28 June 2002 - Media Release

Australians take heart - lack of physical exercise a major health problem

The Coalition Government must do more to encourage Australians to partake in regular physical activity, following the release of a report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare confirming that lack of fitness and regular physical exercise often results in increased risk of major illness, especially cardiovascular disease.

Whilst the relationship between increased physical activity and improved health is well recognised, this Report confirmed that lack of fitness and regular physical exercise substantially increases the risks of heart problems, obesity, as well as Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and cancer.

Sport and physical activity are therefore essential to improved individual health as the human body responds positively to participation in some form of physical activity. Physically active Australians reduce their risk of heart disease, colon cancer, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes mellitus, sleep disorders and mental health problems; they generally live longer, suffer less from anxiety, stress and depression and have lower mortality rates. Increased physical activity boosts workplace productivity and reduces absenteeism and workplace-related injuries.

In an important finding, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed that not only does one’s physical activity influence health, but also that health influences participation in physical activities and one’s level of fitness.

Disturbingly, too many Australians are physically unfit, especially young people, where there has been a rising trend towards sedentary lifestyles.

Increasing participation in sport and physical activities must therefore be a priority as many of these chronic illnesses can be prevented or alleviated through proper diet and physical activity.

The Coalition’s policy of simply increasing the number of people who are members of organised sporting clubs does not go far enough and the message about the benefits of being active must be better promoted.

Media contact: Simon Tatz on 02 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295

26 June 2002 - Media Release

Kemp puts foot in mouth over AIS

Senator Rod Kemp can’t help putting his foot in his mouth.

Instead of allowing negotiations to take place between the ACT Government and the Australian Institute of Sport over the proposed Gungahlin Drive Extension in good faith, Senator Kemp again used Senate Question Time to make misleading comments.

Labor has consistently urged the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) to negotiate in good faith, but Senator Kemp, as Sports Minister, seems determined to influence the ASC to take a political position against the proposed road.

I have deliberately refrained from making public comment over the past five weeks in order to allow the AIS and the ACT Government to negotiate without inappropriate political interference.

The issue of the proposed Gungahlin Drive Extension is complex, as the transport needs of 100,000 Gungahlin residents in the ACT and the claimed impact on the AIS must both be addressed.

The ACT Government released their plans for the Gungahlin Drive Extension last week, and the proposed road will be 200 metres from the AIS and constructed 5-7 metres below the surface. Work will not commence until after athletes’ preparations for the 2004 Olympics are completed.

Senator Kemp’s actions today show he is determined to force the ASC to adopt the Liberal Party’s position of opposing the Gungahlin Drive Extension.

Media contact: Simon Tatz on 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295

26 June 2002 - Media Release

Labor welcomes conference on Developing Sport Education Opportunities in the bush

The Labor Party has welcomed an initiative by the Australian Sports Commission to host a conference examining the reasons behind the current inequity of access to sport opportunities for rural and regional areas of Australia.

The Australian Sports Commission’s Sport Education Section (SES) will be conducting the conference, to be held in Yeppoon, Queensland, from 14 - 16 July.

The aim of the conference is to identify the issues that Australians living in rural and regional areas have with respect to the current delivery of sport education services. It will also explore how Sport and Recreation lead agencies might better deliver accredited courses to sport coaches, sport officials, sport administrators, athletes and volunteers in rural and regional Australia.

Dr Peter Reaburn, the Conference Chair, says that the aim of this conference is to create strategies to develop and improve the sport education opportunities for rural and regional areas by exploring the best practice models for education programs to reach rural and regional Australia.

“Sport in rural and regional Australia has been neglected by the Coalition Government and I have no doubt that this conference is aimed at addressing this neglect,” said Senator Lundy, the Shadow Minister for Sport.

“In the lead up to the last election, Labor launched its sport policy in rural Victoria with a clear commitment to re-build opportunities for regional and rural communities to participate in sport and recreation.

“It is incumbent on the Coalition to do more that pay lip service to the needs of the bush in terms of sport education opportunities - Minister Kemp must listen and respond to their genuine concerns,” Senator Lundy said.

Further information regarding the Rural and Regional Sport Education Conference can be found at:
www.sported-conf2002.cqu.edu.au

Media contact: Simon Tatz on 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295

25 June 2002 - Media Release

Senate inquires into universal broadband access and role of public libraries in providing Internet access.

The Australian Labor Party, in conjunction with the Democrats, today initiated two Senate inquiries; one into universal broadband access and one into the role of public libraries in providing public Internet access.

The Senate Environment, Communications, information Technology and Arts References Committee will conduct both the inquiries.

In relation to broadband access, the purpose of the inquiry is to investigate the capacity of the Australian telecommunications network and its ability to deliver an adequate service to all Australians, particularly those living in rural and regional areas.

The Committee will also inquire into the capacity of the Australian telecommunications network to provide all Australians with reasonable, comparable and equitable access to broadband services.

“This inquiry will build on my successful pair gain campaign which has highlighted significant weaknesses in Telstra’s copper network and the capacity of this network to service Australia’s future broadband needs, Senate Lundy said.

In relation to the inquiry into the role of public libraries into providing public access to the Internet, the Committee will inquire into the accessibility of public access through libraries, possible strategies which could improve the information resources of libraries and the use of libraries to meet community demand for public information in the online environment.

Media contact: Simon Tatz on (02) 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295.

24 June 2002 - Media Release

Coalition vague on ICT procurement assistance for SMEs

The Coalition has paid only lip-service to small to medium enterprise (SME) concerns about Australian industry development in a recent announcement about information and communications technology (ICT) outsourcing arrangements, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy, said today.

“Labor is looking for a genuine commitment from the Coalition to create real opportunities for the local ICT industry to access Commonwealth Government contracts,” Senator Lundy said.

“Our position on the use of ICT outsourcing as a platform for local industry development has been clear.  Improving awareness of the capability of Australian SMEs and their ability to contract directly to the Government has always been a central feature of Labor’s ICT outsourcing policy.

“However, the Minister’s press release would be more accurate if it were titled ‘Simplified ICT procurement arrangements to assist multinationals’, because that’s the initiative that the press release describes.

“For one thing, it places too much importance on encouraging the same huge multinationals to pass on the crumbs of ICT outsourcing contracts to SMEs.

“Ten or twenty percent of a contract isn’t enough to drive long term ICT industry development and create important growth opportunities for dynamic, exporting SMEs, and the Coalition’s failure to recognise this is exposed by their continued emphasis on the role of multinational companies.

“The Coalition continues to dance to the tune of the big end of town.  Over time it has removed any formal obligations to ICT industry development by multinationals engaged in IT outsourcing contracts under $20 million,” Senator Lundy said.

“I urge the Coalition to act quickly to remove the barriers to SMEs tendering.  Despite the Minister’s claim, this promise is yet to be meaningfully fulfilled,” Senator Lundy concluded.

Media contact: Simon Tatz on (02) 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295. 

24 June 2002 - Media release

Online parents’ network for a Childcare campaign launched today

A parents’ network designed to be accessed via the Internet has been launched at the Central Canberra Family Day Care Centre in Acton today.

This web page is designed to involve parents in the campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of childcare to the community as a whole.

The theme of the campaign is Childcare - Everyone’s Responsibility.

Alison Neil, a Canberra parent, launched the web page, supported by members of the campaign committee, Nicola Roxon MP, Shadow Minister for Children and Youth, ACT Senator Kate Lundy, Annette Ellis MP and Katy Gallagher, MLA.

The childcare campaign was initiated following a public meeting of parents, childcare professionals, employers and union representatives convened by Kate Lundy. A campaign committee was established and resolved to create a parents network to provide a means for parents to involve themselves in the community campaign.

“Unions, employers, childcare professionals, childcare workers, government and parents all have a role to play in recognising the value of childcare professionals and this web site forms part of the childcare awareness campaign,” Senator Lundy said.

The Childcare campaign website can be found here.

Media Contact: Simon Tatz on 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295

23 June 2002 - Media Alert

Childcare Web Page Launch

11 am
Monday 24 June 2002
Central Canberra Family Day Care,
16 Balmain Lane, Acton

Unions, employers, childcare professionals, government and parents all play a role in providing quality care for our children. Recognising that childcare is everyone's responsibility is what this website and   childcare campaign is all about.  The website can be accessed by parents who support improving the recognition and value of childcare professionals.

Parent spokesperson, Alison Neil will officially launch the web page at 11am. Joining her will be Nicola Roxon MP, Shadow Minister for Children and Youth, ACT Senator Kate Lundy,  Annette Ellis MP, and Katy Gallagher, MLA

Media Contact: Simon Tatz on 0418 488 295

18 June 2002 - Media Release

Census internet figures indicate that the job is only half done

Australians should be congratulated for being so quick to adopt the Internet as a new communications medium, Senator Kate Lundy, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, said today.

New ABS figures show that almost 7 million Australians had used the internet in the week preceding the 2001 Census.

“Email and the World Wide Web are vitally important communication tools, and it is great that Australians have been quick to adopt these technologies,” Senator Lundy said

“Although these figures are welcome, they fail to indicate the real and growing chasm between information ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.  In particular, those ‘have nots’ with the lowest incomes are the least able to get connected to the internet.

“Previous studies have made it clear – the wealthier you are the more likely it is you will be connected to the Internet.  This points to the need for a more pro-active strategy to close the digital divide.

“The Coalition is doing little to bridge this digital divide.

“Labor believes in a fair go for everyone, and this applies to the digital realm.  As Shadow Minister for Information Technology I will be consulting widely within the community to develop policies to address this inequity.

“If our community is to benefit as a whole from the information revolution, then all Australians must be included, and only Labor is committed to achieving this,” Senator Lundy concluded.

Media contact: Simon Tatz on (02) 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295.

14 June 2002 - Media Release

AFL fans get raw deal - again

AFL fans in the ACT have once again been treated shabbily, with no coverage of the important Collingwood versus Fremantle match on free-to-air television this Sunday.

Instead of showing the Collingwood v Fremantle match, WIN Television (and Nine in Sydney) will be screening The Battle of the Bulge, a 1965 war drama starring Henry Fonda.

Foxtel will broadcast the game live, however Foxtel is not accessible, or affordable, to everyone in Canberra and it is disappointing and frustrating for the many AFL fans who will miss out on seeing this vital match.

WIN have pointed out that the problem lies with the AFL. The AFL have explained that because the game is being played in Western Australia, the time difference means a clash with WIN’s rugby league delayed telecast of the Roosters v Northern eagles match.

This is little comfort to AFL fans in Canberra.

The problem comes back to Senator Alston, who has had seven years to monitor the impact of pay-TV in Australia and ensure that major sports that are on the anti-siphoning list are screened at accessible times by a range of free-to-air broadcasters.

This Friday, the Essendon v Hawthorn match will be shown on WIN from 11.10 pm - 2.15 am. The Sydney v Geelong match will be shown on Capital from 8.30 - 12.00 midnight.

13 June 2002 - Media Release

Privacy Commissioner to formally investigate allegations of Government spam

The investigation by the Federal Privacy Commissioner into a Government web site accused of spamming its users is to be welcomed, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy said today.

Deputy Federal Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim, said last night:

"We are aware of allegations that a federal government web site, designed for young people, may have spammed users as part of two competitions it was running. I have commenced a formal investigation into the matter to determine if the Privacy Act has been breached."

“In the case under investigation, young Australians who used the Department of Family and Community Services youth web site, ‘the Source’ may have had their privacy breached,” Senator Lundy said.

“The Commissioner is focusing on Information Privacy Principle number 10, which limits the use of personal information collected by Government agencies.

“In February, Senator Alston, the Minister for Information Technology’ said that ‘the Government wants to ensure that spamming does not get out of hand’, and yet now it appears that one of the culprits could be the Government.

“This incident shows that the Coalition has no real commitment and no idea about tackling junk email,” Senator Lundy said.

“We know that the community wants to see a Government committed to fighting spam.  The Coalition has shown it is incapable of leading by example; it has no credibility on this issue.

“Last week I called upon Senator Alston to direct every online department and agency to ensure they have watertight privacy policies which respect the privacy of their users.  As usual, he has done nothing, and left it up to the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner to try and fix this mess,” Senator Lundy concluded.

Media contact: Simon Tatz (02) 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295

6 June 2002 - Media Release

Howard Government breaks promise to fund Commonwealth Games

The Howard Government has reneged on its commitment to provide $90 million to the Victorian Government to upgrade the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

When the Coalition announced the $90 million for the MCG there were no strings attached. But Tony Abbott, the Minister for Workplace Relations, intervened and insisted upon unacceptable pre-requisites relating to industrial conditions on the MCG site.

Mr Howard is happy to bask in the glory of our elite athletes but when it comes to keeping his promises to the Australian sporting community, the PM can’t be trusted.

It is disgraceful that the Coalition is using such a prestigious international sporting event as the Commonwealth Games for political purposes.

Rather than turn the 2006 Commonwealth Games into an industrial battleground, the Victorian Government rightly decided to contribute an additional $77 million themselves, with $13 million to be contributed from the MCG custodian.

Media contact: Simon Tatz on 02 62773334 or 0418 488 295

5 June 2002 - Media Release

Coalition anti-spamming policy should start at home

Reports today that an Australian government web site sent out “spam emails”, despite the site's privacy policy stating it won't use e-mail addresses without the owner's consent, casts doubt on the Coalition’s claimed intention to fight spam, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy said.

The online news service, ZDNet Australia (http://www.zdnet.com.au/ newstech/), has reported how “The Source”, a Government web site targeting young people, sent multiple unsolicited emails promoting free movie tickets to people.

“In February, Senator Alston, the Minister for Information Technology said that ‘the Government wants to ensure that … spamming does not get out of hand’, and yet we now discover that some of the culprits are Government agencies,” Senator Lundy said.

“While any initiative to combat spam is commendable, it will require co-operation with the entire internet community.  Unfortunately the Coalition is not leading by example.

“The community wants to see a Government committed to fighting junk emails, but this debacle hasn’t done much to help the Coalition’s credibility on this issue.

“Government web sites need to ensure they respect the privacy of their users.  They should not be spamming them with multiple copies of unsolicited advertising material.

“We should be seeing a directive from the Minister’s office to all departments and agencies with an interactive online presence with words to this effect, to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” Senator Lundy concluded.

The ZDNet Article can be found at the following web site:

http://www.zdnet.com.au/printfriendly?AT=2000024993-20265741

Media Contact: Simon Tatz on 02 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295.

3 June 2002 - Media Release

Gungahlin residents tell of telecommunications divide

A meeting attended by over 120 people at the Gold Creek Senior School on Saturday was vocal in calling for improved telecommunications services for Gungahlin residents.

Organised by ACT Senator Kate Lundy and Federal Member for Fraser, Bob McMullan MP, the meeting heard how Gungahlin residents have been left behind with the telecommunications services of the last century.

A panel which included local Labor MLA, Katy Gallagher and representatives from TransACT, Telstra, and Optus, heard residents speak of how they are unable to receive a reasonable dial-up internet connection, affordable broadband or decent mobile phone coverage.

Residents raised a variety of issues, including:

Mr McMullan, who chaired the meeting, acknowledged the difficulties faced by residents.  “It is unfair that neighbours across the Barton Highway can access ADSL broadband telecommunications services, but residents of Canberra’s newest suburbs miss out.”

Ms Gallagher acknowledged the role the ACT Government has to play saying “This meeting made it clear that this problem has a far reaching impact on families and local businesses.  I will be calling on the Assembly to ask Telstra to explain why they have chosen to use network technology that is so backward-looking.”

Senator Lundy has asked Telstra, Optus and TransACT to formally respond to the issues raised at the meeting. “Gungahlin residents are among the million or so victims of the short-sighted decisions taken by Telstra when they chose to use pair gains in their network,” Senator Lundy said.

“As a result of this meeting, we will be starting a petition that expresses the urgent need and desire for Gungahlin residents to have a state of the art broadband telecommunications network,” Senator Lundy concluded.

Media contact: Simon Tatz (Senator Lundy) – 6277 3334 (w); 0418 488 295 (m)

                                            Bob Harlow (Bob McMullan) – 6247 4396 (w); 0438 513 653 (m)