http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Overhaul-for-Qld-double-jeopardy-rule/2007/10/18/1192300902448.html

Queensland's double jeopardy laws which have been embedded in English law for 800 years, have been overhauled following a landmark vote in state parliament.

The state government passed a private members bill on Wednesday night from independent MP for Nicklin Peter Wellington which enables an acquitted person to be retried if "fresh and compelling" new evidence emerges in a murder case.

However, the overhaul of the laws which prevent people from being tried twice for the same crime will not be retrospective.

The bill creates two exceptions to double jeopardy protection by allowing a retrial for a charge of murder where there is new evidence, and allowing a retrial for a crime that would attract a 25-year or more sentence, if the original acquittal is tainted.

Premier Anna Bligh said the government's support of the bill acknowledged the change in society's view of double jeopardy laws.

"The government believes these changes acknowledge that advances in forensic science and DNA evidence may mean that compelling evidence not available at the original trial may later become available," Ms Bligh said.

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Qld eyes 'accident defence' law change

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Qld-eyes-accident-defence-law-change/2007/10/24/1192941136408.html

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has encouraged comment on an overhaul of the "accident defence" after another accused killer who partly relied on the defence walked free from court.

Adam Kenneth Terry, now 20, admitted punching stranger Andrew Nukunuku, 41, outside a hotel in Beenleigh, south of Brisbane, on December 22, 2005.

The punch caused New Zealand-born Mr Nukunuku to fall backwards and hit his head on the concrete, fracturing his skull and causing brain damage.

He died nine days later.

A Supreme Court jury in Brisbane on Tuesday found Terry not guilty of manslaughter because the circumstances of the attack were in dispute, requiring them to consider the available defences of self-defence and accident in their deliberations.

The state government a fortnight ago released a discussion paper on an overhaul of the provocation and accident legal defences following a study of recent murder and manslaughter trials.

The accident defence - under which a person is not criminally responsible for an event occurring by accident - came under the spotlight after defendants were acquitted in the trials relating to the separate deaths of David Stevens and Nigel Lee in inner-Brisbane in 2005.

Cellphone jammers can zap all the yap

By MATT RICHTEL

New York Times News Service

SAN FRANCISCO — One afternoon in early September, an architect boarded his commuter train and became a cellphone vigilante. He sat down next to a 20-something woman who he said was "blabbing away" into her phone.

"She was using the word 'like' all the time. She sounded like a Valley Girl," said the architect, Andrew, who declined to give his last name because what he did next was illegal.

Andrew reached into his shirt pocket and pushed a button on a black device the size of a cigarette pack. It sent out a powerful radio signal that cut off the chatterer's cellphone transmission — and any others within a 30-foot radius.

"She kept talking into her phone for about 30 seconds before she realized there was no one listening on the other end," he said.

His reaction when he first discovered he could wield such power? "Oh, holy moly! Deliverance."

As cellphone use has skyrocketed, making it hard to avoid hearing half a conversation in many public places, a small but growing band of rebels is turning to a blunt countermeasure: the cellphone jammer, a gadget that renders nearby mobile devices impotent.

The technology is not new, but overseas exporters of jammers say demand is rising and they are sending hundreds of them a month into the United States — prompting scrutiny from federal regulators and new concern this week from the cellphone industry. The buyers include owners of cafes and hair salons, hoteliers, public speakers, theater operators, bus drivers and, increasingly, commuters on public transportation.

The development is creating a battle for control of the airspace within earshot. And the damage is collateral. Insensitive talkers impose their racket on the defenseless, while jammers punish not just the offender, but also more discreet chatterers.

"If anything characterizes the 21st century, it's our inability to restrain ourselves for the benefit of other people," said James Katz, director of the Center for Mobile Communication Studies at Rutgers University. "The cellphone talker thinks his rights go above that of people around him, and the jammer thinks his are the more important rights."

The jamming technology works by sending out a radio signal so powerful that phones are overwhelmed and cannot communicate with cell towers. The range varies from several feet to several yards, and the devices cost from $50 to several hundred dollars. Larger models can be left on to create a no-call zone.

Using the jammers is illegal in the United States. The radio frequencies used by cellphone carriers are protected, just like those used by television and radio broadcasters.

The Federal Communications Commission says people who use cellphone jammers could be fined up to $11,000 for a first offense. Its enforcement bureau has prosecuted a handful of American companies for distributing the gadgets — and it also pursues their users.

complete article at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003992768_celljammers04.html

Trauma surgeon 'did needless surgery'

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Trauma-surgeon-did-needless-surgery/2007/11/28/1196036933293.html

The head of a major Melbourne hospital which has suspended a high-profile trauma surgeon has moved to reassure patients they were in safe hands.

Professor Thomas Kossmann, the head of The Alfred hospital's trauma unit, was stood down on full pay on Tuesday night following the completion of a draft report from an external inquiry commissioned by the hospital.

Prof Kossmann is alleged to have performed unnecessary and excessive surgery on dozens of road accident victims.

The inquiry is also investigating claims he rorted the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) by over-servicing patients or billing for work he did not do.

The QLD fuel subsidy is bad for the economy, bad for the environemnt and is being taken advantage of:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Inquiry-says-scrap-or-alter-fuel-subsidy/2007/11/21/1195321821904.html

An inquiry into the effectiveness of Queensland's fuel subsidy has recommended the government either scrap the payment or devise a new and improved system for its distribution.

In August the state government ordered an inquiry into why the 8.3 cents a litre fuel subsidy was not being fully passed on to motorists after an audit found that on average, two cents of the subsidy never reached consumers.

The Queensland Fuel Subsidy Commission of Inquiry, headed by former federal court judge Bill Pincus QC, on Wednesday handed down its final report, finding retailers were not reducing the sale price of fuel under the Fuel Subsidy Act (FS Act) 1997.

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Greenhouse measures 'crippling' truckers

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Greenhouse-measures-crippling-truckers/2007/11/27/1196036863067.html

The trucking industry says it is being crippled by competing and inconsistent greenhouse gas abatement policies.

Australian Trucking Association chief executive Stuart St Clair said the introduction of a national emissions trading scheme must result in the elimination of the costly patchwork of half-measures.

The association wants federal, state and territory measures to be rationalised.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking-news/new-abc-kids-channel-boon-for-parents/2007/11/10/1194329560279.html

A new ABC children's television channel will help parents protect kids from influential junk food advertising, and also boost local TV production, federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan says.

Ms Coonan announced that the federal government would give $82 million to the national broadcaster to create the digital children's channel, formed along the lines of ABC2.

The channel would operate 15 hours a day and deliver programming for children and teenagers up to 17 years of age.

Half the funds would go towards commissioning new entertainment and education content, while the rest would be spent buying existing Australian and international programs.

What do you think of Obadiah Shoher's views on the Middle East conflict? One can argue, of course, that Shoher is ultra-right, but his followers are far from being a marginal group. Also, he rejects Jewish moralistic reasoning - that's alone is highly unusual for the Israeli right. And he is very influential here in Israel. So what do you think?