Friday 28 September 2007

Deadlys present a positive indigenous image, The Australian, 28 September, 2007.








Deadlys present a positive indigenous image: [6 NSW Country Edition]

Stapleton, JohnThe Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 28 Sep 2007: 8.
Co-presenter Rhoda Roberts said the Deadlys were like a mix of the Arias and the Logies, and were "incredibly important" for indigenous people.
"This is recognition amongst the community of sports and arts communities of major new talent," she said. "It shows the positiveness of our people across many industries and highlights their achievements."
"Things have changed but there is still a long path to tread," he said. "There are people who are willing to fill the void, and I am one of those."

Full Text

Thursday 27 September 2007

$150,000 planting gamble withers to dust - ELECTION 2006, The Australian, 27 September, 2007.

$150,000 planting gamble withers to dust - ELECTION 2007: [1 All-round Country Edition]

John Stapleton, Asa WahlquistThe Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 27 Sep 2007: 4.
"He hasn't seen anything but drought," Mr [Greg Whiteley] said.
Mr Whiteley admits he would reconsider leaving "before our assets were completely eaten".
"That keeps them (their financial institution) off our back, but it doesn't come up with the money to plant the crop, the $150,000 odd that it costs us," he said.

Full Text

Tuesday 25 September 2007

Examining Misandry, Dad s On The Air, 25 September, 2007.

Examining Misandry

With special guests:
  • Dr. Paul Nathanson and Dr. Katherine Young, authors of two very important books that uncover the underlying contempt for men and boys in our culture today: Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture and Legalizing Misandry: From Public Shame to Systemic Discrimination Against Men.
  • Simon Hunt, from Parents Against Institutionalised Child Abuse. A unique voice in the Australian Fatherhood movement by dint of refusing to shut up. Hunt has distilled the problems with the Family Law system down to one key issue: equal time parenting after separation - the solution that removes the problem.
  • Sue Price, from the Men’s Rights Agency, talking about the bizarre news that the Child Support Agency has been given an award for it’s work in the area of suicide prevention!
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Saturday 22 September 2007

Crunch time for towns as wealth dries up, Weekend Australian, 22 September, 2007.

Crunch time for towns as wealth dries up: [1 All-round Country Edition]

John Stapleton, Asa WahlquistWeekend Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 22 Sep 2007: 10.
"We haven't had good general rain since 2000," said Mr [Ashley Wielinga]. "This year we are facing a totally failed grain crop. Farmers are putting their stock out on the wheat crops or baling it for hay. We are now heading into a scenario we've never seen before. We have a lot of vacant houses and shops are not trading well.
"There is very little work around. The drought is impacting seriously," she said. "The population is diminishing. People are worried. They're not making any money and are worried about having to put off employees."
Pat Irving, a member of [WARREN]'s Country Womens Association, said the drought was "impacting like mad".

Full Text

Thursday 20 September 2007

Not happy, John: battlers' home truths The Austtralian 20 September 2007.




http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/news/not-happy-john-battlers-home-truths/story-e6frg6no-1111114459342

Not happy, John: battlers' home truths

"FOR Sale" signs dot the front yards of the classic suburban houses in Cranebrook, in the heart of the electorate of Lindsay in far western Sydney.
The residents of this marginal seat have one simple message for any politician who claims there is not a housing affordability crisis: "Get out in the real world."
But they don't put it that politely.
Lindsay, one of the "Howard battler" seats the Liberals need to keep in order to retain government, is held by outgoing member Jackie Kelly.
But many people who once voted for John Howard - who was urged this week by his own MPs to address the problems of housing affordability - are now struggling to pay their mortgages.
Mitch Sard, 43, lost his job two years ago and he and partner Sondra have four children. He is now paying $736 a fortnight on mortgage repayments while receiving a single parent's pension of $750 a fortnight. His situation has deteriorated to the point where he is selling up and heading to South Australia.
"The last interest rate rise just pushed me over the edge," he said. "I've been borrowing money off my parents. A lot of people are selling around here because of the mortgage rate rises - they've just pushed it too far."
Linda Avery, 37, has been living in temporary accommodation for the past two months after being forced to sell her home because she could not meet the payments.
"John Howard has no idea what's happening out here," she said. "My husband has started earning $1000 a week, and still we can't get any savings behind us. To anyone who thinks there isn't a housing affordability crisis, have a look at the real world."
Troy Terry, 32, a police officer, said he and his wife Kerry were working three jobs between them, and alternating day and night shifts so they did not have to pay childcare for their three children.
He said their mortgage repayments had gone up from $505 a week three years ago to more than $580 a week now.
The increasing cost of the mortgage as well as rising gas, electricity, petrol and grocery bills were hurting them financially.
"The politicians should get off their massive wages and see how we cope," Mr Terry said.
"It's not just affecting young people like us, but older people as well," he said. "We have older people in our street who are really struggling with the mortgage. They're suffering because of all the rubbish from the politicians. When we bought three years ago, there was no drama, we could pay the mortgage. But if we sold our house now, we'd lose $30,000 to $40,000 - and the repayments have gone right up."
Many shopkeepers at the Cranebrook Shopping Centre said it was obvious people were suffering as a result of rising costs.
Co-owner of Pepe's Pizza Pasta Bar Gail Shahrouk said business was down by more than half.
"It's all happened this year and it has been dramatic," she said. "The whole centre is quiet."

Wednesday 19 September 2007

Abuzz over a bee virus, The Australian, 19 September, 2007

Abuzz over a bee virus: [1 All-round Country Edition]

Leigh Dayton, John StapletonThe Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 19 Sep 2007: 26.
Show highlighting
FEDERAL Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran has dismissed calls from a US senator for an immediate ban on the export ofAustralian bees after research suggested they could be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of bees in North America.Australian honey bees were singled out by US scientists as the possible carriers of a virus linked to the disappearance of large numbers of bees, a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder.
CSIRO bee pathologist Denis Anderson dismissed the claims reported earlier this month in the journal Science as unsubstantiated and based on poor methodology. "There's something fishy going on here," he said about the unwillingness of the co- authors and thejournal editors to respond to scientific criticism. "Someone's not telling the truth."
Copyright News Limited Sep 19, 2007

Monday 17 September 2007

Nothin' so lonesome as a pub with no pokies, The Australian, 17 September, 2007.


Nothin' so lonesome as a pub with no pokies: [2 All-round First Edition]

Stapleton, JohnThe Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 17 Sep 2007: 7.
Show highlighting
Unbeknown to the Scuttis, the legislation passed by the NSW parliament in 2001 meant the poker machine entitlements adhered to the licensee of a hotel rather than to the landlord. In many cases, including the Scuttis, those entitlements were worth more than the hotel itself.
"We bought the hotel with four machines and now we have none," she said. "To buy them back would cost us $800,000. If city pubs can't survive without poker machines, how do they think we in the country can?"
Gino Scutti said the pub acted as the town's only social centre and if they were forced to close their doors it would be devastating. "The Government gave out the poker machine entitlements to hotels so they could survive and it has had the opposite effect," he said. "It is killing us. It's a bloody mess."