Newman doesn't want towns cut off again

QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman says steps must be taken to make sure no communities are cut off during natural disasters such as the state's recent floods.

Several towns south of Gladstone were unable to communicate with emergency services as rivers were peaking last week.

Mr Newman said the road problems and communications breakdowns that occurred should not be allowed to happen again.

"The roads were cut; the communications were cut," he told reporters during a visit to Gladstone on Tuesday.

"That's what I'm talking about now, about how we can in the future try to ensure that we can have communications that are there for emergencies; that we try to ensure that roads are not cut, isolating people in that way.

"We're not just going to sort of accept that's the way it should happen in the future."

11.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

RBA leaves cash rate on hold

The Reserve Bank left the cash rate on hold at 3.00 per cent at its February board meeting. Source: AAP

THE Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has kept the cash rate at three per cent, saying that fears about global economic growth have abated.

The decision was widely expected by the market, especially after the release of better economic data from China and the US in recent weeks.

The previous interest rate move was a quarter of a percentage point reduction in December. In 2012 the central bank cut the cash rate by total of 1.25 percentage points.

In a statement accompanying the decision, RBA governor Glenn Stevens said the fiscal cliff in the US has been avoided, Chinese growth had improved and the financial pressures in Europe have eased.

"Sentiment in financial markets has continued to improve, with risk spreads narrowing and funding conditions for financial institutions becoming more favourable," Mr Stevens said after the RBA's first board meeting for the year.

"In Australia, most indicators available for this meeting suggest that growth was close to trend in 2012, led by very large increases in capital spending in the resources sector, while some other sectors experienced weaker conditions.

"Looking ahead, the peak in resource investment is approaching. As it does, there will be more scope for some other areas of demand to strengthen."

Mr Stevens said the full impact of the four interest rate cuts in 2012 would take more time to become apparent.

"There are early indications of a pick-up in dwelling construction; and savers are starting to shift portfolios towards assets offering higher expected returns," he said.

"On the other hand, the exchange rate remains higher than might have been expected, given the observed decline in export prices, and the demand for credit is low, as some households and firms continue to seek lower debt levels."

Three per cent is the lowest the RBA's cash rate has been since early October 2009, during the global financial crisis.

11.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gillard seeks new spark for Labor

Labor has sworn in six new ministers ahead of the start of the parliamentary year. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard is starting the 2013 parliamentary year with a new Labor team as latest opinion polls show the government trailing the opposition.

The Labor front bench, which was reshuffled after the retirements of Attorney-General Nicola Roxon and Senate leader Chris Evans, was sworn in at Government House on Monday morning.

On Monday afternoon, cabinet minister Stephen Conroy is expected to be endorsed at a caucus meeting to replace Senator Evans as government Senate leader.

Finance Minister Penny Wong is expected to replace Senator Conroy as deputy Senate leader.

Governor-General Quentin Bryce swore in the six new ministers and three parliamentary secretaries, ahead of parliament resuming for the year on Tuesday.

The key promotions are cabinet secretary Mark Dreyfus to attorney-general and Mike Kelly into the defence materiel portfolio.

Brendan O'Connor takes over the immigration ministry, while Chris Bowen replaces Senator Evans as minister for tertiary education and skills.

Labor candidates had gathered in Canberra on Sunday for a briefing with Ms Gillard and strategists ahead of the September 14 federal election.

However, two polls published on Monday, following a week of scandal and intrigue, have deflated expectations of a possible election win.

The Galaxy poll shows the coalition on 54 per cent of the two-party vote.

Labor's primary vote of 35 per cent puts it 13 points behind the Liberal-National position.

The Newspoll has Labor's primary support at 32 per cent and the coalition's vote at 48 per cent.

The two-party vote was 56-44 to the coalition.

Ms Gillard's support as preferred prime minister fell from 45 per cent to 41 per cent, while Mr Abbott's support rose six points to 39 per cent.

It is the closest preferred prime minister result since September 2012, and the highest result for Mr Abbott since July.

The polls were conducted after the arrest last week of former Labor MP Craig Thomson over the alleged misuse of union member funds, disquiet over the two ministerial retirements and the surprise announcement of an election date seven months out.

Senior Liberal Christopher Pyne says voters have woken up to Ms Gillard and Labor.

"The prime minister has had a horror start to the year," Mr Pyne told Sky News.

"It couldn't really get much worse."

Cabinet minister Anthony Albanese said as the election draws closer voters will more closely scrutinise the opposition's "failures".

"I am very confident we can turn it around," Mr Albanese told ABC Radio.

11.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ciggie smugglers fined almost $8 million

Two men have been fined nearly $8 million for smuggling illegal tobacco products into Australia. Source: AAP

TWO Sydney men have been fined nearly $8 million for smuggling prohibited tobacco and cigarettes into Australia.

Customs and Border Protection says Dory and Ronnie Karam tried to import a container with a declared cargo of shoes on August 2, 2007.

Customs officers found 150,000 cigarettes and 12,926 kilograms of unprocessed tobacco leaf inside.

In the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, the Karams were convicted of attempted smuggling and other offences and fined $7,954,914, customs said in a statement.

National Manager of Investigations, Kingsley Woodford-Smith, warned of the seriousness of cigarette smuggling and importing illicit tobacco.

"This was an attempt to deprive the government of legitimate revenue," Mr Woodford-Smith said.

"The large penalty incurred should be a warning for others thinking of committing similar crimes."

11.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Release boys in Tassie detention: Milne

MORE than 100 young asylum seekers at the Pontville detention centre in Tasmania should be released into the local community, Australian Greens leader Christine Milne says.

"They should be cared for in the community. They should be able to go to school and that is the best place for them," Senator Milne told reporters in Hobart on Sunday.

Senator Milne said she was confident Tasmanians would look after the 127 boys.

"Get them to school, and show them the humanity that we all show our own children," she said.

The government reopened the Pontville centre to relieve pressure on the onshore processing network late last year.

11.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

More help for Qld flood clean-up

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has announced two new appointments to lead the flood clean-up. Source: AAP

TWO more disaster co-ordinators have been announced to lead clean up efforts after the Queensland floods.

Premier Campbell Newman says Colonel Don Cousins will be responsible for the Northern Queensland region and Brigadier Bill Mellor for the Southern Queensland region.

It was announced last week that Deputy Police Commissioner Pointing would co-ordinate efforts in the Bundaberg/North Burnett region.

Mr Newman said increasing the number of co-ordinators allowed them to have a sharper focus on the communities they were responsible for.

"Each region has unique needs, and with the volume of work required, it makes sense that we divide responsibilities and spread the load," he said.

"The recovery will be a massive job and as each day passes we see more that needs to be done in towns and cities across the state."

Brigadier Mellor commanded the Australian Force in Somalia and was a key player in the strategic planning for the Australian intervention in Timor.

Colonel Cousins worked directly for the Chief of the Defence Force and the Chief of Joint Operations, conducting investigations in Afghanistan.

11.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dozens suspended in Harvard cheat scandal

Around 60 students at Harvard University have been suspended in a mass cheating scandal. Source: AAP

AROUND 60 students at Harvard University have been suspended and others disciplined in a mass cheating scandal at the elite college, the campus newspaper reports.

The Harvard Crimson quoted an email from Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean Michael Smith that said more than half of the cases heard by administrators in the scandal, which erupted last year, had resulted in suspension orders.

About half of the other students under investigation were disciplined in some other, unspecified fashion, the Crimson reported. Officials at Harvard could not be immediately reached for confirmation.

The scandal first became public in August when Harvard said that as many as 125 students were suspected of helping each other in a final exam.

The university said a large number of undergraduates "may have inappropriately collaborated on answers, or plagiarized classmates' responses, on the final exam for the course."

Harvard, a college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Boston, is one of the most exclusive universities in the world, with students paying about $US63,000 ($A60,702.41) per year to attend.

11.27 | 0 komentar | Read More