AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, Dec 5

AAP General News (Australia)
12-05-2008
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, Dec 5
Midday Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1130


Funds (CANBERRA)

The federal coalition insists an early-morning backflip in the Senate was the responsible
thing to do .. freeing up billions of dollars to spend on infrastructure projects.

The coalition won an amendment in the Senate to prevent the government transferring
2.4 billion dollars from the Communications Fund to its proposed Building Australia Fund
.. which will be used to fund its national broadband network.

After the government refused to accept the amendment in the lower house .. the opposition
backed down .. allowing the original bill to pass into law.

Shadow infrastructure Minister ANDREW ROBB has told the ABC .. blocking the legislation
would have resulted in the mother-of-all government scare campaigns.

He says the government wanted to shift the blame for their dithering and mismanagement
onto the coalition .. and they didn't want to give them that opportunity.

With the bill allowed to pass .. our federal politicians have now wrapped up business
in Canberra .. and are now heading home for their eight week Christmas break.



Protest (CANBERRA)

The federal Labor MP who took photos of a man threatening to set himself alight and
passed them on to the media won't be investigated by parliament.

First-termer from Queensland .. JAMES BIDGOOD .. was rounded on by the prime minister
and other MPs for agreeing to supply the photos in exchange for a thousand dollar donation
to a charity on Wednesday.

He was forced later to make a parliamentary apology to the man and his family.

The Speaker HARRY JENKINS was asked to investigate the incident but he said late last
night his powers were limited.

He hasn't recommended any further action but says MPs should consider developing a
code of conduct.



Boat Evans (CANBERRA)

Immigration Minister CHRIS EVANS says rising strife in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka is
boosting the number of people using smugglers to reach Australia.

He says officials are also seeing an increasing number of unaccompanied children on
intercepted boats.

In the latest arrival .. a vessel carrying 35 suspected asylum seekers was spotted
off Ashmore Island .. north-west of WA .. on Tuesday.

Senator EVANS says Australian officials are working hard to disrupt the people smugglers
and respond to their new tactics.



India Shooting (NEW DELHI)

Indian security forces say there has been no shooting at New Delhi international airport.

They've denied BBC reports that six gunmen have been shot dead at Indira Gandhi International
Airport.

The NDTV news channel also reported three shots were fired from a car at the airport
and security forces were trying to trace the vehicle.

An officer with the paramilitary unit responsible for airport security says the international
and domestic terminals have been scoured inch by inch and nothing's happened.



Huyck (MELBOURNE)

150 Victorian textile workers will be out of work when their plant closes in March next year.

The redundancies at the Huyck Wangner plant in Geelong will start before Christmas
and run through to March .. when the plant will close.

Union secretary MICHELE O'NEIL says workers were given no warning before being told
on Tuesday morning and it's a disgraceful example of a long-standing Australian manufacturer
being closed by its overseas parent company.



Crisis World (WASHINGTON)

Central banks around the globe have upped the ante .. with a series of dramatic interest
rate slashes to fight a deepening recession.

The European Central Bank cut its key interest rate by a record 0.75 percentage points
to 2.50 per cent.

The Bank of England meanwhile slashed its key interest rate by a full percentage point
to 2 per cent .. matching its World War II-era lows.



Farquharson (MELBOURNE)

The ex-wife of Father's Day killer ROBERT FARQUHARSON is suing him for unspecified
damages over the murder of their three children in Victoria.

FARQUHARSON is serving three life terms after a jury found him guilty of murdering
his three boys by driving them into a dam near Winchelsea on Father's Day in 2005.

His estranged wife CINDY GAMBINO has launched civil action in the Victorian Supreme
Court today and the matter has been referred for a trial date.



Anthem (BRISBANE)

An Islamic school in Brisbane has been accused of banning the the national anthem.

The Courier Mail reports a memo was sent to teachers at the Australian International
Islamic College in Durack .. saying singing Advance Australia Fair has been put on hold.

School chairman IMAM ABDUL QUDDOOS AZHARI is denying the ban .. saying students sing
it at every function.



David Kirk (SYDNEY)

DAVID KIRK has stepped down as chief executive of Fairfax Media .. effective immediately.

Chairman RONALD WALKER says during more than three years in the role Mr KIRK and his
team have led the complete re-positioning of the company .. from a metropolitan newspaper
publishing business to a position in which the company is now clearly the leading media
company in Australasia.



Briefly in other news ..



Homicide (SYDNEY)

A man's been arrested in Tasmania over the murder of FELIPE FLORES 17 years ago.



ABC (BRISBANE)

The receivers in control of ABC Learning Centres are expected to make an announcement
on the future of 386 of the group's childcare centres today.



Ambos NSW (SYDNEY)

The New South Wales ambulance rescue unit won't be reinstated .. despite an appeal
by the health minister.



Water SA (ADELAIDE)

The South Australian government says it's secured Adelaide's water supply for 2009
by buying water on the open market.



Antarctica Ship (BUENOS AIRES)

A cruise ship carrying 122 people is adrift and taking on water after running aground
in the Antarctic .. but the Argentine navy says it's in no danger of sinking.



in Finance ..



Finance Markers RADIO MORNING

At 1110 AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was DOWN 2.8 points to 3529.6, while the
All Ordinaries Index was DOWN 3.5 points at 3464.6.

The Australian dollar was at 64.40 US cents, DOWN from Thursday's local close at 64.52 US cents.

It was at 50.41 euro cents, DOWN from 50.87 euro cents on Thursday.

The spot price of gold in Sydney was $US767.10 per fine ounce, DOWN $US3.50 from $US770.60
on Thursday.



Construction AI (SYDNEY)

Activity in the construction industry contracted sharply in November .. as firms continued
to scale back work in response to the global financial crisis.

The AIG - HIA performance of construction index fell 4.4 points in November to 32 points.



in Sport ..



Golf Aust (COOLUM, Qld)

New South Wales golfer NATHAN GREEN has had a hole-in-one early in his second round
of the Australian PGA Championship at Coolum.

GREEN's ace on the par three eleventh hole, followed by a birdie, has shot him to five
under, one shot behind first round leaders TIM WILKINSON and PAUL SHEEHAN who completed
his storm-interrupted first round this morning.



Motor Prix Honda (LONDON)

Japanese team Honda is reported to be considering pulling out of Formula One as the
worldwide credit crunch continues to threaten the sport.

The BBC claims the team could make an announcement as early as tomorrow.



ENDS MIDDAY ROUND-UP

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