feel but if you want the ultimate in urban
user-friendliness then Singapore is the place for you. Singapore is always hot and humid. The only real variation is the wet season, which lasts from December to March. June to September is another period of high rainfall, while July and August are the best times to score a good deal on hotel rates.
Prime time for visiting Hong Kong is from mid-September, the end of the wet season, until February, although the weather from December onwards can be cool. The price of air travel rises during Australian school holiday periods but you can find competitive hotel deals in both cities most of the year.
In both Singapore and Hong Kong, shopping is the main visitor activity. If that’s not a high priority and if you want a destination that delivers real immersion in another culture, you might consider Vietnam.
My advice would be to base yourselves in Hanoi, a city with real soul, with the option of day trips to Halong Bay, pictured, and Ninh Binh. Hotels throughout Vietnam also offer great value.
Personal safety is not a real concern in Vietnam. The only real danger comes when you cross the road. I always look for an elderly person and cross in their shadow, since age commands great respect.
For holiday packages, check with Singapore Airlines Holidays (singaporeair.com), Cathay Pacific (cathaypacific.com) or Flight Centre (flightcentre.com.au).
Reddy right for Sydney FC’s Heart clash
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on October 29, 2011
AAP
Sydney FC will be bolstered by the returns of goalkeeper Liam Reddy and striker Mark Bridge when they go in search of back-to-back wins in their A-League clash with Melbourne Heart on Saturday.
Reddy played the first two rounds of the season before a quad injury sidelined him for the Sky Blues’ 2-1 win over Adelaide last week, when Ivan Necevski took his place in goals.
And with reserve goalie Necevski shining in last week’s clash, Sydney coach Vitezslav Lavicka admits he could have a selection headache in future.
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“It’s a good problem to have as a head coach,” Lavicka said ahead of flying out to Melbourne for the AAMI Stadium clash.
“Ivan had a great performance and did a very good job to help us win last weekend, but Liam has recovered from his injury so he will start this week.”
Bridge returns from a two-week suspension incurred in the Sky Blues’ opening clash against Melbourne Victory and will be key in helping Sydney to consecutive wins – a feat they only achieved once last season.
“It was an important step forward last week but now we would like to do the same and win in Melbourne against Heart,” Lavicka said.
“Mark was great in round one, so we are happy to have him back this week, it’s a big boost.”
Defender Shannon Cole, who has an injured calf, is still a week away from full recovery.
Add youth and stir
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on September 22, 2011
”No, seriously Matt, what are you doing at our party.”
Matt Moran had doubts about the junior MasterChefs but their work won him over.
DESPITE their relative inexperience with food, the junior burger-sized contestants on Junior MasterChef plated up food that was easily the equal of their adult counterparts, judge Matt Moran says.
”They really are amazing. In the top 50 we saw dishes that you’d sit down and eat,” the Sydney chef says. ”What these kids can do is mind-boggling.
”We had a curry the other day that you wouldn’t get the equal of in most curry houses in Sydney. It was outstanding. Gary and I were standing around on the lunch break eating it out of the pan with a bit of bread.”
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The junior edition of Channel Ten’s biggest franchise has returned for a second season. its first was a critical and ratings success.
Moran appeared only briefly on last year’s Junior MasterChef. He admits to uncertainty about the gig. ”To be honest, I felt … not hesitant but I wondered if I would enjoy working with the kids, that they might not be as serious, or the food might not be the equal of the other series,” he says. ”Actually, I enjoyed it more than I did the [main] MasterChef season, the reason being the kids are so into their food. At that age they’re like little sponges; every little bit of detail you can give them, they soak up.”
The contestants on Junior MasterChef, he says, have the same competitive edge as their adult counterparts but come to the game with a greater sense of fun.
”Some of them get a little more stressed but, in general, they are more relaxed and enjoy it for what it is. they don’t have the luxury of being around food for 20 or 30 or 40 years like some of the adult contestants. Knowledge in food takes time.”
As a result, Moran says, they experiment more.
”They put things they have never seen before together and they seem to laugh it off more,” he says.
Because of the contestants’ fragile egos, the emphasis on Junior MasterChef is on positivity. A leader board delays eliminations until later in the game and Moran says the judges are gentler.
”This is more positive and it’s all about having a go at it, there is no negativity whatsoever,” he says. ”If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. It’s about doing the best you can.
”Obviously, we’re judging at the end but it’s done in a different format. It’s all about the scoring, so everybody leaves a winner.”
Moran says he is stunned by how articulate some contestants have been.
”One kid, when he won a challenge and was asked how it felt … looked around and said it’s all about fun, we all had fun today, we’re all winners,” he says. ”What 10-year-old kid says that? when I was 10 I would have been the complete opposite.”
Having spent the first two seasons as a guest judge, Moran took on full-time judging duties on the main MasterChef program this year.
The show’s third season, he says, came in for undue criticism, including accusations of bias. ”That really upset me,” Moran says. ”At the end of the day it’s our integrity and we would never, ever jeopardise our integrity for the sake of keeping someone in the competition that was popular.
”Last year Marion left and everyone thought she would probably win but the thing was she put a bad dish up that day and that’s why she went. Hayden had a similar experience this year around the same time. I’m sure the producers would have loved to keep him in but his dish wasn’t good enough.”
He also had reservations about Ten’s decision to split the final episode with an episode of the Renovators. ”There was probably something in the fact that they shouldn’t have split the final episode but that’s not our decision,” he says.
Ten has signed a deal with Shine Australia for another three seasons of MasterChef and will undoubtedly produce at least another season of Junior MasterChef. There has also been speculation they may commission the franchise’s second British spinoff, Masterchef: the Professionals, which features professional chefs as contestants.
”I have heard talk, but nothing official [but] it would be something I would love to be a part of,” Moran says. ”If there was ever a chance to do it, I’m a professional chef and I would love to see young chefs battling it out.”
Junior MasterChef airs on Sunday on Channel ten.
Hemmes denies he hit bar patron
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on September 11, 2011
Denial … Justin Hemmes. Photo: Lee Besford
THE hotelier Justin Hemmes has denied he slapped a male patron in the mouth and groin while arguing over a woman at a function at his Establishment bar.
The 23-year-old alleged victim reported the matter to Parramatta police after he had been ejected by security from the popular Sydney CBD venue just after 2am yesterday.
The man alleges that he had taken exception to the way mr Hemmes was talking to a woman at the bar and that when he confronted the nightclub owner he was slapped. it is then alleged the man retaliated by slapping back at mr Hemmes.
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The man has now given a formal statement to the Rocks police, who are also reviewing footage of the incident but are yet to contact mr Hemmes. it is the third police investigation linked to mr Hemmes in less than two weeks.
Mr Hemmes said last night that he also had viewed the security footage and that he had no case to answer.
”I refute the allegations made today by a person regarding an alleged incident during a function last night at Establishment,” mr Hemmes said. ”Upon review of the CCTV footage and statements by witnesses, there is absolutely no basis for the allegations to have been made.”
It is understood that the man had admitted he had been drinking before the incident at the party held to mark the 11th birthday of the George Street bar – owned by mr Hemmes and his family company the Merivale Group.
The Herald has been told security saw the man ”provoking” mr Hemmes before being thrown out.
The incident is further unwanted attention for mr Hemmes after five security guards from another Merivale venue, the Ivy, were allegedly involved in the assault of a 19-year-old patron, Nicholas Barsoum, on August 28.
Sydney FC hail Emerton effect
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on August 29, 2011
AAP
Sydney FC believe Brett Emerton’s influence can steer the A-League club into an exciting new era after luring the Socceroos great from the English Premier League on a three-year deal.
Less than a week after Melbourne Victory recruited Harry Kewell, the Sky Blues on Thursday pulled off another huge coup for the league in a move that makes 32-year-old Emerton the first player to swap the EPL for the A-League.
After 11 years abroad, Sydney-born Emerton and his family decided it was time to return to his home and he was allowed out of the final year of his contract with Blackburn.
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The signing was met with widespread acclaim on Thursday, with Emerton still at his peak as a player and many suggesting he’d offer more value on the park for Sydney than Kewell would for Melbourne.
Sydney were also in the chase for Kewell’s signature but were convinced they had got the right man in Emerton, with chief executive Dirk Melton saying he had the perfect character to lead the club into the future.
“Some of the stories that have come out, even in the last two weeks talking to people around the world, he is considered one of the greatest blokes playing in the Premier League,” Melton said of Emerton, who has been pursued by the club since may.
“That’s come from a variety of different people and names you possibly couldn’t imagine.
“… the culture we’re trying to build in this club, he will be a significant player in that and a wonderful role model for the juniors coming through.”
Emerton put in a full shift for the Blackburn in Thursday morning’s (AEST) 3-1 League Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday and will make his farewell appearance for the club in the Premier League clash with Tim Cahill’s Everton at Ewood Park on Saturday.
It will be his 248th appearance for the club he joined from Dutch outfit Feyenoord in 2003.
In somewhat of a rarity in modern-day football, the club is believed to be keen to make the respected Emerton’s finale at the club a special one with Blackburn manager Steve Kean admitting it would be “very, very sad” to lose the veteran winger.
Emerton was appreciative of the club that gave him his Premier League breakthrough but said he was looking forward to returning to his home town.
“I’m a Sydney boy and I’m looking forward to representing the people of Sydney every week and playing in front of friends, family and Sydney football fans,” Emerton, Australia’s second-most capped player with 87 appearances, said in a statement.
“Football has been very good to me and I have always said I’d like to come back and play in the A-League while I still have something to offer.”
A veteran of two World Cups and an occasional stand-in captain for Australia, Emerton remains a first choice national team player under Holger Osieck and a key figure in the upcoming qualification campaign for the 2014 World Cup.
Emerton will arrive in Australia next week as part of the Socceroos squad to face Thailand in Brisbane on Friday week and will link up with Sydney after the clash away to Saudi Arabia four days later.
His first appearance for Sydney could come in a pre-season friendly against Perth on September 24 while the club is planning his official welcoming for their first home A-League game of the season, against premiers Brisbane Roar on October 15.
Women In Combat Feminist
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on April 11, 2011
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Take a look north for the road ahead
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on March 20, 2011
Remember Laurie Brereton? If you were around in NSW in the mid-1980s, it was hard to forget him. As minister for public works, he made sure his name and face was on billboards at every big government project in the state.
Brereton was noted for tackling difficult subjects and getting things done. some are long accepted, like the shifting of hospital capacity to Sydney’s west, others still stick out as bizarre monuments, like the city’s ”monorail to nowhere”.
One of his lasting achievements is literally out of sight, unless you happen to be inside it: the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. Probably the most significant new piece of urban transport infrastructure in our time, it has been a model of a public-private partnership. it was initiated and financed by the private sector and toll revenues, built on time, functions well, and in just over 10 years returns to state ownership with a further 70 years of estimated use.
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The tunnel was also a notable example of thinking we can import from Asia – in particular Japan, a country we tend to take for granted now.
A Japanese construction company called Kumagai Gumi had earlier pioneered the building of undersea tunnels in Hong Kong and other places, by precasting concrete tunnel sections and sinking them into trenches in the seabed.
It brought the idea to Sydney to solve a planning impasse over a desperately-needed second harbour crossing. Teamed up with local engineers Transfield, it got the plan through just before Labor lost office. Nick Greiner’s new coalition government found it more costly to cancel than let it proceed. History repeats itself this month with Barangaroo, maybe not so happily.
Two decades after the harbour tunnel, Sydney is again gripped by a sense of transport strangulation. Kristina Keneally’s Labor and Barry O’Farrell’s Coalition are telling us more what they can’t do than offering bold visions.
Maybe we should look again to Japan for some innovative solutions. we think of Japan as a place of economic stagnation, but some economists are telling us that’s wrong.
Though Japanese gross domestic product growth may be a lacklustre 1 or 2 per cent a year, a population in sharp decline means its per capita GDP growth is much healthier. Japan continues to be a centre of innovation, notably in transport.
If a team of Japan’s top public transport experts were brought to Sydney to advise our state politicians about Sydney’s problems, what would they be saying?
The first principle they would probably lay down is that big real estate opportunities go hand in hand with public infrastructure responsibilities.
The big department store companies like Tokyu, Seibu, Odakyu and Keio that developed urban hubs like Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro in Tokyo had to become railway builders and operators as well. the increased land values created by the suburban rail systems helped pay for the railways.
As noted by Kinki University’s Takahiko Saito in a recent paper, the 16 main private-sector railway firms carry 46 per cent of big city commuter traffic, and are all running in the black. ”The major private railway companies can no longer be viewed as mere railway or transport companies,” he said. ”These are akin to urban developers or local service providers supporting the lives of people living along the railway line.
”Generally speaking, the railway towns developed by private railway companies are planned and mostly well-maintained and offer affordable housing lots and high-quality houses. As such, private railway companies in large cities enjoy immense social prestige as urban developers,” Saito said.
The Japanese experts would no doubt be aghast at being told that Lend Lease has been given the contract to develop the prime harbourside Barangaroo site for an undisclosed sum amounting to ”several hundred million dollars” payable over eight years, without being required to build the transport infrastructure its many thousands of workers and residents will need.
Indeed, the state government has already committed to spending $286 million for a pedestrian tunnel linking Barangaroo to Wynyard station, a subsidy back to Lend Lease. the state’s planners see an urgent need for a new north-south underground railway through the city and across to the lower north shore. If it is built, Lend Lease will get the benefit almost free.
The Japanese experts might chuckle over their sake at other misconceptions and lost opportunities. they would look at the call for a second cross-harbour rail crossing and ask: why? Isn’t there already a fine harbour crossing with plenty of room for extra railway lines, one that already connects to the railway system at both ends, called the Sydney Harbour Bridge? Why not take out a couple of lanes of road traffic for rail? If we insist on more road crossings, why not more tunnels trenched into the harbour floor, out of sight?
They would look at the recent proposals by the NRMA, part of the motorcar lobby joined at the hip to the Roads and Traffic Authority, and marvel that 1960s American-style freeway thinking still persists in this backwater.
Why sacrifice beautiful suburbs, parks and historical centres for the sweeping motorways they envisage? Existing arterial roads like Parramatta Road and Victoria Road are already so ugly, lined by dilapidated shopfronts, showrooms and car yards, that an elevated freeway on top and metro line underneath would hardly spoil the view.
The Japanese visitors might be taken up to the northern beaches, where they would hear the perennial residents’ whinge that the government isn’t building them a railway or light rail connection to town. they might wonder why a private developer hasn’t put a plan together. the same for the south-east, where the Anzac Parade corridor cries out for a subway dug into its sandy underbase.
The secret is to go back to that first principle – capturing enough of the real estate value increases to pay for the infrastructure. In NSW, unfortunately, the developers get the real estate profit, and the state carries the infrastructure cost.
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