PRESS DIGEST-Australian General News - March 3

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)

--Victorian gaming conglomerate Tatts Group (TTS.AX) has agreed to pay A$850 million to the New South Wales (NSW) Government for a 40-year license to run NSW Lotteries. This is in addition to a A$160 million payment made prior to the sale. Tatts chief executive Dick McIlwain said yesterday, "We now have lotteries in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Northern Territory and Tasmania." Eric Roozendaal, Treasurer of NSW, said the government would use the money to pay down a significant amount of state debt. Page 1.

--The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) yesterday raised the official cash interest rate by 0.25 of a basis point to 4 percent. Glenn Stevens, Governor of the RBA, indicated in his speech that the strength of the economic recovery in Australia meant further rate rises were likely. Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan warned that, although recent economic data showed the Australian recovery was outperforming the rest of the world, there were parts of the economy that were still soft. Page 1.

--A letter to Telstra (TLS.AX) shareholders, from Telstra chief executive David Thodey and chairman Catherine Livingstone, claims that national broadband network legislation proposed by the Federal Government could cause the new NBN Co to become a "government funded retailer." NBN Co would then compete with Telstra and other telecommunications vendors. Analysts believe the government stance is designed to speed up negotiations over the transfer of Telstra customers to the fibre-optic NBN. Pg 1.

--The executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is meeting in Melbourne today to refine its strategy in the lead up to the next Federal election. Jeff Lawrence, ACTU secretary, said yesterday that statements by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott showed the Coalition would "bring back Work Choices even if they deny the name." The ACTU is preparing a "hard negative" advertising campaign

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

--Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science and Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, is widely acknowledged in the Federal Labor government as "Mr Fixit" and a potential leader. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard is performing so well that, should Prime Minister Kevin Rudd falter, she could challenge Mr Rudd for leadership. Observers pronounce that the presence of the respected Mr Combet lessens the likelihood that anyone will replace Mr Rudd. Page 1.

--In south-west Queensland heavy rain has caused the declaration of a state of emergency to enable the police to forcibly evacuate the town of Charleville. The rain, however, will benefit farmers and graziers. It may also help Australia's largest irrigator, Cubbie cotton station, which is currently in voluntary administration. Cubbie may be able to use the new water in its dams on the Murray-Darling river system to trade its way out of its current state. Page 1.

--Federal Minister for Agriculture Tony Burke will remove the interest payment subsidies available to drought-affected farmers. The move has qualified support from the National Farmers Federation which would like to see more effective assistance for the farmers. Mr Burke said yesterday that the interest rate subsidy penalised farmers who paid off their debts during periods of profitable farming. Page 1.

--Former Prime Minister John Howard has been selected by the cricket boards of Australia and New Zealand as their joint candidate for the role of vice-president of the International Cricket Council (ICC). This is likely to lead to Mr Howard becoming president of the ICC in 2012, as the vice-president normally succeeds the president at the completion of the president's two-year term. Page 3.

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

--Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will announce today a new health funding system whereby a portion of the GST revenue currently going to state governments will instead be given to a new National Health and Hospital Network. The funds will then be redistributed on a regional basis. Mr Rudd said yesterday that if the states rejected the reforms, a double-dissolution election would be called to provide the Government a mandate to bring about the changes. Page 1.

--In a deal with Weight Watchers, fast food company McDonald's will label three of its meals with the Weight Watchers logo and promote the meals as suitable for dieters. Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton responded that the introduction of the healthy Deli Choices menu items in 2004 brought additional people into the stores, but once the people were in, sales of the less healthy burgers and chips accelerated. Page 1.

--Department of Defence land in the Sydney suburb of Moorebank is to be transferred to the Department of Infrastructure to enable construction of a huge freight and truck terminal. Negotiations between the two departments have slowed as they cannot agree on the relocation costs for the army. A particular difficulty is that the army uses the site for training the sniffer dogs that are sent to Afghanistan to detect bombs. Page 1.

THE AGE (www.theage.com.au) --A confidential Victorian Government report has found that the state's public service IT systems waste up to A$40 million a year through "high levels of unnecessary duplication, complexity and cost." The leaked report says that the Government's IT sector costs A$1.65 billion a year, 4 percent to 5 percent of the state's budget. A spokesperson for the Government yesterday said it was making progress on the issue, and had generated "significant savings." Page 1.

--A pocket of the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick containing about 2900 premises has been selected as one of the five locations to trial the national broadband network. Of seven businesses interviewed yesterday, only one currently used the internet and assistant manager Damon Lindley at The Penny Black pub said that for email and information checking the current level of service was fine. Page 3.