The oil spill on the Queensland coast.
The election campaign.
Bernie Madoff gaoled.
Measures to stop petrol sniffing (Opal non-intoxicating petrol) in areas where it is a problem has certainly reduced the problem by at least 90%. Now there's talk of the same sort of strategy to stop alcohol abuse... woot? Take out the alcohol? Meh. No. They talk about doing what's been done in Scotland, making all alcohol have a base price...
You know, it doesn't matter how expensive alcohol is, people who drink it still will. If they have to steal or go without food, and make their family go without, they will still get alcohol. Or they will use a substitute - perhaps more dangerous. I don't think putting the price up will help, it doens't seem to have worked so far with grog, and certainly hasn't worked with cigarettes.
There's more, too.
Here's the link, the programme is there now.
Latest Transcripts:
Updated Friday, 13 March, 2009
Bligh promises oil spill probe
The Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says she will make sure that the Government investigates all aspects of the oil spill that has contaminated waters off the Sunshine Coast. The State Government has declared the area a natural disaster zone as crews begin to clean up the oil which leaked from the ship the Pacific Adventurer.
TRANSCRIPT
Locals upset over lack of oil spill action
Reporter Annie Guest tells Tony Eastley that locals at Marcoola Beach are unhappy with the way the clean-up is being handled.
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Financier Madoff sorry for swindle
Seventy-year-old Bernard Madoff faces the rest of his life in jail and says he's deeply sorry and ashamed for what he's done. Madoff swindled billions of dollars from investors and he has pleaded guilty to 11 charges including fraud and money laundering.
TRANSCRIPT
Home loan lender's advice to Malcolm Turnbull
Home loan boss John Symond has some advice for Malcolm Turnbull about how the Opposition Leader should present himself. The well known mortgage lender says Mr Turnbull should roll up his sleeves and demand loyalty from his Liberal party colleagues or get out.
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Generation Y hits hurdle
The latest job figures are sobering news for Generation Y Australians. Up until now they have largely known only boom times, but unemployment for 15 to 19 year olds has now risen to its highest level since 2001, at nearly 24 per cent. And it's getting tougher and tougher for university graduates as well.
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Tanner rejects Rudd Recession tag
The Acting Treasurer Lindsay Tanner says international pressures are to blame for the bleak outlook for the Australian economy. Mr Tanner says the Opposition's use of the term Rudd's Recession to describe the financial crisis is a political tactic that belies a lack of policy alternatives.
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Calls to stop alcohol discounts in NT
The public health medical advisor to the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory wants a price floor imposed on alcohol to put it out of the reach of abusers. Dr John Boffa says it would be a valuable element of a broader alcohol abuse strategy.
TRANSCRIPT
US drone targets militants in Pakistan
Pakistan security sources say a US drone aircraft has fired missiles at a militant hideout in the country's north-west, killing at least 14 people. The strike came as opposition figures led by lawyers begin a protest march from Karachi to Islamabad, calling for the reinstatement of sacked judges.
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Japanese baseball team battles jinx
The Osaka Tigers baseball team is hoping that installing a statue of the KFC founder Colonel Sanders at its home stadium will bring it good luck. The team hasn't won a title since 1985, when fans stole the statue and dumped it in a river.
TRANSCRIPT
2 comments:
In a NW WA town, I once saw a cask of Buronga Ridge (aka cheap and nasty) plonk sold to an aboriginal woman for $120, because it was after hours at the bottle shop.
When you don't work for your money and you would rather drink than eat, then the price of the grog is meaningless.
Definitely correct there, Pedro.
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