Australian film industry hit by strong currency

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013 at 2:41 am  
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16 April 2013
Last updated at 17:00 ET


By Phil Mercer
BBC News, Sydney

Star Wars premiereStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was filmed in Australia

Australia is proud of its movie-making traditions and was once the photogenic darling of the international film industry.

It’s not difficult to see why.

After all, Australia boasts thousands of miles of coastline, the magnificent Great Barrier Reef, harsh deserts, lush rainforests, extensive ski fields, drab suburbs and some of the most famous landmarks on Earth.

Locations and studios here have doubled for cities as diverse as Miami, New York, Paris and Tokyo.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Superman Returns, Moulin Rouge, and the Matrix Trilogy were all crafted here.

But spending by overseas producers has fallen sharply in recent years, as they’ve gone elsewhere looking for cheaper options, or to places offering better incentives.

For feature films, for example, foreign productions spent an average of $137m (£89m) a year in Australia between 2000 and 2009, according to Screen Australia,.

But overseas feature film-makers spent just $1m in 2010 and $3m in 2011, as no major foreign picture was made in the country then.

The currency factor

Continue reading the main story

Made in Australia

Keanu Reeves

• Movies filmed in Sydney include The Great Gatsby (which is set in New York) and Moulin Rouge (set in Paris)

• Sydney also provided the backdrop for The Matrix Trilogy, starring Keanu Reeves

• Other hits filmed in Australia include Star Wars Episodes II and III, Mission Impossible II and Where The Wild Things Are

According to industry players, one of the biggest factors behind the decline is the recent strength of the Australian currency.

The Australian dollar traded close to 47 US cents in 2001, but has risen to above parity against the American currency in recent years, which is deterring foreign film makers from coming to the country.

“They respect the work done here, the crews are great, the weather’s good, there are very good studios here,” said Bob Campbell, the head of production company Screentime told the BBC.

Despite the country’s good reputation, the change in the value of the Australian dollar had made it harder to win work, he said.

“As an industry wanting to attract overseas talent, we’d like to see the dollar to be a little weaker rather than a lot stronger, but it is outside of everyone’s control,” he added.

However, Mr Campbell and the industry’s wishes for a cheaper currency may not come true anytime soon.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said recently that the “sustained strength of our dollar is now a feature of the economic landscape”.

“It may persist for some time given Australia’s status increasingly as something of a safe-haven currency.”

Incentives and grants

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Do we want to become a Bulgaria or Azerbaijan that have no local film industry but become repositories for international films due to their low costs and subsidised production facilities”

End Quote
Peter Krausz,
Chair of the Australian Film Critics Association

The slump has increased pressure on Canberra to boost inducements to the sector through location allowances and tax breaks to soften the impact of a red-hot Australian dollar.

For its part, the government seems to have taken note and has made some moves.

Earlier this month, the Gillard government said it would give Walt Disney a one-off grant of 21m Australian dollars ($22m; £14m) to film a remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in Australia.

Ministers consider this money to be very wisely spent, insisting that the new movie will be as beneficial to the economy as The Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman that recently finished production in Sydney.

Officials say it created more than 1,750 jobs, generated $80 million of investment and “reaffirmed Australia’s status as one of the world’s best filming destinations”.

However, there are demands for federal authorities to do more to lure overseas movie producers, who’ve increasingly abandoned Australia because of high costs.

“It does get a bit depressing,” says Debra Richards, the head of AusFilm, an industry lobby group.

“But I know that with the right incentives and knowing that Australia has so much to offer that we can still successfully market what we have to offer.”

Baz Luhrmann promoting his 2008 film AustraliaAustralian director Baz Luhrmann, who has just made The Great Gatsby in the country, supports financial incentives for film-makers

AusFilm is urging the government to almost double the location offset, a tax rebate scheme for foreign companies.

It wants the authorities to raise the tax rebate to 30%, from the current level of 16.5%, to help Australia compete with rivals in the US, Canada, Britain and New Zealand.

“Competition from other countries has made it more difficult to attract international production to Australia, so there has been a significant downturn,” Ms Richards added.

Domestic focus

As audiences await the release of The Great Gatsby, there is a feeling in some quarters, though, that rather than spending millions attracting foreign producers, Australia should follow the lead of France and Germany and focus on maintaining its domestic film industry.

They warn that if Australia neglects this, it runs the risk of not only losing foreign film-makers but also causing long term damage to the domestic industry which is a source of employment for thousands of workers.

“Do we want to become a Bulgaria or Azerbaijan that have no local film industry but become repositories for international films due to their low costs and subsidised production facilities,” argues Peter Krausz, chairman of the Australian Film Critics Association.

“We do not need to be taken over by amorphous production companies that do not reflect any aspect of Australian film-making, culture or stories.

“Let us back our film industry and ignore overseas producers who just want to make cheap movies outside of Hollywood,” he added.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22088976#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Pietersen out of New Zealand series

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 at 1:58 pm  
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Batsman Kevin Pietersen will miss England’s two-Test series against New Zealand in May with a knee injury.

The 32-year-old did not play in

last month’s final Test

against the Black Caps in Auckland because of the injury.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said Pietersen will have a scan next week to determine when he can resume training.

England’s hectic schedule

Month

Opponent / competition

Format

Matches

May

New Zealand

Test

Two

May

New Zealand

ODI

Three

June

Champions Trophy

ODI

Three*

June

New Zealand

T20

Two

July – August

Australia

Test

Five

August

Australia

T20

Two

September

Australia

ODI

Five

November – January

Australia (A)

Test

Five

* England will play a minimum of three matches in the Champions Trophy, but this could increase to five if they reach the final.

Pietersen

tweeted: 

“Injuries are a sportsman’s worst nightmare! This one is hurting me the most.”

The ECB said in a statement: “England and Surrey batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the upcoming Investec Test series against New Zealand as he continues his recovery from significant bone bruising to his right knee.”

The first Test against New Zealand begins on 16 May at Lord’s.

England coach Andy Flower said recently that

Pietersen needed “significant rest”

in order to be fully fit for a busy 2013 schedule.

Following the two-Test series, England host the Champions Trophy tournament and then compete in a five-Test Ashes series against Australia, which gets under way on 10 July at Trent Bridge.

England then travel to Australia for another Ashes series, which runs from 21 November until 7 January 2014.

Pietersen first experienced knee pain while fielding in the warm-up match in Queenstown at the start of the month. The problem failed to go away and he spent time off the field during the drawn first Test in Dunedin.

He scored a duck and 12 in the first Test, but recovered with 73 in his only innings in the drawn second Test in Wellington.

He flew home before the third Test for further investigation into his injury as Jonny Bairstow came into the England side as his replacement.

Following a meeting with a specialist and undergoing a scan, Pietersen’s knee was put in a brace on 27 March.

It is understood, he was to spend two weeks wearing the brace before a similar period of rest ahead of returning to training.

However, Pietersen will continue with the brace for at least an extra week after the batsman continued to experience significant pain from his knee.

He will undergo another scan at the end of next week when it is hoped a clearer picture of his absence will emerge.

Pietersen endured an up-and-down 2012 in which he retired from one-day and Twenty20 internationals before hinting on 6 August that

he was considering retiring from Test cricket

.

Five days later he said he wanted to commit to all forms of cricket for England in a video posted on YouTube but was subsequently dropped for the third Test against South Africa for sending

“provocative texts”

about team-mates to opposition players.

Pietersen was then left out of the England squad for the

World Twenty20

before being

omitted from the England Test squad

for the winter tour of India.

However, he

signed a new four-month England contract

in October, although was told to undergo a “reintegration” period before returning the team.

Later that month, Pietersen was included in the England squad for the tour of India and produced a man-of-the match performance in the second Test, making 186 runs. England won the series 2-1, with Pietersen finishing with 338 runs at an average of 48.28.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/22166496

Australia to face Japan on whaling

Friday, April 12th, 2013 at 11:09 pm  
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12 April 2013
Last updated at 01:00 ET

Japan says it catches about 1,000 whales a year for what it calls research

The UN’s International Court of Justice has set dates for public hearings on Australia’s challenge against Japan’s whaling programme in Antarctica.

The hearings will start in June in The Hague, in the Netherlands, the court said in a statement on Thursday.

Australia took legal action against Japan over whaling in 2010.

There has been a ban on commercial whaling for 25 years, but Japan catches about 1,000 whales each year for what it calls research.

But critics say it is commercial whaling in another guise.

Australia is requesting the UN court to halt a Japanese whale research programme, which includes hunting in Antarctica using a special permit.

The court is scheduled to hear oral arguments from representatives of both countries from 26 June to 16 July.

New Zealand, supporting Australia, is also expected to make submissions to the court.

“Australia will now have its day in court to establish, once and for all, that Japan’s whaling hunt is not for scientific purposes and is against international law,” Australia’s attorney-general, Mark Dreyfus, said.

“Australia wants this slaughter to end.”

Japan for its part said it would argue that its whaling activity was legal.

“Japan will defend its whale hunt as it is within the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling rules, which is the founding document of the IWC [International Whaling Commission],” a Japanese official told the AFP news agency.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22119410#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Portugal and Ireland loans extended

Friday, April 12th, 2013 at 11:09 pm  
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12 April 2013
Last updated at 12:42 ET

The cost of Cyprus’ bailout has risen to 23bn euros

Portugal and Ireland are to be granted an extra seven years to pay back their emergency bailout loans.

The European Union and the IMF bailed out the Republic of Ireland in 2010 and Portugal in 2011.

The 17-member group that uses the euro currency agreed to the terms at a meeting of finance ministers in Dublin.

Meanwhile, the ministers also said a 10bn euro ($13bn; £8.5bn) EU bailout loan for Cyprus was ready for approval by member states.

That could happen by the end of the month and, if the IMF also gives the go-ahead, the first bailout money could be released by mid-May.

Key extension

The plan for Ireland and Portugal is intended to give the countries’ financial systems more time to recover from the debt crisis after their bailout loans run out.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis


Andrew Walker
BBC World Service Economics correspondent

There was progress.

The Eurogroup members have given their stamp of approval to the economic policies Cyprus has agreed with the three agencies know as the Troika.

The programme now needs to go through the procedures that each Eurozone country requires.

That much is clear.

But the scale of the Cypriot contribution to sorting out its own banking problems is anything but.

The media, me included, have been reporting on the basis of leaked documents that the sums that Cyprus would have to find itself have almost doubled to 13bn euros.

The European Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn accused us of a veritable fruit salad of misrepresentation: “People have been comparing apples with pears and coming up with oranges”.

Still, the Cypriot President thinks he needs more help from the rest of Europe, although not formally through this bailout agreement.

Ireland’s bailout money will run out later this year, and Portugal’s will run out in 2014.

The Irish and Portuguese repayment extensions are expected to be backed by all 27 European Union members, which includes those outside the eurozone, later on Friday.

Eurogroup President and Dutch Finance Minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said the ministers in Dublin had commended Portugal on its success in implementing the bailout programme but “asked them to maintain the reform momentum despite the difficult economic and domestic conditions”.

He added: “Ireland is a living example that adjustment programmes do work, provided there is a strong ownership and genuine commitment to reforms.”

The BBC’s Matthew Price said that the deal could be seen as something of a reward “for good behaviour”, but also as recognition that an austerity-first approach was not always the best option.

The extension is especially important for Portugal. When it received a 78bn euro bailout two years ago, it pledged to take various measures in its budget to reduce public spending.

However, last week the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that several of these measures in the 2013 budget were unlawful.

If Portugal was to drop the measures because of this, it may not remain eligible for more funds under its bailout.

Cyprus crisis

On Thursday, it emerged that Cyprus would need to raise an extra 6bn euros to secure the 10bn euro bailout from Brussels and the IMF.



Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC’s Matthew Price says Ireland and Portugal could be seen as getting a reward “for good behaviour”

While confirming that up to 10bn euros in loans will be provided to Cyprus, the eurozone finance ministers also rejected reports that the country might be granted more financial assistance.

Presidential spokesman Christos Stylianides said the country was not looking for more money under the bailout programme, but was hoping for support through other European support mechanisms: “What the president of the republic [of Cyprus] is discussing with European officials is the possibility of increasing European funds for growth and social cohesion.”

Cyprus will ask for the money under the EU’s multi-annual financial framework designed for member states suffering serious consequences from the euro crisis.

A draft document prepared by the country’s creditors said the cost of the rescue had risen to 23bn euros from 17.5bn euros, with Cyprus now having to find 13bn euros of this.

Mr Anastasiades said he had spoken to EU Economy and Euro Commissioner Olli Rehn and said he would also be writing to European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and to EU President Herman Van Rompuy.

“The letter to Mr Barroso and Mr Rompuy will refer to the need for EU policy to change towards Cyprus by giving it extra assistance, given the critical times we are going through as a result of the economic crisis and the measures imposed on us,” Mr Anastasiades said.

Meanwhile, the German government said that the size of the eurozone bailout for Cyprus would not rise.

“The contribution from international creditors will not change,” said German government spokesman Steffen Seibert, noting that 10bn euro package was “already very large”.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Privately European officials are very anxious – they are uncertain where growth will emerge from”

End Quote



Gavin Hewitt Europe editor

  • Read more from Gavin
  • Cyprus: Bailed out or broken

It is expected that Cyprus will sell much of its gold reserves to help fund its side of the bailout. Also, bank depositors with more than 100,000 euros in savings will bear part of the cost of the rescue.

The bank sector on which much of the Cypriot economy was dependent is shrinking, and thousands of jobs are being lost.

Laiki Bank is being wound up and its healthy assets transferred to the Bank of Cyprus.

Slovenia plan

Eurozone officials meeting in Dublin also reviewed Slovenia’s growing problems.

There will be no discussion at the meeting of finance ministers, and the country will not make an application for bailout funds.

But the country’s prime minister, Alenka Bratusek said on Friday that her government will have a plan that should stave off the need for a bailout ready to put to the country’s parliament within two weeks.

The plan is expected to include the selling off of state assets, probably including a bank.

Slovenia, which adopted the euro single currency in 2007, has been forced to recapitalise its main banks and the economy is struggling.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22116270#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Ireland’s best-kept secret

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013 at 10:13 pm  
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Kinnitty Castle

07 April 2013

I had never gone to Offaly as a tourist before, but then, who goes home on a holiday? I went on St Valentine’s weekend, with my partner.

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I have passed through Offaly several times on my way to somewhere else, a tourist destination – the west, the south – but have never approached home with anything other than a familiar expectation.

For me, the place names are at once familiar, not just the towns and villages, but the townlands too, and every twist, turn and bump on the road: the fields, bogs, graveyards and churches, the schools, walls, pubs and GAA clubs, I know them all and paid my respects in February.

And through it all runs the Grand Canal, alongside which I lived until the night of a particular incident.

I crashed my first car when I was 19 – a white Fiat 127 that spun out of control while driving too fast, too late, and hit loose chippings on the road.

When the crunching stopped, I climbed through the back window, across a field, up a drain, through a ditch and walked half a mile to the house of a friend, no injury evident other than a fat lip and bloodied nose. He took me home.

You could say I was lucky: the crash led me on the path to where I am now.

As a consequence, two months later, I decided to leave home on the great adventure that is life, still in full play.

Now, aged 45, pushing back against middle age, and a certain melancholy, I was home again, this time in the company of Lady Jane, happily taking on the role of unofficial tour guide.

We stayed in Kinnitty Castle Hotel, which will be familiar to many as one of the country’s top wedding destinations. The reason is not very hard to see.

If it is romance you are after, then Kinnitty Castle is the place for you, but not if you are looking for the palazzo marble and chrome chic so beloved of the Celtic Tiger.

If you are after the real thing, however, then Kinnitty Castle is the real thing.

It’s been a castle through the centuries, but is now also a comfortable hotel, with a charm not confined to wedding weekends with the in-laws, but something more evident in the stillness of a midweek night.

At around 1am on a wintry Tuesday, with other guests about the place – including a scientist I would see later at another castle – the charm turned to a certain eccentricity.

At such a moment, Kinnitty Castle reveals her true self – for it is a she – and seeps into you like fog over a wet field. What an extraordinary experience.

The next night, St Valentine’s, we enjoyed a fine meal in the very fine restaurant, at a table by the window that looks out over the rolling fields of the parish, a mist hovering harmlessly but with intent.

Later we went the short distance to Giltraps, as it is called, but known locally as Percy’s – that is, Percy Clendennen, an upstanding man of Fine Gael, where we enjoyed a pint in the company of my brother Matt and his wife Maria, who live in Kinnitty.

They are on a campaign for their son, Rory, and for the parents of children with autism everywhere, a campaign I will write about again.

Percy’s son, John, will soon be an agrifood entrepreneur of some significance, his Giltraps pork products – if that is what he choses to call them – for which I can vouch, and I do not exaggerate, are among the finest around.

I imagine John will be supplying Kinnitty Castle before long. His products would be suited to a hotel which prides itself on the excellence, and elegance, of its food, which we enjoyed in the Sli Dala Restaurant.

If you are a real tourist, you may want to take in Birr Castle Demesne, about 20 minutes away, which is world renowned as a centre of scientific excellence.

Starting with the Historic Science Centre in the old stable block, with its cafe and shop, you can explore 50 hectares of park land, if you have the mind to, or the legs.

If you are more sedate, however, then you may be even more interested in the formal gardens, or, indeed, Birr’s world famous engineering and astronomical wonder – the Great Telescope.

According to the Midland Tribune, the castle itself, home of the Earl of Rosse – the ingenious Parsons family – will soon be opened to the public for the first time, which is just another reason to visit the thriving market town of Birr.

You can take in the history, if you want, or you can participate in the various activities laid on at Kinnitty Castle, horse-riding, clay pigeon shooting, tennis – whatever takes your fancy. I gave Jane the unofficial tour of Offaly, Ireland’s best-kept secret, which involved various fields and bogs to which I have a certain attachment.

But it was not until we deviated to the banks of the Grand Canal that the entire experience made sense.

I was born and reared, and until that accident, had lived a life by the canal, rural and isolated in a community apart, bachelor farmers of small holdings dressed in black on black bicycles. It was a good life.

The next time you are passing to somewhere you imagine more wonderful, stop off, take your time, involve yourself and spend a night or two in Offaly, at Kinnitty Castle Hotel, an experience you are unlikely to forget.

 

GETTING THERE

Article source: http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/irelands-bestkept-secret-29179157.html

Australia announce central contracts

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 at 5:24 pm  
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Australia have announced their list of centrally contracted players for 2013-14 – with several recent Test players omitted from the 20-strong list.

Jackson Bird, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith were all in the Test squad

in India last month,

but have missed out on contracts.

Batsman Khawaja was one of

four players controversially dropped for the third Test for a breach of discipline.

Australia

visit England this summer

as the hosts look to defend the Ashes.

Australia contracted players 2013-14

  • Batsmen:

    George Bailey, Michael Clarke, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes, David Warner
  • All-rounders:

    James Faulkner, Glenn Maxwell, Shane Watson
  • Wicketkeepers:

    Brad Haddin, Matthew Wade
  • Spin bowlers:

    Xavier Doherty, Nathan Lyon
  • Seam bowlers:

    Patrick Cummins, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Clint McKay, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc

Smith, along with the other names left out, is still in contention for the Ashes, which begin at Trent Bridge on 11 July.

“Steve Smith is one – he acquitted himself well in the third and fourth Test and he’s a young player who has a future so he’s in contention,” said national selector John Inverarity.

“Usman Khawaja is strongly in contention for the Ashes [but his lack of recent red-ball cricket] is a concern.”

There are only five established Test batsmen in the new list, including captain Michael Clarke and his deputy Shane Watson and Inverarity admitted Australia’s lack of depth with batsmen is a worry.

“There is a concern, I mean we do not have the batting depth now that we enjoyed seven or eight and 15 years ago, we just don’t,” Inverarity said.

“And that’s something that cricket in Australia really needs to address and we need to get more batsmen making runs prolifically.”

Elevated to the centrally contracted list are batsmen Ed Cowan and Phillip Hughes, who both look set to feature in this summer’s Ashes, and Twenty20 captain George Bailey, who has been a one-day international regular for the past year but has yet to play a Test.

Also included were three one-day specialists – Glenn Maxwell, who made his Test debut in India, Clint McKay and James Faulkner, as well as seamers Patrick Cummins, Ryan Harris and Ben Hilfenhaus, who have all struggled with injury in recent months.

Batsman David Hussey, a limited-overs specialist who has played 69 ODIs and 39 T20 internationals. did not have his deal renewed and Inverarity hinted a move towards youth could mean the end of his international career.

“I’d never say never about anybody but it is an indication that we’re looking towards grooming some younger players,” he said.

“As we all appreciate we’re very much in a transition stage in Australian cricket.”

Hussey’s brother Mike and ex-skipper Ricky Ponting, who have both retired from international cricket, were the other two players who were not retained from the 2013-14 panel.

“The runs they made and the general confidence and leadership they showed, they are big losses,” said Inverarity.

“But that’s life, people retire and move on and it’s a new generation and it’s a period of transition and there are opportunities, and we’re looking to our young players to grasp those opportunities and to grow from them.”

Cricket Australia contracted players 2013-14:

Michael Clarke (Test ODI captain), George Bailey (Twenty20 captain), Ed Cowan, Patrick Cummins, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Shane Watson.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/22011584

Australia opens sex abuse inquiry

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 at 5:24 pm  
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3 April 2013
Last updated at 04:39 ET

Australia’s Roman Catholic church has apologised for the hurt caused by child abuse

A national inquiry into child sex abuse has opened in the Australian city of Melbourne, with more than 5,000 people expected to provide evidence of “abuse and consequential trauma”.

PM Julia Gillard has warned that the commission will unearth “some very uncomfortable truths”.

She said that its opening was an “important moral moment” for Australia.

The inquiry will look at religious groups, NGOs and state care providers as well as government agencies.

But commission officials have warned that it is unlikely to complete its task by the end of 2015 as requested.

They say that is because the scope of the inquiry is so large – in relation to the number of people testifying and the number of institutions who may be affected by the allegations.

The probe will look into institutional responses to the sexual abuse of children.

Its formation was announced by Ms Gillard in November following pressure from lawmakers amid police claims that the Roman Catholic Church had concealed evidence of paedophile priests.

The commission was formed after revelations emerged of child abusers being moved from place to place instead of their crimes being reported and investigated. There were also accusations that adults failed to stop further acts of abuse.

Notice served

Ms Gillard told ABC radio that she wanted the commission to provide a “moment of healing” for the survivors of child sexual abuse – “because for too long, so many of these survivors have just run into closed doors and closed minds”.

Continue reading the main story

How the royal commission will work

  • Likely to start holding private discussions with victims in May
  • Public hearings not expected to start for several months
  • Initial report due by middle of 2014 but the final report is not expected to meet the end of 2015 deadline
  • Not a prosecutorial body, but has legal links with state and territory authorities
  • Will not determine whether any person may be entitled to compensation
  • Victims can phone the commission to give evidence, make a written statement, have a private face-to-face hearing or speak in public

“And second, I want the royal commission to provide for us recommendations about the future.

“We’ve let children down in the past as a country. We need to learn what we can do as a nation to better protect our children in the future.”

Chairman Justice Peter McClellan said that the commission had already served notice to produce documents on the Roman Catholic church and the Salvation Army.

Correspondents say that the composition of the inquiry panel is unusual – it has six commissioners, enabling one or more to sit in private to hear victims’ stories over the next five months. It is estimated that each victim will need at least an hour to tell his or her story.

Justice McClellan warned that the commission would be expensive and would “require the commitment of very significant sums of public money”.

Abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests has been a major issue in Australia. There have been a series of convictions but also a series of alleged cover-ups.

In September, the Roman Catholic Church in Victoria state confirmed that more than 600 children had been sexually abused by its priests since the 1930s.

Similar allegations have emerged from New South Wales where the church has been accused of silencing victims, hindering police investigations, alerting offenders, destroying evidence and moving priests to protect them from prosecution.

During a visit to Australia in July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI met some of the victims and made a public apology for the abuse.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22011598#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Kidney sacked as Ireland coach

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013 at 4:38 pm  
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Declan Kidney has been removed as Ireland coach after a five-year reign.

Kidney led Ireland to the 2009 Grand Slam but this year they could only finish fifth in the Six Nations.

Continue reading the main story

“We would like to sincerely thank Declan for his commitment to Irish rugby”

Philip Browne
IRFU chief

The Irish Rugby Football Union revealed it would not offer him a new deal when his contract expired at the end of June and that he was leaving immediately.

An IRFU statement thanked him for the “unquestionable commitment, passion, professionalism and success he has delivered to Irish rugby”.

Since the 2009 Grand Slam triumph Ireland have won only 16 out of 40 Tests, their performance in this year’s Six Nations was their worst in the Championship since they ended up with the Wooden Spoon in 1998 and they have slipped to their lowest ever world ranking of ninth.

“We would like to sincerely thank Declan for his commitment to Irish rugby,” said IRFU chief executive Philip Browne.

“With a host of new and emerging talent at every level, and despite the clear challenges ahead, we are confident of securing another world-class coach to work with this talented and ambitious group of Ireland players.”

Declan Kidney factfile

  • Born:

    20 October 1959, Ballincollig, County Cork
  • Clubs played for:

    University College Cork, Dolphin RFC
  • Coaching career:

    Irish schools, Ireland U-19s, Munster (two stints), Ireland assistant coach, Newport Gwent Dragons, Leinster, Ireland head coach
  • Honours:

    Under-19 World Cup (1998); two Heineken Cups with Munster (2005-06, 2007-08); Six Nations Grand Slam (2009)
  • Lows:

    Lost 16 of 40 Tests since winning the Grand Slam; finished fifth in 2013 Six Nations

The widely expected decision was made following an in-depth review process carried out by the IRFU’s National Team Review Group (NTRG), which will now lead the search for a new coach.

Ireland’s tour of North America – they play the USA in Houston on 8 June and Canada in Toronto on 15 June – will be led by interim head coach Les Kiss, who will be assisted by Gert Smal and Anthony Foley.

Among the possible candidates to replace Kidney, who succeeded Eddie O’Sullivan in 2008, are Ireland Under-20 coach Mike Ruddock, Conor O’Shea, currently at Harlequins, Saracens boss Mark McCall, interim boss Kiss and former South Africa coach Jake White, now in charge at the ACT Brumbies in Australia.

The 2009 Grand Slam was the undoubted highpoint of Kidney’s Ireland reign.


Archive: Kidney’s last Ireland game

In the 2011 World Cup they lost against Wales in the quarter-finals and last summer they suffered a record 60-0 defeat against world champions New Zealand.

Ireland began the 2013 Six Nations campaign with an impressive win away to eventual champions Wales but back-to-back defeats against England and Scotland were followed by a draw against France, before

a surprise loss in Italy on the final weekend.

There were some extenuating circumstances during the Championship, with Ireland dealing with a debilitating injury list which robbed them of key players such as Paul O’Connell, Jonathan Sexton and Simon Zebo.

But their inability to rediscover the heights they hit in 2009 meant the writing had been on the wall long before the final defeat in Rome.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22007454

Australia to shut Afghanistan base

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 at 1:12 pm  
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25 March 2013
Last updated at 22:32 ET

The majority of Australian soldiers have been stationed in Uruzgan province

Australia has announced it will close its main base in Afghanistan by the end of the 2013.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said the closure of the Tarin Kot base in Uruzgan province was in line with plans to bring the majority of Australian troops home by the end of the year.

Responsibility for security in Uruzgan will then be transferred to Afghan forces.

Most international troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

“The effect of [the] closure will be that Australia will no longer have a permanent presence in Uruzgan province, and the majority of Australian defence force personnel will return,” Mr Smith told reporters.”

“We expect that by the end of the year we will see at least 1,000 Australian personnel return home,” he added.

Around 1,650 Australian military personnel are currently stationed in Afghanistan, including around 150 working on the withdrawal.

Australian troops have been stationed in Tarin Kot since 2005. Around 1,300 Australian troops are currently stationed in Uruzgan, with the remainder in Kandahar and Kabul provinces.

Some of the facilities at the base will be handed over to the Afghan army.

Some Australian troops will remain in Afghanistan in an advisory role, Defence Forces chief Gen David Hurley said at a joint press conference with Mr Smith.

A decision has yet to be taken on whether Australian special forces will remain in Afghanistan, Gen Hurley said.

Since 2001, 39 Australian soldiers have died in the conflict.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21934803#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Living Black: Australia’s trail-blazing indigenous show

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 at 1:04 am  
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25 March 2013
Last updated at 20:43 ET


By Phil Mercer
BBC News, Sydney

The programme has a small crew, with just three video journalists

Australia’s trailblazing indigenous TV programme “Living Black” is celebrating a decade of bringing stories of triumph, resilience and tragedy to a national audience.

The country’s longest-running indigenous news and current affairs show has survived tight budgets and management changes to become a beacon of broadcasting in a country where indigenous life can be ignored by the mainstream media.

“It is a unique programme that is filling a void,” said Karla Grant, presenter and executive producer at the Living Black studio in Sydney. “No one else is doing the stories that we do.”

“We are closer to the issue because we may have faced it within our own families. Our programme gives indigenous people a voice right across the country,” she said.

The programme’s small production crew is responsible for 26 episodes each year that aim to give in-depth coverage of social justice, employment, health, and housing issues.

All are areas of crisis that make Australia’s first peoples its most disadvantaged.

“There is a perception within mainstream media that indigenous issues and stories don’t rate,” Karla Grant said.

“We are very sensitive to the issues and people warm to us, but we have to be objective, and fair and balanced,” she adds.

‘Turning point’

The keys to Living Black’s longevity are unparalleled access to remote communities where outsiders are often seen with suspicion, and a willingness to conquer vast distances.

Only five other countries are bigger than Australia, which is almost as long as it is wide.

Living Black’s team of three video journalists reports from places where others cannot or will not tread.

In an episode marking 10 years on 12 March, the programme touched on the sensitive yet pivotal issues that have defined the programme.

Host Karla Grant says her programme reports issues often marginalised by mainstream media

These included the deaths of young children neglected by their alcoholic mothers, the historic parliamentary apology in 2008 to Aboriginal youngsters forcibly taken from their families by white authorities and allegations of police brutality.

Linda Burney, the first indigenous Australian to be elected to the New South Wales state parliament, says that there is “not a great deal of specific Aboriginal media” in Australia.

“Living Black sends positive messages about Aboriginal Australia. The mainstream media doesn’t send many positive messages but a show like Living Black, hosted by an Aboriginal woman, is really important in projecting that image,” she said.

Living Black returned to the screen this month on Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) TV, the home of multilingual and multicultural programming in Australia, and is also broadcast on National Indigenous Television (NITV), which became a free-to-air service in December.

For Susan Moylan-Coombs, the head of production at NITV, last year’s move from pay television to the channels at SBS was a turning point for indigenous Australians.

“It is the moment in history that the healing will start,” she said.

“It was huge for us to go from subscription television to free-to-air. Finally every single person in this country who has a TV set could tune into us.”

‘Warts and beauty’

The healing, she explains, will come from indigenous Australians “telling their own stories” that a mainstream audience can now digest.

“We want to share warts and all the beauty, the tears and the history of this country from our perspective,” said Ms Moylan-Coombs.

“I think general Australia will see our point of difference and enjoy that, and change their perspective. I see in five to 10 years time the consciousness of this country will change dramatically.”

Dramas and films like The Sapphires have boosted the profile of the indigenous community

There has been a long history of indigenous creativity in Australian television, radio and filmmaking.

The biggest impact has, however, not been felt in news and current affairs but drama, where an impressive tradition has been enhanced by recent TV productions including “Redfern”, a gritty tale of life in inner-city Sydney shown at prime-time on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

There has also been a swag of movies, most notably The Sapphires, Samson and Delilah and Bran Nue Dae.

Linda Burney believes that these accomplished works, along with Living Black and NITV, are finally having a meaningful effect on the way non-indigenous Australians consider their black cousins.

“There has never been a time in this country where mainstream Australia knows more about Aboriginal people,” she said. “So we have a young generation of Australians growing up not thinking of Aboriginal people [being] on the margins of society.”

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21782717#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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