Finnish health promotion experts Erkki Vartiainen and Tiina Laatikainen suggested Australian governments consider tougher regulations and higher “junk food” taxes that could lead to a new eating culture.

They compared diabetes to smoking.

It was found in the 1950s and 60s that smoking was bad for your health, but it took more than 20 years before anything started to happen on a policy or health promotion basis.

It’s a valid argument.

Societal attitudes change as evidence mounts.

Smoking is largely regarded today as antisocial behaviour.

Drink driving is another example. Up until the 1980s it was a larrikan act, but hardly frowned up.

Today it is rightly condemned and punished as reckless and socially unacceptable.

The Federal Government tried to change attitudes to binge drinking last year with the unpopular alcopop tax.

This was seen as an ad-hoc unplanned response to an escalating problem.

Changing people’s attitudes to diet and nutrition is a debate we need to have.

Any legislative response has to consider all the possible outcomes and consequences.

As some people commented to The Border Watch this week, if the price of processed food is increased through taxation, the price of fresh food should be reduced to compensate.

This would be a classic “carrot and stick” approach to a recognised social problem and health issue.

The afternoon weather was perfect for a cricket match. The match was held on the flight deck with a great turnout by those crew members not on watch. To compensate for the size of the ground, a ball tethered with string was used. The players wore Australiana-themed clothing.

As the day drew to a close, the crew enjoyed a steel deck barbecue dinner with a spectacular view of the Arabian sunset.

Commander Andrew Masters (pictured) said donations were collected for the ships charity in recognition of those back in Australia doing it tough.

“A total of $700 was raised during the afternoon with proceeds to be donated to ‘Gran’s Van’ which is the ship’s nominated charity,” Commander Masters said.

“Gran’s Van is a food van, based in Burnie Tasmania, which provides meals for the homeless and needy, and has almost 300 part-time volunteers.”

Although far away from home, everyone on board HMAS Stuart agreed it was important to still mark Australia Day by taking the opportunity to sit back, enjoy a barbecue, and play some cricket.

“It is also, though, a time to remember that some people at home have their own challenges and difficulties,” Commander Masters said.

“We would like to say ‘thanks Australia’ and remind everyone that our best wishes and support are with those in the community who are doing it tough.”

Australia says “thanks” top the crew of HMAS Stuart and other servicemen currently deployed overseas.

Looking at the photo of cricket on the ship’s deck, hitting over the rail should definitely be six and out. If the captain asks you to field at deep mid wicket you know you’re in his bad books.

On the eve of Australia Day a celebrity push has begun to change the national flag.

Ray Martin says we should have a new flag. Ron Barassi agrees with him. Well, we’d better get cracking then and change the bugger.

Hardly.

I support the constitutional monarchy, but funnily enough I don’t feel strongly about the flag.

Republicanism seeks to change the way we are governed, devalues our heritage and undermines our values. A flag is just a symbol.

I would vote today to retain the existing flag, but if the Eureka flag had been adopted years ago I’d happily wave it.

I can’t say the same about Ausflag’s 1997 competition winner (below).

And I wouldn’t embrace the Aboriginal flag.

That’s part of the dilemma for proponents of change. More people support the existing flag than they do the constitutional monarchy.

A new poll shows 44 percent of Australians are in favour of becoming a republic, with 27 percent against.

But only 27 percent of people want to remove the Union Jack from the flag, according to the Galaxy poll, conducted for News Limited.

It found 45 percent want the flag to remain the same.

A plebiscite is required to change the flag. Assuming three or four designs are put up against the current flag, it will be nearly impossible for one of them to win the vote, even if a preferential system is adopted.

People will be divided between the alternatives and likely vote to retain the status quo, rather than endorse a change they don’t want.

Supporters of the current flag often trot out the military argument; that Australians fought and died under the flag.

That’s a furphy.

The Union Flag was still commonly used in Australia during the First World War. It’s unlikely that Diggers in subsequent conflicts really considered the flag, or the King for that matter.

This site cleverly notes: “In 1967 if you had asked an Australian digger in Vietnam what the Australian flag should be he probably would have said it should depict a can of VB with two Melbourne Cup winners rampant.”

Canada changed its flag in 1965 and the sky didn’t cave in. Interestingly, there is less debate in Canada than Australia regarding a republic.

As for what the world thinks, foreigners must marvel that we quibble over such things. For such a peaceful and prosperous nation it’s a strange debate to have.

I never found people overseas to be confused about our flag. It’s probably different for New Zealanders.

To conclude, while I’m open minded about changing the Australian flag, I’m not a champion of the cause and can’t see it happening.

The Ausflag competition winner.

The Australian Flag.

Unlike the KFC cricket racism slur, the publicity is all positive.

The risque Air New Zealand campaign, shows a so-called cougar “starving itself on sparse vegetation during the day then hunting large slabs of meat at night” by stalking a young man at a bar.

It’s a funny send-up of David Attenborough’s nature programs.

New Zealand’s Rape Prevention Education says it is appalling, disgusting and degrading.

Critics should take a cold shower and enjoy the clip.

Discussion should rather centre on the genuine social issue the advertisement identifies — the growing number of mature single women.

The death toll from reckless driving continues to rise without any sign of abatement.

In Victoria, young drivers were continuing to risk their lives on the roads just days after a P-plate driver with a blood alcohol reading of 0.19 killed himself and four other young people in Mill Park.

On Saturday, an unlicensed teenager, believed to have been speeding, smashed into a pole.

The 15-year-old girl is believed to have been driving at speeds of up to 160kmh.

Hoons are not only a danger to themselves, of course. They also threaten the safety of other drivers.

Returning to Mount Gambier on the weekend from a visit to Victoria, my wife found herself in the right lane on the Western Ring Road, gradually overtaking a truck.

Before she could get past the semi, two hoons zipped in and passed from the left lane at speeds around 150kmh.

If we’d been travelling a little faster there could have been a tragic outcome.

The Victorian Government is behind South Australia when it comes to legislating for the sale and destruction of hoons’ vehicles.

Deterrence through sentencing is the best solution to the problem.

Send hoons to jail and take away their cars.

According to a media release I saw this morning, relationships “expert” Anne Hollonds has urged women, especially younger ones, to plan ahead, take action to address relationship problems and build a strong partnership if they want to have children.

The survey revelations sound like common sense to me. It’s no surprise really that young women are focused on their careers and worry about the financial cost of having children.

Here is the rest of the media release:

A national Contraception, Relationships and Sexuality survey of 1000 women and men, commissioned by pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough with assistance from Relationships Australia (NSW), was completed end July 2009.

The survey provides valuable insights into what people do when it comes to contraception, children, relationships and fertility, with a focus on women.

“This survey highlights the trade offs – and sacrifices – women make to fit having children in their lives,” said Anne Hollonds, CEO of Relationships Australia (NSW).

While more than three quarters (76%) of all women surveyed without children plan to have kids, just 16% are thinking about having kids now and two thirds (63%) plan to have kids sometime in the future.

Almost two thirds (62%) of Gen Y women, those aged 18 – 29, say they will delay having kids now as they are concerned about the cost.

Other key factors delaying this age group from having kids now are work, loss of freedom and true love: almost half (49%) say their career is more important; one third are concerned about losing their freedom; while nearly one third (29%) say they haven’t found their “right partner”.

Their Gen X counterparts, those aged 30 to 39, share similar concerns. More than half (54%) say they haven’t found their “right partner”, half are concerned about the cost of kids, and almost one quarter (24%) are concerned about loss of freedom – factors making them delay having kids now. Only 17% of this age group says their career is more important than having kids now.

“For women, the key factors affecting their decision to have children are financial stability, career, loss of freedom and finding the right partner. This survey highlights how tough this decision can be, especially at this time when many young couples are worried about money and job security,” said Ms Hollonds.

“We have a lot more choices today and for many young women having babies is understandably not the key priority. But if women are thinking they may want to have kids in future, it’s important to plan ahead.

“If you’re not sure about the quality of your relationship, don’t leave it to chance. Get some coaching now on how you can work together and make your partnership strong. Gambling on your relationship may lead to regret over years being wasted on a relationship going nowhere,” she said.

Ms Hollonds added that women also need to be aware that fertility declines from around their mid-thirties and this factor should be considered as and when they plan ahead.

“It’s interesting to note in the survey data that despite a decline in the numbers of women expressing a desire for having children as they get older, nearly three quarters (71%) of those aged 30 – 39 are still saying they want kids in future,” Ms Hollonds said.

Almost a quarter (24%) of all women surveyed who do not have children, say they are not planning on having children.

For more information visit www.relationships.com.au.

For more information on how to match contraception to suit your lifestyle choices, women can visit their GP and www.whatcontraceptiveareyou.com.au.

This relates to a lengthy item on my personal blog, where comments will close at some point. Comments are not open here to avoid duplication.

• Comment in the forum.

He issued this extraordinary media release after speaking at the Trade 2020 conference in Melbourne today.

The media release is printed below in full in case someone realises how crazy it is and removes it from the government site.

In the next two weeks, the Federal Government will announce a public tender calling for creative agencies to submit their proposals for Building Brand Australia.

I wouldn’t mind a slice of the $20 million.

Simon says the successful tenderer will be given the freedom and flexibility needed to develop and deliver a new brand for the nation.

That’s fair dinkum.

He goes on: “I have an open mind and do not want to pre-empt the outcome of the creative process. We want our best creative minds on the job and we want them to engage the Australian people in this exciting project.”

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry about this one.

Quite seriously, Australia is already a “brand” in the global sense.

According to one media report today, the aim of Simon’s campaign is to rival the success of brands like “100% Pure New Zealand” and “Malaysia Truly Asia”.

Nobody knows where Malaysia is and most Americans probably think New Zealand is somewhere in Vermont.

An Australian flag, a map of Australia, a kangaroo and the word AUSTRALIA should do the trick. Want a catchphrase? How about: The land down under.

Can I have the $20 million now please?

Of course the jokers will have a field day. I don’t propose to satirise our national brand, but feel free to lampoon away in the comments.

MEDIA RELEASE
A boost for Australia’s global image

Trade Minister Simon Crean today announced the Australian Government will spend $20 million over the next four years to deliver a new international brand for Australia.

Building Brand Australia will aim to capture the energy and vibrancy of contemporary Australia and present it to the world.

“The new Brand project is about selling Australia to the world,” Mr Crean said.

“We need a cohesive brand that captures the essence of Australia and underscores the quality of all that we have to offer in sectors such as trade, investment and education.

“We must find a better way to define our identity, and brand it.

“Building Brand Australia will deliver a boost for Australia’s global image.

“We are much more than a nation of great people and great places. We have won 10 Nobel Prizes and we are a nation bursting with creativity and ingenuity.

“The Australian way is to underplay our achievements but this kind of modesty only surrenders the edge to our competitors.

“It is time for Australia to more actively promote itself.”

In the next two weeks, the Australian Government will announce a public tender calling for creative agencies to submit their proposals for Building Brand Australia.

The new brand is expected to be launched in February, 2010, with an international launch in May, 2010, at Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

Mr Crean said the successful tenderer would be given the freedom and flexibility needed to develop and deliver a new brand for the nation.

“I have an open mind and do not want to pre-empt the outcome of the creative process. We want our best creative minds on the job and we want them to engage the Australian people in this exciting project,” Mr Crean said.

Austrade will work closely with the private sector and other arms of Government – including the states and territories – in overseeing the development of Building Brand Australia.

According to a report in The Age, interlopers labelled by former president Margaret Tighe as “religious zealots” are attempting to takeover the organisation.

Religious zealots? They must be fruitcakes for Tighe to make that statement.

The DLP parliamentarian Peter Kavanagh has been caught up in the struggle, with suggestions of membership stacking.

It seems the plotters want both organisations to be exclusively Catholic. They are supposedly Latin Mass adherents.

Journalist Michael Bachelard was wrong to say the DLP is on the far right of Australian religion and politics.

The party has always been open to Protestants and non-believers, as far as I know, and has a platform on social justice issues that most Labor voters would support.

Right to Life has traditionally been dedicated to opposing abortion, and has served as a moral conscience on the issue when extremists on the other side seek to influence politicians.

According to the newspaper report, the plotters want Right to Life to also campaign against contraception.

That’s a bizarre manoeuvre and would totally destroy the organisation’s credibility.

• Comment here or discuss this issue in the forum.

The United Nations has twice criticised Australia for failing to prohibit corporal punishment in the home, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In Victoria there is a common-law defence where the force used is ”moderate and reasonable”; relative ”to the age, physique and mentality of the child”; and ”carried out with a reasonable means or instrument”.

That’s appropriate and common sense should continue to prevail.

Deliberate infliction of pain, or excessive aggression in anger, should be prosecuted under law.

But parents should have the right to reinforce a behavioral message with physical contact and shouldn’t be made to feel like criminals for a tactical tap on the bum.

• Comment here or discuss this issue in the forum.