Under the football codes’ concussion guidelines (AFL/NRL/ARU), players who are concussed are automatically withdrawn from the game.

Sports Physician and Sports Medicine Australia spokesperson, Dr Rob Reid said this approach supports safety in sport and improved player welfare.

“One of Sports Medicine Australia’s aims is to enhance the health of all through safe participation in sport and therefore we support this conservative approach to concussion,” said Dr Reid.

“The knocks received by many football players can be quite severe so the last thing we want is to encourage players back onto the field to risk further head injury, especially when it has been suggested that full recovery of brain function may take longer than previously thought.

“By taking a conservative approach and allowing a complete recovery it is in the best interests of all football players and will reduce the risks of further injury and longer term damage.

“The take home message from last night’s program was that the severity of a concussion in the long run will be determined by how well it is managed when it occurs.

“This is where reliance on and education of trained sporting personnel is so important,” said Dr Reid.

Sports Medicine Australia President, Michael Kenihan said the need for better education at all levels and across all football codes in regards to concussion is certainly evident.

“All those involved in sport – players, coaches, parents – need to be educated on the correct return to play practices, in order to correctly managed concussions, if and when, they occur,” said Mr Kenihan.

“Sports Medicine Australia provides education at all levels in regards to concussion. Our Sports Trainers are trained in the recognition of concussion and are across how it should be managed and the appropriate return to play management.

“Currently our level of research in Australia is quite well advanced, and in some ways ahead of the US. To date, there are several current research projects underway to address the issues of concussion impact and management, which we hope will extend our current knowledge,” said Mr Kenihan.

Last night’s program also discussed sub-concussions amongst NFL players, something which does not occur in our football codes.

“Our football codes are very different when compared to the NFL. Ours do not intentionally ‘butt heads’ which bring on the issue of sub-concussions. Comparing the sport of NFL to ours is like comparing apples and oranges. We are not in a position to generalise and certainly not in a position to compare,” said Dr Reid.

Sports Medicine Australia said the Four Corners program further highlighted the importance of trained personnel at all sporting clubs and encouraged the review of concussion symptoms – loss of consciousness, confusion, memory disturbance, blurred vision, dizziness, nausea and/or unsteadiness – at all clubs.

St Hilliers Construction has gone into administration today – only two months after the O’Farrell Government signed new contracts with the firm for the construction of 181 social housing dwellings in Sydney and regional NSW.

Shadow Treasurer Michael Daley said St Hilliers’ financial woes come on the back of a series of construction company collapses that have left sub-contractors in the lurch – and put hundreds of people out of work.

“Barry O’Farrell’s own MP for Coffs Harbour, Andrew Fraser has called the government’s decision to let the contract to St Hilliers ‘incompetence of the worst kind’,” said Mr Daley.

“The O’Farrell Government needs to explain immediately what action it will take to secure local construction jobs and guarantee that the 12 NSW Government projects currently tendered out to St Hilliers will be completed.

“We have seen a major downturn in the construction industry since the O’Farrell Government came to office – with building activity falling 22.6 per cent, or more than $1 billion, since March 2011.

“Thousands of jobs have been literally wiped out under the new Government – with the latest jobs data revealing NSW lost a whopping 23,700 jobs in April alone.

“Earlier this year, construction giant Kell and Rigby collapsed; followed by Reed Constructions and now St Hilliers is in financial trouble.

“When these major construction firms collapse, thousands of subcontractors are left in the lurch – with no work and no money.

“The O’Farrell Government must take action now to bolster the state’s economy and stop the job losses.”

NSW Government housing projects in Caringbah, Casula, Yagoona and Campbelltown in Sydney along with those in regional NSW in the Hunter, Mid North Coast, South Coast and Central West are all in limbo.

Andrew Fraser today attacked the Government’s decision to let the housing contracts to St Helliers:

“They knew they were in trouble when they accepted this contract; if they knew, the department and the Minister’s office should have known and the contract never should have been let. This is incompetence of the worst kind.”

– Andrew Fraser, Coffs Harbour MP on 2GB, 16/05/12.

Shadow Minister for Small Business Adam Searle said the Government must step in to protect sub-contractors, too often dudded when major firms go into administration.

“Subcontractors are often the last to be paid when companies get into difficulty and that’s not good enough,” said Mr Searle. “The O’Farrell Government must act now to ensure that small businesses are not forced into bankruptcy as the result of what is now happening.”

“That means taking a serious look at reform to ‘security of payment’ legislation – to ensure that subcontractors aren’t left out in the cold.”

“The Minister clearly has no idea what she’s talking about. Hospitals can’t just stop ordering X-rays for sick and injured patients,” said Shadow Minister for Health, Dr Andrew McDonald – who still works one day a week in the public hospital system as a paediatrician.

“It’s like driving without a seatbelt. X-rays are a vital tool for doctors in diagnosing serious injuries and illnesses – from broken bones and fractures to cancer.

“The Minister needs to intervene today and put more specialist radiologists on immediately to clear the backlog.

“Every clinician has missed abnormalities on an X-ray that have been picked up by a radiologist – but with the Minister refusing to make these reports a priority, there is no guarantee the problem will ever be fixed.

“The O’Farrell Government’s hands-off approach to running our hospitals is compromising patient care.

“Reports today reveal 79,000 X-rays have been left unchecked at Liverpool Hospital and another 4000 are awaiting examination by a specialist radiologist at Westmead Hospital.

“As a practicing paediatrician can confirm it’s quite common for fractures and cancers to be missed by the doctor and only discovered on the X-ray report.

“We know there are at least 83,000 X-rays in the system that have been left unchecked by a radiologist and in each of these cases – patient care could have been put at risk.

“Doctors can’t just stop ordering X-rays so that the Minister doesn’t have to deal with bad publicity.”

Minister Skinner was interviewed today on 2sm about her response to the X-ray backlog. She told the radio station:

“I’d like the Ministry to actually check whether we are not over-ordering x-rays and whether every single one of them does need to be rechecked by a radiologist.”

Mt Eliza is the only Australian provider in the FT top 40. In the Asia Pacific region, it performed second only to Chinese provider CEIBS, in 29th place.

In Open Enrolment programs, Mt Eliza ranked 31 globally, up two places and again leading the Australian market. Customised programs ranked 46th, up five places from 2011.

Deputy Dean Executive Education Professor Paul Dainty said the result highlighted Mt Eliza’s focus on anticipating the changing needs of business in a time of cutbacks and uncertainty.

“In both the private and public sectors, redundancies and budget cuts are forcing managers to do more with less,” Professor Dainty said. “While no one has a crystal ball, at Mt Eliza we equip leaders with insights, frameworks and tools they need to embrace uncertainty.”

In Customised programs, Mt Eliza was recognised for the excellence of its international partnerships (ranked 8th globally), which include Ashridge, London Business School and the Center for Creative Leadership.

Mt Eliza is the Executive Education division of Melbourne Business School, ranked in the FT’s global top 50 for MBA programs. MBS Dean Professor Zeger Degraeve said this relationship meant Mt Eliza was able to combine agile, innovative learning approaches with insights from world-class academic research.

“We marry the academic rigour provided by our faculty members with cutting-edge experiential learning,” Professor Degraeve said. “It is a very potent combination for our participants, whether they are emerging leaders or senior executives.”

Clients such as Swisse Vitamins CEO Radek Sali said, “In the future, pioneering programs like those offered by Mt Eliza will become a prerequisite for leadership. Leaders will become self aware and engaged in what is really important for business to succeed”.

The editor in chief of Australian Associated Press, Tony Gillies, a graduate of Mt Eliza’s flagship Advanced Management Program, said, ”The program has made me think more deeply than in the past about ways to keep people motivated and engaged so they can deliver on the company’s performance goals.”

Dr Michael Robertson of Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, said, “I have come away from Mt Eliza programs with some practical tools and insights that will change the way I approach everything at work (and home!). I can see why Mt Eliza is regarded so highly across the world.”

Rajit has recently released his first ever audio album Shuvro Megh under the music direction by the famous musician and singer Atiq Helal.
The Mother’s Day special duet Maa was written by Dr. Qaiyum Parvez and music directed by Atiq Helal.

Watch the video of Maa

“The Public Service Association has today been granted leave by the High Court to challenge the O’Farrell Government’s public sector wages cap,” Shadow Industrial Relations Minister, Sophie Cotsis said today.

“The NSW Labor Opposition welcomes the High Court challenge against the O’Farrell Government’s attack on NSW workers.

“The O’Farrell Government’s industrial relations changes have sent the workplace rights of NSW nurses, teachers, firefighters and other public sector workers back to the dark ages.

“Nurses, teachers, firefighters and other public sector workers provide the services our community relies on and they deserve to be paid fairly for the work that they do.

“Independent research from the University of Sydney has shown that if the O’Farrell Government’s wages cap was introduced ten years ago, the average nurse would be paid $12,000 less per year and the average teacher would be paid $15,000 less per year than they are today.

“These laws rip away the right of workers to access the independent umpire, the Industrial Relations Commission.

“Instead, the Industrial Relations Commission has been bound to do the O’Farrell Government’s bidding when it comes to assessing fair and equitable wages.

“NSW Labor believes that all workers should be able to have their wages and conditions set through good faith bargaining, overseen by an independent umpire.

“More than 40,000 workers and their families have already marched on NSW Parliament protesting these grossly unfair laws. The O’Farrell Government needs to swallow its pride and listen to them.

“NSW Labor supports the High Court challenge to these laws, and will continue to fight for fair wages and the rights of workers to access an independent workplace umpire.”

The O’Farrell Government today announced it would not implement the Law Reform Commission’s recommendation to allow the relatives of asbestos victims who die before their case is finalised to receive part of the compensation the victim would have been awarded.

“The O’Farrell Government has reached a new low with this decision not to provide fairer compensation to asbestos victims and their families,” Opposition Leader, John Robertson said today.

“The Law Reform Commission’s proposed changes would have overridden the Strikwerda case principle in dust diseases cases to allow the families of asbestos victims who die before their case is finished to receive part of the compensation the victim would have received.

“It would have also allowed the families of asbestos victims to commence a case for these damages up to 12 months after the death of their relative.

“The Premier already voted against the Labor Opposition’s Compensation to Relatives Legislation Amendment (Dust Diseases) Bill 2012 which sought to implement these changes, and today they have ruled out fairer compensation altogether.

“It takes an incredibly callous and uncaring government to refuse to support asbestos victims and the families they are forced to leave behind.”

Shadow Attorney General, Paul Lynch said: “The O’Farrell Government shouldn’t take the easy option to not provide fairer compensation just to avoid a fight with James Hardie.”

“There are a significant number of asbestos victims who don’t need to proceed against James Hardie, but against other defendants. They are also being penalised by this decision.

“These recommendations resulted from the former Labor Government asking the Law Reform Commission to do a proper assessment of compensation arrangements for families, after the Greens introduced a half baked amendment in 2010 that would have short-changed victims.

“These recommendations are only what is right and proper for the families of asbestos victims. Today’s disgraceful decision by the O’Farrell Government will only make life harder for asbestos victims and their families.”

Lifewise, which sits under the Financial Services Council’s (FSC) umbrella, was created in 2009 to address the serious issue of underinsurance in Australia. Three years later, over 15 million Australians have been touched by the Lifewise underinsurance message, but the problem still exists.

Lifewise Campaign Manager, Holly Dorber said, “The launch of the new social media-friendly Lifewise website is an exciting opportunity to have a two-way conversation with Australians about the financial risks families face every day as a result of the high levels of underinsurance. The Time Capsule was created so Australians could not only store their cherished memories safely forever, but also, so they could visually see through a collage/ time line pin board how amazing their lives have been…and is, and to protect that.”

“Our hope is that through this direct engagement we will start to see levels of awareness about the importance of having the right levels of life and income protection insurance in place increase through word of mouth.”

As an industry first, the campaign has recently launched new and exciting social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr, Tumbr and a personalized blog to interact with the new Lifewise social media website. Part of all the excitement will be the launch of a new digital memory sharing board called the Time Capsule on Monday 14th May, which was created in conjunction with social media site, Mamamia. The Time Capsule will upload images, simplistically, in a time line format, so you can view all your memories in one place – a pin board collage of what is most important to you.

For more about the Time Capsule http://www.mamamia.com.au/social/lifewise-launches-its-time-capsule/

The Facts:

- Despite the fact that almost every working Australian has some level of life insurance cover within their superannuation, Australia is one of the most underinsured nations in the developed world with 95% of Australians currently underinsured.

- 83% of Australians say they have insurance for their car. ONLY 31% insure their ability to earn an income with income protection insurance, which could be millions over a lifetime.

- It is estimated that the issue of underinsurance will cost the government approximately 1 billion over the next 10 years.

NSW has bucked the falling unemployment trend and haemorrhaged more than 23,700 jobs in the month of April alone under the O’Farrell Government, the NSW Labor Opposition said today.

Figures out today show the NSW unemployment rate rose from 4.8 per cent to 4.9 per cent in April.

“The latest jobs data has revealed NSW lost a whopping 23,700 jobs in the month of April alone,” Opposition Leader John Robertson said today.

“While the national unemployment rate has fallen from 5.2 per cent to 4.9 per cent, NSW has bucked the trend and haemorrhaged 23,700 jobs in just one month.

“This is a massive blow to the NSW economy and the everyday mums and dads who have been forced out of their jobs across our State.

“In recent weeks, we have seen hundreds of job losses on the O’Farrell Government’s watch at Optus, First Fleet and the big banks.

“The O’Farrell Government promised to build the infrastructure that creates jobs in NSW, but it appears that yet again they are all talk and no action.”

Shadow Treasurer Michael Daley said the NSW unemployment rate was being artificially propped up by a massive fall in the participation rate.

“The NSW unemployment rate has been artificially propped up by a significant reduction in the participation rate,” Mr Daley said.

“The participation rate (percentage of working age people working or looking for work) has fallen from 64.2 per cent in March 2011 to 63 per cent in April 2012.

“This means that more than 33,600 people have left the labour force and stopped looking for work since March 2011, and are no longer being counted in the unemployment rate.

“Today’s figures make a mockery out of Premier O’Farrell’s election promise to create 100,000 new jobs in NSW.

“The O’Farrell Government should be investing in creating and retaining jobs in NSW – not sitting idly by while NSW haemorrhages tens of thousands of jobs.”