AAP Internet Bulletin 0800 Wednesday, Dec 2, 1998

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-1998
AAP Internet Bulletin 0800 Wednesday, Dec 2, 1998

[A][TAX][FED][]

Costello to introduce GST bills today

CANBERRA - Treasurer Peter Costello today

reveals how the governments controversial GST will apply to contentious areas such as
health, education and charities.

Mr Costello will introduce the governments long-awaited tax reform package to federal
parliament from 9.30am AEDT.

The treasurer will introduce over 200 pages of legislation in 16 bills in what the
government has hailed as the greatest shakeup of the tax system since Federation.

Mr Costello told parliament yesterday the legislation would sweep away an antiquated
wholesale sales tax system.

He said the government would challenge the ALP to support the abolition of the wholesale
sales tax and prove it was a modern party rather than one supporting a 1930s tax system
introduced by Jim Scullin at the height of the Great Depression.

Prime Minister John Howard told coalition MPs and Senators the reforms have been 25 years in
the making.

"It represents the biggest reshaping of the taxation system in Australia since Federation,"
Mr Howard told the coalition party room in a pre-tax debate pep talk.

"Its taken the coalition government to do it.

"Its something which has been known for 25 years that has needed to be done and we are now
in the process of making this change."

The government has allowed seven months for parliamentary debate on the tax changes,
including a Senate inquiry.





[A][MAIL][FED][]

Mail bomb goes off at Canberra mail centre

CANBERRA - Bomb squad and forensic police are today investigating an explosion at Canberras
main mail sorting centre, the Australian Federal Police said.

Sargeant Ron Garbutt said a letter bomb exploded at the centre in Fyshwick at 12.35am
(AEDT), but no one was seriously injured.

"It was a well constructed sophisticated letter bomb," Sargeant Garbutt told ABC radio.

"To me that appears as though the person constructing it knew what they were doing and was
certainly not an amateurish attempt at making a letter bomb."

Particles of the bomb were spread over a wide area, with a little bit of damage to the mail
in the bin and a couple of small holes in the ceiling immediately above it, he said.

Although there were a number of Australia Post staff in the mail centre when the bomb
exploded, only one man received minor injuries.

The police have no idea who the bomb was addressed to or where it came from, Sgt Garbutt
said.

"The police will today be attempting to establish where the postal item came from, where it
was intended to go to and details of just how the bomb was constructed," he said.





[A][JABILUKA][FED][JABILUKA.JPG]

Australia showing disrespect over UN ruling - Garrett

CANBERRA, Dec 2 AAP - Green groups have warned Australia risks showing the rest of the world
disrespect if it defies a UN call to stop work at the Jabiluka uranium mine.

A World Heritage committee meeting in Kyoto, Japan, yesterday voted 20-1 on a recommendation
for construction at the mine to cease until Australias assessment on its threat to Kakadu
National Park was considered by UN body UNESCO next April.

But Environment Minister Robert Hill said the federal government would be taking no action
to stop work at Jabiluka, while the mines developers Energy Resources Australia (ERA) vowed to
carry on with the project.

Australian Conservation Foundation president Peter Garrett said the strength of the
committees resolution about the dangers of the mine to Kakadu meant the government was obliged
to close it down.

"If the government does not voluntarily close down this proposed mine as requested, it will
be a major show of disrespect for the world community which is rightly concerned about how we
are managing an area of international significance," he said.

But Senator Hill said it would be inappropriate for the government to take action.

"What I have said is that we regard it as inappropriate for us to tell ERA after they have
passed all the Commonwealth tests, all the standards, all the demands we requirted of them,
that they should now desist from their mining," he said.

ERA chief executive Phillip Shirvington said the committees request was illogical and the
company had no intention of stopping construction.

"It is impractical and wrong to stop a project half way through, which has been approved
under Australian law by due process, and ERA will be continuing work at the site," he said.

Senator Hill maintained that all environmental and cultural safeguards for the mine had been
met.





[I][PINOCHET LEAVE][UK][PINCOCHET.JPG]

Pinochet leaves hospital

LONDON - Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet left a north London psychiatric
hospital today, driven away to an undisclosed destination in an ambulance in a convoy headed by
police vehicles.

The ambulance swept through the gates of Grovelands Priory a day after the hospital
announced that the 83-year-old general did not need medical care, and demanded that he leave.

The move by the hospital, where Pinochet has been since October 29, dealt a blow to any plan
he had to plead he is too ill to be extradited to Spain to stand trial on charges of genocide
and torture.

Demonstrators chanted "We want justice," as the ambulance went past. Chilean diplomatic
vehicles followed with armed police at the rear.

There was no immediate word on where Pinochet was headed. Supporters have been looking for a
house where he can wait in comfort to learn whether the British government will agree to
extradition.

There was speculation he would head to a nine-bedroom home on a luxurious estate, in Surrey,
near the Wentworth Golf Club, home of the European golf tour, about 30km west of central
London.

If Home Secretary Jack Straw, who must rule by December 11, allows extradition proceedings
to begin, Pinochet will likely be in Britain for months fighting his case through the courts.

Wherever he stays, his neighbours face disruption. Chilean exiles mount demonstrations, and
there is a police guard and heavy police presence.

Earlier, his lawyer said Pinochet was distressed by the hospital's demand for him to leave.
He had planned to move yesterday, but the arrangement fell through because of "unforeseen
practical difficulties", said lawyer Michael Caplan.

Adding to Pinochet's troubles, an opinion poll published today indicated that a narrow
majority - 51 per cent - of Britons think Pinochet should be extradited.





[A][TRIPLE][NSW]

Wagga man charged with three murders

SYDNEY - A Wagga Wagga man has been charged with murdering three people, police said today.

Officers from Taskforce Melbeck yesterday charged the 30-year-old man with three counts of
murder over the deaths of two men and a woman in Wagga Wagga earlier this year, a police
spokeswoman said.

Yvonne Ford, 33, was found dead in her Phillip Avenue home on October 17.

Peter Wennerbom, 62, was found dead in his Jack Avenue home on October 4.

Ronald Galvin, 44, was found murdered in a paddock in Olympic Way at Uranquinty on November
3.

The spokeswoman could not say how the trio were killed or when the man would appear in
court.

No further details were immediately available.





[T][LEAGUE CHARGERS][RL]

Chargers face closure

BRISBANE - The Gold Coast Chargers rugby league club faces closure tonight.

The Chargers board will meet to decide the club's future after Australian Rugby League
chief executive David Barnhill adjourned a meeting two weeks ago to clarify some details.

Staff and players have been called to a meeting tomorrow morning, indicating they will be
told first of the ARL-dominated board's decision on whether the club will fold.

Adelaide folded last night, joining Perth, South Queensland and the Hunter Mariners as rugby
league casualties.

If the Chargers close, it will leave 17 clubs in the NRL and officials are confident of a
merger in Sydney this month, possibly involving Balmain.

That would give the powerbrokers their desired 16-team competition in 1999 before a final
rationalisation to 14 clubs in 2000.





[T][LEAGUE TRI][RL]

Sydney to host inaugural Tri-Nations final

SYDNEY - The inaugural Tri-Nations rugby league series final will be staged at Sydneys new
Olympic Stadium next year.

Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand will meet in round-robin combat in Auckland,
Brisbane and Sydney from October 16 to November 5 with Oceania nations also providing
opposition.

The Rugby League International Federation (RLIF), outlining the plans on the opening day of
a two-day summit here yesterday, announced that Papua New Guinea, Western Samoa, Fiji, Tonga,
Cook Islands and the New Zealand Maoris would play off during June and July to earn the right
to participate in the three-week competition.

Their results will not count towards the title but their involvement will remove the need
for byes, even though Britain will sit out the first weekend to acclimatise.

Coach Andy Goodway's men will fly out after the Super League Grand Final on October 9 and
watch the opening fixture between New Zealand and Australia in Auckland.

Double headers will then be held at subsequent venues, with the most successful of the three
major nations meeting in the final at the 120,000-capacity Stadium Australia on November 5.

The tournament clashes with the 1999 Rugby Union World Cup being held in Europe but, with
the game now run in tandem in both hemispheres, there was little room for manoeuvre.

"The two sports are followed by two entirely different sets of people," said RFL spokesman
John Huxley. "We are not going to compete with the Rugby Union World Cup."





[A][EMPLOYMENT][FED]

Opposition will support Job Network - with conditions

CANBERRA - The federal opposition has pledged to publicly support the troubled Job Network
if the government meets a shopping list of changes.

The government will announce changes to the ailing privatised system by Christmas with the
opposition today signalling it could gain bipartisan support.

But Labor employment spokesman Martin Ferguson flagged a list of conditions to be met if the
opposition was to publicly back the network.

In particular, the opposition would support any move to put back the next tender round for
providers to the ailing privatised network from next February.

A delay in the tender round has been pushed by the smaller non-profit agencies but opposed
by the larger, commercial providers, who could be better off if the tender went ahead as
scheduled.

Other conditions attached to Labors support include protection for smaller providers and
those in rural and regional areas and more flexible payments in different regions.

As well, the opposition wants the government to tighten up accountability of flex 3
intensive assistance services contracts to ensure the long-term jobless receive training.

The opposition also wants the government to break up the concentration of the flex 3
contracts among a few providers.

While the government may back those changes it is unlikely to support the oppositions call
for an independent regulator of the network.

The government itself is considering forcing all jobless people registered with Centrelink
to use Job Network or risk losing their benefits.





[A][ECONOMY][FED]

Don't expect Christmas interest present

CANBERRA - The chances of a pre-Christmas interest rate cut lessened today on evidence of
continued resilience in the economy despite a current account blowout and record foreign debt.

Prime Minister John Howard said Australia remained the strong economy of Asia, with its
capacity to repay foreign debt the best it had been in more than 14 years.

"We have turned the fortunes of the Australian economy around," he told parliament. "The
strength of the Australian economy is demonstrated every day.

"It is no idle boast to say that the Australian economy is now without doubt .. the
economically strong economy of the Asia-Pacific region."

His comments came after the Australian Bureau of Statistics found retail trade rose by a
stronger than expected 0.8 per cent, adjusted for seasonal factors, in October.

In the same month total building approvals also rose by a stronger than expected 2.1 per
cent.

But another ABS survey found the countrys current account deficit blew out by 20 per cent
to a seasonally adjusted $7.3 billion in the three months to September - the second worst
result on record.

And net foreign debt soared to a record $232.8 billion for the quarter.

However, economic analysts reacted positively to the data despite its mixed messages, saying
the Australian economy was showing resilience amid the Asian crisis, and was tracking along at
a solid growth pace.

Most believed the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would hold off on a rate cut before next
year, pointing to the rise in imports driving the current account deficit.





[A][ANGLOPHOBIA][Fed]

Anglophobia upsetting Poms

CANBERRA - A survey of British migrants has found thousands decide to leave Australia
because of the "Anglophobic" and discriminating locals.

The United Kingdom Settlers Association today called on the federal government to address
the problem for the sake of migrants and the Australian economy.

Association president Barrie Hunt said the Australian economy was "probably losing millions
of dollars a year because of perceptions that Australia is Anglophobic".

Mr Hunt said it was disappointing that so many Britons were choosing to leave because they
were almost all "skilled" and "independent" migrants.

"Given the migration requirements to get here, its not the sort of migrants you want to
lose," he told AAP from Melbourne.

Britain is the source of 14 per cent of Australias migrants.

But immigration department statistics showed that while 11,978 new UK migrants arrived in
Australia in 1996-97, in the same period 3,737 left.

Mr Hunt said the association conducted its own survey in Melbourne which found a quarter of
Britons believed they were discriminated against in Australia.

Almost 40 per cent thought there was discrimination in favour of non-Britons, while 37 per
cent said complaints by British migrants were not taken as seriously as those by other groups
in the community.

Mr Hunt said 35 per cent of respondents blamed the media for the negative stereotypes of
British migrants.





[F][MARKETS][][]

Round up of new on the world's financial markets

SYDNEY - In New York, blue-chip stocks recovered today from an early slide, with the
profit-taking behind Monday's sharp downturn easing just as the Dow slipped below
9,000.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which fell 214 points on Monday, was down just 7.98 at
9,108.57 by 2pm (0600 AEDT).

An early 128-point slide had briefly pulled the Dow as low as 8,987 and 400 points from last
Monday's record mark of 9,374.27.

The blue-chip rebound lifted most popular indexes into positive territory, but declining
issues still outnumbered advancers overall.

The profit-taking on Monday and this morning followed a week of sharp gains that lifted the
Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite to new highs for the first time since July.

Most analysts had been expecting the market to at least pause after rallying almost
continuously since early October.

In fact, the Dow's 214-point loss on Monday was the first of more than 100 in a session since
Oct. 1.

Notably, while a spurt of merger activity helped fuel last week's buying, investors sold on
Monday amid news of a $10.1 billion takeover of Bankers Trust by Deutsche Bank and sold
again early today amid news of a $77 billion purchase of Mobil by Exxon.

While most analysts say the fears that dominated the market in late summer and early autumn
were exaggerated, some are concerned that the mood has now turned too optimistic with a
weak global economy still pressuring company profits.

There were mixed economic signals in two new reports released today.

A national association of factory executives reported that manufacturing activity slowed for
the sixth straight month during November. But a private research group reported that its gauge
of future economic activity suggests a possible improvement in the economy by mid-1999.

In other trading today, the Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 5.81 at 1,169.44, and the
technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 29.48 at 1,979.02.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 5-to-4 margin on the New York Stock Exchange and
by a 3-to-2 ratio on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

NYSE volume came to 536.99 million shares, up from 456.63 million at the same time Monday.

The NYSE composite index was up 0.36 at 571.86, and the American Stock Exchange composite
index was down 4.08 at
659.50.

In London, shares closed sharply lower in reaction to sharp overnight falls on Wall Street
and in Tokyo, dealers said.

Profit-taking saw the FTSE 100 index close 206.4 points down at 5537.5.

The DJIA was around 73 points off as London closed, but pared this fall to one of 40 twenty
minutes later.

The FTSE 250 ended 80.3 lower at 4821.4 and the FTSE Small-Cap 25.5 adrift at 2039.5.

Sentiment in London was also hit by the latest Confederation of British Industry survey
which showed that firms in professional, business and consumer services are expecting business
to grow more slowly over the next three months, with companies less optimistic about their
business
outlook than they were three months ago.

In Tokyo, share prices closed lower on some futures-led selling, but with the support firm
on continued bargain-hunting, brokers said.

The Nikkei 225 closed down 48.29 points at 14,835.41, clear of the low of 14,763.88 points.
The high was 14,931.16 points.

In Hong Kong, share prices closed sharply lower after an overnight correction on Wall Street
triggered selling by investors already unnerved by Friday's poor third quarter GDP
data, dealers said.

The Hang Seng index closed down 426.47 points at 9,975.85, off a high of 10,258.14 and a low
of 9,961.30.

In Sydney, the Australian sharemarket will take few leads from Wall Street today, although a
softer market prevails in late trading.

Instead the focus will be on the Reserve Banks money market position at 0930 AEDT to see if
a decision was made at yesterdays board meeting to change interest rates.

Further afield, at 1130 AEDT, the September quarter GDP figures will be published.

Growth is expected to be robust at 0.7 per cent in the quarter bringing the year-to rate to
4.05 per cent.

On SYCOM overnight the December share price index closed three points higher at 2770, a 25.9
point premium to the physical.

The Australian sharemarket closed lower as investors responded to the 216-point fall on Wall
Street and lower metal and oil prices, dealers said.

The all ordinaries index finished 39.2 points, or 1.41 per cent, down at 2734.1, off a low
of 2729.9.

Prices in copper and gold bullion dropped causing the all resources index to lose 24.2
points to 1006.6.

Bank stocks, particularly Westpac Banking Corp, continued to lose their takeover premium
after the federal government reaffirmed its big bank anti-merger policy, leading the all
industrials index down 60.2 points to 4859.5.

Merrill Lynch director of research strategy, Hugh Dougherty, said that news of large
corporate takeovers and mergers had all but dried up, which meant that investors would switch
to the fundamentals.

Mr Dougherty said that the investment bank was "quite concerned about US valuations" on
corporate earnings, with the US market trading "30 times or more" on price/earnings ratios.

[T][CRICKET ENGLAND][CRIK]

Thorpe expected to face depleted Vics

MELBOURNE - As his England teammates put their feet up today, injured batsman Graham Thorpe
will bend his back in preparation for a depleted Victoria in a match of signficance for the
tourists.

Thorpe, England's top runscorer in the past two Ashes series, was absent with a back
complaint as Australia tormented his fellow batsmen to win the second Test by seven wickets in
Perth.

The reliable lefthander completes a sad trio of England leaders to miss games this tour due
to back injury with captain Alec Stewart and former skipper Michael Atherton.

Thorpe must show rapid improvement to play a Victorian team missing Shane Warne at the MCG
in a four day match starting Saturday.

Team manager Graham Gooch says the Surrey strokeplayer is expected to play, the tourists
needing Thorpe's stable influence and Stewart and Atherton to find form against the
Bushrangers.

Gooch said Thorpe would have a net session today while his teammates enjoy their second day
off since the WACA trouncing.

Stewart has had a torrid time with the bat, unable to find form since missing the opening
first class fixture against WA.

The England skipper has made four ducks in compiling 101 runs at 12.63 on tour.

Atherton, who also missed the WA match with a back flareup that has subsided since a course
of injections, has 122 runs at 15.25 and is the prey of Australian paceman Glenn McGrath.

The lack of form means all three batsmen are likely to play Victoria, minus captain Warne
and unlikely to include pacemen Paul Reiffel and David Saker.





[A][ADOPT][FED]

More Australians able to adopt overseas

CANBERRA - Adopting a child from overseas will be made easier for many Australians from
today with new international laws coming into force which will help break down traditional
barriers.

The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption establishes internationally agreed standards
for processing intercountry adoptions.

It will also provide laws to prevent the abduction, sale and trafficking of children.

Federal Attorney-General Daryl Williams said that until now, Australian states and
territories had negotiated only a limited number of bilateral arrangements for seeking overseas
adoptions.

"With 24 countries party to the Hague Convention, the way is open for more Australians to
adopt children born overseas," Mr Williams said in a statement.

"Intercountry adoption has become a worldwide phenomenon, which often moves children over
long distances and from one society to another.

"This can raise complex social difficulties and legal issues."

Mr Williams said Australian authorities would be required to observe certain procedures and
standards when assessing and reporting on the suitability of prospective adoptive parents.

"The Convention also establishes decisionmaking standards relating to the best interests of
the child, including the childs upbringing and the childs ethnic, religious and cultural
background."

State and territory governments had supported Australias ratification of the Convention and
would continue to have responsibility for day-to-day processing of adoptions in Australia, he
said.





[A][NATION HILL]

Legal challenge "not dinky-di" - One Nations Hill

BRISBANE - A two-pronged, multicultural legal challenge to the election of One Nation
Queensland senator-elect Heather Hill alleging an unconstitutional allegiance to Britain was
not "being very dinky-di Australian", Ms Hill said today.

Challenges were lodged in Sydney by a Malaysian-born businessman backed by the Chinese
community and others, and in Brisbane by a disgruntled former One Nation candidate, both
contesting the legitimacy of Mrs Hills successful candidacy.

Under section 44 (1) of the constitution, members of parliament must be Australian citizens
and not hold dual citizenship.

In Brisbane, Terry Sharples lodged a writ in the High Court, sitting as the Court of
Disputed Returns, challenging the validity of Mrs Hills election on the grounds she had not
renounced her British citizenship at the time she nominated and was elected.

In Sydney, businessman Chuck Hong sponsored a challenge on the same grounds, prompting One
Nation political adviser David Oldfield to describe him as a "mean-spirited purveyor of sour
grapes".

Mr Hong said his actions were not politically or racially motivated but rather a matter of
Mrs Hill "not abiding by the rule of law". He urged Mrs Hill to stand down voluntarily.

Mrs Hill would not comment today on whether she would fight the legal challenge, which if
successful could force a recount of the Senate vote in Queensland - probably resulting in the
election of One Nations second-placed candidate, Len Harris.

A similar legal challenge was foreshadowed after the election by defeated National Party
senator Bill OChee, but was not pursued.

"I think its very unfair, I dont think its being very dinky-di Australian," Mrs Hill told
reporters here.





[I][UK GURU][UK]

Aussie 'no food' guru sets nutritionists boiling

LONDON - An Australian who describes herself as a health guru has caused a stir in Britain
by claiming she hasn't eaten in five years.

The tale of the blonde, blue-eyed 41-year-old from Brisbane, who has published books under
the name of Jasmuheen, looked at first glance to be the average racy British tabloid article.

But her claim to exist only on blackcurrant and vanilla tea, the odd sip of water or orange
juice, and a nibble on a chocolate digestive a few times a year, has infuriated nutritionists
and specialists on eating disorders.

"The medical profession is 100 per cent right that someone who simply stops eating and
drinking will die. But it can be done with the right re-programming," Jasmuheen, formerly Ellen
Greve, told the Mirror.

"Twenty five years ago, they dismissed vegetarianism and acupuncture as crazy fads. Twenty
five years from now, they'll have to admit that crazy woman Jasmuheen was right, too."

While some may dismiss her claims as a harmless publicity stunt, the Mirror reported one
woman had died trying to follow the no-food diet, while Jasmuheen's Brisbane tutor, a
60-year-old man not named in the article, had been charged with unlawful killing.

Eating disorder specialist Dr Dee Dawson told the Mirror Jasmuheen was "a maniac -- and a
dangerous one, too".

"Anyone who stops drinking for four days will be seriously dehydrated and on a drip," said
Dr Dawson, medical director at the Rhodes Farm Clinic in North London.

"The last thing I need is an irresponsible nutter seeming to confirm the beliefs of many
anorexics that they don't need to eat to stay alive."

Her complaints were backed up by Dr Sandra Capra, of the Dieticians Association of
Australia.

KEYWORD: NETNEWS 0800

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