Stinger Puzzle

Illawarra Mercury

Saturday February 2, 2002

Stinger puzzle

Medical and tourism authorities called yesterday for urgent research into a mysterious but deadly jellyfish that has killed its first known victim.

British tourist Richard Graham Jordan, 58, died on Thursday after being stung by an Irukandji jellyfish while swimming off Hamilton Island, in Queensland's Whitsundays.

Little is known about the thumbnail-size relative of the lethal box jellyfish, which until Thursday had not been considered fatal.

NSW jails violent

A Federal Government report showed NSW prisons were the most violent in Australia, the state Opposition said yesterday.

Opposition spokesman for Corrective Services and Rehabilitation Andrew Humpherson said the Commonwealth Productivity Commission Report, released on Thursday, showed the overall rate of assaults in NSW per 100 prisoners was 22.5, compared with Victoria at 8.3 and South Australia at 0.9.

Mr Humpherson said assaults among inmates had jumped by 29 per cent in 2001 to 17.4 assaults per 100 inmates.

Jury files cull

The NSW Government is culling all old jury files to prevent former jurors being contacted by offenders they convicted.

The move follows revelations a former prisoner, convicted of manslaughter, had been given a list of jurors in his case. He then contacted at least one juror.