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Page 1 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
February 2016
Fun night celebrating Australia Day at Heuriger Wolff
It was a snowy night, but that stopped only some
from travelling to Heuriger Wolff in Neustift am
Walde in the 19th district. Once inside it was all go for
a fun night to celebrate Australia Day.
There were the usual speeches, the singing of the
national anthem by Sonia and Ben Connor, regular
songs from Sonia’s Australian songbook, a rolling
slide show on a screen, the drawing of many raffle
prizes and the pleasures of good company, including
some new faces.
Maree Fay, of the Australian Embassy, represented
Ambassador David Stuart who was committed to
other engagements. Gabriele Weichart and Edith Grafl
spoke for the Austrian Australian Society (AAS) and
Ralph Haller-Trost for OzCon.
Our thanks to Ralph and Justin Overton for putting
it all together for OzCon and Wolfgang Dobias and
Gabriele Weichart for the AAS.
A new feature for the evening was a rolling slide
show arranged by Justin who selected from thousands
of photos submitted by many people in the weeks
prior to the event. They ranged from Australian scenes
to fun shots of people and places.
There were many prizes for the raffle which made
it easier to win something because of the smaller
Page 2 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
number of people. In all €270 was raised which, while
less than in previous years, will assist refugees
through the Vienna charity, Caritas. There were many
contributions ranging from books to alcohol from the
Australian Embassy and a one-year subscription to the
new English-language magazine, Metropole.
Brian Hatfield and Waltraud Strommer,
representing Metropole, brought along enough copies
of the latest issue for everyone to keep a copy.
The four main prizes were hampers: one of
Australian-style goodies from Bobby’s and three from
Julius Meinl. They were won by Richard Hill
(OzCon), Hans Dickinger (AAS), Ingrid Wippel
(AAS) and Heidi Rossiter (OzCon).
There were even huge bread rolls from Strӧck, one
of which was consumed on the spot. The others were
the last prize in the raffle which was won by our
Ralph. We didn’t ask him how he carried them home
(he and family walked to the heuriger and back home
because their bus had stopped running due to the
heavy snow).
No raffle is successful
without a helper and
Ralph’s daughter Romy,
7, was just the person for
the job.
Meanwhile outside......
There are photos of raffle winners on page 5
Page 3 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
Change to OzCon Board and plans for 2016
From the President
The last week of January was filled with a lot of
organisational activities for our members. The new
year always kicks off with the Australia Day event
which we coordinate with the Austrian-Australian
Society. It was a good turnout despite the weather
with bucketing snow.
Talking about the weather - the days that have
followed have been more spring-like and I have seen
kids walking round in t-shirts. It doesn't quite feel like
winter. The coldest month in Austria is usually
January. In the past the winter snow cover sometimes
lasts from late December through March.
Temperatures begin to rise again in February and in
March usually rise to 12 degrees Celsius. What will
that weather prediction mean for the summer months?
Back to things that we can control: The OzCon
Board has been working on the structure of the
planned activities for the upcoming year. The board
meeting was held on 28 January and we finalised
some open matters. The temporary slots of president
and vice president have been locked into permanent
positions. I will continue in the role of president and
Sonia Connor has stepped up to filling the slot of vice
president. Samantha Day held the position for 16
months and I want to thank her for her contribution to
OzCon and for being pivotal in supporting us with
fresh ideas.
We also covered the events agenda for 2016
and it is filled yet once again with a variety of
activities that cater for the various members’ interests.
Keep a look out for events that will be announced as
arrangements are finalised. They will hopefully
include day trips to the Wachau and Steiermark. If
you have any ideas for day trips or evening activities,
please approach any of your OzCon board members.
With this I wish you a wonderful February and enjoy
the newsletter!
We also decided to add a new category of
membership – a student membership for full time
students to cost €10. We are aware of some cash-
strapped music students in town who may wish to join
us. – Gabrielle Costigan
Ben stars from heuriger to Volksoper
Our well-known and very talented Ben Connor
puts on a performance whenever he gets in front of a
crowd – from a smaller but special crowd at our
annual Australia Day bash accompanied by wife
Sonia to the role of Calef in the Volksoper's musical
premiere (in English)
of Kismet almost
immediately after.
The music for Kismet
was adapted by
Robert Wright and
George Forrest in the
1950s from the
original music of
Alexander Borodin.
The most well known
piece in this score
would have to be
"Stranger in Paradise"
where the two lovers
meet for the first time.
Ben has done a
wonderful job of
portraying the dashing
young Calef and has
received gushing
praise from the
Viennese critics.
A return to the Greek Orpheus for first event of 2016
Lunch Out last month returned to the Greek
restaurant Orpheus in the 1st district. It was a full table
of 10 with regulars, one past regular and one
newcomer.
The newcomer was Dr Sue Allen, a retired
teacher, who joined OzCon last year but spent most of
her time in Australia. She will return to Australia this
month but will be back in Vienna in June when we
hope to see more of her.
Diana Boal was a new face to most at the table.
But Diana and husband Trevor have been members of
OzCon for many years and were regular attendees
until work (Diana runs a real estate business) and
family made it difficult. Diana was secretary of
OzCon from 2004 to 2006 when Brett Bayly took
over the job.
Page 4 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
David Galbraith was celebrating his pending
retirement from the Department of Prime Minister and
Cabinet. David, whose career spanned the Australian
Army and the public service, is the accompanying
spouse of Maree Fay who is posted to the embassy in
Vienna for the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade.
Once again people are on the move. Peter and
Fran Scott are off to Scotland and Jo and Justin
Overton are visiting England this month. Peter Wilson
went to Ireland for a brief visit in January.
A relaxing few days in the wintery mountains
The snow might have been slow in coming,
but by the middle of last month the mountains were
back to their wintery beauty. Among those who were
lucky enough to enjoy it were Emily Langston and
Manuel Eising who were in Bad Gastein on a three-
day trip organised by the IAEA Ski Club. Bad Gastein
is a quaint historic town in Salzburg province, located
in Hohe Tauern National Park.
Emily wrote: We travelled by bus from
Vienna on a Thursday evening and came back Sunday
night. Our group was around 40 people or so, and we
stayed at the Hotel Sanotel, which is a quaint
traditional style hotel. Our 'room' turned out to be an
apartment, with fantastic views of the nearby Bad
Gastein waterfall and the town's array of Belle Époque
hotels perched on the slopes of the valley - I couldn't
resist taking several photos of the view!
I was in the beginner group while Manuel was
skiing off-piste and
on black slopes.
There were 1/2 day
lessons arranged for
all levels. The pics of
the slopes and
mountains were from
my time on day one
on the kinder slopes
where, incidentally, I
observed a distinct
absence of kids - they
were all whizzing
down the nearby blue
piste!
Off the slopes there are several spa and
wellness facilities. While Manuel was dashing
through the snow, I spent Sunday afternoon relaxing
in an outdoor rooftop thermal pool with lovely views
of the slopes. A nice way to relax before heading back
to Vienna!
Final dues reminder...... A gentle but final reminder that memberships for 2016
must be renewed by the end of this month. Those who
do not renew will be removed from our membership
and email lists and will receive no further
communications. Our bank details are on the back
page of each newsletter. If you do not intend to renew
please inform Brett Bayly or Rob Reed.
....and looking for new members OzCon is looking for new members and you can help.
If you meet someone whom you think might be
interested in joining us give them our website address
and suggest they check us out. And tell them that if
they are interested, to contact Brett Bayly who will
send them a membership application.
Borrowed from Facebook
Page 5 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
Some of the raffle prize winners
Page 6 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
I once knew a man called Wolf Blass
It has nothing to do with OzCon but things
began a little quietly in January so I will tell you a
little story. It’s about wine, or more specifically wine
makers.
An ex-OzCon member now living in Teheran
was facebooking about the Coonawarra wine estate
just north of the town Penola in the south-east of
South Australia. It brought back memories and so I
told him that as a kid I lived in Penola where my dad
was manager of the local NAB branch. I used to ride
my bike out to the nearest vineyards with a few mates
and pinch as many grapes that our stomachs could
bare. The Redman family who first set up Coonawarra
way back around 1908 wanted to expand, and they
came to my dad for the finance. He agreed. This must
have been in the late 1950s. Anyway, at Christmas
every year after that a crate of Redman's best reds
would arrive wherever we were and being a bank
manager we moved a lot. My dad died suddenly in
1972 and I wrote his obituary for the Adelaide
Advertiser. The wine stopped coming. Damn!
Much later I had
dealings with one of
Australia’s finest
winemakers, Wolf
Blass.
As my term of 10
years as a political
correspondent in
Canberra came to an
end, the
Advertiser’s editor
called me back to
Adelaide and made
me Deputy Chief of
Staff. One Friday
evening when I was
filling the chair and
giving out assignments to the journos, the phone rang.
It was Wolf Blass calling from the Barossa Valley. He
wanted me to send a reporter and a photographer to a
grape pressing on Sunday. There was always a good
photo of lovely young ladies treading the grapes in a
big barrel for Monday’s paper, he said. He seemed
surprised that I didn’t jump at the offer. Sundays were
always short on reporters, but I did agree to send a
photographer. And yes, the photo filled a slot on page
three on a quiet Monday.
A few days later the security guard downstairs
called me and told me there was a package there for
me. Send it up, I said. No, it was a bit heavy and I
should come down. So down I went and there was a
case of Wolf Blass’s best reds. What do I do with
this? I naively asked. The guy looked at me as if to
say you really are new at this, aren’t you? Instead he
said, you put it in the boot of your car. So I took his
expert advice. There were more dealings with the
winemaker for a period before I returned to Canberra
and joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade.
Fast forward a few years. It was Australia’s
200th birthday and I was Public Affairs Officer at the
Australian Embassy in Washington DC. President
George Bush senior had approved the spending of US
taxpayers’ dollars to celebrate Australia’s Bicentenary
(the same President who, when he later visited
Canberra, gave me a ride on Air Force One, but that’s
another story).
One of the functions was a grand outdoor
dinner in front of the State Opera House in Houston,
Texas. It was on a summer’s evening. A black tie
event and Houston’s finest were invited. Deputy
Prime Minister Lionel Bowen flew to Houston to
represent the Australian Government. I was assigned
to look after media arrangements.
I was seated at a table with people I did not
know. They were a sour mob of Houston’s elites there
for a free dinner, probably not even knowing where
Australia was. Conversation was tough. I noticed that
there were bottles of Wolf Blass on the table. ‘I know
the winemaker Wolf Blass,’ I said to keep the
conversation going. I could see the looks on the faces,
oh sure you do. Shortly after there was a tap on the
shoulder and I looked around to see Wolf standing
there. ‘Hi Brett’, he said. Looking back to the guests I
said, ‘Meet Mr Wolf Blass, one of Australia’s finest
winemakers.’ Ha, ha. Thanks Wolf. - Brett
An Oman tour with a call on OzCon migrants
We have two reports from Oman this month. First in
was a report from George and Meredith Park who
visited Oman and caught up with Peter and Christa
King. And then came an informative update from
Peter on their new lives in the desert kingdom.
By George and Meredith Park
On our way back to Sydney for Christmas in
December, we decided to break the trip in Oman.
Muscat is less than an hour’s flight from Dubai, so if
you are flying one of the Emirate airlines, it is an easy
trip to add on.
We organized a four-day tour with car and
driver/guide which made it possible to see the main
sights in Muscat and also spend a night in the
mountains and another in the sandy desert about three
to four hour drive from Muscat.
We were also most fortunate to be able to meet
up to with Peter and Christa King which got our visit
off to an excellent start. As some members will recall,
Page 7 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
Peter and Christa left Vienna at the end of August last
year in time for Christa to take up her position
teaching English Literature at the Sultan Qaboos
University.
Peter, Christa, George and Meredith
Starting a new life in Oman with temperatures
over 40 degrees makes resettling in Oman a bit
difficult, but both are now well settled and very much
enjoying life in Muscat. Thanks to Peter and Christa
we saw parts of Muscat that are off the standard
tourist track as well as enjoying excellent evening
meals at two of Peter and Christa’s favourite Indian
restaurants.
Since taking control of the country from his
father in 1970, Sultan Qaboos has made good use of
the country’s oil resources to finance a wide ranging
development effort. Muscat has a much more relaxed
feel to it compared to Dubai’s rather frantic and over-
the-top lifestyle. Omanis follow the Ibadi sect of
Sunni Islam which is considered to be more tolerant
of other ethnic and religious sects.
Our tour of Muscat included a walk around the
Old Town which is still guarded by the 16th century
Portuguese forts of Mirani and Jalali. We had a most
interesting visit to the fish market and time to wander
through the Muttrah market or souq. Other highlights
included a visit to the Grand Mosque. This
magnificent marble building is truly an architectural
jewel with space for over 6000 worshipers in the main
mosque and many more outside. Another impressive
building is the Royal Opera House (opened in 2011)
which provides a luxurious setting for concerts and
opera. The day of our visit coincided with an open
house which gave us an opportunity to look at Omani
handicrafts and listen to traditional Arabic music
while also visiting part of the building. To learn more
about Oman’s history our itinerary also took us to the
Bait Al Zubair Museum. In the courtyard we were
welcomed by life-sized models of wild mountain
goats (ibex).
After two nights in Muscat we left the city,
driving first to the town of Nizwa (about 2 hours)
where we visited the renovated old market and the
Round Tower Fort. From there we drove into the
foothills of the rugged Jabal Akhdar mountain range.
This high rocky and mainly arid terrain with sharp
peaks and crags is starkly beautiful. Shortly before
sunset, we arrived at a hill top luxury camp for the
night. From there we could see Jebel Shams (Sun
Mountain) which at just over 3000m is the highest
mountain in Oman. Our lodging was at 1500m which
meant that by early morning the next day it was quite
chilly at well under 10 degrees.
The next day the temperature quickly warmed
up as we stopped first to visit Jabreen - a restored
medieval fortress - and then travelled on to Wadi Bani
Khalid, a rocky valley with a flowing stream all year
round and large pools of deep blue water. We ended
the day with our driver partially deflating the tires and
taking us on a moderately wild drive through the
Wahiba Sands, a very large area of shifting red sand
(over 12,000sq km), with dunes as high as 100 meters.
For our last night in Oman we enjoyed a stay in
a luxury tent camp with excellent cuisine. The next
day we left the dunes and drove first to the coastal city
of Sur where we visited a Dhow factory (one of two
still operating). From there we drove along the coast
back to Muscat to catch our return flight to Dubai and
then our flight to Sydney.
This is our new life in Oman
By Peter King
It’s a beautiful sunny Mediterranean Day today as I
look out on to the stunning Bougainvillea in our
garden and humming bird in stationary orbit by the
big banana tree. Temperatures day and night are
perfect, although I don’t know what they are in
centigrade or real money, with a spicy nip at night.
Just over four and a half months in, both
Christa and I now have our feet well and truly under
the table, culturally, socially and domestically and, of
course, for Christa also professionally. It has been
particularly challenging for her on two counts, both as
a newcomer and a woman, but she is brave and has
Page 8 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
confronted and slain all the dragons she has met,
including a mountainous workload.
The university is interesting in that in some
ways it’s what you would expect, a bit backward and
disorganised, but at the same time driven from the top
by powerful visions of excellence and a respected
place in international academia. Ditto the students.
Although there are some ‘also rans’, the majority of
the students are far, far brighter than their brothers and
sisters in Vienna and the UK.
I attach a photo of “my girls”, Ghadeer, Amna and
Rawan, three students for whom I was the subject of
an English - language project over several weeks. The
photo was taken at the “Peter King, This Is Your Life”
presentation at the end of the project with yours truly
holding his very own certificate of
accomplishment. You will observe, of course, that I
was known to them as Peter James Knellwolf. Some
things are just too hard to explain. The girls are
wonderful young people, as are nearly all the Omani
students; kind, fun, respectful, intelligent and gentle.
They would be a wonderful addition to any family and
are human beings of whom one can be truly proud.
Settling in during those 40º-45ºC
temperatures was a bit of a nightmare and, as I have
mentioned before, we were constantly drained of
energy at day’s end. It was a very long three months.
The weather didn’t start cooling down until
December, about 4-6 weeks later than usual, so that
obviously didn’t help matters. Next year at the same
time it will still be challenging but now that our
domestic and legal infrastructure is in place, there
won’t be any need to chase about like mad dogs and
Englishmen (or Welsh or Swiss or Australians) under
that broiling sun, organising banks, driving licences,
washing machines, internet, residents’ cards, bedding,
kitchen equipment and so much more. But basically
all done now, as is our personal transport. We have
finally found a 4WD for our wadi bashing trips. I
didn’t want one of those urban “toys” but a bona fide
vehicle designed for the outdoor life and one with a
proven pedigree. At the same time, I was reluctant to
outlay €40k on a Nissan Patrol (secondhand!),
especially before we knew that we liked Oman and
vica versa. In the end, after much to-ing and fro-ing
with Indians and the like, we found Vanastarabia,
whom we bought from a lovely Omani.
The photo is of a brew up under an acacia tree
on our recent trip to Musandam in the very north of
Oman on the Straight of Hormuz. Our Australian
Hiace campervan (now in that great breaker’s yard in
the sky) was called Vanastasia, so what more
appropriate designation in her honour than
Vanastarabia (Christa’s invention)? She’s basically a
Mitsubishi 4WD ute with a massive chassis frame and
a car body superimposed, paying lip service to
modern day creature comforts.
Wonderful night sky as you might imagine,
especially at full moon, but there is now NOWHERE
in the Sultanate without light pollution. That’s
progress. But when one sees the deserted, flea ridden,
decrepit, dirty old mud villages with their endemic
disease and illness lying desolate next to the new
healthy, clean and roomy, colourful concrete housing
estates, it would be a hard man (or a hypocrite) who
had anything to say against light pollution. So that in a
nutshell is our news.
Only 2% of Australia’s population lives in theyellow area.
Page 9 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
Austrian Landmark Last of six special Austrian landmarks
Swarovski Crystal Worlds Park, Wattens, Tyrol
Image: Swarovski Kristallwelten
The successful Austrian crystal manufacturer
Swarovski has become a byword for affordable
luxury. And visiting the Swarovski Kristallwelten,
part theme park part museum, is like stepping inside
an eccentric and very bling fairy tale. Its entrance is
known as the Giant, a huge grass mound designed by
multimedia artist André Heller that has the face of a
man on its front, with a waterfall pouring out of his
mouth. A series of “chambers of wonder” designed by
artists include a mechanical theatre in which dress
shirts swoop by on suspended tracks and trousers are
suspended from the ceiling in a disembodied circus
and a room containing a 12m tall crystal Christmas
tree created by Tord Boontje and Alexander
McQueen. After Schönbrunn palace in Vienna,
Kristallwelten is Austria’s second most popular tourist
destination.
Events
Lunch Out in February
A table has been booked in the name of OzCon for 12:30 on Wednesday 17 Feb 2016 at Restaurant Fuerich www.fuerich.at Fuerichgasse 6, 1010 Vienna Tel: (1) 513 08 80 RSVP Brett by Monday 15 Feb.
Bar night We have a new venue for bar night in February. It is a
small wine bar in the 4th district called Eulennest. The
address is Operngasse 30, www.eulennest.at.
Date: Friday 19 February from 18:00.
One of the partners who runs the place is an Aussie.
Her name is Imogen and she had not heard about
OzCon so come along and make an impression and
we just might convince her to join us. Her partner is
an Austrian named Stefan.
This month’s OzCon flashback
It wasn’t exactly an OzCon function, but there
were OzConners present who witnessed Aussie Casey
Stoner win the MotoGP at Brno in the Czech
Republic, August 2011. The Aussie flag was a rare
sight on the Hill.
Travel tip Qatar Airways will start a new service Doha to
Sydney on 2 March and one into Adelaide on 2 May.
There are some good ‘promotional’ fares to be had if
you plan to travel in coming months. But you need to
check them out on the Qatar website because they are
on selected days and vary in price from day to day:
www.qatarairways.com
What really needs to happen in Austria in 2016
This article appeared in the online newsletter The
Local on 11 January. I was going to extract a few
parts for the newsletter that I personally wish for, but
then thought perhaps our members who live and work
here in Vienna might like to see the whole article. So
Page 10 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
it is reproduced here in full. Perhaps we can start a
debate and run comments in the next issue -Brett
Austria is a great country to live in and foreigners
who have made it their home should be grateful for everything it has to offer - but if we’re being honest there are a number of ways in which it could still be improved. Austria will no doubt bring in plenty of new laws and amendments in 2016 as it does every year, but how many will really improve our lives? Here are the things the government could do that would please us at TheLocal.
Make friendliness an obligatory requirement in the service industry
Although the service sector is a key part of Austria’s economy, many expats and tourists complain that hospitality and friendliness in some hotels and shops, restaurants and bars isn’t a given - particularly in Vienna and other larger cities. Isn’t it time that those working in the service industry learn something from customer service in the US and UK? A smile and friendly word doesn't hurt and might mean your customers return. We know that grumpy waiters are seen as an integral part of Austrian Kaffeehaus culture, but should the customer really have to win over the waiter? Last year Austria failed to make the top ten in a survey of expat destinations - because almost a third of newcomers say Austrians are unfriendly to foreigners. Make landlords responsible for installing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
In the UK, most private landlords are required by law to install smoke alarms and, where appropriate, carbon monoxide alarms in rental properties. In Austria that’s not the case and tenants even have to pay for their own yearly gas boiler check. New buildings in Austria now have to have smoke detectors installed - but we think it could help save lives if the government made landlords in older buildings responsible for installing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Just recently a teenager in Wiener Neustadt almost died after being exposed to CO from a faulty gas boiler. Sell over the counter painkillers in supermarkets
Austrian authorities should have more sympathy for those with hangovers or head colds who can’t find a chemist open on a Sunday. Supermarkets in Austria are not allowed to sell the likes of ibuprofen or paracetamol. Plus, pharmacies tend to charge more for over the counter drugs than shops in the UK and US do, and you can’t buy generic painkillers for a fraction of the price of the bigger brands, which are available in UK supermarkets. Scrap gender from the German language
It’s 2016, so why do we still have gender in language? The words der and die mean “the” in a masculine and feminine form. Then there is “das”, which is neutral gender. The seemingly arbitrary allocation of masculine, feminine and neutral gender articles in German can drive non-native speakers to despair. Wouldn’t it be simpler if everything was neutral gender? It also gets confusing and becomes fraught with political correctness when referring to or addressing a group of people of both gender - for example teachers. Do we go with the politically correct “LehrerInnen”, or the grammatically correct “Lehrerinnen und Lehrer” (female teachers and male teachers)? We can’t wait until the German language simplifies its gender articles, just as English has managed to do since the Middle Ages. But we fear it may take centuries. Owners should face victims of dog poo crimes
These signs or similar ones are common in public places. Photo: APA One way to tackle crime is to force criminals to meet up with their victims to learn of the trauma they have caused in the hope that they will feel remorse and mend their errant ways. Steep fines to end the problem of dog mess fouling Austria’s pavements and parks have still not had the desired effect, so maybe it’s time for a rethink. There’s no reason why rogue dog owners shouldn’t be forced to visit the homes of their victims to hear of the suffering incurred by having to clean dog poo out of the carpet or scrape it out from the soles of their shoes. Stub out smoking in public places
A long awaited general smoking ban for cafes and restaurants will not come into force until May 2018, meaning Austria is lagging behind the rest of Europe. Unsurprisingly, Austria has some of the worst smoking statistics in Europe and has been criticised by international organisations for its lack of anti-smoking policies. We think two years is too long to wait, and urge cafe and restaurant owners to take advantage of tax incentives and stub out smoking before the 2018 deadline - you’ll be sure of our custom. Embrace the cashless society
Please can Austria learn to love credit and debit cards? It is 2016. Many smaller shops and independent businesses don’t take cards, and the few that do often have a minimum payment of around €10. The Western world seems to be heading towards a world without a physical currency, and it would make things much easier if Austria would get on board. How many times have you had to walk 15 or 20 minutes in the cold to withdraw cash to pay for a restaurant meal or a cup of coffee and slice of cake? Extend shop opening hours
Very few shops are open in Austria on Sundays - except for a few supermarkets at major transport hubs. And even in the capital, Vienna, almost all supermarkets close by 6pm on Saturdays. This can make life difficult for the newly arrived expat who hasn't twigged on to the fact that you really need to do all your weekend grocery shopping on Saturday morning - and stock up if Monday happens to be a public holiday. Watch for the looks of disbelief on visiting friends' faces when you tell them that even main shops in tourist areas are closed on Sundays. We do like the idea that Sunday is a day to spend with friends and family and avoid consumerism, but please, could the supermarkets at least stay open later?
Aussie News Briefs 27 Jan. – AUSTRALIA’S failure to meet international
standards for protecting asylum seekers had had a
devastating human toll and damaged the country’s
Page 11 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
international reputation, according to the Human Rights
Watch 2016 World Report. The report also found
governments across south-east Asia and the Pacific have
stifled free speech, imprisoned dissenters and suppressed
social media over the past year, as human rights abuses
remain a major issues in the region Even where some
governments, such as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea,
had pledged to address abuses, they had largely failed to act
on the rhetoric, the report found. (Guardian)
27 Jan. - AUSTRALIAN of the Year finalist and
transgender military officer Catherine McGregor has
swiftly apologised after branding the appointment of her
former boss David Morrison to the position as a "weak and
conventional choice". After the former chief of army was
named Australian of the Year, Group Captain McGregor
told the prominent gay and lesbian magazine the Star
Observer that the National Australia Day Council board did
"not have the courage to go with an LGBTI person".
(Canberra Times)
22 Jan. - THE federal government is poised to wave
through the high-profile sale of Australia's largest private
landholding, the S. Kidman & Co farm portfolio, after
blocking the deal in November on national security
grounds. Chinese conglomerate Shanghai Pengxin Group is
understood to have edged out other rival bidders including
firms from China and Hong Kong, as well as a Canadian
teachers' pension fund. The sale, believed to be worth
around $300 million, could be announced as early as next
week, sources close to the deal said. Kidman's assets
comprise a string of 10 cattle stations straddling three
states, altogether occupying 2.5 per cent of Australian
agricultural land. Even excluding Anna Creek, the land
changing hands is around the size of the Czech
Republic, or more than double that of Belgium. The
sheer geographic scale of the asset, and sensitivity toward
Chinese investment, has seen the deal emerge as a major
foreign investment test for the Turnbull government.
(Business Times)
20 Jan. - AUSTRALIAN honeys are the most
contaminated in the world with natural poisons linked to
chronic disease including cancer, according to international
researchers. Pregnant and breastfeeding women in
particular should be wary, experts say, with unborn and
breastfed infants at higher risk of organ damage from such
toxins. The news affects varieties of honey sold by many
leading brands and widely available on supermarket
shelves. (Sydney Morning Herald)
18 Jan. - A TOWNSVILLE great-grandmother is
recovering from deep gashes after being attacked by a
rogue kangaroo. Beverley Basnett, 77, was taking a dog for
a walk in Macarthur Park at Annandale, at the back of her
Boronia Drive home, when the attack happened last Friday.
“I felt as though I was hit with a Mack truck,” she said. “I
didn’t hear it coming.” Mrs Basnett said she felt pressure
from the roo’s paws on her shoulders and then its leg
scraped past her side to rip a deep gash into her right arm –
down to the bone. (Cairns Post)
16 Jan. - THE results are in: Australian households have
more debt compared to the size of the country’s
economy than any other in the world. Research by the
Federal Reserve has shown the consolidated household debt
to GDP ratio increased the most for Australia between 1960
and 2010 out of a select group of OECD nations.
Australia’s household sector has accumulated massive
unconsolidated debt compared with other countries. As of
the third quarter of 2015, it now has the world’s most
indebted household sector relative to GDP, according to LF
Economics’ analysis of national statistics. (comment in
Guardian)
14 Jan. - FORMER defence minister Kevin Andrews has
repeated calls for Australian combat troops to join the fight
against Islamic State, the day after the government
confirmed it had formally declined the United
States request for an increased military contribution.
This is the second time Mr Andrews - dumped from the
ministry by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull - has spoken
out in favour of troops on the ground, disagreeing with the
policy of his government. (Canberra Times)
11 Jan. - AUSTRALIA stands to gain almost nothing
from the mega trade deal sealed with 11 other nations
including United States, Japan, and Singapore, the first
comprehensive economic analysis finds. Prepared by staff
from the World Bank, the study says the so-called Trans-
Pacific Partnership would boost Australia's economy by just
0.7% by the year 2030. The annual boost to growth would
be less than one half of one 10th of 1%. (Age)
11 Jan. - A VIOLENT new bikie gang has recently
muscled itself into Sydney from overseas, posing a
dangerous new rivalry to established gang chapters here.
The feared Satudarah emerged in Australia last year and has
established chapters in NSW, South Australia and
Queensland, mostly through social media. The gang, which
has a reputation for extreme violence, is not one of the 10
gangs whose members are now subject to strict association
restrictions under new anti-bikie laws. (Daily Telegraph)
8 Jan. - MORE than one third of Australian pensioners
are living below the poverty line, ranking the country
among the worst for ensuring financial security for the
elderly. The findings have been revealed as part of an
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development) report which compared pensions across 34
countries. (ABC News)
6 Jan. CLAIMS by a high-ranking NSW police officer that
people over 70 should not drive have been labelled
“incomprehensible” by seniors groups. NSW police’s head
of traffic, John Hartley, wants older drivers to stay off the
road after an increase in the number of seniors killed in
traffic accidents, News Corp has reported. Hartley said
older motorists often found it increasingly difficult to keep
their car centred in a lane and could go through red lights or
stop signs and back into and over objects. (Guardian)
Austrian News 29 Jan. - BY 2030 the share of wind and solar power in the
total power output in Austria will more than quadruple from
7 percent to 34 percent, Austria’s E-Control market
regulator estimates. However, both wind power and
Page 12 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
photovoltaics will remain outside of the market for the next
15 years, as sectors requiring considerable subsidizing.
(FriedlNews)
28 Jan. - Austrian health officials have confirmed that the
country has its first imported case of the Zika virus, which
is linked to birth defects. A woman who had travelled to
Brazil has been diagnosed with the mosquito-borne disease,
Prof. Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt, Head of the Institute of
Tropical Medicine at Vienna University, told Ö1 radio.
Zika is linked to babies being born with underdeveloped
brains and has caused panic in Brazil, where thousands of
people have been infected. It is spreading through the
Americas. (TheLocal.at)
17 Jan. - VIENNA is radically changing its policy towards
migrants and refugees, Austrian Chancellor Werner
Faymann told local media. Faymann said that with the new
measures introduced at Austria’s borders, the existence of
“the whole EU is in question.” “All refugees must be
controlled, economic migrants must be sent to the countries
of their origin,” Faymann said in an interview with
Austria’s Oesterreich newspaper.
Austria deploys army to halt migrants intending to transit through Germany
The government is implementing a strict monitoring system
for asylum seekers, the chancellor said, adding that, just
like in neighboring Germany, its border controls are being
tightened, and repatriations of refugees are carried out. A
valid identity card will now have to be provided to
authorities, and those who do not have a right to asylum or
have been already rejected by Germany will be denied
entry, as will those who don’t intend to apply for refugee
status in Austria. Consequently, the Schengen agreement on
open borders is “temporarily cancelled” in Austria, the
chancellor said. (TheLocal.at)
12 Jan. - GERMANY has been sending an increasing
number of migrants back to Austria every day since the
beginning of the month, Austrian police say. Many had no
valid documents, whilst others did not want to apply for
asylum in Germany but in other countries, notably in
Scandinavia, police said. New Year’s Eve attacks on
women in Cologne, blamed on migrants, have put pressure
on Chancellor Angela Merkel. Most of those sent back to
Austria are not Syrians, who usually get asylum. Instead,
they are migrants mostly from Afghanistan as well as
Morocco and Algeria, Austrian police said. (Voice of
Vienna)
7 Jan. - A pensioner has been found frozen to death in
his garden after he went out to feed the birds. The senior
citizen, aged 69, who went out to feed the birds in the town
of Ebenthal, near Klagenfurt, fell over on some packed
snow and was unable to stand up again. As the temperatures
plunged to -7C, hypothermia began to set in. When the man
was eventually found by a passer-by he had already frozen
to death. (TheLocal.at)
4 Jan. – AUSTRIA has introduced a new law to clamp
down on cyber bullying - which is designed to protect
children and teenagers in particular from being insulted and
abused on social media sites. has been named as the worst
country in Europe for bullying, with a recent OECD study
showing that every second school child suffers from the
effects of bullying - not just in the form of physical and
verbal abuse but also from derogatory comments and
intimate photos posted on social media sites such as
Facebook. Since the beginning of January online bullying is
now a criminal offence. Previously police used other
legislation - such as anti-stalking and defamation laws - to
prosecute serious cases of cyber abuse. (TheLocal.at)
Falling birth rate blamed on wrong Prosit
My comment in the January newsletter that not
looking a person in the eyes when proposing a toast
could, according to Austrian folklore, bring seven
years of bad sex life, brought forth a comment from
an ex Viennese resident. Godfrey Wiseman, now a
happily retired Adelaide resident, was once the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade public
affairs officer at the embassy here. He blames
breaches of this strict Austrian rule on the falling birth
rate.
He wrote: Austrians, because of their serious
history, take everything seriously, in my experience.
It’s likely that when saying “Prosit”, they failed to
look in someone’s eyes at least twice and possibly
thrice. Hence the Austrian birth rate of 18.6 per 1000
in 1964 dropped to 9.6 per 1000 50 years later in
2014. I’m not convinced the anguished TV soap
operas can be blamed either. Godfrey. - Brett
Giggle corner fill-in
I WENT TO A BOOK STORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, "WHERE'S THE SELF- HELP SECTION?" SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE. WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?
WHY DO MOTHER KANGAROOS HATE RAINY DAYS? THEIR KIDS HAVE TO PLAY INSIDE.
Page 13 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
A frozen Alte Donau: from the Vienna International Centre (UN) Photo: Althea Davids
Photo: Brett Bayly
Page 14 The Australian Connection (OzCon) – February 2016
Unless otherwise specified, all telephone numbers are in Vienna
Australian Connection (OzCon)
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Facebook:
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Australian Embassy
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President: Gabrielle Costigan
mobile: 0664 61 22522
Other Associations
Austrian-Australian Society (ӦAG)
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tel: 681 107 53661
[email protected] www.australia-austria.at
Vice President : Sonia Connor
Mobile 06991 3539210
Useful Websites: www.vienna4u.at
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www.wien.info/en/music stage shows/opera
operetta/open air opera
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www.language learning advisor.com/learning
german.html
www.aussiehouseswap.com.au
www.wien.gv.at
www.nucolorvue.com.au
www.australien lifestyle.de
www.australien info.de
www.virtualvienna.net
www.ninemsn.com.au
www.kids days.com/Wien/index_wien.html
www.expat consulting.com
www.homesick.com.au
www.viennababiesclub.com
www.abc.net.au/vod/news/
www.australianaonline.com.au
www.news.com.au
www.expatriates.com
www.australia.gov.au
www.amadeus.net/home/dialing_codes/en/top.htm
www.austrain.vc
www.vienna expats.at
www.exfin.com
Treasurer: Rob Reed mobile: 06606629797
Editor and membership coordinator: Brett Bayly
mobile: 06991 264 5813
Board member: Ric Casagrande
mobile 06991 1329977
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mobile 0676 3344 837
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Austrian media in English:
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The Local online
www.thelocal.at
Voice of Vienna
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