QLD:Rioter to attend Palm Island meeting

AAP General News (Australia)
08-11-2011
QLD:Rioter to attend Palm Island meeting

Palm Island rioter LEX WOTTON has been granted special permission to attend a public
meeting in the indigenous community, as locals discuss possible compensation options to
settle a discrimination complaint against the Queensland government.

Mr WOTTON'S lawyer says the parole officers have waived a condition baring him from
attending public meetings on the island, to allow him to take part in today's discussion.

The lawyer says the meeting will allow the community to settle on a proposal to take
to the Australian Human Rights Commission to settle a discrimination complaint against
the Queensland Government.

Mr WOTTON was released on bail last year having served 20 months in jail over the riot,
that followed the death of CAMERON DOOMADGEE in a local watchhouse.

AAP RTV ews/wz

KEYWORD: WOTTON (CAIRNS)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic:Margach case among last to use provocation defence

AAP General News (Australia)
02-17-2006
Vic:Margach case among last to use provocation defence

By Shelley Markham

MELBOURNE, Feb 17 AAP - Melbourne man Paul Margach could be one of the last Victorian
killers to use provocation as a defence.

Margach, who stabbed his wife Tina to death in front of their eight-year-old daughter
Erin, was this week found guilty of her murder despite the defence arguing it should have
been manslaughter.

The 39-year-old engineer murdered his 36-year-old wife by stabbing her 20 times in
the couple's suburban Ascot Vale home on October 15, 2004, with a steak knife.

During the 10-day trial, the defence argued Margach was guilty of manslaughter and
not murder because he did not intend to kill his wife and was provoked by the mistaken
belief she had been unfaithful.

Margach told police he stabbed his wife after she told him the marriage was over and
she falsely claimed that she had sex with another man and had enjoyed it.

His case was one of the last to use provocation as a defence because he was charged
before the laws in Victoria changed.

Victoria became the second Australian state, after Tasmania in 2003, to abolish provocation
as a defence for murder.

The change was made in October 2005, after recommendations from the Law Reform Commission
of Victoria.

It came almost 12 months after the controversial case of Julie Ramage, who was strangled
by her estranged husband James.

His trial heard Mrs Ramage told her estranged husband that sex with him was repulsive
and bragged of her exploits with a new lover.

He lured his wife of 22 years to the marital home in Melbourne's east, bashed her unconscious,
strangled her then buried her in a shallow grave.

The jury convicted him of manslaughter.

Justice Robert Osborn sentenced him to 11 years' jail with a minimum non parole period
of eight years.

In a letter published in Melbourne's The Age newspaper on November 1, 2004, Laurence
Webb, Ms Ramage's lover, said, "When someone close to you is killed, but the killer gets
off for lack of proof, the icy cold that reaches your heart is very personal".

"Provocation was the justification and the defence, claiming words such as 'I'm over
you, I should have left 10 years ago,' and 'making love to you repulses me'," he said.

"If such words can justify a murder, perhaps we are better off without a defence of
provocation."

When the law was changed Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls described the reform
as the most significant since the death penalty was abolished 30 years ago.

"Victoria's homicide laws have not kept pace with changing social values," Mr Hulls said.

"The law regarding provocation was developed from times past when it was acceptable,
especially for men, to have a violent response to an alleged breach of a person's honour.

"The defence of provocation promotes a culture of blaming the victim and has no place
in a modern society."

Margaret Scott, a friend of Tina Margach, said she knew Paul Margach and that he had
shown a tendency towards violence.

"Yes he had been violent to Tina before but no-one was aware of it," Mrs Scott told
Southern Cross radio.

"I just want all these women out there if they're going through this problem please
go for help and don't suffer in silence like Tina did and this was the end result," she
said.

The Margachs' now 10-year-old daughter Erin was eight years old when her mother was
killed and she was left to call triple-0 and try in vain to save her mother's life.

In her police interview she calmly described how her father punched her mother in the
nose and then, the following night, stabbed her to death after a family dinner at a Chinese
restaurant.

"Daddy was waving a knife around and he wanted to stab her but he was missing," Erin told police.

"He must have stabbed her once or twice because there was blood everywhere, like on
her arms and legs and body.

"I thought I could rush over and pull him away from her but I was too scared because
he had this really scary face on."

Paul Margach's mother Ivy described the devastation her son's actions had caused.

She said he was gentle, a man who adored his children and his wife.

And since her daughter-in-law's death she has not seen her granddaughters.

"He's devastated," she said.

"We all are .... We beg you to take into consideration he's not a murderous man."

Margach broke down in tears after the verdict was read out on Wednesday, while the
public gallery erupted in applause, one person calling out: `thank you' to the jury.

Outside the court Tina's father, Joseph Cultrera, said the family was relieved that
the defence of provocation was not accepted by the jury.

"We have done something .... (for) these women in Victoria that are murdered, slaughtered
or shot by any person and get away with it," Mr Cultrera said.

AAP sam/dk/drp/de

KEYWORD: MARGACH (AAP NEWSFEATURE)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED:Urban water bills climb 10% a year

AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2011
FED:Urban water bills climb 10% a year

CANBERRA, April 14 AAP - Urban water bills in Australia have risen by 10 per cent a
year on average over the past three years, a new report shows.

The hip-pocket hit has come as water industry profits have gone up and capital spending
has dipped.

A new report by the National Water Commission, released in Canberra on Thursday, found
the biggest price rises occurred in South Australia, Brisbane and the Yarra Valley of
Victoria.

Only four small utilities - Riverina Water, Orange, Bunbury and Goldenfields in southwest
NSW - reduced their bills in real terms from 2008/09 levels.

While the typical annual bill in cities of over 100,000 people rose from $756 in 2008/09
to $837 in 2009/10, households in smaller towns of 10,000 to 20,000 people now faced average
bills of $976.

The report showed water utility profits had bounced back from the slump of 2007/09,
but capital spending had dipped by $500 million over the year to 2009/10.

The commission used the report to argue for a new focus on water recycling, which it
says has environmental benefits such as reducing the amount of nutrients being discharged
into waterways.

Most major cities have set targets for recycling waste water, with Sydney reporting
savings of 33 gigalitres a year of the 235 gigalitres saved across the nation.

The commission said while the issue of drinking recycled waste water was "controversial",
advances in science and improved regulation had "created an environment in which those
risks can be managed to a safety level equivalent to those of other supply sources".

The main use to date for recycled water has been in agriculture (38 per cent) and commercial
and industrial (25 per cent), while only two per cent is used in homes for gardens and
toilet flushing.

But the commission said recycling water often came at a higher cost than other options.

AAP pjo/sb/jl

KEYWORD: WATER BILLS

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

WA:Body discovered behind childcare centre

AAP General News (Australia)
12-26-2010
WA:Body discovered behind childcare centre

The family of missing mother of four SHANNON PEARCE have been informed about the discovery
of a body behind a Geraldton childcare centre.

West Australian police say the corpse was discovered in bushland near the back fence
of the centre .. in the northern Geraldton suburb of Spalding .. at about two o'clock
yesterday afternoon.

A forensic examination of the body is underway .. with the results possibly available
later this evening.

27 year-old Ms PEARCE reportedly went missing in Geraldton on December 18 .. a major
crime squad and Gerladton detectives are investigating the case.

AAP RTV mdg/sw

KEYWORD: PEARCE (GERALDTON)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

WA:Surfer killed by shark near Perth=2

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2010
WA:Surfer killed by shark near Perth=2

Department of Fisheries WA regional manager Phil Shaw said fisheries officers would
try to determine if the shark was still in the area, what species it was and whether it
posed a risk.

It was not known if the shark was a Great White and any decision to destroy a shark
would depend on the risk assessment, he said.

"If it posed a continuing risk, if it was determined that it was likely to keep hanging
around and become a threat then that would be the decision, but it would be a last resort."

Great Whites were common off that part of the WA coast and were a protected species,
Mr Shaw said.

Incoming weather meant a boat from Busselton might not be able to reach the area until
Wednesday, he said.

AAP ldj/maur

KEYWORD: SHARK 2ND UPDATE (REOPENS)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, April 9

AAP General News (Australia)
04-09-2010
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, April 9
Breakfast Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 0430


Population (CANBERRA)

Both the federal government and the opposition are trying to get on top of the population
debate .. with Labor now saying it doesn't want too big a nation .. and the coalition
promising it's not aiming at a scrawny Australia.

But surveys say the rest of us want population growth by 2050 somewhere in-between
.. not the Finance Department's 36 million .. but not too far below 30 million either.

Opposition immigration spokesman SCOTT MORRISON has been backpedalling .. after colleagues
raised concerns his call to cut net migration is akin to announcing coalition policy.

But the government is also changing its tune .. with Population Minister TONY BURKE
saying he doesn't know yet how many Australians there should be by 2050.



Boat (SYDNEY)

The United Nations says people smuggling to Australia is out of control .. warning
thousands of asylum seekers are prepared to try and reach Australia by boat via Indonesia
.. rather than wait for official channels.

MANUEL JORDAO .. a senior representative of the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees in Indonesia .. says governments need new solutions to deal with the problem
.. which he says is growing and won't go away.

Mr JORDAO has told Fairfax news it's a big business .. and it's totally out of control
.. and the states in the region are being outmanoeuvred by trafficking syndicates.

He says many new operators have brought the price of illegal entry down .. with thousands
more Afghans, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans adding to those officially registered with the
UNHCR .. trying to reach our shores.



Carrier (BRISBANE)

Authorities are about to pump 950 tonnes of heavy oil from a stricken coal carrier
grounded in the Great Barrier Reef.

The Chinese-registered Shen Neng 1 has been stuck on a protected part of the reef off
the central Queensland coast near Rockhampton since Saturday.

Massive booms have been placed next to the ship to contain possible spills .. as authorities
prepare to pump 950 tonnes of heavy oil from the vessel in the salvage attempt.



PollTas (HOBART)

Tasmanians awake to the first day of the fourth Labor state government in a row ..

after a string of dramatic developments overnight.

Caretaker premier DAVID BARTLETT retains his job .. after Governor PETER UNDERWOOD
ordered him last night to recall parliament .. and test his numbers in the lower house.

Liberal leader WILL HODGMAN says Mr BARTLETT and Greens leader NICK MCKIM have acted
dishonourably .. and have no moral authority.

Labor lost its majority .. suffering a 12 per cent swing at the March 20 election ..

and there are now 10 Labor members .. 10 Liberals and five Greens in Tasmania's parliament.

Mr MCKIM denies he's betraying the party's supporters .. by pledging conditional support
for a minority Labor government .. and will continue to pursue its own policies.



Hospitals (CANBERRA)

KEVIN RUDD's urged Victorian Premier JOHN BRUMBY to work with him on health and hospital
reform .. after the Victorian premier torpedoed any chance of a deal by a crucial April
19 meeting.

Mr BRUMBY says the states will reject the federal government taking 30 per cent of
GST revenue to fund hospitals .. and is instead pushing for a 50/50 funding model.

The prime minister has rejected the proposal .. telling state and territory leaders
he was given a mandate to produce a better public hospital system in the last federal
election.

And .. he has told state and territory leaders he'll go to a referendum if they don't agree.



Blaze (SYDNEY)

A central New South Wales house .. which went up in flames killing a man and his two-year-old
grandson .. was fitted with insulation under the federal government's troubled scheme.

The Peak Hill home was well alight when the fire brigade arrived after neighbours raised
the alarm.

Firefighters found two bodies inside .. believed to be that of a 50-year-old man and
a two-year-old boy.

Energy Efficiency Minister GREG COMBET has confirmed insulation had been installed
at the property under the axed Home Insulation Program.

The program has been linked to four deaths .. 120 house fires .. and safety and quality
problems affecting hundreds of thousands of homes.



Turnbull Wentworth (SYDNEY)

The Liberal Party campaign to defend MALCOLM TURNBULL's seat of Wentworth begins in
earnest with pre-selections starting today.

The Liberals say they have no intention of letting the seat slip from their grasp ..

after the former opposition leader announced his two-term reign in the blue-ribbon eastern
Sydney seat will come to an end with this year's federal election.



Koala (SYDNEY)

Conservationists will protest today in yet another bid to stop woodchip logging near
the last known koala colony near Bega .. on the New South Wales south coast.

Greens MP LEE RHIANNON will join the coalition of conservation groups planning to stage
a blockade at the Mumbulla Forrest .. where it's believed logging will resume after an
11-day stoppage.

The activists say the operations will destroy koala habitats .. and lead to the extinction
of a 30-to-50 strong colony .. but the state government denies any koalas are at risk.



BRIEFLY IN OTHER NEWS:


Hu (SHANGHAI)

Australian former Rio Tinto executive STERN HU won't appeal against his 10-year jail
term in China for accepting bribes and stealing trade secrets.



Jobs Youth (CANBERRA)

Youth unemployment is on the rise .. almost 17 per cent for people aged between 15
and 19 .. and there are fears the trend will continue .. unless the federal government
makes changes to its four billion dollar job network system.



Pakistan (ISLAMABAD)

Pakistan's national assembly has unanimously approved reforms .. stripping President
ASIF ALI ZARDARI of key powers .. in a move to bolster parliamentary democracy weakened
by military rule.



Nuclear US Russia (PRAGUE)

President BARACK OBAMA and Russian President DMITRY MEDVEDEV have signed a treaty to
shrink their nations' nuclear arsenals .. the biggest such pact between the former Cold
War foes in a generation.



Sci Hominid (US)

Scientists have found two skeletons .. nearly two million years old .. in South Africa
.. and say they are part of a previously unknown species that fits the transition from
ancient apes to modern humans.



IN FINANCE:


AND IN SPORT:


GOLF MASTERS WOODS (AUGUSTA)

TIGER WOODS has teed off at Augusta .. to open his first round at the 74th Masters
.. marking the world number one golfer's return to competition after a five-month layoff
in the wake of a sex scandal.



AFL SAINTS (MELBOURNE)

Unbeaten St Kilda and Collingwood clash at Etihad Stadium tonight in the first of several
big games in round three of the AFL.

The Saints have won their past three games against the Magpies, including last year's
qualifying final, and skipper NICK RIEWOLDT has booted a combined 15 goals in those matches.

Former Saint LUKE BALL comes up against his old side for the first time in a premiership game.



AFL TEAMS (MELBOURNE)

BEN COUSINS is back for Richmond, one of several AFL clubs to make major changes to
their sides for important games in round three.

COUSINS is one of six changes to the Richmond side that was belted by the Western Bulldogs
last Sunday.



AFL DOCKERS (MELBOURNE)

Fremantle rookie MICHAEL BARLOW has been rewarded for making a great start to his AFL
career by agreeing to a two-year contract extension with the Dockers.



LEAGUE KNIGHTS (SYDNEY)

Newcastle fullback SHANNON MCDONNELL will play Saturday's NRL match against South Sydney
with his broken thumb in a splint.



LEAGUE ORIGIN (SYDNEY)

ARL chief executive GEOFF CARR has refused to rule out the prospect of a State of Origin
game being played in New Zealand at Auckland's Eden Park.



SOCCER AL SYDFC (SYDNEY)

ROBBIE FOWLER is reportedly set to join two-time A-League champions Sydney FC as their
marquee player for the 2010/11 season.



ENDS BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

Broadcast Desk inquiries 24 hours: 02 9322 8714

AAP RTV psm/

KEYWORD: BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

VIC: Family wants action against street violence

AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-2009
VIC: Family wants action against street violence

By Jon Pierik

MELBOURNE, Aug 26 AAP - The family of a young man who was viciously bashed during a
night out has appealed to the Victorian government to crack down on alcohol-fuelled street
violence.

Apprentice carpenter David Mitchell was hit, kicked and had his head stomped on outside
One Bar in Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds, in northern Melbourne on February 10 last year
after he tried to act as a "peacemaker" between two groups of men.

His attacker, Nicholas Keon, 23, of Watsonia North, was sentenced in the Victorian
County Court on Wednesday to six years' jail.

He must serve three years and six months before he will be eligible for parole.

In sentencing, Judge John Nixon described the actions of an "alcohol-fuelled" Keon,
also an apprentice carpenter, as "vicious, brutal and after David Mitchell had been knocked
to the ground, particularly cowardly".

He hoped the punishment would serve as a warning that mindless alcohol-driven violence
wouldn't be tolerated.

Outside the court, a tearful Mitchell family - father Gavin, mother Denise and David
- urged the Brumby government to act on street violence.

"We can say that the government now needs to make some strong stands on this issue,"

Gavin Mitchell told reporters.

"Fifty-odd years ago they addressed the matter of road safety. They led the world.

They now need to do the same here.

"Stop playing party politics and start addressing the main issues of street violence
and alcohol. We the people are now demanding that these tough measures be made."

The Mitchells' plea comes as Melbourne's reputation is taking a battering over violence
in the city.

Alcohol is blamed for the recent spate of assaults, leading to calls for authorities
to crack down on the venues involved.

David Mitchell, 21, spent 39 days with post-traumatic amnesia, not knowing who or where
he was. He was unable to go to the toilet alone, feed or shower himself, or walk for almost
six months.

Formerly a promising footballer, he is now back at work but still carries mental scars
from the incident and has trouble with fine motor skills and balance.

With tears welling up, David Mitchell said he hoped his pain would be a lesson to party-goers.

"Don't go out looking for fights. Don't drink too much, have a good time," he said.

"Justice has been served, but no one is the winner out of this."

Mrs Mitchell almost broke down as she recalled the past 18 months.

"This has been tragic," she said.

"To have a son go out at night and end up on life support, have six months' rehabilitation,
and 18 months later still isn't the same boy, is tragic.

"I want everyone that goes out to understand they must be responsible for their actions
and think before they do things.

"We feel really sad for Nicholas. We hope he comes out a better person after all of
this. That's what I really want."

Keon pleaded guilty to affray and recklessly causing serious injury, but he was found
guilty by a jury of intentionally causing serious injury.

He and his stunned family were in tears as Judge Nixon handed down the sentence.

Outside the court, his sister, Trinity Scannel, told reporters Nicholas was a "good
man and hopes this doesn't break his spirit".

AAP jfp/gfr/jl

KEYWORD: KEON WRAP (PIX AVAILABLE)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Crashed bus was fitted with seatbelts: Brumby

AAP General News (Australia)
04-17-2009
Vic: Crashed bus was fitted with seatbelts: Brumby

BALLARAT, VIC, Apr 17 AAP - A bus that crashed in southwest Victoria killing three
people, including a toddler, was fitted with seatbelts, Premier John Brumby says.

But the premier does not know whether those killed and injured in the Thursday night
accident, near Portland, where wearing them.

Mr Brumby said seatbelts were mandatory features in all new buses but it would be too
expensive to retrofit them in old ones.

A man, 20, a woman in her 20s and her two-year-old daughter, died when they were crushed
under the V/Line coach after it rolled on its side.

Another man with a fractured spine was airlifted to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne.

About eight other passengers were taken to Portland Hospital with minor injuries.

Transport safety authorities were investigating the cause of the bus crash and Public
Transport Minister Lynne Kosky was on site in Portland, he said.

"There's a significant loss of life and injury and obviously my thoughts go out to
the families concerned and also to those communities," Mr Brumby said.

He said that these sorts of tragedies have big impacts on local communities and country towns.

"I don't want to preempt the outcomes, the bus concerned did have seatbelts fitted,"

Mr Brumby said.

"I understand that all of the new buses that are purchased by V/Line do have seatbelts
fitted but we need to wait and see what the investigation shows and we'll have a good
look at all of the results of that investigation."

AAP cmb/jxt/goc/

KEYWORD: TOLL VIC BRUMBY

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Cash flow boost for small business

AAP General News (Australia)
12-12-2008
Fed: Cash flow boost for small business

Australia's small businesses are being given temporary tax relief .. aimed at improving
their cash flow early next year.

Businesses with an annual turnover under two million dollars will be allowed to postpone
20 per cent of their next Pay As You Go tax instalment .. due in January and February
.. until they make their annual return.

Federal Small Business Minister CRAIG EMERSON's told ABC Television it'll inject 440
million dollars of cash flow into those businesses.

AAP RTV rl/af/tm

KEYWORD: TAX (CANBERRA)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NT: Final day of campaigning ahead of tomorrow's poll

AAP General News (Australia)
08-08-2008
NT: Final day of campaigning ahead of tomorrow's poll

DARWIN, Aug 8 AAP - Battling to be heard above the Olympics hype, Northern Territory
politicians were still hard at it today trying to woo voters ahead of tomorrow's election.

While the world's top athletes begin chasing gold in Beijing, Top End Labor is chasing
its third term in government.

Speculation the party will lose between four and five of its 19 seats was today rejected
by former chief minister Clare Martin, who resigned in November citing the bruising impact
of the federal intervention into Aboriginal communities.

"The general view is, and I've been listening to the pollsters over the last few days,
is that Labor will be returned," she told the ABC.

"And the part of that that is the unknown - there seems to be a view that we will lose seats.

"I personally can't see that. I think (chief minister) Paul's (Henderson) done a great job."

Mr Henderson called a lightning race to the polls 18 days ago, using a $12 billion
Japanese gas plant as his mandate for announcing an election 11-months early.

The Country Liberals, decimated at the last election when they were left with only
four of the 25 seats in parliament, have matched the government's tough talk on law and
order.

Lifestyle, development and fishing have also been key election issues.

CLP leader Terry Mills has distanced himself from handwritten letters - dropped into
letterboxes across Darwin suburbs - detailing why voters should abandon Labor after the
NT Electoral Commission found they broke the law.

"I know that an investigation is being conducted," he said.

"I don't condone anything that is outside the rules."

Yesterday the CLP promised to slash the public service and introduce a youth curfew,
while Labor accused it of needing to sack one in seven public servants in order to fund
its election promises.

AAP tr/it/mn

KEYWORD: POLLNT DAYLEAD

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Kidnap charge after alleged argument over $100k fraud

AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2008
NSW: Kidnap charge after alleged argument over $100k fraud

By Simon Kirby, Police Reporter

SYDNEY, Feb 14 AAP - The owner of a Sydney brothel ordered the gunpoint kidnapping
of his business partner following the alleged embezzlement of $100,000, a court has been
told.

Graeme Edwards, 42, of Sydney, was granted bail today in Sydney's Central Local Court
on a charge of aggravated kidnap.

Police allege that on Tuesday, Edwards confronted his business partner of ten years,
Ian Chandler, 47, about stealing money and clients from his $1,000-an-hour high-class
escort agency, Boardroom.

Mr Chandler had told police the dispute ended with him being forced into a taxi in
the company of two gun-toting standover men.

Edwards' barrister, Phillip Boulten SC told the court the kidnap allegation was a cover
story to deflect from Mr Chandler's fraudulent activity, for which there was "absolute
evidence".

Police documents tendered to the court state that during Tuesday's meeting at an office
on Shelley Street, Darling Harbour, Edwards forced Mr Chandler to hand over $4,000 cash
and mobile phones.

Edwards then allegedly called in three men, two of whom were armed, to forcibly escort
Mr Chandler home to seize further cash, a jet ski, a car and a stash of handguns and rifles.

The two armed men then took Mr Chandler outside the office and hailed a Silver Service
taxi, police told the court.

Mr Chandler told police there was a scuffle and he managed to escape from the taxi
when it stopped briefly in Bathurst Street in the city.

Police said the taxi then drove away with the two armed men on board.

Mr Boulten said his client completely denied Mr Chandler's version of events.

The meeting was to discuss the sale of the escort agency and those present were interested
parties, not "heavies", he said.

But Edwards did confront Mr Chandler about his "duplicity and dishonesty", Mr Boulten said.

"(Mr Chandler) was caught red-handed defrauding the business," he told the court.

"There's absolute proof that he was moving clients, stealing money and setting up arrangements
to undermine the company.

"In the midst of this there is an allegation he was kidnapped."

Mr Boulten said the security footage failed to show that Mr Chandler was forced to
go anywhere against his will.

He also questioned why the kidnappers would hail a taxi, suggesting the failure of
a driver to come forward had undermined the police case.

Mr Boulten told the court Mr Chandler had since contacted his client to issue death
threats against him.

Police Prosecutor Phil Weatherall, in opposing Edwards' bail application, said there
were fears the brothel owner could interfere with potential witnesses, as he had gun licences
and access to firearms.

Sgt Weatherall said the prosecution case was strong, as police had found Mr Chandler's
mobile in Edwards' possession.

There also was security footage showing Mr Chandler in the company of two men leaving
the office building, and his jumper was torn, indicating a struggle had taken place, he
said.

Magistrate Allan Moore granted bail on the basis there was not a strong case against
Edwards and that it hinged on one man's word against another.

"It may well be a case where the crown will struggle unless further material is forthcoming,"

Mr Moore said.

Edwards' girlfriend was required to post $10,000 surety and under strict bail conditions,
he must surrender any firearms within 24 hours and report daily to police.

The matter was adjourned to March 27 at the same court.

Police later renewed their appeal for the taxi driver - described only as an Asian
man - to contact them on 1800 333 000.

AAP sk/was/it/bwl

KEYWORD: EDWARDS NIGHTLEAD

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Howard will say anything to hold on to power: Rudd

AAP General News (Australia)
08-27-2007
Fed: Howard will say anything to hold on to power: Rudd

SYDNEY, Aug 27 AAP - Australians should be prepared for Prime Minister John Howard
and his party to "say anything" to hold on to power as the federal election approaches,
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd says.

Mr Rudd's comment came in response to a Galaxy poll which shows the government's two
party-preferred vote has fallen three percentage points to 43 per cent, while the opposition
has gained two points to 57 per cent.

"These things change from time," Mr Rudd said.

"What I'm focused on is the final battle with Mr Howard, and I know I'm up against
a very clever and a very cunning politician.

"I also know that Mr Howard and the Liberals will use anything and say anything in
the lead-up to the federal election to try and claw their way through to holding political
power."

Mr Rudd said the election would be a "very tough and hard race".

"I'm expecting it to be right down to the wire," he said.

AAP krc/was/jl/cdh

KEYWORD: POLL RUDD

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Police investigating alleged arson attack on car

AAP General News (Australia)
04-13-2007
NSW: Police investigating alleged arson attack on car

A suspected arson attack on a parked car in north-west Sydney early this morning ..

set fire to a neighbour's boat and damaged a house.

Police say the sedan was engulfed in flames about 3 am .. in a West Ryde driveway ..

but the fire spread to a nearby boat and damaged windows in a neighbouring house.

Nobody was injured in the blaze .. and police are appealing for witnesses.

AAP RTV krc/wjf/rt

KEYWORD: ARSON (SYDNEY)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: Main stories in today's Adelaide Advertiser

AAP General News (Australia)
12-12-2006
SA: Main stories in today's Adelaide Advertiser

ADELAIDE, Dec 12 AAP - The main stories in today's Adelaide Advertiser:

Page 1: SA schools expected to leave out data from annual reports to prevent comparisons
with each other by parents.

Page 2: SA govt to buy 160 new buses over the next five years.

Page 3: Water main bursts on North Terrace in Adelaide, damaging nearby properties.

World: Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet dies without facing justice (Santiago).

The British government says the risk of terrorist attacks over Christmas is very high
(London). Aceh election to seal a lasting peace deal (Banda Aceh).

Finance: Interstate banks flock to Adelaide. Santos planning to pull out of the United
States with asset sale.

Sport: Cricket Australia expected to veto $200,000 payout to Damien Martyn. Layne Beachley
wins her seventh world surfing title. Andrew Symonds vows to take a more carefree approach
to his Test cricket recall.

AAP tjd/br

KEYWORD: MONITOR FRONTERS SA

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Premier rejects early poll

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2006
Qld: Premier rejects early poll

Queensland Premier PETER BEATTIE has again denied speculation he'll call an early election.

The launch of a new series of Labor billboards this week .. and fears of more electorally-damaging
water restrictions .. have pundits predicting Mr BEATTIE could call an election within
weeks.

But he says he intends to go the full term .. which would mean an election early next year.

AAP RTV pjo/wf/bart

KEYWORD: POLL QLD (BRISBANE)

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Howard to ask AWB to give up wheat monopoly

AAP General News (Australia)
02-15-2006
Fed: Howard to ask AWB to give up wheat monopoly

CANBERRA, Feb 15 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard will hold crisis talks with embattled
AWB today and is expected to ask the wheat exporter to give up its monopoly position for
the good of Australian farmers.

Mr Howard has called AWB chairman Brendan Stewart to Canberra for urgent talks on how
to help wheat farmers after Iraq locked the AWB out of its market.

Iraq suspended its dealings with the wheat distributor pending the outcome of the Cole
inquiry into almost $300 million in kickbacks allegedly paid to Saddam Hussein's regime
under the United Nations' corrupt oil-for-food program.

The decision has shut Australian wheat out of the lucrative Iraqi market, including
a current tender worth almost $300 million.

Angry government backbenchers have criticised AWB, with some calling for its monopoly
to be scrapped.

Mr Howard signalled he would canvass a temporary lifting of the monopoly during the meeting.

"Inevitably this issue has raised some debate in the Australian community about the
question of a single desk in relation to the sale of Australian wheat," he said.

"Let me say that it remains the government's policy to support the existing provisions.

There would need to be a very strong national interest case in order to alter that.

"What we are considering now has to be looked at in isolation from the question of
whether that remains an ongoing policy or not."

Under AWB's monopoly, it can veto any bulk wheat exports. That leaves growers effectively
shut out of selling their wheat to Iraq, or to tender for any substantial contracts.

The monopoly can only be broken with AWB's consent.

"Our primary concern is the interests of the Australian wheat growers," Mr Howard said.

AAP so/it/de

KEYWORD: AWB FEDERAL DAYLEAD

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: Main stories in today's Adelaide Advertiser

AAP General News (Australia)
02-01-2005
SA: Main stories in today's Adelaide Advertiser

ADELAIDE, Feb 1 AAP - Main stories in today's Adelaide Advertiser:

Page 1: An Australian airman has been killed in the crash of a British Hercules in
Iraq. Lleyton Hewitt and Bec Cartwright are engaged after a whirlwind seven week romance.

Page 2: Adelaide Festival Centre venues have continued to lose money and patrons but
staff still receiving pay rises.

Page 3: Bankrupt winemaker Andrew Garrett is trying to buy luxury cars, despite his
failed businesses owing creditors more than $12 million. Public hospital patients are
paying the price for private health insurance, according to La Trobe University study.

A rock was thrown from a moving car at a pedestrian north of the city last night.

World: Pop star Michael Jackson yesterday made a last-minute plea to be given a fair
hearing and reiterated his claims of innocence just hours before his trial on child molestation
charges was due to begin in California (Santa Maria, California).

Finance: Transurburban shares hit a record yesterday after the company made a $1.8
billion takeover offer for Hills Motorway, whose shares also surged.

Sport: South Australian cricket has finally won its battle for Adelaide Oval to host
a guaranteed one-day international final.

AAP la/cjh

KEYWORD: FRONTERS SA

2005 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.