PRESS DIGEST-Australian General News - Dec 1

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)

--Directors seeking re-election to the boards of some of Australia's most prominent sharemarket-listed companies are increasingly facing shareholder protests, according to an analysis of annual general meetings this year. Companies that recorded investor votes of more than 10 percent against the election or re-election of board members include Qantas Airways, Insurance Australia Group, Transurban, Lend Lease and Crown. Telstra and Wesfarmers director Charles Macek yesterday called the trend a "significant challenge.' Page 1.

--The Federal Government plans to give the states A$3.5 billion in extra payments for education and health over the next seven months, bringing the budget close to a deficit. Treasurer Wayne Swan said yesterday the proposal, part of a A$15.2 billion deal with the states, would help create 133,000 new jobs. But states have warned that the package may not come through speedily enough to ward off the looming threat of recession. Observers expect the latest national accounts figures, due out this week, to show almost zero economic growth. Page 1.

--The Rudd Government's deposit guarantee is failing to revive the mortgage sector because of the distortions the scheme has created, critics have said. The Government has been forced to underwrite issues of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) by Members Equity Bank and FirstMac because of lack of investor interest, and two subsequent issues of RMBS are generating even less interest. "At the moment, everyone's clients want the guarantee," one observer said yesterday. Pg 1.

--Signals from the Federal Government that Telstra's proposal for the A$4.7 billion national broadband network (NBN) might be considered despite not complying with the rules of the tender has prompted a protest from rival Optus. "No company or vested interest should be allowed to undermine [the tender] process," Optus chief executive Paul O'Sullivan said yesterday. His comments came after Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said an expert panel was assessing the legal status of Telstra's proposal. Page 3.

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

--Under new agreements agreed at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) the Rudd Government will give A$1.1 billion in funding to the nation's poorest-performing schools. Among other measures agreed was to give school principals greater power to hire and fire teachers -- a move opposed by the Australian Education Union. While union spokeswoman Mary Bluett yesterday welcomed the extra funding for education, she said the funding focus on 1500 disadvantaged schools meant 95 percent of schools would miss out. Page 1.

--Joern Utzon, the designer of the Sydney Opera House, has died at the age of 90. Mr Utzon was 38 years old when he won then New South Wales (NSW) premier Joe Cahill's "international competition for a national opera house." However, relations were strained between the Danish architect and the state government during the years he spent in Sydney supervising the project, and Mr Utzon returned to Denmark before the building was completed, never to return. The Sydney Opera House later became an iconic Australian landmark. Page 1.

--The Rudd Government has agreed with the states to spend A$4 billion to improve health, housing and employment for Aboriginal Australians over the next 10 years. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has also agreed to overhaul indigenous service delivery. Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said yesterday the measures would help close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, especially in terms of life-expectancy. She said a special COAG meeting next year would further address the issue. Page 2.

--Immigration Minister Chris Evans has rejected suggestions that the Rudd Government's softening of Australia's refugee policy has resulted in a spike in people-smuggling activity. After the International Organisation for Migration blamed the changed policy for leading Indonesian people smugglers to "test the envelope," Senator Evans yesterday cited changed tactics by people smugglers as the cause of increased illegal immigration. Since September both Australian and Indonesian authorities have intercepted people smugglers at sea. Page 3.

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

--Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has left for Poland to attend the United Nations climate talks that start today, but will not present a 2020 target to cut greenhouse emissions at the summit. The decision has led critics to accuse the Rudd Government of back-pedalling on its previous commitment, but Senator Wong said the announcement had to be delayed until the release of the final version of the Government's carbon pollution reduction scheme on December 15. Page 1.

--The BankWest residential stamp duty report has found that home buyers in New South Wales (NSW) are paying the highest stamp duty in Australia. Sydney home buyers are paying 3.5 percent stamp duty on properties worth A$80,000 to A$300,000, 4.5 percent for A$300,001 to A$1 million, 5.5 percent for A$1 million to A$3 million and 7 percent for more than A$3 million. In comparison, the average stamp duty in Brisbane is less than a third of Sydney's, the report said. BankWest has called for stamp duty reform in NSW. Page 1.

--CFK Childcare Centres CFK.AX is under investigation following the accidental strangulation of a three-year-old at a centre in Sydney's Brookvale last year. According to a document submitted to the Downing Centre Local Court yesterday, the child was accidentally choked by the cord of a blind and sustained injuries that required "urgent medical assistance and hospitalisation." A subsequent probe by the Department of Community Services found three staff who were meant to be supervising the child were busy doing other work at the time. Page 1.

--Federal Opposition treasury spokeswoman Julie Bishop has suggested that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's friendship with the editor of the Australian is to blame for recent controversies surrounding her. Her comments came in the wake of a report in the Weekend Australian that Liberal members of parliament are unhappy with Ms Bishop following a plagiarism row and her inability to recall the cash interest rate during a media interview. Ms Bishop also hit out at Perth academic Peter van Onselen for suggesting she was close to "political death." Pg 2.

THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)

--Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) was set to fly a 297-seat aircraft from Bangkok to Singapore last night to ferry Australians out of Thailand's capital after an attack on anti-government protestors. A grenade explosion yesterday injured 50 protestors at the office of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, even as the siege of Bangkok airport by thousands of people opposed to the Thai government continued. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said the Australian Government was trying to get Thai authorities to approve extra flights out of the country. Page 1.

--Robert Doyle looks set to replace Melbourne Lord Mayor John So after opening up a big lead over rivals with 80 percent of the mayoral election vote counted, although the final outcome will be decided by the flow of preferences. "We're delighted with the primary vote," Mr Doyle said yesterday. Page 1.

--An Australian soldier in Afghanistan sustained injuries from a roadside bomb blast on Saturday morning. An Australian Defence Force (ADF) spokeswoman said last night that the explosion left the soldier and a foreign national contracted to work for the ADF with serious injuries. This latest attack on Australian troops follows the death of Lieutenant Michael Fussell last Thursday in another bomb explosion. Page 3.

--Seven Network (SEV.AX) won 28 of the 40 weeks nationally in the official television ratings season this year, according to figures from ratings agency Oztam. Seven's performance was driven by its telecast of the Beijing Olympics and the success of its local show, Packed to the Rafters. The broadcaster's share of the prime-time audience also rose to 29.5 percent from 29.1 percent a year earlier. Page 3. --