Beaches closed as looming cyclone brings danger to Queensland

Severe Tropical Cyclone Oma is expected to bring more dangerous surf conditions and abnormally high tides as it moves closer to the southern Queensland coast, the weather bureau warns.

Didgeridoo player Russell Corowa is dwarfed by
 waves at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast on Tuesday.

The category two weather system was about 1100 kilometres north-east of Brisbane on Wednesday morning, and moving slowly towards Australia.

Beaches on the Gold Coast have already been closed this week, with people urged not to enter the water. A strong tide created by the impending cyclone has brought waves of up to three metres and led to some coastal streets being inundated.

On Tuesday, the king tide north of Mackay caused some erosion at Midge Point, and the Pioneer River to flow into the nearby carpark.

Read The New Daily story -  “Beaches closed as looming cyclone brings danger to Queensland.”

We banned cigarette ads - now we should ban car ads, too

A ban on car advertising may seem far-fetched, but if you compare the automotive and the tobacco industries, the similarities may be closer than you think. Smoking and car use have comparable health costs, yet while we have the strictest tobacco promotion laws in the world, we allow car companies to promote themselves unbridled.

Britain recently estimated that they could save themselves
£1.6 billion in health costs if they copied the Dutch approach to cycling.

Smoking accounts for around 15,000 deaths and an estimated cost to the economy of $31.5 billion each year. Car accidents alone cost the economy an only slightly smaller $29.7 billion, but this does not include the significant health costs of air pollution and inactivity resulting from car use. Around 1300 people die and 32,000 are seriously injured in vehicle accidents each year. And while the vast majority of smoking-related deaths occur in those aged over 65, road trauma destroys young lives. It is the leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 29. Even more damning, however, is the little-known fact that the premature deaths from the road toll may be dwarfed by those from vehicle emissions.

Read the comment by Arwen Birtch from The Age - “We banned cigarette ads - now we should ban car ads, too.”