The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • 3

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD MONDAY MARCH 17 1997 3 Minister tells young doctors: talk With drink and dance the Irish celebrate their day By EMMA TOM Irish wolfhounds snaffled potato chips from babies prams were piled high with beer folk dancers staggered under the weight of their appliqued frocks and a young man embarked on his annual mission to get pissed as when St Day was celebrated with the usual good-natured hysteria in Sydney yesterday Festivities kicked off at midday as a motley parade of trucks marching bands and dancing groups snaked through the city streets But it was clear from the spirited vahooing (not to mention the alcohol-filled soft drink bottles) that many of the spectators had started celebrations somewhat earlier a a bloke with a shamrock attached to his crew cut called out to the white-bearded man dressed as Ireland's patron saint a good St Patrick called back as his 1927 Chevrolet inched forward Almost as surreal as the appearance of an inflatable Bart Simpson (part of a float) as the Cork interpretation of the Great Famine -performed on and off the back of a truck and against a backdrop of marching brass Watching from the sidelines was 62-year-old Peter wearing a dapper three-piece suit in the deepest of green cost me he said had it made especially for St Day by an Italian Also taking a back seat was four-month-old Nathan Lynch-Robelliard who dribbled quietly into his Got Irish T-shirt as his grandparents visiting from Ireland -inspected the sandal strap marks on their sunburned feet Once at Prince Alfred Park groups of bagpipe players relaxed in the shade over doner kebabs and beer and one participant promptly drank until he collapsed The three-vear-old 65-kilo-gram Irish wolfhound (which marched wearing a leprechaun cap and green bow-tie) was exhausted after the long walk heat and humidity get to them because they are such big his owner Mrs Sandra said apologetically of the hairy lump beside she said have written to the minister three times requesting a meeting and he has not replied to any of the Senior representatives of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) are due to meet the minister on Thursday to discuss modifications to the legislation and its implementation industrial action has been important in getting this issue back onto the front said the Federal president Dr Keith Woollard now need to agree to modifications to the legislation and in the long term get it repealed Pressure on the Federal Government will increase today as junior doctors in the Northern Territory join the strike Dr Wooldridge conceded on the Sunday program that the increased Medicare levy which is being considered by the Expenditure Review Committee for higher-income earners would not necessarily go towards health but said that in any case a higher levy for higher-income earners was and the Medicare levy was going to pay for health it would be many times what it is he said Medicare levy really has got nothing to do with health a way of collecting Dr Wooldridge also said that Australia might have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars rebuilding and retooling hospitals He said that the move which would have to come from Federal and State budgets was necessary if hospitals were to meet the demands of changed delivery of service such as more day surgery we keep on doing what we are doing with the population getting older we are in diabolical he said By MARION DOWNEY Health Writer The Federal Minister for Health Dr Wooldridge has promised to meet junior doctors in NSW if they will call off a strike which is preventing 3000 patients a week from undergoing elective surgery Dr Wooldridge said last week that the doctors could till Christmas as far as but on Channel Sunday program yesterday he showed the first signs of softening his position Doctors in NSW public hospitals went on strike last week in protest against legislation introduced in December which restricts the number of doctors able to practise as GPs While still describing the NSW doctors as a which was the public to Dr Wooldridge said he was prepared to talk about how the legislation was implemented Admitting that he was offering an olive branch to the young doctors he said: legislation has passed through but if something in the implementation that will put aside some of their concerns prepared to talk about Representatives of the Public Service Association (PSA) of NSW and the NSW Health Department are due to appear this morning before the Industrial Relations Commission in a bid to sort out the dispute Dr Aiveen Bannan a PSA representative of junior doctors said that dodors would be willing to call off the strike if Dr offer was genuine Doctors voted last week to continue the strike indefinitely Dr Bannan said that this was due to be reviewed on Friday but would be reviewed earlier if necessary is what we have wanted all along to talk to the Serial killer feared as woman vanishes A serial killer was believed responsible for the disappearance of a third woman from a popular Perth nightspot West Australian police said yesterday Ms Ciara Eilish Glennon 27 vanished from outside the Continental Hotel in the middle-class suburb of Claremont in west about midnight on Friday after celebrating St Day with work friends She was last seen leaving the hotel Police said they believed she had intended to catch a taxi but they had been unable to confirm whether a call had been placed with any of the taxi companies Ms Glennon who was described by police as being very cautious lived at home with her parents in Mosman Park Police said it was out of character for Ms Glennon not to contact her family or to fail to return home from a night out The commander of the State Crime Squad Mr Bob Ibbotson said Ms disappearance confirmed police fears that they were dealing with a serial killer In January last year Ms Sarah Spiers disappeared after drinking with friends at the Continental Hotel and another popular Claremont nightspot Club Bayview A second woman Ms Jane Rimmer disappeared from the same area eight months ago She was found murdered two months later All three women were young and attractive and all had been drinking at the same hotel before leaving alone to catch a taxi home A spokesman for the Continental said yesterday that security guards were being employed to watch the hotel at night are three obvious Mr Ibbotson said is that they got into a vehicle that they trust a taxi or police vehicle or something of that nature second is that they have got into the vehicle of an acquaintance Unfortunately a lot of young people class people they have met once or twice as a friend third is the blitz attack which is where a car pulls up a person or persons jump out and the victim is grabbed yelling and screaming That one is probably unlikely but they are Mr Ibbotson said resources would be stepped up to the Macro Taskforce set up to investigate the disappearance of Ms Spiers and the murder of Ms Rimmer and headed by Detective-Superintendent Paul Ferguson taskforce is still operating and is still very well resourced and although we obviously apprehended him to continue as they are the taskforce has put in place a number of initiatives following the disappearance of Jane last time which we are very hopeful will assist us in this Mr Ibbotson said Shamrock fever A wolfhound enters into the spirit of the day which was too much for one celebrant above while from top left a baby nods off a harasses a potato farmer and St Patrick greets the crowd Photographs by steven si ewert Growing concern about health care He was in for the long haul was in the West Indies last St Day and there wasn't much happening at McCrory said is much better But I promised to wear the hat in her when it's cold they can outrun a While organisers of march and concert herald the international success of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance as for new audiences the uniqueness and the excitement of Irish for lads such as Noel McCrory St Day means one thing and one thing only: the The 26-year-old traveller from County Mead had parked himself opposite Prince Alfred Park with a six-pack of beer at his feet a coloured cap with fake dreadlocks on his head and several shades of green zinc plastered across his nose 25000 walk for a good cause important to change Medicare in order to fix the public hospital system than it would be to stick to the Federal pre-election promise to keep it intact Nearly four out of five (77 per cent) said that the pre-election promise to keep Medicare intact had no influence on the way they voted at the Federal election survey demonstrates in the most vivid way that Australians are deeply concerned about the health system and faced with a choice between commonsense solutions or an election promise being kept they prefer the said national public affairs manager Mr David Jones MARION DOWNEY Concern about the public hospital system has increased dramatically since the last election according to a nationwide survey by Roy Morgan Research The random survey of more than 1200 Australians on behalf of the health insurer MBF found that 44 per cent of respondents were about the public hospital system than they were before the Federal election Half of those surveyed believed the Government should reverse its pre-election commitment not to change Medicare in order to sort out the problem of access to public hospitals The survey also found that nearly three-quarters of those surveyed believed it was more fund long-term development projects enable people to work themselves out of poverty and realise their basic Community Aid executive director Mr Jeremy Hobbs said strong turnout sends a clear message that the mainstream cares about aid and wants lasting solutions to world poverty Government should think twice about slashing already measly aid budget even further in the coming Mr Hobbs said and back again included the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mr Mick Dodson and the State Minister for Corrective Services Mr Debus Five hundred business people from 25 companies raised $18000 in the Workplace Challenge section of the walk The Walk Against Want sponsor NRMA Clean Air 2000 promoted the message that walks reduce pollution levels and traffic congestion while keeping us Money raised in the walk will Mrs Hazel Hawke was determined to earn her SI 00 sponsorship from broadcaster Alan Jones as she joined more than 8500 Sydneysiders yesterday to march 20 kilometres in the 31st national Walk Against Want Around the country 25000 cyclists rollerbladers joggers and walkers as well as disabled in wheelchairs parents pushing prams and even family pets raised an estimated $280000 in sponsorships and donations The Hawke party which walked the loop extending from the Domain to Rushcutters Bay Sydneysiders step out yesterday Photograph by nick moi MPs judges by commission By PHILIP C0RNF0RD The outspoken Labor MLC Mrs Franca Arena said yesterday she believed the Police Royal Commission had not investigated allegations of pedophile behaviour by two NSW MPs and two judges all of whom are still in office complaints have been to the royal commission but according to the witnesses it has done nothing about said Mrs Arena the MP who revealed that former Supreme Court judge Mr David Yeld-ham was being questioned by the commission She said that about 12 witnesses a number of them She said she would wait until the Royal Commissioner Justice James Wood released his report on pedophiles due on June 30 The commission has ended its public hearings If she found evidence of treatment or a she would consider naming the alleged pedophiles under parliamentary privilege which she used to reveal that Mr Yeldham was being investigated are serious allegations and I will need to be convinced that they have been thoroughly investigated Otherwise I will consider using parliamentary privilege as a last she said The Minister for Police Mr Whelan said it would be premature to name anyone before Justice Wood released his report the royal commission knows what it is investigating so it is speculation to suggest that it is not investigating certain Mr Whelan said Mrs Arena said the complaints had been made to her as far back as early October The witnesses complained that the royal commission had not attempted to seek more information from them nor informed them whether investigations were being made Sydney family who allegedly was involved in a pedophile ring which murdered a Town ward about 15 years ago A pedophile who adopted a 12-year-old boy and abused him for years witnesses were afraid that the royal commission had not investigated their complaints Some have also gone to the police but without Mrs Arena will meet the Assistant Police Commissioner Mr Clive Small on Wednesday but she said she had been told by police that they had received very little information from the royal commission to help them investigate pedophiles Mrs Arena may consider naming alleged pedophiles victims had come to her in and because they were concerned that their complaints had not been properly investigated The witnesses claimed they had made complaints to the royal commission about alleged pedophile activities by: Two serving MPs Two sitting judges A member of a prominent ASentrol Smoke Detector Safety Recall A All ESL Models 449 429 Series Date codes 9603 to 9649 fl SENTROL INC is recalling fl both of the above models of smoke detector that A were installed after 17th fl January 1996 because of a fault in the printed circuit a board (The suspect units are not battery operated fl smoke detectors but detectors that are connected A fl to an alarm panel) The effect of the fault is that the SENTROL smoke a detector may fail to function if the temperature of the fl room in which the detector is installed falls below 21 fl Therefore you should not rely on the detector to perform its intended purpose fl The faulty smoke detectors have been 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The development in the Garigal National Park which is to be demolished to make way for a toilet block already has been paid and the NPWS anticipates the final figure will be about $1 million Then there are the own legal costs and the planning time now seen to have been wasted Told by the NPWS it would cost at least another $500000 to turn the development into something conforming to the law say a modest kiosk the Minister for the Environment Ms Allan has decided to cut taxpayers' losses and have the building demolished In its place will rise a toilet block and tourist information shelter mostly for users of the nearby boat ramp A spokesman for Ms Allan said yesterday: a result of actions of the former government taxpayers are going to be stuck with a $1 million toilet Mr Davitt 45 said last night he had been mostly unemployed since quitting an airline job in 1990 to pursue his development is the first heard of the decision to demolish the he said on being told of the decision by the Herald By DAVID HUMPHRIES State Political Conespondent They are destined to be $1 million-plus toilets humble in construction and fit-out but with a history of ministerial and bureaucratic bungles leaving taxpayers with virtually nothing to show for their raided pockets The cost will not be in the amenities provided but in the demolition of amenities denied When James and Chris Davitt won permission from then Greiner Government Environment Minister Mr Tim Moore in 1991 to build a 100-seat tearoom commercial kitchen centre boatshed and public toilets in the Garigal National Park on the northern foreshores of Middle Harbour near the Roseville Bridge they sold their home and entered a $4800-a-month bank mortgage Much of the work was completed before Willoughby and Ku-ring-gai councils pressed by angry residents convinced the Land and Environment Court in 1992 that the 15-year MENSfNLY CAL CLINIC lease of public land with a 15-year option was void because it did not comply with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act The court ordered a 12-month stay on demolition so the Davitts and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS)' could find a remedy Five years later all that has been found is agreement on how much the Davitts should be compensated for the development More than $650000 NOW OPEN IN COFFS HARBOUB FREECALL-7 DAYS FOR YOUR NEAREST CLINIC 1 800 8181271 2 1 I.