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Penny Wong slams Australian Christian Lobby claims over gay marriage
SOUTH Australian Senator Penny Wong has condemned as "bigotry" Australian Christian Lobby comments comparing children of same-sex couples with the Stolen Generations. Ms Wong, the nation's Finance Minister who has a young daughter with her partner Sophie Allouache, says such views have "no place in modern Australia". The Christian group made the comparison in response to an ...
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Labor MPs back Kevin Rudds change of heart over gay marriage but dismiss leadership chatter
LABOR MPs have welcomed Kevin Rudd's change of heart on gay marriage but insist his public declaration is not designed to trigger another leadership challenge. The former Prime Minister's closest backers say they were "in the dark" over his embrace of same sex marriage while downplaying suggestions it was aimed at boosting his standing within Caucus. "The Kevin thing is ...
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Man denies hiding in Australia to avoid PNG fraud charges
Papua New Guinea A controversial Papua New Guinean businessman denies he had been hiding in Australia to avoid charges of misappropriating millions of dollars.Eremas Wartoto had been living in Australia since 2011 after being charged with misappropriating $3 million earmarked for a high school.He returned to PNG this month after it was revealed he had been living in Cairns on a 457 visa, which ...
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Australian garden team triumphs at Chelsea Flower Show
Australia A team of Australian gardeners have created history by claiming best in show honours at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London. The Trailfinders Australian Garden exhibit, which took a team of 18 volunteers 17 days to build, features a stone gorge, running waterfalls and a billabong.The $2 million display was designed by Melbourne's Philip Johnson, and is the first ...
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Aussies dig deep to win Ashes of gardening
An ecstatic team of Australians have won the best-in-show medal at the Chelsea Flower Show - the Ashes of horticulture. ''We're the best in the world; we're the Usain Bolts of gardening,'' said the head of Fleming's Nurseries, Wes Fleming. It was Fleming's last try for the medal after nine attempts. The 18-strong team hugged and broke into a ...
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State Liberals propose privatising ABC SBS
Tony Abbott is facing internal pressure from Victorian Liberals. Tony Abbott is facing internal pressure from Victorian Liberals to privatise the ABC and SBS if he wins the September 14 election amid claims both organisations are struggling to comply with their charters. State Liberals have launched a push ahead of the election to sell the public broadcasters, arguing the funds raised should ...
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Deprivation worsening among single parents report reveals
A bleak picture of disadvantage among single parents forced onto Newstart has emerged, with a new Salvation Army report finding the contentious policy has compounded levels of deprivation. The survey of 2705 people who used the organisation's emergency relief services in March highlighted the impact of the Gillard government's decision to shift 84,000 single parents on to the ...
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Conroy faces revolt over deal on live betting odds
The Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, brokered a deal with the television industry to allow betting companies to continue spruiking live odds during sports broadcasts, despite the growing public backlash against the spread of gambling culture. Senator Conroy has said repeatedly that sports fans are having live odds ''pushed down their throats'' - but Fairfax Media has ...
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Bed-sharing increases SIDS risk
Some doctors are calling for parents to be explicitly told not to sleep with their infants after a large study found it led to a five-fold increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome. A controversial review of data from the UK, Europe and Australasia found bed sharing significantly increased the risk of SIDS even when parents are non-smokers and the mother has not been drinking alcohol and ...
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Students need gambling education academic
Teaching students the dangers of gambling, in the same manner as alcohol, drugs and unsafe sex, is crucial with the boom in betting and easy access to online gambling, an international expert has warned. Canadian academic Jeffrey Derevensky, of McGill University's International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviours, said gambling should be treated like other teen ...
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The problem with porn
Technology has enabled the proliferation of pornography, making it so pervasive that it has become the main sex educator for many young people. This is a profound problem because it gives a distorted view of sexuality and human relations, predominantly involves violence against women and encourages hazardous practices. It is causing young people confusion and anxiety, and they are feeling ...
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Wong lashes out at Christian lobby
A virtual war over gay marriage has broken out between key Labor government figures and a powerful Christian lobby group. Finance Minister Penny Wong has accused the ultra-conservative Australian Christian Lobby of ''peddling prejudice'' and engaging in ''bigotry that has no place in a modern Australia''. The sharp rebuke of an organisation courted by ...
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KKR Exits Australias Seven West Media Tim Worner Promoted to Seven West CEO
SYDNEY - U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co will sell its entire AUS$260 million (US$255 million) stake in Australia’s Seven West Media, ending a seven year partnership in the top rating Australian TV network, Seven West ...
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Vaccine refusers turn to Dr Google
Nationally only two-year-olds have an immunisation rate of 92.6 per cent. The declining immunisation rates are due in part to a group of parents who are vaccine refusers. In December 2012 the children of vaccine refusers made up 1.49 per cent of the kids who should be immunised, the Department of Health ...
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Teens lack web stranger danger
Around six per cent of young children and teens have met people in real life who made contact with them through the internet and many other share very personal data online via social networking ...
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Oil production starts offshore Australia
Australian energy company Santos said it expects to produce 15,000 barrels of oil per day from its Fletcher Finucane project offshore Western Australia. Santos said it started oil production from the facility ahead of schedule and on budget. The $490 million development was sanctioned in January 2012. "Fletcher Finucane is projected to have an average gross production rate of 15,000 ...
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Oasis childcare worker Jessica Bleaney named best young childcare worker in Australia
SEEING the smiles on childrens faces makes going to work easy for day care centre employee Jessica Bleaney. The Salisbury’s Oasis Community Children’s Centre worker has been named the best young child care centre employee in Australia. The 22 year old was awarded the National Rising Star award at the Australian Family Early Education and Care gala dinner in Sydney this month. Ms ...
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Baz Luhrmann gets last laugh at box office
AUSTRALIAN filmmaker Baz Luhrmann is used to getting mixed reviews, but he's having the last laugh with The Great Gatsby. The Australian-filmed Gatsby has received some lacklustre reviews from the critics, but it has opened with a box office bang. "This morning internationally we were No.1 in the world against Iron Man and Star Trek," Luhrmann said during an interview on 7.30 on the ...
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Australian storm chaser describes tornado
May 21, 2013 21:14:10 Australian storm chaser Melissa Marshall and her meteorologist husband were in Oklahoma's Tornado Alley when the tornado hit, and drove into the city after it had ...
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Aust women not complacent over Ashescoach
Since then, the Southern Stars beat England to clinch back-to-back world Twenty20 titles last October and again defeated them on the way to winning this year's World Cup. But, with England hosting this year's series, Southern Stars coach Cathryn Fitzpatrick says Australia won't have the upper hand. The last time Australia faced England away was in the women's quadrangular ...
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SA construction in crisis
Up to three quarters of South Australia's civil construction businesses are seeking work in other states to survive, an industry lobby group says. The Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) on Tuesday said the industry in the state is at a 20-year low, with an acute shortage of public and private work. Internal CCF survey results suggest South Australia is facing a "civil construction ...
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Drop in new apprentices worries business
Business is concerned about a significant drop in the number of people starting apprenticeships and wants the federal government to come up with a policy to stop the decline. The number of commencements for non-trade apprenticeships dropped 27 per cent in the March quarter, new figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) show. It continues the overall trend of a ...
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Police seek man over Narrogin death
Police believe Kevin James Corbett (pictured) is in Perth and may be able to assist in the investigation into the death of a woman in Narrogin on May 18. Picture: ...
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Aussie garden shines at Chelsea
"It's a dream come true," exclaimed Phillip Johnson as his garden beat the best from across the globe at the Chelsea Flower Show this year in its milestone 100th year. For six weeks the garden's designer Johnson, driving force Wes Fleming and a team of 18 volunteers have labored over the largest and most elaborate garden ever attempted, a stunning showcase of an Australian ...
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Lifeguard bashed on Gold Coast beach
A Gold Coast lifeguard has been punched in the face after asking a couple to move their dog from a flagged area.Police are searching for a man they say assaulted the Gold Coast City Council lifeguard at North Burleigh on Tuesday.The attack happened after the lifeguard asked a woman not to walk her dog through the flagged area.He was attacked by a burly, heavily-tattooed man who was with her, ...
Digest on Australia
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Australia the energy superpower?
A new boom in the extraction of Australia's natural gas reserves will have immense economic benefits for the country and especially the state of Western Australia, but conservationists warn of an environmental impact.
Australia is a country rich in natural resources, because of this its economy is an export driven one, and coal, iron ore, wool, meat, gold, and wheat are some of its main exports. It was in the 1920’s that Australia’s economic potential was underpinned by the gold rush that saw its population triple in size in just ten years. Read more
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