Monday 14 April 2003
Tuesday 8 April 2003
Turnbull to be first woman at city helm, The Australian, 8 April, 2003.
Turnbull to be first woman at city helm: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 08 Apr 2003: 7.
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The last council minute presented by Mr [Frank Sartor] as Lord Mayor, at a council meeting last night, recorded his gratitude to family, friends, staff and Ms Turnbull, his deputy for 3 1/2 years.
A statue of Ms Turnbull's great grandfather, Thomas Hughes, who in 1902 was the city's first lord mayor, looked on as the council voted unanimously for her to be the city's next lord mayor. Also watching were her husband, Malcolm Turnbull, daughter Daisy, 18, and father Tom Hughes.
Ms Turnbull will be acting lord mayor until such time as the Governor of NSW, Marie Bashir, confirms the position. Full council elections will be held in September.
LUCY Turnbull becomes the City of Sydney's first female lord mayor at midday today, replacing Frank Sartor, the man who saw Sydney through the Olympics and was elected last month to the Carr Government.
Mr Sartor is Sydney's longest-serving Lord Mayor, having begun his reign in 1991. He is known for his frenetic energy and combative but pragmatic style.
Even his old sparring partners, such as Councillor Kathryn Greiner, were complimentary at ceremonies at Sydney's Town Hall last night. "You've been waiting years for me to say nice things about you," Ms Greiner, wife of former NSW premier Nick Greiner, said as she praised his "undoubted energy, capacity and commitment to the city".
Mr Sartor is credited with making Sydney and the city council more user-friendly.
As he officially loses the lord mayoral position at lunchtime today, he will be in his office acting as the new Minister for Energies and Utilities, among other titles, in the revamped Carr Government.
The last council minute presented by Mr Sartor as Lord Mayor, at a council meeting last night, recorded his gratitude to family, friends, staff and Ms Turnbull, his deputy for 3 1/2 years.
A statue of Ms Turnbull's great grandfather, Thomas Hughes, who in 1902 was the city's first lord mayor, looked on as the council voted unanimously for her to be the city's next lord mayor. Also watching were her husband, Malcolm Turnbull, daughter Daisy, 18, and father Tom Hughes.
Spirited applause from observers and council staff showed the historic significance of the moment was appreciated. Daisy said: "She is setting a great precedent for women in politics. We are very proud of her."
Ms Turnbull will be acting lord mayor until such time as the Governor of NSW, Marie Bashir, confirms the position. Full council elections will be held in September.
Ms Turnbull said she would continue with Mr Sartor's reforms "to enhance people's experience of the city".
Monday 7 April 2003
Saturday 5 April 2003
Championing whale shark conservation - MATTHEW FLINDERS CIRCUMNAVIGATION VOYAGE 1803-2003, Weekend Australian, 5 April, 2003.
Championing whale shark conservation - MATTHEW FLINDERS CIRCUMNAVIGATION VOYAGE 1803-2003: [1 - All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 05 Apr 2003: 014.
Abstract
In 2001, Mr [BRAD Norman], 35, submitted a successful nomination to the Government to have the whale shark listed as a threatened species, and therefore protected in commonwealth waters. Internationally, he assisted in getting the whale shark's status upgraded to "vulnerable to extinction".
Mr Norman, working in London for a leading conservation agency, the Marine Stewardship Council, was recently awarded funding from the Rufford Foundation to teach communities in developing countries to replace unsustainable whale shark hunting with sustainable whale shark ecotourism.
BRAD Norman has an obsession with the world's biggest fish, the whale shark, which has made him one of the pre-eminent authorities on it.
Ningaloo Reef, on the northwest coast of Western Australia, is the only place known to be regularly visited by the whale shark.
It was here that the conservationist and marine scientist from Perth first saw and became fascinated by it. He has campaigned relentlessly to have it protected ever since.
In 2001, Mr Norman, 35, submitted a successful nomination to the Government to have the whale shark listed as a threatened species, and therefore protected in commonwealth waters. Internationally, he assisted in getting the whale shark's status upgraded to "vulnerable to extinction".
His work has led to him being chosen as The Australian/Coastcare Coastal Champion.
The competition was sponsored by The Australian and Coastcare, a program of the federal Government's Natural Heritage Trust, which are both supporting the recreation of Matthew Flinders's circumnavigation of Australia 200 years ago by the brigantine Windeward Bound.
Mr Norman, working in London for a leading conservation agency, the Marine Stewardship Council, was recently awarded funding from the Rufford Foundation to teach communities in developing countries to replace unsustainable whale shark hunting with sustainable whale shark ecotourism.
"One of the big things is getting the community involved in understanding the marine environment, so the public can help through understanding and concern," he said. "I try to involve the community in volunteer projects."
He said he intended to travel back to Australia to take up his prize, which is a berth on the homeward-bound, 14-day leg of the Windeward Bound's voyage, starting in Port Welshpool on July 10 and ending in Sydney on July 23.
Follow Windeward Bound's historic voyage in a special liftout of The Weekend Australian.
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Thursday 3 April 2003
Pakistan to free Australian 'al-Qa'ida trainee' - War on Iraq, The Australian, 3 April, 2003.
Pakistan to free Australian `al-Qa'ida trainee' - WAR ON IRAQ: [3 All-round Metro Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 Apr 2003: 4.
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Jack Thomas, a 29-year-old former Melbourne taxi driver who became known as "Jihad" after converting to Islam, was arrested in Pakistan in January on suspicion of having trained with al-Qa'ida.
Mr Thomas's Australian lawyer, Rob Stary, condemned the Australian Government last night for its inaction and said he believed Mr Thomas, a fifth-generation Australian, should be allowed to return to Melbourne and his family voluntarily, and not in custody.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Australian high commission in Islamabad was seeking advice fromthe Pakistan authorities about their intentions and clarification of Mr Thomas's legal situation.
AN Australian man accused of training with al-Qa'ida terrorists could be freed from a Pakistani prison without charge as early as tomorrow.
Jack Thomas, a 29-year-old former Melbourne taxi driver who became known as "Jihad" after converting to Islam, was arrested in Pakistan in January on suspicion of having trained with al-Qa'ida.
Under Pakistan's security laws, he can be detained only for three months without charge, a period, which is up tomorrow.
But neither the Pakistan nor Australian governments seem to know what to do with him.
The Pakistani Government has said it will not charge Mr Thomas and is waiting on Australia to ask for his release.
Pakistan's Interior Ministry claims the Australian consulate in Islamabad has been informed and asked to arrange a handover, but it has had no response.
Mr Thomas's Australian lawyer, Rob Stary, condemned the Australian Government last night for its inaction and said he believed Mr Thomas, a fifth-generation Australian, should be allowed to return to Melbourne and his family voluntarily, and not in custody.
"The Australian Government, in a sensitive political climate, simply don't want to know about someone who has been studying to be an Islamic cleric in the northwest frontier of Pakistan," he said.
"They have completely abandoned this man.
"It is unacceptable for a government purporting to abide by the rule of law to allow one of its citizens to remain in a foreign country without trial or charge."
Mr Stary said none of the allegations against Mr Thomas had been substantiated, and it was apparent he had not broken any Pakistani or Australian law.
"It appears that this man's most heinous crime has been his conversion to Islam," Mr Stary said.
"We need the Australian Government to intervene to facilitate his return. It can't be done just at a consular level, it has to be done at a government-to-government level.
"The Government has so far been completely unhelpful."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Australian high commission in Islamabad was seeking advice fromthe Pakistan authorities about their intentions and clarification of Mr Thomas's legal situation.
"We understand that the authorities are continuing their investigations," she said.
Illustration
Caption: Thomas; Photo: Photo
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