From: brad@winnie.cs.adelaide.edu.au (Brad Alexander )
Newsgroups: soc.culture.australian
Subject: A belated Oznews,  12th of September, 1992
Date: 15 Sep 92 04:43:47 GMT
Organization: The University of Adelaide
NNTP-Posting-Host: winnie.cs.adelaide.edu.au

This week's news starts off with the continuing row over the Opposition's
stance on tariffs.
               News from "The Weekend Australian" 12-9-92
               ------------------------------------------
"US, Japan rebuke Libs"- Australia's largest trading partners, Japan and
the United States, yesterday criticised the federal Coalition over
agressive politicking on trade policy by the Leader of the Opposition, Dr
Hewson.
  The Japanese Government made clear through diplomatic channels in
Australia that it rejected outright Dr Hewson's claims that it restricted
this country's access to Japanese markets.
  And the US embassy labelled as "far-fetched" and "an exaggeration" the
Opposition's attempt yesterday to claim credit for an Asia-Pacific trade
shift signalled by President Bush as part of his re-election campaign.
  Tokyo also reinforced the concerns voiced by Japanese car manufacturers
in Australia that Dr Hewson's tariff policy could force them to quit the
country.
  The Japanese criticisms of Dr Hewson surfaced yesterday after an official
embassy briefing - attended by the Japanese ambassador, Mr Kazutoshi
Hasegawa - for journalists travelling to Japan next week with the Prime
Minister, Mr Keating...
---------

"Canberra to block Japanese tour guide imports"- The Federal Government is
poised to block a bid by Japanese companies to import up to 2000 tour
guides from Japan amid indications that the travel industry is paying only
lip service to immigration requirements to hire locally.
  There is strong evidence that the anticipated increase in demand for
Japanese-speaking tour guides can be met by Australians proficient at the
language.
  More than 68,000 Australians are studying Japanese at high school or
university level - said to be the largest number of people learning the
language outside Japan itself.
  The size of the availible pool of proficient Japanese speakers in
Australia was underlined recently when Qantas advertised for bilingual
cabin crew and received more than 1000 responses. After screening, about
half the applicants were found to have the required level of spoken
Japanese, 200 of whom were subsequently employed...
  The controversial application by the Japan Tour Wholesalers Committee of
Australia for permission to recruit guides from Japan under a three-year
agreement is now before a negotiating committee convened by the federal
Department of Employment, Education, and Training. 
  But a source on the committee says that few of the 2000 temporary
resident places sought by the Japanese tour operators are likely to be
approved.
----------

"PM pledges $45m to ease the pain of tarrif cuts"- The Keating
Government hopes to cushion the effects of its tariff cuts by pouring $45
million into retraining programs and wage subsidies in regions where
manufacturing job-shedding is worst.
  Employers will be paid up to $60 a day to retrain workers they would
otherwise sack due to industry restructuring and tarrif cuts, with and
emphasis on the textiles, clothing, and footwear industries.
  And the office of Labor Market Adjustment has advised the Government to
boost subsidies from $160 to $220 a week for employers who hire workers
retrenched from the motor vehicle, metals and TCF industries.
  Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmainia will be targeted in a $20
million "regional adjustment" package of training and employment projects
to be launched next week.
-----------

"France reverses ban on toxic wastes"- Exports of toxic waste could be
resumed after France  yesterday reversed a six-day-old ban on imports of
toxic PCB's heeding domestic concerns that the ban would cost French jobs
and cripple the nation's waste-treatment industry.
  A joint communique released by the French Industry and Environment
ministries, which had clashed over the ban, said the reversal had been
taken on principles of "ecological solidarity".
  The French Minister for the Environment, Mrs Segolene Royal, last
Saturday served notice on Australia that an 18 tonne shipment of PCB's or
polychlorinated biphenyls, which arrived at the port of Le Havre, would be
the last accepted by France for treatment. Mrs Royal said each continent
should treat its own waste. 
  The ban was praised by Greenpeace, which had protested against the
arrival of the PCBs, which are used to insulate electrical transformers.
The chemical compound contains dioxin, which can cause cancer and birth
defects...
------------

"Naughty video cleared"- The Nine Network's Naughtiest Home Videos
program, peremptorily taken off-air a week ago - reportedly at the
direction of Nine's controller, Mr Kerry Packer - did not breach viewing
standards and 74 of 185 complaints were because it was foreshortened, the
Australian Broadcasting Tribunal revealed yesterday.
  "While aspects of the program may have struck some viewers as crude,
tasteless and offensive, the content - in context - did not breach
criteria for adult viewing," according to the tribunal's acting chairman,
Mr Peter Webb...
------------

"Kennet stands by Fightback"- The leader of the Victorian Liberal Party,
Mr Kennet, has made it clear that he will toe the federal Coalition policy
line on tarrif and quota reductions if he becomes premier on October 3.
  This commitment to stick with the whole fightback package will reassure 
federal Liberals, many of whom  remain concerned Mr Kennet could become a
looose cannon on trade policy after the State election, which he is almost
certain to win. 
  His refusal to break ranks with the Federal Coalition on tarrif reform
opens up another line of attack for the Kirner Government which continues
to call for a "pause" in winding back protection and is trying to make
local capital out of the tariff row in Canberra...
------------ 

                 News from "The Advertiser"(Adelaide) 12-9-92
                 --------------------------------------------
"Aust motoring down by 3.8bn kilometres"- Canberra: Road travel in
Australia has decreased for the first time since surveys began about 16
years ago.
  A Bureau of Statistics survey found that 150.1 billion kilometres were
driven on Australian roads in the year to the end of September 1991, down
from 153.9 billion kilometres in the previous survey, in 1988.
Passenger-vehicle travel fell 2.2 per cent to 114.1 billion kilometres
while freight traffic fell 2.4 per cent to 32.9 billion. 
  The number of vehicles on the road has risen to 7.6 per cent in the
same period. 
--------------

"Perth set for Games bid"- Perth: State Sports Minister Mr Graham Edwards
offically announced that Perth is interested in bidding for the 2002
Commonwealth Games.
  Mr Edwards said would it cost the State about $50 million to upgrade
existing facilities and build an atheletes' village.
  Canberra has already said it will bid for the games.
--------------

"Excellence in sports college aim"- Canberra: Australia could soon boast
a college for excellence in sport.
   The University of Canberra and the Australian Sports Commission have
jointly proposed establishing the college.
   And the project has won the backing of the Federal Sports Minister,
Mrs Kelly.
   The university and the ASC envisage an Australian College of Sports
Education located on land belonging to the Australian Institute of Sport,
which the ASC administers... 
--------------
Brad Alexander