KAZ'S TOOL OF THE WEEK
JUST when you thought Barnaby Joyce might finally be disappearing from the headlines, up he pops again like a bad smell. There was the cringeworthy $150k television interview that, according to Barnaby, was aimed at giving him privacy. Then there was the altercation with a photographer outside church in which Barnaby complained he was being harassed. Not to be outdone, Barnaby, in his own special way, managed to turn the whole event around by filming himself harassing the photographer and posting it online. It was riveting stuff. “What’s ya name mate? Tell us ya name mate, c’mon tell us ya name. Why won’t ya tell us ya name?” Now, it seems, Barney has written a book due for release in August. Reckon it’ll make history, if only for the speed of its lightning transition from launch to discount table.
I LOVE THIS
WALKING footy for oldies! Fair to say that as you get older, you aren’t quite as sprightly on the pins as you once were. So Aussie men are being encouraged to take up what has already proved a winner in the UK — walking football. According to reports, New South Wales is leading the way and health experts are saying such sports can actually help mobility and balance, prevent chronic illnesses, injuries and even dementia. (Course if you’re far too gone, you’re far too gone! Perhaps you can score.) In any case, the rules are simple: no running, kicking the ball above shoulder height or tackling. Anything dangerous is a free kick. So get out there and crack those joints, boys!
AND ANOTHER THING .....
YOU could be forgiven for thinking Working With Children permits are no longer worth the paper they’re written on after VCAT decided a man convicted of five counts of rape on a 14year-old boy in 1994 — plus assault and criminal damage — can now become a youth worker. Despite fears for children’s safety because the man had a history of violent offending (in 2006 he assaulted his partner and on another occasion tried to choke a colleague during an argument), he has been given the green light to work with children in residential care. As if kids in residential care don’t already have enough to deal with! What a disgrace — and what the hell is the Government doing to put a stop to absurd decisions regularly being spewed out by VCAT?