ACROSS THE DITCH

WORK HARD ON KIDS

About one in three 10-year-old children says their parents work too hard, and about one-quarter of all parents agree, according to new research by the Australian Institute for Family Studies. For the first time, researchers asked a large group of children aged 10 to 11 – about 4000 of them – what they thought about their parents’ working habits. About 35 per cent of these children thought their fathers worked too much, while 27 per cent said their mothers worked too much. Both fathers and mothers said over-work made family time less fun.

NEW BROOME FOR INMATES

Converting Broome prison to a facility for Indonesian inmates, including some from interstate, is an option being considered by the West Australian government as it reviews the facility’s future. ABC Radio on Thursday said the possibility of housing only Indonesian prisoners at Broome prison in the Kimberley region was being contemplated by WA’S Corrective Services Minister Terry Redman. Convicted people smugglers and illegal fisherman from Indonesia are currently held in several WA prisons.

’ROID SEIZURES PUMPED

Seizures of illegal performance and bodybuilding drugs have doubled to the highest level on record, according to new crime statistics. Australian Crime Commission (ACC) data shows the number of performance drugs interceptions at the Australian border rose from 2695 in 2009-10 to 5561 during the past financial year. ‘‘Performance and image enhancing drugs constitute the majority of detections at the Australian border . . . and are now the highest on record,’’ the report said.

RECESSION BITES

Two-thirds of Australians who avoided dental visits did so because of the cost, new research has found. The University of Adelaide study, published in the Australian Dental Journal of more than 1000 Australians found about 68 per cent who avoided or delayed dental visits did so because of the expense.