Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
Negotiations between the Singapore Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange continued last night with a decision on the proposed A$16 billion cash and scrip merger expected to be made as early as today. A merger would create the world's fifth largest stock exchange and provide Australian companies and investors greater access to Asian economies. Page 1.
Next month's Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) report is expected to contain savings to fund A$2.4 billion of spending commitments made by the Labor Government. The cuts are also expected to offset any unfunded spending in the 2010-11 year, and reflect recognition of the need to start addressing pressures on the government's forecast to return to surplus in 2012-13. Page 1.
Philip Chronican, the chief executive of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's Australian business, has warned that the high Australian dollar could force more businesses to delay their investment plans. Mr Chronican said yesterday that banks were expecting the local currency to trade near parity with the United States' dollar for a sustained period. 'A sustained period of parity or above is going to make it harder and harder for people, and you'll see the non-resources parts of the economy struggle,' he said. Page 1.
New sports anti-siphoning legislation and regulation will be introduced next month by the Federal Government. The anticipated introduction of the reforms follows last week's Ten Network share raid by billionaire businessman James Packer. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy met with Mr Packer on Saturday. 'I think he's got a foot in all the camps and he likes to have all the bases covered,' Senator Conroy said yesterday. 'I think James is a very, very savvy businessman and this is a very clever move.'
Page 1.
THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
Australian universities yesterday warned that Federal Government plans to boost undergraduate student places would compromise academic standards unless funding was correspondingly increased. The Gillard government has proposed to provide 110,000 extra student places by 2020. The Group of Eight, which represents the country's elite universities, said the Government must either increase funding or allow institutions to charge sharply higher fees. Page 1.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen yesterday said that all new asylum-seekers who arrive in Australia with family would be moved into the community following detention for basic checks. Mr Bowen said the 'majority' of family groups currently held would be placed in community care over the next eight months. Mr Bowen defended proposals to open new detention centres, which have generated increasing opposition from nearby communities. Page 1. --Claims by former prime minister John Howard that former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett caved in to unions during the 1998 waterfront dispute over stevedore work practices were yesterday rejected by Mr Kennett. Mr Kennett said the then Federal Government had effectively asked him to 'act outside the law' by helping to break union picket lines. Mr Howard's claims are contained in his soon-to-be-published memoir, Lazarus Rising.
Page 1. --A train derailment in northern Victoria on Saturday tore up 660 metres of track, stopping freight traffic until this morning, while passenger services are not expected to resume until later this week. The Australian Rail Track Corporation said the derailment was believed to have been caused by the failure of an ageing wagon. The corporation has rejected suggestions that the incident was linked to recent track upgrades. Page 2. --
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally yesterday backed out of using Sydney's west as a dumping ground for radioactive waste following community opposition. It was revealed last week that 6,000 tonnes of radioactive waste would be dug up from the site of a former uranium smelter in Hunters Hill and buried at the Kemps Creek waste facility. The government is now looking at interstate and overseas locations to dump the waste. Page 2.
Participants in the Sydney Zombie Walk yesterday lurched around the central business district to protest against the ratings system applied to video game classifications. A Zombie Walk was also held in Brisbane. In a separate event, Victorian zombies yesterday joined cities around the world hoping to break the record of 25,000 dancers as part of a simultaneous event.
The zombies in Melbourne were dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller as a tribute to the singer and to raise money for charity. Page 3.
News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch is compiling a strategy to deny coverage of movies starring artists who refuse to give interviews to News Corporation media outlets. News Ltd's entertainment editor-at-large Rebekah Devlin said recently: 'More and more actors have it in their contract that they don't want to do publicity for a film. So how are you going to get access to the likes of Katherine Heigl if she's doing a film but refusing to do interview.' Page 3.
Andrew Knights, the managing director of British security systems firm Selectamark, was in Australia last week to arrange tests of the company's new DNA spray technology that is being used to link criminals to crime scenes. In New South Wales, Detective Superintendent Greig Newbery, Commander of State Crime Command, Property Crime Squad, said police, security firms, and the financial industry, were all assessing DNA technologies.
Page 3.
THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)
The latest Nielsen opinion poll has found that Labor and the Coalition continue to have near-identical support following the federal election two months ago that resulted in a hung parliament. The poll found that the Gillard Labor Government has failed to generate strong support for its policies, with less than half of respondents supporting the Government on issues including Afghanistan, releasing asylum-seeker families into the community, and a possible carbon price. Page 1.
Research conducted for the Australian Taxation Office has found that Australians have little understanding of the superannuation system, finding it a source of 'high anxiety.'
The research also found 'deep-seated fears that the age pension will be abolished and that there will be no safety net.'
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten released the findings yesterday, saying they provided support for the Federal Government's proposal to lift compulsory superannuation contributions from 9 to 12 percent. Page 1.
Ted Baillieu, leader of the Victorian Opposition, has pledged to halt Labor's 'wrecking ball approach' to planning in Melbourne if he wins next month's state election. Mr Baillieu will today unveil a planning blueprint that will declare large parts of the city off-limits to high-density living. Under the Coalition's policy, laws that allow for high rise residential blocks to be built along major tram, train and bus routes will be scrapped, and every council will be required to draw up a municipal heritage strategy to protect buildings and natural features.
Page 1.
The Human Rights Law Resource Centre wants a toughening of procedures on police shootings in Victoria. The centre was invited by the coronial inquiry into the death of Tyler Cassidy - who was shot dead by police in 2008 - to propose alternative investigation models to police shootings. The centre proposed an independent authority be drafted to investigate deaths that result from police shootings - rather than the homicide squad - and to take charge within an hour of any future police shooting.
Page 3. --
Keywords: DIGEST AUSTRALIA GENERAL (Sydney Newsroom +61-2 9373 1816; sydney.newsroom@allreleases.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
Negotiations between the Singapore Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange continued last night with a decision on the proposed A$16 billion cash and scrip merger expected to be made as early as today. A merger would create the world's fifth largest stock exchange and provide Australian companies and investors greater access to Asian economies. Page 1.
Next month's Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) report is expected to contain savings to fund A$2.4 billion of spending commitments made by the Labor Government. The cuts are also expected to offset any unfunded spending in the 2010-11 year, and reflect recognition of the need to start addressing pressures on the government's forecast to return to surplus in 2012-13. Page 1.
Philip Chronican, the chief executive of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's Australian business, has warned that the high Australian dollar could force more businesses to delay their investment plans. Mr Chronican said yesterday that banks were expecting the local currency to trade near parity with the United States' dollar for a sustained period. 'A sustained period of parity or above is going to make it harder and harder for people, and you'll see the non-resources parts of the economy struggle,' he said. Page 1.
New sports anti-siphoning legislation and regulation will be introduced next month by the Federal Government. The anticipated introduction of the reforms follows last week's Ten Network share raid by billionaire businessman James Packer. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy met with Mr Packer on Saturday. 'I think he's got a foot in all the camps and he likes to have all the bases covered,' Senator Conroy said yesterday. 'I think James is a very, very savvy businessman and this is a very clever move.'
Page 1.
THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
Australian universities yesterday warned that Federal Government plans to boost undergraduate student places would compromise academic standards unless funding was correspondingly increased. The Gillard government has proposed to provide 110,000 extra student places by 2020. The Group of Eight, which represents the country's elite universities, said the Government must either increase funding or allow institutions to charge sharply higher fees. Page 1.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen yesterday said that all new asylum-seekers who arrive in Australia with family would be moved into the community following detention for basic checks. Mr Bowen said the 'majority' of family groups currently held would be placed in community care over the next eight months. Mr Bowen defended proposals to open new detention centres, which have generated increasing opposition from nearby communities. Page 1. --Claims by former prime minister John Howard that former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett caved in to unions during the 1998 waterfront dispute over stevedore work practices were yesterday rejected by Mr Kennett. Mr Kennett said the then Federal Government had effectively asked him to 'act outside the law' by helping to break union picket lines. Mr Howard's claims are contained in his soon-to-be-published memoir, Lazarus Rising.
Page 1. --A train derailment in northern Victoria on Saturday tore up 660 metres of track, stopping freight traffic until this morning, while passenger services are not expected to resume until later this week. The Australian Rail Track Corporation said the derailment was believed to have been caused by the failure of an ageing wagon. The corporation has rejected suggestions that the incident was linked to recent track upgrades. Page 2. --
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally yesterday backed out of using Sydney's west as a dumping ground for radioactive waste following community opposition. It was revealed last week that 6,000 tonnes of radioactive waste would be dug up from the site of a former uranium smelter in Hunters Hill and buried at the Kemps Creek waste facility. The government is now looking at interstate and overseas locations to dump the waste. Page 2.
Participants in the Sydney Zombie Walk yesterday lurched around the central business district to protest against the ratings system applied to video game classifications. A Zombie Walk was also held in Brisbane. In a separate event, Victorian zombies yesterday joined cities around the world hoping to break the record of 25,000 dancers as part of a simultaneous event.
The zombies in Melbourne were dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller as a tribute to the singer and to raise money for charity. Page 3.
News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch is compiling a strategy to deny coverage of movies starring artists who refuse to give interviews to News Corporation media outlets. News Ltd's entertainment editor-at-large Rebekah Devlin said recently: 'More and more actors have it in their contract that they don't want to do publicity for a film. So how are you going to get access to the likes of Katherine Heigl if she's doing a film but refusing to do interview.' Page 3.
Andrew Knights, the managing director of British security systems firm Selectamark, was in Australia last week to arrange tests of the company's new DNA spray technology that is being used to link criminals to crime scenes. In New South Wales, Detective Superintendent Greig Newbery, Commander of State Crime Command, Property Crime Squad, said police, security firms, and the financial industry, were all assessing DNA technologies.
Page 3.
THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)
The latest Nielsen opinion poll has found that Labor and the Coalition continue to have near-identical support following the federal election two months ago that resulted in a hung parliament. The poll found that the Gillard Labor Government has failed to generate strong support for its policies, with less than half of respondents supporting the Government on issues including Afghanistan, releasing asylum-seeker families into the community, and a possible carbon price. Page 1.
Research conducted for the Australian Taxation Office has found that Australians have little understanding of the superannuation system, finding it a source of 'high anxiety.'
The research also found 'deep-seated fears that the age pension will be abolished and that there will be no safety net.'
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten released the findings yesterday, saying they provided support for the Federal Government's proposal to lift compulsory superannuation contributions from 9 to 12 percent. Page 1.
Ted Baillieu, leader of the Victorian Opposition, has pledged to halt Labor's 'wrecking ball approach' to planning in Melbourne if he wins next month's state election. Mr Baillieu will today unveil a planning blueprint that will declare large parts of the city off-limits to high-density living. Under the Coalition's policy, laws that allow for high rise residential blocks to be built along major tram, train and bus routes will be scrapped, and every council will be required to draw up a municipal heritage strategy to protect buildings and natural features.
Page 1.
The Human Rights Law Resource Centre wants a toughening of procedures on police shootings in Victoria. The centre was invited by the coronial inquiry into the death of Tyler Cassidy - who was shot dead by police in 2008 - to propose alternative investigation models to police shootings. The centre proposed an independent authority be drafted to investigate deaths that result from police shootings - rather than the homicide squad - and to take charge within an hour of any future police shooting.
Page 3. --
Keywords: DIGEST AUSTRALIA GENERAL (Sydney Newsroom +61-2 9373 1816; sydney.newsroom@allreleases.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.