http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/downunder-news/ en-us Fri, 25 Dec 2009 22:36:47 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415099/posts THE navy's Armidale class patrol boats were put to sea with design defects, missing operating procedures and inadequate training that caused an accident in which four sailors were almost killed. A secret report into the gassing of the crew aboard HMAS Maitland has raised more questions about the 16-strong fleet of Armidale patrol boats, twice recalled to port for emergency repairs since they were commissioned in 2005. The $28 million boats, dubbed "Armifail" by frustrated sailors, have been dogged by problems including fuel contamination, engine trouble, blocked toilets, lack of personal storage, inadequate lighting and overcrowding. Unusually for military vessels,... The Australian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415099/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 22:36:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414869/posts QUEENSLAND researchers believe they have found a way to to control the spread of dengue fever, which afflicts more than 50 million people worldwide every year. The team at the University of Queensland's (UQ) School of Biological Sciences, led by Professor Scott O'Neill, is investigating infecting mosquitoes that transmit dengue fever with a bacterium that shortens their lifespan, limiting their ability to infect humans with the dengue virus. Professor O'Neill said this approach may be even more effective than first thought. "In a surprising development we have found that mosquitoes carrying this bacterium - known as Wolbachia - are resistant... The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414869/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:51:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414849/posts Around 3800 Australian Defence Force personnel will be deployed on Operations overseas and in Australia this Christmas, spending the festive season away from family and friends. Defence is also gathering Christmas messages from ADF personnel who will be serving on Operations this Christmas. The majority of Australian Defence Force personnel deployed overseas are working in a number of operational areas, including: Afghanistan as part of the Australian government's commitment to the international coalition against terrorism; Iraq and the Middle East as part of the Australian government's contribution to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Iraq; East Timor as part of a... Commonwealth of Australia Department of Defence http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414849/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:27:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414302/posts KANGAROOS could play a far greater role in increasing methane emissions and reducing soil carbon levels than existing scientific theory suggests, according to grazing management specialist Alan Lauder. “Kangaroos are the catalyst for higher methane emissions by consuming a high quality diet,” Mr Lauder said. “Everybody is saying we have to take animals on and off pastures all the time to get pastures to function properly, but – this is the critical part – kangaroos are not controlled. We are talking about managing animals but we have an animal that we can’t manage.” . . . Queensland Country Life http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414302/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:55:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414047/posts The family of a girl who nearly died from a box jellyfish sting say the nearby campers who poured vinegar over her saved her life. Rachel Shardlow, 10, was tangled in the jellyfish tentacles while swimming with her 12-year-old brother Sam in the Calliope River near Gladstone in central Queensland. Her brother says she lost her vision as she struggled to get out of the water. "It was hurting a lot and I didn't think I was going to make it either," Sam said. "She was saying 'I can't see, I can't breathe'. "She's going - 'get this thing off... Australian Broadcasting Corporation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414047/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:11:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414025/posts HERE is the unexpurgated version of the letter from six-year-old Gracie from the ACT, from which Kevin Rudd quoted the first and last paragraphs at Copenhagen: Hi. How old are you? I'm guessing 50? 51? Anyway, far too old to remember what it is like to be six, and frightened and helpless. I know what you're thinking: she's frightened because the oceans are going to rise, the ice is going to melt, the polar bears are going to die, blah, blah. Forget that crap, just for a minute. No, I'm frightened because we have been locked in our classroom all... The Australian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414025/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:28:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413601/posts A WOMAN has been charged with leaving her toddler locked inside a car in scorching temperatures while she went shopping, forcing passers by to rescue him. Shopkeepers used a hammer to smash their way into a four-wheel drive and rescue the screaming youngster in the car park of a shopping centre at McGraths Hill in northwest Sydney on Tuesday. The temperature inside the car was estimated to be more than 60 degrees Celsius. The boy's 34-year-old mother was interviewed at Windsor Police Station this afternoon and charged with leaving a child unsupervised in a motor vehicle. The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413601/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:45:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413359/posts SOUTH Australians have been told to flee their homes amid a “catastrophic” bushfire threat triggered by the destructive tropical Cyclone Laurence in WA. South Australia today faces its worst bushfire threat since Black Saturday, with eight of 15 fire districts declared at "catastrophic risk" and residents of at least 18 suburbs and hamlets warned to leave if they want to survive. Firefighters in Victoria’s western neighbour are already battling two fires in the mid-north and south east. The same weather system is expected to whip a trail of high winds across Australia, bringing Christmas rain over Victoria. Fire bans have... The Australian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413359/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:11:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413352/posts WAR came to Brisbane after it had touched other parts of Australia. Darwin was bombed in February 1942 and three months later Japanese midget submarines fired torpedoes in Sydney Harbour. This followed the sinking of HMAS Sydney in late 1941 off the coast of Western Australia with the loss of 645 young men. But as the base for the US war effort in the Pacific, Brisbane's war seemed mainly with its allies, with the notorious Battle of Brisbane in late 1942 seeing Australian troops square off against their US counterparts. Thus the sinking of Australian Hospital Ship Centaur in May... The Australian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413352/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:07:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413347/posts THE Japanese government yesterday refused to take responsibility for the sinking of the Centaur, saying the circumstances surrounding the torpedoing of the Australian hospital ship on May 14, 1943, remained unclear. The Japanese embassy in Canberra said Tokyo had conducted its own inquiry into the wartime sinking that claimed 268 lives, and would wait for the outcome of the latest Australian investigation following the discovery of the Centaur's wreck 2059m below the surface on Sunday. "The circumstances were not clear given that it occurred during the Second World War. We will see how the ongoing investigation by Australia unfolds," the... The Australian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413347/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:03:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412137/posts Recapping the story begun at WUWT here and continued at WUWT here, data from the temperature station Darwin Zero in northern Australia was found to be radically adjusted and showing huge warming (red line, adjusted temperature) compared to the unadjusted data (blue line). The unadjusted data showed that Darwin Zero was actually cooling over the period of the record. Here is the adjustment to Darwin Zero: Figure 1. The GHCN adjustments to the Darwin Zero temperature record. Watts Up With That? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412137/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:54:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411961/posts THE Rudd Government will press ahead with its plan to put a price tag on carbon pollution even though the leaders of other nations refused to reach a legally binding agreement on reducing global warming in Copenhagen. Treasurer Wayne Swan said the controversial emissions trading scheme that would push up the cost of electricity and power was "just as relevant now as it was before Copenhagen and we need to pass the bill for business certainty". The ETS was rejected by the Senate earlier this month and the Government planned to re-introduce the scheme for parliamentary approval in February next... The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411961/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:55:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411851/posts When a politician today talks about the importance of the Bible, you can expect there to be a swift and stern reaction. Federal Opposition leader Tony Abbott made such a remark recently and all the usual suspects started lining up to condemn him for making such a suggestion. Of course it does not help matters much when media headlines distort what was in fact said. One headline and byline implied that Abbott was demanding compulsory Bible reading in our schools. What he in fact said was a bit different: "I think everyone should have some familiarity with the great texts... virtueonline.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411851/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:46:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411409/posts WITH their night-vision scopes, balaclavas, infrared cameras and camouflage disguises, this crack squad of undercover agents may look like as though they belong in an Iraq war zone rather than Port Macquarie's Hastings River. But their job is to smash the black market oyster trade in NSW. They're the oyster cops. With the demand for seafood peaking over Christmas, oyster farmers have reported thefts of thousands of dollars worth of oysters that put the public at risk when sold at unsafe temperatures. North Coast Fisheries officer John Timmins said thieves paddle to farms at night in kayaks or canoes and... The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411409/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:29:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411386/posts SHIPWRECK hunters have found the hospital ship Centaur which was torpedoed without warning in 1943 off the Queensland coast, killing 268 people. Search director David Mearns has advised government officials of the exact location of the wreck and said filming of the wreck would begin in January. Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Australians and relatives of those who had been aboard the ship were grateful for the find. "The discovery of the AHS Centaur will ensure all Australians know and commemorate the 268 brave nurses and crew who died in the service of their nation," Ms Gillard said. "I... news.com.au http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411386/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:29:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411345/posts A NEAR disaster involving an Emirates jet at Melbourne Airport was the result of human error by two apparently alert pilots, air safety investigators believe. The March 20 scare, when an Airbus A340 struggled to get airborne, was caused by an "inadvertent" keystroke on a flight computer. The error meant the Dubai-bound aircraft was flown on the basis that it was carrying 100 tonnes less than it actually was, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said. Its tail hit the runway five times during a botched takeoff. The ATSB's interim report said the first officer "inadvertently inserted a takeoff weight of... Herald Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411345/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:00:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411285/posts GLOBAL leaders went to Copenhagen to save the world but used the final hours to desperately try and save face.A "frustrated" Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last night joined US President Barack Obama in putting the most positive spin on the outcome of the conference, but the final "deal" was condemned across the political spectrum. Poor countries and green groups were outraged by the three-page "political statement" brokered by Mr Obama - and four other national leaders - in the dying hours. Mr Obama called the outline of the agreement - yet to be endorsed by most other countries last night... The Sunday Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411285/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:54:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411040/posts A man who shouted he was looking "to kill blacks" before an unprovoked murder of a Sudanese refugee did not commit a racially motivated crime, a Victorian Supreme Court judge has ruled. Just hours before the attack, Clinton David Rintoull sprayed the abusive words on the wall of a house in suburban Noble Park in September 2007. He later stood outside the house armed with a metal pole and shouted: "These blacks are turning the town into the Bronx. I'm going to take my own town back. I'm looking to kill blacks". As Rintoull walked down the street looking for... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411040/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:56:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410742/posts THE Vatican's believed to poised for a long awaited announcement today on Mary MacKillop. Mother MacKillop is expected to be named Australia's first saint by Pope Benedict XVI at The Vatican around midday. Australia's ambassador to the Holy See Tim Fischer said while no official decision has been made, the Vatican has indicated it will make an announcement around midday today. "There is advice that an announcement is expected in relation to the cause of Blessed Mary MacKillop...this advice is predicated on a decision yet to be formally made with regard to the second miracle and the relevant decree,'' Mr... news.com.au http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410742/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:57:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410739/posts BIBLE classes should be compulsory so children have a fundamental understanding of Christianity on leaving school, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says. "I think everyone should have some familiarity with the great texts that are at the core of our civilisation," Mr Abbott said. "That includes, most importantly, the Bible. "I think it would be impossible to have a good general education without at least some serious familiarity with the Bible and with the teachings of Christianity. "That doesn't mean that people have to be believers." But former Howard government Islamic advisor Dr Ameer Ali, said Mr Abbott's remarks were... Herald Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410739/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:52:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410298/posts The Chief Marxist in the White House undoubtedly took notes on the teary eyed dramatics put on by the Australian Barrister/ Global Warming Thug. Tuvalu envoy makes tearful appeal; calls for strong agreement Betwa Sharma/PTI / Copenhagen December 12, 2009, 17:39 IST The chief climate change negotiator of the tiny Pacific island of Tuvalu today made an emotional appeal for a strong agreement that would legally bind all countries to commitments to control carbon emissions. Ian Fry Australian Barrister/Attorney Representing Tuvalu in the Global Warming Caused by Man Hoax Speaking in the main hall of the Bella Centre where... Business Standard PTI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410298/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:32:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409342/posts THE Copenhagen climate summit was pretty much summed up in the high-level segment yesterday when Penny Wong's speech was interrupted by whistles and chanting and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez got a standing ovation. President Chavez brought the house down. When he said the process in Copenhagen was “not democratic, it is not inclusive, but isn’t that the reality of our world, the world is really and imperial dictatorship…down with imperial dictatorships” he got a rousing round of applause. When he said there was a “silent and terrible ghost in the room” and that ghost was called capitalism, the applause was... The Australian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409342/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:08:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409271/posts A RISQUE billboard that depicts Jesus's mother looking dejected after unsatisfying sex with Joseph has given Kiwi Catholics a nasty pre-Christmas surprise. The huge ad erected in downtown Auckland today shows the unhappy couple in bed accompanied by the slogan: "Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow". In the fresco-style work, Joseph looks down red-faced while an anguished Mary looks to the heavens. It was the brainchild of a progressive Christian church, St Matthew's, whose vicar Archdeacon Glynn Cardy says it was a cutting-edge strategy to engage non-believers. "Progressive Christianity is distinctive in that not only does it... news.com.au http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409271/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:00:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409079/posts I AM often asked to talk at schools and almost always ask students three questions about a film that lies about the "stolen generations". First: "How many of you have been shown Rabbit-Proof Fence?" Answer: every one. Second: "Have you been shown the movie as a great piece of film-making, or as a history lesson?" Answer: in every case as history. You know, like you learn America's history from John Wayne movies. And third: "How many of you have checked whether the film is actually true, by, say, reading the book on which it's based?" Answer: of thousands of students,... Herald Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409079/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:26:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409072/posts The First Australian Officer to be appointed to a coalition command position will lead an Australian Navy Command team as part of a Multinational Task Force in the Gulf. Twenty five Royal Australian Navy officers and sailors have departed to the Middle East to form the command group of a Coalition Naval Task Force, engaged in counter terrorism and maritime security operations. “Our mission will be to sustain maritime security in the region, which includes deterring and countering terrorist movements at sea, to keep the seas open and safe for international shipping,” said Commodore Menhinick, appointed Commander of the Task... Commonwealth of Australia Department of Defence http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409072/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:14:46 GMT