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Iconic Aussie author caught up in bizarre book ban

<p>Australian author Mem Fox, best known for her iconic <em>Possum Magic </em>book, has become the latest writer caught up in Florida’s wave of book bans. </p> <p>Her 1988 release <em>Guess What?</em> is the target, facing the ban in schools throughout Duval County over allegations of “pornography” in its depictions of nudity.</p> <p>The 2022 Florida law, part of the parental rights in conservative governor Ron DeSanti’s education bill, prohibits adults from distributing on school premises any content “of a person or portion of the human body which depicts nudity or sexual conduct, sexual excitement, sexual battery, bestiality, or sadomasochistic abuse and which is harmful to minors".</p> <p>Punishment for not complying includes a third-degree felony, which can mean a prison sentence of up to five years for any individual caught. </p> <p>The book asks children to guess the identity of character Daisy O’Grady with a series of questions - all yes or no - before finally revealing that she’s actually a witch. </p> <p>Illustrations through <em>Guess What?</em> - created by illustrator Vivienne Goodman - see Daisy going about her day-to-day routine, including one key ‘problem’ activity: taking a bath. </p> <p>It’s this scene that caused the trouble for Fox, with some dubbing it “pornographic”. </p> <p>However, it isn’t the first time that<em> Guess What? </em>has come into question for its depictions - past reviews took issue with its images of dead fish in underwear as well. </p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2023/05/GuessWhat_Embed.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>Fox doesn’t seem too concerned about the ban though, with her agent even telling <em>The Guardian </em>that “Duval County is a county of 997,000 people in Florida. It is not important."</p> <p>As Fox herself said on <em>ABC Radio</em>, “it's pitiful, isn't it? It's like, the Americans keep killing each other with guns and then they do things like this as well.</p> <p>"You just feel sorry for them, you just think, 'people, you're so unsophisticated, you're so pitiful'.”</p> <p>She went on to note that Americans had treated her well in the past, in her 100-plus visits to the country over the course of her career. </p> <p>"They were so kind to me, they were so, so good, so generous, so warm-hearted, so affirming,” she said. “I just grieve for them.”</p> <p>And when it came to the bath time scene, she was firm in her stance that it is “completely appropriate. </p> <p>"She's washing herself, she's sort of sitting in this sink, you can't see any of her private parts at all.</p> <p>"The whole book is about guessing who this person is, it turns out to be a witch in the end."</p> <p><em>Images: Getty, Facebook</em></p>

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Little pygmy possum discovered on Kangaroo Island after devastating bushfires

<p>A little pygmy possum has been found on Kangaroo Island for the first time since its habitat was mostly destroyed in bushfires that burnt almost half the island.</p> <p>Fauna ecologist Pat Hodgens said the discovery on the west of the South Australian island was incredibly exciting.</p> <p>"There's only really been 113 formal records of the species [ever on Kangaroo Island]," he said.</p> <p>"So certainly not very common and, obviously, the summer bushfires burnt through much of that habitat that species had, but we were certainly hopeful that we would find them."</p> <p>According to Mr Hodgens, the tiny pygmy possum was hard to find and study, due to their size.</p> <p>The little pygmy possum, or Cercartetus lepidus, weighs a mere 7 grams.</p> <p>Considered to be the world’s smallest possum, they are mainly found in Tasmania, Kangaroo Island and sometimes on mainland South Australia and Victoria.</p> <p>Conservation group Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife found the tiny creature earlier this week as part of a larger recovery effort in the wake of the summer bushfires.</p>

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The Leadbeater’s possum finally had its day in court. It may change the future of logging in Australia

<p>The Federal Court <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-27/leadbeaters-possum-federal-court-rules-vicforests-logging-breach/12292046">last week ruled</a> that VicForests – a timber company owned by the Victorian government – breached environmental laws when they razed the habitat of the critically endangered <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=273">Leadbeater’s possum</a> and the vulnerable <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=254">greater glider</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/27/vicforests-breached-forestry-agreement-with-central-highlands-logging-court-rules">Environmentalists</a> welcomed the judge’s decision, which sets an important legal precedent.</p> <p>Under so-called “regional forest agreements”, a number of logging operations around Australia are exempt from federal environment laws. This effectively puts logging interests above those of <a href="https://npansw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/npa_regional-forest-agreements-have-failed-to-protect-the-environment.pdf">threatened species</a>. The court ruling narrows these exemptions and provides an opportunity to create stronger forestry laws.</p> <p><strong>A legal loophole</strong></p> <p>Since 1971, the Leadbeater’s possum has been the faunal emblem of Victoria. But only about 1,200 adults are left in the wild, almost exclusively in the Central Highlands region.</p> <p>Official <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/273-conservation-advice-22062019.pdf">conservation advice</a> identifies the greatest threat to the species as habitat loss and fragmentation caused by the collapse of hollow-bearing trees, wildfire, logging and climate change.</p> <p>Australia’s federal environmental laws require environmental impact assessment of any action likely to significantly impact a matter of national environmental significance, <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/epabca1999588/s18.html">such as a listed threatened species</a>.</p> <p>But thanks to exemptions under regional forest agreements, logging has continued in the Central Highlands – <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/while-victoria-s-forests-burnt-logging-continued-20200115-p53rm3.html">even in the aftermath of this summer’s devastating bushfires</a>.</p> <p><strong>So what are regional forest agreements?</strong></p> <p>Regional forest agreements were designed as a response to the so-called “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/20/regional-forest-agreement-renewals-spark-fresh-forest-wars">forest wars</a>” of the 1980s and 1990s.</p> <p>In 1995, after logging trucks blockaded parliament, then Prime Minister Paul Keating offered a deal to the states: the federal government would accredit state forest management systems, and in return federal law would no longer apply to logging operations. Drawing up regional forest agreements between state and federal governments achieved this.</p> <p>Between 1997 and 2001, <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/forestry/policies/rfa">ten different agreements</a> were signed, covering logging regions in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia. These agreements were for 20 years, which means many have now either expired and been renewed or extended, or are about to expire.</p> <p>The agreements are <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/rfaa2002268/s4.html">supposed to satisfy a number of conditions</a>. This includes that they’re based on an assessment of environmental and social values of forest areas. They should also provide for the ecologically sustainable management and use of forested areas, and the long-term stability of forest and forest industries.</p> <p>But <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/PC/PC15042">conservation experts argue</a> the agreements have failed both to deliver certainty to forestry operations or to protect environmental values and ensure the conservation of biodiversity.</p> <p><strong>History of the court case</strong></p> <p>The legal proceedings against VicForests were initiated in 2017 by <a href="https://www.leadbeaters.org.au/">Friends of the Leadbeater’s Possum</a>, a small community group which relied on crowd funding to cover legal costs.</p> <p>Initially, the group argued Victoria’s failure to undertake a required review of the <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/forestry/policies/rfa/regions/vic-centralhighlands">Central Highlands regional forest agreements</a> every five years meant the usual exemption to federal environment laws should not apply.</p> <p>But in early 2018, Justice Mortimer <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2018/2018fca0178">ruled</a> against this. But she also rejected VicForests’ arguments that any operation in an area covered by a regional forest agreement is automatically exempt from federal law.</p> <p>She ruled that the logging operations will only be exempt from federal law if they comply with Victoria’s accredited system of forest management. This includes the requirements for threatened species, as specified in official action and management plans.</p> <p>The Federal Court has handed down a scathing ruling in Leadbeater's Possum vs <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VicForests?src=hash">#VicForests</a> today, saying VicForests has shirked responsibility for surveying forests and uses a flawed habitat mapping system, putting the threatened Greater Glider and Leadbeater's Possum at risk.</p> <p>In response to this ruling, Friends of the Leadbeater’s Possum reformulated their claim.</p> <p>They argued logging operations in 66 coupes (small areas of forest harvested in one operation) didn’t meet these requirements for threatened species, and so the exemption from federal laws didn’t apply.</p> <p><strong>The court ruling</strong></p> <p>In her ruling last week, the judge found VicForests unlawfully logged 26 coupes home to the Leadbeater’s possum and greater glider, and that logging a scheduled 41 other sections would put them at risk.</p> <p>The court found the company breached a number of aspects of the <a href="https://www.forestsandreserves.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/29311/Code-of-Practice-for-Timber-Production-2014.pdf">Code of Practice for Timber Production 2014</a>. This code is part of the Victorian regulatory system accredited by the regional forest agreement.</p> <p>In particular, VicForests had not, as required, applied the “precautionary principle” in planning and conducting logging operations in coupes containing the greater glider.</p> <p>Nor had VicForests developed a comprehensive forest survey system, or engaged in a careful evaluation of management options to avoid dangers to these threatened species.</p> <p>These failures meant the logging operations were not covered by the exemption from federal laws. As such, the court found VicForests had breached federal environmental law, as the logging operation had, or were likely to have, a significant impact on the two threatened species.</p> <p><strong>What now?</strong></p> <p>This case will have clear implications for logging operations governed by regional forest agreements.</p> <p>In fact, the <a href="https://ausfpa.com.au/media-releases/state-and-federal-governments-must-resolve-rfa-uncertainty-following-federal-court-decision/">timber industry</a> has called for state and federal governments to urgently respond to the case, and clarify the future of regional forest agreements.</p> <p>Arguably, logging operations conducted under a regional forest agreement can no longer rely on the exemption from federal environmental laws if those operations don’t comply with the state regulatory frameworks accredited under the regional forest agreements, especially provisions that protect threatened species.</p> <p>And while making logging operations subject to federal environmental laws is a good thing, it’s not enough. Federal environmental laws are weak and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/31/australias-national-environment-laws-actually-allow-extinction-to-happen?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Gmail">don’t prevent species extinctions</a>.</p> <p>In any case, the result is the perfect opportunity for state and federal governments to rethink forest management. That means properly taking into account the ongoing threats to threatened species from climate change, wildfires and habitat loss.</p> <p><em>Written by Julie Dehm. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-leadbeaters-possum-finally-had-its-day-in-court-it-may-change-the-future-of-logging-in-australia-139652"><em>The Conversation</em></a><span><em>.</em></span></p>

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The legal problem with our new $2 coins

<p>Colourful new Australian $2 coins to celebrate the work of beloved children’s author Mem Fox have unexpectedly been embroiled in a long-running legal battle with Canada.</p> <p>The Royal Canadian Mint has accused the commemorative Australian series of coins, which celebrates the 1983 classic Mem Fox children’s book<em> Possum Magic</em>, of using its unique process of painting colour onto metal.</p> <p>A lawsuit was filed in the Australian Federal Court in December last year over half a million Remembrance Day $2 coins which featured red poppies. The lawsuit has now been extended to include the <em>Possum Magic</em> $2 coins.</p> <p>The <em>Possum Magic</em> series was launched in August 2017 and featured three $2 coin designs with the colourful artworks designed with “magic dust” rings.</p> <p>When the coins were released, Fox said she and the book’s illustrator Julie Vivas had to approve each coin, which carry a different illustration of Hush, the main character in the book.</p> <p>“We’ve had thousands of emails about the coins and my head is nearly blown off with excitement about this,” she told News Corp Australia at the time. “They all look like heaven.”</p> <p><img width="504" height="284" src="http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/ee3b6decd48b8d92019617e1a28441ea" alt="Fox said the coins ‘look like heaven’. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>The lawsuit demands the Australian mint either destroy the hundreds of thousands of coins now in circulation, surrender its profits or pay damages.</p> <p>However, the Australian government, which owns the Mint, has filed a countersuit arguing its method of colouring coins is different from the Canadian version.</p> <p>The Royal Australian Mint told SBS: “The Royal Australian Mint is vigorously defending its position and has subsequently filed a counterclaim in the Federal Court.”</p> <p>The BBC reports that Canada first contacted Australia about the issue in 2015 and tried to resolve it informally, court documents show.</p> <p>The two parties are believed to have even met in person World Money Fair in Berlin in 2016 but could not resolve the issue.</p> <p> </p>

Retirement Income

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Orphaned possum finds comfort with toy kangaroo

<p>A brushtail possum has been taken in by the Taronga Wildlife Hospital after being found alone and severely dehydrated. The staff have given the four-month-old possum a stuffed kangaroo toy to cuddle with to replace her missing mother. The possum has regained much health since being fed by bottle and will later be released back into the wild.</p> <p><img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9808/21da46ea4186a0c00ee7a971fb899d0a6212db4a8b16e92be5dbfed6abb3ed41_500x333.jpg" alt="21da 46ea 4186a 0c 00ee 7a 971fb 899d 0a 6212db 4a 8b 16e 92be 5dbfed 6abb 3ed 41" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><strong><img width="480" height="720" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9809/4b12a324a71b58a88bed3445c99a51806fbc9238f081e9b8b882a6f147ba8477.jpg" alt="4b 12a 324a 71b 58a 88bed 3445c 99a 51806fbc 9238f 081e 9b 8b 882a 6f 147ba 8477" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></strong></p> <p><strong><img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9810/c99a62c76b5dbcc7dc8fa6a9aab2c37b16ffa7e9d5ae7d9d1893027e1d05db2e_500x333.jpg" alt="C 99a 62c 76b 5dbcc 7dc 8fa 6a 9aab 2c 37b 16ffa 7e 9d 5ae 7d 9d 1893027e 1d 05db 2e" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></strong></p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/lifestyle/pets/2015/10/dogs-with-puppies/">9 pooches with their mini-me pups</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/lifestyle/pets/2015/09/why-greyhound-make-good-pets/">8 excellent reasons to adopt a greyhound</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/lifestyle/pets/2015/08/pets-sleeping-in-bed/">Should you let pets sleep in your bed?</a></span></em></strong></p>

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