More jail possible for indecent doctor

A SYDNEY doctor jailed for indecently assaulting boys on the pretext of needing semen samples should be released before Christmas as planned, despite pleading guilty to more charges, a court has heard.

John Phillip Rolleston, 74, is due to be released from prison on December 23 after serving a minimum 18-month sentence for 17 counts of indecently assaulting 12 young boys between 1975 and 1981.

However, the former doctor pleaded guilty earlier this year to four more charges of indecent assault after more victims came forward due to the publicity of his trial in March 2011.

The trial heard the boys, aged 14 and 15, were seeking treatment for conditions such as a sore throat, an ankle injury or the flu.

But the doctor either masturbated them or ordered them to do it, claiming he needed a semen sample from them.

In a sentence hearing in the District Court in Sydney on Friday, Rolleston's defence barrister, Michael Ainsworth, argued Rolleston's prison sentence should not be extended because of the prosecution's delay in bringing the additional charges.

The court heard the new victims came forward during the trial, but Rolleston was not charged until a year later, in March this year.

"Mr Rolleston should have been charged with these offences at an earlier time," Mr Ainsworth told Judge Leonie Flannery, who originally sentenced Rolleston.

Judge Flannery could have taken the additional charges into account then, rather than just before his release, Mr Ainsworth said.

"Arrangements are in place for his release and now the crown is suggesting the only other course is additional time in custody."

Mr Ainsworth said Rolleston had been a model prisoner and was hoping to reconnect with his family on his release.

Crown prosecutor Mariella Schattiger said the judge should take into account the additional criminality of Rolleston's offending.

Judge Flannery said she needed to consider the issues and adjourned the matter for sentence on Friday, November 9.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Protesters disrupt Abbott speech

PROTESTERS have disrupted the start of a speech by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in Melbourne.

A few minutes into his address to the Melbourne Institute/The Australian 2012 Economic and Social Outlook conference, several protesters went on the stage.

Dominic O'Dwyer said he was happy to see Mr Abbott and looked forward to him becoming prime minister, noting the opposition leader thought global warming "is a bunch of crap".

"Isn't it fantastic, ladies and gentlemen, to see undergraduate humour does not change," Mr Abbott told the audience.

"They've come at the right moment because they've probably given me the punctation point to stop ad-libbing and start my scripted speech."

Mr Abbott was also mobbed by a small group of protesters as he reached his car as he left the conference.

Security guards had to hold some protesters out of the path of the car so it could depart the University of Melbourne.

After the protest Mr O'Dwyer said: "I wasn't protesting, I was just thanking Tony Abbott for his unwavering support for the fossil fuel industry.

"It was to thank Tony Abbott for his continuing academic rigour in the face of the global warming conspiracy and his unwavering support of the fossil fuel industry."

Mr O'Dwyer was involved in scaling Victoria's Parliament House in September and unfurling an anti-coal sign.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Alleged killer cop stays in legal limbo

AFTER 28 long, sad years, the mother of Victorian woman Jennifer Tanner, who was killed by her policeman brother-in-law, hopes her ordeal is finally over.

Denis Tanner was found by a coroner in 1998 to have killed Ms Tanner, who was shot twice in the head at her Bonnie Doon home in November 1984, but he has never been charged.

In August, Mr Tanner's lawyers urged the Victorian Coroners Court to set aside the 1998 finding, but on Friday they abandoned the application after a key piece of evidence was found not to be new.

Ms Tanner's mother Kath Blake said outside court the family was happy with the finding from the 1998 inquest and hoped their ordeal was now over.

"It's been a long, sad 28 years for us and we're hoping to see the finish today," she told reporters.

"We still are happy with (then-state coroner) Graeme Johnstone's finding in 1998."

Under Victorian law, Mr Tanner must prove there is new evidence before a fresh inquest can be ordered.

His lawyer Bob Galbally said Mr Tanner had been found to have contributed to Ms Tanner's death on the basis of a low standard of proof and now had no forum to overturn the finding.

"He is in a position where in the court of public opinion he is guilty," Mr Galbally said.

"Justice in Victoria does not visit everybody and it hasn't visited Mr Tanner ... because he is in a position where he has not had his day in court."

A recent search by Mr Tanner uncovered a witness statement that had been said to be new evidence.

The statement was in fact made at the time the 1998 inquest was held.

The statement was the key piece of evidence in Mr Tanner's case for a fresh inquest, the court heard.

Applying for costs to be ordered against Mr Tanner, a lawyer for the Victoria Police chief commissioner said Mr Tanner had known about the existence of the statement since 1998.

She said his application was doomed to fail.

State Coroner Jennifer Coate reserved her decision on costs.

Mr Tanner argued in August that the previous finding was seriously flawed and a miscarriage of justice.

He urged Judge Coate to quash the finding and hold a new inquest.

On Friday, Mr Tanner left court without commenting to reporters.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Australian bonds a touch firmer

AUSTRALIAN three-year bond futures prices are a touch higher as positive economic news from China and a poor performance by local shares pulled the market in opposite directions.

Chinese economic data released on Thursday showed that manufacturing activity expanded in October for the first time in three months.

JP Morgan interest rate strategist Sally Auld said bond futures prices during the local session went down and then popped back up again.

"Around lunchtime it was the China data that was a little bit stronger than expected but it was unable to sustain any moves one way or another," she said.

"Our equities haven't done so well, but Chinese equities have done alright."

At 1630 AEDT on Thursday, the December three-year bond futures contract was at 97.470 (2.530 per cent), up from 97.460 (2.540 per cent) on Wednesday.

The December 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 96.955 (3.045 per cent), level with the end of the previous local session.

Ms Auld said the bond market has been trading in a tight range over the past few days as traders awaited the outcome some key market events.

These include the release of US employment figures on Friday, the Reserve Bank of Australia's board meeting and interest rate decision on Tuesday, and the outcome of the US presidential election, which is likely to be announce on Wednesday, Australian time.

"There is so much event risk over the next little while that people are struggling to put a big position on either way," she said.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Manufacturing continues to take a beating

IF manufacturing was a boxer, the referee would have stopped the fight and held the Australian dollar's bloodied glove in the air.

Activity in the manufacturing sector sagged against the ropes in October for the eighth month in a row, according to the Australian Industry Group's monthly survey.

The performance of manufacturing index (PMI) index came in at 45.2 in October, up by 1.1 from September's reading but still well under the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction.

In fact the PMI has been on the wrong side of 50 for all but five of the past 26 months.

And the pain has been shared around.

In October, all but two of the 11 sectors covered by the survey recorded declines in activity, with paper, printing and publishing barely into positive territory and transport equipment doing little better with a tepid gain after a big fall in September.

And it shows in the broader economic data, including the quarterly national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Manufacturing gross value added, the main measure of activity in the sector, fell by four per cent over the past 10 years, compared with a rise of 19 per cent in the preceding decade.

At the same time, employment in the sector fell by 114,000 in the latest decade compared with a rise of 33,000 in the decade before it.

There is no doubt the manufacturing sector is taking a savage beating and there is no doubt the beating is being administered by the high Australian dollar.

The Australian dollar's real exchange rate has risen sharply against the currencies of Australia's trading partners since commodity prices took off nearly a decade ago.

The real exchange rate adjusts the actual exchange rate for inflation rates in Australia and those other countries.

It's a key measure of competitiveness.

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) figures show the Australian dollar's real exchange rate over the past 10 years was 34 per cent higher than the previous 10 years.

No wonder the manufacturing sector is on the ropes.

That's a massive loss of competitiveness.

And the bout is getting even more one-sided.

The latest reading for the real exchange rate, the average for the September quarter, was 65 per cent above its level over the decade before the commodity price boom.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Coroner calls for cosmetic surgery reforms

A CORONER who found a woman died after being infected during a liposuction procedure has called for national reforms to the cosmetic surgery industry.

South Australia's Deputy State Coroner Anthony Schapel also recommended that patients be seen by their surgeon within 24 to 48 hours of having liposuction.

Lauren Michelle Edgar, 28, died five days after Dr George Kerry carried out the $7000 procedure on her stomach and thighs at his North Adelaide rooms on Wednesday March 5, 2008.

He did not examine her again after her discharge on the same day.

In his findings on Thursday, the coroner found Ms Edgar's death was a result of multi-organ failure due to her contracting a clostridium perfringens infection that led to gas gangrene, a very rare condition.

He concluded that an instrument used in the procedure picked up the micro-organism from Ms Edgar's skin surface, but he could not determine if she had been inadequately sterilised.

Ms Edgar's parents gave evidence about her increased discomfort and pain in the days after the surgery.

The coroner said that on March 7, Ms Edgar spoke to Dr Kerry twice on the phone about her pain.

He found that the information she gave him about her pain, her desire to take off the post-surgery corset and her need for stronger medication "should have generated significant concern in Dr Kerry's mind about her welfare."

Dr Kerry should have immediately insisted on examining her and, if he had, he should then have immediately referred her to hospital.

But the coroner could not determine whether Ms Edgar would have survived if her hospital treatment for gangrene had started earlier than March 8 when she was taken there by her parents.

Mr Schapel endorsed recommendations made by the Inter-Jurisdictional Cosmetic Surgery Working Group made in November 2010.

He pointed to its recommendation for "a national framework covering cosmetic, medical and surgical procedures" including basic requirements for the training, expertise and qualifications of cosmetic surgeons.

Regulation of the places where cosmetic surgery is undertaken, compulsory licensing and standards for private health facilities were also recommended.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Macklin hints at more NDIS cash next year

THERE will be more cash for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in next year's budget, amid estimates that $4 to $5 billion is needed to transition from trial sites to a full rollout.

The scheme is expected to cost around $15 billion a year to run when fully implemented in 2018/19.

So far, the Labor government has set aside $1 billion to fund launch sites for the scheme but future funding commitments fall outside the four-year budget estimates period.

In an address to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Families Minister Jenny Macklin hinted there would be extra money allocated next year.

"You can anticipate additional funding for the national disability insurance scheme in next year's budget," Ms Macklin told reporters.

She will release draft legislation "shortly" and plans to introduce it to parliament in the final sitting week of parliament before the summer break.

"The legislation will establish a framework for a national scheme," Ms Macklin said.

The scheme will start in mid-2013 at five launch sites around Australia.

Ms Macklin said a parliamentary committee will examine the draft legislation and feedback will be sought from people with disabilities, their families, carers and disability workers.

The legislation will establish a launch transition agency as an independent body.

"It will play the central role in ending the frustration and confusion too many people currently face as they knock on the door of service provider after service provider looking for the support they need," she said.

The establishment of a ministerial council involving state, territory and federal government representatives would ensure the agency was accountable, she said.

John Della Bosca, the spokesman for the Every Australian Counts campaign which is pushing for the scheme, said the government was "ticking all the right boxes".

Mr Della Bosca estimated that $4 to $5 billion was needed for the scheme, over the forward estimates.

"We want to make sure the change from launch sites to expanding the scheme out is fully funded," he told AAP.

"That's what we're anxious about."

He said it was critical for the parliamentary inquiry into the legislation to hear first hand from those affected by disabilities.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Call to help the homeless on Halloween

SYDNEYSIDERS are being asked to show a generous spirit this Halloween as little ghosties and ghoulies get ready to stake out their favourite trick or treat haunts.

Evidence suggests Australians remain divided on the October 31 festival, which has its roots in Celtic folklore and heralds November 1's All Saints' Day.

Some are spellbound by the whole thing, while others would see it dumped in a boiling witch's cauldron faster than you can say "Jack O'lantern".

But now, a Christian group has come up with way of celebrating Halloween which avoids kids filling up on loads of lollies - and involves helping some very needy souls.

The Exodus Foundation, run by the Reverend Bill Crews, is asking youngsters to use trick or treating as a way to collect tins of food for the homeless.

"It's a great way to put some real meaning into Halloween," Rev Crews said.

"When you go out this Halloween, ask your neighbours to donate a tin of food instead of lollies.

"Once you've collected the food you can drop it off at The Exodus Foundation."

Mr Crews said the foundation delivers almost 800 emergency food parcels to the poor and homeless every month, and demand always rises towards Christmas.

Meanwhile, animal lovers are being urged to keep their pets safe on Halloween night.

Dr Sarah Goldsmid, a vet at Sydney's Animal Referral Hospital, said pets often wound up hurt or scared on October 31.

She urged people to keep mutts and moggies away from chocolate and sweets, which can be harmful to animals.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

New port strategy announced for Qld

QUEENSLAND is to have fewer but bigger ports.

Deputy Premier and State Development Minister Jeff Seeney has tabled the draft Great Barrier Reef Ports Strategy, which will be available for public consultation on Thursday.

It proposes that any significant port development in or adjoining the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area would be restricted to within existing port limits for the next 10 years.

There will only be expansion at Abbot Point, Hay Point and the Gladstone Precinct, including Balaclava Island, Port Alma and Sea Hill.

Mr Seeney said on Wednesday the strategy will guide the government's approach to future port development and planning for the Great Barrier Reef coast for the next decade.

"Through this strategy, the government will balance environmental protection with the need to facilitate economic prosperity," he told parliament.

"Put simply our ports must expand if we are to prosper."

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abbot Point will ship coal by 2016: GVK

MINING giant GVK says it is on "record pace" to start shipping coal from Queensland's Abbot Point port by late 2016, despite concerns about its Indian operations.

The Indian-Australian joint venture GVK-Hancock won Queensland government approval in June to build a rail corridor linking the Bowen and Galilee basins with the central Queensland port.

But rival mining magnate Clive Palmer, whose China First project lost out to the GVK-Hancock consortium, has suggested the coal-rail project will never proceed.

GVK has experienced problems in India, where it failed to meet a deadline to develop a coal mine in Jharkhand state.

But Paul Mulder, GVK Resources's manager director of coal and infrastructure, told reporters in Brisbane the problems in India would not affect the Queensland operations.

"You can't presume what trouble the Indian operations had because it was broad-ranging. It wasn't just focused on GVK," he said after addressing a Committee for Economic Development of Australia lunch.

Mr Mulder said coal would be loaded at Abbot Point by about September 2016, three years after final investment decisions were made.

"We think it's realistic," he said.

"For a project of this size and scale, we're doing this at record pace."

But he said delays were inevitable with large projects, as GVK sought regulatory approval and finalised commercial construction contracts.

"If anyone can guarantee they're not going to have project delays, I think they don't understand the requirements of developing mega projects," Mr Mulder said.

"Due to the magnitude, some of the contracting arrangements and finalising appropriate arrangements for our construction have taken a little longer than what we'd hoped."

The $6.4 billion project for the Galilee Basin also includes a mine 40km northwest of Alpha, which lies between Emerald and Barcaldine, and a 495km rail line to Abbot Point, north of Bowen.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More