The Australia Day celebrations in Sydney are befitting of Australia’s oldest and biggest city with events and activities spread far and wide, on the beaches, in the backyards, in the sky and in parks, it’s a day to celebrate in true Aussie style

THE dust storm that pushed air pollution levels to 1500 times their normal levels – the highest on record. “Dust storms like this occur quite regularly but they rarely travel this far east and come through Sydney. It’s travelled about 1500 kilometres to get to Sydney. Fine particles can also irritate the lungs of healthy adults, and it is advised that everyone should significantly cut back on physical activities outside today. Particle levels are likely to be higher outdoors than indoors, so people sensitive to fine particles should limit the time they spend outside. There’s a southwesterly change coming through and that’s what’s been blowing most of the dust away.”

Sydney’s position as one of the world’s leading cities has been confirmed today with the release of results from the latest Anholt-Gfk Roper City Brands Index.

“This ranking means Sydney remains ahead of cities like London, Rome, New York and San Francisco in the minds of consumers internationally as one of the world’s most attractive tourist destinations, This international recognition confirms what residents already know – that Sydney is a fantastic city with world-renowned attractions and friendly people. Sydney topped the index for climate and cleanliness and has been judged to have the friendliest people. Sydney was also ranked in the top three cities in the world as a good place to do business, find a job or study. The fact that Sydney was ranked number one in the world overall for the last two years, is in itself, a remarkable achievement, This year’s result demonstrates that the work we are now doing particularly with our international events and festival program is important to refresh the way visitors perceive Sydney. The success of the recent VIVID Sydney Festival is a prime example of the work being put in to ensure Sydney strengthens its profile as an international destination. The Government is continually looking to partner with industry to promote Sydney and NSW as an attractive and affordable travel destination.”  Ms McKay said.

The National Climate Emergency Rallies called on Australia to take the lead at the UN environment summit in December in Copenhagen.  Activists also want an end to Australia’s dependence on cheap and plentiful supplies of coal. It is one of the world’s worst per capita emitters of greenhouse gases.

Protesters were urged to wear red to highlight the risks of global warming. In Sydney, rally organiser Moira Williams said that a coalition of trade unions and religious groups, as well as students and environmental campaigners, was pushing for immediate action.

“We need to be making these alliances and be stronger than the fossil fuel industry that currently has such a strong grip on climate policy in Australia. That is the positive in this rally and in this year – that we need to build that movement and it does need to come from the ground up, because at the moment we are not seeing any action from the top down.”

Scientists have warned that Australia is particularly vulnerable to the effects of a shifting climate. As temperatures increase, there are predictions that coastal communities will be threatened by rising sea levels, while other parts of the country could suffer more severe droughts, cyclones and bushfires. The government in Canberra has repeatedly stressed that tackling climate change is a priority.

Street thugs in Harris Park, in Sydney’s west, were violently attacking elderly white women for a number of years before shifting their focus to Indians, says a NSW politician who raised the problem of violence in the suburb in State Parliament two years ago. Gordon Moyes, a member of the NSW upper house, said he understood Indian students’ rage at being “picked on”, but believed the problem of street crime in Harris Park had gone unaddressed for years. “I found that over a period of time many elderly Anglo-Saxon women were attacked and robbed and had their purses snatched and phones stolen,the attacks were mainly carried out by young Middle-Eastern men.”  It was mainly street crime but it was street crime with threats, they were very aggressive. And there were concerns that police weren’t around at the time when they were needed. What has happened over the last few years is that a number of Indians students, attracted by fairly cheap accommodation, have come into the area, The target – always the soft targets – moved from elderly people walking on the street to Indian students with laptops. I think elderly ‘Anglos’ became more cautious in venturing out, and the target shifted to another group. This has been their turf for as long as they’ve been alive, and now they’ve got different people moving in – there’s a bit of assertion on street areas. I can understand the rage that has built up, and the way groups of them have decided to come together to protest. Any time any group in the community feels like they are being picked on, whether it’s elderly pensioners or young Indian students – and feel no one is doing anything about it – they are going to get angry. I’ve also got a great deal of sympathy for police, who can’t be everywhere at the same time. They are an easy group to blame.” he said.

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research says there has been no recorded increase in assault crimes in Harris Park in the past two years, but many incidents went unreported. “Somewhere around 70 per cent [of assaults] don’t get reported to the police,” bureau director Don Weatherburn told the ABC.