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Aussie resident arrested over people smuggling allegations
A powerful tornado with winds over 300 kilometres per hour has pulverised an Oklahoma City suburb, hitting at least two schools and wiping out blocks of homes. At least 51 people have been ...
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Qantas brings pre-flight meal ordering to London Singapore
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Federal police to boost Adelaide Airport visibility
Adelaide 5000 Australian Federal Police (AFP) said they would have a more visible presence in future at Adelaide Airport.A $6.5 million centre has opened to allow all the AFP operations on one site.Commissioner Tony Negus promised there would be a more visible presence in the airport precinct."There are 49 officers here in this building who will respond to various incidents within the ...
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GST hike would smash low earners Swan
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan believes any future change to the breadth or rate of the GST will "smash" low and middle incomes earners. But former NSW premier Nick Greiner believes the perilous public finance conditions facing state governments demand a review of the consumption tax. Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has indicated the GST will be included in a review of tax reform if the ...
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$A higher as traders await Fed testimony
The Australian dollar is higher, despite suffering some falls on the back of profit taking during the morning. At 1200 AEST on Tuesday the local unit was trading at 97.85 US cents, up from 97.57 cents on Monday. Since 0700 AEST on Tuesday, the Australian dollar traded between 97.52 and 98.25 cents. During overnight trade, the US dollar ended its recent rally, falling against all the major ...
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ACTU urges $30-a-week rise for lowest paid
More than a million low-paid Australians who depend on the nation's award system to set their wages should get a 79¢-an-hour wage rise, the ACTU has told the national industrial relations commission. Appearing before the Fair Work Commission, ACTU assistant secretary Tim Lyons said low-paid workers' wages had declined in recent years. The union body wants a $30-a-week wage rise ...
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Bulldog Inu accepts two-game NRL ban
Canterbury forward Greg Eastwood fears the reputation of teammate Krisnan Inu is being ruined after the star centre accepted a two-game ban on Tuesday. Inu took the early plea on the ugly leg twist on Newcastle winger James McManus which resulted in a grade two dangerous contact charge. Meanwhile, Gold Coast back-rower David Taylor is disputing the grading on his grade two dangerous contact ...
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Vic schools will be under-funded PM warns
Victorian schools could be worse off than those over the NSW border if the state does not sign on to education funding reforms, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says. NSW is so far the only jurisdiction to agree to the federal government's planned changes, which Ms Gillard says would mean an additional $16 billion will be spent on the nation's schools. The prime minister used a visit to ...
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Aust stocks weaker on growth forecast
Australian stocks are weaker at noon as the Reserve Bank of Australia forecasts below-average economic growth in 2013. RBS Morgans Ipswich manager Tony Russell said the minutes of the central bank's May 7 board meeting, at which it cut the cash rate to a record low, had prompted investors to reconsider the outlook for mining companies. "That's probably not helping our market, ...
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GST increase would hurt poor Swan
Changing the GST would unfairly punish lower income earners and impact on health and education services, says Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan. WA Premier Colin Barnett has called for a change in GST distribution to a per-capita model, which Mr Swan said would have a "savage impact" on states like South Australia and Tasmania. A switch to a per-capita GST distribution model "would ...
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Hoax aircraft crash call cost $20000
HOAX calls that triggered a search for a crashed aircraft in Western Australia cost more than $20,000 and wasted valuable human resources, The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) ...
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Search for answers on 150000 mattresses
WA Environment Minister Albert Jacob is calling on a private company find a solution to recycle WA's ever-increasing pile of used mattresses Picture: Justin ...
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Replay Melbourne Storm Manly Sea Eagles draw
After 90 minutes the Storm and Sea Eagles can't be split, and they're forced to share the spoils following a 10-all draw at AAMI Park.The two sides traded field goals in golden point extra-time but no one could split the goal posts and they leave with a point ...
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Tornado Aussie I cant find friends
"I've lived here for 30 years and this is unprecedented,'' Kerry Vincent, the world-renowned, West Australian-born cake designer, said from her home in Tulsa, Oklahoma."My heart bleeds for my friends who I can't find."There's so many dead folks, it is just unbelievable.''Ms Vincent said Oklahoma City, hit by a tornado packing 321 km/h winds, is ...
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De facto father finally recognised in Qld
A MAN whose dad died before he was born in the 1970s has finally won the right to have him legally recognised as his father on his birth ...
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WA not planning vaccination laws
"We can get above the 90 per cent (national vaccination) rate, which is where we need to be and we can do that without forcing parents who don't have their child vaccinated to do so."WA authorities today unveiled a three-year policy to raise the state's child vaccination levels, which according to latest figures remain the lowest in the country for children between 12 and 15 ...
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One in five kids talk to strangers online
A NEW report which says one in five children talk to strangers online is "troubling", Communications Minister Stephen Conroy ...
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No tender for Vic TAFE reform contract
Industry consultant ACIL Tasman and its Melbourne executive director Marianne Lourey have been appointed by the education department to lead the TAFE transition taskforce.Department secretary Richard Bolt says the contract, worth more than $500,000, was initially awarded to ACIL Tasman without going to tender because there was pressure to hire someone with the appropriate expertise."Yes, ...
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AGL fined $1.55m for dodgy sales people
SUBSIDIARIES of energy company AGL have been slugged with penalties of $1.55 million for dodgy door-to-door sales practices in which salesmen denied they were selling anything and claimed customers' current suppliers were ...
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Qld premier considers flood levy option
The government is considering introducing a new levy in next month's budget for flood repairs and improving infrastructure.The tax could be imposed on household bills such as electricity or water and the government hopes to raise $1 billion over four to five years.Mr Newman says the existing $80 million flood kitty would not be enough to replace infrastructure or shift it to higher ...
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ASIA MARKETS Hong Kong Sydney Stocks Fall Tokyo Seesaws
HONG KONG – Australian stocks declined, and Hong Kong equities pulled back from a three-day winning run on Tuesday, weighed by overnight losses on Wall Street and uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy.The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.7% in Sydney, and the Hang Seng Index gave up 0.2% in Hong Kong.Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.1%, but struggling for direction after a sturdy rally ...
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UPDATE 1-Gloom hits services firms as Australias mining boom peaks
Mon May 20, 2013 11:27pm EDT * Mining services large and small suffer * Cuts in mine projects, exploration spending hit mining services * Share prices smashed, Transfield sinks to record low By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE, May 21 (Reuters) - A spate of profit warnings from Australian mining services firms suggests the country's "once-a-century" resources spending boom may have peaked ...
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Insurers to face Vic tax probe on premiums
MAJOR insurers will be asked to publicly demonstrate that they will not offset the removal of the Victorian fire services levy with increases in premiums. There are already signs that insurers will increase premiums when the levy changes from being an insurance-based tax to a property-based one later this year, says Victorian Fire Services Levy Monitor Professor Allan Fels. "I am concerned ...
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Australias trading partner looking better
The outlook for Australia's major trading partners is good, with economic growth for most expected to pick up in 2014, the Reserve Bank of Australia says.The minutes of the RBA's May board meeting gave a positive assessment of the economic outlooks for China, Japan and the US.While growth in China is not expected to return to its stellar levels of recent years, the RBA board said the ...
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Kevin Rudds support for gay marriage puts him at odds with Julia Gillard
Australia Former prime minister Kevin Rudd says a "personal journey" has led him to change his mind and support same-sex marriage - a position that puts him at odds with his leader, Julia Gillard.Ms Gillard does not support same-sex marriage, although she has allowed Labor MPs a conscience vote on the issue.Mr Rudd ...
Melbourne Featured
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Melbourne will be IT capital of country
Melbourne has been selected by the federal government as the location where the NBN’s operations centre will be headquartered, setting the stage for the city to become the IT, technology and communications capital of Australia.
Melbourne has a long-running rivalry with Sydney and, to a lesser degree, Perth. The two biggest cities in Australia competed intensely to be designated the capital in the early 20th century and Canberra was built from scratch and designated the national capital in large part because of such rivalry, but now Melbourne is set to have something that Sydney will not, the city has been officially chosen as the centre of operations for the ground-breaking National Broadband Network. Analysts and city leaders see the decision as one which will in time make Melbourne the IT hub of the country. Read more
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