AAP National News Wire Round Up for Midday, Feb 16

AAP General News (Australia)
02-16-2001
AAP National News Wire Round Up for Midday, Feb 16
Midday Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1130


POLLQLD (BRISBANE)

Queensland goes to the polls tomorrow with the coalition urging voters to remember
the rorting issue and Labor saying voters will accept that the government has cleansed
itself.

A poll of six marginal seats points to a Labor victory, but Premier PETER BEATTIE says
he's still genuinely nervous.

Opposition leader ROB BORBIDGE has called on voters to remember the rorts issue and
question Mr BEATTIE's claims he was unaware of rorting within the party.

Mr BEATTIE says the rorting issue was damaging to the party, but it has been dealt
with head on, with the expulsion and resignations of 18 people from the Labor Party.

A poll published in today's Courier-Mail surveyed 300 people in the key seats of Thuringowa,
Mulgrave, Nicklin, Hervey Bay, Mt Ommaney and Springwood.

It suggests Labor's just-vote-one policy will give Mr BEATTIE a second term of office
by splintering the conservative vote.

Mr BEATTIE says the poll could go down to the wire.

And he admits he fears both One Nation leader PAULINE HANSON and Opposition Leader ROB BORBIDGE.



NATION LIBERALS (CANBERRA)

Worried Liberal MPs in marginal seats have indicated they may defy Prime Minister JOHN
HOWARD's decree to put One Nation last on how-to-vote cards.

One Nation leader PAULINE HANSON has pledged to put sitting MPs last, unless major
parties talk to her about preference swaps.

GARY NAIRN, who holds his New South Wales seat of Eden-Monaro by just 0.3 per cent,
says support for One Nation reached 17 per cent in some booths at the 1998 election.

He hasn't ruled out a preference deal with One Nation to hold his seat.

Liberal colleagues JUDI MOYLAN and GEOFF PROSSER in Western Australia have made similar comments.



TAX (SYDNEY)

Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD and Treasurer PETER COSTELLO are briefing business and accounting
groups on proposed changes to the Business Activity Statement today.

The Australian Retailers Association, the National Farmers Association and the Institute
of Chartered Accountants are among the groups attending the briefing.

The government has been forced to revise the BAS after an outcry from small business
operators over the amount of time needed to complete the form.



MIDEAST BARAK (JERUSALEM)

Israel's outgoing Prime Minister EHUD BARAK says he has conditionally accepted Prime
Minister-elect ARIEL SHARON's offer to include him in a national unity government.

The announcement came after three hours of coalition talks between SHARON's Likud party
and BARAK'S Labour Party.

But the deal will hinge upon the completion of policy guidelines and coalition agreements.

BARAK is expected to present a final agreement for endorsement by the Labour party next week.

The two leaders have agreed that Labour would receive the defence and foreign affairs
portfolios in the new government.



US SUB SEARCH (HONOLULU)

The US Coast Guard says it's calling off its active search for survivors from the Japanese
fishing vessel Ehime Maru, which was struck by a US submarine last week.

A Coast Guard spokesman says the search will move to passive status, which means the
searchers will be looking for bodies rather than survivors.

Nine Japanese people have been missing since last Friday when their trawler sank in
548 metres of water off Hawaii after being struck by the USS Greeneville as it surfaced.



KOSOVARS (MELBOURNE)

A group of Kosovar refugees sent back to their war-torn Balkans homeland last year
have returned to Australia as permanent residents.

Emotions were high as host families who waited for more than four hours at Melbourne
Airport greeted the friends they haven't seen for 10 months.

Twenty Kosovars have been granted permanent residency, but one family missed a flight
out of Kosovo when fighting escalated in the Presheva Valley.

A further 25 Kosovars are expected to return to Australia next Friday.



POLLWA (PERTH)

Western Australia's new Labor government, which includes a record number of women in
cabinet, will be sworn in today, following last week's state election.

The ceremony at Government House (EDS: 11am WST) comes the day after GEOFF GALLOP,
who will formally take over as premier, named his cabinet 14 member cabinet - four of
whom are women.

Meanwhile, Federal opposition leader KIM BEAZLEY says the National Party vote in the
West Australian election collapsed because the Nationals have sold out country people.

Mr BEAZLEY says the Nationals chose to be part of the federal government at the expense
of their mandate from rural voters.



WASTE (PERTH)

Fifty people have been evacuated from three Perth suburbs overnight, to avoid toxic
fumes spewing from a huge fire which destroyed a chemical-waste factory.

One hundred firefighters are fighting the blaze - which has been aggravated by about
50 large drums shooting into the air and landing in grass nearby.

The factory was in the business of recycling hazardous toxic waste, and more than half
a million litres of different chemicals were stored there.

Fire controller KEVIN GRAY says the fire is under control but firefighters will be
at the scene all day.



HEALTH (MELBOURNE)

Workers at a major Melbourne hospital are expected to walk off the job this morning
as part of an industrial campaign over pay that's expected to affect hospitals across
Victoria.

Orderlies, cleaning staff, security workers, personal care workers and clerical staff
at the Western Hospital will start the strike at 11.30am (AEDT).

The Health Services Union of Australia says the action will affect delivery of meals,
cleaning, rubbish removal, admissions, discharges and clerical work.



AIRSHOW (MELBOURNE)

Ear-splitting fighter jets will light up a wall of fire at Victoria's Avalon Airfield
today when the Australian International Airshow opens to the public.

Organisers say tonight's three-hour spectacular will feature non-stop flying, choreographed
aerobatics, pyrotechnics and parachute drops.

One of the highlights is expected to be the 500-metre long wall of fire, a simulated
bombing run created using hundreds of Avgas-filled garbage bags.



UK PARAGLIDER (LONDON)

The Australian author who paraglided into the forecourt of Buckingham Palace will
not face any further police action.

But British police say details of BRETT DE LA MARE's stunt aimed at drawing attention
to his unpublished novel Canine Dawn, have been passed to the Civil Aviation Authority.

The 36-year-old Darwin author sparked a security alert after he took off from London's
Hampstead Heath and while being pursued by a police helicopter, flew to the Palace last
December.



BRIEFLY:

Researchers say people who sleep more than eight hours a night and people who often feel
sleepy during the day are more likely to suffer strokes.


Email has signed a contract to sell its whitegoods business to Swedish company Electrolux
for $485 million.


The Weather Bureau says a cyclone to be named WYLVA (pronounced WILL-VA) is expected to
form in the Gulf of Carpentaria later today.


IN FINANCE NEWS:



At 11.10am (AEDT) the all ordinaries index was up 7.7 points to 3279.9.

The Standard & Poor's ASX 200 index was up 7.6 points at 3333.3.

The Australian dollar was buying 52.48 US cents, down from 52.77 at the close yesterday.

Gold is trading $US3.75 lower at $US255.70 an ounce.



FAIRFAX (SYDNEY)

Profits for publisher John Fairfax Holdings have dropped by 36 per cent as a slowing
economy takes the edge off the advertising market.

The company has posted a net profit of $77 million for the six months to December 31
last year, down from $121 million for the same period in 1999.



AND IN SPORTS NEWS:


GOLF OPEN (MELBOURNE)

A string of birdies has propelled American JIM BENEPE up the leader board at the Australian
Masters golf tournament at Huntingdale.

After starting his second round at two-under par, BENEPE is five under after 11 holes
today and seven under for the tournament.

He shares the lead with Victorian amateur MICHAEL COCKING.



CRICKET AUST QUAKE (NEW DELHI)

Indian and Australian cricketers are to play a one-day game to raise funds for survivors
of last month's earthquake in western India.

The Indian government says the date and venue has yet to be finalised.

A total of 30,000 people were killed and thousands of homes flattened across Gujarat
after the quake on January 26.



ENDS MIDDAY ROUND-UP

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