HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45 = 2

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2008
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45 = 2

CANBERRA - The attack on the credibility of Julie Bishop is "weird", one of her coalition
frontbench colleagues says. (Bishop Pyne)

CANBERRA - Insulting opposition MPs in parliament is simply part of politics, Deputy
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says. (Bishop Gillard)

CANBERRA - Exporters are facing tough times in 2009 as commodity prices fall by as
much as 50 per cent, a leading bank predicts. (Rural Commodities)

CANBERRA - Private school students will suffer the most if the coalition carries out
its threat to block new national curriculum and accountability measures, the federal government
says. (Schools Gillard, see also Schools Pyne) SCHOOLS WRAP to come, depending on Senate
vote

CANBERRA - Violins and a cello greeted politicians at Parliament House on Tuesday as
part of a very genteel protest. (Music Protest, UPDATE to come)

CANBERRA - Federal Water Minister Penny Wong calls on the coalition to back down and
support her Murray-Darling rescue bid as both sides make a last stand in the Senate. (WATER
to come).

CANBERRA - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been grilled by Labor colleagues on government
plans for an emissions trading scheme (CLIMATE to come).

CANBERRA - Australia needs a minimum of 100 of the new Lockheed F-35 Lightning joint
strike fighters (JSFs) to maintain a credible level of capability, Air force chief Mark
Binskin says. (JSF)

SYDNEY - The supervisor of a learner driver who crashed a car into a Sydney bus stop
queue, killing a young woman, says every precaution should be taken to ensure such an
accident never happens again. (Hansen Update (Pix available)) HANSEN WRAP to come

SYDNEY - NSW Premier Nathan Rees has told licensees upset by new laws affecting their
pubs and clubs to stop being "precious". (Pubs)

SYDNEY - NSW councils do not regularly check buildings once they are constructed, except
for fire safety, an inquest into the death of a man who died when his car crashed through
a car park railing has been told. (Lee) WRAP to come

SYDNEY - A former police worker who has admitted murdering his girlfriend has pleaded
with his victim's supporters to leave his mother alone. (Wilkinson Update)

SYDNEY - A new drug that could help air travellers beat severe jet lag and shift workers
avoid insomnia has been developed by Australian scientists. (Sleep, to come)

SYDNEY - Demelza Reveley has copped criticism for her bully antics in the past, but
on Tuesday the Australia's Next Top Model winner was showing her sweet side. (Reveley,
on file with pics available)

MELBOURNE - A former high school teacher who switched professions to become a barrister
is one of three lawyers appointed to the Magistrates' Court of Victoria's bench. (Magistrates)

MELBOURNE - Two young men who went on an arson spree in Melbourne causing more than
$1 million in damage were today each sentenced to four years' jail, but will be eligible
for release after 21 months. (Giammona)

MELBOURNE - US actress Daryl Hannah will head to the Southern Ocean with anti-whaling
crusader Paul Watson on Wednesday as the militant conservation group mounts a new assault
on Japanese whalers. (Whaling Hannah Wrap)

MELBOURNE - Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland says there is at least
one rat in the ranks, after revelations secret police files have been leaked to organised
crime figures under police investigation. (Police Vic Update) - POLICE VIC WRAP to come
with FACTBOX

MELBOURNE - The parents of Melbourne backpacker Britt Lapthorne say many questions
remain over the circumstances of her death, following a private funeral for the 21-year-old
on Monday. (Lapthorne)

MELBOURNE - A judge has been asked to order the arrest of the Exclusive Brethren sect's
leader for committing "genocide". (Brethren)

BRISBANE - Plunging the Queensland budget into a temporary deficit is a responsible
move recommended by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Premier Anna Bligh says. (Economy
Qld Update) ECONOMY QLD WRAP to come

BRISBANE - An indigenous mayor who is trying to ban Queensland public servants from
his troubled community has been branded as irresponsible by the state's premier. (Palm
2nd Update) PALM WRAP to come

BRISBANE - Queenslanders could pay an extra 14 per cent for electricity if a proposal
by the state's competition watchdog is accepted. (Power Qld)

POWER QLD WRAP to come

BRISBANE - Five butterflies will be released on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate what
would have been the fifth birthday of drowning victim Nelani Koefer. (KOEFER) KOEFER WRAP
to come, seeking pix.

BRISBANE - Plans for a Muslim school on Queensland's Gold Coast have drawn protests,
with almost 200 demonstrators gathering at the Gold Coast City Council headquarters on
Monday. (School)

GOLD COAST - A man charged over a weekend armed robbery and a fatal road smash has
reappeared in court after escaping police custody. (RANDELL to come)

PORT MORESBY - Papua New Guinean police shot dead two bank robbers and seriously wounded
another during a botched kidnapping and robbery attempt. (PNG Bank)

ADELAIDE - Obese baby boomers are costing Australia an estimated $3.8 billion a year
in lost productivity, leading demographer Graeme Hugo says. (Obese)

ADELAIDE - A Family First MP has called for debate on broad reform of the South Australian
parliament, including a measure to limit premiers to eight years in office. (Brokenshire
)

ADELAIDE - Sixteen toys have been banned in South Australia after failing safety checks
in the lead-up to Christmas, including a toy gun with a laser 12 times more powerful than
allowed under Australian law. (Toys)

ADELAIDE - Surgeon performs Australian-first heart operation. (HEART to come, with
graphic available)

ADELAIDE - Naked protest outside KFC outlet in Adelaide's Rundle Mall. (NAKED to come
with pix available)

PERTH - West Australian MP Shelley Archer, the wife of union leader Kevin Reynolds,
has been charged with corruption by the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC). (Archer
- EDS: Not for publication in Western Australia)

PERTH - Two men narrowly missed being involved in a truck explosion that killed two
of their workmates, police say. (Blast Update)

PERTH - Sentencing likely of Mathew Roy McDonald, who struck and killed a man when
he hit him over the head with a cricket bat at a Geraldton beach on Boxing Day. (McDONALD)
expected

AAP mo

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY

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