Nominations for the National Disability Awards have been officially opened by Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin and Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services, Bill Shorten.

The Awards form part of the Australian Government’s celebration of International Day of People with Disability.

Senator for the ACT, Kate Lundy, today welcomed the announcement, and encouraged the people of Canberra to support and nominate those in our community for the award.

“These Awards celebrate and acknowledge the achievements and contributions individuals with and without disability make to our community and the disability sector,” Senator Lundy said.
Nominations are open for the following categories:

• Minister’s Lifelong Achievement Award- Person, over 25 years of age, with or without disability who has demonstrated a sustained and extraordinary personal commitment to improving and/or reshaping the lives of people with disability.

• Disability Rights Young Leader Award- Young person, 12-25 years of age, with disability who has raised awareness and shown outstanding leadership in improving the lives of people with disability.

• Business Award- Person with or without disability who has displayed an innovative approach and achieved substantial outcomes, in advancing the lives of people with disability in areas such as transport, housing, communication and technology. No age limit.

• Local Government Award- Person who has challenged or lobbied, and has succeeded in implementing substantial change by breaking down barriers faced by people with disability. No age limit.

• Social inclusion Award- Person who has worked towards a more inclusive environment by creating opportunities for people with disability to participate in areas such as sport, the arts, education and the wider community. No age limit.

Nominations close Friday 22 May 2009. Award recipients will be announced at an Awards Ceremony in Canberra on Monday 23 November 2009.

“I encourage the people of Canberra to look into our community to celebrate and recognise people with disability and those who support them,” Senator Lundy said.
 

Further information regarding the awards can be found at www.idpwd.com.au or by calling 1800 440 385.

Media contact: Annika Hutchins on 0407 458 882
 

Steve Parish knows very well the delight of taking a nature photo that is a world first, and on Saturday 20 March he experienced that thrill again when he photographed a Golden-tipped Bat (Kerivoula papuensis) eating a spider in captivity. The male bat suffered injuries after flying into a ceiling fan while hunting on the veranda of a residence at Nobby Glen Road, Kandanga. Bat and spider enthusiast Rachel Lyons cared for the bat, which Steve Parish photographed eating a Garden Orb-weaver — the first close-up photo of a bat eating a spider.

“Spider consumption is generally regarded as being rare in bats and the notion that one species feeds almost exclusively on spiders was quite a revelation. As far as I know, a close-up photo or video of a bat eating a spider has never been taken,” commented esteemed mammalogist Les Hall, who accompanied Steve Parish on the photo shoot. “Certainly, with regards to the Golden-tipped Bat in Australia, it has never been photographed eating a spider.”

Research on the Golden-tipped Bat observed individuals having spider web on their fur and spider mouth parts attached to their ears and embedded in body fur, which led to the conclusion spiders were part of their diet. A detailed study by Martin Schulz in 2000 revealed that the Golden-tipped Bat was a spider specialist. The Garden Orb-weaver (Eriophora biapicata) was not the only spider on the bat’s menu. It also consumed a Golden Orb-weaver (Nephila ornata), Acroaspis tuberculifera and another unidentified orb-weaver species in the Araneidae family. The bat ate the abdomen and parts of the thorax, but rejected the head and legs.

The Golden-tipped Bat was discovered in Australia, on a cattle station southwest of Rockhampton, by Dr Carl Lumholtz in 1884, and sighted again near Cooktown in 1897. However, after 1897 the species almost disappeared. By the 1970s, the rare species was considered close to extinction, according to mammalogists David Ride and Harry Frith.

With the introduction of “new” bat traps in the 1960s, serious bat surveys were undertaken. Mistnets were used to capture species for scientific studies and with improved distribution data, Golden-tipped Bats were listed as rare. Golden-tipped bats are distributed along Australia’s east coast from Cape York Peninsula to southern New South Wales and are also found in Papua New Guinea and on the island of Biak in Indonesia. Visit http://www.steveparish.com.au/photography-enthusiasts for more photography news

New Car Warranty Protection

next to Claremont Oval.
The plans stipulated that all new multi-storey buildings in the de- velopment would have to have below-ground and basement parking for occupants.
Claremont this week released its much-anticipated blueprint for the 9.4ha area north of the rail- way line that will set Claremont’s shape for the next century. Structure plans for the precinct will be shown to the public from this week, after the council voted to advertise the plans and seek public comment on them at this week’s council meeting.
The council has a statutory obligation to advertise the plans for a minimum of 21 days, and commenced this 21-day period from Friday this week. “The release of the Proposed Structure Plan is a significant mile- stone which will pave the way for transforming the poorly-utilised north-east precinct into a vi- brant centre with excellent access to public transport and improved pedestrian connectivity with the town centre,” Claremont’s mayor Peter Olson said.
“We look forward to further in- volving the community in refin- ing the plan as we head towards the final planning approval.” Widespread advertising of the plan would ensure that members of the community had the oppor- tunity to present their views and give input via public submissions before the plan was presented to Claremont’s councillors for formal

Cottesloe’s push to curb anti- social behaviour and hoon driving along the beachfront has earned the town a presti- gious award from the Office of Crime Prevention.
The scheme includes a suc- cessful lock-down experiment at local hotels, even though Northbridge has rejected a trial of the scheme.
While the WA Crime and Safety Awards cannot be hand- ed out until the new government is sworn in, the council has been notified that the award will be going to Cottesloe.
The community safety pro- gram includes extra ranger pa- trols, CCTV, a 9pm lock-out at both hotels, and three-hour parking restrictions applicable 24 hours a day to both major beachfront carparks.
“If you leave (a pub) after 9pm on a Sunday you don’t get let back in,” said senior ranger Neil Ferridge.
“That way the crowd starts dis- persing and at 10pm closing time you don’t get so many peo- ple in the streets.” He said the three-hour limit at No. 1 and 2 carparks was also playing its part.
“The carparks also start emp- tying by 9.30, so you don’t get peo- ple going back to their vehi- cles and drinking alcohol … and causing trouble,” he said.
Reports of anti-social behav- iour have reduced dramatical- ly in the two years the program has been running.
It all began when a commit- tee was formed to tackle the prob- lem. The group included local res- idents, business proprietors, councillors, council staff, po- lice liquor licensing, hotel man- agers, council rangers and the officer-in-charge of Cottesloe Police Station.
They agreed peak time was Sunday evenings during the summer, with activity concen- trated around the Cottesloe Beach Hotel, the Ocean Beach Hotel and associated carparks.
The awards will be present- ed as part of Crime Prevention Week on September 25 at Fraser’s Function Centre in King’s Park.

New Car Warranty Protection

next to Claremont Oval.
The plans stipulated that all new multi-storey buildings in the de- velopment would have to have below-ground and basement parking for occupants.
Claremont this week released its much-anticipated blueprint for the 9.4ha area north of the rail- way line that will set Claremont’s shape for the next century. Structure plans for the precinct will be shown to the public from this week, after the council voted to advertise the plans and seek public comment on them at this week’s council meeting.
The council has a statutory obligation to advertise the plans for a minimum of 21 days, and commenced this 21-day period from Friday this week. “The release of the Proposed Structure Plan is a significant mile- stone which will pave the way for transforming the poorly-utilised north-east precinct into a vi- brant centre with excellent access to public transport and improved pedestrian connectivity with the town centre,” Claremont’s mayor Peter Olson said.
“We look forward to further in- volving the community in refin- ing the plan as we head towards the final planning approval.” Widespread advertising of the plan would ensure that members of the community had the oppor- tunity to present their views and give input via public submissions before the plan was presented to Claremont’s councillors for formal

Cottesloe’s push to curb anti- social behaviour and hoon driving along the beachfront has earned the town a presti- gious award from the Office of Crime Prevention.
The scheme includes a suc- cessful lock-down experiment at local hotels, even though Northbridge has rejected a trial of the scheme.
While the WA Crime and Safety Awards cannot be hand- ed out until the new government is sworn in, the council has been notified that the award will be going to Cottesloe.
The community safety pro- gram includes extra ranger pa- trols, CCTV, a 9pm lock-out at both hotels, and three-hour parking restrictions applicable 24 hours a day to both major beachfront carparks.
“If you leave (a pub) after 9pm on a Sunday you don’t get let back in,” said senior ranger Neil Ferridge.
“That way the crowd starts dis- persing and at 10pm closing time you don’t get so many peo- ple in the streets.” He said the three-hour limit at No. 1 and 2 carparks was also playing its part.
“The carparks also start emp- tying by 9.30, so you don’t get peo- ple going back to their vehi- cles and drinking alcohol … and causing trouble,” he said.
Reports of anti-social behav- iour have reduced dramatical- ly in the two years the program has been running.
It all began when a commit- tee was formed to tackle the prob- lem. The group included local res- idents, business proprietors, councillors, council staff, po- lice liquor licensing, hotel man- agers, council rangers and the officer-in-charge of Cottesloe Police Station.
They agreed peak time was Sunday evenings during the summer, with activity concen- trated around the Cottesloe Beach Hotel, the Ocean Beach Hotel and associated carparks.
The awards will be present- ed as part of Crime Prevention Week on September 25 at Fraser’s Function Centre in King’s Park.

What if you could literally train your mind to levitate a sphere? Sounds a bit far fetched?

Well it’s not anymore, because this is exactly what you can do with the latest star wars toy called “the Force Trainer” which turns Science fiction into reality as it utilises your brainwaves to levitate a sphere within a tube.

The Star Wars Force Trainer was created by Uncle Milton, a US based company which produces Science-based toys. The toy uses EEG technology to transmit your alpha and beta brainwaves from a head set to wirelessly drive a motor which powers a fan that sends a sphere up a tower. You can progress from Padawan to Jedi Master, as you use “The Force Trainer” through 15 levels of Jedi training. Along the way you will be encouraged by Obi Wan, Darth Vader and, of course, Yoda helping you with training tips and sound effects. The better your concentration, the more you are able to control the fan and the sphere rises.

Peter and Anne-Maree Harback, Directors of Coolthings Australia, visited the 2009 Toy Fair in Melbourne on Saturday 21st March and gave the Force Trainer a run for its money, Mr Harback said "When I first heard about this new gadget I really didn’t know what to expect, but when I actually got to try the thing out I was amazed that it really works. At first I couldn’t get the ball to levitate but after some wise tips from the Uncle Milton crew I finally was able to tap into the force and make the ball rise."

Before word got out that the Force Trainer was being launched Uncle Milton were receiving a couple of email enquiries per day, after the news broke they got a massive 40,000 emails asking when this product is going to be available for purchase. The Star Wars Force Trainer is set to be the most eagerly anticipated toy release of the year.

The Star Wars Force Trainer hasn’t arrived in Australia yet so Star Wars fans will have to wait until September 2009 to see these in stores; in the mean time you can visit http://www.coolthings.com.au/star-wars-force-trainer-p-1026.html for further information, videos and images, and to pre-order your very own Force Trainer.

About Coolthings Australia
Coolthings Australia is all about the latest cool gadgets, gizmos & gifts that make you say "That’s Cool". Delivery to anywhere in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States.

Media Contact:

Anna Musgrove

Product Director
Coolthings Australia

Ph: 0437 377 117
Em: [email protected]