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

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