SA:Man denies involvement SA murder

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2011
SA:Man denies involvement SA murder

The former lover of an accused killer has told a court he was not involved in her alleged
murder of an Adelaide pensioner.

ANGELIKA GAVARE is on trial in the Supreme Court of South Australia after pleading
NOT guilty to murdering 82-year-old VONNE MCGLYNN in early December 2008.

It's alleged 35-year-old GAVARE dismembered Ms MCGLYNN'S body and dumped all but her
yet to be discovered head and hands in a creek, because she wanted to sell the pensioner's
house.

Defence counsel GRANT ALGIE told the court GAVARE'S former boyfriend GUISEPPE DANIELE
is to blame after taking GAVARRE to the pensioner's home that night, saying there had
been an accident and setting Mrs MCGLYNN's house up to look like a burglary had occurred.

But Mr DANIELE said GAVARE is a compulsive liar and he had not had contact with her for years.

The trial is continuing.

AAP RTV sbm/lk/wz

KEYWORD: GAVARE (ADELAIDE)

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

Fed: Howard accuses Rudd of trying to undermine water plan

AAP General News (Australia)
02-20-2007
Fed: Howard accuses Rudd of trying to undermine water plan

By David Crawshaw and Liza Kappelle

CANBERRA, Feb 20 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard has accused Opposition Leader Kevin
Rudd of trying to derail his $10 billion water plan for the Murray-Darling basin.

Mr Howard pleaded with the premiers today not to scuttle his reform package, as it
looks increasingly likely that no agreement will be reached at Friday's meeting in Canberra.

The plan calls for the states to hand over control of the Murray-Darling basin in exchange
for an upgrade of irrigation infrastructure and measures to address …

VIC:In-ground sensors for city parking

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2011
VIC:In-ground sensors for city parking

New in-ground sensors are making their way to more than four thousand 600 Melbourne
parking spots from July .. using technology that records when a car moves in and out of
the bay.

There'll be a five-minute grace period built into the spots .. but any vehicle that
overstays its welcome will activate a signal to the nearest parking inspector.

The sensors will cost ratepayers five and a half million dollars over the next two years.

AAP RTV ees/gfr/af

KEYWORD: PARKING (MELBOURNE)

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

VIETNAM: COMMUNIST PARTY TIGHTENS ITS GRIP ON A ONCE-FREE PRESS

Marwaan Macan-Markar
Inter Press Service English News Wire
01-27-2011
BANGKOK, Jan. 27, 2011 (IPS/GIN) - A week after Vietnams ruling Communist Party ended its pivotal congress of the countrys political elite, there was little evidence in the state-controlled media of a possible return to the openness that once saw high-profile corruption scandals exposed in print.

"This is the way it is going to be," a senior Vietnamese journalist told IPS on condition of anonymity, pointing to the staid diet of news filling the pages in the Southeast Asian nation, home to an estimated 700 newspapers and magazines. "The message from the congress to journalists was very clear."

"Nobody will want to upset the ruling party," he added. "They know the price if they dare."

Such fear emerged at the beginning of the Eleventh National Congress, when Dinh The Huynh, the editor-in-chief of Nhan Dan, the Communist Partys official news outlet, joined other leaders of the party hierarchy to stamp out arguments calling for "all forms of pluralism".

It amplified what the Vietnamese had learnt on the eve of the Congress, which ran from Jan. 12 to 19. At that time Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung issued an executive decree that outlawed fundamental features that are the stock in trade of journalists pursuing investigative stories: unnamed confidential sources.

The 44-page decree, which comes into force Feb. 25, "outlines new monetary penalties for journalists who refuse to divulge their news sources or publish articles under pseudonyms," noted the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based global media rights watchdog, soon after. "[The new decree] supersedes any similar decrees issued in the past," CPJ added.

The penalty of 2,000 dollars would be levied against journalists who publish articles that are "not in the interest of the people", reveal "state secrets", or expose "non-authorised information".

"This new decree aims to increase government control over Vietnams already over-regulated and highly suppressed media," says Shawn Crispin, CPJs senior Southeast Asia representative. "The language of the decree is overly broad and represents the governments latest use of rule by law justifications to limit press freedom."

The emergence of Nguyen Phu Trong - the new general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) - as the most powerful political figure in the country also served as a reminder that journalists in the country are not defenders of the right to free expression. Trong is a former editor of the Communist Review, a CPV journal.

Trong was chosen as the party boss on the last day of the secretive congress, which was attended by 1,400 delegates representing the partys 3.6 million members. He was a compromise candidate to bridge the differences between the premier, Dung, and leading party member Truong Tan Sang, who was appointed president.

"Trong is considered as pro-Chinese and orthodox. He is a hard-line Marxist ideologue," Vo Tran Nhat, executive secretary of Action for Democracy in Vietnam, a Paris-based group of Vietnamese political exiles, told IPS. "In spite of the unanimity proclaimed during the Congress, Trong and other members of the Politburo have been criticised widely."

"There were several petitions denouncing him," added Nhat. "Last year in preparation for the congress, 19 eminent military and CPV veterans signed an important petition to the politburo accusing four CPV leaders [including Trong] of having favoured corruption, nepotism and the abuse of power."

The latest crackdown on the press comes on the heels of equally repressive measures Hanoi has imposed on Internet activity, which had served as an outlet - through blogs, websites and social networking sites - for Vietnamese citizens to exchange information and criticise government corruption.

Vietnams jails not only hold 17 netizens for expressing their views online, but at least two journalists have been imprisoned.

The jailing of the two journalists occurred during a wave of repression targeting the press in 2008. At that time, "252 journalists were sanctioned, 15 journalists had their press cards withdrawn, six journalists were prosecuted and two were imprisoned," states the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights, a Paris-based rights lobby, in a 2010 report.

The crackdown followed a 2006 media expose of corruption involving high- ranking party officials at the transport ministry. The officials who belonged to Project Management Unit 18 (PMU-18) had reportedly "used millions of dollars to gamble on football matches".

The sentencing of the two journalists who exposed the scandal marked an about turn by Hanoi, which had since its Sixth National Congress in 1986 embarked on a policy of Doi Moi, or reform and openness to steadily embrace free market economic policies. This move to lift the country out of poverty also saw the government gradually encourage openness in the national media to expose corruption.

In 1992, when the country approved its new constitution, clauses to defend human rights were enshrined as a national priority.

"The print media in Vietnam has always towed the party line, but in the years leading up to the PMU-18 scandal some in the media were trying to push the boundaries," says Kulachada Chaipipat, campaign officer for the Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA), a Bangkok-based regional media rights watchdog. "There were whistle-blowers who used to give journalists information."

But since then there has been a drop in the number of corruption cases reported in the Vietnamese media, and if they do report on any they are "minor ones," she told IPS. "The media are afraid of the repercussions."

Copyright 2011 IPS/GIN. The contents of this story can not be duplicated in any fashion without written permission of Global Information Network

FED:Australia could be back at polls

AAP General News (Australia)
08-23-2010
FED:Australia could be back at polls

Australia could be back at the polls again .. if the major parties fail to win the
support of independents and the Greens.

Thousands of postal and absentee votes are still to be counted .. in an extraordinary
election that looks likely to deliver the nation's first hung parliament in 70 years.

Many are tipping the coalition to win 73 seats and Labor to win 72 .. but whoever forms
government needs 76 seats in the lower house.

The courting has already begun of independents TONY WINDSOR .. BOB KATTER and ROB OAKESHOTT
.. who've vowed to vote as a block .. with Greens MP ADAM BANDT likely to side with Labor.

Mr OAKESHOTT and Mr WINDSOR say that should negotiations fail to deliver stable government
.. there should be another election.

AAP RTV ah/jmt

KEYWORD: POLL10 COUNT (CANBERRA)

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

Fed: Rudd continues all or nothing demand on health reform

AAP General News (Australia)
04-15-2010
Fed: Rudd continues all or nothing demand on health reform

By Sandra O'Malley, Senior Political Writer

CANBERRA, April 15 AAP - Kevin Rudd is continuing to demand an all-or-nothing deal
when he meets state and territory leaders next week, refusing to consider an extension
of his deadline.

Victorian Premier John Brumby, the most trenchant critic of the prime minister's health
and hospital reform plan, has talked up the prospect of an "in-principle" agreement when
leaders meet on Monday.

The detail would then be nutted out over coming weeks.

But Mr Rudd isn't having a bar of further delays.

"I think the Australian people are fed up with waiting for reform for the health and
hospital system," he told reporters.

"We are proposing a formal intergovernmental agreement with the states and territories
on the future of the health and hospital system.

"The Australian government's position on that will not change."

He's not a fan of another issue many states are pursuing - a single funding pool.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has signalled it is an ideal worth considering.

"We will not accept a recipe for inaction by either Premier Brumby or, for that matter,
Mr Abbott," Mr Rudd said, accusing the pair of being satisfied with the current health
system.

"It seems to boil down to Mr Brumby and Mr Abbott saying the current system is good enough."

Mr Rudd will formally put his health offer to state and territory leaders at the Council
of Australian Governments (CoAG) on Monday - if he can't get agreement, he has threatened
to take the matter to a referendum.

He wants to take back 30 per cent of GST revenue from the states and, in return, the
commonwealth will take control of majority funding of public hospitals.

Victoria is standing firm, but Mr Rudd did get another leader on side.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson backs the prime minister's proposal
- but with two provisos.

He wants to make sure the commonwealth takes account of the NT's indigenous health
issues and small population.

And NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, who has been making conciliatory noises, warned
the federal government against taking her support as a given.

"I wouldn't pre-empt the decision and position NSW is going to take," she told Macquarie
Radio Network on Thursday.

Ms Keneally admitted there was common ground but said some serious concerns remained.

"Particularly around the financial arrangements, particularly around whether or not
this proposal represents an increase in bureaucracy, whether or not it represents an increase
in complexity, whether it truly will end the blame game and deliver new money into our
system," she said.

"If we cannot be assured of those things, we cannot sign up to it."

Ms Keneally will take the decision to her cabinet on Friday, hours before chairing
a phone hook-up of state and territory leaders.

The states that have fallen in behind Mr Rudd are voicing frustration at the opposition
being demonstrated by Mr Brumby.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh urged all premiers to get on board.

"I'd hate to see it derailed because one or two states are not prepared to do the hard
yards and get over the problems," she said.

Mr Abbott told Macquarie Radio Network Mr Rudd was trying to rush through a deal.

"You can't try to change the world overnight. If you do, you invariably make a bad
situation worse," Mr Abbott said.

The federal government originally promised its hospital reform plan by the middle of last year.

AAP so/jl

KEYWORD: HOSPITALS WRAP

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

FED: What Tony Abbot said after being elected Liberal leader

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2009
FED: What Tony Abbot said after being elected Liberal leader

What new federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said on:



BECOMING LEADER

"I do feel humbled and daunted by what lies ahead but I also feel proud and exhilarated
at the prospect of leading this party to the next election."



"It's the last thing I would have expected a week ago. My intention was to change the
position on these bills, no more than that. Unfortunately, it became clear, eventually,
that in order to change the position on these bills we had to have a leadership change."



"I accept that I, at times, have stuffed up. I also believe that when you become leader
you make a new start."



"I probably should, I suppose, apologise now for all my errors of the past, and make
a clean breast of them, if you like, and ask the public to judge me from this point."





OPPOSITION

"The job of the opposition is to be an alternative not an echo; to provide a choice not a copy."



"The prime job of opposition is to hold the government to account ... if we are absolutely
confident that what the government is doing is in beyond reasonable doubt in the national
interest then sure let's go along with it. But if you've got the doubts we have over this,
then we're obliged to oppose it."





LEADERSHIP

"There are some wounds that need to be healed. I have said to my colleagues that I
will do my best to be a consultative and collegial leader."



"Political parties don't work when people just announce what they're doing and expect
everyone else to follow. I will not be that kind of leader."





TURNBULL/HOCKEY

"I really meant it when I said in recent days that my admiration for Malcolm has grown.

He has shone in adversity."



"When (Mr Turnbull) elected to join the parliamentary Liberal Party he did us great
credit and great honour and I want him to have a long and successful future in public
life."



"Joe has had a pretty tough few days. I want to pay tribute to Joe who I think has
really tried hard to play healer."





CLIMATE CHANGE

"This emissions trading scheme legislation, which is really an energy taxation scheme,
does deserve the most rigorous scrutiny by this parliament ... It would be grossly irresponsible
of us to just wave this through the parliament."



"We do want to reduce our emissions and those targets stand. We will have a strong
and effective climate change policy, it just won't be this ETS."





ECONOMY

"The Australian people need to understand that each and every interest rate rise over
the next 12 months is due to the irresponsible spending spree of the Rudd government."



"In the end, the fundamental job of government is to run a good economy."





WORKCHOICES

"The phrase WorkChoices is dead. No one will ever mention it again. But we do need
to have a free and flexible economy."



"The government went a little bit too far with some sections of this legislation, we
accepted that even in government."



"Let's not forget what Kevin Rudd has done is not just roll back WorkChoices, Kevin
Rudd has rolled back the industrial reforms of the Keating government."





GOVERNMENT

"A waste of money that has been worse than (former Labor prime minister Gough) Whitlam." he said.



"I have even been accused from time to time of flirting with the deputy prime minister
- that must cease now, of course."



ELECTION

"As leader, I am not frightened of an election, I am not frightened of an election
on this issue, I really am not frightened of an election on this issue."



"I cannot promise victory, it will obviously be very tough, but I can promise a contest.

It will be a good contest, it will be a clean contest. I know my colleagues are gearing
up for the fight of their lives."





FRONTBENCH

"We will have some disagreements in this party, that's not a bad thing ... but the
frontbench will represent all shades of opinion inside the Liberal Party."



"I do regard the selection of a new frontbench as an opportunity to indicate this party
is a broad church, it always will be a broad church."





COALITION

"I have always been a very strong supporter of the coalition. I've always thought that
a Liberal is a city-National, and National is a country-Liberal."



"The conservative side of politics will not flourish if we do not have a strong and
effective coalition."

AAP jlw/maur/cdh

KEYWORD: LIBERALS ABBOTT QUOTES

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

Fed: Sequence of events during Asylum seeker boat explosion

AAP General News (Australia)
04-24-2009
Fed: Sequence of events during Asylum seeker boat explosion

SYDNEY, AAP - The defence department on Friday (April 24) released its record of the
sequence of events during the recovery of Asylum seekers during a boat explosion near
Ashmore reef, off Australia's northwest:

At about 8.15am (AEDT) on Thursday 16 April there was an explosion on board a foreign
vessel that was intercepted the previous day in the vicinity of Ashmore Reef. The events
surrounding the incident occurred in the following order:

- An explosion occurred on board the intercepted vessel at 8.15am (AEDT).

- Nine Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were on board the intercepted vessel at
the time of the explosion.

- HMAS Childers and HMAS Albany recovered all survivors from the water within about 15
minutes. The search continued.

- Multiple casualties resulted from the explosion with three people deceased and two people
reported missing.

- All ADF personnel were accounted for.

- Medical assistance was rendered by ADF personnel via triage to casualties.

- Five ADF personnel presented with minor injuries and were administered first aid.

- Headquarters Northern Command (HQNORCOM) arranged Casualty Evacuation supported by the
Northern Territory and West Australian State and Commonwealth agencies.

- Air Force AP-3C Orions and Customs and Border Protection DASH 8 aircraft conducted a
Search and Rescue operation for the two missing persons under the control of AMSA (Rescue
Coordination Centre).

- The Patrol Boats proceeded to FPSO Front Puffin for casualty evacuation.

- AP-3C Orions conducted a box-drop of additional medical supplies to the Patrol Boats.

- A Medical Triage facility was established at Truscott and on the Front Puffin.

- HMAS Childers and HMAS Albany transferred the high priority casualties to Front Puffin
for triage and evacuation.

- HMAS Childers remained alongside Front Puffin until all casualties had been evacuated.

HMAS Albany departed after disembarking her high priority casualties for high speed transit
to Darwin.

- The high priority casualties were transferred from Front Puffin to Truscott by CSC helicopter.

0 At Truscott the casualties were again triaged and flown to specialist facilities in
Darwin, Broome, Perth or Brisbane hospitals for medical assistance.

- Upon arrival in Darwin HMAS Albany was met by paramedical staff and other government
agency staff to assist the casualty reception on 17 April 2009 at 1.30 pm (AEDT).

- HMAS Childers arrived in Darwin on 17 April 2009 at 4.30pm (AEDT).

AAP goc/

KEYWORD: BOAT (TIMELINE)

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

SA: No tax hikes and no new taxes in SA economic statement

AAP General News (Australia)
12-19-2008
SA: No tax hikes and no new taxes in SA economic statement

South Australia Treasurer KEVIN FOLEY says there'll be no tax hikes .. and no new taxes
.. in the state's economic statement today .. despite the global financial crisis.

Mr FOLEY says promised tax cuts will also be delivered .. but the state's finances
will slide into deficit.

The treasurer says the 160 million dollar budget surplus forecast for 2008-09 has gone
because of the financial crisis.

But he says .. unlike in other states .. the SA Labor government won't respond by ramping
up taxes.

AAP RTV tjd/af/psm/

KEYWORD: CRISIS SA (ADELAIDE)

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

NSW: Defence investigates whether jet clipped powerlines

AAP General News (Australia)
08-13-2008
NSW: Defence investigates whether jet clipped powerlines

SYDNEY, Aug 13 AAP - An RAAF jet may have clipped powerlines during a training mission
over the NSW coast, sparking a mid-air emergency.

The aircraft was one of two Hawks on a routine training run today along the coast,
north of Newcastle, a defence department spokesman said.

"About 11am (AEST) one of the aircraft pilots declared an aircraft emergency and diverted
to Coffs Harbour Airport to land," he said.

"One Hawk landed safely at 11.40am (and the) other has returned to Williamtown (near Newcastle)."

The spokesman said no one was injured during the incident and the aircraft would be
examined to find the cause of the emergency.

He could not confirm reports the jet sustained visible damage to one of its wings.

"(We are) looking into the possibility of the aircraft clipping powerlines," he said.

The jet circled over the ocean as emergency services, including two ambulance crews,
waited at Coffs Harbour Airport for the landing.

"The aircraft was circling over the ocean to receive a standard damage check from the
other Hawk pilot," the spokesman said.

"While circulating the aircraft was also burning off fuel to reduce its landing weight."

The Hawk fighter training jet typically carries two personnel and is widely used in
airforce training.

AAP ad/evt/srp/bwl

KEYWORD: AIRCRAFT LEAD

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

Fed: RBA acknowledges pressure from rate rises

AAP General News (Australia)
04-04-2008
Fed: RBA acknowledges pressure from rate rises

SYDNEY, April 4 AAP - Australia's central bank says it is keenly aware that recent
interest rate rises have put pressure on borrowers, amid a concentration of mortgage stress
in parts of Sydney's west.

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Glenn Stevens today acknowledged that rate
hikes had put more pressure on borrowers generally.

"There's no doubt there's a significant number of people feeling pressure," he said.

"There are more of them now than a year ago because of interest rate rises."

He said the bank was very conscious of a concentration of mortgage stress in areas
of western Sydney.

"Yes, I am aware of those problems and we are conscious of that and are conscious of
the need not to inflict any more pain," Mr Stevens said.

"But we have to make an aggregate decision as a whole."

The central bank raised official interest rates in August, November, February and March
to contain inflationary pressures in the economy driven by very strong domestic demand.

"People are affected by higher interest rates - I know that," Mr Stevens said in response
to a question from the the House of Representatives joint standing committee on economics
in Sydney.

"I do not have an instrument that only affects some people and not others, and neither
does anyone else."

Mortgage stress is defined as a household spending more than 30 per cent of its income
on mortgage repayments.

But Mr Stevens said a better gauge was the old definition of mortgage stress, where
the bottom 40 per cent of income earners were spending more than 30 per cent of their
income on their home loan repayments.

"Those on a high income who choose to have a high mortgage, they could be defined as
being in stress," he said.

"There are people in mortgage stress, there are people in rental stress.

"There also has been a significant share of low income people in that position."

Mr Stevens said the public should be patient, as the central bank works to reduce inflation.

"These things take time and we have to be patient," he said.

"I think it (inflation) will come back ... I don't think you can say it will come down
very quickly or very soon."

Mr Stevens also said house prices in Australia were very high relative to household income.

"Housing prices are very, very high relative to income," he said.

He said high housing prices reflected both demand and supply issues, although the latter
was becoming more apparent.

"These supply things, the more time goes on the more it becomes apparent there are
issues there," he said.

AAP saj/klm/mn/it/de

KEYWORD: RBA STRESS

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

Fed: Draft laws phasing out AWAs to be ready by February

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2007
Fed: Draft laws phasing out AWAs to be ready by February

By Maria Hawthorne, Max Blenkin and David Crawshaw

CANBERRA, Dec 2 AAP - Draft laws phasing out the Australian Workplace Agreements hated
by the union movement will be ready in time for the opening of federal parliament next
February.

But unfair dismissal laws will remain unchanged until the middle of next year, incoming
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

Ms Gillard, who will be sworn in along with the rest of the Rudd ministry tomorrow,
said cabinet would consider the transition bill before Christmas.

"We will have our transition bill for the opening of parliament next year," Ms Gillard
told the Ten Network.

"And the transition bill is a very simple one - it will end the ability of employers
to make Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs)."

AWAs were introduced by the Howard government as its first major industrial relations
reform within months of winning power at the 1996 election.

But they have been bitterly opposed by the unions ever since, although they have been
credited with introducing greater flexibility and higher pay in some sections of the workforce,
particularly the West Australian mining sector.

Ms Gillard conceded a second substantial piece of legislation reinstating unfair dismissal
laws, delivering on the rest of Labor's election promise, would take longer.

"We will get that into the parliament as soon as it can be done. Obviously we want
to draft it in a consultative way including having an exposure draft so that will take
a number of months," she said.

"People should anticipate seeing that in the parliament in the first half of next year."

Ms Gillard, whose portfolios include employment and workplace relations, said Labor
could not undo Work Choices overnight.

"We want to get it right first time and take the time necessary to do that. But from
that piece of legislation on, Work Choices will be over," she said.

New Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson says the coalition will wait until it sees the
legislation before deciding whether to support it.

With a new poll showing a majority of people believe Work Choices was the main reason
the coalition lost last weekend's election, Dr Nelson said he had got the message on the
unpopular policy.

"We know there are a number of lessons from the election. One of them is a significant
number of Australians chose to vote for Mr Rudd on the basis of what they understood Work
Choices was about," Dr Nelson told ABC television.

"I have got that message. We have got the message.

"We also think it is very important that we don't do anything to reduce the chance
of any of our kids or any of us being able to get a job or keep a job."

Dr Nelson said there would have to be a significant discussion with parliamentary colleagues
before the opposition adopted any position, but denied he was having a bet each way.

Ms Gillard said the coalition needed to be reminded that the people had spoken.

"This wasn't a marginal part of the last election campaign. It was a key part of the
election campaign," she said.

"We'd ask for the will of the Australian people to be honoured."

Meanwhile, Workplace Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson has warned employers not to pressure
workers into signing AWAs ahead of their abolition.

"Placing undue pressure on a worker to sign an AWA is unfair, utterly unlawful and
will not be tolerated," Mr Wilson said.

"The community expects that workers will be treated fairly and employers are warned
that the Workplace Ombudsman will not hesitate to prosecute those who apply or attempt
to apply such pressure on workers."

AAP mfh/jt/jlw

KEYWORD: WORKPLACE NIGHTLEAD

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

Vic: Wealth and school has little impact on uni drop-outs

AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2007
Vic: Wealth and school has little impact on uni drop-outs

University drop-outs don't just come from poor families or government schools.

An analysis of uni attrition rates has found that has little bearing on a student's
chances of completing their degree.

The study by the Australian Council for Educational Research .. analysed a group who
began uni between 1998 and 2001 .. and tracked their careers until 2004.

It found 66 per cent finished uni by 2004 .. 16 per cent withdrew .. 11 per cent changed
their course and eight per cent were still studying.

The study found completion was lowest among students who attended independent schools
.. at 61 per cent .. and highest among those who went to Catholic schools .. at 69 per
cent.

The vast majority of students who didn't finish their studies within five years of
leaving .. still got jobs.

But their pay packets were much lighter .. and their job status much lower .. than
their peers who completed their degrees.

AAP RTV cmb/rh/bart

KEYWORD: COMPLETION (MELBOURNE)

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

Fed: Tax lawyer John Emerson appointed to Board of Taxation

AAP General News (Australia)
12-18-2006
Fed: Tax lawyer John Emerson appointed to Board of Taxation

CANBERRA, Dec 18 AAP - Treasurer Peter Costello has appointed tax lawyer John Emerson
to the Board of Taxation.

Mr Emerson is a partner at Freehills law firm and head of the firm's charity law practice.

He joined the company in 1971 and was admitted to partnership in 1976.

"Mr Emerson is recognised Australia-wide as an expert in the tax laws applicable to
charities," said Mr Costello in a statement.

"In 2004, Mr Emerson was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service
to law and to the community, particularly through the provision of advice to charities
and not-for-profit organisations and the development of public administration reform to
encourage philanthropy in Australia."

He has been a member of the Board of Taxation advisory panel since December 2003.

The treasurer also reappointed Eric Mayne and Curt Rendall as members of the board
for three-year terms, starting January 15.

The Board of Taxation is an independent, non-statutory body established to advise the
government on the development and implementation of taxation legislation and the ongoing
operation of the tax system.

AAP cb/sb/evt/de

KEYWORD: EMERSON

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

NSW: New Sydney rail link's cost goes up $250 million

AAP General News (Australia)
08-11-2006
NSW: New Sydney rail link's cost goes up $250 million

SYDNEY, Aug 11 AAP - Taxpayers will have to pour another $250 million into Sydney's
new Epping to Chatswood rail link after a new cost blowout.

The sum is more than 10 per cent of the project's original $2 billion price tag, The
Daily Telegraph reports today.

The NSW state government has blamed commodity prices and additional sound-proofing
for the added cost to the northern Sydney link.

The link was scheduled to open next year but is now likely to open in 2008, the paper said.

State Treasurer Michael Costa had already announced in June that the government would
have to pour in additional funds to the tune of $351 million.

The latest blowout adds to a NSW budget deficit forecast to reach $696 million this year.

The state government plans to borrow the money from a swelling infrastructure program
which is set to reach $10 billion this year, the paper said.

AAP cmc/goc/

KEYWORD: RAIL

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

Microsoft gets contract for cellphone softwareBriefing: SEATTLE

International Herald Tribune
04-05-2006
Microsoft is set to announce its biggest-ever contract for mobile phone software, an order from the U.S. Census Bureau that covers 500,000 handsets. Scott Horn, a Microsoft executive, said in an interview Monday that the company would announce the deal this week. A Microsoft senior vice president, Pieter Knook, said that sales of handsets with Windows-based software would double to 20 million units in 2007 as corporate customers opt for those devices instead of BlackBerry devices sold by the Canadian company Research In Motion. Microsoft expects to increase its mobile unit's sales to $1 billion in one to three years, from $337 million last year The company declined to disclose the value of the Census Bureau contract for Windows Mobile phones, which can link to the Internet, run Office, read e-mail and play music. Census takers will use them for collecting information door-to-door in the 2010 U.S. census.

2006 Copyright International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com

Web Site Devotes Itself to Strange Firings

The Associated Press
AP Online
08-04-2005
Dateline: SAN FRANCISCO
Getting fired is rarely a happy event, but that doesn't mean you can't have a sense of humor about it. That's what Simply Hired, a 5-month-old employment-related Internet startup, counted on when it started an affiliated Web site devoted to the stories of workers who have received a pink slip for a silly, outrageous or embarrassing reason.

The Mountain View-based company is even offering a prize to the biggest "loser" _ a Caribbean cruise that will include passengers famously fired by Donald Trump on his popular television show, "The Apprentice."

The contest will be judged by a panel that includes Phil Kaplan, an irreverent entrepreneur who learned a thing or two about sad-sack stories while running a Web site about the foibles of failing Internet companies during the dot-com bust.

Kaplan's old site, which had a profane name, helped inspire simplyfired.com, said Kay Luo, marketing manager for Simply Hired, whose specialty search engine scours for job listing posted on help-wanted sites such as Monster.com, HotJobs.com and craigslist.

The early submissions at simplyfired, which was launched Monday, includes a posting from Mark Jen, who was fired from Google Inc. earlier this year for discussing the highly secretive company on his Web log.

Virtually all the other postings have been made under pseudonyms. The musings include stories about being fired for doing perverse things with prosthetics, refusing to cook the company books and neglecting to sign a holiday card for the boss.

Copyright 2005, AP News All Rights Reserved

Vic: Woman interviewed over suspicious fire

AAP General News (Australia)
02-15-2005
Vic: Woman interviewed over suspicious fire

MELBOURNE, Feb 15 AAP - A Valentine's Day row is believed to have led to a woman setting
light to her house in Melbourne's south-east.

Police were called to the house in Captain Cook Close, Skye, shortly after 11pm (AEDT)
following reports two front rooms were ablaze.

Firefighters said they believed a domestic argument occurred before the fire started.

No-one was inside the home when the fire took hold.

Police were interviewing a 32-year-old woman overnight.

AAP kl/rs

KEYWORD: BEDROOM

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

operation job card

operation job card A card or form on which an employee writes up the details of a particular task and the length of time it took to complete. It is used in work studies.

Thomson, DirecTv, Microsoft Target DBS.

Thomson Multimedia, DirecTv Inc. [GMH] and Microsoft Corp [MSFT] announced an expanded and enhanced version of DirecTv's DBS service, including a new, RCA receiver and Internet access.

The new receiver "is scheduled to be available for retail purchase by the 2000 holiday shopping season," company officials said. The price has not yet been decided, according to James Harper, Thomson's spokesman.

"It's a little early to tip our competition" on the price, he said, but it will be "competitive."

The new system will have two satellite tuners and a large hard disk drive for digital video recording. The feature will enable subscribers to view or record two programs simultaneously by using a built-in, picture-in-picture capability or to view one program while recording another.