Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline; these meet VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) English requirements
Please note: there is no clippings package for this issue outline. Instead, the opinion pieces necessary for VCE English Unit 3 Language Analysis have been drawn from the Internet. They come from Australian sites and were posted on or after September 1, 2007. Direct links are provided below.
Explanation: there has been considerable interest from schools in the issue of whether mulesing should proceed, but the major newspapers seem reluctant to run comment / opinion on the matter. We at Echo are at a loss to explain this and we would hope to see more opinion in print in the near future.
The links below (drawn from the "Internet Information" section above) are direct links to opinions published after September 1 on the Internet. (You can also run a search for straight news items in the Echo Newspaper Indexes section)
On October 18/10/07 radio commentator Alan Jones expressed his views on PETA's campaign against mulesing and Australian woolgrowers who use the procedure. Alan Jones is highly critical of PETA.
Jones' comments can be found at http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2007/10/18/Wool_producers_suffer_enough_without_PETAs_stupidity
On December 7, 2007, Animal Liberation Australia issued a media release criticising the proposed use of plastic clips to cause non-surgical mulesing. The group believe this procedure also causes unacceptable levels of distress to the lambs. The full text of the media release can be found at http://www.animal-lib.org.au/mediareleases/041207%20mulesing%20clips.doc
On December 24, 2007, The Sydney Morning Herald published a letter from Christine Townend, the founder of Animal Liberation. The letter titled, 'Progress on mulesing shows there is no excuse for cruelty', is a criticism of the current mulesing procedures and suggests alternatives are available. The full text can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/news/letters/progress-on-mulesing-shows-there-is-no-excuse-for-cruelty/2007/12/23/1198344877124.html
On March 10, 2008, the New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries, said that moves to stop mulesing immediately in his state were premature. His views were put in an article titled 'Suggestion to stop mulesing too hasty: Macdonald' which was published in the Farmonline journal, 'The Land'. The full text of the article can be found at http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/livestock/sheep/suggestion-to-stop-mulesing-too-hasty-macdonald/82107.aspx
On March 28, 2008, Opinion Online, an Internet comment site, published an opinion piece titled, 'www.BoycottSweden.com'. The piece was written by Jonathan J. Ariel, an economist and financial analyst.
Ariel argues that the Swedish opposition to mulesing is misinformed and suggests a degree of economic self-interest in the Swedish boycott of Australian wool. The full text of the comment can be found at http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=7164&page=1
On April 4, 2008, Tamworth's 'Northern Daily Leader' newspaper published a letter to the editor titled, 'So long, Ian. Go out to pasture'. The letter is written by Ingrid E Newkirk, the President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
The letter is a criticism of former Liberal politician and federal Minister for Defence and former president of the National Farmers' Federation, Ian McLachlan. The letter criticises McLachlan's support of mulesing and suggests his own extensive breeding stocks may have influenced his position on developing sheep with wool-free breeches.
The full text of this letter can be found at http://tamworth.yourguide.com.au/news/opinion/opinion/so-long-ian-go-out-to-pasture/1216476.html