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Wednesday 27th August 1997
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A journalist at the Sun Herald, Daniel Dasey, phoned the head office of Pauline Hanson's One Nation under the guise of a One Nation supporter wanting to start a branch in the Sydney suburb of Waverton some months back.

His real intention was trying to find something wrong or reportable in the starter kit. When he was unable to he returned the kit earlier this week. The courier's docket showed that the kit had come from the Sydney Morning Herald which had a young staff member at One Nation considering that the request had been a scam.

Luckily she had Daniel Dasey's phone number (02) 9282 2345 and phoned him up to confront him.

ON staff: "Why was the package sent from the Sydney Morning Herald?"

DD: "Well that is where I work."

ON staff: "Was your request just a scam?"

DD: "Yes".

End of conversation... well Daniel Dasey I, for one, think your scam is just another notch in your paper's unusual manner in reporting on stories.... with an "identifiable Sun Herald twist".

The sole survivor of the Thredbo disaster, Stuart Diver, yesterday spoke out for the first time in a carefully planned media strategy prepared by publicist Harry M Miller.

Speaking on Channel Seven's Witness programme last night Diver described the moments when the landslip at Thredbo occurred.

"There was a massive noise, like an explosion, and the windows at the front of our apartment smashed in as though someone had fired a machine gun at the building.

"One second I was asleep in bed, Sally (his wife) beside me, the next there was this explosion. As the windows came in, I fell back on the bed and everything collapsed around us.

"It was pitch black and everything was choked with dust. At first there was just a massive roar and then just Sally screaming and me screaming. I couldn't see anything at all.

"I could hear Sally saying she was trapped... (she) told me her head was trapped by something. She was pinned underneath the metal frame of the bed, which had fallen across her chest.

"I grabbed part of it to move it sideways - nothing moved.

"I could hear the water rolling down the hill like a train.

"As it closed on us, I started to pray that it would just pass by. But the water hit us. It was freezing. It started to rise....

"Sally was screaming and screaming. I told her everything was going to be alright, that it would be OK. Then there was nothing, just the sound of water as it rushed past me. There was nothing I could do."

"I could touch my wedding ring and I'd feel Sally's will flowing through me. It was incredible and it helped me sustain my psychological determination.

"I had a feeling that it was OK, and that she had died quickly.

"There was a sudden new determination to live. There was nothing more I could do for her but I had a responsibility to my family - to the people who loved me - to live if it was at all possible.

"I could hear the work going on above me and I knew they were searching for people. They had to be. I could hear the machinery, the choppers, even conversation but no matter how much I shouted or what noise I made, I couldn't make them hear me. "The minute I heard that voice (of rescuer Steve Hirst) I was alive."

Ever wondered what the hacker did to the Victorian Government web site before the damage was repaired? Well here it is... after the hack.

Some homosexual men, who make up a tiny fraction of the Australian population but account for about one third of paedophile charges must be thinking that all their Christmas' are coming at once with a suggestion by Justice Wood in a report of paedophilia in New South Wales that the age of consent between males should be lowered from 18 years to 16 years.

Wesley Mission spokesman, David McGovern opposed the recommendation saying, "It will do nothing to protect the children who are at risk."

State Liberal opposition leader Peter Collins said, "Our key focus in response to this issue must be the protection of our children - I do not for a minute see how lowering the age of consent achieves that."

State Premier Bob Carr said, "Our priority now is to use the report to protect our children - I don't for a minute see how lowering the age of consent achieves that."

I agree...


Making the news.


Political:

The Queensland National Party Senate members have now accepted Prime Minister John Howard's ten point plan for Wik. A joint meeting of National and Liberal Party members met in Canberra yesterday to approve the Native Title Amendment Bill which is aimed at clearing up the confusion that the High Court's ruling on Wik created.

National Party Senator Bill O'Chee, one of the plans most verbal detractors, said that his party had won significant changes which would protect 90% of mining and agricultural leases from extinguishment by Native Title claims.

"We don't want the absurd situation, which we've been getting in some places in Queensland at the moment, of people who have never been on the land for two generations lobbing in from Inala and saying, 'look we're going to put a native title claim over this'," Senator O'Chee said.

Douglas Shire Mayor Mike Berwick described the legislation as "divisive, costly, discriminatory and disgraceful" saying, "It will deprive Aboriginal native title holders of existing rights and thereby expose the Government to compensation under Common Law."

The National Party's Senate leader Ron Boswell who in known for telling porky pies in the Senate said, "The position is this, what you're going to get is better than what you've got but it is not as good as you wanted."

Outspoken National Senator Bob Katter is now the only dissenting voice, he said, "Where we had ownership with our properties, that ownership has been significantly watered down."

It appears that Oxley Independent Pauline Hanson will have more than just preferences to deal with. An ALP member in Townsville, Andrew Kehoe, has been convicted of ten counts of electoral fraud in the last state election for that seat.

email the editor

You say:

Subject: Comments on Australian News of the Day

I believe Barbara Godden hit the nail on the head with what she said about Pauline Hanson coming across as a racist. She is not a racist but the main stream media have edited her speeches to the point where the ordinary Australian thinks she is.

I am the Vice President of the local branch of the One Nation party and so many people say to me "I don't believe in every thing she says but she has some very good points". Well I tell you, when we have the policies in place you will see those opinion polls go up like never before. The party is just like a bus, it goes out of the yard empty and as it goes further more people join it.

Thank you
Mr Bundy

Subject: Hanson and (desperate) media beat-up

While I'm sure many Australians are well aware of the poor quality of journalism in this country, they must be astonished at the latest Hanson media beat-up. It really takes the cake.

When asked for details as to what she meant by screening potential migrants for their ability to assimilate Mrs Hanson was reported as saying, "They must have some knowledge of English and be able to speak it."

Personally I disagree with this viewpoint. Had this been the case, my sisters and I would have missed out on our husbands! (Their parents, as WW2 refugees, didn't speak a word of English). But in democratic Australia Mrs Hanson is entitled to express her views.

She then made the observation that Australia is "a Christian country also. Religion has a lot to do with it and we must look at people and their religious beliefs." When pressed, she simply reiterated that "we are an English-speaking Christian country."

Today I heard on radio and read in print that she stands for 'Christian-only migration'. That's quite a creative rendition of her actual statement.

No more proof is needed to demonstrate that the self-styled elites in Australia hold the mass of their fellow citizens in total contempt. They really think people are so gullible and so stupid that they can be deceived by anything they like to spin.

For too long now Australian politicians have caved in to the multicultural lobbies and have not dared to enunciate this most basic fact about Australian society. A good example of the caving-in is the official response to Christmas carols.

Australians have been outraged that Christmas carols have been made unwelcome to the point of actually being banned in childcare centres because they might upset the sensitivities of children who aren't Christian. So what if some Australian children in childcare centres aren't Christian? It doesn't change the fact that Australia IS an English-speaking Christian country where Christmas carols are sung in December each year.

Perhaps it's time to recall that the very notions of 'tolerance' and 'human rights' are derived exclusively from Western Christian societies. Non-Christian migrants are welcome in Australia as long as they respect Australia's traditions, culture and religion.

For multiculturalists, Christianity is simply one among a myriad of faiths in multi-faith Australia. That is so absurd I'm sure that our non-Christian fellow citizens actually despise us for holding such a craven sentiment.

Antonia Feitz

Subject: Hello!

Hello! I am interested in looking at the following extracts from Pauline Hanson's Statements:

* Australians are sick to death of imported crime. We should be exporting criminals, not importing them and this is a policy that we should be actively pursued by One nation.

I AGREE!!! We should export all forms of criminals, including their descendants and families!! Let us start from chronological order ... first, the English convicts and their families and descendants from 1780s ... Let me remind you that Australia, more than 200 years ago imported thousands of criminals - from England. Australia was a CONVICT colony! Surprise! Let us not forget history.

Personal trivia, from the global office:

One for the family album, last week my wife and I joined our neighbours and close friends Roy and Margaret Harris at an Anglican church function.

Roy is a semi-retired priest who recently arrived in Australia from South Africa.

Another perfect but cold day in paradise with temperatures dropping to the lowest for year at minus 3 degrees Celsius this morning.

Beautiful warm sun coming out now... have a good one.


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