Social media giants such as Facebook have been blamed for helping spread misinformation. But the problem runs deeper than that, writes WILL J GRANT and ROD LAMBERTS from ANU.

CALL it lies, fake news, or just plain old bullshit – misinformation seems to flutter wilfully around the modern world. The truth, meanwhile, can take tedious decades to establish.

It seems that every day, new “alternative facts” are peddled in the public realm. YouTube’s algorithm reportedly promotes fake cancer cures, Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “troll factory” floods the internet with toxic propaganda, and a fake health booklet in the US advocating against vaccines recently fuelled a major measles outbreak.

In Australia in recent days, a pro-coal Facebook group claimed Sydney’s Hyde Park was trashed by those who attended Friday’s climate strike. But the photo, shared thousands of times, was actually taken in London, months ago, at an unrelated event.

And this week Labor called for an investigation into whether social media giants are damaging the democratic process, claiming that during the May election Facebook refused to take down fake news about the party’s “death tax”.

As the saying goes, a lie can get halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. But while this saying clearly resonates in our current age of misinformation, the idea itself dates back at least 300 years.

Misinformation is not a new phenomenon

Some claim the idea of the fast travelling lie was crafted by Winston Churchill in the mid-20th century; others by author Mark Twain at the end of the 19th. Yet the saying, or at least the sentiment underpinning it, is probably much older.

So the recognition that lies disseminate far more quickly than the truth appears to be several centuries old. This matters because while social media may have ramped up the problem of misinformation, the root causes remain the same – our cognitive and social biases. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, a Baptist preacher of Victorian London, cited a version of it in 1855, describing it as an “old proverb”. Author Jonathan Swift, of Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal fame, is said to have written in 1710 that “falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it”.

It’s us!

There are huge bodies of research on what motivates us to not only believe, but seek out information that isn’t true. But often the simplest explanations are the best.

We tend to do and believe things that people we like, admire or identify with do and believe. It reinforces the bonds among our families and friends, our communities and countries, and is often referred to as the consensus heuristic. You see it in action, and use it yourself, every day.

Every time you uncritically accept the opinion of someone you like, you are applying consensus thinking – the consensus as you perceive it to be among “your” people.

What they say may well be entirely fact-based. But if it doesn’t correspond with facts, that won’t matter. You’ll buy it regardless because you are motivated to reinforce your connections with groups and ideas that are significant to you. We all do it, and there’s no shame in that.

Building on this, we regularly accept false, dodgy and downright incorrect information because it makes us happy, or at least minimises discomfort. It means we don’t have to change, confront flaws in our personal world view or stop doing something we like.

Smokers don’t keep smoking because they don’t think it’s harmful, but they might believe at some level it won’t be harmful “to them”. And they can always find “evidence” this is true: “my Uncle Chuck lived to 89 and he smoked two packs a day”.

As for contributing to climate change, a person might think: “I only drive my petrol-guzzling car a short distance work and back, I’m barely contributing to climate breakdown”. Or they might tell themsleves: “changing my behaviour wouldn’t even register, it’s the big companies and the government that need to do something about emissions reduction”.

With this way of thinking, any “facts” that support my kind of thinking are right, and those that don’t are wrong.

Understanding people’s values is key

Misinformation exists, and all of us – even the most critically minded – are in some ways sucked in. And there is no doubt scientific misinformation thwarts efforts to resolve key policy issues, such as vaccination rates or climate change.

But “fixing” scientific misinformation will not, on its own, solve these problems. Inspiring mass action requires more than just ensuring the “right” information exists in the library of human knowledge.

If we’re to motivate people to change, we have to understand the values that underpin their assertions and actions and work in ways that resonate with them.

This might mean pressuring elected officials to provide large-scale, realistic, and well mapped-out transition plans for workers and communities that depend on coal for their livelihood. Coal miners, like all of us, are pretty damned keen on being able to earn a living. That is a value we can all relate to.

As a rule, change is not something that comes easily to most people – especially if it’s forced upon us. But when we agree on why it’s necessary and have a clear way to handle it, it’s possible to move forward.

By senior lecturer of the ANU’s Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, WILL J GRANT and deputy director of ANU’s Australian National Centre for Public Awareness of Science, ROD LAMBERTS from ANU. This article originally appeared on The Conversation 

ANTHONY Albanese has attacked Scott Morrison for sending a message to Beijing while in the United States, and also split with him over the economic status of China.

Albanese accused Morrison of using “a loud hailer” to talk to China during a visit in which he was seen to be very close to the American President, including “being a partner in what would appear to be some of Donald Trump’s re-election campaign there in Ohio”. This was a reference to their joint appearance at billionaire Anthony Pratt’s new paper recycling factory.

The opposition leader’s comments open a partisan rift at a time when Australia-China relations are at a low point.

In his address on foreign policy in Chicago, Morrison described China “as a newly developed economy”, and said it needed to reflect this new status in its trade arrangements and meeting environmental challenges.

But Albanese told the ABC China quite clearly was “still developing”.

“It is still an emerging economy”, he said, pointing to the disparity between China’s per capita income and that of advanced economies such as the US and Australia.

Albanese, who made a series of comments, suggested it was not constructive “to send a message to China from the US in the way that it has occurred”.

While there was a legitimate debate around the World Trade Organisation system, “the conflict between China and the United States [over trade] is one that is not in Australia’s interests. We want that to be resolved rather than be overly partisan about it,” he said.

“Of course our alliance with the United States is our most important relationship. That won’t change. But we need to, I think, be very measured in our comments particularly comments from the United States in the context in which they’ve been given.”

If Morrison was sending a message to China “it would have been better sent from Australia so that there was no confusion that the Prime Minister was advancing Australia’s national interests.”

Morrison had changed “the characterisation of the entire Chinese economy from Chicago,” Albanese said. “Does he think that will be well received and will reduce tension between China and the United States over trade?”

In fact, while Morrison’s language on China’s economic status went further than before, he had gone a considerable way down this path previously. In a major address in June he said: “China’s rise has now reached a threshold level of economic maturity”, with its most successful provinces sometimes exceeding the economic sophistication of global competitors. Yet they enjoyed concessions on trade and environmental obligations not available to other developed economies, he said.

In his Chicago speech Morrison said there was a need to reduce trade tensions that had developed in recent years.

“China’s economic growth is welcomed by Australia and we recognise the economic maturity that it has now realised as a newly developed economy,” he said.

It was important this was reflected in its trade arrangements, participation in addressing important global environmental challenges, transparency in its partnerships and support for developing nations.

“All of this needs to reflect this new status and the responsibilities that go with it as a very major world power,” Morrison said.

He also said: “The world’s global institutions must adjust their settings for China, in recognition of this new status. That means more will be expected of course, as has always been the case for nations like the United States who’ve always had this standing.”

Asked at a news conference what he wanted China to do that it was not doing now, Morrison said the objective was that “similar rules will apply to countries of similar capabilities”.

Meanwhile in a speech in Beijing this week Richard Marles, Labor’s deputy leader and defence spokesman, urged a deepening of Australia’s relations with China, including even at the defence level.

“I firmly believe it is possible for Australia to maintain our strong alliance with the United States while also deepening our engagement with China. In fact, not only is this possible, it is vital,” Marles said.

“And that must be obvious. Because from the perspective of Australia, the world looks a lot safer when the United States and China are talking to each other and improving their relations.

“And if this is our view, then it stands to reason that Australia’s interest lies in having the best possible relations we can with both the United States and China.

“And from the perspective of Australia the world also looks a lot more prosperous when China and the United States trade with each other.”

“Our starting point has to be that we respect China and deeply value our relationship with China. We must seek to build it. And not just in economic terms, but also through exploring political co-operation and even defence co-operation.

“To define China as an enemy is a profound mistake. To talk of a new Cold War is silly and ignorant,” Marles said.

Asked about the defence reference, Albanese played it down.

In a Tuesday speech in Jakarta, Labor’s shadow minister on foreign affairs Penny Wong said: “It is clear that the United States and China now treat each other as strategic competitors.

“The strategic competition in our region means we need to think carefully and engage actively to avoid becoming collateral. Great powers will do what great powers do – assert their interests. But the rest of us are not without our own agency,” she said.

“What our region is looking for is less a contest about who should be or will be number one, than how we foster partnerships of enduring connection and relevance”.

Wong said the US should “present a positive narrative and vision about the future, by articulating and presenting what it offers not only what it is against.”

“A greater focus on the likely settling point will enable the United States to recognise – and embrace – the fact that multi-polarity in the region is likely to get stronger.

“And in the context of Beijing’s ambitions, this growing multi-polarity – with countries like Indonesia, India and Japan playing increasingly important leadership roles in the region – is beneficial to Washington’s interests.

“Defining a realistic settling point will also help the United States recognise and accept that decisions relating to China will vary depending on the issues and interests at stake.”

Albanese also criticised Morrison for not attending the United Nations leaders summit on climate.

Morrison said that when he addresses the UN General Assembly this week: “I’ll be focusing very much on Australia’s response to the global environmental challenges. Which isn’t just climate change … it’s about plastics, it’s about oceans, it’s about recycling”.

BY Michelle Grattan, a professorial fellow at the University of Canberra. This article was originally published on The Conversation.

WOMEN detained at Canberra’s high-security prison, the Alexander Maconochie Centre, are being frequently subjected to cat-calling, goading and whistling from the surrounding male cellblocks, says shadow minister for corrections Giulia Jones. 

Mr Jones is calling on the ACT government to provide these women with appropriate and safe accomodation.

She says sources close to the prison have told the Canberra Liberals that at least one woman has seen her rapist in a nearby cellblock.

“Forcing women into facilities surrounded by male detainees raises the risk that females who have previously been sexually abused could be re-traumatised,” she says.

“Female detainees deserve to be given a chance at rehabilitation and reintegration, regardless of the circumstances that led to their detention.

“The Barr government should ensure safer, more appropriate housing for female detainees.”

IN an Australian first, an amendment bill on drug dependence was passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly today (September 25) which will next year legalise the personal use of cannabis, according to MLA Michael Pettersson. 

Mr Pettersson says the “Drugs of Dependence (Personal Cannabis Use) Amendment Bill 2018” will reduce the harm of drugs in the community by reducing the stigma of drug use and encouraging people to seek help without fear of arrest.

“Legalising cannabis for personal use of cannabis is an important step in the drug law reform campaign,” he says.

“I don’t think anyone should have their life ruined with a criminal conviction for possessing small amounts of cannabis.”

Mr Pettersson is also confident that the laws passed today are compatible with current Federal Law due to the defence provided by Federal Law but it has not yet been confirmed.

Instead Mr Pettersson says Canberrans support this legislation.

“Research indicates 54 per cent of Canberrans back this proposal, with only 27 per cent against,” he says.

“We also know that cannabis is a far less harmful substance than tobacco or alcohol, contributing just 0.2 per cent of the disease burden in this country compared to 7.8 per cent for tobacco and 2.3 per cent for alcohol.”

While Mr Pettersson praised the amendment, the ACT Greens have since come out to express its disappointment that a number of its amendments were not supported by the major parties today.

“Let’s get real about cannabis. The war on drugs has failed. This is a small but significant step in a long journey of drug law reforms,” says ACT Greens spokesperson Shane Rattenbury.

While the Greens support the intent of the bill, Mr Rattenbury says they have proposed a number of amendments to make it more workable in practice.

One amendment, which the Greens want included in the bill, is for it to increase the allowable amount for people who use cannabis medicinally (to 150g).

“We had hoped that people suffering serious illnesses would have easier access to cannabis for medicinal use. Sadly, this won’t be the case – as both the major parties have again refused to back this important legislative change,” Mr Rattenbury says.

The ACT Greens also want to establish an independent cannabis advisory council to provide expertise to the minister on the impacts of this issue.

“The Greens also proposed that an independent cannabis advisory council be set up to provide expertise to the minister on the impacts of this issue,” he says.

“Neither of the major parties backed this important step that would have provided oversight and ongoing evaluation of this new and novel approach towards more genuine cannabis legalisation over time. Without a council, this will reduce the minister’s supervision of the new scheme.”

CANBERRA region glass artist Kirstie Rea is the winner of the inaugural Klaus Moje Glass Award.

Rea, a graduate of the School of Art Glass Workshop, was a student of the late Moje – one of his first. She has since forged a career both internationally and through her work in Queanbeyan in which she combines her glass technique with a vision of the natural world.

The new national award builds on the success of the Hindmarsh Prize which ran at the Canberra Glassworks from 2016 to 2018, recognising outstanding achievement in contemporary glass art and celebrating the work of artists whose practices are among the most innovative and influential in this medium.

The judging panel was made up of Natasha Bullock from the National Gallery of Australia, Eva Czernis-Ryl from the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and Aimee Frodsham from Canberra Glassworks.

Klaus Moje was a legendary glass artist and teacher in Canberra who, through his practice, teaching and advocacy, changed the way Australians think about glass as an art form and Rea continues this tradition.

Rea’s work, “What Remains”, 2019, is exhibited alongside the 17 other shortlisted works at Thor’s Hammer, 10 Mildura Street, Griffith, 10am-4pm, Monday to Saturday, until October 12.

THE word is out that the Queanbeyan Players’ upcoming musical “Oliver!” is selling fast and that, in the best tradition of amateur theatre, the cast members are thoroughly enjoying themselves.

At the preview, director of the show Jude Colquhoun told media that it had been “interesting” trying to do the big numbers with just a handful of actors instead of the more than 40 actors who will be seen on stage from this weekend. But it didn’t seem to daunt the ensemble, led by Emily Pogson as Nancy, as they belted out a raucous version of the song, “Oom-Pah Pah”, set in a London pub.

A moment later, Joss Kent, as the Artful Dodger, took the action into a different mood as he invited the young Oliver (played by Willum Hollier-Smith) into Fagin’s family of pickpockets in the number “Consider Yourself”.

Pogson then returned to the stage for a heartfelt rendition of her show-stopper, “As Long as He Needs Me”.

The musical, with music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, is a favourite with local audiences and seemed the springtime choice to entertain the players’ loyal fans.

“Oliver!”, at The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, September 27 to October 6. Bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

The company is holding special fundraising shows on October 2 and October 4 for the ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service and Raw Potential Canberra, as well as a low-cost 2pm matinee on October 3 during the school holidays.

SCOTT Morrison doesn’t shy away from talking about his family, so it was perhaps unsurprising he told reporters he discussed climate change with his daughters, aged 10 and 12.

“We don’t have deep conversations about emissions reduction targets and what’s happening with the Kyoto Protocol and Paris,” he said. “But we talk about fossil fuels and we talk about what they learn at school.

“And I encourage them to have a passionate, independent view about how they see the world, but I also give them a lot of context. I don’t allow them to be basically contorted into one particular view, I like them to make up their own mind. But I also like to give them reassurance, because the worst thing I would impose on any child, is needless anxiety.”

What Morrison didn’t share, unfortunately, were the girls’ views on the subject.

Even more interesting will be what Lily and Abbey might have to say to their parents, when Scott and Jenny get home, about 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, founder of the school strike movement, whose passionate speech to the United Nations leaders summit on climate has fired up a sub-battle of the climate wars.

Morrison bypassed the climate summit, so he won’t be able to give his daughters a first-hand description. But they may have opinions.

As school students have mobilised in strikes all over the world, kids have become a centre of debate on a couple of fronts.

Activists argue denialists represent a predatory threat to children because they are destroying the planet that future generations will inherit.

Sceptics declare activists are indoctrinating, alarming and exploiting vulnerable children, recruiting them for their cause.

While it is wrong for parents, teachers or anyone else to irresponsibly fan fears in children, some of whom are reportedly displaying high anxiety about the climate threat, it is denying reality for critics to try to dismiss the students’ protest as just the product of manipulation.

This generation of youth has made climate change its issue – as previous generations mobilised against the Vietnam War, and the threat of nuclear war.

The “students” in earlier times were mostly older, in university. But these days young people do most things sooner (except leave home).

And while some may be along for the ride in the marches, or encouraged or pressured to take part, many have strong and well-formed views.

It’s also inaccurate denigration to disparage their protest on the grounds they are too young to know what they’re doing. Some are. But 16 and 17 year olds are on the brink of adulthood. In a number of countries they can vote. In Australia there has been debate about whether they should be given the right to do so. And many younger than that have done as much thinking as a lot of their elders.

For all the railing from critics about the attention paid to this girl with a challenging personal history (including being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome) who lectures world leaders in a most confronting way – a way someone older and more inhibited wouldn’t do – Thunberg has become a symbol of the push for greater action on climate change.

Her youth and fire have the power to shock. Her performance – celebrity advocacy – was galvanising at the climate summit. Outside that forum it was immediately divisive – as has been her activism previously – but it grabbed the attention of millions around the world.

Donald Trump’s attempt to put her down with a tweet – “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see! – would likely just attract more supporters to her. She immediately turned it back on him by appropriating his line.

It would be naïve in the extreme to think Thunberg’s presence at the summit has made it easier to force more extensive and faster action on climate change. But her extraordinary crusading is part of the wider international pressure on governments.

The significance of her appearance at the summit was that she waved a big flag. Her audience was less the leaders than those young people who will be encouraged to join her already mass following.

BY Michelle Grattan, a professorial fellow at the University of Canberra. This article was originally published on The Conversation.

WALLABIES and Brumbies forward Scott Fava is leading the charge towards raising $1000 as part of October’s Great Cycle Challenge to raise money for Kids with Cancer. 

Fava, the franchisee of the new spin-cycle studio Infinite Cycle in Mitchell, will be encouraging clients to contribute to the 10,000-kilometres target on the studio’s unique movable spin bikes, the only ones in Australia that mimic a real bike and move laterally. 

The new spin-cycle studio’s three distinct styles of class combine the only movable spin bikes in Australia immersed in a VR system that takes exercisers from Santorini to the Rocky Mountains.

Extolling the virtues of cycling after his 12-year, professional rugby career, Fava says: “Playing a contact sport definitely provides some challenges in post-rugby fitness. When I first tried Infinite Cycle I couldn’t believe it when I burnt 600 calories after a 40-minute Peloton class. 

“The low-impact, high-intensity cycling class on those incredible bikes is a must to improve your wellbeing and fitness. It has definitely aided in my ability to keep lean and fit.

“If you love your ride stats, you will particularly love the Peloton and Race programs, in which your stats and avatar are live on the screen, accurately displaying your RPM, watts, distance, cals and heart rate. 

“Our other program, Rhythm, in which instructors Laura and Lauren take you through a series of sprints, dips, twists, pushes, climbs and isolation exercises on the bike in a full-body workout over 40 minutes, is super fun and impossible for you not to leave with a smile on your face. 

The cycle studio will also be involved in the Hartley Cycle Challenge, November 22-25, to raise awareness of people living with disability. 

“Kids with Cancer and Hartley are worthy causes that allow my studio to be a leader in the ACT for combining cycling, fitness and raising awareness for Canberra charities,” says Fava. 

Infinite Cycle Mitchell, 157 Flemington Road, Mitchell, 0407 946094, mitchell@infinitecycle.com.au; download the Infinite Cycle App, a five-ride starter pack is $25. 

greatcyclechallenge.com.au/Teams/InfiniteCycleMitchell

CANBERRA has become Australia’s first state or territory to pass a bill that recognises the feelings of an animal.

The “Animal Welfare Legislation Amendment Bill 2019”, which was passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly today (September 26), also means animal owners can face new on-the-spot fines for not taking proper care of their animals.

“These new laws will reflect a zero tolerance approach to animal cruelty,” says City Services Minister Chris Steel.

“For the first time under law we are recognising the science, that animals are sentient, and they feel emotion and pain.

“Modern animal welfare is about considering how an animal is coping both mentally and physically with the conditions in which it lives.

Under the new laws, if serious animal welfare abuses are committed, Mr Steel says the Animal Welfare Authority can impose an interim ownership ban of up to six months.

The Authority can also seize, retain, sell or re-home an animal where appropriate, he says. The maximum penalties for serious cruelty offences have also been increased with up to three years jail time for aggravated cruelty.

In addition, Mr Steel says the bill sets out an accreditation framework for assistance animals for the first time in the ACT, dealing with the recognition and right of access of assistance or service animals to public places and premises. This includes assistance animals in training.

Pet businesses will also be required to be licenced for the first time in the ACT, including pet shops and boarding kennels, to provide increased protections for animals in their care.

WITH a sold-out crowd heading to GIO Stadium tomorrow (September 27) night for the Raiders verse South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL preliminary final, ticket holders are being encouraged to take advantage of free transport to the game. 

Free buses will be running to and from the game between the major centres – Belconnen, Gungahlin, City, Woden, Tuggeranong and Queanbeyan – with over 45 active services on Friday night.

Free travel is also available on all light rail services after 4pm tomorrow to pre-purchased ticket holders, who will need to present their ticket to the bus driver when boarding or to Canberra Metro staff upon request.

The ACT government says motorists can expect heavy traffic and major delays around the stadium and surrounding roads in Bruce. 

A recent study found that when it comes to cannabis the two roadside drug-testing devices used around the country are hopelessly flawed, writes PAUL GREGOIRE.

OVER the last five years, as the NSW Liberal Nationals government has been ramping up roadside drug testing – doubling the number of tests to 200,000 by next year – so too has the chorus of criticism about the testing regime been rising to crescendo.

The major bone of contention being that unlike random breath testing, which ascertains whether a motorist is intoxicated and therefore unfit to drive, roadside drug testing does nothing of the sort. It merely tests for the presence of illicit substances, not driver impairment.

The four drugs that NSW police test for are cocaine, amphetamines, MDMA and THC: the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis. And questions have been raised as to whether people are testing positive for these drugs long after their effects wear off, especially in the case of cannabis.

And a recently released study carried out by Sydney University’s Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics found that when it does come to cannabis the two roadside drug testing devices being used around the country are hopelessly flawed.

False readings

“This is not about driving impairment, this is about the detection of any form of THC in the saliva,” said Prof Iain McGregor.

“And that’s a problem that a lot of lawyers and magistrates have about this.

“We are all in favour of getting impaired drivers off the roads. But, it’s not necessarily the case that it’s in the community interest that we criminalise anyone who has THC in their saliva.”

NSW police initially use the Securetec DrugWipe to test for illicit substances in motorists’ saliva. If a driver tests positive using this device, they’re then taken to a van and retested using the Dräger DrugTest 5000. And if positive again, a third saliva sample is then sent to a laboratory to be tested.

The study found that the DrugWipe device returns 5 per cent false positives – a positive result that should be negative – and 16 per cent false negatives, while the Dräger device results in 10 per cent false positives and 9 per cent false negatives.

Prof McGregor further told Sydney Criminal Lawyers that a roadside cannabis testing regime based on questionable technology shouldn’t be in place, “particularly, as we now have an official medicinal cannabis scheme in Australia, with more than 14,000 approvals for patients”.

Anybody’s guess

Both point-of-collection testing devices were set to a threshold of 10 nanograms per millilitre for the study. However, as the professor explained, when the research team consulted with the NSW Police Force regarding how it sets its devices for roadside testing, it refused to share that information.

“Could you imagine a situation where you’re not sure where a breathalyser is going to be set, so you have no idea what level of alcohol is going to be safe?” Prof McGregor asked, adding that even following the release of the Lambert study, NSW police still won’t disclose that information.

The academic director further explained that he came across one case where a person with zero THC in their saliva produced a positive reading, which means false positives are not only possible with extremely low levels of THC, but also with none of the substance whatsoever in a driver’s salvia.

“The problem is that it takes a long time for confirmatory testing to be done,” Prof McGregor said in relation to false positives.

“So, you could have a criminal action above your head for several months, while they’re doing the confirmatory testing.”

Heilpern’s acquittals

The NSW Centre for Road Safety states on its website that cannabis can be picked up in a person’s saliva typically for up to 12 hours. However, this limit has been widely disputed as being too narrow. And it’s been found not to be a rule to rely upon in Lismore Local Court on a number of occasions.

Magistrate David Heilpern found Robert Collier not guilty of drug driving on the July 25 this year, as it was found that he’d tested positive for THC in May, two days after he’d had a few tokes on a joint. Collier thought he was fine to drive going by the 12 hour rule.

Back in February 2016, the magistrate also ruled that Joseph Carrall was not guilty of drug driving, as he’d waited for nine days before getting behind the wheel after smoking cannabis. Carrall had based the timeframe on the advice of a police officer, who told him to wait at least a week.

While in April this year, Magistrate Heilpern further found Nicole Spackman not guilty of drug driving, as she testified to not having smoked cannabis for weeks prior to testing positive, but she had visited a terminally ill friend who’d been smoking for medicinal purposes in front of her.

‘Shoddy science’

Prof McGregor explained that “THC lodges in the fat stores of your body”. He said that the record for it remaining in the system of a heavy smoker is six months. But, on a regular basis for a big cannabis user he’d say about four to six weeks. And this applies to showing up in urine, not saliva.

In the case of testing for alcohol levels with a breathalyser, the technology and drink driving laws are “almost beyond reproach”, he made clear, as there’s a direct correlation between alcohol in the blood and breath. And he added that the science is the “culmination of about 50 years of research”.

While scientists are working on a “cannabisalyser”, the professor doesn’t hold much hope for it. And he suggests a more traditional field sobriety test as the way to go at present. This would involve a series of physical and mental tests designed to detect whether a person is under the influence.

As for roadside saliva testing, Professor McGregor said that “the more fat you’ve got in your mouth, the more that THC will probably hang around”. He further set out that the research is “extremely complicated and the science is in its infancy”.

“And we certainly should not be criminalising people while the science is so poorly understood,” he said.

By Sydney-based journalist PAUL GREGOIRE. This article was originally published on sydneycriminallawyers.com.au

A WIRADJURI shield from the National Museum of Australia’s collection was the inspiration for a unique Australian flowerbed design at this year’s Floriade.

This year’s theme for Floriade is “World in Bloom” and showcases flowerbed designs that represent cultural patterns from across the world.

Margo Neale, the head of the NMA’s Centre of Indigenous Knowledges, says: “This intricately incised and ochred 19th-century shield has been attributed to the Wiradjuri people of the Riverine cultural area along the Murrumbidgee River in NSW.

“It is truly gratifying to see how an indigenous object from 200 years ago can be brought to life, in a city that is so young, with flowers from another continent.”

Designed by the National Arboretum Canberra, in consultation with Indigenous community members, the flowerbed, made up of more than 6000 bulbs, features ochre-coloured tulips and daffodils planted in the chevron pattern of the shield. The actual shield’s carved chevron design is coloured with red, brown and pale yellow ochre pigments.

A blue “river” of Tulipa Blue Parrot and mixed blue pansies wind across the flowerbed highlighting Canberra as an important meeting place along the Murrumbidgee. Indigenous staff from the ACT Public Service were invited to help plant the flowerbed inspired by the Wiradjuri shield.

Located at the front of the event near the main gate, the flowerbed will be the first of 21 that visitors will see when they enter this year’s Floriade.

Aboriginal staff involved in the Floriade project have created some new shields and a “coolamon” vessel from local trees to demonstrate the presence of a living and dynamic culture in the community.

The Wiradjuri shield will be on display in the Gandel Atrium, at the National Museum, for the duration of Floriade – until October 13.

Visual art / “Piksa Inap Tok (Pictures Can Talk): Contemporary Art from Papua New Guinea”. At ANU School of Art and Design Gallery, until October 18. Reviewed by JOHN LANDT. 

THE beauty and dangers of everyday life in Papua New Guinea feature in this invigorating exhibition of recent works by PNG artists.

Joe Nalo’s vibrant painting “The Killer Waves” of 2005 responds to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which followed the 1998 PNG tsunami. The huge wave gathers people, elephants, other creatures, buildings and vehicles in a huge whirling vortex of destructive energy. The buildings on the land include mosques, other temples and the high-rise towers prevalent in Asian coastal communities. It reflects the artist’s concern about the damaging impacts on Asian and Pacific communities of climate change and other environmental issues.

Another work that reflects on environmental issues, “Tim Bilong Nova” (Noah’s Ark) by John Baundo, also shows the ongoing influence of biblical stories in PNG culture. The animals ride in the ark while the people in the rising water have tears streaming down their faces. The caption “Ma God em I passim duo bilong Sip” indicates a desire to be on the ship. Nearby, the captivating “Nativity Scene” (2003) sculpture by Gikmai Kundun, is made of welded iron pipes.

A series of exquisite ink drawings on paper by Manfred Wkeng Aseng highlight the joys and dangers of life in the highlands of Madang Province. The warm colours and intricate patterns of “The Marriage Moot” of 1996 bring to life a marriage scene where the bride hands her new husband a cigarette. In “Pregnant Woman Bitten by Snake” of 1996, the wide eyes of the woman and her unborn child reflect the distress of being bitten by a snake. Nearby, in “Kondal” (1996), a spider is portrayed with many babies. Each of their faces portrays an individual personality.

Many works engage with social issues, including the lino-cut prints by Laben Sakale, such as “Victim of Aids” from 2006. Other works display an interest in international events, such as the paintings of Osama bin Laden’s capture from 2014 by Simon Gende. Other highly accomplished works, such as “Tribal Wealth” (2010) by Gigs Wena, provide an engaging insight into the PNG’s rich cultural heritage.

This impressive exhibition has been curated by Dr Anna Edmundson in the ANU Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies. It was the brainchild of the late Dr Bill Standish, a renowned ANU academic, who sadly passed away in March this year, as the exhibition was being planned. The works are drawn from the collections of ANU alumni and are a testament to the strong links over many years between the ANU and the people of Papua New Guinea.

AN international conference celebrating indigenous knowledge is to be held next week (October 1-2) at the University of Canberra.

Presented by the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research Australasia and the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership and Strategy, the conference will see cultural leaders, both indigenous and non-indigenous, identify the nature of that knowledge.

UC chancellor Tom Calma, the second Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander to hold the position of chancellor at any Australian university and Anaiwan man Peter Radollis, the Dean of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership and Strategy at the university, will speak at the event.

Joining them will be author and Bunurong man Bruce Pascoe, whose ground-breaking book “Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the birth of agriculture”, strongly challenges the claim that pre-colonial Australian Aboriginal peoples were hunter-gatherers through research into early settler accounts.

Other speakers, such as Bangladeshi cultural consultant Omer Aliz will speak about indigenous peoples’ culture and UNESCO, while Rob de Castella will talks about the Indigenous Marathon Project of which he is director. Canberra journalist Jack Waterford will discuss new reciprocal relationships with Aboriginal Australians and Senator Andrew Bragg will talk about indigenous peoples in Parliament and their contribution.

Ngambri elder Shane Mortimer will describe how he discovered a maternal line going back to Ngambri woman Ju Nin Mingo, the daughter of James Ainslie, and another speaker, Damien Miller, the 1993 NAIDOC Aboriginal Scholar of the Year, will talk about how his grandmother was subjected to the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897.

Other speakers at the conference will include Aboriginal storyteller Wayne Quilliam, indigenous singer-songwriter Krista Pav and Yuin Elder and author Uncle Max “Dulumunmun” Harrison, a teacher of Aboriginal culture at the University of Wollongong.

The conference will be held at the Ann Harding Conference Centre, Building 24, University Drive, South Bruce, University of Canberra, 8am-5pm, October 1-2. Fees apply. Bookings to eventbrite.com and full program at sietaraustralasia.org

A WOMAN was caught attempting to sneak drugs into the Alexander Maconochie Centre yesterday (September 27). 

When the woman, a 48-year-old, attempted to enter the centre at about 2.40pm, she was searched by police and found with a small balloon taped to the inside of her jumper, which contained a substance believed to be methamphetamine.

The woman was arrested and transported to the ACT Watch House where a search of her backpack revealed another balloon containing a substance police also believe is methamphetamine hidden in her diary and $1565 in cash.

The total weight of the balloons containing methamphetamine was 16 grams.

The woman will face charges of trafficking a controlled drug.

Music / “Handel & Delirious Love”, The Australian Haydn Ensemble. Albert Hall, September 26. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY

HANDEL, Scarlatti and the theme of the “delirium of love” headlined the bill for this concert of transcendent music performed by the Australian Haydn Ensemble.

The ensemble was directed by special guest artist, harpsichordist and associate director of The Hanover Band, Benjamin Bayl, who made his debut performance with the ensemble. Also included were soprano Sara Macliver and Amy Power, playing oboe and recorder.

The dramatic music of Avison/Scarlatti (After D. Scarlatti) “Concerto Grosso No. 3” in D minor opened the concert. This strong piece danced to a forceful rhythm emphasised by accurate and solid playing. It was based upon keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti.

The short five parts that were played of this seven-part concerto mirrored one another in tempo through allegro and largo in a highly entertaining contrast. Bayl who led from the harpsichord played with one hand and directed for the most with the other. He kept the ensemble tight and together.

Then, artistic director and principal violinist Skye McIntosh introduced soprano Sara Macliver for Handel’s “Motet for Soprano and Instruments”. Also Joining in was Amy Power on Baroque Oboe, who added so much colour to the ensemble. Macliver announced her present strongly as the music stopped for a short rest. As a leading exponent of the baroque repertoire, her voice melded into the divine sound adding so much depth to the story in the music.

Through three arias and a recitative, the oboe and soprano voices complemented each other perfectly. The accuracy and quality of this ensemble, no matter what they present or who accompanies them on stage, always sound like a professional recording, such is their tonal and emotional quality.

Next came another work by Handel, his Aria from Alcina, “Tornami a vagheggiar”. Macliver dazzled in this operatic work. Her voice rose above the instruments to create a powerful presence of virtuosic flexibility. Her vibrato that shone through the crescendos was powerfully affective and deeply moving. The vocal gymnastics required in this piece were handled with perfection, and the audience let her know how good they thought it was.

After the interval, it was Scarlatti again, his “Concerto number 5 in D minor”. The four movements they played from this seven-part work went from spritely to dead slow. The work included a baroque guitar, which added another flavour to this delicious sound. Again, they showed how attuned they are to the baroque sensibility in this bright short piece.

Handel’s Cantata for solo voice “il delerio amoroso” showed Macliver’s well-controlled voice at its best. Again, Power on oboe, who also doubled on recorder and plays so wonderfully led the way. This dramatic yet sensitive cantata had it all. Sensational solos from several performers and maybe the best music from the best ensemble in Australia.

The night ended with an encore Aria by Handel. It topped off a concert of world-class music that leaves a listener wanting more.

“Ride Like A Girl” (PG) ****

HORSES fall into many categories. The glamour ones, the racers, are all registered in a stud book open only to direct descendants of one of the Byerley Turk or the Godolphin or Darnley Arabians, stallions which in the late 18th century arrived in Europe from the Middle East. Many may be called, but only the elite few get chosen. 

Have you ever wondered what life in the horseracing world is really like? Rachel Griffiths’ debut feature film telling the story of Michelle Payne gives no place to the betting, fashion, or undercurrents of criminality that sometimes make press headlines. The connecting narrative forms a well-balanced account of a large family that loves horses and the youngest daughter’s skill and determination to succeed in what until relatively recently was a purely male domain.

Much has been written about the day in 2015, when Michelle became the first woman to ride the winner of the Melbourne Cup. Playing her, Theresa Palmer is impressive. Sam Neill is untroubled in the role of her father Paddy. But what most gripped my compassion is her autistic older brother Stevie who appears as her best friend and strapper. He’s now not only her partner in a horse-breeding venture but also is a natural in front of the camera.

Written by Andrew Knight and Elsie McCredie, “Ride Like A Girl” tells a warm-hearted story, well modulated by smiles and laughter, not without griefs. But most of all, it’s a testament to Michelle’s physical and emotional strengths. While authenticity looms admirably large in the film, I mildly regret that title. My wife and stepdaughter have bred and educated horses simply because they love them. And horses’ role in the Europeanising of Australia goes far beyond any racetrack.

At all cinemas

SCOTT Morrison has a good deal riding on Donald Trump winning re-election next year. During his week in the United States, the Prime Minister tied himself to the President to a remarkable degree.

Morrison will want the trip’s enduring images to be the White House welcome and the state dinner in the Rose Garden under the stars. And they are the markers that underlined the depth of the Australian-American alliance.

But the startling image was of Morrison and Trump on stage together at billionaire Anthony Pratt’s paper factory in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

No, that wasn’t a rally, the PM’s office insists. But Trump certainly made it look like one.

For a self-respecting Australian leader, this was beyond awkward diplomatically, and may be problematic at home. This year’s Lowy poll showed only 25 per cent of Australians have confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs.

That was, perhaps, something of a turning point in the visit. The Washington days were better than Morrison’s later appearances, which saw him open the China debate and having to defend Australia’s mediocre performance on climate change.

In sum, this has been a trip that will be rated a success but carry some costs. Notably, while reaffirming the alliance and bonding with Trump, Morrison has further annoyed our biggest trading partner.

The alliance was in fine repair already but there’s nothing like some face time in the Oval Office and formal-dress glamour to shout out its closeness.

While there may not be any specific requests on foot, there’s more credit in the bank for when either partner wants to ask a favour (as the US did recently in relation to the Middle East freedom of navigation operation, and Malcolm Turnbull did a while ago on steel and aluminium tariffs).

Getting close to Trump personally is something most leaders find difficult, and some mightn’t even attempt.

A conservative who won an unexpected election victory, the knockabout Morrison ticks the boxes for Trump. He’s appropriately and voluably grateful for presidential attention; he’s not a man whose charisma threatens to steal the limelight at a joint appearance.

Morrison was fully focused on Trump and the Republicans. Asked, after the Ohio appearance, if he’d felt he had been at a Trump rally and whether he’d reached out to the other side of politics during his trip, he said, “Well, I have been here to see the President – that was the intention”.

We’ve yet to see the longer term implications of the Morrison remarks on China, delivered in his major foreign policy speech in Chicago (where he was avoiding the New York United Nations leaders summit on climate).

His declaration that China has reached the stage of a developed economy and should therefore accept the responsibilities of that status in trade and its environmental obligations, rather than enjoying the concessions of a developing one, was basically an elaboration of what he’d argued earlier at home.

But place and context are pivotal in foreign policy. Said in the US, with a posse of the Australian media in tow, and with Trump’s anti-China rhetoric at full force, Morrison’s words were amplified to high volume.

China has quickly cast Morrison as articulating the Trump position, hitting back in a statement from its embassy in Canberra. “The assertion of China being a ‘newly developed economy’ by the Australian side doesn’t hold much water. It is both one-sided and unfair. And it is basically an echo of what the US has claimed.

“It is true that China, through its own efforts, has made remarkable achievements in economic and social development over the past decades and become the world’s second largest economy. However, there is still a big gap between China and the developed countries in terms of overall development level. China still has a long way to go to achieve full modernisation.

“In a comprehensive analysis, China is still a developing country, which is widely acknowledged by the international community,” the statement said.

China already has Australia in the so-called deep freeze. Morrison would like to visit – there has not been a prime ministerial trip to Beijing since 2016. But as the PM has pointed out, he can’t go without an invitation. His analysis won’t help with that. Morrison’s assertion that a meeting between Foreign Minister Marise Payne and her Chinese counterpart on the sidelines at the United Nations showed “that relationship continues to be in good shape” didn’t cut it.

Climate was always set to be difficult for Morrison on the trip, because the UN leaders’ summit on the issue fell neatly between his commitments in Washington and his speech to the UN General Assembly. But he didn’t want to be there.

The government tried to justify his absence on the grounds that only countries announcing new plans received a speaking spot. But that wasn’t an adequate excuse for Morrison not turning up, sending Payne instead. His no-show simply reinforced the criticism of Australia, which has seen rising emissions over the past several years, after the carbon price was scrapped.

Morrison used his address to the General Assembly to defend the government’s actions, declaring “Australia is doing our bit on climate change and we reject any suggestion to the contrary”.

He talked a good deal about Australia’s efforts on plastics waste, including “plastic pollution choking our oceans”. Embarrassingly, his speech coincided with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releasing a report about the urgent need for action to contain rising ocean levels.

As Morrison’s foreign policy continues to emerge, this trip has highlighted his priorities and approach.

Specifically, that he operates on an America-first basis and he has translated that to a Trump-first one. Never mind the unpredictability and idiosyncrasy of the President (and now the attempt to impeach him) – what’s needed is connection. Turnbull, who also sought to get close to Trump personally, pitched to him as one businessman to another. Morrison, having been picked by Trump as a favourite, has struck a mutually useful easy familiarity with the unlikely leader who mobilised the quiet Americans.

When Morrison gave his big trade speech in June, the line from the government was that it was not choosing sides between the US and China (though it did seem to be and it always appeared inevitable it would). After his American trip both the US and China are in no doubt which side Australia is on.

By Michelle Grattan, a professorial fellow at the University of Canberra. This article was originally published on The Conversation.

“The Dead Don’t Die” (MA) ***

THIS film, written and directed by Jim Jarmusch is, as far as I’ve been able to ascertain, the 499th in the totally artificial cinematic genre called zombie, which first hit screens in 1932 with Bela Lugosi in Victor Halperin’s “White Zombie”.

Where did “zombie” originate? In an 1819 history of Brazil by poet Robert Southey, referring to an Afro-Brazilian rebel leader named Zumbi.

However their dramatic flavourings vary (and the list of those contains some wild flights of fancy) all zombie movies tend to look like each other. The dead rise from the grave, scare the daylights out of the living, suck human blood, eat human flesh and convert their victims into zombies just like themselves, before succumbing to, well, death from as many variations on that theme as there are opportunities for filmmakers’ imaginations to go berserk (American zombie movies tend to favour shooting, which is hardly surprising).

Jim Jarmusch is not your conventional potboiler movie maker. Idiosyncratic pretty well covers it within the available space on the page. He likes to cast chums in his relatively small number of films. This time, regular favourite Bill Murray plays Cliff, chief of the three-person police force in the little town of Centreville. Cliff could have retired a couple of years ago, but that would have led to boredom. His staff comprises Ronnie (Adam Driver) and Mindy (Chloë Sevigny). You might recognise Danny Glover and Steve Buscemi as townsfolk. You’d be hard put to recognise another Jarmusch regular, Tom Waits, behind a face full of whiskers. 

And then there’s Tilda Swinton. As town mortician Zelda Winston underneath a cornsilk-coloured wig nearly reaching her waist, she amuses herself by practising with a samurai sword. Zelda’s about to inject a new mode of dealing with zombies. Yup, what you’ve got to do is decapitate them before they get their teeth into you. 

It’s a fun movie that succeeds better than most of its zombie genre predecessors in delivering humour to assuage the bloodletting while, in so doing, cocking a snoot at a few American social habits. 

Is it the best zombie film? “Best” or “favourite” are games that I prefer not to play, but I rate “The Dead Don’t Die” up there with “Shaun of the Dead” as benchmarks for the genre.

At Dendy

“The Goldfinch” (M) *** and a half

WHAT attribute of the human condition was Donna Tartt exploring in the novel that won her the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction?

Not having read that book, I must rely on Peter Straughan’s adaptation of it for director John Crowley to transform into moving images and sounds. 

It begins slowly, when 13-year-old Theo (Oakes Fegley) goes to live with foster parents after his mother’s death in a terrorist bombing at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Mrs Barbour (Nicole Kidman) brings Theo up as one of her own, until the boy’s biological father arrives to claim him. Theo’s life undergoes a seachange, from a wealthy home to an empty project development in a treeless desert.

In his teens, Theo makes friends with older refugee boy Boris (Finn Wolfhard, Aneurin Barnard as an adult). A decade later, Theo (Ansel Elgort) is an antiques trader, a profession learned as the apprentice of Hobie (Geoffrey Wright). In one of the film’s many flashbacks, the film explains how Theo came to possess a small painting of a goldfinch chained to its perch, painted in 1654 by Dutch artist Carel Fabritius (and now in reality in a major Dutch gallery).

So where does the painting fit in? Wrapped in newspaper, carried in a canvas bag, unseen, it has been Theo’s constant companion since a stranger gave it to him immediately after the bombing. Now somebody has tracked it down and wants Theo to hand it over. Boris re-appears. The dramatic momentum begins to increase. The wait becomes worthwhile.

With a reputed budget of $US45 million, “The Goldfinch” has bombed in the US, perhaps because it is too long or not exciting enough for the American mass audience. Indeed, it takes time to develop momentum, but when that happened, it had me hooked. 

The top-grade acting did full justice to a dramatis personae that made sense. The propositions in the narrative were credible. After sitting alone for 149 minutes, I came away satisfied that it well serves whatever objective Ms Tartt had in mind when she began writing the book.

At Dendy and Palace Electric