AAP Internet Bulletin 1615 Tuesday, Dec 15, 1998

AAP General News (Australia)
12-15-1998
AAP Internet Bulletin 1615 Tuesday, Dec 15, 1998





[T][CRICKET ENGLAND][CRIK]

Australia wins third Test and Ashes

Australia has retained the Ashes, defeating England by 205 runs in the third Test at the
Adelaide Oval today.

Australia's triumph gave Mark Taylor's men an unbeatable two-nil lead in the five Test
series and ensured Australia held the Ashes for the fifth consecutive time since recapturing
them in 1989.

Chasing 443 for victory, England was bowled out for 237 on the final day today.

England captain Alec Stewart offered the most stout resistance, making an unbeaten 63.

Paceman Glenn McGrath took four wickets in a devastating spell that wrecked England hopes
of staving off defeat.

After batting for just the loss of Mark Ramprakash (57) early today, Australia sprang into
action courtesy of McGrath's dismissal of John Crawley (13) on what became the last ball
before lunch.

On resumption, McGrath had Graeme Hick caught at slip for a first ball duck but was denied
a hat-trick by Darren Gough.

The Yorkshire paceman fell for three in McGrath's next over before Damien Fleming dismissed
Alan Mullally for four.

McGrath then completed the triumph by trapping Peter Such lbw for a duck.





[A][BANKS RBA][FED]

Cut credit card rates: RBA chief

Australias central bank chief today expressed dismay at the high interest rates major
banks continue to charge for credit cards.

Reserve Bank Governor Ian Macfarlane, giving evidence before a federal parliamentary
economics committee, said he could not understand the interest rates on credit cards compared
to other services offered to consumers by banks.

"Ive always been surprised by how they have always seemed to be so high," Mr Macfarlane
said.

Committee chairman David Hawker said credit cards was one area in the banking sector where
competition and falling interest rates had not led to substantially reduced charges.

"Rates in the last two years have gone from 16.2 per cent down to about 15.1 per cent,
which certainly isnt anything like weve seen in other areas," Mr Hawker said.

Official interest rates fell to 4.75 per cent on December 2.

Asked if the RBA could help facilitate greater competition in that area, Mr Macfarlane said
he had no answers.

He said it was possibly up to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to
look at bank charges on credit cards.

"We dont have any responsibility for the banking sector ... we have responsibility for
monetary responsibility and finance and assistance development," he said.

The Australian Consumers Association said interest rates on credit cards were up to three
times higher than what banks offer for home mortgages.



[I][CLINTON MIDEAST]

Clinton on final Mideast peace bid

US President Bill Clinton is making a final stab at getting the Wye River peace accords
back on track before heading home to resume his struggle against impeachment.

His main goal is to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume a partial
troop pullback on the West Bank.

Even though Yasser Arafat led the Palestine National Council into nullifying calls for
Israel's destruction earlier today, Clinton's task appeared difficult on the third and final
day of a trip to the region.

Netanyahu is demanding that Arafat stop proclaiming his intention to establish a
Palestinian state even before negotiations open on explosive final-status issues.

But Arafat, in a rousing speech to the Council in Clinton's presence, renewed his hope for
a state with its capital in Jerusalem.

Speaking to hundreds of Palestinians, Clinton did not discourage statehood hopes. In fact,
he said he sought "legitimate rights for Palestinians" along with "real security for Israel."

Previewing what Clinton was likely to tell the two leaders at a meeting later today at the
Erez border crossing on the Gaza Strip, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said: "It's
important for the Israelis to move forward on the redeployment. It would unfortunate if that
did not happen soon."

Still, Albright said "there are indications it will not happen on schedule."

Netanyahu told reporters in Jerusalem that Palestinian vote would "lead to a real peace, a
lasting peace, not a minute-long peace." But at the same time, he said Arafat must renounce
plans to declare statehood and take steps to end the violence in the region.

"We are not susceptible to pressure. We will do what is right," Netanyahu declared in an
interview with The Associated Press. "We expect the Palestinians to keep all the provisions,
and no amount of pressure is going to change this."





[X][RBA Y2K][FED]

RBA fears 1999 Y2K bank panic

Mass panic that bank balances would disappear in a flash when the clock ticks over to the
year 2000 could build up towards the end of 1999, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Ian
Macfarlane warned today.

Mr Macfarlane said public education may be needed to counteract the spread of conspiracy
theories via talkback radio about the millennium bug, the potentially disastrous effect on
computerised systems on January 1, 2000.

Mr Macfarlane said the RBAs main concern with 2000 was ensuring there was enough currency
available to meet demand before the New Year long weekend.

"(But) theres always this little nagging fear ... that therell be some generalised panic
on a much bigger scale when people start to worry that their whole bank balance is going to
disappear in a flash as we pass 2000," he told the parliamentary economics committee.

"The fear is that conspiracy stories and wild ideas start spreading over talkback radio and
we get all sorts of people doing funny things, so I think it is important to have a public
education campaign on that."

Mr Macfarlane said printed copies of all bank balances in the lead-up to 2000 may also be
needed.

"If there was this widespread belief in the community that all their savings were going to
disappear because the only record of them were these electrons spinning around the circuit
somewhere ... then I think there would be a case for putting in public education and also
public reassurance through making sure there was a hard copy of every bank account in the
country ... and making clear to the public that that has been done," he said.

Mr Macfarlane said the issue of the publics demand for notes and coins in the final days
of 1999 was the most relevant to the RBA as people would be expected to ensure they had more
cash in their wallets in case automatic teller machines broke down.

"Theres that normal precautionary desire to have a bit more. We certainly would make sure
theres more than enough to handle that," he said.

Mr Macfarlane said the RBA was printing more notes and not destroying old notes to build
stocks up.





[T][GALLOPS LIGHTNING][RACE]

Perth jockey dies in lightning strike

PERTH - A young jockey struck by lightning in Perth today died when a sudden thunderstorm
swept in before officials had time to clear Ascot racecourse, eyewitnesses said.

Track rider Damion Beckett, 22, and his mount, Perth Cup contender Brave Buck, both died
instantly when lightning struck at about 5.20 am local time (0820 AEDT).

Well-known Perth racing personality Ernie Manning was watching from his usual vantage point
at Ascot when the accident occurred.

He said the electrical storm swept across the track so quickly officials didnt have time
to call the jockeys in.

"There was torrential rain and two bolts of lightning," he said.

"They were behind the practice barrier and I saw the horse and jockey lying on the ground."

Manning said Beckett and Brave Buck were in a group of three or four horses and riders in
the area at the time.

"They were just coming past the practice barrier when the lightning struck," he said.

"The ambulance was right there and they got to him within 30 seconds."

Leading jockey Mark Sestich was with Manning at the time and rushed to Beckett but could
see no signs of life.

Beckett was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.





[A][ROWLAND][WA]

AIDS man gave virus to boy: court

A Perth AIDS sufferer was found by a District Court Judge today to have passed the deadly
virus on to a 12-year-old boy through unprotected sex in a public toilet block.

Dwayne Ian Rowland, 30, pleaded guilty to having sex with the child but denied he infected
the Fremantle schoolboy with HIV.

But Judge Peter Williams today found Director of Public Prosecutions John McKechnie, QC,
had proved that the virus passed from Rowland to the boy, now 16.

"The Crown has satisfied me beyond reasonable doubt on the issue, that it was the offender
that in fact transmitted the virus to the complainant," he said.

Scientific evidence presented to the court yesterday demonstrated the genetics of the
viruses of Rowland and the boy showed one was very likely to have been infected by the other.

The boy, who cannot be named, told police he had never used intravenous drugs, and Rowland
- who was diagnosed HIV positive in 1994 - had been his first sexual encounter.

He also said he had not had anal sex with anybody else.

Rowland, whose address has been suppressed, admitted to police he had sex with the boy
about five to nine times between April 1995 and October 1996 in toilets at the Fremantle train
station, using a condom on only one of those occasions.

"(Rowland) was well aware he was HIV-positive, and he was also well aware of the risks, yet
knowing of these risks he continued to have unprotected sex with the child," Mr McKechnie
said.

The boy was diagnosed after Mormon church clergy told him homosexual sex was a mortal sin,
and he admitted to having sex with another man.





[A][ECONOMY RBA][FED]

Aust survives Asian crisis: RBA

Australias economy survived the Asian economic crisis in 1998 but was set for slower
economic growth next year, Reserve Bank Governor Ian Macfarlane said today.

Mr Macfarlane defended the central banks decision to slice official cash rates by
one-quarter of a percentage point earlier this month despite strong growth revealed the same
day, saying it was a prudent measure before growth slowed in 1999.

"Our judgment was that even though most of the data coming in was still suggesting good
growth, the likelihood was that growth would decline in 1999," he told a parliamentary
committee here today.

"(But) I am conscious that the story is not yet over and that this is really an interim
report.

"The external environment will remain difficult."

Mr Macfarlane boosted his predictions for economic growth in 1998 to four per cent, from
three per cent he forecast earlier this year, and that the stronger growth had edged down the
unemployment rate in recent months.

He said inflation was likely to come in at two per cent at the end of the year while the
current account deficit looked set to average five per cent of gross domestic product in 1998.

"The economic outcomes over the past year have been pretty good," he said.

"Australias economic performance has exceeded our expectations, and to my knowledge the
expectations of virtually all forecasters.

"No-one can accuse us of being Pollyannas because in each case the outcome was slightly
better than we had forecast."





[A][UK ORPHANS AUST][FED]

Govt considers UK migrant response

The federal government will today study Britains response to an inquiry into the forced
migration of children to British colonies and to consider any further actions in Australia.

Overnight the British government announced a Stg1 million ($A2.7 million) fund to help
former child migrants - many of whom were sent to Australia during the WWII - return to the UK
to meet their original families.

Britain is also to set up a database of information to assist former migrants trace their
records and establish links with their families and has promised increased funding to the
Child Migrants' Trust, a group that helps former child migrants in Australia.

Todays announcements follow an investigation by Britain's House of Commons Health
Committee earlier this year which found that most of the children sent away had suffered
emotional and physical hardship and abuse.

"We will formulate a response after considering the actions Britain has taken," a spokesman
for Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock told AAP.

"The recommendations of the report and also the British response raise a number of issues
for Commonwealth and state governments in order to ensure we derive the best outcomes for
former child migrants."

The spokesman said issues which needed to be considered included how to overcome the
difficulties faced by migrants to cope with their situations and find their families.

He said the question was likely to be considered on a whole-of-government approach which
also involved state governments.

The spokesman noted some arrangements were already in place to offer practical support to
the child migrants, including counselling and assistance to track their personal records.

"So in some ways our practical approach has mirrored the British recommendations," the
spokesman said.





[A][ATSIC][FED]

Howard seeking to gut ATSIC: Oppn

Opposition Aboriginal affairs spokesman Daryl Melham today accused Prime Minister John
Howard of vindictively seeking to gut the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.

Mr Melhams attack followed a report in the Sydney Morning Herald that Cabinet was expected
to endorse the removal of $220 million in housing funding from ATSIC and abolish special
funding for indigenous education under the Abstudy scheme.

Speculation before the election that the federal government might seek to remove housing,
one of ATSICs core responsibilities, from the peak Aboriginal group prompted an outcry from
Aboriginal groups who claimed it would be a step to dismantling ATSIC.

"What we are now seeing is this vindictive Prime Minister who has never supported ATSIC,
basically gutting ATSIC," Mr Melham told ABC radio.

"He is really running a One Nation agenda here.

"The lessons of the past are that you have got to involve the community. If you want
successful programs then you train the indigenous people, you work with them, you dont run a
paternalistic missionary program, it serves nobody in the long run."

At present federal funding for Aboriginal housing is administered by two agencies - ATSIC
and the Department of Family and Community Services which funds about $91 million through
state and territory agencies.

A shift in the ATSIC money to state agencies is likely to provoke anger from Aboriginal
groups who have long complained state governments do not fulfill their responsibilities to
provide services to indigenous people.

Jesuit Social Justice Centre director and long time Aboriginal rights supporter Father
Frank Brennan told ABC radio that the removal of housing funding from ATSIC demonstrated the
gap between the coalitions rhetoric and delivery on reconciliation.

"The gap between the rhetoric and the delivery of course has been very acute for this
government," Fr Brennan said.





[A][COAL MINES][FED]

Miners defy AIRC work order

Miners failed to resume work at most coal mines in New South Wales and Queensland today
despite orders to do so by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), coal mining
companies said.

Only Rio Tinto, the owner of three Hunter Valley mines, reported a full return to work
after winning an order in the Supreme Court yesterday.

However, it is understood that apart from the non-unionised Bengalla mine and the
partially-unionised Ravensworth mine, the states other 14 mines were all idle today.

The commission yesterday ordered 20,000 members of the Construction, Forestry Mining and
Energy Union (CFMEU) to return to work, having found their planned 48-hour strike illegal
under the Workplace Relations Act.

The CFMEU was unable to be contacted this morning but it is believed officials are
contemplating an appeal against the commissions decision.

A Rio Tinto spokesman said all men required to work at its three Hunter Valley mines had
returned to work for the night shift last night after being directed to by the Supreme Court.

"Were delighted to be shipping coal to customers today and its disappointing that the
others continue to lose money in the leadup to Christmas," he said.

A Cypress Australia spokesman said workers at its four NSW mines and one Queensland mine
had not returned to work, although it had not been party to the application in the commission
yesterday.





[I][US KIDMAN BLUE][US]

Kidman takes Manhattan

After whipping London critics into a frenzy, Nicole Kidmans briefly nude performance in
The Blue Room has the US media in a lather, even yanking Bill Clinton off the front page in
New York.

The Daily News today dedicated its first three pages to Kidman and The Blue Rooms official
Broadway opening last night, while The New York Times, USA Today and a host of television
celebrities and critics lumped praise on the Australian actress.

Neither the embattled US Presidents refusal to resign nor big wins to New Yorks football
teams, the Giant and the Jets pulled focus on page one of the Daily News which screamed "Naked
Nicole Takes Broadway."

Following last nights opening at the Cort Theatre, the papers theatre critic gushed that
Kidman "generates enough erotic energy to raise the dead of two continents" in a review
headlined "Kidmans Act Is Sex-ceptional".

USA Todays David Patrick Stearns noted that the main asset for The Blue Room is its acting
tour de force.

The New York Times Ben Brantley found he wasnt stirred "emotionally" by the play but said:
"Ms Kidman gives a winningly accomplished performance, shifting accents and personae with an
assured agility that never stoops to showing off or grandstanding."

In other publications like the New York Post and in numerous television and radio reports,
the main emphasis was on Kidmans 15 seconds or so of on stage nudity during which, to the
obvious disappointment of many of the first nighters leaving the Cort Theatre on a cold New
York Sunday night, the actress had her back to the audience.

Her Scottish co-star Glen, however, proudly displayed his physical dexterity by performing
cartwheels across the stage while naked.

The Blue Room which is shaping as one of the most sought after tickets in Broadway history,
runs until March.

About an hour after the performance last night, Kidman and husband Tom Cruise bustled out
of the Cort Theatre to the cheers of about 200 fans, en route to an opening night party at
Chelsea Piers on the Hudson River.



[X][US RECORDING][US]

Record industry to map digital music

US record industry chief executives are set to move quickly to map the future of digital
music.

In an attempt to combat online piracy, top officials at five large American recording
companies will launch an initiative that seeks to create a secure method to sell music over
the Internet, a recording industry source said today.

Chief executives from BMG Entertainment, EMI Recorded Music, Sony Music Entertainment,
Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group will participate in the plan, expected to be
announced later today in New York.

The Secure Digital Music Initiative would marry music with high-tech by creating a rival to
MP3, the high-quality format currently used to compress, store and distribute audio files, the
source told the AP on condition of anonymity.

The move comes amid rising music industry concerns that copyrighted audio materials are
being posted illegally on the Internet. Personal Web sites offering MP3 songs for free have
sprung up online, causing headaches for the Recording Industry of America Association, which
works to protect artist rights and royalties.

By creating a rival to MP3, the music industry hopes to feed a growing consumer demand for
online music while protecting against bootlegging and online piracy.

The new technology would not allow free duplication, Wired News reported on its Web site on
Saturday. It would allow consumers to purchase music directly online in a high-quality format.

The record companies are seeking out technology companies to develop the new format. Among
the companies they are courting are AT and T Corp, Lucent Technologies Inc, IBM Corp and
Microsoft Corp, a technology industry source told the Associated Press, also on condition of
anonymity.

The RIAA has been embroiled in a legal battle with Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. over
the Rio portable digital music player. The Rio is a small, Walkman-like device that allows the
user to transfer MP3 files from their computer onto the player.

The RIAA tried to stop distribution of the Rio in October, but a federal district court
judged refused an injunction and the Rio hit shelves in November.

MP3 stands for Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) 1 layer 3, a method of compressing audio
files into digital format that takes up as much as one-tenth the computer memory than previous
technologies.





[A][OLY FUNDING][OLY]

High cost of Olympic gold: study

Australias gold medal haul at the past five Olympics has come at a hefty price - $51.8
million per medal and a nation of fat, inactive spectators.

In the first study of its kind in Australia, University of South Australia sports
researchers have examined the link between federal funding for elite sport and Australias
medal haul at Olympic Games between 1980 and 1996.

They found the 25 gold medals won between Moscow and Atlanta each carried a price tag of
$51.8 million, paid by the taxpayer, or $11.3 million each for the 115 total medals won at the
five Olympics.

At current funding levels, they found Australia should claim at least 16 to 19 gold medals
in Sydney, not taking into account the home crowd advantage.

And Australia would make a clean sweep of gold medals at the 2048 Olympics if funding for
elite sport continued to increase at the current rate.

But exercise science Associate Professor Kevin Norton said the sporting accolades came at a
cost, with the huge amounts of money reaping rewards at Olympic level but failing to provide
any impetus for community participation in sport.

Prof Norton said administrators tried to justify the funding using the trickle-down theory,
which means that if Kieren Perkins, for example, wins a swimming gold medal then thousands of
kids will take up swimming.

But he said his research showed the opposite had happened - more money for elite sport
meant more Olympic gold medals but less participation in sport by the public.

"We are a nation of spectators, there has been less and less activity, theres no money
left for community-based sport, what we are saying will happen doesnt happen, its going
completely in the opposite direction," Prof Norton told AAP.

The study tallied the amount of money spent on elite sport during the leadup to the past
four Olympics and compared it with the number of medals won.





[T][CRICKET WARNE][CRIK]

Warne Boxing Day Test doubt

Star leg spinner Shane Warne today admitted he would struggle to reclaim his Test place in
time for the Boxing Day Ashes Test at his home ground, the MCG.

The Melbourne Test has been Warnes aim all season but in his three shield appearances
since returning from shoulder surgery he has struggled, managing just six wickets.

In his last outing against Queensland, which ended in a thrilling draw yesterday, Warne
could manage only one wicket and was disappointed with his performance in the second innings
in particular.

The Victorian skipper said his Boxing Day aim might have been unrealistic but he has
another shield match, against New South Wales in Sydney on Saturday, to press his claims for a
recall.





[T][LEAGUE ARL APPOINT][RL]

Brasch appointed ARL chairman

Kevin Brasch was today appointed as the new chairman of the Australian Rugby League at the
ARLs annual general meeting.

Brasch replaced John McDonald, who had held the position since May 1997.

An ARL statement said that McDonald had not sought re-election.

But the New South Wales Rugby League said in a statement it would refuse to accept any
decision made today by the ARL and would now seek an urgent hearing in the NSW Supreme Court.

The statement said the NSWRL delegates had walked out of the ARL AGM today because they
claimed McDonald had refused to comply with the articles of association and step down from his
position.

It said McDonald wanted the outgoing ARL board to elect a chairman for 1999, and because of
that "representatives of the NSWRL were left with no option but to leave the meeting".





[T][OLY SWIMMING][OLY]

Spitz approves Klims big race dream

Endorsements dont come much bigger than this.

Michael Klims dream to contest a gruelling seven events in the pool at the 2000 Olympics
has been encouraged by legendary American Mark Spitz, whose astonishing record at the 1972
Munich Games reads seven gold medals in seven world record times.

After medalling in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly and all three relays at
the world championships in January, Klim has made no secret of his wish to repeat the program
in Sydney.

The reintroduction of semifinals could have clouded the issue, but the program approved
over the weekend by the International Olympic Committee is decidedly Klim-friendly, with the
only real clash being the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly finals on day seven.

"Its obviously still a long way away and Ive got to do a lot of work to prepare myself
for all seven events, but its a bit early to count anything out," Klim said today.

"At the moment Im in a good frame of mind and I feel Id like to tackle that many races.

"Its just an exciting opportunity for an Australian to compete at the Olympics in
Australia and hopefully having the atmosphere of the crowd will get me through that tough
program."

Klim, 21, first spoke to Spitz after breaking the 100m butterfly world record at the
Australian trials in October last year, and the Americans advice was to swim as many events
as he could.

"Mark said he felt that after his first assault at the Olympics in 68 he didnt do what he
wanted to do and a good way of proving what he was capable of was by doing what he did in
72," said Klim.

The Americans record in the 1968 Mexico City Games included two relay golds and bronze in
the 100m freestyle behind Australian Michael Wenden.

KEYWORD: NETNEWS 1615

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