Category: General news

A new study has shown that serious illness, struggling to hold down a regular job and poor social relationships are just some of the adverse outcomes in adulthood faced by those exposed to bullying in childhood.

It has long been acknowledged that bullying at a young age presents a problem for schools, parents and public policy makers alike. Though children spend more time with their peers than their parents, there is relatively little work done on understanding the impact of these interactions on their life beyond school.

The results of this research, published in Psychological Science, highlight the extent of which the risk of health, wealth and social problems is heightened by exposure to bullying; and in doing so is the first study to look into the effects beyond just health.

Professor Dieter Wolke of the University of Warwick and Dr William E. Copeland of Duke University Medical Center led the team, looking beyond the study of victims and investigating the impact on all those effected; the victims, the bullies themselves, and those who fall into both categories; ‘bully-victims’.

Professor Wolke said, “We cannot continue to dismiss bullying as a harmless, almost inevitable, part of growing up. We need to change this mindset and acknowledge this as a serious problem for both the individual and the country as a whole; the effects are long-lasting and significant.”

The ‘bully-victims’ presented the most significant health risk for adulthood, being over six times more likely to be diagnosed with a serious illness, smoke regularly or develop a psychiatric disorder.

The results show that bully-victims are perhaps the most vulnerable group of all. This group may turn to bullying after being victims of bullying themselves as they lack the emotional regulation, or the support, required to cope with it.

Professor Wolke added, “In the case of bully-victims, it shows how bullying can spread when left untreated. Some interventions are already available in schools but new tools are needed to help health professionals to identify, monitor and deal with the ill-effects of bullying. The challenge we face now is committing the time and resource to these interventions to try and put an end to bullying.”

All of the groups were more than twice as likely to have difficulty in keeping a job, or commit to saving, and as such displayed a higher propensity for being impoverished in young adulthood.

However, very few ill effects of being the bully were found in the study. When accounting for the influence of childhood psychiatric problems and family hardships, which were prevalent in the bullies, it showed that the act of bullying itself didn’t have a negative impact upon adulthood.

“Bullies appear to be children with a prevailing antisocial tendency who know how to get under the skin of others, with bully-victims taking the role of their helpers,” explained Professor Wolke. “It is important to finds ways of removing the need for these children to bully others and in doing so; protect the many children suffering at the hand of bullies as they are the ones who are hindered later in life.”

Though there was no real difference in the likelihood of being married or having children, all groups showed signs of having difficulty forming social relationships, particularly when it came to maintaining long term friendships or good ties with parents in adulthood.

The research assessed 1,420 participants four to six times between the ages of 9 and 16 years and adult outcomes between 24-26 years of age.

Volunteers get ready to commence divestment campaign.

350.org trainer Charlie Wood, took a group of 20 volunteers through their paces at its first Brisbane Workshop on Saturday.

350.org stands for 350 parts per million, this figure is what the science says is the absolute limit for CO2 emissions in our atmosphere to avoid runaway climate change.

The aim of the Brisbane workshop was to equip volunteers with the resources to engage with their own banks, superannuation funds, universities, churches and other organisations about the need to challenge the fossil fuel industry and to invest in a more sustainable financial system.

350.org is seeking a global shift in investments to renewables from the current 3% to 5%.

Ms Woods said that while organisations may initially consider divesting of shares in fossil fuel companies to be risky, in reality the energy market is highly volatile. There are a number of studies she said from respected sources such as The World Bank and Goldman Sachs which conclude that energy stocks are overvalued and reinvestment in new and emerging industries can provide equal to greater returns. 

Further, she said, conversations with organisations about divestment can provide organisations with an opportunity to assess whether their values align with those of the companies they invest in.

According to 350.org, 300 campuses and 100 cities and states in the US and other countries have joined the campaign to divest from fossil fuel companies. The movement is still in the early days in Queensland, but the Brisbane group plans to step up its campaign over the coming months. 

A public forum is planned for late September for anyone interested in learning more about the evidence for climate change and divestment strategies. A panel of financial, health and climate experts will answer audience questions.

 

The Federal Circuit Court has dismissed criminal contempt charges against a former union official over his involvement in the community protest staged during last year’s long-running children’s hospital project strike in Brisbane.

In front of a packed court room, Federal Magistrate Michael Burnett rejected all 18 charges against former MUA organiser Bob Carnegie, for which he could have been jailed if found guilty.

He originally faced 54 counts of criminal contempt, but 36 were dismissed during hearings in February.

The charges were brought by Abigroup, the principal contractor on the site and part of the Lend Lease group. It alleged Carnegie breached September court orders it had secured in his support for the nine-week project stopwork.

Community protests, which unions are careful to avoid direct links to, have developed as a means to support striking workers but avoid anti-picketing laws.

Companies have typically been reluctant to target individuals allegedly involved.

The Queensland Government filed an application to intervene if Carnegie was found guilty and the matter progressed to the next phase.

Carnegie in a statement this afternoon welcomed the result and thanked his legal team and his fellow workers for their support.

It’s certainly been a tough time, but the support of workers and the community has made it easier, he said.

BLF state secretary David Hanna also welcomed the ruling.

Slater Gordon national head of industrial law, Marcus Clayton, who represented Carnegie, said the court had accepted that the order he was charged with breaching was not clear and unambiguous.

It has long been a fundamental legal principle that you can’t be found guilty of contempt of a court order if the order isn’t clear, he said.

Bob has been through a lot and we are very pleased for Bob.

Clayton said an application would be made for an order that Abigroup pay Carnegie’s substantial legal costs.

A spokesperson for Abigroup said the company respected the court’s decision.

Background

Abigroup and its contractors secured FWA (now FWC) orders in August last year, which they backed up with court injunctions, against industrial action at the site.

Senior Deputy President Peter Richards in September in orders later upheld by a full bench banned the CFMEU and CEPU, their officers and delegates, plus their members who are employees of Abigroup subcontractors at the site, from engaging in any industrial action. He also ordered the unions not to organise or encourage it.

Abigroup launched separate proceedings against the unions over the matter.

The children’s hospital strike began as a dispute with a subcontractor over benefits but was engulfed in the claim for site rates for contractors that the construction unions were pursuing from other builders during bargaining.

Abigroup at the time still had some two years to run on its Queensland construction sector deal.

 

In an attempt to clean up Brisbane’s waterways, the Brisbane City Council has introduced a water filtration system called ‘Daylighting’.Under the system, urban space is redeveloped and restored to its natural origins by means of ripping up streets, footpaths and stormwater drains. Daylighting uses natural barriers such as rocks and vegetation to block pollutants from entering the water system.

Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk said daylighting systems have been installed at Greenslopes, Holland Park and Ferny Grove as part it’s $2 million dollar creek filtration program. Quirk expects the initiative to decrease pollution by up to 80 per cent.

“These systems act much like a kidney for the waterways and having them within local parks and green spaces are all part of our plan to be proactive in maintaining clean waterways,” he said.

BZE’s plan to cut emissions and power bills in ten years.

Making a difference to cutting energy use and greenhouse impacts at the individual or family level can often seem daunting and out of reach for many of us.  As a home owner, I have wondered what exactly I could do to make a difference, and whether the long term savings will cover my investment.

Now the Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) think-tank, in partnership with The University of Melbourne Energy Institute claims to be able to provide the answers.

On an unseasonably warm evening last Monday (12 August) an audience of approximately 300 gathered for the launch in South Brisbane of the BZE Building Plan. The Zero Carbon Australia Buildings Plan is according to BZE, ‘the first comprehensive, nationwide plan to retrofit Australia’s buildings’.

Lead author and Project Director Trent Hawkins was assisted by 100 volunteer engineers, architects, data analysts, and students over three years to develop the plan. The project also attracted partners and company sponsors that add weight to the academic rigour and practical utility of the plan.

The aim is to halve energy consumption in Australia by retro-fitting family homes and high rise office spaces using existing off-the-shelf technologies. Through its modelling work, Mr Hawkins said BZE is able to conclude that across Australia reductions of 53% in residential demand and 44% in non-residential energy use are feasible.

For the family home, the authors claim these reductions can be accomplished by a move away from gas, and investment in such measures as roof and wall insulation, double glazing windows, roof-top solar power collection, LED lighting, air-sourced heat pumps for hot water, and real time monitoring of in-home energy use.

While many of you may be familiar with these options, BZE has done the research to show how these technologies can be integrated with, or replace older technologies. The plan provides the costs and benefits, not only in economic terms, but in terms of the reduced reliance on non-renewable energy sources.

Participating in the launch were Science & Engineering Adj. Professor David Hood AM from QUT, Mark Thomson, Architect  & Corporate Sustainability Principal at Schiavello, and Queensland Greens Senator, Larissa Waters.

David Hood told the audience that climate change ‘will bring about near collapse of much of the world’s economic systems’, and yet it was the missing topic at the first Sunday night leaders’ debates. ‘Neither of the leaders raised it’, he said, “so with the main political parties not taking any notice, and not doing anything, it’s up to us’. He commended the research underpinning of the BZE plan which he said provides a practical guideline on how we can get energy efficiency into our homes and in the process, save money.

Senator Waters reminded the audience that governments subsidise the fossil fuel industry by up to $12 billion, and asked us to imagine the impact if this money was invested instead in renewal energy sources. She said the BZE report proves that change can be achieved and ‘we can just get on with it’. ‘There are no logistical barriers, no engineering constraints, often no economic constraints compared to business as usual, but there is a ‘political will’ constraint.’ She encouraged audience members to remind their local political candidates that ‘we have an environmental emergency … and that we have ways for addressing that emergency’.  As the mother of a four year old, she said it is inconceivable to her that we can stand back and allow this looming catastrophe to happen.

Mark Thomson concluded the speeches by saying the challenge for those who want to take action, ‘is to make sure the change is well-informed’. The BZE he said has produced more than just a vision: it is a 10 year ‘practical, simple and implementable’ plan, based on current technology.

The plan can be obtained from the BZE Website or for a hard copy, by emailing the BZE Woolloongabba Office at  qld@bze.org.au

It’s great for Queensland that there happens to be so many songwriters and bands in the music line-up this year, Deadly Awards Executive Maryann Weston said yesterday.

The 19^th annual Deadly Awards feature two Queensland nominations in four of the seven musical categories  including, Female Artist of the Year (Christine Anu and Simone Stacy), Band of the Year (Dubmarine and The Medics) and Single Release of the Year (Simone Stacy and Thelma Plum).

Voting closes this Sunday 18^th August for the Deadlys’ national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander excellence awards, and the ceremony will be held on 10^th September at the Sydney Opera House.

“Queenslanders should jump on to the Deadlys’ site and vote for their favourites at www.deadlys.com.au,” Ms Weston said.

Former Westender Sue Ray, who is performing this Saturday night at The Joynt, is nominated for ‘Most Promising New Talent in Music’ alongside fellow Queensland band Slip-on Stereo.

“It doesn’t surprise me that there is a strong Queensland presence at this year’s Deadlys; Brisbane has a great music network,” Ms Ray said.

Ms Ray will fly from Brisbane to Sydney for the Deadlys, then straight to Los Angeles and on to Nashville to work on her next album.

Slip-on Stereo has performed in West End and nearby at the Performing Arts Complex.

“We have been involved [in] a few indigenous contemporary showcases in Brisbane including the Queensland Music festival, QMusic’s Indigenous showcase and the Clancestry Indigenous festival,” Slip-on Stereo Manager Mark Bretherton said.

“We are proud to be nominated and it’s great to see so many Queenslanders up for awards this year,” Mr Bretherton said.

QMusic’s Executive Officer Denise Foley said “QMusic has been supporting the development and identification of early career artists for some time.”

“Whilst we can’t take any credit for these artists as their talent is purely their own, we are very proud to know that all of the artists currently being recognised in the Deadlys have connections to QMusic,” Ms Foley said.