It’s not just the world of video games that has felt the wrath of South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson. New details have come to light concerning his role in the recent attempt by the South Australian government to prohibit anonymous political commentary on the internet.

In a report that aired on the ABC’s Media Watch last night, it was revealed that a particular post made on the AdelaideNow website on December 8 drew Atkinson’s ire. The post referred to Atkinson as a ‘crook’, and was swiftly taken down, with an apology posted in its place. This was not enough to pacify Atkinson. The post’s author soon received a letter from Atkinson’s lawyers, demanding $20,000 in compensation.

Media Watch presenter Jonathan Holmes was merciless in his commentary on the matter.

“Be warned. In South Australia at least, if you want to be rude about a minister in an internet post, [it's] safer to do it anonymously. The state’s chief law officer is prepared to threaten an ordinary citizen with ruin for posting rude remarks on the net, even when they were taken down within a couple of hours.”

You can stream or download the latest explosive episode of Media Watch from the official website.

Tasmania’s Liberals are now backing mandatory sentencing for serious assaults against police and emergency service workers.

Oh it’s AGAINST not from.

Last month, both the Liberal and Labor parties rejected calls by the Police Association for minimum sentencing laws for assaults.

Heheh.

The Liberal Leader, Will Hodgman, says he has changed his mind after seeing how new laws have been applied in Western Australia.

If the Liberals win government, he says an assault involving bodily harm will attract a minimum penalty of six months in prison.

“I’ve had conversations with the police association and I’ve spoken with police officers,” he said.

“Just this week I was on the west coast and had a conversation with a police officer who was a victim of assault and it just affirmed in my mind that we need to do whatever we can to protect these people.”

The Liberals also want to introduce a new crime of “serious assaults” for those against people over 60 or under 16, for people with a disability or for hate or race-based crimes.

The laws would be reviewed after two years.

Ok, well that’s the news for today, thanks for viewing, the rest of the days/weeks happenings are basically shit.

The Queensland Government will consider the Federal Government’s $50 billion plan to take over health services, but the Opposition has rejected it.

The Queensland Government is doing maths! OH MY GOD!

Premier Anna Bligh says the changes will take weeks to digest, but her first response is positive.

“Finally a government federally that will accept responsibility for growth – that is a good news part of this package,” she said.

She only says that because she’s Labor.

Health Minister Paul Lucas acknowledges it is big cut in Good and Services Tax (GST) revenue.

“We want to do the maths on that,” he said.

Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek says it is a vote of no confidence in state Labor.

But he says he has no confidence in federal Labor either.

Huh? Maths!

“Kevin Rudd couldn’t even put insulation in our roofs – why would we give him the responsibility for health,” he said.

As for other states, Ms Bligh says if some choose not to be involved, a referendum may not be a bad thing.

No.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says he takes heart from a new opinion poll that shows the Coalition is level pegging with Labor.

The poll of New South Wales voters in today’s Fairfax newspapers shows the Coalition is equal with Labor on a two-party preferred basis.

However, Kevin Rudd remains the preferred prime minister at 53 per cent compared to Mr Abbott’s 40 per cent.

Bugger.

Mr Abbott welcomed the poll result but said the Coalition had a long way to go to win government.

About 13

“I’m not making too much of this poll,” he told Channel Ten.

I’m unhappy about it too.

“Yes, it’s a bit encouraging but there is a lot of work for the Coalition to do.

As above, 13% mate.

“I think what it does indicate though is that people are starting to figure out that the Prime Minister is all talk and no action.”

BINGO!

The Federal Government has been criticised for botching the home insulation program and for missing its own deadline on announcing major changes to the health system.

Huh? Rudd: This is madness.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says his Government deserves a “whacking” from voters over its efforts to deliver election promises.

Abbott: This is Sparta!

He says he accepts responsibility for the problems and admits he needs to improve his communication skills.

LOL!

Mr Rudd told the ABC’s Insiders program that the Government needs to lift its game.

I agree.

“I think people are becoming disappointed at the pace of the delivery of the commitments that we have made,” he said.

“We ain’t walking away from it one bit. There has been a delay and I’ve been blamed for that, criticised for that – fair cop.”

The Victorian Government has announced plans to give Consumer Affairs inspectors the power to seize knives that are being sold illegally across the state.

The announcement follows the latest knife incident in which a 27-year-old man was slashed across the face as he tried to stop gatecrashers from entering a 16th birthday party at East Bentleigh.

The Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson says he is appalled by the attack.

“We cannot simply sit down and watch younger Victorians simply take up possession of knives to go out to parties with knives. That’s clearly not on. It’s a very, very dangerous thing,” he said.

Mr Robinson says the first stage of the crackdown will involve Consumer Affairs officers joining police in the search for and removal of knives that are being sold illegally.

And here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)

“We do all have a responsibility to address this very unfortunate trend where Victorian teenagers think it’s cool to go out armed with a knife,” he said.

He says he hopes Consumer Affairs officers will also soon have the power to issue on the spot fines to retailers who illegally sell knives.

What’s next on the agenda?

The Federal Government is under pressure to refer new claims concerning the mismanagement of its home insulation program to the Auditor General.

The Federal Opposition is calling for an independent inquiry into whether Environment Minister Peter Garrett ignored warnings from his own department about potential problems with the home insulation program.

The Opposition’s call comes after Mr Garrett was yesterday stripped of his responsibility for overseeing the troubled scheme.

Government frontbencher Greg Combet has been handed the job of winding up the old insulation program and rolling out a new one.

But Coalition Environment spokesman Greg Hunt wants the Auditor General to investigate claims made by a departmental whistleblower to Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper.

The whistleblower claims Mr Garrett ignored warnings from technical staff within his own department about potential hazards with the scheme.

“It is time now for the Government to hold an urgent and comprehensive Auditor General’s inquiry into the scope of the warnings and the way in which the Government at the highest level systematically ignored all of the warnings,” Mr Hunt said.

He says the claims made by a departmental whistleblower are extremely serious and must be examined by an independent inquiry.

“The Prime Minister must agree, no more cover-up, no more delay, a full Auditor General’s inquiry into all of the internal warnings and advice to the minister, to senior officials and to the Prime Minister’s department,” he said.

The new insulation minister, Mr Combet, is today receiving briefings from government officials about the scheme.

Garrett ‘eaten up’

Mr Garrett will remain a cabinet minister despite being stripped of his responsibilities over the home insulation scheme.

Greens Senator Bob Brown has accused the Rudd Government of “eating up then relegating” Mr Garrett in what he claims is a sad time for Australia.

Senator Brown says Mr Garrett’s demotion means Australia has lost strong representation for the environment.

He believes the decision will leave a feeble, ineffective ministry.

“I’m really sad about Peter but that’s the way the Labor Party works, and they are just not going to stand up for the environment, you can see that,” he said.

“Martin Ferguson’s in charge of energy now, not Penny Wong, and it’s going to be the fossil fuel industry’s reign over renewable energy, solar power, all the good things we should be getting in an age of climate change.”

The climate change department now has responsibility for the service delivery of energy efficiency programs such as insulation; a recognition that the environment department was never set up to do that.

For Mr Garrett it was a very public Prime Ministerial-delivered humiliation, coming as close as he could to being sacked without actually losing his job.

“Let’s not try and sugar-coat this – this represents a reduced range of responsibilities; that is a fact,” Mr Rudd said.

Mr Rudd has described Mr Combet as a man of “vast experience” who he is confident will iron out problems with the scheme.

He says Mr Combet is the natural choice for the job.

“Who as previous head of the ACTU is a very practical bloke… this will be a hard task and a difficult job,” he said.

“I have entrusted it to him and have confidence with his abilities to get on with what will be a hard task.”

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott still wants Mr Garrett to be sacked.

“Peter Garrett should simply have been sacked,” he said.

“We shouldn’t have what amounts to a new department created just because the Prime Minister lacks the guts to just sack the Minister who has been responsible for the most monumental administrative disaster in recent Australian history.”

Industry tarnished

Meanwhile, building industry officials have called on the Government to reinstate a revamped insulation program as quickly as possible to restore consumer confidence in the industry.

Wilhelm Harnisch from Master Builders Australia says the sector’s reputation has been damaged by the episode.

“It’s got to be remembered it’s not the builders who’ve been doing this,” he said.

“It’s some of the shonks who’ve come in late into this program who are seeking to rip off the system, rip off the home owners and who have no concerns about safety.

“They’re the people that government and industry want to get rid of.”

So Peter “Midnight Oil” Garrett has been demotivated. And people have died. OK….

Tasmania’s political leaders have attempted to woo the information technology sector at a forum in Hobart.

The Premier, David Bartlett spoke first promising to create a new minister for innovations, science and information technology if re-elected. He also pledged almost $5 million to boost health and education programs linked to the proposed national broadband network.

The Opposition leader, Will Hodgman is promising to appointment a chief technology officer and chief information officer to drive progress in the sector. He says the Liberals new advisory body, Infrastructure Tasmania, would do better at overseeing key projects like the NBN rollout independent from politics.

I have no doubt that the Libs could do a better job. I’ve still yet to experience this “NBN”

The Greens leader, Nick McKim, said Tasmania needs to exploit being the first state chosen for the broadband rollout by exploiting digital opportunities from the move to a low carbon economy.

Here’s the actual greens statement:

“The Greens leader, Nick McKim, said Tasmania needs to exploit being the first state chosen for the Greens rollout by exploiting natural opportunities from the move to a low to no electricity economy. Or country.”

Victoria Police say there were 13 incidents involving knives in Melbourne at the weekend, most of which were alcohol or drug-related and involved young men.

The director of the Alfred Hospital’s Emergency and Trauma Centre, Dr De Villiers Smit, says the past weekend is one he will never forget.

“I worked this weekend and to the best of my knowledge I can’t remember it being so busy with regard to stabbings,” he said.

“We see quite a variety of injuries – on the weekend specifically we saw some stabbings to the abdomen, the chest and also to limbs.

“Clearly for us the stabbings to the chest and the abdomen would be very severe and potentially life-threatening.”

Victoria Police say there has been a 9 per cent rise in robberies involving knives over the past year.

Dr Smit says the hospital has seen a massive increase in the numbers of assaults in recent years.

Yes, and at school too!

“In general, assaults have increased by about 50 per cent in the last couple of years, even more than 50 per cent,” he said.

“We used to see about 100 to 120 assaults a year. Now we are way over 150 assaults – mostly blunt trauma, but the proportion of stabbings have gone up as well.”

Some researchers believe teenagers and young men carry knives for defence, while others believe they carry them because they think it is cool.

It’s not cool, and why would you carry a knife for defence?

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Kieren Walsh says unlike guns, knives are easy to obtain.

Waits for the group of idiots who call themselves “Gun Control Australia.” (Supposedly Post Offices hand out guns) – according to them anyway.

“One of the things that we have detected is that some of these weapons are normal household domestic kitchen knives or steak knives, which are very easy to grab from the kitchen as you are leaving the house,” he said.

Call for action

Former deputy commissioner Bob Falconer says it is clear more people are carrying knives.

He says federal and state governments need to put money towards a national advertising campaign warning of the dangers of knife attacks.

“We have done this with seatbelts and we’ve done this with drink-driving,” he said.

Still happens though – true story.

“We’ve done it with speeding to a large extent and we are even doing it with smoking, which is harmful behaviour.

“Why aren’t we doing it when our young people are carrying knives?

“I see one brave school principal over the weekend came out calling it. There has been a growth in young people carrying knives in the community and that has impacted within our schools – which is a microcosm after all.

“The trouble is, educators and education bureaucrats have been in denial on this for some years.”

The school principal speaking out is Tony Simpson from Melbourne Copperfield College.

Speaking to The Age newspaper on Saturday, he confirmed the entrenched culture of denial by schools about what is happening.

He says principals fear losing enrolments and damaging the image of their school, but says for him it is too late in his career to worry about that.

Mr Simpson says all the theories about knives in schools are true, but that social disconnection is the main reason why teenagers bring knives to school.

He blames less involvement in sports clubs, youth groups and church groups and a crisis in parenting creating teenagers not connected to anything much.

Here’s an article on how it came around – and how they got fined:

SYDNEY (AFP) — An Australian hire firm which painted “Save a Whale–Harpoon a Jap” on the side of one its camping vans was accused by a senior politician Thursday of racism and risking a tourist backlash.

Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said she was concerned that Japanese tourists should feel welcome in the state.

Money brought in by Japanese visitors is an important part of Australia’s tourism earnings, despite an ongoing dispute between the two countries over Japanese whaling in Antarctic waters.

The northern city of Cairns, where the van was spotted, is a popular destination for tourists visiting the Great Barrier Reef.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that this slogan on a van in Cairns is racism, and racism has no place in Queensland,” Bligh told reporters in the state capital Brisbane.

“I think it’s important to reassure the people of Japan that Japanese tourists are welcomed with open arms here in Queensland, and no more warmly than they are in Cairns.”

Wicked Campers, the firm which owns the van, specialises in provocative slogans. It has in the past been accused of sexism over other slogans and has been reported to Australia’s Advertising Standards Bureau.

Bligh urged anyone offended by the latest slogan to complain.

“This latest slogan on the side of a Wicked van I think has really descended into bad taste and one that is damaging our reputation internationally,” Bligh said.

“I would encourage anybody who sees these sorts of slogans to bring them to the attention of the relevant authorities, because I’m determined to stamp it out.”

A company official contacted by AFP confirmed that the company had painted the slogan on one of its vans.

General manager Dave Kinkead said he believed the slogan had not been removed and the van was still available for hire in the Cairns area.

The firm had only received one complaint about the van, he said, adding that although its main clientele was European, it had Japanese clients as well.

“The reason the van is out there is to bring awareness to quite a contemporary issue, of harpooning of these beautiful animals,” he said.

Lol still.

STEPHEN Conroy has been a guest of the three commercial television networks at some of Australia’s biggest sporting events during his time as Communications Minister.

The extent of the largesse received by the sports-loving minister adds to the appearance of a conflict of interest after his decision to offer a rebate to the free-to-air TV networks worth $250 million over the next two years.

Parliamentary documents reveal that Senator Conroy has attended football, AFL, motor racing and horse-racing events as guests of the commercial TV networks and other companies that depend on his decisions for millions of dollars in revenue.

At several grand prix and spring racing carnival events he was enjoying the hospitality of multiple hosts on the same day.

Apart from TV networks, Senator Conroy was also hosted by Ericsson, Optus, Vodafone, Service Stream and Australia Post.

On some occasions his hosts were sports organisations themselves, including the AFL and Football Federation Australia, which are waiting for a decision about new rules for televised sport that could have a big effect on the value of broadcast rights.

Senator Conroy also received an autographed and framed Chelsea jersey last May from Foxtel, which has been critical of the fee rebate given to its free-to-air rivals.

Just don’t let those free to air channels steal our life insurance advertisements!

Senator Conroy’s expansive list of sport events is drawn from the twice-a-year listing of gifts worth $300 or more received by senators, stretching back to the time he became a minister in 2007. In the latest update, last November, Senator Conroy’s gift list was the second-longest of any senator, behind the Greens leader, Bob Brown, who declared the donations received to help him avoid bankruptcy.

If only he didn’t get those “donations” the parliament would be 1 crappy party less. Next on the list: Labor (notice how they use the American spelling). God save the president of the United States of Australia (and minor outlying countries).

Senator Conroy was in Mount Isa in Queensland yesterday, launching the $250 million national broadband network’s regional black-spot program, being rolled out under contract by Nextgen Networks. Nextgen is a subsidiary of Leighton Holdings, whose managing director, Wal King, owns property in Aspen, Colorado, about two hours from where Senator Conroy and the chairman of Seven Network, Kerry Stokes, went skiing in January.

It is understood that Senator Conroy and Mr King met last month in Colorado. But the two did not go skiing together, nor did the minister receive any hospitality from Leighton’s managing director.

Senator Conroy did not respond to a request for comment.

He couldn’t respond as the internet filter blocked everything crappy out, thus we did not get any emails from him what-so-ever. However we did get some Viagra spam.