Small councils reliant on government hand outs, such as Birmingham City Council and Birmingham District Council, cannot easily resist the lure of power.

So in the short term they will certainly see an increase in power, but on the long term it is unlikely to be much more positive than that. The real potential of more powerful councils is for them to be a source of frustration, division and despair for people and families, whose lives have been left shattered.

For many people, there is just not enough hope for a brighter future. That will take greater work.

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Tasmania confirms second swine flu case

Updated

Tasmania has confirmed a second swine flu case, with two people who came in contact with the virus.

Health Minister Peter Ryan said the swine flu outbreak in the region started earlier than previously expected.

He confirmed one of the people who had contact with the virus is being closely monitored.

"Our office has confirmed that we've had two contact cases with an influenza A virus that is circulating in the bush," Dr Ryan said.

"We're seeing some of those cases in our community of Tarego in recent days and that means that we'll be taking that into account and doing everything we can."

While there is no specific outbreak to confirm, he said they have not had any reports of illness or death.

"We do have some indications that the virus is out there in our bushland and so there is that risk for people out there," Dr Ryan said.

"However, I'm confident there will be no more cases."

The second person to come in contact with an influenza A virus in Australia has died, and is now deceased.

The other two swine flu cases are still being investigated by their families and in some instances may never be able to fully identify the strain of the virus that was responsible for that person's death.

Hospitals warning for spread in south-east

Dr Ryan said it was vital that anyone who came in contact with swine flu at an earlier date got the vaccine that was recommended.

"It is important for people with swine flu to get the vaccine immediately," he said.

"We've got about 70 patients in hospital and we don't want any of them to go through this horrible disease we've got, that is, that really has no effect at all, that does not have any long-term side-effects."

"We would urge the patient to get the vaccine to minimise that risk of spreading the virus."

Topics: medical-research, doctors-and-medical-professionals, tas

First posted