Have Your Say: Bring back the cane?

Photo Credit: szeke via Compfight cc

In quite a bizarre move the head of the Abbot government's national curriculum review has supported the idea of reintroducing corporal punishment into schools.

Kevin Donnelly said on Tuesday that "corporal punishment was effective during his childhood and still has some merit" (Sydney Morning Herald). 

Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm has also supported the idea, saying "schools should be free to manage their own affairs," (9 News). 

This reasoning comes as more students are being suspended than ever before across Australia, with over 18000 NSW students were suspended in 2012 - 1300 more than in 2011 (Sydney Morning Herald).

The Greens are up in arms at this startling new proposal, calling for Mr Donnelly to be sacked from the curriculum review panel.

What are your thoughts on this controversial topic?

Do students need more discipline in schools? Are parents letting their children get away with too much?

Or is the idea of corporal punishment a ridiculous proposal in today's society?

Have your say - Children in bottle shops

A Perth mother has been left shocked after being refused entry to a Liquorland Store in Belmont last Wednesday.

The reason she was refused entry is that she had her 18 month old toddler with her. Security staff informed her that she couldn’t enter as her daughter was under 18 years of age.

Perth Now has the story.

Do you think this is acceptable? Should young children be allowed in to bottle shops if they are accompanied by a parent or guardian?

Have your say.

Have Your Say: Should teenage girls cover up?

Bindi Irwin made media headlines last week after stating that she thinks teenage girls need to dress for their age and cover up.

“I’m a big advocate for young girls dressing their age,” she told News Limited.

“I mean, for me, I look around at a lot of young girls that are my age and they’re always trying to dress older. Whether it’s wearing revealing clothes or hardly wearing any clothes at all, I feel really bad for them,” (7 News).

Her statement has provoked a mixed response, with some supporting the young star while others have labelled her a ‘nana’.

What do you think?

Should young girls ‘cover up’ and stop wearing such revealing clothes?

Or is it the individual’s right to choose how they dress, regardless of age?

Have your say.

Severe weather warning issued

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for people in parts of WA southwest of a line from Kalbarri to Morawa to Dwellingup to Windy Harbour. This includes people in, near or between the following towns: Geraldton, Northampton, Jurien Bay, Mandurah, Bunbury, Bussleton, Margaret River and Bridgetown and the Perth Metropolitan area.

Weather Situation

A strong cold front will move over the southwest of Western Australia during Tuesday and is expected to bring thunderstorms, gusty winds and a period of heavy rainfall to western parts of the South West Land Division. The leading edge of the cold front is expected to lie near the Southwest Capes near 8.00am Tuesday morning, moving through the metropolitan area late morning and to northern and eastern parts of the warning area early afternoon. The strongest wind gusts are likely to be on the leading edge of the cold front, with heavy falls on and to the west of the cold front.

Showers and thunderstorms with peak gusts around 125 km/h are forecast for the Lower West forecast district and parts of the Central West and South West forecast districts.

Abnormally high tides which may cause sea water flooding of low lying areas are forecast for the Central West and Lower West forecast districts and parts of the South West forecast district.

This is typical weather for this time of the year but winds may cause damage to property and make road conditions hazardous.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services advises that people should:

• Store or weigh down loose objects such as outdoor furniture.
• Have an emergency kit with a battery operated radio, torch, spare batteries and first aid kit.
• Ensure pets and animals are in a safe area.
• Move vehicles under cover.
• Boat owners should securely moor their boats.
• Campers should find shelter away from trees, power lines, storm water drains and streams.

If your home or property has significant damage, like a badly damaged roof or flooding, call the SES on 132 500.

Western Australian road deaths drop by close to half over past decade

Over the last decade annual road fatalities across Australia have decreased by 25%, according to the Road Deaths Australia Summary.

When population growth is taken into account, the drop increases to 35%.

In Western Australia in 2003, there was a total of 155 crashes across the state, resulting in 180 fatalities. By 2012, this had dropped to 88 crashes resulting in 96 fatalities.

Western Australia’s road toll for 2013 was the second lowest on record.

One of the largest drops in road user fatalities in Western Australia is in the 17 – 24 age bracket. According to the ABC News, experts believe this is a direct result of the licensing changes that have been bought in over the past decade.

In 2003, young drivers were only required to log 25 hours of supervised driving before applying for their provisional license. Now, they must complete a minimum of 50 supervised driving hours. 

The 50 hours comprises a minimum of 25 supervised driving hours before the Practical Driving Assessment and a further minimum of 25 supervised driving hours over at least six months after the Practical Driving Assessment.

The introduction of the Graduated Licensing System (GLS) on 1st December 2010 has also seen further restrictions placed on young drivers, such as nighttime driving restrictions and passenger restrictions. The GLS has also seen novice drivers limited to just 4 demerit points when they first get their license, which increases to 8 points in their second year.

In 2003, provisional drivers were legally allowed to have a Blood Alcohol Content of up to 0.02% – this has now been reduced to 0.00%.

These changes have seen road user fatalities for 17 – 24 year old’s drop from 53 in 2003 to 35 in 2012 in Western Australia.

Other significant drops in Western Australia have been in the 0 – 16 age bracket, decreasing from 21 in 2003 to 9 in 2012.

Unfortunately there has been an increase in fatalities for older drivers, a statistic that is mirrored across Australia. This is due in part to the fact that as the Australian population ages, there are more people in this age bracket on the road.

Professor Max Cameron from Monash University’s Accident Research Centre in Melbourne says there has been a huge shift in Australia’s attitude to safe driving during the almost 50 years he has been involved in road safety (ABC News).

“We’ve seen enormous progress and I think there’s more progress to come,” he said.

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References: Western Australia Police Crash Statistics ABC News Australia WA Department of Transport

Scam Alert: council procedural payment

WA ScamNet is once again warning Western Australians about out-of-the-blue phone calls from scammers pretending to represent a government or other well-known organisation and asking for money.

Below is information shared from the WA Scam Net website:

The City of Melville has reported to us a scam where someone claiming to be from the Council calls residents to ask for a “procedural payment”.

You can read their warning here.

Apparently, when challenged to give a name, position and official contact telephone number, the phone scammer ended the call by hanging up.

It’s not the first time we have heard of a scam like this and it won’t be the last.

If someone phones you and says they are from a government agency, official organisation or reputable company that does not mean they are who they say they are.

Would you hand over money if someone walked up to you in the street claiming to be from one of these places? If you wouldn’t fall for it face-to-face, don’t fall for it over the phone.

If a cold caller requests personal or financial details, or payment of any kind, alarm bells should ring!

You may be asked to pay by wire transfer (e.g. Western Union or Moneygram) or electronic voucher likeUkash or they might just ask for a direct bank transfer or credit card payment.

The types of phone scams we have seen previously include:

• Fraudsters pretending to be from a utility company and claiming you urgently need to make a payment to avoid your household power, gas or water supply being cut off.
• Offers of fake grants, rebates or refunds in return for up-front payments – the caller may falsely say are from the Australian Tax Office or a Banking Association.
• The prolific technical support scam where phone scammers pretend to be from Microsoft, Telstra, Big Pond etc. and want to access to your computer, supposedly to help you with a problem like a virus or upgrading software – they often get you to log on to a website that allows them to connect with your computer.

WA ScamNet tips:

• When in doubt about the authenticity of a call, don’t commit to anything. Instead hang up and call the government department or company directly to verify that the call was genuine. However, DO NOT use contact details provided by the caller. Instead find the number via an independent source such as your last bill, the phone book or the organisation’s official website.
• NEVER confirm or provide personal details, credit card numbers or other account information over the phone unless you initiated the call and can verify the purpose for which you are providing that information.
• SAY NO and hang up if a cold caller wants remote access to your computer even if they claim to be from a reputable IT or telecommunications company.
• REMEMBER that you can still receive scam calls even if you have a private number or have your number listed on the Do Not Call register. Scammers can obtain your number fraudulently from black-market sources.

To fight back against phone scammers who call asking for money, TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY that Government agencies, well known organisations and major companies just don’t work in this way. Or use the share buttons below to spread the message via social media.