Baden-Clay murder: No delays says Queensland Health


Allison Baden-Clay
Queensland Health says there are no delays in forensic tests being run in one of Queensland's biggest murder cases.

The Courier-Mail newspaper reported today in a story about the murder of Brisbane mother Allison Baden-Clay that there were "lengthy delays in forensic tests" that were "compromising police investigations".

Senior director of Forensic and Scientific Services, Greg Shaw, says forensic examinations in the Baden-Clay murder investigation have been given the highest priority.

''We expect to have final toxicology results within the next week,'' Mr Shaw said.

''Queensland Health understands the importance of closure for the family of the deceased and is treating this case with priority.''

Mrs Baden-Clay, 43, disappeared from her Brisbane home on April 20 and her body was discovered on a creek bank 10 days later.

26.5.12

COMMENT:  No delays?  Who is Greg Shaw trying to fool? Almost every person in Queensland has been following this murder with the same intensity as the public followed the 1952 Betty Shanks murder, yet Greg Shaw claims the delay in providing the results of the toxicology tests is normal. If that's normal, maybe it's time for Greg Shaw to give up his daytime job. 

Brookfield murder inquiry stalls: Allison Baden-Clay murder investigation hampered by lengthy delays in forensic testing

Allison Baden-Clay

LENGTHY delays in forensic test results are compromising police investigations, prompting a push for better resources and a cut in red tape.

As family and friends of Allison Baden-Clay still await details of her murder and the cause of death, the State Government says it will look at ways of fast-tracking the process.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said yesterday they were yet to receive toxicology results following the post-mortem examination of the 43-year-old mother of three.

"We will, as is our tradition, just keep the efforts going and will never give up," he said.

"We haven't had a breakthrough as yet, but that breakthrough is only one piece of information away."

Mr Atkinson again appealed to the public for any information about Mrs Baden-Clay's disappearance from her Brookfield home on April 20 and discovery of her body at Kholo Creek crossing in Brisbane's west 10 days later.

For friends and family of Mrs Baden-Clay, the wait for justice is weighing them down.

Her parents Geoff and Priscilla Dickie said they wanted closure and were grateful for support from police, emergency officers and community.

"It is with broken hearts that we write to thank the many hundreds of people who have supported us throughout the last five weeks as our world changed forever," the family said in a statement.

Police Minister Jack Dempsey said there had been constant problems with backlogs during the past 20 years at the John Tonge Centre - the mortuary for Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services - and other facilities where testing takes place outside of Queensland.

"Time frames are enormous. In the past, it's been years," he said.

"A lot of that has been because money is being used in other areas and that's what we're all about, making sure the pointy end of policing is resourced properly."

Police Union president Ian Leavers said delays by Queensland Health in forensic testing of vital evidence could hamper investigations.

"I've seen cases where forensic testing analysis has taken over a year between when police have sent off evidence to be analysed and when results arrive back," he said.

"Clearly it's not the fault of the scientists charged with administering the forensic and DNA tests as they're working as fast as they can. However, there's simply not enough of them to meet the demand."

Anyone with information on the murder of Mrs Baden-Clay can call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.



Nine denies paying prostitute

CourierMail

Nine denies paying prostitute

From: CourierMail
May 24, 2012
THE Nine Network's A Current Affair (ACA) denies paying $60,000 to a former prostitute who it says has provided new evidence on Craig Thomson.
Alternatively, you can copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/nine-denies-paying-prostitute-in-thomson-saga/story-e6freonf-1226365645446

COMMENT: Channel 9 has more spin than a 78 rpm record. Maybe they can truthfully deny they haven't paid the woman because the cheque will be sent only after the interview goes to air. Tricky but truthful, if that's true!


Over 20 hopefuls vie for LNP endorsedment in Blair


Over 20 hopeful LNP members are reportedly nominating for party endorsement for the Federal seat of Blair based on Ipswich and the adjoining rural areas to the north, west and south of the city.

The seat is currently held by former lawyer Shayne Neumann for the Labor Party.

He won the seat from the Liberals' Cameron Thompson who spent the last 3 years of his political life trying to to stop the upgrade of the Ipswich Motorway from Wacol to Dinmore.

Cameron subsequently disappeared to Tasmania but has been seen back in Queensland beavering away in the background for the LNP.

Popular Rosewood-based councillor David Pahlke, who once stood for the National Party in the seat of Ipswich West against Don Livingstone, had briefly considered tossing his hat in the ring for Blair but decided his home town of Rosewood needed him more.

Clive Palmer -
Coming to a polling booth near you!
Now, a whole swag of political LNP aspirants - from old fuddies to young turks - are vying for the seat of Blair thinking they can make their mark in Ipswich and Canberra.

There might be a political tsunami heading towards Queensland from the ACT but Shayne Neumann is a dogged political fighter who will run another capable campaign at the next Federal election and will take on his LNP opponent in a formidable manner.

At least the people of Ipswich won't have Clive Palmer seeking LNP endorsement for Blair - something awaiting the good people of Lilley who may have to choose between the Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan and Australia's richest man!

Maybe Clive Palmer would be the best LNP candidate for Lilley - especially from the Labor Party's point of view!

When will the police take Allison Baden-Clay's killer into custody?

Allison Baden-Clay





The police have said a number of things about this murder:

1.   It was not a random attack.

2.   There is no killer on the loose around Brookfield ready to strike again.

3.   Allison Baden-Clay may have known her attacker.

4.   The police have a key suspect.

5.   The police are confident of bringing her killer to justice.







Questions which the public is now asking:

1.   Why is it taking so long to make an arrest?

2.   Is the key suspect at the start of the murder investigation, still the same key suspect?

3.   Is more than one person under investigation for murder or as an accomplice to murder?

4.   Is any person under investigation as an accessory either before or after the fact?

5.   Is the killer aware that he or she is a suspect in the murder?

6.   Was a vehicle used not only to take Allison's body to Kholo Creek but was that vehicle - or another vehicle - used to kill her?

7.   Was any part of her body dismembered?

8.   Was any incriminating DNA evidence found on her body?

9.    Did this killing appear to be premeditated or pre-planned?

10.  How soon is an arrest likely?

11.  How many persons may be arrested in relation to this murder?

12.  Has any person under investigation for this murder made any incriminating statements by phone, SMS or email?

13.  Have there been any tracking devices placed on any vehicles or concealed microphones placed in any homes, businesses or vehicles during the course of this investigation?


The police seem tantalisingly close to making an arrest in this case.  

The public can only conclude that the killer is so stupid, he or she is continuing to say and do things which amount to admissions of guilt or is engaging in other incriminating actions which are building a rock-solid case which no defence counsel could ever wriggle out of for their client.


Allison Baden-Clay: "D"-Day approaches for killer

With a team of more than 20 detectives moving forward with their investigation and final post mortem tests becoming available, "D"-Day cannot be far away for Allison Baden-Clay's killer.

Police have already publicly announced that she may have known her killer.

The team of homicide detectives is playing a masterful game to flush out the killer, drip feeding small tidbits of key information to the media which must be driving the killer insane.

With each small piece of carefully released information, such as the possibility two cars were seen at Kholo Creek where the body was found, the killer must be frantic to speak to any accomplices to refine their story - something near impossible with police wire taps and electronic surveillance certain to be in place.

The time must be just about up for this killer.

The arrest and subsequent trial is likely to be one of the most-sensational ever witnessed in Queensland.

No rest in hunt for Allison Baden-Clay's killer as police await toxicology results

TOMORROW marks four weeks of heartache since mother-of-three Allison Baden-Clay disappeared but the floral tributes being laid at her Brookfield home and at the Kholo Creek Bridge near where her body was found only grow in number.

More than 20 detectives yesterday continued their methodical hunt to find Mrs Baden-Clay's killer from a major incident room first erected at the Indooroopilly Police Station almost a month ago, shortly after the 43-year-old was reported missing by her husband at 7.30am on Friday, April 20.

The Courier-Mail understands detectives are scouring hundreds of witness statements and are still interviewing widely as they wait for final toxicology results.

Police earlier this week declared that members of the Brookfield community should not fear for their safety, adding they believed Mrs Baden-Clay's killer was someone she knew.

The community celebrates the annual Brookfield Show this weekend.

Residents of Lintrose Tce at Karalee, on the opposite side of the Brisbane River to where Mrs Baden-Clay's body was found, said yesterday that they only wished they had heard something that could help the police investigation.

A trust fund has been set up for the daughters of Allison Baden-Clay. Donations can be made through the NAB to BSB: 084 737, account: 133 196 502, or via badenclay.appeal@gmail.com

Many of the properties on the street front the river and have a direct view of the mudbank where Mrs Baden-Clay's body was discovered.

One neighbour denied rumours that residents living in the area heard a "splash" in the days after Mrs Baden-Clay was reported missing.

"You can hear the traffic on the bridge, definitely, and you probably could hear something if it was quiet but no one along here did," he said. "It's awful. I wish we could (help)."

Anyone with information which could help the police investigation should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333

www.couriermail.com.au

Premier Campbell Newman thumbs his nose at Parliament and the people of Queensland

Premier Campbell Newman -
Thmbs his nose at democracy
CAMPBELL Newman will trash State Parliament's committee system by not referring any legislation related to the LNP's election commitments.

The Queensland Premier today insisted his party's policies were detailed and clear and did not need to be scrutinised by Parliament's bipartisan committees.

Mr Newman said his "intent" was to allow other legislation unrelated to his election commitments to be reviewed.

"We went to the big committee," the Premier said, referring to the recent election.

The controversial move trashes the committee system established in a bipartisan fashion before the last election.

It was supposed to review all legislation before being passed, in an effort to allow the Parliament to act in its proper fashion as a check-and-balance mechanism on executive power.





Brisbane transport reliability data 'meaningless' says commuter group

Robert Dow - Rail Back on Track spokesman
Does transport reliability data actually mean anything?

That's the question from Rail Back on Track as it declares a 'state of secrecy' around reliability data for the state's rail and bus networks.

Spokesman for the commuter advocacy group Robert Dow said while other states didn't do a perfect job, he said the limited information Queenslanders were able to access about 'peak-time' data was 'sanitised' and prevented the public from holding the government to account.

"Why is it necessary to resort to Right To Information requests for data that is made readily available in other state?" he said.

"There's something wrong in terms of the way the public is treated if we can't get the data that gives you a proper representation of the operation of the system."

Mr Dow said people needed to know what the out-of-peak performance was.

"We believe that it enables people to pinpoint where the real issues actually are, but secondly, it allows people to challenge the misrepresentations made by politicians and others with respect to the data.

"If we don't know what the data is it's very hard to challenge them,'' he said.

In Victoria data is available online with month-by month breakdowns while NSW CityRail records on-time running to a benchmark of five minutes for suburban services and six minutes for intercity services and daily data breakdowns.

According to RBOT, Perth has the best data availability but Mr Dow said the Translink Tracker has limited information.

Some data is available on the Queensland Rail website but it states that if on-time running performance is affected by incidents beyond it's control such as medical emergencies, security incidents or severe weather, it is not included in the peak on-time performance results.

Data also does not include 'force majeure' incidences.

Mr Dow said he felt it had led to an overall deterioration in performance and reliability data to the point where many people "now no longer believe what's being said''.

"They are the one's that are put on buses at 8pm or 9pm at night because there is another track fault or police incidence or whatever, but that's never ever mentioned in the data or never seems to come through.

"We get a very small snapshot of average peak time performance," he said.

"It's meaningless.''

A spokesperson for Translink said Queensland Rail published peak on-time running on its website daily at Queensland rail.

"These figures are provided at manned train stations, where possible.

"Figures are also available quarterly through the Translink website or when requested.

Translink's Real Time trial is also investigating options for providing on-time running data for customers,'' he said.

That data, for bus networks, would allow for GPS tracking, but the spokesperson conceded he did not know as yet what Translink intended to do with the data, or whether it would be available to the public.

Last week Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said reliability of the south-east Queensland rail network dropped to 90.01 per cent for peak on-time running in the January to March 2012 period - the lowest result since 2009.

"The collapse in reliability of rail services came at the same time as Labor drove up the cost of public transport affordability," he said.

Mr Emerson said the LNP would be more passenger-focussed.

"When I catch public transport, affordability, reliability and frequency are the issues that passengers raise with me and they are the reasons people are walking away from public transport and hopping back into their cars," he said.

"If we are going to get people back on to public transport then these issues need to be addressed.''



COMMENT: The procrastination and prevarication of the new state government is now starting to emerge.
-
PaulGTully@gmail.com



How long more till the police pounce on Baden-Clay killer?

Allison Baden-Clay
How long more will the public have to wait for the police to make an arrest over the brutal killing of Allison Baden-Clay?

Time is creeping on and the police have assured the people of Brisbane's western suburbs there is no crazed killer on the loose ready to attack again.

If that is true, they must have their quarry well and truly within their sights and must be superbly confident the killer will not strike again.

Speculation remains at fever pitch across southeast Queensland as to the identity of the killer.

There is even a suggestion in legal circles that up to 5 people may be under investigation over the murder, including accessories after the fact.  Presumably, if that is right, the police will ultimately make simultaneous arrests , which would make a multi-pronged interviewing process incredibly demanding on the police as well as putting intense pressure on those in custody to confess to what they know.

It seems the police are leaving no stone unturned in this case with phone taps, vehicle tracking devices and seizure of medical and computer records no doubt just the tip of the iceberg, as the net closes on the killer who will have more explaining to do than Peter Slipper and Craig Thomson combined.

This is shaping up as the murder trial to end all trials in Queensland with justice for Allison Baden-Clay hopefully not far away.


Ipswich Funeral: Allison Baden-Clay to be buried at St Paul's Anglican Church this Friday


Allison Baden-Clay
Priscilla and Geoff Dickie are organising the funeral for their 43-year-old daughter - to take place at Ipswich's St Paul's Anglican Church on Friday - but no cause of death has been provided and the results of extensive forensic testing remain outstanding.

"We're as fine as can be expected," Mrs Dickie said yesterday.

"I'm surrounded with all my family here. We're actually trying to organise the funeral.

"(Husband) Gerard gave permission to us to arrange the funeral in co-operation with him."

It's understood that Mr Baden-Clay, who reported his wife missing the morning after she reportedly took a late-night walk and didn't return, spent the long weekend at Tallebudgera on the Gold Coast with friends and his three daughters, who are still coming to terms with their mother's death.

The trip was part of an annual gathering that the late Mrs Baden-Clay had joined in previous years.

Mrs Dickie said the family planned to have Reverend Bev Bell from their Kenmore parish head the funeral proceedings.

Rev Bell recently hosted a service for Mrs Baden-Clay at the Church of the Good Shepherd, which is located next door to the Baden-Clay family's home on Brookfield Rd where she went missing more than two weeks ago.

The Courier-Mail revealed yesterday that police were awaiting a toxicology reading on Mrs Baden-Clay's body and forensic testing of the family cars. Police wouldn't say reveal a cause of death wasn't released, saying it was an ongoing homicide investigation and they were unable to comment.

Mrs Baden-Clay was last seen at her Brookfield home in Brisbane's west late on Thursday, April 19.

Her body was found 11 days later at Kholo Creek crossing at Anstead, about 15km away.

"With your emotions, the initial emotion that she was missing. That was bad enough . . . then to find her, that was more or less a relief," Mrs Dickie said last week.

"And then to find she was murdered, that just makes it harder, but it makes us more determined to keep going for her.

"Everything we do now, we do for the girls."

The Dickies have since set up an education trust fund for their granddaughters.

Donations can be made through the NAB to BSB: 084 737, account: 133196502, or viabadenclay.appeal@gmail.com.



Allison Baden-Clay Murder: The noose is tightening around the killer

Capital punishment was abolished in Queensland
 in 1922 but the noose is tightening around
 Allison Baden-Clay's killer with forensic
 results on her body due within days.

The noose is slowly tightening around the killer of Brookfield mother-of-three Allison Baden-Clay.

Hopes of ever finding her alive faded quickly as the search for her body dragged on for over a week after her bizarre disappearance last month.

Even from day 1, with the rapid deployment of police and SES volunteers, the entire situation looked very grim for Allison's family.

Her disappearance was said to have occurred during a late night walk through the suburb, with even old gold mine shafts thoroughly checked to see if she had met some accident or possibly foul play.

Until the weekend rain of 28-29 April, her body could have remained concealed forever in Kholo Creek near Mt Crosby to be long forgotten by the general public while her family grieved for decades.

So it was a remarkable twist of fate with the unseasonal April showers which finally switched the police enquiries from a missing person investigation to a murder investigation.

Brookfield residents who were stunned by Mrs Baden-Clay's disappearance were shocked by the fact this well-respected, cheerful local mum had been brutally killed in the middle of the night in, or near, their quiet piece of Brisbane suburbia.

And the leafy, tranquil suburb of Brookfield was changed forever in the twinkling of an eye.

No one dared to speak too openly of their individual speculation as to the possible identity of the killer but the community's private thoughts and feelings became part of the grieving process not only for the family but the wider Brookfield community.

During the 10 days days preceding the discovery of Allison's body, the local tight-knit community had hoped and prayed for a miracle.

During that time, the community worked, searched and prayed together in the belief Allison might eventually come home - but that was not to be.

In Brisbane's western suburbs, the possibility of finding her alive kept the community spirit intact but it was all crushed with that terrible discovery by a canoeist at Kholo Creek near the Brisbane River, opposite Karalee.

During that time, the love for Allison by her family and the broader community was readily apparent.

In the police media conference which followed soon after her disappearance, Allison's parents Geoff and Priscilla Dickie made an emotional appeal for her return, with their grief almost overwhelming, but in the end their heartfelt appeal was to count for nothing.

The final conclusion to this shocking crime is still to be played out but the family and the community can only hope and pray the killer is quickly caught.

It is to be hoped the person responsible will have the decency to admit to the murder and not try to lay any of the blame on Allison or to weasel out of their criminal responsibility with clever lawyers and technical legal arguments and excuses.


Murder Mystery: Questions add to pain for Gerard Baden-Clay over tragic and unsolved murder of wife Allison

Gerard and Allison Baden-Clay on their wedding day in 1997.
















Madonna King

The Courier-Mail May 05, 2012


WHY didn't Gerard Baden-Clay help in the police search for his wife?

Why didn't he sit with her heartbroken parents, at the police press conference, and plead for the return of the beautiful and talented woman he married?

Those two questions keep swirling around, tormenting me each time I read or hear another police appeal for help in the unlawful killing of Allison Baden-Clay.

I didn't know Allison; nor do I know her husband. But they seemed like many of my friends: Gerard, a pillar of his local community as a businessman and volunteer, and Allison, who was incredibly bright but decided to sacrifice her own career for something she found so much more rewarding - bringing up the couple's three little girls. Her death is a tragedy that has gripped the state for the past two weeks.

We saw her parents do something no parent should ever have to do - look down the lens of a camera and ask for help in their daughter's unlikely disappearance. We saw her sister-in-law, shaking and in tears, plead with Allison to return home, and her parents-in-law support each other as no news became bad news. I can't imagine what Allison and Gerard's three little girls are going through this weekend.

I have two of a similar age, and it brings me to tears to think of the scars they will carry for life. Gerard Baden-Clay is right to say they are his priority, and he is correct to employ lawyers to ensure they are protected every step of the way. He too must be living in hell. He's lost the woman he married, and the mother of his precious little girls. I get all that. I understand that. But I just can't understand why he didn't rush to search for her with police and locals, and why he didn't join her parents in the public police calls for assistance in finding her.

I called his lawyer on Thursday, desperate to find an answer. Perhaps I wanted to know that my husband wouldn't make that decision; that he would collapse in exhaustion each night, only rallying the next day by a determination to find me. I wanted to hear the same from Gerard Baden-Clay.

His lawyer Darren Mahoney politely declined my interview request. That's his client's right. Mr Baden-Clay certainly doesn't answer to me. Perhaps it's easier for Allison's husband to go inside his own cave, where men sometimes feel at home, and where he doesn't have to think about the horror of what has happened to his wife. We all deal with tragedy differently. Some grow strong in adversity; others collapse, not knowing what to do.

I know I'm not the only parent who still struggles to drive across the Story Bridge; the image of two horrible events blurring my thinking each time. Sidonie Thompson lost her life when her mother Kim Patterson couldn't escape the demons she fought so bravely for so long. She killed Sidonie and then leapt from the bridge. And then Churchie teacher Jason Lees did something similar; throwing his two-year-old son Brad from the bridge, before jumping to his own death. Each time I travel from one side of Brisbane to the other, those two children fill my thoughts; and I hope those they have left behind find solace in the enormous goodwill the rest of us feel towards them.

Driving through Brookfield will now take on a similar feel - a hope that those three little girls who Allison doted on, who she sacrificed her career for in an instant, will grow up knowing that she loved them more than anything. That goodwill extends to her family, and her in-laws too. I'm not sure it's possible for a parent to get over the killing of their child, but Priscilla and Geoff Dickie are in all our thoughts and prayers.

To Gerard Baden-Clay too, the nightmare will continue. He's lost his wife, and now must make sure the daughters they were bringing up together have a chance at a normal childhood.

But one day they will probably ask the same questions I keep asking myself. Why didn't you help police search for Mummy? Why didn't you join Grandpa and Nanna at the police press conference and plead for her to come home to us?

 Gerard, you don't answer to me. I know that. But they will deserve an answer.


Allison Baden-Clay: Body may never have been found except for unseasonal weekend rain


Kholo Creek where it flows under Mt Crosby Rd in Brisbane's
west, where Allison Baden-Clay's murdered body was found.
 Allison Baden-Clay's killer must have been a meticulous, cold-blooded individual determined her body would never be found.

And there is every chance it would have been concealed forever in the thick vines and undergrowth which line Kholo Creek near Mt Crosby in Brisbane's west.

But the killer did not count on heavy autumn rain on the weekend of 28 - 29 April 2012 which put a one metre flush in Kholo Creek washing her body downstream almost to the mouth of the creek where it enters the Brisbane River, opposite the Ipswich suburb of Karalee.

If Mrs Baden-Clay's body had been dumped further upstream in Kholo Creek closer to the Tyamolum Scout Camp, it is likely to have remained trapped and concealed beneath fallen trees which line the creek bank following the devastating January 2011 Brisbane River flood.

Had this year's unseasonal April showers not hit Brisbane and Ipswich 10 days after she disappeared, it is almost a statistical certainty her body would have slowly perished into oblivion beneath those almost impenetrable vines and undergrowth.

The killer was banking on the fact her body would never be located, just like the disappearance of another former Ipswich girl Sharron Phillips on the Ipswich Motorway at Wacol in 1986.

But the unlikely late autumn rain is now almost certain to lead to the undoing of this callous killer.

Whoever is responsible for this dastardly deed is a cold, calculating brutal killer who knew exactly what they were doing by showing a degree of extreme cunning in the disposal of the victim's body.

But one thing they could never count on was the vagaries of Brisbane's sub-tropical weather and the unseasonal torrent of rain in our creeks and river systems at the end of April which ultimately exposed one of our state's worst crimes in Queensland's 153 year history.


CAN YOU HELP?
Do you know anything about this horrific crime? 
Call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000 or PoliceLink on 131 444.  
You can remain anonymous.




Newman hands new powers to Brisbane Council - ABC Brisbane - Australian Broadcasting Corporation


Comment: The sooner the useless, do-nothing, ULDA is completely scrapped the better.
PaulGTully@gmail.com

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-04/newman-hands-new-powers-to-brisbane-council/3991930#.T6OcwP3GK3w.mailto


Will DNA evidence finger Allison Baden-Clay's killer?


Allison Baden-Clay
The Allison Baden-Clay murder is turning into one of the most-unusual  investigations in Brisbane's history, surpassing the meticulous and eventually successful CIB investigation of Brisbane City Council bus driver Hendrikus Plomp for murder in 1961.

What is really unusual is that 99% of residents across southeast Queensland are freely nominating who they think the chief suspect is or could be.

Only three possible and plausible theories are being advanced at this stage involving interesting combinations of offenders both before and after the fact.

If there is no confession or direct evidence, this could turn into a murder trial based solely on circumstantial evidence.

The question on many people's lips is:  Was there any DNA found on Allison's body after it was retrieved and if so, whose?

It would be in everyone's interest if the killer came forward now from their hiding hole and made a full confession.

Hints at reform of donation rules - The Australian

Hints at reform of donation rules - The Australian:


Hints at reform of donation rules
The Australian
NEW anti-corruption reforms to police local councils have been flagged by Queensland's Crime and Misconduct Commission as its investigation winds-up into donations by a developer last year to then Brisbane lord mayor Campbell Newman's city hall ...

and more »

Push on for 20000 hens a hectare - Land

Push on for 20000 hens a hectare - Land:


Push on for 20000 hens a hectare
Land
In Queensland State laws define free-range as less than 1500 chooks/ha and in NSW The Greens want to limit farms to 750/ha by 2015. Choice (formerly the Australian Consumers Association) claims the egg industry has kept shoppers in the dark about the ...

and more »

Is hot wash service to blame for peeled paint? - Carwash Online

Is hot wash service to blame for peeled paint? - Carwash Online:


Is hot wash service to blame for peeled paint?
Carwash Online
BUNDABERG, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA — A carwash customer here told a local newspaper that a hot wash service stripped paint off of his vehicle, NewsMail reported. The April 30 story stated that Jarred Fahy took his car to Nemo's Car and Dog Wash in early ...

and more »

Man jailed over $103m fraud - New Zealand Herald

Man jailed over $103m fraud - New Zealand Herald:


Man jailed over $103m fraud
New Zealand Herald
By Kurt Bayer A Christchurch businessman who admitted a $103 million fraud that funded a "lavish'' and "grandiose'' high-rolling, jet-setter's lifestyle has been jailed for eight years today. Gavin Clifford Bennett, the 54-year-old former owner of IT ...

and more »

Letters: hotel credit card fees are absurd - Sydney Morning Herald

Letters: hotel credit card fees are absurd - Sydney Morning Herald:


Letters: hotel credit card fees are absurd
Sydney Morning Herald
... Traveller Letters, April 21-22) that added fees for settling a hotel bill in Australia by credit card are absurd. Extra charges also mean booking domestic flights online is becoming a rip-off, too. I travel to Britain, Europe, Canada and the US, ...

and more »

New Australia Visa opportunities for nurses desperately needed Down Under - PR Web (press release)

New Australia Visa opportunities for nurses desperately needed Down Under - PR Web (press release):

PR Web (press release)


New Australia Visa opportunities for nurses desperately needed Down Under
PR Web (press release)
A new report by Health Workforce Australia released this week reveals that Australia faces a shortage of 109000 nurses by 2025, unless action is taken by federal, state and territory governments, and the Australian Visa Bureau is on hand to assist any ...
World – British nurses in demand in AustraliaStaffing Industry Analysts (registration)

all 4 news articles »

Govt defends asylum seeker homestay plan - Business Spectator

Govt defends asylum seeker homestay plan - Business Spectator:


Govt defends asylum seeker homestay plan
Business Spectator
The allegations, made on the ABC's 7.30 program, relate to family visa applications from Afghanistan and Pakistan, and include claims that some Australian visa holders are sponsoring unrelated people as family members. The government said it was taking ...

and more »

Apple faces further accusations over 4G iPad in UK - Good Gear Guide

Apple faces further accusations over 4G iPad in UK - Good Gear Guide:

Telegraph.co.uk


Apple faces further accusations over 4G iPad in UK
Good Gear Guide
This follows similar accusations in Australia, where the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) took Apple to the Court for violating the conditions of the Australian Consumer Law. The BBC reports that the Advertising Standards Authority ...
ASA forces Apple to withdraw claims new iPad has '4G capability'The Guardian
Report: UK Group Probing New Apple iPad '4G' ComplaintsPC Magazine
First Australia, Now The UK Goes After Apple Over iPad '4G' ClaimsAppAdvice
The Next Web
all 58 news articles »

Optus and Vodafone sign an agreement to pool resources - Computerworld Australia

Optus and Vodafone sign an agreement to pool resources - Computerworld Australia:

Brisbane Times


Optus and Vodafone sign an agreement to pool resources
Computerworld Australia
An Optus staff memo stated the agreement between Vodafone and Optus will add 1000 new sites to the existing Optus network, pending approval of the partnership from the ACCC. “The new agreement will also allow us to deploy 3G on our existing low ...
Optus, Voda agree to expanded networkZDNet Australia
Optus And Vodafone To Share 3G And 4G Sites: What It Means For ConsumersGizmodo Australia
Optus and Vodafone team up in mobile broadband battleThe Australian Financial Review
iTWire -ARNnet -SmartHouse
all 365 news articles »

a welcome rocket for directors - The Australian

a welcome rocket for directors - The Australian:


a welcome rocket for directors
The Australian
Cartel crusade COMPETITION regulator Rod Sims clearly has a different view to that of his predecessor on the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission's powers on price signalling, based on yesterday's news that the ACCC will launch the 143rd ...

and more »

Watchdog blast homeopathy site - The Australian

Watchdog blast homeopathy site - The Australian:


Watchdog blast homeopathy site
The Australian
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the assertions by the Homeopathy Plus! website, which has ignored a previous order by the Therapeutic Goods Administration to publish a retraction of the claims, were "misleading and deceptive and ...

and more »

ACCC to probe fuel company 'collusion' - Sydney Morning Herald

ACCC to probe fuel company 'collusion' - Sydney Morning Herald:

BigPond News


ACCC to probe fuel company 'collusion'
Sydney Morning Herald
AAP Australia's competition watchdog has launched a formal investigation into price information sharing arrangements between petrol companies, which may breach competition laws. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) petrol commissioner ...
Probe into fuel price collusionHerald Sun
ACCC investigates fuel companies over pricingThe Age

all 157 news articles »

PM must find a way to deal with the politics of carbon tax - Sydney Morning Herald

PM must find a way to deal with the politics of carbon tax - Sydney Morning Herald:


PM must find a way to deal with the politics of carbon tax
Sydney Morning Herald
The mining tax will play a significant role in redistributing the gains from the resources boom, on the basis that the resources being exploited in Queensland and Western Australia belong to all Australians. The clownish attempt yesterday by ...

and more »

Clive, the entertainer, refloats his political boat - Sydney Morning Herald

Clive, the entertainer, refloats his political boat - Sydney Morning Herald:

Brisbane Times


Clive, the entertainer, refloats his political boat
Sydney Morning Herald
Back in 1984, hardly more than cabin boy aged 30, Clive set sail for a political career. He ran for National Party preselection for the Queensland Sunshine Coast seat of Fisher. He was beaten by a 34-year-old chap named Peter Slipper, who went on to ...
Clive Palmer's Titanic bid for federal politicsABC Online
Political ambitions no ruse: PalmerNinemsn
Peter Beattie mocks Clive Palmer's tilt at politicsHerald Sun
NEWS.com.au -Brisbane Times
all 1,913 news articles »

Union raid and Slipper scandal stir political strife - ABC Online

Union raid and Slipper scandal stir political strife - ABC Online:

ABC Online


Union raid and Slipper scandal stir political strife
ABC Online
The scandal surrounding Federal politics deepened today with a police raid, allegations of improper meetings and questions around Julia Gillard's leadership again, so what is the mood like in the nation's capital. CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: Hardly a day ...

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