THE TOP TEN What everyone was talking about this week.
The Age
Saturday March 13, 2010
AUSTRALIA and Indonesia signed a new pact to tackle people smuggling. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressed Federal Parliament, saying his country would introduce five-year jail sentences for those convicted. Yudhoyono called on both countries to dismiss national stereotyping. In talks with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, he also spoke of his sympathy for the relatives of the Balibo five. The day before, Governor-General Quentin Bryce appointed Yudhoyono an honorary companion of the Order of Australia. The Government gave him a Maton guitar. Yudhoyono also confirmed during his visit that Dulmatin, a mastermind of the Bali bombings, had been killed in a police raid near Jakarta.KATHRYN Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for directing, with her movie The Hurt Locker, which also picked up best film. In doing so, Bigelow beat former husband James Cameron for the main prize. Cameron's Avatar, the highest-grossing film ever, picked up awards in technical categories. Sandra Bullock (Blindside) and Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) won best actress and actor awards. Bullock quipped, "Did I really earn this? Or did I just wear you all down?" The day before, she received a Razzie for worst actress, in All About Steve.THE storm blew in from the west last Saturday and, for one hour, dumped enough rain on Melbourne to turn streets into rivers. A new description landed with it: hailstones as big as lemons, thus relegating golf balls to a minor category. Police warned people to stay out of the city as transport came to a sodden stop: buses, trams, trains and private vehicles were all affected. Outside the CBD, Shepparton and Bendigo were also hit by major storms. The State Emergency Service received about 7000 calls for help. More than 60 millimetres of rain was dumped on Melbourne over the weekend, more than an average total for a month.NORTHERN Ireland is set to have its first justice minister since the Troubles began 40 years ago and direct rule was introduced from London in 1972. Nationalists and unionists this week voted in the Northern Ireland Assembly to endorse a plan to transfer policing and the administration of the criminal justice system to Belfast. The move puts into place the final plank of the peace process that began with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised the assembly 800 million ($A1.3 billion) and 1200 more police officers.IT'S not only milk and meat that has a use-by date. Add armaments. This week it was revealed that $1.2 billion worth of ordnance, that is, missiles, bullets and grenades, was non-serviceable, according to a report by the National Audit Office. Of that, $124 million in weapons were beyond repair. The remainder could be repaired, were awaiting an inspection, their use was now limited or they were past their expiry date. The audit office also found that $93 million was being paid annually to French firm Thales for the maintenance of a factory in Victoria and one in NSW that produced "increasingly irrelevant items".AT THE start of the week Opposition Leader Tony Abbott threw a grenade of his own making with his parental leave plan that involves payments of up to $75,000 over six months. The money would be levied through a tax on big business. Abbott was forced to apologise to his own party-room over a lack of consultation about the proposal. He defended the announcement as a "leader's call". By week's end, it appeared Abbott would not oppose the government's legislation, which provides 18 weeks of paid leave. This week another trigger was cocked for a double dissolution when the Senate rejected legislation to means test the private health insurance rebate.A CLAMOUR of outrage erupted in Britain following the news that Jon Venables, one of the pair who murdered toddler James Bulger in 1993, had been returned to prison for unspecified reasons. Venables and Robert Thompson were 10 years old when they abducted and killed the two-year-old. They were released, with new names, on life licence in 2001. Justice Secretary Jack Straw said it was not in the "interests of justice" to say why Venables had been sent back to jail. Bulger's mother said the public had a right to know.WHO would have thought it? A poll found this week that Connex wasn't that bad €” compared with the new operator of Melbourne's trains, Metro. A poll of almost 1600 Age readers found that 69 per cent believed Connex did a better job than Metro, which took over the system three months ago. The poll came in the same week that Premier John Brumby criticised Metro for its poor performance. More than 16 per cent of Metro trains in February were late. Metro said part of the reason was the lack of trains partly brought about by braking problems in the Siemens trains, which it inherited from Connex.IT COST federal minister Peter Garrett part of his portfolio and now it's going to cost $100 million to repair the damage from the shambles that was the home insulation program. Assistant Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said this week that the foil insulation put into homes would be removed or, alternatively, electrical safety switches would be installed. Climate Change Minister Penny Wong told the Senate that the more than 4000 people who had paid up to $3000 under the federal green loans scheme would not get work.ISRAEL'S decision to construct 1600 homes in East Jerusalem drew criticism from Australia, among other countries including the US. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith called it a "bad decision at the wrong time and it's not a helpful contribution to the peace process". Smith's response followed Australia's displeasure over the forgery of passports used in the death of a Hamas operative. The Guardian reported Israel planned to build several more thousand units in East Jerusalem. US Vice-President Joe Biden, in Israel, was critical of the housing plan. The Palestinians said they would not now be involved in the restart of peace talks.
© 2010 The Age
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