Fed: ACTU calls on government to butt out of car industry

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Fed: ACTU calls on government to butt out of car industry

MELBOURNE, Dec 13 AAP - Australia's peak union body today said it was time for thefederal government to stop interfering with the car industry, after more tariff cuts wereannounced.

Prime Minister John Howard today announced tariffs would be cut to five per cent in2010, with another Productivity Commission review to be undertaken in 2008.

Mr Howard unveiled $4.2 billion in taxpayer-funded assistance for the car industryto help it adjust to the next round of tariff reductions.

ACTU president Sharan Burrow said the car industry package was disappointing.

"The case for tariff reductions has not been made when our competitors have barriersto imports at much higher levels," Ms Burrow said.

"The government should now stop trying to stir up industrial relations trouble in thevehicle industry.

"The Howard Government should get out of the way let employers and employees get onwith the job."

Ms Burrow said a comprehensive review of tariffs in the car industry was essentialbefore any further reductions occurred.

Tariffs on imported passenger cars and components will be cut to 10 per cent from 15per cent in 2005, as previously planned.

Mr Howard said tariffs would be cut again in 2010, to five per cent, despite Australia'scommitment to the APEC target of zero tariffs by 2010.

AAP bja/jlw/sek/de

KEYWORD: TARIFFS ACTU

Tas: Different sharks endangered

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Tas: Different sharks endangered

By Don Woolford

HOBART, Aug 6 AAP - The grey nurse and the speartooth could hardly be more differentsharks, but both are critically endangered.

The east coast grey nurse, with a ferocious although undeserved reputation as a man-eater,had been reduced to a few small colonies mainly off the NSW coast, CSIRO fish taxonomistGordon Yearsley said today.

Much less is known of the speartooth shark, one of the few Australian sharks foundin fresh water and confined to a few rivers in far north Queensland and the Northern Territory.

The grey nurse and the speartooth are the only Australian sharks listed as criticallyendangered in a CSIRO publication, Field Guide to Australian Sharks and Rays, which waslaunched in Hobart today.

But another 17 were listed as being in some degree of danger.

Mr Yearsley, who is one of the authors, said the guide was intended to help fishermenidentify sharks and rays and to encourage them to report catches to help fishing authoritiesbetter understand which needed protection.

Rising prices for flesh and fins had increased pressure on stocks and there was growingconcern for many sharks and rays, he said.

Because most sharks and rays grew and bred slowly, they had difficulty recovering iftheir numbers were depleted.

Mr Yearsley said some, like several species of dogfish, were becoming commercially important.

Dogfish had been a by-catch of the orange roughy fishery.

"Ten years ago you never saw them in a market," he said.

"Now they are being targeted, which is putting them in some danger."

Most rays were commercially unimportant.

But the skate, which was highly prized overseas, was being increasingly fished.

However Mr Yearsley thought the most important commercial sharks, the school and gummysharks, were probably safe because much more was known about stocks which were carefullymanaged.

AAP dw/mg

KEYWORD: SHARKS

Qld: Brisbane schoolgirl still missing

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Qld: Brisbane schoolgirl still missing

BRISBANE, Feb 25 AAP - A 15-year-old Brisbane schoolgirl remains missing a week aftershe disappeared despite public appeals for information on her whereabouts, police said.

Parents Arkady and Muzau (Arkady and Muzau) Ulasowski said yesterday they were …

NSW: Homes to remain without power for a week

AAP General News (Australia)
12-27-2001
NSW: Homes to remain without power for a week

About 10,000 homes which lost electricity in the bushfires could be without power until
the middle of next week at the earliest, as the mammoth repair job begins around New South
Wales.

Integral Energy spokeswoman KATE MECUE says about 2,000 homes have had their power
restored, with Warragamba, Helensburgh, Huskisson and Oakdale the hardest hit areas.

Ms MECUE says Emu Plains, Kurrajong and Springwood are also badly affected.

She says bushfires have burnt 300 high-voltage poles to the ground and ruined or severely
damaged about 12 kilometres of network.

She says the restoration process is slow and complicated and people should be aware
power won't be back quickly.

In Helensburgh, power poles will need to be drilled into sandstone.

Ms MECUE says Integral Energy had to liaise with emergency services in order to get
its crews into fire-ravaged areas.

She says the utility company's also handing out leaflets at road blocks advising customers
about restoration times and precautions they should take.

AAP RTV ld/nf/tb/jas

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES NSW POWER (SYDNEY)

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: SA TAB price tag too low says state opposition

AAP General News (Australia)
08-15-2001
SA: SA TAB price tag too low says state opposition

ADELAIDE, Aug 15 AAP - The $43.5 million price TAB Queensland (TABQ) paid for the SA
TAB was staggeringly low, the South Australian opposition said today.

But the deal announced today was welcomed as a saviour by SA's racing industry, despite
the certainty of some job losses.

TABQ said today it had reached agreement with the SA government in a deal to be finalised
in January next year.

TABQ will receive a 99-year, off-course totaliser licence with a 15-year exclusivity period.

The agreement also includes a provision ensuring the racing industry receives $42 million
over three years indexed from July this year, including a $10 million payment today.

About 67 SA TAB workers will lose their jobs under the deal.

"Over 90 per cent of the people who are currently employed by SA Tab will be unaffected
by our acquisition unless they choose to take packages," TABQ chief executive Dick McIlwain
said in Adelaide today.

"But we won't be forcing that particular issue with staff."

SA Government Enterprises Minister Michael Armitage hailed the sale as an "answer to
all of the doomsday merchants".

"In government hands (it) is a stand alone, small TAB amongst giants - the value and
case for the sale is unquestionable," he said.

However, Opposition Leader Mike Rann said the sale price was "staggeringly low".

"The last recorded operating profit of the TAB to June 2000 was $56.1 million," Mr Rann said.

"So the government is selling this for well below its annual operating profit.

"How does that make any sense?"

The purchase followed an agreement between the SA government and the state's racing industry.

A wagering tax of six per cent plus GST will be applied to the wagering revenue of
the company while SA's racing industry will receive 39 per cent of the commission revenue
from race wagering.

SA TAB generates betting sales in excess of $600 million annually from 380 retail outlets
throughout SA and a telephone betting centre in Adelaide.

SA TAB's betting pools will be joined with the Queensland and Northern Territory pools
in January to produce annual sales in excess of $2.2 billion, representing 23 per cent
of the national off-course totalisator market.

The acquisition is expected to be earnings per share positive within the first year
of operation and will be funded from TABQ's existing cash holdings.

AAP sl/las/de

KEYWORD: TABQ NIGHTLEAD

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

AP Top Technology Headlines At 5:28 a.m. EST

AP Online
03-08-2001
AP Top Technology Headlines At 5:28 a.m. EST

Yahoo! CEO Tim Koogle To Step Down

Fiber-Optics Maker Lowers Earnings

Dell Execs Get New Titles

EToys Files for Bankruptcy

Census Bureau Reports on E-commerce

German GM To Sell Cars on Internet

Web Millionaire Buys Aryan Compound

The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved

NSW: National road toll for 2000 higher than 1999

AAP General News (Australia)
01-01-2001
NSW: National road toll for 2000 higher than 1999

By Aarti Betigeri

SYDNEY, Jan 1 AAP - The national road toll rose sharply in 2000, with 51 more deaths
than in 1999.

There were 1,818 fatalities on Australian roads last year, according to official police figures.

All states except for Tasmania, ACT and Western Australia have recorded more deaths,
with New South Wales and Victoria in particular, rising by 27 and 23 respectively.

Police say drivers were becoming more complacent about road safety leading to an increase
in fatalities after several decades of declining figures.

…