Qld blazes keep firefighters busy

A SERIES of bush and grass fires across Queensland is keeping emergency services busy and creating smokey conditions.

Fire crews were able to bring back within containment lines a large bushfire burning near Euleilah, north of Bundaberg on Saturday, after working through the night.

The blaze, burning since Tuesday, had forced an evacuation alert for the town on Friday.

A second fire at nearby Rosedale, which began on Saturday morning, was also brought under control by the afternoon.

Meanwhile, a scrub fire at Mount Low, near Townsville, did not threaten properties but caused a large volume of smoke and haze throughout the region.

Residents on the Gold Coast reported seeing a dense haze from a fire at Jimboomba, which was contained on Friday.

Closer to Brisbane, firefighters continued to backburn around a bushfire at Greenbank on Saturday, which has consumed over 1500 hectares since Monday.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Last Aust sheep to be culled in Pakistan

MORE than 11,000 Australian sheep that have been in export limbo in Pakistan for more than a month will be culled on Saturday.

A shipment of about 21,000 sheep was sent to Pakistan on September 5 after being rejected in Bahrain due to health concerns.

However further disease fears emerged in Pakistan, leading to the brutal culling of thousands of the animals and reports that some had been buried alive.

Fremantle-based exporter Wellard says it has been informed the culling of the remaining 11,500 sheep will be completed in Karachi on Saturday despite proof the sheep are healthy and fit for human consumption.

Importer PK Livestock had been negotiating with the Sindh Livestock Department and the Federal Quarantine Department of Pakistan to guarantee the humane processing of the remaining sheep.

Pakistani livestock authorities have made assurances the cull will be "completed humanely".

However, Wellard said it was unable to verify the guarantee because its staff and PK Livestock staff were forcibly removed from the facility where the cull will take place.

Wellard spokesman Cameron Morse told AAP a group of Pakistan police arrived early on Saturday morning to remove the staff from the PK Livestock feedlot.

He said about three Wellard staff members were escorted off the premises but were not detained.

"We've exhausted every avenue, diplomatic, legal etc," he said.

Exports to Pakistan remain suspended, he said.

Mr Morse said the company was frustrated and sad that the animals would be killed despite proof the sheep were healthy.

The company said the issue has "undermined 20 years of incident-free livestock exports to Pakistan".

A spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture said Australian authorities were trying to confirm reports the cull was going ahead.

"A cull would contravene a previous agreement overnight by the local authorities and importer PK Livestock to hand full control of the animals to representatives of the importer and Australian exporter Wellard Rural Exports," she said.

"The agreement was reached after the Sindh High Court received test results from an independent international laboratory that confirmed the sheep were free from the tested diseases and fit for human consumption."

Australian Greens senator Lee Rhiannon said the culling showed that government regulation of the supply chain assurance system was failing.

"The whole thing underlines why the export trade must end," she told AAP.

The Greens want to debate to continue on their private member's bill to end live exports, when parliament resumes in a fortnight.

Animals Australia campaign director Lyn White said she was horrified.

"This again proves that once animals are outside of Australian control there is nothing we can do to prevent horrendous treatment," Ms White said.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Job cuts rob Qld of $1bn in wages: unions

THE Queensland government's job cuts will rob the state's economy of more than $1 billion in wages, union figures show.

The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) on Friday released a breakdown of the economic impact of the public sector job cuts.

It says the loss of 14,000 jobs equates to more than $1 billion in wages over a year, based on the average public servant wage of $75,000.

QCU president John Battams says the cuts will have a devastating effect on spending across the state.

"If you have take 100 public servants out of a town, their lack of spending will have a reverberating effect on the community," he told AAP on Friday.

He said regions with high unemployment rates, such as Wide Bay-Burnett, could not afford job cuts.

"When things are tough it's just not good economic management to be cutting jobs," Mr Battams said.

"It has devastating impacts on small businesses in regional communities.

"Even those with a job are not going to spend as much because there's a good chance the next round of job cuts might affect them."

He said more than 8000 public and private sector jobs had gone in regional Queensland since the Liberal National Party won government in March.

State-owned power supplier Ergon Energy announced this week it will axe 500 jobs in the regions.

Comment was being sought from the government.

Minister Assisting the Premier Glen Elmes said the union claim of huge job losses was "just plain wrong".

"The vast majority of the 10,600 positions to be made redundant are in Brisbane," he told AAP.

"Regional-based people who do take a redundancy will, in many cases, leave with more than a year's pay, so any immediate effect on local economies will be minimal.

The minister said the government flatly rejected the union's scaremongering tactics on teacher job losses.

"In fact we expect that teachers, teacher aide and support staff numbers in our schools will grow by 270 (full-time positions) from the start of the 2013 school year."

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Indigenous renos 'grand theft housing'

MANY refurbishments completed under an indigenous housing program have "paint jobs a six-year-old would not be proud of" and mismatched tiles, the federal opposition says.

In a potential repeat of Labor's criticised $15 billion Building the Education Revolution program, which provided schools with new facilities, Country Liberal senator Nigel Scullion attacked the work being done by contractors in the indigenous housing project.

Under the joint federal and NT program, $672 million is being spent on a Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program (SIHIP) to deliver 750 new houses, the rebuilding of 230 existing homes and 2500 refurbishments in 73 remote indigenous communities by 2013.

During a Senate budget estimates hearing in Canberra on Friday, Senator Scullion, the opposition spokesman on indigenous affairs, reported what he had seen during an inspection of some of the work.

He described paint jobs "that a six-year-old would not be proud of".

"There are holes in walls that have been painted over," he told the committee.

"We have been completely and utterly ripped off. This is grand theft housing."

Department of Indigenous Affairs officials told the committee between $20,000 and $100,000 was being spent on each refurbishment.

However, Senator Scullion said he hadn't been able to find a house that had been refurbished under the program where more than $20,000 had been spent, despite inspecting hundreds of SIHIP houses.

Department official Kate Gumley said the Commonwealth had a robust quality assurance program and was confident it was getting good value for money.

Refurbishments had to measure up to the residential tenancy standard and an Australian National Audit Office report supported the view the program was good value, she said.

"With respect I spend an awful lot more time in these communities than the bods who wrote that report," Senator Scullion replied.

He challenged Ms Gumley to visit the NT and see for herself what the builders were passing off as refurbishments.

Senator Scullion said in some cases tilers had used mismatched coloured tiles and had decided grouting "was not applicable".

But Ms Gumley said the use of mismatched tiles was better than nothing "while I understand that it is certainly more aesthetically pleasing to have colour-matched tiles".

"It may be that the house was constructed some time ago," she added.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Outlook hasn't changed much: Treasury

TREASURY insists the economy hasn't changed "substantially" since the federal budget, even though mining investment projections have been scaled back due to a significant fall in key commodity prices.

However, Treasury executive director of domestic macroeconomic group David Gruen declined to be drawn on the timing of the Gillard government's Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), which could be released as early as next week.

"It's a matter for government when MYEFO comes out," Dr Gruen told a senate budget estimates hearing in Canberra on Thursday.

Treasurer Wayne Swan says most of the information on the global economy required to formulate the MYEFO is already available.

But while Dr Gruen agreed uncertainty about the US and European economies would continue for years, there were plenty of other issues that remain unclear.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott believes the government will release the update to the May budget early, rather that wait until November like last year, to hide the truth about its financial woes.

"It's incapable of being honest about public finances and is trying to rush out MYEFO before the truth about declining revenues is categorically and finally exposed," he told reporters in Melbourne.

Dr Gruen said Treasury's assessment of Australia's economy was "broadly similar" to its budget-time assessment.

"It hasn't changed very substantially," he told the hearing.

But he agreed there had been "quite significant" falls in commodity prices for iron ore and coal of between 15 and 35 per cent, leading to a pull-back in some high profile investment projects.

"We were, at budget, expecting truly extraordinary rates of growth to continue in resource investment," Dr Gruen said.

"Resource investment will not grow as strongly as we previously thought."

However, investment growth will still be relatively strong, growing at 45 per cent in 2012/13, after 75 per cent growth in 2011/12, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

The investment peak will also be somewhat lower than previously thought but should be sustained until the middle of the decade.

Treasury executive director of international macroeconomic group Barry Sterland told the hearing that since May the global economy had remained subdued with a "highly uncertain" outlook.

"The prolonged uncertainty, including weakness in financial and credit markets, means we are looking at sluggish global growth outlook for the next 12 to 18 months," he said.

Treasury's evidence to the committee came as Australia's number one trading partner, China, posted its weakest annual growth rate in three years of 7.4 per cent.

But Dr Gruen said one important advantage Australia had compared to other advanced economies was the "considerable room" for the central bank to cut official interest rates.

"As the budget is returned to surplus, if growth disappoints, and if the Reserve Bank is comfortable with the inflation outlook, then it is in a position to lower interest rates if it sees fit," he said.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

National accounts key to budget update

THE national accounts are the most important piece of data for updating forecasts in the budget or the mid-year budget review, a Senate hearing has been told.

Acting Treasury secretary Nigel Ray, who was standing in for the absent Martin Parkinson at the Senate budget estimates hearing in Canberra on Thursday, said it takes weeks to do a full forecasting round once the national accounts have been released.

The June quarter national accounts were released in the first week of September.

Mr Ray said the earliest the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) has been released in the past was October 15.

"The other most important piece of information for putting together either a budget or MYEFO, and usually the last thing we get, is government decisions," Mr Ray said.

He also noted that under the charter of budget honesty, MYEFO can be released as late as January 31.

Questioning about the timing of MYEFO to Treasury's fiscal group, that has the lead role in compiling MYEFO for the government, came against the backdrop of speculation that Treasurer Wayne Swan will release the budget update next week.

Mr Swan has said that most of the information needed for MYEFO regarding the global economy is already in.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott told reporters in Melbourne the government was planning an earlier than usual MYEFO release to hide the truth about its financial woes.

A spokesman for Mr Swan this was "pretty rich" coming from Mr Abbott.

"Mr Abbott ... leads an opposition that has admitted on live television it has a $70 billion crater in its budget, whose 2010 election auditors were fined for professional misconduct and who hires catering companies to do their costings," he said.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tokyo stocks close 1.21% higher

TOKYO stocks closed 1.21 per cent higher on Wednesday after strong gains on European and US markets and Moody's decision not to downgrade Spain's credit rating.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 105.24 points at 8,806.55, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares rose 1.01 per cent, or 7.39 points, to 739.79.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

EIS released for Qld coal project

THE Newman government has welcomed the release of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the $4.2 billion South Galilee thermal coal project at Alpha in central Queensland.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney says if the project goes ahead it will create about 2900 jobs in the construction and operation phases.

"The proposed project has an open cut and underground mining operation with an estimated mine life of 33 years and, if approved, could mine up to 17 million tonnes of coal a year for the global export market," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The AMCI and Alpha Coal joint venture has advised that it will employ around 1600 people during the two year construction phase of the project and up to 1290 workers when the mine is operational."

Mr Seeney said the scheme would include coal handling infrastructure, a mine water management system, access roads, an on-site accommodation village and a rail spur.

The minister has called for submissions on the EIS which will be available for comment until December 3 at www.dsdip.qld.gov.au/sgcp, the Barcaldine Regional Council, State Library in Brisbane and National Library in Canberra.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Unions call for quad bike safety

UNIONS are calling for mandatory crush protection devices to be installed on all new quad bikes following another fatality.

Ahead of a national forum on quad bike safety later this week, the ACTU is demanding rollover protection devices be compulsory for all new quad bikes sold in Australia.

The death of a 58-year-old man in a quad bike incident at Murchison in northern Victoria on Sunday is the 160th such fatality since 2001, and the tenth in Australia this year, the ACTU says.

There are about 220,000 quad bikes in use in Australia, and the ACTU says they are the single biggest cause of workplace fatalities on farms.

Assistant Secretary Michael Borowick said 2011 saw a record 23 deaths, 18 of which occurred on farms.

He said the manner of the Victorian man's death, caused by the bike flipping and trapping him underneath, was common yet preventable.

"Half of (last year's) fatalities were from rollovers when the victim was crushed or trapped by their quad bike landing on top of them, or pinned underneath a quad in water and drowned," Mr Borowick said in a statement.

"Quad bikes have inherent problems with stability, with evidence indicating they may roll over even on apparently flat terrain."

Deaths could be reduced by installing a crush protection device, such as a U-shaped bar or T-bar, which would reduce the risk of crushing at minimal additional cost, the ACTU says.

Mr Borowick said similar roll-over protection devices that have been compulsory for tractors since 1992 have reduced deaths by 80 per cent.

"We don't want to see quad bikes banned, but they must be made safer," he said.

Unions will raise the proposal for mandatory safety devices at a national forum chaired by Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten in Melbourne on Friday.

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tas premier backs Gunns' farmers

TASMANIAN Premier Lara Giddings has written to the receivers for Gunns asking them to consider farmers hit by the timber company's collapse.

Farmers who grew plantation timber for Gunns were meeting with lawyers and financial advisers in Launceston on Tuesday evening.

Around 60 per cent of Gunns' 100,000-hectare plantation estate is leased from hundreds of farmers for around $12 million per year.

Local media reported around 100 leaseholders had turned up to the meeting, organised by the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA).

Ms Giddings said she was seeking assurances from receiver KordaMentha that plantation management commitments would be met.

"This follows on from discussions I had directly with KordaMentha shortly after they were appointed last month," the premier said in a statement.

"In particular, we have reminded them of their previous commitments to plantation maintenance and lease obligations, particularly in relation to fire management and pest control."

Farmers have expressed pessimism about the value of their forest crops, particularly with the likely demise of Gunns' proposed northern Tasmanian pulp mill which was to be fed by plantation timber.

"It is my hope that a pulp mill will still be built in Tasmania, which is the best way of value-adding our significant plantation resource," Ms Giddings said.

"It is important that plantations are properly maintained to ensure we can take advantage of future opportunities in the forest industry."

13.39 | 0 komentar | Read More