Churches protest Christmas prison visits

Churches protest Christmas day prison visits cancellation.

“Over 2,700 children and family members have visited prisoners on Christmas Day for the past 16 years, until NSW Corrective Services stopped the visits last year. After an initial change of heart, Christmas Day visits have been cancelled again” JA coordinator Brett Collins revealed today.

“The Catholic Church, the Uniting Church through its division Uniting Care, the Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes and others have called for Corrective Services to reinstate Christmas Day visits” he said.

“Christmas Day is traditionally a day for families to come together in a spirit of love and forgiveness. It celebrates a day when the most important family in the Christian world first came together. This day is about children, wives, parents and husbands of prisoners who need contact with their jailed loved ones” said JA coordinator Michael Poynder.

“The recidivism rate in NSW is a shocking 43.7% - the highest in the country, but State Plan efforts hope to reduce it by 10%. Corrective Services acknowledge the significance of the family to help prisoners readjust upon release. Support for Christmas Day, which promotes the family ethos including the missing family member, is essential to reduce this figure” said Mr Collins.

“Justice Action calls on Commissioner Woodham to return Christmas Day visits and to make Christmas a feature goodwill event in the Corrective Services calendar – a day where hope and rebirth are expressed as it has in the past” said Mr Poynder.

For comments:

Brett Collins on 0438 705 003
Michael Poynder on 0401 371 077

JUSTICE ACTION
Trades Hall, Suite 204, 4 Goulburn St, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
PO Box 386, Broadway NSW 2007 Australia
T 612 9283 0123 | F 612 9283 0112
E ja@justiceaction.org.au

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SHINE for Kids
What happens for a young person who has a parent in prison?


There are a lot of consequences for children or young people who have a parent in prison. During Groupwork the kids themselves have identified as being:

Isolated – feeling lonely
Stigmatised – feeling they aren't as good as others
Ostracised/ignored – left out
Missing out
on time with Mum or Dad
on activities, because there isn't enough money
Angry – at Dad, at Mum, at the police, at themselves
Deserted – betrayed, let down
Frightened
about Mum or Dad not being OK
about what is going to happen to them now
Humiliated/embarrassed – most kids wouldn't dare tell any of their friends
Stressed – stress can trigger anger/aggression, fits of crying, even bedwetting
Guilty – a lot of kids feel like it is their fault that mum or dad is in jail
Confused by changes in family dynamics
Insecure – most kids no longer feel safe and secure, they miss their parent
Low in self esteem
Having to become the adult
Statistics indicate that at any one time approximately 15,000 students in NSW are directly affected by the imprisonment of a parent, and that 60,000 students under the age of 16 have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives. The peer groups of each of these students can also be affected indirectly.

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Wong announces $1.4b climate change fund

"This is a very substantial investment in small businesses and also community organisations to enable them to move to a low-pollution future." (File Photo) (From Little Things Big Things Grow.)

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says small businesses and community groups will get $1.4 billion over five years to help them adjust to the introduction of an emissions trading scheme.

The money will be available to businesses and groups purchasing energy efficient equipment through a Climate Change Action Fund.

She says there will also be grants for developing long-term energy-efficiency plans.

"This is about the Government delivering on its commitment to ensure that the monies raised from the scheme are invested back into Australian businesses and Australian households to enable everyone to make the transition to a low-pollution future," she said.

"This is a very substantial investment in small businesses and also community organisations to enable them to move to a low-pollution future."

Updated: 12:34pm (AEDT)

Rudd locks in 5pc emissions cut

The Federal Government has also promised around $6 billion a year in compensation and a 2.5 per cent rise in pension rates to help households cope with expected price rises when the carbon pollution reduction scheme begins in 2010.

It is estimated there will be a one-off rise in inflation of 1.1 per cent with the introduction of the scheme, and growth will slow by just 0.1 per cent a year to 2050.

The details of how the scheme will work and its expected cost to homes and businesses has been outlined in the Government's white paper released today.

The paper says by 2020 Australia will cut its emissions by 5 per cent of 2000 levels even if no progress has been made to finalise the next international agreement to reduce global emissions.

The 5 per cent cut is likely to anger the Greens and environmental groups who have been calling for a much stronger mid-term cut in emissions.

But it is closer to the level some business and industry groups were lobbying for.

The Government has left the door open to cut Australia's emissions by up to 15 per cent if other major economies also agree to significantly reduce emissions and advanced economies take similar action on cuts.

It has also reaffirmed its commitment to cut emissions levels by 60 per cent of 2000 levels by 2050.

The Government says it agrees with its climate change adviser Ross Garnaut's recommendation that a 25 per cent cut in emissions is in the national interest but that international agreement on a larger cut at international talks next year is unlikely.

"Australia's commitment of a 5 -15 per cent reduction by 2020 is a serious and credible commitment to the global action required and is realistically attainable in the current circumstances," the paper says.

Household compensation

The Government says around $6 billion a year will be provided through various measures to compensate families for price rises and estimates around 90 per cent of low income households will receive assistance of 120 per cent of their increase in cost of living expenses.

Aged pensioners, seniors, carers and those with a disability would receive a 2.5 per cent increase in the rate of the pension once the scheme begins.

Low and middle income families would be eligible for a range of measures through increases in the low income tax offset, a 2.5 per cent increase of Family Tax Benefit Part A or Family Tax Benefit Part B.

The white paper estimates that with a carbon price of $25 per tonne, electricity is expected to increase by around $4 per week, with a rise in gas prices of around $2.

Despite a large drop in petrol prices in recent months the Government will keep its cut in the fuel excise announced in the green paper on a cent-for-cent basis as the scheme causes a petrol prices rise.

Around $2.5 billion, as part of the Climate Change Action Fund, will also be allocated to help small businesses and community groups adapt to the scheme and lower emissions.

Trade exposed industries

The Government has increased the amount of free permits allocated in its green paper to those industries described as trade exposed because they face international competition and cannot pass the cost of a trading scheme onto consumers.

One threshold for eligibility has also been lowered, meaning more companies will be covered by the assistance.

The amount of free permits available to those industries - such as aluminium, cement, lime and silicone production - has been increased to 25 per cent, compared to 20 per cent flagged in the green paper.

That amount would rise to 35 per cent once agriculture is included in the scheme, which is not expected until at least 2015.

Industries now also have the choice of being assessed for assistance via two different tests based on either revenue or the value it adds to the product in the manufacturing process.

If an industry produces over 2,000 tonnes of emissions per million dollars of revenue or 6,000 tonnes of emissions in the value it adds to a product it is eligible for 90 per cent of free permits.

If it produces over 1,000 tonnes of emissions per million dollars of revenue or 3,000 tonnes of emissions in the value it adds to a produce it is eligible for 60 per cent of free permits.

The Electricity Sector Adjustment Scheme will also provide $3.9 billion assistance to coal fired power generators over the next five years.

Updated: 1:38pm (AEDT)

5pc target a global embarrassment

Greens Senator Christine Milne says the emissions reduction targets are extremely weak and disappointing.

"This is a complete failure of a system," she said.

"Five per cent is a global embarrassment, 15 per cent is way below even the minimum the rest of the world wants to see.

"The Europeans have said 20 per cent targets by 2020. How can the Rudd Government face the rest of the world when Australia has done nothing?"

The WWF environment group is also unhappy with the announcement, with Australian director Ray Nias describing the 5 per cent target is deeply disappointing.

"It commits Australia to long-term dangerous climate change [and] it will make Australia's ability to negotiate global agreements very, very difficult," he said.

"Its much lower than even we had imagined the worst case being."

Three protesters had to be [thrown] out of the National Press Club in Canberra this lunchtime as Rudd was speaking about the decision.

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Greens slam SA backing for clean coal
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Greenpeace trio fined over smoke stack stunt
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Scientists push PM for 25pc emissions cut
A group of top level climate change experts has written a letter to the Prime Minister arguing that cutting greenhouse gas emissions by only 10 per cent would be dangerous.

Greenpeace criticises clean-coal plans
The environmental group Greenpeace has called on the Federal Government to rethink its support for clean coal technology.

Garnaut too soft on emissions target: expert
A leading Australian climate scientist has criticised the greenhouse gas reduction targets proposed by the Government's climate change adviser Professor Ross Garnaut.

Green groups slam failure to set firm targets
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50pc of homeless 'dependent on alcohol, drugs'

New research from the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) shows a large percentage of homeless people are dependent on alcohol and drugs.

The ANCD estimates over 100,000 people are homeless every night with a third under the age of 25.

ANCD executive director, Gino Vumbaca, says a number of these people have problems with alcohol and drugs.

"What the council has found is that the levels are quite high - [they are] six times more likely to have a drug use disorder," he said.

"In some cases almost 50 per cent of people who are sleeping rough are dependent on alcohol and 50 per cent of clients would smoke cannabis on a regular basis."

"So what we're seeing is quite a substantial level of substance misuse amongst the homeless. I don't think that's startling but we've got some figures now to back that up."

Mr Vumbaca says greater focus needs to be placed on people who are homeless and dealing with addictions.

He says in some areas like Canberra the homeless are often overlooked.

"Often people don't see homeless people. They might see one or two people ... who have slept rough overnight ... but we are talking about over 1,000 people on any given night are homeless in Canberra," he said.

"As a result, they are sort of out of the way, out of sight and unfortunately out of our minds sometimes.

"So we don't invest what we need to invest in homeless shelters because we don't see the dimensions of the problem."

Online support

The ANCD in conjunction with the National Drug and Research Institute at Curtin University of Technology have today launched a new support website for people working in the homeless sector.

"Homeless services are often being stretched to capacity dealing with the day to day crisis that people are facing," Mr Vumbaca said.

"This makes it very hard for them to then address any underlying issues."

Mr Vumbaca says the Homeless Information Portal provides information on drug and alcohol use and how to address problems as they present.

"It also provides a database for services who will be able to look at what is in their local area and search for drug and alcohol services and other homeless services that may exist nearby," he said.

"So they can work with them and maybe co-manage clients, given they often haven't got the resources to deal with those client problems as they present on the night when people are looking for a roof over their head."

The ANCD is also working with the Federal Government to help raise awareness of the issue.

Mr Vumbaca says the Government will be releasing a white paper on homelessness and launching a major new strategy in the next few months.

"To make sure that we also invest in the difficult end of the homelessness problem which is people who have significant substance abuse problems, or mental health problems or for a lot of people both," he said.

"There needs to be a lot more support given to homeless shelters and the like to actually address the underlying causes of homelessness."

Logging protest turns ugly

They smashed [the rear window] and I cut my hand getting out

FOREST activists say they feared for their lives after a violent attack by Tasmanian loggers led to one man wielding a sledge-hammer and others kicking in a protest car.

Police are investigating Tuesday's attack, which was caught on a video that shows a sledgehammer-wielding man assaulting a disabled blockade car, with two protesters caught inside, before others kicked in its windows.

The two protesters, Nishant Datt, 22, and Miranda Gibson, 27, said they tried to escape from the car as quickly as they could after the attack began. "I was pretty sure that if we'd stayed in there, he would have started going at us with the sledgehammer as well," said Mr Datt, formerly of Sydney.

He said he was thrown to the ground and kicked as he scrambled out of the car, and Ms Gibson, from Brisbane, said she cut her hand escaping through a broken rear window.

The two are part of a small group of protesters who on Saturday will celebrate their second year trying to halt logging of old-growth forests in the Upper Florentine valley, about 120 kilometres west of Hobart.

The rainforest valley is surrounded on three sides by the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has identified the Upper Florentine as having potential World Heritage value.

Ula Majewski, a spokeswoman for the group Still Wild, Still Threatened, said attempts to save the forest were reaching a critical point, with plans to drive a 10-kilometre logging road into the valley this summer.

"That would open the entire area up for logging," Ms Majewski said.

Ms Gibson said that before the attack an officer from Forestry Tasmania, the state agency that controls the valley, told them he could not hold back the logging contractors, and said they had three seconds to get out of the car.

"We said, 'We're getting out of the car' and I just managed to get out of the back. They smashed [the rear window] and I cut my hand getting out," she said. "It was pretty scary."

She said the protests would continue. "We just hope the contractors won't be violent, and that Forestry will be present, doing something to stop this kind of thing. We were pretty disappointed that the Forestry officer just stood by and let it happen."

Forestry Tasmania's acting general manager of operations, Steve Whiteley, said a staff member at the protest gave a categorical assurance that he did not witness any confrontation and did not receive any complaint.

Tasmania Police Inspector Glen Woolley said an investigation into the incident was under way. Evidence had been taken from the site, the video, and statements from the two protesters. He said police would be interviewing the contractors.

"We respect the right of people to demonstrate peacefully, and to work lawfully," Inspector Woolley said. "We don't tolerate heavy handedness and we won't tolerate people being assaulted."

A Greens senator, Christine Milne, said the culture of violence against conservationists in Tasmania had to end.

"For all Premier [David] Bartlett's rhetoric of a kind and clever Tasmania, what is on global show is thuggery and wilful ignorance."

See Video

Amnesty Stands Up Against Poverty

STAND UP Against Poverty is a global call to take action against poverty and inequality.

On the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October), Amnesty International Australia will join the Make Poverty History Coalition, a group of aid agencies and community organisations, to call on our Government to do its fair share to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and halve global poverty by 2015.

Last year, STAND UP Against Poverty set a new Guinness World Record with 43.7 million people participating worldwide.

This year, events will be held across Australia again for STAND UP Against Poverty.

Join Us: Amnesty International Stands Up Against Poverty

Cycle protest shuts Swanston Street

Cyclists walk their bikes past the town hall in Swanston St.

Hundreds of cyclists silently walked their bicycles down Swanston Street this morning protesting for safer cycling conditions along the busy inner-city route.

- Ride to Work Day
- Hundreds join protest
- 'Safe cycling' demand

Traffic police instructed trams, vehicles and pedestrians to wait as a column of about 700 cyclists made its way from the state library to Federation Square.

The protest was organised by Jeremy Rawlins, whose wife Carolyn died in an accident while cycling down Swanston Street last month, and coincides with National Ride to Work Day.

Mrs Rawlins was hit by a tour bus on the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets after her bicycle slipped over on tram tracks as she cycled to work on September 18.

There were several tour buses parked on the corner where Ms Rawlins died this morning, even as the protesters, led by Mr Rawlins,made their way down Swanston Street.

Some of the protesters carried signs reading: "Make Swanston Street safe for cyclists".

Fellow organiser Michael Frazzetto said Melbourne City Council is responsible for building a safer bicycle lane.

"We are calling on the experts in Melbourne City Council to fix up the street. The council has a duty to provide safer conditions," Mr Frazzetto says.

Meanwhile, hundreds more cyclists were taking part in official Ride to Work Day activities at Federation Square.

The day is jointly sponsored by the government, health groups and cycling advocacy groups and aims to encourage non-cyclists to try cycling into work by offering free breakfast and peer support. Over 1000 people arrived at Federation Square this morning where they were offered advice on helmet hair, free reflective ankle straps, free massages and breakfast.

Most people at the breakfast said they cycle to work and into town regularly.

Stuart Schnaars of Diamond Creek, who cycles for an hour into work three to four times a week, says organisation is the key to commuting by cycle.

"People probably just cannot be bothered," he said.

"You have have a change of clothes and all your showing gear at work because it is too far to ride carrying all the extra luggage".

Andrew Libby from Rosanna says he started cycling into work regularly four or five years ago because he was sick of sitting in traffic each morning.

"The traffic is so bad, it is quicker for me to ride home than drive," Mr Libby says.

"If I drive home, leaving at 6pm, it is an hour and a half because the traffic is just so bad everywhere you go."

Michelle Milton from St Kilda says she finds the on-road routes too dangerous at peak hours, so takes a longer route to work.

"I go all the way through Albert Park to stay away from cars because even though there is a bike lane for cyclists, cars just do not give you the privilege to ride down the roads," Ms Milton said.

There was a lot of lycra, fluorescent clothing and helmets walking around Federation Square this morning, but Ms Milton says the cycling `uniform' is all about safety.

"There is a lot of fluoro, but you want to be seen on the roads."

Victoria Police were also on hand to engrave bicycles with identification numbers so they can be returned to owners if they are lost or stolen.

A spokesman for Victoria Police said the engraving service is available throughout the year from all police stations.

There were some non-cyclists who had been encouraged to cycle into work for the first time by friends and work colleagues.

Hung Chau, from Oakleigh, says he cycled in with colleagues.

"It is my first time today, although I cycle into the city on weekends," Mr Chau says.

"I might cycle more regularly if I get fitter," he joked.

Martine Ward was also encouraged by friends to cycle into work from her home in Fitzroy for the first time today .

Ms Ward says she was primarily motivated by environmental issues and borrowed a bicycle from a work colleague for today's ride.

"I would cycle in again if I had my own bike," she said.

"It was an easy ride, about 25 minutes, but I was a bit wobbly at first" she giggled.

Govt attacked on 'asylum' boat issue

Amnesty International: deeply concerned with the government's policy of taking boat people to Christmas Island.

Human rights groups have attacked the federal government over its treatment of a group of suspected asylum seekers intercepted en route to Australia.

An Australian naval patrol boat intercepted a vessel carrying 14 people near the Ashmore Islands, 320 kilometres off Australia's north-west coast, on Monday.

The group, including one woman, was being transferred Tuesday to Christmas Island for processing. The boat is the first to be intercepted off the coast of Australia this year.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans said it appeared the boat had come from Indonesia but it was unlikely those on board were illegal fishers.

"We haven't identified their country of origin as yet. They'll be processed and interviewed on Christmas Island and it'll become clearer then," Senator Evans said.

Amnesty International said it was deeply concerned with the government's policy of taking boat people to Christmas Island.

"The detrimental impact of detaining individuals in isolated centres has been well documented and Amnesty International remains concerned for the physical and mental health of any asylum seeker taken to Christmas Island," refugee spokesman Graham Thom said.

"It is completely inappropriate to treat this group differently from other asylum seekers and it is certainly not in keeping with our international obligations to protect people who are fleeing persecution."

Senator Evans said people were continuing to seek refugee status due to ongoing unrest in the Middle East.

"There's pressure around the world with refugees seeking to find asylum, large numbers of people particularly out of Afghanistan and Iraq because of the troubled situations there."

Senator Evans said the federal government was working closely with the Indonesian government to strengthen border control and stamp out people smuggling.

Project SafeCom spokesman Jack Smit attacked Senator Evans for his "bullying" comments on border protection.

"It's time Minister Evans stops acting like (former prime minister) John Howard, and it's time he stops uttering the nonsense lines of the widely reviled former immigration minister Philip Ruddock."

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DISGRACEFUL A.C.T. PRISON OFFICIAL VISITOR APPOINTMENT

“Justice Action condemns the A.C.T Stanhope Government for its attempt to stifle prisoners’ complaints before it has its first prisoner.

The selection of an ex-policeman to receive their trust is disrespectful to the general community. It is like offering a fox to look after chickens. Prisoners won’t use him” said spokesperson Brett Collins.

“The arrogant lack of consultation with the concerned community – specifically the sixty five organisations and individuals making up the Community Coalition on Corrections has allowed this outrageous appointment to happen. An Aboriginal ex-policeman is especially compromised, having had to enforce a system imprisoning fourteen times as many of his people” said Mr Collins.

“The Official Visitor position is specifically designed by s.58(3) of the Act to be independent of the Government. It is Official Whistleblower with entitlement to inspect the prison at any time. In NSW there is a long history of intimidation of OV’s including the 2005 sacking of the Inspector General who coordinated them. The position is always contentious given the misery of a prison and the sick people isolated from their families’ support” said Kat Armstrong.

“This cynical appointment is another government lie, like the trumpeted human rights, family-friendly prison. Instead it is guaranteed to become a social blight on the ACT landscape, incubating our social problems and spewing out degraded and isolated people less able to cope than before.

Can we have some openness and honesty please Mr Stanhope?” asked Mr Collins.

For comment: Brett Collins 0438 705003
Kat Armstrong 0428 312035

Vic rally calls for abortion rights

A rally calling for full abortion rights for Victorian women will descend on the steps of Parliament in Melbourne.

Rally organiser Debbie Brennan said while she could not speculate on the numbers expected at the rally, it had received a strong response from the community.

"It's been going out far and wide and there's been a very good response to it," she said.

The Victorian parliament is considering legislation to remove abortion from the Crimes Act. Abortion is currently permitted in the state under a common law ruling only if it is to protect the women's health.

Ms Brennan said its supporters wanted abortion rights for women at all stages of their pregnancy.

The proposed law allows for an abortion to be performed up to 24 weeks and after that only with the approval of a doctor.

"The main message is that the majority out there in the community will not accept a compromise on abortion rights," Ms Brennan said.

"This is our first and last chance to get abortion rights in Victoria and also what happens in Victoria is going to have an impact throughout the country.

"This is crunch time."

Olympics human rights ads pulled: GetUp!

Advocacy group GetUp says they expect to be reimbursed for advertisements protesting human rights abuses in China that were stopped from going to air during the coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony.

The organisation says they paid Channel Seven to feature the ads before and after the event and were given approval to do so.

GetUp's Brett Solomon says he is extremely disappointed by the decision not to air the ads.

"This is really a slap in the face to all the people who put in small amounts of money to fund the advertisement and so I guess there's a range of options at this point," he said.

GetUp says it will continue to try to get mainstream coverage for the campaign but will now approach other commercial networks.

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American Foreign Policy Brought to You by China: Advisers to Obama, McCain Tied to US Multinationals that Profit from Beijing


President Bush is heading to China this week, where he will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics on Friday. The Games’ presence in Beijing have helped spotlight opposition to China on a number of policies, including its repression of the Tibetan independence movement, its support for the Sudanese government in Darfur and its crackdown on dissidents and civil liberties at home. In the latest issue of Harper’s Magazine, Ken Silverstein says many of the bipartisan experts who have advocated so-called “constructive engagement” with China are tied to major US multinational corporations that profit heavily from the Chinese market.

Rudd to raise China Olympic censorship
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he will raise concerns with the Chinese Government about internet censorship during the Olympics. Chinese authorities are blocking sensitive websites used by the international media and are using spyware to monitor internet use in hotels used by journalists and other visitors to the Games.

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Greenpeace arrested over port protest

Environmental group Greenpeace says nine of its activists have been arrested after painting slogans on about 20 ships queuing at a central Queensland port, in protest against Australia's coal exports.

Campaigner Simon Roz said activists in inflatable boats had painted messages including "Rudd Exporting CO2", "Barrier Reef Gone", "Ice Caps Gone" and "Stop Coal Expansion" on ships queuing at Hay Point, near Mackay.

The protest began about 6am (AEST) Monday and continued until a police boat arrived at the scene around 9.30am.

He said three of the boats had been intercepted and nine activists arrested.

Mr Roz said the action was intended to draw attention to the environmental concerns linked to Australia's growing coal export industry

"The action was all about trying to highlight the contradiction between prime minister (Kevin) Rudd and premier (Anna) Bligh's stated intention to urgently reduce greenhouse pollution while presiding over a doubling of Australia's coal exports," he said.

"Greenhouse pollution doesn't know any borders so coal burnt anywhere will be destroying pristine environments all around the globe including the Great Barrier Reef and the Murray Darling."

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Greens: Tougher ETS in Senate
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Govt releases 'disturbing' drought report
"When it comes to exceptional or extreme drought, exceptionally high temperatures, the historical assumption that this occurred once every 20 years has now been revised down to between every one and two years," he said.

Greens urge swift response to Garnaut draft
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“Global Disruption” More Accurately Describes Climate Change, Not “Global Warming”–Leading Scientist John Holdren Leading scientist John Holdren says “global warming” is not the correct term to use; he prefers “global disruption.” “‘Global warming’ [is] misleading. It implies something that’s mainly about temperature, that’s gradual, and that’s uniform across the planet,” says Holdren. “In fact, temperature is only one of the things that’s changing. It’s a sort of an index of the state of the climate. The whole climate is changing: the winds, the ocean currents, the storm patterns, snow packs, snowmelt, flooding, droughts. Temperature is just a bit of it.”

Losing Ground 1/3 -Shishmaref, Alaska- You Tube Video - The foottage depicts an Alaskan native village of Shishimaref on a small island. The island is at risk of being eroded by ocean wave due to the global warming [Climate-Change]. This film consists of a series of interviews with the native people in the village and scenes of their lives. Directed by Japanese photographer Ryota Kajita.

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Climate change fight needs political ardour: Greenpeace
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Greenpeace to give Treasurer carbon capture petition
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Hillsong hits schools with beauty gospel

EVERY Tuesday afternoon during the first term at Matraville Sports High School, a group of young women take part in classes intended to boost their self-esteem. Some have personal problems, others have behavioural issues, while a few simply go because their friends do.

For the next two hours they learn a range of skills including how to put on make-up, do their hair and nails, and walk with books balanced on their heads.

The program, called Shine, was created by the Hillsong Church. It is being run in at least 20 NSW public schools, numerous small community organisations and within the juvenile justice system.

Hillsong describes Shine as a "practical, life-equipping, values-based course" and its website is awash with glowing testimonials from young women whose lives have been improved by learning about "being a good friend" and "learning about myself".

But serious concerns have been raised by teachers, adolescent developmental experts and parents groups. They say the program is inappropriate for troubled young women, that the under-qualified facilitators are reinforcing gender stereotypes. and that some parents have not been properly informed.

Shine was originally developed by the CityCare arm of Hillsong as an explicitly religious program. The church says it is now "community-based, not religious-based" but, as recently as 2005, promotional material referred to young women's "created uniqueness".

"Through skin care, natural make-up, hair care, nail care girls discover their value and created uniqueness," the material says.

The term has been omitted from more recent material but the beauty classes remain, as do etiquette and deportment lessons.

The program has set alarm bells ringing for psychologists such as Dianna Kenny, an adolescent development expert at the University of Sydney. "They are essentially saying you are not appropriate as you are and we're going to show you how to be appropriate," Professor Kenny said.

"We don't have control of our physical characteristics. To emphasise that takes away from the autonomy of people as individual human beings. That runs completely contrary to what we know about adolescent development.

"We do want our young people to feel good about themselves, but what [they] need is help from professional counsellors."

[Not just professional counsellors. Parents, professional educators, mentors with wisdom that can teach Social Skills and LiFe Skills that include Communication, Conflict Resolution, Self-Worth, Street Wise. When the corporate media say professional counsellors it's just a shit fight about professional counsellors versus sects for the corporate dollars $$$$$. But the community has other ideas... and that is that the community is responsible. Not just for professional credentials but also for learning from past mistakes. People who have failed also have a deep insight and input into thinking, adjusting, surviving, crime prevention, and having fun. We all have an investment in society and we can all think for ourselves.]

Most of the facilitators who deliver Shine in Sydney classrooms have no university counselling qualifications, although Hillsong says they must have some qualifications or experience.

In some schools, Matraville Sports High included, the program is run by careers or physical education teachers. At other schools, including Alexandria Park, Glenwood and Cheltenham Girls, it is run by young recruits from Hillsong's leadership college.

Schools pay Hillsong to run the program, with parents asked to pay for books and materials such as hair spray and make-up.

"Over the last two or three years teachers have been coming to us with concerns about Shine," said the president of the Hills Teachers Association, Sui-Linn White. "It is the gender stereotypes that they are imposing. The focus on skin care, nail care, hair care - it objectifies women … These are things women fought against for centuries - they've got no place in a public school."

One teacher from a Hills district school, who asked not to be named, said Shine facilitators had run activities that undermined other teachers. "They were asking the kids to talk about which of the teachers they didn't like."

He said parents may not have been properly informed. "I don't know whether the parents, knowing what we know now, would have put their kids in. I don't know whether the school would have hired them in the first place."

Parents groups from Queensland and the Northern Territory have complained that their schools have tried to sneak Shine in almost unnoticed.

"In our view, this is a way of getting religion into schools through subterranean means," said one parent, Hugh Wilson. "The principal or the chaplain decides it's a good idea and, next thing you know, your kids are being taught about make-up by the Hillsong Church."

The church says parents have been overwhelmingly supportive of the program.

Quote: These sects are a bi-product of the John Howard, Family First type government. Family First is a party associated with religious votes like in the USA or God won't help you? This is just indoctrination of children to hold a belief other than their own thinking which is very dangerous. All children need to learn social skills to reduce their vulnerability to all manor of things including the influence of sects and greed.

MPs baulk at rules on sexualisation

CHILDREN are increasingly exposed to highly sexualised images, a Senate committee has found - but it has stopped short of calling for tougher government regulation, which has angered parent groups.

The issue has been thrown into the spotlight by controversies such as the publication of photos of the 15-year-old Disney star Miley Cyrus topless in the magazine Vanity Fair.

Although the committee rejected tighter standards on what television and advertisers can show, it recommended a national sex education program as a way to teach children about healthy relationships and to help them "deconstruct" sexualised images.

It singled out raunchy music videos and toys such as Bratz dolls, but said "it is the primary responsibility of parents to make decisions about what their children see, hear, read or purchase.

"These parental decisions can have a significant impact on the market for sexualising products and services."

The committee has also suggested that television networks consider a dedicated children's channel and that publishers of magazines such as Dolly and Girlfriend investigate putting content warnings on covers.

Parenting groups were angry the committee did not take a tougher position.

"The reliance on industry bodies to fix most of the issues is misplaced. If these bodies were willing to take effective steps to address the issues they would have done so by now," the vice-president of Young Media Australia, Elizabeth Handsley, said.

The professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University, Clive Hamilton, said: "The report fails to understand or reflect the level of community concern about the ways in which children are being sexualised by the media and advertisers and has largely ignored the evidence of harm presented to the inquiry by psychologists and other experts working with children."

More than a third of the people who made private submissions to the inquiry identified themselves as parents or grandparents who were concerned that their children and grandchildren were being subject to sexualisation by the media.

The Democrats senator Lyn Allison, who instigated the inquiry, denied the committee had failed to take the issue seriously. "This is a call to industry to shape up or we'll get tougher," she said.

A national sex education program would help children make sense of the images they saw, she said.

"People link the resilience of children to their education about relationships and sex. It's not saying education would fix exposure to images, but it would give help kids deal with them."

The advertising and media industry largely welcomed the report.

Helen Willoughby, the chief executive of the Outdoor Media Association, said: "We are yet to see the detail but we have been speaking with the Advertising Standards Bureau to look at ways to address issues over the past six months about addressing content issues as they relate specifically to the outdoor medium."

A spokesman for PBL Media, the owner of ACP Magazines, the publisher of Dolly, said: "We will have a look at whether we put any age-appropriate information on the covers." The peak body for commercial broadcasters, Free TV Australia, said in a statement that it believed there were already "clear protections" in place for both content and advertising. "We are confident that these are in line with community standards and do not sexualise children," it said.

Dalai Lama arrives in Sydney

The Dalai Lama blesses monks from Sydney's Tibetan community moments after arriving in Sydney.

Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama has arrived in Sydney, greeted by a large and colourful contingent of Sydney's Tibetan community.

The Nobel Peace laureate, in Sydney to lead five days of meditation teachings, said he was "looking forward to meeting the Buddhist community and the Australian public".

Looking relaxed and fresh despite his flight being delayed by 12 hours, the Buddhist leader stopped to greet many of the 100 plus members of Sydney's Tibetan community who were decked out in traditional garb and who carried white scarves for His Holiness to bless.

The president of the NSW Tibetan Community, Tenzin Gaden said he hoped the Dalai Lama's visit would raise awareness of the plight of the Tibetan people, who are under Chinese rule.

"This is not a political visit, but just having him here is a huge boost for the Tibetan people," Mr Gaden said.

Other members of the community said they were disappointed that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd would not be meeting their leader during his visit.

"It is sad that Mr Rudd is feeling pressure from China," one supporter, who did not wish to be named, said.

"Mr Rudd has lost some dignity, I think, by bowing to them."

The Dalai Lama will head to Sydney Olympic Park this morning to begin his teachings, which are expected to attract up to 5000 Buddhist devotees from across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

His visit will be marked by the toughest security measures ever introduced for a Tibetan leader, amid concerns of protests by Chinese students and a Buddhist splinter group, The Western Shugden Society.

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"Among all the communities, including the Chinese and Tibetan, those who live in Australia, I personally have had to deal with them in many, many years, they are strongly supportive of peace and harmony, because we are a great multicultural nation here."

Welfare services under strain: survey

The number of people accessing community services is on the rise, a new survey shows.

The Australian Community Sector Survey showed a 6.3 per cent increase in the number of people accessing services between 2005-06 and 2006-07.

The number of people turned away from the services also increased, by 24 per cent over the same period.

More than 700 service providers were interviewed by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) for the survey.

Housing and homeless services were the most stretched, turning away one in every seven people.

ACOSS acting CEO Gregor Macfie said community services are clearly under strain.

"Increased demand coupled with resource constraints leads to waiting lists, additional unpaid work by staff and volunteers and people being turned away from services," he said in a statement.

More than 80 per cent of agencies reported the cost of service delivery was not matched by funding levels.

And more than 60 per cent of agencies reported difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified staff.

Conference told drinking needs to be 'denormalised'

A conference in Brisbane has been told that society needs to change the way it thinks about alcohol before there will be a reduction in binge drinking.

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation organised the conference to discuss ways to tackle the problem, with organisations and researchers from across the country attending the event.

Victoria's Professor Margaret Hamilton says drinking needs to be "denormalised".

"Its not really all that acceptable to have people who are out of control, vomiting, mess, aggressive, difficult to manage, making a hell of a mess," Ms Hamilton said.

"I think we've got to get that kind of thinking happening. That'll take a long time."

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One in three pregnant women drink: study

More than one third of pregnant women drink despite most knowing the harmful effects alcohol can have on unborn children, a study has found. A paper, to be presented at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians annual congress in Adelaide on Tuesday, outlines the results of a telephone survey of 1,103 Australian women aged between 18 and 45.

Thirty-four per cent of the women surveyed consumed alcohol during their last pregnancy and 32 per cent said they would drink if planning, and during, a future pregnancy. Some 93 per cent of survey respondents knew alcohol could affect unborn children and 81 per cent agreed pregnant women should not drink alcohol.

Pediatrician Elizabeth Elliott says alcohol consumption early in pregnancy puts the unborn child at risk of birth defects, while consumption later can impact on the developing brain. "The message, really, for women should be that no safe level has been established, and that large amounts of alcohol frequently, and particularly early in the pregnancy, is likely to cause the worst outcomes," Professor Elizabeth Elliott said."Not drinking in pregnancy is the safest option and we particularly advise women not to become intoxicated."

The alcohol level in the mother's blood is the same as in her foetus. The risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy are difficult to predict for each individual because factors such as a woman's weight, age and general health, come into play. About half of pregnancies are unplanned so inevitably many women have consumed alcohol before learning they are pregnant, Prof Elliott said. "What we do is reassure women that if they've drunk alcohol at low levels then it's likely that they've done no damage to their baby," she said.

Prof Elliott says Australian attitudes to alcohol are very tolerant. "So, in contrast to somewhere like the (United) States where if you're a pregnant woman in a pub drinking you might well have people coming up to you and telling you to stop drinking," she said. "That doesn't happen here as much."

There have been increasing levels of drinking by young women, she said. Prof Elliott says she hopes revised guidelines on safe drinking, to be issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council later this year, will include messages to women about the dangers of drinking during pregnancy. She said 95 per cent of women surveyed wanted doctors to ask them about alcohol consumption in pregnancy and to advise them of the potential harm to their foetus. "The community is ready for a tougher message on alcohol," she said. "We have got to not only give them (women) the knowledge but we have got to somehow change their attitudes."

Driver straps in beer, leaves kid loose

Police in Alice Springs say they were appalled to find a driver put a seatbelt around a carton of beer - but left a five-year-old child unrestrained.Officers stopped the unregistered sedan on the Ross Highway south of Alice Springs on the weekend. They found the child sitting in the back seat without a seatbelt, but the driver had put a belt around a slab of beer.

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Balmain hotels fill as young mourn pub mates
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Calls for binge warnings on alcohol packaging
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Calls for binge warnings on alcohol packaging

The Public Health Association (PHA) says warnings about the dangers of binge drinking should be pasted on all forms of packaged alcoholic drinks.

The Australia-New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council has requested Food Standards Australia to consider putting warnings on all alcoholic drinks.

PHA chief executive Michael Moore says mandatory warnings are a must if Australia is to properly combat binge drinking.

"I think people should be warned about intoxication," he said.

"I think they should be reminded that drinking sensibly is one thing but drinking to get drunk is an inappropriate way to use alcohol and an unhealthy way to use alcohol."

Mr Moore says warnings must carry the basic message that getting drunk is unhealthy.

"I think that it is appropriate if we begin a labelling regime to apply to alcohol across the board," he said.

"I think it is appropriate to remind people that what we ought to be doing is drinking sensible and binge drinking or drinking regularly is really not good for your health."

Man stabbed in night of brawls

Three men have been arrested over a stabbing in Sydney's Darling Harbour, after police had to respond to three separate fights involving up to 30 people. A 24-year-old man was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, after being stabbed in the back during one brawl, which occurred at a hotel on Wheat Road. Police say they were called to the hotel around 1.30am (AEST), with reports that three separate fights had broken out involving 30 people. Three men were later arrested over the incident. Two 18-year-olds and one 19-year-old have been taken to City Central police station, where the are currently being questioned, police said.

Meanwhile, two teenage boys have been charged after a separate altercation in Sydney's Hyde Park last night. Police say a group of 15 teenagers had gathered at the park, before a fight broke out among the youths at 1.30am (AEST). A 19-year-old Croydon Park man and 17-year-old from Burwood Heights were arrested by police patrolling the park.
Both have been charged with affray and will appear in court later this month. The 19-year old will appear at Downing Centre Local Court on May 23, while the teenager will face Bidura Children's Court the same day.

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Food crisis to cause malnutrition: UN

Global food shortages and higher prices are more likely to cause malnutrition than outright famine, at least in the near term, the coordinator of a new United Nations task force said.

John Holmes, who also serves as the UN's top humanitarian aid official, said it was too early to estimate how much extra money will be needed to confront crises stemming from increasingly unaffordable food staples in poor countries.

"People, particularly those on the lowest incomes, will be eating less and less well," he told a news conference in Geneva, where much of the UN's emergency aid operations are managed.

"I don't think that in the very short term we are talking about starvation and famine," Holmes said.

Protests, strikes and riots have erupted in developing countries around the world in the wake of dramatic rises in the prices of wheat, rice, corn, oils and other essential foods that have made it difficult for poor people to make ends meet.

"It is not possible as yet to put a figure on what the immediate humanitarian needs may be for the forthcoming year," Holmes said. "We need to put those funding needs together."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on Tuesday that he was launching a task force to ensure a solid, coordinated international response to the food crisis.

Holmes said that group was likely to include the heads of key agencies.

The task force will work to draft a strategy on both short- and long-term responses to food supply strains, which economists have linked to factors including high fuel and fertiliser costs, the use of crops for biofuels, and commodity market speculation.

Holmes called on donor governments to provide extra money in response to the crisis that has touched countries from Peru to Indonesia, Afghanistan and Senegal, and squeezed the World Food Program's efforts to feed millions of people.

Young children, who can face life-long health problems from malnourishment, as well as pregnant and nursing mothers, are among the most vulnerable groups in developing countries, where food crises also stand to trigger political unrest.

"The challenges here are likely to be of sufficient dimension that we will be asking for additional contributions," Holmes said, noting that the UN's pot of rainy-day cash - known as the Central Emergency Response Fund, or CERF - had already disbursed money for various food-related crises.

"CERF is available for precisely these types of situations," he said. "Will CERF be big enough to respond to those needs? That is a question I cannot answer yet."

Govt to fund 75 family counselling centres

The Federal Government has announced that 75 new family counselling services will be funded this year.

There will be 25 Family Relationship Centres, which are designed to help families resolve their disputes without resorting to court action.

The Government says another 28 centres will provide services to help children whose parents have separated.

Another 22 early intervention centres will also be established to help prevent family breakdowns.