Vic: Subsidies to transport operators will increase, Batchelor

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Vic: Subsidies to transport operators will increase, Batchelor

The Victorian government says the state's taxpayers will pay higher subsidies to publictransport operators.

The news comes as part of a radical shake-up of train and tram services announced byTransport Minister PETER BATCHELOR.

Taxpayers will also be slugged $50 million to run National Express services for thenext 12 months after the company decided to quit its M>Tram, M>Train and V-Line franchises.

His comments came as the first of 58 new Connex trains went into service today.

Mr BATCHELOR says the investment, worth $322 million, is a vote of confidence in thepublic transport system by Melbourne's remaining rail franchise holder.

The state government yesterday announced a complete restructure of Victoria's publictransport network.

The announcement came after transport company National Express said it will pull outof train and tram services from December 23.

AAP RTV bp/clr/wz/rp

KEYWORD: TRAMS (MELBOURNE)

Fed: Aust slowly rebuilding beef sales to Japan

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Fed: Aust slowly rebuilding beef sales to Japan

Australia is slowly rebuilding its beef sales to Japan after that country's mad cowdisease scare.

In its latest report, Meat and Livestock Australia says beef exports to Japan climbed11 per cent in July although they are still down 25 per cent on the same time last year.

Beef consumption in Japan has slumped more than 40 per cent following a series of madcow scares last year.

Australian sales fell almost 50 per cent in the nation's most important market.

Meat and Livestock Australia says Japanese consumers are slowly returning to beef,which will benefit Australian farmers.

Australian meat processors and the federal government are set to begin a new marketingcampaign in Japan to boost local sales of beef.

AAP RTV sw/kjp/ldj

KEYWORD: BEEF (CANBERRA)

SA: Bacteria closes heart surgery unit

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SA: Bacteria closes heart surgery unit

Heart surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital has been cancelled after an outbreak ofan antibiotic resistant bacteria.

South Australia's Department of Human Services says the multi-resistant staphlyococcusaureus or MRSA contamination will close the cardiac surgery unit for the rest of the week.

Elective operations on 12 patients, scheduled between Tuesday and Friday, have been cancelled.

But emergency surgery will be maintained.

The department says MRSA is present in all hospitals and current infection controlmeasures are designed to minimise its spread.

But it says an increase in the number of cases in the cardiac surgery unit had ledthe Royal Adelaide to close the unit to carry our environmental testing of operatingtheatres and undertake a thorough clean.

The results of the environmental survey are expected to be available on Thursday orFriday this week.

Subject to those results, the hospital plans to reopen the cardiac unit on Saturday.

AAP RTV tjd/tb/sal

KEYWORD: BACTERIA (ADELAIDE)

British breakthrough on Aboriginal remains

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British breakthrough on Aboriginal remains

The Royal College of Surgeons in Britain is to return its Tasmanian Aboriginal remains.

The move's been hailed by Aboriginal leaders as a major breakthrough in their longcampaign to get their ancestors' body parts back from Europe.

Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre secretary TRUDY MALUGA says the remains include some hairand skin from TRUGANINI, the last full-blooded Tasmanian Aborigine, who died in 1876.

Ms MALUGA says the college's holding, kept at Oxford University's Museum of …

NT: Labor could claim victory today

AAP General News (Australia)
08-22-2001
NT: Labor could claim victory today

Labor Leader CLARE MARTIN hopes to claim victory in the Northern Territory election today.

Labor scrutineers say the Country Liberal Party could be in a unwinnable position in
the undecided Darwin seat of Millner by midday.

Ms MARTIN then expects a firmer picture of whether she can form government, or whether
she must ask either of the two independents to support her minority government.

Yesterday, Labor lawyer MATTHEW BONSON was trailing CLP incumbent ALEX MITCHELL in
Millner but if independents' preferences continue to favour Mr BONSON, Labor could be
in an unbeatable position.

But if the CLP closes the gap, the result could come down to the final postal votes
counted on Friday night.

AAP RTV rmg/hn/jn/hn

KEYWORD: POLLNT CLAIM (DARWIN)

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Ryan flags putting retired police back into service

AAP General News (Australia)
04-05-2001
NSW: Ryan flags putting retired police back into service

SYDNEY, April 5 AAP - Police Commissioner Peter Ryan today flagged the idea of recycling
retired officers to inject more experience into the New South Wales service.

About 60 police were retiring from the service each month, Mr Ryan said.

"We can't stop those leaving," he said.

"What I'm trying to come up with is a plan to try and retain more of them in other functions.

"If they want to retire as police officers, perhaps they can come back (and perform)
another function or in some type of auxiliary capacity, if they want to stay."

Mr Ryan said police were at the mercy of the same economic forces at play in the wider workforce.

"There isn't one organisation in the world that has people who want to join it for
30 years as I did when I joined the police service," he said.

"Five years is the average, five or six years in any industry, anywhere in the world."

Mr Ryan said the police service had to come up with a means by which officers could
be retained, especially those with valuable experience.

AAP jk/ld/rp/mg

KEYWORD: POLICE EXPERIENCE

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Skase has few options left but to leave Spain: Vanstone

AAP General News (Australia)
01-14-2001
Fed: Skase has few options left but to leave Spain: Vanstone

Federal Justice Minister AMANDA VANSTONE says runaway businessman CHRISTOPHER SKASE
now has little option but to leave Spain, after a Spanish court ordered his deportation.

SKASE, aged 51, fled Australia to Spain in 1991 after the collapse of his $1.5 billion
Qintex empire.

Since then he's eluded attempts to extradite him to Australia after Spanish authorities
ruled he was too ill to travel.

Senator VANSTONE today told AAP through a spokesman that SKASE has always …