You can find the report and its appendices here

Make-A-Wish grants moon flight for 4yo Dwayne Franke who lives with epilepsy

Updated about 8 hours ago

PHOTO: Dwayne Franke and another "astronaut" in their space suits at Adelaide Airport. (Supplied: Make A Wish)

After almost a year of planning, a four-year-old South Australian boy has had his wish to travel to the "moon" fulfilled.

Dwayne Franke experiences daily seizures and his medication is unable to control his epilepsy.

It means in the past year alone, he has been in hospital more than a dozen times.

Last night — after some pretty extensive planning — the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted that wish.

Donning an orange space suit, his parents took him to Adelaide Airport, where he was greeted by Darth Vader and Stormtroopers and issued a special ticket.

PHOTO: The four-year-old's day was filled with Stormtroopers and various superheroes. (Supplied: Make A Wish)

Dwayne got to sit in the cockpit of a specially-prepared QantasLink plane before the big flight, then took his seat in the main cabin as it "blasted off".

In what seemed no time at all, the space adventurers arrived at the "moon" to a lunar landscape — created in an airport hangar from rocks, tonnes of sand and special visual effects.

And just as the four-year-old suspected, aliens and superheroes including Spiderman and Batman, really do live on the moon.

PHOTO: Dwayne Franke plants the flag he designed in the sandy lunar surface. (Supplied: Make A Wish)

Dwayne even got to plant a special flag in the sandy surface of the moon before making his return flight to Earth.

'Incredible experience'

Dwayne's mother Rebecca described it as an "incredible experience".

She said her son had been distracted from recent medical treatment by the excitement of telling hospital staff he was about to head to the moon.

"They were trying to put in a drip and, between seizures and through all the hurt, he was trying to tell the nurses about going to the moon," she said.

"It is something that is distracting him from what he's going through at the moment."

She said he was "absolutely elated after the experience".

"He looked at the moon early this morning and said 'I went there last night!' It has been the most wonderful experience and our family will be forever grateful to Make-A-Wish and Qantas for making our little boy's dream come true."

PHOTO: Staff volunteered their time to help make the boy's dream come true. (Supplied: Make A Wish)

Qantas manager at Adelaide Airport Paul Newman praised his staff who volunteered their time.

"It's been heart-warming to see Qantas employees from all over volunteer their time to make Dwayne's wish come true," he said.

"It's really been all hands on deck to make this a reality."

Make-A-Wish chief executive Sally Bateman said granting such dreams helped sick children and their families in tough times.

"Our wishes are about taking critically-ill children like Dwayne on a journey that creates a long-lasting impact and gives strength and hope," she said.

Almost a year of planning went into the expedition, which started when he was given a moon lamp to keep next to his bed.

He also got regular letters from an astronaut and worked hard to design the flag he finally planted on the lunar surface.

I used to enjoy Jim Molan's messages on Twitter.

He was authentic, effective and I learned a lot.

He was also human - talking and posting photos about his daughter in the media, his family and particularly his grandchildren.

What he was proud of yesterday, he's apparently embarrassed about today.

Earlier today Jim deleted his entire Twitter presence - and a bit of Australian history with it.

I don't agree with his decision, but I understand why he did it.

Turnbull.

This is the new sanitised Government-of-Turnbull Jim Molan.

Here's an insight into life in the Government of Turnbull - this article from The Australian reports Turnbull's lacklustre response to The Greens disgraceful attacks on a great general and fine Australian.  

The Turnbull influence is starkly revealed in the last paragraph.

30 MINUTES AGO | 3.18PMPM defends Molan

Malcolm Turnbull goes into bat for Liberal senator Jim Molan after Labor asks why he was never sanctioned for reposting social media posts from the racist British First group.

The PM says the attacks on Mr Molan had been “disgraceful”.

“(He was) a great Australian soldier who has defended and fought for the values and the freedoms we enjoy in this parliament,” he says.

Mr Turnbull says Mr Molan has taken down the posts, closed his Twitter account and made public statements regretting ever reposting them.

I heard Jim mount a sensible defence of the public interest in re-posting those video in an interview he did with the ABC yesterday (I was listening via his Twitter feed - evidence of that conversation has now gone west too).

I liked that fighting Jim.

I don't like team-Turnbull.

AWU President-Forever Bill Ludwig said of democracy "If you've got the numbers, you can do what you like".

Western Democracy can be its own worst enemy, particularly as its anathema - Islam - is getting the numbers.

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson is the quintessence of democratic exactitude.  He knows what side his lavash is buttered on.

Last week in Londonistan the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office hosted a full-day staff event:

Would you like to try on a Hijab or learn why Muslim women wear the headscarf? Come along to our walk-in event. Free scarfs for all those that choose to wear it for the day or part of the day. Muslim women, along with followers of many other religions, choose to wear the Hijab. Many find liberation, respect and security through wearing it. #StrongInHijab. Join us for #WorldHijabDay.

Here's unfortunately-female Minister Julie Bishop shamefully letting her headscarf slip - photographed in London with her chaperone Minister Boris.

And this is from journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet's Facebook page:

 

 

I loved this comment from blasphemer and head-chop candidate Dean Steinlage 

 "Would you like to try a rosary or learn why Catholics pray it? Come to our walk-in event. Free rosaries to those that want to pray it for the day or part of the day. Catholics, along with followers of many other religions, choose to pray the rosary. Many find liberation, respect and security through praying it."

Boris and Bishop have it wrong.

We should celebrate what makes us great.

Before it's too late.

How can she tell?

There's no more women or men anymore, no more mankind.

Ask Justin.

He did it outside the parliament this morning on Sky News.

He's had time to think about what he'd say.

And he chose to say it - publicly.

I know Jim won't sue - so does Bandt.  Jim's too big a man to stoop down in the gutter.

From The Australian today.

Greens MP Adam Bandt has labelled new Liberal senator Jim Molan a “coward” and suggested he would be prosecuted as a war criminal if there was an independent inquiry into his conduct in Iraq.

Mr Bandt echoed the comments of Greens leader Richard Di Natale in criticising Senator Molan for sharing videos from racist group British First – but he made the accusations on Sky News rather than in the parliament which would have protected him from potential defamation.

“When you share white supremacist videos and then you justify it by saying, ‘I am doing it to stimulate debate’ .. you are a coward, you are a complete coward,” Mr Bandt said.

“At least own it, at least own your politics that you think white supremacist groups have something that you agree with and you want to share.”

Senator Molan, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the American Legion of Merit for his service in Iraq, was the chief of operations for the US-led coalition forces from April 2004.

Mr Bandt said Senator Molan would be prosecuted if there was an independent inquiry into his role during the assault on Fallujah in 2004.

“If there was a proper inquiry, an independent inquiry into the war in Iraq in Australia, I think you would find that Jim Molan would be up for prosecution rather than praise for his role in the atrocities in Fallujah,” he said.

Senator Di Natale used parliamentary privilege yesterday to accuse Senator Molan of overseeing a “humanitarian catastrophe”.

This is Australia and we should be promoting what makes us great - and better than Saudi Arabia, Iran or Somalia.

If there is a huge market for compulsory covering of women we should be trying to reduce it, not grow it.

It's hard enough to stop the ratcheting movement of creeping Islamisation.

The last thing we need is to spend taxpayer money to promote its more odious precepts.

Australia's then Grand Mufti Sheik Hilaly explained the reason - in Muslim minds - for the compulsory veiling of women.

"If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside ... without cover, and the cats come to eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats' or the uncovered meat's? The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab [the headdress worn by some Muslim women], no problem would have occurred."

That is the stark truth of Islam - perfectly displayed in its primary symbol of female oppression.

Bishop reminds me of Pixie Anne Wheatley giggling about how beautiful the "fashion" is - while she totally misses the point of just what she's promoting.

After this website, then others published details of DFAT's "modesty fashion" initiative, Julie Bishop had a choice - and time to consider which side to back.

Today she's nailed her colours to the mast.

Huge market for modest Islamic fashion, Julie Bishop says

• 12:00AM February 7, 2018

• JOE KELLY

   

   

In yesterday’s joint partyroom meeting, chief government whip Nola Marino gave Ms Bishop an opportunity to explain the initiative after Tony Abbott last month called it an attempt to pander to an “incredibly old-­fashioned view of modesty” using taxpayer money.

The exhibition, featuring burkini swimsuit inventor Aheda Zan­etti and academic Susan Carland, was taken to Mal­aysia by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to promote Australian diversity and showcase Australia’s creative industries.

Ms Bishop said that in 2012 the Sydney Powerhouse Museum did a collection featuring the work of Australian designers targeting the international market for women in Muslim countries interested in “modest fashion”. The success of the collection led to an application for an export grant to take the ­designs to Indonesia and Malaysia where Ms Bishop said there was an estimated market of between 20 to 50 million people.

Ms Bishop argued this was consistent with the objectives of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in exploring export opportunities for Australian entrepreneurs. DFAT has said it expected spending in the Islamic “modest fashion” market to increase by more than 7 per cent by 2021 and is urging the industry to support “all sorts of fashions”.

Mr Abbott responded by asking whether the initiative was consistent with Australian values, with Ms Bishop clarifying that the government was “in no way” telling Australian women what to wear.

ENDS

Julie, have another think about what side you're on.

On 22 February 2006 the Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Bill Clinton signed a $25M MoU triggering the first round of Australian donations to the Clinton Foundation.  

The CF recipient entity was the Clinton Foundation HIV/Aids Initiative Inc (CHAI). Australian due diligence failed to detect that the entity did not hold the necessary US authority to operate in the treatment of HIV/Aids, further that the entity was wound up by the Massachusetts corporate regulator effective 31 December 2007. 

By December 2008 the Clinton Foundation reported that Australia was its largest Western Government donor.

In 2010 Clinton incorporated a new CHAI entity, the Clinton Health Access Initiative.  The Australian government on its websites and in reports retrospectively changed the name of the entity it was contracting with from the deregistered HIV/Aids Initiative Inc to the new CHAI Inc.

On 22 September 2014 in New York, FM Julie Bishop and Bill Clinton witnessed the signing of a new MoU with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) "committing Australia and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to work together to transform access to health in developing countries over the next five years".  

The MOU "superseded" the 2006 MOU with Clinton HIV/Aids Initiative. Bishop's media release included two financial metrics - she said the new CHAI MoU

• "will support Australia’s $5 billion aid program"; and,
• "Since 2006, Australia has contributed $88 million to CHAI and its sister organisation, the Clinton Foundation".

As at June 2015, Bishop's department (DFAT) was funding the following CHAI programs

Vietnam ($4.65 million from 2012- 2015)

PNG ($27 million from 2011-15)

Indonesia, ($33.95 million from 2007- 2016)

By mid 2016 Australian donations to the Clinton Foundation (and related entities) from DFAT alone had topped $100M AUD. A further $24M was donated ostensibly for climate change related CF programs - $10M directly by Kevin Rudd and about $14M by GILLARD. And new donations were still being arranged.

On 20 October 2016 the Australian Senate's foreign affairs committee heard evidence from Mr Blair Exell, First Assistant Secretary, Development Policy Division in Bishop's DFAT.

...........from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, since 2006 the total (donation) figure is $103,392,042 to the Clinton Foundation and subsequently to an affiliate organisation called the Clinton Health Access Initiative, CHAI.

On 8 November 2016 Donald Trump won the US presidential election.

On 22 November 2016 News Limited was leaked a false and misleading news story about DFAT which ran under the headline:

Australia ceases multimillion dollar controversial donations to Clinton Family charities

AUSTRALIA has finally ceased pouring millions of dollars into accounts linked to Hillary Clinton’s charities.

By my reckoning, that's a total of about $130M in Clinton Foundation donations since 2006.

Here are some more details on some of the factual assertions in this post.

2006 - 2009

By the end of 2008, almost 3 years after the Downer/Clinton MOU was signed Australia was the largest foreign government donor to the Clinton Foundation.

2009 - 2015 

On 22 September 2014 the total of our "support" was $86M according to Julie Bishop in this press release.

In June 2015 this briefing paper was prepared for a Senate Committee - it was later released under FOI.

CHAI programs funded through the Australian aid program (at June 2015)

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (OF AT) funds CHAI in PNG, Indonesia and Vietnam.

In Vietnam ($4.65 million from 2012- 2015), CHAI aims to strengthen medical care and treatment for people living with HIV, with a focus on children and mothers.

In PNG ($27 million from 2011-15) CHAI aims to improve access to clinical treatment ofHIV, drug supply chain management and laboratory strengthening; and extend services to rural areas in three Highlands provinces.

In Indonesia, ($33.95 million from 2007- 2016), CHAI aims to extend and improve testing and treatment for HIV in Papua and West Papua provinces.

Australian funding to the Clinton Climate Initiative

In 2012 former AusAID entered into a contract with the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a program of the Clinton Foundation, for activities addressing climate change. Following the 2013 Australian Federal election, responsibilities for climate change and for this contract were moved to the Department of the Environment.

Total as at June 2015

By 20 October 2016 - $103M so far to the CF - just from DFAT

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee 
20/10/2016 
Estimates 
FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE PORTFOLIO 
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Senator LEYONHJELM: Have payments from the Australian government to the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the Clinton Foundation ceased?

Ms Adamson : I will ask Deputy Secretary McDonald to answer that question.

Mr McDonald : There are payments occurring at the moment, yes.

Senator LEYONHJELM: On what date was the most recent payment made?

Mr McDonald : When I say 'payment', I should clarify. There is an agreement in place for work in PNG. I will clarify whether the payment has actually been made. There is an arrangement in place for further work with—it is not called the Clinton Foundation. I will give you the exact name as well.

Senator LEYONHJELM: How much has been paid to the foundation so far?

Mr McDonald : Mr Exell could provide that.

Mr Exell : Since 2006 there have been a number of agreements with activities in a range of countries. I cannot provide a figure across Australia entirely. Certainly, from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, since 2006 the total figure is $103,392,042 to the Clinton Foundation and subsequently to an affiliate organisation called the Clinton Health Access Initiative, CHAI.

28 November 2016 - News reports - Australian Government has stopped payments to Clinton Foundation

AUSTRALIA has finally ceased pouring millions of dollars into accounts linked to Hillary Clinton’s charities.

I suspect the Daily Telegraph front page is a bit of a surprise for Barnaby - his most recent Tweet from a few hours ago:

(Barnaby's message was in response to a video of him playing in a rugby match - but as always in the media, context is everything!)

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/barnaby-joyce-expecting-baby-with-exstaffer/news-story/756f22a3c2bcaac66461f4f84f8a7371

Sources close to the Nationals leader last night confirmed the ­relationship with former media adviser Vikki Campion, 33, after Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph revealed the pregnancy.

Mr Joyce, who will turn 51 in April, confirmed the breakdown of his 24-year marriage to ­Natalie Joyce, the ­mother of his four children, during the debate on same-sex ­marriage in federal parliament late last year.

Ms Campion, a former journalist on The Daily Telegraph, is reportedly due to give birth in April.

A spokesman for Mr Joyce, who opposed same-sex marriage and abstained from the vote, said last night he would not be ­commenting on his private life beyond what he had told ­parliament.

The relationship is reminiscent of Whitlam government deputy prime minister Jim Cairns’s relationship with his principal private secretary, Junie Morosi, in the 1970s.

Mr Joyce had declined to comment on his personal life when rumours of the relationship swept the campaign trail during the New England by-election campaign in November.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the couple had moved in together and Mr Joyce was “madly in love’’ but concerned about the welfare of his four daughters, who are in their late teens and early 20s.

Ms Campion left Mr Joyce’s office in April last year to work for one of his closest colleagues, Resources Minister Matt Canavan, in a more senior role.

When Senator Canavan resigned from cabinet amid questions over his Italian citizenship, she joined the office of Nationals chief parliamentary whip ­Damian Drum.

She then lost her job when Mr Drum moved from his role as whip to become the Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Mr Joyce is a Catholic and has spoken often of his conservative social and economic values.