June 05, 2010

Bad laws, not bad whores, say sex workers in Australian protest

CourierMail.com.au

SEX workers have rallied in Sydney to demand an end to "whore-phobic" attitudes and greater protection under anti-discrimination laws.

Chanting "sex worker rights are human rights" and "no bad whores, just bad laws", dozens of protesters marched from the Opera House today in a bid to have their rights recognised.

Many carried red umbrellas, a symbol of the global movement, while others made statements with T-shirts reading "whore power" and "sluts unite".

"We are human beings, we are people, we do a job and we are continually vilified for that job," sex worker Julie Bates said, noting that little had changed in the way of community attitudes during her 30-year career.

"So whilst we remained silenced, today is a chance for us to speak to the community, so we have a voice.

"What we want society to see is that sex work is real damn hard work, and we provide a service like any other industry."

Organised by the Scarlet Alliance, a peak body representing the nation's estimated 20,000 sex workers, the event was one of several staged in capital cities across the country to commemorate International Whores Day.

The alliance is using the occasion to lobby state governments for amendments to existing legislation that covers the industry.

The campaign focuses on New South Wales, which has the highest concentration of sex workers - about 8000 - yet has inferior anti-discrimination laws compared with other parts of the nation. In the ACT, Queensland and Tasmania, legislation protects against discrimination based on legal sexual activity or occupation, essentially giving mistreated sex workers an avenue for recourse.

The most common instances of discrimination reported to the alliance occur during applications for rental properties, bank loans and credit cards. Sex workers are also forced to pay up to five times more than other advertisers in newspapers, and encounter problems when dealing with police and the judicial system, the alliance said.

It was often seen when women lost custody cases because of negative stereotypes associated with their jobs.

Alliance president Elena Jeffreys said part of the problem stemmed from deep-rooted attitudes within government and mainstream institutions.

"They think that sex workers are not part of the community," she told AAP.

"We are absolutely sick of whore-phobic attitudes.

"Sex work is legalised, decriminalised, brothels are run in a professional and transparent manner, and sex workers are huge contributors to society, yet we face this discrimination every single day.

"It's absolutely untenable and we demand that it be changed."

Latest Australian and International News

NSW gets five new ministers
June 5, 2010 at 3:42 PM

THE NSW ministerial merry-go-round has taken another spin, with five ministers sworn in following the resignations of Graham West and Ian Macdonald.
 

US troops now in 75 countries
June 5, 2010 at 3:37 PM

PRESIDENT Obama has secretly sanctioned a huge increase in the number of US special forces carrying out search-and-destroy missions against al-Qaeda.
 

Garrett left out of ETS loop
June 5, 2010 at 2:52 PM

THE Federal Government didn't bother to tell its Environment Minister Peter Garrett about a decision to delay its emissions trading scheme (ETS).
 

Snow machines switched on at Mt Hotham
June 5, 2010 at 2:22 PM

SNOW-making machines have been turned on at Mt Hotham in the lead-up to next week's opening of the Victorian ski season.
 

Aid ship 'intercepted by Israeli troops'
June 5, 2010 at 1:54 PM

AN international aid ship en route for the Gaza Strip was intercepted by Israeli troops, the Gaza-based committee awaiting the vessel said.
 

Aussie Restaurant Owner Orders Diners To Eat Everything On Their Plates

http://newsblaze.com

"An Australian restaurateur fed up with the waste left by diners has ordered her customers to eat everything on their plates for their sake of the earth or pay a penalty and not return.

Chef Yukako Ichikawa has introduced a 30 percent discount for diners who eat all the food they have ordered at Wafu, her 30-seat restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, that describes itself as 'guilty free Japanese cuisine.'" Reuters

Wafu serves organic (read:no taste) meals, that are free of gluten, dairy and eggs. I would never patronize this dining establishment, I want my meals to be chockful of sugar, grease and gluten.

When I was a child my mother would chastise me whenever I left vegetables on my plate with these words: Don't you know that there are millions starving in India? Like I gave a rip that Indians were going to bed hungry. Today Indians still aren't eating very much, they're too busy working 14 hours a day in a call center.

I don't want to be treated like a child in a restuarant; I want to be treated like a responsible adult. If I leave a few vegetables on my plate, that's my business. I paid for the meal, and I can do whatever I want with my food.

A fine dining establishment doesn't have to bribe customers to eat all the food on their plates. If the food is delicious, diners will clean their plates.

.....................................................................................................
COMMENT: The owner of this restaurant sounds like a dickhead!


PaulGTully@gmail.com

Ipad sales hit two million

http://www.theinquirer.net

Apple has announced that it managed to sell two million Ipads within two months.

Cupertino fanbois have pushed Ipad sales over two million since its launch on April 3. Apple achieved the sales after rolling out over several countries including the UK last week, but most of them were probably in the US. The company will continue its run for world domination, launching in even more unsuspecting countries in July.

"Customers around the world are experiencing the magic of Ipad, and seem to be loving it as much as we do," said Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs. "We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough Ipads for everyone."

While Apple didn't provide any breakdown of its punters, we'll wager that they all have one thing in common - too much cash, a lack of technological knowledge and an inflated self-image.

In the UK last week, Apple's fan flashmobs were running riot to get their paws on the Ipad. We reported there were up to 445 Apple acolytes queuing outside the Regent Street store in London.

Apple's marketing was probably lapping up the hype around "public order" concerns outside its shops. However no one, but no one makes a British queue disorderly. It's just not cricket.

In other Apple news, some press outlets have suggested that the Ipad is a ripoff in Europe and the UK compared to the US.

Reuters reported that Australia's Commerce Secretary released an Ipad Index study. The Oz study claimed that in the UK an Ipad costs "20-25 per cent more than in the U.S.," according to Craig James, chief economist.

Hang on. Once you add shipping and VAT, Ipad prices in the UK and Europe aren't really much higher than in the US. And, however you cook the books, everyone is being ripped off because of the excessively high margins Apple builds into its pricing. The UK can't be 25 percent more ripped off than the US.

We worked out some basic maths with the help of an abacus and the back of a postage stamp. The cheapest Ipad in the US is about £385 based on 8 per cent sales tax ($499 + 8 per cent at $1.4 to £1), compared to £429 in the UK. But we're paying a higher VAT for the privilege, so Apple's recommended retail rates in the US and UK remain about the same.

Still, Apple is extracting a lot of profit on its gadgets, as it always does, but that might be about to change in the tablet market, once it gets some of the competition that is headed its way. µ

Australian Court Ruling: Legal notice can be sent via Facebook

Online social networking site Facebook can also be used to serve legal notices on those evading court hearing, an Australian judge has ruled.

An Adelaide court ordered that Facebook be used for sending legal documents on an elusive alleged father involved in a child support dispute.

The federal magistrate, Stewart Brown, said the case was unusual but "demonstrative of social movements and the currency of the times".

The accused, Howard, had a brief relationship with a woman who later gave birth. The father's name was not mentioned in the birth certificate and the mother's child support application was rejected for lack of legal proof of paternity.

The mother's counsel repeatedly wrote to Howard, asking him to have a paternity test, but there was no response. Letters sent care of his parents and current girlfriend also elicited no reply.

When the magistrate was told that Howard was a regular user of Facebook, he ordered that the documents be served electronically, The Age reported.

The judge said he was satisfied Howard had been properly served with the documents and inferred that he wanted no involvement with the proceedings because "the parentage test can have only one outcome... he is (the child's) father".

Howard shut down his account on Facebook and his MySpace website after the documents were sent.

Multiple reports of a bright light moving strangely in the dawn light over southeast Queensland


Strange light in southeast Queensland sky

ARTIST'S IMPRESSION: A reader from Brisbane's
northwestern suburbs - who is also a forensic artist -
prepared this approximation of the light pattern he
saw in the sky just before 6am on Saturday. His report
is one of many being made today after the bright light
was seen from many suburbs up and down the southeast
Queensland coast.

CourierMail.com.au

SIGHTINGS have been reported throughout the state's southeast of a mysterious light travelling in an erratic fashion across the sky in the early morning hours.

Witnesses reported watching a ball of light move across the sky for up to five minutes at about 5.50am on Saturday.

``It was a perfect spiral of light,'' one Redcliffe witness told The Sunday Mail.

``I realised soon it was not the moon but that it was shooting like a comet from the southern sky and off into the northwest.''

Another Brisbane resident said: ``There was absolutely no sound in a perfectly clear, darkened sky before dawn.''

Police and search and rescue crews confirmed they had received calls from Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast about the UFO.

The weather bureau said there were no weather conditions which would explain the light. A Defence spokeswoman also said she had no explanation.

Dashing Mayor to attract more women into Local Government

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au

MAYOR Bob Abbot has accepted a challenge to attract more women to local government.

But he won't be relying on his dashing good looks or snappy dress style to do it.

Mr Abbot will join an elite group of men from the local government world who have taken on the task of working to boost the number of talented women in their ranks.

He and the CEO of Redland City Council, Gary Stevenson, have been named South-East Queensland's representatives on the Women in Local Government Strategy Group – a statewide initiative for the Year of Women in Local Government.

It appears he is working from a solid base. Figures sourced by the Daily show the Sunshine Coast council is a fertile ground for women wanting to make their mark in local government.

Having five women among its 13 elected councillors (39%) does not make it a worldbeater when lined up against Brisbane City Council's 44% (12 of 27) and Gold Coast City Council's 50% (seven of 14), but internally the comparisons are much better.

Almost 42% of the Sunshine Coast council's staff are female, while 30% of people in senior management positions are also females.

That includes four of the council's eight most senior staff under CEO John Knaggs. The quartet includes executive director organisation performance, Ros Cheales; executive director community services, Lisbet Dean; director development services, Julie Edwards; and executive director Sunshine Coast Water, Judy Bailey.

On the Gold Coast, only two women are among the ranks of the seven most senior executive (29%), while Brisbane fares worse on 22% (47 of 217 executive staff).

But Brisbane City Council can boast one thing the others can't – a female CEO in Jude Munro, who has held the post for 10 years after being CEO of the St Kilda and Adelaide councils.

Overall, 37% of those on Gold Coast City Council's payroll are women (1353 of 3628) while the figure is 30% in Brisbane (3144 of 9268).

Mr Abbot said he was proud of the work his council had already done in employing women. "I've been in local government for almost 30 years and I've seen great progress made during that time," he said.

"The Sunshine Coast council strongly supports equal opportunity and we believe staff should be promoted on merit.

"I think the statistics reflect that approach and I'm pleased but not surprised to hear we compare well on that score. We're fortunate to have some tremendously talented women in our ranks."

Big new tax on rubbish to be announced by Bligh Government

CourierMail.com.au

QUEENSLAND business is set to be hit with a major new tax aimed at slashing the millions of tonnes in waste produced each year.

Ahead of Tuesday's State Budget, the Bligh Government will on Saturday unveil plans for a new waste levy of $35-$150 a tonne from July 1, 2011.

The levy, which is likely to ignite a bitter dispute with business, will apply to waste sent to landfill sites by the commercial, industrial, construction and demolition industries.

It is expected to raise about $380 million over the first four years.

Premier Anna Bligh said Queensland had to move in line with other states with a levy or risk becoming a dumping ground for the nation's rubbish. "For too long, Queensland has been one of Australia's biggest waste generators," Ms Bligh said.

"Even worse, we've too often chosen landfill over recycling to deal with our mounting waste.

"Furthermore, other mainland states not only have a waste levy but are actually increasing theirs, exposing Queensland as an even cheaper place for interstate companies to dump their waste."

About 32 million tonnes of waste is dumped in Queensland each year, with only two million tonnes generated by households.

The Government hopes the levy will be an incentive for business to conserve and recycle. However, industry leaders are certain to accuse the Government of milking business for more money at the worst economic time which will cost jobs.

Under the scheme, business will be charged $35 per tonne for general waste, $50 for low-hazard waste and $150 for high-hazard waste.

About $159 million of the levy will go to assisting business to reduce rubbish while $120 million would help councils introduce better waste management facilities.

The remaining money will go towards environmental initiatives.

Treasurer Andrew Fraser said the industry waste levy will be lower than southern states, "but it needs to provide sufficient incentive to recycle waste rather than send it to landfill".

Facebook urged to ban teen tributes

TheAustralian.com.au

POLICE want Facebook to ban under-18s from setting up tribute websites after launching the first prosecution of its kind of a Brisbane man accused of posting pornography on online memorials to murdered children.

Disability pensioner Bradley Paul Hampson, 29, faces up to 10 years' jail if convicted of offences relating to the defacement of Facebook memorials for Trinity Bates, 8, and Elliot Fletcher, 12, who died in separate incidents in Queensland earlier this year.

The Australian Federal Police are now negotiating with the social networking giant to prevent future acts of cyber-vandalism by so-called internet "trolls", who post offensive material to provoke outrage.

Detective Superintendent Peter Crawford, of the Child Safety and Sexual Crimes Group of Queensland police, said adults should be required to act as administrators of memorials so they could be held liable for monitoring content. The AFP has, in an effort to improve accountability, raised with Facebook the possibility of banning under-18s from setting up such sites.

Superintendent Crawford said website administrators - and not just Facebook - needed to act quickly to remove offensive material.

"I think the trolling issue will continue to be a problem in the future," he said. "We are really keen to see people who administer those sites take responsibility to ensure that material posted is of an appropriate standard."

Superintendent Crawford revealed that Queensland police had been forced to liaise with Facebook executives in San Francisco. While the organisation has a well-staffed advertising office in Australia, its local representatives insist they are not responsible for content.

"We have to make inquiries overseas for all our Facebook inquiries," he said.

Superintendent Crawford said the fact that children and teenagers sometimes set up tribute pages "presents some problems".

"These are the issues we're endeavouring to discuss with Facebook," he said. "I would rather be using (police) resources to target actual sexual offences that are being committed today, than chasing down trolls."

Mr Hampson, 29, of Tarragindi, was remanded in custody after appearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday on five charges relating to possessing and distributing child exploitation material.

Magistrate Leanne O'Shea refused bail.

The police prosecutor, Sergeant Fiona Pedersen, told the court that police had raided Mr Hampson's home early yesterday and found pornographic images on his computer.

"He would appear to have some morbid fascination with deceased children and has expressed fantasies in those regards," she said.

Mr Hampson's legal aid lawyer, Katia Vandenbroucke, told the court her client had been diagnosed with autism.

Facebook said yesterday it had co-operated fully with the police.

Businesses targeted in fake 'YellowPage' scam

Brisbane Car Brokers managing director Martin Corbett was  suspicious when a company called YellowPage faxed him a letter to  sign-up and pay for advertising.

Brisbane Car Brokers managing director Martin Corbett was suspicious
when a company called YellowPage faxed him a letter to sign-up and
pay for advertising.

BrisbaneTimes.com.au

Queensland small businesses and even a consumer watchdog have been targeted in the latest scam that aims to extract money from the unwary in advertising rip-offs.

A company calling itself Yellow Publishing Ltd, based in the United Kingdom, is offering ''free submission'' to internet search engine Google if businesses sign up to a (non-existent) directory.

Last week, Queensland companies received faxes saying registration in the directory for two years would cost $129 a month, payable one year in advance.

''Payment is still required for the agreement term in the event that the customer chooses to remove their record from the directory,'' the fax said.

The fax is headed "YellowPage-Queensland.com" and asks for business details including name, address, phone and fax numbers, email and website details.

It uses a bogus Yellow Pages logo with the distinctive 'walking fingers' pointing up instead of down.

Other faxes have been headed with other states' names or specific cities have been targeted with YellowPage-Sydney, Melbourne or Perth.com.

Martin Corbett of Brisbane Car Brokers at Hamilton said he was unsure at first whether or not the fax he received was legitimate.

''It wasn't until I read all the fine print saying the company was based in the UK and that it was after money that I became suspicious,'' he said.

''People who don't use the internet much and don't understand the technology could be easily taken in so I sent it to Yellow Pages to investigate.''

A spokeswoman for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said she had received a fax touting for business in her office and had forwarded it to other officers. She would not confirm or deny whether an investigation was under way ''in line with ACCC policy''.

Yellow Pages spokesman, Stephen Ronchi last week confirmed the scam and said customers including those from NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia had received faxes. It is believed about one in 20 people are taken in by such scams.

He said Sensis, the owner of Yellow Pages (owned by Telstra), was trying to end the scam and retrieve the domain names involved. He said this was not the first ''rogue overseas business'' falsely claiming to be or have some association with Yellow Pages.

''Other scams involve people posing as our sales consultants and asking to confirm business details such as their ABN, the name of the business owner and directors,'' he said.

''Some ask people to renew their existing advertisements and to pay for advertising in non-existent directories.''

He said Sensis had alerted the ACCC, relevant government ministers and business groups to the scam.

Mr Ronchi warned customers against signing up and recommended they call 13 23 78 if they were unsure about such a fax.

A Google spokeswoman said the company had not received complaints.

What to look out for:

The ACCC's SCAMwatch website says small businesses should be wary of the following in relation to directory and advertising (false billing) scams:

  • Callers from a business directory or publication you've never heard of, 'confirming' your entry or advertisement.
  • Callers claiming the government requires you to be registered on their register.
  • Callers reading out your listing or advertisement from a listing you put in a different publication.
  • You receive a document in the mail that appears to be an invoice from a publication you've never heard of.

The website recommends that you:

  • Check that goods or services were both ordered and delivered before paying an invoice.
  • Never give out or clarify any information about your business unless you know what the information will be used for.
  • Avoid having many people authorised to make orders or pay invoices.
  • Never agree to any business proposal on the phone; always ask for an offer in writing.

June 04, 2010

Australian Facebook Court appearance: Man accused of defacing Facebook denied bail

ABC.net.au

A Brisbane man has been charged with defacing Facebook tribute pages.

A Brisbane man accused of defacing the internet tribute pages for two dead children has been refused bail.

Bradley Paul Hampson, 29, is accused of defacing the Facebook pages of Bundaberg girl Trinity Bates, 8, and Brisbane boy Elliot Fletcher, 12.

He appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court this afternoon.

The court heard the man allegedly took on another person's name and posted child pornography and offensive comment on the pages.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Fiona Pederson said detectives found a number of illegal images on the man's computer during a raid on his Tarragindi home this morning.

She said his landlord has told police he is being evicted and he has no contact with his family.

Magistrate Leanne O'Shea refused bail on the grounds he has nowhere to live and might contact his housemates who are witnesses.

He will appear in court again next month.

Obama Cancels Asian and Australian Trip as Concern on Spill Mounts

http://www.nytimes.com

President Obama
canceled his trip to Australia, Indonesia and Guam late Thursday night as oil continued to stream into the Gulf of Mexico in what he has called the worst environmental disaster in American history.

His decision came as officials reported progress containing the oil leak at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Obama is to visit the Gulf Friday to assess the situation and meet with officials responding to the crisis. While the White House statement offered no reason for scratching the Asia trip this time, officials in recent days had grown increasingly convinced that it was untenable for the president to leave the country for a week with the oil spill still unchecked.

Mr. Obama telephoned Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia to tell them he could not come after all, the White House said in a statement issued at midnight.

"President Obama expressed his deep regret that he has to postpone his trip to Asia that was scheduled for later this month," the statement said. "The president looked forward to rescheduling so that he can visit both countries soon."

In the Gulf, officials reported making some headway in the latest effort to place a cap over the well that would funnel at least some of the oil and gas to a ship at the surface. Earlier Thursday, 20-foot-long shears were used to snip the damaged riser pipe at the wellhead, and technicians began to lower the cap over it.

Late Thursday, Adm. Thad W. Allen of the Coast Guard, who is commanding the federal response to the disaster, announced that the cap had been put in place, but warned that "it will be some time before we can confirm that this method will work and to what extent it will mitigate the release of oil into the environment."

Among the concerns was that the cap would not fit tightly and would allow seawater into the oil. That could lead to the formation of icelike hydrates that could block the flow. But the cap was outfitted with pipes for injecting methanol, which acts as a kind of antifreeze to prevent hydrates from forming.

Live video feeds from the sea bed appeared to show oil spewing from valves at the top of the cap, as planned. As oil gradually begins to flow up through a pipe to the drillship, these valves would be closed. "It's looking hopeful," a BP spokesman said.

Mr. Obama's decision to cancel his Asia trip underscored the way the oil spill is forcing the White House to recalibrate plans for this summer. BP and the government have given up trying to plug the leak and are focusing now on siphoning or containing it until relief wells can be completed, perhaps by August. As a result, the president faces another two months in crisis management before he can even turn his focus exclusively to cleanup and recovery.

White House officials said they will not let the focus on the oil spill detract from the rest of the president's economic, legislative and foreign agenda, pointing out that he still seems likely to sign financial regulation reform by next month, push through his Supreme Court nominee and win sanctions against Iran at the United Nations Security Council.

"The American people don't elect somebody, I think, that they don't believe can walk and chew gum at the same time," Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, told reporters earlier Thursday. "Sometimes it feels like we walk and chew gum and juggle on a unicycle all at the same time. I get that."

But, he added, "there's a whole lot of people working on a whole lot of things in the White House, and we're able to do more than several things at once."

To get through the crisis without letting it detract from the rest of the president's agenda, the White House plans to try to wall off those dealing with the spill from the rest of Mr. Obama's team, particularly John Brennan, the homeland security adviser, and Carol Browner, the energy and climate adviser. The White House is counting on a strong jobs report on Friday to reassure Americans that its programs are bolstering the economy.

Yet the president's time and energy are finite and every day devoted to the oil spill is one that he cannot focus as much of his own resources on other issues. The juggling of his schedule Friday showed the complexities in store for the White House over the next two months – the president will visit a commercial truck dealership and truck parts supplier in Maryland to highlight the jobs report in the morning, then fly to New Orleans to assess the latest efforts to combat the spill in the afternoon.

This was the second time Mr. Obama has scrubbed the trip to Australia and Indonesia. He was originally scheduled to travel there in March but canceled at the last minute to stay in Washington to lobby for passage of his health care legislation. The White House announced no date for rescheduling it again, although at a separate event on Thursday, Mr. Obama announced he will visit India in November, which would put him in the general neighborhood.

The Australia-Indonesia trip is the most prominent example so far of what will have to be sacrificed on the president's agenda as a result of the spill. While not the highest foreign policy priority, the trip was considered important by administration officials because Australia is one of America's strongest allies and because Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation. Mr. Obama also spent several years of his youth in Indonesia.

In its statement, the White House signaled that it was not abandoning its allies: "President Obama underscored his commitment to our close alliance with Australia and our deepening partnership with Indonesia. He plans to hold full bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Rudd and President Yudhoyono on the margins of the G-20 meeting in Canada." The Group of 20 major nations will be meeting in Toronto in late June.

But Mr. Obama has called the spill his "highest priority" and the White House understands it will absorb a considerable portion of the president's time this summer. The failure to stop the leak after more than six weeks has fed concern about the administration's powerlessness in the face of this crisis, and the White House has been determined to show that it is fully engaged.

Earlier on Thursday, the White House announced that it had sent a $69 million bill to BP for the first installment of clean up costs. The White House has made a point of criticizing BP lately and the Justice Department has opened criminal investigation into what caused the April 20 explosion that ultimately sank the Deepwater Horizon rig, killed 11 workers and touched off the leak.

Mr. Obama, who has also been confronted by questions about his cool public reaction, said Thursday night that he is "furious at this entire situation" but does not show it because it does not accomplish anything.

"I would love to just spend a lot of my time venting and yelling at people," he said on "Larry King Live" on CNN. "But that's not the job I was hired to do. My job is to solve this problem and ultimately this isn't about me and how angry I am. Ultimately, this is about the people down in the Gulf who are being impacted and what am I doing to make sure that they're able to salvage their way of life."

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Brisbane today

Kevin Rudd addresses the Queensland Media Club at lunchtime in Brisbane.

He made a savage attack on mining magnate and LNP, anti-government campaigner Clive Palmer.

LNP candidate demands action on scrapped Goodna Bypass

LNP candidate for the Federal seat
of Blair Neil Zabel says he doesn't
want to play gutter politics with sitting
member Shayne Neumann.


LNP candidate for Blair Neil Zabel has declined the opportunity to return fire on attacks from his Labor rival Shayne Neumann.

LNP candidate for the Federal seat of Blair Neil Zabel says he doesn't want to play gutter politics with sitting member Shayne Neumann.

LNP candidate for Blair Neil Zabel has declined the opportunity to return fire on attacks from his Labor rival Shayne Neumann.

In Federal Parliament, Mr Neumann criticised Mr Zabel for being an opposition candidate after supporting the government as a councillor.

Mr Zabel, who is the deputy mayor of Somerset Regional Council, said he didn't want to "get down in the gutter" with Mr Neumann.

"I will not stoop to the gutter tactics that he is using. The fight that he gets from me will be clean," Mr Zabel said.

"I'm not into mud-slinging. I know Shayne and I've worked with him and you have to do that in public life."

Mr Neumann, meanwhile, was unrepentant when told of Mr Zabel's response.

"I'm only telling the truth," he said. "He's on record as supporting the government and now he's going to be fighting against our policies.

"I'm just pointing out to the electors of Blair the enormous political hypocrisy of the LNP candidate."

In his first major interview since becoming the LNP's candidate, Mr Zabel said he was encouraged to run by people who "value my background of family values and strong attention to the community".

"I enjoy local government and I enjoy representing people at that level, but I was influenced by a lot of local people to stand for the Federal seat. They didn't force me but they encouraged me very strongly," he said.

"I'm greatly concerned about the level of debt the Government is going to leave our children and grandchildren. In Somerset we have resisted borrowing and now that is paying dividends. I believe the same attitude has to prevail on a national scale."

He said he wanted to widen his local focus on roads to the Federal network, particularly the Warrego Highway, and especially the Blacksoil interchange and the Minden crossroads.

"They are both accidents waiting to happen," he said.

"The Ipswich Motorway is going to be choked up in 10 years so they need to make provision for the Goodna Bypass."

............................................................................................................................................
COMMENT: Neil Zabel has effectively wrecked the chances of the LNP candidate in Ryan
winning the next election.  With no candidate yet pre-selected for the LNP and with
Michael Johnson - the sacked LNP Member for Ryan - still hanging around, the ALP will be
rejoicing with Neil Zabel's gaffe of supporting a Goodna Bypass.  The people of Goodna
don't want it, the people of Moggill don't want it but the Fernvale based country councillor
who is aspiring to the corridors of power in Canberra is calling for it.  Neil Zabel is a nice
enough guy but when it comes to the intellect, wit, wisdom and performance of Shayne
Neumann, Neil is just a babe in the woods.

PaulGTully@gmail.com

June 03, 2010

Queensland daylight saving looks dead according to Premier Bligh, despite majority support

A split daylight saving time zone for southeast Queensland is unlikely, with Premier Anna Bligh declaring there is no momentum for change.

Ms Bligh on Thursday released the results of an online survey of more than 74,000 people, canvassing support for daylight saving in the southeast corner only.

The survey was taken after independent MP Peter Wellington introduced a private member's bill in parliament proposing a referendum on the issue at the next election.

Across the state, 63 per cent of people were in favour of a referendum, while 35 per cent were against.

A total of 64 per cent backed a trial of daylight saving in the southeast before the referendum, with 34 per cent opposed.

When broken down into regions, 67 per cent of people in southeast Queensland were in favour of a referendum, while 55 per cent of those outside the southeast were opposed.

Three-quarters of those outside the southeast were opposed to a trial, while 70 per cent of people in the southeast wanted one.

In surveys by Labor MPs, 56 per cent of southeast Queenslanders were opposed to having a referendum and 51 per cent were against a trial.

Regional MPs found more than 85 per cent of their constituents were against the idea.

Ms Bligh said she was surprised such a significant divide between country and city continued.

"I thought that regional Queensland would be more relaxed about daylight saving if it was restricted to the southeast corner," she told reporters.

"Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case....

"Given this, I can't see any momentum for change."

Ms Bligh said the results showed attitudes were no different now than when the issue was last considered three years ago.

But she denied the exercise had been a waste of time as residents had never before been questioned on a split time zone.

"In order to spend public money on a referendum, I've got to have confidence that there is any real prospect of that referendum at least being close," she said.

The Labor caucus will vote on the government's position on Monday before indicating its position.

"All I'm saying is that on the basis of this data today, I can't see any overwhelming momentum to change the Labor Party's previous position and we'll wait and see," Ms Bligh said.

The Liberal National Party (LNP) has already said it will not support the bill, which is due to be voted upon later in the year.

Daylight Saving for South-East Queensland Party spokesman Jason Furze said there was momentum for change.

"The people of southeast Queensland have been very loud and they would like a trial of daylight saving," he said.

Mr Furze said the model took into consideration regional Queenslanders by leaving them on standard time.

The only way to put the issue to bed properly was to have a referendum, he said.

Johnson 'bullied by LNP' to quit parliament


Deputy opposition whip Michael Johnson speaks during House of  Representatives question time

MP Michael Johnson was kicked out of the
LNP a fortnight ago
.

Embattled MP Michael Johnson has accused the head of Queensland's Liberal National Party (LNP) of bullying and intimidation following his expulsion from the party.

In an extraordinary move and under the cover of parliamentary privilege, Mr Johnson claimed LNP president Bruce McIver asked him to resign from Parliament at the next election or "he would present certain material in his possession to the police".

Mr Johnson was kicked out of the LNP a fortnight ago for bringing the party into disrepute after he was accused of misusing his parliamentary resources.

But the new Independent Member for Ryan has denied the claims and has written to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to demand an urgent investigation into the matter.

"This culture of bullying and intimidation must have no place in any political party," he said.

"This culture of harassment and pressure must be stamped out of the Australian body politic.

"Individuals in political parties must not be laws unto themselves, as is evidently the case in my view, in the highest echelons of the LNP in Queensland."

In parliament he read from a letter he had sent to the head of the AFP, Tony Negus, in which he refers to two meetings he had with Mr McIver.

He says one of the meetings took place on February 25 and Liberal Party director Brian Loughnane was also present.

"During that meeting, Mr McIver expressed certain language towards me that I personally took to be extremely intimidating and of an entirely improper character," Mr Johnson said.

"During this meeting, Mr McIver called upon me in no uncertain terms to resign from the Federal Parliament at the next election. Otherwise, he informed me, he would present certain material in his possession to the police."

The Leader of Opposition Business, Christopher Pyne, tried to stop Mr Johnson in his tracks.

"I don't wish to interrupt my colleague, the Member for Ryan, but this is a very unprecedented use of indulgence," he said.

Mr Johnson proceeded to read from the letter, which also refers to a second meeting with Mr McIver and Mr Loughnane on March 11.

"It was at this meeting that Mr McIver produced an email off my parliamentary account for me to read," he said.

"He indicated to me that this was evidence of why his demand for me to resign from Parliament was justified.

"The means by which Mr McIver came to be in possession of this email has never been explained by Mr McIver, either to myself or to my lawyers.

"There is absolutely no doubt at all in my mind that Mr McIver's language and his conduct at both meetings was designed to bring enormous pressure upon me to resign my federal seat of Ryan from the Australian Parliament - directly and specifically against my wishes."

Mr Johnson told the Parliament he wants an urgent police investigation during which he would reveal further information.

"It is an act of political corruption upon the integrity of our democracy," he said.

The AFP says it is evaluating Mr Johnson's request.

In a statement, Mr McIver said: "At no time have I or any other appointed representative of the LNP suggest to Mr Johnson that he should resign from Parliament. Mr Johnson was told on several occasions that he should consider his position within the LNP."


..........................................................................................................................................
COMMENT: If Michael Johnson detests the LNP as much as his mouth seems to indicate,
it will be very interesting to see where he directs his preferences at this year's Federal
election, when he contests the seat of Ryan as an Independent. If he directs them to
the endorsed LNP candidate, then all his current ramblings will be regarded as nothing
more than froth and bubble.

PaulGTully@gmail.com

Virgin Blue staff sacked for viewing pornography following Brisbane investigation

UP to 20 Virgin Blue staff have been fired for watching pornography on work computers.

Staff were fired yesterday after an extensive investigation by the airline's head office in Brisbane.

While Virgin Blue would not confirm what staff were involved, it is believed they were members of the airline's pit crew, who are involved in refuelling and minor maintenance.

It is believed that employees from Virgin Blue's Sydney and Brisbane terminals had been caught taking part in a pornographic video-swapping ring.

"First of all I want to make it very clear these staff were not doing anything illegal," said company spokeswoman Danielle Keighery.

"We have a very clear code of conduct . . . about computer usage."

Ms Keighery said the sackings were the result of one incident but would not comment on specifics.

"We did run a very fair process to investigate the situation and that investigation resulted in several terminations."

A small number of Virgin Blue staff had been dismissed in the past 18 months for a similar issue.

Shock for Brisbane and Ipswich Motorists: Secret toll plan to charge motorists for every kilometre analysed by Bligh Government

A SECRET plan to charge motorists for every kilometre they travel on southeast Queensland's existing and planned motorways has been developed by the Bligh Government.

Ahead of Tuesday's State Budget, The Courier-Mail can reveal the Government has made a detailed analysis of how to squeeze more money out of existing road infrastructure.

Documents obtained under Right to Information laws show the Department of Transport and Main Roads has developed a "distance-based tolling" model for the Gateway and Logan motorways.

A proposal dubbed "Connecting Motorways" also extends to a Brisbane "ring road" system which would include untolled roads such as the Darra to Springfield section of the Ipswich Motorway and the Centenary Highway, as well as the yet-to-be constructed Northern Link tunnel.

Drivers travelling the length of existing tolled motorways, such as the Gateway, would save money under a favoured model to charge 12¢ per kilometre travelled. But thousands of trips which now avoid toll points would draw charges.

Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace yesterday confirmed the plan for distance-based tolls was taken to Cabinet this year.

"Cabinet was of the opinion that our (current) single point tolling was correct," he said.

Opposition transport spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said the Government had promised before not to do things, such as assets sales, only to proceed when it was politically convenient.

The RTI search identified more than 800 pages of documents in which distance-based tolling was discussed, most produced in the past 18 months.

But 564 pages were not released because of Cabinet secrecy and the potential economic impact on the sale of the Queensland Motorways franchise. Many of these relate to modelling likely to show how much money distance-based tolls would raise compared with the fixed toll regime.

"Further work on DBT (distance-based tolling) for the existing motorway network will be driven by the need to inform the QML asset divestment process and this is being scoped now," one internal email read. But one document shows distance tolls of 10¢ to 20¢, as well as a 12¢ model combined with exiting toll points, could raise up to an additional $80 million a year.

So serious was the Government about distance tolls last year that teams of consultants were hired to develop detailed options and traffic modelling.

In one brief for consultancy services, distance-based tolls were considered all but a foregone conclusion and the role involved developing "political and public acceptance".

The consultant's report was not released.

Mr Wallace said it was investigated along with congestion charging after being promoted by the RACQ but rejected because of the region's "geography". He could not recall when.

"The advice from my department is it wouldn't have had an impact on congestion throughout the network," he said.

RACQ spokeswoman Lynda Schekoske said the motoring body had never advocated distance tolling.

"In fact, we were very concerned that they may use the sale of Queensland Motorways as an excuse to impose distance-based tolls on other parts of the network," she said.

Ahead of the Queensland Motorways sale, the Government will significantly increase Gateway and Logan tolls from July 1, raising a similar amount to the distance model.

June 02, 2010

Disgraceful Australia Post Release: Australia Post welcomes price rise approval

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Australia Post has welcomed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announcement that they have no objection to increasing the basic postage rate by five cents, effective from 28 June.

The new 60 cent stamp price represents only the third price rise in 18 years. After the price increase, Australia will still have the third lowest basic price rate in the OECD.

Even with the increase, Australia Post makes no profit from its reserved letter service, with the cost of providing the basic postage service exceeding what many Australians pay. For example to send a stamped letter from Brisbane to Perth costs 71 cents.

Australia Post executive general manager, Postal Services, Jim Marshall, said: "While we understand no-one likes a price rise, we've worked hard to keep price rises to minimum. In fact the basic postage rate has not even kept pace with inflation over the last two decades; if it had the price of the 55 cent stamp would actually now be 70 cents."

The ACCC objected to the proposed prices in a July 2009 draft notification, citing a number of issues; Australia Post's subsequent notification has addressed these issues, including further information on letter volumes and cost projections and management.

"It's not just about putting up the cost of stamps; we've found ways to work smarter, employing a cost reduction program over the last year which has extracted an efficiency dividend for our operator," said Marshall.

Marshall said that the ACCC's decision showed that they recognised the changing environment within which the letters business operates and the concerted efforts that Australia Post has made to improve productivity, "Despite declining letter volumes we must continue to find ways to provide a reliable mail service for all Australians no matter where they live."

Marshall said that rapid growth in areas like western Sydney, south-east Melbourne, south east Queensland and parts of Western Australia will add 2.5m new delivery points over the next decade.

"This growth is the equivalent to another Queensland or nearly four Adelaides being added to Australia Post's network over the next ten years. At the same time, costs keep increasing, and letters volumes, which have levelled out over the last five years, are forecast to decline in future years."

In April, Australia Post revealed its new business direction, entitled Future Ready, announcing the creation of four new strategic business units: Postal Services, Retail Services, Distribution and Express Services and e-Services.

................................................................................................................................................................................................
COMMENT: Australia Post has scrapped its community mail box scheme - before it even got off the ground - ensuring
that the likely brake on postage price hikes would never be implemented.  Australia Post is not interested in a fair deal
for consumers.  If they did, the community mail box scheme would not have been scrapped on the eve of an appearance
by Australia Post bosses before a Federal Parliamentary Committee last month.

PaulGTully@gmail.com

Fresh barbs aimed at 'Barbara' ads as Finance Sector Union slams ANZ

An ANZ Bank advertising campaign depicting a comically unhelpful middle-aged banker has come under renewed criticism, this time from the banking union which says it unfairly disparages employees.

The Finance Sector Union said the so-called "Barbara" advertisements actually reflect consumer anger with banks and their policies in general, rather than staff.

"We don't think producing ads that denigrate the industry is the way to go," said FSU national secretary Leon Carter, adding that the ANZ's "own behaviour about excessive charges and interest rates contributes to how people feel about the industry".

Customer service at banks have come under closer scrutiny in recent weeks after law firm Maurice Blackburn announced the largest class action suit in Australian history aimed at recouping an estimated $5 billion of "penalty fees" paid by customers to banks over the past six years.

To date, 105,000 Australians have expressed interest in participating in the case, Maurice Blackburn said. The case will name ANZ, its rivals Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac and eight other banks as defendants.

The Advertising Standards Bureau in March dismissed a viewer's complaint that the ANZ ad was "sexist and ageist" and vilified mature female bank employees.

In defending the ad at the time, ANZ said its decision to cast actress Genevieve Morris as the bank manager was based on her "ability to deliver the comedic script in a satirical manner and also because of her expressions and mannerism".
 
The ANZ today dismissed the FSU's complaint. "The character 'Barbara the bank manager from A Bank' came directly from customer research," an ANZ spokeswoman said.

"Barbara is used in a humorous way to parody the beliefs the public have about the banking industry, and other services industries in general," the bank said. "It's a way for us to humbly admit those customer perceptions - and then try and highlight what we are doing to further improve our services."

Mr Carter said the union would rather ANZ celebrate its positive differences than denigrate others, while conceding that the ads had provoked the odd chuckle.

"The ads are funny because the industry's reputation isn't all that good at the moment," he said.

........................................................................................................
COMMENT: The Finance Sector Union is 100% right on this issue. 
The ANZ is one of the worst banks in Australia, yet this idiotic
advertisement tries to portray itself as squeaky clean. The sooner
this ad is scrapped the better.

PaulGTully@gmail.com

Daylight saving results to be released tomorrow

BrisbaneTimes.com.au

The results of a survey on a split daylight saving zone for Queensland are expected to be released tomorrow.

About 78,000 people responded to an online poll on whether they would support the introduction of daylight saving in southeast Queensland only.

The survey was undertaken after independent MP Peter Wellington introduced a bill into parliament proposing a referendum be held on the issue.

Premier Anna Bligh said the government was in the final stages of compiling the figures.

"We'll get all of that data to you when it is accurate and make it as public as we can, as early as we can," Ms Bligh said in Brisbane.

Ms Bligh will use the results to develop Labor's position, which will be decided in a caucus meeting next Monday.

It is understood the data will be filtered to get rid of anomalies, such as multiple votes from the one computer, and broken down into regions to discover if there are any trends.

Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek has already said his MPs will vote against the bill.

MPs will not be allowed a conscience vote when the bill is voted upon later in the year, meaning it is almost certainly doomed given senior party members have been downplaying its success.

But questioned on the likelihood of it passing, Ms Bligh said: "I'm not speculating."

Rupert Murdoch reveals iPad newspaper app sales figures as Steve Jobs rejects 'nation of bloggers'

Steve Jobs

Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference in California.


TheAustralian.com.au

RUPERT Murdoch's early bet with applications for the iPad seems to have paid off, with almost 20,000 subscribers paying to download his newspapers.

This includes 4500 subscriptions for The Australian's $4.99-a-month app, launched last Thursday on the eve of the iPad's Australian release.

Mr Murdoch today revealed detailed customer numbers for the first time at the Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference in California.

Over the weekend The Times in Britain did 5000 downloads, priced at 9.99 pounds a month.

Mr Murdoch's comments came as he introduced the iPad's creator, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who rejected the assumption that people would not pay for online content.

"I don't want to see us descend into a nation of bloggers…I think we need editorial oversight now more than ever," he said.

"Anything we can do to help newspapers find new ways of expression that will help them get paid, I am all for.

"What we have to do is figure out a way to get people to start paying for this hard-earned content."

He said Apple and its iPad could help if media companies "price (content) aggressively and go for volume".

Mr Murdoch also reported that The Wall Street Journal had 10,000 paying subscribers for its application, which costs $US17.29 a month for full access, although the app is curently free for existing subscribers to the Journal's products.

In total the Journal has 64,000 users who browse WSJ on Apple's iPad.

Mr Murdoch said the internet and technology was not the enemy, but complementary platforms that media owners could take advantage of.

"There is no great secret here: in response to sceptics who say technology is killing the news business, I believe technology is ushering in a new golden age for those willing to embrace it.

"(It's) giving us new ways to showcase our strengths, enhance our coverage and encourage interactivity."

He said sales figures backed up his view.

"This year The Wall Street Journal was the only one of the top 25 American newspapers to grow in average weekday circulation.

"Much of that growth comes from paying, online subscribers - not counting over 10,000 iPad paid subscribers.

"And now over the past weekend 5000 paid iPad subscribers at the London Times and 4500 in Australia."

The Australian deputy CEO Nick Leeder said he was pleased with the initial numbers but conceded the price was likely to increase in a few months as enhancements were made.

"The intention is to take it (price) up not down. We are thinking of adding more content and improving it as we go along."

Some customers had criticised The Australian selling advertisements despite charging for the iPad application, but Mr Leeder said the combination was here to stay.

"We do it in print so digital will be no different."

The Australian's iPad application has sold advertising to blue chip clients such as Optus, Commonwealth Bank, Emirates and IBM.

In his introduction Mr Murdoch said: "Eight years ago at (the first D conference) Steve Jobs told us how the technology creators and the content creators didn't understand each other. He was absolutely right.

"Steve, I doubt you will say the same tonight."

Globally Apple has sold more than 2 million iPads in less than 60 days. The company has refused to provide local sales numbers but most Apple stores and retail outlets quickly sold out when it launched.

Keneally admits to undeclared flight upgrades


NSW  premier Kristina Keneally speaks to media during a press conference in  Sydney on April 16, 2010.

The Premier says flight upgrades are a grey area.

The New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally has admitted she has received flight upgrades that she has not declared.

Senior minister Ian Macdonald has been accused of accepting free business class upgrades from Emirates Airlines at a time when he was making decisions benefiting its owners, who are involved in the horse breeding industry.

Mr Macdonald was primary industries minister during the equine influenza outbreak in 2007.

He denies any suggestions of a link but he says he never questioned why the upgrade was given.

"I don't think there's one person in this room that would ask that question," he said.

'They'd say 'thanks you're very kind.'"

MPs are required to declare any gift valued over $500.

Last night Mr Macdonald amended his pecuniary interests to include the flights.

The Opposition's calling for his resignation but the Premier says many politicians receive upgrades and do not declare them, including herself.

'This is a grey area, the rules are not particularly clear," Ms Keneally said.

"I'm asking parliament to provide some advice."

She says Qantas upgraded her children when they flew with her while she was on an official trip to the United States.


................................................................................................................................................................................................
COMMENT: Of all the petty, childish allegations which are levelled at politicians, this would have to be the absolute pits.
The New South Wales Opposition is scraping the bottom of the barrel with this sort of unmitigated muck-raking.  NSW
Premier Kristina Keneally is 100 percent right that this a a grey area.  If it needs to be clarified, so be it but the Opposition
should be concentrating on serious issues rather than its spineless, irrelevant, political attacks.

PaulGTully@gmail.com

Twiggy claims Henry against mining tax changes

Ken Henry  (left) speaks to Andrew Forrest

ABC.net.au

West Australian mining magnate Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest has upped the stakes in the debate over the new mining tax, claiming Treasury boss Ken Henry told him privately the tax would not work if it was significantly altered.

And the Fortescue Metals head has lashed out at Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's claims that the mining industry's arguments against the tax are "bunkum".

...................................................................................................................
COMMENT: Why did Andrew Forrest leak the details of a private meeting?

PaulGTully@gmail.com


Local Government Shock Nomination: Is Campbell Newman the best mayor in the world?


Is Brisbane's infrastructure-loving mayor the world's greatest?

BT

Is Brisbane's infrastructure-loving mayor the world's greatest?

Is Brisbane's Campbell Newman the best mayor in the world?

An international search for the top city administrator thinks he could be.

The World Mayor 2010 contest has shortlisted Newman among the world's leading 25 mayors.

The German-run online competition included "Can Do Campbell" in its top candidates after 118,000 votes were registered for 840 mayors.

Brisbane's civic leader said he had no idea he had been nominated or shortlisted until contacted by the media.

He would not comment on whether he thought he was deserving.

"My focus is on getting on with the job and working to make Brisbane an even better place to live," Newman told brisbanetimes.com.au.

The competition website says it aims to raise the profile of mayors and "honour those who have served their communities well and who have made contributions to the well-being of cities nationally and internationally".

Past winners include Melbourne's former mayor John So (2006) and Cape Town's Helen Zille (2008).

Newman's bio on the website says his vision for Brisbane is "of a smart thinking and easy living city".

It boasts his work to address heavy traffic congestion in the city despite difficulty squeezing funds out of the state and federal governments.

Posted comments in favour of Newman, apparently uploaded by Brisbane citizens, praise his work to improve the River City's infrastructure and world image.

Included in the comments were:

  • "[Newman] has done so much for Brisbane. Public transport and roads are so much better now": Joel T.
  • "Campbell is one of the most forward thinking mayors this town has had, he works tirelessly to improve the living standards in the largest Local Government in Australia": Matt O'R.
  • "Mr Newman is an excellent Mayor and has done a terrific job building Brisbane into a new world city": Pete.
  • "Campbell Newman and his 'can do' approach to the city has delivered enormous benefits for Brisbane. I am proud to live in a city with him as Lord Mayor and strongly support him being voted World Mayor 2010": Matthew.
  • "A brilliant man who is changing Brisbane for the better. I have never seen Brisbane looking so good and it is all because of the work of this great Lord Mayor": Nat K.

The standout mayor for 2010 will be chosen based on the number of votes as well as the persuasiveness and conviction of supporting statements.

The winner will be announced in September.

Votes can be lodged at www.worldmayor.com

New iPhone, new OS, more features - what Australian developers want from Apple’s big conference

http://www.smartcompany.com.au

Australian iPhone developers want new hardware, more effective methods of tracking their sales on the App Store and some new development tools to be announced during next week's long-awaited Worldwide Developer's Conference.

The conference, with a keynote to be delivered by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, has been the company's now-traditional launching pad for new iPhone hardware for the past few years.

While the tech world has focused on the iPad for the past few months, next week's conference will allow the company to showcase some long awaited, and possibly already leaked, iPhone hardware.

Developers already have a wishlist of features they want to see from the company. While the iPhone OS 4.0 has already been announced, including features like multitasking and new ways for developers to create interactive apps, software makers still want more.

Marc Edwards, chief executive of Melbourne-based development studio Bjango, says there shouldn't be any big surprises, given much of the iPhone hardware has already leaked, but he still would like to see some improvements for the App Store.

"This is a bit out of leftfield, but I would love to see some App Store analytics. Right now there isn't much of a way of gauging where your sales are at."

Some developers have criticised Apple for mishandling the App Store as it has continually grown, saying there are too many apps for people to wade through in order to find the content that they want.

"You get some data files right now, but some other services and so on would be great in order to measure transactions and give a daily breakdown, in order to determine how well a marketing push is going."

Edwards also says he'd like to see some new hardware, but details have a new iPhone model have been known for some time. Several weeks ago tech blog Gizmodo managed to get their hands on a prototype model of a new version, with detailed photographs and videos having spread across the internet.

But despite the leaks, jTribe director Armin Kroll says Apple is good at keeping things under wraps and he expects to see some new features for both the iPhone and a number of other products as well."

"One of the things I would like to see is a toolkit for developers to work with HTML5. The new iAd platform is built on that, and there is a huge potential for rebuilding apps in a different framework."

Additionally, Kroll says he has heard rumours there could be a new version of the Apple TV product. The gadget, which has sold fewer numbers than expected, allows users to browse the iTunes store on their television and purchase or rent films and television shows.

Now with Google in the ring with its Google TV product, Kroll says he would like to see a new version of Apple TV running on a version of the iPhone OS which would allow developers to create apps for the device.

"There will definitely be a new phone, but it would be good to see some sort of Apple TV upgrade. I would expect to see some type of entertainment gadget like that, and apparently it's supposed to be a lot better."

Keith Ahern, chief executive of MoGeneration, says he also expects to see some advancement in the area of video conferencing, with various leaked photographs showing a second camera on the front of the new iPhone.

"Video calling was tried a few years ago here and nobody took it up. But maybe it will work now, and Apple could have some compelling announcements with that. They could do some sort of partnership with Skype possibly, and there might be an announcement around some type of product."

The big question, Ahern says, is whether everything has already been spoiled. But he says there could be some surprises left.

"The leaked hardware shows a higher resolution screen, and that could be because the iPhone is going to have the iBooks Store and Apple doesn't want people reading books on a lower-resolution screen. It could make it more pleasant to read, and developers can use it for higher resolution apps as well."

90 million cane toads threaten NT wildlife


Cane  toad

FrogWatch estimates there are more than 90
million cane toads in the NT.

A group working to control cane toad numbers in the Northern Territory says more than 90 million toads are throwing the food chain into disarray.

FrogWatch NT says more than 92 million cane toads across the Territory are eating 18 billion food items every night.

The group says the competition for food is one of the reasons so many native species are in decline.

Research conducted by the group last year found an average of 209 toads per square kilometre in Territory savanna areas.

"FrogWatch finished in December last year some research in 110 square kilometres of savanna woodland," said FrogWatch coordinator and Darwin Lord Mayor, Graeme Sawyer.

"We spent a fair bit of time and effort trying to eradicate every single cane toad in that area and we got just over 23,000 cane toads."

He says the group then extrapolated that data across other savanna areas in the Territory to come up with the figure of 92 million toads.

"We realise there's huge risks in that sort of mathematics but we used some fairly conservative estimates on numbers so the reality is probably a higher number of cane toads than that."

Mr Sawyer says toads are locking up nutrients, seriously disrupting the food supply for native animals.

He says wildlife authorities have not done anything to control cane toad numbers in national parks, which explains recent data showing a decline in the number of native animals.

The group has called on authorities and researchers to spend less time seeking funding and focus more attention on tackling the invasive pest.

Miners head to Canberra for tax fight


A  mine worker climbs onto a mining truck

Kevin Rudd will not address the Minerals Council conference.

The nation's biggest miners are descending on Canberra today armed with new ammunition in their fight against the mining profits tax.

The Minerals Council is holding a two-day conference in Canberra, which coincides with the release of a new study on the profits tax.

The council's spokesman, Mitch Hooke, says the report by accounting firm KPMG shows gold and copper mines will not be viable under the new tax, while the net present value of new coal mines will be more than halved.

"They will either be deferred, shelved, or just simply cut," he said.

Mr Hooke says investment will move offshore.

"The international investment community is saying, 'what are you doing, do you understand the ramifications of what you are doing - not just for your industry but for this country as a whole'," he said.

Rio Tinto says the KPMG report found it paid an effective tax rate of 35 per cent, amounting to more than $20 billion, over the past 10 years.

The figures challenge the Federal Government's claim that resource companies pay on average a tax rate of 17 per cent.

Rio Tinto also says the $37 billion it has made over the past decade in profits after tax has been re-invested in Australia

But Treasurer Wayne Swan says the miners cannot be believed.

"What we have is a grievous misrepresentation of what the Government is doing," he said.

Mr Swan says the mining industry's campaign against the tax justifies the Government's decision to do its own advertising.

"We are running a factual campaign. It goes to the core of our plans for the future to modernise, to strengthen our economy by modernising the tax system," he said.

"What we are doing is putting the proposals out there clearly because the have been grossly misrepresented by vested interests who stand to benefit.

"I couldn't think of anything more important for a Government to do than clear up those misrepresentations."

But the Federal Opposition said it was clear the Government was planning a mining tax advertising campaign well before the proposed tax was announced.

The Government has repeatedly said the campaign is needed because the mining industry is spreading misinformation about the new tax.

But a Treasury official has confirmed the Government began doing market research in March and had prepared an advertising campaign by April - before the tax was announced in May.

Liberal Senator Michael Ronaldson says the Prime Minister has been caught out.

"This puts paid to the public line being run by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer," he said.

"Clearly, what is happening is that the great big new tax on mining - and the advertising of it - was in place well before the mining industry got involved."

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is skipping the miners' conference, but Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will give a lunchtime address.