Indonesia Institute in Subiaco, Western Australia | Community organisation

Indonesia Institute

Locality: Subiaco, Western Australia

Phone: +61 1300 793 144

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24.01.2022 Dear members, There is a new and interesting article listed on our homepage at www.indonesia-institute.org.au Titled, "Agricultural partnerships offer a new way forward", our institutes chairman Ross Taylor highlights the huge opportunities that exists for our agriculture sector by forming partnerships with Indonesian companies.... Ross also makes reference to the importance to BOTH countries of the live cattle industry. The article first appeared in The West Australian Newspaper last week as an Opinion piece. We hope you will enjoy the article and also other stories and articles that are also listed and updated regularly for our members and friends. With kind regards David Hyde Hon Secretary Indonesia Institute (Inc). www.indonesia-institute.org.au

24.01.2022 Australian exporters bullish on Asia orders by: Rowan Callick From:The Australian August 09, 201212:00AM Australian exporters are regaining their confidence, despite the strength of the dollar.... The export barometer compiled annually by DHL and published today found that 57 per cent of the exporters surveyed are anticipating an increase in their orders over the next year, 19 per cent up on 2011. The survey underlined the importance of Asian countries as export markets. Indonesia was the top destination for the first time, with 54 per cent of exporters experiencing increased orders from there. Professor Tim Harcourt, of the University of NSW, described Indonesia as "the new rock star of export destinations". The barometer found Australian businesses were recording 30 per cent higher rates of return in Indonesia than in China or India. Exporters are reporting that China and Southeast Asia remain extremely positive targets, and New Zealand is also a resilient market for Australian exporters. And the Middle East is again the source of growing orders, after being hit by a property slump in the United Arab Emirates. "Despite battling a high exchange rate abroad and anticipating a carbon tax at home, Australian exporters are coping successfully with international economic risk through innovation and a range of business strategies," Professor Harcourt said. One of the ways they are dealing with competitive pressures is to import as well -- and become traders. Now, 72 per cent of exporters also import, compared with 40-45 per cent before. But only 20 per cent of exporters hedge on the currency. The carbon tax is too high, according to 71 per cent of Australian exporters, with 61 per cent saying it would negatively affect export sales. However, 90 per cent said they had not introduced business plans to accommodate its introduction. The trade deals that most excited respondents were those with China, for which negotiations have now entered their eighth year. This year, 58 per cent of exporters said a free trade agreement with China would have a positive effect on business, compared with 54 per cent who said so in 2011. The high value of the dollar is viewed as the most troubling negative influence on exporting, followed by rising fuel costs, international competition -- especially from China, the US and India -- and raw material costs. Indonesia Institute (Inc.) Tel: 1300 793 144 www.indonesia-institute.org.au

23.01.2022 The report by Peter Alford from The Australian Newspaper that Jakarta will increase beef imports should be welcomed by Australian exporters, but it should not c...ome as a surprise. Despite the appalling mess that was created by the handling of the live cattle issue by agriculture minister Joe Ludwig, the reality is that when it comes to cattle, it simply makes good sense for Australia to "breed them" and for Indonesia to "feed them" as part of a strong and mutually beneficial partnership. Indonesia has some of the finest food growing land in the world with abundant rainfall, plentiful labour and excellent access to markets. With Australias high-level expertise in farm technology, science and marketing, huge partnership opportunities await both our countries as part of the Asian Century goal of feeding the region. Why Indonesia would forgo such an opportunity in order to breed cattle is mystifying, not withstanding their desire to teach Australia a lesson, whilst filling the pockets of self interest groups within Indonesia. With prices of beef doubling, some common sense may slowly be returning to the live cattle industry, and its not a day too soon for our exporters; and Indonesian consumers. Ross B. Taylor Chairman Indonesia Institute Inc Tel: 1300.793.144 HP: 0412 446 512 [1]

21.01.2022 A letter to the editor of The West Australian from our chairman... Friday 3rd August 2012..... Your editorial (Weds 1st August) correctly highlights the day-care and child-minding crisis that is facing many young families. In addition Australia has an enormous untapped and skilled workforce (Mums) who are at home caring for their children and doing housework.... At a base cost of $20 billion a year we need to look seriously at allowing foreign maids to live-in with Australian families. Indonesia, for example, has thousands of maids who speak English and have extensive experience in caring for families. Ask any stressed-out Mum if she would like an experienced maid from Bali to work in Australia as their live-in carer and housekeeper, and they will say, "Yes. Today please." Such a program would also help Indonesian families understand our country and to build language skills, cultural and financial security. It would be a win-win for both countries and should be considered now. Ross B. Taylor

20.01.2022 MEDIA RELEASE (18 April, 2012) Deliberately withheld documentary evidence supports claim that..... Indonesian child must be released now from WA adult prison.... An Indonesian child who has been locked-up in a Western Australian maximum security prison for over two years must be sent home immediately, according to a leading advocacy group. The WA-based Indonesia Institute - who have been campaigning for the release of Indonesian children from Australian jails for over two years - said today that both the institute and The Ten Network are in possession of documentary proof that shows Ali Yasmin was only 13 years of age when arrested in 2009. "Ali Yasmin was jailed under mandatory sentencing laws for five years in 2010 for people smuggling", said the institutes chairman, Ross Taylor. "This was despite the Legal Aid lawyer being in possession of a birth certificate showing the boy was born in 1996". The birth certificate was never presented to the court in 2010 nor at the appeal in 2011. "Even more damning", said Mr. Taylor, "is that the Department of Immigration was also given documentary evidence by the Indonesian Consul-General in WA, but failed to act on this information. As a result, this boy - who was then 14 years of age - was placed in a maximum security prison amongst murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers. And he is still there today!" Mr. Taylor said that reports filed by Hamish McDonald of the Tens "The Project" provided conclusive proof that not only is Yasmin still a child, but that our authorities have failed to act to ensure this young boy was sent home in 2010. The Institute is in possession of all the proof-of-age documents PLUS a letter written to the institute in October 2011 from Greg Ralph, Director of DFATs Indonesia Section that states.... Where there is any uncertainty about age, people smuggling crew are given the benefit of the doubt and returned home to Indonesia "Despite the absolute guarantee by DFAT, our authorities have knowingly locked-up this boy in an adult prison", said Mr. Taylor. "This outrageous situation should make all Australians feel ashamed. Mandatory sentencing combined with a government hell bent on being seen to be tough on people smuggling has seen a 13 year-old boy from an extremely remote and poor part of Indonesia - who was simply a cook on one of these boats - placed in an adult maximum security prison in Western Australia for over two years." Mr. Taylors comments were supported today by Perth MLA, John Hyde and his news release follows.

19.01.2022 MEDIA RELEASE (1 April, 2012) Indonesian people smuggler fishermen forgotten in detention review...Continue reading

19.01.2022 Suddenly, Indonesia gets protective Michael Bachelard (SMH) March 17, 2012...Continue reading

17.01.2022 The Rubbish Bin Man I invite you to watch a short documentary that was shown recently on SBS. It tells the story of Will Ramirez- a rubbish collector from East London - who goes to meet his counterpart, Imam, a young man who lives in the back streets of Jakarta.... Wills challenge is to live with Iman and his family for ten days..and carry-out the daily rubbish collection job that is Imams life. The story is touching, funny, heart wrenching, but most of all makes you appreciate your life. I recommend this to you highly. Please go to...www.sbs.com.au/ondemand; click on "Programs" and then click on "Toughest Place to be". Kind regards Ross Taylor Chairman Indonesia Institute (Inc)

17.01.2022 Jakarta moves to limit foreign ownership of mines to 49pc by: Robin Bromby From: The Australian March 12, 2012 12:00AM BY itself, the move by Indonesia to reduce foreign ownership of mines is unfortunate but not disastrous. The problem is that this is part of an ominous pattern: resource nationalism.... We cant put it any better than the Vancouver Sun did at the weekend when it pointed out that cash-rich mining companies had become easy targets for governments. "Higher taxes and royalties on big miners are often used by politicians as populist moves to help rally the public and serve as platforms ahead of elections," it said. It might have added taking over projects once the foreign company has done all the hard yards (work).

16.01.2022 Cultural Misunderstandings Behind Indonesias Foreigner Business Ban Agustiyanti & Dion Bisara | March 12, 2012 Anew regulation barring foreigners from human resource positions in Indonesian companies will help prevent cultural misunderstandings, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said on Monday. This is to avoid any drawbacks associated with cultural differences. If there are foreigners in human resources, it can be dangerous, Muhaimin told reporters... after a House of Representatives hearing. Muhaimin pointed to a riot at Drydocks World Graha in Batam in April 2010 that started when a non-Indonesian supervisor allegedly made a racist comment while berating an Indonesian worker for making a mistake. The regulation from the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, which was released on Saturday, puts a number of personnel management positions off-limits for foreigners. Critics say the regulation has the potential to scare off foreign investors, a concern that Muhaimin was quick to dismiss. The regulation, he said, would still allow foreigners to hold top positions at Indonesian companies, it would simply prevent them from taking direct supervisory roles over personnel. Philip J. Shah, tax committee chairman at the International Business Chamber and treasurer of the Indonesia Australia Business Council, said placing Indonesians in such middle-management positions was already a common practice. While foreign investment companies often have some expatriates involved, they usually have an Indonesian manager or director as a practical matter for various reasons, Shah told the Jakarta Globe on Monday. James Filgo, a senior member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, said the ministrys new regulation would threaten the ability of both local and foreign investors to compete in the global market. Even the Communist behemoth of China finally learned how to nurture, not overly restrict private enterprise, he said. So why is Indonesia bucking the trend and seeking to burden private industry at this critical time of national development?

15.01.2022 Dear members and friends After an intense and long campaign we are now seeing young Indonesians - including children as young as 13 - being sent home after being jailed in adult maximum security prisons by Australia for people smuggling. As the attached article indicates the issue surrounding these minors has moved from being irrelevant to top priority in talks between our PM and the Indonesian President in Darwin today.... Since the media decided to support our campaign, lead by our director Colin Singer, to have these children released, the resultant pressure on our government has seen at least 15 children sent home in the past two months, with another 25-40 children earmarked for early release. The reality is that without this pressure applied to our federal government, these children would still be in jail now. In this regard we are grateful to all the journalists who supported us, but in particular, Hamish MacDonald, Natalie OBrien, and Mike Carlton. These three people truly believed in what we were trying to do and their persistence and skills were directly responsible for governments on both sides deciding that this indeed was a shocking and unacceptable way to treat minors. We will always be grateful to these three people. Thank you. Tonight, the initial 15 children are home with their families in Indonesia; where they belong. With kindest regards Ross Taylor Ross B. Taylor Chairman Indonesia Institute (Inc)

15.01.2022 Why Indon is not preferable Nelly Martin, Madison, Wisconsin | Wed, 03/07/2012 11:05 AM A | A | A | It all started when I overheard some of my neighboring countrymen refer to an Indonesian as an Indon. I never expected that I would hear such word in this campus. To my understanding, there would not be any educated person using the word....Continue reading

14.01.2022 Analysis: Ignorance limiting RIAustralia trade ties Debnath Guharoy, Roy morgan research | Business | Tue, August 07 2012, 9:17 AM Paper Edition | Page: 14 Which major developing country has the highest level of consumer confidence? Answer: Indonesia, at 145. Which major developed country has the highest level of consumer confidence? Answer: Australia, at 114. Which major developing economy has the steadiest GDP forecast? Answer: Indonesia, at 6 percent. Which major develop...Continue reading

14.01.2022 Thanks to all our new members in Facebook. Well keep you updated with interesting stories and comments but we also welcome your comments on matters that are important to Indonesia and Australia. Ross Taylor

13.01.2022 Are the Chinese are about to 'steal' Bali from the Aussies Australians have , for many years, seen Bali as their own island paradise. It's where Aussies go to get drunk, party, surf, eat and just have fun. And Australia's love affair with Bali appears to be getting even better with almost 900,000 Australians arriving into Bali this year to the end of November. ... Ross Taylor, head of the Perth-based Indonesia Institute says that with the December figures still to be added, the likelihood of Australian tourist arrivals busting through the one million mark is almost guaranteed. "Australians visiting Bali in 2014 will be around 19% higher than in 2013", said Mr. Taylor, "and this debunks any claims that Australia's love affair with their paradise island was waning". But whilst Aussies are still heading to Bali in droves, a 'new kid' on the block may soon steal the title for sending the most tourists to Bali: China. "China is in the process of changing the dynamics of tourism everywhere", said Mr. Taylor. "And Bali is a good example of the huge impact China is starting to have on major tourist destinations around the world". In the first eleven months of 2014, over 308,000 Chinese visited Bali; an increase of 49.5% on 2013 and now accounting for over 15% of all foreign visitors to the popular Indonesian island. "If you stand in St Marks Square in Venice", said Mr. Taylor, "you will be literally swamped by Chinese tourists. They have new found wealth, modern aircraft and a huge population including a rapidly growing middle-class, and they all want to travel to exotic and well-known destinations". "Inbound tourism from China to Australia is booming and Bali, being only five to eight hours from China is now being seen as a prime holiday destination by many Chinese". The total number of foreign tourist arriving in Bali this year will exceed 3.75 million. Mr. Taylor cautioned that as the 'tsunami' of Chinese tourists heads towards Bali, increasingly the island will be faced with problems associated with infrastructure, pollution, and the environment. "Bali has some huge challenges to accommodate the existing influx of tourists", said Mr. Taylor. "Add the rapidly growing China market and the challenges will be even greater", he said. " The time is fast approaching when Bali may not be just for the Aussies".

12.01.2022 Our colleagues at The Lowy Institute have yesterday released their report and survey on Indoneisa, including Indonesian attitudes to Australia and our attitudes to them. Whilst Indonesian attitudes to Australia are warming and progressing in a positive way, Australians seem to be trapped in a time warp when it comes to our northern neighbour. The report makes fascinating reading for anyone who is interested in Indonesia.... Please click on the link below to download the complete survey results. With kindest regards Ross Taylor Ross B. Taylor Chairman Indonesia Institute (Inc) LINK to the report.... http://www.lowyinstitute.org/

11.01.2022 http://asialink.unimelb.edu.au//A_Problem_of_Mixed_Messages

10.01.2022 The number of Aussies travelling to Bali has flatlined. After falling 9.5% in January 2013, the number of Aussie tourist arrivals in February was almost the sam...e as the previous year. This is the first time for some years that the number of Australians holidaying in our island paradise has not been growing? Why? Perhaps Bali is falling out of favour? Well, I dont think so. I feel it probably has more to do with the weakness of the , and the strength of the A$ against the , has attracted so many more Australians to Europe and the UK to bask in super-cheap prices. So despite all the bad publicity recently, Bali still seems to be our favourite place....but maybe just "most of the time" rather than "all of the time". Ross Taylor April 2013

10.01.2022 http://www.asialink.unimelb.edu.au//stopping_the_/_nocache

09.01.2022 Talking up the place next door Posted on 15 August, 2012 IT IS A dire prediction that comes with a warning that we are slamming the door on our biggest and strongest neighbour. Indonesian language studies will virtually disappear from Australian universities within 10 years, if the projections of those who are trying to nurture the subject prove accurate....Continue reading

08.01.2022 Sumatra and Java to be linked by giant bridge The islands of Java and Sumatra are a step closer to being linked for the first time in their history by Indonesias largest-ever infrastructure project. The China Railway Construction Corporation has inked a deal to invest in the RP 100 trillion ($10.9 billion) Sunda Strait Bridge to link the islands the largest agreement signed during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonos visit to Beijing last month. The state-owned company is ...behind several rail projects in Africa and the Middle East. The challenges are huge, but this will pave the way for a breakthrough, said Agung Prabowo, president director of Graha Banten Lampung Sejahtera, the Indonesian consortium behind the project. Were not out to break any records, but we want the bridge realized, as it will benefit people on both sides. His consortium brings together the provincial governments of Lampung in Sumatra and Banten in Java, as well as a subsidiary of the Artha Graha conglomerate run by tycoon Tommy Winata. It was set up to lay the groundwork for the bridge in 2007. It is now waiting for a legal guarantee from the Indonesian government, which is expected to come within weeks. The government is eager for foreign investors to take part in building bridges, highways and other facilities to spur the economy. The 30km bridge had been envisioned by the countrys first president Sukarno since the 1960s, but only recently did steady economic growth make its construction more realistic. A feasibility study is in the works, and construction is to start in 2014. The bridge will link 80 per cent of Indonesias 240 million people by road and rail, and will take some 10 years to complete. The worlds largest ships will be able to pass under it, as the bridge will stand 80m at its highest.

07.01.2022 Interested in what is happening to our north?

07.01.2022 Australias regional issues not always a priority for Indonesia Posted on 5 September, 2012 Whilst sharing a coffee with a senior official in Indonesia last week, he made an interesting comment about the asylum seeker issue:...Continue reading

06.01.2022 The Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper Boys freed from jail receive help Date July 22, 2012 Natalie OBrien... ALI JASMIN, an Indonesian boy jailed as an adult for people smuggling when he was 13 years old and sent home two months ago, has had an eye operation to fix a condition that developed while he was in custody. The operation, which took place in Bandung near Jakarta, was organised by the Indonesia Institute, a Perth group that has lobbied for the release of dozens of underage Indonesians who had been jailed for crewing asylum-seeker boats. On Friday two more teenage boys who have returned to Indonesia after being wrongly jailed as adults revealed they had been subjected to drug use and sexual harassment while in Silverwater jail. The boys, who hid their faces with masks and used the names of the Indonesian President, Susilo, 15, and Bambang, 17, told the media they were never people smugglers but simply had taken work as deckhands on a boat. They managed to prove to the court they were underage and were sent home after more than a year in custody. The president of the Indonesia Institute, Ross Taylor, said they had been concerned for a long time about young Indonesian boys being placed in adult prisons alongside convicted criminals - including rapists and paedophiles. Our government has been in denial about this issue for far too long and sadly for some of these Indonesian kids, action to get them out of adult prisons here and sent home has come too late, he said. Mr Taylor said the institute had been helping Ali Jasmin since his release, first to undergo the operation and then to find him a job in Indonesia. Ali Jasmin was arrested in December 2009 after working as a cook on a boat that brought 55 asylum seekers to Australia. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au//boys-freed-from-jail-receive-help-2

04.01.2022 The Australian Newspaper (2nd August 2012) THE governments political fortunes are so low it cannot be relied upon to come to the rescue of Asian languages, leading Indonesia expert David Hill has warned.... "Given the difficulty they are having selling the carbon price policy, it would seem unlikely theyd commit the substantial investment required for even a decade-long educational campaign on Asian language literacy, said Professor Hill, chair of Southeast Asian studies at Murdoch University. Author of a February report calling for urgent action to prevent the extinction of Indonesian language studies, he was delivering the prestigious Herb Feith lecture at Melbourne University last night. The Hill report, launched in Canberra the day that Labor MPs voted on the Rudd challenge, set out a rescue package worth $9.8m a year over a decade, a sum equivalent to 0.08 per cent of two-way trade with Indonesia Last night Professor Hill gave a bleak assessment of the likelihood of action on Asia literacy, saying the government was "fractured internally and "facing the spectre of defeat next year. "There are whispers that earlier ALP policies supporting Asian languages were so associated with Kevin Rudd personally that his critics within the party are unwilling to continue them, he said. "The governments back flip terminating the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program after only three years, claiming that it was not on track to achieve its aspirational 2020 targets, was extremely disappointing; one wonders how success might have been measured in such a short period of time. A spokeswoman for School Education Minister Peter Garrett would not comment on the Rudd rumour, which has circulated in the Canberra bureaucracy, but pointed to the new national school curriculum with its Asia focus across subjects. And she said ex-Treasury chief Ken Henrys draft white paper on the Asian century had taken account of advice from a business roundtable on how "to build on the four-year $62m NALSSP initiative and stimulate student demand. As recently as Tuesday Mr Rudd tweeted about NALSSP as a revival of a better funded and longer lasting Keating-era program truncated by the Howard administration. Mr Rudd was a prime mover in both programs. In his Feith address, Professor Hill said that although all governments acknowledged the importance of relations with Jakarta, "Australians willingness to learn the Indonesian language is a revealing barometer of the underlying health of this relationship. His report showed a 37 per cent decline in Indonesian language students at university from 2001 to 2010, and a separate report found school enrolments had been falling by 10,000 a year since 2001. In the last two years there have been promising signs of a revival in student numbers at some universities, including Melbourne and the University of Western Australia.

04.01.2022 We now have a new blog for our members. Its called..Our Indonesia Today There are articles, stories, comments and everything you need to know about Indonesia and Australian relations.... Please check-out our blog at..... ourindonesiatoday.blogspot.com.au

03.01.2022 Are the Chinese are about to steal Bali from the Aussies Australians have , for many years, seen Bali as their own island paradise. Its where Aussies go to get drunk, party, surf, eat and just have fun. And Australias love affair with Bali appears to be getting even better with almost 900,000 Australians arriving into Bali this year to the end of November. ... Ross Taylor, head of the Perth-based Indonesia Institute says that with the December figures still to be added, the likelihood of Australian tourist arrivals busting through the one million mark is almost guaranteed. "Australians visiting Bali in 2014 will be around 19% higher than in 2013", said Mr. Taylor, "and this debunks any claims that Australias love affair with their paradise island was waning". But whilst Aussies are still heading to Bali in droves, a new kid on the block may soon steal the title for sending the most tourists to Bali: China. "China is in the process of changing the dynamics of tourism everywhere", said Mr. Taylor. "And Bali is a good example of the huge impact China is starting to have on major tourist destinations around the world". In the first eleven months of 2014, over 308,000 Chinese visited Bali; an increase of 49.5% on 2013 and now accounting for over 15% of all foreign visitors to the popular Indonesian island. "If you stand in St Marks Square in Venice", said Mr. Taylor, "you will be literally swamped by Chinese tourists. They have new found wealth, modern aircraft and a huge population including a rapidly growing middle-class, and they all want to travel to exotic and well-known destinations". "Inbound tourism from China to Australia is booming and Bali, being only five to eight hours from China is now being seen as a prime holiday destination by many Chinese". The total number of foreign tourist arriving in Bali this year will exceed 3.75 million. Mr. Taylor cautioned that as the tsunami of Chinese tourists heads towards Bali, increasingly the island will be faced with problems associated with infrastructure, pollution, and the environment. "Bali has some huge challenges to accommodate the existing influx of tourists", said Mr. Taylor. "Add the rapidly growing China market and the challenges will be even greater", he said. " The time is fast approaching when Bali may not be just for the Aussies".

03.01.2022 On the 22nd of March, Ian Satchwell, National President of the Australia Indonesia Business Council, spoke to ABC-TV from Jakarta about trade and relationships between Indonesia and Australia. The link to the video of that interview is shown below and certainly worth watching. Kindest regards... Ross Taylor Ross B. Taylor Chairman Indonesia Institute Inc. http://www.abc.net.au//indonesia-an-untapped-oppo/3905040

02.01.2022 Garuda named best airline in the world The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 03/06/2012 4:14 PM (Tribunnews.com) National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has been recognized as Best International Airline according to a recent independent survey of all major airlines throughout the world. ... The customer satisfaction survey, conducted by research company Roy Morgan, ranked Garuda Indonesia ahead of other leading airlines, such as Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Air New Zealand with 91 percent of the 3,943 respondents being very satisfied with the airlines products and services. We are thrilled to receive this award, as it endorses Garuda Indonesias transformation and progress toward becoming one of Asias leading airlines. This valuable recognition by our Australian customers motivates us even further to deliver the highest standards of service on the ground and in the air," Bagus Y. Siregar, Garuda Indonesias senior general manager for Australia and the South West Pacific, said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. The Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Award comes after a string of accolades, including the four-star rating by Skytrax, the global benchmark for airline service standards, in 2009. Garuda Indonesia was also named the Worlds Most Improved Airline at the Skytrax World Airline Awards in Hamburg, and Asias leading service quality airline by the Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in 2010. All awards recognize the success of Garuda Indonesias Qantum Leap program, which includes the revitalization of its existing fleet and the introduction of The Garuda Indonesia Experience, the carriers service concept that offers a uniquely Indonesian level of service both in-flight and on the ground. "Garuda Indonesia will continue to invest in enhancing its service offerings in order to become a five-star carrier by 2015," Siregar said. (nfo)

02.01.2022 An Australian couple aged 48 have told the media today that they had their drinks spiked by methanol whilst in Bali. When asked if her drunken symptoms may have been simply that she WAS drunk, she replied.."Impossible. I had consumed only six spirit-based drinks so how could I have been drunk?". Fair enough we guess?

01.01.2022 Tony Abbotts nanny state thought-bubble may have just identified A Skills Shortage Solution Maid for Australia. Tony Abbotts pitch to young women desperately in need of home-help could be dismissed simply as the opposition leaders attempt to win-over the skeptical female vote. But If you are a young couple struggling to find a balance between work commitments and young children you would not be alone in wishing you had an extra pair of hands to help ease the load. A...Continue reading

01.01.2022 Wake-up call for a stale relationship BY:FERGUS HANSON From:The Australian March 20, 2012 12:00AM...Continue reading

01.01.2022 BABY GREEN (AMELIA) FROM BALI TURNS ONE...AN AMAZING AND TOUCHING STORY. When Steve Pennells from The West Australian Newspaper first called me over 12 months ...ago about two Bali twins who were fused together at birth, Steve desperately wanted to raise money to allow the operation (to seperate the two children) to proceed. The parents were from a very poor Balinese village. Through my directors at the Indonesia Institute - and in particular with the guidance of my friend Tony Brennan - I received authority to act and act fast. There was only one person for me to go to: My very dear and long-standing friend, Ros Worthington and her team, including Simon, at the Love Angel Foundation. This amazing lady then did what only she knows how. Within a week West Australians were donating and giving from their hearts. Baby Blue, sadly died during the operation, but today Baby Green - Amelia turns one year of age. Their updated story is in todays West Australian. Please read it. In a world of self-interest and indulgence, this story shows the real spirit of West Australians...and of the unique gift of having Ros Worthinton in our world. There does exist real decency and caring in our world. To Ros, Simon and Steve. with tears in my eyes, I salute you!!