Early in the new year the Australian Ballet will debut a production of The Happy Prince, based on Oscar Wilde’s celebrated story of a golden statue with a compassionate heart.

The production is the vision of master storyteller and choreographer Graeme Murphy.

He tells Mark it was Oscar Wilde’s story that fired his imagination as a child.

So called ‘claim farming’ has become the scourge of Queensland’s Compulsory Third Party insurance scheme.

It involves some lawyers cold calling people, asking them if they’ve had a car accident and then convincing them to make a claim on their CTP.

Figures from the Motor Accident Insurance Commission show almost 40 percent of people have received a call, resulting in an increase of up to 1,700 claims a year, adding $10 to every motorist’s CTP bill.

The state government has passed new laws in an attempt to ban the practice but RACQ executive general manager Paul Turner tells Mark that while the laws are a good start they don’t go far enough.

Figures show one-in-three workers aren’t being paid their full superannuation entitlements, even though the contribution is included on their pay slips.

Industry Super Australia says the average amount not being paid is about $2,000 a year.

It is because under the law employers are only required to pay super once every quarter and it’s too easy for payments to fall through the cracks, or worse.

Industry Super Australia acting CEO Matthew Linden tells Mark that if it’s good enough for federal politicians to be paid their super when they’re paid their salary, it’s good enough for average workers.

What's On with Olympia Kwitowski

Next weekend the country is coming to the coast when the Groundwater Country Music Festival hits Broadbeach.

The free festival will feature some of the biggest names in country music including Lee Kernaghan, Beccy Cole, The Wolfe Brothers, Tex Perkins and US country-rockers the Davisson Brothers Band.

Beccy tells Mark she can’t believe how quickly and how large the festival has become in a relatively short period of time.

It’s a long way from Red Faces on Hey Hey It’s Saturday Night to filling the huge hole left on the ABC by Clarke & Dawe, but that has been the journey of comedian Sammy J.

He’s become famous for sketches including the Government Coach, Singalong to Playground Politics and National Yoga.

Sammy has brought his new live show Major Party to Brisbane and stopped in to the studio on his way to the Powerhouse for a chat with Mark.

The State government has announced it will introduce legislation to mandate a minimum amount of time each day that someone in a nursing home will have access to a registered nurse.

The laws will mean that at the 16 aged care homes run by the state at least half of all staff having contact with residents will be nurses.

The laws won’t apply to the state’s 400 private homes and secretary of the Queensland Nurses’ Union Beth Mohle tells Mark it’s now up to the Federal Government to follow Queensland’s example.

The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical is about to wind down operations in Sydney, before setting up production in Melbourne, then to Brisbane.

It will open at the Lyric Theatre at QPAC next March and while you won’t need a Golden Ticket, seats are expected to be devoured quickly.

The production will mark a return to Brisbane for Lucy Maunder who last graced the stage at QPAC in the production of Beautiful, the Carol King story.

She plays Mrs Bucket and joined Mark during intermission during the matinee performance in Sydney.

Much of what many people know of Madagascar comes from the hit animated movies of the same name, but the country offers so much more.

Not only does the island nation off the east coast of Africa boast fauna and flora found nowhere else on earth, but stunning beaches, culture and history as well.

Sean Lues from Journey’s Worldwide tells Mark there’s a holiday for everyone whether they want to relax, have an adventure or get up close and personal with a Lemur.

www.journeysworldwide.com.au

The recent traffic chaos and disruption caused by environmental protesters in Brisbane has prompted Mark to wonder whether those involved have ever been taught the values of respect and consideration of others.

Sometimes it can be the result of young men growing up without strong male role models to guide them.

A new program about to begin in Queensland seeks to address that issue.

The Fathering Project was born in WA six years ago and the man just appointed to bring it to Brisbane, Ken Houliston, tells Mark it is about giving men the skills to be good fathers and role models.