SYDNEY, April 30, 2012 (AFP) – Prime Minister Julia Gillard Monday vowed to lead Labor to the next Australian election, as a poll showed her scandal-hit government is deeply unpopular and pressure mounted for an early ballot.
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But she remains under intense pressure to call the election early, with a poll in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph revealing 52 percent of voters were in favour of a vote of no confidence in her government.
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Thomson is accused of using the credit card of his former employer, a trade union, to pay for prostitutes, lavish meals and to get cash advances.
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Commentators slammed Gillard’s moves as political expediency, with The Sydney Morning Herald’s Peter Hartcher saying the prime minister had “decided to take out her political rubbish, not because she objected to the putrefaction but because the neighbours wouldn’t stop talking about the smell”.
SYDNEY (AFP) – Prime Minister Julia Gillard Monday vowed to lead Labor to the next Australian election, as a poll showed her scandal-hit government is deeply unpopular and pressure mounted for an early ballot.
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But she remains under intense pressure to call the election early, with a poll in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph revealing 52 percent of voters were in favour of a vote of no confidence in her government.
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Thomson is accused of using the credit card of his former employer, a trade union, to pay for prostitutes, lavish meals and to get cash advances.
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Commentators slammed Gillard’s moves as political expediency, with The Sydney Morning Herald’s Peter Hartcher saying the prime minister had “decided to take out her political rubbish, not because she objected to the putrefaction but because the neighbours wouldn’t stop talking about the smell”.
Sydney Adult Entertainment: 2012 Omololu Falobi Award for Excellence in HIV Prevention Research Community …
April 29, 2012
SYDNEY, April 17, 2012 /NEWS.GNOM.ES/ – Anna Forbes, a long-time microbicide advocate, has received the third Omololu Falobi Award for Excellence in HIV Prevention Research Community Advocacy. The award was presented during the Microbicides 2012 Conference in Sydney, Australia.
Forbes was honored for her significant contributions to microbicides advocacy over a long career devoted to fostering civil society engagement in HIV care, treatment and prevention and women’s rights. She has been involved in the fight against AIDS for almost three decades and was an early champion for microbicides when the field had few strong advocacy voices.
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The 2012 Omololu Falobi Award Recipient was honored during the plenary session today with a plaque and a cash prize. The M2012 Secretariat also provided a full scholarship for the Award recipient to attend the Conference in Sydney.
See the full article from “NEWS.GNOM.ES”
HOSPITALITY Minister George Souris said the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing (OLGR) and police would “re-double” their investigation into the alleged unlicensed sale of alcohol at the abandoned Stamford Plaza, Double Bay.
The hotel has been closed for three years but has allegedly been used for illegal dance parties.
“This government has made it clear that it will not tolerate unlicensed operators attempting to sell liquor without a licence and increasing the risk of alcohol-related problems such as underage drinking, violence, anti-social behaviour and neighbourhood disturbance,” Mr Souris said.
Allegations of the illegal sale of alcohol were brought to the OLGR on April 17.
Mr Souris said police had advised the OLGR that they were already investigating reports of prostitution and illegal dance parties at the venue.
“I am advised that a hotel licence still exists for the Stamford Plaza, however, it has been in a dormant capacity since 2009. Given this is still technically a licensed venue, the provisions of the liquor laws apply and action can be taken against the licensee and any other third party for any breaches,” he said.
MEMBERS of Victoria Police’s fraud and extortion squad are expected to visit brothels and escort agencies in Sydney this week to interview sex workers about whether the former Labor MP Craig Thomson used union funds to pay for their services while he was national secretary of the Health Services Union.
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To date he has claimed that he was interstate on some occasions that his card was used for prostitution services, that someone had forged his signature, and that another union official was responsible and had repaid the money.
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Mr Thomson dropped a defamation action against Fairfax Media last year after a Sydney court was told that Mr Thomson’s signature and driver’s licence details were on some of the brothel receipts, and that the backbencher’s mobile phone had been used to make the bookings.
Police probe at ‘dormant’ Sydney hotel
Sunday, April 29, 2012 » 04:34pm
Police and liquor authorities are investigating allegations of unlicensed alcohol sales, prostitution and illegal dance parties at the former Stamford Plaza at Double Bay.
NSW Hospitality Minister George Souris has confirmed police and the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR) have begun investigations following allegations raised on April 17.
‘The unlicensed sale of alcohol is a serious offence and can result in a maximum penalty of $11,000 and 12 months imprisonment,’ Mr Souris said in a statement.
‘Following further revelations in the press today, I have asked OLGR to redouble its investigation into the claims of illegal liquor sales on the premises.
‘NSW police also advised OLGR that they were already investigating allegations of prostitution, illegal dance parties and unauthorised operation of the hotel and had carried out onsite inspections.’
See the full article from “BigPond News”
PHOTOGRAPHS have emerged of stripping, booze and smoking inside the dormant Stamford Hotel – but authorities claim they have struggled to find evidence of liquor law breaches.
While police are investigating whether the caretaker at the old Ritz in Double Bay is running an unlicensed security business from the penthouse suite, the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing says it has no evidence of illegal activity at the abandoned five-star hotel.
The Sunday Telegraph last week revealed the hotel, which is on the market for $110 million after closing three years ago, has transformed into a bizarre feature in the exclusive suburb — hosting weird parties, housing prostitutes, and opening its once-luxurious rooms to all comers.
The building’s British owners — who have been contacted by NSW authorities in recent days — had no idea rooms were being rented to students, hospitality workers, backpackers and vagrants.
Former teacher jailed for sexual assault
SYDNEY — A former teacher who admitted to being a sex addict was sentenced Monday to serve one year in a provincial jail after previously being convicted of sexual assault, unlawful confinement and assault.
Michel Joseph Aubin Vienneau, 44, was charged after an encounter with an admitted drug addict who testified that prostitution was one way for her to pay for her habit. The encounter occurred at Vienneau’s former school, Etoile de l’Acadie in Sydney, where he taught math and science.
In addition to the jail sentence, Vienneau must also complete a two-year probation period upon his release and is to be a registered sex offender for 20 years. He must also submit a DNA sample to the national registry and is prohibited from possessing weapons for 10 years.
Sydney Adult Entertainment: Abandoned Ritz-Carlton Hotel has become overrun with undesirables
April 29, 2012
POLICE suspect one of Sydney’s most famous five-star hotels has been overrun by prostitutes and become home to other illegal activity, including bizarre illicit parties.
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According to Double Bay sources Mr Churchill, who runs Churchill Security, has been renting the hotel’s rooms to a mixture of students, vagrants and prostitutes for about $250 per week. The price excludes cleaning services, linen or any kitchen facilities.
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The building’s UK-based owners said they had not given permission for the rooms to be rented and during a recent visit to Sydney were shocked to learn the hotel was enjoying near-full occupancy.
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“Our investigation is in its early days but we have been told girls are coming and going,” local area commander, Superintendent Michael Fitzgerald said. “We don’t know just yet whether it’s (just) prostitution. Our officers, our station, are treating this very seriously.”
See the full article from “Courier Mail”
Who Pays? Financing For New HIV Prevention TechnologiesBy Bobby Ramakant – CNS
(CNS): With economic recession, shrinking health funds and competing priorities, it is likely that donors might put in the dollar where they perceive to get the most value. Although the research for new HIV prevention technologies has indeed made some progress, yet a formidable way lies ahead to find enough money to finish the research and to make ‘from discovery to delivery’ a reality for those in need of protecting themselves from HIV. This issue of health financing of new HIV prevention technologies was in spotlight at the closing day plenary of the International Microbicides Conference (M2012) in Sydney, Australia.
“Twelve years ago at first International Microbicides Conference in the year 2000, the first major international conference focused on microbicides for HIV prevention, I stood before a similar audience in Washington D.C. and said that, “because of the ferocious speed with which the HIV/AIDS epidemic has spread, we, as an international c …