Abbott has fans on Gillard's home ground

THE giant Liberal Party banners dominated the Adelaide street corner, the words "Hope, Reward and Opportunity" beaming out across the traffic.

A large gathering of the party faithful, draped in matching blue t-shirts, waited eagerly for their leader to arrive.

The scene looked almost presidential as Tony Abbott took to the stage amid a sea of banners to promise his troops a vision for the future.

"That bright future starts on the seventh of September!" he said, before jumping offstage to mingle with fans.

It's hard to believe this used to be Julia Gillard's turf.

She was the home favourite in South Australia, credited with delivering Labor historic swings in the state in the 2010 election.

But the "Julia Gillard effect" won't play a part in the upcoming election.

The Liberals are hoping her ousting as Labor prime minister by Kevin Rudd will in fact play into their hands in SA and help them win or secure a number of key seats.

Abbott popped by three of these seats on Saturday - Boothby, Sturt and Hindmarsh.

The coalition holds Boothby by a razor-thin 0.6 per cent margin. Local member Andrew Southcott is promising $500 million to upgrade a major local road if elected.

Gillard, who went to school not far from where he was standing, used to have strong local credentials here. But Southcott's not worried he'll lose the seat he's held since 1996, he said.

"Unfortunately for them, Kevin Rudd is the guy who came along and knifed the hometown girl," he told AAP.

Fellow SA MP Christopher Pyne got a boost from Abbott as well, with the opposition leader promising $17.5 million to upgrade a leisure centre in his electorate.

Mary Crouch, a member of the local Norwood Flames basketball club since 1971, said this pledge was a sure-fire vote winner.

"We just need the coalition to win, fingers crossed!" she told AAP as Pyne and Abbott tossed basketballs with children.

The opposition leader had to wear a number of hats on Saturday, switching from local hero to aspiring prime minister as he dealt with questions on Syria's worsening civil war.

Reports that the Syrian regime had employed chemical weapons against their people saw Rudd return to Canberra and suspend his campaign temporarily.

Abbott initially said he'd get his briefing from his deputy Julie Bishop but later his office confirmed he'd be attending the official meeting as well.

He may look like a leader in waiting but Abbott marked the two-week point to the election by warning his supporters to be anything but complacent.

"My friends, there is still much to be done," he said in Hindmarsh, a seat they hope to win from Labor's Steve Georganas.

The stump speech to about 100 people was just a warm up, as Abbott prepares to officially launch the coalition's election campaign in Brisbane on Sunday.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Greens hammer message of trust, power

The Greens have pledged to introduce a Clean Air Act and an inquiry into Australia's refugee policy. Source: AAP

IN an election campaign where the major parties inevitably shape the main themes, Australian Greens leader Christine Milne is trying to hijack their message.

Both Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott have framed the debate as about who voters can trust, particularly on economic matters.

"This election, like never before, is about who you can trust," was how Senator Milne opened her address to the Greens' national campaign launch on Saturday - before adding the Greens difference.

"Trust to care for people ... and to care for the environment."

There was little party paraphernalia in the small theatre inside Canberra's cavernous convention centre, just a few "Christine 13" and "I'm with Adam" t-shirts.

But the 300-strong crowd was revved up, enthusiastically applauding throughout Senator Milne's speech and shouting "shame" at the record of the "old parties".

They booed and hissed at the statement that if the polls were right, Mr Abbott would be Australia's next prime minister.

"This is a moment for soul searching across the nation about what that would actually mean," Senator Milne said, hammering in her message that the Greens are needed to "Abbott-proof" the Senate.

"Voting Greens is double value voting.

"Not only does it return the Greens but it stops Tony Abbott getting absolute power in the federal parliament."

At this point the computer display behind the senator showed an error message, saying there was only seven per cent power remaining, please plug in for more power.

Senator Milne pledged the minor party would get a senate inquiry into the treatment of refugees, taking evidence from international human rights and legal experts.

It would also push for a Clean Air Act to set up national rules about pollution.

Senator Milne was confident the Greens would do well at the election despite having less star power after the retirement of former leader Bob Brown.

"Our very own wise elder," as Senator Milne called him, sat in the front row, but didn't speak.

"Unlike the other parties, this is not about celebrity," Senator Milne told reporters after the launch.

She had received a standing ovation as she entered the room to the sounds of Empire of the Sun singing, "loving every minute 'cause you make me feel so alive".

"I'm just privileged ... and humbled by the amount of faith and trust that the Green membership around the country has put in me as the leader and in the team that we are taking to the election," she said.

"We can be trusted and our membership knows that."

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ludlam blasts WikiLeaks over preferences

IF the leading WikiLeaks WA candidate wanted to make a tribute to Nationals Senate hopeful David Wirrpanda, he should have sent a card instead of diverting preferences from the Greens.

That was the response of worried Greens WA Senator Scott Ludlam to WikiLeaks Senate candidate Gerry Georgatos.

Mr Georgatos explained the preference move by saying he wanted to give symbolic recognition to Mr Wirrpanda, a former champion footballer who is vying to be the state's first indigenous senator.

A National Indigenous Times journalist, Mr Georgatos also believes Senator Ludlam "has always been secure of a Senate spot, despite the sad statements put out that apparently the Greens are on a knife-edge in the three Senate spots they're contesting".

He believes Sarah Hanson-Young and Peter Whish-Wilson in South Australia and Tasmania are also secure, dimissing talk by the Greens' of the balance of power being handed to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott as a ploy to garner more voters nationally.

"Gerry is the only person in the country who thinks I'm a shoe-in - I have absolutely zero confidence in his analysis," Senator Ludlam told AAP.

"If he was after a symbolic gesture, he should have sent him (Mr Wirrpanda) a card.

"Preferences are not symbolic. They are actually quite a serious part of our electoral system."

Reflecting on the fate of jailed US soldier Bradley Manning, Senator Ludlam said he would like to get back to the business of sticking up for whistleblowers "with whoever is left standing at the end" of the election.

"That's been occluded in Australia by the debacle that WikiLeaks have imposed on themselves."

WikiLeaks has blamed an administrative error on its preferencing of right-wing party Australia First in NSW.

While Georgatos has described it as a poor judgement call by well-meaning people, he said the party didn't "hold people hostage to mistakes".

Senator Ludlam said he didn't have a plan B if he loses his seat, saying he was throwing everything at the election campaign.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dyslexic students counted among disabled

STUDENTS with dyslexia and learning difficulties will get the same funds as those with disabilities under the government's new school funding plan.

It's estimated one in 10 students have dyslexia.

For the first time, all students with learning difficulties will be included in the official nationally consistent collection of data on school students with disability.

This data will lead to the creation of a loading on top of the per-student funding to help schools give more specialised services for students with disability.

Education Minister Bill Shorten said students with disability or learning difficulties would be identified based on what extra help they needed at school rather than their diagnosis.

"It means the level of support for students with disability will no longer be based on the school they go to, the state they live in or how many other kids are competing for the same bucket of money," he said in a statement.

Data collection runs during the next year and the new loading will apply from 2015.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Labor to fully fund Palmerston hospital

THE NT government and federal Labor have accused each other of playing politics with the health of territorians.

The NT says it will accept full funding from federal Labor to build a much-needed hospital at Palmerston just outside of Darwin, but says it's waiting to see the outcome of the federal election before committing.

NT Health Minister Robyn Lambley says that a month ago federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek refused to allocate any additional funding to the project.

The territory's previous Labor government had committed to building the hospital just outside of Darwin with $70 million in federal funding and $40 million to come from the NT coffers, but work has ground to a halt on the site since the Country Liberals came to power last August.

Federal Labor on Thursday committed to fully funding the $110 million hospital if re-elected.

"Let's see what's put on the table at the end of the day," Ms Lambley told reporters in Darwin.

"Two weeks out from the election we've got Labor changing their mind and saying they will now commit $40 million, let's see what the coalition comes up with. We're in a strong position to bargain, and obviously the more money, the better."

Earlier on Thursday Ms Plibersek said the territory government was playing politics with the health of Territorians.

"I've never found a government that's harder to give money to," she said.

"It's extraordinary when you say, 'here's the money, do you want to use it to build something for the patients you're responsible for?' and they go, 'no thanks'."

Ms Lambley likewise accused Ms Plibersek of playing games.

"We will accept that money gratefully but I have to say Minister Plibersek is good at political games, and this is just another she's bounced my way."

She said the site that was chosen by the former Labor territory government is too small, and a narrow-focused vision for what's required in Palmerston, one of the fastest-growing areas in the country.

"We need a bigger site which allows growth into the next 50 years, not the next 15 years, which is what Labor had in mind," Ms Lambley said.

"Our vision is bigger and better."

She said works would begin on the hospital within 12 months.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man admits to double murder in SA

A MAN has pleaded guilty to the shooting murders of two men at an isolated South Australian property.

Shane Shove, 44, appeared in the South Australian Supreme Court on Thursday and admitted to murdering Philip Jonathon Thomas, 40, and Christopher Bennet Sandison, 41.

The pair were gunned down at a property at Sandalwood, in SA's Murray-Mallee, in April last year.

Police found one body on the porch of the home and another in the yard.

Shove was remanded in custody for sentencing submissions on September 26.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Alarm over virginity tests for schoolgirls

A SCHOOL in Sumatra, Indonesia, intends to have girls undergo a virginity test before admitting them into high school.

The plan has been condemned by authorities and rights activists.

H.M. Rasyid, the head of the education board in the south Sumatran district of Prabumulih, says the test is needed because of increasing instances of premarital sex and prostitution among female students.

"Every woman has the right to virginity, though on the other hand, we expect students to not commit negative acts," Rasyid said, according to the Jakarta Globe newspaper.

While the test, which involves the forced examination of a girl's hymen to determine whether she has engaged in sexual intercourse, has been slammed as harmful and invasive, Rasyid insisted the plan would be implemented in 2014.

The policy has been heavily criticised by rights groups as well as senior politicians, including Indonesian Education Minister Mohammad Nuh, who appeared to be embarrassed the plan had even been in aired.

It's unclear, however, if the education ministry will intervene.

Indonesian rights group the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) also slammed the plan, with the organisation's deputy chairwoman, Masruchah, saying a student's body was not the dominion of public officials.

"Virginity is a personal issue, and a person has a right over their own body," she said.

"Morality cannot be determined by [a student's] genitals," she said.

"What will they do with the test results? Are they going to reveal which students are not virgins?"

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Woodside diplomatic on 'let down' comment

WOODSIDE has responded diplomatically to criticism from West Australian Premier Colin Barnett, saying the company's relationship with the state government will remain strong.

The comment from chief executive Peter Coleman came after Mr Barnett repeatedly claimed Woodside had let the state down by pursuing offshore gas processing for its Browse project.

The premier said he was disappointed the company had not taken "a broader view" of the project in terms of domestic gas supply - ignoring the fact the Woodside-led North West Shelf joint venture has been powering most of the state for decades.

And he continues to insist the original plan for a gas plant at James Price Point in the Kimberley "was profitable", despite the company saying otherwise.

Mr Coleman said Woodside shared the premier's disappointment that the project would not be based onshore, but the numbers just didn't stack up.

"Unfortunately it's just not commercially attractive - even with us trying to pull some of the cost structure out of it," Mr Coleman said during a half-year results briefing on Wednesday.

"We're committed to Western Australia and will remain committed."

Mr Coleman said he expected the state government would renew the Browse retention leases that are in state waters before they expire at the end of 2014.

"We don't expect that to be an issue. We expect ... that we'll get state support," he said.

Two of the seven retention leases are in WA waters, but they are small.

Mr Barnett is even disputing how much of the gas is owned by the state, with the federal government putting it at five per cent while the premier believes it is more like 15 per cent.

And while the Commonwealth has varied the conditions on five retention leases, Woodside is still waiting for a state government decision on the other two leases.

Mr Barnett said the federal government had "rolled over" by letting Woodside do whatever it wanted.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aust ferry owner arrested in PNG

THE Australian owner of a ferry which sank and killed more than 140 people in Papua New Guinea has been arrested.

Expat Peter Sharp was arrested on Tuesday afternoon in Rabaul, in PNG's East New Britain province.

Mr Sharp, who owned the Rabaul Queen ferry which sank in rough weather off Lae in February last year, was being interviewed, a police spokesman told AAP.

He is expected to be charged with manslaughter and taking an unseaworthy ship to sea.

The exact death toll from the disaster is unknown because Mr Sharp's company, Rabaul Shipping, did not have a complete passenger manifest.

An official inquiry found the ferry was unseaworthy, overloaded and should not have been sailing at the time.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

QBE profit falls as US economy recovers

INSURER QBE has suffered a 37 per cent fall in half year profit as an American economic recovery proved to be more damaging than Australia's summer of bushfires and floods.

QBE made a net profit of $US477 million ($A526.29 million) in the six months to June 30, down from $US760 million in the same period last year.

The value of insurance premiums written by QBE in the first half of 2013 fell by 16 per cent in North America to $US2.7 billion ($A2.98 billion), but rose in Australia and New Zealand by 1.5 cent to $US2.5 billion.

Chief executive John Neal said a fall in US mortgage defaults meant Bank of America had less need for QBE mortgage insurance.

"It's a bit of a counter-cyclical product: as the economy improves fewer people find themselves in times of stress," he told reporters on Tuesday.

"There is simply less placement of insurance."

The insurer is forecasting a $US600 million ($A662 million) drop in the value of written premiums in North America for the full year.

In Australia, ex-tropical cyclone Oswald in central and south-east Queensland cost QBE $US72 million ($A79.44 million) in claims during the half year.

The summer of disasters also included bushfires in Tasmania and storms in northern Victoria and southern NSW but QBE, a small player in Australian home and car insurance, said the catastrophes were factored in.

"We allow for some flood, fire and bushfire activity and nothing we've seen this year is out of line what we'd expect in a normal year," Mr Neal said.

Premiums for customers in Australia, New Zealand and the US are expected to rise by between four and five per cent, on average, over the remainder of 2013.

The insurer said lower investment yields and $US178 million ($A196.39 million) in adverse claims from the previous year, mainly in Europe, Latin America and North America, also detracted from its profit result.

The company still expects an 11 per cent rise in insurance margin in 2013.

"We're confident that we'll win some good new business in the second half of the year," Mr Neal said.

QBE also cut its interim dividend, paying 20 cents per share, down from 40 cents at the same time last year.

The company's shares were down by 93.5 cents, or 5.5 per cent, at $16.10 at 1541 AEST.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vic blind workers rally against job cuts

UNIONS have made an emotional plea for Vision Australia to reverse its decision to make dozens of blind and sight-impaired workers redundant.

The charity's decision to close its enterprise arm will affect 73 staff with a disability in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

Around 150 vision-impaired manufacturing workers and supporters rallied in central Melbourne on Sunday, urging Vision Australia to have a change of heart.

Blind Workers Union Victoria president Margaret Shananan said the workers would be left on the scrapheap if made redundant.

"This decision to close Vision Australia Enterprises will strip these workers of their right to employment," she told the crowd.

Simon Giddings, who has worked with Vision Australia since 2007, said he didn't know how he would be able to pay the bills.

"What I'm saying is I don't know I will go about the job that I have, which is supporting my family," he said.

The enterprise closure comes on the back of substantial losses over a number of years.

Vision Australia chief executive officer Ron Hooton says the decision is sad but unavoidable.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Our robot future on display in Brisbane

SWARMS of robots tend to crops in central Queensland.

A robotic clone hosts a lecture at a Brisbane university for his master, who is more than 7000km away in Japan.

A band plays while flying robots light up the sky around them.

This isn't the future. It's Robotronica - a futuristic event held at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane on Sunday.

QUT creative director Jonathan Parsons says the event doesn't just showcase future possibilities, but highlights how advanced robotics presently is.

"We tend to use the term robots when it's something a bit alien or strange, but in the '50s dishwashers were robots, but we don't refer to them as that anymore," he told AAP.

"Now their completely part of the fabric of our society and one day, all these things will be too."

Swarm Farm Robotics Director Andrew Bate says his project is the future of agriculture.

One his farm near Emerald in central Queensland, Mr Bates is developing small tractors that will operate unmanned with others in a swarm, to replace the bulky, expensive models currently used.

"We keep getting bigger and bigger, but now the focus is on being smaller and more efficient," Mr Bate said.

"It's better for the soil and it's far more cost effective."

The star of the show was Geminoid, a robotic "clone" of his creator, Japanese roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro.

Geminoid, who blinks and has other subconscious human traits, had his crowd entranced when he re-presented a lecture his creator did at QUT just days before.

Robotics workshops and a gig from Brisbane pop group 7-Bit Hero, who incorporate smart phone gaming with their live show, was also featured at the event.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More