PRESS DIGEST-Australian General News - May 5

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 Federal Government is on track to deliver a budget surplus above its target of 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, having identified a further A$2.2 billion in savings from an ongoing review of the public service. Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said yesterday the Government would reach its target of A$3 billion to A$4 billion in annual cuts, despite a funding boost for the defence forces. The new Australian Labor Party administration will hand down its first budget next week. Page 1.

-- Qantas Airways (QAN.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) chief executive Geoff Dixon says the airline is 'determined' to maintain its policy of granting 3 percent wage rises in upcoming union negotiations. Bracing for a A$1 billion rise in operating costs due to record fuel prices, Mr Dixon said the 'long-term future of the industry' was at stake. He defended a move to shift Qantas's maintenance operations offshore, saying 'there's no going back.' The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association has threatened industrial action if it doesn't receive a 5 percent wage rise this year. Page 1. -- New South Wales (NSW) Premier Morris Iemma will push ahead with plans to privatise NSW's electricity market, defying a decision at the weekend Australian Labor Party state conference. A motion rejecting privatisation was passed by 702 votes to 107 after unions withdrew their support for the government, although Mr Iemma is expected to have the numbers in a caucus vote on the issue next week. The government intends to sell the retail arms of EnergyAustralia, Integral Energy and Country Energy, and lease the state's generators. Page 1. -- International experts have warned against draft rules forcing banks and other companies in Australia to notify customers of security breaches, saying the process would be too costly. 'Breach notification [generates] large bills for forensics and auditing, outside counsel...and call-centre support,' the International Association of Privacy Professionals warns in an open letter. The move towards mandatory disclosure comes three years after hackers infiltrated a United States database that included the details of 130,000 credit cards issued by Australian banks. Page 3. THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au) -- Aboriginal leaders in South Australia have urged authorities to properly investigate child abuse in remote indigenous communities, saying traditional codes of punishment are doing little to combat abuse. In a submission to the state's Mullighan inquiry into child sexual abuse, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara leaders claim that police are 'reluctant' to pursue offenders, while a 'lack of strict adherence' to mandatory reporting of offences in schools and medical centres is exacerbating the problem. Page 1. -- Federal Labor is believed to have allocated A$275 million towards six new clean coal projects in the budget next week, while setting aside a similar amount for renewable technologies. The Government will also establish a clean coal council and form a taskforce to develop storage options, echoing the previous Coalition government's Low Emissions Technology Development Fund. Greenpeace International will release a report today claiming clean coal technology is too costly and uncertain a proposition. Page 2. -- Shadow Treasurer Malcolm Turnbull has urged the Federal Government to rethink its spending cuts in next week's budget, saying the targeted savings will do little to curb inflation and merely affect Australian households already battling higher interest rates. Mr Turnbull said Treasurer Wayne Swan would have to reduce spending by A$6 billion a year to ward off inflation. 'I think it's too big at the moment,' he said. Mr Swan said last night that Mr Turnbull had 'no understanding' of the realities of an ordinary household budget. Page 2. -- Supporters of West Australian Opposition Leader Troy Buswell are confident he will win a potential leadership ballot today, following last week's revelations that he sniffed a chair used by a female staffer. Former leader of the state Liberal Party, Paul Omodei, announced his resignation at the weekend, declaring Mr Buswell was not 'a fit and proper person' to be leading the party. Treasury spokesman Steve Thomas and deputy leader Kim Hames would be the next in line for the leadership. Page 3.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au) -- New South Wales (NSW) Premier Morris Iemma will begin talks with unions in a bid to find a compromise over the government's energy privatisation plan. Mr Iemma yesterday vowed the sell-off would go ahead, despite Australian Labor Party delegates vetoing the plan at the weekend state conference. At a news conference yesterday afternoon, Mr Iemma said he was weighing the views of '700 delegates' against the needs of '7 million residents of NSW.' Page 1. -- Former Home And Away star Kate Ritchie won her second consecutive Gold Logie as most popular television personality at the awards ceremony last night, with the Seven Network star also winning a silver for most popular actress. Channel Seven won nine Logies, just shading the Australian Broadcasting Corporation with eight awards - the national broadcaster proving popular with the younger demographic, taking the gong for best comedy with Summer Heights High and spawning the best new female talent, Bindi Irwin. Page 1. -- The Australian Medical Association has called on government to introduce subsidies for fruit and vegetables, along with taxes on junk food and sugary drinks, to combat obesity. The association's president, Rosanna Capolingua, said obesity, which affects nearly one in five Australians, was 'a very significant problem' with a broader impact on the community. Subsidies could be provided to growers and retailers or in family support payments, Dr Capolingua said. Page 2. -- Zinc-contaminated water leaking from an old coalmine is poisoning a river in the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, a University of Western Sydney researcher says. The disused Canyon Colliery has been releasing about a million litres of polluted water into the Grose River each day for years, according to Ian Wright. 'It has had a devastating effect on life downstream,' Dr Wright says. He claims the New South Wales Department of Environment has ignored the problem. Page 3. THE AGE (www.theage.com.au) -- The Victorian Government will announce a A$1 billion package to assist 'at risk' groups such as disabled people and Aborigines in tomorrow's budget. The social justice package will include money to create 1000 extra kindergarten places for children with a disability, and set up Australia's first Koori County Court to deal with Aborigines charged with serious offences. Premier John Brumby, who replaced Steve Bracks in the top job last July, will also allocate A$500 million to a school-renovation program. Page 1. -- Melbourne is the third-cheapest capital city in which to buy a house, fuelling a population surge as Australians relocate to Victoria. A March-quarter survey conducted by the Age puts Melbourne's median house price at A$432,000, compared with A$579,394 in Sydney - the most expensive city. 'Melbourne is attracting more people than any other city in Australia at the moment - 62,000 a year,' said KPMG partner Bernard Salt. Page 1. -- Cambodian authorities say an Australian man found dead in his prison cell suffered a stroke, the Australian embassy reported yesterday. Bart Lauwaert, 41, convicted and imprisoned in Cambodia in 2003 for raping under-age girls, was found dead in his cell in the country's northwest. The former English teacher was sentenced to 20 years for raping his nine maids, aged between 12 and 14, in Siem Reap province - home to the Angkor Wat temple. Lauwaert died on Friday. Page 2. -- The Boating Industry Association of Victoria has called for tougher regulation of boat transfers and improved education for owners, following the death of a Melbourne couple on the Yarra River last night. Police identified the dead couple as Alex Elliot, 84, and his wife Jenny, 82, who perished when their 11-metre cruiser exploded minutes after being refuelled at Pier 35. It was not clear last night who owned the vessel, with a police investigation underway. Page 2. --