From: brad@winnie.cs.adelaide.edu.au (Brad Alexander )
Newsgroups: soc.culture.australian
Subject: Oznews, 3rd of October, 1992
Date: 4 Oct 92 03:54:45 GMT
Organization: The University of Adelaide
NNTP-Posting-Host: winnie.cs.adelaide.edu.au

A lot of news centered around welfare and trade this week. The Victorian election
was held yesterday (the Coalition won)...
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                 News from "The Weekend Australian" 3-10-92                
                 ------------------------------------------
"Probe into Joh jury"- The selection of the controversial hung jury in the
trial of former Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen is to be
investigated by a special judicial inquiry ordered by the Criminal Justice
Commission. 
  The CJC announced yesterday that former Supreme Court judge and royal
commissioner Mr Bill Carter QC would head the inquiry, which was likely to
begin preliminary work later this month. 
  The inquiry is expected to hold public hearings and will have the power
to require answers to questions...
  It is possible that, depending on the finding, Sir Joh could face a
retrial. However, the State's Special Prosecutor decided against a second
hearing, citing Sir Joh's age and witness availibility, after the trial was
abandoned in October 1991 when the jury could not reach a unanimous
verdict...
  The original jury was discharged after Sir Joh's senior counsel, Mr
Robert Greenwood QC, advised the trial judge, Judge Helman, that people
associated with Sir Joh's supporters had contacted members of the panel
from which the jury was drawn.
  This led to a second jury being drawn from another panel. That jury's
foreman was Mr Luke Shaw, an office holder in the Young Nationals with
alledged links to the Friends of Joh group.  
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"Kirner wins battle but loses war"- Labor's decade of dominance in Victoria
is likely to end in today's State election with the Kirner Government being
decisively defeated, according to a Newspoll conducted for "The Weekend
Australian". 
  But the swing against the ALP, which Newspoll puts at 4.5 per cnet on a
two-party preffered basis, is not as substantial as feared by Labor
strategists when the election was called on August 14. 
  On that uniform swing today Labor could lose 15 of its 46 Legislative
Assembly seats, with the Liberal and National Coalition having 57 MLA's and a
comfortable majority of 26...
(The poll proved to be largely correct. The Coalition won by a large number
of seats.)
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"PM's 'backflip' on trade puzzles US"- Austin, Texas: The United States
Government found comments criticising its trade policy made by the Prime
Minister, Mr Keating, while he was in Japan strange and puzzling, a senior US
trade official said last night. 
  The US trade and environment ambassador, Mr Micheal Young, said "It's
certainly fair to say ther was a puzzlement about those comments.
  "It seemed a somewhat strange response in light of what the President (Mr
Bush) said."
  It seemed Mr Keating had "certainly changed his tune to some extent".
  In Japan last week, Mr Keating said the US had adopted manipulative trade
policies and he rejected promises of bilateral trade deals by President
Bush...
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"Bloc threatens at least five export commodities"- The North American Free
Trade Agreement would threaten at least five of our export commodities, a
senior trade official said yesterday. 
  The assistant secretary of the Americas branch of the Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade, Mr Ian Willcock, told a conference on NAFTA yesterday
preliminary research of some exports to North America revealed meat, canned
fruit, wool, sugar and zinc could be threatened. 
  Americans' preoccupation with finalising NAFTA had meant they had little
energy for proceeding with the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade talks...
  The formalisation of NAFTA was followed by the US decision last month to
boost wheat export subsidies and sell 29 million tonnes of subsidised wheat
to 28 countries. The decision angered the Federal Government and hurt
drought-stricken Australian graingrowers...
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"Keating aims for G-7 style APEC"- The Prime Minister, Mr Keating, wants to
create an Asia-Pacific Group of Seven. As part of his ambitious regional
adgenda he wants to ransform the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation grouping
into a more powerful body than the G-7.
  (The G-7 comprises Germany, Italy, France, Britain, the United States,
Canada and Japan.)
  In an interview with "The Weekend Australian", he described the G-7 as a
"European club" and said that if APEC got the political authority of regular
heads of government meetings it would rival the G-7 in standing and
influence. 
  Mr Keating wants the first APEC heads of government meeting to take place
in Indonesia in 1994. He won support for his initiative on his recent trip to
Japan. 
  He also had a productive meeting in Singapore with former prime minister Mr
Lee Kuan Yew, still one of the most influential figures in South-East Asia.
  Mr Lee has long been an enthusiast for APEC and provided valuable advice on
how to advance Mr Keating's initiative...
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"Hewson pledges change to rules for Parliament"- A Coalition government will
change the rules of Parliament - including ceding governments' long held
advantage during Question Time - to return credibility to the parliamentry
process, according to the Leader of the Federal Opposition, Dr Hewson. 
  In an interview with "The Weekend Australian" this week, Dr Hewson said he
would act on his longstanding complaints about the degeneration of Parliament
if he won office at the next election, a move he said would make Question
Time "dull and boring".
  As a result, terms like scumbag and sleazebag, as well as parliamentry
institutions such as Dorothy Dix questions and government filibustering,
would become things of the past under a Hewson governmenet. 
  But while the changes may go down well with people who think Parilament is
no longer a place of serious debate, some of his own more seasoned colleagues
are likely to be alarmed at the long-held tactical parliamentry advantages Dr
Hewson plans to cede.  
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"Workers, union torn apart in textile dispute"- The dispute between the
nations biggest textile union and a Queensland clothing company attempting
radical changes to working hours and conditions boiled over yesterday with
an angry confrontation between union officals and disgruntled staff. 
  The joint national secretary of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union
of Australia, Ms Anna Booth, said a male employee of Gazal Productions Ltd
"threw a punch" at union officials after negotiations at the Gold Coast
factory broke down. 
  Amid extraordinary scenes, staff tried to prevent the union party from
leaving the site by blocking a driveway with forklifts.
  The managing director of the company, Mr Chawki Gazal, said last night
that he regretted the confrontation, but it reflected the frustration of
his 145 employees with TCFUA opposition to the workplace agreement they
negotiated independently with him. 
  Under the deal the Gazal Productions staff agreed to work part-time for
up to five months of the year and trade off holiday and sick leave
entitlements during that period for a 20 per cent wage loading....
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           News from "The Advertiser" (Adelaide) 3-10-92
           ---------------------------------------------
"Libs in dole storm"- Canberra: A major political row has broken out over a
"brutal" Federal Opposition plan to kick at least 90,000 people off the
dole, despite record jobless queues.
  Opposition employment spokeman Mr John Howard steadfastly refused to back
away from the proposed purge yesterday in the face of forecasts this week
that unemployment will remain around the 11 per cent mark for more than 12
months. 
  At the same time, Opposition Leader Dr Hewson claimed the Coalition's
policies would have the blessing of Pope John Paul. 
  The Government slammed the Opposition's plan to slash $744 million from
the social security budget by removing 90,000 people from the dole. 
  A spokesman for the Social Security Minister Dr Blewett claimed the
proposal would force bureacrats to be "brutal" in their assessments of dole
applicants in order to seek out 90,000 "so-called bludgers"...
  Meanwhile in an emotive response to the Catholic Church charge that a
consumption tax on essential food was immoral, Dr Hewson claimed Pope John
Paul would support the Coalitions initiatives. 
  He has written to every Catholic Church in Australia to explain the
controversial tax, using quotes from the Pope's 1991 encyclical letter
Centesimus Annus. 
  In the encyclical, Pope John Paul says the State has a duty to protect
the rights of individuals, to improve their economic well-being and to
create conditions that will sustain business activity and create jobs.
  Dr Hewson says in his letter: "This is the very objective Fightback sets
out to achieve."....
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"Latest boat people told to go home"- Perth: More than half the Chinese
boat people who arrived at Christmas Island in August have had their
request to stay in Australia rejected.
  Decisions on 32 of them - among a group of 61 men and seven women who
sailed from Guan Xi province on July 25 - are expected soon. 
  The other 36 have the right to appeal.
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"Cannabis 'factory' found"- Sydney: Police have uncovered a hydoponic
cannibis operation with the potential to grow up to $18 million worth of
plants in Sydney's south. 
  Police said the growers were using sophisticated techniques - including
cloning - in a St Peter's factory.
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"Capper trial date set"- Brisbane: Former football star Warick Capper will
face trial on October 26 for the assault of a man living with his estranged
wife, Joanne.
  Capper, 27, of the Gold Coast, is charged with breaking and entering and
assaulting signwriter Darren Watson, 25. 
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"Tasmainia moves ahead" - Hobart: Tasmainia's six months of daylight saving
start at 2am tomorrow, with clocks being put forward on hour. SA will be 90
minutes behind Tasmainia until its clocks change on October 25th. 
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Brad Alexander.