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

AAP General News (Australia)
12-12-2003
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45 = 2

CANBERRA - An $800 million investment in Papua New Guinea law and order would pay long-term
dividends to Australia, Prime Minister John Howard said today. (PNG Howard)

CANBERRA - Australia was doing the right thing with its massive aid package for Papua
New Guinea and needed a next door neighbour that was stable and prosperous, Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer said today. (PNG Downer)

CANBERRA - A review of Australian Federal Police (AFP) resources should follow the
federal government's announcement that 230 police would be deployed to Papua New Guinea,
Labor said today. (PNG Labor)

PNG AUST NIGHTLEAD to come

CANBERRA - Prime Minister John Howard today encouraged Australian companies to bid
for work to help rebuild Iraq. (Iraq Howard)

CANBERRA - Foreign Minister Alexander Downer today backed United States moves to consider
handing lucrative aid contracts only to nations which helped with the war in Iraq. (Iraq
Aust)

CANBERRA - All major parties faced the danger of selecting candidates from a narrow
pool of professions, Prime Minister John Howard said today. (Politicians Howard)

CANBERRA - Missile defence would be an attractive feature of the advanced air defence
system planned for new air warfare destroyers, the navy's thinktank said today. (Missile)

CANBERRA - Bilateral trade deals may boost trade between countries but do little to
increase business in services, an OECD report has found. (Trade)

CANBERRA - The high Australian dollar is quickly claiming the nation's beef and live
export markets. (Exports)

CANBERRA - Former deputy prime minister and National Party leader Tim Fischer today
pointed the finger at those who watered gardens and median strips in the middle of the
day as the nation's worst water wasters. (Water Fischer )

SYDNEY - The mother of three children murdered by their father has described life without
them as empty and cold. (Fraser, NIGHTLEAD to come)

SYDNEY - The 400 NRMA roadside assistance officers who were this week stood down without
pay due to industrial action will return to work today. (NRMA Settle, NRMA NIGHTLEAD to
come)

SYDNEY - A punter from the NSW far north coast is $30 million richer after winning
the entire first division in last night's Powerball - the equal-biggest lottery win in
Australia. (Powerball)

SYDNEY - A jury today found a Sydney man guilty of manslaughter for killing his best
friend with a claw hammer. (Walsh, NIGHTLEAD to come)

SYDNEY - A further 25 retrenched miners have received their share of almost $5 million
of entitlements given to them by waste company Collex following the approval of a controversial
rubbish transfer station. (Dump)

SYDNEY - The line-up for the 2004 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras was unveiled today
at the official launch of the festival guide. (MARDI to come)

LITHGOW - DNA taken from a man charged with the murder of an 81-year-old woman in her
Blue Mountains home was a perfect match to samples found at the crime scene, a court was
told today. (White Nightlead)

MELBOURNE - Forensic staff had been unfairly maligned by claims they perverted the
course of justice, the inquest into the death of toddler Jaidyn Leskie was told today.

(Leskie 2nd Daylead, NIGHTLEAD to come)

MELBOURNE - Allegations Department of Human Services (DHS) staff may have contributed
to the death of a 15-year-old girl have prompted renewed calls for a Victorian children's
commissioner. (Children)

MELBOURNE - Plans to reopen the Arthur's Seat chairlift next week have been shelved
after WorkCover inspectors put a prohibition notice on the tourist attraction south-east
of Melbourne. (Chairlift)

MELBOURNE - Prime Minister John Howard today said the Victorian government had missed
its chance to purchase controversial former defence land at Point Nepean. (Nepean, NIGHTLEAD
to come)

MELBOURNE - Firefighters at a station in Melbourne's west ran across the road to fight
a large blaze at a furniture factory today. (Furniture)

MELBOURNE - Bali bombing survivor Natalie Goold has received the Star of Courage for
her bravery during the October 12, 2002, tragedy. (Bali Medals)

BRISBANE - Queensland police have charged the boyfriend of back-from-the-dead teenager
Natasha Ryan with perjury. (Ryan Daylead, NIGHTLEAD to come)

BRISBANE - A serial rapist has won the right to appeal to the High Court against new
Queensland laws keeping him in jail. (Fardon)

BRISBANE - A man dubbed Australia's worst paedophile has lost his bid to appeal an
indefinite sentence for molesting 62 girls over a 30-year period. (Dobbs)

BRISBANE - Swing Low, Sweet Chariot! England might have taken away the Rugby World
Cup but have fans have helped revive Australian tourism. (Arrivals, NIGHTLEAD to come)

BRISBANE - A man described as an amateur Steve Irwin could be charged over keeping
a freshwater crocodile illegally in the backyard of his home near Toowoomba (CROC to come)

BRISBANE - Prince Harry spotted enjoying the surf on the Sunshine Coast. (HARRY to come)

CAIRNS - Never smile at a crocodile and don't sit down under a coconut tree. (COCONUTS to come)

ADELAIDE - A South Australian shark fisherman has been fined $25,000 for taking his
boat into a marine park when it was closed to protect whales. (Atterton)

PERTH - The WA government today outlined its major changes to the state's tax system,
including the abolition of some taxes from as early as January next year. (TAX WA to come)

PERTH - The Mickelberg brothers' eighth appeal against their conviction for the 1982
Perth Mint swindle was adjourned today after a two week hearing. (MICKELBERG to come)

DARWIN - An ANZ Bank employee has been arrested and charged over the theft of almost
$2.5 million from the bank over a 10-year period, police said today. (Bank, NIGHTLEAD)

DARWIN - A decision to overturn the conviction of a journalist who trespassed on Aboriginal
land has been criticised as an attack on indigenous property rights. (Toohey)

DARWIN - An unruly passenger who launched into a drunken mid-air rage aboard an international
flight has been ordered to pay the $14,000 cost of diverting the plane to Darwin. (Donovan)

HOBART - A former Tasmanian Anglican priest jailed for sexually abusing teenaged boys
has appealed against the length of his sentence. (Hawkins)

HOBART - The unique pick-up lines of amorous frogs are being used in a "Summer Lovin'"

survey of two declining Tasmanian species. (Frogs)

AAP mo

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY

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