From: brad@winnie.cs.adelaide.edu.au (Brad Alexander )
Newsgroups: soc.culture.australian
Subject: Oznews 20,21 of July 1992.
Date: 21 Jul 92 09:50:46 GMT


            News from "The Australian" Tuesday, 21-7-92
            -------------------------------------------
"States win $720 million TAFE deal"- The Federal Government will surrender
control of $720 million in education funds to the States in a historic
compromise reached yesterday to create 120,00 new training places for the
young unemployed. 
  The Prime Minister, Mr Keating, is expected to announce the formation of
a tripartite National Training Authority as the first concrete intiative to
flow from his youth jobs summit tommorow.
  The new funding deal is a significant shift from the Government's One
Nation pakage and weakens Mr Keating's ability to influence the States'
vocational training systems by threatening to withhold money.
  The federal, State and Territory governments agreed yesterday to pool
their technical and further education funds and enforce national training
standards under a new system to operate from January 1994.
--------

"Witness tells Bond appeal Connell lied at trial"- Bussinessman Laurie
Connell deliberately gave false evidence which resulted in his friend and
collegue Alan Bond being jailed, a Perth court was told yesterday.
  A bankrupt builder told the Full Bench of the Court of Appeal that during
an alledged conspiracy to perjure evidence in another court case, Connell
said he had told lies so that Bond would be convicted...
  A District Court jury found Bond guilty of illegally withholding from
another businessman the fact that his company was to be paid a $16 million
fee in connection with the 1987 rescue of Rothwells.
  At Bond's trial in May this year, Connell told the jury he had negotiated
the fee with Bond and the deal had been finalised when Bond later met the
businessman from whom he witheld information on the fee...
  In his hour in in the witness box. Healy gave evidence that Connell had
made the revelations regarding  Bond while making plans to give more
perjured evidence in relation to a horseracing scam over which he is
charged. 
  In the horseracing matter, Connell is charged with obstructing the course
of justice and fraud. He faces 14 years' jail if convicted....
--------

"Suicide bid blacks on damage charges"- Aborigines attempting suicide in
Queensland police cells have been charged with damaging government property
after allegedly tearing cell blankets in order to make a noose.
  The charges have outraged the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
community in the Townsville area, where two Aborigines have been charged
with the offence in the past seven months, an Aboriginal lawyer, Ms
Catherine Pirie, said last night.
  Ms Pirie, of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service,
said Mr Thomas Watson and Ms Rita Friday had been charged with "willfully
and unlawfully destroying one blanket, the property of the commissioner for
Police"....
(the charges were later dropped)
---------

"Ten Australians, including immigration officials, federal police officers
and the crew of two aircraft, have been stuck overnight in Irian Jaya after
Indonesian officials refused them permission to leave.
  They had flown into Irian Jaya to repatriate a group of Indonesian
fishermen found in Australian waters.
  A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr Bob Whitty, said
the problem stemmed from local officials who refused permission for the
aircraft to depart.
  There was no problem with the Australian officials, he said.
  "The suggestion is that the aircraft in the Indonesian view landed
without proper clearances," he said.
  "It appears that there was some sort of misunderstanding."...
---------

"Bag handlers row deadlocked"- A private hearing of the Industrial
Relations Commission late yesterday failed to resolve a strike by baggage
handlers that has seriously disrupted flights at Melbourne airport.
  The Transport Workers Union was attempting last night to spread the
strike interstate after members voted to stay out indefinitely in support
of a workmate who was sacked over alledged misconduct...
  The industrial relations manager for Qantas, Mr David Bryant, told the
hearing a worker was dissmissed after two passengers said they had been
approached by a Qantas employee who offered to have their excess baggage
checked in without airline charges for a $100 fee. 
  The federal organiser of the TWU said workers were angry Qantas has
prejudged a worker.
--------

"Scientists find hole in ozone argument"- Attempts to undermine Australia's
campaign to host the 2000 Olympic Games backfired on the Germans yesterday
when atmospheric scientists produced evidence to show ozone depletion was
occurring much faster over Berlin than it was over Sydney.
  Athletes would also have to contend with much higher levels of
atmospheric industrial pollution from lead, sulphur, nitrogen oxides and
dust if the Games were held in Northern Europe. 
  The scientists were responding to insinuations by the German media put to
members of the Australian Olympics Committee that Sydney had a problem with
ozone depletion...
  In terms of overall ozone levels, both cities were similar, although
based on present trends Berlin was likely to experience greater ozone
losses than Sydney by the end of the decade...
---------

                  News from "The Australian" Monday 20-7-92     
                  -----------------------------------------
"Voters doubt Coalition can win"-Conservative voters are keen to see the
Liberal and National parties win the next federal election but are
pessimistic about the Coalitions chance of taking government.
  The findings of a Morgan opinion poll capped a weekend of conflict for
the Coalition parties and claims by the NSW National Party leader, Mr Wal
Murray, that the leader of the federal Opposition, Dr Hewson, is unfit to
be the next prime minister.
  A poll taken before this weeks turmoil shows that victory is less certain
for the Coalition.
  In early June, 45 per cent of electors predicted the Coalition would win
the election, a 10 per cent fall since march and 20 per cent lower than
January. 
  Now 37 per cent of voters think the ALP will win the next federal
election, 7 per cent more than in March and 16 per cent higher than in
January, just after Mr Keating became Prime Minister...
  Over the weekend, a Coalition brawl over three-cornered elections
climaxed with threats from the Nationals to withdraw their support for Dr
Hewson's Fightback package....
--------

"300,000 flock to waterside party"- In one of the biggest celebrations
Sydney has seen, hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets and
packed Darling Harbour over the weekend as the city began its 150th
birthday celebrations. 
  Sydneysiders mingled with interstate and international visitors yesterday
as the sesquicentenary celebrations moved to Darling Harbour where more
than 300,000 people are estimated to have packed the waterside for the day
of celebrations...

---------

Brad Alexander
Newsgroups: soc.culture.australian