Latest news with #679
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Camping ‘more expensive than renting house'
A proposal to increase camping fees in NSW national parks would make camping more expensive than renting a house. The NSW government has proposed introducing a six tier system that would make the rate fro some campgrounds as much as $97 a night or $679 a week, compared to a three bedroom home that can be rented for $600 a week. Filmmaker Michael Atkinson made the point in a social media video he shared from the Woody Head Camping Area in the Bundjalung National Park on the NSW North Coast. 'You can rent a three-bedroom house (down the road) with garage for $600, so it's almost $100 cheaper to rent a three-bedroom house with garage outside the park, as opposed to a small patch of grass here in the park,' Mr Atkinson said in the video 'I counted 89 campsites on this map, that is revenue raising of $55,000 a week just for this campground, excluding the money that they make from cabins.' In 2023-24, about 1.8 million people stayed overnight at 365 campgrounds located in national parks across NSW. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service developed a proposal 'to make camping fairer' for visitors and address issues when people did not show up, known as 'ghost bookings.' A tiered camping fee system was developed with pricing based on services, facilities and seasonal demand. A NPWS spokesman said more than 23,000 submissions were received during the consultation period. 'The NPWS invited feedback on a proposed model to introduce a more consistent and simplified statewide camping fee and booking system for the 365 campgrounds across NSW national parks,' a spokesman said. 'No decisions have been made on the proposal. 'NPWS will advise the public on the next steps once feedback has been considered.' Mr Atkinson told NewsWire that before Covid booking systems were used for high use campgrounds, and about 70 per cent of campgrounds in NSW national parks were free. He said a booking system was introduced to manage the infectious disease and it only cost $6, but because bookings were so cheap campsites would be booked out months in advance, then people would not show up. Mr Atkinson said the government's solution to prevent 'ghost bookings' was to jack up the prices, but the proposed hike would stop low income earners from being able to afford camping and discourage young people from heading out. 'For people like me, you feel ripped off that you're going to a public space in a park that we own, and paying what I think is a significant amount of money just to camp on our own land effectively,' he said. Mr Atkinson said a better solution would be to increase the number of campgrounds that were available at the sites which would increase grass space and remove undergrowth that clogged national parks. Proposed fees in NSW national parks would make some locations about $679 a week to camp. Image: NSW Government Credit: Supplied Mr Atkinson started an epetition to let the NSW government know how many people were against the proposal. The petition titled Keep camping affordable for all Australians in NSW National Parks has already received support from more than 7600 people. He also has support from the Nationals and people living outside of NSW who have been contacting the NSW environment minister directly. Opposition tourism spokesman Kevin Anderson said in a statement the decision would put some of NSW's most-treasured natural assets behind a paywall in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. 'When I asked the Minister for Tourism about this in Question Time last month, he refused to acknowledge the issue, despite the heavy impact it will have on the tourism sector by deterring people from wanting to camp in our National Parks,' he said. 'The Minns Labor government needs to go back to the drawing board and find better ways to save money than hitting hardworking families who are just looking to get out and enjoy nature.' Scott Barrett MLC said National Parks should be more accessible for everyone. 'This proposal will put camping out of reach for many families and that's why I believe it's important to support Outback Mike with this petition,' he said. 'Some of my favourite moments have been spent with my family in our state's iconic national parks and limiting those experiences for other families based on cost is extremely frustrating.'
West Australian
3 days ago
- West Australian
Man starts petition after proposal to jack up campsite rates in one Aussie state
A proposal to increase camping fees in NSW national parks would make camping more expensive than renting a house. The NSW government has proposed introducing a six tier system that would make the rate fro some campgrounds as much as $97 a night or $679 a week, compared to a three bedroom home that can be rented for $600 a week. Filmmaker Michael Atkinson made the point in a social media video he shared from the Woody Head Camping Area in the Bundjalung National Park on the NSW North Coast. 'You can rent a three-bedroom house (down the road) with garage for $600, so it's almost $100 cheaper to rent a three-bedroom house with garage outside the park, as opposed to a small patch of grass here in the park,' Mr Atkinson said in the video 'I counted 89 campsites on this map, that is revenue raising of $55,000 a week just for this campground, excluding the money that they make from cabins.' In 2023-24, about 1.8 million people stayed overnight at 365 campgrounds located in national parks across NSW. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service developed a proposal 'to make camping fairer' for visitors and address issues when people did not show up, known as 'ghost bookings.' A tiered camping fee system was developed with pricing based on services, facilities and seasonal demand. A NPWS spokesman said more than 23,000 submissions were received during the consultation period. 'The NPWS invited feedback on a proposed model to introduce a more consistent and simplified statewide camping fee and booking system for the 365 campgrounds across NSW national parks,' a spokesman said. 'No decisions have been made on the proposal. 'NPWS will advise the public on the next steps once feedback has been considered.' Mr Atkinson told NewsWire that before Covid booking systems were used for high use campgrounds, and about 70 per cent of campgrounds in NSW national parks were free. He said a booking system was introduced to manage the infectious disease and it only cost $6, but because bookings were so cheap campsites would be booked out months in advance, then people would not show up. Mr Atkinson said the government's solution to prevent 'ghost bookings' was to jack up the prices, but the proposed hike would stop low income earners from being able to afford camping and discourage young people from heading out. 'For people like me, you feel ripped off that you're going to a public space in a park that we own, and paying what I think is a significant amount of money just to camp on our own land effectively,' he said. Mr Atkinson said a better solution would be to increase the number of campgrounds that were available at the sites which would increase grass space and remove undergrowth that clogged national parks. Mr Atkinson started an epetition to let the NSW government know how many people were against the proposal. The petition titled Keep camping affordable for all Australians in NSW National Parks has already received support from more than 7600 people. He also has support from the Nationals and people living outside of NSW who have been contacting the NSW environment minister directly. Opposition tourism spokesman Kevin Anderson said in a statement the decision would put some of NSW's most-treasured natural assets behind a paywall in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. 'When I asked the Minister for Tourism about this in Question Time last month, he refused to acknowledge the issue, despite the heavy impact it will have on the tourism sector by deterring people from wanting to camp in our National Parks,' he said. 'The Minns Labor government needs to go back to the drawing board and find better ways to save money than hitting hardworking families who are just looking to get out and enjoy nature.' Scott Barrett MLC said National Parks should be more accessible for everyone. 'This proposal will put camping out of reach for many families and that's why I believe it's important to support Outback Mike with this petition,' he said. 'Some of my favourite moments have been spent with my family in our state's iconic national parks and limiting those experiences for other families based on cost is extremely frustrating.'
India Today
28-05-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Sai Sudharsan over Shreyas Iyer for England: Mohammed Kaif unhappy with call
Mohammed Kaif expressed his displeasure with the selection call to take Sai Sudharsan over Shreyas Iyer for the England tour. India announced their squad for the England tour on May 24, with Sudharsan being one of the fresh faces in the squad. While there was a place for Karun Nair and others, a name missing from the list was Mumbai batter last played a Test during England visit's last year and has since been out of the squad for the longest format. Shreyas has since gone on to do well in the domestic circuit, scoring 480 runs in 5 matches during the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, including a double hundred. advertisementSpeaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif said that Sudharsan was picked after a good IPL season, while Shreyas has been doing well for a long time. The former cricketer said that the current PBKS skipper has done well in the 2023 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Kaif said that the selectors looked at Sudharsan's IPL form for his selection, but decided not to apply it when it came to Shreyas. "Sai Sudharsan is a brilliant player, no doubt. But he was picked in the Test squad after a good IPL season (679 runs and counting). Iyer, meanwhile, has been doing well for so long. He scored some 550 runs in the 2023 ODI World Cup and in the Champions Trophy as well. He is still doing a terrific job with the bat for Punjab Kings – 514 runs and counting. He is captaining too. So on one hand, you are considering white-ball criteria for one player and not for the other," said Kaif. advertisementSudharsan has been tipped as one of the brightest prospects in Indian cricket, but his first-class numbers haven't been too impressive. Shreyas, on the other hand, has got the stats to back up a return to the Indian team. During the IPL, the PBKS skipper has scored 514 runs in 14 matches. Stay updated on IPL 2025 with India Today! Get match schedules, team squads, live score, and the latest IPL points table for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Plus, keep track of the top contenders for the IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap. Don't miss a moment!Tune InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#IPL 2025
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
As New Hampshire debates vaccine requirements, it's important to understand their purpose
"One of the major things vaccines do is prevent disease severity." (Getty Images) There have been several new bills circulating in the New Hampshire Legislature regarding vaccines, among them is House Bill 679. The bill, which passed the House in March and is now in the Senate, focuses on cutting the requirement for children to get vaccines that have not been shown to prevent transmission, or spread, of a disease. At first glance of this bill, one may reason: Why should they have to get a vaccine if it has not been shown to prevent disease spread? The truth is, while many immunizations do a great job at reducing spread of a disease through a population, that is not the only thing that they do. Not all vaccines prevent a person from contracting a disease. One of the major things vaccines do is prevent disease severity. A person who gets the influenza vaccine may still come down with the flu despite being vaccinated. However, they will be far less likely to develop severe influenza if they are vaccinated. In 2021, it was found that patients who were vaccinated against influenza had a 26% lower risk of ICU admission and 31% lower risk of death due to the influenza virus. Becoming vaccinated against the flu also prevents overall hospitalization rates, and in the 2019-2020 flu season, approximately 100,000 influenza-related hospitalizations were avoided due to the influenza vaccine. This is not only significantly beneficial for those who were vaccinated against the flu, but also for anyone else who needed a hospital bed for any reason during that flu season. Hospitals had more available space for all patients than they would have had if they were overrun by patients with influenza. Most of the routine vaccines administered are to infants and school-aged children. This kind of legislation makes our schools less safe against preventable disease, putting students, teachers, staff, and families at risk, again not just for infection but serious infection requiring more intensive care. Many people are already aware of the recent measles outbreak in the U.S., which has now reached 30 states. Measles is a highly contagious virus that has been shown to manifest in 90% of close contacts of an infected patient. It typically starts with a fever as high or higher than 104 degrees, runny nose, cough, and conjunctivitis. After about a week, patients often develop the 'classic' measles rash, which starts on the face and spreads down toward the rest of the body. In vaccinated patients, measles can be fairly mild. For unvaccinated children (i.e. school-aged children who did not get the vaccine or infants less than 1 year of age who are not yet old enough for the vaccine), measles often leads to further complications. The mild complications typically include ear infections and diarrhea. More severe complications include pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling in the brain), hospitalization (1 in 5 unvaccinated patients who contract measles require hospitalization), and death (1 to 3 in every 1,000 children with measles). Complications can often also occur in adults, and particularly in pregnant patients where they have higher rates of premature delivery and low birth weight. One complication that people generally are less familiar with is called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), which occurs 7 to 10 years after a child has recovered from the measles infection, and is a fatal disease of the central nervous system. For measles, a vaccination rate in a community needs to be at least 95% to have effective 'herd immunity,' or essentially to prevent a measles outbreak. Last year (2023-2024 school year), New Hampshire kindergartners had a measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination rate of 89.2%, which despite sounding like quite a lot is not nearly enough to prevent spread. The state of Maine does not allow religious or personal exemptions to vaccines for schools, and their kindergartener MMR vaccination rate during the last school year was 97.2%. As of April 24, there have already been 884 reported cases of measles in the United States. This is compared to the 285 cases reported in all of 2024, and the zero cases reported in 2000, when measles was considered fully eradicated from the U.S. Polio, which is generally more severe in its complications and outcomes than measles, is another disease that has been eradicated from the U.S. due to immunization. By loosening the reins on vaccine requirements, we risk reintroducing our communities to these deadly and debilitating diseases. Bad vaccination policies put New Hampshire residents at risk. As a state, we could put our country at risk. Immunizations save lives from preventable illnesses, and by declaring exemption or reducing vaccine requirements, we are not only allowing, but encouraging, the spread of disease. We must not allow our children to die from diseases that their ancestors fought so dearly to prevent.
TimesLIVE
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
SUV maker Jetour to launch European car sales in third quarter
Chinese SUV maker Jetour plans to launch in some European markets in the third quarter and aims to sell cars across much of the continent by 2027, an executive said on Wednesday. The carmaker now makes combustion-engine and plug-in hybrid models, which would not be subject to EU tariffs on Chinese-made fully electric cars. When asked if that had influenced Jetour's decision to sell in Europe, Ke Chuandeng said if successful the brand will look into making cars in Europe. 'I don't think it's realistic to always import cars from China,' Ke said. The Chery unit sold about 560,000 cars last year, and Jetour brand president Ke said sales should hit 800,000 vehicles this year. Ke said Latin America, the Middle East, Russia and Africa accounted for about 35% of its sales, but overseas sales should hit 50% of the total in a few years. 'We believe that in three to five years, the international market will be higher, or at least equal to, our sales in the domestic market,' Ke told Reuters at the Shanghai car show. Jetour makes a series of urban and off-road SUVs that run from about $10,000 (R185,679) to more than $50,000 (R928,022), and a pickup truck model. The company is launching its first full-electric model, the T0, by the end of 2026. In Europe, Jetour will join a growing crowd of Chinese carmakers jostling for share in a competitive market, including BYD, Xpeng and Nio. Changan, another major Chinese carmaker, launched sales in Europe last month. Two other Chery brands, Omoda and Jaecoo, have already launched sales in Europe.
