Tuesday, May 20, 2014
NSW vaccination objector numbers surge by 15 per cent after government changed childcare rules
NSW Health says the immunisation rate has risen by four per cent despite the jump in parents registering as conscientious objectors. Source: News Limited
THE number of NSW parents objecting to immunisation has jumped 15 per cent in 12 months new government figures show.
In 2013, the NSW government changed the rules for entry to childcare in response to a Sunday and Daily Telegraph campaign aimed at raising immunisation rates after alarming pockets of low coverage emerged.
As part of changes to the Public Health Act, parents had to prove they had obtained information from a medical professional on immunisation rather than unreliable internet sources.
Those who still objected to vaccination had to obtain a conscientious objector form signed by a doctor before they could enter child care.
That rule change has seen an extra 1285 conscientious objectors register in NSW from 8396 in March 2013 to 9681 a year later, a rise of 15 per cent.
A spokeswoman for the Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the rise was to be expected because conscientious objectors now had to show their hand.
A baby gets an injection. Vaccination. Child. Syringe. Generic image. Picture: Images Getty Source: Supplied
However, NSW Health figures show immunisation rates have jumped four per cent overall since the rule change the spokeswoman said.
Australia-wide there were 30,336 conscientious objectors registered with the Immunise Australia Program in 2012 out of 2.1 million children, with 8027 of those conscientious objectors residing in NSW.
By March 2014, the figures had grown to 36,109. Of those registered, 9681 were from NSW.
Overall national conscientious objection to vaccination rose from 1.46 per cent of the population in 2012, to 1.63 per cent in March 2014.
Conscientious objectors also have to register as such to exploit a loophole and claim $2100 worth of vaccination incentive payments meant for parents who vaccinate, an issue 4000 of Australia’s eminent scientists have publicly challenged the Abbott Government to fix.
The Sunday and Daily Telegraph, as part of their No Jab No Play campaign also challenged the government to act on this point as well.
Dr Peter Speck from the Australian Virology Society said changes to the family tax benefit A supplement immunisation bonus went from around $700 in 2012, up to $2100.
“I think the family tax benefit supplement for immunisation is the reason for the rise, it went from $700 in 2012 to $2100, I think that is feeding into the rise,” Dr Speck said, renewing calls to the Government to act on the loophole.
“No other government on the planet pays people to NOT get their kids vaccinated,” Dr Speck said.
Last week’s Federal Budget’s Health Portfolio Budget Statement on population health said:
“The Government will also consider issues associated with incentives to reduce vaccine refusal. The Department will develop tools and communication materials to assist immunisation providers, such as general practitioners, having conversations with vaccine hesitant parents. The Department will work with organisations providing primary health services to maintain and improve immunisation coverage at the local level in particular in pockets of low coverage.”
Monday, May 19, 2014
Austravel is offering a weekend tour to Australia
The only time for sleep is on the plane. Source: News Limited
FOR those with too much money but not enough time or common sense — here’s the perfect travel solution.
A weekend trip to Australia from the other side of the planet.
A UK-based tour operator has begun offering whistlestop sightseeing excursions from London to Australia that depart Friday afternoon and return “just in time for work” on Tuesday morning.
Austravel — a specialist in Down Under destinations — says the 33,800-kilometre, 46-hour round trip is ideal for anyone trying to maximise vacation time.
You’ll only have time for a drive by of the Opera House. Source: AFP
Tickets starting at around $2,000 include airfare, two hotel nights and rental car for three days.
You’ll need the car because as well as the time spent cooped up in a jet, there’s an eight hour drive from Sydney to Melbourne to make the return flight.
Austravel’s Naomi Moreno-Melgar concedes travelling to Australia for a weekend is “extreme” but insists it’s “doable.”
“A trip to the land Down Under does not need take up all of your holiday allowance, but with four time zones, three million square miles and 22 million people, it would be nice,” she says.
Forget about sleep, the itinerary sees passengers depart London on Friday afternoon, arriving in Sydney on Saturday evening.
You’ll be seeing eight hours of Melbourne highway. Source: News Limited
After a night in a four-star hotel and visits to Sydney’s Opera House, Harbour Bridge and Sydney tower, they bundle themselves into their rental car and hit the coastal road south.
There’s a night and morning in Melbourne, before a return flight that lands in London at 6:40am on Tuesday.
If that’s not enough, Austravel says passengers willing to forgo all sleep can buy “bolt-on” trips to see attractions such as the Great Ocean Road (more driving) or Melbourne’s Yarra Valley wine region.
We can guarantee you’ll be feeling like this at the end. Source: ThinkStock
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The 10 people you don’t want to travel with on a road trip
At first it’s all happy families. Source: Getty Images
WE can’t wait to jump in the car and explore the country with the music on and the wind blowing through our hair.
But who you bring along on your adventure is a tough decision to make.
To avoid a disaster trip where all you want to do is punch your friends in the face, follow our guide to the 10 people you shouldn’t invite on your next road trip.
1. The Person With A Tiny Bladder
They require bathroom breaks every 20 minutes and you spend hours of wasted time searching for petrol stations or any place with a toilet so they can relieve themselves.
Pull over! Source: ThinkStock
2. The Station Flipper
You know, THAT person, that’s never happy with what’s on the radio and feels the need to incessantly change the station.
Your jam comes on and you’re happily bouncing to the beat and then all of a sudden they reach over and BAM, next thing you know you’re listening to Justin Bieber.
3. The Person Who Thinks The Entire Trip Is A Sing-A-Long
They sing along to literally EVERY song. Your head will start to hurt and all you’ll be wishing for is to be in a dark, quiet room alone where no one can bother you.
This is not an audition for The Voice. Source: ThinkStock
4. The Way Too Excited Passenger
Either they’re hyped up on Slurpees or they’re literally just so excited about the trip that they bounce around in quick movements that make you feel the need to slap them and tell them to “Calm the F*#!@ down!”
5. The Aggressive Driver
They make you super nervous to be in the car with them and you find your knuckles going white from clutching the handle too tightly.
6. The Indecisive Person
It doesn’t matter what you ask, they don’t have an opinion and leave all the decision making to you. It sounds great — and it is — at first, until you realise that this entire road trip’s success rides on your shoulders alone.
7. The Car Sleeper
They literally cannot keep their eyes open for more than five minutes in the car. Yes, they aren’t talking incessantly but when you get tired of driving and have no one to talk to because your passenger is in a drooling coma, it isn’t ideal.
Hey guys ... guys. Source: ThinkStock
8. The Backseat Driver
Who jerks their foot every time they think you should be breaking, tells you which lane you should be in and finds any possible way to correct the way you’re driving.
You’re going the wrong way. Source: ThinkStock
9. The Person That Refuses To Stop For Anything Or Anyone
You can beg and plead saying your bladder is going to explode at any second and they will still refuse to stop and ruin their personal competition to see how fast they can get from point A to point B.
10. The Annoying Person Who Won’t Stop Asking “Are We There Yet?”
The annoying kid in adult form who keeps asking if you’re there yet.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Welcome to Rio, the poo-fect holiday spot for the World Cup
Welcome to Rio, swim with the faeces! Picture: Eliseu Cavalcante for Rio Gringa Source: Supplied
HUNDREDS of thousands of tourists will flock to Rio de Janeiro’s beaches next month for the World Cup.
But these photographs show why they may want to think twice about going for a swim at its world-famous beaches.
Taken by local photographer Eliseu Cavalcante for the website Rio Gringa, they reveal the true extent of the city’s ongoing sewage problem.
They show human excrement invading the city’s picturesque beaches, bays and rivers.
According to the Global Post , only approximately 40 per cent of Rio’s sewage is treated, and the rest ends up in the water.
It may look colourful, but the truth ain’t pretty! Picture: Eliseu Cavalcante for Rio Gringa Source: Supplied
Mario Moscatelli, a biologist who’s been monitoring Rio’s waterways, says Guanabara Bay is a particular problem. Along with human waste, between 80-100 tonnes of rubbish ends up in the bay each day.
Biologist Mario Moscatelli tours the area. Picture: Eliseu Cavalcante for Rio Gringa Source: Supplied
“Not in my worst nightmares would I have imagined that the Brazilian authorities would have done this with the environment,” he said.
Guanabara Bay. Picture: Eliseu Cavalcante for Rio Gringa Source: Supplied
The government plans to clean up the bay in time for the 2016 Summer Olympics. But it’s a problem that has persisted for decades.
Even the wealthiest, tourist-friendly areas aren’t safe from the sewage invasion. Data from the State Institute of the Environment shows 12 locations in upscale areas such as Zona Sul have poor water quality and should be avoided by swimmers.
Raw sewage flows out onto Sao Conrado Beach, a rich area. Picture: Eliseu Cavalcante for Rio Gringa Source:Supplied
It’s a situation those living in favelas are, unfortunately, quite used to.
Sewage pictured in the famed “City of God” slum. Picture: Eliseu Cavalcante for Rio Gringa Source: Supplied
Raw sewage can cause diseases such as hepatitis A, gastrointestinal ailments and skin diseases. It also attracts rats and insects, which can transmit diseases such as leptospirosis, which can lead to kidney damage and meningitis.
Trash at Rio’s Niteroi beach. Picture: Eliseu Cavalcante for Rio Gringa Source: Supplied
Around half of Brazil’s population of nearly 200 million lacks access to sanitation.
Skeleton of girl with face like an indigenous Australian reveals Native American history
Grim find ... divers Alberto Nava (left) and Susan Bird transport the Hoyo Negro skull to an underwater turntable so that it can be photographed in order to create a 3-D model on June 15, 2013. Picture: Paul Nicklen Source: AFP
A SKELETON of a teenager more than 12,000 years old with a facial structure resembling that of an indigenous Australian is offering new clues about the origins of the first Native Americans.
Named “Naia” by scientists after the water nymphs of Greek mythology, the skeleton of the girl who fell into a hole in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula is among the oldest known and best preserved in the Americas.
Her remains were found in 2007, submerged in an underwater cave along with the bones of sabre tooth tigers, giant sloths and cave bears, some 41 metres below sea level.
At the time she fell, some 12,000 to 13,000 years ago, the area, called Hoyo Negro, or Black Hole in Spanish, was dry and above ground.
Underwater grave ... diver Susan Bird works at the bottom of Hoyo Negro, a large dome-shaped cave in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula on June 15, 2013. Picture: Paul Nicklen Source: AFP
Melting glaciers caused a sea level rise that covered the pit with water for the past 8000 years.
The girl was aged 15 to 16 and may have slipped into what appeared to her to be a watering hole.
Her pelvis appears to have broken on impact, suggesting she died quickly after her fall, said Jim Chatters, an archaeologist and forensic anthropologist in Bothell, Washington.
Her skull shows she had a small, narrow face, wide-set eyes, a prominent forehead and teeth that jutted outward.
Her appearance was “about the opposite of what Native Americans look like,” Chatters told reporters on Thursday.
Historical find ... the human skull discovered by the Tulum Speleological Project inside a cave in the area called Hoyo Negro (Black Hole), in Tulum, Quintana Roo State, Mexico. Picture: Roberto Chavez Arce Source: AFP
Instead her facial structure resembles a modern African, indigenous Australian or Pacific Islander, the scientists said.
Such differences have fuelled theories that these first paleo-Americans and modern Native Americans have no kinship.
But a genetic marker found in the girl’s rib bone and tooth shows that her maternally inherited lineage was the same as that found in some modern Native Americans.
The report in the journal Science suggests she descended from people who migrated from Asia across the Bering Strait, over a land mass that was known as Beringia.
Into the blue ... divers of the Tulum Speleological Project exploring a cave in the area called Hoyo Negro (Black Hole), in Tulum, Quintana Roo State, Mexico. Picture: Roberto Chavez Arce Source: AFP
“What this study is presenting for the first time is the evidence that paleo-Americans with those distinctive features can also be directly tied to the same Beringian source population as contemporary Native Americans,” said Deborah Bolnick, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
That goes against theories held by some experts that Native Americans were descendants of people who migrated later, perhaps from Europe, southeast Asia or Australia.
Tough job, but someone’s got to do it ... a diver of the Tulum Speleological Project exploring a cave in the area called Hoyo Negro (Black Hole), in Tulum, Quintana Roo State, Mexico. Picture: AFP/INAH/Roberto Chavez Arce. Source: AFP
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