**From The Advertiser (Adelaide) **
Fewer duties for rural police
COUNTRY police will no longer handle registration, licensing and other administrative transport matters – unless motorists live more than 100km from a Transport SA or Service SA customer centre.
The change, which took effect on Saturday, has been condemned by the State Opposition, which says it highlights the Government's neglect of rural and regional communities.
"This is a blatant attack on country people and shows this Government couldn't give a stuff about the bush," said Liberal transport spokesman Robert Brokenshire yesterday. He said it was "outrageous" to expect country people to drive for almost an hour to register their car, boat or trailer.
"There is definitely a shortage of country police but no doubt cost-cutting is also behind this move, which has just been quietly introduced to take effect during the holiday period," he said.
In the past, country motorists who lived more than 40km from a Transport SA or Service SA office could go to their nearest police station for administrative services.
The radius was extended to 100km from January 1.
Mr Brokenshire said the change would be "most annoying" for country residents.
However, a spokeswoman for Transport Minister Trish White said the changes recognised that "police need to put their energy into their core business of policing communities".
"Access to services is greater than it has ever been, with people increasingly using online and call centre phones to conduct basic registration and licensing transactions," she said.
"There are also customer service centres, post offices and Service SA centres available statewide."
From the Australian Press
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AussieMark
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AussieMark
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**From The Advertiser (Adelaide) **
Did DFAT give family false hope?
THE Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade may have acted too soon when they told the family of missing Adelaide teacher Sam Green he was alive.
The department telephoned Mr Green's mother, Sharon Coombe, on Sunday night and said he had lost everything, but was alive in Sumatra, Indonesia. His brother, Ben Green, was told the same thing by consulate staff in Padang, Sumatra.
But yesterday, doubts emerged about the accuracy of the information.
The Advertiser has learned the information came from a network of Australians who are long-term residents of Sumatra and who have contacts all through the islands.
The information given to Australian consular officials was that a person – believed to be Mr Green – had sheltered in a refugee camp on Nias Island for several days after the tsunami with his girlfriend. Based on that information, which appeared to match descriptions of the missing teacher, DFAT then contacted his family in Adelaide.
Mrs Coombe and her husband, Richard, were elated to receive the news and told The Advertiser on Sunday night of the confirmation of Mr Green's survival. "When we got the call it was brilliant," Mrs Coombe said on Sunday.
However, the family made no comment yesterday.
DFAT said they were in contact with the family yesterday and told them the information supplied was the information the department had received.
Further checks yesterday suggested that although Mr Green had been meeting friends in Indonesia, he was not believed to have been travelling with a girlfriend. Nor were any accommodation records found on the island that indicate he was staying there. Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer yesterday asked his department for urgent advice on confusion about the safety of Mr Green. Asked if he was confident about the advice DFAT was passing on to relatives, he said his officials "do their best".
Did DFAT give family false hope?
THE Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade may have acted too soon when they told the family of missing Adelaide teacher Sam Green he was alive.
The department telephoned Mr Green's mother, Sharon Coombe, on Sunday night and said he had lost everything, but was alive in Sumatra, Indonesia. His brother, Ben Green, was told the same thing by consulate staff in Padang, Sumatra.
But yesterday, doubts emerged about the accuracy of the information.
The Advertiser has learned the information came from a network of Australians who are long-term residents of Sumatra and who have contacts all through the islands.
The information given to Australian consular officials was that a person – believed to be Mr Green – had sheltered in a refugee camp on Nias Island for several days after the tsunami with his girlfriend. Based on that information, which appeared to match descriptions of the missing teacher, DFAT then contacted his family in Adelaide.
Mrs Coombe and her husband, Richard, were elated to receive the news and told The Advertiser on Sunday night of the confirmation of Mr Green's survival. "When we got the call it was brilliant," Mrs Coombe said on Sunday.
However, the family made no comment yesterday.
DFAT said they were in contact with the family yesterday and told them the information supplied was the information the department had received.
Further checks yesterday suggested that although Mr Green had been meeting friends in Indonesia, he was not believed to have been travelling with a girlfriend. Nor were any accommodation records found on the island that indicate he was staying there. Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer yesterday asked his department for urgent advice on confusion about the safety of Mr Green. Asked if he was confident about the advice DFAT was passing on to relatives, he said his officials "do their best".
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AussieMark
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**From the Herald Sun (Melbourne) **
Delta Goodrem finds a new-year love
DELTA Goodrem has begun the new year with the flush of new love -- in the arms of former Westlife heart-throb Brian McFadden.
After months denying her relationship with the British singer was anything other than platonic, Goodrem flew in to a South African resort for an intimate 10-night holiday with McFadden.
The couple were seen kissing and holding hands on a mini-golf course soon after Goodrem joined McFadden at Camp's Bay, an exclusive hideaway for South Africa's rich and famous.
"Brian is totally smitten with Delta," a source close to the British singer said. "But he has tried to keep the romance under wraps as it's early days."
The pair saw in the new year together, reportedly laughing and joking as they sipped cocktails with friends.
McFadden was only last month reportedly attempting to repair his broken marriage to Kerry, former singer in all-girl pop band Atomic Kitten.
Rumours emerged he had become an item with Goodrem this year, when the two recorded a song together.
They flared again last month when they appeared as a duet at a royal variety concert.
The romance is big news in Britain, where McFadden still has a huge following and Goodrem is well-known through her role as Nina Tucker on Neighbours and her debut album Innocent Eyes, which sold a million copies in Britain.
Goodrem, 20, recently broke up with Aussie tennis hunk Mark Philippoussis, 27, who has since been seen with a string of beauties, most recently American model Alexis Barbara.
Barbara joined the Scud courtside at the Hopman Cup in Perth this weekend.
A lethargic Philippoussis began 2005 with a disappointing 7-5 6-2 loss to Dominik Hrbaty in Australia's opening tie against the Slovak Republic.
Delta Goodrem finds a new-year love
DELTA Goodrem has begun the new year with the flush of new love -- in the arms of former Westlife heart-throb Brian McFadden.
After months denying her relationship with the British singer was anything other than platonic, Goodrem flew in to a South African resort for an intimate 10-night holiday with McFadden.
The couple were seen kissing and holding hands on a mini-golf course soon after Goodrem joined McFadden at Camp's Bay, an exclusive hideaway for South Africa's rich and famous.
"Brian is totally smitten with Delta," a source close to the British singer said. "But he has tried to keep the romance under wraps as it's early days."
The pair saw in the new year together, reportedly laughing and joking as they sipped cocktails with friends.
McFadden was only last month reportedly attempting to repair his broken marriage to Kerry, former singer in all-girl pop band Atomic Kitten.
Rumours emerged he had become an item with Goodrem this year, when the two recorded a song together.
They flared again last month when they appeared as a duet at a royal variety concert.
The romance is big news in Britain, where McFadden still has a huge following and Goodrem is well-known through her role as Nina Tucker on Neighbours and her debut album Innocent Eyes, which sold a million copies in Britain.
Goodrem, 20, recently broke up with Aussie tennis hunk Mark Philippoussis, 27, who has since been seen with a string of beauties, most recently American model Alexis Barbara.
Barbara joined the Scud courtside at the Hopman Cup in Perth this weekend.
A lethargic Philippoussis began 2005 with a disappointing 7-5 6-2 loss to Dominik Hrbaty in Australia's opening tie against the Slovak Republic.
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AussieMark
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**From the Herald Sun (Melbourne) **
Motorcyclist killed in crash
A MOTORCYCLIST died yesterday after losing control of his bike and plunging down a bank in Melbourne's outer east.
The Nunawading man, 32, was travelling on the Healesville-Kinglake road near Toolangi with three other motorcyclists at about 2pm when he veered off the road.
He died before paramedics arrived at the scene. No other vehicles were involved.
The death takes the holiday toll on Victoria's roads to 12 and the national toll to 39.
NSW has had 12 deaths on its roads over the holiday period, which began on December 23 and ended yesterday.
Six people have died on roads in Western Australia, five in Queensland, three in the Northern Territory and one in South Australia.
No one has died on Tasmanian or ACT roads
Motorcyclist killed in crash
A MOTORCYCLIST died yesterday after losing control of his bike and plunging down a bank in Melbourne's outer east.
The Nunawading man, 32, was travelling on the Healesville-Kinglake road near Toolangi with three other motorcyclists at about 2pm when he veered off the road.
He died before paramedics arrived at the scene. No other vehicles were involved.
The death takes the holiday toll on Victoria's roads to 12 and the national toll to 39.
NSW has had 12 deaths on its roads over the holiday period, which began on December 23 and ended yesterday.
Six people have died on roads in Western Australia, five in Queensland, three in the Northern Territory and one in South Australia.
No one has died on Tasmanian or ACT roads
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AussieMark
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**From the Herald Sun (Melbourne) **
Singing the praises of sport and Deaflympics
THE Australian Youth Choir put in its final preparations yesterday before the opening ceremony of the Deaflympics.
While the athletes were doing their final training sessions for the Games, choir members were fine tuning their vocal cords before tomorrow night's opening ceremony at Olympic Park.
The choir will support headline acts, including David Campbell, Deborah Cheetham, Sophie Monk, Paulini and Guy Sebastian. The first events in the 2005 Deaflympics kick-off today with the men's football at Green Gully Reserve in Keilor Downs and Kingston Heath Reserve, Cheltenham from 5pm.
The event will go into full swing on Thursday when athletics, basketball, tennis and cycling begin.
The Deaflympics will run until January 16. The closing ceremony will be at Olympic Park.
More than 3650 athletes from 100 countries are in Melbourne to compete. Entry is free, except for Olympic Park and Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Tickets can be bought at the door or through Ticketek on 132 849.
Singing the praises of sport and Deaflympics
THE Australian Youth Choir put in its final preparations yesterday before the opening ceremony of the Deaflympics.
While the athletes were doing their final training sessions for the Games, choir members were fine tuning their vocal cords before tomorrow night's opening ceremony at Olympic Park.
The choir will support headline acts, including David Campbell, Deborah Cheetham, Sophie Monk, Paulini and Guy Sebastian. The first events in the 2005 Deaflympics kick-off today with the men's football at Green Gully Reserve in Keilor Downs and Kingston Heath Reserve, Cheltenham from 5pm.
The event will go into full swing on Thursday when athletics, basketball, tennis and cycling begin.
The Deaflympics will run until January 16. The closing ceremony will be at Olympic Park.
More than 3650 athletes from 100 countries are in Melbourne to compete. Entry is free, except for Olympic Park and Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Tickets can be bought at the door or through Ticketek on 132 849.
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AussieMark
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**From the Herald Sun (Melbourne) **
Andy's pit of despair
AFTER falling 15m down an old mine shaft, the last thing Andrew James felt like doing was answering "Happy New Year" text messages on his mobile phone.
Lying in agony, with a bleeding head and broken vertebrae -- in a space not much bigger than a coffin -- Mr James did not feel like celebrating any more. From his Royal Melbourne Hospital bed, the 36-year-old yesterday talked about his nightmare, near-fatal start to 2005.
After having "a few" at a couple of New Year's Eve parties, Mr James was cycling back to his Rushworth home when his bike hit a pothole about 5am.
"I had been drinking but I wasn't drunk. It was just . . . so dark," he said.
"The (bike's) wheel wouldn't turn . . . I just thought I could navigate myself back home . . . but I came to grief in the mine shaft. I do remember a few moments sliding down on an angle, but I don't remember anything after that until 10.30, maybe 11am, when I woke up."
Mr James said his post-New Year's celebrations fall was cushioned by -- what else -- a pile of beer slab boxes.
"It was very cold. It wasn't too dark . . . I could see the sky. I didn't get up. I just couldn't move," he said.
"It probably would be a little bigger than a large coffin.
"I thought to myself, 'I hope I have got my phone with me and I hope it works'. Thank God the mobile still worked when I finally found it."
Mr James said he was rapt to hear a police officer calling his name down the shaft about 20 minutes after his SOS.
But his ordeal was only half over. It took another excruciating five hours for rescuers to winch him out.
That was when well-meaning friends were sending him 'Happy New Year' mobile phone messages.
"I put the phone in my pocket . . . I was just in a lot of pain and I didn't even bother answering it," Mr James said.
When it was all over, Mr James finally answered the well-wishers, telling them: "Thank you very much for your kind thoughts, but I was a little trapped at the time."
One of the ironies of Mr James's fall is that he is the public relations officer for the nearby Balaclava tourist mine.
He was quick to stress that that mine is "very safe".
And what of Mr James's New Year's resolutions?
First, he is going to make a "strongly worded" recommendation to a local mining advisory committee, of which he is a member, "about the state of the mines in the area".
He also vowed he had learned from "my stupidity".
"I won't be crossing that country at night-time ever again," he said.
Mr James, who is also the caretaker of the Rushworth museum, was unsure, however, whether his brush with death would make it into his planned documentary on the local goldmines.
Andy's pit of despair
AFTER falling 15m down an old mine shaft, the last thing Andrew James felt like doing was answering "Happy New Year" text messages on his mobile phone.
Lying in agony, with a bleeding head and broken vertebrae -- in a space not much bigger than a coffin -- Mr James did not feel like celebrating any more. From his Royal Melbourne Hospital bed, the 36-year-old yesterday talked about his nightmare, near-fatal start to 2005.
After having "a few" at a couple of New Year's Eve parties, Mr James was cycling back to his Rushworth home when his bike hit a pothole about 5am.
"I had been drinking but I wasn't drunk. It was just . . . so dark," he said.
"The (bike's) wheel wouldn't turn . . . I just thought I could navigate myself back home . . . but I came to grief in the mine shaft. I do remember a few moments sliding down on an angle, but I don't remember anything after that until 10.30, maybe 11am, when I woke up."
Mr James said his post-New Year's celebrations fall was cushioned by -- what else -- a pile of beer slab boxes.
"It was very cold. It wasn't too dark . . . I could see the sky. I didn't get up. I just couldn't move," he said.
"It probably would be a little bigger than a large coffin.
"I thought to myself, 'I hope I have got my phone with me and I hope it works'. Thank God the mobile still worked when I finally found it."
Mr James said he was rapt to hear a police officer calling his name down the shaft about 20 minutes after his SOS.
But his ordeal was only half over. It took another excruciating five hours for rescuers to winch him out.
That was when well-meaning friends were sending him 'Happy New Year' mobile phone messages.
"I put the phone in my pocket . . . I was just in a lot of pain and I didn't even bother answering it," Mr James said.
When it was all over, Mr James finally answered the well-wishers, telling them: "Thank you very much for your kind thoughts, but I was a little trapped at the time."
One of the ironies of Mr James's fall is that he is the public relations officer for the nearby Balaclava tourist mine.
He was quick to stress that that mine is "very safe".
And what of Mr James's New Year's resolutions?
First, he is going to make a "strongly worded" recommendation to a local mining advisory committee, of which he is a member, "about the state of the mines in the area".
He also vowed he had learned from "my stupidity".
"I won't be crossing that country at night-time ever again," he said.
Mr James, who is also the caretaker of the Rushworth museum, was unsure, however, whether his brush with death would make it into his planned documentary on the local goldmines.
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AussieMark
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**From the Herald Sun (Melbourne) **
Koala branches out to old haunt
THE last time one of these cuddly looking creatures was sighted in Mt Eliza, Bob Hawke was prime minister, the VFL had 12 teams and the Australian cricket squad was being thrashed by the West Indies.
After 20 years without a sighting, a koala was photographed in the front garden of a Winona Rd property in the Woodlands area yesterday.
Resident Juanita Scott grabbed her camera to get evidence.
Woodland Residents Association president Barbara Hill said the sighting highlighted the need for the area to be protected against subdivision.
"I had joked at a meeting that one day we should start
a bring-back-the-koala campaign," Ms Hill said.
Residents were looking for a rare owl when they saw the koala, she said.
Koala branches out to old haunt
THE last time one of these cuddly looking creatures was sighted in Mt Eliza, Bob Hawke was prime minister, the VFL had 12 teams and the Australian cricket squad was being thrashed by the West Indies.
After 20 years without a sighting, a koala was photographed in the front garden of a Winona Rd property in the Woodlands area yesterday.
Resident Juanita Scott grabbed her camera to get evidence.
Woodland Residents Association president Barbara Hill said the sighting highlighted the need for the area to be protected against subdivision.
"I had joked at a meeting that one day we should start
a bring-back-the-koala campaign," Ms Hill said.
Residents were looking for a rare owl when they saw the koala, she said.
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AussieMark
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**From the Herald Sun (Melbourne) **
Police jewel bust bonanza
POLICE have recovered $200,000 in stolen jewellery and have made a plea for the owners to come forward and claim their treasured possessions.
Dozens of necklaces, pendants, 68 watches, 20 rings, and a $10,000 diamond brooch are among the items seized after police executed search warrants across Melbourne last month.
Police believe the items were stolen between June and December last year and could be the proceeds of burglaries committed throughout Melbourne.
Owners can come forward and claim their jewellery this week at Box Hill police station.
Sen-Constable Sarah Eglinton and Det-Sgt Danny O'Sullivan, of the burglary action team, tracked the stolen jewels after finding a fingerprint on a tin kept under the bed of a victim.
"It led us to one offender and then another and eventually to the stolen jewellery," Sen-Constable Eglinton said.
Sen-Constable Eglinton said she was shocked at the size of the find.
"An amount like this is almost unheard of," she said.
"To find 68 watches plus all the other jewellery is a lot."
Sen-Constable Eglinton said several boxes of perfume were among the stolen items retrieved.
She said it was believed the jewellery was stolen over the past six months.
Most of the watches taken from homes in Box Hill and Templestowe.
Victims of theft are asked to provide identification and proof of ownership documents if possible when they come forward to claim their possessions.
Owners can make their claims from 9am to 2pm tomorrow at Box Hill police station at 1 Kangerong Rd, Box Hill.
Sen-Constable Eglinton said owners must have reported a burglary and be able to describe in detail the items stolen before they would be handed over by police.
To avoid similar thefts, she encouraged the public to keep their valuables, including jewellery, locked in a safety deposit box at a bank or in a safe at home.
"If it's really valuable, make sure the insurance is up to date, and often it's good to itemise your jewellery so you can easily identify it if it is stolen," she said.
Police jewel bust bonanza
POLICE have recovered $200,000 in stolen jewellery and have made a plea for the owners to come forward and claim their treasured possessions.
Dozens of necklaces, pendants, 68 watches, 20 rings, and a $10,000 diamond brooch are among the items seized after police executed search warrants across Melbourne last month.
Police believe the items were stolen between June and December last year and could be the proceeds of burglaries committed throughout Melbourne.
Owners can come forward and claim their jewellery this week at Box Hill police station.
Sen-Constable Sarah Eglinton and Det-Sgt Danny O'Sullivan, of the burglary action team, tracked the stolen jewels after finding a fingerprint on a tin kept under the bed of a victim.
"It led us to one offender and then another and eventually to the stolen jewellery," Sen-Constable Eglinton said.
Sen-Constable Eglinton said she was shocked at the size of the find.
"An amount like this is almost unheard of," she said.
"To find 68 watches plus all the other jewellery is a lot."
Sen-Constable Eglinton said several boxes of perfume were among the stolen items retrieved.
She said it was believed the jewellery was stolen over the past six months.
Most of the watches taken from homes in Box Hill and Templestowe.
Victims of theft are asked to provide identification and proof of ownership documents if possible when they come forward to claim their possessions.
Owners can make their claims from 9am to 2pm tomorrow at Box Hill police station at 1 Kangerong Rd, Box Hill.
Sen-Constable Eglinton said owners must have reported a burglary and be able to describe in detail the items stolen before they would be handed over by police.
To avoid similar thefts, she encouraged the public to keep their valuables, including jewellery, locked in a safety deposit box at a bank or in a safe at home.
"If it's really valuable, make sure the insurance is up to date, and often it's good to itemise your jewellery so you can easily identify it if it is stolen," she said.
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AussieMark
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**From the Herald Sun (Melbourne) **
Mum keeps vigil after drowning tragedy
THE mother of a seven-year-old girl critically injured in a seaside tragedy at Warrnambool is maintaining a vigil at her daughter's bedside.
A desperate search also continues for the girl's cousin, who has not been found.
The Burrell and Wright families were walking between two islands off Stingray Bay when a large wave dragged eight into the sea about 3pm on Sunday.
Andrea Burrell lost her husband, Shane, in the tragedy.
Yesterday she remained by the side of her daughter Chloe, 7, who was flown to the Royal Children's Hospital in a critical condition on Sunday night.
Andrea Burrell's other children Ashleigh, 9, and Zoe, 5, have been released from Warrnambool Hospital after staying overnight.
Cheryl Burrell, 54, her daughter Joanne Wright, 25, and granddaughter Thaneisha Wright, 7, were also killed in the seaside tragedy.
Cody Wright, 7, is still missing, feared drowned, despite a desperate search by police, emergency workers and lifesavers.
Sandi Kerr, who was one of many distraught relatives to visit the site yesterday, said she received a phone call at the Warrnambool campsite at 3.15pm on Sunday.
"I didn't believe it until I got here," she said. Another relative sitting on the beach had to run for 15 minutes to raise the alarm at the lifesaving club on another beach.
Ms Kerr, who described herself as the aunt of the three Burrell girls, said her nieces were as beautiful as Barbies. She said Chloe was moving her arms and legs in hospital.
The girls' grandmother, Francis Lillington, told the Herald Sun on Sunday the girls were very strong to get through their ordeal. Ashleigh had been told of the loss of her father.
"She kept asking about him," Ms Lillington said. "So we had to tell her."
Gary Wright yesterday went down to the beach where he lost his mother, wife and two children.
Supported by his father, who also lost his wife, Mr Wright sat down on rocks and stared into the sea that had claimed his family.
The pair watched as dozens of police, SES volunteers and surf lifesavers scoured the coastline for Cody, 7, but all they found was a towel with his name printed on it.
But as the police helicopter took to the sky in its search, locals accused the State Government of failing to provide a chopper that may have saved lives in Sunday's tragedy.
John Robinson, a local resident and honorary chairman of the WestVic Helicopter Rescue Service, said he had been trying to get a rescue helicopter in the area for the past nine years.
He said there was no rescue helicopter on the state's entire west coast, and it took an hour to get one there from Melbourne.
Mr Robinson said having a search-and-rescue helicopter at Warrnambool could have saved lives on Sunday.
"The response time would have been 4 1/2 to six minutes to get here," he said, "as opposed to 60 minutes (from Melbourne).
"That is a death sentence in these waters under these conditions."
Mr Robinson said the Government had recently rejected a $20 million proposal by Woodside Petroleum to have a rescue helicopter based at Warrnambool.
He urged the Government to negotiate with the company and get a helicopter soon.
But Acting Premier John Thwaites, who was in Warrnambool yesterday, said the Government rejected the proposal on advice from the Emergency Services Commission.
He said police and ambulance experts decided to knock back the proposal for operational reasons.
Mr Thwaites said he was advised by police that a rescue helicopter based at Warrnambool would have made no difference to Sunday's tragedy.
Mr Thwaites urged families to be extra careful when swimming at beaches, especially if they were not familiar with the area.
But yesterday at Stingray Bay, families were already ignoring warnings by authorities. As helicopters whirled above and an SES volunteer scoured the sea for the body of little Cody, families started swimming at the beach.
They played in the water, oblivious to the five lives that had been taken by the sea the day before.
Mum keeps vigil after drowning tragedy
THE mother of a seven-year-old girl critically injured in a seaside tragedy at Warrnambool is maintaining a vigil at her daughter's bedside.
A desperate search also continues for the girl's cousin, who has not been found.
The Burrell and Wright families were walking between two islands off Stingray Bay when a large wave dragged eight into the sea about 3pm on Sunday.
Andrea Burrell lost her husband, Shane, in the tragedy.
Yesterday she remained by the side of her daughter Chloe, 7, who was flown to the Royal Children's Hospital in a critical condition on Sunday night.
Andrea Burrell's other children Ashleigh, 9, and Zoe, 5, have been released from Warrnambool Hospital after staying overnight.
Cheryl Burrell, 54, her daughter Joanne Wright, 25, and granddaughter Thaneisha Wright, 7, were also killed in the seaside tragedy.
Cody Wright, 7, is still missing, feared drowned, despite a desperate search by police, emergency workers and lifesavers.
Sandi Kerr, who was one of many distraught relatives to visit the site yesterday, said she received a phone call at the Warrnambool campsite at 3.15pm on Sunday.
"I didn't believe it until I got here," she said. Another relative sitting on the beach had to run for 15 minutes to raise the alarm at the lifesaving club on another beach.
Ms Kerr, who described herself as the aunt of the three Burrell girls, said her nieces were as beautiful as Barbies. She said Chloe was moving her arms and legs in hospital.
The girls' grandmother, Francis Lillington, told the Herald Sun on Sunday the girls were very strong to get through their ordeal. Ashleigh had been told of the loss of her father.
"She kept asking about him," Ms Lillington said. "So we had to tell her."
Gary Wright yesterday went down to the beach where he lost his mother, wife and two children.
Supported by his father, who also lost his wife, Mr Wright sat down on rocks and stared into the sea that had claimed his family.
The pair watched as dozens of police, SES volunteers and surf lifesavers scoured the coastline for Cody, 7, but all they found was a towel with his name printed on it.
But as the police helicopter took to the sky in its search, locals accused the State Government of failing to provide a chopper that may have saved lives in Sunday's tragedy.
John Robinson, a local resident and honorary chairman of the WestVic Helicopter Rescue Service, said he had been trying to get a rescue helicopter in the area for the past nine years.
He said there was no rescue helicopter on the state's entire west coast, and it took an hour to get one there from Melbourne.
Mr Robinson said having a search-and-rescue helicopter at Warrnambool could have saved lives on Sunday.
"The response time would have been 4 1/2 to six minutes to get here," he said, "as opposed to 60 minutes (from Melbourne).
"That is a death sentence in these waters under these conditions."
Mr Robinson said the Government had recently rejected a $20 million proposal by Woodside Petroleum to have a rescue helicopter based at Warrnambool.
He urged the Government to negotiate with the company and get a helicopter soon.
But Acting Premier John Thwaites, who was in Warrnambool yesterday, said the Government rejected the proposal on advice from the Emergency Services Commission.
He said police and ambulance experts decided to knock back the proposal for operational reasons.
Mr Thwaites said he was advised by police that a rescue helicopter based at Warrnambool would have made no difference to Sunday's tragedy.
Mr Thwaites urged families to be extra careful when swimming at beaches, especially if they were not familiar with the area.
But yesterday at Stingray Bay, families were already ignoring warnings by authorities. As helicopters whirled above and an SES volunteer scoured the sea for the body of little Cody, families started swimming at the beach.
They played in the water, oblivious to the five lives that had been taken by the sea the day before.
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AussieMark
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**From the Herald Sun (Melbourne) **
Relief as son calls home
DISTRESSED relatives had given up hope of finding a Melbourne family alive when the call they had all been praying for came on Sunday.
The McPherson family was still coming to terms yesterday with the news that David, 58, his wife Sally, 47, and son David, 14, of Templestowe, were alive in the ravaged region of Sumatra.
David's brother, Bob McPherson, of Portland, said the family had been convinced the three, who were in Sumatra visiting Sally's family, had been killed by the tsunami.
Mr McPherson said the family had not heard from his brother since the tsunami lashed the coast of Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka on Boxing Day, and he could not be reached.
"As far as we were concerned, we thought they were all dead," he said.
"The more we heard about it and how bad it was we thought if they're not dead, they'll die anyway. My mother was going off her head, and then the phone rang.
"You wouldn't think a phone call could sound so good. All of a sudden you hear a voice like that . . . you just can't bloody believe it."
But the call from Sumatra dropped out after about five minutes, and the family was left wondering where the three were staying and when they would be able to come home.
"It's the one phone call you just wish wouldn't drop off," Mr McPherson said. He said that after the brief conversation, his family was reassured they were not injured but were keen to get back to Australia.
He said poor communication had prevented his brother from contacting the family sooner.
"The entire communication infrastructure just seems to have collapsed," he said.
"He sounded quite frustrated at not being able to contact us sooner but just wanted to make sure that everyone knew they were OK.
"He said that they were all right, but there was nothing they could do.
"He said we just have to sit on our hands and wait until we can get out."
Mr McPherson said after the sixth day passed and reports suggesting the number of Australians killed by the disaster would rise, his family prepared for the worst.
But he said finding out they were alive and well should give hope to other families desperately searching for missing loved ones in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
"We just thought it's getting too late and there's not much hope, but there's a bloody lot of hope for some people," he said.
"It was absolutely impossible for David to get a message to us that they were OK until Sunday.
"So there is a glimmer of hope for other people. You can't just get in and out of the affected areas, and you can't just get on a plane and get out of there.
"Everyone seems to think everyone is history, and they're not."
Relief as son calls home
DISTRESSED relatives had given up hope of finding a Melbourne family alive when the call they had all been praying for came on Sunday.
The McPherson family was still coming to terms yesterday with the news that David, 58, his wife Sally, 47, and son David, 14, of Templestowe, were alive in the ravaged region of Sumatra.
David's brother, Bob McPherson, of Portland, said the family had been convinced the three, who were in Sumatra visiting Sally's family, had been killed by the tsunami.
Mr McPherson said the family had not heard from his brother since the tsunami lashed the coast of Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka on Boxing Day, and he could not be reached.
"As far as we were concerned, we thought they were all dead," he said.
"The more we heard about it and how bad it was we thought if they're not dead, they'll die anyway. My mother was going off her head, and then the phone rang.
"You wouldn't think a phone call could sound so good. All of a sudden you hear a voice like that . . . you just can't bloody believe it."
But the call from Sumatra dropped out after about five minutes, and the family was left wondering where the three were staying and when they would be able to come home.
"It's the one phone call you just wish wouldn't drop off," Mr McPherson said. He said that after the brief conversation, his family was reassured they were not injured but were keen to get back to Australia.
He said poor communication had prevented his brother from contacting the family sooner.
"The entire communication infrastructure just seems to have collapsed," he said.
"He sounded quite frustrated at not being able to contact us sooner but just wanted to make sure that everyone knew they were OK.
"He said that they were all right, but there was nothing they could do.
"He said we just have to sit on our hands and wait until we can get out."
Mr McPherson said after the sixth day passed and reports suggesting the number of Australians killed by the disaster would rise, his family prepared for the worst.
But he said finding out they were alive and well should give hope to other families desperately searching for missing loved ones in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
"We just thought it's getting too late and there's not much hope, but there's a bloody lot of hope for some people," he said.
"It was absolutely impossible for David to get a message to us that they were OK until Sunday.
"So there is a glimmer of hope for other people. You can't just get in and out of the affected areas, and you can't just get on a plane and get out of there.
"Everyone seems to think everyone is history, and they're not."
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AussieMark
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**From the Herald Sun (Melbourne) **
Love turns to fight for life
IT was meant to be a special holiday on Phi Phi island for Melbourne couple Tanya Bensimon and Leonard Hamersfeld.
Mr Hamersfeld proposed just two days before the tsunami slammed into their hotel.
"The only thing we have got left is the ring," Ms Bensimon said yesterday. "I don't know how we survived, it was just a fluke."
Ms Bensimon, 29, from East St Kilda, said their hotel, the Phi Phi Princess, was destroyed.
She described how they huddled behind two reinforced concrete walls when the wave hit.
The first sign of danger was when she saw locals running from the coast followed by a large wave. "I saw this man with terror in his eyes and that was what got me scared," Ms Bensimon said.
"The wall saved our life, but there were people stepping on us because they were so frightened.
"Leonard was screaming for me. I had debris all in my mouth. It was very frightening."
She said they scrambled on to the roof of a nearby building, where they huddled for hours.
At first, Mr Hamersfeld tried to shield Ms Bensimon from seeing all the bodies floating around the building. After a while, she couldn't avoid it because of the sheer number of dead.
The couple volunteered at the local hospital before returning to Melbourne on New Year's Eve.
She said hearing other people's survival stories was like therapy, which was helping them overcome the trauma.
"We are very lucky to be alive," Ms Bensimon said.
"We are glued to the TV, we can't stop reading newspapers."
Mr Hamersfeld said the Thais were very helpful, but were frustrated by lack of organisation.
"It is devastating and it is disorganised," he said.
Ms Bensimon's father, Adelaide jeweller Albert Bensimon, has donated a day's trade from his firm, Shiels Jewellers, to relief efforts.
Love turns to fight for life
IT was meant to be a special holiday on Phi Phi island for Melbourne couple Tanya Bensimon and Leonard Hamersfeld.
Mr Hamersfeld proposed just two days before the tsunami slammed into their hotel.
"The only thing we have got left is the ring," Ms Bensimon said yesterday. "I don't know how we survived, it was just a fluke."
Ms Bensimon, 29, from East St Kilda, said their hotel, the Phi Phi Princess, was destroyed.
She described how they huddled behind two reinforced concrete walls when the wave hit.
The first sign of danger was when she saw locals running from the coast followed by a large wave. "I saw this man with terror in his eyes and that was what got me scared," Ms Bensimon said.
"The wall saved our life, but there were people stepping on us because they were so frightened.
"Leonard was screaming for me. I had debris all in my mouth. It was very frightening."
She said they scrambled on to the roof of a nearby building, where they huddled for hours.
At first, Mr Hamersfeld tried to shield Ms Bensimon from seeing all the bodies floating around the building. After a while, she couldn't avoid it because of the sheer number of dead.
The couple volunteered at the local hospital before returning to Melbourne on New Year's Eve.
She said hearing other people's survival stories was like therapy, which was helping them overcome the trauma.
"We are very lucky to be alive," Ms Bensimon said.
"We are glued to the TV, we can't stop reading newspapers."
Mr Hamersfeld said the Thais were very helpful, but were frustrated by lack of organisation.
"It is devastating and it is disorganised," he said.
Ms Bensimon's father, Adelaide jeweller Albert Bensimon, has donated a day's trade from his firm, Shiels Jewellers, to relief efforts.
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AussieMark
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**From The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) **
School fires' $50m lesson
FIRES in the state's public schools have cost almost $50 million over the past three years – equivalent to $46,000 a day – much of it due to arson.
One secondary school, Birrong Boys High in Sydney's west, has suffered seven fires with the damage bill exceeding $1 million, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
A number of public schools had fires in which the damage ran into seven figures but the most costly was a $5 million inferno at Belmont High, south of Newcastle.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information show the Belmont blaze was lit by an arsonist on a June Saturday last year, badly damaging 15 classrooms and destroying computers, digital cameras, DVDs, televisions, videos and text books.
Other major destruction, where the cost was $1 million or more, was caused at Carlingford Public School, Cranebrook High School, Kingsgrove North High School, Liverpool Girls High School, Macquarie Fields Public, Narrabri Public, St Ives High and Wilberforce Public.
Arsonists also damaged the Department of Education district office at Campbelltown, leaving a bill for more than $200,000.
Not all fires were lit deliberately – some were caused by electrical faults.
Over three years the documents show 325 fires cost a total of $48,409,542. In 2003-2004 77 blazes left a $26,568,238 bill.
Security has been beefed up around schools during the holidays in a bid to keep arsonists, thieves and vandals at bay.
For the first time police dogs are being used as part of the deterrent.
Under an agreement between police and the department, the police dog unit has been given access to public school grounds for training purposes.
Extra guards also are patrolling high-risk public schools as part of the security crackdown.
Education Minister Andrew Refshauge said school fires had fallen by 57 per cent over the past year, break and enters by 23 per cent and trespass by 8 per cent.
The Government is spending $20 million fencing 200 pro- blem schools.
"We are sending a very clear message to criminals – our schools are 'no go' zones," Dr Refshauge said.
School fires' $50m lesson
FIRES in the state's public schools have cost almost $50 million over the past three years – equivalent to $46,000 a day – much of it due to arson.
One secondary school, Birrong Boys High in Sydney's west, has suffered seven fires with the damage bill exceeding $1 million, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
A number of public schools had fires in which the damage ran into seven figures but the most costly was a $5 million inferno at Belmont High, south of Newcastle.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information show the Belmont blaze was lit by an arsonist on a June Saturday last year, badly damaging 15 classrooms and destroying computers, digital cameras, DVDs, televisions, videos and text books.
Other major destruction, where the cost was $1 million or more, was caused at Carlingford Public School, Cranebrook High School, Kingsgrove North High School, Liverpool Girls High School, Macquarie Fields Public, Narrabri Public, St Ives High and Wilberforce Public.
Arsonists also damaged the Department of Education district office at Campbelltown, leaving a bill for more than $200,000.
Not all fires were lit deliberately – some were caused by electrical faults.
Over three years the documents show 325 fires cost a total of $48,409,542. In 2003-2004 77 blazes left a $26,568,238 bill.
Security has been beefed up around schools during the holidays in a bid to keep arsonists, thieves and vandals at bay.
For the first time police dogs are being used as part of the deterrent.
Under an agreement between police and the department, the police dog unit has been given access to public school grounds for training purposes.
Extra guards also are patrolling high-risk public schools as part of the security crackdown.
Education Minister Andrew Refshauge said school fires had fallen by 57 per cent over the past year, break and enters by 23 per cent and trespass by 8 per cent.
The Government is spending $20 million fencing 200 pro- blem schools.
"We are sending a very clear message to criminals – our schools are 'no go' zones," Dr Refshauge said.
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AussieMark
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- Location: near Sydney, Australia
**From The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) **
Back to your cave
FIRST it was the beer wenches. Now Cave mean lady has become the latest crowd favourite banned by the cricket fun police.
Cave mean lady, also known as Canberra chiropractor Michael "Gumby" Burdeu, donned Ugg boots, a wool car seat cover and not much else to act as cheer leader for cricket enthusiasts, the Okka group.
But after leading his yellow-shirted clan of 500 in a rousing rendition of Waltzing Matilda at yesterday's Test, he was led from the stand by at least eight police officers.
"He is getting changed. He is just inciting the crowd too much," Sergeant Steve Austin said.
Sergeant Austin said Cave mean lady would be ejected from the Sydney Cricket Ground if he persisted playing up.
"He is not even supposed to be sitting here. Everyone has designated seating and he just turned up and started inciting the crowd.
"[He hasn't been charged] at this stage. He will be returned to where he is supposed to sit. If he comes back here he will be tossed out," Sgt Austin said.
It was a blow to Cave mean lady's goal to "find out how many places I can wear this [costume] to and not get thrown out".
So far, Mr Burdeu has worn the fetching ensemble to the Sydney Olympics, Melbourne Cup, Davis Cup, Crown Casino, the Hunter Valley's Jazz in the Vines – even the Great Wall of China.
"My duties involve rabble-rousing and crowd-inciting," said Mr Burdeu, 30, who later donned the costume once more – and promptly thrown out and fined $5500.
Wearing matching t-shirts, the Okka group take out Stand 14 of Yabba's Hill for the second day of each New Year's test series, belting out anthems such as Waltzing Matilda, Advance Australia Fair, A Week of Cricket and All Pakis are Wankers from their song sheet.
"We started with 20 people, now we have 500. Each year everybody wants to bring someone with them," Okka organiser Hamish Ogilvy, a Physics PhD student, said.
In a second strike for the fun police at yesterday's match against Pakistan, a coloured beach ball was confiscated.
To a chorus of boos, a Crowd Safety security guard collected the ball but did not throw it back to spectators.
"It is getting less and less creative because everything is so restrictive," spectator Stuart Williams said.
But undeterred were the lads from Mortdale RSL's cricket team, who came decked out as Steve Irwin, complete with inflatable crocodiles and with mops atop their heads.
"The cops have been loving it, they've all been laughing at us," said Jason Freedman, 22.
Back to your cave
FIRST it was the beer wenches. Now Cave mean lady has become the latest crowd favourite banned by the cricket fun police.
Cave mean lady, also known as Canberra chiropractor Michael "Gumby" Burdeu, donned Ugg boots, a wool car seat cover and not much else to act as cheer leader for cricket enthusiasts, the Okka group.
But after leading his yellow-shirted clan of 500 in a rousing rendition of Waltzing Matilda at yesterday's Test, he was led from the stand by at least eight police officers.
"He is getting changed. He is just inciting the crowd too much," Sergeant Steve Austin said.
Sergeant Austin said Cave mean lady would be ejected from the Sydney Cricket Ground if he persisted playing up.
"He is not even supposed to be sitting here. Everyone has designated seating and he just turned up and started inciting the crowd.
"[He hasn't been charged] at this stage. He will be returned to where he is supposed to sit. If he comes back here he will be tossed out," Sgt Austin said.
It was a blow to Cave mean lady's goal to "find out how many places I can wear this [costume] to and not get thrown out".
So far, Mr Burdeu has worn the fetching ensemble to the Sydney Olympics, Melbourne Cup, Davis Cup, Crown Casino, the Hunter Valley's Jazz in the Vines – even the Great Wall of China.
"My duties involve rabble-rousing and crowd-inciting," said Mr Burdeu, 30, who later donned the costume once more – and promptly thrown out and fined $5500.
Wearing matching t-shirts, the Okka group take out Stand 14 of Yabba's Hill for the second day of each New Year's test series, belting out anthems such as Waltzing Matilda, Advance Australia Fair, A Week of Cricket and All Pakis are Wankers from their song sheet.
"We started with 20 people, now we have 500. Each year everybody wants to bring someone with them," Okka organiser Hamish Ogilvy, a Physics PhD student, said.
In a second strike for the fun police at yesterday's match against Pakistan, a coloured beach ball was confiscated.
To a chorus of boos, a Crowd Safety security guard collected the ball but did not throw it back to spectators.
"It is getting less and less creative because everything is so restrictive," spectator Stuart Williams said.
But undeterred were the lads from Mortdale RSL's cricket team, who came decked out as Steve Irwin, complete with inflatable crocodiles and with mops atop their heads.
"The cops have been loving it, they've all been laughing at us," said Jason Freedman, 22.
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AussieMark
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- Location: near Sydney, Australia
**From The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) **
No licence, no idea
AN UNLICENSED driver swerved on to the wrong side of the road and crashed head-on into another car after fleeing a police pursuit at 150km/h yesterday.
The 20-year-old Tregear man, who has never held a licence, steered his Holden Commodore on to the wrong side of King Georges Rd, at Wiley Park, about 1.15am.
Four people were taken to hospital with serious injuries after the accident, which wrecked both cars and closed the road for several hours.
The crash occurred a short time after the southbound Commodore crossed into the northbound lanes of King Georges Rd at Punchbowl.
Seconds before it crossed to the wrong side of the road, the Commodore was involved in a chase, at speeds of up to 150km/h after it failed to stop at an RBT site in Rydalmere.
Carrying another teenage male, the Commodore continued on the wrong side of King Georges Rd for a further kilometre – hurtling through several intersections and Wiley Park shopping centre at high speed.
It eventually struck a silver Nissan Pulsar, about 200m south of Canterbury Rd.
"At the time of the collision, the Commodore was not being pursued by police vehicles," a police spokesman said yesterday.
The Nissan, which contained two middle-aged females, spun out of control on impact before coming to rest on the median strip.
A passenger in each car was trapped for more than 30 minutes.
The Nissan's occupants were removed from their car with fractured ribs and abdominal injuries. The two women and the Commodore's 16-year-old passenger, who suffered a broken femur and pelvis, were taken to St George Hospital.
The driver of the Commodore was taken to Bankstown Hospital with head injuries before he was charged and had bail refused at Bankstown police station.
He was expected to face Burwood Local Court today on one count of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, drive in a manner dangerous and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
The Commodore was initially pursued by a Rosehill highway patrol car after its driver refused to submit to an RBT on Victoria Rd. From the city's northwest, it raced toward the city before turning south on to Church St at Ryde and over the Parramatta River.
On several occasions the car reached 160km/h while being pursued through Olympic Park and over the M4 and Hume Highway along Homebush Bay Drive.
The excessive speed forced police to terminate the 10km chase near the intersection of Roberts and Punchbowl Rds, Greenacre.
No licence, no idea
AN UNLICENSED driver swerved on to the wrong side of the road and crashed head-on into another car after fleeing a police pursuit at 150km/h yesterday.
The 20-year-old Tregear man, who has never held a licence, steered his Holden Commodore on to the wrong side of King Georges Rd, at Wiley Park, about 1.15am.
Four people were taken to hospital with serious injuries after the accident, which wrecked both cars and closed the road for several hours.
The crash occurred a short time after the southbound Commodore crossed into the northbound lanes of King Georges Rd at Punchbowl.
Seconds before it crossed to the wrong side of the road, the Commodore was involved in a chase, at speeds of up to 150km/h after it failed to stop at an RBT site in Rydalmere.
Carrying another teenage male, the Commodore continued on the wrong side of King Georges Rd for a further kilometre – hurtling through several intersections and Wiley Park shopping centre at high speed.
It eventually struck a silver Nissan Pulsar, about 200m south of Canterbury Rd.
"At the time of the collision, the Commodore was not being pursued by police vehicles," a police spokesman said yesterday.
The Nissan, which contained two middle-aged females, spun out of control on impact before coming to rest on the median strip.
A passenger in each car was trapped for more than 30 minutes.
The Nissan's occupants were removed from their car with fractured ribs and abdominal injuries. The two women and the Commodore's 16-year-old passenger, who suffered a broken femur and pelvis, were taken to St George Hospital.
The driver of the Commodore was taken to Bankstown Hospital with head injuries before he was charged and had bail refused at Bankstown police station.
He was expected to face Burwood Local Court today on one count of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, drive in a manner dangerous and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
The Commodore was initially pursued by a Rosehill highway patrol car after its driver refused to submit to an RBT on Victoria Rd. From the city's northwest, it raced toward the city before turning south on to Church St at Ryde and over the Parramatta River.
On several occasions the car reached 160km/h while being pursued through Olympic Park and over the M4 and Hume Highway along Homebush Bay Drive.
The excessive speed forced police to terminate the 10km chase near the intersection of Roberts and Punchbowl Rds, Greenacre.
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AussieMark
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- Location: near Sydney, Australia
**From The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) **
Rejected as a nurse for 'doctor writing'
STEPHANIE Goldner admits her handwriting is messy – but never thought it could cost her a job.
Ms Goldner, from Avalon on the Northern Beaches, is reeling from failing an entrance exam to become an enrolled nurse – because her handwriting was deemed not up to scratch.
"They said my arguments were well-developed, I had answered the questions well but my handwriting was too messy," the 23-year-old said yesterday. "He [an exam assessor] said, 'I can see why they failed you. It wasn't for your content, your writing's pretty hard to read'."
It raises the issue of whether a one-hour entrance exam, in which applicants write as much as they can to boost their chances of being accepted, is the appropriate place to test handwriting styles and legibility.
Ms Goldner sat the exam in mid-December and had one hour to answer a string of questions, including writing a summary of the effects of alcohol and drugs on society and a maths and comprehension component.
It was for a one-year traineeship, which involves on-the-job training and a TAFE course, after which students become enrolled nurses.
The State Government is heavily promoting the course, and boosting student numbers, in a bid to get more enrolled nurses in the system.
"I know clear handwriting is critical to being a nurse, but it's the last thing on your mind when you're rushing to finish an exam to get into a nursing course in the first place," Ms Goldner said.
"I thought the decision was a bit poor, especially as they're trying to convince people to get into nursing and are even recruiting from overseas."
Health Minister Morris Iemma yesterday stood by tough literacy and numeracy assessments for applicants.
"The preparation of clear, legible and accurate medical records is an essential part of nursing work," Mr Iemma's spokesman said.
"The Government is strongly committed to the program in recognition of the diversity of skills required across the hospital environment."
The handwriting style of medical professionals was heavily criticised by the inquiry into Campbelltown and Camden hospitals' patient deaths.
Inquiry chief Bret Walker, SC slammed illegible, incomplete medical records which compromised patient care.
Ms Goldner has now applied to study nursing at uni – and will adjust her handwriting.[/b]
Rejected as a nurse for 'doctor writing'
STEPHANIE Goldner admits her handwriting is messy – but never thought it could cost her a job.
Ms Goldner, from Avalon on the Northern Beaches, is reeling from failing an entrance exam to become an enrolled nurse – because her handwriting was deemed not up to scratch.
"They said my arguments were well-developed, I had answered the questions well but my handwriting was too messy," the 23-year-old said yesterday. "He [an exam assessor] said, 'I can see why they failed you. It wasn't for your content, your writing's pretty hard to read'."
It raises the issue of whether a one-hour entrance exam, in which applicants write as much as they can to boost their chances of being accepted, is the appropriate place to test handwriting styles and legibility.
Ms Goldner sat the exam in mid-December and had one hour to answer a string of questions, including writing a summary of the effects of alcohol and drugs on society and a maths and comprehension component.
It was for a one-year traineeship, which involves on-the-job training and a TAFE course, after which students become enrolled nurses.
The State Government is heavily promoting the course, and boosting student numbers, in a bid to get more enrolled nurses in the system.
"I know clear handwriting is critical to being a nurse, but it's the last thing on your mind when you're rushing to finish an exam to get into a nursing course in the first place," Ms Goldner said.
"I thought the decision was a bit poor, especially as they're trying to convince people to get into nursing and are even recruiting from overseas."
Health Minister Morris Iemma yesterday stood by tough literacy and numeracy assessments for applicants.
"The preparation of clear, legible and accurate medical records is an essential part of nursing work," Mr Iemma's spokesman said.
"The Government is strongly committed to the program in recognition of the diversity of skills required across the hospital environment."
The handwriting style of medical professionals was heavily criticised by the inquiry into Campbelltown and Camden hospitals' patient deaths.
Inquiry chief Bret Walker, SC slammed illegible, incomplete medical records which compromised patient care.
Ms Goldner has now applied to study nursing at uni – and will adjust her handwriting.[/b]
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AussieMark
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- Location: near Sydney, Australia
**From The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) **
Four charged over $5 million ice seizure
FOUR men alleged to be members of a Chinese syndicate will appear in court after police seized $5 million worth of the drug known as "ice".
Detectives with the Joint Asian Crime Group arrested the men on Sunday after raiding a drug laboratory at a house in Carlingford, north-west of Sydney.
Officers seized 9kg of crystallised methylamphetamine with an estimated street value of $5 million, police said today.
Two Chinese nationals, aged 34 and 45, and a 41-year-old Hurstville man, were charged with manufacturing large commercial quantities of a prohibited drug.
The three were refused bail and will appear in the Central Local Court on January 12.
A 38-year-old Eastlakes man was also charged with self-administering a prohibited drug and was bailed to appear at Hornsby Local Court on January 25.
Police said the arrests were the result of a five-month investigation code named Operation Auk, which targeted a Chinese drug syndicate allegedly involved in importing drugs into Australia.
The Joint Asian Crime Group is a task force comprising the Australian Crime Commission, Australian Federal Police, Customs, NSW Crime Commission and NSW Police.
Four charged over $5 million ice seizure
FOUR men alleged to be members of a Chinese syndicate will appear in court after police seized $5 million worth of the drug known as "ice".
Detectives with the Joint Asian Crime Group arrested the men on Sunday after raiding a drug laboratory at a house in Carlingford, north-west of Sydney.
Officers seized 9kg of crystallised methylamphetamine with an estimated street value of $5 million, police said today.
Two Chinese nationals, aged 34 and 45, and a 41-year-old Hurstville man, were charged with manufacturing large commercial quantities of a prohibited drug.
The three were refused bail and will appear in the Central Local Court on January 12.
A 38-year-old Eastlakes man was also charged with self-administering a prohibited drug and was bailed to appear at Hornsby Local Court on January 25.
Police said the arrests were the result of a five-month investigation code named Operation Auk, which targeted a Chinese drug syndicate allegedly involved in importing drugs into Australia.
The Joint Asian Crime Group is a task force comprising the Australian Crime Commission, Australian Federal Police, Customs, NSW Crime Commission and NSW Police.
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AussieMark
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**From The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) **
Toilet explosion likely to be a prank: council
AN explosion in a toilet cubicle at Sydney's Bondi Beach was likely to have been a prank, the local council said today.
Police said the explosion occurred in the male toilets at the Bondi Pavilion about 5.45pm yesterday.
The cubicle was destroyed, two windows were blown out and a man suffered minor cuts to his arm.
A nearby street was closed for more than an hour while police investigated.
Waverley Mayor George Newhouse said police were treating the matter seriously even though it was "unlikely the matter was more sinister than an anti-social prank".
The incident was also unlikely to be connected to toilet bombings in the CityRail network in 1996, in which male toilets in three stations – Circular Quay, Central and St James – were hit with crude home-made devices.
"It is still serious as someone could have been killed or permanently maimed," Mr Newhouse said in a statement.
Toilet explosion likely to be a prank: council
AN explosion in a toilet cubicle at Sydney's Bondi Beach was likely to have been a prank, the local council said today.
Police said the explosion occurred in the male toilets at the Bondi Pavilion about 5.45pm yesterday.
The cubicle was destroyed, two windows were blown out and a man suffered minor cuts to his arm.
A nearby street was closed for more than an hour while police investigated.
Waverley Mayor George Newhouse said police were treating the matter seriously even though it was "unlikely the matter was more sinister than an anti-social prank".
The incident was also unlikely to be connected to toilet bombings in the CityRail network in 1996, in which male toilets in three stations – Circular Quay, Central and St James – were hit with crude home-made devices.
"It is still serious as someone could have been killed or permanently maimed," Mr Newhouse said in a statement.
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AussieMark
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- Location: near Sydney, Australia
**From The Sunday Times (Perth) **
Smack leads father to court
CHARLES David Parker pleads his innocence over accusations that he committed an assault when he smacked his five-year-old daughter.
But police indicated they had nine witnesses, including the child's mother, who would say he went too far.
Mr Parker, 23, pleaded not guilty yesterday in Fremantle Magistrates Court in Western Australia to assaulting his daughter while she was visiting him one weekend late last year. A trial date will be set next month.
Mr Parker left the court after a two-minute appearance yesterday.
It is alleged Mr Parker, from suburban South Lake, became frustrated and angry at his daughter after she disobeyed him and took lollies out of the kitchen. He allegedly dragged her by the arm and slapped her twice in the back, leaving hand marks and a welt on her leg.
It is believed the child lives with her mother and was on a pre-arranged weekend visit with her father.
Mr Parker could face up to two years in jail if convicted of assault.
At the time of his arrest, in December last year, police said they believed Mr Parker's actions had been excessive, prompting child welfare experts to warn parents of a fine line between punishing and abusing their children. Adam Foster, executive officer of the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, told The Australian research did not support the view that physical punishment of children led to improved behaviour.
But he said some parents still believed violent punishments such as smacking were the only way to discipline their youngsters.
"Any child who has been hit will tell you it hurts being hit, physically and emotionally," Mr Foster said.
"Parenting is the most complex thing you will ever do. It is something you have to learn, work at.
"There is a difference between discipline and assault - they are two very separate things."
Mr Foster said that while there was no "technical solution" or one method of treating disobedient children, disciplining them should have some positive impact and give them the responsibility of learning between right and wrong.
Changing general opinion on ways to discipline children was a challenging and confronting process for a society that still believed a slap once in a while was a good thing, he said.
While shared custody and separation undeniably added a "unique challenge" to the question of discipline, in reality, physical abuse or assault on children was not isolated to one section of society.
Smack leads father to court
CHARLES David Parker pleads his innocence over accusations that he committed an assault when he smacked his five-year-old daughter.
But police indicated they had nine witnesses, including the child's mother, who would say he went too far.
Mr Parker, 23, pleaded not guilty yesterday in Fremantle Magistrates Court in Western Australia to assaulting his daughter while she was visiting him one weekend late last year. A trial date will be set next month.
Mr Parker left the court after a two-minute appearance yesterday.
It is alleged Mr Parker, from suburban South Lake, became frustrated and angry at his daughter after she disobeyed him and took lollies out of the kitchen. He allegedly dragged her by the arm and slapped her twice in the back, leaving hand marks and a welt on her leg.
It is believed the child lives with her mother and was on a pre-arranged weekend visit with her father.
Mr Parker could face up to two years in jail if convicted of assault.
At the time of his arrest, in December last year, police said they believed Mr Parker's actions had been excessive, prompting child welfare experts to warn parents of a fine line between punishing and abusing their children. Adam Foster, executive officer of the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, told The Australian research did not support the view that physical punishment of children led to improved behaviour.
But he said some parents still believed violent punishments such as smacking were the only way to discipline their youngsters.
"Any child who has been hit will tell you it hurts being hit, physically and emotionally," Mr Foster said.
"Parenting is the most complex thing you will ever do. It is something you have to learn, work at.
"There is a difference between discipline and assault - they are two very separate things."
Mr Foster said that while there was no "technical solution" or one method of treating disobedient children, disciplining them should have some positive impact and give them the responsibility of learning between right and wrong.
Changing general opinion on ways to discipline children was a challenging and confronting process for a society that still believed a slap once in a while was a good thing, he said.
While shared custody and separation undeniably added a "unique challenge" to the question of discipline, in reality, physical abuse or assault on children was not isolated to one section of society.
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AussieMark
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- Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 6:36 pm
- Location: near Sydney, Australia
**From The Sunday Times (Perth) **
Ex-police to face 'torture' charges
TWO former high-ranking West Australian police officers have been charged over an allegedly brutal interview during which a man claims to have been tortured at a suburban police station almost 15 years ago.
The charges of deprivation of liberty and assault occasioning bodily harm against the two men - both former detective sergeants who have since retired - have been laid in the wake of the $28 million Kennedy royal commission into the state's police service.
The charges arose from police investigations into allegations raised during 14 months of hearings by the commission, which exposed two decades of corruption and delivered a damning report in March last year.
It will be alleged that on November 1, 1990, the two detectives interviewed a 24-year-old man at the Morley Criminal Investigation Bureau in Perth's eastern suburbs.
The officers allegedly placed a tea-towel over the man's face and taped it in place. They then allegedly assaulted the man by striking him on his feet with an unknown object, causing him bodily harm.
It is claimed that after between eight and 10 hours, the man was released without being charged.
Police refused yesterday to reveal further details of the incident, including the reason the man was interviewed and the injuries he allegedly sustained.
But during commission hearings in February 2003, The Australian reported that two brothers claimed to have had tea-towels taped to their heads during an interview by the two former detectives at the Morley police station in November 1990.
The brothers, whose names were suppressed, testified they were beaten on the soles of their feet with what felt like rubber hose. Their complaint was given to police internal affairs but was dismissed.
The former detectives, who retired in 1999 and 2002, both testified at the commission that they could not remember the brothers.
The former detectives charged this week, who are aged 55 and 60 and both live in Embleton, will appear in court next Wednesday.
The Kennedy royal commission found significant and sustained corruption in Western Australia's police service over the preceding 20 years.
Its hearings implicated about 500 police officers and called for a complete transformation of the "mediocre" service, described by Commissioner Geoffrey Kennedy as the nation's poorest-performing force.
The commission investigated 121 officers, including 73 who were still in the service, and was extended twice to investigate complaints dating back to 1985.
Though a special police unit was set up to pursue charges against named police, only four officers investigated by the commission - including the two revealed this week - have been charged with criminal offences.
A third former detective, who quit the service in 2002, was charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice for allegedly warning an alleged drug dealer that his home was about to be raided.
A fourth detective, who was stood down, was charged after he was caught stealing $10,000 from a storage unit, in a video sting set up by the inquiry.
Ex-police to face 'torture' charges
TWO former high-ranking West Australian police officers have been charged over an allegedly brutal interview during which a man claims to have been tortured at a suburban police station almost 15 years ago.
The charges of deprivation of liberty and assault occasioning bodily harm against the two men - both former detective sergeants who have since retired - have been laid in the wake of the $28 million Kennedy royal commission into the state's police service.
The charges arose from police investigations into allegations raised during 14 months of hearings by the commission, which exposed two decades of corruption and delivered a damning report in March last year.
It will be alleged that on November 1, 1990, the two detectives interviewed a 24-year-old man at the Morley Criminal Investigation Bureau in Perth's eastern suburbs.
The officers allegedly placed a tea-towel over the man's face and taped it in place. They then allegedly assaulted the man by striking him on his feet with an unknown object, causing him bodily harm.
It is claimed that after between eight and 10 hours, the man was released without being charged.
Police refused yesterday to reveal further details of the incident, including the reason the man was interviewed and the injuries he allegedly sustained.
But during commission hearings in February 2003, The Australian reported that two brothers claimed to have had tea-towels taped to their heads during an interview by the two former detectives at the Morley police station in November 1990.
The brothers, whose names were suppressed, testified they were beaten on the soles of their feet with what felt like rubber hose. Their complaint was given to police internal affairs but was dismissed.
The former detectives, who retired in 1999 and 2002, both testified at the commission that they could not remember the brothers.
The former detectives charged this week, who are aged 55 and 60 and both live in Embleton, will appear in court next Wednesday.
The Kennedy royal commission found significant and sustained corruption in Western Australia's police service over the preceding 20 years.
Its hearings implicated about 500 police officers and called for a complete transformation of the "mediocre" service, described by Commissioner Geoffrey Kennedy as the nation's poorest-performing force.
The commission investigated 121 officers, including 73 who were still in the service, and was extended twice to investigate complaints dating back to 1985.
Though a special police unit was set up to pursue charges against named police, only four officers investigated by the commission - including the two revealed this week - have been charged with criminal offences.
A third former detective, who quit the service in 2002, was charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice for allegedly warning an alleged drug dealer that his home was about to be raided.
A fourth detective, who was stood down, was charged after he was caught stealing $10,000 from a storage unit, in a video sting set up by the inquiry.
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AussieMark
- Category 5
- Posts: 5858
- Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 6:36 pm
- Location: near Sydney, Australia
**From The Advertiser (Adelaide) **
Surfer again listed as missing
ADELAIDE surfer Sam Green is back on the list of missing travellers, despite the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade telling his family on Sunday he was alive and in Sumatra.
"He could be anywhere," a department source said last night.
Mr Green, a 25-year-old teacher, was on a solo surfing safari in Indonesia when the tsunami struck.
He has not made contact with anyone since the disaster.
On Sunday, the department phoned his mother Sharon Coombe to say her son was alive and on Nias Island in Sumatra. The next day, the department admitted they had not had direct contact with Mr Green.
The information had come from a text message to an expatriate in Padang.
Yesterday, the department would officially only say there was no update on Mr Green's case – but a source said it was now believed to be a case of mistaken identity.
"It seems that when locals were contacted on Nias they said `yes, he was here'. In actual fact it looks like they were saying `yes, there was a foreigner here' but it was not necessarily Sam," the source said.
Mr Green's name has not been found on checks of accommodation registers on the island. Local surfing safari groups are helping in the search of the islands around Sumatra.
"What you've got to understand is that that's a list of about 1000 places and often you're talking about a six-hour boat trip between places," said the source.
"It could take weeks before we know – at the moment he could be anywhere. The only good thing is that there have been no bodies of foreigners found."
Surfer again listed as missing
ADELAIDE surfer Sam Green is back on the list of missing travellers, despite the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade telling his family on Sunday he was alive and in Sumatra.
"He could be anywhere," a department source said last night.
Mr Green, a 25-year-old teacher, was on a solo surfing safari in Indonesia when the tsunami struck.
He has not made contact with anyone since the disaster.
On Sunday, the department phoned his mother Sharon Coombe to say her son was alive and on Nias Island in Sumatra. The next day, the department admitted they had not had direct contact with Mr Green.
The information had come from a text message to an expatriate in Padang.
Yesterday, the department would officially only say there was no update on Mr Green's case – but a source said it was now believed to be a case of mistaken identity.
"It seems that when locals were contacted on Nias they said `yes, he was here'. In actual fact it looks like they were saying `yes, there was a foreigner here' but it was not necessarily Sam," the source said.
Mr Green's name has not been found on checks of accommodation registers on the island. Local surfing safari groups are helping in the search of the islands around Sumatra.
"What you've got to understand is that that's a list of about 1000 places and often you're talking about a six-hour boat trip between places," said the source.
"It could take weeks before we know – at the moment he could be anywhere. The only good thing is that there have been no bodies of foreigners found."
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