PRESS DIGEST-Australian General News - June 10

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)

-- Federal Labor's plan to 'renovate Australia's physical and human infrastructure' could be impeded by the spiralling price of oil, which rose almost US$11 to nearly US$140 a barrel last Friday. Treasurer Wayne Swan warned the Government's economic reform program may not be 'immune' to a global slowdown. The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said member nations of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had failed to increase supply at a critical time. Page 1.

--Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) subsidiary Jetstar may charge customers extra for checking-in their baggage at its manned airport facilities, as domestic airlines take broader measures to offset the rising price of fuel. Virgin Blue VBA.AX has foreshadowed similar action. 'We have two options: we can do something...or we can sit around and pray that fuel comes down,' said Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey. Mr Godfrey rejected a claim by UBS that Virgin Blue's outlook 'looks strained,' saying he had a number of options to strengthen the airline. Page 1.

--Australia's e-health system has been plagued by duplication and a lack of coordination between state and federal authorities, health officials say. The introduction of individual electronic medical records, flagged for 2009, is now expected by 2012. 'That would be a desirable time frame,' Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said yesterday. Page 1.

--The Federal Court will scrutinise National Australia Bank (NAB) deeds requiring 192 Indian nationals to pay back cash tied up in a migration scam. 'I'm not sure that you should help yourself to the money,' Justice Peter Gray told the bank. NAB is trying to recover A$22.7 million it alleges was fraudulently used to buy government-issued bonds, bought in the names of 227 Indians seeking to migrate to Australia. The former bank manager accused of orchestrating the scam, Akshay Batra, has absconded to India. Page 3.

THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)

--Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith has called on the United Nations to lift the number of international observers in Zimbabwe prior to the runoff election on June 27. Mr Smith said he was concerned by reports of increased intimidation of rural voters, following Robert Mugabe's shock election defeat in March and the establishment of a military junta. 'It's a blatant attempt to distort any fairness in the outcome of the runoff,' he said. Page 1.

--Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced plans in Japan yesterday to form a new international nuclear disarmament body. Following a visit to Hiroshima, where an estimated 140,000 people died in the atomic bombing of 1945, Mr Rudd noted there were still 10,000 nuclear warheads in service worldwide. Mr Rudd said the 40-year-old Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty had become ineffective and needed 'work.' Australia and Japan were ideally placed to promote the issue because they had a long history of working for disarmament, he said. Page 1.

--A court dispute between prominent commercial lawyer Allan Myers QC and his business partner has intensified, with Mr Myers accusing Rodney Illingworth of obtaining confidential documents of his business affairs. The commercial dispute relates to Mr Myers' Tipperary cattle stations in the Northern Territory, in which Mr Illingworth owns shares. Although the documents were addressed to Mr Illingworth, he has denied receiving them. Including his interest in Polish brewer Zywiec, Mr Myers has an estimated fortune of A$500 million. Page 1.

--Although less young Victorians are drinking to excess, more are being hospitalised due to binge drinking. A new study, to be published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, found a 'deeply concerning' trend of alcohol intake among Victorians aged 12 to 24. For young female drinkers, the rate of hospital admissions rose from six per 10,000 people in 1998-99 to 14.6 per 10,000 in 2005-06. 'Governments need to take drastic action,' said Michael Livingston, of the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research. Page 2.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)

--New South Wales Education Minister John Della Bosca yesterday provided a written statement to Premier Morris Iemma, explaining the circumstances of an altercation with staff at a Central Coast nightclub that also involved his wife, federal parliamentarian Belinda Neal. 'I have not broken the law and I have not acted improperly,' Mr Della Bosca said. The statement followed accusations that the couple verbally abused staff at the nightclub. The Opposition has called on the Premier to sack Mr Della Bosca. Page 1.

--A study by the City Futures Research Centre at the University of New South Wales has named the Sydney suburbs of Greenwich, Hillsdale, Mount Druitt and Lakemba as the most affordable for first-home buyers. Lead researchers Bill Randolph and Simon Pinnegar found that people 'usually buy their first home within 5 to 10 km of where they're living.' Professor Randolph said 'there are some pockets around the [affluent] north and east where home prices are still pretty low.' Page 1.

--Hundreds more families in New South Wales could lose thousands of dollars in the collapse of the state's largest project homebuilder, Beechwood Homes. About 350 customers of the company, which went into receivership last month, were originally thought to have been affected, but this number has now risen to 900. Minister for Fair Trading Linday Burney said yesterday she was committed to ensure no Beechwood customer was left 'high and dry' by its failure. Page 2.

--The remains of World War One Australian soldiers have been confirmed at a burial pit in Fromelles in France, after an archaeological team unearthed an Australian Imperial Forces collar badge. Federal Minister for Defence, Science and Personnel Warren Snowdon yesterday described the discovery as 'momentous.' The excavation of the burial pits, dug by Bavarian troops a few days after the Battle of Fromelles, was based on extensive research by Victorian schoolteacher Lambis Englezos. Page 3.

THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)

--A London banker being pursued by his ex-wife for alimony payments is believed to have fled to his country of birth, Australia, with the ex-wife of a former English Test cricketer. Sydney-born Simon Sywak was recently discovered working in Singapore for investment bank JPMorgan, accompanied by his new wife and self-proclaimed ex-prostitute, Alison Tufnell - formerly married to Phil Tufnell. In January 2007, Mr Sywak told a British court he was unable to pay maintenance for his two sons because he was studying to become a bus driver. Page 1.

--State Attorney-General Rob Hulls says many Victorians cannot afford to hire barristers because their fees are too high. 'The cost of justice...is becoming prohibitive,' Mr Hulls said, citing daily fees of A$14,000 for some lawyers. Mr Hulls welcomed A$18 million in government funding for 'alternative dispute resolution' in last month's budget, saying courts should be 'a port of last resort.' The chairman of the Victorian Bar Council, Peter Riordan SC, rejected this argument. Page 1.

--Gay rights advocates have highlighted the case of a Vietnam veteran with chronic heart disease who wants to leave five-eighths of his federal pension to his same-sex partner, a right afforded Defence Force widows. Legislation to extend financial entitlements to same-sex couples has been delayed, with the Coalition Opposition pushing for an inquiry into related issues. Gay and lesbian groups have written to Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson to further their cause. Page 2.

--Melbourne Mayor John So is the sole supporter of a proposed road tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway to the western suburbs, with the Melbourne City Council voting against the plan at a meeting last week. Cr So was absent from the meeting after leading a 10-day business delegation to China, India and Japan. The east-west tunnel has emerged as a key issue at November's council elections, amid concerns the project will exacerbate traffic congestion during its 10-year construction. Page 3. --