AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Dec 2

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2011
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Dec 2
Breakfast Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 0430


Labor (CANBERRA)

Groups on both sides of the gay marriage debate are piling the pressure on Prime Minister
JULIA GILLARD, as the ALP national conference gets underway in Sydney today.

A cross-faction push is underway to change commonwealth law to allow same-sex marriage,
after laws allowing same sex civil unions passed through the Queensland parliament this
week.

The gathering of 400 ALP delegates begins today, with jobs, the economy, education,
families and climate change on the agenda.

But tomorrow, the debate will turn to the issue of changing the federal Marriage Act
to allow same-sex couples to marry.

Ms GILLARD proposes MPs be allowed a conscience vote on the issue if it comes to parliament.



Legal: Boy (DENPASAR)

Prosecutors handling the case of a 14-year-old Australian boy jailed in Bali have filed
papers with the Denpasar District Court paving the way for the teenager to be released
from custody - possibly as early as today.

The schoolboy, from Morisset Park near Newcastle, was sentenced last week to two months
in prison, with time already served since his arrest on October 4 to be taken into account.

Chief prosecutor I GUSTI PUTU ATMAJA yesterday lodged documents with the court, confirming
prosecutors had accepted the sentence, despite having initially demanded a three-month
term.

The decision not to appeal the sentence means the teenager will be released by Sunday
at the latest, but Mr ATMAJA has also suggested he could be released as early as today.



Boat (CANBERRA)

Immigration Minister CHRIS BOWEN's proposal to increase Australia's refugee intake
has been greeted with less-than-enthusiastic support by Labor backbencher DOUG CAMERON,
and savaged by the opposition and refugee groups.

Mr CAMERON says Mr BOWEN's proposal should not be tied to a political ploy to coax
the opposition into backing the Malaysia solution.

The Refugee Action Coalition is also sceptical, saying Mr BOWEN knows there'll be pressure
on him from Labor For Refugees at the National Labor Conference this weekend, and the
announcement is smokescreen.



Budget (CANBERRA)

Finance Minister PENNY WONG says the opposition's economic credibility is in tatters
after the accountants who costed its 2010 election policies were found to have breached
professional standards.

A tribunal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants fined two Perth-based accountants
five thousand dollars each, saying their costings failed to contain statements including
one saying the procedures performed didn't constitute either an audit or a review.



Murray (CANBERRA)

Environmentalists have begun a grass-roots campaign to ensure the ailing Murray-Darling
Basin river system gets all the water it needs to return it to health.

Voices for the Murray-Darling, which is made up of various green groups, will hold
public meetings and to letter-box homes in a bid to get Australians to push for a higher
environmental flows.

A draft plan released this week by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority proposes returning
two thousand 750 billion litres annually, but environmental groups say that falls well
short of what's needed.



Floods NSW (SYDNEY)

Seven more councils in northern New South Wales have been declared natural disaster
zones in the wake of heavy flooding.

Hundreds of farms and rural properties remain isolated across the region after days
of heavy rain, with relief efforts set to continue for several days.

Emergency Services Minister MICHAEL GALLACHER has extended the natural disaster zones
to take in Gunnedah, Narrabri, Gwydir, Muswellbrook, Liverpool Plains, Tamworth and the
Upper Hunter Shire Councils.



Pornography (SYDNEY)

A man has been charged after police seized more than 35-thousand child pornography
images and 800 videos from a southwest Sydney home.

Police officers raided a home at Rosemeadow yesterday and seized computer equipment,
hard drives, Federal Police uniforms, batons and handcuffs.

Police have charged a 49-year-old Rosemeadow man with several offences, including possessing
child pornography, disseminating child pornography and possessing a prohibited weapon.

Inquiries are continuing to identify the children allegedly depicted in the photos
and videos, and more charges are expected to be laid.



Nurses Vic (MELBOURNE)

Victorian Health Minister DAVID DAVIS says the state's hospitals and the government
remain committed and prepared to negotiate a solution to the nurses dispute.

The workplace umpire adjourned conciliation talks between the Victorian nurses' union,
government and hospitals yesterday, with no agreement in sight.

Mr DAVIS says the government is disappointed the Australian Nursing Federation hasn't
bargained in good faith or been prepared to follow through with the negotiation the community
would expect.



Corruption (CANBERRA)

An international watchdog says Australia is one of the least corrupt nations in the
world, but its companies face high risk in dealing with other nations that aren't so squeaky
clean.

Transparency International, a global Berlin-based organisation leading the fight against
corruption, says its annual survey has Australia as the least corrupt country in the Group
of 20 industrialised nations, while its trans-Tasman neighbour, New Zealand, is top of
the global list overall.

Transparency International's local branch head, MICHAEL AHRENS, says Australia's held
on to eighth position in the world rankings, but warns there's still a lot it must do
to reduce public sector corruption and in preventing bribes being paid offshore.



BRIEFLY IN OTHER NEWS:


Syria Toll (GENEVA)

The UN rights chief says the number of people killed in Syria following a crackdown
on protesters since March has reached at least four thousand.



Uranium SA (ADELAIDE)

South Australia's Mineral Resources Minister TOM KOUTSANTONIS will join Premier JAY
WEATHERILL in backing uranium sales to India at this weekend's national ALP conference
in Sydney.



AIDS (SYDNEY)

Visiting star Sir ELTON JOHN has called for a final assault on AIDS, saying the disease
is well under control now, but if governments stop funding anti-AIDS measures, the epidemic
will get out of hand again.



Rann (ADELAIDE)

Former South Australian premier MIKE RANN has made a low-key exit from state parliament,
with just a couple of handshakes marking his final day.



IN FINANCE:


Economy (CANBERRA)

Macquarie Research divisional director BRIAN REDICAN says the coordinated action by
six major central banks to back up banks in view of the European debt crisis adds to the
case for another interest rate cut in Australia next week.

The central banks of the US, Britain, Europe, Japan, Canada and Switzerland joined
together overnight to provide cheaper money for banks, while China's central bank has
eased the reserve requirements of its banks.

Mr REDICAN says while it could be argued the move lessens the need for the Reserve
Bank to cut rates further, but he says one could also say the fact the the step had to
be taken shows how fragile global growth is.



Moodys Banks (SYDNEY)

Moody's is maintaining its stable outlook for the Australian banking system.

The Investors Service says the outlook is based on the strength of both the banks'
fundamentals and the domestic economy, but also says some challenges are apparent.

It says one of them involves the question of possible contagion from the European sovereign
crisis, but overall, Australia's banks have built sizeable capital buffers to absorb possible
weakness in asset quality, and earnings are set to remain resilient.



AND IN SPORT:


CRI AUST (BRISBANE)

Australia's inexperienced bowlers will attempt to rip into the New Zealand tail end
when play resumes this morning on day two of the first Test at the Gabba.

The tourists are five for 176 after a rain-shortened opening day and looking to post
a score near 300 after a fightback from DANIEL VETTORI and DEAN BROWNLIE.

The pair put together 80 for the sixth wicket to hold off the home side's greenhorn
attack for almost two hours yesterday.

The forecast in Brisbane is for early showers before clearing for a fine day.



CRI AUST JOHNSON (BRISBANE)

MITCHELL JOHNSON has had surgery on the big toe of his left foot with Cricket Australia
confirming the fast bowler could be sidelined for five to six months.

JOHNSON sustained the injury when batting in the second Test in South Africa last week.



RU AUST (CARDIFF)

Queensland backs BEN LUCAS and BEN TAPUAI are in line to make their Test debuts off
the bench against Wales in Cardiff early on Sunday morning.

LUCAS was a surprise selection ahead of NICK PHIPPS as back-up for scrum-half WILL
GENIA while TAPUAI will provide cover in the centres.



Roar Bligh (BRISBANE)

The Brisbane Roar will celebrate its record 36-game unbeaten streak today with an awards
ceremony in the Brisbane CBD.

Players and coaching staff will be presented with Queensland champion awards at lunch
time (1pm AEST) in Queens Park, to celebrate breaking a 70-year record for most football
games undefeated.



ENDS BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

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