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Students sweet-talked by sugar daddies

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 23 Februari 2013 | 23.50

THE American Seeking Arrangement website. Source: Supplied

STUDENTS at Gold Coast universities have signed up with a website to be "sugar babies" for rich older men who pay their school fees and shower them with expensive gifts.

Many of the women are in their teens or early 20s and are quick to deny it is a form of prostitution - insisting they do not have to sleep with the sugar daddies.

A spokeswoman for American online dating website Seeking Arrangement said yesterday almost 100 local students had signed up as sugar babies in a bid to get cashed-up and loved-up.

"The average Australian sugar baby receives a monthly allowance of $3000 from her sugar daddy," she said.

"By dating someone who is successful and better off, her chances of finding success after graduation are much greater. Not to mention the reduced amount of stress if school is being paid for by someone else."

Figures revealed the website was most popular among Griffith University students, with 44 sugar babies registered from the Gold Coast campus.

Numbers were slightly lower at Bond University with 21 users, and Southern Cross University (SCU) had 13 students looking for a sugar daddy.

The cost of a single subject at Bond University is upwards of $3600 while Griffith and SCU students pay anywhere from $500 to just over $3500.

However, it is not only students using the service, with over 6000 other Gold Coast women signed up, and just under 1000 local hopeful sugar daddies.

The popularity of Seeking Arrangement is increasing, with the number of Australian users growing by 58 per cent since last year.

The spokeswoman said the popularity of the website was due to the financial security it could provide women.

"At a time when a degree does not necessarily guarantee you a high-paying job, women are finding it more difficult to settle in any aspect of life, including her relationship," she said.

"Every woman should want to date a gentleman, a generous man who doesn't mind spoiling his girlfriend a bit, helping her with school or bills as needed. Just like every man wants a beautiful woman."

While the website is aimed at "connecting generous men with beautiful women", the spokeswoman said it was not to be mistaken for an escort service.

"Our members are looking for relationships, not a transaction," she said.

"We do not allow any solicitation of sex for money, and prohibit known escorts from using our site."


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Young dad died defending brother

Dylan McCowan, Tiffany Millard and their daughter Aaliyah. Source: Herald Sun

A YOUNG father with a "heart of gold" has died after being stabbed when he allegedly came to the defence of his younger brother.

Dylan McCowan, 25, was stabbed several times in a brutal incident at Orbost on Friday evening.

His partner Tiffany Millard, 22 - the mother of his two-year-old daughter, Aaliyah - was reeling from the news.

Tiffany's mother Karen Millard said Mr McCowan was a "fun-loving young man".

"It's so sudden and so soon. It's very tragic news," Ms Millard said.

"Everyone loved him, he was very well-liked around town."

She said her daughter, Tiffany, was holding up as well as she could given the circumstances, but was shattered by the news.

A keen rugby league fan, Mr McCowan worked at a sawmill in Nowa Nowa.

Friend Aaron Tregea said Mr McCowan was a "gentle and caring family man" who worked hard to earn a trade as a saw doctor.

"He was just an all-round good bloke, he'd give you the last dollar out of his pocket," Mr Tregea said.

"I'm not an emotional person, but this has really affected me and a lot of other people.

"Nothing like this has ever happened in Orbost.

"The whole town is really shaken up."

Homicide Squad detectives have charged Samual Morrison, 29, with one count of murder.

Paramedics attempted to save him, but Mr McCowan died at Orbost Regional Health Service.

Originally from Ballina, NSW, Mr McCowan moved to Orbost about eight years ago, where he met Tiffany, at Orbost Secondary College.

"They have been together for nearly three years and knew each other from high school," Ms Millard said.

Tributes flooded in on Mr McCowan's Facebook page, honouring a polite man with a "heart of gold" and a "great bloke".

His alleged killer has been remanded in custody to appear at the Sale Magistrates' Court on Monday. 


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Middle East secretly targets our farms

Eyre Peninsula between Coffin Bay and Elliston. Picture: Leah Hodgkiss Source: adelaidenow

A QATARI Government-owned company is buying up prime agricultural land in South Australia at well above market rates and is forcing farmers to sign confidentiality agreements.

The company is threatening the farmers with severe consequences if they breach the agreements.

Hassad Australia last year bought a $9 million cattle property near Bordertown and is understood to be negotiating with several farmers on Eyre Peninsula to buy prime cropping and grazing land. It is believed the company is also looking at properties on Yorke Peninsula and in the Mid North.

In all, Hassad is thought to be looking at tens of thousands of hectares on Eyre Peninsula and across the state.

Survey - What do you think of foreign investment and food security?

The company, which is owned by the Government of Qatar, is paying up to 40 per cent above the going rate for Eyre Peninsula land - in some cases, more than $5000 per hectare.

The secret buy-up has renewed calls for a public register of foreign land ownership. Only very large sales are now disclosed to the public.

Hassad's buy-up has also prompted concern about the effect on rural businesses and communities.

Industry insiders said they had heard that Hassad was "sniffing around" late last year, but the imminent sales appear to have gone well under the radar.

The company, which declined an interview request from The Advertiser, is demanding farmers sign confidentiality agreements.

These say breaches of secrecy may cause irreparable harm to Hassad and cash would be insufficient compensation.

Hassad has already spent about $500 million buying about 40 farms covering about 250,000ha of prime agricultural land across the eastern states and WA.

Sales near the Victoria-SA border were also above market prices, according to interstate media reports.

South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon said the Hassad push into SA demonstrated the need for reform of Australia's foreign investment laws.

Private sales worth more than $248 million need to be signed off by the Foreign Investment Review Board. Because they are associated with a foreign government, the Hassad deals will also need to go to the FIRB - but they do not need to be disclosed to the public.

Federal and state governments - with the exception of the Queensland Government - do not keep a public register of foreign ownership of agricultural land or other real estate.

Senator Xenophon has proposed a Bill that would require any application to buy Australian agricultural land greater than 5ha to be listed online and subject to application to the Treasurer.

He said he did not oppose foreign investment, but the system needed to be more transparent.

Senator Xenophon said it was ironic that foreigners could see the value in Australia's agricultural land, but local investors were more wary.

He said there should be incentives for Australians, perhaps through superannuation funds, to invest in agriculture,

"You can't blame the Qataris, the Saudis, the Chinese and the Americans for buying up these tracts of agricultural land because they can see the long-term strategic benefit of food security - it's just that we don't get it," he said.

"These state-backed funds are investing in Australian agriculture because they can see that there will be a world food shortage. We are just selling away the national interest."

The National Farmers Federation has also called for more transparency.

"With state-owned enterprises entering the market, questions have been raised as to whether this type of investment is driven by the profitability of the venture or by sovereign food security concerns," it says in a recent submission to the Federal Government.

"This raises the question of transparency in the supply chain, potentially jeopardising competition at the farm gate and having a negative impact on the local market. At an extreme level, this could also lead to Australia's own food security goals being compromised."

The Federal Government is working on a national foreign ownership register for agricultural land, but the design of the register has not been released. Submissions on the proposed register closed on February 1.

Why we must be kept in the loop

FOREIGN investment has always been, and will remain, vital for the growth of the Australian economy but it must be transparent.

A great local example of foreign investment is the crop of new CBD apartment developments springing up in Adelaide, funded by Chinese capital. Most of these developments are connected to Chinese Australians with a strong local connection, who live here, or have family in the state.

It's the start of a long, and hopefully prosperous Sino-Australian relationship.

But some other investments are less obvious, and the reporting requirements that cover them verge on the bizarre.

Private investment in a business does not need to be referred to the Foreign Investment Review Board until it hits the $248 million level - a pretty high water mark.

All investments by foreign state-owned businesses have to be referred to the FIRB, but the public is not told about them.

And while the FIRB publishes the amount of proposed investment in Australia by various countries or their citizens, it won't break it down by state, or tell you what and where those investments were.

Transparency has a number of benefits. It allows competing businesses to stay aware of what's happening in their marketplace and helps dispel myths such as the notion Asian investors are buying up a disproportionate amount of Australian agricultural land. Foreign investors should also be asked what their intentions are for the use of land.

Hassad Australia is owned by the Hassad Food Company, whose prime mission is to provide food security for the small Middle Eastern nation.

Hassad Australia has made it clear that it is looking for a commercial outcome as well as the ability to feed the Qatari population.

Land banking by well-heeled foreign sovereign wealth funds, were it to happen, would be of no benefit to Australia, and markets such as those for water rights must be closely monitored.

The real question the debate about foreign land ownership throws up is this: "Why aren't Australians more interested in the land which foreign investors appear to be lining up to buy?"

Senator Nick Xenophon has suggested making investment in agricultural land easier for the vast amount of superannuation money in Australia would be a good start to answering this conundrum. I'd have to agree.

Cameron England


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Door shuts on foreign workers

The federal government is cracking down on the 457 visa scheme for temporary overseas workers.

The number of 457 visas has soared from 70,000 to 100,000 in the past two years. Source: Bloomberg

EXCLUSIVE: THOUSANDS of low-paid foreign workers will be stopped from coming into Australia and taking local jobs under a crackdown on visas.

Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor revealed to the Herald Sun that growth in the 457 visa program was "out of step" with skills shortages and said the Gillard Government had evidence "rogue employers" were abusing it to get cheap labour.

The number of 457 visas has soared from 70,000 to 100,000 in the past two years.

Mr O'Connor said while some industries and regions had genuine shortages that needed temporary foreign workers, laws and regulations needed to be beefed up to stop rorts and close loopholes.

He predicted this could stop "thousands" of foreign workers taking jobs from locals.

"Rogue employers are deliberately employing people from overseas without giving a local a chance," he said.

It is the second time in three days the Gillard Government has moved to stem pain on a hot political issue after it reversed a $107 million funding cut to Victorian hospitals.

The changes, to be announced today by Mr O'Connor, include:

EXTRA investigation powers for inspectors to get information from bosses they suspect of being dodgy.

A NEW test to prove jobs were for "genuine" skills shortages because some employers were creating positions that were really "unskilled and possibly not even a real job".

CLOSING loopholes that allow foreign workers to be paid less than an Australian citizen by increasing from $180,000 to $250,000 the threshold at which they must pay "market rates".

STOPPING employers creating their own market to manipulate pay rates.

RAISING requirements for foreign workers to speak English.

RESTRICTING foreign workers being on-hired to a different employer in regions where there are not skill shortages.

CHECKING that employers offer training for locals to fill skills shortages before they seek foreigners.

"The Government cares about Australians getting jobs first," Mr O'Connor said.

"It has become clear that the growth in the 457 program is out of step with genuine skills shortages and the Government has evidence that some employers are using 457 visas to employ foreign workers over locals."

It has found skilled Australian tradespeople earning $220,000 were under-cut by foreign workers willing to accept $180,000.

Pay levels have been especially manipulated in the IT industry in Melbourne.

Low-skilled jobs have been dressed up as high-skilled ones with one company winning permission to bring in administrators who were really unskilled security guards.

And a Melbourne "start-up" company that didn't make money was created just to secure a cheap foreign worker for other duties.

Mr O'Connor also said the Government would examine the 457 visas of four Filipino welders at the centre of protests at a Werribee water project amid claims the system has been abused because there is no shortage of those skills in the area.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said last year there was "room for expansion" of the 457 program and said claims the market was being flooded with foreign workers was "ridiculous".

phillip.hudson@news.com.au


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Two men arrested after 20 fires lit

TWO men have been arrested after 20 suspicious fires were started in just a 30-minute period last night.

The small shrub and grass fires were started between 9pm and 9.30pm in Melbourne's outer south-eastern suburbs.

Police later pulled over a car and arrested a 20-year-old from Narre Warren and 16-year-old from Berwick.

They were interviewed and released pending further inquiries.

Casey Crime Investigation Unit detectives will return to the scene of the fires today with fire investigators to examine the crime scenes further.

The fire locations included Hessel Rd in Narre Warren North, Wintersun Rd in Berwick, King Rd in Harkaway, Hotham St in Cranbourne and Rowallan Ave in Harkaway.

There were no injuries or property damage reported to police.


Police pulled over the car, with both men inside, on Rowallan Ave.

"A crime scene was established overnight and local detectives and fire investigators will attend the scenes again today," Victoria Police spokeswoman Kelly Yates said.

Anyone with information about the fires or who may have witnessed anything suspicious is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au

jon.kaila@news.com.au
 


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Body of boy sucked into drain found

A boy has died after he was sucked into a golf course drainpipe on NSW mid north coast

THE body of a 17-year-old boy who went missing after being sucked into a large drainpipe at a golf course on the state's Mid North coast overnight has been found.

A friend searching in reeds about 40 metres from the drain exit located the body of Luke O'Neill at 7am.

The 17-year-old O'Neill from Bonny Hills went missing about 5.30pm yesterday when a group of teenage boys were in waist-deep flood water collecting golf balls at a golf course on Kendall Road, Kew.

Gold Coast beaches cop another pounding


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Police have been told the 17 year old was suddenly pulled into a large drainpipe by the force of the water.

When two of his friends, aged 15 and 16, were trying to find him at the drainpipe entrance the 16-year-old was also sucked into the pipe.

He travelled underwater for the length of the 100 metre pipe and emerged into a dam at the other end where he was able to exit the water.

The two boys were taken by ambulance to Port Macquarie Base Hospital in a distraught state. The 16-year-old was admitted for observations with water on his lungs.

Emergency services were contacted and police from the Mid North Coast Local Area Command were joined by NSW Fire and Rescue, ambulance officers and SES officers in their search. 

More than 3850 people are isolated on the north coast, with thousands evacuated, and the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has received more than 1570 calls for assistance.

Torrential rain, gales and dangerous surf has battered the region for the second time in just a month with moderate to major flooding in river systems stretching from Lismore to Port Macquarie. No major towns have been cut off, but the SES holds concerns for the town of Bellingen.

There has been widespread falls of between 100mm and 200mm in some parts of the coast with rain as heavy as 360mm at Dorrigo on the Bellinger River just inland of Coffs Harbour in a 36 hour period.

Overnight the SES had to perform 15 flood rescues, most of which they say could have been avoided.

"Many of these rescues relate to deliberate entry into floodwater and the NSW SES urges people not to drive, ride or walk through floodwater,'' it said in a statement.

Flood warnings have been issued for areas around 17 NSW rivers, with major flood warnings in place for the Clarence River and the Bellinger River, where the river peaked at 9m at 5am this morning..

Further south near Kempsey the town of Smithtown (population 650) and its surrounding area received messages from the State Emergency Services this morning to evacuate as floodwater continued to rise in the Macleay River after up to 210mm of rain had fallen in the past 27 hours to 6am this morning.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) the river is expected to reach 6.6m at Kempsey around 6pm today causing major flooding.

There is a major flood warming for the Hastings River where the river peaked at 11m at 7am this morning - higher than the 1978 flood.

The Pacific Highway is closed near Macksville and at South Grafton.

A severe weather warning remains in place for the mid-north coast, Hunter, Illawarra, Sydney and parts of the central tablelands.
Heavy rain that could lead to flash flooding is predicted for those areas throughout today.

Sydney will experience winds of about 50 to 65 km per hour this evening.

"Along the coast winds are quite strong,'' a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) spokesman told AAP today. "There's also some quite large seas and swell so the surf is quite dangerous and rough.''

"It's generally pretty wild and woolly out there.''

The SES has received about 70 calls from the Sydney metropolitan area but says there hasn't been too much damage around the city.
Cronulla's Wanda Surf Club did lose part of its roof in the wild weather today.

The BOM says the low pressure system should move south tomorrow morning, easing weather conditions around Sydney.


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Injuries as bus slams into restaurant

A bus has crashed into a popular Indian restaurant in Brisbane's West End, injuring ten people.

A BRISBANE City Council bus has plowed into three cars and a popular Indian restaurant in Brisbane's West End, leaving nine people injured and three taken to hospital.

The bus, which was out of service at the time of the incident, remains lodged in the front of Punjabi Palace on Melbourne Street.

Fire crews, tow trucks and Energex are at the scene of the crash.

It appears the bus was travelling southbound along the busy street when it hit a Lexus, Subaru and Mercedes before mounting the footpath outside the restaurant.

IN PICTURES: Bus crashes into Punjabi Palace at West End

A Queensland Ambulance spokesman said nine patients were treated with three taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Punjabi Palace, where a Brisbane City Council bus crashed through the front entrance.

It is believed the bus driver was one of those injured.

Tony Neville and his family arrived shortly after the accident to eat at the damaged restaurant.

"This is our favourite Indian restaurant. We've come from Toowoomba for dinner," he said.

"Half an hour later and we would have been in the middle of it."

Melbourne Street remains closed between Cordelia and Manning Streets.

Ambulance officers treat patients at the scene of a bus crash at Punjabi Palace, West End. Picture: Felicity Sheppard


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Two dead, thousands affected in NSW

TWO people have died and another 15 people have been rescued in severe weather and flooding across NSW.

TWO people are dead and 19,000 people have been told to evacuate as rising floodwaters and wild winds wreak havoc across the state.

Roads are flooded and residents of Kempsey and areas on the state's mid-north coast are bracing as the Macleay River is expected to again break its banks.

SES volunteers have responded to 2729 calls for help - 450 in Sydney - and warned the number was "rising rapidly". There have also been 34 rescues, mainly of people stranded in their cars.

The body of a 17-year-old boy was discovered after he was sucked into a drainpipe while wading in waist-deep floodwater with friends on Friday afternoon.

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The group had been collecting golf balls when he was sucked into the drain.

A friend found the boy's body in reeds about 40 metres from the drain exit near Kew, on the NSW Mid-North Coast.

One of the group, a 16-year-old boy, was also pulled into the pipe while trying to find his friend, travelling underwater for 100 metres before emerging into a dam at the other end.

The two boys were taken by ambulance to Port Macquarie Base Hospital in a distraught state with the 16-year-old admitted with water on his lungs.

 A report is being prepared for the Coroner.

Police remain at the scene of a second death where a man's body was found in a submerged car north of Grafton.

SES volunteers were called to Rogan Bridge Road at Mylneford, about 20km north-west of Grafton, shortly before 1pm today after a car was seen submerged in floodwaters.

Volunteers found the body of the man inside the car and alerted Grafton Police.

Police are now working to formally identify the man.

Meanwhile, some 19,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and 21400 are isolated mainly in Byron, Clarence and Belligne as rain and winds continue to batter NSW.

Torrential rain, gales and dangerous surf battered regions for the second time in a month with moderate to major flooding in river systems stretching from Lismore to Port Macquarie.

Roofs were lifted off houses while thousands were left without power as an intense low pressure system moved over the region.

A spokesperson for the SES said Kempsey, Port Macquarie and areas of the lower Macleay were on flood alert with volunteers urging locals to leave their homes and places of business.

"The Macleay river breaks at either 6.7 or 6.9 metres," the spokesperson said.

"It's currently at 6.6 metres and projected to peak at around 7.3 metres tomorrow morning."

The higher peak is just short of the 2001 flood and will affect the Kempsey central business district and cause major flooding downstream at Smithtown and in rural areas.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Tim Constable said although system was weakening as it head south, the rain and big swells were expected to hang around for the next week.

 "We are seeing some record falls associated with this low pressure system, especially up around Port Macquarie,'' he said.

"There will be some heavy rainfall in Sydney in the morning, which should gradually ease to isolated showers.

A major flood warning was also in place for the Hastings River after the river hit 11m at 7am yesterday morning - higher than the 1978 flood.

Many parts of the coast received heavy rainfall of between 100-200mm, with Seaview near Port Macquarie receiving 415mm.

The rainfall caused major flooding in towns such as Bellingen where the river peaked at 9m at 5am this morning.

Wind gusts reached 126 kilometres an hour at Byron Head, while roofs were lifted from houses in nearby Ballina.

POLICE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES HAVE REMINDED COMMUTERS NOT TO ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THROUGH FLOODWATERS

The Pacific Highway is currently closed:
* northbound at Hastings River Drive, Port Macquarie (local access only; through-traffic is being turned around)
* between North Kempsey and Frederickton, and southbound at Clybucca
* 4km north of Macksville
* northbound at South Grafton; traffic is being diverted via Centenary Drive (not suitable for heavy vehicles)

Other major roads which are affected by flooding are
* Oxley Highway - closed between Wauchope and Walcha
* Waterfall Way - closed between Pacific Highway, Raleigh and Dorrigo
* Gwydir Highway - closed between Grafton and Glen Innes
* Bangalow Road - between Lismore and Bexhill
* Failford Road - between Pacific Highway, Failford and The Lakes Way


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