LIES, LIES, LIES -- AND DAMNED STATISTICS! - May 2016
Anyone reading The Advertiser on Monday May 16 would have been forgiven, from that rag’s breathless front-page “Special Report” on crime statistics, that the Barossa was a hot-bed of crime and a haven for outlaws in a State where criminal offences are on a swift upward rise.
The report cited Police figures which, according to The Advertiser, showed the Barossa recorded ...”the largest overall increase in crime, up 12 percent.”
Tsk, Tsk, you Barossans -- Go straight to jail, don’t pass ‘Go’, don’t collect $200! On the great Monopoly Board of life, the State’s citizenry will soon be building a Donald Trump-like wall around us, to keep us in. Bread (and very bad wine) for the lot of us!
What a pile of horse droppings! Yes, like the rest of the State’s regions, the Barossa has seen an increase in crime, but in cold hard numbers, we are as near-as-damnit the safest and crime-controlled region in South Australia.
The Advertiser based its spray against the Barossa, among other things, on an ‘increase’ in ‘offences against property’, where the lead indicator ‘Serious Criminal Trespass’ had increased - but, across the very wide area of the Barossa, by less than 3 offences per week! Now, ‘Serious Criminal Trespass’ occurs if you enter or remain in a place (other than a place that is open to the public) as a ‘trespasser’. In other words you are not invited nor have you been given approval to be on private land. (A bit like when the relatives come over...) Given the increasing use of private CCTV surveillance, it is more than likely that the increase in this ‘statistic’ is based on increased reporting, rather than an increase in crime committed.
Anyone reading The Advertiser on Monday May 16 would have been forgiven, from that rag’s breathless front-page “Special Report” on crime statistics, that the Barossa was a hot-bed of crime and a haven for outlaws in a State where criminal offences are on a swift upward rise.
The report cited Police figures which, according to The Advertiser, showed the Barossa recorded ...”the largest overall increase in crime, up 12 percent.”
Tsk, Tsk, you Barossans -- Go straight to jail, don’t pass ‘Go’, don’t collect $200! On the great Monopoly Board of life, the State’s citizenry will soon be building a Donald Trump-like wall around us, to keep us in. Bread (and very bad wine) for the lot of us!
What a pile of horse droppings! Yes, like the rest of the State’s regions, the Barossa has seen an increase in crime, but in cold hard numbers, we are as near-as-damnit the safest and crime-controlled region in South Australia.
The Advertiser based its spray against the Barossa, among other things, on an ‘increase’ in ‘offences against property’, where the lead indicator ‘Serious Criminal Trespass’ had increased - but, across the very wide area of the Barossa, by less than 3 offences per week! Now, ‘Serious Criminal Trespass’ occurs if you enter or remain in a place (other than a place that is open to the public) as a ‘trespasser’. In other words you are not invited nor have you been given approval to be on private land. (A bit like when the relatives come over...) Given the increasing use of private CCTV surveillance, it is more than likely that the increase in this ‘statistic’ is based on increased reporting, rather than an increase in crime committed.
‘Theft and related offences’ increased in the Barossa by - wait for it - less than 1 offence per week! If you lived in the leafy green suburbs of Adelaide’s Eastern suburbs, you were more than 3 times more likely, in 2015, to have experienced theft than in the Barossa!
And in the ‘grab bag’ of offences that go to make up ‘offences against the person’, the Barossa is the SAFEST region in the State. Note that in the category ‘Homicide and related offences’, the Barossa reported ZERO offences for 2015, the only SA region to do so.
Of course, we in the Barossa, like all regions of the State, would like to report zero crimes against people and property, but that, sadly, is just not realistic. The Advertiser and those it interviewed for its tabloid scare-story did make the point, rightly, that the State’s startling unemployment rate is fuelling crime, with Elizabeth and surrounds topping the tables in all crime indicators. It may be right to assume, given that the Barossa abuts Adelaide’s Northern suburbs where unemployment is at its highest, that crime in our region may rise as ne’er-do-wells seek nearby soft targets.
All the more reason for us all to be doubly alert, as unemployment will continue to rise in Adelaide’s North over the coming months and years.
But to ‘highlight’ the Barossa as a ‘crime hotspot’ as The Advertiser has done, is incorrect and unfair and potentially harms our proudest ‘statistic’ as the State’s premier tourist region.
And in the ‘grab bag’ of offences that go to make up ‘offences against the person’, the Barossa is the SAFEST region in the State. Note that in the category ‘Homicide and related offences’, the Barossa reported ZERO offences for 2015, the only SA region to do so.
Of course, we in the Barossa, like all regions of the State, would like to report zero crimes against people and property, but that, sadly, is just not realistic. The Advertiser and those it interviewed for its tabloid scare-story did make the point, rightly, that the State’s startling unemployment rate is fuelling crime, with Elizabeth and surrounds topping the tables in all crime indicators. It may be right to assume, given that the Barossa abuts Adelaide’s Northern suburbs where unemployment is at its highest, that crime in our region may rise as ne’er-do-wells seek nearby soft targets.
All the more reason for us all to be doubly alert, as unemployment will continue to rise in Adelaide’s North over the coming months and years.
But to ‘highlight’ the Barossa as a ‘crime hotspot’ as The Advertiser has done, is incorrect and unfair and potentially harms our proudest ‘statistic’ as the State’s premier tourist region.
Country Cabinet meets in Nuriootpa - October 2015
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South Australia's Cabinet Ministers have ventured beyond the metro area to learn of the concerns of people in the Barossa Valley - an event, late on a Sunday arvo, which was highly appreciated by those who attended - and illustrated why the Labor Government should get out more! Check out the event's success in our 3 minute video below....
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In our short audio track below, two local Barossans and Barossa Mayor Bob Sloane reflect on the Community Cabinet meeting.....
Winter Wonderland in Williamstown! - 2015
Christmas lights, Queen St Williamstown
With all towns in the Barossa Valley enjoying their Christmas Parades and community parties, we thought we'd take a look at Williamstown's celebrations, being as it is the Southeastern Gateway to the Barossa.
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Williamstown locals share the best of the Valley but with a unique closeness to Northern Adelaide's defence and manufacturing industries and metropolitan Adelaide, both areas being just a short distance away via perhaps the State's most picturesque commuter drives. (Hey! Try getting to Adelaide from places like Mount Barker down the dreaded SE Freeway, or the outer regions like Mount Compass or areas further south!). Little wonder Williamstown folk celebrate both a rural and Barossa Valley 'feel', with the bonus of metropolitan convenience close by. This unique mix came together as Williamstown's 'commuter community' - and its rural 'backbone' - came together to enjoy the town's Christmas celebrations on December 13. Check out our 6 minute video at right (best viewed at its current size - depending on your upload capacity, the video may buffer).
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Former Barossa Council Mayor dies - October 2015
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The former Mayor of the Barossa Council and long-time doyen of the Barossa Valley's Local Government fraternity, Brian Hurn OAM, has died.
Mr Hurn, known affectionately as 'Bunga', died peacefully at the Angaston Hospital on October 18. He was 76. Mr Hurn not only played a larger-than-life part in his local community throughout his life, he was one of South Australia's sporting heroes, winning fame as a cricketer. He played in the 1963-64 Sheffield Shield side alongside other cricketing greats, Les Favell, Ian Chappell and Sir Garfield Sobers. He served in local government for 37 years. At the Community Cabinet meeting held in Nuriootpa on the day Mr Hurn died, State Premier Jay Weatherill led a tribute to Mr Hurn which included a minute's silence. Hear the Premier's tribute in our audio track below, which also features a tribute from the current Mayor of the Barossa Council, Bob Sloane. |
Brian 'Bunga' Hurn. RIP.
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The State Government says a big 'thank you' to CFS volunteers - June 2015
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Those of us who live in the Barossa Valley held our collective breath in January as the bushfire which became known as the 'Sampson Flat' fire ravaged towns and communities to our south while at the same time bringing back uncomfortable memories of last year's fires in the Eden Valley region and which threatened Angaston.
Standing in the way of those fires was the South Australian Country Fire Service whose volunteers went above and beyond the call of duty to protect lives and property. That in both fires no lives were lost - and in reality there was minimal property damage (in relation to the huge size of both fires) - stands as a lasting testimony to those who go to those fires, who do what they can, and who win against often insurmountable odds. Thus it was important these months on that on June 21 2015, the State's Premier Jay Weatherill served up a 'thank you' with a number of parliamentary dignitaries across the political divide, in the traditional Aussie manner, with a traditional 'Sunday arvo barby' - an event recognised ceremoniously by the attendance of the State Governor, His Excellency Hieu Van Le.
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Warning to motorcyclists and motorists visiting the Barossa over the holiday period
South Australia's new Highway Patrol vehicles
With Christmas and the New Year just around the corner, a timely road safety reminder has been issued by the SA Police and the SA Minister for Road Safety Tony Piccolo, particularly to motorcyclists who increasingly use roads leading to the Barossa as their own personal raceway over weekends and holiday periods.
Assistant Police Commissioner Linda Williams says the police will be highly visible this holiday season as a result of a new fleet of Highway Patrol vehicles which stand out, having traded their traditional 'white' look for something a little more noticeable.
Road Safety Minister Tony Piccolo was also on hand to remind all road users to of their responsibilities. Hear their comments below ....
Assistant Police Commissioner Linda Williams says the police will be highly visible this holiday season as a result of a new fleet of Highway Patrol vehicles which stand out, having traded their traditional 'white' look for something a little more noticeable.
Road Safety Minister Tony Piccolo was also on hand to remind all road users to of their responsibilities. Hear their comments below ....
A bottler at Seppeltsfield!
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Over a Century ago, before automated bottling lines had even been dreamed of, hard-working Barossans sat in Benno Seppelt's newly built winery and carefully packed his fine fortifieds and brandies into wooden crates for shipment elsewhere in the Colony - and the world. In the Bottling Hall, an industry was born.
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Over the decades, that Prussian work ethic and the drive of Benno Seppelt has seen Seppeltsfield grow to be a major player in Australia's wine industry. Over the years, mechanisation provided new means of getting product to market, and the men and boys of the Bottling Hall are sadly no longer. The Bottling Hall survived in a new guise, becoming the company's famous Cellar Door in the magnificent bluestone complex which also houses the iconic Barrel Room where patrons today can buy 100-year old fortifieds, or sample precious drops of the rich tawny which captured the sun of their birth year.
Now the Bottling Hall/Cellar Door is to enter its third age, thanks to a sensitive and thoughtful $3m makeover by Seppeltsfield's present owner, Warren Randall. The space has been gutted and carefully restored and modernised under heritage supervision - keeping and enhancing the old, but adding new features and facilities which will restore the 'Crown of the Barossa' to Seppeltsfield Winery.
The space is to be re-born as Seppelts Cellar Door AND fine Restaurant FINO - a restaurant whose famous name is synonymous with exceptional dining. FINO will bring progressive regional dining based on local Barossa produce and an exciting wine list - a highlight being a dedicated Fino Sherry barrel (now known in Australia as ‘Apera’), in which by-the-glass (fresh off-flor) liquid gold will be drawn upon daily.
Outside, the once austere space in front of the Cellar Door is being transformed into a spectacular landscaped terraced garden featuring (what else?) the sandstones and bluestones which sets Seppeltsfield apart from any other winery in Australia.
Seppeltsfield's old hands from the last Century would be smiling - and Benno Seppelt would be extremely proud. It's going to be a bottler!
Get our audio Talking Tours on the History and Provenance of the Valley - and our Wine Appreciation for Cellar Door visitors - both of which feature Seppeltsfield) . You can also read this story on our Facebook page by clicking here.
Now the Bottling Hall/Cellar Door is to enter its third age, thanks to a sensitive and thoughtful $3m makeover by Seppeltsfield's present owner, Warren Randall. The space has been gutted and carefully restored and modernised under heritage supervision - keeping and enhancing the old, but adding new features and facilities which will restore the 'Crown of the Barossa' to Seppeltsfield Winery.
The space is to be re-born as Seppelts Cellar Door AND fine Restaurant FINO - a restaurant whose famous name is synonymous with exceptional dining. FINO will bring progressive regional dining based on local Barossa produce and an exciting wine list - a highlight being a dedicated Fino Sherry barrel (now known in Australia as ‘Apera’), in which by-the-glass (fresh off-flor) liquid gold will be drawn upon daily.
Outside, the once austere space in front of the Cellar Door is being transformed into a spectacular landscaped terraced garden featuring (what else?) the sandstones and bluestones which sets Seppeltsfield apart from any other winery in Australia.
Seppeltsfield's old hands from the last Century would be smiling - and Benno Seppelt would be extremely proud. It's going to be a bottler!
Get our audio Talking Tours on the History and Provenance of the Valley - and our Wine Appreciation for Cellar Door visitors - both of which feature Seppeltsfield) . You can also read this story on our Facebook page by clicking here.
The Barossa turns on its best just days after disastrous fires in 2014
Barossans turned out in their droves to watch the world's best bike riders battle it out through the streets of Nuriootpa, Tanunda and Angaston in the first stage of the 2014 Santos Tour Down Under.
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Organisers put the combined crowd watching the event at over 80,000 - a magnificent turnout given that Angaston had been threatened by the Eden Valley fires only days before. The weather was warm, but nothing like that in the heatwave which preceded the fires.
We took a look not at the serious side of the race, but at the festivities and how the locals in all Barossa towns continue to embrace the Tour Down Under. Stage 3 included the Barossa's southern-eastern gateway, Williamstown - check that too in our video coverage of the TDU in the Barossa - and that unique taste of the Barossa's hospitality! (runs 5:50 approx) |
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