The News Review:
- Tasmania’s Wineglass Bay full of wilderness
- Tasmanian devils are in a fight for their lives
- Look to Tasmania for water answers
- New tourism development near Tasmanian national parks
- Same sex must mean same rights
- Planted agent showed how to make bomb
Tasmania’s Wineglass Bay full of wilderness
NEWS.com.au – May 1, 2008
A calm sunny morning can quickly turn into a blustery wet afternoon as many trekkers warn. "If you don’t like the weather here come back in half an hour" laughs Hobart-based tour guide Ian Byers referring to the island’s reputation to turn on four seasons in one day. In the same breath though Ian describes rain in Tasmania as "liquid gold". Contrary to belief The Hazards which are made up of five distinctive craggy granite peaks was named after an American captain Richard Hazard who was whaling in the area in the 1800s and not for their rugged characteristics. For serious walkers staying at the eco-friendly Freycinet Lodge – it sits at the foot of The Hazards – the climb of 454m Mount Amos the second-highest peak in the range is one that genuinely calls for a reasonable level of fitness. For other more discerning walkers who want to stretch the legs and combine an outing with some sightseeing and a slice of indulgence there’s the tantalisingly attractive "Wineglass to Wine Glass" guided walk that whets the appetite. The track which has been upgraded recently begins with a steady ascent to a saddle that divides Mount Amos and 415m-high Mount Mayson.
Tasmanian devils are in a fight for their lives
San Diego Union Tribune – May 1, 2008
A deadly disease threatens the species. It looks like a small stocky dog with a bear's head. It prefers to find dead animals to eat. It shrieks like a fiend and its ears turn deep purple when it is agitated. And right now this strange little beast is in trouble – serious trouble. The Tasmanian devil is facing extinction because a contagious cancer unique to devils is sweeping over Tasmania a large island state off the southeast coast of Australia and the only place where these marsupials live in the wild.
Look to Tasmania for water answers
The Age – May 1, 2008
IT IS possible to have life without oil but life withoutwater is impossible for more than a few days. Given the impendingwater crisis you would think that at the very least the RuddGovernment would have lookedat all the alternatives before Water Minister Penny Wongannounced a $13 billion investment program in “strategic waterpriorities” in a speech to the Annual Water Summit on Tuesday. The plan appears to tick the proposal to divert water fromirrigators along the Southern Murray-Goulburn basin to urban usersin Melbourne. The result will be more increases in fruit andvegetable prices and devastation to towns and communities alongthe basin. Any additional environmental flows that might be createdfor the southern Murray will probably be too late to avert a watercrisis for the 90% of the population of South Australia who dependon water pumped from the Murray.
New tourism development near Tasmanian national parks
abc.net.au – May 1, 2008
CB&M Design Solutions plans to build the lodge close to the boundaries of the Walls of Jerusalem and Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair national parks. Aimed at bushwalkers and fly fishermen the lodge would include 12 bedrooms with shared amenities. The managing director John Dingemanse says they hope to submit a development application to the Meander Valley Council in six to eight weeks. “Forestry Tasmania owns land which is adjacent to our site so we’re in negotiating with them to ensure that the values of our site and our intended use doesn’t conflict with what they would like to do with their forestry activity” he said.
Same sex must mean same rights
The Age – May 1, 2008
Six countries including Catholic Spain allow same-sex couples tomarry. Many more allow civil unions including our neighbour NewZealand and several Eastern European and South American countries. Australians are already entering civil unions in Tasmania and willdo so in Victoria later this year. Yet the Federal Government refuses to recognise overseas unionsenact a national scheme or allow the ACT to have its own civilpartnerships scheme. Same-sex couples who have solemnised theirunions overseas or want to do the same here are left wonderingwhy an official declaration of love and commitment is so hard forthe Federal Government to countenance. They are rightly exasperated by the Government’s failure tojustify continued discrimination in marriage beyond declaring”that’s the way it’s always been”. Slavery and denying women thevote were also hallowed traditions until fairness prevailed… For example will same-sex couplesinvolved in property or custody disputes have access to the federalFamily Court? This has been opposed by some religious groups. Butit is preferable to the current situation with same-sex partnersand their children relegated to more expensive and lessuser-friendly state Supreme Courts. Will the Federal Governmentgive full and equal recognition to partners who are in Tasmanianand Victorian civil unions? Tasmanian registered partners areautomatically granted the same rights as married couples in statelaw and civil union status when they travel to countries such asBritain yet they have no standing in Australian national law. Will reform be retrospective so that long-term superannuationcontributors are not deprived of the benefits that will flow to newcontributors? Will the principle of equity be extended to includeissues still on the discussion table such as nationally consistentsurrogacy laws?Most important will the pposition wholeheartedly supportreform or will it unite with Family First in the Senate to impedethe progress of the proposed changes?pposition Leader Brendan Nelson has said he will support theGovernment if its proposal is “affordable and reasonable”. Doesthis mean he will accept amendments that define same-sex partnersas de factos or will he insist like the former government andagainst the wishes of the gay community that they be seen as”interdependants”?And will he accept that justice has no price tag or will hebaulk at reimbursing the tens of millions of dollars gay andlesbian Australians have lost because they make equal contributionsto the public purse and public super schemes without receivingequal entitlements?The urgency of this reform is too great to be jeopardised byquibbling and mean-spiritedness. Unqualified bipartisanship willsend out an important anti-discrimination message a message thatAustralians are desperate to hear because it will echo what theyalready feel. A decade ago I was a criminal in my home state of Tasmaniabecause I was in a same-sex relationship.
Planted agent showed how to make bomb
The Age – May 1, 2008
He claimed his bossowned it and had told him he could stay there any time he likedand that he could bring whoever he wanted. Asked Mr Van de Wiel: “You were making a very deliberate effortto befriend him weren’t you? … Consistent with the directionsyou had been given?”"Yes that’s right” said the agent. Agent 39 told Benbrika that he did not fear authorities becausehe had kept his driver’s licence and car registration Tasmanian soauthorities did not know where he was. He also claimed that while working for farmers in Tasmania hehad become expert in using explosives to blow up tree stumps. Hesaid security over access to explosive materials was lax inTasmania and that he could easily buy some through his formeremployer there no questions asked. He told the court that on the morning of ctober 6 2004 he hadan 8. 45 meeting with members of the Victoria Police Specialperations Group.