8/3/2019 Sydney Morning Herald

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BRISBANEMARKETING.COM.AU/GROWTHGRAHAM QUIRK,

LORD MAYOR OF BRISBANE

BRISBANE IS GROWTH*

*Brisbane is on track to grow today’s $114 billion economy to $217 billion by 2031. (Metropolitan Brisbane). Source: Brisbane Economic Development Plan 2012-2031.

“WITH ONE COUNCIL, ONE SET OF RULES, OVER 1M RESIDENTS AND A $3B BUDGET COVERING 1387KM 2 ,WE’RE WORKING HAND-IN-HAND WITH INDUSTRY TO DOUBLE OUR CAPITAL CITY ECONOMY TO $217B BY2031. NOW IS THE TIME TO SHARE IN OUR FUTURE AS ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST PROSPEROUS CITIES.”

NEWS, PAGE 3JESSICA IRVINE, PAGE 11

The upsideof the sickie

The men who saidno to the Queen

NEWS, PAGE 6

Tomic : It’s like I’ve killed someone

Friday January 27, 2012 First published 1831 54,386 $1.50 (inc GST)

ISSN0312-6315

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SYDNEY CITYshowers easing 21°-25°LIVERPOOLshowers easing 19°-26°PENRITHfew showers 20°-26°WOLLONGONGshowers easing 20°-23°GOSFORDfew showers 18°-25°NEWCASTLEfew showers 22°-24°CANBERRAshowerortwo 13°-25°ARMIDALEfewshowers14°-21°DUBBOshoweror two17°-29°COFFS HARBOURrain 21°-25°DETAILSPAGE 14

Bottle shops curbed as authority agonises over supply of cheap liquorSeanNichollsSTATE POLITICAL EDITOR

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ContinuedPage 4

PARTS of NSW are saturated withbottle shops and any increase would cause social harm, thehead of the state’s liquor licens-ingauthorityhas declared afteritruled on 20 applications by thesupermarket chains Coles, Wool- worths and Aldi.

While 11 were approved, eight were deferred until crime statis-

tics were updated or to allow more community discussion.

One application, for a licencefor an Aldi supermarket a tKatoomba, was refused becauseof the risk that it could be ‘‘detri-mental to the wellbeing of thelocal or broader community’’.

The chairman of the Casino,Liquor and Gaming Control Authority, Chris Sidoti, said NSW had witnessed a significantincrease in bottle shop numbers

infiveyears.Therewouldbemorescrutiny of new applications witha particular focus on price.

‘‘I don’t know if there are areasthat have too many bottle shopsbut certainly there are areas thathave enough,’’ Mr Sidoti told theHerald .

He said two bott le shoplicences had been granted inKatoomba in the past two years, which the authority had ‘‘agon-ised over’’.

‘‘In granting those two wesaid, ‘OK, this is it. For the cur-rent level of population, ourview is that it’s reached the levelof density where any additionalones will have an impact onharm within the community.’’’

Last month the authority de-ferred17 applicationsfrom Coles, Woolworths and Aldi for bottleshops and asked them to give itmore information about pricing.

At the time Mr Sidoti said it

wasconcernedabout theimpactof advertising campaigns pro-moting a pre-Christmas alcohol‘‘price war’’.

It followed criticism of theauthority for awarding licencesto Aldi supermarkets that soldheavily discounted beer. Four-teen of the applications were for Aldi supermarkets.

Announcing its decision yes-terday, the authority said there

AdversefindingsagainstThomsonKateMcClymont

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ContinuedPage 4

THE formal investigation by Fair Work Australia into the HealthServicesUnionhas madeadversefindings against key union offi-cials including the president,MichaelWilliamson,the nationalsecretary, Kathy Jackson, and theformer national secretary Craig Thomson, now a federal MP.

The three were notified lastmonth that the workplace regu-lator intended to make adversefindings against them.

They were given several weeksto respond formally to the allega-tions. After considering theirresponses, the regulator will re-lease its final report.

Mr Williamson said in a textmessage yesterday that his law- yers had not finalised his res-ponses but the al legationsagainst him were ‘‘bread andbutter stuff’’. Mr Thomson said:‘‘You have an unreliable source.’’

Ms Jackson said she did notknowshewas beinginvestigated.‘‘Iam outragedbythe contraven-tions being alleged against me,’’she said.

‘‘I will prove that they areutterly without foundation. If Ihad been given an opportunity to answer them before now, when a draft report has beenprepared, I am sure I would notbe facing them.’’

It is understood that some of the allegations against Mr Willi-amson and Ms Jackson relate toadministrativebreaches,such asfailing to comply with financialreporting obligations, and arenot as serious as those againstMr Thomson, who is accused of using his position for personaladvantage.

The allegations against him were received by Fair Work Aus-tralia’s predecessor, the Australi-an Industrial Registry, in April2009. The regulator did not starta formal investigation untilMarch 2010. It was overseen by Terry Nassios.

Appearing before a Senateestimates hearing last February Mr Nassios said he had inter-viewed 12 people about the al-legations. But Labor senatorsprevented him saying whetherMr Thomson was one of thoseinterviewed.

Mr Thomson was with the uni-on for 20 years, rising to the posi-tion of national secretary beforebeingelectedthe MPforDobellin2007. He was re-elected in 2010.

An independent audit by BDOKendall after Mr Thomson’sdeparture found that during hisfive years as national secretary his union credit card had beenused to withdraw cash advancestotalling $101,533.

The advances ranged from$100 to $600 and occurred every few days for five years untilNovember 2007.

●Gillard dragged to safety

●Tent embassy protesters vow more to come

Australia Day turns ugly

Escape.. . thePrimeMinister’ssecurityguardsdragherawayfromthemeleeat arestaurantin Canberra.TonyAbbottis inthe background.JuliaGillardlost hershoein therush.Below: lookingscaredas sheishuddledaway. Photos: Alex Ellinghausen

JessicaWright,Dan HarrisonandDylanWelch

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AustraliaDaycoverageTheTent EmbassyprotestersCelebrationsaroundthe stateSnubbedat citizenshipceremonyNews,Page5

INDIGENOUS leaders havepromised more protests after afiery clash between demonstrat-ors and police that trapped thePrime Minister and the Opposi-tion Leader in a Canberra res-taurant before the pair wasdragged to safety and bundledinto cars.

The protest was sparked by comments by Tony Abbott thatit was time to ‘‘move on’’ fromthe Aboriginal tent embassy, which was celebrating its 40thanniversary.

Violent scenes were seen out-sidethe Lobbyrestaurantseveralhundred metres from Parlia-ment House, where Julia Gillardand Mr Abbott were presenting the inaugural National Emer-gency Medals, after more than1 00 p eo ple f ro m the t en tembassy surrounded the build-

ing for more than 20 minutes.ThesituationwassovolatilethatMs Gillard’s federal police escortdecided to rush her from theevent. As they did she stumbledand they dragged her from therestaurant to a car.

About 50 police, including

members of the riot squad bran-dishing batons and carrying plastic shields, had clashed withangry protesters who werechanting ‘‘shame’’, ‘‘racist’’ and‘‘always was, will be, Aboriginalland’’ and banging on the glass walls of the restaurant.

A conversation between MsGillard and her security teaminside the restaurant wascaught by Channel Nine camer-as. Her bodyguards were con-cerned the glass walls wouldcave in under the force of theprotesters’ banging.

‘‘We feel that the situation isdeteriorating and can’t stay much longer,’’ a member of thesecurity team said.

The protesters had reacted toMr Abbott’s comments earlier inthe day when he was asked if the

tent embassy was ‘‘still relevantor should it move’’? He said: ‘‘Ithink the indigenous people of Australia can be very proud of the respect in which they areheld by every Australian and, yes, I think a lot has changedsincethenandI thinkitprobably is time to move on from that.’’

His comment was replayed onTV and heard by the 1000 peoplegathered at the embassy.

‘‘The Opposition Leader onnational television made a com-ment to tear down something that we have built over 40 years, which is sacred to us,’’ said thechairman of the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations, Fred Hooper.

‘‘Sowhatdoyouexpectustodo when we’re 200 yards away fromthe person that makes that com-ment? Do you expect us to say,‘Yeah, Tony, we’re gonna do thatnow, we’re gonna rip it down’?’’

But the Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander Social Justice

Commissioner, Mick Gooda,said he was appalled at the dis-respect and aggression showntowards Ms Gil lard and Mr Abbott.

“An aggressive, divisive andfrightening protest such as thishasnoplaceindebatesabouttheaffairs of Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander peoples or in any circumstances,” Mr Gooda said.

“While we need to acknowl-edge that there’s a real anger,frustrationandhurtthatexistsinsome Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander communitiesaround Australia, we must notgive in to aggressive and dis-respectful actions ourselves.’’

Several of the embassy’s lead-ers, including Sean Gordon fromthe Darkinjung Aboriginal LandCouncil in north-western NSW,said they planned to protestagain on Saturday and in thefuture. ‘‘There will be moreprotests on this. You can be sure

thiswillgo onforsometime,’’MrGordon said.

‘‘To come here, on the 40thanniversary, to say these things. What does he expect? We are notgoing to go away. We will not for-get this ... Our people are dying of depression, of the grog and wehave this bloke talking abouttearingus down,takingus away.’’

Last night protesters werebrandishing Ms Gillard’s shoe, which was lost in the scuffle, forthe media.

Ms Gillard said later she hadnot been injured in the fracas.‘‘Theonlythingthatangersmeisthat it distracted from such a wonderful event with greatpeople from emergency ser-vices,’’ she said.

Mr Abbott, the Minister forIndigenous Affairs, Jenny Mack-lin, and the opposition’s indig-enous affairs spokesman, NigelScullion, would not commentlast night.

PNG crisisAnattempted coupin PapuaNewGuineayesterdayledbyaretiredcolonel ledto atensestandoff betweenforcesloyalto Peter O’NeillandMichaelSomare, whobothclaimto beprimeminister. By nightfall,ColonelYaureSasaand hisfollowers,whohad takenthe defenceforcecommanderhostageinthecountry’smainbarracks,hadreleased theircaptive.

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