PRESS DIGEST-Australian General News - Oct 22

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)

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is seeking management bans against the 2007 board of Centro Properties Group (CNP.AX) over claims it approved accounts containing material misstatements. ASIC says that the eight directors and executives should have been aware of the A$1.5 billion in short-term debt that was incorrectly classified as non-current liabilities in the 2007 financial reports. Analysts claim the case could have bigger implications for directors than the recent fallout from James Hardie. Page 1.

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Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has defended the domestic and export coal industries, saying that Australia needs to take advantage of its rich resource industry to feed the world's growing appetite for energy. Dismissing recent attacks on initiatives to boost coal exports, Mr Ferguson warned that coal was a fundamental source of energy and would remain so for some time. "There is no way we are walking away from the export of coal, contrary to what some non-government organisations might demand," he said. Page 1.

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Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday vowed to build the Government's A$43 billion national broadband network, despite a push from the Opposition to defer necessary reforms. If the Senate successfully obstructs a bill aimed at encouraging Telstra (TLS.AX) to join the NBN, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy could use the Radiocommunications Act to ban Telstra from bidding for the wireless spectrum. Industry analysts say such a move would be a powerful threat against Telstra. Page 1.

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New economic data suggests that the economy is gaining momentum and is on its way to meeting next year's forecast economic growth of 4 percent. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading index, which predicts the likely pace of economic activity in the next three to nine months, is at its highest level since August last year, surging to an annual growth rate of 1.7 percent. Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said the rebound in the index was remarkable, suggesting a much steeper recovery than from previous recessions. Page 3.

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

A number of the 78 asylum seekers on board a boat which was rescued off the coast of Sumatra on Sunday have been accused of sabotaging the vessel. Sources say the passengers deliberately punched or drilled holes in the boat in order to force the navy to take them on board. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd personally spoke to the Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono about the asylum-seekers, after which Mr Yudhoyono agreed to allow them into Indonesia for processing. Page 1.

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Pope Benedict yesterday issued an invitation for disaffected Australian Anglicans to join the Catholic Church, in a response to their petition to unite Catholics and orthodox Anglicans under one body. The legal structure laid out by the Pope will preserve Anglican traditions under the umbrella of Catholicism, whilst also allowing married Anglican clergy to be ordained as Catholic priests. More than 20 traditionally orientated Australian Anglican priests opposed to the increasingly liberal direction of the church have indicated their interest in joining the Vatican. Page 1.

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The Rudd government will ask five primary schools to pay back more than A$1 million in taxpayer grants after a decision by the Queensland government to close them at the end of the year. Education Queensland has identified five small rural schools that are to be shut down in December, despite having received A$1.45 million in grants under the Building the Education Revolution package. Asked if the money had been wasted, federal Education Minister Julia Gillard said yesterday the Government would try to recoup grants given to any schools that close. Page 1.

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Families Minister Jenny Macklin has announced a government crackdown on disability payments, in a bid to curb the rapid increase in applications for the welfare benefit. Ms Macklin said there had been a 30 percent spike in applications during the economic downturn and that the increase reflected a change in work status rather than health concerns. The new system of assessment will place much greater emphasis on a person's work history and will include a more rigorous medical assessment. Page 3.

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

Only 58 percent of 44,000 applicants who registered for the Federal Government's zero-interest green loans have received the outcome of their claim. The major backlog indicates that the A$175 million energy efficiency scheme, which Labor promised at the 2007 federal election, may not meet its distribution target of up to 20,000 loans during fiscal 2010. However, a spokesman for Environment Minister Peter Garrett denies there is any reason to believe the program targets will not be met. Page 1.

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The New South Wales Government's aqua-culture research head, Geoff Allan, says that NSW produces only 20,000 tonnes of the 190,000 tonnes that the country fishes and farms. Dr Allan told a Sydney research and productivity seminar organised by the NSW Department of Industry and Investment that NSW imports 108,000 tonnes of the total 200,000 tonnes of seafood consumed in Australia. University of Technology Sydney's Julian Cribb says that one-third of the world's fisheries are in collapse. Page 1.

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A study in collaboration with the Menzies Research Institute in Hobart has found certain genetic markers may help identify men that are likely to contract prostate cancer. The discovery of the gene sequences on seven chromosomes has been welcomed as a significant finding towards better diagnosis and treatment for men. Unlike diseases such as cystic fibrosis, prostate cancer occurs amongst those with complex genes. Australia accounts for around 20,000 cases of prostate cancer, with 3300 men likely to die from the disease. Page 2.

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In order to tackle the problem of alcohol-related violence the legal drinking age should be raised to 21 and the price of a standard drink should be doubled, a leading criminologist says. Professor Ross Homel, of Griffith University, yesterday cited overseas evidence showing that raising the drinking age, increasing the cost of alcohol and reducing hotel opening hours were the best ways to cut violence. Professor Homel criticized current measures taken by the New South Wales government to curb alcohol-related violence as "gimmicks unsupported by scientific evidence." Page 3.

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THE AGE (www.theage.com.au) Anti-poker machine campaigners Tim Costello, independent Senator Nick Xenophon, and Family First Senator Steve Fielding, say that a new plan to limit bets to A$1 per turn and pre-set limits on how much one can gamble does not go far enough. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has strongly expressed his hated of pokies, but Community Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says the Government will not act before 2010. Ten years ago, the Productivity Commission surprised many when it found that 20 percent of the world's pokies are in Australia. Page 2.

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The Australian Army will keep using live ammunition in training exercises, despite one soldier being shot dead and another being severely injured. Lance Corporal Mason Edwards was shot in the head on Tuesday night during an army exercise in South Australia's Cultana, which involved clearing buildings of insurgents. Army chief Ken Gillespie says that while Mr Edwards' death was tragic, soldiers need the realism of live firing in their intense training to prepare them for operations in Afghanistan. Page 3.

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The Coalition has accused the Labor Party of wasting taxpayer funds to pay a former adviser to write speeches for ministers. Dennis Glover received A$100,000 for writing 65 speeches for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations between February 2008 and February 2009, a Senate committee heard yesterday. Liberal MP Brett Mason said Dr Glover was being paid by the taxpayer "to write pro-Labor rhetoric." However, Margaret Pearce, the manager of the department's communications group, said Dr Glover's pay amounted to about A$1,400 a speech which was "very good value for money." Page 5.

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