PRESS DIGEST-Australian General News - July 23

Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:13pm EDT

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

New South Wales patients will be able to compare hospitals' safety records after Health Minister Reba Meagher backed the publication of infection rates as part of a uniform national health scheme. An estimated 200,000 patients a year are infected while under health care, according to a report by the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care. Most infections are the result of doctors and nurses not washing their hands between patients. Page 1. --

A higher education expert has warned of 'informal but real segregation' between foreign and local university students. Professor Simon Marginson of the Centre for Higher Education at the University of Melbourne said local students were increasingly disengaged from university life, while foreign students often did not venture far from the campus. Eric Pang, president of the National Liaison Committee for International Students said many foreign students believed they could not learn anything of value from befriending locals. Page 1.

A 70 percent cut in average household greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 would still not satisfy the Federal Government's emissions target because the population is growing too quickly, according to a new study. The Centre for Population and Urban Research found that the population would rise to more than 30 million by 2050, a factor underestimated by Treasury modelling and by business. The study contended that the population would have to stabilise at about 22 million to achieve the 60 percent reduction target. Page 2.

Interest rate rises are not the dominant reason mortgagees fall behind in their payments, according to new figures from mortgage insurance company Genworth Financial. The company found that most borrowers got into trouble because of the common stresses of life such as divorce, injury, loss of employment or a birth or death in the family. Only 2 per cent of borrowers who were considered to be at risk of defaulting on their loans blamed mortgage stress. Page 1.

THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)

Australian doctors have hailed a new prostate cancer drug as a breakthrough and speculated that it could be used to treat other forms of cancer after the results of a clinical trial were released in Britain. The drug abiraterone was found to shrink the size of cancer tumours in almost 80 percent of men with incurable prostate cancer. Cancer Council Australia chief executive Ian Oliver said the drug was an 'exciting' development. Urologist Jim Denham said the drug was essentially turning a deadly disease into a manageable chronic condition. Page 1.

Any attempt by the Federal Government to stop Air Zimbabwe flights from flying through Australian airspace would risk diplomatic retaliation, according to legal expert Ben Saul. Dr Saul, of the Centre for International Law, said Federal Government-controlled Airservices Australia could refuse clearance to Air Zimbabwe flights, but it would 'not be worth the price.' Yesterday the Government said Air Zimbabwe flights were travelling through international airspace that was only managed by Airservices Australia. Page 1.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will hold a community cabinet meeting in the remote Arnhem Land community of Yirrkala in the Northern Territory today, where he is expected to address concerns over petrol sniffing and prostitution amongst Aboriginal youths. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Aboriginal girls in the area were prostituting themselves to taxi drivers for drugs, alcohol and money. Chairman of the Northern Land Council Wali Wunungmurra said it was important that Mr Rudd see the challenges faced by the local community first-hand. Page 3.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has revealed he has offered to send Australian military instructors to train Pakistani troops in counter-insurgency tactics. Mr Fitzgibbon said the instructors would not be sent to Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the border with Afghanistan, considered to be among the most dangerous places in the world. He said he had offered the Australian expertise to United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates as part of a broader scheme for victory in Afghanistan. Page 3.