RED LEATHER
This is my blog: 3-4 posts a week for ongoing conversation about my work and issues of the day.

The NSW Government yesterday launched the NSW Cancer Plan 2011 - 2015.

Previous plans have resulted in major improvements in cancer prevention, including:

- adult smoking rates have dropped by 4 per cent to 18.4 per cent;

- youth smoking rates have reduced by almost half to 8.6 per cent; and

- cancer mortality rates fell by 12.9 per cent in males and 6.4 in females (last 10 years)

The NSW Cancer Plan 2011 - 2015 focuses on five areas:

- Prevention - such as tobacco control, UV radiation and lifestyle factors like obesity and diet;

- Early detection - smaller cancers detected early result in greater survival rates;

Welcome to the first edition of Red Leather for 2010. The NSW political year begins with a new Premier and an opposition at war with itself over preselections while Barry O'Farrell ducks and runs overseas. 

Transport remains a key focus of the government. The new transport plan is still under consideration by cabinet and is expected to be released before the end of February. In the meantime the government will implement the new streamlined new ticketing system called Myzone. It is a system of integrated ticketing between rail, bus and ferry and caps the weekly fares to $57 per week.  

The Premier and Minister for Transport and Roads today announced a new, streamlined fare structure for our public transport system.

The new fare structure, MyZone, will apply across the entire
CityRail, State Transit, Sydney Ferries and private bus networks in the greater
Sydney region, including the Blue Mountains,
Southern Highlands, Illawarra, Central Coast and the Hunter. 

MyZone is based on how far you travel and
includes:

- MyTrain: Five train fare bands instead of the
current 20+;

- MyFerry:  Two ferry fare bands instead of the
current five;

The end of 2009 proved itself to be yet another example of why just when you think you understand what is happening in politics, it changes before your very eyes.

In NSW we have a new Premier.  I would like to record my thanks to Nathan Rees for his hard work and dedication to people in NSW. In his time as Premier, Nathan made an incredible contribution. Nathan Rees;

Yesterday's announcement by Senator Stephen Conroy that the federal government will introduce "mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) -rated content" is a backward step that if adopted will be a triumph of fear and false promise over what works and good sense.

I add my voice to the many that understand that the Federal Government's proposals to filter the Internet are: