Students who volunteered for the AUT migrant cookbook include Leilani Sitagata (from left), Amina Mohamed and Tiana Lambert, who spoke of their experience last night. Image: Rahul Bhattarai/PMC
Refugee, migrant culinary delights boost new diversity cookbook
By Rahul Bhattarai
Students and staff gathered in Auckland last night to launch a cookbook with a difference celebrating culinary delights from refugee or immigrant families – and to taste some of the special 15 recipes.
The recipes in Tastes of Home, published by Auckland University of Technology to support an educational scholarship for refugees, were an instant success.
Chapters and the recipes have been provided by volunteer student contributors drawing on their family culinary secrets.
READ MORE: Diversity at Auckland University of Technology
“These recipes have been tested and standardised by the culinary art students for the cook book,” says Lian-Hong Brebner, a diversity manager at AUT and one of the co-editors with Professor Alison McIntosh.
“This is more then a cookbook, it’s about celebration of AUT’s diversity that refugee and migrant background students bring to us, and their their tradition of hospitality,” says Brebner.
Foods made from the recipe of the cookbook out on display for customers to taste. Image: Rahul Bhattarai/PMC
Encouraging diversity
AUT as a university encourages diversity and was also the first university in New Zealand to appoint a professor of diversity – Professor Edwina Pio.
“We are also proud to be the first and only New Zealand university to appoint a professor of diversity,” says Dr Andrew Codling, who is the head of the vice-chancellors office.
“We are proud that our students and staff are from over 100 nationalities on our campuses, and in fact over 52 percent of our staff were born overseas – and I am one of them,” says Dr Codling.
Seven percent of the staff are from the Pacific, 6 percent are Maori and 64 percent of the professional staff are female.
AUT scholarship program
Proceeds from the book sales will go towards a scholarship programme for future refugee students.
Part of a chapter in the cookbook that was contributed by AUT student journalist Leilani Sitagata. Image Rahul Bhattarai/PMC
About 50 volunteers from diverse backgrounds worked around the clock to make the book possible.
“I volunteered to be part of the project because I loved that the proceeds would be going towards a scholarship for refugees,” says Leilani Sitagata, who is a final year AUT student journalist.
“As I’m a journalism major, I knew how to write, and I love my food – so I thought why not combine the two and help write a cookbook.”
Homemade cuisines from around the world featured in the book include Afgan, Iranian, Iraqi, Kurdish, Maori and Samoan and many other dishes.
On launch day, 38 copies were sold with a further 100 copies already being pre-ordered online.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
]]>The link between terrorism and mental illness is complicated, and vilifying communities doesn’t help
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clarke Jones, Research Fellow, Research School of Psychology, Australian National University
Following another act of fatal violence in Melbourne’s CBD last Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissed claims the perpetrator, Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, had a mental illness. He said this was a “lame excuse”, saying he wanted imams and the Muslim community to pay greater attention to people at risk of radicalisation.
Media reports have stated Ali suffered delusions and substance abuse problems in the lead-up to his attack and believed he was being chased by “unseen people with spears”. Ali’s family and religious teacher have also attested to him being mentally ill.
To be sure, most Australians will find it hard to forget the horror of this incident where three people were stabbed. Regardless of our cultural and religious backgrounds, we stand united in grieving for restaurant owner Sisto Malaspina, who was killed in the attack. But we must also try to make sense of it by analysing the perpetrator’s actions and developing ways to prevent further acts of violence.
It is difficult to ignore similarities with an incident that occurred on the same street in 2017, when James Gargasoulas drove his car into a crowd of people, killing six and wounding 30. He too was said to be suffering delusions, though, interestingly this was not labelled as an excuse.
If we blame Muslim communities or cultural minorities as responsible for acts of terrorism, we are likely to continue to alienate at-risk individuals and the communities that support them. This can, in itself, lead to mental health problems. While this doesn’t mean the result will be violence, it can increase the chances of young people dropping out of the social support system, which can lead to criminality, anti-social behaviour, self-harm or suicide.
Read more: Morrison wants Muslim leaders to do more to prevent terrorism, but what more can they do?
Terrorism and mental illness
Research consistently shows there is no evidence people living with mental illness are more violent than anyone else. In fact, people with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence that other people. They are also more at risk of homicide, suicide and self-harm.
It is too early to make firm conclusions about the role of mental health problems and terrorism as few studies have examined this relationship. But from these, we can establish not all terrorist incidents have mental illness as a causal factor.
Read more: Violence and mental illness: harsh reality demands sensitive answers
A 2017 study conducted by the Combating Terrorism Centre (which was set up to understand terrorism after the September 11 attacks), analysed media reports of attackers who allegedly had a mental illness.
It found that out of 55 attacks in the West, where 76 individuals involved where possibly influenced by Islamic State, 27.6% had a history of psychological instability. This percentage is comparable to that found in the general population.
Almost half (45.5%) of Australians experience a mental health disorder at some point in the lifetime. And a 2017 survey found one in five, or 20% of the Australian population aged 16-85 years, were found to have experienced mental disorders in the previous 12 months.
James Gargasoulas was also reportedly suffering delusions during his deadly rampage. AAPThe study also notes its results are not conclusive. This is because media reports are often marred by a “tendency to treat all mental health disorders equally” and a fetished way of reporting on mental illness.
Mental illness is a general term that refers to a group of disorders including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. It can significantly affect how a person feels, thinks, behaves, and interacts with other people.
Whether or not mental illness contributes to violent behaviour is likely to differ from case to case depending on an individual’s diagnosis, prior experiences, co-existence of other stressors and vulnerabilities, and lack of protective factors.
Better support for marginalised communities
In the public perception, mental illness and violence often tend to be intertwined. And much of the stigma associated with mental illness may be due to a tendency to conflate mental illness with the concept of dangerousness.
This is further augmented by the media, which sensationalises violent crimes committed by people with mental illness, particularly mass shootings. The focus is often on mental illness in such reports and ignoring the fact most of the violence in society is caused by people without mental illness.
Read more: From act of terrorism to mental health symptom: we’re shifting blame but at what cost?
This bias contributes to the stigma faced by those with a psychiatric diagnosis, which in turn contributes to non-disclosure of the mental illness and decreased treatment seeking.
We also know that people who are unemployed, marginalised, isolated, homeless or who have been incarcerated, have significantly higher levels of mental illness than the general population. People living in socioeconomically less affluent areas have higher levels of mental illness, particularly depression.
We need culturally appropriate models of care to help with individual experiences of stigma, isolation, disengagement, and past experiences of torture and trauma.
It is not to diminish our grief and horror at last Friday’s incident to tread carefully in laying blame on culture, religion, or even mental health. We know there are many reasons for acts of terrorism or violent crime. But we can minimise them by ensuring communities of all backgrounds feel part of Australian society.
Sadly, my ongoing research shows there is currently limited capacity for culturally sensitive mental health services to respond to alerts from communities about impending or actual crises. Decreasing funding and support from governments means community services are not equipped to prevent incidents like the attacks in Melbourne or manage young people of concern.
Instead of pointing the finger, perhaps governments at both state and federal levels should ask how they themselves can better support communities in dealing with the causes of violent crime.
– ref. The link between terrorism and mental illness is complicated, and vilifying communities doesn’t help – http://theconversation.com/the-link-between-terrorism-and-mental-illness-is-complicated-and-vilifying-communities-doesnt-help-106778]]>What is Japanese encephalitis virus and how can I avoid it when I travel?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Lecturer and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney
If you’re travelling to Asia, you’re probably mindful of the risks of malaria, dengue, or Zika. But authorities are warning Australians to take care to avoid another mosquito-borne disease, Japanese encephalitis, when holidaying in the region, after a spike in cases in Indonesia.
Japanese encephalitic virus is part of the flavivirus family, which is also responsible for Zika, dengue and yellow fever.
Read more: Zika, dengue, yellow fever: what are flaviviruses?
Japanese encephalitis occurs in Asia and parts of the western Pacific, from Pakistan through to Papua New Guinea and north to Japan and parts of Russia. Almost 200,000 cases are estimated to occur each year.
Most people infected don’t suffer any symptoms. But around 1% of cases will result in severe illness. Symptoms include fever, headache and vomiting, which can progress to neurological complications, such as disorientation, seizures, and paralysis.
Of those who do suffer severe illness, almost one-third will die; while up to half of those who survive are left with long-term neurological impairment.
There is no specific treatment for the disease, but it can be prevented with a vaccine.
How does it spread?
The virus is maintained in nature between mosquitoes and waterbirds, mainly herons and egrets. Pigs are also an important host, especially when they’re kept close to both people and sources of mosquitoes, such as rice paddies or other agricultural areas that use flood irrigation. Outbreaks are also more likely to occur during the monsoon season.
The mosquitoes that spread Japanese encephalitis virus are different to Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus – the mosquitoes that spread dengue, yellow fever and Zika viruses. These mosquitoes are active during the day and closely associated with small water-holding containers in urban areas.
The mosquitoes that transmit Japanese encephalitis virus, especially those belonging to the genus Culex, are usually found in wetlands and drainage ditches, and will be out biting mostly at dawn and dusk.
The Culex group of mosquitoes plays an important role in spreading Japanese encephalitis virus. Stephen Doggett (NSW Health Pathology)Is Australia at risk?
Given outbreaks of Japanese encephalitis virus have occurred in Torres Strait and neighbouring Papua New Guinea, concern has been raised about the potential introduction and spread of the virus in Australia.
The virus has been detected in sentinel pigs and local mosquitoes from the Cape York Peninsula. These local mosquitoes have the potential to spread a number of closely related viruses. Both wild pigs and waterbirds are also common in northern Australia.
Fortunately, conditions don’t quite seem right for a local outbreak.
Read more: Will the arrival of El Niño mean fewer mosquitoes this summer?
Perhaps our local flaviviruses provide some immunity in local wildlife to infection with Japanese encephalitis virus. Research has shown that local mosquitoes may be more likely to bite local native wildlife (such as wallabies) than pigs, providing some protection for Australia from local outbreaks.
Genetic studies also suggest that local mosquitoes are not as efficient at spreading the virus compared to those in countries to our north.
While the risk of a local outbreak is low, Australian travellers should not be complacent.
How can Australian travellers stay safe?
There is a vaccine for Japanese encephalitis, but few travellers choose to have it, as they’re often told the risks are low unless they’re spending extensive time in rural or high-risk areas.
There is less than a one in a million chance you may be infected during travel to a country that experiences regular outbreaks of the disease. But short trips aren’t entirely risk-free; travellers to Asia still need to take suitable precautions.
A study investigating 55 cases of international travellers becoming infected with Japanese encephalitis virus indicated that most spent over a month at their destination but very few were vaccinated against the virus.
Given some uncertainty around the true levels of activity of Japanese encephalitis virus in some regions, there has been a recent call to re-evaluate the recommendations, which could result in more travellers getting vaccinated.
Rice paddies can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes that spread Japanese encephalitis virus throughout Asia. From Flickr user sinta1The reality is there is a far greater risk that you’ll be infected by dengue while travelling in southeast Asia than Japanese encephalitis virus. But in recent years, Australian travellers have been infected with Japanese encephalitis virus in Thailand and Bali.
Australian travellers heading to Indonesia are being reminded that, although the risk remains low, precautions should be taken to avoid mosquito bites, by:
-
ensuring your accommodation is mosquito-proof (sleeping under a bed net may also help)
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taking measures to avoid insect bites, including using insect repellent (and applying it regularly) and wearing long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing.
Read more: The best (and worst) ways to beat mosquito bites
If you’re venturing out of holiday resorts to rural areas, consider vaccination as well. Even if you’re not, you can still get vaccinated before you go, but discuss this with you local doctor as part of your pre-travel health checks.
It only takes a single bite from an infected mosquito to transmit Japanese encephalitis virus and sometimes you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
– ref. What is Japanese encephalitis virus and how can I avoid it when I travel? – http://theconversation.com/what-is-japanese-encephalitis-virus-and-how-can-i-avoid-it-when-i-travel-106775]]>How research is helping to reduce prejudice between people online
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fiona White, Professor of Social Psychology, University of Sydney
The internet often gets a bad rap, and for good reason. Social media use can contribute to poorer mental health in teens. It can also be used to manipulate users’ emotions, and to disseminate misinformation and click bait to sway public opinion.
The internet is also home to countless online communities that have been founded on hatred towards social diversity. These online hate groups often incite violence between between political, ethnic and religious groups in the real world.
Despite this, research demonstrates that, when used appropriately, the internet can be a powerful source for social good. When individuals from different groups interact positively and cooperatively online, society may change for the better.
Read more: How the use of emoji on Islamophobic Facebook pages amplifies racism
The internet brings people together
The number of people connecting online is increasing every day. Data collected this year by the Pew Research Center shows 69% of adults living in the United States use at least one social media site, up from 21% in 2008. In Australia, almost 80% of the population has a social media account, and many people access these sites multiple times per day.
Most individuals use the internet to stay in touch with people they already know. But many are also using it to meet new people – 57% of teens report making new friends online. One of the benefits of the internet is that it breaks down the barriers that often prevent people meeting offline.
A powerful example of this is the Facebook peace initiative, “A World of Friends”. This ongoing project has documented vast numbers of online friendships between people living on opposite sides of conflict zones. At the time of writing this article, Facebook says that more than 200,000 new Israel-Palestine friendships had formed in the past 24 hours.
Online social networks can connect people from all over the world, even in the most unexpected places.Online interactions could resolve group conflict
Conflict between groups is evident in many parts of the world: examples include the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in the Middle East, the strained relations between North and South Korea, and the history of hostility between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
Closer to home, last Friday’s terrorist incident in Melbourne has created a backlash against the Muslim community.
One solution for reducing such conflict is through intergroup contact. First proposed by American psychologist Gordon Allport in 1954, the “Contact Hypothesis” suggests that having a positive interaction – or contact – with a person from an opposing group can improve our attitudes towards that group. It does so by challenging many of the negative stereotypes and feelings that we may have towards that group.
If this interaction is supported by institutions, and facilitates cooperation and an equal status between the individuals involved, then it is even more effective.
There is an impressive body of research that supports the power of contact for improving relations between groups experiencing conflict. However, in reality, interacting with others who are different from ourselves, who we may fear, or who are physically distant from us, can be challenging.
In situations such as these, the internet provides a practical avenue for contact, helping people bridge the gap from the safety and comfort of their own homes. Already, social media sites, online chat rooms, multi-player video games, and support forums connect people from diverse backgrounds.
Read more: Humans are wired for prejudice but that doesn’t have to be the end of the story
Current research has found encouraging results
But what does research say about the benefits of online contact for social cohesion? For almost a decade, we have been exploring whether online interactions can improve relations between diverse groups.
To test this question in the research lab, we developed an online program – called E-contact – to simulate a structured chat room interaction between two individuals from different groups. First, a moderator helps the individuals get to know each other by exchanging interests, after which the individuals are guided through a cooperative task. Each individual contributes equally during the interaction, and together they achieve a shared goal. This shifts people from an “us versus them” to a “we” thinking style, to promote a more inclusive mindset.
So far, our E-contact research has connected Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, Muslim and Catholic students from segregated schools in Australia, homosexuals and heterosexuals, and individuals with and without schizophrenia.
In each of these cases, our results have been consistent: online interactions between diverse groups reduce prejudice and promote social cohesion.
Interacting with others online can reduce intergroup conflict. rawpixel/unsplashRead more: The power of a hug can help you cope with conflict
The future of research into online interactions
In the digital age, interacting with other groups online is a powerful tool for improving social cohesion. However, motivating individuals to do so voluntarily and outside of the research lab can be difficult.
Many people surf the internet with a heightened sense of “stranger danger”, and rightly so. Future research must look at ways to encourage positive and safe online exchanges between diverse groups.
In addition to finding ways to promote social cohesion, researchers should explore emerging technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, which may provide a unique and engaging opportunity for people to interact online.
As conflict between groups continues all over the world, the need for effective solutions to combat it only grows. The internet, although commonly part of the problem, may also be part of the solution.
– ref. How research is helping to reduce prejudice between people online – http://theconversation.com/how-research-is-helping-to-reduce-prejudice-between-people-online-106175]]>On the offensive: why Virgin Australia gets called a publicity hound
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mehran Nejati, Senior Lecturer in Management, Edith Cowan University
Parading your patriotism might look like a corporate plan that can’t possibly go wrong. ANZAC Day sporting commemorations by the AFL and NRL, for example, are hugely successful, embraced by veterans groups and the general public alike.
But Virgin Australia’s attempt to get in on the action has proven as much a strategic miscalculation as the Gallipoli campaign.
A week before Remembrance Day the airline announced it would jump aboard a NewsCorp-confected campaign by emulating US airlines that publicly honour military personnel on their flights.
Within 24 hours it was retreating in disarray.
Read more: 100 years since the WW1 Armistice, Remembrance Day remains a powerful reminder of the cost of war
Its plan didn’t go quite as far as the Americans do. Other passengers would not be expected to stand up and applaud. Nor would it offer a military discount, as Virgin Atlantic does. But it did promise proclamations of gratitude and priority boarding for military veterans.
Veterans’ representatives described the idea as embarrassing, tokenistic and opportunistic. Chief among the criticisms: Virgin Australia was fatally misreading the local culture by thinking it could import an American practice out of step with the Australian temperament.
How did the airline blunder so badly?
This is a case study in how to get the fundamentals of corporate social responsibility completely wrong. Virgin Australia chose the wrong cause to support, in the wrong way.
There are three key things it apparently failed to do. Other companies should take note, or risk their own embrace of social causes being dismissed as publicity chasing.
No imagination
Virgin Australia apparently didn’t imagine the beneficiaries might think its plan hasty and mindless.
It didn’t factor in that military veterans might be uncomfortable with being singled out for public thanks. As Rodger Shanahan, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute and former army officer noted, there are many others “who provide service to the community more continually, and are exposed to more trauma on a much more regular basis than the average Australian Defence Force member”.
It short, it didn’t put itself in the stakeholders’ shoes.
Understanding stakeholders is essential to the success of a company’s social responsibility initiatives. A better appreciation of military veterans would have led it to a different plan.
Leaping before listening
Being able to see an issue from the perspective of stakeholders is far easier if you listen to them first.
Virgin declared it would consult with veterans’ organisations only after its announcement bombed.
It should have consulted before. Involving stakeholders in the decision-making process could have avoided the controversy.
Nowadays companies can easily use social media to engage stakeholders and gauge community sentiment prior to making or announcing a decision. Sony and Microsoft are good case studies. Both have successfully used social media prior to launching their new game consoles to involve consumers in “cocreation”.
Read more: This Remembrance Day, digital commemoration makes it impossible to forget
With tools like Social Studio any company can analyse what is being said about it across internet platforms. Reviewing this sentiment can be provide insight and ideas. Like this one:
“I am happy that I served my country to protect the values that we Australians hold dear but do not want to see Australia follow the path of America… Virgin Australia would do better by providing some discounts to airfares or Lounge access rather that what I see proposed today.”
Of course, social media should not be the only medium for obtaining feedback. Other techniques such as focus group and surveys are also important. But feedback from stakeholders is tremendously valuable.
Fitness test
Corporate social responsibility initiatives need to be the right fit. Research shows the importance of stakeholders seeing the connection between a company and the causes it supports.
That’s probably why the AFL and NRL can get away with leveraging the “ANZAC spirit” to promote football games. Those who died at Gallipoli and professional footballers at least share the common attribute of being young men.
In the case of Virgin Australia, simply importing an American idea failed to take account of the need to show a connection between military personnel and the airline’s brand values in the Australian market.
What this proves is that companies need to be smarter and more sensitive than media and politicians that see advantages in sanctifying military service.
Read more: The politics of public monuments: it’s time Australians looked at what, and whom, we commemorate
Other Australian companies can learn from Virgin’s military blunder. The lesson here is that corporate social responsibility needs to be driven by real engagement, and doing the hard yards, not by short-term opportunism.
Perhaps they can take the sentiments of Rodger Shanahan to heart and put more energy into recognising “all those who work on behalf of the greater good in often traumatic, and always difficult circumstances at home”.
– ref. On the offensive: why Virgin Australia gets called a publicity hound – http://theconversation.com/on-the-offensive-why-virgin-australia-gets-called-a-publicity-hound-106765]]>Report fake page to Facebook plea from Fiji Times editor
Fiji Times appeals to readers on its website today to report the fake page to Facebook. Image: PMC
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk
The Fiji Times has appealed to readers to report a fake Facebook account purporting to be the official page of the daily newspaper.
In a message posted on the newspaper’s website today, editor-in-chief Fred Wesley says: “We need your support to report this FAKE page https://web.facebook.com/Fiji-Times-254313332110085/ to Facebook so it can be removed.”
The fake page ran a false news item claiming that opposition SODELPA leader Sitiveni Rabuka had been barred from contesting tomorrow’s general election. In fact, a High Court ruling yesterday cleared Rabuka to contest the election to the jubilation of a crowd waiting outside the Suva courtroom.
The fake news item said:
“The Social Liberal Democratic Party (SODELPA) leader Sitiveni Rabuka has been disqualified from running for the 2018 Fijian General Elections.
“All votes cast for Rabuka’s number will not be counted now …”
The official Facebook account of the newspaper can be accessed on this link: https://web.facebook.com/fijitimesonline/
The Fake Fiji Times FB page. Image: PMC 
The true Fiji Times FB page. Image: PMC
False news warning
Radio NZ Pacific reports that election authorities in Fiji are warning about false news stories in the run-up to tomorrow’s election.
They were telling people to report any so-called fake news.
Social media users have found fake media sites with items about visa-free access to Australia and a ban on celebrating Diwali.
Ashwin Raj, of Fiji’s media authority, said there was so much fake news that audiences found it hard to decide which was fact or fiction.
Raj said people should report fake news.
A two-day campaign blackout started at midnight on Sunday, but the complaints to the elections office said some material remained on banners and car stickers.
Offenders risk the chance of a hefty fine and up to 10 years in jail.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
]]>Why controversial child protection reforms in NSW could lead to another Stolen Generation
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Whittaker, Research Fellow, University of Technology Sydney
Among the most significant powers exercised by governments is that of removing children from their families. Potential reforms before the NSW parliament this week would expand this power in frightening ways.
The reforms contained in the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Amendment Bill represent a radical shift in basic child welfare principles. These changes could make removals more permanent, while dispensing with core safeguards and transparency measures. It is Aboriginal communities who stand to lose the most.
Children are already being removed from Indigenous communities at an unprecedented rate. Indigenous children make up 36.9% of children in out-of-home care in Australia, despite being just 3% of the population.
And stakeholders ranging from the Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation to the peak body for Community Legal Centres NSW are fearful that, if passed, the NSW legislation will force adoptions and create another Stolen Generation.
What’s been proposed?
We’re especially concerned by four fundamental proposed changes:
- placing a two-year limit on creating a permanent arrangement for a child
- making guardianship orders by consent outside of courts
- amending how families can apply for restoration
- removing parental consent to adoption for children on permanent orders.
Proponents suggest the reforms are aimed at stopping children “flopping from one foster home to another”, as Pru Goward, NSW minister for family and community services, put it.
Pru Goward says the bill will bring ‘landmark reforms’ to the state’s child protection system. Dean Lewins/AAPHowever, we are talking here about legally permanent care arrangements being made with arbitrary deadlines.
As Aboriginal advocates have argued, and as the evidence attests, family and kin support is key to keeping Aboriginal kids home, safe and connected with their culture. The reforms proposed in the bill will make it much harder to achieve that goal.
A permanent placement within two years
The most commonly criticised feature of the bill is the arbitrary maximum period of two years within which a decision about permanent placement has to be made.
As governments increasingly outsource their child welfare responsibilities to private agencies, there is a danger that market incentives can intrude into decision-making. The incentive to cycle children into permanent arrangements, regardless of their suitability, to meet performance indicators and targets is particularly chilling.
In Australia, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse noted the vulnerability of children in care to sex abuse. Yet, once children are placed on guardianship orders or adopted, they are on their own, with no further review or oversight. They are no longer counted in the out-of-home care statistics.
And the factors that cause children to enter into care – especially Aboriginal children – aren’t usually solved within a two-year time frame. They’re often related to poverty and inter-generational trauma. These include insecure housing, drug and alcohol addiction, family violence, and mental health and behavioural problems.
Read more: Child protection report lacks crucial national detail on abuse in out-of-home care
Almost half of all children in out-of-home care in NSW in 2014-2015 had a parent who had contact with the child welfare department themselves when they were a child.
Services to address these problems (such as support for victims of domestic violence and rehabilitation facilities) are either not available or have a lengthy wait list – sometimes two years or longer.
And it’s hard to see how the frequently backlogged NSW Children’s Court could cope with the additional pressure of a looming two-year deadline.
The changes create insurmountable conditions tantamount to permanent removal with no oversight.
Guardianship orders ‘by consent’ outside of courts
Under the bill, permanent care orders can be made “by consent” in alternative dispute resolution without necessarily establishing a child is at risk. As the Law Society of NSW says in its submission to the state government:
While the child’s safety and best interests are of course paramount, these provisions would allow the court to make a guardianship order with the parents’ consent, even where there is no finding that a child is at risk of significant harm or should be subject to a care and protection order.
These decisions will be made in negotiations – without judicial oversight – between families, governments, agencies and carers with vastly different legal resources, powers and goals. Families will be assisted by lawyers who may be ill-equipped to deal with a sudden influx of new cases in an unfamiliar forum.
Read more: Why children in institutional care may be worse off now than they were in the 19th century
The legislation provides limited safeguards, but these cannot make the alternative dispute resolution suitable in cases where fundamental legal rights – such as the state breaking up a family – are at stake.
This means thousands of children who have already been transferred from foster care to private guardianship arrangements – over 894 of them Indigenous as of June 2017 – could soon be adopted without their parents’ knowledge or consent.
Once a decision has been made, the reforms narrow the criteria for reviewing them. This makes it virtually impossible for families to get permanent placement decisions changed.
In its own report on the bill, the NSW government conceded most stakeholders opposed these changes.
Rushed process leaving little time for response
Decisions such as these already take place in the context of the unconscious bias and structural racism of the out-of-home care system. And Indigenous child placement principles – which aim to keep children safe while retaining their connections to family, community, culture and country – are not being properly implemented.
Read more: FactCheck Q&A: are Indigenous children ten times more likely to be living in out-of-home care?
We do not yet know the extent of that system failure. The NSW government is not waiting for the results of an ongoing review into how it handles Aboriginal child placements. A similar review in Victoria revealed that systematic failings have contributed to the over-representation of Aboriginal children in care and that over 60% of those children had been placed with non-Aboriginal carers.
It is astonishing this bill is being rushed straight to the upper house in the last sitting days before the NSW election in March, leaving no chance for adequate debate and giving Aboriginal stakeholders just weeks’ notice to respond. A recent motion to send the bill to a short inquiry that would last mere days was voted down.
We know that NSW child protection laws need to change, but not this way. The Commonwealth government has apologised to the Stolen Generations, and the NSW government has apologised to survivors of forced adoptions. Both apologies warned us of the need to learn from past policies. If this bill passes, we will have all but forgotten them.
– ref. Why controversial child protection reforms in NSW could lead to another Stolen Generation – http://theconversation.com/why-controversial-child-protection-reforms-in-nsw-could-lead-to-another-stolen-generation-106330]]>Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – November 13 2018
Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – November 13 2018
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
[caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.[/caption]
Child abuse inquiry to include faith-based institutions
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Child abuse inquiry – Brace yourself for NZ’s cruel past
1News: Jack Tame questions Acting PM Kelvin Davis over Government’s decision to limit timeframe for child abuse inquiry
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Abuse survivors encouraged to speak as inquiry scope widens
Jason Walls (Herald): Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care largest ever undertaken in New Zealand, says Sir Anand Satyanand
Chris Morris (ODT): Abuse inquiry widened
Chris Morris (ODT): ‘Should have done it sooner’: Survivor on abuse inquiry
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Apology needed for people abused in state and church care: sex abuse survivors support group
Chris Bramwell (RNZ): Religious institutions to be included in state abuse inquiry
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Churches to be examined in state care abuse inquiry
1News: Watch: PM widens inquiry into abuse of children in state care to include faith-based institutions
Jason Walls (Herald): Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care will now include churches, PM Jacinda Ardern says
Stacey Kirk and Tom Hunt (Stuff): Government expands abuse inquiry to churches and ‘faith-based institutions’
Megan Sutherland (Newshub): Government expands state care abuse inquiry to include church abuse
Police
Herald Editorial: Police commissioner does not come out of Haumaha inquiry well
Jared Savage (Herald): New details of bullying allegations against Wally Haumaha outlined in report
Gia Garrick (Herald): Louise Nicholas stands by criticism after report clears Wally Haumaha
Derek Cheng (Herald):Louise Nicholas concerns not relevant to Haumaha appointment process – Police Commissioner
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): ‘We struggled to get taken seriously’: Women speak out on Wally Haumaha inquiry
RNZ: Wally Haumaha: ‘It has not been easy for anyone’
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Police Minister Stuart Nash won’t back Wally Haumaha despite inquiry clearing him
Jared Savage (Herald): Wally Haumaha inquiry: Government releases QC’s report into appointment process for Police Deputy Commissioner
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Haumaha report clears Government
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Wally Haumaha inquiry and the politics of perception
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Top cop Wally Haumaha ‘looking forward’ to continuing his work after report clears his appointment
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Top cop Wally Haumaha’s appointment cleared by Government inquiry
Anna Whyte (1News): Appointment process for Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha found to be ‘adequate and fit for purpose’ – report
Jo Moir (RNZ): Haumaha appointment process was ‘adequate and fit for purpose’
Newstalk ZB: Inquiry into Wally Haumaha finds appointment process was adequate
No Right Turn: This is what happens when agencies investigate themselves
Derek Cheng (Herald): Wally Haumaha report raises more questions than answers, says National Party
Matt Shand (Stuff): Opposition police spokesman says Haumaha sends wrong message for police
No Right Turn: We don’t need more terror laws
Sinead Corcoran (Stuff): NZ Police and Pride Board in ‘negotiations’ over uniform ban
RNZ: Calls for Pride boycott over uniform ban
Cleo Fraser (Newshub): ‘You f***ed up’: Nelson man wants compensation after police shoot dog
Teachers’ pay dispute
Press Editorial: Teachers test the Government
Jessica Long (Stuff): Why primary teachers’ and principals’ negotiations have led to strike action
1News: North Island schools closed as week-long primary teachers’ strike rolls into second day
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Teachers defend strike decision
John Lewis (ODT): Offer ‘too late’ to avert strike: OPPA chairman
1News: ‘This is all we’ve got’ – Government pushed to limit on primary pay offer, says PM
Simon Collins (Herald): Education Minister Chris Hipkins says teachers keep asking for more
RNZ:Primary and secondary teachers may have combined campaign in 2019
Nicole Bremner (!News): Fighting talk from teachers’ union president, who says fight with Government ‘will get rougher’
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Teachers not ruling out third strike to fix education ‘crisis’ – NZEI
Simon Collins (Herald): Striking primary teachers at meeting in Auckland are urged to ‘fight for your professional lives’
Josephine Franks and Collette Devlin (Stuff): Striking Auckland teachers ‘living pay cheque to pay cheque’ take to the streets
RNZ: Teachers strike: What you need to know
Diane Crate (Stuff): New offer for teachers is misleading, here’s the truth
Simon Collins (Herald): Parents taking extra ‘Dad Sunday’ back teachers’ strikes
Jodie Rimmer (Herald): As parents we need to get behind the teachers’ strike
Point of Order: After expelling the charter schools, Hipkins is pressed to do better on teachers’ pay
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Hunger strikes, a 180km march, 3-month walkouts: Teacher protests around the world
Education
Simon Collins (Herald): Struggling to learn: Brain science reveals why some kids learn differently
Jessica Long (Stuff): NZQA’s digital pilot goes offline to affect English students
Native Affairs (Māori TV): The digital future of education
Rachel Rafferty (Briefing Papers): The costs of choice in the New Zealand history curriculum
Bullying
Rhonwyn Newson (Newshub): Stand Strong NZ: New series calls for a tougher stance on school bullying
Raniera Harrison (Māori TV): Bullying in NZ schools second highest in OECD
Zane Small (Newshub): Stand Strong NZ: ‘The fallout is huge’ – Kiwi teen’s death brings cyberbullying into focus
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Stand Strong NZ: Patrick Gower – I refused to let name-calling stop me chasing my dreams
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): Stand Strong NZ: Beautiful messages flood in for Patrick Gower after bullying revelations
Eilish Grieveson (Newshub): When the bullied become the bullies
Environment and conservation
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Green MP Eugenie Sage accused of ‘rubber-stamping’ land sales to foreigners
Simon Hampton and Zane Small (Newshub): Paris Agreement regulations won’t stop ice sheet collapse – report
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Capital Kiwi: Owner of Te Kamaru Station says he wants kiwi back on his land
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Capital Kiwi: First of 4400 traps set at Terawhiti station
Dan Dalgety (RNZ): ‘We think it can be a safe place for kiwi to live’
Laura Macdonald (Newshub): Why kiwi could be seen in Wellington backyards in just five years
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Battle against Dome Valley dump plan gears up
Dave Nicoll (Stuff): Environment Southland takes top honours at biosecurity awards
ODT Editorial: Back yards an untapped resource
Wayne Linklater (Stuff): ‘Facts’ don’t give scientists a monopoly on the truth
Justice
Victoria University (Newsroom): One law for all or one justice for all?
David Farrar: Judicial pensions
Vincent Olsen-Reeder (Spinoff): When a judge slaps down a lawyer for a few words of te reo, it’s about power
Sam Hurley (Herald): Herald challenges judge’s decision to suppress ‘callous’ man who robbed injured crash victim
Housing
Phil Twyford (ODT): Setting the record straight on the KiwiBuild scheme
Felix Desmarais (Stuff): KiwiBuild signals interest in ‘pocket’ of prime land on Wellington peninsula
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Government ‘risks lack of KiwiBuild buyers’
Armistice centenary
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): A Diet Of Lies
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): Winston Peters criticises French President Emmanuel Macron’s Armistice Day speech
1News: Winston Peters criticises Emmanuel Macron’s Armistice Day speech in Paris
NZ-Pacific relationship, Pacific Aotearoa Summit
RNZ: Cooks delighted as NZ Super qualification eased
RNZ: NZ planned Pacific TV service not what is needed – expert
Vaimoana Tapaleao (Herald): State of Pasifika community in New Zealand to be revealed at Pacific Summit
Defence
1News: New Defence Force boss on working with China – ‘We have discussions about how we can cooperate in the South Pacific’
Newshub: Why terrorists aren’t targeting New Zealand
Foreign affairs
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Great power rivalry on the agenda
Zane Small (Newshub): What Jacinda Ardern plans to tell Australian PM Scott Morrison
Government
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Meeting with Adrian Orr among those not disclosed by Shane Jones
Katie Kenny (Stuff): Algorithms are everywhere but the public sector seems scared to use them
Richard MacManus (Newsroom): How Government algorithms are judging you
Point of Order: Ministerial appointments monitor – jobs for the boys (and jobs for the girls, too)
Banking and finance
Tim Hazledine (Herald): Govt should use Kiwibank to undercut the big four
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Jones accuses the FMA of being ‘chummy’ with banks, the RBNZ of being too independent and the Super Fund of using the wrong investment strategy
Transport
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland cycleways overestimated demand to obtain taxpayer funding, says Auckland Transport report
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Cycleways exposed as the sham they are
Michael Naylor (Herald): E-bikes, e-scooters and e-vehicles pose a threat to public transport
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff):Lime scooters likely to launch in Wellington before the end of summer
Ben Strang (RNZ): Pilots seek stricter drone laws as they await improved technology
Kate Gudsell (RNZ): Drone disrupting airspace ‘could have been catastrophic’
Local government
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Economists see lack of detail in Alpine Energy share sale proposal
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): Ombudsman decision savages Horowhenua email blocking
Herald: Chief Ombudsman asks Horowhenua council to apologise for blocking mayor’s and councillors’ email
RNZ: Ombudsman – Council’s blocking of emails wrong
No Right Turn: Unreasonable
Auckland
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Buying a section in a new development north of Auckland will come with an ‘infrastructure payment’; tagged onto rates bill
Newshub: North Auckland gets $91m infrastructure package
Bill McKay (Newsroom): Yes to Auckland CBD stadium, just not the waterfront
Nick Truebridge (Stuff): $1.8b Auckland stadium plan on shaky ground as council pours cold water on funding plea
Waitara Lands Bill
Robin Martin (RNZ): Hapū divided over Waitara Lands Bill
Deena Coster (Stuff): Govt Minister Andrew Little listens to concerns of Waitara leaseholders as bill reading looms
Health
RNZ: New unit to transform critical care at Dunedin Hospital
David Loughrey (ODT): Build will be more complex due to soils
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): ‘Virtual campus’ suggested to ease rural doctor shortage
Leonie Hayden (Spinoff): Under the Korowai: new approaches to Māori mental health
Eric Crampton: Sugar tax advice
Ngāi Tahu agreement with Oranga Tamariki
RNZ: ‘We are really interested in stepping up’
Regan Paranihi (Māori tV): Oranga Tamariki team up with Ngāi Tahu
Employment and training
Richard Harman (Politik): Budget to include radical new approach to skills retraining
John Boynton (RNZ): Programme builds rangatahi’s confidence to climb leadership ladder
One Billion Trees Project
David Fisher (Herald): Shane Jones’ One Billion Trees bungle: scrub, weeds mar planting of 1 million seedlings
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Nurseries call for quicker action on Govt’s plan to plant 1 billion trees by 2027
Canterbury earthquakes, earthquake risks
RNZ: Govt to announce details of independent inquiry into EQC
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Test case for on-sold homes with botched repairs still nine months away
Chloe Ranford (Stuff): Liquefaction report says rivers most at risk
Abortion
Trish McBride (Stuff): Deciding to abort must be more than a simple solution to a problem
Bob McCoskrie: We love them both
Amy Brooke: Jacinda Ardern’s priorities aren’t most New Zealanders
Media
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Rank and file missing from conference coverage
Stuff: Journalism figure Brian Priestley dies
Primary industries
David Williams (Newsroom): Minister challenged over Mackenzie greening
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): Misinformation puts extra pressure on M bovis farmers
Iulia Leilua (Māori TV): Turning pollution into profit
Business, economy
RNZ: Low confidence threat to economic growth – Bridges
David Cormack (Herald): Silly Simon Bridges should avoid repeating Angry Andy Little’s mistake
Native Affairs (Māori TV): Māori enterprise – awakening the taniwha
Mainzeal
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Mainzeal loan generated hundreds of millions in wealth, court hears
RNZ: Mainzeal directors should’ve said they’d resign: lawyer
Civil defence
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): Civil Defence to test another mobile alert this weekend
1News: Nationwide test of Emergency Mobile Alert system announced
Other
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Controversial Codemark certificates axed
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): KiwiRail defends decision to purchase new diesel trains
Russell Brown (Public Address): Getting serious about the cannabis referendum
RNZ: New Zealanders losing millions to scammers, new data shows
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Scam victim: ‘I felt like vomiting’
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Meridian: Here’s how households could save $180m
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): It was a hurricane with no name: Vector boss
1News: Simon Bridges hints there may be more than just ministerial incompetence behind Karel Sroubek scandal
Zane Small (Newshub): ‘Indoctrination?’: Questions over Church of Scientology’s free English lessons
Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): Which MP occupies the worst seat in parliament? A Spinoff investigation
Conan Young (RNZ): Race-fixing charges not expected to impact NZ Trotting Cup]]>
Marshall Islands president narrowly survives no-confidence vote
Marshall Islands President Dr Hilda Heine … survived challenge to her government’s policies. Image: SPC
By Giff Johnson in Majuro for RNZ Pacific
Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine has survived a vote of no confidence with parliament, the Nitijela, split evenly 16-16
The movers of the motion needed 17 votes to topple Dr Heine. The vote was held yesterday with 32 of the 33 members present, as one was off-island for medical treatment.
Heine, Finance Minister Brenson Wase and Foreign Minister John Silk led 45 minutes of government response to the five issues outlined by the motion movers, with Dr Heine saying the vote was really a “referendum about our own politics.”
Wase said the criticism of the government for moving ahead with a digital currency plan had been overtaken by events, with numerous countries in the Pacific following the Marshall Islands by announcing plans for their own digital currencies and requesting support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He said delays in releasing the Marshall Islands’ “SOV” currency were so the country could meet the requirements of the US, European Union and others.
Silk said the international recognition accorded Heine and her government showed the opposition’s contention that the government had ruined the nation’s reputation internationally was wrong.
He cited donors doubling their annual grants and the country’s chairmanship of various global climate groups.
Lack of transparency
Opposition Senators Casten Nemra, Bruce Bilimon and Alfred Alfred, Jr. fired back, hammering the government on lack of transparency in handling theft of money from its national trust fund in 2017 and saying the government had taken away people’s right to vote by eliminating postal absentee balloting for islanders living offshore.
The parliament chamber was packed with a standing-room only crowd to view the debate and the vote that followed.
Immediately after the results were confirmed, Speaker Kenneth Kedi, who had backed the no confidence move, congratulated Dr Heine and her Cabinet, and then, following a motion to recess, declared Nitijela to be in recess.
Giff Johnson is editor of the Marshall Islands Journal and correspondent for RNZ Pacific. This article is republished under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
]]>How the use of emoji on Islamophobic Facebook pages amplifies racism
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández, Lecturer in Digital Media at the School of Communication, Queensland University of Technology
In the aftermath of the fatal stabbing in Melbourne’s Bourke Street on Friday, Facebook and other social media platforms were flooded with hateful messages towards Muslims and Islam.
Over the weekend, I browsed several Islamophobic Facebook pages, such as “No sharia law – Never ever give up Australia” and “Reclaim Australia”. These groups were using the incident to dehumanise Muslims by sharing mocking memes, GIFs, decontextualised information, and blatantly racist comments.
I noted the “angry” reaction button being widely used in response to posts, while comments on posts were often accompanied by other emoji that emphasised states of rage towards Muslims: angry face, pouting face, swearing face.
Facebook emoji reactions. Screengrabbed by author, November 2018This kind of emoji use involves overt racist language and practices, but emoji can also be used to cloak everyday microaggressions in humour and play. For example, previous research has found how online harassers often use cues such as smiley emoticons to mitigate their abuse.
Racism on social media is structural too. A larger body of evidence shows that it can be built into, and normalised by, social media platforms, which also have the power to curb it by instituting responsible policies and processes.
Using emoji to amplify Islamophobia
Facebook introduced “reactions” in early 2016. Beyond just a simple “like”, this function allowed users to interact with posts and comments by clicking on emoji-like buttons to signify emotions: love, laughter, surprise, sadness and anger.
Since then, hate groups and other users have appropriated this technical feature to spread anger towards specific targets. One way of doing this involves overlaying a question on an image or video and encouraging users to respond by choosing between two reactions, with the “angry” reaction typically being one of the options.
In the below example, taken from a Belgian far-right political party’s Facebook page, users are asked to respond to the question of whether the school year should be adapted to accommodate Islamic traditions.
Facebook images posted by Flemish far-right political party Vlaams Belang incite its audience to express anger against Muslims. Screengrabbed by author, September 2017In this way, “reactions” facilitate the performance of rage and antagonism towards other groups by allowing users to click on an angry-faced emoji.
The way Facebook uses this information can have problematic consequences. According to a 2016 blog post, Facebook’s algorithms interpret the clicking of the “angry” reaction on a post as an indication that users want to see more content related to those posts. Islamophobic content that attracts high numbers of “angry” reactions therefore has the potential to become even more visible and shareable.
Facebook also uses these emotional responses to posts to create user profiles to sell to advertisers. The creation of automated categories based on user behaviour has involved Facebook in several public scandals. For example, in the past, Facebook has reportedly allowed advertisers to target “jew haters” and people interested in “white genocide conspiracy theory” – a useful tool for people who wish to spread hate.
How emoji can reproduce cultural stereotypes
In general, emoji are benign and funny digital images. But their design and use can reproduce long-running racist stereotypes.
The US body responsible for the emoji set, the Unicode Consortium, decides what ends up being represented as emoji. At times, these decisions have caused controversies around cultural diversity and race. For example, Apple’s family emojis originally excluded depictions of same-sex couples.
Sticker categories for comments offered by Facebook by default (left), Facebook’s Meep Stickers (centre) and emoji’s facial expressions (right) Screengrabbed by author, September 2017Racist stereotypes can be further entrenched by the way emoji are used. In my study of the use of Facebook reactions by Belgian far-right political party, Vlaams Belang, I examined how emoji were used to spread anger. I found that users often responded to posts by posting more emoji and Meep stickers.
Facebook’s vomit Meep sticker.The vomit sticker surfaced as a popular and recurrent choice to express disgust towards Muslims.
A pig sticker is posted in response to a questions asking if policewomen should be able to wear their headscarves.‘ Screengrabbed by author, May 2017This aligns with other exploitations of the act of vomiting as a cultural trope to convey xenophobia.
For example, the British television series Little Britain used hyperbolic humour to ridicule the racism of Maggie Blackamoor, one of its characters, by having her vomit every time she ate food made by a non-white person, or met people from different ethnicities.
People also used pig emoji, and various stickers, to show opposition to Muslims. According to Islamic law, eating pork is forbidden, and, historically, Western Islamophobia has used pork to attack Muslims.
The practice of posting pig emoji on the comments of Islamophobic posts draws on this long tradition, contributing to the weaponising of pork to antagonise Muslims.
The challenge of moderating social media content
The fact that racist discourse proliferates through emoji and stickers on Facebook suggests a need for new ways to moderate content.
It is not currently possible to switch off the use of emoji and stickers in comments. That means that people can flood Facebook public pages with problematic emoji, without the platform having an easy solution to it. While Facebook has automated filters to moderate certain words and textual expressions, there isn’t yet a filter to ban emoji, even though they are standardised characters.
Reporting emoji and other stickers as hate speech can be difficult, if not impossible. Whether a cute pig emoji signifies Islamophobia depends on the context in which it was posted, and Facebook’s flagging mechanism doesn’t allow users to explain why certain content might be hateful.
As a result, the practice of weaponising emoji to spread racist discourse is likely to continue.
Failing to provide options to report or minimise certain uses of emoji reflects an assumption that emoji and stickers can’t be used for hateful purposes. But it’s clear that user practices on social media, and the way platforms mediate that use, can contribute to structural racism and other forms of oppression, and make them appear normal, mundane and acceptable.
We all have an interest in ensuring that social media companies take proper responsibility to prevent the content that appears on their platforms from being used to spread hate.
– ref. How the use of emoji on Islamophobic Facebook pages amplifies racism – http://theconversation.com/how-the-use-of-emoji-on-islamophobic-facebook-pages-amplifies-racism-105285]]>Morrison wants Muslim leaders to do more to prevent terrorism, but what more can they do?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Barton, Chair in Global Islamic Politics, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation; Co-Director, Australian Intervention Support Hub, Deakin University
With the simple statement “more needs to happen”, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was emphatic. In the wake of the terror attack on the crowded streets of Melbourne’s CBD last Friday, it is difficult to argue against any plan to do more to fight terrorism in Australia.
The question is what can be done and what should be done. Morrison, in part, put the onus on religious leaders by urging them not to “look the other way”:
If you’re an imam or a leader in one of those communities, you need to know who those people are in your community that might be doing that.
But exactly what it is they should be doing to help prevent similar terror attacks is not spelt out.
Read more: Out of the ashes of Afghanistan and Iraq: the rise and rise of Islamic State
Lone-actor attacks hard to anticipate
Leaving aside the politically charged nature of comments from government ministers – campaigning ahead of the fast-approaching elections in Victoria and imminent federal elections in the new year – it is important to take an objective look at what reasonably can be done.
Friday’s attack was the sort of terrorist attack that police have identified as being their primary concern.
Clearly Australian authorities, along with counter-terrorism forces around the world, have been very effective in preventing large-scale, ambitious terrorist plots. A lot of hard work and enormous resources have gone into ensuring that the sort of massive attacks that jihadi terrorists carried out in New York, Bali, Madrid and London at the beginning of the century have not being repeated.
Read more: How the Australian government is failing on countering violent extremism
But lone-actor attacks continue to worry police precisely because they are so very hard to anticipate and disrupt. When one or two people decide to launch an attack with little planning and no communications across a larger terrorist network, the methods of intelligence that are so successful in preventing large-scale attacks have little utility.
One of the problems with suggesting that Muslim leaders need to “do more” is that it implies they have information they are not sharing, or that they’re failing to take action when they see a problem.
The reality is that Islamic leaders generally have little to do with the troubled young people most likely to be involved in lone-actor attacks like the one in Melbourne. Muslim communities, like many others in multicultural Australia, face a challenge in closing the gap between young people and the older generation recognised as the community’s formal leaders or religious teachers. They live in two separate worlds.
It is not the actively religious young people who are generally the source of problems. Rather, it is the alienated and the angry who turn their backs on community leaders – they are the real concern.
Among those attackers who do become religious, they generally reject mainstream religious leadership, making it difficult for those imams, for instance, to spot troubled youth and intervene.
Community-based outreach can have an impact
More than 250 passports have been cancelled or suspended by the Australian government over the last six years and many more people have had their travel plans stopped on the grounds of reasonable suspicion that they intended to travel to the Middle East and join a terrorist group like Islamic State.
They have not been found guilty of any crime and are under no legal obligation, generally speaking, to participate in rehabilitation programs.
Nevertheless, state and federal police are quietly having considerable success in working with these young people, on a voluntary basis, to reengage them with their families and communities. Some members of the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) play a key role in this low-key work. Mental health professionals, counsellors and social workers work alongside religious teachers in attempting to turn troubled young lives around.
Can anything more be done? Almost certainly. While dozens of youths at risk of radicalisation currently receive help in this manner, there are hundreds of others who are not benefiting from structured interventions.
The lack of any legal compulsion for them to participate in one of these community-based programs is certainly one of the problems. But so, too, is the lack of resources. In comparison with the many tens of millions of dollars spent at the hard end of countering terrorism, the resources provided to youth workers and community intervention programs remain pitifully small.
If anything more can be done, it is in this area. Simply finding the resources to employ a hundred properly trained and equipped youth workers to engage with at-risk youths would likely yield considerable dividends.
But this will only be achieved with trust and confidence built on mutual respect. The last thing that is needed is to publicly call out Islamic leaders, and Muslims in general, and lay the problem at their feet. This is not fair. We don’t do this with other communities.
And doing this threatens to undermine so much of the good work that is being done away from the spotlight of public attention.
– ref. Morrison wants Muslim leaders to do more to prevent terrorism, but what more can they do? – http://theconversation.com/morrison-wants-muslim-leaders-to-do-more-to-prevent-terrorism-but-what-more-can-they-do-106776]]>FactCheck Q&A: have 90% of Labor MPs worked in trade unions?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ray Markey, Emeritus Professor, Macquarie University
The Conversation fact-checks claims made on Q&A, broadcast Mondays on the ABC at 9.35pm. Thank you to everyone who sent us quotes for checking via Twitter using the hashtags #FactCheck and #QandA, on Facebook or by email.
Excerpt from Q&A, October 2, 2018.
It’s nice for Amanda to say you need to reflect society, but you can’t reflect society if 90% of your members of parliament were chosen from trade unions and worked in trade unions and that’s the background they bring to the table.
– Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham, speaking on Q&A, October 2, 2018
On an episode of Q&A, panellists discussed the extent to which the composition of the Australian parliament reflects the demographic make up of society.
Labor MP Amanda Rishworth said in addition to having women account for 50% of parliamentarians, there needed to be more diversity of skills and experience.
“So we need to move further than just looking at men and women. We need people from a whole range of backgrounds,” Rishworth said.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham later suggested to Rishworth that “you can’t reflect society if 90% of your members of parliament were chosen from trade unions and worked in trade unions, and that’s the background they bring to the table”.
Let’s check the records.
Response from a spokesperson for Simon Birmingham
In response to The Conversation’s request for sources and comment, a spokesperson for Simon Birmingham provided a 2015-16 membership application form for the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party and said:
Based on this application, and the disclaimer that a person applying for membership must be a member of a union, it would seem the Minister may have underestimated the percentage.
Verdict
On Q&A, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said “90% of [Labor’s] members of parliament were chosen from trade unions and worked in trade unions”. In terms of federal parliamentarians, this is a gross exaggeration.
According to parliamentary members’ biographies, taken from the 45th Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, about one third (33.7%) of Labor’s currently serving federal MPs have worked in trade unions, or 32 of Labor’s 95 members of federal parliament (the total comprising 69 members of the House of Representatives and 26 Senators).
Regarding the source provided by the Minister’s office
The source provided by Minister Birmingham’s office doesn’t support the statement; it refers to a discounted fee offered for South Australian Labor party membership if the applicant is also a union member. Having been a member of a union isn’t the same as having worked for one, and being a union member isn’t a requirement of becoming a member of the Labor party.
How many Labor MPs have worked in trade unions?
A trade union is a member-based organisation that represents the interests of workers in particular industries, or groups of industries, to employers. The Australian Labor Party grew out of the union movement in the 1890s. Affiliated unions play a significant role in the Labor party today; in its internal structures and forums, and influence in choice of parliamentary candidates.
The proportion of former union officials entering parliament as Labor members peaked in 1901, at 79% of Labor representatives. The proportion has been declining steadily since then.
Minister Birmingham referred to members of parliament (MPs) who had been “chosen from” and “worked in trade unions” and who bring that background to the table. In this FactCheck, we’ll look at members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate who have worked in trade unions.
To see how things stand today, we can look to the Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia 2017, which includes the biographies of the 76 Senators and 150 members of the House of Representatives in the current (45th) federal parliament. (Four of the Labor MPs listed in the handbook, which was published in July 2017, are no longer in parliament: Sam Dastyari, David Feeney, Katy Gallagher and Tim Hammond.)
Included in these biographies are MPs’ qualifications and occupations before entering federal Parliament.
According to those biographies, the proportion of Labor MPs who have worked in trade unions is about a third (33.7%). That’s 32 of Labor’s 95 members of parliament (the total comprising 69 members of the House of Representatives and 26 Senators).
The proportion has declined since the previous parliament, elected in 2013. In that, the 44th parliament, the proportion of Labor representatives with a union background was 45%.
The number of Labor MPs and Senators with a union background dropped slightly between the 44th and 45th parliaments, from 36 to 32, but the total number of Labor representatives also increased substantially, from 80 to 95.
In terms of how these figures compare to union representation in the broader community: around 15% of the Australian workforce are union members.
Total union membership is now around 1.5 million, however, unions collectively represent 59.5% of the workforce in bargaining for conditions through enterprise agreements or awards.
From which unions have the MPs come?
The three unions with the largest contingents of employees-turned-MPs are the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Union, with six former employees now MPs, the Transport Workers’ Union with three (this was originally four after the 2016 election, but reduced when David Feeney resigned from the seat of Batman and was replaced by Ged Kearney in the March 2018 by-election), and United Voice.
Other unions with two former employees each are the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, the Australian Workers’ Union, and the Community and Public Sector Union.
Another 11 unions each have one representative, and a couple of MPs did not specify their union background.
Many of those with a union background were university graduates appointed to union positions as political operatives before or after becoming a political staffer. Few came up through the ranks of a union, as their predecessors more commonly did.
What other types of backgrounds do Labor MPs have?
More than half (51.6%) of Labor MPs in the current government were party officials, or staffers for Labor Ministers or back-benchers before being elected.
Some have experience as public servants (18%), lawyers (16%), employees of non-governmental organisations (12%), and small business owners (8%). Small numbers have a background in business, consultancy, journalism, the military and State legislatures. Many have moved between a number of these categories during their careers.
What about the Liberal Party?
The Liberal Party also has a high proportion of MPs who were political staffers or party officials before entering parliament, at 45%. Of those 38 representatives, 14 appear to have entered the Commonwealth parliament directly from political staffer positions, and a further three from State legislatures.
The main difference between the Liberal and Labor parties is that whereas Labor has former union employees, the Liberal Party has many parliamentary members with a background in business (36 MPs), especially in banking and finance (7), and large consulting firms (6).
Some Liberal Party MPs have backgrounds in employers’ associations (9 MPs) and think tanks (6 MPs). – Raymond Markey
Blind review
I agree with the conclusion that about one-third of Labor MPs in the current federal parliament have worked in trade unions. I counted 30 Labor MPs with union backgrounds. The extra two the lead author found could be because a wider definition of union official was used. – Adrian Beaumont
The Conversation FactCheck is accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network.
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– ref. FactCheck Q&A: have 90% of Labor MPs worked in trade unions? – http://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-have-90-of-labor-mps-worked-in-trade-unions-104226]]>Expanding suspension powers for schools is harmful and ineffective
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor in the School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
New research released today reveals extraordinary increases in suspensions and exclusions in Queensland state schools. But these increases don’t necessarily mean student behaviour is getting worse.
Education reform and changes in school policy can also contribute to rising rates of school exclusions and suspensions. Some groups of students can be more adversely affected by these changes than others. It is important to examine policy effects because suspensions and exclusions are more harmful than helpful and tend not to resolve the behaviour in question.
This research is relevant to all education sectors and states as rising school suspension rates are not unique to Queensland. Other states are implementing reforms that could lead to similar problems.
Why were changes to legislation made?
In 2014, the Queensland government introduced legislation to grant school principals greater disciplinary powers. Among these new powers were options to impose community service and Saturday detentions.
Read more: Why suspending or expelling students often does more harm than good
The Queensland government also changed the maximum length of short suspensions from five to ten days and axed the appeals process. Parents are now unable to appeal short suspensions and, in the case of a long suspension (11 to 20 days), must apply to the Director-General of the Education Department.
One rationale provided for the Queensland government’s change to legislation was school exclusions were increasing and the government wanted to give principals more flexible options to respond to problem behaviour. In response to early community concern about emerging effects, the Education Minister promised schools would adjust and these changes would soon lead to a reduction in suspensions and exclusions.
They didn’t.
Which students were most affected and why?
Expanding principals’ disciplinary powers adversely affected students in all year levels in Queensland state schools but, particularly, high school students and those entering primary or secondary school for the first time.
In this study, exclusions and suspensions were examined as a proportion of enrolments. This takes into account increases or decreases in student numbers which may affect the number of suspensions reported each year.
Between 2013 and 2014, suspensions in the first or Preparatory year of primary school rose by 51.28% (as a proportion of enrolments) and have continued to increase each year since. Suspensions in year seven increased by 19.92% in 2014 and again, by a whopping 82.54%, in 2015. These rates show no sign of slowing.
Although some of the increases may appear moderate, if suspensions were keeping pace with enrolment growth, there should be no proportional increase. In other words, suspension growth outstripped enrolment growth in the Queensland state school system, which suggests something other than student numbers is driving suspension increases.
Two other education reforms occurred in Queensland around the same time as the expansion of principals’ powers. The first involved a reduction in the school starting age which meant children entering Prep in 2015 can be as young as four and a half years old when they first begin formal schooling. The second reform, also in 2015, involved moving year seven from the primary to secondary schooling phase.
Read more: Help disruptive students, don’t just suspend them
The most powerful indication something other than student behaviour is driving suspension increases is the doubling of the suspension rate for year sevens in 2015. The only observable difference between the year sevens in that year and those every year before them is the school environment.
Why do increases in suspension matter?
Research shows suspension is associated with an increase in anti-social behaviour and contact with the criminal justice system, due to a lack of adult supervision and greater freedom to associate with deviant peers. Contrary to popular belief, suspension does not promote behavioural change.
This is because inappropriate behaviours need to be replaced, and replacement behaviours need to be explicitly taught. Sending kids home doesn’t give them the skills they need to do better next time or help solve the problem that led to the suspension.
There is conclusive evidence suspension leads to academic failure and school dropout, even after controlling for prior achievement. This is because suspension weakens students’ sense of school belonging and makes gaps in achievement worse by taking vulnerable children away from teaching and learning, rather than providing them with the support and positive guidance they need.
Suspension can predict contact with the criminal justice system. from www.shutterstock.comDisadvantaged children, children with a disability, Indigenous children and children in out-of-home care are all significantly overrepresented in school suspension statistics. These are the children who most need to be at school and for whom suspension is most likely to have serious and long-term negative impact.
Suspension is also known to reinforce problem behaviours. For example, if a student is persistently engaging in task avoidance, disruption or truanting, suspension will reward that behaviour. Rather than decrease the behaviour, suspension will increase it.
In short, there is no evidence to support the increased use of suspension and ample evidence governments should try to limit or even eradicate its use.
When is suspension appropriate and when is it not?
There are times when suspension is appropriate, such as when a student brings drugs or a weapon to school, or engages in physical violence resulting in injury. Hitting a teacher is never OK. But even here, it’s important to make sure a frightened five-year-old accidentally connecting with a teacher mid-meltdown is not construed as a deliberate act of violence.
Sustained bullying (cyber or otherwise) is another example where suspension may be appropriate. But in-school suspension, where students are removed from their regular classes and required to complete their work in a supervised setting, is a better option than out-of-school suspension.
Read more: Excluding Indigenous youth from schools may severely increase their risk of incarceration
Extreme behaviours are not the only reasons principals suspend and there are instances where it’s done for the wrong reason. Suspending a student to appease teachers or other parents, or to “send a message” to other students are inappropriate uses of suspension.
What are better ideas?
Knowing the source of behaviour is the most important key to solving it. This is because similar behaviours can have very different antecedents and responses that don’t address the root problem will fail.
For example, a common frustration for teachers is when students appear not to listen in class and continually ask for further explanation or don’t follow instructions. Careful observation and clarification with students will provide clues as to why some appear not to be listening.
Some may have a language disorder and may be experiencing difficulty understanding what was said. Others may have attention difficulties or poor working memory and may miss key information.
Such difficulties are common among students receiving suspensions. Without consistent, high-quality responsive teaching, these students will experience failure and frustration, leading to classroom disruption and conflict with teachers.
Negative behaviours need to be replaced with positive ones, not just removed from the classroom. from www.shutterstock.comFor students who have language disorders or attention difficulties, teachers can adopt proactive strategies that benefit all students. These strategies include:
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clear and consistent routines
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well-designed seating plans
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variations in verbal tone and pace with frequent pauses to allow students to process information
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clear and simple verbal instructions delivered in logical sequence
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visual aids to enhance students’ comprehension of verbally described concepts and/or complementary written instructions
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regular reiteration of learning objectives, instructions, and classroom expectations
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positive reinforcement of good behaviour and recognition of effort
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providing one-to-one clarification and feedback to students who experience learning and behavioural difficulties
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in-class pairing with another student who is a friendly and academically supportive role model.
For some students these strategies will not be enough on their own and these students will need more intensive supports, such as targeted interventions to enhance academic skills, counselling, mentoring/monitoring, and skills training for teachers.
Using proactive supports to address underlying issues, de-escalating conflict when it occurs, and using in-school suspension as a last resort will help address rising suspension rates. Governments should be acting in the best interests of everyone by backing approaches that have positive evidence and backing away from those for which there is none.
– ref. Expanding suspension powers for schools is harmful and ineffective – http://theconversation.com/expanding-suspension-powers-for-schools-is-harmful-and-ineffective-106525]]>Adenomyosis causes pain, heavy periods and infertility but you’ve probably never heard of it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anusch Yazdani, Associate Professor, The University of Queensland
Adenomyosis is a condition of the uterus (womb), where the tissue that grows on the lining of the uterus (also known as the endometrium) is also present on the inside muscular wall of the uterus. Adenomyosis can cause symptoms such as heavy bleeding during your period, bleeding when you are not due for your period, period pain (dysmenorrhea), pain during or after sex (dyspareunia) and infertility.
Although women with adenomyosis often also have endometriosis, they are different conditions. With endometriosis, cells similar to those that line the uterus are found in other parts of the body such as the fallopian tubes, the ovaries or the tissue lining the pelvis (the peritoneum).
Read more: Considering surgery for endometriosis? Here’s what you need to know
The area of the uterus affected by adenomyosis is known as the endometrial-myometrial junction, which is where the endometrium and the myometrium (the muscular part of the uterus) meet.
Adenomyosis is when tissue that lines the uterus is present inside the muscular wall of the uterus. from shutterstock.comDisruption in the endometrial-myometrial junction is now considered an important contributor to reproductive problems such as recurrent implantation failure, a condition that can prevent women falling pregnant. Adenomyosis can either be quite spread out, known as generalised adenomyosis or localised in one place, also known as an adenomyoma.
Adenomyosis can have a number of causes though none have been definitively identified. There is an association between the presence of adenomyosis and the number of times a women has given birth: the more pregnancies, the more likely you are to have adenomyosis. Women with adenomyosis have also often had a trauma to the uterus such as surgery in the uterus, like during a caesarean section.
How common is adenomyosis?
Like endometriosis, we don’t know exactly how many women may be affected by the condition. What makes the impact of adenomyosis so tricky to determine is that it is quite commonly found during regular screening tests, even when women are not complaining of any symptoms, which means many women may have it and not know about it.
Because it’s often found in women with other conditions like endometriosis, it’s difficult to determine which condition caused the symptoms. We don’t currently know why some women with adenomyosis have symptoms and others don’t.
Read more: Vulvas, periods and leaks: women need the right words to seek help for conditions ‘down there’
There are also a number of different criteria for diagnosing adenomyosis, which can differ in important factors. For instance, the number of sections of adenomyosis that need to be affected for a diagosis when looking at tissue samples under a microscope. This makes it a problem when we try to work out how common adenomyosis is.
There can also be differences of opinion among the experts who look at these tissue samples. Experts can look at the same slides and come to very different conclusions.
How is it diagnosed?
Unlike endometriosis, which can only be definitively diagnosed through a key-hole surgery, a diagnosis of adenomyosis can be done through both invasive and non-invasive methods. The most common invasive method is a uterine biopsy (tissue sampling). A biopsy of the uterus can also be performed to make the diagnosis by an abdominal key-hole surgical procedure (laparoscopy) but this remains limited to clinical trials.
Adenomyosis can be diagnosed through ultrasound. from shutterstock.comBiopsies going through the vagina up to the uterus may have a role in the diagnosis of adenomyosis, but can potentially damage the uterus and therefore are avoided in women wishing to fall pregnant. The ultimate biopsy is a hysterectomy (the removal of the uterus). This is the most accurate method but is obviously a significant surgical procedure and will prevent women having children. A diagnosis of adenomyosis has been made in between 10-88% of hysterectomy specimens showing how common this condition is.
Non-invasive diagnosis can be made by different types of imaging. Ultrasound is commonly available and can be done either using the probe on the abdomen or, preferably, placing the probe in the vagina.
However, ultrasound isn’t always the best choice as it only detects adenomyosis about 50-87% of the time. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a better choice as there are a number of typical features seen during MRI. These vary throughout the cycle and in response to hormonal therapy but can reliably predict adenomyosis.
What are the treatments?
Management options for adenomyosis include hormonal therapy and surgery. These are mainly targeted at reducing symptoms such as pain. There isn’t much research into whether these increase the chance of getting pregnant.
Read more: What happens to endometriosis when you’re on the pill?
Hormonal treatments focus on suppressing menstruation. This can be achieved by combined oestrogen and progesterone therapy (such as the combined oral contraceptive pill), progestogen-only treatment (such as a Mirena) or placing women into an “induced” menopause (through GnRH analogs).
Hormonal treatments, such as the contraceptive pill, aim to suppress menstruation. Thought Catalog/UnsplashSurgical treatment is most effective when the adenomyosis is localised to a smaller area and can be removed, and this type of surgery doesn’t prevent women falling pregnant in the future. If the adenomyosis is spread throughout a larger area then treatments include destroying the lining of the uterus (endometrial ablation) provided adenomyosis is not too deep, and hysterectomy, both of which will prevent further pregnancy.
Other treatment options are interventional radiology such as uterine artery embolisation, where the blood supply to the uterus is cut off and magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound where the adenomyosis is destroyed with ultrasound energy.
Does it affect fertility?
There is some evidence adenomyosis can reduce fertility, but this is still controversial. Clinical studies are limited by difficulties and differences in diagnosis and their study designs have problems.
Some MRI studies show changes consistent with infertility, but because patients presenting with infertility in their 30s and 40s are more likely to be diagnosed with adenomyosis, it’s difficult to say if adenomyosis is the cause of their fertility issues.
When couples are undergoing assisted reproduction (such as IVF) there is limited evidence to support a negative impact on oocyte and embryo quality, implantation and pregnancy rates. Overall, there appears to be limited negative impact of adenomyosis on allowing the embryos to implant or overall pregnancy rates.
Read more: Women now have clearer statistics on whether IVF is likely to work
– ref. Adenomyosis causes pain, heavy periods and infertility but you’ve probably never heard of it – http://theconversation.com/adenomyosis-causes-pain-heavy-periods-and-infertility-but-youve-probably-never-heard-of-it-104412]]>
Kyoto on the path to becoming the Copenhagen of Asia
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan F.D. Barrett, Specially Appointed Professor, Center for the Study of Co*Design, Osaka University
Against the backdrop of climate scientists warning that we have 12 years to cut carbon emissions to avoid disastrous climate change, Kyoto is searching for an alternative, sustainable future. The Japanese city is moving away from heavy reliance on cars and towards getting around by public transport, cycling and walking. Already, more than three-quarters of personal trips in the city are not by car.
With the 2010 Walkable Kyoto Declaration, the city aimed to stop being a car-dominated society. Kyoto has an ambitious list of 94 projects promoting walkability.
The results so far are impressive, according to municipal government data. Use of public transport has increased significantly. Car traffic entering the city is declining year on year, as is use of car parking. Only 9.3% of tourist movements in the city were by car compared to 21% in 2011.
As a result of this, emissions from transportation in 2015 were 20% lower than 1990 levels.
Survey by Kyoto municipal government of 1,000 citizens on their mode of transport for personal trips. Kyoto municipal government, Author providedA city made for cycling
Kyoto is determined to improve on this. The next target is to enhance opportunities for cycling.
Cycling is the best way to see the city. Whether you are a resident or a tourist, cycling is the secret to unlocking Kyoto’s beauty and experiencing its heritage sites. An increasing number of the 50 million tourists a year are choosing to rent a bike.
Kyoto is a compact, flat city with a grid structure. This makes it easy to cycle and navigate. Kyoto has been described as one of the ten best cities to explore by bike.
Navigating the city by bicycle is both convenient and efficient. Bicycles provide mobility that’s accessible for a wide range of demographics, from school kids to parents with their toddlers on board to over-65s taking a short trip to the local shops.
Cycling through the Imperial Gardens. Author providedIn June 2018 one of Japan’s first shared cycle schemes, Pippa, popped up in Kyoto with 100 bikes in 22 locations. There are plans to increase to 500 bikes in 50 locations by the end of the year. Proposals for shared electric bicycles would broaden the variety of users able to navigate the city by bike.
Mobility policy innovation
While we both have cycled extensively around Kyoto and appreciate the many wonders and delights, we are fascinated by the mobility experience for regular people living in Kyoto.
That is one reason we are impressed by the March 2015 New Kyoto City Bicycle Plan, which replaced a 2010 plan.
This new plan identifies the promotion of cycling as healthy across various realms — for the society, economy and sustainability of the city overall.
Cycling trends in Kyoto provide cause for optimism. It now has close to 45km of official cycleways. While not as big as European cycling cities like Copenhagen (which boasts 416km of cycleways), Kyoto’s network is relatively large for an Asian city.
Cycling through the city centre along the Kamo River. Author providedOn-street discarding of bicycles has declined 27-fold since 2001. Bicycle parking space has increased by 65% in the same period.
Two in every three Kyotoites own a bicycle, compared to one in every three owning a car. Car ownership is dropping year by year.
More kids cycle to school in Kyoto than almost any other city in Japan (only Osaka is higher). Cycling is on the increase for people between the ages of 20 and 34, as well as those between 65 and 69.
Need to educate cyclists and drivers
A few obstacles still stand in the way of Kyoto achieving its sustainable mobility goals.
First of all, only 33% of cyclists cycle on the road. Everyone else uses the pavement, meaning neither pedestrians nor cyclists feel safe.
Second, cyclists across Japan are notorious for not following rules. They ignore signals, ride the opposite direction to traffic, listen to music or use their phone while cycling, cycle with a passenger on the back, cycle with an umbrella in the rain, don’t wear helmets and rarely cycle with lights at night.
Bicycle signage on Kyoto roads is becoming ubiquitous. Author providedIn other words, Japanese cyclists are perceived to be, at times, reckless. This explains why a third of Kyoto’s cycling policies focus on improving cyclists’ manners. It also explains why the municipality introduced a mandatory bicycle insurance scheme from April 2018. That’s something other cities could copy.
The Kyoto bicycle plan focuses on measures to enhance the visibility of cyclists with road markings as well as extensive educational programmes for car drivers and cyclists on road etiquette.
The good news is that the number of accidents involving cyclists in the city has declined by 40% since 2004 and represents 20% of all accidents. This is close to what we find in Copenhagen.
New dedicated cycleways in Kyoto are helping to reduce accidents. Author providedWhat else can Kyoto do?
A continued focus on social design and innovation is the answer to Kyoto’s mobility challenges. The city’s population is projected to shrink by 13% between 2010 and 2040 (reaching around 1.28 million). At the same time, the proportion of over-65s will increase significantly.
This suggests private car ownership will continue to decline, by an estimated 6-10% a year. The bicycle ownership rate is likely to increase by 7% or more each year.
In this context, the focus on public transport, cycling and walking makes a great deal of sense.
Kyoto could become the world’s most walkable city. Author providedBut Kyoto could still do a lot more to reduce car traffic, especially in the city centre. Manchester in the UK provides a useful example. It recently announced plans to invest £1.5 billion (A$2.7 billion) in a 1,600km cycle network.
Another model for Kyoto to follow is that of the world’s most bicycle-friendly city – Copenhagen.
Today many cities across the world are seeking to “Copenhagenize”. In the future, we want them to be able to follow Kyoto as a model of best practice for Asian city sustainability.
– ref. Kyoto on the path to becoming the Copenhagen of Asia – http://theconversation.com/kyoto-on-the-path-to-becoming-the-copenhagen-of-asia-105368]]>Unlocking Australia’s productivity paradox. Why things aren’t that super
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Triggs, Research fellow, Australian National University
2018 marks the 40 year anniversary of the first Superman film. Starring as Superman, Christopher Reeve fought foes and vanquished villains in an action-packed battle between good and evil.
Four decades on, Superman continues to feature in films, but often not alone.
He now stars alongside Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and other superheroes. For the fans of DC Comics, it is a delightful coming together of childhood favourites.
But for economists, it symbolises a worrying decline in productivity.
Superman needs help
Where once a single superhero was able to save the world, now two or more are required to complete the same task.
As Oscar Wilde once said, life often imitates art.
Back when the first Superman film was released, average annual total factor productivity growth among advanced economies was almost 10 times what it fell to in 2016.
In Australia, it was three times higher in 1995-96 than in 2016-17.
Read more: Australia’s productivity problem: why it matters
Real wage growth has been close to zero in the past two years, in line with close to zero productivity growth.
But what is most striking about what has happened is when it has happened. The past 25 years have seen extraordinary advances in technology.
We ought to be much more productive
An extra 3.5 billion people have gained access to the internet, the processing power of computers has skyrocketed, and we now have smartphones, with almost everything on them, and factories and warehouses that are automated in ways that would have once only been dreamt of.
The sharing economy promises to unlock the full potential of our idle cars, our unused bicycles and empty rooms and houses. The accumulated history of human knowledge is at our fingertips.
So where’s the resulting increase in productivity?
US economist Robert Solow once famously remarked that “you can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics”.
Read more: The internet has done a lot, but so far little for economic growth
Economists have since put forward a variety of explanations for this paradox, but with little agreement.
There’s little agreement about why we’re not
Some, like 2018 Nobel Laureate William Nordhaus, point to historical data showing long lag-times between technological advances and increases in productivity.
For them, a surge in productivity is just around the corner – 10 years away, according to some estimates.
Others, like Harvard’s Martin Feldstein, argue the paradox is driven by measurement failures.
Read more: Budget explainer: the problem with measuring productivity
Others argue that the productivity improvements from technology have been crowded out by other factors, like the aftershocks of the global financial crisis, weak demand and investment, slowing trade, stalling growth in global value chains, ageing populations, reduced investment in education, the impacts of automation on demand and inequality, weakening competition and reduced business dynamism.
Harvard’s Marc Melitz suggests that an explanation for the paradox may lie at the firm-level.
Productivity growth might be hidden
While some firms have been highly productive, their effects have been offset by laggard firms. The OECD found that “frontier firms” have consistently achieved productivity growth six times that of laggard firms which have dragged down the average.
Some attribute this to the increased prevalence of “zombie firms” – unproductive firms kept alive by cheap money, low interest rates and nervous investors.
It’s possible to see this at the industry level. John Fernald, from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, finds that productivity gains from information and communications technology have been concentrated in specific industries, the benefits from which have been netted-out by industries that have failed to adopt new technologies.
Northwestern University’s Robert Gordon, however, sees no paradox at all.
Or technology might be holding it back
He says, as much as we might like them, the technological advances in recent decades have been no match for the really big advances between 1870 and 1970, such as electricity and the automobile.
Harvard’s Jeff Frankel goes further.
He points to evidence suggesting the latest advances in technology might be actually cutting productivity by distracting us and reducing our attention spans.
Read more: Why we should approach claims of a productivity crisis with caution
Others are less pessimistic, but still conclude that as firms adopt more and more new technology, the extra returns from those extra investments shrink.
With all this uncertainty, what’s the best approach for an incoming or reelected government?
So what should we do?
It sounds trite, but the best approach is “flexibility”.
More precisely it is well functioning mechanisms that allow us to adjust things such as exchange rates, interest rates, government spending and industry settings.
On the whole we have these mechanisms. We will also need strong laws that encourage competition; that will enable new or suddenly productive firms to displace old ones that have grown used to large market shares.
If we do turn out to be on the cusp of a new productivity surge, a flexible, competitive economy will enable us to spread the benefits quickly.
Allow good firms to grow, bad ones to die
If instead we turn out to be on track for a low productivity future, or if the productivity gains from new technology are crowded out by other effects, then flexibility can also help, redirecting resources away from inefficient firms to more efficient ones.
If it turns out the productivity paradox is no paradox at all but merely a measurement failure, then it is yet another reason to properly fund organisations such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The new government will need to watch, and to some extent it will need to wait. But it will need to be ready.
As American economist Paul Krugman observed a generation ago when productivity growth was much higher than it is today, “productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything”.
– ref. Unlocking Australia’s productivity paradox. Why things aren’t that super – http://theconversation.com/unlocking-australias-productivity-paradox-why-things-arent-that-super-106350]]>Here’s looking at: George Baldessin’s Mary Magdalene on Rue St Denis
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ted Snell, Professor, Chief Cultural Officer, Cultural Precinct, University of Western Australia
The extraordinary sculpture of Mary Magdalene by the 15th century Bavarian carver Tilman Riemenschneider focuses our attention on her hair, which twists, curls and cascades down and around her body. This is the hair that caressed Jesus’ feet, and that grew to cover her modesty in the years after his crucifixion when she lived her reclusive life in the desert.
Ascension of Mary Magdalene from the Magdalena Altarpiece, Münnerstadt (1490–92) by Tilman Riemenschneider. Bayerisches National Museum, Munich, Wikimedia CommonsWhile historians now believe this later life is a conflation of Magdalene with that of Saint Mary of Egypt, a 4th-century prostitute turned hermit, the focus on hair serves to identify her as someone outside acceptable society.
Women 2000 years ago in Jerusalem would have covered their head and never shown their hair in public. Yet Magdalene had long hair, and in many depictions of her in art, literature and theology, she has been portrayed as revealing this hair and using it to anoint Jesus’ feet. These acts of devotion identified her as a woman of ill-repute.
Although this intepretation was recently comprehensively debunked by theologian Dorothy Ann Lee, it was orthodoxy in the 15th century. The narrative unfolded through the metaphor of her hair is crucial to Reimenschneider’s depiction of Magdalene as she ascends to heaven to be reunited with her saviour.
Read more: Friday essay: who was Mary Magdalene? Debunking the myth of the penitent prostitute
Hair is also a defining feature of George Baldessin’s portrait of Mary Magdelene on the Rue St Denis: MM of Rue St Denis, 1976. She stands awkwardly, her arms and legs crossed, one hand protecting her modesty, the other cradling a skull wrapped in her long tresses.
George Baldessin MM of Rue St Denis 1976, charcoal and black chalk, 119.9 x 80.6 cm. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased with the assistance of The Docking Drawing Fund (NGV), 2001 (2001.537)© The Estate of George BaldessinRue St Denis was a street notorious for prostitution. When Baldessin was working at the Lacourière printworks in Paris in 1975, he and his wife Tess had direct experience of the street and its inhabitants. The girls and their pimps meshed with his newfound interest in medieval images of Magdalene.
The resulting series of drawings and etchings depict a very contemporary Magdalene, either locked into angular architecture or hovering in the open void of the page. She is often alone, in one image spread-eagled on a table, in others in shimmering silver but mostly in prickly black.
Read more: An ape in anguish: Brett Whiteley’s Sacred baboon
The images of Magdalene made in the last years of his life – before his sudden death in a car accident in 1977 – are some of Baldessin’s most powerful works. The ambition of his draughtsmanship fully realises the profound intent of his subject matter. In the best of these works, his penchant for mannerist gestures is restrained, and Magdalene’s figure is rendered emotively, without compromising anatomical accuracy. His elegant line is rooted in its descriptive trajectory around the body.
George Baldessin at RMIT, Melbourne c. 1965. Unknown.Peering out from the spiky tangle of her hair, the MM on the Rue St Denis seems to be entreating us to empathise with her plight. Unlike Reimenschnieder’s Magdelene, already on her way to heaven, Baldessin’s is plying her trade and enduring the vicissitudes of life. She is aware of her impending death if salvation doesn’t come, evidenced by the skull in her left hand. She has been found guilty by society, and her pleading gaze is unlikely to assuage that judgement.
Many artists have brought the scriptures to life by re-siting them in familiar territory. Arthur Boyd’s relocation of biblical narratives to the streets of Melbourne, Salvatore Zofrea’s resetting of the Psalms in Sydney, and English artist Stanley Spencer, who chose his village of Cookham as the mise en scène for his transcriptions, all contemporise the Bible in this way. Yet Baldessin’s relocation is more literary than factual.
There are no visual indications of Paris, nothing to identify the street or any buildings or landmarks. The yawning gulf of the blank page, with minor geometric intrusions, is the space MM inhabits. The Rue St Denis is a title, a textual frame within which to locate this person. It relies on the viewer providing context to interpret MM’s predicament.
To this drawing, we bring our knowledge of the street as both a route of pilgrimage leading to the medieval Basilica of St Denis and a site of sexual exploitation, which adds poignancy and pathos to our reading.
This drawing and others in the series construct a moral tale. The contemporary Magdalene is vulnerable and at risk, yet she is judged and found wanting like so many others who are ostracised for their beliefs or their situation.
When asked what he was trying to express, Baldessin explained: “I think human weakness through the vulnerable figure, without extracting its dignity, no matter how uncertain.”
It is something he achieved in this image of MM, searching for salvation while confronting her mortality.
Baldessin/Whiteley Parallel Visions is at NGV Australia, Melbourne, until 28 Jan, 2019.
– ref. Here’s looking at: George Baldessin’s Mary Magdalene on Rue St Denis – http://theconversation.com/heres-looking-at-george-baldessins-mary-magdalene-on-rue-st-denis-102412]]>Health Check: should you take probiotics when you’re on antibiotics?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lito Papanicolas, Infectious diseases specialist and PhD candidate, South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute
If you take antibiotics, there’s a good chance you’ll also get diarrhoea.
Antibiotics kill harmful bacteria that cause disease. But they also cause collateral damage to the microbiome, the complex community of bacteria that live in our gut. This results in a profound, though usually temporary, depletion of the beneficial bacteria.
One popular strategy to mitigate the disruption is to take a probiotic supplement containing live bacteria during, or following, a course of antibiotics.
Read more: Healthy guts are swarming with bugs, so what do they do?
The logic is simple: beneficial bacterial in the gut are damaged by antibiotics. So why not replace them with the “beneficial” bacterial strains in probiotics to assist gut bacteria returning to a “balanced” state?
But the answer is more complicated.
There is currently some evidence that taking probiotics can prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. This effect is relatively small, with 13 people needing to take probiotics for one episode of diarrhoea to be averted.
But these studies have often neglected to evaluate potential harms of probiotic use and haven’t looked at their impact on the wider gut microbiome.
Pros and cons of probiotics
The assumption that there is little downside to taking probiotics was challenged in a recent Israeli study.
The participants were given antibiotics and split into two groups: the first group was given an 11-strain probiotic preparation for four weeks; the second was given a placebo, or dummy pill.
The researchers found the antibiotic damage to the gut bacteria of those in the first group allowed the probiotic strains to effectively colonise the gut. But this colonisation delayed the normal recovery of the microbiota, which remained perturbed for the entire six month study period.
In contrast, the microbiota of the second group returned to normal within three weeks of finishing antibiotics.
Read more: Health Check: should healthy people take probiotic supplements?
This research exposes a perhaps unexpected truth: we still don’t know what types of bacteria are truly beneficial or even what constitutes a healthy microbiome.
The answer is unlikely to be that individual bacterial strains are particularly helpful.
It’s more likely a diverse community of thousands of different types of microbes working together can provide health benefits. This microbial community is as individual as each one of us, meaning there is not just one configuration that will result in health or illness.
So, it’s unlikely that the addition of one or even 11 strains of bacteria in a probiotic could somehow balance this complex system.
A more effective (but less palatable) alternative?
The Israeli study also explored an alternative approach to microbiome restoration.
One group of participants had their own stool collected and frozen prior to antibiotic treatment. It was then re-instilled into their gut at the end of the antibiotic therapy.
This treatment, known as autologous faecal transplantation, was able to restore the microbiome to original levels after just eight days. The other group took 21 days to recover.
Read more: Poo transplants and probiotics – does anything work to improve the health of our gut?
This approach has also been shown to effectively restore the gut microbiome following combined antibiotic and chemotherapy treatment. These patients are predictably at risk of serious complications, such as bloodstream infection, as a result of microbiome disruption.
Research currently underway will help us understand whether microbiome restoration with autologous faecal transplantation will translate into tangible benefits for these patients.
But such an approach would not be a realistic option for most people.
Feed the good bacteria
Good food for gut bacteria. Roosa KuljuA more practical strategy to aid recovery is to provide the good bacteria in your gut with their preferred source of nutrition: fibre. Fibrous compounds pass undigested through the small intestine and into the colon, where they act as fuel for bacterial fermentation.
So if you’re taking antibiotics or have recently finished a course, make sure you eat plenty of vegetables, fruit and wholegrains. Your gut bacteria will thank you for it.
– ref. Health Check: should you take probiotics when you’re on antibiotics? – http://theconversation.com/health-check-should-you-take-probiotics-when-youre-on-antibiotics-104570]]>Two past coup leaders face off in Fiji election as Australia sharpens its focus on Pacific
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic O’Sullivan, Associate Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University
Fiji faces a general election on Wednesday, just as Australia’s main political parties devote more attention to the western Pacific, driven by worries about China’s growing influence in the region.
For most Australians, the nation is a handy holiday destination – closer than Bali or Thailand. Last month, its palm-fringed beaches were in the global spotlight when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took a trip to the former British colony.
Anyone with a longer memory will perhaps associate Fiji with coups – two in 1987 and one in 2006. There was also a putsch – a civilian overthrow of the government – in 2000.
This week’s general election is only the second since Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, who often goes by the name Frank, appointed himself prime minister after the 2006 coup. He was eventually elected in 2014 and is expected to be re-elected this week.
Read more: Fiji coup leader gets the democratic approval he wanted
For Australia, the strategic importance of the western Pacific is coming into sharp focus.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced $3 billion in infrastructural spending in the region. He has committed the Australian Defence Force to military training in Pacific nations.
Australia has an abiding interest in a south-west Pacific that is secure strategically, stable economically and sovereign politically.
In a speech to the Lowy Institute last month, Bill Shorten committed a future Labor government to an independent foreign policy with a strong Pacific focus. It would support Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Tonga to develop their military capabilities.
Read more: Labor is making big promises for a Pacific development bank, but questions remain
On Fiji, he said:
We want to mend the relationship with the RFMF [Republic of Fiji Military Forces], to ensure that the ADF [Australian Defence Force] is best-placed to develop the Fiji military’s professional capabilities and to ensure Fiji’s security needs.
For Fijian voters, the military is never far from politics.
Bainimarama insists the election will be free and fair . However, the electoral system is unnecessarily complicated. Critics argue this is a deliberate strategy to disenfranchise voters.
However, as he disliked the Constitution put to him by an independent review in 2009, Bainimarama decreed his own in 2013. Section 131 (2) of that Constitution gives ultimate political authority to the military:
It shall be the overall responsibility of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces to ensure at all times the security, defence and well-being of Fiji and all Fijians.
Read more: Fiji’s media still struggling to regain ‘free and fair’ space
The military has tended to be the arbiter in national affairs since the first coup in 1987.
As Bainimarama put it before the 2006 coup:
[Prime Minister Laisenia] Qarase is trying to weaken the army by trying to remove me … if he succeeds there will be no one to monitor them, and imagine how corrupt it is going to be.
The coups and the putsch were ostensibly statements of indigenous nationalism – indigenous Fijians asserting their rights over the generally wealthier and better educated descendants of Indian indentured labourers brought to Fiji by British colonial authorities between 1879 and 1916.
However, Fijian politics is vastly more complicated than an indigenous non-indigenous binary. The contentious point, according to Professor Brij V. Lal of the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific, “is not really about having a Fijian head of government,” but rather which Fijian leader would be acceptable to a particular group of Fijians at any given time”.
The prime minister’s main rival clears legal hurdle
Bainimarama’s main opponent is an indigenous former prime minister and coup leader, Sitiveni Rabuka. Bainimarama is also an indigenous Fijian.
Rabuka faced electoral fraud charges that could have seen him declared him ineligible to stand at the election. Rabuka’s acquittal in the Magistrate’s Court was appealed by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, and dismissed by the High Court only on Monday afternoon. At his campaign launch in 2018, Rabuka ominously remarked:
I am here to do what I can for as long as I ever can for the good of the country.
However, indigenous nationalism and how the right to self-determination might be played out is important. It is interwoven with class, religion and an urban/rural divide to add to the fragility and complexity of Fiji’s conditional democracy.
Just as it did in 2014, Bainimarama’s Fiji First is campaigning on a range of issues including the building of a multiracial society. Practical measures to improve access to education and healthcare are also important to Fiji First.
Land ownership and rental returns are key political issues
Rabuka’s Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) argues for the restoration of distinctive indigenous voice in public life. It seeks the restoration of the Great Council of Chiefs and of chiefly influence over the distribution of rental incomes.
SODELPA will also begin extensive public consultation on the drafting of a new Constitution.
Ultimately, indigenous prosperity depends on the strength of the national economy. This, in turn, depends on political stability. Contemporary Fiji enjoys neither. While there are signs of improving economic growth, the Fijian people face two obstacles in ensuring that the outcome of Wednesday’s election reflects their collective will.
Firstly, registering to vote then casting a valid and informed vote is difficult. Secondly, as Fiji’s history since 1987 shows, and as the 2013 Constitution confirms, the election’s outcome is ultimately subject to military approval. It may not, then, be in Australia’s best interests to support a stronger Fijian military.
Democratic stability serves Australia’s interests. In Fiji, democracy can be strong only when the military is weak.
– ref. Two past coup leaders face off in Fiji election as Australia sharpens its focus on Pacific – http://theconversation.com/two-past-coup-leaders-face-off-in-fiji-election-as-australia-sharpens-its-focus-on-pacific-106347]]>SODELPA’s Rabuka cleared for Fiji election – FICAC appeal dismissed
A media scrum at the Fiji High Court 2 today for the anti-corruption agency FICAC’s unsuccessful appeal against the acquittal of SODELPA leader Sitiveni Rabuka on a false declaration of assets charge. Image: Sri Krishnamurthi/PMC
By Sri Krishnamurthi in Suva
In a dramatic afternoon, more than 1000 people sang Fijian songs of jubilation as Chief-Justice Anthony Gates dismissed the appeal by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) against former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
In a jam-packed High Court 2, Chief Justice Gates said the magistrate was correct to dismiss the original charges of not guilty of providing a false declaration of assets under electoral rules.
The FICAC took its appeal to the High Court as was its legal right.
Chief Justice Gates said that had Rabuka been found guilty, he would have had the right to appeal his case in the High Court too.
In his 36-page ruling, Chief Justice Gates said the magistrate had been correct in his findings that the prosecution had not been able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
He said that the interview conducted by FICAC with Rabuka left many answers unprobed or unclarified.
He went on to say such interviews should always be conducted on the basis that reliance may have to be made solely on that procedure.
Acquitted last month
Rabuka was acquitted of the charges last month but FICAC had appealed that decision, taking its case to the High Court.
The hearing lasted more than an hour, after which Rabuka emerged to the cheers of joy from his supporters wearing a white shirt over which he draped a red scarf, all the time smiling but looking relieved.
Now that he is a free man he can stand as a candidate in the Fiji general election as the leader of SODELPA, the second largest political party after the ruling FijiFirst Party.
Voting is on Wednesday.
Vandhana Bhan from Radio Tarana, who got close to Rabuka’s white SUV, asked him the age-old question “how are you feeling?”
Rabuka replied, “great and getting better.”
She asked Rabuka if he had anything to say to the people? “Thank you to all of them for their prayers,” he said before being whisked away.
Sri Krishnamurthi is a journalist and Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies student at Auckland University of Technology. He is attached to the University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme, filing for USP’s Wansolwara News and the AUT Pacific Media Centre’s Asia Pacific Report.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
]]>Detained tourist in West Papua on allegations of ‘treason’ awaits trial
Accused tourist Jakup Febian Skrzypski with Frits Ramandey of the Human Rights Commission Office of Papua. Image: Tabloid Jubi
By Islami Adisubrata in Wamena, West Papua
Indonesian Regional Police in West Papua have handed over the documents of the case of a Polish tourist, Jakup Fabian Skrzypski, who was arrested recently with three Papuans and accused of “treason”, to the Jayawijaya District Attorney.
Skrzypski reportedly entered Indonesia on a tourist visa but was arrested on suspicion of working as a journalist illegally and having contact with an “insurgency” group, report news agencies.
The file was handed over to the District Attorney on November 2 and he is expected to face trial in Wamena along with three co-accused.
READ MORE: Police declare papers on accused tourist ready for trial
“So, the four suspects were handed over, two arrested in Wamena, including Skrzypski, and others arrested in Yalimo,” said Lintong Simanjuntak, Adjunct Police Commissionaire who is also the Chief of Violence and Crime Division of the Directorate of Crime Investigation of Papua Regional Police.
Skrzypski and three other people departed from Jayapura to Wamena and were immediately transferred to Jayawijaya District Attorney Office for re-examination.
The four now are detained by the Jayawijaya District Attorney.
Two of the defendants were sent to the House of Correction Class B Wamena, while the other two have been placed in police custody in Jayawijaya police headquarters.
Foreign Ministry help
Adjunct Commissionaire Simanjuntak, who accompanied the four defendants from Jayapura to Wamena, said that although Papua police would investigate this case of alleged treason, the trial would be conducted in Wamena – the place where the incident occurred.
Simanjuntak said that during the investigation, the police were assisted by the Foreign Ministry and had communicated with the Polish Ambassador in Jakarta, ensuring that all procedures had been completed appropriately.
The Chief of State’s Defence and Public Security of the Papua District Attorney Adrianus Irham Tamana said that the trial would be conducted before 20 days of detention had lapsed.
“The trial before 20 days of detention will be handed over to the court. Currently, they are still under our custody,” said Tamana.
But the public prosecutor’s team objected putting the detainees in the police headquarters jail as it was already overcrowded and this could effect access to the basic rights of the detainees in that overcrowded prison, said the detainees legal adviser Latifah Anum Siregar.
“Does this transfer create a problem of over capacity? What about their access and rights? Can these be fulfilled or not?” she asked.
Cell overflowing
Siregar said that during the detention by Papua regional police, the holding cell had already been overflowing, with 50 people occupying space for 25.
Also, the detainees needed to share the toilet for bathing and washing dishes.
“Security must be compared with humanitarian purpose. Don’tt apply security as the reason to ignore humanity.
“My clients have to get access to lawyers, religious leaders and this shouldn’t be restricted,” Siregar said.
She also said Skrzypski had rejected all allegations against him.
Islami Adisubrata is a journalist with Tabloid Jubi and this article has been translated into English and is republished with permission under a content sharing arrangement.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
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Part of the audience at the Flavourz Film Festival screening at Auckland University of Technology. Image: David Robie/PMC
AUT filmmakers Tom Blessen (left) and Hele Ikimotu … telling the Pacific stories away from the mainstream. Image: Rahul Bhattarai/PMC
Sri Krishnamurthi (from left), Professor David Robie, Pauline Mago-King and Rahul Bhattarai at a Pacific Media Centre editorial meeting this week. Image: Stephanie Tapungu/PMC
AUT Pacific Media Centre’s Sri Krishmamurthi arrived in Fiji today to report the elections with the Wansolwara team at the University of the South Pacific. 
