THE AUSTRALIAN THURSDAY MAY 15 2008 …1948.com.au/2008events/national/PM/ads/aus15may2008ac003.pdf3...
1
3 3 THE AUSTRALIAN THURSDAY MAY 15 2008 THE NATION www.theaustralian.com.au Crib investigated after baby dies Padraic Murphy FEDERAL health authorities are urgently investigating a widely used emergency humidicrib after the evac- uation of a premature baby in far north Queensland was abandoned because a ventilator failed and the infant later died. The baby was born in Mossman on April 22 and was being taken to a waiting helicopter to be transferred to the Cairns Base Hospital when a problem emerged with the ventilator attached to the emergency transfer humidicrib. The baby, which was 17 weeks premature, was rushed back to the Mossman Hospital, but could not be revived. Distressed Queensland Health staff have contacted The Australian saying that there have long been problems with both the German- made ventilator and the Toowoomba-made Mansell Neo-cot it was attached to. The Australian understands both pieces of equipment have been the subject of fault reports, including concerns over faulty switches and fuses. Queensland Health estimates there are about 40 of the units operating in Australia. They are used in the transport of seriously ill new- born babies. The Queensland Coroner will not investigate the death. ‘‘Advice from Queensland Health medical officers, including a neonatal specialist, indi- cated that the baby was suffering from several severe complications of premature birth, each of which was incompatible with life,’’ said a spokesman for Queensland’s north- ern Coroner, Kevin Priestly. A spokesman for the Therapeutic Goods Administration, a regulatory body operating under the auspices of the federal Government, said the administration had launched an ur- gent investigation into the incident. ‘‘This includes contacting the dis- tributor of the affected device to gather all relevant information,’’ he said. ‘‘The TGA will take necessary regulatory action according to the results of this investigation.’’ A Queensland Health spokesman confirmed the death, and said an alert had been issued to other Queensland hospitals in Townsville, Brisbane and Toowoomba warning of the potential problems. ‘‘The situation was a highly unus- ual case which exposed a potential issue when operating this piece of equipment,’’ said a spokesman for Queensland Health. The spokesman said the manufac- ture of both the neonatal crib and the ventilator had been notified, while health workers have also been issued with new operating instructions. The manufacturer of the humidi- crib, which was developed with a $28,000 state government grant, did not return phone calls yesterday. Widower to relive ‘longest day’ Andrew McGarry Pia Akerman DON Scott clearly remembers Thursday, September 23, 2004, as the longest day of his life. He spent it outside an Adelaide courtroom, waiting to hear if a jury would convict the man ac- cused of killing his wife, Margaret Tobin, former South Australian mental health chief. ‘‘It was pretty harrowing wait- ing, and much relief when it was over,’’ Mr Scott said yesterday, recalling the trial that ran for 11 weeks before a jury convicted Jean Eric Gassy of murder. Nearly four years later, Mr Scott faces another long wait. The High Court yesterday ordered a fresh trial for Mr Gassy after accepting his appeal. Mr Scott still thinks of the plans the two had made for retirement once Tobin left the South Austral- ian health service. She still wanted to help people, and intended to lecture at universities about men- tal health. ‘‘She achieved the maximum she could in the lifespan she had,’’ Mr Scott said. ‘‘What happened to my wife was a terrible waste.’’ Tobin’s murder on October 14, 2002, shocked Adelaide, coming on the heels of the Bali bombing and the opening of the Snowtown murder trial. She was gunned down while leaving a lift on the eighth floor of Adelaide’s Citi- Centre building. Hit by four shots, she died without identifying her attacker. A month later, police had a suspect: Mr Gassy, a deregistered psychiatrist from NSW. Mr Gassy worked under Tobin in the 1990s at St George Hospital in NSW. The first trial was told a series of events led to him being deregistered as a psychiatrist and struck off the NSW medical register. These events allegedly triggered resentment against Tobin and others he blamed for ending his medical career. The prosecution said Mr Gassy went to great lengths to hunt down his former boss. The Crown case was that Mr Gassy had travelled from Sydney to Brisbane in April 2002, six months before the murder. He had allegedly hired a car and booked into a Brisbane motel under assumed names; witnesses identified him as acting ‘‘suspi- ciously’’ at the Brisbane Conven- tion Centre, where Tobin was due to address a conference. The prosecution case said evidence suggested Mr Gassy ‘‘must have been’’ carrying a pistol. Prosecutors alleged he trav- elled to Adelaide the weekend before Tobin’s murder, again booking into a motel under a false name. Traces of firearms residue matching the ammunition used in the shooting were found in the car allegedly hired by Mr Gassy to go to Adelaide. Mr Gassy always insisted his innocence, claiming it was a case of mistaken identity. The prosecution had no witness who could place Mr Gassy at the murder scene. However, evidence found in his home included pistols and ammunition of the same type used to kill Tobin. Two slides from his Glock pistols were found, but they had been polished, making it imposs- ible to tell if either was the murder weapon. Also found were ‘‘persons of interest lists’’, containing names and details of doctors and psy- chiatrists Mr Gassy had dealt with, although Tobin’s name did not appear. Mr Gassy defended himself, having taught himself law through correspondence while in custody in Adelaide’s Yatala Prison. He did a remarkable job in his first case, arguing difficult points of law before the court. Mr Gassy, a pistol shooter, argued the spread of shots on Tobin’s body suggested a less experienced marksman. The jury remained deadlocked for 1 1 /2 days before judge Ann Vanstone gave further directions. She summarised the main points of the case, focusing largely on the prosecution case while referring only once to Mr Gassy’s defence. The jury returned half an hour later with a guilty verdict. Sloths get a move on in wild Lewis Smith SLOTHS may make slow- motion replays look positively nippy but their reputation has been wildly exaggerated, scien- tists have found. The South American mam- mal, with its sleepy-eyed face and apparently laid-back ap- proach to life, spends far less time asleep and inactive than has been presumed. Although it has become a byword for laziness, researchers now argue that the sloth has been unfairly maligned. Miniaturised electroenceph- alogram tags fitted to wild sloths showed that instead of sleeping for almost 16 in every 24 hours they actually dozed off for just over 9 1 /2 hours. They still moved around the forest canopy ex- tremely slowly but they were active for at least six hours more than expected. The tags allowed scientists to monitor the sleep patterns of sloths in their natural environ- ment for the first time. Sleeping time had previously been measured using captive sloths which, the researchers now realise, gave an inaccurate picture of their wakefulness in the wild. ‘‘Our results suggest that sleep in the wild may be mark- edly different from that in captivity,’’ the international re- search team reported in the journal Biology Letters . Niels Rattenborg, of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany, said the discovery was expected to lead to fresh insights into the importance of sleep for a variety of animals, including people. ‘‘We are fascinated that some species sleep far longer than others,’’ Dr Rattenborg said. ‘‘If we can determine the reasons for variations in sleep patterns, we will gain insight into the function of sleep in mammals, including humans.’’ The Times AUSTRALIA HAS YET TO SHOW IT CARES. www.1948.com.au Palestine Support Groups WRITE TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND SAY THAT YOU CARE. ADVERTISEMENT • For 60 years, the Palestinians have had to struggle for their right to exist in their own land. • For 60 years, the Palestinians have suffered the violent uprooting of their society, dispossession, displacement, exile, occupation, discrimination, degradation and deprivation. • For 60 years, Palestinian pleas to return home, and for justice and compassion have been ignored. • For 60 years, international law, human rights conventions and United Nations resolutions have been transgressed to deny the Palestinians their rights. • For 60 years, Palestinian refugees have yearned to return home. • For 60 years, the Palestinians have waited to hear the word ‘SORRY’. • For 60 years the world has been silent. • Our Government apologised for the suffering caused to indigenous people of our land. • Our Government acknowledged the suffering caused by others to the Jewish people in the Holocaust. • Our Government has yet to acknowledge the suffering of the Palestinians. Their suffering is no less tragic, no less worthy of being championed, and what is more, their suffering is increasing daily. • Our Government and the Opposition have yet to respond to our request for a bipartisan motion acknowledging that suffering, thus balancing the motion they moved celebrating Israel’s independence - the cause of 60 years of Palestinian suffering. That would be a fair go for Palestine. PALESTINIANS HURT TOO. PALESTINE 60 YEARS OF DISPOSSESSION Txt msg lingo defended Lauren Wilson DA lingo ppl use 2 txt n msg is not n fact bad 4 da lngwij skiLz of 2dayz teens. Quite the opposite, say two Canadian linguists who argue the language teenagers use to instant message (IM) one another represents ‘‘an expan- sive new linguistic renaissance.’’ The findings, to be published in the Spring 2008 issue of American Speech , suggest that, far from being detrimental to a teenager’s language skills, these new forms of speech allow today’s youth to showcase what they can do with language. Sali Tagliamonte and Derek Denis from the University of Toronto have analysed more than a million words used in IM communications. The linguists argue that tech- nological advancements includ- ing instant messaging and text messaging allow teenagers to use a ‘‘robust mix’’ of colloquial and formal language. Australian children’s language expert and author of Kidspeak June Factor urged the less text- savvy to stop looking at the lingo of messaging in a simple and pejorative manner. ‘‘It is always counter- productive to pour scorn, abuse and contempt on a language particular to a subgroup,’’ Dr Factor said. Rather, she said, it would be beneficial for teachers to exam- ine IM communications in the classroom and compare and con- trast it to other language forms. ‘‘The dilemma arises when kids see it as a whole language system and are using it to replace the more complex and nuanced forms to writing,’’ she said. When used in context, the increasingly fashionable lingo was a legitimate form of abbrevi- ated language. FYI. Olympian snared in Games ‘soap opera’ Nicole Jeffery Robinson Michael THE selection of the Olympic kayaking team has been thrown into turmoil for a fourth consec- utive Games, leaving one of Australia’s greatest Olympians, 1992 gold medallist Clint Robin- son, in danger of missing a Beijing swansong. Fellow kayaker Luke Michael won his appeal against his exclu- sion from the K4 team, before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Tuesday night. Arbitrator Roger Gyles ruled the Australian Canoeing selec- tors were biased and dismissed the selection panel, insisting that a new panel be convened to select the team. The kayaking team was to be officially announced on Monday, before departing for World Cup competition in Europe next week, but these events will signif- icantly delay the process. Four-time Olympian Robin- son, 35, was named in the K4 team by the previous selection panel under an ‘‘extenuating circumstances’’ clause, despite missing the last selection trial with illness. Michael argued successfully that he was not afforded the same benefit, after his trials performance was affected by a hand injury. Mr Gyles, who will also serve on the three-man panel that will hear swimmer Nick D’Arcy’s appeal against his ejection from the Olympic team later this month, instructed Canoeing Australia to go back to the drawing board. He also said that any athlete who was excluded from the team by the new selection panel had the same rights of appeal that Michael had used. Michael’s lawyer confirmed that, if he was excluded by the new panel, he would appeal again to the CAS. The sport now faces another protracted selection wrangle, which may not be resolved until the month before the Games begin on August 8. History suggests the longer the selection dispute rages, the less chance the athletes involved in it have of winning a medal at the Games. A dismayed Robinson said the selection process had become a ‘‘soap opera’’ and the ongoing uncertainty was hurting every- one involved. ‘‘It’s not helping the sport as a whole, it’s not doing our results any good,’’ Robinson said. ‘‘The only ones who are benefiting are the lawyers. This has been going for over six weeks now and we still don’t know who’s in the team.’’ Australian Olympic Commit- tee sports director Fiona De Jong said Australian Canoeing seemed prone to selection disputes be- cause it was ‘‘both an individual and a team sport’’. If the team selection is not resolved in the next week, Mi- chael will join Robinson and the other men contending for places in the K4 on the European tour, a potentially explosive situation that will stretch the management skills of the team officials. The grown-up Goot loosens up Georgina Safe Fashion editor Sky colours: Models show Goot’s spring-summer range Picture Lindsay Moller JOSH Goot has grown up. Goot is known as Australia’s king of cling for his unforgiving and ultra-short de- signs best reserved for the very young and very slim. But the Sydney designer yesterday revealed a new, more mature ap- proach to the market when he presented a softer, looser and ulti- mately more wearable collection to 100 fashion media and buyers in the inner-Sydney suburb of Alexandria. Inspired by the changing colours of the sky, the spring-summer range of fluid silk dresses and separates fea- tured five prints representing sunrise, overcast, storm, blue sky and sunset. The garments’ construction refer- enced changing weather patterns, through clever twisting and draping aimed at evoking cloud formations and a sense of weightlessness. ‘‘It’s a less fitted, easier silhou- ette,’’ Goot said. ‘‘You’d like to think it’s more wearable.’’ Boxy cropped jackets and tapered trousers rounded out the pretty collection of silk viscose dresses. ‘‘It’s a feeling of being light, of flying or perhaps having wings,’’ Goot said. ‘‘To me, the sky is one of the most beautiful things you can look at, we wanted to capture that in the clothes.’’ The looseness is a significant shift for Goot, who began making body- hugging designs in 2005. His signa- ture colour-blocked tank tops and leggings were there with loose sleeve- less jackets and circle skirts. A floor-length lilac silk trench dress unfortunately resembled a dressing gown, but in black or white would be a chic option for evening. The trench dress was one of a number of longer options Goot pre- sented, including gowns with hem- lines hovering above the ankle. Despite his radical change in aes- thetic, the 28-year-old said the core mindset of his customer remained the same. Retrial over doctor’s killing Michael Pelly Pia Akerman Hurting: Don Scott at his Adelaide home after hearing that Jean Eric Gassy, the man previously convicted of killing his wife, had been granted a retrial Picture: Kelly Barnes A FORMER psychiatrist con- victed of killing South Australia’s director of mental health has won a retrial after acting as his own lawyer and convincing the High Court a judge’s advice to a deadlocked jury led them ‘‘only to a verdict of guilty’’. In a 3-2 verdict, the High Court said Jean Eric Gassy, who was sentenced to life for the execution-style shooting of Mar- garet Tobin in 2004, was the victim of a ‘‘substantial miscar- riage of justice’’. Mr Gassy allegedly shot Dr Tobin due to resentment and anger over her part in his de- registration as a medical practi- tioner and psychiatrist when she practised in Sydney in the 1990s. The majority said Supreme Court judge Ann Vanstone had merely restated the essential ele- ments of the prosecution case, with barely a reference to the defence case. After being dead- locked for a day and a half, the jury returned its guilty verdict 30 minutes later. High Court judge Michael Kirby, who sided with judges Bill Gummow and Ken Hayne, said there was ‘‘powerful evidence’’ of Gassy’s guilt. Justice Kirby said this made it a ‘‘borderline case’’ for a retrial. ‘‘Definitely, it is at the cusp’’ Justice Kirby said. Mr Gassy will have to apply for bail if he wants to leave Yatala prison before the new trial, ex- pected to be held next year. Don Scott, Tobin’s widower, said the decision hurt. ‘‘I was hoping more than anything else that this would be the last thing, it would be knocked on the head and that would be that,’’ Mr Scott said. ‘‘But reality said that was not to be and you try again I guess.’’ ‘‘I hurt. Of course I hurt, but you’ve got to deal with reality. The process goes on, and that’s what we’ve got, isn’t it.’’ The crown said Mr Gassy had stalked and killed Tobin. Six months before the murder, he allegedly booked into a Brisbane motel under a false name and acted suspiciously at a Royal Australian College of Psychia- trists’ conference featuring To- bin. He later drove to Adelaide, where he allegedly shot Tobin four times as she left a lift to return to her office on the eighth floor of an Adelaide city building after lunch in October 2002. Mr Gassy represented himself at the trial and argued his own case before the High Court, having refused the offer of senior counsel to appear pro bono. He alleged 11 errors by Justice Van- stone, but was only granted leave to appeal on two grounds. The case against him was circumstan- tial as other lift passengers could not identify him and no witness could say that he was left alone in the lift with Tobin. Justice Kirby said there was evidence Mr Gassy had travelled to Brisbane and Adelaide by hire car and other testimony that went to motive, opportunity and Mr Gassy’s ownership of firearms. Justices Gummow and Hayne said Justice Vanstone’s direction ‘‘restated the essential elements of the circumstantial case upon which the prosecution relied in proof of guilt’’. ‘‘The ‘way forward’ which the judge suggested was along a single path leading only to a verdict of guilty,’’ they said. They added there were two telling indications: an effort by the prosecution to get the judge to supplement her advice and the speed with which the jury returned a verdict. ‘‘The prosecution argued that the applicant went to Brisbane ‘for a non-innocent purpose re- lating to Dr Tobin’ and that he ‘must have gone’ to Adelaide for the same reason,’’ the judges said. ‘‘The evidence which was led at trial permitted the jury to draw these conclusions, but the evi- dence did not compel them.’’ Justice Susan Crennan and Susan Kiefel, ruled against Mr Gassy on the basis that Justice Vanstone did not instruct the jury make particular findings.
Transcript of THE AUSTRALIAN THURSDAY MAY 15 2008 …1948.com.au/2008events/national/PM/ads/aus15may2008ac003.pdf3...
3 3THE AUSTRALIAN THURSDAY MAY 15 2008
THE NATIONwww.theaustralian.com.au
Crib investigated after baby diesPadraic Murphy
FEDERAL health authorities areurgently investigating a widely usedemergency humidicrib after the evac-uation of a premature baby in farnorth Queensland was abandonedbecause a ventilator failed and theinfant later died.
The baby was born in Mossman onApril 22 and was being taken to awaiting helicopter to be transferredto the Cairns Base Hospital when aproblem emerged with the ventilatorattached to the emergency transferhumidicrib. The baby, which was 17weeks premature, was rushed back tothe Mossman Hospital, but could notbe revived.
Distressed Queensland Healthstaff have contacted The Australiansaying that there have long beenproblems with both the German-made ventilator and theToowoomba-made Mansell Neo-cotit was attached to.
The Australian understands bothpieces of equipment have been thesubject of fault reports, includingconcerns over faulty switches andfuses. Queensland Health estimatesthere are about 40 of the unitsoperating in Australia. They are usedin the transport of seriously ill new-born babies.
The Queensland Coroner will notinvestigate the death. ‘‘Advice fromQueensland Health medical officers,including a neonatal specialist, indi-cated that the baby was sufferingfrom several severe complications ofpremature birth, each of which wasincompatible with life,’’ said aspokesman for Queensland’s north-ern Coroner, Kevin Priestly.
A spokesman for the TherapeuticGoods Administration, a regulatorybody operating under the auspices ofthe federal Government, said theadministration had launched an ur-gent investigation into the incident.
‘‘This includes contacting the dis-
tributor of the affected device togather all relevant information,’’ hesaid. ‘‘The TGA will take necessaryregulatory action according to theresults of this investigation.’’
A Queensland Health spokesmanconfirmed the death, and said analert had been issued to otherQueensland hospitals in Townsville,Brisbane and Toowoomba warningof the potential problems.
‘‘The situation was a highly unus-ual case which exposed a potentialissue when operating this piece ofequipment,’’ said a spokesman forQueensland Health.
The spokesman said the manufac-ture of both the neonatal crib and theventilator had been notified, whilehealth workers have also been issuedwith new operating instructions.
The manufacturer of the humidi-crib, which was developed with a$28,000 state government grant, didnot return phone calls yesterday.
Widower to relive ‘longest day’Andrew McGarryPia Akerman
DON Scott clearly remembersThursday, September 23, 2004, asthe longest day of his life. Hespent it outside an Adelaidecourtroom, waiting to hear if ajury would convict the man ac-cused of killing his wife, MargaretTobin, former South Australianmental health chief.
‘‘It was pretty harrowing wait-ing, and much relief when it wasover,’’ Mr Scott said yesterday,recalling the trial that ran for11 weeks before a jury convictedJean Eric Gassy of murder.
Nearly four years later, MrScott faces another long wait. TheHigh Court yesterday ordered afresh trial for Mr Gassy afteraccepting his appeal.
Mr Scott still thinks of the plansthe two had made for retirementonce Tobin left the South Austral-ian health service. She still wantedto help people, and intended tolecture at universities about men-tal health.
‘‘She achieved the maximumshe could in the lifespan she
had,’’ Mr Scott said. ‘‘Whathappened to my wife was aterrible waste.’’
Tobin’s murder on October 14,2002, shocked Adelaide, comingon the heels of the Bali bombingand the opening of the Snowtownmurder trial. She was gunneddown while leaving a lift on theeighth floor of Adelaide’s Citi-Centre building.
Hit by four shots, she diedwithout identifying her attacker.A month later, police had asuspect: Mr Gassy, a deregisteredpsychiatrist from NSW.
Mr Gassy worked under Tobinin the 1990s at St George Hospitalin NSW. The first trial was told aseries of events led to him beingderegistered as a psychiatrist andstruck off the NSW medicalregister. These events allegedlytriggered resentment againstTobin and others he blamed forending his medical career.
The prosecution said Mr Gassywent to great lengths to huntdown his former boss.
The Crown case was that MrGassy had travelled from Sydneyto Brisbane in April 2002,
six months before the murder.He had allegedly hired a car
and booked into a Brisbane motelunder assumed names; witnessesidentified him as acting ‘‘suspi-ciously’’ at the Brisbane Conven-tion Centre, where Tobin was dueto address a conference. Theprosecution case said evidencesuggested Mr Gassy ‘‘must havebeen’’ carrying a pistol.
Prosecutors alleged he trav-elled to Adelaide the weekendbefore Tobin’s murder, againbooking into a motel under a falsename. Traces of firearms residuematching the ammunition used inthe shooting were found in the carallegedly hired by Mr Gassy to goto Adelaide.
Mr Gassy always insisted hisinnocence, claiming it was a caseof mistaken identity.
The prosecution had no witnesswho could place Mr Gassy at themurder scene. However, evidencefound in his home included pistolsand ammunition of the same typeused to kill Tobin.
Two slides from his Glockpistols were found, but they hadbeen polished, making it imposs-
ible to tell if either was the murderweapon.
Also found were ‘‘persons ofinterest lists’’, containing namesand details of doctors and psy-chiatrists Mr Gassy had dealtwith, although Tobin’s name didnot appear.
Mr Gassy defended himself,having taught himself lawthrough correspondence while incustody in Adelaide’s YatalaPrison.
He did a remarkable job in hisfirst case, arguing difficult pointsof law before the court.
Mr Gassy, a pistol shooter,argued the spread of shots onTobin’s body suggested a lessexperienced marksman.
The jury remained deadlockedfor 11/2 days before judge AnnVanstone gave further directions.
She summarised the mainpoints of the case, focusing largelyon the prosecution case whilereferring only once to Mr Gassy’sdefence.
The jury returned half an hourlater with a guilty verdict.
Sloths geta moveon in wildLewis Smith
SLOTHS may make slow-motion replays look positivelynippy but their reputation hasbeen wildly exaggerated, scien-tists have found.
The South American mam-mal, with its sleepy-eyed faceand apparently laid-back ap-proach to life, spends far lesstime asleep and inactive thanhas been presumed.
Although it has become abyword for laziness, researchersnow argue that the sloth hasbeen unfairly maligned.
Miniaturised electroenceph-alogram tags fitted to wild slothsshowed that instead of sleepingfor almost 16 in every 24 hoursthey actually dozed off for justover 91/2 hours. They still movedaround the forest canopy ex-tremely slowly but they wereactive for at least six hours morethan expected.
The tags allowed scientists tomonitor the sleep patterns ofsloths in their natural environ-ment for the first time.
Sleeping time had previouslybeen measured using captivesloths which, the researchersnow realise, gave an inaccuratepicture of their wakefulness inthe wild.
‘‘Our results suggest thatsleep in the wild may be mark-edly different from that incaptivity,’’ the international re-search team reported in thejournal Biology Letters .
Niels Rattenborg, of the MaxPlanck Institute for Ornithologyin Germany, said the discoverywas expected to lead to freshinsights into the importance ofsleep for a variety of animals,including people.
‘‘We are fascinated that somespecies sleep far longer thanothers,’’ Dr Rattenborg said. ‘‘Ifwe can determine the reasonsfor variations in sleep patterns,we will gain insight into thefunction of sleep in mammals,including humans.’’
The Times
AUSTRALIA HAS YET TO SHOW IT CARES.
www.1948.com.auPalestine Support Groups
WRITE TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND SAY THAT YOU CARE.
ADVERTISEMENT
• For 60 years, the Palestinians have had tostruggle for their right to exist in theirown land.
• For 60 years, the Palestinians have suffered theviolent uprooting of their society,dispossession, displacement, exile, occupation,discrimination, degradation and deprivation.
• For 60 years, Palestinian pleas to return home,and for justice and compassion have beenignored.
• For 60 years, international law, human rightsconventions and United Nations resolutionshave been transgressed to deny thePalestinians their rights.
• For 60 years, Palestinian refugees haveyearned to return home.
• For 60 years, the Palestinians have waited tohear the word ‘SORRY’.
• For 60 years the world has been silent.
• Our Government apologised for the suffering caused to indigenous people of our land.• Our Government acknowledged the suffering caused by others to the Jewish people in
the Holocaust.• Our Government has yet to acknowledge the suffering of the Palestinians. Their
suffering is no less tragic, no less worthy of being championed, and what is more, theirsuffering is increasing daily.
• Our Government and the Opposition have yet to respond to our request for a bipartisanmotion acknowledging that suffering, thus balancing the motion they movedcelebrating Israel’s independence - the cause of 60 years of Palestinian suffering.
That would be a fair go for Palestine.
PALESTINIANSHURT TOO.
PA L E S T I N E60 YEARS OF DISPOSSESSION
Txt msg lingo defendedLauren Wilson
DA lingo ppl use 2 txt n msg isnot n fact bad 4 da lngwij skiLz of2dayz teens. Quite the opposite,say two Canadian linguists whoargue the language teenagers useto instant message (IM) oneanother represents ‘‘an expan-sive new linguistic renaissance.’’
The findings, to be publishedin the Spring 2008 issue ofAmerican Speech, suggest that,far from being detrimental to ateenager’s language skills, thesenew forms of speech allowtoday’s youth to showcase whatthey can do with language.
Sali Tagliamonte and DerekDenis from the University ofToronto have analysed morethan a million words used in IMcommunications.
The linguists argue that tech-nological advancements includ-ing instant messaging and textmessaging allow teenagers to use
a ‘‘robust mix’’ of colloquial andformal language.
Australian children’s languageexpert and author of KidspeakJune Factor urged the less text-savvy to stop looking at the lingoof messaging in a simple andpejorative manner.
‘‘It is always counter-productive to pour scorn, abuseand contempt on a languageparticular to a subgroup,’’ DrFactor said.
Rather, she said, it would bebeneficial for teachers to exam-ine IM communications in theclassroom and compare and con-trast it to other language forms.
‘‘The dilemma arises whenkids see it as a whole languagesystem and are using it to replacethe more complex and nuancedforms to writing,’’ she said.
When used in context, theincreasingly fashionable lingowas a legitimate form of abbrevi-ated language. FYI.
Olympian snared inGames ‘soap opera’Nicole Jeffery
Robinson Michael
THE selection of the Olympickayaking team has been throwninto turmoil for a fourth consec-utive Games, leaving one ofAustralia’s greatest Olympians,1992 gold medallist Clint Robin-son, in danger of missing aBeijing swansong.
Fellow kayaker Luke Michaelwon his appeal against his exclu-sion from the K4 team, beforethe Court of Arbitration for Sport(CAS) on Tuesday night.
Arbitrator Roger Gyles ruledthe Australian Canoeing selec-tors were biased and dismissedthe selection panel, insisting thata new panel be convened toselect the team.
The kayaking team was to beofficially announced on Monday,before departing for World Cupcompetition in Europe nextweek, but these events will signif-icantly delay the process.
Four-time Olympian Robin-son, 35, was named in the K4team by the previous selectionpanel under an ‘‘extenuatingcircumstances’’ clause, despitemissing the last selection trialwith illness.
Michael argued successfullythat he was not afforded thesame benefit, after his trialsperformance was affected by ahand injury.
Mr Gyles, who will also serveon the three-man panel that willhear swimmer Nick D’Arcy’sappeal against his ejection fromthe Olympic team later thismonth, instructed CanoeingAustralia to go back to thedrawing board.
He also said that any athletewho was excluded from the teamby the new selection panel hadthe same rights of appeal that
Michael had used. Michael’slawyer confirmed that, if he wasexcluded by the new panel, hewould appeal again to the CAS.
The sport now faces anotherprotracted selection wrangle,which may not be resolved untilthe month before the Gamesbegin on August 8.
History suggests the longerthe selection dispute rages, theless chance the athletes involvedin it have of winning a medal atthe Games.
A dismayed Robinson said theselection process had become a‘‘soap opera’’ and the ongoinguncertainty was hurting every-one involved.
‘‘It’s not helping the sport as awhole, it’s not doing our resultsany good,’’ Robinson said.
‘‘The only ones who arebenefiting are the lawyers. Thishas been going for over six weeksnow and we still don’t knowwho’s in the team.’’
Australian Olympic Commit-tee sports director Fiona De Jongsaid Australian Canoeing seemedprone to selection disputes be-cause it was ‘‘both an individualand a team sport’’.
If the team selection is notresolved in the next week, Mi-chael will join Robinson and theother men contending for placesin the K4 on the European tour,a potentially explosive situationthat will stretch the managementskills of the team officials.
The grown-up Goot loosens upGeorgina SafeFashion editor
Sky colours: Models show Goot’s spring-summer range Picture Lindsay Moller
JOSH Goot has grown up. Goot isknown as Australia’s king of cling forhis unforgiving and ultra-short de-signs best reserved for the very youngand very slim.
But the Sydney designer yesterdayrevealed a new, more mature ap-proach to the market when hepresented a softer, looser and ulti-mately more wearable collection to100 fashion media and buyers in theinner-Sydney suburb of Alexandria.
Inspired by the changing colours ofthe sky, the spring-summer range offluid silk dresses and separates fea-tured five prints representing sunrise,overcast, storm, blue sky and sunset.
The garments’ construction refer-enced changing weather patterns,through clever twisting and drapingaimed at evoking cloud formationsand a sense of weightlessness.
‘‘It’s a less fitted, easier silhou-ette,’’ Goot said. ‘‘You’d like to thinkit’s more wearable.’’
Boxy cropped jackets and taperedtrousers rounded out the prettycollection of silk viscose dresses.
‘‘It’s a feeling of being light, offlying or perhaps having wings,’’
Goot said. ‘‘To me, the sky is one ofthe most beautiful things you canlook at, we wanted to capture that inthe clothes.’’
The looseness is a significant shiftfor Goot, who began making body-hugging designs in 2005. His signa-ture colour-blocked tank tops andleggings were there with loose sleeve-less jackets and circle skirts.
A floor-length lilac silk trench dress
unfortunately resembled a dressinggown, but in black or white would bea chic option for evening.
The trench dress was one of anumber of longer options Goot pre-sented, including gowns with hem-lines hovering above the ankle.
Despite his radical change in aes-thetic, the 28-year-old said the coremindset of his customer remained thesame.
Retrial over doctor’s killingMichael PellyPia Akerman
Hurting: Don Scott at his Adelaide home after hearing that Jean Eric Gassy, the man previously convicted of killing his wife, had been granted a retrial Picture: Kelly Barnes
A FORMER psychiatrist con-victed of killing South Australia’sdirector of mental health has wona retrial after acting as his ownlawyer and convincing the HighCourt a judge’s advice to adeadlocked jury led them ‘‘onlyto a verdict of guilty’’.
In a 3-2 verdict, the High Courtsaid Jean Eric Gassy, who wassentenced to life for theexecution-style shooting of Mar-garet Tobin in 2004, was thevictim of a ‘‘substantial miscar-riage of justice’’.
Mr Gassy allegedly shot DrTobin due to resentment andanger over her part in his de-registration as a medical practi-tioner and psychiatrist when shepractised in Sydney in the 1990s.
The majority said SupremeCourt judge Ann Vanstone hadmerely restated the essential ele-ments of the prosecution case,with barely a reference to thedefence case. After being dead-locked for a day and a half, thejury returned its guilty verdict 30minutes later.
High Court judge MichaelKirby, who sided with judges BillGummow and Ken Hayne, saidthere was ‘‘powerful evidence’’of Gassy’s guilt. Justice Kirby saidthis made it a ‘‘borderline case’’for a retrial. ‘‘Definitely, it is atthe cusp’’ Justice Kirby said.
Mr Gassy will have to apply forbail if he wants to leave Yatalaprison before the new trial, ex-pected to be held next year.
Don Scott, Tobin’s widower,said the decision hurt.
‘‘I was hoping more thananything else that this would bethe last thing, it would beknocked on the head and thatwould be that,’’ Mr Scott said.‘‘But reality said that was not tobe and you try again I guess.’’
‘‘I hurt. Of course I hurt, butyou’ve got to deal with reality.The process goes on, and that’swhat we’ve got, isn’t it.’’
The crown said Mr Gassy hadstalked and killed Tobin. Sixmonths before the murder, heallegedly booked into a Brisbanemotel under a false name andacted suspiciously at a RoyalAustralian College of Psychia-trists’ conference featuring To-bin. He later drove to Adelaide,where he allegedly shot Tobinfour times as she left a lift toreturn to her office on the eighthfloor of an Adelaide city buildingafter lunch in October 2002.
Mr Gassy represented himselfat the trial and argued his owncase before the High Court,having refused the offer of seniorcounsel to appear pro bono. Healleged 11 errors by Justice Van-stone, but was only granted leaveto appeal on two grounds. Thecase against him was circumstan-tial as other lift passengers couldnot identify him and no witnesscould say that he was left alone inthe lift with Tobin.
Justice Kirby said there wasevidence Mr Gassy had travelled
to Brisbane and Adelaide by hirecar and other testimony that wentto motive, opportunity and MrGassy’s ownership of firearms.
Justices Gummow and Haynesaid Justice Vanstone’s direction‘‘restated the essential elementsof the circumstantial case uponwhich the prosecution relied inproof of guilt’’.
‘‘The ‘way forward’ which thejudge suggested was along asingle path leading only to averdict of guilty,’’ they said.
They added there were twotelling indications: an effort bythe prosecution to get the judgeto supplement her advice and thespeed with which the juryreturned a verdict.
‘‘The prosecution argued thatthe applicant went to Brisbane‘for a non-innocent purpose re-lating to Dr Tobin’ and that he‘must have gone’ to Adelaide forthe same reason,’’ the judges said.
‘‘The evidence which was ledat trial permitted the jury to drawthese conclusions, but the evi-dence did not compel them.’’
Justice Susan Crennan andSusan Kiefel, ruled against MrGassy on the basis that JusticeVanstone did not instruct the jurymake particular findings.
