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A matter of trust

Melinda Houston
June 21, 2009
Many Australians don't trust Kyle Sandilands, according to a recent survey.

Many Australians don't trust Kyle Sandilands, according to a recent survey.
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We feel like we know people on the telly, even if we've never met them. And that, writes Melinda Houston, leads us to some interesting assumptions about who we can count on.

Would you trust Kyle Sandilands to open a door for you? If you're anything like most Australians, the answer would be a resounding no. Indeed, it appears we wouldn't trust Sandilands in all manner of matters: in a recent survey by pollsters The Leading Edge, carried out on behalf of Reader's Digest, poor Sandilands came in at 90 on a list of 100 most trusted prominent Australians. (The survey also included some fun extras: Who would you trust to ... drive your new car? Be honest in an online dating profile? And - open a door for you?)

Of course, there are many more people we'd trust less and the poll is based on a list of newsmakers, but it makes fascinating reading for all that.

Encouragingly, our most-trusted are the people regularly making news for their good works, topped by Dr Fiona Wood whose work with burn victims (including those from the Bali bombings and more recently a leaky boat full of refugees) has fixed her in our consciousness as a thoroughly good sort.

The list also provides some tantalising glimpses into the Australian psyche: on what we value, and how we form our judgements. Unsurprisingly, mother-figures rate highly, with Wood the highest of them all. Further down the list, Mel rates higher than Kochie, Kate Ritchie rates higher than Cate Blanchett, Olivia Newton John higher than Delta Goodrem, and Joanna Griggs miles ahead of Sarah Murdoch. It seems we have a faint distrust of glamour. Hugh Jackman storms in at six; Nicole Kidman languishes at 45.

Despite our reputation as a nation of larrikins, we don't really trust people who rock the boat. Perpetually genial Ernie Dingo comes in at 12; Noel Pearson and Australian of the Year Mick Dodson - both characterised in the list as "activists" - rank 66 and 64 respectively.

And although in a separate survey of trusted occupations, journalists assumed their usual lowly position alongside politicians, astrologers and car salesmen, a handful of middle-aged blokes managed to buck the trend. The 7.30 Report's Kerry O'Brien was the standout performer, rising from 49 last year to 26. He may be broadly caricatured as a lefty radical and possible Soviet mole but in these troubled times we forgive him his latte-sipping sins. As social researcher Dr Rebecca Huntley notes: "There are only a few figures that we feel have the gravitas and experience to tell us the truth about where Australian society is heading. Kerry is one of them."

It's also the nature of the modern world that much of the list comprises people whose chief claim to fame is being on the telly, along with a motley assortment of sports people, film types, politicians and musicians. Most of whom also regularly appear on the telly. And that inevitably skews how we rate people. So Karl Stefanovic out-rates Justice Robert French; Karl Kruszelnicki out-rates Tim Flannery; and Dr Harry Cooper, the vet from Better Homes and Gardens sits in the top 10, 60 points clear of the Governor of the Reserve Bank.

It's one of the curious and enduring attributes of television. While our rational minds acknowledge that it is, largely, make-believe, we also absolutely believe. These people - Kerry and Kochie and Dr Karl and Dr Harry - are in our lounge rooms, talking to us directly. We feel like we know them. But the truth is, we don't know them at all. Certainly, after years in the public eye, as Kerry and Kochie have been, bad behaviour in private is bound to leak out. The fact that it hasn't can give us some confidence that they are, in fact, trustworthy.

But for others, what we see on the small screen does not necessarily bear much relation to what goes on out in the real world. Witness erstwhile Hi-5 member Kelli Crawford, who bared almost all in Ralph magazine earlier this year. Who would have guessed, watching her prance for preschoolers, that lay in her future? And then there's Sandilands. His public persona may rub many up the wrong way, but there's actually no evidence that he's a bad or untrustworthy person. Indeed, the people closest to him seem very fond of him. And when it comes to who might open a door for you, in real life there's a better than 50-50 chance that Sandilands would do just that.

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Garrett approves new SA uranium mine

Posted 43 minutes ago
Updated 32 minutes ago
Mr Garrett says the decision was a difficult one.

Mr Garrett says the decision was a difficult one. (AAP: Alan Porritt, file photo)

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Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has given the go ahead for the operation of a new uranium mine in South Australia.

Uranium will now be able to be extracted from the Four Mile mine, near the existing Beverley mine, which is more than 500 kilometres north of Adelaide and around 300 kilometres north-east of Port Augusta.

Mr Garrett says the decision to allow the mine to operate was a difficult one, and was only made after rigorous assessments.

"As with all proposals examined under national environment law, this mine was subject to a comprehensive, scientifically robust and transparent assessment process," he said in a statement.

"Following this thorough assessment and careful consideration, I am certain this operation poses no credible risk to the environment."

Mr Garrett says waste from the mine will be processed at the existing Beverley mine.

Gay penguin has change of heart

After six years together, the relationship between a pair of gay male penguins at San Francisco zoo is apparently over, with Harry leaving Pepper for another penguin - Linda.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday (local time) that the relationship between Harry and Pepper, who lived side-by-side protecting eggs abandoned by other penguins, came to a shocking end when Harry moved into a neighbouring nest with recently-widowed Linda.

The development has sparked a variety of reactions in the blogosphere, where Linda has been called a "home wrecker" who "lives for her own happiness, no matter who gets hurt".

Harrison Edell, a curator of birds at the zoo, had a more pragmatic explanation, noting that Linda's recently-deceased partner was a leader of sorts among the small zoo penguin community, commanding not one but two nests.

"For penguins, real estate means a lot," Mr Edell told the Los Angeles Times, so "as far as penguins go, she was a pretty attractive prospect".

With Pepper rejoining the ranks of the single, Christian website OneNewsNow.com took the split as a sign that "nature prefers heterosexual relationships".

Others were more sympathetic to the bereft Pepper.

John, writing on The Frigging Loon blog, said he was "heartbroken" about the split and that he hopes Pepper "finds another male penguin that is 10 times hotter than Harry!".

Best man 'squinting' during alleged buck's night rape
Adrian Lowe
July 31, 2009 - 8:07AM

A BEST man who claims he was raped by a stripper at a bucks’ night two years ago has told a court he ‘‘was slightly in pain’’ the day after the party.

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said he was ‘‘shocked’’ and ‘‘pretty upset’’ after the stripper penetrated him with a dildo.

Linda Maree Naggs, 40, of Rosebud West, has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and is standing trial in the Victorian County Court.

The court heard that the man was on all fours, with his pants around his ankles, when Naggs poured cream on his back and on the dildo and made thrusting motions.

The man, who said he had been an unwilling participant in Naggs’ show, told the court he scuffled with Naggs and told her to leave after the incident.

‘‘She said it was just a joke, just a joke,’’ he said.

Witnesses told the court that as Naggs was leaving the house she repeatedly said ‘‘sorry’’, and one said Naggs claimed ‘‘it was an accident’’.

They told of seeing the best man looking like he was in pain and ‘‘squinting’’ during the stripper’s act.

The next day, the best man said he ‘‘didn’t feel very well, I didn’t feel right’’. He was ‘‘very, very uncomfortable’’ and told friends about the incident.

The man said he organised the night’s entertainment, hiring two strippers from the Simply Irresistible agency.

Under questioning from defence barrister Paul Higham, he agreed that the agency representative he spoke to told him that he was booking a show entitled ‘‘Anal’’.

The man said he was no longer friends with the groom after he made comments about the stripper incident at the wedding.

Mr Higham put it to the complainant, his brother and a friend, who gave evidence in the trial yesterday, that after Naggs poured cream on to the best man’s back, she asked the crowd: ‘‘Well guys, shall I give it to him?’’

He said the crowd had encouraged her.

The trial, before Justice Tim Wood, continues today. With AAP

Soap star admits cocaine charge

By court reporter Jamelle Wells

Posted 2 hours 13 minutes ago
Updated 1 hour 34 minutes ago
Todd Lasance

Todd Lasance won a Silver Logie for 'most popular actor' in 2009. (AAP: Tracey Nearmy)

* Map: Sydney 2000
* Related Story: Home and Away actor on cocaine charge
* Related Story: Soap star's cocaine case adjourned

Television actor Todd Lasance has pleaded guilty to a drug charge.

The former star of Channel Seven's Home and Away was charged with possessing a small amount of cocaine after being arrested at a Christmas party in a Kings Cross nightclub in December.

The actor who played Aden Jeffries in the show was found with 0.36 of a gram of the drug.

He has fronted Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court today to plead guilty.

His lawyer, Chris Ford, said the actor had a bright future on the international stage and a conviction would affect his prospects overseas.

The lawyer said the actor deserved another chance and referred to the embarrassment and media scrutiny he has suffered since his arrest.

No conviction was recorded, but a magistrate imposed a 12-month good behaviour bond. After that Lasance will be allowed to travel to the United States.

The magistrate said to Lasance "You're in the entertainment industry but I don't feel entertained by your conduct," he said.

The magistrate said he was "tempted to make an example" of the act