Fed: Hockey threatens long debate on stimulus bills

AAP General News (Australia)
02-04-2009
Fed: Hockey threatens long debate on stimulus bills

The federal opposition has vowed to make parliament sit through the night before voting
on the government's 42 billion dollar economic stimulus package.

The government's begun introducing the bills to parliament .. and it wants key parts
of it passed quickly by both houses to ensure one-off cash handouts are made from …

HighLights of the AAP National Wire = 2

AAP General News (Australia)
05-27-2011
HighLights of the AAP National Wire = 2

LOS ANGELES - The millionaire US lottery winner accused of shooting dead Australian
property developer Greg McNicol warned "watch your mouth" before firing the fatal bullet,
a Detroit court has heard. (US McNicol)

LOS ANGELES - The stepmother of murdered Australian schoolgirl Zahra Baker has appeared
in a North Carolina court to face federal drug trafficking charges. (US Zahra)

AUCKLAND - Residents of a tiny Fiji village have signed a petition banning their prime
minister from going there in protest over the treatment of the country's runaway colonel.

(Fiji Fugitive)

BRISBANE - Premier Anna Bligh says Queensland is on the verge of a new gas age, amid
mounting opposition to the rapid expansion of the coal seam gas (CSG) industry. (CSG)
Update)

CANBERRA - Australia has welcomed the arrest of Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic after
16 years on the run. (Mladic Aust)

CANBERRA - Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten is confident the government will get the
budget back to surplus in 2012/13, and will work through the issue of royalty increases
with Western Australia. (MRRT)

SYDNEY - The work of the Salvation Army is a "matter of life and death" for many Australians,
the organisation has said on the eve of its national Red Shield doorknock appeal. (Salvos
Update (pix available))

PERTH - A toddler and a policeman have become the latest victims of a potentially deadly
mosquito-borne disease in Western Australia. (Mosquito)

SYDNEY - Australian retailers must explain why they charge huge mark-ups on products
that cost half as much from overseas internet companies, consumer group Choice says. (Retail)

SYDNEY - Many indigenous Australians were free from racism for the first time when
they fought in World War I, but it was another 50 years before they were treated with
the respect they deserved, NSW Governor Marie Bashir says. (Indigenous)

MELBOURNE - Cataract blindness could be eradicated from Aboriginal communities by carrying
out just 3,000 more operations a year, a report has found. (Eye)

HOBART - Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie says he will move to block the incoming
excise on LPG. (LPG)

SYDNEY - There has been another altercation at a western Sydney train station, this
time resulting in a teenage boy being seriously injured when he was struck by a passing
train. (Train)

Train Wrap to come.

SYDNEY - The NSW government has denied reports a north west rail link and Paramatta
to Epping line will be "developed in parallel" in Sydney. (Transport) Update on merit.

SYDNEY - One of the Australian Defence Force's three amphibious transport ships, HMAS
Manoora, was officially decommissioned on Friday, more than a year ahead of schedule.

(Manoora)

SYDNEY - They may have shot to fame on the big screen but Taronga Zoo's new ring-tailed
lemurs are proving to be a little camera shy. (Lemurs with pics and video)

SYDNEY - A man is being questioned by police in hospital, after his housemate was found
stabbed to death in Sydney's west. (Body)

MELBOURNE - Missing teenager Jesse Densley has been reunited with his family after
police found him in Melbourne's west. (Densley)

Update and Wrap to come

MELBOURNE - Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu has acknowledged the coalition's bungled
attempt to pass a key bill in parliament as a bad mistake but is confident the government
can recommit the vote. (Rights)

Right Wrap to come.

MELBOURNE - The father of a fatal bashing victim has called on the friends of his son's
attacker to help police bring him to justice. (McCormack Wrap)

CAIRNS - Two dead dolphins have washed ashore near Queensland port city Gladstone and
environmentalists fear there will be more to come. (Dolphins)

BRISBANE - Queenslanders have been granted more time to tell the state's flood inquiry
about their experiences with insurance companies. (Floods Inquiry Extend)

Floods Inquiry Wrap to come.

BRISBANE - Police are hunting for a man and a woman over the violent death of a man
north of Brisbane. (Behrendorff)

ADELAIDE - The South Australian and federal governments have invested $5 million to
bring extra psychiatric services to SA rural communities. (Video)

ADELAIDE - Racism continues to have a damaging impact on the lives of Aboriginal people,
South Australian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Grace Portolesi says. (Racism SA )

ADELAIDE - A move to shift more work on the $8 billion air warfare destroyer (AWD)
project to Adelaide will boost jobs in the state's booming defence sector, Premier Mike
Rann says. (Destroyer Rann)

ADELAIDE - Adelaide police are searching for a 1990s Nissan Skyline following a fatal
hit-and-run crash in the city's north. (Toll SA )

PERTH - A man has been arrested after allegedly barricading himself inside a Perth
house with six children after stabbing his former partner in the leg. (Barricade)

PERTH - The sentencing of a 16-year-old Perth boy who pressured girls to perform sex
acts on a webcam then posted the videos on Facebook has been delayed. (Webcam)

MEDICAL

SYDNEY - Australian researchers have, for the first time, studied the repetitive behaviours
of people with obsessive compulsive disorder, discovering they're performed automatically
and for a number of reasons. (Compulsions to come)

AAP bwl

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

VIC:Man killed by street sweeper

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2011
VIC:Man killed by street sweeper

A man has been killed after being hit by a street sweeper in Melbourne's east.

Police have been told the man was at a worksite on Canterbury Road in Bayswater North
when he was struck by the street sweeper just before 11 o'clock (AEDT) last night.

He died at the scene.

Police and WorkSafe inspectors are investigating.

AAP RTV jxt/els

KEYWORD: STREETSWEEPER (MELBOURNE)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

--Harry & David slides to S&P lowest junk on missed interest payment

Internet Business News
03-08-2011
--Harry & David slides to S&P lowest junk on missed interest payment

INTERNET BUSINESS NEWS-(C)1995-2011 M2 COMMUNICATIONS

8 March 2011 - S&P on Monday slashed to D, denoting default, from CC its unsolicited corporate credit rating on Harry & David Operations Corp, a US direct marketing and e-commerce company selling gourmet foods.
The downgrade to the lowest "junk" status follows a missed interest payment on its USD70m (EUR50m) senior floating-rate notes and USD175m senior fixed-rate notes. The interest payment was due on 1 March.

Consequently, the ratings on the above notes were reduced to D, but their recovery ratings of 5 remained intact denoting modest, 10% to 30%, recovery prospects.

The company has hired advisors to examine recapitalisation options after results for the second quarter ended 25 December 2010 missed expectations.

The company is considering a balance-sheet restructuring and may seek bankruptcy protection from creditors, S&P said explaining the negative rating action.

The service also notes that the unsolicited ratings are based on publicly-available information that has not been explicitly confirmed by the company and could therefore lack accuracy and completeness.

((Comments on this story may be sent to info@m2.com))

(Copyright M2 Communications, 2011)

QLD:Towns must get slice of mining tax: CFMEU

AAP General News (Australia)
12-06-2010
QLD:Towns must get slice of mining tax: CFMEU

A mining union's calling for some proceeds from the federal government's proposed new
mining tax to be ploughed into social infrastructure in mining towns.

About 100 union delegates from across Queensland have met in Brisbane today .. and
have passed a resolution to support the tax.

But delegates want the federal government to spend some of the money improving the
social fabric of mining towns.

CFMEU national president TONY MAHER says there are increasing numbers of single men
in small mining towns previously occupied by families .. with an escalation in the level
of violence and other social problems.

He says the federal government needs to prioritise social infrastructure over economic
infrastructure like ports and railways .. because mining companies can afford to build
them.

AAP RTV lpm/tnf/tm

KEYWORD: MINING TAX (BRISBANE)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: First sewage powered hydro electric plant in Australia

AAP General News (Australia)
04-29-2010
NSW: First sewage powered hydro electric plant in Australia

By Chi Tranter

SYDNEY, April 29 AAP - Sydney has become home to the first sewage powered hydro-electric
plant in Australia, as NSW energy managers continue to work to reduce the city's carbon
emissions.

The harbourside plant, which generates energy by dropping treated wastewater down a
60m shaft, was switched on by NSW Water Minister Phil Costa and Climate Change Minister
Frank Sartor on Thursday.

The plant at North Head will reduce carbon dioxide emission equivalent to taking 3000
cars off the road, Mr Costa told reporters.

The energy it produces will be enough to power 1000 homes, but will primarily be used
to power about 40 per cent of the sewage treatment plant.

"Sydney Water is on track to deliver its carbon-neutral program and this is part of
that process," Mr Costa said.

The plant will reduce Sydney's greenhouse gas emissions by over 12,000 tonnes a year
and is part of a $50 million upgrade to the North Head sewage treatment plant.

Mr Sartor said the plant was only one part of Sydney Water's effort to go green.

"Sydney Water use to be the biggest user of water, now 95 per cent of its water is
recycled," he said.

But opposition climate change spokeswoman Catherine Cusack said the plant doesn't go
far enough and that emissions continue to "skyrocket".

"This government's renewable energy policies stink to high heaven," she told reporters
in Sydney on Thursday.

AAP ct/klm/tr

KEYWORD: SEWAGE WRAP (PICS & VIDEO AVAILABLE)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Gov't outlines 130 ways to improve aviation sector

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2009
Fed: Gov't outlines 130 ways to improve aviation sector

CANBERRA, Dec 17 AAP - Knitting needles, tweezers and nail files will no longer be
prohibited and metal cutlery reintroduced under an overhaul of aviation security planned
by the federal government.

With air travel expected to double in the next 20 years the government has released
a white paper, outlining 130 ways to help ensure the future of the $6 billion industry.

The paper highlights the continued need to prioritise safety and security, with baggage
and passengers screening to be tightened.

But as a concession, the list of prohibited items allowed on board will be eased.

The government acknowledged restrictions on items such as corkscrews, umbrellas and
tennis raquets are confusing and cause delays for little security benefit.

It also hopes to bolster the industry by relaxing foreign ownership laws, increasing
cooperation between the states and commonwealth in the building of new airports, which
it said is crucial for the sector.

It wants to continue Australia's great safety record and improve access in regional areas.

MORE cj/rl/bwl

KEYWORD: AVIATION (WITH FACTBOX)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Greenpeace ends coal protest, vows to continue campaign

AAP General News (Australia)
08-07-2009
Qld: Greenpeace ends coal protest, vows to continue campaign

By Jessica Marszalek

BRISBANE, Aug 7 AAP - Greenpeace activists have ended a protest blocking a major Queensland
coal port, but say they'll be back again and again until the federal government adopts
greater emissions targets.

Protesters stopped production at the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance's (BMA) Hay Point
Export Coal Terminal at Mackay for 36 hours when they chained themselves to the top of
the terminal.

They voluntarily returned to the ground on Thursday afternoon, but Greenpeace's largest
ship, the 72-metre Esperanza, was still obstructing the loading point.

Greenpeace climate campaigner Julien Vincent said the ship was moved on Thursday night
after the 36-hour blockage that coincided with the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns.

But he promised campaigners would be back in an escalating campaign.

"We're not going anywhere, we're only going to continue this campaign and we're going
to be involving more people as we go," he said.

"The prime minister is going to have to justify throughout the rest of this year why
he is setting greenhouse pollution targets that are so low, that are so weak, they essentially
lock in the worst impact of climate change."

Mr Vincent said Australia's Pacific Island neighbours would especially feel the impact.

He said the Esperanza would dock at Cairns for the weekend, hopefully to recruit more
sympathisers.

The Queensland Resources Council has estimated the stunts had cost Queensland taxpayers
about $1 million a day in royalties, and BHP about $13 million a day.

Greenpeace staged a similar protest at the Xstrata Coal-operated Abbot Point terminal,
25km north of Bowen in north Queensland, on Tuesday.

Fourteen people have been charged over the protests this week.

Federal Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has said climate change will not be fixed
by stunts or slogans and that coal will remain a significant part of the world's energy
mix in one form or another.

AAP jmm/srp

KEYWORD: FORUM PROTEST

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Indon, PNG donate to bushfire appeal

AAP General News (Australia)
02-12-2009
Fed: Indon, PNG donate to bushfire appeal

CANBERRA, Feb 12 AAP - Some of Australia's less well-off neighbours have offered multi-million
dollar donations to the Victorian bushfire appeal.

Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, both developing nations, have offered cash donations
to help bushfire victims.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has offered a donation of $US1 million
($A1.52 million) and Papua New Guinea $A2 million.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told parliament Dr Yudhoyono wanted Australians to know Indonesia
was not only a neighbour but also a friend.

"The president of Indonesia indicating Australia has always dug deep in helping Indonesia
in its times of national catastrophe and disaster," he said.

Mr Rudd said he had spoken by telephone to PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare earlier
on Thursday.

"The government of Papua New Guinea has decided to donate $A2 million to assist disaster
victims in the bushfires in Victoria and those who've been affected by flooding in north
Queensland," he said.

"Sir Michael (noted) ... whenever natural calamities have hit Papua New Guinea in the
past, Australia, through the Australian Defence Force and through other Australian aid
agencies, has always been first into the fray."

And Sir Michael said that PNG, too, was a friend as well as neighbour.

"It is good, at times like this, neighbours who are indeed friends."

Mr Rudd has also received a message of support from Britain's heir to the throne, the
Prince of Wales, saying the bushfire victims were in his thoughts and prayers.

"My wife and I have been watching with mounting horror and anguish the devastation
caused by the terrible bushfires which have been raging in Australia," the message read.

"Although such sentiments are hopelessly inadequate in the circumstances, I just wanted
you to know that our hearts go out to all those who have lost loved ones, homes, livelihoods
and treasured personal possessions as a result of such an unmitigated tragedy."

Queen Elizabeth II passed on her condolences through the governor-general earlier in the week.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull thanked the thousands of people from around the
world who've sent messages of support to Australia.

"We note the touching generosity from our neighbours in the region," he said.

AAP so/rl/jlw

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES VIC WORLD

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Queen of pop beats Queen of England

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2008
Vic: Queen of pop beats Queen of England

Pop star KYLIE MINOGUE would have no trouble finding a seat on a tram .. train or bus
.. according to a survey of Melbourne commuters.

But the Queen would possibly find herself standing.

The survey's found that .. given a choice .. commuters of all ages would rather sit
next to MINOGUE than MEGAN GALE .. BARRY HUMPHRIES .. KEVIN RUDD .. EDDIE McGUIRE .. and
the Queen who was the most unpopular.

Commuters aged over 50 wanted to share their seat with KEVIN RUDD .. while those earning
less than 30-thousand dollars wanted to sit next to the man who came from the outer suburbs
and became a television star .. EDDIE McGUIRE.

AAP RTV kn/gfr/sw/ibw

KEYWORD: KYLIE (MELBOURNE)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Yarra River dredging starts tomorrow

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2008
Vic: Yarra River dredging starts tomorrow

MELBOURNE, April 20 AAP - Dredging of Melbourne's Yarra River will begin tomorrow as
part of the $1 billion Port Phillip Bay channel deepening project.

A contentious stage of the controversial project, the dredging of the river, will drag
up two million cubic metres of toxic sediment from the river bed and dump it in a containment
bund in the bay.

The toxic sediment will be loaded into a barge and taken to the clay containment bund,
which will then be capped with clean dredged sand.

The Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) has previously said this is "best practice"

for dealing with the toxic sludge they are dredging.

The $1 billion channel project, started in February and set to finish in October, is
deepening Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay to enable bigger container ships into the port.

In all, 23 million cubic metres of sediment will be moved.

Protesters have lost successive court bids to stop the dredging of the Yarra River
and the bay going ahead.

A crane mounted on a pontoon moored in the seabed tomorrow will start the Yarra River dredging.

The crane, the Goomai, is a specialised high precision grab dredge, PoMC chief executive
Stephen Bradford said in a statement today.

AAP kn/gfr/jt/cdh

KEYWORD: CHANNEL

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Gov position on greenhouse targets hypocritical: Hunt

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2007
Fed: Gov position on greenhouse targets hypocritical: Hunt

The federal opposition has accused the government of hypocrisy .. over its negotiation
tactics at the Bali climate change conference.

Australian negotiators flagged "strong support" for developed countries to negotiate
slashing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40 per cent over the next decade.

But the government's still insisting it'll wait until it receives a report by economist
ROSS GARNAUT next year .. before setting binding targets.

Coalition environment spokesman GREG HUNT has told Sky News .. the RUDD government's
adopted the former HOWARD government's position .. which it criticised in opposition.

AAP RTV sld/jmt

KEYWORD: CLIMATE BALI HUNT (CANBERRA)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED: Childcare cash headed for families as election nears

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2007
FED: Childcare cash headed for families as election nears

Thousands of parents will receive a childcare cash bonus of up to for-thousand-200
dollars from the federal government as they prepare to go to the polling booths.

The payment will also roughly coincide with the release of the controversially delayed
2005-06 childcare rebate .. to be paid via a families 2006-07 tax return.

Childcare campaigner REBECCA BARTEL has told the Australian newspaper it appears the
payments were held off to be used as election sweeteners for families.

The childcare bonus already was announced in the budget and is based on the hours a
child spends in daycare with the maximum at 50 hours.

Most children spend about 22 hours a week in daycare .. equating to a bonus payment
of about 800 dollars for a child per year.

AAP RTV dr/wz

KEYWORD: CHILDCARE (SYDNEY)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Drought, water bigger election issues than climate change: Howard

AAP General News (Australia)
02-10-2007
Fed: Drought, water bigger election issues than climate change: Howard

SYDNEY, Feb 10 AAP - Solutions to drought and water shortages would be bigger concerns
than climate change for voters at this year's federal election, Prime Minister John Howard
says.

Mr Howard told the Sun-Herald newspaper he believed purely domestic issues such as
economic prosperity, national security and Australian environmental issues were the key
to winning at the ballot box.

The prime minister didn't want to dismiss climate change but said Australians were
more concerned about solving problems in their own back yards.

"Water is the big environmental issue," Mr Howard told the paper.

"Water, water, water. It's the biggest environmental game in town by a long way. It's
within our capacity to do something about it in the foreseeable future - it's a self-contained
Australian challenge."

Australians' inherent practicality meant they were more interested in drought-proofing
the country and fixing water problems than debating climate change, he said.

Mr Howard said the Coalition's 11 years in office might prove a double-edged sword at the polls.

"It's both a strength and a challenge," he said.

"Every election gets that bit harder."

Mr Howard took heart, however, from continued confidence in his government.

History showed that each of the five changes of government since World War II had been
preceded by a collapse in confidence in the incumbents, he said.

"That hasn't happened to us."

AAP sk/jl

KEYWORD: POLL HOWARD

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Carers charged over death of disabled man

AAP General News (Australia)
08-24-2006
Vic: Carers charged over death of disabled man

Two former Department of Human Services officers have been charged with the manslaughter
of an intellectually disabled Victorian man.

57-year-old KENNETH REGINALD CONDUIT from Sunbury .. and 36-year-old JOANNE PACE from
Melton South .. have both appeared at Melbourne Magistrates' Court today .. charged with
one count of manslaughter.

The pair are facing charges after 67-year-old KEVIN CHUTER allegedly drank liniment
last May at a football ground in Melton .. in Melbourne's north-west .. dying soon after
in hospital.

The disabled man lived in care homes most of his life.

CONDUIT and PACE will reappear at the same court on October 18.

The DHS says it can't comment on the matter as it's before the court.

AAP RTV mf/ce/tm/bart

KEYWORD: CONDUIT (MELBOURNE)

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW:Councils won't get away with spending on the corporate card

AAP General News (Australia)
04-18-2006
NSW:Councils won't get away with spending on the corporate card

The New South Wales government says councillors are accountable for personal expenses
such as dinners .. accommodation .. and dry cleaning .. that they charge to their council
credit cards.

News Limited papers have reported today that mayors and general managers of 10 Sydney
councils had bought items such as Italian coffee machines .. exotic dinners and paid
dry cleaning bills with corporate credit cards during the past 18 months.

But local Government Minister KERRY HICKEY says guidelines are in place for all credit
card expenses to be tabled in councils' annual reports.

Mr HICKEY says they provide transparency for ratepayers to see where government funds are going.

And he says he's confident councils are generally reimbursed for councillors' personal expenses.

AAP RTV dmc/cj/was/jt/nf/cp/tm

KEYWORD: COUNCILS (SYDNEY)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Specialist doctors threaten to quit over pay dispute

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-2005
Qld: Specialist doctors threaten to quit over pay dispute

Twenty medical specialists have threatened to quit a major Brisbane hospital over a
pay dispute with the Queensland government.

The Australian Medical Association says the visiting medical officers at the Royal
Brisbane and Women's Hospital will resign if their colleagues in other major hospitals
support them.

AMA spokesman ROSS CARTMILL says four departments at the hospital -- ear, nose and
throat, urology, vascular and plastic surgery -- will effectively be shut down if they
quit.

Dr CARTMILL says more specialists are expected to resign later this month from the
Mater, Prince Charles and Princess Alexandra hospitals in Brisbane, the Gold Coast Hospital
and the Nambour Hospital.

Visiting medical officers have overwhelmingly rejected the government's offer of a
four per cent pay rise.

AAP RTV rm/sc/wjf/rt

KEYWORD: VMO (BRISBANE)

2005 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.