Beach erosion a shore sign of why we need urgent action
CLOSE TO HOME: Climate change’s harmful effects on human health are already being felt, physician John Van Der Kallen warns. It’s common knowledge that the amount of sand on beaches changes over time. Inheavy seas, sand is eroded from beaches. In calmer periods, sand is deposited. However, we are entering a new world and can no longer be reassured by the past processes where sand on beaches is replenished.
Projections are that we are likely to see an increase in beach erosion.The recent events at Stockton where the sea came within two metres of a childcare facility are a prime example.
The culprit behind our receding shores, rising sea levels and increasing extreme weather events is climate change.Yet, disturbingly, articles and subsequent editorial dealing with Stockton’s long-term erosion (NSW government not prepared to fund a groyne at Stockton, January 19, 2018) make no mention of climate change when discussing solutions.Ironically, on the same editorial page there was the story of health professionals getting arrested to stop the Adani coalmine – a mine that will worsen warming.
Climate change is here and now, and we need to start taking it more seriously. Its harmfuleffects on human healthare already being seen.
There have been calls for local and state governments to act. But what do we expect them to do?
The obvious solution is to shore up the beach to allow more sand to accumulate in front of the facility. However, at best, this is going to be only a temporary solution. And what about the rest of Stockton and any other low lying area in Newcastle or Australia?
The expected rise in sea level is well documented. This can be seen on the government website(ozcoasts.gov419论坛). The government is fully aware of what is happening. So why are they not taking it seriously?
I suspect, because it is too hard and goes against too many vested interests.
If the government took global warming seriously it would be urgently changing policy to reduce our emissions as quickly as possible.Seventy-five per cent of NSW electricity still comes from coal-fired power stations. Not only do these cause immediate health issues, they contribute to greenhouse gases and sea level rise.
Nationally, a third of our emissions come from vehicles. How is it possible that public transport is getting harder to use when we need to be using it more? Where are the incentives for us all to be changing to electric vehicles? Where is the money for adequate bike paths?Why does the government spendbillions on new roads and neglect bike paths?
Fifteen per cent of our emissions come from food production. Half of Australia’s land surface is devoted to grazing and 11 per cent for cropping. The majority of the cropping is used to produce food for animals. The majority of land clearing is to provide more space for animal grazing. What we eat has a direct effect on climate change.
The Stockton childcare facility problem is a problem for all of us. There is no easy answer, which is why, I suspect, the government response has been tardy.
Rising sea levels and more erosion are facts of life we are going to have to manage.To lessen the impact, society must take climate change seriously and make dramatic changes. We need leaders who are willing to make tough decisions. Currently, it is business as usual, which is just not good enough.
John Van Der Kallenis a physician practicing in Newcastle and a member of Doctors for the Environment Australia.
Readers’ tips: The Tip-o-meter
Tell us about the most exciting day tour you’ve ever taken and we’ll publish the best letters
TIP OF THE WEEK: FREEZE
I recently booked am 11-day tour with to Iceland and, as I often do when I travel to foreign places, I decided to add a couple of extra days to my itinerary. I’m so glad I did so.
I arrived a day before the tour started and found an exciting tour called “Into the Glacier” (intotheglacier.is), departing from the capital, Reykjavik. It’s not cheap but is worth every penny.
An ice cave has been dug into a 1355-metres long glacier (the second biggest in Iceland) and you’re taken inside it and under the ice. Being transported to the top of the glacier in a special huge truck and then fitted out in special gear due to the wet and cold inside was all part of the fun.
Irene Gillespie, North Turramurra, NSW
RED FACES
While holidaying in Berlin we decided to extend our hotel accomodation for a few extra days to give us time to book a visit the German Bundestag (Parliament House). On inquiring direct with the hotel’s front desk we were disappointed to discover they were fully booked.
Undeterred, we returned to our room, searched a hotel booking website and discovered our existing hotel with discounted rooms available for the days we needed. After booking the room, we returned to the front desk, advised them we had booked the days we wanted. We then, much to our delight and their red faces, requested and received our existing room.
Stephen Yeates, Dee Why, NSW
HEY JUDE
On a recent safari trip to Tanzania, my family and I visited and stayed The School of St Jude . It was established in 2002 by an Australian woman Gemma Sisia who, starting with a $10 Rotary Club donation decided to build a school for students from the poorest families.
The first classroom housed just three students and now, 16 years later, St Jude consists of three campuses, 1800 students, 1400 boarders and 300 staff. Hot lunch is provided each day to every student with more than 1 million meals served each year.
The annual budget of $US5 million ($6.26 million) comes from 17,000 donors, mostly Australians, with the school remaining free to students. Please donate if you can. schoolofstjude.org
Philip Monardo, Sydney, NSW Solicitor
PLAINLY JANE
I have been meaning to write to thank your columnist Michael “The Tripologist” Gebicki following my stay at the Jane Hotel in New York, as a single traveller, which I booked after reading his recommendation in Traveller on Sunday.
It was such an interesting place to stay, with a delightful cafe on the first floor, open at hours that suited my long day outings around Manhattan. The sunset view from the roof bar, towards the Hudson River, was glorious. I enjoyed my stay at the Jane Hotel so much I would definitely return to it.
Jennifer Morgan-Nicholson, Lane Cove, NSW
Charity’s NDIS complaints
PRICED OUT: Meals on Wheels volunteers Robert Wark and Lyn Richardson with co-ordinator Denise Lloyd. The organisation says it is having problems with the NDIS and fears being priced out. Picture: Simone De PeakNEWCASTLE Meals on Wheels general manager Damien Isaacs says he is not accusing his competitors of rorting the NDIS.
But he is saying that NDIS pricing schedules are being applied inconsistently and that some of his competitors are using NDIS delivery fees to cross-subsidise the price of their meals, meaning that Meals on Wheels is finding it hard to compete in Newcastle, the Central Coast and Sydney.
At the heart of his concern is differing advice over how much Meals on Wheels can charge to deliver seven days’ worth of food.
Mr Isaacs said Meals on Wheels was told it could only charge $11.61 for a single delivery of seven meals.
But he said he was losing NDIS clients to competitors who were charging the NDIS the $11.61 for every meal delivered, allowing them to charge as little as $3 a meal, or almost half the price of some Meals on Wheels offerings.
The NDIS told the Newcastle Herald: “Food is a daily living expense, and as such is not funded by NDIS supports.
“Food delivery however, where appropriate and identified as reasonable and necessary in a participant’s plan, can be funded by the NDIS.”
Mr Isaacs said NDIS participants had told him they were moving to competitors because the out-of-pocket cost was cheaper, even though they knew the provider was taking more out of their NDIS package for delivery.
“I don’t really want to get into the philosophy of this but there is a perception that NDIS plan money is not thought of in the same way as direct cash,” Mr Isaacs said.
He said Newcastle Meals on Wheels had about 800 clients including about 40 on the NDIS. He said the organisation would be financially better off out of the NDIS but it was committed to looking after the most vulnerable people in the community.
“What I do want is a level playing field, a fair and competitive market place so that everyone is charging the same way,” Mr Isaacs said. “I have tried to raise this with the NDISsince October but we have heard nothing back.
“What we need is for them to have a quick, simple review of the situation and then to publicise the result, so that we all know the exact amount that can be charged, and whether it is per meal or per delivery.”
The Herald sent detailed questions to the National Disability Insurance Agency, which runs the NDIS, but it replied in general terms without addressing itsclaimed lack of response to Meals on Wheels.
“The providers who offer food delivery services can quote and charge up to the price in the NDIS pricing guide,” NDIA said. “As such, costs may vary, depending on the number of meals prepared and the number of deliveries required.”
The peak body for disability providers, National Disability Services, endorsed the concerns of Newcastle Meals on Wheels.
Its chief executive, Ken Baker, saidhis organisation’sState of the Disability Sector reportreleased in December found that 68% of disability service providers were worried they would be unable to provide services at the prices being offered under the NDIS.
He said the other two mainproblems were inconsistent NDIS plans for individuals anddelays in payments for services already provided.
Failure of the homeless is less than sporting
MEAN STREETS: One contributor questions whether we are offering enough help to the homeless in Newcastle, asking “how this can be happening in our affluent society”.WE are building infrastructure and housing and hosting sporting events at great cost whilst people live on the streets of Newcastle. Alan, who lived in the doorway of my office, and David and Denise, who live in their car at Pat Jordan oval are living examples.They seem decent and fairly normal and not that different to most of us so what is wrong? They have fallen through the cracks.
They say that they are on the department’shousing list and are in the system. It is taking a lot of time with a lot of properties vacant.Their welfare benefits do not mean that they can rent somewhere to live because they fail the usual rental history tests or cannot afford the rent. They have exceeded the normal limits of the various refuges. What is left?
It is not my problem. I sleep in a bed in a home with a meal each night. I have to look at it and live with it though and I do notlike it because it could be me one day.
I question how this can be happening in our affluent society.
Craig Doyle,NewcastleSTOCKED UP ON QUESTIONSIn 1953 as a 10-year-old, my family moved toPitt Street, Stockton, where the swimming centre is now. Across King Street where the Stockton caravan park is now, there was a garbage tip. Along with many others I used to fossick in the tip looking for anything of value or interest.
Council trucks used to dump their loads on this site. As a Teachers College graduate I left Newcastle in 1963 and returned in 2006, so I was not aware of changes in that time.
My questions are: what ever happened to that tip and its contents? When was the caravan park established? Can anyone else remember this, orthe shark net?
Frank Alley,AshtonfieldMAKE IT A TREE CHANGEON my walk this morning I went past the light rail work being done on Hunter Street between Auckland and Union streets. I was saddened to see that nine mature trees on the northern side of Hunter Street have been cut down. I suppose the three beautiful mature trees on the southern side will soon go also.It is a shame that some thoughtful engineering work could not have been done to preserve these trees which do so much to soften the urban streetscape and make it a pleasant place to be.I hope that the trees will be replaced, even though I will not live long enough to see them again in their mature beauty.
Kevin Harrison, NewcastleA NATIONAL DATING GAMEMOVING AustraliaDay from 26thJanuary would increase unity and reduce division, Jeff Corbett (‘The division is outdated’, Herald, 20/1).
The injustices inflicted on Aboriginal Australians, which began on January 261788, have continued down through generationsfor 230 years. A stark division between the two societies persists to this day. Aboriginal peopleare still worse off compared to the rest of Australiainincome, housing, health care, life expectancy, education, rates of imprisonment and employment. Australia Day is “Invasion Day”, a day to be mourned – whether people like MrCorbett accept or like this or not.
In any case, what makes January 26 so worthy of celebration for people of Anglo-Irish descent? It can hardly be regarded as a day for celebration. This is the date when a bunch of criminals were dumped on these shores to fend for themselves or diein a prison camp half way across the world.
Many of these criminals were escaping execution. Most of them were not nice people. However, they did enjoy a good drink, just like many of their descendants today. Maybe that’s where this Australia Day tradition comes from in the first place. But perhaps the convictsweren’t celebrating. Instead they may have been trying to forget and to escape their lot in life.
Many Australians today, or their forebears, came from elsewhere in the worldand feel no connection whatever to indigenous Australians, the Anglo-Irish or January 26. To them, the date is meaningless.
Somoving Australia Day from January 26 whilst pleasing Aboriginal people should be a matter of indifference for most non-Aboriginal Australians,apart from a few recalcitrant traditionalists who have not thought the issue through. Moving Australia Day should reduce division and increase unity amongall Australians , which could only help us to celebrate the day together.
Geoff Black,Caves BeachLEADERS MUST BE DECISIVETHOUSANDS march in the US in protest against Trump’s style of rule, but the soonerpeople realise our leaders are not meant to be Mr or Mrs Nice Guy,the sooner they can get on doing their job.Their job is to make hard economic decisions, getting best value for taxpayers’ money. They areno different from company directors looking after shareholders.
Trump appears to withstand public opinionwhich is way different from here, where our leaders crumble at the slightest sign of unrest and make bad financial and other decisions.
Trump realises he won’t be re-elected.Hejust gets on doing his job, unlike here where the next election is always part of most decisions.Could we do with another Trump here? l think we could do a darn side worse, consideringthe way we are heading.Do we want a strong leader, or a wimp that bows under pressure, with self-preservation the ultimate motivator?
Carl Stevenson, Dora CreekBATHE THEMTWICE A WEEKIT was a pleasure to read about the care of the Newcastle Ocean Baths under Peter and Jan Walmsley (Letters, 22/1).
As a regular morning visitor, it is sad how smelly and dirty the water becomes through the middle of summer.
Most mornings I take my swim behind the break at the beach, grateful for the presence of any early surfers. However, in my opinion the gentleman who currently tends to thebaths area is very diligent and hardworking.
I recall reading in the great Dawn Fraser’s autobiography how dirty the water would become in her training pool at Drummoyne (after she shifted over from Balmain) as they only changed the water once per week. This was in the 1950s.
The baths would surely become more amenable if the pool was emptied and refilled twice per week over summer, ideally not shutting for two days.
With residentsincreasing andhopefully improving transport, it is conceivable that the issue will not go away.
Craig Gardiner,Wallsend
World’s top 10 spy and cold war museums
INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM, WASHINGTON DC, US
Engaging and illuminating, the museum features archival videos, photographs and a satisfying collection of hardware – buttonhole cameras, a KGB lipstick pistol, a poison-tipped umbrella of the type Bulgarian agents used to assassinate dissident Georgi Markov in London and a replica of the Aston Martin DB5 featured in the James Bond Goldfinger flick. One of the stars is an Enigma machine, the cipher device used by the German military during World War II. “Cracked” by the Allies, the decoded messages contributed substantially to their victory. See spymuseum.orgSTASI MUSEUM, BERLIN GERMANY
Photo: Alamy
The Stasi were the feared secret police who kept a close watch on the citizens of East Germany to ensure the survival of the brutal and repressive dictatorship that ruled the country during the Cold War. Housed in the former offices of the Ministry for State Security, the apparatus of compliance has been preserved in all its chilling detail, including details of surveillance tactics and devices and a vast collection of personal files, the fruits of East Germany’s spy machinery. See stasimuseum.deKGB MUSEUM, PRAGUE CZECH REPUBLIC
This privately-owned collection operates out of a small set of rooms but it punches well above its modest size. Admission is by pre-arranged tour only, and visitors are conducted around the museum by an enthusiastic and passionate Russian who encourages hands-on interaction with the weapons, spy cameras and interrogation devices used in Czechoslovakia as elsewhere once ruled by the Soviet boot. Highlights include Lenin’s death mask, the ice pick supposedly used to murder Trotsky and the radio of Beria, the predatory puppet master of the Soviet state. See kgbmuseum南京夜网/en/NATIONAL CRYPTOLOGIC MUSEUM, FORT MEADE US
The US National Security Agency is responsible for gathering and processing information on people and activities that pose a potential threat to the United States, and this fascinating museum charts its work over the decades. With computers and telecommunications equipment, the museum reveals the behind-the-scenes work underpinning the security we take for granted. It’s the complete antithesis of James Bond sexiness, but then if they told you the whole story, they’d have to – well, you know. See [nsa.gov] BLETCHLEY PARK, BLETCHLEY, MILTON KEYNES, UK
Photo: Alamy
One of the most famous names in the spy business, it was at this manor house that codebreakers carried out the grunt work of breaking coded messages sent via Germany’s Enigma machines. Great pains have been taken to show the operation exactly as it was when the vital codebusting business was going on, with interactive wizardry to enhance the realism. A highlight for mathematical geeks, the displays include a working rebuilt Bombe machine, which unravelled the settings being used each day by the Germans. See bletchleypark.org.ukTHE COLD WAR MUSEUM, WARRENTON US
Housed in a former US Army Security Agency Field Station used by the CIA, this museum offers an I-spy view of some of the events that dominated word headlines during the Cold War, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Exhibits include a Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missile deployed to Cuba during the missile crisis and US Nike missiles. The museum was founded by Francis Gary Powers jnr, son of the pilot shot down in a U-2 spy plane during a reconnaissance mission over the Soviet Union. See coldwar.org THE CORNER HOUSE, RIGA LATVIA
Latvia was once a Soviet puppet state that operated under the watchful eye of the KGB, Moscow’s secret police, and their HQ in the capital of Riga was this former apartment building, still a potent symbol of occupation. Here, opponents of the regime were interrogated, tortured and executed and the offices and cells have been preserved in all their shabby and chilling detail to tell the story of life under Soviet rule. See kgbbuilding.lvMUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLITICAL REPRESSION, TOMSK RUSSIA
Within what was once a secret prison operated by the Soviet Union’s NKVD in this Siberian city, this is a backstage look at the enforcement measures required to operate a repressive totalitarian regime. In warts-and-all style, the museum’s exhibits include restored and reconstructed cells for political prisoners, interrogation rooms, photographs of prisoners and lists of those exiled or executed. The commentary is in Russian but an English-language tour is available. See nkvd.tomsk.ruMILITARY INTELLIGENCE MUSEUM, SHEFFORD UK
Located in a gated, operational military barracks and run by a small team of enthusiasts, this museum burrows into the work of military intelligence, one of the least-known chapters of the spy game. There’s a collection of aerial photography stretching back to World War I, a display dedicated to “BRIXMIS”, a shadowy intelligence-gathering mission that operated in East Germany during the Cold War and the work of the Special Operations Executive, which conducted acts of sabotage behind enemy lines in World War II. See militaryintelligencemuseum.orgGERMAN SPY MUSEUM, BERLIN GERMANY
Photo: Alamy
This is pure entertainment, a collection of the gadgets and techniques used by the world’s second oldest profession over the ages. There’s a whole room devoted to James Bond, a password cracker, interactive touch-screens and images that document the work of espionage in the city once at the frontline of the Cold War. Highlight is the laser maze where visitors test their acrobatic skills, as in Oceans Twelve. See deutsches-spionagemuseum.de
Federer waltzes into Berdych quarter-final
Blink and you might have missed it.
The man who reaches the meaningful end of grand slams with monotonous regularity, has done it once again. Roger Federer has cast opponents to the wayside in reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals or better for a 14th time.
Ominously, 36-year-old Federer hasn’t dropped a set on his way to the final eight, becoming the oldest man to reach the quarters in Australia since a 43-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1977.
His opponent in the round of 16 was little-known Hungarian Marton Fucsovics. At least the 25-year-old world No.80 took Federer to a tie-break set – a notch in the belt that only one other of Federer’s four opponents has managed in Melbourne. After a tick over two hours on court on Monday, Federer is seemingly fresh and primed for his Australian Open defence.
Heck, the stars could be aligning again. Could we see another Federer-Nadal finale? Nadal has been arguably the most impressive player in the top half of the men’s draw, dropping just set ahead of his quarter-final against Marin Cilic.
Federer was clinical against Fucsovics although it wasn’t until the 19-time major winner was two sets up and had secured a vital break in the third against the Hungarian that his comfort levels improved.
“It was tough until then,” Federer said, smiling as always, on court. “I was able to play a good match and I was very happy.”
While he may have been little-known to many watching on, Fucsovics was curiously familiar to the Swiss. In the not-so-distant past, Federer revealed, the Hungarian had been one of his practice partners in Switzerland.
“I knew his strengths and weaknesses,” Federer said.
“I played a best of five sets practice match against him in Switzerland .
“It’s been a while ago??? I started forgetting a bit how he’s played.”
With this fourth round win, otherwise just a footnote in Federer’s extensive catalogue, came a range of statistical achievements. Federer’s record in Melbourne is now 91-13, meaning he has matched his number of career wins at Wimbledon, the grass king boasting a 91-11 record at the All-England club.
Federer is also the oldest man to reach the quarters at a major since 39-year-old Jimmy Connors at the US Open in 1991. In the twilight of his career, no doubt, the horizon is still very rosy.
Next up for Federer is an old-time foe and a familiar face, Czech 19th seed and former top five player Tomas Berdych.B
Berdych, 32, defeated Italian Fabio Fognini, similarly seeded at Melbourne Park, in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, needing two hours and eight minutes on court..
Berdych has now reached the finals stage in Melbourne for a seventh time. It’s a noteworthy achievement for a player who last played in the Australian quarters two years ago but between 2011 and 2016 was a permanent fixture.
The win over Fognini came after a straight sets elimination of Juan Martin Del Potro. Berdych is humming along in Melbourne and has quietly cast his own path through the draw. He speaks fondly of his current good health.
“I’m enjoying it a lot. I’m glad, you know, to be back in the shape that I am right now, which is finally healthy and that, you know, that makes the difference. You know, I can play freely and I can have joy from the tennis,” Berdych said.
“Basically last year was really a tough one, you know. Beginning was nothing really special, then already the problems with my lower back started. I managed to get healthy for the grass and for Wimbledon. Played well. After, the problems came back.
“When I took decision just to stop and get myself back in the shape and get healthy, then I get a little bit more time. Finally I get good time for off-season and preparation, and now is everything paying off.”
This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.
SKD welcomes old mates on new mission
WHEN ShaunKenny-Dowall arrived in Newcastle midway through last season, he could have been forgiven for wondering what he was in for –on and off the field.
WORKING UP A THIRST: Shaun Kenny-Dowall cools off during a training session with the Newcastle Knights. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers
Coming from the hustle and bustle of Bondi, and one of the NRL’s most successful teams, the Kiwi international utility back could easily have suffered a case of culture shock in his new surrounds.
Six months on and Kenny-Dowall is feeling more and more Novocastrian by the day.
“I went to Sydney for Christmas, to see the family, but I couldn’t wait to get back up to Newy,” he said with a laugh. “It’s not until once you move up here that you realise how good it is. I’m sure all the boys that come here feel welcome and are happy they’ve made a home here.”
Kenny-Dowall, who celebrates his 31stbirthday on Tuesday, says life is “a bit more slower-paced here in Newcastle” and he is appreciating the change.
“Not as much traffic,” he said. “You don’t have to pay for parking at the beach, either.
“I’m really enjoying that side of things.I’ve found everyone in Newcastle to be very welcoming and friendly and they love their rugby league, which is exciting.”
Adding to the growing sense of familiarity, Kenny-Dowall is now surrounded by former Roosters teammates Mitchell Pearce, Aidan Guerra, Connor Watson and Tautau Moga.
He has played the vast majority of his 230 top-grade games in the same backline as Pearce.
“I think Pearey and I made our debuts within one game of each other,” he said.
“Here we are, still playing together, 11 years on. Aidan is another one, we’ve played in big games and won a grand final.
“We know how to get the best out of each other and we share a special bond as well.”
Kenny-Dowall admitted he had no inkling when he left Sydneyin well-documented circumstances last May that so many ex-Roosters would his lead.
In his six games for Newcastle, he was easily their most experienced player. Now the three-time wooden-spooners have strategically signed a host of veterans with proven records in high-stakes contests.
“It’s good to have that extra experience here now, the combination and friendships of people you’ve played with in the past,” he said.
“It’s an added advantage. You don’t have to spend time getting to learn how they play. The new guys that have come in have all fitted in really well and I think we’re shaping up nicely what the season coming up.”
Kenny-Dowall has spent the pre-seasontraining mainly on Newcastle’s right flank, outside Sione Mata’utia.
“We’re starting to build some really good combinations and it’s almost getting to that time when we’re getting ready to test ourselves against other teams,” he said.
Coming from a club accustomed to featuring in the play-offs, Kenny-Dowall said there was no reason Newcastle should not have similar expectations.
“You play rugby league, you want to play in the finals,” he said.
Margot Robbie and Lee Smith expected to get Oscar nods
Margot Robbie could be excused for being a little distracted at the Australian premiere of I, Tonya this week.
A few hours after the Sydney screening on Tuesday, she and Dunkirk editor Lee Smith are expected to lead the Australian contenders when the nominations for the 90th Academy Awards are announced in Los Angeles.
Robbie’s blazing performance as ice-skater Tonya Harding has her firmly in the running for a best actress nomination alongside Frances McDormand??? (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Saoirse Ronan??? (Lady Bird), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) and Meryl Streep??? (The Post).
In a poll on the generally-close-to-the-mark awards web site Gold Derby, 27 out of 31 Oscar pundits predict Robbie will be nominated from strong competition that includes Jessica Chastain??? (Molly’s Game), Kate Winslet??? (Wonder Wheel) and Michelle Williams (All The Money In The World).
Her first Oscar nomination would continue the stunning Hollywood rise for the former Neighbours star since she broke through with The Wolf of Wall Street barely four years ago.
For I, Tonya, a black comedy about the infamous 1994 attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan???, Robbie has been nominated already for a Golden Globe (pipped by Ronan), a Screen Actors Guild Award (losing to McDormand) and a British Academy Award as well as winning best actress at the Australian Academy’s international awards.
Robbie is one of the producers of I, Tonya, directed by fellow Australian Craig Gillespie, which also has a solid chance of a best picture nomination.
Smith, who has two previous Oscar nominations for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and The Dark Knight, is warm favourite to not just be nominated but also win best editor for Dunkirk.
All 26 pundits on the web site are predicting he will be nominated for his latest collaboration with director Christopher Nolan after Batman Begins, The Prestige, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar.
The Oscar nominations come as Hollywood continues to grapple with the #metoo and #timesup movements and follow the fiasco that saw Moonlight belatedly win best picture after La La Land was originally announced as winner last year.
Last year, Australia had a record 14 nominations including best picture nods for both Lion and Hacksaw Ridge.
This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.
Margot Robbie and Lee Smith expected to get Oscar nods
Margot Robbie could be excused for being a little distracted at the Australian premiere of I, Tonya this week.
A few hours after the Sydney screening on Tuesday, she and Dunkirk editor Lee Smith are expected to lead the Australian contenders when the nominations for the 90th Academy Awards are announced in Los Angeles.
Robbie’s blazing performance as ice-skater Tonya Harding has her firmly in the running for a best actress nomination alongside Frances McDormand??? (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Saoirse Ronan??? (Lady Bird), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) and Meryl Streep??? (The Post).
In a poll on the generally-close-to-the-mark awards web site Gold Derby, 27 out of 31 Oscar pundits predict Robbie will be nominated from strong competition that includes Jessica Chastain??? (Molly’s Game), Kate Winslet??? (Wonder Wheel) and Michelle Williams (All The Money In The World).
Her first Oscar nomination would continue the stunning Hollywood rise for the former Neighbours star since she broke through with The Wolf of Wall Street barely four years ago.
For I, Tonya, a black comedy about the infamous 1994 attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan???, Robbie has been nominated already for a Golden Globe (pipped by Ronan), a Screen Actors Guild Award (losing to McDormand) and a British Academy Award as well as winning best actress at the Australian Academy’s international awards.
Robbie is one of the producers of I, Tonya, directed by fellow Australian Craig Gillespie, which also has a solid chance of a best picture nomination.
Smith, who has two previous Oscar nominations for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and The Dark Knight, is warm favourite to not just be nominated but also win best editor for Dunkirk.
All 26 pundits on the web site are predicting he will be nominated for his latest collaboration with director Christopher Nolan after Batman Begins, The Prestige, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar.
The Oscar nominations come as Hollywood continues to grapple with the #metoo and #timesup movements and follow the fiasco that saw Moonlight belatedly win best picture after La La Land was originally announced as winner last year.
Last year, Australia had a record 14 nominations including best picture nods for both Lion and Hacksaw Ridge.
This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.
Law change sparks ‘codeine shopping’ concern
Picture: Dion GeorgopoulosA Hunter pharmacist believes new codeine lawscould have an opposite impact than intended by allowing people to “codeine shop” by obtaining multiple prescriptions through different doctors.
From February 1,medicines containing codeine will no longer be available without a prescription in a bid to reducehealth risks such as opioid tolerance, dependence, addiction, poisoning anddeath.
But pharmacist Lyndon McLeod of Greta Pharmacy said the initiativecould actually have the opposite effect, as people reliant on codeine couldobtain prescriptions from multiple doctors without being detected.
“There’s no system,” he said.“You don’t know whetherthat person has been to another surgery today or yesterday. People who are doing this aren’t going to the same pharmacy.”
Currently, Mr McLeod’s pharmacy uses a system called MEDSassist, whichtracks customers’ previous purchases of medicines containing codeine in real-time.
He said in the six months they have had the tool, between seven and 10 people have been refused codeine products due to their history.
Read more: Codeine crackdown: common painkillers will require a prescriptionCall for action as 113 deaths linked to pain pillsBut Mr McLeod said pharmacies would have to stop using MEDSassist once the changes come in and honour doctors’ scripts without knowing if the patient had used similar scripts at other pharmacies.
“When we started recording, we could actually identify the people codeine shopping,” he said.
“Other pharmacies couldlook it up. But now it won’t be recorded.”
Mr McLeod also believesthe law changes will mean people who experience acute pain may be left tosuffer for longer as they wait to get into the doctor to obtain a prescription.
“I believe that the vast majority of people in our community use these products safely,” he said. “But they’re being penalised because of the people abusing them.
“I think it’s a heavy handed approach.”
Mr McLeod is also concerned thatpeople may turnto alternative over-the-counterpainkillerscontaining things such as ibuprofen andnaproxen,which could be dangerousdue to existing medical conditionsor other medications they are taking.
“These drugs have their problems too,” he said.
Mr McLeod would like to see a more “common sense” regulation that wouldallow pharmacists to give people withacute pain a limited three-day supply as well asmonitorcodeine purchases in real-time.
“[That]will allow pharmacists to identify and help those people who may be misusing the products, while at the same time allowing the vast majority of people who use the products appropriatelycontinued access without a prescription.”
The Mercury approached NSW Health for comment on the law change, but did not receive a response prior to deadline.
This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.
The sky is the limit
NEWCASTLE Airport’s chief executive hopes the expected successof newly-announced direct flights to Adelaide will boost the airport’s appeal to airlines willing to connect it to international destinations.
Up, up and away: Adelaide Airport’s Jonathan Cheong, Newcastle Airport CEO Peter Cock and FlyPelican CEO Paul Graham. Adelaide is the ninth destination directly accessible from Newcastle Airport. Picture: Simon McCarthy
Chief executive Peter Cock announced the venture on Monday as the first new route between Newcastle anda major city in 14years, since the Gold Coast leg beganin 2004.
“It’s momentous,” Dr Cock said.
“Newcastle is booming and we’re just the canary in the coalmine.
“It’s a sign of the success of our region and the people in our region. That’s emblematic for me.
“Acouple of airlines said to us ‘Yeah, we could put on that flight’ –not necessarily to Adelaide –‘but we don’t think the people of the Hunter will support it, wethink they’ll just drive down to Sydney’.
“But we’re the sixth or seventh largest city and we deserve to have great access to these places.
“I think this is a chance to show they’re wrong. If we can do that, the sky’s the limit.”
Dr Cock said he was inundated with route requests “through Facebook, Twitter, in cabs, in the queue at Woolies, in coffee shops and business events”.
“One route has shone out amongall others and I’m pleased to say the people of the Hunter have spoken.”
FlyPelican CEO and director Paul Graham said after 20 years involvement withaviation in the Hunter, “I’ve never heardof such ademand for one particular destination”.
Similarly, Adelaide Airport’s head of aviation business development Jonathan Cheong said Newcastle was his airport’s “largest unserved market”.
“The demand is around an eight, nine or 10,” Mr Graham said.
“People know how inconvenient, expensive and how much of a mission it is to get there.
“This is a watershed moment because it’s something everyone haswanted for such a long time, but it just hasn’t been forthcoming.
“We’ve taken this risk –and it’s a calculated risk–but we’re very very confident by being sensible and starting with a soft launch at the right time, with the right fares and the right aircraft that it will work.”
Mr Graham said FlyPelican’s fleet was not suitable for the twohour trip, so it had partneredwith Alliance Airlines to operate the flights on Fokker jet aircraft carrying either 80 or 100 passengers.
Flights will depart Adelaide 6.30am Tuesday, 3.15pm Wednesday and 4.30pm Friday.
Flights will leave Newcastle at 9.50am Tuesday, 6.35pm Wednesday and 7.50pm Friday.
Let’s fly: Alliance Airlines will operate the 80 and 100 seat Fokker jet aircraft between Newcastle and Adelaide. It has headquarters in Brisbane and a base in Adelaide.
Fares will start at $249 one way and will include all taxes, checked baggage and an in-flight meal.
The first flight will be on March 22 and carry members of the Newcastle Jets, who will be playing against Adelaide United in Hindmarsh Stadium on March 23.
“We’re expecting we’ll have a Sunday service within three months of the start of operationand we’re also expecting it will increase up to five or six return flights per week within the first six months,” he said.
“We’ve got the capacity to to increase up to daily services and even double daily services if required.”
Dr Cock asked the Hunter to support the new route, sayingits success would “breed confidence” among airlines considering offering other domestic and international routes from Newcastle.
He said the airport “leaked” about 1.5 million flights each year to Sydney that could have come through the Hunter.
“Imagine if we had that many more people how many more destinations it would generate,” he said.
“Airlines are businesses and they follow success.
“If they understand routes out of Newcastle work then it’s a lower risk for them, so we have more chance of getting the international flights, or to Perth, Hobart or Cairns.
“Internationally, Auckland is a really good strong prospect, as is Fiji, Bali and Singapore.”
Newcastle Tourism Industry Group general manager Gus Maher said the new route gave the Hunter “momentum” as a destination, making it more attractive to repeat visitors from abroadlooking for a new partof Australiato explore.
Forging tiesbetween a range of ports and Newcastle also made it easier for visitors to include the Hunter on itineraries, he said.
In business terms, Mr Maher said linking the Hunter and the Barossa directly may be eclipsed by another industry gaining greater connection.
“The thing that I’m more excited about isprobably the business ties with defence.”
Dr Cock said Newcastle Airport would release its blueprint for the next 20 years – and its vision for the next 60 years –in February.
‘Reality colliding with fantasy’: Kidman sheds tear over SAG award
Hollywood’s red carpet wardrobe, which turned to a sea of black at the Golden Globes as part of the “Time’s Up” protest movement, was back in colour at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.
But while the fashion went full spectrum, the main conversation topic stayed on point: Hollywood’s reckoning with its sexual harassment scandals and the growing movement protesting inequality and disadvantage in the workplace.
Australian actress Nicole Kidman took out the outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries award for her work on Big Little Lies.
The win – Kidman’s first at the SAG awards after 10 nominations – is significant as it beat out some heavyweight talent including Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon???, who starred in Feud: Bette & Joan, and Kidman’s own Big Little Lies co-stars Reese Witherspoon??? and Laura Dern???.
“It means a lot to me,” Kidman said, wiping away tears. “I have been working since I was 14-years-old … this is reality colliding with fantasy.”
Kidman said the win was particularly meaningful, coming “at this time in the industry, and for this role.”
Kidman’s role in Big Little Lies – Monterey wife and mother Celeste Wright – has been praised for its nuanced and complex examination of domestic violence.
“How wonderful it is that our careers can go beyond 40 years old,” Kidman said.
“Twenty years ago we were pretty washed up by this stage of our lives, we are proving that we are potent and powerful and viable, I beg that the industry stays behind us.”
Australia’s two other individual nominees left empty-handed.
Margot Robbie was nominated for her work on I, Tonya; she lost to actress Frances McDormand???, who starred in Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri.
Geoffrey Rush was nominated for his work on Genius; he lost to Big Little Lies star Alexander Skarsgard???.
Two other nominated Aussies – Abbie Cornish and Samara Weaving – were among the winning ensemble cast of Three Billboards.
The president of the Screen Actors Guild, actress Gabrielle Carteris???, pointed to a “a massive cultural shift, with brave voices saying me too, and advocates who know time’s up … we are making a difference.
“Change is coming and we are the agents of that change, men and women … we can and we must create an environment in which discrimination, harassment and abuse are no longer tolerated,” Carteris said.
The 57-year-old former Beverly Hills 90210 star praised the “women and men across the country who have shared their truths with such courage and candour … make no mistake, this is not a moment in time, this is a movement, and our strength comes in our unity.”
The awards, which are held annually in the middle of the so-called “awards season”, are staged by the Screen Actors Guild, the union which represents more than 120,000 actors, broadcasters, recording artists and other performers working in the United States.
Later in the telecast it was announced that the guild would be releasing a new code of conduct, aimed at improving safety for its members.
Two of the night’s nominated actors – Aziz Ansari and James Franco – have been accused by women of misbehaviour.
Ansari did not attend the event; Franco did, accompanied by his girlfriend Isabel Pakzad.
Glow star Alison Brie, who is married to Franco’s brother Dave Franco, was interviewed on the red carpet and said she supported her family, adding: “Not everything that’s been reported has been accurate.
“I think that above all what we’ve always said is that it remains vital that anyone that feels victimised should and does have the right to speak out and come forward,” Brie said.
“Now is the time for listening, and that’s what we are all trying to do.”
Neither Ansari nor Franco won the categories in which they were nominated.
Though the SAG awards do not have a “best picture” category – the awards focus only on performance, not filmmaking as a whole — the closest aligned category is outstanding performance by a cast in a theatrical motion picture.
This year’s winner was Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, beating a field which included The Big Sick, Get Out, Lady Bird and Mudbound.
The Screen Actors Guild life achievement award, which is given for “outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals of the acting profession, was presented to actor Morgan Freeman by Broadway legend Rita Moreno???.
“This is beyond honour, this is a place in history,” Freeman said.
Past recipients of the award include Bob Hope, Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Sinatra, Katharine Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood and Mary Tyler Moore; Moreno won the award in 2013.
The telecast “in memoriam” segment noted the deaths of actors including Miguel Ferrer, Jeanne Moreau, Adam West, Martin Landau, Harry Dean Stanton, David Cassidy, Erin Moran and Roger Moore.
The 24th annual Screen Actors Guild awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and hosted by actor Kristen Bell. Nicole Kidman isn’t going anywhere. #sagawardspic.twitter南京夜网/KLUFjwHEWq??? SAG Awards?? (@SAGawards) January 22, 2018This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.
short story competition 2018: The Lone Starboy
WORTH 1000 WORDS: Each day we will publish a finalist in the Herald short storycompetition. The winner will be announced on January 27. Picture: Simone De PeakKURT Laird was 21. He had always been 21, he had never been 20 and he would never turn 22. On the 21st day of the 12th month every year Kurt, or really his essence, moved. 
He had no choice, it was just what happened, the person he left would never remember his influence, all he knew was that the 22nd, 23rd and 24th never existed and he would be someone and somewhere else on his birthday –the 25th of December was always memorable.
The first birthday he could remember was when she walked naked into a backyard in Texas. Not the second largest state of the United Statesbut Texas Queensland, the tobacco capital of Australia. She grabbed her cream moleskins and a blue-and-white checked shirt, with a scruffy dog and the words Blue Bell embroidered over her left breast, from the Hills Hoist, and slid her feet into the R.M. Williams boots at the back door, which fitted perfectly.
She went into the kitchen picked up a large roast turkey and carried it into the dining room as her family sang buon compleanno Alessia. The turkey was bellissimo; Nona had stuffed it with apples, apricots and macadamia nuts from their orchard.
Mamma would never use apricots when she prepared the bird, Alessia thought to herself.
“Papa,” Alessia sought her father’s attention. “Have you read about the Nazis’ anti-smoking campaign during the war …”. Her father cut her off: “Ally, cigarettes are our livelihood, you know that would be the death of us, everything we have worked for is on this farm.”
Something in Alessia stirred. It was warm and she had never felt it before. She wanted to stand up to her father and say “But it’s cigarettes that are killing people. It’s what killed Mamma …”.
Kurt cleared his head, remembered the insignificance of genders, and laughed. LGBTQIA, huh, at various stages he/she had been them all and others that the current generations had never thought or heard of.
The transfers were always random and non-linear. Even if he was lost in space for three days, he remembered with clarity the years of being 21 …
Alessia Solanales 1945
Isaac Newton 1663
Dorothy Wordsworth 1792
Quentin Crisp 1929
Humphrey Bogart 1920
Justin Trudeau 1992
Cab Calloway 1923
Des Collins 1952
Shane MacGowan 1979
Sissy Spacek 1960
Annie Lennox 1975
Rod Sterling 1946
Kurt Laird, 2017. Number 72. With a shock of black, unruly hair and a pencil-thin moustache, his time had arrived. He felt that familiar completeness that welcomed him on the first day of the transfer; a smooth, deep inner warmth filled his soul. Kurt arrived at number 572 Hunter Street –a strange coincidence he thought – in a beaten-uphired van from Kogarah via Artarmon, to collect his meagre belongings … two guitars, two amplifiers, a classic Tony Parker lounge and armchair, a framed Texan state flag, a bright red pushbike, that Ang had bought for him, a white sleigh-style king single bed and a basket full of unwashed clothes.
The white, graffitied panel-lift garage door on the back lane of number 572 squeaked opened magically and Kurt swung the van into the designated car space. He cut the engine and opened the driver-side door and was engulfed by arms, legs, hair and lips, smothering his whole being.
Angela Lee could not contain herself.
“I can’t believe you are finally here.”
It had been too long.
She looked over Kurt’s shoulder at the bed in the back of the van. “You won’t be needing that anymore, leave it in the garage; I’ll get my dad to take it away tomorrow.”
Kurt, for the first time felt overwhelmed by love, unconditional, exhilarating, tail-wagging love. He responded equally to Ang, this 20-something playwright launching her career and wanting to be with him.
Kurt’s thoughts randomised but always congregated in a neat dozen which slightly annoyed him …
Quit smoking
Gravity
Wandering lonely
A naked civil servant
Casablanca
Canada
Jazz music
A lemon tree
A dirty old town
Coal mining
Human rights
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone, why did his thoughts end on that? He’d always thought he was not from this world. What was the go with the three missing days? Some sort of resurrection …
Bullshit, he thought.
Kurt refocused. Ang had disengaged, and he grabbed her back, throwing his arms around her, collecting and swinging her off her feet with sheer delight. Ang squealed: “You are the first guy to move in”.
Kurt laughed deeply, the best laugh he had ever heard. This year would be the start of everything. He felt so small but connected to everything, inside himself and outside as far as the universe had expanded. He felt the Big Bang was occurring here and now at the Star Apartments and Hotel with Ang Lee. In 72 years he had never felt this alive.
Kurt had enrolled to study at the School of Creative Industries which, like him, had just moved into town, co-located with the Faculties of Law and Business at the University of Newcastle’s, NeW Space Campus, a dynamic architectural collision of glass and sandstone in a building on the corner of Hunter and Auckland, 200 metres from his and Ang’s new home.
Kurt and Newcastle had woken up –the cataclysm of space, time, matter and sound had meaning. This was the right time, in the right place and no more straight lines when it came to music.