Vic: Crew use unusual tactics to support van Wisse s Murray swim

AAP General News (Australia)
12-03-2000
Vic: Crew use unusual tactics to support van Wisse s Murray swim

The crew supporting marathon swimmer TAMMY VAN WISSE is doing everything possible to
keep her going on her 2,400-kilometre Murray River swim.

They're now using a ladybird glove puppet to amuse her as she strokes alongside her support boat.

Yesterday, they caught a large Murray River crayfish which they put in the puppet's mouth.

And they regularly place a plastic frog attached to an oar into the water ahead of
VAN WISSE in a "carrot and stick" bid to maintain her pace.

Now into the 29th day of her journey, VAN WISSE has swum 716 kilometres and is working
on a 34-kilometre stretch to Torrumbarry.

Her swim to highlight environmental concerns about the Murray is due to end at the
river mouth on Lake Alexandrina, south of Adelaide, by February 3 next year.

AAP gfr/ra/jmt

KEYWORD: WISSE (MELBOURNE)

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Court action to decide fate of fuel strike

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2000
NSW: Court action to decide fate of fuel strike

SYDNEY, April 20 AAP - The state's largest fuel supplier will head back to court today
to try to prevent a 100-day strike by refinery workers.

The strike action could see the state's fuel supply dry up in days.

The Caltex Oil Refinery at Kurnell in Sydney's south began shutting down at midnight
after the Australian Workers Union (AWU) warned 270 refinery workers would begin industrial
action from Sunday.

Kurnell Refineries manager Chris Hogarth said the strike, which could last up to 100
days, would have an immediate impact on the state's fuel supply, with stocks expected
to run dry by next Wednesday.

Supplies of jet fuel could run dry as early as Monday, with the potential to cause
chaos for Easter flights to and from Sydney.

Already Easter flights are expected to be hit by industrial action in Melbourne, with
Mobil refuellers vowing to go on strike tomorrow.

Both Qantas and Ansett have said they have contingency plans and do not expect holiday
flights to be affected.

Mr Hogarth said Caltex sought orders in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission
late yesterday to avoid the strike action, but the matter had been adjourned until this
morning.

Caltex, which supplies two-thirds of the state's fuel, warned even if the strike was
avoided, supplies could be disrupted for up to one week.

"The formal notification (from the union) said for 100 days, but we have no idea if
they will go out for one day or 100 days," he said.

"The timing, of course, is extremely unfortunate, something that we greatly regret,
but the timing was set by the union involved."

The Caltex dispute centres around a pay dispute, with the AWU demanding a 10 per cent
pay increase over two years, as well as backdated superannuation and a redundancy clause
incorporated into the agreement.

AWU state secretary Russ Collison said the agreement had been under negotiation since
last July and workers were concerned about job security.

Caltex had offered a 7.5 per cent pay increase over two years and planned to slash
18 jobs as part of a de-manning proposal.

The dispute comes as fuel stocks have already taken a battering.

Shell, the only other supplier, admitted its stocks were low with their Clyde refinery
shut down for routine maintenance in recent months.

Both companies have said they have no plans to increase wholesale petrol prices if
supplies ran short, however, independent retailers could up the price at the pump.

AAP nd/jtb

KEYWORD: CALTEX DAYLEAD

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Employers praise Bracks promptness on power dispute

AAP General News (Australia)
02-04-2000
Vic: Employers praise Bracks promptness on power dispute

Victorian employers have welcomed the mandatory power restrictions announced today,
and many believe it's a sign of decisiveness on the part of Premier STEVE BRACKS.

The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry says the restrictions will
enable industry plan effectively.

VECCI chief NICOLE FEELY says the power restrictions imposed yesterday caused …

NSW: Men charged with stealing $1.2 million of beer

AAP General News (Australia)
12-03-1999
NSW: Men charged with stealing $1.2 million of beer

Two Sydney men have been charged with stealing $1.2 million worth of beer from a transport
company.

A 47-year-old Pendle Hill truck driver and his 27-year-old Greystanes offsider will
appear in court next month.

The driver was charged yesterday with four counts of stealing property and one count
of possessing ammunition for a firearm.

His offsider was charged with three counts of laceny.

Both men were granted conditional bail and will appear in Fairfield Local Court on January 6.

AAP RTV sal/rt

KEYWORD: BEER (SYDNEY)

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Nitschke vows he is no criminal

AAP General News (Australia)
04-15-1999
Vic: Nitschke vows he is no criminal

MELBOURNE, April 15 AAP - Australian euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke said it was
ludicrous that his actions could be construed as encouraging people to obtain illegal drugs.

Dr Nitschke was speaking after he revealed yesterday that he had received a letter from the
Victorian Government Solicitor (VGS) Ronald Beazley asking for an explanation over public
comments in which he allegedly encouraged people to obtain drugs to be used for committing
suicide.

The letter did not allege criminal conduct.

"It just seems ludicrous to me that by providing patients with accurate, honest and open
information so that they can make choices could be construed as encouraging people to obtain
illegal drugs," Dr Nitscke said on the ABC's AM radio program today.

"I just think this is an amazing construct that seems to be levelled at me purely because
it would seem on the basis of the timing of this, because I announced the intention to set up
a clinic in Melbourne."

Dr Nitschke said no crime had been committed in what he was doing and was adamant the
investigation would not lead to criminal charges.

"It is not behaving in an unprofessional way to give patients the truth and that's the
point I'll be persisting with."

Australian Medical Association Victorian president Gerald Segal, who is driving the
complaint, said it was lodged in November when Dr Nitschke planned to opened his clinic in
Melbourne.

"Our complaint is specifically at the fact that he is going to set up a clinic to give
advice on how to purchase drugs, the type of drugs and how to administer them - not that he's
going to administer them himself, because he's stated that he isn't, but basically that he's
giving that sort of advice.

"He's effectively performing euthanasia by proxy."

Dr Segal said it was illegal to kill people and it was a fine point of law to what he was
saying.

"All the evidence comes out Dr Nitscke's own mouth...that he's setting up such clinics,
that he's been giving advice on how to purchase the drugs, how to use the drugs so that you
can kill yourself."

Dr Segal said it was a matter for Medical Practitioners Board whether he would be
deregistered.

"I personally would like to see Dr Nitschke pull back from what he's doing and start to
practise good palliative care," he said.

AAP cmc/er/kr

KEYWORD: DIE NITSCHKE VIC

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED: Health rebate, child support, departure tax change

AAP General News (Australia)
12-31-1998
FED: Health rebate, child support, departure tax change

CANBERRA, Dec 31 AAP - Australians from tomorrow can have cheaper health insurance, better
child support arrangements and greater eligibility for health care cards, but will be slugged
more if they fly out of the country.

The 5.7 million people with private health insurance will get a 30 per cent cut, through
either a premium discount, a tax deduction or a Medicare refund.

The health insurance incentive scheme, which is subject to income limits, will continue for
people worse off under the rebate scheme, and the one per cent Medicare levy surcharge will
continue for uninsured singles earning more than $50,000 and couples on more than $100,000.

New child support laws are designed to improve the child support scheme's flexibility,
provide greater equity between custodial and non-custodial parents, and more regular financial
support for children.

Parents paying child support while supporting a subsequent family will now be better off as
new income test rules for family allowance and child care assistance allow them to decrease
their assessable income by deducting half their payments.

The changes also require all non-custodial parents, including those on unemployment
benefits and other social security income, to pay at least $260 a year in child support.

The threshold limit for eligibility for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card will be almost
doubled to a taxable income limit of $40,000 for singles and $67,000 for couples, meaning
self-funded retirees will now be eligible.

About 50,000 World War II veterans aged 70 and over who faced danger from enemy forces will
become eligible for the Gold Card - currently available to WWI veterans and WWII veterans with
war injuries - giving them free health care, including private hospital care.

An additional $105 million over two years will start pumping into the Job Network with fees
for Flex 1 services - basic job matching - provided by network member agencies to increase by
$100 for each job placement, or $145 in regional areas.

Member agencies will get the increases backdated by three months.

Unemployed people registering with Centrelink after tomorrow must also register with a job
agency to be eligible for benefits. Those currently receiving benefits can expect a letter
during January telling them to do the same thing or benefits will be cut off.

Those who feel they have been unfairly sacked or employers who wish to fire a worker will
now pay $100, up from $50, to file a dismissal application with the Australian Industrial
Relations Commission.

People flying off to forget their woes at home in Australia will now pay $30, up from $27,
in departure tax.

AAP fh/sc/it

KEYWORD: LAWS

1998 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA:Rann says no pressure to quit parliament

AAP General News (Australia)
12-14-2011
SA:Rann says no pressure to quit parliament

ADELAIDE, Dec 14 AAP - Former South Australian premier Mike Rann says he's had no pressure
from the Labor Party to resign from parliament to clear the way for a by-election in his
safe Labor seat.

Mr Rann stepped down as premier in October, handing over to Jay Weatherill and indicated
he would quit politics altogether in early 2012.

At the time he said he did not want to resign immediately and force voters in his seat
to go to the polls just before Christmas or during the January holiday period.

Former treasurer Kevin Foley also stepped down from cabinet at the same time as Mr
Rann and resigned from his seat of Port Adelaide on Monday.

A by-election has now been set for February 11.

Labor is thought to be keen to hold the poll for Mr Rann's seat of Ramsay at the same
time to minimise the impact on the government's agenda.

But that requires the former premier to also hand in his resignation.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Mr Rann said he had not been pressured to step down,
describing suggestions that he had as "media spin".

"Have had no pressure whatsoever to step down from my role as MP for Ramsay," he said.

The ALP has already pre-selected former public affairs company director Zoe Bettison
as its candidate in Ramsay which the government holds with a healthy 18 per cent margin.

The Liberal opposition is unlikely to run a candidate after already announcing it will
not contest the by-election in Port Adelaide, where the margin is a more manageable 12.8
per cent.

The government's biggest challenge in Mr Foley's former seat will come from local mayor
Gary Johanson, who will stand as an independent against Labor's Susan Close, an environment
department executive.

AAP tjd/wf

KEYWORD: RANN

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