Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Month in Review August

Our Troops Abroad and at Home

Navy hero was shot in the street

NATHAN Brodbeck's family has not recovered from the double shock delivered by a knock on the door.

Vets brassed off

HEROES of the battle of Long Tan, who fought for decades for recognition, have been snubbed by army top brass.

Boat intercepted in Australian waters

ANOTHER boat carrying suspected asylum seekers has been intercepted in Australian waters.

Federal cops deny Rush backflip

AUSTRALIA'S top cop has denied Federal Police backflipped by co-operating with lawyers for Scott Rush, who they helped send to death row for drug trafficking.

Troops in Afghan 'incident'

The ADF has confirmed an incident involving Australian soldiers in Afghanistan overnight, saying next of kin have been notified.

Diggers pay a high toll

ROADSIDE bombs and sniper attacks are a daily threat for Aussie Diggers patrolling the Baluchi Valley, as The Courier-Mail's Jodie Richter discovers.

Fallen diggers welcomed home

A REPATRIATION ceremony has been held for two Australian soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

Boat carrying 38 taken to Christmas Island

A BOAT carrying 36 suspected asylum seekers has been stopped off the north-west coast of Australia.
ALP, divided from the top down

Cops drop ALP 'shooting' probe

POLICE have ceased investigating a Sydney "shooting" which forced a Labor candidate into hiding.

Bligh soft on political donations

A NEW wave of integrity reforms is set to be unveiled by Anna Bligh aimed at improving the culture throughout the Queensland political system.

Curtin to expand as boats surge

PLANS are under way to expand West Australia's Curtin detention centre to hold 900 people.

Kevin: I'll campaign for Julia

KEVIN Rudd has strongly denied being the anonymous source of leaks targeting Julia Gillard and vowed to ''absolutely'' campaign for Labor's re-election.

'Sorry I hurt you, Queensland'

JULIA Gillard has reached out to Queenslanders angry about the way Kevin Rudd was dumped and offered sympathy to her vanquished Labor colleague.

Voters not listening to the real Julia

ATTEMPT to revive campaign is falling flat as poll shows Labor continuing to trail the Coalition.

Della's blast on ALP officials

JOHN Della Bosca launched an extraordinary attack on the Labor officials running the party.

Rudd fends questions on UN job

KEVIN Rudd insists his new United Nations job will require only three meetings as the Opposition tries to paint him as a "part-time minister" should Labor be re-elected.

Bligh poisons Gillard campaign

ANNA Bligh's impact on the Labor brand has spread throughout Queensland and could threaten federal seats the Gillard Government is desperate to retain.

Bligh is finished, says LNP

ANNA Bligh will be lucky to last another six months as premier after federal Labor's bloodbath in Queensland, the state opposition says.

Iemma's call for Bitar end

FORMER NSW Labor premier Morris Iemma called for Labor's party boss Karl Bitar to be sacked.

Relax Australia, Bob's on the job

BOB Katter is heading to Canberra today to help decide who will govern the country and he says his only allegiance is to the people of his electorate

Labor says Denison still close

LABOR is playing down predictions it will retain the Tasmanian seat of Denison where its candidate is leading independent Andrew Wilkie.

NSW Labor headed for wipeout

NSW Labor is heading for massive defeat at next state election, latest poll shows.

Time for the real Kristina

KRISTINA Keneally has come out with her own "real Julia" speech, saying she'll ignore focus groups and advice she has been getting.

$131m 'missing from NSW health Budget'

$131 million is missing from NSW's frontline health budget, the state Opposition says.

Labor in muddle over Spence

DEPUTY Premier Paul Lucas has contradicted MP Judy Spence over her own retirement plans, insisting she was not considering quitting.

Greens develop spring in steps

THE federal election result for the Greens in inner-city seats around Australia has implications for both the Labor and Liberal National parties.

MPs plan their exit strategies

AS many as four NSW Labor MPS are considering quitting, even before the state election in March.

Welcome to Tony Windsor's world

IT'S been phone calls from 6am with power players and the media, all asking who he will support.

Wilkie gambles it all on pokie reform

INDEPENDENT candidate Andrew Wilkie is pleased with his meeting with Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Democracy May Be Embarrassing

Solutions to save NSW

LEADING citizens have offered solutions to the state's woes after government ministers failed to.

Lads mag dubs Conroy 'dumbest MP'

STEPHEN Conroy is on the receiving end of another dishonourable award, after being dubbed Australia's dumbest politician in a magazine survey.

The real battle to pay the bills

THE pressure on household budgets is being drastically understated by the official measure of inflation.

Going Green, but singing same song

WHEN Andrew Bartlett last contested a Lower House seat, he witnessed his Labor adversary survive the blitzkrieg that ousted the Keating government.

State export income plummets

STATE export income has plummeted $1.3 billion in the past year, raising serious doubts over the strength of the economy and the Government's financial strategy.

LNP gagged on critical political ads

ANNA Bligh has stripped the Opposition of its ability to criticise the Government in taxpayer-funded advertising.

Drink-driving MP 'lied to police'

CHERIE Burton will come under pressure to resign from the Labor Party and Parliament today.

Drink-drive MP 'saved by Tripodi'

CHERIE Burton's friendship with Joe Tripodi is the only thing saving her from the axe, says O'Farrell

Firth fails on heater fix funding

STUDENTS who start Year 3 in 2011 could graduate before poisonous gas heaters in their classrooms are replaced.

MP jeered over cruel remark

A LABOR backbencher has placed his must-win Queensland seat in jeopardy by making an offensive remark about the father of a disabled child.
Lacking Detailed Programatic Specificity

On your bike, Clover

CLOVER Moore claims her $76 million cycleway will transform Sydney but she prefers a car.

Schools rewrite prehistory

PRIMARY school students are being taught that man and dinosaurs walked the Earth together and that there's fossil evidence to prove it.

Driving instructor 'caught texting'

A DRIVING instructor appears to have been caught red-handed texting on his mobile phone while behind the wheel.

Facebook child threat

POLICE Commissioner Mal Hyde has complained that social networking sites like Facebook rarely provide police with information quickly enough to catch cyber criminals.

Call to ban lawyers' hourly fees

LAWYERS should be banned from charging expensive hourly rates and bill clients on outcomes, a consumer group has recommended.

Rain, hail as winter holds it grip

ADELAIDE woke up to a bleak wet morning, with hail expected later today as winter continues to hold its icy grip.

Pollies in flood of expenses

SA's federal politicians have claimed more than $5.2 million on the public purse, including reimbursement for traffic infringement notices.

NAPLAN cheat report under wraps

DESPITE at least one case of cheating in NAPLAN tests being confirmed, the State Government is refusing to reveal the findings of its investigations.

Killer pays tribute to patriarch

CBD killer and Hells Angel bikie Christopher Wayne Hudson has paid tribute to slain crime figure Macchour Chaouk

Labor Mp's secret love child

THIS is the child Cessnock MP Kerry Hickey thought he could keep secret ... but then the mother's boyfriend walked in and caught him.
A Sporting Chance

Victoria's winter of content

MELBOURNE was back to its wintry best yesterday, footy fans shivering through a hailstorm at the MCG

Shooting victim's drug past

A MAN fatally shot while playing touch football in a Sydney park was a major drug-dealer released from prison only eight months ago.

AFL grand final for Gabba?

A DISPUTE between the AFL and Cricket Victoria over the use of the MCG could deliver the Gabba its first AFL grand final next year.

AFL deal on police files

A SECRET deal between the police and the AFL to share information about players and coaches has stunned the footy world.

Manly player's brother charged

THE brother of Manly winger Tony Williams has been charged after a police raid on his home allegedly uncovered drugs and firearms

AFL teen suffered 'hard bump'

A TEENAGE AFL footballer charged after an on-field incident that left a rival player with serious injuries was involved in a "hard bump", a court has been told.

McGuinness 'has nothing to fear'

A FORMER Hells Angel who rang Georgina McGuinness about an alleged affair between Tony McGuinness and his wife says the footballer has nothing to fear.

Dirty Harry predicts Gillard victory

IT seems even Australia's most iconic reptiles are finding it hard to stomach either of the two prime ministerial candidates.

Cousins says arrest was 'payback'

CONTROVERSIAL AFL star and drug addict Ben Cousins claims his notorious 2007 arrest in Perth was ``payback'' from WA police.
Local Rules

Broken promise on school zones

THE NSW Government has broken its promise to spend every cent of fine revenue on road safety.

School asbestos fear

SCHOOL students are learning in demountable classrooms riddled with asbestos dubbed "write-offs".

Victoria idle on saving water

MELBOURNE has drained 16.7 billion litres from the Murray-Darling in five months to support urban expansion - without attempting to save water.

ABC TV host in court on child porn charge

ABC presenter Andy Muirhead has faced a Hobart court on a charge of accessing child pornography.

Deadly brothel war exploded

THE chief radiographer of a hospital was shot dead after setting up an escort service down the road from his former business partner.

Train disruptions likely as workers strike

HUNDREDS of Sydney rail workers will attend a mass rally today, as a three-day campaign of strikes over pay and conditions gets under way.

Barnett cuts payroll tax by $100m

COLIN Barnett has delivered on a promise to help small- to medium-sized businesses get over the global financial crisis.

Labor MP loses her licence DUI

FORMER state minister Cherie Burton has lost her licence for DUI in the latest scandal for the Keneally Government.

School scheme blows budget

VICTORIAN taxpayers are stumping up the cash needed to complete school projects under the Building the Education Revolution program.

Rann's Portland vision not a reality

THE State Government has a lot to learn about city transport and planning, writes urban devel9opment expert Kevin O'Leary.

Greens win in Melbourne

GREENS candidate Adam Bandt is claiming a historic victory in the seat of Melbourne which has been held by Labor since 1906.

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