Nick Cavallo is the second Mildura Rural City councillor to decide not to seek re-election in November.
The Mildura businessman wants to regain the 20 to 30 hours he spends each week on council commitments and hopes to achieve a better work-life balance.
For similar reasons in March this year, councillor Fiona Hilton-Wood decided against nominating for a second term.
She wanted to spend more time with family and focus on the law firm she runs with her husband.
Both Cr Cavallo and Cr Hilton-Wood will remain dedicated to their council roles until the end of October, just before the election in November.
As well as fulfilling his weekly council commitments, Cr Cavallo is a partner in Leading Edge Computers Mildura, president of Mildura Settlers’ Cricket Club and a committee member with groups including Willowfest, the Iluka Environment Review committee and Sunraysia Sustainability Network.
He said his decision not to run again was “not made lightly”.
“Basically it’s a combination of things, I couldn’t sustain what I did,” he said.
For more of this story, purchase your copy of Tuesday’s Sunraysia Daily 18/09/2012.
Standing down: Councillor Nick Cavallo has decided not to stand for re-election in the Mildura Rural City Council election in November.
This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.
Dubbo has one candidate for mayor and one for deputy mayor, but most councillors are keeping their cards close to their chest.
Incumbent Mathew Dickerson will seek to return to the top job on Thursday while re-elected councillor Lyn Griffiths has announced she will stand for deputy mayor.
Those positions and committee leaders will be subject to a vote at an extraordinary meeting of the new Dubbo City Council on Thursday.
The civic leaders – four new to the role and seven returning – have big decisions before them.
Cr Ben Shields gained the most votes and was the first candidate declared, but he declined to comment on the mayoral race yesterday.
Cr Dickerson gained the second-most votes followed by newcomer John Walkom.
Cr Dickerson said he thought he had worked hard to be a positive representative for Dubbo as mayor and the other leadership positions needed to be filled – for at least the first year of the term – by people with some experience.
When asked if it made sense to have Cr Shields in one of the two top roles, Cr Dickerson said he was not sure of his colleague’s intentions.
“At this stage Ben hasn’t contacted me and asked for my vote so I am not even certain if he will be standing for the position,” Cr Dickerson said.
“If he contacts me and informs me that he is standing and wants my vote I will certainly listen to his reasons why he would make a good deputy mayor.”
Deputy mayor-hopeful Cr Griffiths said Cr Shields’ good poll result was a moot point because Dubbo did not have a popularly-elected mayor.
“The factors that I consider important are the ability of the nominated person to work hard for Dubbo and to work with other councillors in a positive and productive manner,” she said.
Cr Rod Towney ruled out any run for a position and gave his support to Cr Dickerson and Cr Griffiths.
“Mathew Dickerson has done a good job, going out on a limb to try to bring councillors together,” he said.
“For all the females around town it would be good to have a woman as deputy mayor, and Lyn has the runs on the board.”
Bill Kelly ruled out nominating for a position and although he would not declare his support for anyone, he said he knew which way he would vote and why.
“I’m not prepared to discuss this now, you’ll see on Thursday,” he said.
“I have my mind made up and the reasons and then I’ll be doing my best to unify the council.”
He said the actions during the next 12 months of those he voted for would decide whether his support was ongoing.
Mr Walkom was also coy about commenting on the race.
“To ensure a cohesive united council for which I have been a great advocator during my campaign for election to council, I think it prudent that the process of the election of the various positions on council be left to the democratic process of the meeting this coming Thursday,” he said.
Cr Tina Reynolds also said the discussion about the leadership positions should be amongst the 11 councillors, not played out in the media.
The Daily Liberal had not received any other responses to its request for comment from all councillors-elect at the time of going to press.
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This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.
RFL grand finalsNetball finalsThis story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.
IT’S been three years and about 45,000 kilometres since Chris Roach pushed a bicycle out the front door of his Newcastle home in March 2009 to cycle around the world.
On the way he’s survived medical setbacks in India, deserts in China, a drunken assault by a gang of youths in Kazakhstan, and bitter cold in Armenia, Georgia and Turkey.
Chris Roach on tour.
“Fortunately I managed to miss the full onslaught of winter where temperatures plummeted to minus 35 degrees in some of the places I’d been to only weeks earlier,” Mr Roach said.
With a budget of €10 a day, Mr Roach is relying on the generosity of others to help him on his way while raising money for Oxfam, an international aid agency that works with poor communities around the world to reduce poverty and injustice.
His aim is to raise $100,000, $1 for every kilometre.
Mr Roach has spent the past few days cycling from Goteborg, Sweden, to Oslo in Norway, where he will spend the next week or so earning some money for the return journey home.
The plan is to continue through Scotland, England, France, Spain, Africa, South America, North America then through Asia and back home again.
“There is still a long way to go,” he said.
“But it feels like having come this far I am more like on the way home now and that feels good.
Mr Roach said he was buoyed by the overwhelmingly positive response he has had so far.
“Of course, there are some that don’t really appreciate what I’m about, others don’t understand the journey at all – but then again I don’t expect them to,” he said. “It is all part of the adventure.”
Mr Roach said he missed his family, and being away during certain milestones, including the birth of his nephew, but he is determined to carry on.
To learn more, visit cyclestrongman南京夜网 or Facebook ‘roach.chris’.
THE University of Newcastle is to undertake a massive expansion of student services on campus with revenue generated from the federal government’s student amenities fee.
The university has released details of how it plans to spend $2.5 million it will collect from the newly introduced Students Services and Amenities Fee.
The deadline elapsed last month for Newcastle students to pay the $263 annual fee, which is $132 a semester for full-time students.
The fee replaces revenue lost with the abolition of compulsory student unionism and can be spent on activities from sports to food services.
Students can defer payment with their tuition fees.
Students indicated in online forums they would like toilets on campus improved, in particular the “stench” around Hunter building amenities.
Other priorities were more parking, public transport routes and lockers.
Newcastle University Students Association president Heather Richards said the toilets on campus were “a bit gross, especially in the Hunter building”.
The student union will use its funds for a building upgrade, a bra fitting session, alcohol and sexual health booklets and free food event at the city campus.
To determine how to spend funds the university reviewed more than 4000 student surveys and read more than 400 Facebook comments as part of an online campaign.
The university will use $1.6 million on existing services and $900,000 on extra services.
It will upgrade the union building and prayer rooms, develop online student services, water stations, fund clubs and societies, study skills support sessions as well as off-campus accommodation advice and legal services.
A university spokeswoman said there had been upgrades to some bathrooms in the Hunter building among many around campus.
“The bathroom amenities meet high standards of cleanliness,” she said.
Among the innovations on campus are self-service kitchens called “survival stations”.
Open Foundation student Kirraly Mead said they were a good idea “as long as it’s clean all the time”.
University of Newcastle
THE Knights have lost two home-grown rising stars to NRL rivals Penrith.
Newcastle-born forwards Sam Anderson and Ethan Cook, who will represent the Knights in the NSW Cup preliminary final against Balmain Ryde-Eastwood at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday, will play for the Panthers next season.
Penrith general manager of football Phil Gould told the Newcastle Herald last night that Anderson had signed a one-year contract and Cook had been secured for two years.
Anderson, who won the Knights’ National Youth Cup players’ player and player of the year awards in 2011, knocked the Panthers back at the end of last year to sign a one-year extension after Newcastle coach Wayne Bennett spoke to him and convinced him to stay and spend the off-season training with the NRL squad.
But Anderson could not break out of the NSW Cup ranks all season and Gould was not to be denied a second time.
After meeting with Anderson’s father, Peter, in Newcastle on the night of the Knights’ last game against Souths three weeks ago, Gould convinced the West Maitland Red Dogs junior to join the Panthers.
“I’ve enjoyed my time at Newcastle but I’m looking forward to the change at Penrith as well,” Anderson said last night.
“To be honest, being 21, you kind of need to make a decision, and I think the opportunity at Penrith is a lot better forwards-wise.
“There’s more of an opportunity for making my NRL debut there – in the next couple of years, hopefully – than there is at the Newcastle Knights.
“It’s all about chasing opportunity and there’s a good group of us going down there.”
Anderson and Cook will join Knights clubmates Wes Naiqama and Kyle O’Donnell among Penrith’s recruits for 2013.
ETHAN COOK
AFTER walking for the first time in 15 years, Marny Cringle is making slow but significant steps.
Ms Cringle, 42, had pioneering surgery a year ago to enable her to wear a prosthetic leg.
It followed a long search for a medical solution.
The Bolwarra Heights resident’s leg was amputated in 1996 when, while living in London, a tube train hit her.
Her femur, or thigh bone, was too short for a prosthesis.
After years searching for a solution, Ms Cringle found Sydney orthopaedic surgeon Munjed Al Muderis.
She had procedures about a year ago that used rods to lengthen the femur from 10 to 18 centimetres.
Another rod was implanted and an adaptor, for the prosthesis to attach to, was fitted to the leg.
“And I just walk,” Ms Cringle said.
Muscle wastage during the years her leg was not used, has slowed Ms Cringley’s progress.
“Because I haven’t been able to walk for 15 years, I’ve had problems.”
It was hoped that at the one year mark, Ms Cringle would walk with both feet.
She presently relies on two walking sticks, having progressed from crutches, and hopes that in another year she will walk unaided.
“I’m still progressing, going well,” she said.
“I just have to be patient.”
Dr al-Muderis said time would tell.
“All the operations have been done,” he said.
“It a matter of her body building up strength to walk again.”
Dr al-Muderis said he strongly believed Ms Cringle would have a good outcome.
Ms Cringle is sharing her experience with others as vice-president of information and support group Newcastle Amputees and Associates.
Marny Cringle with her prosthetic leg. Picture: Peter Stoop
YOUTH coach Clayton Zane says the Jets’ door has not closed on Abe Wheelhouse despite the teenager’s shock decision to walk away from the club.
Wheelhouse, the younger brother of Jets A-League captain Jobe Wheelhouse, has signed to play for promotion winners Lambton Jaffas in the 2013 Northern NSW State League season.
The 18-year-old has been part of the Jets youth squad since June 2011 and played for them in the club’s maiden NNSW state league campaign this year.
Although not officially offered a new deal with the Jets to play in the National Youth League, which starts next month, Wheelhouse made it clear to Zane that he was not interested in staying with the club.
“We had a chat to him at the end of the season, because we could tell just by his body language that he wasn’t as interested in it as he probably should have been,” Zane said.
“So he wasn’t offered anything. We just brought him in at the end just to check on him and see where his head was at and he told us what we already thought was going on. We weren’t surprised by that one.”
He said he had another meeting with Wheelhouse, who reaffirmed his desire to leave the Jets.
Wheelhouse did not return a call from the Herald.
“Abe was adamant that he thought his future was away from the club, not for any particular reason,” Zane said.
“Maybe it was a bit of fatigue and I guess he probably questioned himself a little bit when the first-grade boys came back in and took his spot.
“I think he thought he would play a bit more and I think he realises the jump to the A-League is a big one.
“I said to him, ‘Just make sure you think about it carefully because once you go it’s hard to come back.’
“But then again, we wouldn’t close the door on anyone either. I told Abe to go and play good football because this doesn’t mean he’s finished at the Jets.”
He said back-up keeper Jim Fogarty, who has also signed with Lambton Jaffas, was offered a deal but chose to leave because of work commitments as a personal trainer and his university studies.
He said only six youth league contracted players – Nick Cowburn, Luke Remington, Mason Campbell, Andrew Hoole, Kale Bradbery and Blake Green – from the state league campaign remained for the NYL season.
Josh Small, Dom Bizzari, Dino Fajkovic, Maclean Nadfalusi, Jakob Williams and Alex Kantarovski were released.
The Jets Youth return to training from a four-week break on Monday.
Zane said his NYL squad was not finalised and that a couple of Sydney players would come for trials next week, although the club’s preference was to promote local talent.
He hoped to organise a trial against new club, Western Sydney Wanderers.
The Jets can have 16 players on their roster and plan to have five from the NSW Institute of Sport program as train-on players who can be promoted through the campaign.
NSWIS players Reece Papas and Andrew Pawiak have been training with the squad this year and Zane was also keen to have left-footer Josh Murray in the mix.
ABE WHEELHOUSE
JEFF McCloy will shift the Newcastle lord mayor’s office out of City Hall to work more closely with general manager Phil Pearce.
Cr McCloy was formally declared Newcastle’s new civic leader yesterday, reaching an unassailable lead on the fourth preference count.
Arrangements are already under way to move his new office into the roundhouse building – a move that establishes a significant shift from the approach of predecessor John Tate.
Mr Tate moved the office from the council administration building and into City Hall in 1999, citing a need to be “more accessible”.
Cr McCloy said his focus would be on policy. He held a long meeting yesterday with Mr Pearce where they discussed about a dozen priority items and said afterwards that there was “philosophical agreement” about the council’s direction on some items.
The prospect of staff cuts was raised by Cr McCloy during the election campaign, but yesterday he said pursuing that was “not high on my agenda at the moment”.
Mr Pearce has been working for the past year on an “organisational health check” that includes specifically looking at staffing levels and benchmarking them with other councils.
The general manager said that process would continue, but that the administration would also seek input from the incoming council.
“I personally think that’s sending us in the right direction,” Mr Pearce said.
“That’s not to say it can’t be worked upon and improved.”
The make-up of the new council is unlikely to be confirmed until at least Thursday. Two positions are undecided, and will be tip the balance of the chamber.
In Ward 2, Green Therese Doyle or Liberal Nicholas Stabler will win the last spot. In Ward 3, Green Keith Parsons and independent Andrea Rufo are neck and neck.
Mr McCloy said incoming councillors must have regard for the poll result and work together.
Newcastle City Council general manager Phil Pearce and lord mayor Jeff McCloy.
GARETH Ernst joined Merewether Carlton from Singleton this season to improve his chances of playing finals rugby.
He didn’t expect to be awarded the Anderson Medal for the Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union’s best and fairest along the way.
Ernst last night became the first No.9 to win the award since his former Singleton mentor Steve Merrick in 2000. Hamilton’s Tom Shannon was joint winner in 2009 but played some of the season at breakaway.
On Saturday Ernst hopes to add an elusive premiership medal to his collection when the Greens take on minor premiers Hamilton in the grand final at No.2 Sportsground.
Before this year, Ernst had played one finals match for Singleton, going down 26-21 to Hamilton in the 2006 elimination semi-final.
He was lured to Merewether by coach and former Bull Stacey Sykes and has proved the perfect replacement for Jay Strachan.
Boasting a bullet pass, good vision and a great rugby brain, Ernst has been a dominant figure at the base of the scrum since scoring a try on debut for the Greens in round one.
When voting went in camera after round 12, Ernst and Southern Beaches No.8 Bleddyn Gant were level on 15 points, two clear of Hamilton breakaway Steve Sione. Lake Macquarie No.8 Junior To’o was a point back.
By round 15, Ernst (19) had edged a point clear of Gant (18) and then stepped it up a gear, claiming maximum points in the last two rounds to finish on 25.
Gant didn’t earn another point and was second on 18, followed by Lake Macquarie captain Cal Menzies (16), To’o (15), Maitland’s Adam Perkins and Sione (both 14).
At last night’s awards dinner at Newcastle Panthers, NSW Country lock Nick Palmer was named the representative player of the year and Cal McDonald the most improved. Danny Maiava was named coach of the year after taking Lake Macquarie from the wooden spoon to a place in the preliminary final.
Veteran referee Mark Eades justified his decision to shelve semi-retirement when he received the Col King Medal for the premier whistleblower.
Hamilton hooker James Dyson took out the Jack Scott Medal for best colts player, Rowan Newton-Smith was named the best in first division and Paul Hughes was top of the pack in second division.
GARETH ERNST
MORE whales are likely to meet the same fate as the humpback that was stranded in a shark net off Merewether Beach on the weekend, a senior fisheries researcher believes.
The whale, which was seen in distress off the beach on Sunday, eventually broke the shark net from the ocean floor and continued on its way south. Authorities believe the net and one of its mooring anchors remains tangled around the whale.
“The nets used in NSW are quite light and we are hoping that it will slowly unravel as it goes along,” senior research scientist with the Department of Primary Industries Dr Vic Peddemors said.
It is thought the whale would have reached the NSW south coast by yesterday evening.
It is only the third time a whale has been reported tangled in a shark net off the NSW coastline since 1994.
Dr Peddemors said the east coast humpback whale population was growing at about 10 per cent per annum. As a result, the chances of whales getting tangled in nets and other fishing gear was also increasing.
“The whale watchers are reporting they are seeing more whales that have things like crab pots and long lines attached to them,” Dr Peddemors said.
Taronga Zoo, Macquarie University and the Office of Environment and Heritage are developing an alarm to steer whales away from potential traps.
The weekend’s incident follows the drowning of a four-metre great white shark in nets off Bar Beach last October. Dolphins, stingrays and turtles are among the other species that have been found drowned in the nets.
Surfrider Foundation of Australia Hunter branch president Chris Tola said more research into the alternatives to shark nets was needed.
“There are proven technologies, such as “pingers” [subsonic alarms] that can be used to deter sharks and keep our beaches safe,” he said.
“You have to accept that when you go into the ocean you are going into the sharks’ territory.”
A great white shark drowned in nets off Bar Beach last year.
AS Jeff McCloy is now Newcastle’s lord mayor, his public statements need careful scrutiny, since he says he has no other policies.
He’s right to claim that “our city is a great place to live”. But he lives in Lake Macquarie. People expect their local government representatives to live in their local government area. Loopholes, however, allow for non-residents to nominate as candidates as long as they pay rates on a property in the city or are nominated by a non-resident ratepayer, no matter where they live. This allows people like Mr McCloy to nominate for Newcastle City Council lord mayoralty.
Will he now commit to moving to the Newcastle council area?
Mr McCloy’s statements so far have been largely about “cleaning up Hunter Street” and speeding up the development approval process.
Given he’s a property developer and has significant assets in the CBD, this will probably present conflicts of interest. Will he identify his assets in the Newcastle area so that we can judge the extent of his pecuniary interest?
Many developers, after gaining approval, allow their properties to stagnate or on-sell; hence many of Hunter Street’s empty buildings and vacant lots.
Mr McCloy has done an excellent job recycling the former Hunter Water Board building; but what’s happening on his Lucky Country Hotel and Legacy House sites?
Many developers complain about delays in development assessment. Assessment of complex projects takes time. What they build will impact for generations and should require community input. Mr McCloy has said the word “community” makes him want to “throw up”.
Mr McCloy has had nothing to say about the many other issues affecting the 150,000 residents who live in Newcastle local government area, including its many suburbs.
Historically, mine subsidence problems, not the rail line, have been the main obstacle to developers who want to construct a high-rise city. Mr McCloy has expressed his determination to get rid of the rail, ignoring the 20-year community campaign to keep the rail, supported by expert opinion in transport planning and economics and international trends.
Mr McCloy has offered to donate his mayoral fee to charity. This fee is meant to compensate for the workload and to encourage people from all walks of life to stand for office. Will he be a full-time mayor, given his commitments?
He has said council meetings would last no more than an hour, showing a lack of understanding of the complexity of local government. Would the real debates take place at private meetings? Perhaps he should study the council’s code of meeting practice. Council is not like the board of a private company where owners or directors can throw their weight around.
Mr McCloy has run a successful personally-funded campaign. It’s time to consider a cap on candidates’ personal spending to level the playing field.
Margaret Henry is a former Greens councillor, deputy lord mayor and past member of the Labor Party.
JEFF McCLOY
GROUNDSWELL: Alex Wodak (third from left) at a Sydney forum in May on the decriminalisation of drugs. IN 1989, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority said: “Over the past two decades in Australia we have devoted increased resources to drug law enforcement, we have increased the penalties for drug trafficking and we have accepted increasing inroads on our civil liberties as part of the battle to curb the drug trade. All the evidence shows, however, not only that our law enforcement agencies have not succeeded in preventing the supply of illegal drugs to Australian markets but that it is unrealistic to expect them to do so.”
Those unambiguous words were written 23 years ago by a committee with representatives of all major parties. In 2010 in Britain, The Observer commented: “If the purpose of drug policy is to make toxic substances available to anyone who wants them in a flourishing market economy controlled by murderous criminal gangs, the current arrangements are working well.”
The conclusion of the Australia 21 report launched in April was that drug policy heavily reliant on law enforcement was a miserable failure. That report provoked a vigorous national debate. Few rose to defend the effectiveness of drug law enforcement or contest our claim that it was accompanied by nasty unintended negative consequences.
To develop a second drugs report, we convened 20 experts from diverse backgrounds, examined a discussion paper about the drugs policy in four European countries, and spoke by phone to drug experts from three of these countries. Building on our first report, the second report asks: “If Plan A doesn’t work, what is going to be Australia’s Plan B?”
The Netherlands, Switzerland and Portugal have made major changes in their approach to drugs. These changes were not only within the international drug treaties that almost every country in the world has signed, they have been maintained for decades (with only minor adjustments). These countries increased the emphasis on health and social interventions, resulting in a decline in HIV infections and drug overdose deaths.
After Switzerland increased the emphasis on health and social response, deaths, disease and crime fell. In Zurich between 1990 and 2002, the number of new heroin users dropped from 850 to 150, and HIV infections, drug overdose deaths, crime and the quantity of heroin seized declined.
Sweden is one of few countries in Europe that still aims for a drug-free nation. It has harsh punishment for drug users, and only the two needle syringe programs established 25 years ago. Sweden is proud of the low levels of reported drug use among its young people but has the eighth highest drug induced death rate in the European Union, and the rate is increasing. Sweden now seems to be moving away slowly from its hardline position. Its approach to drugs is starting to look more like the rest of the EU.
But Sweden also has some positive lessons for Australia. Like the other three European countries, Sweden is committed to having an effective drug treatment system and is serious about trying to help the most disadvantaged.
We argue that redefining drugs as a health and social problem is the first step if we want to see better results from Australia’s approach to drugs. We want to see a reduction in heroin overdose deaths from the current 400 a year. We want fewer murders among drug traffickers (there were almost 40 murders of amphetamine traffickers in Melbourne in the past 10 years). We want to see fewer hepatitis C infections and less physical and mental illness in people who use drugs. We want to see people who use drugs helped to live a normal and useful life. We want to see a reduction in drug-related and prohibition-related crime, and less police corruption.
Modest changes are more likely to be achievable politically. But the situation demands more ambitious change. Ultimately, we will have to accept that as long as criminals and corrupt police are the major suppliers of drugs in Australia, we will struggle to reduce deaths, disease, crime and corruption.
We will have to replace the current unregulated supply with some form of regulated supply. This is not about the world some of us want to live in, but the world as it really is: a world where people use drugs and if these are not available from a regulated source, they will obtain them from criminals.
We reject the assumption that harsher policies reduce drug consumption and that less punitive approaches increase drug consumption. The evidence does not support that.
Dr Alex Wodak is the director of Australia 21 and president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation.