AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Evening, Aug 18

AAP General News (Australia)
08-18-2009
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Evening, Aug 18
Evening Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1630


VSU Vote (CANBERRA)

Uni students won't be forced to pay compulsory service fees .. with the Senate voting
down the legislation today.

Labor was pushing to introduce a 250 dollar a year fee to help fund child care .. sport
.. cultural .. welfare and advocacy services on campuses.

The Howard government made the fee voluntary .. saying students were forced into unionism.



Bushfires Vic Towns (MELBOURNE)

Fire protection will be urgently ramped up at more than 50 tinder-dry townships in
Victoria declared high risk this summer.

Authorities have released a hit list of 52 vulnerable towns and suburbs that will be
subject to enhanced township protection plans.

The areas most at risk include the southwest coast around Lorne and the Otway Ranges
.. areas in and around Bendigo .. the suburban fringe of Melbourne .. and the Dandenong
Ranges.

Country Fire Authority boss RUSSELL REES says each township will be part of new fire
protection measures .. including improved access roads and refuges.

After a record 13-year drought .. summer is expected to be even more perilous than
last season and the Black Saturday firestorm that killed 173 people.

Meanwhile .. Victoria's opposition leader TED BAILLIEU says the state government must
accept responsibilities for policy failures in the lead up to the Black Saturday bushfires.



Caucus (CANBERRA)

KEVIN RUDD's predicting an increasingly bitter battle with the coalition over the government's
emissions trading legislation.

The prime minister's used Labor's weekly caucus meeting today to congratulate Climate
Change Minister PENNY WONG and Assistant Climate Change Minister GREG COMBET for their
work on the bills.

But Mr RUDD's told caucus the battle between the government and the coalition over
the ETS will get worse because of divisions within the coalition over climate change.

He's also told Labor MPs to consult their electorates over the government's proposed
health reforms and report back to a special caucus meeting later this year.



Climate ACCI (CANBERRA)

A leading business group's warned governments could use emissions trading schemes as
covers for protectionism .. a move which would have dire consequences for Australia.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is concerned Australia's free trade
agreements could be jeopardised by the global climate change agenda.

KEVIN RUDD raised initial concerns when he warned a business dinner yesterday it could
expect tariffs on imports if Australia didn't legislate an emissions trading scheme.

ACCI acting chief executive GREG EVANS says it would be cruel if a basically free-trading
country like Australia faced punitive tariffs because of an ETS.



James Hardie Fund (SYDNEY)

James Hardie says it understands concerns about its ability to meet asbestos compensation
claims amid company plans to move its headquarters from the Netherlands to Ireland.

But chairman MICHAEL HAMMES has told a shareholders' meeting in Sydney .. the move's
to ensure the company's long-term prosperity.

Shareholders will vote later this week on the first stage of the proposal .. which
is estimated to cost close to 90 million dollars.

At the same time James Hardie has said it can't guarantee it'll make contributions
to the Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund due to the impact of the US housing downturn
on cashflow.



Polygraph (SYDNEY)

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has officially launched an investigation
into the lie-detector stunt on 2Day FM's KYLE and JACKIE O Show.

It will determine whether the station breached the code of decency under the Commercial
Radio Codes of Practice 2004.

ACMA could impose licence conditions requiring 2Day FM to implement measures to prevent
more breaches.

KYLE SANDILANDS and JACKIE O hit the airwaves again today after a 15-day break following
public outrage over their disastrous stunt where a 14-year-old girl was strapped to a
lie detector and quizzed about her sexual history.

SANDILANDS has admitted the stunt was a complete disaster but they were trying to help
a desperate mother who was worried sick about her daughter and had nowhere else to turn.



Veterans (SYDNEY)

Australia's war veterans are calling on the federal government to help find Vietnam's
fallen soldiers.

Today marks Vietnam Veteran's Day .. with commemorations being held around the nation
to remember about four hundred soldiers killed in the war.

NSW Vietnam Veterans Association president CLIVE MITCHELL-TAYLOR says the last two
Australian soldiers who were missing in battle have been found and are being repatriated
on August 31.

But .. he says .. thousands of Vietnam soldiers are still missing.

He says the Australian Defence Academy is compiling a database of burial locations
of three thousand 800 Vietnamese soldiers .. but the Australian government has knocked
back a 32 thousand dollar grant for the project.



Detention (CANBERRA)

Serious concerns have been raised about the standard of accommodation at immigration
detention facilities .. prompting calls for detainees to be placed in residential housing.

A federal parliamentary inquiry's found many detention centres also have disproportionate
and antiquated security measures.

The Joint Standing Committee on Migration's recommended the reconstruction of Stage
1 at Villawood in Sydney proceed as a priority .. and the Perth detention centre be replaced
with a purpose built long-term facility.

It's also recommended barbed wire fencing be removed from all immigration detention
centres .. and improved transparency including giving the media greater access to all
immigration detention facilities.




Briefly in other news ..



NZ Wine (AUCKLAND)

Australians are guzzling more of New Zealand's prized sauvignon blanc and pinot noir
than ever before .. and are paying less for the privilege thanks to a wine glut.



SuperGP (BRISBANE)

The Gold Coast's new-look SuperGP event has lost its naming sponsor.



in Sport ..



Tri Aust (SYDNEY)

GEORGE SMITH will captain a Wallabies team featuring three changes against the All
Blacks at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.

In the absence of injured captain STIRLING MORTLOCK, ADAM ASHLEY COOPER moves to outside
centre, allowing 19-year-old JAMES O'CONNOR to play at fullback in his first start in
a Bledisloe Cup Test.

Enforcer ROCKY ELSOM makes his long-awaited comeback to the Wallabies on the blindside
flank after overcoming the knee injury he brought back from his successful club stint
in Europe.

And RICHARD BROWN shifts from the side to the back of the scrum at the expense of WYCLIFF
PALU in the other change from the team which lost to South Africa in Cape Town at its
last start.



AFL Swans (SYDNEY)

Veteran Sydney defender LEO BARRY has confirmed he will retire at the end of this AFL season.

The 32-year-old BARRY played his first senior match of the year last weekend in the
Swans' narrow loss to Geelong and says his injury-plagued season made his decision easier.

BARRY has played 235 matches - all for the Swans - in an AFL career which started in
1995 and will always be remembered for his spectacular mark in the dying seconds of the
2005 Grand Final to save the match for his team.



ENDS EVENING ROUND-UP

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