Category: General news

Last week we journalists could do nothing but hang our heads in shame. The coverage of March in March was abysmal by the mainstream media (MSM).

When I heard that March in March Gold Coast was set for Saturday 22, I hoped to read about it the same day it was happening.

I guess such an anticipation falls under the category, wishful thinking. I could not find any coverage of it that day, other than via Twitter from those attending the march.

I have spent this morning trying to find any mention of it in any MSM outlet — nothing.

The chance of seeing pigs fly past my window seems a bit more likely next time around.

In other words, going by the old proverb, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound, it is fair to ask, did March in March Gold Coast really happen?

It might seem a bit frivolous to claim that the media has failed by not covering March in March, but it actually shows the power the media has.

If an event is not covered by the media, to those who solely rely on the media to keep them informed, it can easily seem as nothing has actually happened.

Journalism is often said to be the first draft of history.

If this kind of writing of history continues, journalism will easily end up writing its own history. Known as the time journalists tried to write history, as in produce it as they see fit, instead of reporting what is happening before their eyes — failing to keep the public informed of what is truly going on in our society.

With that said, it is often difficult to cover everything going on, but when it becomes a bit too obvious what is not covered— i.e. ignored —it then becomes indefensible.

I hope and believe we are better than that.

Featured image credit: Bindi

I have a confession to make.  I am a closet hoarder.  I have too much stuff.  I think most of us do.  I have not escaped my poor student/artist mindset.  I have always had the habit of saving and storing things that might be useful later, might come in handy, that seem like they are good value if free and a bargain not to be missed.  Therein lies the problem.  The poorer people are, the more stuff they seem to have.

“Stuff” has become a lot cheaper, but our attitudes have not changed.  Quite simply, we overvalue stuff!

I recently worked with a client who felt like he needed to be organised to get his business running.  When I entered his home office I realised that clutter was really impacting on his professional persona.

Here are the Top 4 reasons the Clutter is bad for business:

1. Clutter makes you waste time looking for things.
   When you need that document, scissors or business card, a desk or drawer that is cluttered can render them invisible.  And in the process of a search, you can be distracted by the things that you find on your quest.  Paper is one of the top clutter items in the office. Go paperless!. Scan your papers and then back them up. If you must store paper, have a system (other than piling) to store them in an organized manner. Digital files are easier to search by words, names and content.
2. Clutter consumes your energy.
   Things are energy.  You consume energy moving them.  They consume your emotional energy. In Paul Graham’s essay about having too much stuff (www.unclutterer.com) he says:
   And unless you’re extremely organized, a house full of stuff can be very depressing. A cluttered room saps one’s spirits. One reason, obviously, is that there’s less room for people in a room full of stuff. But there’s more going on than that. I think humans constantly scan their environment to build a mental model of what’s around them. And the harder a scene is to parse, the less energy you have left for conscious thoughts. A cluttered room is literally exhausting.”
3. Clutter is a constant and visual reminder of all the things you haven’t done or still have to do.
   Rather than using a developed technique of prioritising or organising this can be distracting and exhausting.   Piles do not equal productivity.  “Someday maybe” should not be in your visual space.  You may say, “I know exactly where everything is.” But, what you are really saying is, “I don’t have the discipline to put things away.”
4. Clutter makes you the slave not the leader.
   Think about what your space says about you?  Are you all over the place?  Are you overwhelmed?  Are you putting off some things?  Are you putting out fires rather than seeing the bigger picture?  If your working day ends at 5:00pm then make it end at 4:45pm.  Use those last 15 minutes to clear your space ready for the working day and setting a list of things to do.  Put away work that is completed.

Email or call us if you’d like some strategies that help you take control of your time and your office environment.

So until then, be kind to yourself, take time for yourself.

The President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Professor Gillian Triggs recently returned from Christmas Island as part of her National Inquiry into the impact of immigration detention on children. Of the 315 children in detention on the island at the time of her visit, most had been there for six to eight months.

The inquiry team included a paediatrician, Dr Karen Zwi and Dr Sarah Mares, a child psychiatrist.

Most of the children were visibly distressed. They told the team “this place is hell”, “help me get out of here” and “there’s no school, nowhere to play and nothing to do.” The children also spoke about their distress at living in closed environment with adults who were sad, angry and self-harming.

Dr Zwi and Dr Mares noted that the conditions of detention are taking their toll on the development of children. They recorded instances of children biting themselves, and others, and banging their heads.

Dr Zwi reported: “If a parent is depressed, anxious, has any health condition that impacts on their capacity to care for their child, or the environment is frightening (as would be the case when witnessing self-harm), then that child’s development is often impacted. This was evident in several of the children we saw, with developmental delay (usually delayed speaking), and regression such as bedwetting.”

Australia has obligations under international human rights law to detain children only as a measure of last resort and to ensure children are protected from harm.

“These asylum seekers are in limbo and many are feeling the stress of uncertainty. They have been detained for long periods by anyone’s measure and they don’t know when they will go to Nauru or PNG for assessment of their refugee status and potential resettlement there,” said Professor Triggs.

It is understood the families and children detained on Christmas Island will eventually be transferred to a third country for processing and resettlement. One teenager told the inquiry team: “Manus Island is now a very dangerous place. Will I will be safe there?”

The visit to Christmas Island was the first undertaken by the Commission in its National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention which is calling for submissions. More information can be found here – http://www.humanrights.gov.au/children-immigration-detention

Urban Voices, a celebration of poetry organised by Westender’s Kerrod Trott was held at the Boundary Hotel last Friday and was a resounding success. A dozen poets entertained, challenged and moved about thirty Westenders in the upstairs front room at the Hotel. The hotel, along with other Westend businesses provided $50 gift vouchers to the winning poets for their efforts.

The overall winner on the night was Ash the Poet with “Knockout  Blow” a poem that lived up to its name, taking out the popular prize, the overall winner and the prize for the most “form”. Prizes were also awarded for power, grace and joy.

A good mixture of traditional Aussie doggerel, more intellectual word play and dark theatrical works were presented on the night.

A notable feature of the evening was that all the performers were male. One female poet registered on the website but did not show. A number of female poets attended just to watch. Westender invites any women with ideas about developing poetry by women to put them to us,

Perhaps the greatest irony of the evening was that I waxed lyrical (I wish) about violence toward women in our community and invited women to submit articles to Westender in an effort to shift the culture immediately prior to the performance of a piece about a stalker who murders the girl in Room 22. The disturbingly realistic portrayal of the stalking and murder won no prize on the night but was certainly the talk of the town for the rest of the evening. Sasha can rest easy that he made an impression: His performance realistic enough that the domestic violence workers in the room invite his girlfriend to call them anytime she needs help.

The evening was the culmination of a poetry extravaganza in West End celebrating World Poetry Day. Kurilpa Poets took to the streets under the guidance of editor, Kerrod Trott. The Poet Police were called in to drag the Reverend Hellfire from off the tables in the Archive after he offended punters with a rant about religion. A great initiative by Kerrod to unleash Kurilpa Kulture in the community and keep West End weird.

BUILDING UNITS IN FLOOD-PRONE LAND BRINGS FORWARD UNCOMMON PROBLEMS

The floods of 2011 were a natural disaster that affected many residents, businesses and the broader community. That natural flood event would influence the ambitions of Brisbane’s WECA and the people of Brisbane never thought it would ever head in this direction though.

“City Council has not ruled out demolishing houses on higher-ground in a off-set deal done for a developer on a flood-prone site in West End” said WECA President, Dr Erin Evans.

“This is an outlandish situation. The developer wants to avoid the mandated publicly accessible space on their site so they can build more units in the danger zone.”

In the past, commonsense in planning dictated that many of our city’s parks and open green space were located in these flood-prone locations. Then we built our homes on the higher-ground. The current speculation is that we demolish safe homes for parks and build more units in harm’s way down on the flood-plane.

Dr Evans commented: “WECA understands that some developers believe they can lobby their way out Council planning codes but surely commonsense must be returned to Brisbane’s planning and approvals process?”

WECA would be most pleased if Cr Amanda Cooper, Planning Committee Chair, steps-in to bring a little clear-thinking to the episode.

“Leave the parks and green-space in the flood-prone locations and leave the houses on the high-ground.” suggested President Erin Evans.

The Stella Prize is pleased to announce the second-ever Stella Prize shortlist.  The Stella Prize is a $50,000 cash prize that celebrates Australian women’s contribution to literature.  Additionally, and excitingly, for the first time the other five shortlisted authors will also receive prize money of $2000, courtesy of the Nelson Meers Foundation. This carries forward the extraordinary gesture of the inaugural Stella Prize winner, Carrie Tiffany (Mateship with Birds), who last year shared $10,000 of her prize money with her fellow shortlisted authors.

The Stella Prize is open to works of both fiction and nonfiction.  From more than 160 entries, this year’s Stella Prize judges – critic and writer Kerryn Goldsworthy (chair); journalist and broadcaster Annabel Crabb; author and academic Brenda Walker; bookseller Fiona Stager; and writer and lecturer Tony Birch – selected a longlist of twelve books, which they have now narrowed down to a shortlist of six.Three works of fiction, three of nonfiction: six great books by Australian women.

The 2014 Stella Prize shortlist is (in alphabetical order of surname):

• Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (Picador)
• Night Games by Anna Krien (Black Inc)
• The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane (Penguin)
• Boy, Lost: A Family Memoir by Kristina Olsson (UQP)
• The Swan Book by Alexis Wright (Giramondo)
• The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka by Clare Wright (Text Publishing)

Executive Director of the Stella Prize, Aviva Tuffield, says: “We are thrilled at the high calibre of this year’s shortlist: six impressive yet very different books, all meeting the Stella Prize’s criteria of excellent, engaging and original works. We are so grateful to our judges for the dedication and rigour they have demonstrated in selecting this fabulous and diverse shortlist. And we are delighted that the Nelson Meers Foundation has granted us prize money for this year’s shortlistees.”

Sam Meers, Co-founder and Trustee of the Nelson Meers Foundation, says: “The Nelson Meers Foundation is proud to be able to support Carrie Tiffany’s generous gesture of last year by providing the prize money for the shortlisted Stella Prize authors in 2014, and we congratulate each of these authors on such a significant achievement. We hope that the prize money not only enhances this achievement, but will also provide the opportunity for a research trip, or some time away from paid work, to assist these talented writers to complete their next book. We are delighted to be able to support the Stella Prize in its goal to encourage more great books by talented Australian women.”

The winner of the 2014 Stella Prize will be announced at an award ceremony in Sydney on the evening of Tuesday 29 April.