NewsRoo.com.au

A compact weekly review of Aussie news for Australians abroad
By Vince Chadwick and Benjamin Hope

October 18th 2008

Covering Australian News of 11/10/2008 to 18/10/2008













Kevin Rudd
Image: djackmanson

$10.4b package to safeguard economy

A special meeting of Federal Cabinet signed off on a $10.4 package to safeguard the Australian economy this week, following forecasts that the global financial crisis will halt growth in almost every developed nation. The package will deliver a pre-Christmas bonus to pensioners, carers, veterans and those on the parenting payment worth at least $1400, as well as establishing 56,000 new training places. The first home buyers grant will also double to $14,000 or $21,000 for newly built homes. Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull supported the package that Kevin Rudd said will ‘strengthen the Australian economy in the face of the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression.’

Dubrovnik

Body of missing backpacker found in Dubrovnik

A body found by a fisherman in the port of Dubrovnik in Croatia has been identified as that of missing Australian backpacker Britt Lapthorne. Ms Lapthorne’s brother and father, who had been in Dubrovnik searching for clues following her disappearance on September 18, will return to Melbourne this week with the body. The Victorian Coroner will prepare his own report on the case after Croatian authorities released a two-page summary saying the body was too decomposed to ascertain how Ms Lapthorne died. Croatian and Australian authorities have both been criticised for being slow to assist in the investigation with Family First Senator Steve Fielding calling for a parliamentary inquiry to protect other Australians travelling overseas.

Australian Money
Image: vagawi

Rudd moves to secure Australian banks

The Federal Government has moved to secure Australia’s banks against panic in the global financial crisis by guaranteeing $1.2 trillion of deposits and purchasing an extra $4 billion in residential-backed securities. The market responded to the proposal on Monday with an 8% rise in ANZ and National Banks shares. The government will also establish a LoanWatch scheme to allow consumers to compare lenders’ mortgage cost before they commit to a loan. An attempt by the Australian Greens to link the deposit guarantee with a $5 million salary cap for bank executives was voted down by the senate.

Northern Territory
Image: Tourism NT

Government told to continue intervention, with changes

An independent review of the federal government intervention in the Northern Territory has found the emergency response in remote indigenous communities that began in June 2007 should continue, but with modifications. The report, headed by former Kimberley Land Council chair Peter Yu, recommended to Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin that welfare quarantining be made voluntary, that more police officers should be deployed, and that the Racial Discrimination Act should be reinstated. Ms Macklin was forced refute allegations of interference after it emerged her department had received an initial draft of the report late last month before it was re-written, omitting certain criticisms of the government. Mr Yu and other members of the panel also denied the department had interfered.

Bali Memorial
Image: rogerwp

Sixth anniversary of Bali bombings

The Prime Minister remembered victims of the 2002 Bali bombing in Parliament on the sixth year anniversary of the blast that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. At the Australian embassy in Denpasar there was a small ceremony of around 100 people, including 30 family members of the victims, and a candlelight vigil was held at the memorial site between the old Sari Club and Paddy’s Bar where the attacks took place. Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull told parliament that on that day in 2002 Australians ‘lost their innocence.’ The three unrepentant men convicted of the bombing may be executed within 10 days after the Indonesian government announced a statement on thier fate would be issued on October 24.

Victorian Parliament House, Melbourne
Image: Donaldytong

Victorian MP defends rape allegations

Victorian Minister for Industry, Trade and Major Projects Theo Theophanous has denied allegations that he raped a woman in the Victorian parliament, though he has stepped down while police investigate the matter. A former friend of the MP, now living in Greece, accused Mr Theophanous of raping her in 1998, saying fear forced her to leave Australia and prevented her from reporting the crime until recently. Mr Theophanous accused the women of speaking out in an attempt to secure a payout, saying ‘rape is a horrendous crime' and described the accusations as 'deeply harmful to me and my family.’

Microphone
Image: Tanki

Public broadcasters to escape government interference

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Stephen Conroy has announced new standards of independence for the nation’s two public broadcasters, SBS and the ABC. Applicants for vacant board spots will now be assessed by a Nomination Panel ‘established at arms-length from the Minister’, according to a government press release. A discussion paper released by the government this week also proposed barring former members of parliament and senior political staffers from holding board posts. The Friends of the ABC Association welcomed the news as a change from past practice where both sides of politics were accused of stacking the boards with political allies, yet cautioned that the government’s good faith would be tested by who it appointed to the Nomination Panel.

Thomas Baines with Aborigines near the Mouth of the Victoria River, N.T., 1857

History revamp aims to put Australia in context

The study of history would be compulsory until year 10 under a proposal made by an advisory committee to the government’s National Curriculum Board this week. The advisory committee, headed by Professor Stuart Macintyre, also proposed that history be made a stand alone subject at primary school level and allocated 10% of teaching hours. The proposed plan to teach Australian history via a comparative approach to world history has attracted the ire of some however who fear the teaching of facts will be lost in favour of a more general mode of historical inquiry. The National Curriculum Board is to oversee the development of the national curriculum by 2010.

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