Australian, Indonesian Leaders Discuss Human Trafficking

VOA News 10/03/2010

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (L) looks on as Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaks during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, 10 Mar 2010

The leaders of Indonesia and Australia have discussed plans to fight people smuggling and say the two nations will continue to cooperate in fighting the problem. The discussion came during Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit to Australia.

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday told the Australian federal Parliament that his country will toughen laws against people smuggling.

 Thousands of people, primarily from South Asia, have tried to sneak into Australia over the past several years, many of them paying people smugglers to take them by boat from Indonesia. Both countries have been working to combat the problem.

Mr. Yudhoyono, on a state visit to Australia, stressed the increasing close ties between the two countries in his speech to Parliament. The relationship, which was tense for decades, has improved dramatically in the past eight years as the two have cooperated in fighting violent Islamic militants responsible for a number of bombings in Indonesia that were aimed at Westerners.

The president, who is the first Indonesian leader to address a joint sitting of the Australian Parliament, says that adversity brought the two countries closer together.

"Our intense and fruitful cooperation to bring the Bali bombers to justice and Australia's outpouring of sympathy, and rescue and relief effort in the wake of the tsunami tragedy of 2004 was the emotional turning point of our bilateral relations," he said.

Australia offers $25m to Taliban peace fund

News Com AU 29/01/2010

AUSTRALIA is among the first countries to donate towards a new fund designed to encourage the Taliban to lay down their guns in Afghanistan, pledging $25 million.

Plans for the $US500 million ($560 million) reintegration and peace fund were unveiled as world leaders and foreign ministers from 70 countries attended a one-day conference on Afghanistan's future in London.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith pledged $25 million as part of an extra $100 million Australia will pour into a range of Afghan projects from mine clearing to reconstruction.

Australia's donation to the fund was part of $US140 million ($157 million) worth of pledges made at the conference, which also agreed Afghanistan should take more control of its own security from the end of 2010.

The fund was set up by the Afghan government, which hopes to attract $US500 million worth of donations so it can offer money and jobs to entice moderate Taliban members to stop fighting Allied troops in the war-torn country and rejoin mainstream society.

Indians want United Nations to intervene

News Com AU 29/01/2010

PROTESTERS have marched on the Australian High Commission in New Delhi chanting anti-Australia slogans and appealing for the United Nations to intervene.

The National Students' Union of India called for the Indian government to make sure the UN ensures the security of its citizens in Australia.

This follows months of jingoistic and anti-Australian commentary in the Indian media.

Some estimates are that up to 4000 Indian students have cancelled plans to study in Australia in the past 12 months as a result of the global economic downturn and fears over rising violence.

Melbourne is second only to London in terms of population as a destination for international students. Last year more than 190,000 international students enrolled in Victorian education institutions.

The State Government yesterday opened a new 24-hour support and welfare service in Carlton for international students.

This one-stop shop offers students counselling, crisis accommodation, food aid and help with any other welfare needs.

Victorian Premier John Brumby admits there have been some racial attacks, but dismissed calls for the UN intervention as nothing but scaremongering.

Ten Australians killed in India, families claim

News Com AU 17/01/2010

THE family of an Australian man found dead in India say a growing number of foreign tourists are being murdered and the crimes covered up by authorities there.

At least 10 Australians have been murdered or feared murdered in violent attacks in India since 1999, with claims that up to 200 westerners have been killed. In what is expected to further heighten tension between India and Australia, the families of dead Australians say the subcontinent nation is hypocritical in attacking Victorian authorities and are calling for an investigation by the Rudd Government.

They are also issuing their own travel warning to Australians planning to visit India, saying they are "taking their lives into their own hands".

Melbourne disability pensioner Michael Osborne was found dead in a guest house near the city of Patna with his bank account empty and most of his belongings gone less than three weeks into a dream visit to India last June.

Indian police initially said the death was due to a drug overdose but when pushed for detail twice changed their story, saying he died from injuries sustained from a fall and finally that the death was caused by zinc phosphate poisoning.

Patna police told the Australian High Commission in New Delhi the death was not suspicious and that there were "no apparent external injuries to Michael's body".

But a post mortem report reveals the body had a catalogue of injuries, including brain haemorrhaging, an abdomen cavity "full of blood", scratches and abrasions on his left arm, elbow, wrist and leg and right side of his chest and hip.

It said: "All abrasions caused by hand and blunt object."

India 'concerned' over Australia attacks

Nine MSN 16/01/2010

India's junior foreign minister says New Delhi has expressed its "absolute displeasure" to Australia over attacks on Indian students.

"We are doing our utmost to register our absolute displeasure and concern about what is happening to our citizens in Australia," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Praneet Kaur as saying in New Delhi on Friday.

"I think almost on a daily basis the situation is being monitored," the junior foreign minister added.

The comments came less than a week after Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith telephoned his Indian counterpart S M Krishna to try to cool tensions over the attacks in Australian cities.

Information Minister Ambika Soni said New Delhi is seeking assurances Indians will be safe in Australia.

"A certain clarity or a certain reassurance from Australia should be forthcoming so that the sense of insecurity and fear which is there in the Indian students there and their families especially in India can be assuaged," she said.

Foreign Minister Krishna during his talks with Smith conveyed his "deep concern" over the incidents, which included an attempt by a group of men to set fire to an Indian man in Melbourne last week.

The string of attacks, which included the murder of a student this month in Melbourne, has prompted a strong reaction in the Indian press, with one newspaper likening Australian police to the Ku Klux Klan.

Asia's changing dynamics

The Japan Times Online 13/01/2010

By BRAHMA CHELLANEY

With Asia in transition and the specter of a power imbalance looming large, it has become imperative to invest in institutionalized cooperation to reinforce the region's strategic stability. After all, not only is Asia becoming the pivot of global geopolitical change, but Asian challenges are also playing into international strategic challenges.

Asia's changing power dynamics are reflected in China's increasingly assertive foreign policy, the new Japanese government's demand for an "equal" relationship with the United States, and the sharpening Sino-Indian rivalry, which has led to renewed Himalayan border tensions.

All of this is highlighting America's own challenges, which are being exacerbated by its eroding global economic pre-eminence and involvement in two wars. Such challenges dictate greater U.S.-China cooperation to ensure continued large capital inflows from China, as well as Chinese political support on difficult issues ranging from North Korea and Burma to Pakistan and Iran.

But, just when America's Sino-centric Asia policy became noticeable, Japan put the U.S. on notice that it cannot indefinitely remain a faithful servant of American policies. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government is seeking to realign foreign policy and rework a 2006 deal for the basing of U.S. military personnel on Okinawa. It also announced an end to its eight-year-old Indian Ocean refueling mission in support of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

Indian media must wait for full facts while reporting on 'race' attacks: Australia

The Times of India 11/01/2010

MELBOURNE: Australia today asked the Indian media to exercise restraint and "wait for the full facts" while reporting on alleged racism in this

Acting Foreign Minister Simon Crean said it was too early to conclude that the recent attacks on Indians were racially motivated, an AAP report said.

"We are dealing with sensitive issues here, but the fact is... there is no evidence that they're racially based (attacks)," he said.

There has been a series of attacks on Indians, particularly students, in Australia over the last few months and the latest have resulted in two deaths, straining ties between the two countries.

Australia, however, has maintained that the latest attacks were not racist in nature, and cautioned against overreacting.

"It is far better to... wait for the full facts, we would urge the Indian newspapers to do that," Crean said.

"But I think that will fall on deaf ears in a number of cases because we are used to that," he said, referring to the continuous reports in the Indian media following several attacks on Indian nationals.

Crean had yesterday expressed satisfaction over the Indian government's "constructive and responsible advice" to the media to exercise restraint while reporting attacks on the community members here.

Aussies worry most about weight in the bedroom

News Com Au 11/01/2010

AUSTRALIANS worry the most when it comes to weight and how it affects our sex lives, a new global survey has revealed.

Half of us cared much too much about our waistlines, but at the same time we secretly wished our partners would lose a few kilos.

A majority of Australians have tried to lose weight at least once - unsurprisingly women more than men - and about 40 per cent of us felt constant pressure to be thin.

There was also a fear that being fat could affect our performance at work.

The revelations were part of a large-scale survey conducted by Readers Digest that took in the thoughts of some 6000 people from 16 countries around the world.

Australians appeared to be the world's biggest worriers when it came to weight and how it affected performance in the bedroom.

A hefty 52 per cent said excess weight "seriously impacted" their sex lives - more than any other country except Mexico, which came in equal first with Australia.

Eighty-one per cent of women have tried to shift the kilos at least once, as well as 63 per cent of men - ranking Australia fourth among the 16 countries surveyed.

Two men questioned in Sydney over Indian's murder

The Times of India 10/01/2010

SYDNEY: Two men were detained at Sydney airport for questioning over the murder of an Indian man whose partially burnt body was found a fortnight ago. They were let off but their passports were seized, a media report said on Sunday.

The two men were apparently employed by Ranjodh Singh, 25, whose partially burnt body was found beside Wilga road, Willbriggie, in southwest New South Wales, Dec 29.

The two men were stopped by the police at the Sydney Airport departure lounge on Monday as they were about to board a flight to Nepal via Singapore. Both were questioned about their relationship to Ranjodh Singh, Sydney Morning Herald reported on Sunday.

The two, believed to be seasonal workers employed by Singh, were taken to police station for questioning, but were later released after having their passports confiscated.

Indian man's burning in Melbourne not racially motivated - Victorian police

News Com Au 09/01/2010

CRIME squad investigators say the circumstances leading up to a 29-year-old Indian man being set on fire in an alleged attack are "unusual" - but not racially motivated.

The man is recovering in hospital in serious condition with burns to his hands, face and legs after parking his car in Melbourne's northwest.

It's alleged that the man was randomly approached by four men who burned his car and set him on fire.

"I believe there's no reason at this stage to consider this in any way racially motivated," Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Neil Smyth said today.

"The circumstances of parking a car randomly on a side street and just some people approaching him are a bit strange and it's highly unlikely, therefore, to be a targeted attack on any individual."

Nurses pay is protected - Gillard

News Com AU 09/01/2010

NURSES who are worried about being hit with pay cuts because of new workplace laws can take action to protect their take-home pay, Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) says the new Fair Work system will result in steep pay cuts of up to $300 a week for nurses, including aged-care nurses in NSW and Queensland.

"What I can certainly guarantee is that there is an ability for anybody who thinks that they've got a problem with the new system to get a take-home pay order to maintain their take-home pay," Ms Gillard told the Nine Network today.

"Any aged care nurse who has got a concern can talk to Fair Work Australia, talk to their union and if they feel they have a legitimate concern can approach Fair Work Australia for a take-home pay order.

"It means that they would have a legal order that maintains their take-home pay. That means that they can't lose money."

Ms Gillard said the nurses award would make sure first year nurses were paid more in the other states.

She said the new system was simpler and rejected claims by the Retailers Association the laws will make it harder and more costly for small businesses, and could lead to the loss of 3000 retail jobs from Australia's eastern states.

"But overall, if we look at the Fair Work Act, the new system of laws that we've got, it's better rights and protections for employees," she said.

Cartoonist defends his Ku Klux Klan cartoon

News Com Au 08/01/2010

A CARTOONIST has defended his controversial work likening Australian police to Ku Klux Klan.

THE cartoonist, whose controversial cartoon was published in an Indian paper, said he was responding to a police failure to acknowledge racist attacks against Indians.

The cartoon, published in Delhi's Mail Today, drew condemnation across Australia from police and political leaders yesteray for showing a figure with an Australian police badge dressed in a pointed white hood.

It was published in response to homicide investigators in Victoria being unable to say if the recent killing of 21-year-old Indian student Nitin Garg in a Melbourne park was racially motivated.

The Ku Klux Klan-dressed officer in the cartoon states: "We are yet to ascertain the nature of the crime.''

Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard condemned the cartoon yesterday as the Indian media continued to accuse Australia of not doing enough to solve the late-night stabbing.

"Any suggestion of that kind is deeply, deeply offensive to the police officers involved and I would absolutely condemn the making of a comment like that,'' Ms Gillard said.

The cartoonist, R Prasad, told AAP the cartoon depicted an official acceptance of racism by failing to act against race attacks.

VIDEO: Indians protest death of Indian student

VIDEO: Indians protest death of Indian student

Comments on this story

Martin of Sydney Posted at 2:25 PM Today

Have you ever had eggs pelted at you and your family just because of your race whilst walking down the street or at your house? This has happened to me numerous times and I lived in supposedly affluent Sydney’s north shore. You want to believe that Australia is not a racist country but these things happen more often then you think. Stop deflecting and start reflecting.

Drew of Surry Hills Posted at 2:25 PM Today

Some Australians are racist. Some indians are racist. As others have said - how do they treat Pakistanis? Bangladeshis? Tamils? Maybe the Delhi and Mumbai residents should be the ones walking around with white hoods on.

barry Posted at 2:25 PM Today

she is a raving lunatic is our Julia Gillard.Why she is even elevating the dialougue of this is beyond me.She is am emty vessel trying to be heard.Will someone shut her up and allow Police to handle the matter,that is all she has to say about it and any further commentary especially about a cartoon in a newspaper she has not even seen is immature and not befitting a PM let alone and actor of a PM.

Jessie of Sydney Posted at 7:31 AM Today

...wow, how very mature. Because EVERY SINGLE death of an Indian in Australia is always an act of racism? The police cannot always jump to such conclusions. I suggest whoever has the 'leap before you look' mentally pull your head out of where you stuck it.

bz22 Posted at 7:34 AM Today

Indians think Australians are racist? How about telling that to Andrew Symonds.

AD of Hobart Posted at 7:37 AM Today

How many people die each year from murder in their country? Do they catch every murderer within 24 hours. Do they call themselves the Ku Klux Khan? We dont force people to come to our country.......you come of your own free will.

Johnny Posted at 7:37 AM Today

I like how India are comparing us to the KKK when they are one of the most racist countries in the world. Pot calling Kettle

didi Posted at 7:38 AM Today

Not saying we don't have racist, stupid thugs out there but their carry on is very one sided. When things happen to foreigners in their country, some truly weird, and often illegal things go on.

Brett L of brisbane Posted at 7:39 AM Today

The cartoon doesn't bother me, it's called freedom of speech. And big deal people are murdered/raped/robbed daily in Australia. So what if he was Indian.

Bezza Posted at 7:39 AM Today

Comming from the Country that has the highest instances of Murder recorded in the world each year, it just goes to show how big a bunch of whiney boys Indians are. What utter hypocracy.

Edward of SEQ Posted at 7:40 AM Today

Isnt that Raaaacist!!

Sick of the rot of Darwin Posted at 7:40 AM Today

If the KFC add is racist then what is this cartoon? If thats there attitude then please stay home we dont need any more oxygen wasters here. I am sure that no visitor to India has ever been killed!!

Mike Posted at 7:40 AM Today

We have set up a carvan...and are enjoying the burgers, we have warned the cowardly perpetrator of the crime to come forward and surender. Till he does so our hands are tied. You see we are doing our best. Waht else can we do. By the way while we are waiting let us tell you Indians that even though we do not know who did it or why they did it our official soothsayer says there is no racial motivation. Because we Aussies get bashed on trains and raped in parks we dont think you guys should complain too much about it anyway. We actually think that because it is happening so often we should legalize this sort of thimg...public opinion you know.

not racist of australiat Posted at 7:42 AM Today

dont mean to be rude here, but is this the beginning of the end of he subcontinent migration? then not many people will miss it.

Paul Posted at 7:42 AM Today

How dare anyone label Australia as racist, especially against people from India, they are one of the most welcomed and respected immigrants to Australia, myself and everyone I know view them as generally hard working, not involved in any crime and have pretty good English skills, making them an asset to our society. I'm willing to bet that any Indian student being robbed of killed it is because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, if it was me or anyone else there we'd suffer the same fate!

Michael of Sydney Posted at 7:43 AM Today

And they are right. We still do not have any evidence that this crime was not committed by extra terrestrials.

not a chance Posted at 7:45 AM Today

this is just rong if we published anything so offensive iven if it was as justified as this is we would be getting complaints left right and center

AllStar of Victoria Posted at 7:47 AM Today

Now whose the racist?

Trevor Wood of Darwin Posted at 7:47 AM Today

I wonder how many crimes against foreigners in India are not solved. These people even whinge about cricket in parliament.

SADDENED POLICE OFFICER of ADELAIDE Posted at 7:48 AM Today

Oh come on. We like any other country have criminals among our midst. India certainly has and Australians have been murdered in India and other overseas nations. Further more it was because of their religious convictions. Personally I find the Indians who come to this country as lovely and polite people. To suggest our police are KKK is offensive and defamatory. Even more so as I am a serving police officer and I find racism disgusting.

lover of all of perth Posted at 7:49 AM Today

nothing racist about that is there?????? Im sick of being a racist because Im white.

Bart of Avoca Posted at 7:50 AM Today

has anyone thought to mention to the Indian High Commissioner that the homicide rate in India is several times what it is in Australia or that attacks on foreigners in India are common. In other words the Indian students are safer in Australia than they are in their own country. It's tragic that anyone is killed or assaulted but it's only the Indian equivalent of shock jocks who are stirring this out of proportion to sell newspapers or get viewers.

Melinda of newtown Posted at 7:50 AM Today

Maybe they should hold a protest and burn some shops and cars in protest. Fact is that people get beaten up, mugged and killed every day. It isn't because people hate indians, but its just that the indian ones get in the newspapers.

MattinBris of Bris Posted at 7:54 AM Today

And how will this bring the young man back to life ?

Vin of Sydney Posted at 7:54 AM Today

It is so clear that Indians are being targetted by short sighted Australians who see the influx of Indians as a threat. The fact that these young men and women come to Australia with the hope of making good for themselves and their family should not be seen as a threat but as a motivator for locals to stive for something somewhat similar. Rather, the attitude of the government is to turn a blind eye and overlook the fact that the country is ripe with racism. Instead they should be discouraging and ensuring this attitude is changed across the nation. Ensuring the security of foreigners whether students or tourists should be the first course of action as these people brings money into the country and the government knows they bring dollars to universities, and tourist create jobs for the country. Scaring off foreigners to this great nation will be to the detriment of Australia and the Labour party, police and community leaders should address this emphatically.

Fair for All of Sydney Posted at 7:54 AM Today

In ther interests of fairness, maybe the Indian newspapers should also report all the senseless, unmotivated murders or attacks committed on Anglo-Australians in recent times. There is no doubt we have a growing problem in Australia with these attacks, but it seems to be they are by no means restricted to the Indian student population. Bring back harsher penalties.

David of Sydney Posted at 7:55 AM Today

And they say we are racist?? Atleast we wouldn't publish cartoons like that here in australia! What a bunch of hypocrites!

Dave of Kingston Posted at 7:55 AM Today

I don't know why they bother trying to do the best they can when they get insulted like this. It is not the police's fault if someone gets murdered for their race.

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Indian 'Ku Klux Klan' cartoon deeply offensive, says Julia Gillard

News Com AU 08/01/2010

ACTING Prime Minister Julia Gillard has condemned a cartoon depicting a Victorian police officer as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

The cartoon, published in Tuesday's edition of Delhi's Mail Today, shows an Australian police officer dressed in a white hood as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, saying: "We are yet to ascertain the nature of the crime".

The cartoon was in response to homicide investigators in Victoria stating they could not yet say if the murder of 21-year-old Indian student Nitin Garg in a Melbourne park was racially motivated.

Ms Gillard told reporters in Brisbane she hadn't seen the cartoon, but believed it would be "deeply offensive".

"Any suggestion of the kind is deeply offensive and I would condemn the making of such comment," she said.

Police were doing an outstanding job in cracking down on crime and increasing Indian students' safety, Ms Gillard said.

"The Victorian police have stepped up and increased policing in difficult hot spots in Victoria where they have seen a number of violent incidences," she said.

"They have worked in close collaboration with representatives of the Indian community as they have gone about with this step up in policing."

Victoria's police association earlier fired back at an Indian cartoonist who depicted members of the force as white supremacists, calling his artwork "highly offensive" and "outrageous".

KFC pulls controversial cricket ad

Yahoo 7 News: 07/01/2010

Kentucky Fried Chicken's head office in the US has apologised for "any misinterpretation" caused by a controversial Australian cricket ad as furious debate raged in the American media about whether it was racist.

KFC pulls controversial cricket ad

The commercial, featuring a white Australian cricket fan offering fried chicken to West Indies supporters, has been pulled from the air in Australia.

"KFC Australia is removing the television advertisement that was being run in conjunction with the Australian cricket season," the chicken fast food giant announced in a statement.

"We apologise for any misinterpretation of the ad as it was not meant to offend anyone."

Japanese sailors accused of ramming anti-whaling vessel

News Com Au 07/01/2010 

SEA Shepherd captain Paul Watson today accused Japanese whalers of a high seas hit-and-run, disputing claims a collision with one of its speedboats was accidental.

Six crew members aboard the anti-whaling ship Ady Gil were rescued, one with broken ribs, after it and the Japanese whalers' ship the Shonan Maru 2 collided in remote Antarctic waters.

The high-tech trimaran was ripped apart in the collision.

Japan's Fisheries Agency has blamed the Ady Gil for the crash, saying it slowed suddenly while crossing in front of the Shonan Maru.

But Mr Watson today labelled the claim ridiculous, saying the whaling ship deliberately rammed the boat in a high seas "hit and run".

"The Ady Gil was stationary at the time it was struck," Mr Watson said on Macquarie Radio.

Conservationists Clash With Japanese Whalers in Southern Ocean

VOA News 06/01/2010

An environmental group says one of its boats was split in two and taking on water after a collision with a Japanese whaling ship in Antarctica.

An environmental group says one of its boats was split in two and taking on water after a collision with a Japanese whaling ship in Antarctica.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says one of its boats, the Ady Gil, a sleek high-technology speed boat, was rammed and sliced in half by a Japanese ship, the Shonan Maru.

All six crew members were unharmed and were rescued as the boat began taking on water near Commonwealth Bay in Antarctica.

The Sea Shepherd group claims it was the victim of unprovoked aggression and indicates that it will fight back.

The captain of the organization's flagship vessel, Paul Watson, says his colleagues are lucky to be alive.

"When the skipper on the Ady Gil saw the Shonan Maru moving in to strike him, he put his engines in reverse to get out of the way, which probably saved some of his crew but it ripped the front end of the vessel off and caused catastrophic damage to the Ady Gil," explained Watson. "The Ady Gil then put out a distress signal, a mayday signal, which was ignored and not acknowledged by the Japanese and then they sped away from the scene of this incident."

Australians Sweating After Hottest Decade on Record

VOA News 05/01/2010

2010 could be another hot year, with forecasters expecting temperatures to be as much as one degree Celsius above average this year

The past decade was Australia's hottest on record as a result of global warming. And the nation's Bureau of Meteorology says 2010 will be even warmer, with temperatures as much as one degree above the average.

In its annual report, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology's says the decade from 2000 to 2009 was the hottest since records began 100 years ago.

The average temperature during the decade was almost half a degree Celsius above the average seen since 1960.

Climatologists say 2005 was Australia's hottest year on record, followed closely by 2009.

The past 12 months have been punctuated by three punishing heat waves, which have exacerbated bush fires, a long-standing drought and dust storms. Weather bureau officials say a single severe heat wave would be unusual, and that three in the same year was "extraordinary".

The bureau's head of climate change analysis, David Jones, thinks temperatures will keep on rising.

"The statement is simply a fact of the observations we've seen. And the reality is that Australia is warming, it's warmed by about a degree over the past 50 years, it's continuing to warm," he said. "You know global warming is something we see in observations, you know, it's not a statement, it's not a deduction, it's a fact."

2010 could be another hot year for Australia, with forecasters expecting temperatures to be as much as one degree Celsius above average this year.

81,018 permanent residents left Australia over the past 12 months

Yahoo 7 News: Kiwis packing bags, leaving Australia

It hardly seems fair. The Wallabies are struggling with a Kiwi at the helm, while the New Zealand cricket team looks destined for great things.

Our neighbours across the ditch have been the greatest beneficiaries of an exodus of Australians with almost one fifth of those who left permanently in 2008/09 choosing New Zealand as their new home.

And having had their share of the good times, New Zealanders topped the list of overseas-born people leaving Australia.

The release of the Emigration 2008/09 report comes in a year which was not so good for our rugby side, with New Zealand-born coach Robbie Deans guiding the Wallabies to only six wins and a draw from 14 Tests.

The figures from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship show 81,018 permanent residents left Australia over the past 12 months, more than any other year on record.

A bad name for aged care nurse

Yahoo 7 News A former aged care nurse has been found guilty of assaulting patients at an Adelaide northern suburbs nursing home.

Amanda Louise Manuel, 31, of Greenwith was accused of bashing elderly residents at the facility, which cannot be identified.

The trial in Adelaide Magistrates Court heard evidence that Manuel knocked patients to the ground and beat one with a pillow last year.

She was found guilty of five counts of assault and acquitted of two others.

None of the victims was capable of testifying during the trial but prosecutors brought in other workers who had witnessed the assaults to give evidence.

Manuel will be sentenced next year.