Sydney shark victim's brave return to Bondi beach, by David Barrett - Herald Sun - 13th May 2009

Just three months ago, Able Seaman Paul de Gelder lay in hospital fighting for his life.

His right hand had been torn off by a bull shark, and within days surgeons amputated his lower right leg.

He'd stared "eye-to-eye" with the monster shark, and cheated death.

Paddling through the waves at Sydney's North Bondi beach Tuesday, Mr de Gelder, 32, was a man determined to recover and live his life.

A keen surfer, he hit the waves with two mates for the first time since the shark attack in Sydney Harbour on February 11.

Emerging from the surf, he told the Herald Sun he felt good being back in the water.

"Mate, I've been falling off my surfboard," he said. "It was my first time back out there."

Mr de Gelder spent about 15 minutes lying on his board, swimming and catching waves. On the beach he did some push-ups and stood gazing out at the water.

"Surfing was a big part of my life before the attack," he said. "So I really wanted to get back out there again.

"I'm a beach boy now."

Mr de Gelder served in East Timor as a peacekeeper and spent four years as an army paratrooper.

He was mauled while testing the navy's counter-terrorism equipment off the RAN base at Garden Island.

In a TV interview on Sunday, Mr de Gelder said he stared "eye-to-eye" with the shark that attacked him.

"You don't even feel the teeth go in. I think the adrenaline, the panic, probably puts a numb on the pain and you don't feel it," he said.

Mr de Gelder said he was very happy to be back in the water: "It's . . . where I feel most comfortable of all, even with these big sharks around."

Mr de Gelder hopes to one day return to work as a navy clearance diver.

"It's gonna be a tough bridge to cross but you can't show weakness," he said.

"Not in my job."

Asked if he was planning more surfing, he said: "I'll be back for sure." (Credit: Herald Sun)

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Lara checks out her Bondi pad - News.com.au - 3rd April 2009

It looks like Lara Bingle is one step closer to being a Bondi babe after being spotted checking out her and fiance Michael Clarke's new beachside home this week.

Looking casual in a way that only the beautiful Bingle can - dressed in thigh-high leather boots and a little black dress - she was spotted checking out the pad with another blonde, believed to be a lawyer involved in the property transaction.

The Shire girl is said to be jumping at the opportunity to move into the three-bedroom, two bathroom, sub-penthouse in the Cadigal, overlooking the famous beach in the heart of the fashionable suburb.

The purchase of the property, which is rumoured to have come with a $6 million price tag, has bypassed real estate agents with Clark buying the property from good mate and celebrity accountant Anthony Bell.

With Bell moving on this month to his new penthouse property in the Bondi, further along the beachfront, it is expected Bingle and Clark will soon move in and become permanent fixtures in the celebrity-laden area.

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Sex Appeal at GoldenTigerCasino.com with Cheeky New Slot

Sex Appeal at GoldenTigerCasino.com with Cheeky New Slot

Hit the beach and the jackpot at GoldenTigerCasino!

February 19, 2009 -- With the balmy days of summer beckoning, thoughts turn to holidays and beaches at GoldenTigerCasino.com as they introduce their latest 5 reel, 25 pay-line slot machine Beach Babes.

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Slot-surfers can bet anywhere from 0.01 to 0.25, with possible returns on a maximum bet of 62.50 of 25 000.00 in the base game, and an incredible 150 000.00 achievable on Free Spins action.

With no deposit necessary, players can play for one hour on a selection of exciting casino games at Golden Tiger Casino with no financial risk, using no less than $1500 of the casino's money to make as much back as possible. Any money that the player wins after the 60 minutes free play can be taken into the casino to try and hit the huge jackpots - one of which is currently sitting at an incredible $5.4 million!

Golden Tiger Casino features more than 280 state of the art Las Vegas style online casino games, including free slots, blackjack, video poker, and roulette.

Thanks to a recent facelift, Golden Tiger Casino looks slicker than ever and now supports gaming in 14 different languages. As with all online casinos showcased by CasinoRewards.com, the parent of GoldenTigerCasino.com, multilingual toll free support is on hand around the clock, everyday of the week.

Casino Rewards/Rewards Affiliates

Established in 2000, Casino Rewards has positioned itself as a respected industry leader, operating 18 multilingual online casinos alongside an award winning affiliate program Rewards Affiliates. Each online casino features free play and sign up bonuses, over 300 video slots, table and card games and 24/7 multilingual support.

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Another shark at Bondi? Never mind that, we've got jellyfish, by Kylie Davis - The Sydney Morning Herald - 16th February 2009

Surfers' reports of another shark forced the closure of Bondi Beach last night, on the same day more than 500 ocean swimmers plunged into the water at Malabar and the State Government denied it was putting lives at risk.

Three days after a shark attack at Bondi, the alarm sounded about 5.15pm yesterday.

"There was a very big brownish marine creature spotted by two local surfers who are very reliable," said a Waverley Council lifeguard, Brad Malyon. "The evacuation went really quickly once we raised the alarm. It goes to show how on edge everyone is after last week's attack."

The beach was not reopened but as many as 20 surfers went back into the water.

Hours earlier, Maroubra Beach was closed briefly as lifeguards used a dinghy to chase a shark out to sea. But jellyfish and the weather posed a bigger threat to the inaugural Malabar to Little Bay Stockland Challenge than sharks, according to the ocean swim's organiser, the Olympic legend Murray Rose.

The NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald, reacted angrily to claims the Government was putting the welfare of sharks before people.

His department wrote to shark fishermen last week advising them the 60-tonne annual quota had been reached four months ahead of schedule and bans were now in place to prevent over-fishing. The letters arrived as sharks seriously injured two men - a navy diver, Paul de Gelder, at Woolloomooloo last Wednesday and a surfer, Glen Orgias, at Bondi the next night.

Mr Macdonald said the quota had been set to protect Australian shark species from exploitation by the international shark-fin industry. Although bullsharks were more visible in Sydney Harbour and along the beaches this year, there was no evidence to show that their number had increased.

"Any connection between the attacks last week in Sydney Harbour [and at Bondi Beach] and the quotas for the shark-catching industry in NSW is completely erroneous," he said. "It is a lie, it's false and it's mischievous and misleading."

He said the 60-tonne limit was set scientifically. "Ninety-five per cent of the catch are generally harmless to humans."

Mr Macdonald said: "These incidents are more related to the fact that Sydney Harbour now has much larger volumes of fish, and therefore shark, due to the ban on commercial fishing."

The Deputy Premier, Carmel Tebbutt, said the banning of commercial fishing in the harbour because of pollution had increased bait fish, which "may mean" more sharks.

"But there's no evidence that there's an increase in shark numbers in general in NSW."

The Opposition spokesman for primary industries, Duncan Gay, said the Government was putting its desire to stay onside with the Greens ahead of safety.

"Shark fishermen have been telling the State Government that shark numbers are in plague proportions and the quota needs to be overhauled," Mr Gay said.

Mr Rose said the two latest shark attacks meant it was "probably the most challenging week for an ocean swim in history".

"But the fact that it's the first time we've organised the swim, and more than 500 people have taken part - well, it's a testimony to the culture of Australia," he said.

The weather led to a last-minute rerouting of the course. It was cut to 2.2 kilometres around Malabar Bay, rather than around the heads to Little Bay, but that did not prevent the rugby legend Phil Kearns, the blind distance swimmer James Pittar, and Olympians John Konrads, Rebecca Joye and Carl Wilson from taking part.

The state's chief scientist, Steve Panella, said: "There is no reason to think we will start to get lots and lots of attacks because of the two that occurred last week."

(Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)

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Funds crisis on lifesavers costs lives at NSW coast beaches, by Steve Gee - The Daily Telegraph - 5th January 2009

The lives of thousands of beachgoers are at risk because councils cannot afford to hire enough lifeguards to protect them.

Professional lifeguards said yesterday a funding crisis meant some regional councils were still operating with patrol levels unchanged in 30 years.

Councils such as Wollongong, Newcastle, Kiama, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie required at least $200,000 in annual funding to expand services adequately.

The warning follows the drowning of a 49-year-old Sydney holidaymaker at Bombo Beach, on the South Coast, on New Year's Day. The man was swimming with a female friend at the unpatrolled southern end of the beach when they got into difficulty about 3pm.

Bodyboarders rescued the couple but could not revive the man when they reached shore.

The beach is patrolled only over Christmas and New Year and while there were lifeguards at the northern end, lifesavers said the lack of patrols was symptomatic of the state's inability to match expanding coastal populations.

Australian Professional Lifeguards Association national secretary John Andrews said yesterday that while councils could apply for government grants to fund equipment and infrastructure such as towers, there were no provisions to cover wages.

Mr Andrews said at least three additional beaches in major regional centres required patrols. A lack of funding meant councils had been forced to delay expansion plans.

"A lot of councils have pencilled in expansion in future services but because of limited funding, (plans for) beaches they would love to put lifeguards on just stay on the drawing board," he said.

"It's a matter of councils trying to keep up with the patterns of use and the different kinds of activities, but the money is not there."

Mr Andrews said a combination of continued coastal development and the rise in new water sports such as sea kayaking and kite-surfing meant beachgoers were moving away from more popular beaches.

However, lack of funding meant that many of the stretches remained unpatrolled or with only minimal coverage in the peak periods. "Some of those beaches may open for six weeks now only but councils would love to open them up maybe not for the full seven months but for three months," Mr Andrews said. "A lot of people still recreate outside that time."

A spokeswoman for Sport and Recreation Minister Kevin Greene said yesterday the State Government had no plans to help councils pay for professional lifeguards.

The Department of Sport and Recreation injects $1.7 million annually into volunteer surf clubs and an additional $2 million in grants.

"Paying wages for lifeguards is a council responsibility," the spokeswoman said. (Credit: The Daily Telegraph)

Topless ban a matter for councils, says O'Farrell - 30th December 2008

A proposal to ban women sunbathing topless on NSW beaches is too trivial a matter for the state's parliament to consider, Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell says.

Independent MP Reverend Fred Nile says he will introduce a private member's bill in parliament to outlaw topless women on beaches.

But Mr O'Farrell says it's not a matter for parliament.

"This is a matter for local councils to deliberate, at a time when state parliament should be focusing on roads, public transport, hospitals and education," he told AAP on Tuesday.

"It doesn't rate on the list of important matters for the parliament of NSW."

Mr Nile says high community standards need to be observed in public places.

"I'm not crusading or attacking women on the beach who are topless, I just want to clarify the law so that it's quite clear what's expected," Mr Nile told Sky News on Tuesday.

"If you keep changing the standard, people who find it offensive then can't use those public beaches."

Assistant Health Minister Jodi McKay told The Daily Telegraph banning topless sunbaking was going too far.

"We don't want to go down the slippery slope of banning activities like this. What would be next, banning breastfeeding?"

But women who breastfed in public were not flaunting their breasts, Mr Nile said.

"(They're) feeding a baby so that's a different situation altogether from topless bathing on a public beach."

Mr Nile said he had not added up the number of complaints he had received about topless sunbaking over the years, but there had been "a few".

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The Sydney to Hobart yacht race, Australia's top yachting event, will this year see 101 boats competing, up from 82 last year. Sponsorships for most of the entries were sealed months ago despite the financial crisis, although some billionaire-owned yachts will compete without any sponsorship. Among the more prominent entries are Wot Now and Wot Yot, two boats owned by Graeme Wood, the founder of online travel service Wotif.com, and billionaire Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI.

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Beach grog ban makes life a breeze for lifeguards, by Erik Jensen - The Sydney Morning Herald - 26th December 2008

It was a Christmas tradition, weakened by a booze ban, and snubbed out by an overcast morning.

On Bondi Beach, a Waverley Council sign showed a stick figure with a martini glass and a Santa hat. He was being drowned, then arrested. "Alcohol strictly prohibited on Bondi Beach on Christmas Day," it read.

Attendance was down to about 10,000 on the beach yesterday. There were big men in small swimmers, backpackers boiled an angry red with sunburn.

In a good year, before the 2004 alcohol ban, the beach would take closer to 50,000 on Christmas Day.

"When they stopped the alcohol on the beach, so did the crowds, said Kris Yates, a lifeguard in the beach's tower. "In my opinion, if the public could drink, the beach would be packed. [But] it's a good idea. There's a lot more work when there's drink on the beach."

Road signs spread the message from the top of Bondi Road: alcohol was prohibited as far back as Blair Street.

"I was expecting more people," said Alessandro Bentivedo, one of many on the beach spending their first Christmas far away from home. "This rule about alcohol, for me it's strange. In Italy you can smoke, you can drink. I don't like it but I respect this rule."

Most people did respect the rule - or at least abided by it. Private security checked bags before their owners reached the sand. Only a handful of swimmers needed to be pulled from the long flat surf.

"I was expecting only to find a spot of sand to lay on," said Chris Hall, a British backpacker in his second week in Sydney. "It's busy, but there's quite a bit of space isn't there?".

(Credit: Fairfax)

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Safety over record for Wild Oats - The Daily Telegraph - 21st December 2008

Wild Oats skipper Mark Richards has revealed that getting the 98-footer to Hobart "in one piece" is the priority over chasing a new race record and that he could deliberately put the brakes on the super maxi if conditions demand.

While early Rolex Sydney to Hobart forecasts indicate the potential for a new mark, Richards said the main goal is making it safely into port.

And if conditions dictate, Richards says he will have no qualms in slowing the boat down.

Sydney to Hobart: See our special section

"We have to get there in one piece," he said.

"We have been training our butts off preparing for the worst. I'd go into slow-down mode if we had to. We'll be sailing the boat hard but on the conservative side."

Wild Oats is chasing a fourth successive line honours victory in the 628 nautical mile race which starts on Sydney Harbour at 1pm on Boxing Day.

Richards says that while the long-range forecast for the race is indicating a fast trip south, he and his crew are reluctant to "talk up a record".

"It's still too early to tell," he said. "You just never know what can happen out there. The weather has been so crazy, it could all change."

Wild Oats has completed her race preparation and will be lifted out of the water for final checks.

Yesterday, Graeme Wood's 52-footer Wot Now claimed boasting rights ahead of the classic with his overall handicap victory over Syd Fischer's Ragamuffin in the lead-up series.

It was a deserved result for Wood and his team who have battled bad luck since the launch of the yacht earlier this year when the boat's rudder broke during the Sydney to Gold Coast race.

A second and third on the final day of racing secured Wood victory in the Rolex Trophy over Ragamuffin with Geoff Ross' Yendys third.

The Melbourne yacht Terra Firma claimed division two honours in the four-day regatta sailed off Sydney Heads, with Leslie Green's Ginger winning the passage race series.

(Credit: The Daily Telegraph)

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In the dock - The Sydney Morning Herald - 22nd November 2008

PS's nautical spies report the Virgin billionaire Sir Richard Branson's catamaran, Lady Barbaretta, is still sitting in a Newcastle boatshed awaiting a refit. The Lady Barbaretta has become a "slightly painful experience" for the billionaire after the 32-metre tub was caught up in the financial troubles of the shipyard hired to undertake the work. Branson has predicted the tub will be back in the water by next March.

(Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)

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Surf's up in NSW, Australia's Top Surfing Destination - 13th October 2008

The Minister for Tourism, Jodi McKay reported that, surfing was a key attraction for almost a million visitors to NSW in 2007 with more than $11 million spent on surfing lessons alone.

“Surfing is a healthy experience which is appealing to both domestic and international visitors and is also delivering an economic boost to communities right along the NSW coast,” Ms McKay said.

“Events such as the Beachley Classic in Manly this week contribute to NSW’s reputation as one of the world’s best places to surf,” she said.

Ms McKay continued that NSW was the number one destination for surf tourism in Australia.

“Around 848,000 holidaying Australians went surfing in NSW last year, which was more than any other State,” she said.

“Surfing lessons are popular with the international backpacker market and NSW received 445,000 international backpackers last year,” she said.

“More than half of all international backpackers to Australia are likely to take surfing lessons.”

Tourism NSW estimates that the states 33 accredited surf schools contribute $11.7 million to the NSW economy each year.

Ms McKay said that the state was expecting thousands of visitors to attend the Beachley Classic in Manley which began on Thursday.

The event which has been supported for the past two years by the state government, will be supported by Events NSW this year.

Events NSW CEO Geoff Parmenter said that surfing forms a natural part of an events strategy for New South Wales.

“By securing significant high profile professional and participatory surfing events and by working with Surfing NSW and Tourism NSW we can support their efforts to position NSW as the surfing capital of Australia.

“Surfing provides a unique and targeted foundation from which to build economic and brand marketing benefits for New South Wales.

“Events NSW current investment in surfing encompasses a regional and a Sydney based platform, extending from the Country Energy Australian Surf Festival in Port
Macquarie to Surfest in Newcastle and the Beachley Classic.

“Surfing is not only an Australian pastime; it’s also one of our most successful exports, seriously big business for the surf wear brands.

Ms McKay said seven-time women's world surfing champion, Layne Beachley, has worked in conjunction with Tourism NSW to promote surfing.

This has included headlining an event in Los Angeles for media and travel agents as part of G’DAY USA: Australia Week in January this year.

“NSW has spectacular beaches all along its coastline including 77 of the top 100 surf beaches in Australia,” she said.

“Visitors to NSW want to experience our unique urban beach culture that is a major part of the lifestyle in Sydney and coastal NSW.

“Surfing is part of the Australian way of life and is a great way for visitors to connect with local people and experience our culture.”

There are accredited surf schools all along the NSW coastline from Tathra to Kingscliff including iconic locations such as Bondi Beach, Manly and Byron Bay.

According to NSW surf tourism operators, Sydney is the most popular destination for international surf tourists in NSW followed by Byron Bay.

Other favourites include the North Coast surf touring route including Newcastle, Port Macquarie, the Coffs Coast and Byron Bay.

Tourism NSW promotes surfing in a wide range of marketing activities here and overseas including on our website www.visitnsw.com.

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Whalers get hot reception in Chile - The Gold Coast Bully - 30th June 2008

Byron Bay locals were among the many who pitched up at the International Whaling Committee meeting held in Chile.

Dave Rastovich, from the lobby group Surfers for Cetaceans, Skye Bortoli from Teens Against Whaling, Paul Watson from Sea Shepherd and Hannah Fraser and Jeff Pantakhoff all made the trip to South America to air their views.

They have all played active roles in highlighting the plight of marine mammals. They also work tirelessly to stop the slaughter of the gentle giants.

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Record crowds and celebrities from Sydney's cool scene, pack North Bondi Beach for the first ever Changing Colours Movement protest concert

For Immediate Release:

Record crowds and celebrities from Sydney's cool scene, pack North Bondi Beach for the first ever Changing Colours Movement protest concert to raise money and awareness for the timely issue of whaling.

Celebrities the likes of Hugh Jackman, Gyton Grantley, Bessie Bardot, Lauren Eagle, Nicole Atherton (World Jnr. Womens suf champ) Aaron Jefferies, Leanna Walsman, and Belinda Chappel joined Australian band Mojada and special guests Waverly Mayor Ingrid Strewe, Deputy Mayor Dominic WY Kanak, CEO of Greenpeace Steve Shalhorn, And CEO of IFAW Erica to stand up and voice their opposition to the timely issue of whaling that continues to illegally take place in the protected Australian waters of the Southern Antarctic sanctuary.

Amidst the chilling winds of last Sunday's winter solstice, infront of the camera's of Australia's national media, the local community turned out and witnessed the celebrity guest speakers and an amazing ceremony from legendary Aboriginal musician Bunna Lawrie of the Mirning Tribe and iconic ARIA Award winning Aboriginal band Coloured Stone.

As Bunna performed his traditional whale songs, enlisting the help of the crowd that filled the beach to sing along, 3 humpback whales surfaced not 50 meters off the beach to come and have a listen to the community singing along with Bunna in celebration of these beautiful creatures.

Proceeds from the event were raised for pro surfer Dave Rastovich's 'Surfers for Cetaceans', and Jeff Pantukhoff's 'Whaleman' foundations. Jack Thompson, narrator of the soon to be released Julian Lennon film 'Whaledreamers' also endorsed the event and recorded a video message of support that was played on the night in his absence.

After the official activities on the beach, the event then moved into the North Bondi RSL for the concert featuring music acts including Triple J favorites Melanie Horsnell, Declan Kelly, Gin Wigmore, Budspells and Superstar Dj TARAS.

The highlight of the concert was undoubtedly the jam between Bunna Lawrie, Mojada and Waverly deputy mayor Dominic WY Kanak. The 600 strong sell out crowd felt the roof lift off the north Bondi RSL, which representatives agreed, had never seen such a big event of this stature through its doors in its 50 year history.

Mojada and Bunna head into the studio this weekend, with Producer Nial Anderson to record new material for Bunna including the remake of some of Coloured Stone's classic hits.

Band members from Mojada, who founded The Changing Colours Movement just 4 weeks ago after returning from the US with their debut record, will continue to push for their target of 1 MILLION online signatures against whaling, and plan a release over the next 2 weeks (date TBC) of a film clip for their protest song "Changing Colours" written in direct response to the whaling issue.

"After witnessing the confronting images of the slaughter of hundreds of Dolphins and whales after peaceful protesters were forced away by local fisherman in the bay of Taiji, Japan, we have had an unavoidable drive to help campaign towards the protection and conservation of these majestic ocean giants."

To organize a copy of the film clip, song or interview or further information and pictures

Please contact: The Changing Colours Movement

3/27 Curlewis st, Bondi Beach NSW 2026

+61 4 14 628 650. +612 9300 8649

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Surf club plans cast adrift in political rip tide - Village Voice - 27th May 2008

The $1.7 million grant promised to North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club by local member Malcolm Turnbull before last year's election has been labelled an empty election promise and dumped by the new Federal Government.

But while pollies are busy pointing the finger over the evaporation of the club's pre election grant, its members are focusing on working out how to fix their club without it.

The withdrawal is a major blow to the club's plans to upgrade the decrepit building in order to expand training schemes and surf life saving projects and address serious occupational health and safety concerns.

With many of the club's ageing members unable to negotiate the old staircases and uneven floors and immediate remedial work required, club president Grant McMah said that the political dog fight was the least of his concerns and he just wanted to see the work done.

"We are the meat in the sandwich," Mr McMah said of the scuffle between Mr Turnbull and Federal Regional Development Minister Anthony Albanese over the funding.

"We don't care whether it's Liberal or Labor or Greens. We are colourblind. Who ever wants to give us the cash, we will take it," Mr McMah said.

But the community has come out fighting for the club, with members offering their skills and money to help make up the shortfall.

"Sometimes adversity brings out the best in people and we are kind of hoping it will bring about more support," Mr McMah said.

With one of the largest club memberships in the State, the club's building can no longer cater for community needs, with storage of skis at bursting point, insufficient lockers and inadequate toilet facilities.

Long-time club member and Olympian kayaker Jim Walker said the club was often taken for granted and does more for the community than the government realises.

"If we were to pack up and ship out it would cost the government much more," Mr Walker said.

"Try policing beaches every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday. How much would that cost the government?"

Mr Walker said that the fact that the Bondi Pavilion would receive a Federal Government grant of $445,000 for its artistic pursuits was particularly galling.

"$445,000 is a lot of money you know, and what, for a couple of sea shells which will make 100 people happy? We get disappointed when you say 'hang on we need a bit of help here' and then this happens."

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Councils demand sea-level rise data, by Ben Cubby Environment Reporter - The Sydney Morning Herald - 29th May 2008

The prospects for waterfront properties in NSW are "stark", say experts addressing a local government conference today on sea-level rises due to global warming.

Governments are planning for rises of up to a metre by the end of this century. That would flood tens of thousands of properties along Australia's east coast.

Councils have asked the State Government to reveal its interim projections for rising sea levels until 2100 so they can assess development applications properly and plan measures for coastal areas and estuaries.

Governments at all levels, and the public, are yet to appreciate the scale of the threat, some at the conference believe.

"At the moment, we're in a state of paralysis," said Peter Cowell, a marine scientist at the University of Sydney. "It's very difficult to get people to think long-term on this."

Dr Cowell's projections estimate the cost to south-eastern Australia this century of protecting beaches next to housing and infrastructure at $9 billion, or less if the Government permits offshore sandmining.

The effects of rising sea levels are also expected to be felt inland because most sewage systems rely on gravity, so are vulnerable to higher tides.

A senior official in the coastal management branch of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Phil Watson, said rising sea levels would have widespread consequences in Sydney, even if the emissions that contributed to global warming were heavily reduced.

More than century of data from Fort Denison suggested extreme high tides now experienced once a decade would occur 50 times a year by 2050. By 2100 the site of the cafe in the forecourt of Fort Denison was expected to be under 40 centimetres of water.

The Mayor of Pittwater, David James, said the picture was "pretty stark".

"I'm hoping that when the Government sees rising concern up and down the coast then they will understand that we're looking to them for the necessary guidance … " Cr James said. "How ridiculous it would be for neighbouring councils to be planning for different levels of sea level rise."

A spokeswoman for the Minister for the Environment, Verity Firth, said the Government understood the need for consistency and would advise councils as soon as possible.

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Thinking Green While Sifting Through the Sand, By Andrew Ross Sorkin - The New York Times - 22nd March 2008

Necker Island, British Virgin Islands — Richard Branson was lounging under the starry midnight sky on this palm-dappled speck of an island recently when he popped a sobering question.

“So, do we really think the world is on fire?” Mr. Branson, the British magnate and adventurer, asked several guests as a manservant scurried off to fetch him another glass of pinot grigio.

What he wanted to know was whether his high-powered visitors, among them Larry Page of Google, Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia and Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Britain, thought global warming threatened the planet.

Mr. Branson does — and so did most of his guests. So on this recent weekend they assembled here, on his private hideaway in the waters between the islands of Tortola and Anegada, to figure out what to do about it and perhaps get richer in the process.

Some of them, like Mr. Page, jet-pooled in from Silicon Valley, where the financiers who bankrolled the Web boom of the 1990s are chasing the new New Thing: green power. In an era of $100-a-barrel oil, venture capitalists like Vinod Khosla, another invitee, are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into young companies that cook up biofuels and harness the power of the sun.

Mr. Blair, now a senior adviser to JPMorgan Chase, squeezed in a few idyllic hours here between assignments (he flew in late from California and left early for Jerusalem). Another attendee only sort-of showed up. The Medusa, the 198-foot yacht owned by Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, was moored off Necker Island all weekend, but Mr. Allen never made an appearance.

Mr. Branson hopes the Caribbean getaway weekend will be the first of many, an intimate, enviro-version of the annual media gathering in Sun Valley, Idaho, sponsored by Allen & Company. It was the brainchild of Richard Stromback, a former professional hockey player who has remade himself as a clean-technology entrepreneur. Mr. Stromback, who was host of the weekend and is the chief executive of Ecology Coatings, joked that a gathering like this might seem nefarious to some people.

“In James Bond movies, evil-doers meet in exotic settings to plot the destruction of the planet,” Mr. Stromback said, puffing on a cigar before dinner. “This is the opposite of that.”

So far, however, the hopes and dreams of alternative energy have far outstripped reality. But for Mr. Stromback and many others here, a confluence of two powerful forces — soaring oil prices and growing concern over global warming — means the era of economically viable green power is finally at hand.

Many executives and financiers, including some in attendance, have a lot of money riding on global warming. Mr. Branson, for example, has invested in a host of alternative energy enterprises, including recently flying the first biofuel-powered plane engine for Virgin Atlantic. He also put up $25 million in prize money to challenge scientists to find a way to extract greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Mr. Khosla, the founding chief executive of Sun Microsystems and one of the most successful venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, has at least 33 investments in clean tech, including new fermentation technology to make fuel-grade ethanol.

Much of the weekend was spent hashing over ideas in Mr. Branson’s new open-air yoga pavilion in between massages, kite-surfing lessons and meals on beaches around the island, which Mr. Branson said he bought for £180,000 in the late-1970’s and now rents for as much as $250,000 a week to outside guests. (He’s trying to make the island carbon-neutral and has erected a test windmill.) Talk ranged from the practicality of electric-powered cars to how much money would have to be invested in biofuels to reduce the price of crude to $35 a barrel, a prospect Mr. Khosla said he considered “totally realistic.”

But the big question that hung over the meeting was whether the world could ever work together to tackle climate change and emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

“We have an agreement that there should be an agreement,” said Mr. Blair, dressed in a white polo shirt, blue cargo shorts and Nike sneakers. “But there’s no agreement on what that agreement should be.”

Mr. Blair, who last week announced his Breaking the Climate Deadlock Initiative, predicted that the United States would soon adopt a so-called cap and trade system for carbon emissions, as the European Union has done, with mixed success. But, he contended, “I’m a little skeptical that it will work unless it’s part of a global deal.”

As an alternative, Shai Agassi, the former president of SAP’s product and technology group, suggested having companies buy carbon insurance. Insurance companies, after all, price all kinds of risks. “They know how to put a price on it better than the bookies,” said Mr. Agassi, whose start-up, Better P.L.C., is trying to support the use of fleets of electric vehicles in Israel and elsewhere. (Stanley Fink, the deputy chairman of the Man Group, the world’s largest hedge fund, with $72 billion, suggested that insurance companies often misprice risk — as in the subprime debacle.)

Everyone, it seemed, had some project in the works. Elon Musk, the co-founder of Paypal, talked about his latest project: Tesla Motors, a Silicon Valley company that makes sexy electric sports cars retailing for $100,000. Mr. Page has ordered one.

D. Hunt Ramsbottom, the chief executive of Rentech, talked about his plans to make biofuels for airplanes. William McDonough, the designer, showed renderings of recent planned projects: a building in Abu Dhabi with solar panels built into the windows and a distribution center with a grass roof. And Mr. Page, who was married on Necker Island a few months ago, talked about problems with permits that Google has faced in trying to use solar energy.

With no naysayers on the island, the weekend, which was organized in part by the Climate Group, a nonprofit, was filled with hopeful talk about the “war against carbon,” as Mr. Branson put it. But there was also talk of money, which most of the attendees had plenty of. And to make any of these technologies successful, they all agreed the solutions had to be profitable without subsidies.

“It can’t work any other way,” Mr. Khosla said.

Mr. Page of Google complained that it is still too easy to make a profitable environmentally friendly product that does not go far enough. “We need to give people permission to think really big,” he said. He recounted how when an engineer told him he could produce electricity at 10 cents a kilowatt, he asked if it could be brought down to 3 cents.

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs with salmon on the deck outside the main house Sunday morning, Mr. Branson spent most the day talking about his next big idea. He wants to create a coalition of the most respected people in business to help champion environmental “best practices” — a resource for governments and multinational companies looking for help as they develop environmentally sound policies.

He is tentatively calling the group the War Room. He wants to model it after another group he formed last year, the Elders, with Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela’s wife, Graça Machel, to help solve the world’s political and humanitarian problems.

Mr. Branson was canvassing for names to run it. Someone wondered: what about Warren Buffett?

Of course, there was plenty of time for fun and games. After lunch one afternoon Mr. Branson suggested the entire group sail off to Mosquito, a nearby island he also owns, aboard a dozen catamarans. He said there was a party over there.

One of Mr. Blair’s security personnel trailed behind in a motorboat. Mr. Page, an avid kite surfer, struck out alone.

As the catamarans beached on Mosquito, music was blaring and women in bikinis were dancing. Mr. Branson deadpanned, “Normally the girls would be naked, but the prime minister is here.”

Andrew Ross Sorkin reported from Necker Island and added updated information from New York.

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Dangerous surf closes some NSW beaches - The Sydney Morning Herald - 17th April 2008

Dangerous surf conditions have forced the closure of a number of beaches in Sydney and northern NSW, Surf Life Saving NSW says.

All but four of Sydney's northern beaches are closed Thursday due to the rough conditions, Surf Life Saving spokesman Chris Parker said.

"We've got a fairly large wave height, around the five to six foot (1.52 to 1.83 metres) plus," Mr Parker said.

"Also we've got southerly winds, onshore winds at 20 knots and the combination of the two (makes) dangerous conditions."

Collaroy, Freshwater, Palm Beach and Newport are the only northern beaches to remain open.

Local councils confirmed rough conditions had also forced Maroubra beach to close, while Coogee, Clovelly and Bondi beaches remain open.

Shelley Beach in Ballina, on the NSW north coast, is also closed due to dangerous surf conditions, Surf Life Saving said.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a coastal waters wind warning for NSW coastal waters between Point Danger and Broken Bay.

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Marriott set to deliver WA gold at Aussies - The West - 6th April 2008

Home-town hero Alicia Marriott is poised to become the first West Australian to win the coveted national iron woman title when the sun sets on the 2008 Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships at Scarborough Beach today.

The 22-year-old from the City of Perth cruised through her semi-final yesterday in commanding fashion to position herself as the warm favourite for this afternoon’s feature women’s final.

In the men’s iron man final, Cottesloe’s Brendan Sarson is the lone West Australian in a red hot field featuring defending champion Pierce Leonard and former champions Zane Holmes and Shannon Eckstein, as well as Ironman racing’s legendary Dean Mercer.

Joining Marriott in the women’s final will be former West Australian Emma Wynne, who won the under-19 Australian title last year. She will line up with Burleigh Heads-Mowbray Park in today’s final, which will see a return bout between Marriott and Nutri-Grain Iron Woman Series winner Elizabeth Pluimers, after their thrilling finish in this year’s final at Coogee.

But it is Marriott who has looked in great form throughout these championships. It was business as usual for the Ric Turner/Greg Mickle-coached quiet achiever, who yesterday cruised through a comfortable combination of board, ski and swim in millpond conditions and with a tricky one-metre shore dump.

After finishing the opening board leg level with Amanda White (Terrigal, NSW), Marriott took charge in the ski leg and opened up a comfortable lead, which she held throughout the final swim leg without having to spend too much energy.

“I’ve just been concentrating on trying to make it through each round into the final,” Marriott said.

“Most of the top girls weren’t going too hard there and were going through the motions but it will be different in the final tomorrow.

“I’ve been feeling pretty good this weekend and hopefully I’ll be feeling good tomorrow for the big race.”

Marriott’s form has been nothing but impressive this season, taking out the NIB Coolangatta Gold and winning three rounds of the Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Iron Woman.

Capturing her first Australian open iron woman title would cap the year off perfectly. The closest she has come to gold came in 2006 when she finished second to Manly’s Naomi Flood, who has been forced out of this year’s event with an eye infection.

“I’m confident,” she said of her chances, “but that said, in these conditions it’s going to be such close racing so you can’t be too confident.”

Despite the notable absence of 2007 Australian iron woman champion Kristy Harris and Flood, the open iron woman final is going to be close, with the mix of talent set to produce a race that could go right down to the sprint finish.

Marriott’s greatest challenges are likely to come from Pluimers (Northcliffe, QLD), Queensland iron woman champion Hayley Bateup (Kurrawa, QLD), world iron woman champion Kristy Munroe (Alexandra Headland, QLD) - who will bow out of serious iron woman racing today - and the rapidly improving Bianca Lee (North Burleigh, QLD), who won yesterday’s second semi-final.

In the semi-finals of glamour men’s iron man event, it was Mercer of Mooloolaba, QLD, who continued to defy father time by powering his way into today’s final.

The 38-year-old’s legs are far from weary, as he has proved throughout his illustrious iron man career.

Mercer, who has won this title twice before in 1989 and 1995, finished the final swim leg just ahead of defending Australian iron man champion Pierce Leonard before running clear to the finish.

Leonard looked as if he will have a strong show of defending his title and appears to have plenty in reserve.

In the other men’s semi-final, three of the top contenders for today’s final went stroke for stroke and stride for stride alongside each other throughout the entire race.

Northcliffe, QLD, clubmates and surf sports superstars Zane Holmes and Shannon Eckstein were untroubled in qualifying for the final, as was Hugh Dougherty of Burleigh Heads/Mowbray Park who was eventually the first across the line.

Dougherty, originally from Yamba on the NSW north coast, has gradually improved his performance season-by-season and looks to be in the type of form that could carry him to the national iron man crown.

Iron woman finalists: Alicia Marriott (City of Perth), Elizabeth Pluimers (Northcliffe), Hayley Bateup (Kurrawa), Kristy Munroe (Alexandra Headland), Bianca Lee (North Burleigh), Gemma Newbiggin (Mooloolaba), Amanda White (Terrigal), Courtney Hancock (Northcliffe), Kirsten Ulmer (Northcliffe), Chelsea MacKenzie (Burleigh Heads/Mowbray Park), Chloe Jones (Met Caloundra), Alyce Bennett (Burleigh Heads/Mowbray Park), Emma Wynne (North Burleigh), Flora Manciet (Caperton Sauretage Cotier, FRA), Brodie Moir (North Burleigh), Candice Falzon (North Bondi).

Iron man finalists: Nathan Smith (Cronulla), Hayden Allum (Wanda), Luke Nisbet (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park), Dean Mercer (Mooloolaba), Zane Holmes (Northcliffe), Wes Berg (Burleigh Heads/Mowbray Park), Hugh Dougherty (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park), Wade Krieger (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park), Pierce Leonard (Northcliffe), Cameron Cole (Mooloolaba), Brendon Sarson (Cottesloe), Thomas Trembath (North Burleigh), Dylan Newbiggin (Mooloolaba), CoreyJones (Met Caloundra), Shannon Eckstein (Northcliffe), Daniel Shade (Kurrawa).

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Rainbow named Australia's sexiest sands, by Kathleen Donaghey - Gold Coast Bulletin - 7th April 2008

IT could be the secluded intimacy, or the long, rolling waves, or even the gorgeous bikini-clad babes drawn to the beach by the hunky surfers.

All these things, and more, make Rainbow Bay -- a short stretch of sand between Greenmount and Snapper Rocks -- the sexiest beach in Australia.

Rainbow Bay has beaten Sydney's Bondi, Perth's Cottesloe and the Northern Territory's Mindil beaches to claim the crown of Australia's sexiest.

Rainbow was ranked No. 1 on the Forbes Traveller website by Dr Andrew Short, a professor at the University of Sydney's School of Geosciences.

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Dr Short rated Rainbow's 'superbank', one of the world's best surfing waves, the surfers and their beautiful girlfriends as the best features of the 'pocket beach'.

As the waves fanned out from Snapper Rocks in perfect succession yesterday, it wasn't hard to see why Dr Short was impressed by Queensland's southern-most beach.

Gold Coast beaches

Even under the dark clouds which hovered over the Coast all weekend, the sun shone over the bay, casting a blanket of silver over the sea.

Surfer Sara Loining, 34, said it was the open ocean, widening from such a small pocket of sand, that made the place so sexy.

"You get a nice long ride in and then you have to walk back up the beach, so you get a good look at the guys," she said.

Southern area lifeguard superintendent Peter Miller said Rainbow Bay was unique because it faced north and gave beachgoers a sunset set against a Gold Coast skyline.

"The intimate nature of the small beach and the good surf make it a very special place," he said.

Professional surfer Mark Richardson, who has been riding the waves off Coolangatta for about 30 years, said he scattered his grandmother's ashes over Rainbow because she loved it so much.

However, he said the beach's sexiness was starting to fade as the sleepy community continued to grow.

"It used to be peaceful and quiet, but now you can't get a park when the waves are good," he said.

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Singo's Millions of blondes, By Ros Reines - The Sunday Telegraph - 23rd March 2008

BLINDINGLY colourful racing identity John Singleton is determined to surround himself with blondes at this weekend's Magic Millions race meeting on the Gold Coast.

Taking pride of place in the blonde stakes is his long-time, fun-loving girlfriend, Central Coast beautician Yvette Hartman-Rutter, 38, who has been on the coast for most of the week with some family members, including her mother.

And serious party girl, bikini contest winner and fledging shoe designer Jaime Wright was also thinking of heading up there to help Singo promote Bondi Blonde - the beer she became the face of thanks to the efforts of contest judge Paris Hilton (who later snubbed her on the shoes).

Of course, it's not quite the same as having LA tragic Tara Reid on the Gold Coast but the Magic Millions is later this year thanks to the Equine Flu and maybe things are more subdued at Easter.

Meanwhile Hartman-Rutter was the life of the party at one of the week's key events, the hat lunch at the Sheraton Mirage.

She made lots of new friends because of her skill at drinking French champagne without getting tipsy and her dedication to having a good time. No wonder she and the six-times-married Singo get on so famously.

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Lifesavers confiscate cameras at Gold Coast beaches, by Lou Robson and Paul Weston - Sunday Mail - 16th March 2008

LIFESAVERS are seizing cameras from tourists and removing revealing footage of sunbaking women on popular Gold Coast beaches.

Police have also been called following complaints from young women filmed at tourist hot spots Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

And in another worrying development, calls to police to help with beach and surf safety have increased dramatically on both the Gold and Sunshine coasts over the past few months.

This has included removing board riders from flagged areas, stopping others from taking on dangerously big surf and ordering drunk swimmers from the water.

Surfers Paradise patrol captain Peter Anderson said lifesavers were concerned about the number of recent complaints by women against men taking photographs of them while they sunbathed.

"We're encountering a lot of it. It's not like they are isolated incidents," Mr Anderson said.

The offenders were usually overseas tourists and had focused their cameras on young children getting out of the surf or young women sunbaking on the beach, he said.

"During our nipper sessions we're very mindful of it. People tend to take shots of kids getting in and out of the water," Mr Anderson said.

More common were first-time young male visitors to the tourist strip who photograph topless female beachgoers on the sand dunes next to The Esplanade in front of Cavill Mall.

The veteran patrol captain confirmed lifesavers had confiscated some cameras after looking at the images.

"We've had situations like that where we have handed the camera to the police," Mr Anderson said. "I've scrolled back through the film (on some of them) and asked people 'do you mind if I delete this photograph?' In other cases I've just brought the police in."

Gold Coast district superintendent Jim Keogh said police were involved in an ongoing investigation after a man was discovered taking photographs at Kurrawa Beach.

Lifesavers had complained about a man and he was escorted to his unit by police where they allegedly found child pornography on his computer, Insp Keogh said.

Bigger-than-normal seas caused by a series of offshore storms have contributed to the jump in requests for police to help with beach safety from Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast surf lifesavers and council lifeguards.

A Sunshine Coast police spokesman said calls to police to help enforce beach safety had been rare in the past but since the last holidays these had jumped to one or two a weekend on the Sunshine Coast alone.

A Sunshine Coast Surf Life Saving Queensland spokeswoman confirmed last week that police were called to beaches between Noosa and Caloundra at least eight times in January to remove intoxicated beachgoers from patrolled beaches. "We had clearly drunk swimmers who would have posed a risk to themselves and others should they have required assistance," she said.

"At that time we had some large surf and storm conditions and felt the intoxicated bathers were a definite risk."

SLSQ Gold Coast spokesman Stuart Hogden said police had been called to surf rage incidents at Snapper Rocks and Currumbin.

"The police were called to break that fight up because we don't have those kind of powers and we don't want our volunteers injured," Mr Hogden said.

He said alcohol-related calls were also common on the Gold Coast.

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Swim between the rocks - The Sydney Morning Herald - 1st March 2008

Each of NSW's 100 ocean pools has its own character and sublime vista, writes Rachel Sullivan.

The ocean baths and pools spread along the state's rocky coastline have been providing respite from the heat and the perils of the sea for almost 200 years. Despite much more sophisticated entertainment available, ocean baths are more popular than ever and many have undergone facelifts in recent times.

Some are natural depressions enclosed by rings of rocks; others are deep pools hewn out of inter-tidal rock platforms or reinforced with concrete to hold back the relentless pounding of the waves. Each of the 100 or so ocean pools in NSW has its own individual character, not to mention magnificent setting.

Not everyone shares an enthusiasm for hanging onto the chains as waves break over an ocean pool's edge, battling the swell while trying to swim a lap or sharing a lane with an occasional bluebottle (or even a small, lost shark), but this is part of the fun for regular users, many of whom use diving masks so they don't miss a second of the underwater action.

Ocean baths were developed in several waves, starting in the regional port cities of Newcastle and Wollongong; bathing enclosures on Sydney Harbour were the preferred option for Sydneysiders for a long time. Newcastle's Bogey Hole was the first, hewn from rock by convicts in the 1820s as a bathing spot for officers.

Most baths, however, were built as part of community- or government-funded tourism strategies. Only two were privately built: the Pearl Beach Rock Pool, near Gosford, which was created by a real estate developer in the 1920s to help sell land, and heritage-listed Wylies Baths in Coogee, built by entrepreneur Henry Wylie and his sons.

Most of the pools have been immortalised by photographers, including Max Dupain and Ian Lever, seeking to preserve a unique marker of Australian identity. Entire communities have grown up around the pools and today stylish eateries and eclectic shops are often found close by, particularly in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Most have changing facilities, if not within the pool complex then nearby, and almost all of them are free. Watching sea anemones wave their feathery tentacles as you pass beats staring at the blue-painted cement of the local pool.
Sydney's eastern suburbs

Bondi Icebergs Pool Home to the Icebergs winter swimming club and probably Australia's most famous ocean baths, the complex has featured on postcards since the early 1900s. Notts Avenue, Bondi Beach.

Bronte Baths Nestled into Bronte's southern headland, this pool was built by Waverley Council in 1887 to cater to the new "sea bathing" fad, with Sundays and public holidays reserved for men. The rules have changed but the original structure remains largely intact, although it has benefited from a facelift. Stop in for a refreshing swim after taking the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk, and follow up with lunch or a snack at one of Bronte's cafes. Bronte Road, Bronte.

Clovelly Bay While not technically ocean baths, the normally peaceful Clovelly Bay is Sydney's only concreted beach. But when the swell's up, try the Geoff James Pool, a 25-metre concrete pool cut into the southern promenade. There are cafes nearby and the award-winning Clovelly Hotel overlooks the bay. Donnellan Circuit, Clovelly.

Coogee There are four outstanding ocean pools here including the Ross Jones Memorial Pool (Carr Street, Coogee Beach, right next to the surf club), which has walls like the battlements of a sandcastle and has been immortalised by many Australian artists including Ian Lever, Ken Duncan and James Willebrandt.

The heritage-listed Wylies Baths site (Neptune Street, Coogee) is a large rock pool on an inter-tidal rock shelf below Grant Reserve. The huge timber deck at Wylies has great views to the north and shade below, and there's plenty of wildlife encounters in the pool itself.

Just north of Wylies are McIvers Baths, also known as the Coogee Women's Baths (Beach Street, Coogee). Perched on a rock platform at the edge of a cliff, it has magnificent ocean views and is well screened from the surrounding area. It has been used continuously as a bathing spot for women since the 1860s and is the last remaining women-only seawater pool in Australia.

A cliff entrance gate on the north side of Coogee Bay leads to steps down to what was once Giles "Hot Sea Baths and Swimming Pool". It is now just a bogey (local Aboriginal word for swimming) hole below the Dolphin Point memorial to the victims of the Bali bombings.

South of Coogee and accessible along the coastal walking track is the Mahon Pool (Jack Vanny Reserve, Marine Parade North, Maroubra). Cut into the inter-tidal rock platform, it is constantly flushed by waves and tidal action. The area is dominated by exposed rock outcrops and cliffs, providing spectacular views.

Northern beaches

Many great ocean pools lie north of the harbour including the tiny Fairy Bower Pool (Bower Lane, Manly), which is graced by two sculptures known as the Oceanids. It is easily reached by following the path from The Corso around to Manly's Shelly Beach.

Other much larger pools on the northern beaches were built to serve the country's growing passion for lap swimming and include Queenscliff Rock Pool (North Steyne, Queenscliff). Avalon Rock Pool is a 25-metre ocean pool where waves slap over the wall at the southern end of Avalon Beach (Surfside Avenue, Avalon Beach). Newport Rock Pool (Calvert Parade, Newport), on the rock platform at the southern end of Newport Beach, was made famous by photographer Max Dupain in the 1930s and '50s.

Another popular photographic subject is North Narrabeen Rock Pool and its distinctive boardwalk, found at the entrance to Narrabeen Lagoon (access is from Narrabeen Park Parade). The original boardwalk has been replaced many times and encloses a 50-metre by 18-metre pool within a larger 70-metre by 40-metre pool. There is also a wading pool for children.
South Coast

This region, particularly the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, has many spectacular pools including Coalcliff Baths (Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Coalcliff), at the base of a cliff, and the Nuns Pool (Pulpit Rock, Flagstaff Point, Wollongong), the oldest of Wollongong's ocean pools and one of the oldest on the NSW coast. It is below the lighthouse in a small sheltered cove; access is not for the faint-hearted, however - descend the hill by a steep, eroded, narrow path chiselled into the sandstone rock.

The Blow Hole Point Baths (Terralong Street, Kiama) are at the southern end of the harbour, not far from Kiama's famous blow hole. A popular bathing place from the 1880s, it was once a men-only pool complementing the ladies' baths at Pheasant Point on the opposite side of the harbour.

The Blue Pool at Bermagui is at the bottom of the cliffs below Scenic Drive, Bermagui, and accessed by a formidably steep set of stairs.
Central Coast and Newcastle

Some beautiful baths on the Central Coast include the Norah Head Rock Pool (Bald Street, Norah Head), a classic ring-of-rocks pool that is ideal for children. The Entrance Ocean Baths site is a heritage-listed complex of three ocean baths on Ocean Parade at the southern end of the beach between The Entrance surf beach and Blue Bay.

Avoca Beach Rock Pool (Vine Street, Avoca Beach) is another child-friendly pool surrounded by a ring of rocks.

Though the lovely Pearl Beach Rock Pool (Gem Road, Pearl Beach) is in the sheltered waters of Broken Bay, it is still considered an ocean pool.

The Bogey Hole (Shortland Esplanade, Newcastle), at the foot of Newcastle's Shepherds Hill and King Edward Park, is the state's oldest ocean baths and although much enlarged since being built by convicts in the 1820s, it retains its charm.

Newcastle has two big ocean pool complexes. The enormous Merewether Baths were acclaimed in the 1930s as the largest of its kind in the state. It once hosted novelties such as a water wheel and other pool toys. Newcastle Baths (30 Shortland Esplanade, Newcastle), which lie behind an art deco pavilion that is being restored, opened in 1922. The large baths are divided into two by a walkway that defines a lap pool at the northern end.

Further north, there are ocean pools in Ballina, Yamba, Sawtell and Black Head as well as the Forster Ocean Baths (North Street, Forster), which were once accompanied by a dance casino. Today only the pool remains but like all the other ocean baths up and down the coast it is regarded with great affection by locals and visitors.

See the NSW Ocean Baths website (www.nswoceanbaths.info) for details about all 100 or so ocean baths in the state.

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Breathe easy at exclusive forest retreat, by Gemma Patterson - The Gold Coast Bulletin - 20th Feb 2008

STRESSED-out celebrities and overworked CEOs can soon flock to a new $1000-a-day retreat for the mega-rich, but they can forget the mobile phone, cigarettes, booze and sex -- because this is no romantic rendezvous.

The $5 million resort, set on 22ha of rainforest near Uki in the Tweed Valley, is a swanky fivestar affair boasting a 20m pool, spas, a float tank and views of Mt Warning.

With a focus on de-stressing and detoxing, the resort will offer a vegetarian-only menu and each visitor must sleep in their own room, complete with double bed and ensuite.

Former property developer Grant Hilton, 37, built the exclusive eco-resort, called the Universal Peace Centre Retreat, which is to open this Saturday.

Mr Hilton said the $5000, five-day retreats, aimed at celebrities and wealthy businesspeople, would mix modern luxuries with daily sessions of yoga, meditation and 'breath work'.

"I created this place because the celebrities and businesspeople are all really stressed out, there's so much pressure on them," he said.

"The retreat is designed for people who need a break -- this is a space for them to take time out and lock everyone away.

"There are no phones, no TVs, they just fully relax and allow themselves time to de-stress and detox.

"We want to make people feel bare, take them back to nakedness.

"We're the only retreat I know of that combines five-star luxury and this spiritual aspect."

Mr Hilton said this weekend's opening would feature celebrity guests, but he wouldn't kiss and tell.

"All I can say is that we'll have about 10 celebrities plus five bands playing, including Sacred Earth from Melbourne," he said.

The invitation-only affair begins at 5pm on Saturday and will also see the launch of a world peace CD, featuring the John Butler Trio, to raise funds for children who are victims of war.

"The United Nations Ambassador for Peace Reuben Silverbird has flown over from America to do a blessing," said Mr Hilton.

Mr Hilton said his dream project stemmed from personal experience.

"I used to be a stressed out property developer," he said.

"I lived at Sovereign Island in a two-storey house and had a Mercedes, a boat and a beautiful wife but I was still miserable.

"My wife Naomi sent me on a 10-day silence meditation retreat about four years ago and I've been on a spiritual journey ever since."

For more information about the resort visit www.upc.com.au

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Aboriginal apology pleases Lennon's lad - The Daily Telegraph - 16th Feb 2008

SALTWATER welled in the eyes of Julian Lennon again this week when news of Kevin Rudd's historic sorry speech made it to the UK.

The singer/songwriter son of legendary Beatle John Lennon was particularly moved by the developments because he has worked closely with the Aboriginal community for a documentary he produced.

Narrated by veteran Aussie actor Jack Thompson, the flick Whaledreamers hits the big screen in April.

The movie, shot in South Australia, tells the story of a group of indigenous tribal leaders who come together to explore the profound bond between whales and humans.

"It mean a lot to me, personally, as I have made a film with members of the Stolen Generation from the the Mirning tribe," Lennon Jr said.

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Fortunes of seaside towns under the weather, by Wendy Frew - The Sydney Morning Herald - 11th Feb 2008

FORGET Park Lane and Mayfair. An economic research project is likely to show that a realistic Sydney version of the Monopoly board would be lined with beaches instead of streets.

A seaside address can add tens of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars, to the value of commercial and residential properties. Hotels, restaurants, pubs and clubs in beachside suburbs attract much of their patronage because of their location.

But in the face of a growing threat from climate change, Sydney risks losing its beaches, and the huge income streams they generate, say researchers behind the project launched this week by the Sydney Coastal Councils Group and the University of NSW.

The 18-month project aims to estimate the annual economic value provided by beaches to local and regional economies, which could help councils identify new ways of raising funds to look after the beaches, said Dr Dale Dominey-Howes, from UNSW's School of Safety Science.

The three case studies - Manly, Narrabeen/Collaroy and Dangar Island - will underpin models that other councils could use to value their beaches.

"We have no idea how much money those assets are worth, how much income they generate for the local economy every year," Dr Dominey-Howes said.

"By having information about the value of the beach and who is using it, those responsible for managing it can work out ways of raising extra revenue."

Suburbs such as Bondi and Manly may face significant loss of beach sands due to rising sea levels. Their surrounding communities and infrastructure were expected to be threatened by storms, floods and erosion driven by changing climate, said the executive officer of the Sydney Coastal Councils Group, Geoff Withycombe.

There were several ways councils could protect beaches, he said, such as building seawalls or banning development close to the shore but most options were expensive and controversial.

The beach burden for some councils is high. At Manly, population 36,000, as many as 8 million people visit every year. The council relies heavily on rate payers to fund everything from maintaining a sea wall to operating a tourist office. It spent $871,000 just on life guards and rangers last year, $1.7 million on street cleaning and $3 million for the first stage of an upgrade for The Corso, an area heavily used by visitors.

Car meters and occasional state or federal government grants are the only other source of funds.

It was unlikely any council would ask other councils to help pay for local beaches, said the president of the Local Government Association, Genia McCaffery. "Byron Bay, Bondi and Manly are international tourist destinations … the federal purse should be supporting these beaches."

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Sands of time - The Sydney Morning Herald - 8th January 2008

In recent days we've seen the power of the ocean as it pounds our shore. Richard Macey explains the scientific process that gave us the best beaches in the world.

If you're on the beach as you read this, look around. Swimwear styles and surfboard shapes may change with the fashions. But those crashing waves and yellow sands? Somehow they seem eternal.

Yet as we've seen in the past week, Sydney's beaches are far from static, unchanging landscapes. Just 6500 years old, by geological standards they were created yesterday.

Now there are warnings that with climate change triggering higher seas and fiercer, more frequent storms, we may soon need to buffer Sydney's beaches from erosion by "nourishing" them with sand mined from the sea floor. If we don't, within 30 years "we are going to see houses falling into the beach", warns Dr Ian Turner, a University of NSW scientist.

Since 2005, Turner, deputy director of the university's Water Research Laboratory, has been using a bank of nine cameras to watch a 3.5-kilometre stretch of northern Sydney sand, from Long Reef to North Narrabeen. Every hour the cameras snap thousands of pictures that are computer-processed to produce three-dimensional maps tracking the health of the beaches. "It's the No. 1 erosion spot in metropolitan Sydney," Turner says. "We can calculate the sand that is coming and going."

To understand what is happening to Sydney's beaches, the scientists must understand how they formed. The story starts long ago, when Australia and New Zealand were still joined to Antarctica. It was 200 million years ago that the bedrock under what is now the Sydney coastline formed.

About 120 million years ago Australia and New Zealand started breaking free from Antarctica and began drifting north at a few centimetres a year. But the future site of Sydney remained well inland for another 45 million years until New Zealand, thanks to the forces of continental drift, ripped apart from Australia, giving birth to the Tasman Sea.

"Sixty million years ago New Zealand disappeared over the horizon," Turner says. NSW finally had its coast.

Over the past 2 million years the sea level has been going up and down, rising and falling up to 150 metres every 20,000 to 40,000 years. "It is now about the highest it has ever been," Turner says.

As Australia edged steadily away from Antarctica, NSW's climate warmed and became wetter. Huge rivers that no longer exist rose in the south of the state, grinding away at inland mountains and hills. Huge quantities of gravel and sand were washed down the rivers and out into the sea. Meanwhile, smaller rivers flowing through what is now Sydney carved out rows and rows of little valleys.

Just 18,000 years ago the sea level was 120 metres below its present level, leaving the coast 20 kilometres east of where it is today. Then the world warmed and the great ice sheets covering Europe and North America melted.

"The water rose very rapidly, a metre every 100 years," Turner says. "That is a substantially faster rate than is predicted [as a result of climate change] for the next 100 years." Aboriginal communities, which no doubt had already settled along the drowning shoreline, would have had to beat a fast retreat.

When the remaining polar ice stabilised and the sea level finally stopped rising 6500 years ago, the beaches we now crowd on summer days finally formed. The never-ending cycle of waves rolling in from the Pacific stirred up the river silt from the sea floor, pushing it both northwards and up onto the coast, forming great sand dunes.

As the grains of sand rolled ashore they filled those now flooded rows of little valleys. It is because of those valleys, Turner says, that Sydney's coast is now dotted with so many small beaches. The hills that once shouldered each valley now form the beach headlands.

Much of the sand from the sea floor washed ashore as far north as Queensland. Some of it piled up to form Fraser Island - the world's largest sand island. "It's NSW sand," Turner says.

The age of NSW's beach sand is testimony to the beaches' extraordinarily rapid creation. "You can date sand by various means. Up and down the coast it's uniformly 6500 years old." Just how much longer the sand will remain on the beaches is another question.

One curious discovery from the beach monitoring program is that the Collaroy to North Narrabeen beach line "rotates" on a regular cycle.

Every two to seven years North Narrabeen gets wider as Collaroy narrows. Then, two to seven years later, the pattern reverses. Each time the beaches grow by or lose up to 80 metres of sand.

"We believe the rotation is caused by climate variability," Turner says. As the climate shifts, so does the direction of offshore winds, which in turn change the direction of waves that pound the beaches. A change in wave direction of only "a couple of degrees" is thought to be enough to trigger the next swing.

"What we are seeing is that relatively minor changes in the wave climate cause dramatic changes on our coast. It is happening everywhere on the NSW coast. It is also happening on the other side of the Pacific, along the north-west coast of the United States.

"We are talking to climate modellers to try to understand what is driving the wind changes."

However the wind-wave system works, Turner fears the cycle of beach rotation will accelerate.

"The cycle may become larger, more frequent or stronger," he says. "We want to predict it."

Dr Ray Merton, a senior lecturer in the University of NSW's school of biological, earth and environmental sciences, is another scientist tracking the movement of Sydney's beaches. He also cautions about assuming all Sydney's beaches are permanent fixtures.

Merton, who uses a European satellite to photograph Sydney's shifting beach sand, points to The Corso at Manly.

It is built on a dune that joins North Head, once an island, with the mainland. Such sand dunes typically erode away and reform in a tick of the geological clock, Merton says.

"They are ephemeral … in the next 1000 years we could lose that whole Corso strip if we get the sea level rises some scientists are talking about."

Crunching of data from Merton's satellite observations shows that the fierce storm that hammered Sydney in June eroded almost 126,000 cubic metres of sand from Curl Curl Beach alone. Long shore currents and rips dumped much of it onto vast offshore sandbars. His team will continue watching via satellite to see where the waves and currents carry the sand next. "Hopefully we will see it move back onto the beach again."

However, data collected from Turner's cameras, combined with 30 years of beach mapping records collected by Professor Andy Short, director of the University of Sydney's coastal studies unit, has produced a surprising find.

Despite the damage inflicted in June, the Collaroy to Narrabeen beaches are still in good shape. "We have an unusually large amount of sand … compared with the last 30 years," Turner says.

The reason? Fierce coastal storms were once regular events, striking at least once a decade, but "we really haven't had a very large one [other than the June event] since the 1970s. Statistically we are well overdue for another large storm."

Although the June storm, "a one-in-20-year event" caused significant coastal erosion, "we have seen it recovering quite rapidly", thanks to ordinary everyday wave action pushing the sand back. "The sand never went away … just out into the surf zone. It will probably take one to two years to recover."

Turner's concern is that if a changing climate triggers more frequent and more powerful storms like the ones over the weekend, the natural ability of the beaches to heal themselves may be lost as sand is repeatedly swept away faster than it can be naturally replaced.

"It's the clustering of storms that will cause the damage. One storm is OK. But if after the June storm we had had another in August and another in September, we'd be talking about damage to property.

"In my career we are going to see private and public property severely damaged. We are going to see houses falling into the beach. "

Turner and Merton think there is a solution but agree it may not be popular. In 60-metre-deep water a kilometre or two off Sydney, there is an enormous resource - sand identical to that found on the beaches. It is the remnant of dunes that once lined the coastline when the sea was much lower.

Mining the sand would allow the beaches to be artificially restored, or "nourished". "The problem is the word mining," Turner admits. Dredging the sand would also be expensive.

The solution, Turner argues, would be to use 10 per cent of the mined sand to nourish the beaches, while recovering the cost of the operation by selling the rest to the construction industry.

He accepts there would be opposition to the plan. "But I'm an environmental scientist, too. I'd lead the the screamers if I thought it would be detrimental to the environment.

"In Sydney we are running out of sand for construction. We are crushing sandstone in the Hunter Valley and bringing it down by diesel trucks."

Mined ocean sand would also contain valuable rutile and zircon. "As an environmental scientist, I think it's a win-win situation."

The other solution, he suggests, is to have property owners retreat from the coast. "But that's not going to happen. We are on borrowed time. When the really big storms come, we are going to see houses falling into the beach."

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Film festival has a buzz about it - The Sydney Morning Herald - 3rd March 2008

The amateur film festival Tropfest is just around the corner but first there is Flickerfest, the only Australian short film festival accredited in the United States with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - that's the Oscars to the laymen out there. Now in its 17th year, the festival opens tomorrow night at Bondi Pavilion until January 11, with 85 films chosen from a record 1300 entries. Opening night features the first group of international short films but the first film up for viewing is by the Australian comedian, broadcaster, writer and filmmaker Paul McDermott. McDermott's nine-minute animation The Girl Who Swallowed Bees, featuring actress Pia Miranda, won the jury award at the Seattle Film Festival, screened at the Berlin Film Festival and, most recently, won an Australian Film Institute award for best animation. Saturday night's selection of films from the international category of the festival also includes an Australian effort, the nine-minute Spider by stuntman-turned-director, Nash Edgerton (winner of the Tropfest competition in 1997.) The director of Flickerfest, Bronwyn Kidd, said films such as McDermott's and Edgerton's demonstrated the profile of Australian short films on the international stage. "It shows the high standard of shorts we are producing … [The Girl who Swallowed Bees] was impossible to ignore because it is such a visually stylish and creative film." Other nights during the festival will see screenings of Australian and international short films and documentaries - most of them Australian premieres - with subjects ranging from One Of The Lucky Ones, a documentary by Australian filmmaker Wendy Chandler about the night she was raped by an intruder in her home, to an Icelandic animation, Anna & The Moods, starring the voice of Bjork. Kidd has also compiled three short-film showcases including a selection of international short films entitled Bad Girls and The Bold, The Brave And The Best: 30 Years Of Australian Animation, curated by Oscar-nominated short film director Anthony Lucas from the animations that have inspired his career. The collection pays tribute to the achievements of Australian animators such as Sarah Watt, Adam Elliot and Bruce Petty alongside screenings of iconic television commercials including Louie The Fly, Mr Sheen and Aeroplane Jelly. Kidd describes the festival as "a bit like Cannes … both festivals are on the beach. Although Cannes has more red carpet and glitz, they are both showcases of high-quality films." For details visit www.flickerfest.com.au.

Snarling surf closes east coast beaches, by Jano Gibson - The Sydney Morning Herald - 1st January 2008

WILD seas whipped up by a tropical low off Queensland forced the closure of hundreds of beaches along the eastern seaboard yesterday, with dangerous surf conditions set to continue over the coming days.

Dozens of people - many of them surfers who dared to enter the treacherous waters - required assistance from lifeguards as waves towering up to five metres high pummelled the coast.

The huge seas came on the last day of Sydney's wettest December in 15 years. The city recorded 123 millimetres of rain last month, compared with the long-term average of 78 millimetres.

The weather caused the cancellation or postponement of almost all of the New Year's Eve fireworks displays planned for beaches along the Gold Coast.

By 2pm yesterday, all of Sydney's main metropolitan beaches, which were being bombarded by two- to three-metre waves, had been closed to swimmers.

Beaches from Nambucca Heads to the Gold Coast were also off limits, as were many others at Newcastle and on the Central Coast.

"Given the forecast and given conditions on New Year's Eve, it would be expected that many beaches in the Sydney metropolitan area and throughout the state will remain closed," a Surf Life Saving NSW spokesman, Brett Moore, said. "People are strongly discouraged from entering the water unless there is a patrol on duty, which is signified by the red-and-yellow flags."

Thousands of surfers took advantage of the big seas, but two, who were washed onto rocks at Stanwell Park, had to be winched to safety by the Westpac Lifesaver helicopter.

A surfer at Woolgoolga, north of Coffs Harbour, was treated by an ambulance officer after injuring himself when heavy seas washed him onto rocks.

And a crew member participating in the Navy George Bass Surfboat Marathon near Moruya, on the South Coast, had to be rescued following three unsuccessful attempts to get their boat to shore.

Stephen Leahy, a lifeguard co-ordinator for northern NSW, said waves were peaking up to five metres at some North Coast beaches, while the more sheltered Byron Bay beaches experienced peaks of about three metres.

More than 600 swimmers were ordered from the water and eight people had to be rescued at northern NSW beaches, he said.

Mick Sylvester from the Pittwater lifeguard service said inexperienced surfers were endangering themselves in the huge seas. "There's so much volume in these waves, they are what we call a meaty wave … When [the surfers] wipe out, their board gets whipped off."

As he spoke to the Herald, three lifeguards at Palm Beach had to be sent to pull four surfers from the water after they became separated from their boards.

The tropical low that has caused the wild weather was last night located about 400 kilometres north-east of Fraser Island. The Bureau of Meteorology said waves in the surf zone at some southern Queensland and northern NSW beaches could exceed five metres today.

Because of the tropical low's slow pace, it is likely the wild weather will remain for several days, although wave heights are expected to gradually decrease.

"It's what [surfers] dream of. It will be Christmas and New Year's for them to remember for a long time," a forecaster, Dave Williams, said.

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Big swell closes Sydney beaches, by Rhett Watson - The Daily Telegraph - 31st December 2007

HEAVY swell is pummelling Sydney's coastline with most metropolitan beaches closed to swimmers today.

The 2m-plus waves have been whipped up by a low off the Queensland coast.

Warringah Council, on the northern beaches, reported that all but one of its beaches - Freshwater - were closed.

Curl Curl was believed to have been among the most treacherous today.

Despite the giant swell, the NSW Ambulance Service said there had been few emergency calls.
Surf Lifesaving NSW spokesman Brett Moore said the rough conditions had closed beaches right up and down the state's coast.

"Unfortunately we've had to pull down the red and yellow flags but people seem to be heeding the warnings and not going in,'' he said.

The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter was called on to rescue two surfers stranded off Stanwell Park on the south coast about 10am today.

The helicopter was also called in to help a surfer in trouble at Curl Curl beach but lifeguards had rescued him by the time they arrived.

Flannery's views on whales 'curious' - The Sydney Morning Herald - 31st December 2007

The crew of a protest ship searching for Japanese whaling ships in the Antarctic have described as "curious" claims by prominent scientist Tim Flannery that a sustainable whale cull is possible.

Professor Flannery - a principal research scientist at the Australian Museum in Sydney - said the current Japanese annual target of 935 minke whales was possibly entirely sustainable.

He said there were more important environmental concerns in the Antarctic including fishing pressure on low-end food sources such as krill.

The Greenpeace ship Esperanza has now arrived in the iceberg zone and is searching for the whaling fleet.

Esperanza media officer Dave Walsh said crew members had discussed Professor Flannery's comments on Monday and were generally puzzled by them.

"Given the Japanese government's stated objectives in their science program...is to restart commercial whaling and one of the target species is an endangered species and they have doubled their quota in the last few years... shows they have no interest in sustainability," Mr Walsh told AAP.

"It's just a matter of killing as many as they can.

"There's nothing there to show any plan forward for a sustainable hunt.

"(Professor Flannery) was talking in particular about a sustainable minke population in terms of the sustainable hunt.

"But at the moment there are no agreed figures for the population.

"You can't claim to do a sustainable hunt of a population that is unknown."

He said the whales were already under pressure from hazards including impact with ships and pollution.

"It was so unexpected in seemed to be a curious statement to make," Mr Walsh said.

"He did mention that there aren't any humpbacks being killed.

"The fact of the matter is 50 of the whales being targeted are in fact endangered - fin whales, the second largest living animal.

"It seemed to us to be a strange statement to make."

Mr Walsh said Esperanza was in sight of icebergs inside Antarctic waters.

"We're starting our search now, starting a search pattern through the whaling areas," he said.

"They don't want us to know where they are and until we find them, we don't want them to know where we are either."

The Japanese Whaling Association (JWA) on Friday responded to criticism from the Australian government that there was no credible scientific justification for the hunting of whales.

"In the proper context of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) and the International Whaling Commission, these comments of the government of Australia are provocative and absurd," JWA president Keiichi Nakajima said.

"The fact is that the ICRW is about properly managing the whaling industry by regulating catch quotas at levels so that whale stocks will not be diminished.

"The convention is not about protecting all whales irrespective of their abundance."

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Wild seas close all beaches, Jano Gibson - The Sydney Morning Herald - 31st December 2007

Do you know more? Have you been affected? Message 0424 SMS SMH (+61 424 767 764) or email us with information or images.

Wild seas whipped up by a tropical low in Queensland have forced the closure of all major metropolitan beaches.

Waves are at an average of two metres and are peaking at three metres, Surf Lifesaving NSW said. Beaches were closed progressively through the day as conditions worsen.

However, a Sutherland Shire spokeswoman said Wanda Beach remains open.

Thousands of surfers have taken advantage of the giant swell but swimmers have been warned to steer clear of the treacherous conditions.

Elsewhere in NSW, all beaches north of Nambucca Heads are closed, Surf Lifesaving NSW spokesman Brett Moore said.

As smh.com.au spoke to him, three lifeguards were sent into the seas to rescue about four surfers whose surfboards had been pulled from them in the pounding surf.

Mr Sylvester said inexperienced surfers were endangering themselves in the huge seas.

"There's so much volume in these waves, they are what we call a meaty wave ... When [the surfers] wipe out, their board gets whipped off."

The Bureau of Meteorology said the big swells were likely to continue until about Friday, because the tropical low was moving so slowly.

"It's what [surfers] dream of. It will be Christmas and New Year's for them to remember for a long time," forecaster Dave Williams said.

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Saving humpbacks to kill other whales, by Andrew Darby - The Sydney Morning Herald - 29th December 2007

A BACKROOM deal designed to restore Japan's right to commercial whaling is behind its decision to spare humpback whales from its Antarctic hunt.

Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Masahiko Koumura, has detailed a bargain with the US chairman of the International Whaling Commission to "review" the contentious kill of humpbacks from Australian stocks.

Mr Koumura said Japan agreed with a US request to postpone the catch while the deadlocked 78-nation commission keeps moving towards "normalisation".

Japan wants to "normalise" the organisation by returning to its 1946 purpose of regulating whaling, and lifting the global moratorium against the industry, said Japan's deputy whaling commissioner, Joji Morishita.

Whaling's opponents say the humpbacks are now being held hostage to this aim. Japan's decision to remove humpbacks from its scheduled 1000 whale "scientific research" kill, for now, was flagged by the US ambassador to Tokyo, Thomas Schieffer, shortly before it was announced last week. It followed a determined Australian-led public campaign against hunting the whales, known for their spectacular aerobatics and confiding nature around boats.

At the time, Japanese officials pointed to Australian public concerns as a reason for their decision. But the terms of the deal were detailed by Mr Koumura after he spoke to the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephen Smith, and were posted recently in English on the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Mr Koumura said the chairman of the international commission, a US fisheries official, William Hogarth, told him it was not functioning effectively.

"He is seeking to remedy this situation, for which he asks for the co-operation of Japan, currently the vice-chair of the IWC," Mr Koumura said. "Mr Hogarth requested that Japan reviewed its plan to catch humpback whales while such a reform is going on."

Mr Koumura said that, as the current vice-chair, Japan would co-operate with this reform. "Japan has decided to postpone its catch of this species while the IWC is judged to move towards normalisation of its activities."

He said Mr Hogarth believed the review of the commission would last one to two years, and if no progress was made, the situation would change for Japan.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare said it was clear the humpbacks were being held as a bargaining chip by Japan.

"The Government of Japan is saying: 'Give us what we want or the humpback gets it'," said Darren Kindleysides, the fund's Asia-Pacific campaigner.

Successive chairs have tried to reform the commission in recent years. Mr Hogarth's attempt has its next test at a closed meeting in London from March 6-8.

Australia opposes any whaling, except some indigenous hunts. The Rudd Government's mission to monitor Japan's fleet by aircraft and ship is going ahead regardless of the humpback decision. It will gather evidence for international legal action, while Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd ships are heading south to find the fleet.

Rudd strike signals time is up for diplomacy, by Andrew Darby - The Sydney Morning Herald - 20th December 2007

THE Rudd Government's decision to take the fight up to Japan is the most significant advance by Australia against whaling since the Fraser government outlawed it nearly 30 years ago.

Australia and other anti-whaling nations have long tried to protect the great mammals. First they won a moratorium on commercial whaling at the International Whaling Commission, then secured big whale sanctuaries, including around the Southern Ocean. But Japan's relentless pursuit of a return to full-scale commercial whaling meant anti-whaling nations could only stem the tide.

The previous government's failure to stop Japan was admitted by John Howard who relied on diplomacy. Its failure was clear in Japanese whalers' decision to expand their Antarctic kill, adding to it humpbacks that migrate along our coast. Now the new Government has laid out its own path towards ending what the Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, terms a "senseless and brutal practice".

In the immediate future, the whalers will come under an unwelcome official international spotlight. Medium term, the strength of international courts can be tested for the first time on whales' behalf. And in the longer term, Australia is taking the argument into the only place where it can be won: Japan itself.

The use of Oceanic Viking and a crew highly trained in interdicting foreign vessels offers a chance the whalers will be embarrassed daily.

This summer the fleet is scheduled to take many fin, minke and humpback whales inside an Australian whale sanctuary declared off the 7000-kilometre coast of the Australian Antarctic Territory.

A Federal Court decision on Humane Society International action against whaling in this sanctuary is imminent. And in the first legal step, the previous government's objection was withdrawn. Oceanic Viking will be collecting evidence for a much bigger case - against the abuse of commission rules that could be run in a venue such as the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

Japanese diplomats mock the idea of such a case, confident they would win. The Howard government thought it would lose, too. But in the absence of any other success, the political weight of an international legal action counts.

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Whale slaughter barbaric, says Garrett, Craig Skehan and Andrew Darby - The Sydney Morning Herald - 20th December 2007

THE Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, has risked offending Japan by describing its whale hunt as cruel and barbaric as the Federal Government announced a diplomatic, surveillance and legal campaign against Tokyo.

The Government confirmed a Herald report that it would send the 105-metre Oceanic Viking, fitted with powerful telephoto lenses and video recorders, to shadow the Japanese whaling fleet. It will leave Fremantle this week for the Southern Ocean, where it is scheduled to remain for up to 20 days.

Australia will lead a coalition of anti-whaling countries in lodging a formal diplomatic protest in Tokyo, and Canberra will appoint a special envoy on the issue.

An Airbus A319 operated by the Australian Antarctic Division will fly from Australia's Casey Base to film the whalers. It is understood the aircraft will be manned by customs officers trained, advised and equipped by Australian Defence Force personnel.

But the Japanese fleet is in the Southern Ocean and it appears to be too late to stop the slaughter of more than 1000 whales this summer. Successive Japanese governments have not succumbed to diplomatic pressure.

Further advice to the Government on potential legal action, including before the International Court of Justice, is not expected to be received until the new year.

Australia says Japan's insistence that it kills whales as part of scientific research, while eating their flesh, is a sham.

"You don't have to harpoon them to find out important scientific information about them," Mr Garrett said yesterday. "It's cruel, it's barbaric and it's unnecessary."

He added: "Fifteen minutes of agonising death at the hands of a harpooner is no way to treat these beautiful and regal creatures."

Japan yesterday called for calm and voiced hope Australia would come to understand its whaling.

"Japan's research whaling is done in accordance with the rules set by the International Whaling Commission," said the chief cabinet secretary, Nobutaka Machimura, the Government's leading spokesman.

"We will continue to explain to Australia through diplomatic channels the necessity of research whaling.

"We must approach this issue calmly with the spirit of maintaining friendly ties."

The US ambassador to Tokyo said he believed Japan had agreed not to kill humpback whales during its Antarctic hunt.

"I think we had an agreement … between the United States and Japan that humpback whales would not be harvested, I think, until maybe the International Whaling Conference in June," Thomas Schieffer said.

The Federal Government is also seeking advice on the scope for action in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, as well as under an endangered species convention.

Anti-whaling protests have been crippled, throwing the onus onto the official effort to monitor the Japanese fleet.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Greenpeace have been hit by mechanical failures. These troubles reduce their chances of finding the fleet, believed to be operating far to the south-west of Western Australia.

with agencies

Japan 'backs down on humpback hunt', From correspondents in Tokyo - 19th December 2007 - news.com.au

JAPAN has apparently agreed not to kill humpback whales during its current Antarctic hunt, the US ambassador to Tokyo said today, a move that could help ease criticism of its controversial whaling program.

Japan's whaling fleet set sail last month with plans to catch more than 1000 whales, including 50 humpbacks, which are popular among whale-watchers for their distinctive silhouettes and acrobatic leaps, before returning to port early next year.

Humpbacks were hunted to near extinction until the International Whaling Commission ordered their protection in 1966 and the planned hunt had sparked a loud outcry from activists.

"I think we had an agreement ... between the United States and Japan that humpback whales would not be harvested, I think, until maybe the International Whaling Conference in June,'' US ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said.

Because of migration patterns, the delay would mean it would be "a while before they are at risk again,'' Mr Schieffer said.

Australia today announced that it would send a fisheries patrol ship to shadow Japan's whaling fleet near Antarctica and gather evidence for a possible international court challenge to halt the yearly hunt.

Separately, Greenpeace sent a ship today to try to stop the Japanese fleet hunting whales.

Japan has long resisted pressure to stop what it calls scientific whaling, insisting that whaling is a cherished cultural tradition.

"Japan's whaling is being conducted in line with international treaties and for the purpose of scientific research. We would like to win the understanding of others,'' a Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said in Tokyo.

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Warning shots fired over arming ship, by Jano Gibson - The Sydney Morning Herald - 18th December 2007

Environmental groups have urged the Federal Government to confirm reports it plans to send the commercial ship Oceanic Viking to monitor the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean.

But they have warned against arming the ice-class vessel, saying such a move could further inflame an already delicate diplomatic situation.

The Herald reported today that the Government was considering leasing the P&O ship, Oceanic Viking, to gather photographic and video evidence of illegal whaling that could be used in any international court action against Japanese whaling.

The vessel would be crewed by civilian P&O staff, with a customs boarding party on board. It would also carry two .50-calibre machine-guns.

The Japanese whaling fleet has been within Southern Ocean whaling grounds for the past week and the Australian Government must act fast to bring it to a halt, said Darren Kindleysides from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

"Time is running out ... The body count is going up daily. The government must act, and it must act swiftly and decisively."

He said sending the Ocean Viking to the Southern Ocean would provide a very strong message to Japan.

"Certainly it will fire a strong diplomatic shot across the Japanese government's bows and we would hope it would dissuade them from taking this hunt."

He added: "I think potentially having an armed vessel could spark a greater diplomatic incident than is required ... It is a significant step but I don't think it needs to be armed."

For the first time in almost four decades, Japan will be hunting humpback whales. It plans to slaughter 50 of them, as well as 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales.

Trying to prevent the hunt in the Southern Ocean will be a Greenpeace vessel and a Sea Shepherd ship, setting the stage for potentially hazardous confrontations.

"I think there's real potential for things to escalate quite strongly in the Southern Ocean this year. It is the first time in four decades that humpback whales have been targetted.

"I can understand the depth of feelings and opinions about this issue. Our feeling is what is required is action by the Government to challenge the Japanese government.

"Really that's the strongest measure that can be taken to end this whaling once and for all."

Greenpeace chief executive, Steve Shallhorn, also welcomed reports that the Government would send the Oceanic Viking.

National Whale Watch Association secretary, Frank Future, said the killing of humpbacks could jeopardise Australia's $300 million whale watching industry.

"Whale watch operators are concerned that the fantastic interactions we enjoy today might begin to change as the whales inevitably re-associate vessels with fear and death."

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, yesterday said the government would reveal its plans later in the week.

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P&O spy ship to shadow whalers, by Craig Skehan - The Sydney Morning Herald - 18th December 2007

AUSTRALIA plans to spy on the Japanese whaling fleet using an armed P&O cruise ship, with a lesser role for the Australian Defence Force.

High-level talks have focused on leasing the commercial vessel, Oceanic Viking, which has a re-enforced hull to cut through ice, a crew trained for polar conditions and "super-telephoto" lenses to record the whale slaughter.

Sources said the ship would also carry video equipment, and the images would be used in Australian international court action planned against the Japanese whale hunt, the largest for 20 years. The images would complement a series of aerial surveys on whale populations, to begin soon.

Under plans being developed, the Oceanic Viking would have two .50-calibre machine-guns manned by a customs boarding party to supply the "muscle", while working with a civilian P&O crew. It is highly unlikely the guns would be fired or Japanese ships boarded. The 105-metre vessel has already been used to chase foreign poachers of the Patagonian toothfish in the Southern Ocean.

"The bottom line is you have got to get close to really see what is going on," one source said. Satellite technology would be of limited use against whalers and unmanned aerial vehicles would be unlikely to have sufficient range. The imminent Japanese Government-backed hunt aims to slaughter 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales. For the first time since 1963, humpbacks - 50 of them - are being targeted.

The Federal Opposition has warned that using the military in pursuing Japanese whalers could damage diplomatic relations.

But the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, yesterday accused the former Howard government of doing nothing to save the endangered whales. He said nobody took seriously Japan's claim that it was conducting scientific research. The whale meat obtained is sold to Japanese consumers.

Asked if the Government planned to use the resources of the Australian military, Mr Rudd made it plain that non-military "assets" would also be employed.

"I'm fully aware of the depth and strength of our bilateral diplomatic relationship with Japan," he said, adding that Australia's anti-whaling efforts would be considered, reasonable and balanced.

The Herald has learnt of a series of discussions on the use of the Oceanic Viking in recent days ahead of cabinet consideration of stronger Australian action. Mr Rudd's spokeswoman declined to comment on use of the ship before an official announcement of the Government's intentions.

Customs and Coastal Surveillance will co-ordinate operations to monitor the Japanese whalers through an umbrella body, the Border Protection Command.

PC-3 Orion aircraft are expected to take off from South Australia, but the distance will limit their role to only a couple of hours of direct observation. Navy frigates, with helicopters, are an option closer to Australia rather than 4000 kilometres south in the whaling grounds, where the Oceanic Viking can operate.

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Celebrity islands, by Caron Dann - 11th December 2007

THERE'S something about an island that will always have romantic connotations – of running away to the South Seas, of buried treasure, of a paradise far from the madding crowd.

Fact is, some desert islands are downright crowded these days, running wall to wall celebrities, not to mention the wannabes who follow in their Havaiana-steps.

Almost all the islands you see the likes of Becks and Posh, Nicole and Keith or "Brangelina" frolicking on are also available to you – for a price, of course.

But if you've got the money, you've got the go to become part of how the other half (half a per cent, that is) lives.

And some celebrities love the privacy of island resorts so much, they buy their own. Mel Gibson bought Mago Island, Fiji, for $17.2m in 2004 as a private hideaway, complete with two lagoons and an eight-lane bowling alley.

The latest couple to join the exclusive island-owners' club is Pitt and Jolie, who secured a man-made island in the Dubai development The World. They have reportedly bought Ethiopia (their two-year-old daughter Zahara was born in the real Ethiopia). Their neighbours will include Richard Branson and Rod Stewart and the islands are priced from $7.7 million to $46.1 million.

Other island owners include Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio. Some of them, such as Branson and, soon, DiCaprio, rent out their islands when they're not there.

The trend started many decades ago and one of the most notable island resort owners was the late Marlon Brando.

He fell in love with Tahiti in 1965 while making the film Mutiny on the Bounty and bought the atoll of Tetiaroa.

The atoll already had a celebrity history in its own culture before Brando came along, as the holiday getaway for the chiefs and kings of Tahiti.

It is rumoured that there is still buried treasure on the island. Brando had the Hotel Tetiaroa Village built there, 13 basic palm thatched fares (villas) that were popular with rich couples who wanted a romantic holiday away from five-star hotels. The resort, however, became very run down and closed in 2004.

Now, however, developer Richard Bailey has bought part of the atoll and will turn it into a luxurious eco-resort called The Brando, scheduled to open next year and include accommodation for 30 couples at $1700 a night.

In the meantime, Brando's son Teihotu, 42, is the only official resident of Tetiaroa and works for Bailey as the atoll's caretaker.

NECKER ISLAND, British Virgin Islands, Caribbean

Necker Island is one of the world's most expensive resorts, owned by billionaire Sir Richard Branson.

Who: Mel Gibson, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Douglas, Prince Charles.

Where: Fly to San Juan (Puerto Rico), St Thomas, Antigua or Barbados, take a connecting flight to Beef Island, Tortola, than a short launch or helicopter trip to Necker.

Stay: Up to $52,700 a night for 26 people, including meals and drinks, water sports and Internet services, and laundry, too. When there's not an exclusive booking, couples can stay from $25,800 a week.

Random facts: Branson bought the island more than 25 years ago.

MUSHA CAY, Bahamas

Owned by magician David Copperfield, who named Copperfield Bay after himself.

Who: Google founder Sergey Brin was married there this year. John Travolta, Oprah Winfrey.

Stay: Eight people stay for $28,370 a night (extra for more people, up to 24). Minimum three-night stay and $28,647 security deposit. The rate includes food and drink but not airport taxes, tips or phone use.

Random facts: In October, a 22-year-old American woman who had stayed on the island accused Copperfield, 51, of raping her there. He has denied the claims and FBI agents are investigating.

GOLDENEYE RESORT, Oracabessa village, Jamaica

The former home of writer Ian Fleming, who wrote his James Bond novels at Goldeneye Hotel.

Who: Sting, Johnny Depp.

Where: Fly to Kingston Airport and then it's three hours by car to the village of Oracabessa, or take a small plane to Boscobel Aerodrome.

Stay: Ian Fleming's house costs from $2865 a night for up to six people, villas from $756 a night.

Random fact: One of the villas has a media room with a full-sized movie screen and a library of James Bond-only DVDs.

TURTLE ISLAND, Fiji

Champagne and lobster beach picnics are a specialty on Turtle Island.

Who: Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears.

Where: Fly to Nadi then take a 30-minute seaplane flight ($905 a couple).

Stay: There's 100 staff for a maximum 14 couples, who pay from $1870 to $2738 a night, including meals, beach picnics and deep-sea fishing.

Random fact: Guests are encouraged to eat meals at a communal table, whether they are a Hollywood goddess or Bruce and Val from the Melbourne suburbs.

WAKAYA CLUB, Fiji

The Wakaya Club prides itself on being paparazzi-free.

Who: Tori Spelling, Nicole Kidman, Keith Richards, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Celine Dion, Russell Crowe.

Where: Fly to Nadi, then a domestic flight on Air Wakaya ($1100 a couple).

Stay: There are four-poster beds and outdoor showers. Rates are from $2177 to $8710 a night. >Random fact: Owner David Gilmour built the neighbouring village, too, with a school, church and vegetable gardens.

ANGUILLA, Caribbean

Anguilla is a high-end tourist island especially popular with celebrities during December's festive season.

Who: Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington, Beyonce, Kevin Kline, Janet Jackson, Liam Neeson.

Where: Fly to Puerto Rico or Antigua and take a connecting flight to Anguilla.

Stay: Many resorts and villas have room for an entourage – security guards, nannies, private chefs and the like. Cerulean Villa costs from $37,800-$57,370 a week for seven guests.

Random fact: Anguilla is most famous in recent years as the location of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt's "break-up vacation".

CAP CANA, Caribbean

In his inimitable style, owner Donald Trump says Cap Cana is "the world's greatest destination".

Who: Expected to attract big businessmen and retired celebrities.

Where: South-east Dominican Republic. Trump is building a $1.7 billion resort with condominium hotel, villas, beach club and golf courses. Get there via the US, on a connecting flight to Punta Cana airport.

Stay: Already more than $400 million worth of real estate has been sold at the Trump at Cap Cana.

Random fact: Three of Trump's children are also involved in the development.

BORA BORA, French Polynesia

Most of the hotels here are on their own islands, popular with celebrities because Bora Bora is difficult for the paparazzi to spy on them.

Who: Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban on honeymoon, Charlize Theron, Sharon Stone, Chelsea Clinton, Eva Longoria.

Where: If you don't have your own yacht, fly to Papeete, Tahiti, than take a small plane to Bora Bora.

Stay: Nicole and Keith stayed at the St Regis Bora Bora at its private Royal Estate, at about $17,000 a night.

Random fact: You need to book the Royal Estate at least 550 days in advance.

BLACKDORE CAYE, Belize

The island is near the Belize Barrier Reef, a World Heritage Sight.

Who: Leonardo DiCaprio co-owns it with developer Jeff Gram.

Where: East of the mainland. Fly to Belize then take a boat to the island.

Stay: DiCaprio is an environmentalist and his deal with Four Seasons is to construct an eco-hotel.

Random fact: DiCaprio stayed at the Cayo Espanto resort and loved it so much, he bought the property next door to turn into his own resort.

FRENCH ISLAND, Australia

Here's your chance to stay on a celebrity island and not break the bank.

Who: Kylie Minogue has a holiday home there on a 100-hectare estate.

Where: 60km south-east of Melbourne at Western Port Bay. Get there by 75-minute boat trip from Phillip Island, $22.50.

Stay: You can't stay at Kylie's place, but you can stay nearby at McLeod Eco Farm, a former prison farm. Accommodation from $39 a night per person. Private guest house accommodation with meals $248 a night per couple.

www.mcleodecofarm.com

Random facts: French Island claims to have the world's most dense disease-free koala population.

Other popular islands

Ile de Re, France, off France's west coast, near La Rochelle (Juliette Binoche, Gerard Depardieu, Princess Caroline).

Harbour Island, Bahamas (Bond actor Daniel Craig).

St Vincent & the Grendadines, including the late Princess Margaret's favourite, Mustique (Mick Jagger and Prince William stay at the Cotton Club)

Cayman Islands (Tiger Woods, Chole Sevigny)

Kauai, Hawaii (Christina Aguilera).

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