Group of friends claim $70m lottery ticket

THE hunt for Australia's biggest single lottery winner is over after a group of female friends produced the winning ticket purchased on the Gold Coast.

The women won $70 million in Tuesday's Oz Lotto draw and have vowed to split it equally.

The syndicate leader said she checked the unregistered ticket on Wednesday morning and was shocked to discover that they had won.

"When I realised we'd won, I just sat there shaking like a leaf," she said.

The women regularly meet up for lunch and decided to use their loose change to buy a ticket.

"I told everyone on the last occasion to throw in some loose change and I'll buy a lotto ticket in a big draw before Christmas," she said.

"I saw Oz Lotto had jackpotted to $70 million so purchased a QuickPick entry."

She's not sure what she'll do with her share.

"My husband told me he wanted to buy a racehorse but I said 'It's not your prize'," she laughed.

The winning 12-game ticket was bought from a Runaway Bay news agency.

Lotto players still have an opportunity to win big this week with a $40 million Powerball jackpot on Thursday.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Unions still in the dark over Qantas cuts

UNIONS say they are still in the dark as to where the latest rounds of Qantas job cuts will come from.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce and other senior executives met with several unions at is Sydney headquarters on Wednesday.

Following the talks, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Secretary Dave Oliver said he couldn't get any clarification as to who would be affected by the airline's plan to axe at least 1000 jobs.

But he said the ACTU was pleased Qantas had given a commitment to consult on the cuts.

"We'll be holding Qantas to that commitment and ensuring that every reasonable option is explored to reduce any job losses across the whole Qantas group," he said in a statement after the meet.

Transport Workers Union National Secretary Tony Sheldon said the lack of information as to where the cuts would come from would hurt employees over the holiday break.

"Without information on the cuts, all 30,000 Qantas Group staff would spend Christmas in fear that their jobs might be the ones to go," Mr Sheldon said in a statement.

"That's not the way to treat any workforce, particularly as they and their families enter the Christmas period."

But Mr Joyce said while it was "understandable" unions sought commitments on jobs, the business was looking at all options.

"With an all-options structural review of the business underway, it would be disingenuous for us to rule anything in or out," he said in a statement.

"We can say that that Qantas will always have the bulk of its operations here in Australia, and that any actions we take are ultimately about protecting as many Australian jobs as we can by making Qantas stronger."

The airline used the meet to highlight the "extreme challenges" it faces, Mr Joyce said.

It comes after Qantas announced earlier this month that it would be undergoing a three-year $2 billion cost reduction program including a reduction of at least 1000 jobs and a company-wide structural review.

Mr Joyce said he made it clear in the meet that the changes as a result of the cost reduction program were "non-negotiables".

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Perth hospital refurbishments on ice

THE much-needed refurbishment of Royal Perth Hospital and redevelopment of Graylands Hospital have been put on hold as the West Australian government pours cash into two major new medical facilities.

Treasurer Troy Buswell revealed in the state's mid-year economic and fiscal outlook on Wednesday that the projects had been "reprioritised" to free up $238.2 million for a computing system at the Fiona Stanley Hospital and "transitioning activities" for the Perth Children's Hospital.

Cuts to the annual medical equipment replacement program were also announced.

Mr Buswell also revealed a six-month delay in commissioning the Fiona Stanley Hospital - attributed to the complexity of the computing system, with a "paperless" facility planned - would cost $52.7 million in facilities management fees to Serco.

He said that security and maintenance, including gardening, simply had to be done.

Mr Buswell took a swipe at the Health Department, which needed an additional $98 million after it failed to meet "one cent" of its leave liability target.

And a further $124 million has been budgeted for commissioning and service transition costs for the Fiona Stanley hospital, which was previously to be paid by the Health Department from existing cashflow.

"It's now apparent that that's not the case," Mr Buswell said.

"A lot of those costs are to do with labour, because you're effectively having to start up a second hospital while continuing to provide services around the health system."

The Health Services Union is concerned the focus on Fiona Stanley Hospital - set to be the state's top medical facility - will mean the ageing Royal Perth Hospital will be ignored, or jobs and beds slashed.

And there's not enough capacity at Graylands psychiatric hospital, meaning some mental health patients are sent to mainstream hospitals and kept under guard.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Synthetic drug use down among teens: US

FEWER teens are trying fake marijuana according to the US government's annual survey on drug use.

Synthetic marijuana, known by such names as K2 and Spice, is thought to have appeared in the US in 2009. Soon after came a spike in emergency room visits, even deaths, as the drug caught on among young people.

About 8 per cent of high school seniors said they've used synthetic marijuana this year, according to the report released Wednesday by the National Institutes of Health. That's a sharp drop from the 11 per cent of seniors who'd experimented with fake pot in 2012.

Use of synthetic drugs among younger teens dropped as well, said University of Michigan's Professor Lloyd Johnston, who heads the annual Monitoring the Future survey of more than 40,000 students in years 8, 10 and 12.

"The message has gotten out that these are dangerous drugs," Prof Johnston said. "Their ever-changing ingredients can be unusually powerful. Users really don't know what they are getting."

Synthetic marijuana is made of dried plant material sprayed with various chemicals and packaged to look like pot. The Drug Enforcement Administration banned a number of chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana in 2011, but new chemical varieties continue to appear.

The survey results were being released just weeks before recreational marijuana sales become legal in Colorado and Washington state for people over 21. Opponents of legalised marijuana long have said they worried about its impact on children.

The annual survey also found that teenage perceptions of the dangers of marijuana use continued to decline. In 1993, more than 60 per cent of high school seniors considered marijuana dangerous, while this year less than 40 per cent thought that.

Dr Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said researchers worry that as perceptions of marijuana as a dangerous drug continue to decline, use will keep increasing among teenagers.

Mason Tvert, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project which advocates for regulating marijuana, said steady rates of marijuana use among teenagers "underscores the benefits of regulation versus prohibition"

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Girls dominate top HSC marks in NSW

GIRLS have again dominated the top spots in HSC subjects across NSW.

As thousands of students prepare to get their HSC results on Wednesday, more than 100 NSW high achievers celebrated taking out first place in their subjects at a ceremony at the Australian Technology Park at Eveleigh in Sydney on Tuesday.

Again, girls dominated the top spots with 83 of the 121 recipients young women.

"To claim the first-in-course spot is a great honour for these students, and they, their teachers and their families should be very proud," Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said in a statement.

Of the students claiming the top posts, three received a first-in-course award for more than one course, while there was equal first place in nine courses.

Twelve of the 121 recipients lived in towns and cities in regional NSW, including Inverell, Grafton, Hermidale, Coonamble, Griffith, Wagga Wagga, and two students were from Cooma.

Last year young women also dominated the results, making up two-thirds of the award recipients.

Association of Independent Schools of NSW's executive director, Dr Geoff Newcombe said his sector had also performed well with 35 per cent of recipients coming from independent schools.

Pupils from Sydney Grammar School took out six First in Course awards while students from Pymble Ladies College achieved three awards, he said.

A further six independent schools had two First in Course recipients while 22 other independent schools each had one student who topped the state in a subject.

It comes as more than 70,000 students will have access to their HSC results from 6am on Wednesday.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hockey paints bleak budget picture

Treasurer Joe Hockey will blame Labor over the expected dismal mid-year economic outlook. Source: AAP

THE federal budget could remain in deficit for the next decade and drive national debt to two-thirds of a trillion dollars, the government warns.

Treasurer Joe Hockey painted a bleak picture when he handed down the mid-year budget review on Tuesday, telling Australians they would need to adjust their expectations.

Mr Hockey was making the case for broad-based savings, which will come in next year's budget, against a backdrop of weaker economic growth and higher unemployment for a number of years.

"Returning the budget to sustainable surpluses will not be achieved by piecemeal savings here and there," Mr Hockey told the National Press Club in Canberra.

"All options are on the table."

The 2013/14 federal budget has blown out by $17 billion since before the election and is forecast to be the third largest deficit on record at $47 billion.

There is no immediate sign the budget will return to surplus, after the previous forecast for a $4.2 billion surplus in 2016/17 was wiped out.

Instead, there will be a $17.7 billion deficit in that financial year.

Budget deficits are also projected for every year to 2023/24 unless action is taken, the government said.

The last surplus, of $19.7 billion, was in 2007/08.

If the government's forecasts stand, by 2023/24 the federal budget will have been in deficit for 16 years.

"Australians will now have to adjust their expectations of what government can sustainably provide, otherwise our nation's prosperity and our people's quality of life will be at risk," Mr Hockey said.

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said Mr Hockey should have outlined a path back to surplus.

"Joe Hockey is softening up the Australian people," Mr Bowen said.

"He is preparing the ground for deep and brutal cuts come budget time."

The budget deterioration reflects two key factors: a softer economic outlook and steps taken by the coalition to address unresolved issues inherited from the former Labor government, such as the $8.8 billion recapitalisation of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Slower growth has resulted in a $37 billion reduction in tax receipts over the forward estimates and the economy remains in transition from a mining investment boom to broader sources of growth.

The economy is likely to expand by a sub-trend 2.5 per cent in 2013/14 and into 2014/15. Trend growth is usually about 3.25 per cent.

Unemployment is forecast to be six per cent by mid-2014, but rising to 6.25 per cent in 2016/17. The jobless rate is now 5.8 per cent.

Government debt is also expected to rise, from $320 billion this year to $460 billion by 2016/17, and a staggering $667 billion by 2023/24.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Anderson said the figures were alarming.

"The only true solution to this alarming cycle of debt and deficit is for the government to provide the private sector with more economic freedom and a fairer deal to create the wealth required to get us out of this budget hole," he said.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qld pilot died doing what he loved: wife

Authorities are searching for a newly-wed couple after their plane crashed off Queensland's coast. Source: AAP

PILOT Alexander Rae died doing what he loved, his wife says.

Jimmy, as he was known, was flying a 21-year-old French woman on a scenic joy ride in a Tiger Moth when the biplane crashed into the water off South Stradbroke Island, killing them both

Campers and resort guests saw the red and white plane spear into the water in an almost vertical position about 400 metres off the island, near the Gold Coast, on Monday afternoon.

In his last radio communication, Jimmy said: "Conducting aerobatics over 3500 feet", The Courier-Mail reported.

Debris from the crash began to wash up on the beach as a frantic search for survivors in choppy waters wore on into the evening until it was suspended in the darkness.

At dawn on Tuesday underwater visibility had improved and a few hours later police divers using sonar found the plane's fuselage lying on the seabed.

The pilot and his passenger's bodies were inside.

Jimmy's wife Alice thanked search crews and well wishers.

"On behalf of all of Jimmy's family and friends, we would like thank everyone for their support and well wishes," she said in a statement.

"We all know Jimmy died doing what he loved."

The family of the French tourist is yet to make a statement.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the crash and has appealed to anyone who saw it, or picked up debris that washed ashore, to come forward.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

SAS 'not involved' In Diana's death

THERE is "no credible evidence" of any SAS involvement in the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, British police say.

In August, Scotland Yard began looking at claims that the couple were murdered by a member of British special forces, but on Tuesday it ruled out opening a criminal investigation.

The allegation is thought to have been made by the former parents-in-law of an ex-soldier, based on information that he talked about in the past. That information was then was passed to the Metropolitan Police via the Royal Military Police.

Mohamed al Fayed, Dodi's father, was "disappointed" by the outcome and will continue his fight "to establish the truth that they were murdered", his solicitor, Simon McKay, said.

He said: "Mr al Fayed will continue his struggle to reveal the truth about the tragedy in Paris which claimed the lives of his eldest son and Princess Diana."

The Met said officers had conducted a "scoping exercise" to assess the "relevance and credibility" of the information provided, and to decide whether it was sufficient to warrant a reopening of the criminal investigation.

In a statement, it said: "This assessment included taking statements from a number of individuals and reviewing records. As part of the scoping officers were given unprecedented access to Special Forces Directorate records.

"Every reasonable line of inquiry was objectively pursued in order to fully evaluate any potential evidence.

"The final conclusion is that, whilst there is a possibility the alleged comments in relation to the SAS's involvement in the deaths may have been made, there is no credible evidence to support a theory that such claims had any basis in fact.

"Therefore the MPS are satisfied there is no evidential basis upon which to open any criminal investigation or to refer the matter back to HM Coroner."

But McKay branded the "so-called scoping exercise" "the latest whitewash in a 16-year cover-up".

He added: "The Met should never have been given charge of the case as they had every incentive to return the result we now see. To have done anything else would have called into serious question their own Paget Report of 2007.

"The case of Soldier N should have been rigorously investigated by the Royal Military Police.

"It was wrong to put in charge of the scoping exercise an officer, Philip Easton, who had been an important figure in the Paget investigation, which said the deaths were accidental, a judgment overruled by the jury at the inquests that said that Dodi and Diana had been unlawfully killed."

Diana, Dodi and chauffeur Henri Paul died after their Mercedes crashed in a Paris tunnel after leaving the Ritz Hotel on the morning of August 31, 1997.

The hearing into the deaths of Diana and Dodi lasted more than 90 days, with evidence from around 250 witnesses.

The inquests concluded on April 7, 2008, with a jury returning a verdict that the "People's Princess" and her boyfriend were unlawfully killed.

Former Met Police commissioner Lord Stevens's Paget investigation was launched in 2004 at the request of Michael Burgess, the Royal Coroner, who was then overseeing the future Diana inquest.

The former top policeman published his report in December 2006, rejecting the murder claims voiced by some, including Mohamed al Fayed.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pressure grows for NSW pub lockouts

EMERGENCY service workers and doctors are demanding NSW government action to stop the carnage caused by alcohol-fuelled violence.

NSW confirmed it was the capital of drunken violence at the weekend, with 540 arrests during a trans-Tasman operation meant to curb the problem.

The NSW opposition is renewing its calls for a trial of reduced trading hours and lockouts in the state's licensed venues after the success of those measures in Newcastle.

The Last Drinks coalition, a group representing concerned emergency department staff, police and paramedics, has joined the chorus.

Its spokesperson, Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation president Dr Tony Sara, says the pressure is firmly on the government.

Dr Sara says a trial in select trouble spots would show positive results in a short time.

He said measures in Newcastle cut alcohol violence by 37 per cent and emergency department admissions by 26 per cent, so were worth a try in Sydney.

He challenged NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell to explain what harm a trial could do, believing the government was under the thumb of the powerful liquor lobby.

"How could it hurt?" Dr Sara told AAP.

"It might reduce profits a bit, but either they lose some money or we continue to have people hurt and maimed.

"I think the community comes before profits."

But Mr O'Farrell rejected calls for tougher laws, arguing authorities had done their part.

"Police and government agencies are doing their bit and the hotel industry, by and large, is responsibly getting on with their task," he told reporters on Monday.

"What we now need is for the community to come to the party."

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson says police tell him privately they support tougher measures such as pub lockouts.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione agreed that cultural shift was crucial.

"Police will never arrest our way out of this problem," he said.

"If we don't start today we will lose a generation of young people to this love affair with alcohol."

Mr Scipione said a 23-year-old man who was punched and stomped on in front of dozens of revellers at Bondi Beach at the weekend was no longer in a critical condition.

The Australian Hotels Association NSW would not comment.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aurizon to cut rail fleet, cancel project

FREIGHT and coal haulage operator Aurizon will take a hit of almost $200 million as it cuts the size of its rail fleet and cancels a major Queensland project.

The company, previously known as QR National, is reducing its locomotive fleet by 28 per cent and cutting the number of wagons by 12 per cent in a bid to bring down fuel and maintenance costs.

Aurizon's downsizing will appear as an asset impairment expense of $130 million to $150 million in its accounts for the first half of the 2013/14 financial year.

The company will also incur a $47 million impairment on recent changes to several projects, including Glencore Xstrata's decision to stop the Wandoan project because of weakening thermal coal prices.

Aurizon had proposed a 210 kilometre Surat Basin rail corridor from the Wandoan mine in a joint venture with the Swiss multinational.

"There's not any job losses that are related to that," chief executive Lance Hockridge told reporters on Monday.

In July, Aurizon launched a second voluntary redundancy program in a bid to save $230 million by 2015.

Some 248 voluntary redundancies have since been accepted.

"I think the bulk of it is done," Mr Hockridge said.

More than 2,000 employees have left the company since it was privatised by the former Queensland Labor government in 2010.

Mr Hockridge said he was "cautious but confident" about the thermal coal sector, as well as the future of projects in Queensland's Galilee Basin, where Aurizon has agreed to develop a rail project for the GVK-Hancock joint venture involving billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Aurizon shares dropped two cents to $4.68.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More