-
- Popped
a Cork Lately?
They keep popping up
There was a time when
a cork was the best thing to have on your fishing line –
expect for a fish, of course. Corks floated; and they bobbed
when the fish took the bait. They didn’t cost anything
and you usually got to drink or eat something nice before your
recycled cork became a floater. When plastic ‘corks’
appeared in wine bottles (that was before screw tops got a tick),
it looked as though the cork had had it. But not so. Cork is
a valuable commodity – and it recycles very nicely. So,
if you’ve popped a cork lately, put it aside until you’ve
got a good few and give them to a cause.
Once upon a cork
Cork got its good recycling habits from the tree on which
it grows – the cork oak. The cork is a regular oak tree,
producing acorns that provide animal fodder and wood for burning
and building, but its real treasure is the thick, rugged bark
which can be harvested every ten to twelve years – and then
a new layer of bark grows. The world’s oldest cork oak
first produced cork in 1820 and is called the Whistler Tree because
singing birds love to live in it. The cork oak provides up to
a dozen harvests in its lifetime of 150 – 250 years, employing
around 30,000 people. It’s cultivated in several European
countries and harvested entirely without machinery, but Portugal
grows the most, producing over half the world’s cork.
It was that French Benedictine monk, Dom Perignon, whose name
now appears on highly desirable bottles, who discovered that
cork could seal a bottle of champagne, way back in 1680. He
may have heard that the ancient Egyptians and Greeks had used
cork to make cylindrical seals. Today 15% of cork – the
best – is used for bottling wine, accounting for 66% of
revenue. Recycled cork is used for notice boards, fishing rods,
cricket balls, flooring, table tennis racquets, buoys, place
mats, insulation material, soles for shoes and in many other
places. It even pops up in the nose cone of the NASA Space Shuttle.
Collectible corks
For almost twenty years Australia’s Girl Guides have
been leading the world in collecting and recycling corks. And
it’s become a valuable fund-raiser for the organisation.
When cork prices went sky high in 1989, Comcork’s General
Manager was inspired to begin a recycling programme when he went
to Portugal and saw one tiny wine bottle cork popped and discarded.
His Guide Leader wife was quick to seize the opportunity to
raise money for Girl Guides. Guides around the world have followed
Australia’s example, funding outdoor activities, resources
and facilities. It takes around 43 years before the first wine
cork can be harvested from a cork oak, and only seconds to send
it to landfill. Both the Body Shop and Qantas provide collection
points for corks. Contact your local Girl Guide headquarters
for more. Or ask you friendly Girl Guide when those delicious
biscuits next come your way!
Judy Redeker
Waste
Not .....
Recycling and waste reduction
are not new topics, the way our culture views waste has been
slowly shifting over time. There was a time when everything and
anything was thrown into the household rubbish bin or on the
local tip face without a second thought. Over time we have seen
laws and by-laws developed that have restricted and guided what
can go where and this has been for many reasons; for our health,
for the health of our environment and, at times, for economic
reasons.
Restricting the use of plastic bags is an item on the agenda
of governments nationally and internationally but will it stop
there? Before plastic bags the rubbish issue was about how to
get us all recycling, before that it was how to get us to compost
and reuse our green waste. As time goes on there will be more
and more restrictions imposed on the disposal of rubbish. This
has been for many reasons including the environmental impact
of our rubbish ending up in places other than land fill, the
costs economically and environmentally of managing land fill
and the carbon footprint created by such a disposable culture.
Why Change?
It would be easy to get lost in all sorts of debates about if
or why we need to change our rubbish habits but if you keep it
simple and close to home the best reason I can see is because
it can save us, the individual, money. Our consumer lifestyle
costs us a lot and we often don’t notice it. Every single
time you find a second use for an item you are saving yourself
money, maybe only a little but it adds up. I’ll use a jar
as an example. You buy a jar of jam, once the jar is empty you
could;
A. Pay to send the jar to the tip or recycling centre, or;
B. Reuse the jar as a kitchen canister, instead of buying a new
canister.
Reduction tips
I think we are all familiar these days with the mantra ‘reduce,
reuse, recycle,’ Reduce the amount of packaging you buy,
reuse what you can, and recycle the rest. In my own quest to
reduce my rubbish output I googled ‘household rubbish reduction’
to see what ideas I could find, the following is a summary of
ideas that I found;-
• Look for products with no, or minimal, packaging.
• Avoid individually wrapped portions (cheese slices, juice,
etc.).
• Buy in bulk, in particular look for opportunities to use
your own containers.
• Remember, cloth not plastic when it comes to shopping
bags. I’ve been keeping the orange string bags you
get oranges in and I use them to buy my fruit and veggies in
now.
• Choose rechargeable batteries and long-life bulbs.
• Avoid disposable razors, pens, pencils and lighters.
• Buy recycled paper products.
• Take your own mug or thermos to the coffee shop when after
a take away, its popular in Hobart but I’m not sure what
the local coffee shops think about it.
• Use resealable, reusable containers for lunch and leftovers.
• Reuse glass jars.
• When printing make two-sided copies to reduce paper waste
by 50%, then shred it and feed it into your
compost.
• Share newspapers and magazines.
• Reuse cardboard boxes and when they aren’t useful
anymore use as weed mat in the garden.
• Purchase items that can be used for more than one application.
• Use the bases of soft drink bottles, cans or egg cartons
for seedlings.
• Compost, compost, compost!
• Cut milk bottles up and use as plant pots, bird feeders,
water dishes for pets.
Changing a habit is not easy to begin with but perseverance usually
pays off, in this case quite literally. If you sit down and add
up all the savings you could make by not paying to go to the
tip and so forth you may just find the motivation to give it
a go. The environmental benefit would be enormous too if enough
of us got motivated. It’s interesting that saving money
individually can lead to saving the environment globally.
Rebecca Taylor
Opinion
- Swotting up to become an Aussie
- Do you know who was the first
Prime Minister of Australia? Or how long indigenous people have
lived in Australia? Or what animals are on our coat of arms?
Or if English is your adoptive language, might you even know
what a ‘coat of arms’ is, or what ‘indigenous’
means?
Well, in December 2006 the then government signalled the introduction
of a ‘citizenship test’: a 20-question performance
based on a pool of 200 questions which, it was deemed, any good
Australian should be able to answer. But in just 18 months, it
has been acknowledged as unsuitable and counter-productive.
Time for a re-think
The former head of the Foreign Affairs Department, Richard Woolcott,
now heading a review into the test, says the standard of English
required is too high and the structure of the test is flawed.
Apart from that, he doesn’t see the need for potential citizens
to know the details of Australia’s distant past or former
sports people.
Our citizenship test as first devised was based on misconceptions.
Misconceptions that led to a belief that understanding the workings
of the stump-jump plough, appreciating the emergence of the Heidelberg
school of art, knowing the location of Phar Lap’s heart,
and understanding wording such as Captain Arthur Phillip being
‘firm but humane’ would make good citizens.
Good results, but poor outcomes
The 95% pass-rate of those currently presenting for the test
is misleading. With many qualified to apply for citizenship obviously
frightened off, applications plummeted, with only 16,024 sitting
between January and March, compared to 38,850 at the same time
last year.
Citizenship tests are conducted in Canada, the US and UK –
among others. Some Canadian questions require the naming of all
the federal political parties in the House of Commons and their
leaders, and defining (in multiple choice) who were the United
Empire Loyalists. Americans ask for the name of the Chief Justice
of their Supreme Court, and one of the ‘purposes’ of
the United Nations. UK test questions ask where the Geordie,
Cockney, and Scouse dialects are spoken, what are MPs, and what
is the Church of England and who is its head.
We’re clearly not the only ones struggling with what is
significant to citizenship. Let’s hope that Woolcott’s
review will throw more light on the matter.
John Fleming
Just
Jazz
Back for more
The Bruny Island New Orleans Jazz Band gets around. They have
appeared at many venues around Tasmania, at big race days, at
regattas, folk festivals, jazz festivals and conventions, and
at Salamanca Market on a Saturday morning. In 2006 a trio spent
three musical months in Japan and this year a duo performed in
the UK and Spain. On July 13th they are returning to Kettering
to delight fans in what has become an annual event.
The group
Allan Gibson plays “laid back, emotional and evocative muted
trumpet”. He moved from Melbourne’s musical scene
to Bruny Island in 1994 and after two years of jam sessions had
teamed up to form a band with fellow musicians. Mal Kent is
the group’s lead singer, classically trained and once unconvinced
that jazz is ‘real music’. She’s now also their
bass drum and banjo player, having learnt banjo in three weeks
on a borrowed instrument. Cliff Wright is one of Australia’s
few revival trombone players, and teams with Mal for vocals,
his interest in jazz inspired by jazz history and the contribution
made by the stars of the 1920s. Pianist John Broadby is as versatile
as the others, impressing audiences with his exceptional playing
of clarinet and alto and tenor sax. Rob O’Connell, who
once haunted the same London jazz clubs as Allan Gibson –
but never at the same time – is the band’s string bass
player, but made his jazz debut playing ‘skiffle’ in
the London clubs!
The music
As always, the Jazz in July concert will feature improvisation,
syncopation and the characteristic four beats to the bar of a
New Orleans rhythm section. Jazz came into its own in the 1940s
when some big names of the musical world made it a commercial
and international success. The original spirit of the ragtime,
spirituals, blues, dance and marches, improvised by street musicians
on instruments abandoned during the American Civil War, will
feature in the vocals and instrumentals at Kettering. And the
ghosts of some of those ‘big names’ will be smiling!
Judy Redeker
Sunday 13th July, 3pm. $5, door sales only. Afternoon tea a
gold coin donation. Ph. 6267 4722.
Melbourne
Scottish Fiddlers
- The world famous Melbourne Scottish
Fiddlers are heading down south, full of fire and energy, and
ready to knock your socks off.
Established in 1995 the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club has become
one of the most popular acts on the folk festival circuit. Accompanying
the Club on tour will be Davydd McDonald, former Australian National
Irish Dance Champion, Jonathan Jones, one time National Pipe
Band Drumming Champion, and many more great players. A team
of 27 fiddlers will be led by Judy Turner (Director and Founder)
and President Matt Robertson, with guest star Colin MacLeod from
Edinburgh, well known in Tasmanian fiddling circles.
www.melbournescottishfiddlers.com/Tas08.htm for further details.
Cygnet - Wed 9 July 7.30pm, Cygnet Town Hall - Info Michael Minchin
6295 1708
Franklin- Thursday 10 July 7.30pm, Palais Theatre - with Tasmanian
Heritage Fiddle Ensemble support - Info Steve & Marjorie
Gadd 6266 3446
Hobart - Saturday 12 July 7.30pm, Polish Club – with Hobart
Old Time String Band support - Info & bookings Roger Joseph
0419 558 421
- Opinion
- ACCC outbids eBay
You can find virtually anything you want on eBay. Everyone’s
into online trading. Fun for many, and a great success for most.
You can buy just about anything, and at a competitive price.
But there’s something the ACCC is not buying from eBay –
in fact they’ve put their collective foot down. They’re
not buying eBay’s attempt to oblige all its buyers to use
PayPal when paying for their purchases.
So what’s PayPal?
PayPal is a payment processing service for online vendors. Wikipedia
defines PayPal as ‘an e-commerce business allowing payments
and money transfers to be made through the Internet. It serves
as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such
as cheques and money orders. PayPal performs payment processing
for online vendors, auction sites, and other corporate users,
for which it charges a fee. It sometimes also charges a transaction
fee for receiving money (a percentage of the amount sent plus
an additional fixed amount).’
But in October 2002 eBay acquired PayPal – bought it out
as a subsidiary, to have as its own. PayPal’s remarkable
success in anti-fraud technology plus its burgeoning turnover
had convinced eBay to shell out a cool $1.5 billion for the company.
And that’s where the present complication arises, with eBay
wanting traders to use its subsidiary to the exclusion of other
methods of payment.
Consumer choice thwarted
PayPal offers sophisticated buyer protection that would benefit
its clients, and the ACCC knows that. In Australia, it’s
just extended its ‘buyer protection scheme’ to $20,000
from the previous $3,000. But the ACCC insisted ‘ that consumers
are in the best position to decide which payment method is most
suitable for them,’ and that eBay’s plans would deny
purchasers that choice.
Planning to have this change in place by 17 June, eBay has now
been stymied by the ACCC. “In light of the serious competition
concerns raised in the draft notice (of the plan) and the significant
concerns raised by interested parties, I have asked eBay to delay
implementation of the second stage of the conduct until a final
decision is made by the ACCC,” said head honcho at the ACCC,
Graeme Samuel.
Storm in a teacup?
Perhaps. But this type of cosy arrangement is precisely one of
those could-be ‘collusive’ practices that the ACCC
is charged with controlling. And apart from that, it’s not
been all roses for PayPal users, as the blogs of many a frustrated
trader reveals. Malcontents’ sites such as Paypalsucks.com
are easy enough to find. In March this year TV joined in, with
current affairs and community interest program Today Tonight
airing a segment also criticizing PayPal, in relation to safety,
freezing accounts and customer service.
Of course, eBay has put its own ‘good guy’ spin on
the matter, insisting that ‘eBay will continue to fight
for safety benefits for consumers’ – as though that’s
what ‘bad-guy’ ACCC is preventing them from doing.
Turning the rejection into an advertising extravaganza, eBay
added that it ‘intends to work with the ACCC and hopes to
achieve a final outcome which has the safety and security of
eBay’s members as its paramount objective’.
Damned if they don’t
But it’s an arrangement that the ACCC can hardly accept
with enthusiasm, as such acceptance would create a huge precedent,
proving once and for all that the ACCC is, as was long suspected,a
toothless tiger. It’s obliged to do its job – looking
after the public at large. Even if this means depriving that
public of some obvious benefits, and making them stick with carrier-pigeon
technology like cheques or postal money orders in the mail –
or even those unnecessarily slow ‘direct bank deposits’.
I have found PayPal to be highly reliable in my many purchases
on eBay, and have no issues. But you DO have to entrust your
bank details to them, and that’s where many still draw the
line. It’s instant, the seller pays the fees, and being
registered with PayPal is in itself protective against some forms
of fraud: most sellers only send to PayPal registered addresses,
ensuring against scams that re-direct purchases from the actual
purchaser to a fraudulent address.
eBay steps up to the mark
It’s an even money bet that eBay will get its way in the
end, with some clever wording saving face for the ACCC. And in
that case, if you’re an eBay devotee and not yet using Paypal,
get ready to comply! eBay is out there, magnanimously insistent
that ‘the consumer benefits of this initiative are worth
fighting for’!
John Fleming
Media
Release - 25 Years of Family Day Care
- The Mayor of Kingborough, Dr.
Graham Bury, today held a civic reception on 27th June to celebrate
25 years of Family Day Care in the Kingborough and Huon municipalities.
Mayor Bury said that Family Day Care, a Commonwealth Government
initiative sponsored by Kingborough Council, has played an important
role in providing working parents with options for home-based
child care.
“Since the introduction of Family Day Care in the municipality
in April 1983, it has been very popular, particularly with more
women entering the workforce.
“Within eight weeks of the scheme’s inception we had
15 carers, with approximately 60 children in care. This has
grown over the years to 30 registered carers today looking after
more than 300 children.”
Mayor Bury said Family Day Care provided positive early learning
experiences in a safe and secure home environment.
“Parents quite rightly expect a high standard of care for
their children and that quality care has been consistently delivered
by our highly skilled operators.
“Over the years we have seen greater formalisation of standards,
with monitoring and training provided by Council.
“It is a significant achievement that today 95 per cent
of Family Day Care operators registered with Kingborough Family
Day Care hold formal child care qualifications and they are all
required to meet Tasmanian Standards for Home Based Care.”
Mayor Bury paid tribute to the carers and staff in the Council’s
Family Day Care Coordination Unit for their dedication and service
over the past 25 years.
“Family Day Care depends on the dedication of the carers,
who are self-employed, small business operators.
“It is not a standard nine to five job. Family Day Care
is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, provided by carers
who really do care and develop close relationships with the youngsters
in their care.”
Kingborough Council
Ph 6211 8200, www.kingborough.tas.gov.au
Opinion
- Where there is a will, there is a way
- Released this week were figures
that revealed there are four hundred and fifty homeless people
in the State of Tasmania. Quite surprising when one considers
that we only have a population of just less than half a million.
While there is a majority of single young people in this total,
it is also known that it does, at times, include a number of
homeless families. Sadly, history reveals that this state of
affairs exists in every city throughout the world. Forget for
whatever reasons these people are homeless, and concentrate on
the fact that in this lucky country of ours, and in this day
and age when no one should be homeless, all should at least have
somewhere warm and dry to sleep during the Tasmanian winter.
House the Homeless
So, ignoring all other factors, of which there is a multitude,
let us concentrate on the target to eliminate this state of affairs
by the year 2010, and put a roof over the heads of these people.
Permanent housing for the singles might not be the solution;
it might not even be possible for the families, except, perhaps
on a short term basis. However if there is a will to do so, then
something must be done.
History reveals that whenever governments had a dire need to
address this type of problem, they did, believe it or not, actually
spring into action and accommodate thousands of people within
a very short period of time. The Australian Government, in the
late forties and early fifties, faced with a similar problem
of immigrants pouring into the country, housed, within a few
months it seemed, the majority of these people, by clearing land
and building satellite townships of prefabricated buildings.
Prefabricated Homes Still in Use
Many of these homes are still standing today, more than half
a century later; families have grown up, and still reside there.
Yes, there were some awful mistakes made by the various Government
departments, planners, builders, and others, and a lot of money
was spent, some even wasted, but the job was done. We can see,
that not only was there a need, there was also a will, so the
way and the finances were quickly found. So what is the problem
here in Tasmania or in other States? Is it prevarication? If
it is then there has to be a reason. Could it be that the powers
that be do not really care?
Could it be that just being seen to be caring and considering
the problem, actually costs nothing and possibly gains them support.
Unfortunately it would appear that many do not really care; after
all, with a cynical view, how many votes are there in four hundred
and fifty people? Actually quite a lot if the views of the general
population are taken into account.
Action Not Rhetoric
Let us just consider all the rhetoric that has been bandied
around on this one subject. Words cost nothing, so of a consequence
produce nothing. It’s actions that cost money, and of a
consequence, produce results. However the people uttering all
this hot air are all receiving large salaries, suggesting of
course that every word the utter must be worth money. So if every
word uttered on this one subject in the past year, was worth
just one dollar, it is a safe bet that the housing problem would
have been bought and paid for; and there would be no homeless
people roaming our streets in the depth of winter.
Of course there is the caring community of charity workers who
do their very best to cope. However they are restricted by costs,
and also it would appear lack of support from those who have
the power to do something. While satellite townships are not
required, or desired at this stage, surely short term accommodation
must be feasible. Surely there are suitable locations within
the city and it environs for a few prefabricated buildings for
emergency short term use by families in trouble, and also a communal
building or two for the homeless singles. Come on, there is a
definite need, and many have the will, so all we need now is
for someone with the power to set things in motion.
Mike Bowyer
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