PRESS DIGEST-Australian General News - July 8
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) Total dividends paid to Australian shareholders are expected to fall A$7 billion compared with the previous year to around A$41.5 billion for fiscal 2009, according to financial services firm Macquarie Securities. Paul Xiradis, of fund manager Ausbil Dexia, says that the slump in dividend payouts had been compounded by the "uncertainty surrounding the credit markets," forcing Australian companies to raise almost A$90 billion in new capital on the equity markets during the last financial year. Page 1.
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Australia's lowest paid workers are not going to receive any pay increase this financial year following fears of rising employment. Australian Fair Pay Commission chairman Ian Harper yesterday rejected the Federal Government's call for a "considered rise" of the A$543.78 minimum wage, saying that "this is not the time to risk the jobs of low-paid Australians by increasing minimum wages." However, Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard described the ruling as "disappointing," saying the move amounted to a wage reduction in real terms. Page 1.
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Australia's official cash rate was left unchanged at 3 percent yesterday following better than expected retail figures in May and an unexpected 0.4 percent increase in economic growth in the March quarter. Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens said that "economic conditions in Australia have to date not been as weak as expected a few months ago." However, Mr Stevens signalled that the central bank would reduce the rate further "if needed," saying that further decline in economic output was "likely over the rest of the year." Page 1.
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Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has outlined his plans for tackling the "second great challenge" facing Australia's economy. Mr Rudd said yesterday that the Government's economic stimulus measures had put increasing pressure on bond yields which when combined with any future rise in interest rates could lead to higher inflation. However, Mr Rudd maintained that any retreat from the stimulus measures must be "timely and maximally co-ordinated to avoid unnecessary economic and financial market dislocations." Page 4.
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THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
The Australian Navy has conceded that the recent scandal centring on allegations of sexual misconduct aboard a fleet replenishment ship could hinder its recruitment drive to employ more women. Rear Admiral Steve Gilmore said yesterday that the incident, which allegedly involved four sailors on board the HMAS Success betting on the number of female crew members they could have sex with, was "abhorrent and therefore totally inappropriate" and could have an effect on the 'navy's exposure and… recruiting." Page 1.
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Gordon Nuttall, a former Queensland government minister, has denied that a A$300,000 payment given to him by Macarthur Coal (MCC.AX) founder Ken Talbot was improper, claiming that the money was "to help his children get into the real estate market." In taped evidence presented to the courts yesterday, Mr Nuttall conceded that he had given Mr Talbot "some suggestions about hotels' before receiving 35 secret payments from Mr Talbot, but maintained that the payments did not benefit him in any way. Page 2.
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The Victorian Government's A$21 million in extra funding for the state's off-season burning program has been labelled as insufficient by East Gippsland Member of Parliament Craig Ingram. Environment Minister Gavin Jennings announced yesterday that the extra funds would be used to purchase fire fighting equipment and to employ 15 extra staff. However, Mr Ingram said that there needed to be a "fundamental shift in public policy from fire suppression to fire prevention." Page 3.
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The High Court has overturned a Supreme Court decision to allow a man convicted of rape and murder to have his non-parole period extended for five years, claiming the original move to apply for the increased sentence happened after the prisoner had moved interstate. The Supreme Court maintained that Jonathan Peter Bakewell, 48, should be eligible for parole after serving his original 20 year sentence, as the appeal by the Northern Territory Government to extend it came after he had been transferred to South Australia and was therefore not constitutional. Page 5.
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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
The New South Wales village of Bundanoon, in the Southern Highlands, is set to become the first town in Australia to ban bottled drinking water. At a town meeting scheduled for tonight, entitled "Bundy on tap," residents will vote on whether to adopt the proposal which has already been supported by the town's shops. Local shop owner Huw Kingston yesterday described the campaign as a "moral thing," claiming that selling something you can have for free was just 'wonderful marketing' at the expense of the environment. Page 1.
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Pubs and clubs in New South Wales that record more than eight assaults annually will be forced to implement tougher alcohol and security management following a crackdown by the Rees government. The State Government is also set to publish today a list of permanent restrictions that will have to be adopted by a further 71 venues. Premier Nathan Rees said yesterday that the Government "will work with venues to reduce incidents by imposing strict rules on their operations." Page 2.
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An apartment spa in New South Wales passed an inspection by a council environmental health officer just three weeks before an 11-year-old girl drowned in it. Simone Sheppard, of the Great Lakes Council, said yesterday that she had inspected the pool after receiving a report from a building inspector that outlined safety concerns, including the absence of an emergency-stop switch. However, Ms Sheppard maintained that her inspection was related purely to the spa's water quality and that other safety issues were not her concern. Page 2.
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A study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies shows that divorced men are much better off financially than divorced women four years after the break-up of a marriage. In the five years to 2007, divorced fathers with children under the age of 18 reported a 24 percent increase in income, while divorced mothers only saw their income rise 1.8 percent. However, 9.7 percent of divorced fathers said that they were poorer after the divorce compared with only 4 percent of divorced mothers. Page 3.
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THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)
Melbourne's Monash University has shelved a A$300 million development to build a new campus in Caulfield after developer Grollo Equiset failed to secure finance for the project. The Monash Village development, which would have included 436 student apartments, a shopping centre and two office buildings, was intended to allow the university to move its law campus from Clayton to Caulfield. However, the university maintains that it will look at further options to relocate the law campus. Page 3.
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The number of Australians reporting adverse side-effects from prescription drugs issued by general practitioners (GPs) has risen 20 percent over the last 10 years, according to a joint study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and Sydney University. Around six in every one thousand cases treated by GPs involved side-effects, which can range from nausea to life-threatening conditions. Associate Professor Graeme Miller said yesterday that adverse side-effects often resulted from a reaction to other drugs being taken to treat other ailments. Page 3.
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Nearly every Victorian testing positive for influenza has swine flu, according to the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory. Of the 73 people who tested positive to influenza last week at the 89 clinics monitoring the flu virus, 99 percent of them had the H1N1 virus, up from 60 percent in the last week of May. The laboratory's head of epidemiology, Heath Kelly, yesterday described the result as 'amazing,' saying that 'swine flu has taken over the flu season.' Page 3.
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Efforts to rebuild the Victorian communities destroyed by the Black Saturday bushfires could take years, according to the Master Builders of Australia. Executive director Brian Welch said yesterday that the sale of 208 of the 491 homes rebuilt following the devastating bushfires in Canberra six years ago highlighted the high number of residents who "are just not going back." However, bushfire reconstruction chief Nicola Roxon maintained that "we'd learned from Canberra and we'd learned from other disasters." Page 5. --
