The Northern Territory news Tue 30 Jul 2013
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2013-07-30
This publication contains may contain links to external sites. These external sites may no longer be active.
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
News Corp Australia
Darwin
application/pdf
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/247279
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/579412
www.ntnews.com.au Tuesday, July 30, 2013. NT NEWS. 7 P U B : NTNE-WS-DA-TE:30-JGE:7 CO-LO-R: C-M Y-K ntnews.com.au l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l NEWS FRESHEYESKEY EARLY coronial intervention in missing person cases is crucial to provide fresh scrutiny of the available evidence, a key player in a long-running case says. Mark Jones whose brother Tony went missing in 1982 says having a coroner cast a fresh pair of eyes over a case within the first year of a person going missing is very important. At yesterdays launch of national Missing Persons Week, he said the process of an inquest could spot major flaws in investigations and spark renewed inquiries. HI-TECHPREMIUM AUSTRALIANS pay much higher prices for information technology products due to inexplicable global trade barriers that should be scrapped, a parliamentary inquiry says. Consumers in Australia pay an average 50 per cent and up to a 100 per cent premium for IT hardware, software and applications, a lower house Communications Committee report says. Recommendations of the committee target the online practice of geoblocking, which divides consumers into markets based on geographical location. ANTI-TROLL LAWS FACEBOOK and Twitter trolls could be made more accountable for their online activity if Independent Senator Nick Xenophons proposed legislation passes. The South Australian Upper House MP is preparing draft legislation aimed at protecting social media users from anonymous abuse by keyboard cowards. Social media networks should protect users, Senator Xenophon says. AID UNNECESSARY HOLDENS $200 million lifeline wouldnt be necessary under a Coalition government, Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey says. Four hundred people worked their last shift at the car companys Elizabeth factory in South Australia on Friday, leaving aworkforce of 1700. The car maker is trying to secure a new deal for an additional $200 million handout before the Governments pre-election caretaker period begins. FOODSTARWARS THE FOOD and Grocery Council (AFGC) has serious problems with a proposed anti-obesity food rating system, but denies it has pulled out of the scheme. Under the proposed system all packaged food should carry stars on a sliding scale. A spokesman said: AFGC was negotiating to fix serious technical flaws. Mining lifts all incomes By STEPHEN McMAHON PAY packets of blue-collar workers outside the mining sector have grown faster than average over the past decade due to the boom. A new report has found the commodities super cycle lifted wages for lowskilled workers and insulated them from the global downturn but higherincome workers did even better, particularly men. Workers in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia were the biggest beneficiaries as household income per person grew at almost 4 per cent a year. Annually, wages grew 2.4 per cent across the country in the past 10 years. The Grattan Institute report showed the recent spate of job losses in the traditional manufacturing sector would have been much worse and happened earlier without the boom. The boom was credited with offsetting much of the impacts of globalisation and technology changes on lower-skilled workers. The independent think tanks report said a recession was far from inevitable and credited Australia with avoiding runaway inflation the big historical trap of mining booms. But it warned the budget must move back into surplus while economic growth remained near trend otherwise Australia would face a bumpy decade. Increased investment in skills and training was also needed to boost productivity, keep wages growth strong and slow the rising unemployment rate. The nations jobless rate, already at a three-year high, is tipped to rise above 6 per cent by years end. Sons plea for proper support Paul Vries is a full-time carer for his mother Mieke Hill, who suffers bipolar disorder and psychosis Picture: PATRINA MALONE By MEGAN PALIN A FORMER Darwin security guard has claimed that Northern Territory mental health care services are failing his mother. Tiwi resident Paul Vries, 36, is a live-in carer for his 65-year-old mother Mieke Hill, who suffers bipolar disorder and psychosis. Mr Vries said he had called an ambulance for her three times in the past two weeks after she experienced multiple psychotic episodes. But he said his mother was repeatedly discharged from hospital after just a few hours with nowhere to go but home and limited inhome support services. She throws things around the house, she hears voices in one ear and goes to our neighbours fences abusing them and accusing them of harming her when they havent done anything. She screams at them while they have children there, Mr Vries said. Mr Vries said he had spent his life caring for his mother, who was diagnosed with mental illnesses at 22. A case worker visits their home once a week but Mr Vries said it wasnt enough. All I want is for my mum to stay home and get proper care, for someone from NT Mental Health to come and visit her more regularly and assist me, and for my mum to have her medication adjusted so we can live in peace at home. Ive been told by doctors that her medication cant be adjusted because of side effects, he said. Ive spoken with so many social workers, case workers, mental health hotlines and mental health workers and even contacted politicians but theyre all out of ideas. Mr Vries said without inhome services his mother needed to be in a high-care nursing home that specialised in mental health. But there isnt one that exists in the Northern Territory, he said. The Government is looking at moving her interstate but the wait is long and we want her close. He said he was struggling to handle the burden alone. Royal Darwin Hospital chief medical officer Dr Dinesh Arya could not comment on individual cases but said: There are a number of options in the Northern Territory for people with a mental illness to be supported to live in the community. These include providing additional support to live at home, including visits from clinicians and additional support with daily living; mental health-supported accommodation in the community; and for elderly people, accommodation in an aged care facility with additional mental health support, Dr Arya said. Sniffer dog finds drugs A DRUG detector dog has uncovered 280g of cannabis in two baby wipe containers inside a womans luggage at Darwin Airport, police say. Plato provided a positive response to the luggage of a 32-year-old woman, Senior Sergeant Peter Schiller of the Drug and Organised Crime Squad said. The woman will appear in Maningrida Local Court.