AUSTRALIA WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Millions of animals feared dead

Bush fire death toll stands at 181, with 50 more still missing, but millions of animals are feared dead.

Millions of animals are estimated
to have died in the ferocious Black Saturday
bushfires that swept across countryside,
towns and farmland
in Australia's southeast.

By Bonnie Malkin in Melbourne
telegraph.co.uk

Kangaroos, wombats, native birds and reptiles stood little chance against the swiftly advancing blazes that devastated more than 400,000 hectares in the state of Victoria.

Corpses of dead wallabies and kangaroos still lined roads in the worst-hit areas, with rescue crews were too busy to clear them from sight. There were also reports of birds and bats falling out of the sky during the fires. One turtle was found with its shell fused together. Another wallaby suffered singed ears.

It is feared that many of the animals that managed to survive the inferno could still die from hunger, after all of their normal food sources were incinerated.

Wildlife experts said wombats that had sheltered in their burrows to survive the blazes now faced starving to death unless they were rescued.

Kangaroos that survived are suffering from burned feet, a result of their territorial behavior. After escaping the initial flames, the creatures - which prefer to stay in one area - likely circled back to their homes, singeing their feet on the smoldering ground.

"It's just horrific," said Neil Morgan, president of the Statewide Wildlife Rescue Emergency Service in Victoria. "It's disaster all around for humans and animals as well."

Hundreds of burned, stressed and dehydrated animals, including kangaroos, koalas, possums, lizards and birds, have already arrived at shelters across the scorched region. Rescuers have doled out antibiotics, pain relievers and fluids in a bid to keep them comfortable, but some of the severely injured were euthanized to spare any more suffering. Others face months of painful rehabilitation.

In some of the hardest-hit areas, rescuers used vaporizing tents to help creatures whose lungs were burned by the searing heat and smoke.

John Rowdon, president of Wildlife Victoria, said one joey had been found with "crispy fried ears".

"[He] stuck his head out of his mum's pouch and lost all his whiskers and cooked up his nose," he said. "They're the ones your hearts really go out to."

A koala, nicknamed "Sam" by her rescuers, has become an international star after she was found moving gingerly on scorched paws by a fire patrol. A video posted on the internet shows firefighter David Tree offering the animal a bottle of water, which she eagerly accepts, holding Mr Tree's hand as he pours water into her mouth.

Coleen Wood, manager of the Mountain Ash Wildlife Shelter, said the plight of one turtle illustrated just how ferocious the fires were.

"We had a turtle come through that was just about melted still alive," she said. "The whole thing was just fused together it was just horrendous. It just goes to show how intense (the fire) was in the area."

Volunteers from the animal welfare group Victorian Advocates for Animals filled 10 giant bins with 2,300 dead grey-headed flying foxes that succumbed to heat stroke Saturday, said Lawrence Pope, the group's president. Volunteers tried to save some of the bats by giving them fluids and keeping them cool, he said, but the creatures were simply too stressed and perished.

"It's heartbreaking. They're very endearing animals and to see them die right before our eyes is something that wildlife rescuers and carers just find appalling."

Hundreds of domestic animals have also been killed and injured by the fires. RSPCA centres have been set up in the towns of Kinglake, Yea and Marysville to treat pets affected by the blazes.

The official human death toll stood at 181 from weekend's deadly fires and authorities said it would exceed 200. While the scope of the wildlife devastation was still unclear, it was likely to be enormous, Mr Rowdon said.

Residents in Kinglake were also desperate for animal feed for birds, horses and sheep.

Maria Mercurio, chief executive of RSPCA Victoria, said the full extent of the suffering was still becoming clear. RSPCA vets were working around the clock to save animals, but some horses and sheep would only start displaying symptoms of smoke inhalation in the coming days, she said.

"They will have difficulty breathing and swallowing and respiratory problems which are indicative of burns in the lungs and throat."

Several dogs and cats had been found by rescue teams hiding under burned out houses, however the fate of many of their owners was still unclear, she said.

RECESSION WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Job growth heads down the gurgler

Job growth
heads down
the gurgler

By Ed Logue
February 09, 2009

THE outlook for employment growth has slumped to its lowest level in 20 years as the deteriorating economy continues to bite staffing expectations and profit growth, a survey finds.

The Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) business expectations survey slumped to its lowest indicator of employment growth since it began in 1988, with 24 per cent of firms expecting to shed staff in the June quarter.

The survey found 60 per cent of executives forecast declining profits in the June quarter and 53 per cent predict falling sales.

Ten per cent of firms expect to lower their investment in capital.

D&B chief executive Christine Christian said Australian executives were feeling the effects of the global economic slowdown flowing through to the Australian economy.

"There is no doubt that businesses are facing a significantly heightened risk environment in 2009," Ms Christian said.

"As a consequence, an unwavering focus on business fundamentals and proper cash flow management is absolutely critical to maintaining the sustainability of Australian firms.

Interest rates were ranked as the primary influence on a firm's operation in the June quarter by 55 per cent of respondents, with 67 per cent of retail executives ranking rates first, the survey said.

This was despite the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lowering the cash rate by four percentage points since September to a 45-year low 3.25 per cent.

Only 19 per cent of executives ranked fuel costs as their main concern on operations compared with 33 per cent the previous survey. During the period the cost of fuel dropped significantly to around a $1.00 to $1.20 for a litre of petrol.

D&B economic consultant Duncan Ironmonger said Australian firms were expecting an "exceptionally challenging" 2009 due to the economic slowdown.

"The prompt and substantial fiscal stimulus packages from the federal government and the record sharp reductions in interest rates by the Reserve Bank should offset a significant amount of the impact that the world financial crisis and global recession are having on Australian firms," Dr Ironmonger said.

"Lower oil prices are helping to contain household and business costs and the lower value of the Australian dollar is encouraging exports and domestic spending.

"Consequently, the worst expectations of Australian businesses may not eventuate."

[Job growth heads down the gurgler
NEWS.com.au, Australia]

AUSTRALIA WITH MALAYSIAKINI: worst bushfire disaster

Australia's
worst
bushfire
disaster

abc online


The death toll from horrific bushfires across Victoria this weekend has reached 76, surpassing the number of people who perished in the 1983 Ash Wednesday blazes.

More than 700 homes have been lost in what is being described as 'Hell on Earth', and it is feared the death toll will pass 100.

Twenty-six fires continue to burn across Victoria; 12 of those are out of control. Authorities suspect arsonists are responsible for some fires.

The Kinglake Complex blaze continues to burn out of control and so far has burnt through more than 220,000 hectares. Communities around Glenburn, Taggerty and Rubicon are being urged to remain alert for any threats to their homes.

"Tonight our our resolve as Victorians is being tested," Victorian Premier John Brumby said in an address to the state.

"We know that tragically many lives have been lost ... and we have grave concerns for many more. We know that hundreds of Victorians have lost their houses. Out there it has been Hell on Earth.

"It is one of the most tragic events in Victoria's history. I am personally devastated by the tragedy. The scale of the tragedy defies comprehension.

"We all grieve with you. So many families, families like yours and mine, now have to rebuild. I can promise that we will not stop until you are safe and your lives and communities have been rebuilt."

There is little information about the locations of the victims, but 29 are known to have died at Kinglake, north of Melbourne, and four each at St Andrews and Wandong, all north of Melbourne.

Five people are dead in Callignee, three in Hazelwood and one in Jeeralang. More bodies have been found at Humevale, Bendigo, Upper Callignee, Long Gully, Strathewan and Arthurs Creek.

Channel Nine is reporting that veteran newsreader Brian Naylor, who had a house at Kinglake, is unaccounted for and that his wife Moiree has died in the blaze.

Seventy-five people died in Victoria and New South Wales during the February 1983 Ash Wednesday fires.

'Shock and desperation'

The Kinglake area, north of Melbourne, has been the hardest hit in terms of both lives lost and property damaged.

Most of the residents whose homes burnt down are sheltering at the Whittlesea Emergency Relief Centre, and the ABC's Matt O'Sullivan has described the scene there this evening.

"There are people arriving on buses with literally only the clothes they stand up in, that's all they have, many who have lost friends and neighbours and loved ones and just this enormous sense of shock and desperation," he said.

"If you can imagine your street and all of your neighbours' houses and your house just gone and you're not sure if those neighbours are still there.

"There are people coming here looking for emergency accommodation, they're trying to register with the Red Cross so they can let people know they're all right, they're just looking for some support, some counselling support, anything, just the support of each other."

The reporter spoke to a schoolteacher from Kinglake who said that in the afternoon, Kinglake had not been mentioned on the radio.

"So he went for a walk up the street - there was a bit of smoke around but it didn't really smell like a fire - and he asked the firies if things were going to be all right; they said yes," Mr O'Sullivan said.

"By the time he got back down the street to his house, five minutes later, it was pitch black and five minutes later his house was in flames. He says if he was 10 minutes later he wouldn't be here today.

"So he's lost his house, his school's gone up; obviously he's very worried about the kids that attend that school."

No warning

Jay Cherie from Kinglake Central said her family had no warning of what was to come.

"When the power went out I madly started to try and pack some things and in doing so it was like night-time all of a sudden. My husband came running into the house and said, 'grab the kids, grab the cat, we've got to get out'," she said.

"We got in the car and went to go down towards Yea and the flames were coming up over the paddocks towards our place and we could just only settle in the township; we knew straight away our home was gone.

"A lot of people made that same decision; there were probably about 100 cars in the same area that we were in at the time and we had gas bottles exploding around us.

"At one stage there my husband said to my children, 'get down on the floor', because we didn't know what was going to happen.

"We had fire coming in on the right-hand side of us on a paddock and we had houses to the left of us on fire; no-one knew what was going to happen.

"My little girl was saying to me, 'Mum am I going to see my friends again?', she also said to me, 'Mum am I going to live tomorrow?'."

Bracing for 'bad news'

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd visited bushfire ravaged regions today and warned the nation to brace itself for the likelihood of more deaths.

"We've come through bad times before and we'll come through this one," he said

"This Government will be behind these communities. I fear in the days ahead, though, the news is going to be bad and I believe the nation needs to prepare itself as the full facts become known."

Mr Rudd announced a $10-million relief fund as well as a multi-million-dollar appeal.

He said the Army and other Defence assets such as bulldozers and bedding would be available to help communities begin to rebuild in the aftermath of the destruction.

Interstate support

More than 4,000 local firefighters are battling blazes across Victoria, backed up by volunteers from New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.

Country Fire Authority (CFA) Deputy Chief Fire Officer Steve Warrington says the interstate reinforcements are much appreciated.

"It's interesting in this part of the world, and I'm talking about Australia, that sense of mateship and camaraderie, we all stick together," he said.

"Victoria's gone to NSW and it's great to have NSW down with us, and that goes for every state, Western Australia, Queensland, they've all rung up and offered support to us today.

"From that point of view, it's quite heartwarming that we have this sense of culture and can-do in this country."

About 250 of the extra firefighters are from NSW, with that state also sending 25 search and rescue experts, nine identification experts and five paramedics.

The Northern Territory is sending a Disaster Victim Identification team, much like the one sent to Bali after the bombings.

[Australia's worst bushfire disaster ABC Online]

AUSTRALIA: Three ATMs blown up by Sydney thieves

The New South Wales Police Bomb Squad has been sent to Chatswood train station, on Sydney's north shore, after thieves tried to blow-up an automatic teller machine (ATM).

The attempted robbery is one of four targeting ATMs across Sydney overnight.

Police say the thieves tried to remove three ATMs at Penshurst, Milperra and Georges Hall between 2:00am and 4:00am (AEDT).

The machines and their surroundings sustained extensive damage.

At about 4:00am, a man saw a group trying to break-in to the ATM at Chatswood railway station.

He told police when he disturbed them, one of the four men threatened him with a handgun.

They drove away in a dark-coloured car.

It is believed the men used an acetylene gas to try and remove the machine from the wall, but were interrupted by the passer-by.

Police say all the machines belong to St George Bank.

They are still trying to work out if any money was stolen.

source: Three ATMs blown-up by Sydney thieves
ABC Online

Brisbane storms like a 'great big bomb'

Residents of Brisbane's hardest-hit suburb have described storms that swept across Queensland's south-east as more terrifying than a cyclone.

The storms brought destructive winds, large hail and torrential rain, causing flash flooding. (ABC TV News)

Weemala Street in The Gap on Brisbane's north is almost unrecognisable this morning.

Homes are without roofs, a hot water service sits in the street, corrugated iron is wrapped around power lines and countless trees are down.

Seventy-thousand homes are still without power, as the storms cut a path of destruction through Toowoomba, the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

Some of the worst hit areas were Mount Tamborine and the Brisbane suburbs of The Gap, Arana Hills and Albany Creek.

The storms brought destructive winds, large hail and torrential rain, causing flash flooding.

At the height of the storm, power was cut to almost 230,000 homes and businesses or 20 per cent of south-east Queensland.

Brisbane resident Davina Thomas says her street looks like a bomb has gone off.

"It looks like there's been a bomb, a great big bomb go off in all the street - it's just terrible," she said.

"My daughter's had her roof blown off - it's in the pool."

Resident Amberlyn Dargrush was inside her home at The Gap when the roof lifted off and landed in her pool.

"It was just incredibly terrifying - I was scared for my life, my children thought they were going to die," she said.

The family had just completed renovations on their home.

Brisbane's Lord Mayor Campbell Newman is at The Gap in the city's north-west and says it looks like the aftermath of a cyclone.

"The damage is absolutely extraordinary - I've not seen anything like it before," he said.

Power out

Energex spokesman Mike Swanston says some customers might not have power until early tonight.

"We had major damage on our main transmission systems from Gympie to Redland Bay last night - it was just unbelievable," he said.

"I've been in network operations for the best part of 27 years and this is certainly one that's put a notch on the wall."

Yesterday at the height of the storm, a 20-year-old man was killed when he was sucked down a drain at Chermside on Brisbane's northside.

Residents are pleading for help from the State Emergency Service (SES) to put tarps on the remains of their homes.

Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts is urging residents to be patient.

"It's been a very busy night also for Energex workers with power lines down," he said.

"We're just asking people to take a little bit of care this morning, but council have been out very early to try to help clear debris and we'll have a lot of SES workers from both Brisbane and surrounding regions helping throughout the day."

The State Emergency Service has received about 700 calls for help.

Mr Roberts says more calls are expected as residents assess the damage in the daylight.

"There's a lot of people out and about at the moment and I urge motorists to take care, there'll be a lot of streets that might be blocked," he said.

"We just need people to be cautious and to be patient because eventually we'll get around and we'll clean up this mess so we can get on with our lives."

Police are directing traffic around blocked roads and are expecting a slow commute to work.

Australia: Billions more to fight crisis

AUSTRALIA will join the other G20 countries in a new round of stimulatory spending after the world's 20 largest economies vowed to work together to tackle the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The emergency meeting of world leaders in Washington has agreed to take immediate co-ordinated action on fiscal and monetary policy as well as a series of reforms over the next four months.

These include making markets for complex financial instruments more transparent, reforming each country's prudential regulations and accounting standards, tackling excessive executive pay and restarting global trade talks.

Speaking after the meeting, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, flagged spending more of the budget surplus than the $10.4 billion already promised.

However, this would not take place until next year when the effect of the multi-billion rescue package was known.

In the interim, the Government will use tomorrow's local government summit in Canberra to unveil more than $100 million in spending on council projects. Small projects such as footpaths and bridges that are approved and only awaiting funding that would be spent this financial year have been given priority.

Mr Rudd said the next big step would be the announcement next month of the first projects to be paid for from the $12.6 billion Building Australia Fund. Similar infrastructure funds will pay for health and education projects.

The process was brought forward by about three months to get the money into the economy as soon as possible. This "will add to the dimensions of our overall stimulus package" before Christmas, Mr Rudd said. He was determined "to take whatever additional action is necessary to support growth and jobs in what will be a very difficult year for the global economy in 2009".

The Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner, said the Government would know by June whether it needed to spend the remaining $5.4 billion of this year's surplus.

"Clearly one of the options that we've got is to spend some of the remaining surplus for additional stimulatory activity."

The Government is prepared to go into deficit but will not countenance it publicly because it would fuel speculation and erode confidence. The other G20 countries are expected to unveil stimulus packages, although no details were revealed immediately after the Washington summit.

Mr Rudd said all nations must make good on their pledge.

Billions more to fight crisis
Sydney Morning Herald

Itchy feet: If you're not fearful, you're crazy

Itchy feet

CPA Australia's director of international development Paul Wappett tells Business Spectator's Isabelle Oderberg why in the tough economic climate, professional service providers should be looking overseas for business growth opportunities.

Isabelle Oderberg: What are the key geographic markets that CPA Australia is encouraging professionals to be looking at?

Paul Wappett: Well, predominantly through the Asia Pacific region just we see that a number of the growth economies in the world are in that region at the moment anyway and moreover I guess there’s an opportunity with the fact that some of them are in either emerging, developing or transition economy status, I suppose. There’s more of a need for the expertise and the capability that the Australian professional scene has to help build their financial infrastructure there. So we’d be saying that throughout the Asia Pacific region, but predominantly on the developing nation and transition economies.

IO: So you’re talking about India and China and places like that?

PW: Yeah. And even further afield than that because those ones are clearly the obvious ones, but there’s great growth in markets like Vietnam and Thailand and Indonesia at the moment for example as well.

IO: What sorts of sectors would be people be looking at? I mean are you talking about M&A or are there particular sectors where professionals should be sort of seeking out opportunities?

PW: Well, in fact we’re even talking at a more fundamental level and it’s about how to set up good structures and good professional underpinnings to provide the level of competency within those markets themselves. So what do I mean by that? For example, we fundamentally believe in the importance of accountants, as you’d expect I guess. The measurement and the reporting and the analysis and the controls that accountants provide and perform - they provide the stability to underpin capital markets and to give confidence to the owners of foreign capital about the types of performance and position of the investments that they’re making in those countries, and ultimately to underpin economic growth. So unless there’s a strong, confident, ethical and independent accounting profession, then the owners of foreign capital are likely to look for markets where they can get certainty. So we’re even talking at the fundamental level of Australia, which has the ability to be able to set up and enhance the capability of the accounting profession in those developing nations, so that that certainty is provided.

IO: I understand that the membership diversity is quite strong in CPA Australia. Could you tell me a little bit about that? I understand that you’ve got a huge number of members overseas.

PW: We do, we have just under 25,000 of our 120,000 members living and working outside of Australia. Most of those from within the Asia Pacific region, but we actually have CPAs working in over 100 countries now throughout the world. That growth in our international membership numbers has largely come on the back of the Australian higher education sector dating all the way back to the Colombo Plan. We’ve had a big influx of international students come to Australian universities and then return home, but the challenge for a body like ours in the future is how we can establish our qualification and our certification as a global standard so that we can attract members in those developing markets who may have no nexus with Australia and no intention of working in Australia in the future.

IO: You mentioned in a press release that CPAs should be looking to be high quality accounting professionals. What are some of the skills that a graduate with an accounting qualification should be looking to supplement it with?

PW: The stock in trade for an accountant is measurement, reporting, analysis, controls and assurance and we think every accountant in the world should have those, no doubt, but what it takes to be a CPA is also a fundamental insistence on or a focus on ethics and integrity and independence on strategy and on leadership, on governance and on how to do business internationally. So those are the hallmarks of a professional accountant and certainly we think that sets CPAs apart from other accountants throughout the region.

IO: How easy is it for a CPA to go and work in other countries in Asia? Are the qualifications recognised?

PW: It’s becoming increasingly easy. CPA Australia has set up for our members a series of mutual recognition agreements which means that they can take their qualifications and either get exemptions from a number of the requirements for local qualifications or in some cases, for example in Malaysia, in Singapore and in Hong Kong, our members can become members of the local body and have those qualifications recognised directly.

source: Kohler: If you're not fearful, you're crazy
Business Spectator, Australia

Rural industries create Qld regional housing boom

Posted 20 minutes ago

The mining, cattle and sugar industries have triggered a housing boom in Queensland's regional centres.

The ANZ Regional and Rural Quarterly Report shows house prices in Gladstone have jumped 25 per cent in the past 12 months, followed by Ipswich on 22 per cent, Gympie and Bundaberg on 16 per cent and Toowoomba on 8 per cent.

Economist Paul Deane says things are looking good for the sunshine state.

"I guess what it's really a reflection of is generally how well economic conditions are in Queensland," he said.

Mr Deane says while there may be some slowing in the next quarter, investment is expected to remain strong which will continue to support house prices.

"Perhaps there will be some slowdown, but signs are that certainly investment will remain strong in the area which will certainly help support house prices moving forward," he said.

The report also says the unemployment rate in southern Queensland fell to 1.4 per cent in July.

source: Rural industries create Qld regional housing boom
ABC Online, Australia - 11 minutes ago

Clark laughs off Australian blunder

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs has apologised to Helen Clark after the country's media were given a briefing paper describing her as having a domineering leadership style and a foreign affairs policy approach founded on the Vietnam War.

The Prime Minister has laughed off the descriptions as "a hoot".

Clark laughs off Australian blunder
New Zealand Herald