DEADLY DUO: Scott Smith and Kane Goodchild, left and middle, celebrate a goal for Hamilton Olympic last season with Daniel Bird. Picture: Jonathan Carroll

Three-time league-leading scorer Kane Goodchild hopes atimely break from work will helphimrecover quicker from a hamstring injury as Charlestown brace for a test of their NPL title credentials.

The new-look Blues are top of the table after three winsbut they suffered a major blow when Goodchild went down with a hamstring tear early in the 1-0 win over Lake Macquarie on Friday.

Goodchild has been told he could miss up tosix weeks but he was aiming to return in half the time.

“I can focus 100 per cent on recovery at the moment because I’m on holidays,” Goodchild said.“I’ve got the next two weeks off and I’ve had one off already. I’ve been icing it and getting up toThe Concept Gym to use the hyperbaric chamber there.

Kane Goodchild in action for Charlestown in 2014.

“I’ll know more once I see the physio, but I’m hoping to be back in three to four weeks.”

​Charlestown have started life under coach David Tanchevski with wins over Hamilton, Maitland and Lakes but face heavyweightsLambton Jaffas and Broadmeadow in the next fortnight without their target man.

“It’s a shame because we’ve got some good games coming up I’d like to play in,” Goodchild said.“I’m definitely out this week and probably 100 per cent out the week after, but I’m aiming to get some minutes againstWestonbecause we have Edgy the week after and I really want to be back for that.”

Goodchild has scored oncein his return season at Charlestown after three years at Hamilton, and his combination with Scott Smith, who is also back from Olympic, is again proving a headache for defenders.

Smith has scored three times, and with Rene Ferguson, who banged in 11 goals last season, and Riley McNaughton also chipping in, the Blues boast a formidable attack.

“We’ve got good players all over the parkand a young guy there in Cal Lewis, who’s got a good pedigree and was one of the leading scorer in the NEWFM comp last year, ready to take my spot,” Goodchild said.“There’s obviously Scotty there, Rene was up with the leading scorers last year and Riley has goals in him as well.”

Goodchild said Charlestown had overcome“a fairly disrupted preseason” to make their winning start and they were “getting a taste for it” ahead of the major tests.

“It’s a big challenge against Jaffasbecause they are looking like the team to beat this year,” he said.

The injury is also a blow to Goodchild’s chances of a fourth leading scorer award but he was hopeful of at least Smith adding to their tally.

“We want one of us to be leading scorer,” he said.

“We’ve won four of the last five between us and it would be good for the club and the team if one of us could do it again.”

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will announce legal reforms targeting child sexual offenders.The NSW government is passing the buck on child sex reforms, according to a victims’ group, which accuses Premier Gladys Berejiklian of “cherry-picking” which royal commission recommendations to adopt.

The state government on Tuesday announced expansive law reform addressing 50 of the institutional sex abuse royal commission’s 85 recommendations.

Among the reforms, judges will have the power to sentence people convicted of “persistent” child sex abuse – being two or more instances – to life in prison.

They also include new offences for people who fail to report or protect against child abuse, Ms Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

However, NSW won’t scrap the exemption which means religious figures don’t have to mandatorily report child abuse if it’s disclosed in the confessional.

Ms Berejiklian believes that change needs to be discussed nationally.

“Our response to that recommendation is to take that through the COAG process,” the premier said on Tuesday.

But Care Leavers Australasia Network chief executive Leonie Sheedy argues Ms Berejiklian should stand up to the churches.

“They need to be accountable just like every other n citizen – we don’t live under canon law, we live under n law,” Ms Sheedy told AAP.

“They’re buck-passing. It’s not acceptable to cherry-pick the recommendations you like.”

Ms Sheedy is disappointed with the government’s lack of action on religious reporting but she welcomes the other reforms announced on Tuesday.

The new laws will require courts to consider current sentencing standards rather than those in place when the offences occurred.

Judges will also no longer take into account an offender’s good character when sentencing for historical offences if that good character facilitated the offending.

Four new offences will be established including failing to report child abuse, failing to protect a child from abuse, grooming an adult to gain access to a child and sexual touching of a child under the special care of the offender.

“These historic reforms are designed to deliver survivors the justice they deserve and impose tougher penalties on offenders for their appalling abuse of children,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“NSW continues to lead the nation in its response to the royal commission by introducing one of the state’s largest-ever criminal reform packages.”

Attorney-General Mark Speakman says proving persistent abuse will also now become much easier for victims.

“The problem with the law at the moment is the need to demonstrate specific circumstances, specific times and places,” Mr Speakman told reporters.

“We’re changing that so what you’ll have to prove is an ongoing sexual relationship can be constituted by two or more circumstances.

“It will not be necessary to prove specific times and places to establish the persistent child abuse offence.”

People Power: The Socialist Alliance has changed the writing on this building. An iconic and witty messageon a Newcastle building has had a bit of a change.

The Socialist Alliance, you see, likes tokeepup with the times.

The message used to say: “For the millions, not the millionaires”.

It was changed at the weekend to: “For the billions, not the billionaires”.

“We are keeping up with inflation,” the Socialist Alliance’s Steve O’Brien said jokingly of the message, whichoverlooks Civic Lane.

“It’s not the millionaires that socialists have a problem with these days, but the billionaires.”

Steve pointed us to arecent Oxfam briefing paper, titled theGrowing Gulf Between Work and Wealth. Itfound that ’seconomic system was“concentrating ever more wealth into the hands of the rich and powerful, while ordinary working people are not always able to scrape by”.

The briefing paper noted thatsome of the highest paid CEOs of clothing companies in the nretail sector can earn, on average, about$6 million annually.

“At the same time, women working in Bangladesh to make the clothes sold by these brands earn a minimum wage as low as$974 ayear, or in Vietnam$1600 ayear.”

The paper citedCredit Suisse data to state that “the share of wealth concentrated in the hands of the top 1 per centof ns in 2017 has grown to 23 per cent”.

“The top 1 per cent of ns continue to own more wealth than the bottom 70 per cent of ns combined,” it said.

The number of billionaires hadmore than doubled over the past decade in , from 14 to 33, “while workers’ wages have stagnated”, the paper said.

Steve said this“totally distorts the economy”.

“‘The trickle-down effect from the rich to the poor is a myth.The personal interests of 33 individuals should not override the needsof people for secure jobs in a just, sustainable economy,” he said.

Steve truly hopes the alliance won’t haveto change the message on the building in a few years to: “For the billions, not the trillionaires”.

Now Topics should make clear that we’re not getting all political andshowing favouritismtowardssocialism.

And we should addthat this story isn’t an invitation forother political movements to contact Topics and demand equal space.

That is, unless you’ve come up with a system that can solve poverty, inequality, greed, environmental destruction, unemploymentand all those other big dilemmas we can’t remember right now.

We’d love to hear all about that.

Lesson LearnedThe annualchocolate binge is, we’re pretty sure, still in progress at many Hunter households.

Easter eggs are in some quartersapparentlyseen as a symbol ofthe blood thatChristshed at hiscrucifixion.

We know one chocoholic –we won’t mention any names –who can sort of relate, albeit on a much smaller scale.

He eagerlybit into the top of a chocolate egg, only for it to pinch his top lip, causing a blood blister.

This prompted a lesson from a clever family member about the best way to crack an Easter egg. As we understand it, the key is to smash the egg on its side on a hard surface.

Also over Easter, weread advice from a chocolatier thatchocolate should be served at room temperature andnot bekeptin the fridge.

Thatwe could never agree with.

Beer and Milk Commonwealth Games beer from 1982.

Topics wrote yesterday about Charlestown’sLes Powell cracking open a very old beer.

Les bought a couple of commemorative beers atthe 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.

Heopened one at the weekend to mark the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which begins on the Gold Coast onWednesday.

“Looked OK, smelled very hoppy. Tasted flat and awful,” Les said.

In response, former NBN news readerRay Dinneen told Topics he“once took the opportunity to ask a professional brewer the best way to drink beer”.

The brewer told Ray:“Treat it like milk; keep it cold and drink it fresh.”

Ray says he has no troublekeeping it cold.

“Finding it fresh is the challenge,” he said.

[email protected]苏州夜总会招聘.au

The US will soon reveal more tariffs on Chinese imports as China’s levies on US imports took effect.China has increased tariffs by up to 25 per cent on 128 US products, from frozen pork and wine to certain fruits and nuts, escalating a dispute between the world’s biggest economies in response to US duties on imports of aluminium and steel.

The tariffs, which take effect on Monday, were announced late on Sunday by China’s finance ministry and matched a list of possible tariffs on up to $US3 billion in US goods published by China on March 23.

Soon after the announcement, an editorial in the widely read Global Times newspaper warned that if the US had thought China would not retaliate or would only take symbolic countermeasures, it could “say goodbye to that delusion”.

“Even though China and the US have not publicly said they are in a trade war, the sparks of such a war have already started to fly,” the newspaper said.

The Ministry of Commerce said it was suspending its obligations to the World Trade Organisation to reduce tariffs on 120 US goods, including fruit and ethanol. The tariffs on those products will be raised by an extra 15 per cent.

Eight other products, including pork and scrap aluminium, would now be subject to additional tariffs of 25 per cent, it said, with the measures effective starting April 2.

“China’s suspension of its tariff concessions is a legitimate action adopted under WTO rules to safeguard China’s interests,” the finance ministry said.

China is moving swiftly with retaliatory action amid escalating trade tension with the US.

In response to China’s move, Washington said Beijing’s subsidies and overcapacity were behind the action on steel.

“Instead of targeting fairly traded US exports, China needs to stop its unfair trading practices which are harming US national security and distorting global markets,” White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump is separately preparing to impose tariffs of more than $US50 billion on Chinese goods following an investigation under Section 301 of the 1974 US Trade Act.

The US administration says China has systematically misappropriated American intellectual property, allegations China denies.

About the Section 301 investigation, China had “yet to unsheathe its sword”, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Sometime this week, the Trump administration is expected to unveil a list of Chinese goods that could be subjected to new US tariffs.

US technology industry officials said they expected the list to target products that benefit from Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” program, which aims to upgrade the domestic manufacturing base with more advanced products.

China has repeatedly promised to open its economy further, but many foreign companies complain of unfair treatment. China warned the US on Thursday not to open a Pandora’s Box and spark a flurry of protectionist practices across the globe.

A year playing under Ivan Clearly has done Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks the world of good.Luke Brooks’ marked improvement in defence highlights just how much his confidence has grown under Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary in the past year.

Tuesday marks exactly 12 months since Cleary was signed by the then-embattled club, marking a significant turnaround in their plight as they climbed into the NRL’s top four on Monday.

Few players have responded to Cleary better than Brooks, who was the only member of the so-called big four to re-sign with the Tigers last year.

Regularly compared to eighth Immortal Andrew Johns early in his career, the 23-year-old was falling short of his potential long before Cleary’s arrival.

But with a clear ownership over the Tigers’ team and Benji Marshall alongside him, Brooks has enjoyed his best start to a season since his debut in 2013.

“He’s got a bit more confidence in his game,” Cleary said.

“He’s definitely fitter and stronger which helps the style of of player he is. His physique and speed is an asset he hasn’t used to his full potential.

“It was good to see that on show (against Parramatta), when he doesn’t worry about the number on his back. When he does that today he will be at his best.”

Brooks was particularly impressive in the Tigers’ 30-20 win over Parramatta on Monday, making 89 metres in six runs as he took the line on and loomed in support play.

His kicking too was on point, booting a 40-20 and forcing a line dropout.

But more telling than anything has been his defence this year.

Once regarded as one of the least reliable defenders in the game when he averaged five misses a game in 2014, he has worked that down to a career low two this year with the Tigers conceding just six tries in the opening four rounds.

He even produced a shot on the far bigger Tony Williams to leave him hurting on Monday late, despite the former NSW wrecking ball coming at him full throttle.

“There’s a bit of a correlation there,” Cleary said.

“Last year Tony Williams played for the Sharks and just before he got injured he had a good night against us at Leichhardt.

“It was the same thing, running at Luke. And if you watch the difference today as opposed to that game, he’s got a lot more confidence in him.”

“He’s definitely defending well. He and Chris (Lawrence) have got a good little combo on that left edge. Like any player if you can defend well it’s going to give you a lot of confidence.”

The new SA government has called for a report on the state’s current shop trading hours.The South n government has ordered a review of the state’s shop trading hours as it prepares deregulation legislation.

Treasurer Rob Lucas says SafeWork SA has been asked to prepare a report on “anomalies and absurdities” in the current trading laws.

He says it will also look at claims that some traders are regularly breaching existing regulations.

“This report will be critical in the preparation of legislation for parliamentary debate on reforms to provide greater freedom of choice for SA families to shop,” Mr Lucas said on Tuesday.

Regulations for trading vary depending on a shop’s floor space, location and whether they are considered specialty stores.

Among the issues to be considered are:

* Whether stores are reducing their floor space by erecting curtains or boxes to allow them to trade on public holidays;

* Why some stores have to erect roller doors inside their stores because they are now allowed to sell certain items on public holidays;

* Whether 24-hour service stations are complying with restrictions on their trading rules; and

* Why some small supermarkets can’t trade after 5pm on weekends when nearby services stations can.

“There are so many anomalies and absurdities in our antiquated shop trading laws that will only be resolved by parliament supporting the government’s comprehensive reform proposal,” Mr Lucas said.

The government’s proposed deregulation measures were a key promise ahead of the March state election.

But the changes face a tough time getting through parliament’s upper house, with Labor, the Greens and SA-BEST MPs likely to oppose them.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has described his side as “soft” but Canterbury are having none of it.Ricky Stuart described his Canberra side as “soft” on 10 occasions in a four-minute post-match polemic, but Canterbury are wary of an ambush before their NRL trip to the downtrodden Raiders.

After pointing the finger at everyone else but his team after three losses in which the Raiders gave up late leads, Stuart ran out of patience following their 32-16 drubbing at the hands of Manly on Saturday.

Time will tell whether Stuart’s rev-up will work amid rumours several of his squad are fighting for their contracts.

The Bulldogs have a chance to condemn Canberra to a 0-5 start when they meet in the nation’s capital to open round five, a result which would surely raise questions about Stuart’s tenure.

“There’s no doubt they’ll be primed for a big game,” Bulldogs playmaker Kieran Foran said.

“They’ve been unlucky so far this season, they haven’t been too far off.

“They’ve been beaten the last minute in three games and that can be disheartening at times.

“But they’re a really good footy team, they’re really well-balanced across the park, they’ve got a really big forward pack

“And all those boys will want to come out and prove a point this week.”

There are few words which a coach can use that are more insulting than “soft”.

That Stuart deployed the “s” word repeatedly risks putting his players offside.

He has already dropped Blake Austin, who just two years ago was being spoken about as a future representative player, and has shown he is willing to go to any length to fire up his side.

Dogs hooker Michael Lichaa said the Raiders were the antithesis of soft, having been bashed and bruised by them during their pre-season meeting.

“We played them in a trial at the start of this year and we were all pretty sore after that game, they’ve got some big bodies out there,” Lichaa said.

“It’s going to be a tough game – when they’re on, they’re on. They’re a really good team, they have some great individuals – (Jordan) Rapana and (Joey) Leilua.

“Those two, they get their sets started. Especially Rapana, I don’t know how he does it. He’s not very big but he’s unbelievable, he’s in the top two or three wingers in the comp for sure.”

A special investigator will look into SA Labor’s decision to purchase emergency generators.A special investigator has been appointed to investigate the former South n Labor government’s decision to purchase emergency generators to ensure power supplies during summer.

Liberal Deputy Premier Vickie Chapman says Labor’s purchase of the nine generators was shrouded in “secrecy” and uncertainty and needs scrutiny.

“The public has the right to know exactly how much has been spent to date on these diesel generators, what the ongoing costs will be and whether there is a binding contract,” Ms Chapman said on Tuesday.

Labor announced the purchase of the generators late last year amid a longer-term plan to link them together to form a government-owned power station.

At the time, it said the generating capacity would help avoid blackouts during periods of high demand or when emergencies, such as storms, cut electricity supplies.

Labor originally planned to lease the generators for the first two years, but opted to exercise an option to buy them in November.

The purchase price was not released, but former premier Jay Weatherill said it fitted within the government’s wider $550 million plan to secure energy supplies and bring down power prices.

Ms Chapman said the new government’s investigator will consider whether the decision to purchase the generators was binding and what advantage, if any, there was in exercising the option early.

It also wants to know what options are open to the government in regard to their future management and ownership.

“The taxpayers of South have the right know if the former Labor Government wasted their money in a blind panic,” Ms Chapman said.

Mick Fanning won his round-three heat as Rip Curl Pro favourites were eliminated.Mick Fanning’s free-and-easy attitude as he heads into retirement may have put him on the path to a dream finale at Bells Beach.

The surfing great has progressed to a quarter-final showdown with fellow n Owen Wright at the Rip Curl Pro.

And Fanning – the only surfer in the final eight to have rung the famous bell – has seen his prospects surge following the eliminations of past winners Jordy Smith and Matt Wilkinson.

World champion John John Florence and tour leader Julian Wilson have also been sent on their way.

Fanning knocked out dangerous countryman Wilkinson in the fourth round, finishing 0.33 points ahead of American Patrick Gudauskas in the three-man heat on Tuesday.

Wilkinson scored the highest wave of the heat (7.5) for a total of 13.17 but Fanning was able to compile a score of 14.33 from his two best waves.

Fanning rued his tactics but said being behind in the contest sparked him into action.

“It wasn’t nerve-racking because we’re good friends so if that was the end, at least I was out there with two mates,” Fanning said.

“I sort of gave Wilko that one wave and made a big mistake.

“Then I just wanted to start catching waves.

“If was going to lose, I wanted to lose surfing. I was just stoked to get a couple of waves in the end.”

Three-time world champion Fanning and perennial championship contender Wright, who finished second in his third round heat behind Tahitian Michel Bourez, are the only ns remaining in the draw.

“There’s still a lot of surfing to do. He’s surfing really well at the moment but I’m not really worried about it,” Fanning said.

Florence was convincingly upset by fellow Hawaiian Ezekiel Lau, enduring the same third-round fate as Gold Coast Pro winner Wilson.

n rookie Wade Carmichael, who shocked South African Smith a day earlier, was knocked out in the fourth round as Wright and Bourez qualified.

Locals Joel Parkinson and Adrian Buchan lost in the third round.

Fanning has not won an event since the 2016 J-Bay Open in South Africa having returned a year after being attacked by a shark.

Bourez and Gudauskas will meet in the first quarter-final, Lau and Italo Ferreira will meet in the third, and Gabriel Medina and Frederico Morais will battle for the last semi-final spot.

In the women’s event, six-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore is ‘s last title hope and faces a semi-final against American Caroline Marks after ousting Sage Erickson (US) in their quarter-final.

The other semi pits Brazilian Silvana Lima against Hawaii’s Tatiana Weston-Webb.

An inquest into the deaths of four people who died at Dreamworld will begin this week.The long-awaited inquest into the deaths of four people killed in the Dreamworld ride disaster could start in June or July.

It will examine the circumstances around the October 2016 malfunction of the Thunder River Rapids ride that caused the deaths of Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi, and Cindy Low.

The Brisbane Coroners Court on heard on Tuesday the theme park visitors had boarded raft five on the ride, which had been designed for families with children and had been a key attraction at the park since December 1986.

It was meant to give groups of six people a moderate thrill as it travelled through a watercourse, in an ostensibly safer simulation of white water rafting.

Raft five’s journey was without incident until it reached the end, where it was collected by a conveyor belt.

Fifteen seconds before, one of the two large pumps that kept the ride going failed and cause water levels to drop.

Raft five continued along the conveyor and collided with another raft before it was lifted and pulled vertically into the conveyor mechanism.

Ms Goodchild, Mr Dorsett, Mr Araghi and Ms Low were caught in the mechanism of the ride and were either trapped or thrown into the water.

“Each died almost instantly as a result of compressive and crushing injuries,” counsel assisting the coroner Ken Fleming QC said.

Also aboard were Ms Goodchild’s 12-year-old daughter Ebony and Ms Low’s 10-year-old son, who survived.

Two Dreamworld staff who were operating the ride, as well as nearby patrons, went to help and called emergency services and the park’s safety officers.

Ms Low’s family is hoping for answers from the inquest and that it will prevent others from suffering “such enormous heartbreak”.

“Our lives were turned upside down that day by the loss of Cindy, we have spent each week and month comforting each other and learning how to live without her,” the family said in a statement.

Following the tragedy, police and safety specialists launched an investigation and are expected to give evidence when the coronial inquiry hearings begin.

On Tuesday it was proposed the inquest be held in two parts.

The first, which could occur in June or July, will investigate the construction, maintenance, safety, history and modifications made to the ride.

It will also examine the emergency services response and the training of Dreamworld staff.

The second part of the inquest will look at laws around theme park operations and whether changes need to be made and further safety measures introduced.

Another conference before the proposed hearings has been scheduled for May 25 at Southport.