It's just a statement of the obvious that we're concerned and we would like them to stop attacking each other and we would like the bloodshed to end. Sanctions South Pacific Forum leaders have left open the option of sanctions against member countries which threaten democracy. At their retreat, in Kiribati, the 16 leaders of the forum nations agreed to adopt a set of procedures to deal with coups like those in Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Australia's Prime Minister John Howard says leaders want to avoid contagion of instability in the region. Mr Howard says the forum could take a range of actions against errant countries, but the declaration agreed to in Kiribati will not specify what ultimate forms of sanction could be imposed.
Asthma medications face tests.
The election campaign is coming as Australian retailers brace themselves for massive impacts from last month's terror attack in New York. The Anglican Church in Melbourne has attacked Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, with some members of the clergy calling for a royal commission.