FED:Jury out on coal seam gas: Brown

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2011
FED:Jury out on coal seam gas: Brown

CANBERRA, Aug 17 AAP - The jury is still out on whether coal seam gas (CSG) or coal
is the biggest villain, Greens Leader Bob Brown says.

Federal politicians have been debating whether farmers should have the right to block
miners from extracting (CSG) from their land.

Senator Brown on Wednesday questioned whether this so-called "transition" fuel is actually
any cleaner than coal.

"The presumption that the damage done from gas is half that done by coal is under very,
very serious questioning," he told reporters in Canberra.

"The jury is out on it because the information base is still very shaky."

Senator Brown said more work needed to be done to determine "which of the fossil fuels
is the biggest villain".

Policy makers were missing "a proper estimation of the leakage of methane out of the
whole coal seam gas process" from test drilling through to export, he said.

Greens climate change spokeswoman Christine Milne on Tuesday asked the government whether
CSG extracted in Australia was less greenhouse gas intensive than black coal "on a life
cycle analysis basis".

In response, Labor frontbencher Penny Wong told the Senate she wasn't sure what studies
had been undertaken but "gas is generally lower in emissions than coal".

The Greens want Australia to move straight to renewables with gas used only as an interim
measure "and not as a long-term investment".

Senator Brown on Wednesday backed independent MP Tony Windsor's push for the federal
government to be given greater powers to veto CSG projects if they have the potential
to damage water resources.

The Tasmanian senator said Mr Windsor's bill to protect aquifers would "complement"

his own move to give farmers greater powers to block exploration and extraction on their
land.

AAP jcd/bwl/dep

KEYWORD: CSG GREENS

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: RBA chief to go under the spotlight over rate outlook

AAP General News (Australia)
02-20-2007
Fed: RBA chief to go under the spotlight over rate outlook

By Colin Brinsden, Economics Correspondent

CANBERRA, Feb 20 AAP - The man who has the final say on interest rates in Australia
will face a barrage of questions tomorrow when he fronts a federal parliamentary committee.

Housing affordability, skilled worker shortages and the huge economic divergence between
Perth and Sydney, are just a few of the topics on which the House of Representatives Economics,
Finance and Public Administration Committee is likely to quiz Reserve Bank Governor Glenn
Stevens.

But the big question on every …

SA:Body found in Adelaide, police say

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2011
SA:Body found in Adelaide, police say

Police are conducting a forensic examination of a home in Adelaide's north where a
body was found in the backyard.

Detectives and major crime investigators were called to the house in Paralowie after
the body was found by visitors early this morning.

Police have conducted door knocks in the area and say neighbours heard noises near
the house between midnight and one am before an unknown number of people fled on foot
and in a red car.

AAP RTV lk

KEYWORD: BODY (ADELAIDE)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Picasso Leads MutualArt.com's 2010 Auction Report in Sales

Wireless News
01-20-2011
Picasso Leads MutualArt.com's 2010 Auction Report in Sales
Type: News

Pablo Picasso topped MutualArt.com's 2010 Auction Report with sales of $405,708,629, followed by Andy Warhol, whose total reached $355,732,348.

The Company said the Spanish artist sold 1,269 artworks throughout the year including the world record for any artist at auction - $106.5 million for his Nude, Green Leaves and Bust. A total of 764 works by the American pop artist were sold at auction in 2010, including his second-best result - $63,362,500 for Men in Her Life.
Works by Amadeo Modigliani also fared extremely well in 2010, with a staggering sale average of $9.21 million. With only 17 lots sold, the Italian artist still amassed $156,661,240 in earnings, including a personal record of $68,962,500 for his Nu assis sur un divan.

According to a release, the 2010 auction year has demonstrated that the art market has bounced back following a rocky period in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. By year's end, Christie's reported a record $5 billion in sales, while Sotheby's is expected to announce totals of approximately $4.2 billion, nearly double the 2009 figure.

When it comes to the year's surprises, Dutch artist Pieter Jansz. Saenredam achieved a result after his The North transept and Choir Chapel of the Sint Janskerk, Utrecht, estimated to fetch $31,000- 47,000, sold for $2,330,363 - an incredible 4,820 percent above the high estimate. Another exceptional result belonged to Irving Penn, whose Broken Egg sold for $206,500 - 2,194 percent above the high estimate.

The Company noted that there were also quite a few disappointments in 2010, especially Nympheas by Claude Monet, which was estimated to sell for $45-60 million but failed to find a buyer. Ordination by Nicolas Poussin also went unsold after it was anticipated to shatter the artist's record with a $32 million high estimate.

The full report includes the top 20 best selling artists, top 10 best selling artworks, top 10 most disappointing lots and the top 10 most surprising lots.

MutualArt.com is an online art information service on the Internet.

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Copyright 2011 Close-Up Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
n/a

FED:Election count to resume today

AAP General News (Australia)
08-23-2010
FED:Election count to resume today

Counting resumes today in the deadlocked federal election .. with political observers
tipping it could take a week before the result is known.

Thousands of postal votes still need to be counted .. while independent MPs are yet
to decide whether to side with Labor or the coalition.

Six seats remain in doubt .. with the Electoral Commission calling 70 seats each for
Labor and the coalition .. three to independents and one to the Greens.

Prime Minister JULIA GILLARD says Labor has a mandate to govern because the party's
won the popular vote.

But Opposition Leader TONY ABBOTT says a minority Labor government would be chronically
divided and dysfunctional.

Both leaders have spoken to the three independents .. TONY WINDSOR .. ROB OAKESHOTT
and BOB KATTER .. who are vying to reach a consensus before they begin negotiations with
the major parties.

They might meet face-to-face today in Canberra after an overnight phone hook-up.

Independent ANDREW WILKIE could join them on the crossbenches as a key player if he
clinches Denison in Tasmania.

AAP RTV so/sb/jen/psm/

KEYWORD: POLL10 (CANBERRA)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: Centrelink worker set up 26 fake accounts

AAP General News (Australia)
04-15-2010
SA: Centrelink worker set up 26 fake accounts

A court's heard a former Centrelink worker set up 26 fake customer accounts to obtain
more than 66 thousand dollars in benefits.

KEVIN LEE MCINERHENEY's been sentenced to four years jail .. after pleading guilty
to 30 counts of obtaining property by deception from December 2008 to March 2009 .. while
working with Centrelink in Adelaide.

The 33-year-old devised a scheme to make payments using electronic benefit transfers
.. which are cards used by Centrelink staff to make one-off emergency payments to customers
requiring urgent financial assistance.

The cards come with a PIN and can be cashed at any bank ATM.

AAP RTV tjd/af

KEYWORD: MCINERHENEY (ADELAIDE)

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Mother of strangled woman tells of 'gurgling' phone call

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2009
NSW: Mother of strangled woman tells of 'gurgling' phone call

By Katelyn Catanzariti

SYDNEY, Dec 1 AAP - The mother of a woman strangled by her husband received a call
that sounded like somebody was "drowning" on the night her daughter died, a court has
been told.

The bloodied body of Pharzana Nanthagopal, 27, was found by her parents, in the early
hours of February 25 last year, in the home she shared with her 37-year-old husband Nanthagopal
Lechmana.

Lechmana had left a suicide note at the couple's North Parramatta unit and was arrested
hours later at a known Sydney suicide spot with two bottles of bourbon and a bottle of
sleeping pills.

He has admitted strangling his wife, but says he was suffering from major depression
at the time which, he argues, should be grounds for reducing the charge against him from
murder to manslaughter.

At his murder trial in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday, a jury was told both husband
and wife were being treated for depression at the time of Ms Nanthagopal's death, and
they had been attending regular marriage counselling sessions.

Ms Nanthagopal's mother, Mahrukh Palkhiwala, told the court that the couple, who had
lived with them for a period prior to the incident, had been arguing a lot and had not
appeared to be in a happy marriage.

The day before her death, Lechmana had been trying to kiss, cuddle and tickle his wife
on a family walk, and Ms Nanthagopal had told him to "stop it", Ms Palkhiwala said.

Shortly after 3.30am the following day, Ms Palkhiwala answered the family phone and
heard a "gurgling" noise on the end of the line.

"I heard a gurgling noise - somebody was sort of drowning and trying to put their head
up and trying to breathe," she told the court.

"I kept saying, 'Hello? hello?' but there was no voice from the other end."

A short while later, Lechmana called to say "in a very calm, cold voice" that their
daughter was dead, she said.

In a suicide note he left on the ironing board, Lechmana had written: "As you know,
I love Pharzana very much and every time she says she wants to leave me it breaks my heart
to pieces - hurts me to pieces".

"When you find this letter I will probably be dead too."

The trial before Justice Megan Latham continues.

AAP kc/wjf/jl/cdh

KEYWORD: LECHMANA

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Chips down at Crown as fake $1,000 tokens found

AAP General News (Australia)
04-24-2009
Vic: Chips down at Crown as fake $1,000 tokens found

MELBOURNE, April 24 AAP - Counterfeit gambling chips have been discovered at Melbourne's
Crown Casino.

The audacious fraud has forced Crown to recall and change the colour of $13.7 million
worth of $1,000 chips, the Herald Sun newspaper reports.

A gaming floor worker raised the alarm as she handled one of the chips in the high-security
counting room on Thursday, the newspaper said.

A search so far has revealed $36,000 worth of "near perfect" fake chips in the casino,
but officials concede they have no idea how long and how widely the fakes have circulated.

"While doing routine checks, one of the officers detected what appeared to be fake
$1,000 chips. As a consequence of that, we recalled all of the $1,000 chips from all of
the tables," casino spokesman Gary O'Neill told the Herald Sun.

"We don't know how long they have been in circulation on the floor."

Police and the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation have been notified.

AAP jrd/goc/rs

KEYWORD: CROWN

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Rees blames bikie wars for drive-by shootings

AAP General News (Australia)
12-18-2008
NSW: Rees blames bikie wars for drive-by shootings

SYDNEY, Dec 18 AAP - NSW Premier Nathan Rees has blamed bikie gangs for a spate of
drive-by shootings in Sydney's west, the latest injuring a sleeping toddler.

The three-year-old boy was grazed, apparently by a ricocheting bullet. It was one of
a number of bullets fired at a Blacktown home.

Witnesses told police a white Commodore carrying three men fired the shots at the Vardys
Road home about 12.30am (AEDT) on Thursday.

The boy, who was asleep in his bed, received a minor abrasion and was treated by ambulance
staff at the scene, police said.

An eight-year-old boy, a man and a woman were also home at the time but were not injured.

Mr Rees said he was disgusted by the attack, saying outlaw motorcycle gangs were responsible
for a string of recent drive-by shootings.

"I'm absolutely sick to death of this," he told reporters.

"I won't say too much because the matter is currently being investigated by the police,
but out in western Sydney there's been a bit of activity between a couple of different
bikie gangs.

"That's what's underpinning it."

Quakers Hill Local Area Commander, Superintendent Mark Cooper, said the shooting may
have been isolated but police were not ruling out links to bikie gangs.

"We're not eliminating anything at the moment," he told reporters.

"We're actually looking at all inquiries ... how many shots, how many firearms were
used, their vehicle, we're looking at the area itself, we're looking at everything."

Supt Cooper said there was nothing to suggest the child was deliberately targeted,
saying he was most likely injured due to a ricochet.

"(The) abrasion ... is superficial, but it was unfortunate that a baby has been injured,"

he said.

He said many shots were fired and the three men seen by witnesses were believed to
have gotten out of the car ahead of the shooting.

He would not comment on whether the family was previously known to police or where they were now.

The home, which is set back from the road, was cordoned off along with the road for
several hours while police investigated.

AAP evt/tnf/de

KEYWORD: SHOOTING WRAP

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Swm: Australia wins bronze in 4x200m relay

AAP General News (Australia)
08-13-2008
Swm: Australia wins bronze in 4x200m relay

BEIJING, Aug 13 AAP - Nick Ffrost has produced a last lap surge to secure Australia
the bronze medal in the men's 4x200m relay at the Beijing Olympics today.

The quartet of Patrick Murphy, Grant Hackett, Grant Brits and Ffrost finished in seven
minutes 4.98 seconds behind the world record shattering USA (6:58.56) and Russia (7:03.70).

The Americans took almost five seconds off their world mark as records continued to
be erased at the Water Cube.

A US team led by superstar Michael Phelps broke their world record by almost five seconds.

The victory gave Phelps his fifth gold medal of the Beijing Games and the 11th Olympic
gold of his career.

MORE tdw/mo

KEYWORD: OLY08 SWM M4X200 SECOND LEAD

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Home ownership still a reality: Plibersek

AAP General News (Australia)
04-04-2008
Fed: Home ownership still a reality: Plibersek

CANBERRA, April 4 AAP - Federal Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek says the Australian
dream of home ownership is still a reality despite an affordability crisis.

It has been estimated that more than one million Australians are currently in "housing
stress", meaning at least 30 per cent of their income goes on housing costs.

A report released today by the Australian Property Monitors found rents had risen by
double digits in most major cities during the past year.

Ms Plibersek said the situation had escalated to "a very serious level".

"Australia has some of the least affordable housing in the world ... and that situation
has been getting worse," Ms Plibersek told Sky News.

But she denied the dream of home ownership was unachievable for people looking to get
into the market.

"No, I'm not prepared to accept that," she said.

"We have to be realistic about the types of homes that people will have.

"Not everybody is going to live in a five-million-dollar home beside the harbour."

There was "no silver bullet" to the problem but the government was determined to ease the crisis.

Solutions included increasing the supply of affordable rental accommodation and establishing
First Home Saver accounts to help people save a deposit for their first home, she said.

Home ownership was the real key to families feeling they had economic security. It
was also a very important cornerstone of retirement.

"If people have paid off their own home when they retire they are much better off financially...emotionally
and socially as well."

AAP sld/rl/it/de

KEYWORD: HOUSING PLIBERSEK

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Hit and run rider may have been struck by truck: police

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2007
NSW: Hit and run rider may have been struck by truck: police

SYDNEY, Dec 2 AAP - Police now believe a male cyclist killed in a hit and run accident
in Sydney's southwest may have been struck by a truck.

Police today renewed calls for witnesses to the accident at the intersection of Wattle
St and Highclere Avenue in Punchbowl at 7.45am (AEDT) yesterday.

Speaking to reporters today, Acting Senior Sergeant John Kelly from the Metropolitan
Crash Investigations Unit said the still unidentified cyclist may have been hit by a truck.

"At this stage of our inquiries, we believe the bicyclist might have been hit by a
medium to large sized truck," he said.

"We have no other description of this vehicle."

He said police were still hoping to speak to the occupants of a blue Mazda sedan seen
in the nearby area shortly after the crash.

The dead man has been described as of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, approximately
30 years-old, with short black hair.

He was wearing blue jeans and chequered shirt, and was riding a blue bike.

Police have appealed for anyone who saw the incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

AAP ab/arb

KEYWORD: TOLL NSW CYCLIST

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Murray-Darling Basin - factbox

AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2007
Fed: Murray-Darling Basin - factbox

Irrigators in the Murray-Darling Basin face having water allocations cut completely
in 2007-08 unless there is heavy rain in the next six weeks.



What the Murray-Darling Basin means to Australia:

* It is Australia's most important agricultural region, accounting for about 34 per
cent of the nation's gross value in agricultural production, worth up to $7 billion.

* It contains 75 per cent of Australia's irrigated crops and pastures.

* Value of irrigated production from basin estimated at $3-$4 billion at the farm gate,
and four times that after processing.

* Key industries are dairy, cotton, rice and horticulture, in particular viticulture.

* Provides 96 per cent of Australia's cotton.

* In the 1996 census, basin had a population of 1.9 million.



Source: Murray Darling Basin Commission - estimates only.

AAP cjh/cdh

KEYWORD: WATER BASIN FACTBOX

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Information van planned to help catch firebugs

AAP General News (Australia)
12-18-2006
Vic: Information van planned to help catch firebugs

MELBOURNE, Dec 18 AAP - Police in Victoria are stepping up efforts to to trace arsonists
responsible for a bushfire that led to the death of a man and destroyed thousands of hectares
of bush.

Victoria Police said today they would set up an information van near where the fire
is thought to have begun last Thursday.

Figures today showed the Coopers Creek fire has so far burned more than 21,000 hectares
of bushland, and is still raging out of control.

The fire is blamed for causing the death of 48-year-old Donald Dosser of Longford who
fell off a trailer while battling the blaze.

Police said in a statement that they had received significant public assistance in
a bid to catch the firebugs, but are still trying to identify people who travelled along
the Walhalla-Tyers Road between 10.30am (AEDT) and 11.30am on the day the fire started.

They have eliminated two young men seen on a motorbike in the area as suspects in their
investigation.

The information van will be available between 8am and 11am in the Walhalla CBD and
between 11am and 1pm at the Erica Town Hall tomorrow.

It will be at the Coopers Creek crime scene, on the Walhalla-Tyers Road at the site
of the old Jubilee School, on Thursday between 10.30am and 11.30am.

Anyone with information about the fires has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on
1800 333 000 or the Warragul CIU on 5622 7111.

AAP xlc/gfr/jt/de

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES VIC VAN

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Australia's fight against drugs cost over $3 billion a year

AAP General News (Australia)
08-11-2006
Australia's fight against drugs cost over $3 billion a year

Embargoed until 0001 AEST, Friday July 11



Australia's fight against illicit drugs costs about $3.2 billion a year, with more
than half going to drug-related policing, a hard-hitting report has found.

*Illicit drugs cost Australia between $1.5 billion and $4.9 billion a year - an average
$3.2 billion.

* About $1.3 billion - 40 per cent - was spent on proactive programs of treatment and
prevention. The other $1.9 billion - 60 per cent - was spent on the consequences of drug
use, such as property crime and hospitalisation.

* Most spending went on law enforcement (56 per cent), 23 per cent was outlayed on
prevention strategies and 17 per cent on treatment. Harm reduction made up three per cent.

* State and territory governments spent the most - $2.6 billion or 82 per cent - while
the federal government picked up they remaining 18 per cent or $567 million.

* Border control was the main outlay for the federal government (46 per cent), while
state and territory governments spent about half of their drug budget on day to to day
policing.

* The commonwealth spent significantly less on prevention than their state counterparts
- $574 million (15 per cent) compared with $246.5 million (26 per cent).

AAP tam/cjh

KEYWORD: ILLICIT FACTBOX (EMBARGOED)

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.