AAP National News Wire Round Up for Evening, April 27

AAP General News (Australia)
04-27-2001
AAP National News Wire Round Up for Evening, April 27
Evening Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1630

US TAIWAN AUST (CANBERRA)

The Chinese Embassy is standing by criticism of JOHN HOWARD'S comments supporting United
States president GEORGE W BUSH's stance on Taiwan.

Mr HOWARD said yesterday he's sure Mr BUSH understood regional tensions and China understood
the long-standing US position on Taiwan.

Embassy spokeswoman REN XIAOPING says all previous Australian governments have been
consistent in their commitment to the One China policy.

She says remarks made by the Australian side are inappropriate and unhelpful to the
stability across the Taiwan Straits following the US government's recent decision on arms
sales to Taiwan.

Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD earlier hit back at the criticism from the Chinese Embassy.



ECONOMY (CANBERRA)

The government is rejecting opposition claims that it's hiding negative economic news
from Australian voters.

Overnight, the International Monetary Fund slashed its growth forecast for Australia
in 2001 to 1.9 per cent, from the 3.25 per cent it forecast just one month ago.

IMF forecasts are largely based on information supplied by officials from the member country.

Opposition treasury spokesman SIMON CREAN says the forecast shows the federal government
failed to come clean with the Australian people when it commented on the IMF report yesterday.

Speaking today, Mr CREAN said the IMF blames the GST for what's happened in Australia.



COURT (PERTH)

Former West Australian premier RICHARD COURT quit politics today, formally resigning
from his seat of Nedlands and from the state's parliament.

Voters in his metropolitan seat now face a by-election at a date to be determined.

Mr COURT'S departure from politics ends the COURT family's long involvement in the
WA political arena.

RICHARD COURT was premier for eight years and held the seat of Nedlands for 19 years,
taking over from his father Sir CHARLES COURT, who was the local MP from 1953 to 1982
and premier between 1974 and 1982.



PETROL HOWARD (CANBERRA)

Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD says the public has a right to be angry at the pre-Anzac
Day petrol price jump.

Unleaded petrol in metropolitan areas went up as high as $1.08 a litre.

Mr HOWARD is calling for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to examine
the prices.

The ACCC is also investigating whether there are price-fixing agreements between the
petrol companies.

He says the ACCC should throw the book at the companies if there's any evidence of
collusion on the Anzac Day price increase.



JOBS ACOSS ABBOTT (CANBERRA)

Employment Minister TONY ABBOTT says Australia's social service lobby group is indulging
in defeatism by calling on the government to reverse its jobs and welfare strategy.

The statement comes in response to claims by the Australian Council of Social Services
the availability of jobs has worsened to a national average of seven unemployed people
for every job vacancy.

ACOSS president MICHAEL RAPER says welfare reform has to contain a strategy to grow
the number of jobs in Australia -- not just to make unemployed people do more to get a
job.

But Mr ABBOTT says he's confident about the government's efforts.

He says he believes ACOSS has a great deal to contribute but the government must act
in the national interest.



IMMIGRATION RUDDOCK (SYDNEY)

The federal government says Australia's immigration program can be expanded by an extra
6,000 places to offset projected reduction in the nation's population and contribute to
economic growth.

Multicultural Affairs and Immigration Minister PHILIP RUDDOCK says a new program will
offer 85,000 immigration places, including 45,500 allocated to skilled immigrants and
37,900 for family re-unions.

A further 1,600 places will be set aside for special cases.

Mr RUDDOCK says Australia will only see either modest growth in population or sustainable
numbers, through a reproductive rate of 1.65 per fertile couple and average migration
program numbers net of the order of 75,000.

Mr RUDDOCK says a balanced migration program has significant benefits to the economy.



SUDAN HIJACK FREE (KHARTOUM)

All passengers and crew aboard a hijacked Ethiopian plane were free before dawn today
and their hijackers have surrendered after a 10-hour hostage drama in Sudan.

Sudan's Information Minister Ghazi SALAH EDDINE ATABANI says 33 military personnel
and seven crewmen disembarked the plane and the five hijackers, all military cadets including
a woman, have surrendered to the authorities.

Six women and five children, the only civilian passengers on the plane, were freed
in earlier negotiations.

ATABANI says they'd convinced the hijackers that the best offer they'd get is fair
treatment according to international law and not to be turned over to Ethiopia.

State television had said earlier that the hijackers were armed with grenades, pistols
and knives but this hasn't been confirmed.



ANSETT ADVERTISING (MELBOURNE)

Ansett Chief Executive GARY TOOMEY says the airline will launch a $20 million marketing
campaign next week in the wake of the recent grounding of its 10, 767-200 aircraft.

Mr TOOMEY says the company considers Ansett is a safer and stronger airline after the
Civil Aviation Safety Authority grounded the aircraft.

Mr TOOMEY unveiled the $20 million campaign at the conclusion of a two-day Ansett and
Air New Zealand board meeting.

The board has also agreed to proceed with the sale of Ansett's 10 767-200 fleet.

Mr TOOMEY says the airline will be sold to General Electric and then leased back to
Ansett until a new fleet of either 10 narrow-bodied planes or eight wide-bodied planes
had been introduced by 2004.



In BRIEF


Queensland police say a Bracken Ridge woman has been charged over the stabbing of a three-year-old
girl on the Sunshine Coast.



South Australian Opposition leader MIKE RANN says workers with asbestos related diseases
often die before their compensation cases are settled and the system should be overhauled.



New South Wales police minister PAUL WHELAN says semi-automatic handguns are being sold
on the black market but is backing away from calls to outlaw them.



Australia Post says a petition warning of government plans to charge five cents per e-mail
is a hoax.



A political analyst says a proposal to create a DNA database of all Australians is a ploy
to win over right-wing voters.



IN SPORT


SUPER QLD (BRISBANE)

Wallaby captain JOHN EALES is ready but winger BEN TUNE is still waiting on a clearance,
to play in Queensland's Super 12 rugby clash with the Cats at Ballymore on Saturday night.

EALES came through a final training session without any problems on his troublesome
Achilles but TUNE faces another wait for a medical clearance on the infected grazes which
have kept him out since the Reds' loss to the ACT Brumbies four weeks ago.



GOLF PGA (GREENSBORO, North Carolina)

AARON BADDELEY has finally hit his stride in the United States to be only one stroke
from the lead and equal second with a 67 in the opening round at the Greater Greensboro
Golf Classic in North Carolina.

Best of the other Australians is MATHEW GOGGIN at two under 70, while STUART APPLEBY,
STEVE ELKINGTON and PAUL GOW have carded 71.



ENDS EVENING ROUND-UP



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KEYWORD: EVENING ROUND-UP

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