Friday 31 August 2001

Kirby ups ante on education, The Australian, 31 August, 2001.

Kirby ups ante on education: [1 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 31 Aug 2001: 5.
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VOCAL High Court judge Michael Kirby has renewed his attack on the federal Government's education policies, saying Australia is abandoning the goal of providing free, secular and compulsory education to all.
Speaking at a ceremony in Sydney to honour one of the founders of Australia's public education system, Justice Kirby said all modernAustralian leaders should take their cue from the values of the founding fathers of Federation, to create a society that was participatory, democratic and egalitarian.
VOCAL High Court judge Michael Kirby has renewed his attack on the federal Government's education policies, saying Australia is abandoning the goal of providing free, secular and compulsory education to all.
"In recent years, Australia, more than other similar societies ... has departed from the goal," he said.
"I think there has been a trend, that's shown by the statistics, towards private education. That, of course, is every parent's and child's right.
"What we have to ask ourselves is: is this a trend that we want to continue, or should we be improving the public schools?"
Speaking at a ceremony in Sydney to honour one of the founders of Australia's public education system, Justice Kirby said all modernAustralian leaders should take their cue from the values of the founding fathers of Federation, to create a society that was participatory, democratic and egalitarian.
He said with the bulk of citizens educated in public schools, Australia owed a debt to the founders of public education.
"It became the chief medium for spreading the ideas of egalitarianism and promoting the means by which children, whose parents were not wealthy, could rise to the highest offices in the land," he said.
In May this year, Justice Kirby provoked attacks from political figures, including the Prime Minister,when he said alarm bells should be ringing over the disproportionate amount of federal government funding given to private schools at the expense of the public system.
Justice Kirby was yesterday attending a ceremony to honour William Wilkins, the first headmaster at the Sydney's Fort Street Public School where the judge was educated.

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Monday 27 August 2001

Proposal to Make Page Two of Property a Dedicated Rural Page, The Australian, 27 August, 2001.



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Sunday 26 August 2001

A few thoughts, for Dads On The Air, 26 August, 2001.



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Thursday 16 August 2001

Tensing and the Sherpas of Everest, the Dalai Lama and Sir Edmund Hillary, The Australian, 15 August, 2001.


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Monday 13 August 2001

Over the hill at 97, no worries, The Australian, 13 August, 2001.

Over the hill at 97, no worries: [1 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 13 Aug 2001: 5.
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Four Tanzanian athletes led the field: John Msuri, who won in 40min 24sec, followed by Rogat Stephen, Tlehema Benedict and Daniel Sipe.
Once Heartbreak Hill was out of the way, nothing could stop him. Mr [Philip Rabinowitz] pushed the pram of his youngest great grandson, two-month-old Liron, for the final downhill kilometres of the race.

THE oldest runner in yesterday's City to Surf may have completed the race almost 2 1/2 after the winner, but 97-year-old Philip Rabinowitz couldn't have been more delighted.
"Is it already finished?" he asked as he crossed the finishing line at Sydney's Bondi Beach.
This was Mr Rabinowitz's second attempt at the 14km race. He first completed it when he was 95 and hopes to do it again next year.
He travelled from South Africa to run with three other generations of his Sydney-based family. He finished the course in 199 minutes and there were plenty of people coming in behind him.
Later, he was still full of beans.
"The race was excellent," he said. "I never expected to be able to do the race as I did."
Like many another, Mr Rabinowitz was a little daunted by the infamous Heartbreak Hill rising out of Rose Bay, the steepest stretch ofthe course.
"I thought someone would have to come and get me," he said.
But once Heartbreak Hill was out of the way, nothing could stop him. Mr Rabinowitz pushed the pram of his youngest great grandson, two-month-old Liron, for the final downhill kilometres of the race.
"I did the race to be with my family and I am very, very happy about it," he said. "It was absolutely fantastic for me. I feel like I could do another race."
A record 56,625 entrants ran in the 31st City to Surf yesterday in almost perfect weather. The long-standing women's record for theevent also tumbled: Susie Power, 26, broke Lisa Ondieki's 1988 race record by just under half a minute, running the course in 45min .08sec.
Her brother Michael Power came fifth, and was the first-placed Australian.
Four Tanzanian athletes led the field: John Msuri, who won in 40min 24sec, followed by Rogat Stephen, Tlehema Benedict and Daniel Sipe.
Illustration
Caption: Leaders of the pack:; Photo: Photo
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Wednesday 8 August 2001

700 million ways to take a snapshot, The Australian, 8 August, 2001.

700 million ways to take a snapshot: [1 Edition]

Vanessa Walker * Social affairs writer, John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 08 Aug 2001: 5.
While the 14th census mostly ran smoothly, it did not go off without hitches. On Monday night, the ABS hotline received 13,000 calls from people without a form, 4000 from those unsure of what to do if they were away from home, 2000 with privacy questions and 700 wanting to know if the census was compulsory. The bureau's website had 173,000 hits on Monday.
Twenty members of the 105th signal squadron, based at the Simpson Barracks in Watsonia, Victoria, headed home at 11pm to fill in their forms, a task the ABS said would take about 20 minutes. Captain Lisa Frewster, 30, said she was looking forward to the novelty of her census response joining the time capsule.

Full Text

FROM suburban families to the city homeless, from an army platoon on Mt Hotham to a submarine crew in the Great Australian Bight, the nation united last night to answer the 50 questions of the 2001 census on 19 million people.
Combined, the 700 million responses will give the Australian Bureau of Statistics a snapshot of the population as it was on August 7, with the full picture to be revealed in July next year.
While the 14th census mostly ran smoothly, it did not go off without hitches. On Monday night, the ABS hotline received 13,000 calls from people without a form, 4000 from those unsure of what to do if they were away from home, 2000 with privacy questions and 700 wanting to know if the census was compulsory. The bureau's website had 173,000 hits on Monday.
Gordon Knox, 31, and wife Louise, 27, sat down with 10-month-old Thomas in their Canberra home last night to fulfil their civic duty.
"I think it's everyone's obligation," Mr Knox said. "It helps the Government to determine where to put schools in the right places, hospitals and services."
Twenty members of the 105th signal squadron, based at the Simpson Barracks in Watsonia, Victoria, headed home at 11pm to fill in their forms, a task the ABS said would take about 20 minutes. Captain Lisa Frewster, 30, said she was looking forward to the novelty of her census response joining the time capsule.
Census staff fanned out across state capitals last night to talk to tens of thousands of homeless people under bridges, on park benches and in shelters.
At Sydney's Matthew Talbot Hostel, more than 200 homeless men filled out the form.
Shane Ell, 27, said he didn't mind filling out the census, although he didn't understand why he was being asked certain questions. "They asked if you had used the internet in the past 24 hours, stuff like that," he said.
Afewerki Nuguse, 53, from Eritrea, who has been living at the the hostel for 2 1/2 years, said he had filled out the form but didn't understand why. But Dale MacKenzie, 27, said answering the questions "doesn't worry me".
Case worker Sam Gooch said the majority of the homeless had been co-operative.
Australia has the world's second-highest census form completion rate, at 98.5 per cent.
An army of 30,000 people will collect the forms by August 27.
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Tuesday 7 August 2001

Syringe prick forces jumbo to cancel trip, The Australian, 7 August, 2001.

Syringe prick forces jumbo to cancel trip: [2 Edition]

Nicholas Harling, John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 07 Aug 2001: 3.
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The pilot informed 300 disgruntled passengers on board United Airlines flight UA816 that he would have to turn back after a woman was pierced by a syringe.
Other passengers protested on learning that the flight could not be diverted to Auckland or Fiji instead of returning to Sydney.
A Sydney airport spokesman confirmed that two hours into the United Airlines flight the captain radioed Sydney that they wished to return due to a medical emergency.
AN HIV scare forced an almost full jumbo jet to make an abrupt about-turn two hours into a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles yesterday afternoon.
The pilot informed 300 disgruntled passengers on board United Airlines flight UA816 that he would have to turn back after a woman was pierced by a syringe.
The woman is believed to have pricked herself when she put her hand into the seat pocket in front of her.
Cabin staff sealed off the area to attend to the woman.
On the return to Sydney the woman was led off the plane by medical staff.
Other passengers protested on learning that the flight could not be diverted to Auckland or Fiji instead of returning to Sydney.
They were further upset on learning that they would not be reboarding the flight until 10am this morning.
The passengers were put up at the Hilton Sydney Airport Hotel.
"Because of the risk of AIDS we had no alternative but to go back," explained one of the flight attendants.
The incident is certain to lead to an investigation by United Airlines as to how cleaners missed the syringe.
With much of the fuel still on board, the pilot was forced to dump large quantities of fuel off the Australian coast.
The flight left Sydney at 1.15pm and returned at 5.45pm.
A Sydney airport spokesman confirmed that two hours into the United Airlines flight the captain radioed Sydney that they wished to return due to a medical emergency.
An Australian spokesman for United Airlines confirmed the drama involved a needle stick injury.
He said the passenger was given the choice of whether or not to return to Sydney and she elected to do so.
"That is as much as we know at the moment," he said.

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Friday 3 August 2001

Car strike 'treasoin'to spread, The Australian, 3 August, 2001. Page One.

Car strike `treason' to spread: [1 Edition]

Michael Bachelard * Work writer, John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 Aug 2001: 1.
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Strikers at Tristar, the NSW steering components manufacturer that supplies all four Australian car-makers, voted to stay out until at least Monday, causing a chain reaction that the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says threatens 50,000 jobs.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national secretary Doug Cameron said the battle over Manusafe, an industry trust fund to protect workers' entitlements, was a "fundamental position" for the union.
Assistant secretary Dave Oliver said 600 industrial agreements were due for renegotiation over the next six weeks and the AMWU would be pushing for those employers to sign up to Manusafe.
UNIONS vowed yesterday to widen the dispute crippling the vehicle industry to include the whole manufacturing industry, as Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott accused the manufacturing workers union of "industrial and economic treason".
Strikers at Tristar, the NSW steering components manufacturer that supplies all four Australian car-makers, voted to stay out until at least Monday, causing a chain reaction that the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says threatens 50,000 jobs.
Industrial Relations Commissioner Bob Redmond has deferred until Monday his decision on an application to order the Tristar employees back to work, saying decisions made in haste led to further litigation.
Mitsubishi told its 2500 production workers not to come in this morning and the plant will remain closed for up to a week because of the shortage of parts. Holden has had 4000 workers on standby since Tuesday, and Ford will close some operations today, with 5000 workers facing disruption.
Toyota has enough parts to last until early next week.
But the flow-on effect of the large car-makers grinding to a halt will affect hundreds of other component suppliers, many of which face industrial demands of their own.
The dispute widened as workers at Monroe Australia, which supplies shock absorbers, voted to strike for 24 hours in support of theclaim.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national secretary Doug Cameron said the battle over Manusafe, an industry trust fund to protect workers' entitlements, was a "fundamental position" for the union.
"There is not a better issue for the AMWU to support members on ... we will bat on and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with our members to ensure that their entitlements are protected," Mr Cameron said.
Assistant secretary Dave Oliver said 600 industrial agreements were due for renegotiation over the next six weeks and the AMWU would be pushing for those employers to sign up to Manusafe.
Employer representative the Australian Industry Group says its members were determined not to sign up.
John Howard slammed the union as he left for Japan yesterday to meet with Mitsubishi and discuss the future of its Adelaide factory.
"It's really appalling timing and it shows an insensitivity towards the need to avoid giving any impression ... of any kind of disruption or instability in the industry in Australia," he said.
Mr Abbott accused the union of a "crime against the national interest".
"To focus on this manufacturer in this way, at a moment of great delicacy for the future of a major motor manufacturer, is little short of industrial and economic treason."
He said the union was embarking on illegal pattern bargaining and he would take advice on whether the Government should shut thecampaign down with a challenge in the Industrial Relations Commission.
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