Ray Hadley: Sick kids must be put before infrastructure
ARE new sporting venues and railway updates really so essential that so many children remain seriously ill as their families fight for a decent level of care?
Opinion
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1. This week I’ve addressed two very serious issues affecting children in NSW. The first relates to critically ill little children being put at risk because the Children’s Hospital at Westmead does not have enough ICU beds for post-surgery care. After specialists at the hospital complained and got no action staff came to me. That started a flood of calls and emails from parents whose children have had surgical procedures postponed five or more times. It needs to be fixed and fixed quickly by a state government more interested in building tunnels, rail lines and sporting stadiums while leaving families with very sick kids in the lurch.
2. The second matter relates to a preschool at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains. In 2014 the Blue Mountains Council knew about asbestos at various locations across the area, including the Wentworth Falls Preschool. The council did nothing about that site and many others until earlier this year. They sent an inspector to the site in August who gave it a big tick of approval. On Wednesday, SafeWork inspectors went to the preschool and immediately closed it. Minister Matt Kean has put the council on notice to make the building safe or it remains closed. Parents are furious their children have been put at risk by a dopey council.
3. The NSW government has been under attack over proposed legislation that’s supposed to bring so-called puppy breeding factories under control but looks like it will have a dramatic impact on hobby breeds. After talking to Minister Niall Blair I’m convinced he won’t sign off on anything that has a negative impact on those people who love their various breeds of dogs and cats and breed animals for all the right reasons.
4. The Minister for the Environment Gabrielle Upton and her department could not have done a worse job on the recycling rollout. The Premier told me it has had teething problems. I told her she needs to bypass the dentist and get to a periodontist.
5. Yet again Australian police forces have done an incredible job putting a 20-year-old alleged terrorist before the courts. Those calling for him to be sent back home should note he was born in Australia.
6. I’ve been reporting on the upper house inquiry into the privately run Parklea Jail. This week a manager resigned after allegations he assaulted a female guard who accused him of smuggling contraband. Anyone who wishes to contribute to the inquiry should go to www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/Pages/Inquiries.aspx.
7. It’s almost comical, but sad, that a late-night tweet by rejected politician Tony Windsor about Warren Mundine’s support of coal mining in Queensland should see the light of day. Windsor later offered a grovelling apology, but everyone should be reminded Windsor sold a farm to mining interests in 2010 and was paid three times the market rate.
8. It’s hard to imagine the carnage created by the head-on collision in Western Sydney this week that left a two-year-old girl dead. It turns out a 20-year-old unlicensed learner driver was at the wheel of the minibus. Police are investigating the circumstances of the crash, including whether the children in the minibus were properly restrained.
9. It’s hard to fathom how Adelaide A-League player Michael Marrone, who manhandled a ball boy, effectively only got a one-match ban. Yes, for that actual offence it was only one match because he gets an automatic one-match ban for a red card.
10. It’ll be interesting to see how the day/night Ashes Test goes tonight in Adelaide. There’ll be a few traditionalists who still hate the thought but it’s here to stay. The players seem to love it, Channel 9 certainly loves it and so do most of the fans.