Former Socceroos Ned Zelic watches footage of his famous goal against Holland. Photo: Jamila Toderas Ned Zelic returned to Erindale College on Monday for the sport stars of the year awards. Isaac Dean, Georgia Bass and the college’s rugby league team took out the top gongs. Photo: Jamila Toderas

Australian soccer star Ned Zelic thinks the Asian Cup is Japan’s to lose and that pressure puts the Socceroos in a strong position to claim the title for the first time.

While Zelic saw positives for the Aussies, he wasn’t so upbeat about fellow Canberran Carl Valeri’s hopes of breaking into the Socceroos squad for the tournament in Australia in January as he felt coach Ange Postecoglou was looking at other options.

Zelic was back at his old school, Erindale College, for its annual sports awards on Monday, where he relived his wonder goal against Holland that qualified the Olyroos for the 1992 Olympic Games.

He  said the Socceroos had the ability to win the Asian Cup, but felt making the semi-finals was a more realistic goal.

Australia lost a friendly 2-1 to Japan  last week, which Zelic said made the reigning Asian Cup champions the favourite to go back-to-back.

But he said that favouritism brought extra pressure.

“I think [Australia] can win it, but being realistic now I think getting into the semi-finals that is realistic and what happens from then on, who knows,” Zelic said.

“I’m not at the point where I can say we’re going to win the tournament.

“We can, we have the ability and the quality to do so, but there’s a lot of things that have to fall into place.

“I don’t think we have that real pressure on us going into the tournament, because people have seen we’ve struggled.

“I think it’s not a bad position to be in, I think all the pressure is on Japan.”

Valeri has reignited his career with A-League club Melbourne Victory this season after an ankle injury forced him out for more than a year.

Despite having 52 Socceroos caps, Zelic felt his omission against Japan was an indication for the Asian Cup.

But he said Valeri had proved himself on the world stage and was someone Postecoglou could turn to.

“I think Ange is looking more towards younger players now,” Zelic said.

“Carl’s been there, played at the World Cup as well, I think Ange is looking beyond.

“The fact that Carl wasn’t involved in Japan – you can’t rule him out completely, a lot of things could happen – but if you’re being realistic about it I think it’s going to be tough for him to get in.

“Carl’s shown that he can perform for the Socceroos.

“You’ve got some players that do well at club level, but struggle internationally. I think Carl’s a different case.

“He’s got the experience overseas and is always someone that you can turn to and know that he’ll go out and do a solid job for you.

“But I’m just looking at it from Ange’s point of view and the fact that he hasn’t been involved now.”

Erindale’s top gongs went to martial artist Isaac Dean, snowboarder Georgia Bass and its senior rugby league team.

CANBERRA’S ASIAN CUP GAMES

South Korea v Oman, January 10 4pm

UAE v  Qatar, January 11 6pm

Kuwait v South Korea, January 13 6pm

Bahrain v UAE, January 15 6pm

China v North Korea, January 18 8pm

Iraq v Palestine, January 20 8pm

Quarter-final, January 23 5.30pm

Staying: The head of the ABC Mark Scott. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen Staying: The head of the ABC Mark Scott. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Staying: The head of the ABC Mark Scott. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

ABC chief Mark Scott is pledging to remain at the helm of the public broadcaster to implement hundreds of jobs cuts, unpopular program changes and a bigger emphasis on digital content.

After announcing that more than 400 ABC employees could be made redundant, Mr Scott committed to seeing out the rest of his contract.

“I’ve still got 18 months or more to go … I’m planning to fulfil that,” he told Fairfax Media on Monday. “The board’s asked me to do that. And I’m keen to do that, so that’s my planning at this point.”

Mr Scott’s pledge stares down recent pressure from Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who announced last week that he would write to the ABC Board, recommending it strips Mr Scott of half of his responsibilities. Mr Turnbull has argued that it is inappropriate for Mr Scott to be both editor-in-chief and managing director of the broadcaster.

Mr Scott did not buy into the idea, simply saying, “If the Minister has other views on how we should be organised … then he can write to the board and of course the board will consider that and respond.”

In an address to ABC staff on Monday, Mr Scott said that close to 10 per cent of the ABC’s permanent workforce could lose their jobs as the broadcaster deals with a $254 million funding cut announced by Mr Turnbull last week. In a separate briefing to journalists, ABC news director Kate Torney announced that 100 of the 400 job losses would come from the news division. However, with new digital positions being created, the overall job losses for the division are expected to be around 30.

While many ABC news journalists were expected to find out on Monday if they would be effected by the redundancies – which will not be an open, voluntary scheme – others within the ABC will have to wait until next year to learn of their fate.

Among other changes, which are supported by the ABC board, the Friday state editions of 7.30 will be axed, TV production in South Australia will end, most radio bulletins will be cut back to five minutes and local sports coverage will be reduced. Ms Torney also told reporters the ABC’s Auckland bureau would be axed and that a new bureau would be created in Beirut.

The prestigious Lateline will move to an earlier, regular slot on ABC 24, while continuing in a later spot on ABC1 for 2015. Mr Scott said that he frequently received complaints that Lateline aired too late and did not have a regular timeslot.

“I think we’ve just got to recognise that we’ve got a news channel and we plan to use that news channel well,” he said.

The ABC head dismissed suggestions that he was using the cover of the budget cuts to carry out long-planned, unpopular reforms.

“They’re decisions that we’re a bit reluctant on, we don’t approach them with any great joy,” he said.

But Mr Scott stressed that the ABC had a greater priority, which was to invest in mobile and online media to ensure the broadcaster’s future. He described a new $20 million digital investment fund as “just a downpayment”. “We need to be able to continue to follow our audiences.”

The ABC managing director is more than half way through his second term as head of the ABC. He started the role in July 2006 and is due to finish in July 2016.

In response to the changes, ABC Friends said it was dismayed by the “damage that this government is inflicting on the ABC”. “The government was given no mandate to destroy the national public broadcaster,” national spokeswoman Glenys Stradijot said.

In question time, Labor tried unsuccessfully to censure Prime Minister Tony Abbott for promising there would be no cuts to the ABC or SBS.  “He is a narrow man,” Labor leader Bill Shorten said. “He has no ideology other than extremism.”

Earlier, Mr Abbott argued that “everyone” knew efficiency dividends would be applied across government and he had not said there would be “special treatment” for the ABC.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott rejected claims he lied about ABC budget cuts. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Prime Minister Tony Abbott after a division in relation to the censure motion. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Photo: Andrew Meares

Prime Minister Tony Abbott rejected claims he lied about ABC budget cuts. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Prime Minister Tony Abbott rejected claims he lied about ABC budget cuts. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has denied he has broken a pledge not to cut funding to the ABC and SBS, telling Parliament his government had “fundamentally kept faith with the Australian people”.

The comments were Mr Abbott’s first on budget changes to the ABC since a $254 million reduction was announced by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week.

In question time on Monday, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten asked Mr Abbott about comments he made in an interview on SBS TV on the night before last year’s election, in which he vowed there would be “no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS.” The Opposition Leader moved a censure motion against Mr Abbott, saying the Prime Minister had broken his promise.

Much of Labor’s attack centred on Mr Abbott’s commitment there would be no cuts to the two public broadcasters, following an announcement from ABC managing director Mark Scott on Monday in which he detailed the programs and services that would be affected by a $254 million funding reduction.

But Mr Abbott denied he had broken his word.

“This a government which has fundamentally kept faith, has fundamentally kept faith with the Australian people,” Mr Abbott said.

“We are doing what the people elected us to do, to deliver the policies, to make the tough decisions that this country needed.”

Mr Abbott said the Coalition was simply applying to the ABC the kind of “efficiency dividend” it was applying to almost every other part of government.

“Members opposite thought that the ABC was the one institution that shouldn’t be subject to an efficiency dividend. We think it should be subject to the efficiency dividend. The ABC should not be exempted from the kind of measures that are being applied to almost every other part of government,” he said.

“We never promised special treatment for the ABC or the SBS… I should point out to the member who asked the question that before the election the Treasurer, then the shadow treasurer, said very publicly of the ABC, “If there is waste we will cut it.”

Mr Abbott challenged Mr Shorten to promise to restore the funding to the ABC if Labor were to form government.

“If he won’t do that he is a fraud,” Mr Abbott said.

Mr Shorten said Mr Abbott was regarded as “box office poison” in Victoria because he had failed to keep commitments, including not to cut funding for health and education.

The censure motion was voted down along party lines. Follow us on Twitter

Successful drive: Lucas Herbert has qualified for the Australian Open.

Successful drive: Lucas Herbert has qualified for the Australian Open.

Successful drive: Lucas Herbert has qualified for the Australian Open.

Successful drive: Lucas Herbert has qualified for the Australian Open.

A double bogey on the final hole of the Australian Masters on Sunday cost amateur Lucas Herbert direct qualification into the Australian Open, but an 11-hour drive from Melbourne to Sydney reignited his dream.

Herbert, who finished tied for 11th position at the Masters in Melbourne, needed to bogey the final hole to gain a direct passage into the tournament, starting at the Australian Golf Club on Thursday, but could only manage the double bogey.

However, instead of giving up hope of seeing their son playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott in Sydney, Herbert’s parents drove him 10 hours overnight in time for his 9.39am tee-off at the Australian Open pre-qualifier at Carnarvon Golf Club in Lidcombe.

“It’s been an absolute roller-coaster the last 48 hours,” Herbert said on Monday. “There were no flights left from Melbourne to Sydney last night. We were going to fly up in the morning but we thought it was a risk if the flight got cancelled or they lost my bags or something. So we decided to drive up last night. We left Melbourne at 7pm and got to Sydney at 6.30am and went straight there this morning.

“Both my parents shared the driving and I tried to sleep in the back seat. I slept better than I thought I would, but we’ve all slept in the back seat … so it wasn’t comfortable. I was pretty weary and disappointed still from that last hole, but I was happy to go through.”

Herbert shot a one-over round of 71 at the Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne, finishing the tournament at five under, just four shots behind winner Nick Cullen.

However, the double bogey on the par-four 18th hole cost the 18-year-old dearly, missing out on the top 10 and direct qualification for the Australian Open.

His fortunes changed in Sydney, where he finished in the top three to qualify for the Open, one shot clear of fourth position.

“I birdied the last,” Herbert said.

“I would have went into a playoff and it could have went anywhere from there. I shot five under today. I was pretty relieved. When I was driving up, we spoke about the disappointment, but I knew I had to forget about what happened and I did that. Dad said he was prepared to drive and then mum decided she wanted to help him out with the driving. I stretched out on the back seat and got some sleep. We stopped off at home [Bendigo] for some supplies, then kept on going.

“I reckon I woke up at about 6.30. It wasn’t the best sleep I’ve ever had, but it was better than nothing. I was still wearing the same shirt that I wore at Metro and I had a 9.30 tee-off at Carnarvon, so I jumped in the shower at the club and away we went.”

Kate Torney, ABC news director, says some staff will be targeted for retrenchment.ABC cuts the work of political bastardryComment: The ABC has flab to be cut

The ABC’s news division has been hit particularly hard by the Abbott government’s budget cuts, with an estimated 100 job losses expected and changes to flagship programs and news bulletins.

News director Kate Torney outlined the cuts in a staff briefing at ABC’s Ultimo headquarters on Monday afternoon.

Respected television programs including Four Corners, Australian Story, Foreign Correspondent, Landline and the fact checking unit will lose resources, Torney confirmed – but will not be axed.

All radio news bulletins will be reduced to five minutes, except the 7am and 7.45am updates and Triple J’s bulletins.

The state-based editions of 7.30 will air for the last time on December 5. They will be replaced by a cheaper, national version of 7.30, the details of which are yet to be announced.

Lateline will move to a “fixed timeslot” – yet to be announced – on the News24 channel and will be repeated on ABC’s main channel.

The regional radio program Bush Telegraph tweeted that it will not continue next year, while ABC Newcastle afternoon presenter Carol Duncan also posted that her program had been decommissioned.

The ABC will also reduce its fleet of outside broadcast vans and scale back local sports coverage in favour of national events.

But sources who attended the briefing told Fairfax Media that around 65 to 70 of the 100 retrenched workers could be re-deployed in “digital-focused” roles. Torney said she expects a “net reduction of about 35 full-time positions”, though it is unclear if all of these proposed new jobs will be filled internally.

Torney said the ABC does not propose to conduct a voluntary redundancy process and that in some cases, staff will be targeted for retrenchment.

Fairfax Media understands the ABC currently spends 95 per cent of its budget on broadcasting and only 5 per cent on internet-based services. It now intends to increase its investment in the latter to 8 per cent, to satisfy booming audience demand for mobile and online content.

While the state-based editions of 7.30 will soon end, a “state coverage producer” will be appointed in each state and territory to oversee local current affairs across television, radio and digital. Some within the ABC have described this as an “opportunity” for greater coverage; others fear that without a dedicated state show, local current affairs will be reduced.

The ABC is yet to confirm the precise format of the soon-to-launch Friday 7.30 program, or whether current national host Leigh Sales will present it.

Last month, Fairfax Media revealed that 7.30’s national producer, Sally Neighbour, is developing the new show. A planning workshop agenda asked participants to consider: “What can we take from other models, e.g. The Project, The Feed, The Roast, Good News Week, [Lateline], etc?”

While some in the ABC claim there has been “misinformation” published about this show, they acknowledge it will be “a bit different” to the current national 7.30.

Torney also told staff that ABC’s Auckland bureau will close, with the broadcaster now planning to cover New Zealand’s affairs from Australia.

A Beirut “post” will open to extend coverage of the Middle East, while “major multi-platform content hubs” will be created in the Washington, London, Beijing and Jakarta offices. But bureaux in Tokyo, Bangkok, New Delhi and Jerusalem will be reduced to “home-based operations led by a video journalist with a local producer”.

The ABC intends to boost its business coverage across all platforms, including online and mobile, through the creation of a “National Business Team”. A 10-minute Business PM program will launch on radio and The Business will be re-launched as two daily 15-minute programs on News24.

While a “Regional Division” will be created – with Torney claiming that “the ABC is increasing its focus on the services we deliver to rural and regional Australia” – staff have privately expressed fears that regional coverage will be dramatically reduced.

Some staff tweeted that Torney ended her address by apologising for the anxiety these cuts are causing.

These sweeping changes follow confirmation last week the Coalition had stripped $254 million from the ABC and $53 million from SBS, despite promising no cuts before the last election.  ABC cuts and changes

Jobs/overallMore than 400 jobs to be lost, 10% of ongoing workforce300 redundancies to take effect immediately   10% in management (including abolition of state and territory director positions)

TVAdelaide TV production studio to be closedSelling outside broadcast vans and scaling back broadcasts of local and state-based sportState editions of 7:30 to endLateline to have a timeslot on ABC News 24, while continuing to broadcast on ABC1 in 2015New foreign bureau to be opened in Beirut while Auckland bureau is to shut down, others to be restructured

RadioNews bulletins to be cut from ten to five minutesShut five regional radio posts (Wagin, Morwell, Gladstone, Port Augusta and Nowra)Cutting back on number of concerts recorded by Classic FMNews Radio will move out of radio into the news divisionRadio National’s Bush Telegraph to finish up at end of 2014

DigitalNew “Digital Network” to centralise and boost online and mobile servicesClosing down more than 100 websites and consolidating contentInvestment in iview, developing personalisation, 24-hour support and stand-alone contentInvestment in News Digital, boosting breaking and rolling coverage online

And the rest …Sale of Lanceley Place property in Artarmon, Sydney – reported to be worth around $20 million”National Business Team” to boost coverage of finance and business across all platformsNewcastle to be downgraded to a regional station, with consequent redundanciesNew Regional Division to take responsibility of rural and regional reportingReview procurement and purchasing arrangements, look at more co-operation with SBSStreamline rostering and other human resources systems

[email protected]上海龙凤论坛m.au

with Judith Ireland

Fans of Robin Hobb’s fantasy books include George R.R. Martin. Photo: SuppliedThe line up of stars from popular movies and TV shows are always the most hyped guests at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo.

But the three-day event is also a great literary meet-up for fans of genre writing, such as science fiction and fantasy.

Here are five authors to see at this year’s event.

Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb is the second pen name of Californian-born author Margaret Ogden. Her first novel was Assassin’s Apprentice, the beginning to her successful Farseer Trilogy. She’s also celebrated for her Tawny Man Trilogy. Ogden’s written in a different style of fantasy novel under the name Megan Lindholm. Lindholm’s most popular title is probably Wizard of the Pigeons, a contemporary fantasy set in Seattle. Hobb’s books have garnered acclaim from esteemed novelists George R. R. Martin and Orson Scott Card, the latter stating she “arguably sets the standard for the modern serious fantasy novel”.

Hobb will participate in signing sessions at 2.30pm-5:30pm on Friday and 10.30am-5.30pm on Saturday and Sunday. She will also participate in Q&A panels on Saturday and Sunday.

Colin Taber

Colin Taber is a Perth resident whose first novel, The Fall of Ossard, was published in 2009. Over the past twenty years he’s written over a hundred magazine articles, notably for Australian Realms Magazine. Taber’s also had a diverse range of occupations, from working in bookshops to event management, small press publishing, landscape design and even tree farming.  Red Winter, the second title in Taber’s series The United States of Vinland, will be launched in time for the Supanova.

Taber will participate in signing sessions at 2.30pm-5.30pm on Friday, 10.30am-5.30pm on Saturday and 11.00am-5.00pm on Sunday. He will also participate in a Q&A panel on Sunday, as well as conduct a “How To” Publishing Master class on Friday evening.

Ian Irvine

Ian Irvine is an Australian marine scientist who has written thirty novels, most notably the Three Worlds epic fantasy sequence, which has sold over a million copies. He’s now a fulltime writer and has written fantasy, eco-thriller and children’s novels. Irvine’s latest novel is Justice, the third book in his series The Tainted Realm.

Irvine will participate in signing sessions at 2.30pm to 5.30pm on Friday, 10.30am-5.30pm on Saturday and 11.00am-5.00pm on Sunday. He will also participate in a Q&A panel on Saturday.

Steve Worland

Steve Worland has worked extensively in Australian and American film and television. He’s written scripts forWorking Title and Icon productions, worked in script development for James Cameron’s Lightstorm and wrote Fox Searchlight’s Bootmen, the winner of five Australian Film Institute Awards. He’s written the action adventure novels Velocity and Combustion, as well as Quick, which was released in August.

Worland will participate in signing sessions at 2.30pm-5:30pm on Friday, 10.30am-5.30pm on Saturday and 11.00am-5.00pm on Sunday. He will also participate in a Q&A panel on Saturday, and conduct a Screenwriting Master class on Sunday.

Kylie Chan

Brisbane-based, best-selling author Kylie Chan’s marriage to a Hong Kong national and ten-year stint living in on the island piqued her interest in Chinese culture. When she returned to Australia she used her knowledge and study of Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Buddhist and Taoists philosophies to help weave the stories of her successful trilogies Dark Heavens and Journey to Wudang. Chan’s most recent book is Demon Child, the second in theCelestial Battle series.

Chan will participate in signing sessions at 2.30pm-5:30pm on Friday, 10.30am-5.30pm on Saturday and 11.00am to 5.00pm on Sunday. She will also participate in a Q&A panel on Saturday.

For more information about Supanova and ticket prices, visit their website.

Phillip Vlahogiannis, Martin Seward, Minister Bruce Billson, Melissa Jackson (L-R)Small business confidence has improved after a post-budget slump, the November Westpac-Melbourne Institute Small Business Index report has found.

Despite a positive appetite to increase businesses activity in the next quarter, however, small businesses said they were reluctant to invest.

“This could largely be a result of current macro economic conditions, including the slow-down of the mining investment boom and the historically high Australian dollar, continuing to weigh down on small business confidence,” Westpac general manager of small business, Julie Rynski, said.

While the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Small Business Index which surveys small business outlook nationally, was up 10.4 per cent from the previous quarter, only about 20 per cent of small businesses were planning to expand.

Those looking to invest will focus on finding customer bases, improving their technology or hiring staff.

The survey also found small businesses in the health care and professional services industries are most likely to invest.

Marred by a high level of insolvencies, small businesses have traditionally found it difficult to sustain their businesses with most struggling to maintain a steady cash flow, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

“Three quarters of small business owners in Australia say it’s getting harder to run a small business, with two in five admitting they’re not sure they’ll be around in five years’ time,” the American Express Australian Attitudes to Small Business Report, which was released last week, said.

The report echoes the results of the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Small Business Index finding 40 per cent of small businesses are planning on investing in online channels or social media, and many plan to increase marketing and discounting to remain competitive.

“What I have found is that my small business clients are planning on doing things in 2015 and implementing strategies to expand which is a sign of optimism,” sales consultant, Licence to Bill director, Jenny Tse said.

“I myself am also looking to invest in my business.”

In an effort to revive small business patronage, American Express is running a “Shop Small” campaign in November by providing a $10 statement credit to those who register their cards online.

Federal minister for small business, Bruce Bilson also unveiled a Shop Small Gallery in Melbourne’s fashion strip, Bridge Road to revive the strip which has seen the closure of many small independent outlets.

“For consumers who value a broad range of options and the unique characteristics of a local shopping strip, it is important for them to support thriving and cherished high streets to ensure they don’t become a thing of the past. It is of our responsibility to ensure that doesn’t happen,” Mr Bilson said.

These efforts are starting to produce a positive outcome with the November Westpac-Melbourne Institute Small Business Index finding a substantial increase in local sales, 4.5 per cent higher than the previous quarter.

“This may be attributed to increased spending from tourism and customers are opting to support their local businesses to make a difference to their local community,” Ms Rynski said.

AFR

Shot: An undated photo of Tamir Rice, who was killed by police. Photo: New York Times

Shot: An undated photo of Tamir Rice, who was killed by police. Photo: New York Times

Shot: An undated photo of Tamir Rice, who was killed by police. Photo: New York Times

Police shoot dead 12-year-old boy waving fake gun

Washington: Tamir Rice, 12, was with his sister and a friend in a gazebo in a Cleveland park on Saturday when a rookie cop shot him in the chest. He was playing with a gun that fired plastic pellets, but looked dangerously real.

Someone had called local police and reported seeing “a guy with a pistol, and it’s probably fake … but he’s pointing it everybody.”

According to early reports the two officers who responded – the rookie and a veteran – were not told that the caller had twice said he believed the gun to be a fake.

In the last minutes before he was shot Tamir could not have known that he was now in grave danger. As though by magic a stranger had reached out and transformed him.

He was no longer a boy with toy in a park but a black male with a gun.

According to the police when the officers arrived on the scene they instructed Tamir to put his hands up. He reached for his gun and two shots were fired, they say.

Tamir did not die until early on Sunday morning. Later on in the morning CNN was having a roundtable discussion about the tension in Ferguson, Missouri, where the community fears violence might break out should a grand jury decide not to lay charges against another cop who shot dead another unarmed young black man, Michael Brown.

One of those on the CNN panel was Jim Wallis, a Christian social justice activist. There is no suggestion he had even heard of Tamir Rice when he spoke, but he could have been talking about him.

“Every African American dad that I know has the talk with their son about how to deal with being in the presence of a white policeman with a gun,” he said. “I am a white dad … I won’t have that talk with my two white sons.”

It is not known what colour the Cleveland police were, though others have noted that the problem in America is not between young black men and white police, but young black men and police in general.

Studies show African-Americans males are about as likely to smoke marijuana as whites, but four times more likely to be arrested for it. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, innocent New Yorkers were stopped and frisked by police four million times between 2002 and 2010, 90 per cent of them from minority communities.

The impact on crime rates of the stop-and-frisk practice is contested. The fact that it has destroyed the relationship between police and minorities is not.

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson could have been discussing Tamir last year when he wrote, “Our society considers young black men to be dangerous, interchangeable, expendable, guilty until proven innocent.

“But black boys in this country are not allowed to be children. They are assumed to be men, and to be full of menace.”

He wasn’t of course. He was writing about Trayvon Martin, a young black man who was followed home and then shot dead by the neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

Zimmerman was not even arrested before six weeks of protests forced authorities’ hands, and later he was found not guilty of committing any crime.

And in considering Tamir’s killing it is impossible not to think of the shooting of John Crawford, who in September picked up a pellet gun from the shelves of a Walmart store in Beavercreek, Ohio.

Another customer called emergency services to say there was a man in the store waving a rifle about. Police arrived five minutes after the call and in seconds had shot him dead. Other witnesses – and video evidence – suggest that Crawford had simply been wandering the aisles, chatting on his phone. Neither officer has been charged.

Ohio is an open carry state. Even if Crawford had been carrying a loaded rifle, it would have been perfectly legal for him to do so, just as it is for the overwhelmingly white members of Open Carry Texas, who are commonly to be found hanging around in shopping centers armed with military-style semi-automatic rifles in celebration of their right to bear arms.

None of them have yet been stopped by police, let alone shot.

The sense among many African-Americans that the most dangerous part of their day will be when they inevitably cross paths with a police officer now runs deep.

Some are scared, others are angry, many are determined to use the protests in Ferguson as a fulcrum for change.

As the community waits to hear from the grand jury, US President Barack Obama, has called for calm.

“This is a country that allows everybody to express their views. Allows them to peacefully assemble, to protest actions that they think are unjust. But using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law and contrary to who we are,” he told ABC News in an interview on Friday. He added that minorities who believe they are unfairly treated are sometime justified in that view. “Sometimes they are not.”

After Tamir died on Sunday a police union spokesman told the media:  “We have to assume every gun is real. When we don’t act, that’s the day we don’t come home.”

And this is a fair point for the representative of a public servant doing a dangerous job to make. But you can’t help thinking that Tamir’s family expected him home on Saturday afternoon, too.

Sydneysiders should prepare for a short period of intense rain on Monday afternoon and evening. Sydneysiders should prepare for a short period of intense rain on Monday afternoon and evening.

Sydneysiders should prepare for a short period of intense rain on Monday afternoon and evening.

Sydneysiders should prepare for a short period of intense rain on Monday afternoon and evening.

Dark skies: the storm hits Sydney’s west on Monday afternoon. Photo: Adnan Bhatty

The storm clouds and rain hitting the city on Monday afternoon. Photo: Ben Rushton

The storm rolls in over Sydney Harbour. Photo: Cole Bennetts

Three people were struck by lightning and almost 15,000 homes and businesses lost power across a wide area of Sydney when a fierce thunderstorm hit Sydney on Monday afternoon.

Ambulance officers responded to a woman who was struck by lightning when she put her hand out the window of a car travelling on the M5 at Casula in Sydney’s south west. The woman, believed to be the passenger, was taken to hospital.

A man, 33, was reportedly hit by lightning in Holsworthy about 4pm, suffering minor injuries and a third person was struck in Wetherill Park about the same time.

More than 3000 lightning strikes were recorded with heavy rainfall and wind gusts of up to 80 km/h. Emergency crews had restored most of the blacked out homes by 7pm.

The NSW Rural Fire Service reported that the storms had caused dozens of new blazes, with 107 bush or grass fires burning across the state, 71 of which were not contained at 10pm.

The NSW State Emergency Service recorded more than 100 calls for assistance in the lower Blue Mountains, Richmond and Windsor with trees falling across roads, cars and properties.

The storm was intense but brief with the Bureau of Meteorology cancelling its severe thunderstorm warning for the Sydney metropolitan area just before 5pm.

It issued a warning for severe thunderstorms including large hail storms and damaging winds across rural parts of NSW, including Albury, Deniliquin, Broken Hill, Taree, Tamworth and Moree.

Some regions in Sydney’s west copped heavy rain of as much as 10 mm in 10 minutes as the storms moved in a south-easterly direction from the Blue Mountains, Bureau of Meteorologist forecasts said.

Richmond and Penrith have had wind gusts reaching 80 km/h.

Some schools cancelled activities because of the storms, as noted on Twitter: 4pm, Cancelling primary & secondary tennis due to thunder storms. All girls are returning back to school — SCEGGS Sport (@SCEGGSSport) November 24, 2014

ABC staff embraced at ABC studios in Ultimo after hearing managing director Mark Scott’s announcement of widespread cuts. Photo: Wolter Peters* ABC’s D-Day: 10% of jobs to be cut

* There’s plenty of fat to be cut at the ABC

* Outcry at ABC cuts: Pollies blamed

ABC staff confronting forced redundancies consoled each other with hugs after managing director Mark Scott announced on Monday that more than 400 jobs will be cut, television and radio programs axed and five regional radio bureaus closed.

Adam Harvey, a television reporter with the 7.30 Report, said the job cuts “will have a huge impact” on ABC programming and staff.

“There is a lot of money going out of the ABC, a lot of jobs going. It was a very sad day,” he said. “Everybody here knows that this amount of money and this amount of staff going out of the ABC will result in a poorer product.

“They are not doing a general call out for voluntary redundancies, it is going to be targeted redundancies so that’s particularly hard on people who may want to stay and can’t.”

Mr Harvey said staff were saddened that programs including Radio National’s Bush Telegraph and the 7.30 NSW television program were among those being cut. The flagship Lateline television news program will lose resources and move to a new timeslot on ABC News 24.

“[ABC managing director] Mark Scott talked about putting more money into digital because that’s the future,” Mr Harvey said.

Mr Scott told staff on Monday that more than 400 jobs would be lost, close to 10 per cent of the ABC workforce, as a result of a $207 million budget cut from July 2015. It comes on top of a cut of $120 million announced in May.

“We regard the changes as vital to securing the long-term health of the organisation, but I acknowledge that is no comfort to those who will lose their positions,” Mr Scott said.

The Adelaide television production studio would close, as would five regional radio centres.

Television sport broadcasts would also be scaled back as part of a rationalisation of broadcast vans.

Mr Scott said foreign bureaus would be restructured to allow a new post in Beirut to open.

The host of 7.30 NSW, Quentin Dempster, an ABC employee of more than 30 years, was sad about the loss of his program. The existing 7.30 Report hosted by Leigh Sales will be extended from Monday to Friday.

“I feel very sorry that when we get the long white envelope, it looks as though we won’t be there for the 2015 state election,” he said.

“That is a little bit of perverse editorial planning by the management in wanting to knock these shows on the head.”

Mr Dempster said the decision to sacrifice state-based shows, including his, with original content to channel $10 million in extra funding to upgrade iView technology was hard to understand.

“I think there is a fair bit more blood to flow that we don’t know about,” he said.

“I suspect they are going to run a spill of a lot of positions to have a skills audit and people will have to reapply [for their jobs].”

Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Federal Secretary Chris Warren said the ABC announcement marked “one of the largest job cuts in the media industry that we’ve seen”.

He said 300 of the 400 jobs targeted would be cut before Christmas.

“It will mean a significant reduction in the ability of the ABC to keep the Australian people informed of the things that matter to them,” he said.

“Inevitably when you have efficiencies you lose regionalism and localism. There will be regional offices closed or downgraded,” Mr Warren said.

Newcastle and Canberra would lose much of their local content and be networked to national content providers.

“All of that will mean just less diversity particularly in local and regional news,” Mr Warren said. “That will be very bad for the important role the ABC has always played as being both the national voice and the local voice for so many people.”

Mr Warren said what was tragic about the ABC cuts were that they were “totally unnecessary”.

“There are some local managers who are jumping the gun who are trying to pick and choose who they want to move on based on personalities,” he said.

“I think there are some really key people who the ABC is going to lose and ABC management needs to take a deep breath and make sure these changes are being effected with the support of their staff.”

He said redundancies should be voluntary.

Community and Public Sector Union national president Michael Tull said the government cuts would seriously impact on the quality of programming, despite assurances to the contrary by Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

“Programs are being cut and regional radio offices are closing so once again the government is lying when it said that the cuts to the ABC budget would not affect the public,” he said.

“These cuts are not about helping the ABC – as Malcolm Turnbull would have us believe – they are about attacking and weakening it.”

Mr Tull said the ABC’s formal consultation with unions would begin on Wednesday.

“We will be looking for more detail and justification for these cuts. We are absolutely opposed to compulsory redundancies and we will fight them tooth and nail. We want to protect as many jobs as possible. The ABC must consult with staff and we will be reminding ABC management of that legal obligation.”