R[0]="1822"; T[0]="Leading role for Aussie lamb and beef in Hollywood"; A[0]="By ... Editor"; Dn[0]="20070123"; Dt[0]="Tuesday 23 January 2007"; Acats[0]="a08a25a27a48"; B1[0]="      Australian beef and lamb has joined Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts and Terri and Bindi Irwin as a star of the G'Day USA "; B2[0]="events currently being held in Los Angeles and New York... "; B3[0]=" "; B4[0]=" "; B5[0]=" "; S1[0]="      Australian beef and lamb has joined Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts and Terri and Bindi Irwin as a star of the G'Day USA "; S2[0]=" events currently being held in Los Angeles and New York.
      In its fourth year, the G'day USA program aims to build stronger "; S3[0]=" business relations and promote all things Australian to the citizens of Los Angeles and, for the first time this year, New York.
      "; S4[0]=" Australian beef and lamb has featured this week at all the key events in Los Angeles, including a screening of the iconic Australian film Priscilla: "; S5[0]=" Queen of the Desert, as well as the food and beverage trade show and the G'day USA golf day.
      Over 1,200 guests "; S6[0]=" attended the Penfolds black tie dinner in Los Angeles on Saturday to honour Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts and the late Steve Irwin where they dined "; S7[0]=" on a main meal of seared slow roasted rib of Australian grain fed beef prepared by owner and executive chef of Sydney's Rockpool restaurant, Neil "; S8[0]=" Perry.
      Meat & Livestock Australia's (MLA) North America Regional Manager, Michelle Gorman said MLA had partnered with G'day USA organisers to provide "; S9[0]=" attendees at events in Los Angeles and New York with the opportunity to taste the unique flavour of Australian beef and lamb.
      "; S10[0]=" 'There is huge room for growth in the US market for Australian red meat - research shows that 70 percent of American consumers have not "; S11[0]=" tried lamb and Australia is currently not well recognised as a supplier of high quality beef products,' Ms Gorman said.
      'Despite this, "; S12[0]=" many consumers still think of Australia as a source of high quality lamb and our production systems are well regarded - G'day USA provides an "; S13[0]=" exciting opportunity to increase US consumers' awareness of our high quality lamb and beef products.' Events continue in New York this week, including two major "; S14[0]=" functions where owner and executive chef of Vue de monde in Melbourne, Shannon Bennett, will prepare Greg Norman Australian Prime Wagyu, and Neil Perry will "; S15[0]=" prepare a meal featuring Australian lamb cutlets.
      Neil Perry will also prepare his Aussie lamb cutlet dish live on The Martha Stewart "; S16[0]=" Show, a popular lifestyle show syndicated nationally.
      'We estimate that 3,500 consumers will have tried Australian beef and lamb at the G'day "; S17[0]=" USA events.
      The beef and lamb products featured at these events will be available during the month of January at two boutique "; S18[0]=" retail chains, Bristol Farms in Los Angeles and Citarella in New York, allowing event attendees to follow up their memorable dining experience with a purchase,' "; S19[0]=" Ms Gorman said.
      In 2006 exports of Australian chilled beef to the U.S.
      reached a record high 33,542 tonnes "; S20[0]=" while Australian lamb exports totalled 39,836 tonnes, only two percent lower than the record set in 2005... "; R[1]="1813"; T[1]="The great coastal squeeze for NSW"; A[1]="By ... Editor"; Dn[1]="20070123"; Dt[1]="Tuesday 23 January 2007"; Acats[1]="a48a50"; B1[1]="      CITIES such as Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie will be dramatically transformed in the next 25 years, with high-rise buildings, industrial parks "; B2[1]="and new suburbs, as part of the NSW Government's strategy to cope with the population surge to the coast... "; B3[1]=" "; B4[1]=" "; B5[1]=" "; S1[1]="      CITIES such as Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie will be dramatically transformed in the next 25 years, with high-rise buildings, industrial parks "; S2[1]=" and new suburbs, as part of the NSW Government's strategy to cope with the population surge to the coast.
      The Planning Minister, "; S3[1]=" Frank Sartor, yesterday released the draft strategy for the Mid-North Coast, from Forster to Yamba, and the final strategy for the Far North Coast, from "; S4[1]=" Evans Head to the Queensland border.
      The documents reveal that the Government is planning for more than 150,000 new residents along the "; S5[1]=" coastal strip in the next 25 years.
      The lion's share of development will be on the Mid-North Coast, with a plan to "; S6[1]=" accommodate 91,000 new residents in 58,400 new dwellings.
      The Far North Coast's coastal population has already grown strongly, so plans for future "; S7[1]=" growth of 60,400 people in the region will be focused on inland centres such as Lismore.
      Both strategies aim to limit urban "; S8[1]=" sprawl along the coast by concentrating future development within and around the main cities.
      The strategies identify sensitive lands such as wetlands "; S9[1]=" and remaining littoral rainforests for protection and promise to preserve the character of smaller towns and villages, which are central to both regions' tourist appeal.
"; S10[1]="       The Mid-North Coast strategy, which will be on exhibition for two months, earmarks Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Port Macquarie and Taree as the "; S11[1]=" region's main centres.
      Six other towns are identified as lesser centres: Maclean, Woolgoolga, Bellingen, Macksville, Kempsey and Forster-Tuncurry.
      'In "; S12[1]=" the case of the Mid-North Coast, we are again concentrating the development around the towns,' Mr Sartor said yesterday.
      'Some of the "; S13[1]=" councils wanted more development but we have limited it to manageable levels.' However, resisting urban sprawl along the coast may prove more politically challenging.
  "; S14[1]="     The mid-coast councils have already either zoned or identified enough land for the future expansion, but some of the land is 'not necessarily "; S15[1]=" in the right location', the strategy says.
      These plans will now have to be reviewed in the light of the strategy.
  "; S16[1]="     Another feature of the Mid-North Coast strategy is the proposal for high-rise buildings in the centre of Coffs Harbour and in the jetty "; S17[1]=" and Park Beach areas, and in the heart of Port Macquarie.
      Mr Sartor said the actual shape of each major centre would "; S18[1]=" be in the hands of the councils, but the State Government would strictly enforce its coastal policy to prevent overshadowing of the beach... "; R[2]="1812"; T[2]="A little Vietnam flowering in the Alice"; A[2]="By ... Editor"; Dn[2]="20070123"; Dt[2]="Tuesday 23 January 2007"; Acats[2]="a17a48a51"; B1[2]="      IT grew slowly, the grand dream of Tinh and Lan Nguyen, in the shadow of the red MacDonnell Ranges, out in the "; B2[2]="back blocks of Alice Springs... "; B3[2]=" "; B4[2]=" "; B5[2]=" "; S1[2]="      IT grew slowly, the grand dream of Tinh and Lan Nguyen, in the shadow of the red MacDonnell Ranges, out in the "; S2[2]=" back blocks of Alice Springs.
      Here, the Nguyens, migrants from north Vietnam, built their empire: the market garden of choice for Central "; S3[2]=" Australia's gourmets and fresh produce lovers.
      Amid the sighing corkwoods and desert grevilleas, the long, neat lines of the Nguyen family's herbs "; S4[2]=" and vegetables stretch away - lettuce and onions, lemongrass and kan kong greens, bok choy and silver beet.
      Each weekend, their Asian "; S5[2]=" market garden turns into a hub for buyers and enthusiasts from across the desert capital.
      And always the plea Tinh and Lan "; S6[2]=" hear from customers is the same: 'Why not open a Vietnamese restaurant?' After all, the dining options in Alice Springs are a trifle limited.
  "; S7[2]="     After trying the handful of pretentious 'modern Australian' operators offering emu steaks for tourists, as well as the heavy-duty steakhouses and the ethnic "; S8[2]=" staples, you hit the bleak bedrock of fast food outlets.
      An opening has appeared in the market since the best-loved restaurant in "; S9[2]=" Alice Springs, the Turkish kebab house on Hartley Street, closed.
      Tinh and Lan have been pondering their options.
      They "; S10[2]=" are both approaching 50 and it has been 12 years since they left north Vietnam by leaky boat, only to end up in refugee and "; S11[2]=" holding camps in Hong Kong, then the Philippines.
      When Australia took them in, along with four other Vietnamese families, they were directed, "; S12[2]=" by a supreme act of implausible bureaucracy, to settle in Alice Springs, a destination as distant as could be imagined, in climate and manner, from "; S13[2]=" their tropical homeland.
      'We knew nothing when we came here,' says Lan.
      'We barely knew our ABC.' But something "; S14[2]=" clicked.
      'We like the people of Alice Springs, and they like us.
      Hard work - hot weather in the "; S15[2]=" summer, cold in the winter - but people are happy with our vegetables, and that makes us happy,' she says.
      For seven "; S16[2]=" years, helped by their children, Tinh and Lan toiled, broadening their lines of produce to honeydew melons, basil, okra, beetroot and many more exotic Asian "; S17[2]=" specialties.
      Finally, they took the plunge and received planning permission to open a restaurant.
      'It's a big plan,' says "; S18[2]=" Lan.
      She and her husband are in Vietnam studying regional cuisine and traditional decorations.
      They are leaning towards bamboo "; S19[2]=" partitions, a vista of the range line and a giant fish tank or two.
      'I want our restaurant to look like Vietnam,' "; S20[2]=" says Tinh.
      'A little Vietnam, anyway, but open to the air, and full of light, and part of our desert home.'.. "; R[3]="1804"; T[3]="Farmers work together to protect their river"; A[3]="By ... Editor"; Dn[3]="20070123"; Dt[3]="Tuesday 23 January 2007"; Acats[3]="a40a48"; B1[3]="      The farming families, whose properties lie on the upper Albert River near Beaudesert, are working hard to preserve the fragile waterway.... "; B2[3]=" "; B3[3]=" "; B4[3]=" "; B5[3]=" "; S1[3]="      The farming families, whose properties lie on the upper Albert River near Beaudesert, are working hard to preserve the fragile waterway.
  "; S2[3]="     Rather than tackling the task alone, the farmers have banded together, and with Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) expertise and advice, "; S3[3]=" are working hard to rectify erosion problems and woody weed growth near their river.
      DPI&F dairy expert Dr Rob Chataway, whose team "; S4[3]=" is implementing the 'Riparian Zone Management on Queensland Dairyfarms' project, said it was good to see farmers taking proactive steps to care for their watercourse.
"; S5[3]="       'We think it's important for the community to appreciate the steps these dairy farmers are taking,' he said.
      'Despite "; S6[3]=" adverse production conditions brought on by the drought and lower milk prices due to deregulation, they are taking positive steps to manage their farms for "; S7[3]=" a better environment.
      'For example, some things they are doing are simple and logical.
      Where cattle have previously tramped "; S8[3]=" through the riparian zones to access water, they now have installed, or plan to install, off-stream watering facilities.
      'Similarly, where cattle have "; S9[3]=" previously sought shade protection under the riparian zone tree canopy, the farmers are now creating artificial shade structures away from the riparian zones.
    "; S10[3]="   'In addition, the farmers are taking steps to eradicate woody weeds such as lantana, which does nothing for erosion control and limits native plants "; S11[3]=" which do, from the riparian zones.
      'With the off-river watering facilities in place, they are able to fence the area and limit "; S12[3]=" or exclude cattle access to this section of the farm.
      'Ultimately the actions of these farmers will result in improved water "; S13[3]=" quality, enhanced native biodiversity and lower stream temperatures for an improved aquatic environment.
      'The Department's role is to encourage them to take "; S14[3]=" action through increasing their awareness of the issues, helping them to access funds, and providing them with the encouragement and technical support needed to implement "; S15[3]=" new management practices.' Riparian areas are the green, vegetated areas on each side of streams and rivers.
      They serve many important "; S16[3]=" functions, including purifying water by removing sediments and other contaminants.
      Dr Chataway said there were a range of 'flow-on' benefits for the "; S17[3]=" broader community.
      'This zone often contains some of the last remnants of native vegetation in agrarian landscapes, some of the most important "; S18[3]=" habitat for native animal species, and has an important role in maintaining stream water quality, which has implications for populations living lower in the catchment,' "; S19[3]=" he said.
      'It's very important in times of drought, like now, to have healthy and robust riparian zones.
      These "; S20[3]=" farmers should be commended for their efforts to improve environmental outcomes for the Albert River.' Local Beaudesert Shire Councillor Virginia West is a strong supporter "; S21[3]=" of the farmers' work.
      'It's great to see these farmers looking after this portion of the river,' Cr West said.
    "; S22[3]="   'The Kerry dairy farmers have shown remarkable leadership in the industry and their efforts not only support improving land production values but also support "; S23[3]=" sustainable environmental management.
      Cr West said it was all good news, particularly in the way the farmers are consciously managing their riparian "; S24[3]=" zones to filter the water in the river.
      'Improving water at its source is far more cost efficient than waiting until the "; S25[3]=" water is polluted and then having to treat it with chemicals and mechanical filtration devices.' The farmers have received funding to implement their projects through "; S26[3]=" the Federal Government's 'Envirofund' program... "; R[4]="1768"; T[4]="Boab available for Christmas lunch"; A[4]="By ... Editor"; Dn[4]="20061223"; Dt[4]="Saturday 23 December 2006"; Acats[4]="a24a42a48"; B1[4]="      The boab, traditionally known as a native bush food is being promoted in Perth this month, just in time for Christmas.... "; B2[4]=" "; B3[4]=" "; B4[4]=" "; B5[4]=" "; S1[4]="      The boab, traditionally known as a native bush food is being promoted in Perth this month, just in time for Christmas.
  "; S2[4]="     Following on from the promotion at this year's Perth Royal Show, the Department of Agriculture and Food will be marketing the boab "; S3[4]=" at fresh food markets across Perth during December.
      Department boab project manager Peter Johnson said the boab was a new food "; S4[4]=" product grown in the Kimberley region and represented a unique contemporary Australian cuisine.
      'The Department is currently promoting the use of "; S5[4]=" boab as a main stream food, to restaurants in Perth and the Kimberley including El Questro Wilderness Park, with meals such as grilled barramundi and "; S6[4]=" redclaw with sautéed boab served with coriander and macadamia pesto.
      'The promotion will further increase the profile of the boab, including "; S7[4]=" its nutritional benefits and the number of ways you can cook and serve the food.' Mr Johnson said boabs were a unique plant and "; S8[4]=" only grew in the Kimberley.
      'They provide a unique opportunity to develop an Australian native plant for commercial use.
    "; S9[4]="   'Both the tubers and the young leaves can be eaten.
      The tuber can be cut into straws for salads, dips "; S10[4]=" and stir frys and can be used in soups.
      'The texture is similar to water chestnuts.
      The leaves "; S11[4]=" have a nutty flavour and can be used in salads or as a garnish.' He said nutritionally, the boab was high in iron and "; S12[4]=" potassium with a high level of protein and fibre and a relatively low fat content.
      The boab leaves are quite high in "; S13[4]=" vitamins A and C.
      Boab roots grow all year round in the Kimberley, but are most productive during the hot wet "; S14[4]=" season.
      A boab demonstration and tasting will be conducted at The Boatshed Market in Cottesloe on December 9 and 10 from "; S15[4]=" 10am to 2pm.
      People living in the metropolitan area can buy Boat Shed markets, or can order it by visiting www.boabsinthekimberley.com.au "; S16[4]=" to find current market outlets... "; R[5]="1724"; T[5]="Beating the blues in the bush"; A[5]="By ... Editor"; Dn[5]="20061130"; Dt[5]="Thursday 30 November 2006"; Acats[5]="a48a64a89"; B1[5]="      Well known Condobolin property Kiargathur Station will host a social gathering on 10 December to bring together not only farmers, but the "; B2[5]="range of community members affected by the ongoing drought... "; B3[5]=" "; B4[5]=" "; B5[5]=" "; S1[5]="      Well known Condobolin property Kiargathur Station will host a social gathering on 10 December to bring together not only farmers, but the "; S2[5]=" range of community members affected by the ongoing drought.
      Rural Financial Counsellor Fran Rowe said organisers wanted to include business owners, service "; S3[5]=" providers, farmers and townspeople in the event in recognition of the drought's broad impact.
      'We know drought has a devastating effect on "; S4[5]=" everyone in a country town and we want this event to give all those people the chance to catch up, debrief and share their experiences,' "; S5[5]=" she said.
      Mrs Rowe said guest speakers on the day will include inspirational author and farmer, Sam Bailey, and mental health expert, "; S6[5]=" Helen Stain.
      Representatives of organisations that provide drought assistance will also be on hand to speak with farmers, farm workers and business "; S7[5]=" owners.
      The theme of the Gathering on the Grass event is 'Beating the blues in the bush' which Mrs Rowe said reflects "; S8[5]=" the importance of the drought's impact on mental health in country communities.
      'While this will be a social evening, there will be "; S9[5]=" a theme of raising awareness of depression amongst our neighbours, friends and work colleagues,' she said.
      The gathering will be held beside "; S10[5]=" the billabong from 4pm and includes activities for children and a range of prizes up for grabs on the day.
      A free "; S11[5]=" BBQ will also be supplied.
      Organisers hope to see people travel from towns across the region including Trundle, Tullamore, Tottenham, Parkes, Forbes, "; S12[5]=" Burcher, Tullibigeal and Lake Cargelligo for the event... "; R[6]="1723"; T[6]="Drought: DPI helping Christmas donations from the city reach farm families"; A[6]="By ... Editor"; Dn[6]="20061130"; Dt[6]="Thursday 30 November 2006"; Acats[6]="a48a89"; B1[6]="      The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) today urged groups wanting to support drought stricken farm families this Christmas to register their "; B2[6]="donation by contacting the NSW DPI Drought Hotline 1800 814 647... "; B3[6]=" "; B4[6]=" "; B5[6]=" "; S1[6]="      The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) today urged groups wanting to support drought stricken farm families this Christmas to register their "; S2[6]=" donation by contacting the NSW DPI Drought Hotline 1800 814 647.
      Drought Co-ordinator Graeme Eggleston said the DPI had created a Drought "; S3[6]=" Donation Register designed to co-ordinate donation delivery to families in the bush struggling with the drought.
      'The DPI will register donation pledges "; S4[6]=" and welfare organisations will access the register and arrange to receive and deliver the donation directly to those most in need,' Mr Eggleston said.
  "; S5[6]="     'This is one way of ensuring donations get to the people doing it tough out there … especially in areas that have been "; S6[6]=" experiencing drought year after year.
      'Pledges are already being registered by people wanting to make Christmas in the bush a little merrier.
"; S7[6]="       'The St George Bank at Springwood was the first Sydney-based organisation to utilise the register.
      'The bank is collecting "; S8[6]=" a large number of toys that will make Christmas a lot brighter for many country kids … the bank is collecting the toys on behalf "; S9[6]=" of its staff and local clients.
      'One Sydney Rotary Club has provided funding to the Trangie community in Central Western NSW to "; S10[6]=" hold a community event.' Mr Eggleston said the NSW DPI had fielded a number of inquiries from other organisations which have not yet confirmed their "; S11[6]=" donations.
      'These include collection of Christmas hampers and also the possibility of a donation of agistment for livestock,' he said.
    "; S12[6]="   Almost the entire State is now officially considered drought affected.
      The area in drought is 93.6% (up from 89.3%) while the "; S13[6]=" area experiencing marginal conditions is 4.1% (down from 8%).
      The area of the State experiencing satisfactory conditions is just 2.3% (down from "; S14[6]=" 2.7%)... "; R[7]="1668"; T[7]="WA farmers condemn daylight saving trial"; A[7]="By ... Editor"; Dn[7]="20061123"; Dt[7]="Thursday 23 November 2006"; Acats[7]="a48a67a89"; B1[7]="      The Western Australian Farmers Federation is unhappy with the state's move towards daylight saving.... "; B2[7]=" "; B3[7]=" "; B4[7]=" "; B5[7]=" "; S1[7]="      The Western Australian Farmers Federation is unhappy with the state's move towards daylight saving.
      Legislation for a three-year trial "; S2[7]=" of daylight saving has passed through State Parliament and clocks will be turned forward on December 3.
      The trial will be followed "; S3[7]=" by a referendum on the issue in 2009.
      The WA Nationals and the farmers' federation have condemned the trial, saying the wishes "; S4[7]=" of country residents have been ignored.
      Farmers' federation president Trevor De Landgrafft says his members are disappointed.
      'This sort "; S5[7]=" of thing should have been left to the people, there should have been a referendum,' he said.
      'When the politicians get hold "; S6[7]=" of it they talk about a conscience vote, but we're aware of a lot of browbeating that was going on leading up to this, so "; S7[7]=" at the end of the day this thing was really done along party lines.' However, the business community has welcomed the decision, with the state's "; S8[7]=" chamber of commerce and industry saying it will be good for business.
      The chamber's Deidre Willmot says daylight saving will benefit businesses "; S9[7]=" and the rest of the community.
      'We think that it will give people an opportunity to get used to those routines that "; S10[7]=" they need to introduce in summer, with the changing of the clocks by one hour, and then to go back to the end of summer, "; S11[7]=" exactly like has been happening elsewhere in Australia and indeed around the world for many years,' she said... "; R[8]="1648"; T[8]="Farm families welcome help"; A[8]="By ... Editor"; Dn[8]="20061117"; Dt[8]="Friday 17 November 2006"; Acats[8]="a07a48"; B1[8]="      There has been a big increase in the number of new clients either coming through the door or making contact by telephone "; B2[8]="with Central Queensland's farm financial counsellor Kev Wyatte... "; B3[8]=" "; B4[8]=" "; B5[8]=" "; S1[8]="      There has been a big increase in the number of new clients either coming through the door or making contact by telephone "; S2[8]=" with Central Queensland's farm financial counsellor Kev Wyatte.
      Mr Wyatte, a Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries farm financial counsellor at Biloela, "; S3[8]=" said the run of below average seasonal rainfall is testing the resources of most family farming and grazing enterprises.
      The Federal Government's "; S4[8]=" October 28 declaration that EC (Exceptional Circumstances) Relief Payment assistance would now be extended to all eligible primary producers in Banana, Calliope and Miriam Vale "; S5[8]=" Shires was most welcome.
      'The number of rural families 'doing it tough' with drought affected cattle, limited alternative income sources and loan "; S6[8]=" commitments still to meet is increasing,' Mr Wyatte said.
      'There is a great deal of confusion out there amongst primary producers in "; S7[8]=" relation to the specific assistance packages available,' Mr Wyatte said.
      'Much of Central Queensland recorded some useful rain in the first week "; S8[8]=" of November but it will not turn around the immediate situation where paddocks are bare and farm dams and bores are either dry or at "; S9[8]=" critical levels.
      'As a financial counsellor, I can offer a free and confidential service to assist families to understand their financial position "; S10[8]=" and then identify and assess their options.
      'With EC declarations now applicable, subsidies of up to 80 per cent of annual interest "; S11[8]=" costs may help with renegotiations of finance arrangements with the banks.
      'In addition, EC fortnightly income support payments are available through Centrelink.
"; S12[8]="       People on income support may also receive a Health Care Card and dependents may obtain the maximum Youth Allowance rate through a "; S13[8]=" waiving of the parental income test.' Mr Wyatte said primary producers within drought-declared shires or those producers who hold an IDP (Individually Droughted Property) declaration "; S14[8]=" could apply for freight subsidy assistance through the Queensland Government's Drought Relief Assistance Scheme (DRAS).
      Producers should contact their closest DPI&F Biosecurity "; S15[8]=" inspector for information on DRAS.
      In recent weeks there had been a significant spike in the number of cattle producers enquiring about "; S16[8]=" financial assistance.
      'Many of these family-operated beef properties will benefit from the services of a financial counsellor, an accountant or a QRAA "; S17[8]=" (Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority) officer to help prepare applications for assistance,' Mr Wyatte said.
      DPI&F's Drought Hotline on 1800 025 656 operating "; S18[8]=" between 8am and 6pm provides general drought information as well as links to family help and support agencies.
      There was also a "; S19[8]=" useful online information website called RAIN, the Rural Assist Information Network on www.rain.net.au/ To contact your nearest DPI&F farm financial counsellor for individual advice, information "; S20[8]=" and assistance with application procedures, call the DPI&F Business Information Centre on 13 25 23... "; R[9]="1639"; T[9]="Tourism body honours Irwin"; A[9]="By ... Editor"; Dn[9]="20061111"; Dt[9]="Saturday 11 November 2006"; Acats[9]="a44a48"; B1[9]="      Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin is being honoured by Queensland's tourism industry with an award in his name.... "; B2[9]=" "; B3[9]=" "; B4[9]=" "; B5[9]=" "; S1[9]="      Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin is being honoured by Queensland's tourism industry with an award in his name.
      The winner "; S2[9]=" of the Queensland Tourism Awards' ecotourism category will receive the Steve Irwin Award at next week's ceremony in Brisbane.
      'This is our "; S3[9]=" way of acknowledging the incredible contribution made by Steve Irwin to conservation around the world and to promoting tourism in Australia, and especially in Queensland,' "; S4[9]=" Tourism Minister Margaret Keech said.
      'This is an important category that celebrates ecologically sustainable tourism, something that Steve endorsed and championed with "; S5[9]=" an amazing spirit and energy.' Australia Zoo won an award for tourism retailing at last year's state awards... "; R[10]="1548"; T[10]="New standards in water-sensitive urban development"; A[10]="By ... Editor"; Dn[10]="20061020"; Dt[10]="Friday 20 October 2006"; Acats[10]="a48a93"; B1[10]="      The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship has played a key role in the development of Western Australia's largest master planned urban "; B2[10]="development... "; B3[10]=" "; B4[10]=" "; B5[10]=" "; S1[10]="      The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship has played a key role in the development of Western Australia's largest master planned urban "; S2[10]=" development.
      Launched today by the state's Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, the Hon Alannah MacTiernan, the Wungong Urban Water Master Plan is "; S3[10]=" designed to support the creation of a vibrant community of around 40,000 residents.
      The project is one of only two urban developments "; S4[10]=" participating in the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship and sets new standards in integrated total water-cycle management, water-sensitive urban design and energy-efficient housing.
  "; S5[10]="     The project's Director, CSIRO Land and Water's Matt Taylor, says the Master Plan is the first of its kind to be developed in "; S6[10]=" Australia.
      'The project has delivered its sustainability agenda and set many valuable precedents such as: the initial preparation of a landscape structure "; S7[10]=" plan, the creation of linear park avenues, preservation of Aboriginal heritage sites, an interconnected network of all public open space, district solar orientation and a "; S8[10]=" new 'place-based' planning system,' Mr Taylor says.
      As part of the project, CSIRO conducted a comprehensive water monitoring and modelling program to "; S9[10]=" help predict the impacts of urban development on the natural environment.
      Data on water quality and quantity from surface and groundwater have "; S10[10]=" enabled the team to identify preferred water management options and develop an innovative District Water Management Strategy for the new development.
      'The "; S11[10]=" project's Director, CSIRO Land and Water's Matt Taylor, says the Master Plan is the first of its kind to be developed in Australia.' The Strategy "; S12[10]=" will save up to 75 per cent of scheme water each year - equivalent to 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
      'There are a "; S13[10]=" number of components to this important goal,' Mr Taylor says.
      'These include water efficient fixtures, fittings and irrigation techniques in addition to "; S14[10]=" using rainwater tanks and non-potable groundwater for irrigating gardens, flushing toilets and in washing machines.
      Stormwater will be managed to recharge the "; S15[10]=" aquifer so the resource will be available during drier periods.' 'The Wungong Urban Water Master Plan creates innovative integration of community and environment that will "; S16[10]=" result in social awareness and a unique lifestyle,' Mr Taylor says.
      'We hope that that the project will be used as a "; S17[10]=" model to guide sustainable urban development in similar areas in WA and nationally.
      The Wungong Urban Water Project is an initiative of "; S18[10]=" the Armadale Redevelopment Authority in association with CSIRO and 36 other organisations.
      Media are invited to attend the launch at 9.00am, on "; S19[10]=" Wollaston Avenue, Brookdale.
      High resolution images and sketches of the Master Plan area are available on request... "; R[11]="1424"; T[11]="Pie maker takes upper crust at national bake-off"; A[11]="By ... Editor"; Dn[11]="20060921"; Dt[11]="Thursday 21 September 2006"; Acats[11]="a10a48"; B1[11]="      It appears the Outback Pie Co has the recipe for success.... "; B2[11]=" "; B3[11]=" "; B4[11]=" "; B5[11]=" "; S1[11]="      It appears the Outback Pie Co has the recipe for success.
      The Aitkenvale pie manufacturer brought home two silver "; S2[11]=" medals from the Great Australian Meat Pie Competition, held last week in Melbourne as part of the nation's largest food expo, 2006 Fine Food Australia.
"; S3[11]="       Competing against Australia's best gourmet bakeries and largest pie manufacturers, the local company beat more than 12,000 entries to snatch awards "; S4[11]=" in the Chunky Beef and the Classic Mince Pie categories.
      Having already taken out two bronze medals at the Queensland Meat "; S5[11]=" Pie Competition this year, company director Milo Gaffney said he was pleased with his expanding trophy cabinet.
      'We were fairly confident "; S6[11]=" we would win some type of award but we are extremely pleased that we have come up with two silver medals,' Mr Gaffney said.
  "; S7[11]="     He said the awards were testimony to the production team's hard work and the quality foods they produced.
      "; S8[11]=" 'We've got a team of guys who work tirelessly to assure the products are always good quality and that the consistency is maintained, despite the "; S9[11]=" fact we produce and sell more than 50,000 pies, pastries and sausage rolls per week,' he said.
      Several hundred pie retailers, "; S10[11]=" convenience stores and schools in North Queensland and the Northern Territory stock the company's products.
      'What we do is use the best "; S11[11]=" quality export grade beef that can be purchased and all prime cuts of beef,' he said... "; R[12]="1406"; T[12]="Six months since Larry"; A[12]="By ... Editor"; Dn[12]="20060921"; Dt[12]="Thursday 21 September 2006"; Acats[12]="a48a66a89"; B1[12]="      Six months ago cyclone Larry battered the far northern Queensland coast with winds of up to 290 kilometres per hour.
    "; B2[12]="  Back then Innisfail Mayor Neil Clarke was thrown into a role that he'd never been prepared for, but took on none the less... "; B3[12]=" "; B4[12]=" "; B5[12]=" "; S1[12]="      Six months ago cyclone Larry battered the far northern Queensland coast with winds of up to 290 kilometres per hour.
    "; S2[12]="   Back then Innisfail Mayor Neil Clarke was thrown into a role that he'd never been prepared for, but took on none the less.
  "; S3[12]="     Cr Clarke spoke with ABC Far North and reflected on his journey of the past six months.
      'It's been "; S4[12]=" very trying times, but I think that we're getting through it, we've got a long way to go but we're certainly well on the road "; S5[12]=" to recovery,' he said.
      And recovery has been the modus operandi for many of the residents of Innisfail since March 20, 2006 "; S6[12]=" - although he was quick to point out that most residents are more concerned about the future than thinking about the past.
      "; S7[12]=" 'People are just trying to put it behind them and get on with their life as best they can.
      For the 800 "; S8[12]=" people that are still living under tarpaulins it's very difficult for them and with the official start of the wet season due only two and "; S9[12]=" a half months away it's going to be extremely difficult for those people to run into the next wet season feeling very comfortable.' Cr Clarke "; S10[12]=" said that bad weather and labour and building supply shortages had been the cause of much frustration and disruption ever since the cyclone.
    "; S11[12]="   'We've had over 2 metres - 2000mm - of rainfall since the cyclone, we've had 120 wet days, then there's the shortage of labour, "; S12[12]=" shortage of materials and now we're really becoming aware of the shortage of time that we have to get all of those homes back into "; S13[12]=" a safe and habitable condition...
      We're certainly doing everything we possibly can to get as many as possible up and running.' Cr "; S14[12]=" Clarke said that his personal experience of the last six months was one that he could never have imagined when he took office as the "; S15[12]=" Mayor of Innisfail in March, 2004 - summing it up by calling it a learning experience.
      'It's been very much a "; S16[12]=" learning experience, it's been a rewarding experience that you're able to help as many people as you possibly can, it's also been a learning experience "; S17[12]=" for me personally because, well, I've been able to get to meet just about every politician in the state and Australia...
      and "; S18[12]=" I've increased my skills as far as public speaking goes.' The cyclone caused much devastation to far northern Queensland, especially around the Innisfail area, but "; S19[12]=" Cr Clarke sees March 20, 2006, and the events that followed, as something the region should take pride in.
      'Our community is "; S20[12]=" much more tight knit than it ever was before and I think that overall the cyclone will give us a profile that no amount of "; S21[12]=" publicity could ever have given us...
      we now have a profile and we are now able to tell people all of the "; S22[12]=" great things that this community has to offer.' So what has the mayor of Innisfail got planned to mark the six month anniversary of one "; S23[12]=" of the most costly natural disasters witnessed Australia? Cr Clarke's going to watch some movies.
      'I will be reviewing some of the "; S24[12]=" tapes that we kept from earlier on, when we really didn't have any time to watch them and just reviewing were we've been and looking "; S25[12]=" around at were we've come to.'.. "; R[13]="1400"; T[13]="Nyoongar people win native title over Perth"; A[13]="By ... Editor"; Dn[13]="20060921"; Dt[13]="Thursday 21 September 2006"; Acats[13]="a48a90"; B1[13]="      A native title claim, which incorporates the whole of the Perth metropolitan area, has been upheld in the Perth Federal Court today.... "; B2[13]=" "; B3[13]=" "; B4[13]=" "; B5[13]=" "; S1[13]="      A native title claim, which incorporates the whole of the Perth metropolitan area, has been upheld in the Perth Federal Court today.
"; S2[13]="       In his findings, Justice Murray Wilcox recognises the Nyoongar people still have a connection to the land.
      He has "; S3[13]=" ruled that they do hold native title in the metropolitan area, although Rottnest Island has been excluded from the claim.
      The decision "; S4[13]=" allows the Nyoongar people to conserve and use the natural resources of the area, maintain and protect sites, hunt on the land and use it "; S5[13]=" for traditional purposes.
      But Justice Wilcox has assured the court the finding did not affect people's backyards.
      Nyoongar spokesman "; S6[13]=" Robert Isaacs says the decision is important for Aboriginal people.
      'State governments right across Australia, we are sending a message loud and "; S7[13]=" clear that we are dinkum,' he said.
      'When we address Aboriginal affairs in this state...
      we mean business and "; S8[13]=" [we aren't] to be shoved off to some other people's territory.' Glen Kelly, from the South-West Land and Sea Council, says it is an important "; S9[13]=" step forward for Nyoongar people.
      'There's nothing to fear from the State Government,' Mr Kelly said.
      'In fact, what "; S10[13]=" this decision does is it enables Nyoongar people and the State Government and other parts of the community to begin talking to each other in "; S11[13]=" a more constructive manner and for the state to engage Nyoongar people and to open a new chapter.' Today's decision is relevant to the remainder "; S12[13]=" of the claim area, which affects almost 200,000 square kilometres of the south-west of Western Australia.
      The claim area stretches from Jurien "; S13[13]=" Bay to Moora and south-east to Bremer Bay and Esperance.
      It includes major centres such as Bunbury, Margaret River and Albany.
  "; S14[13]="     Supporters will now approach the State Government to negotiate native title for the rest of the claim area... "; R[14]="1321"; T[14]="Aussie genius adds highest maths award to honours"; A[14]="By ... Editor"; Dn[14]="20060823"; Dt[14]="Wednesday 23 August 2006"; Acats[14]="a48a53"; B1[14]="      A Former child genius who completed high school mathematics at the age of eight and had two university degrees at 17 has "; B2[14]="won mathematics' highest honour, the Fields medal, becoming the first Australian to do so... "; B3[14]=" "; B4[14]=" "; B5[14]=" "; S1[14]="      A Former child genius who completed high school mathematics at the age of eight and had two university degrees at 17 has "; S2[14]=" won mathematics' highest honour, the Fields medal, becoming the first Australian to do so.
      Terry Tao, 31, who was made a professor "; S3[14]=" at the University of California, Los Angeles, at 24, swept all before him at primary school, high school and university in Adelaide before embarking onan "; S4[14]=" international academic career that has awed mathematicians decades his senior.
      The Fields medal is the mathematician's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, which "; S5[14]=" carries no award for the discipline.
      It is awarded for a body of work rather than a single achievement but Professor Tao "; S6[14]=" is most recently celebrated for showing, with Ben Green of Cambridge, that there are long strings of prime numbers a constant distance apart, work that "; S7[14]=" is important for the coding ofinformation such as banking details.
      One of his early mentors, Garth Gaudry of the University ofMelbourne's International "; S8[14]=" Centre of Excellence for Education in Mathematics, described his charge as 'completely off thescale'.
      Professor Gaudry started tutoring Professor Tao when the "; S9[14]=" prodigy was 12.
      'He had had a few local tutors up to Year 12 maths and his father realised that Terry had "; S10[14]=" exhausted them; they'd run out of steam with any decent material they could offer him,' Professor Gaudry told The Australian.
      'I very "; S11[14]=" rapidly found that he was just completely off the scale.
      His insight and brilliance just frankly staggered me.' King Juan Carlos of "; S12[14]=" Spain presented Professor Tao with hismedal at a ceremony in Madrid last night during the International Congress of Mathematicians.
      Professor Tao is "; S13[14]=" the son of Billy, an Adelaide pediatrician who took an active interest in his first son's early education, and Grace, a former high school maths "; S14[14]=" and physics teacher.
      Dr Tao said his son showed rare insight at age two, when he showed the older children of Tao "; S15[14]=" family friends how to count using blocks.
      Professor Tao has two younger brothers.
      Trevor, 29, is an autistic savant "; S16[14]=" with degrees in music and a PhD in applied mathematics.
      He works for the Defence Science Technology Organisation.
      Nigel, "; S17[14]=" 27, has maths, economics and computer engineering degrees and works for internet search company Google in Sydney.
      Professor Tao said of his "; S18[14]=" win: 'I haven't had an award like this before, so I don't know how it will affect (my career).
      'I'm trying to "; S19[14]=" focus on continuing my research and other work, such as advising graduate students.' The Fields medal, named after Canadian mathematician John Charles Field (1863-1932), was "; S20[14]=" first awarded in 1936 and is given once every four years to two or four recipients.
      This year's other winners are Russians "; S21[14]=" Andrei Okounkov and Grigori Perelman and French-German Wendelin Werner... "; R[15]="1315"; T[15]="Australian Expats - On the Road to Ten Thousand!"; A[15]="By ... Editor"; Dn[15]="20060823"; Dt[15]="Wednesday 23 August 2006"; Acats[15]="a48a53"; B1[15]="      Advance, the global network of Australian professionals, is on the hunt for Australia's large disapora.
      There are more than "; B2[15]="one million Australians living abroad, or five percent of the population that was not counted in the National census conducted a fortnight ago... "; B3[15]=" "; B4[15]=" "; B5[15]=" "; S1[15]="      Advance, the global network of Australian professionals, is on the hunt for Australia's large disapora.
      There are more than "; S2[15]=" one million Australians living abroad, or five percent of the population that was not counted in the National census conducted a fortnight ago.
    "; S3[15]="   In an unprecedented move, Advance launched a census of Australians Abroad last week entitled 'One Million More'.
      This census focuses on "; S4[15]=" ensuring that Australia's one million expatriates previously ignored will be represented in 2006.
      To date nearly 5,000 Australians have completed the census "; S5[15]=" located at www.onemillionmore.com accounting for more than 8,500 Australians overseas.
      CEO of Advance, Elena Douglas, said she is encouraged by this start "; S6[15]=" and with the momentum that has continued we expect more than 10,000 Australians will participate in what is a ground breaking initiative.
      "; S7[15]=" 'Although living and working overseas, the expatriate community is very much Australian and proudly declare itself as such.
      Being some of our "; S8[15]=" brightest and most talented, the expatriate community needs to be included in a census of the Australian population, along with international students and visitors who "; S9[15]=" have a place in the official census forms.
      'One Million More' gives all Australians the chance to be counted.' Advance has partnered "; S10[15]=" with the Southern Cross Group and is working with over three hundred overseas Australian business and community groups to ensure that Australians from Beijing to "; S11[15]=" Mumbai to Stockholm, and in everywhere in between, are included.
      To date the majority of participants have been from the United States "; S12[15]=" of America and the United Kingdom however Advance is calling for Australians from all over the globe to jump online and help Australia understand more "; S13[15]=" about its offshore population's economic, housing and lifestyle characteristics.
      The results of this survey will be analysed by leading demographer, Professor Graeme "; S14[15]=" Hugo, Federation Fellow and Professor of the National Centre for Social Applications of GIS of the University of Adelaide and preliminary results will be available "; S15[15]=" in October 2006.
      The survey is available online at www.onemillionmore.com until 30 September 2006... "; R[16]="1205"; T[16]="Councils come to farmers' aid"; A[16]="By ... Editor"; Dn[16]="20060730"; Dt[16]="Sunday 30 July 2006"; Acats[16]="a07a35a48a89"; B1[16]="      With Western Australia in the grip of a dry year, local councils are looking for different ways to help farmers who are "; B2[16]="struggling to grow a crop this season... "; B3[16]=" "; B4[16]=" "; B5[16]=" "; S1[16]="      With Western Australia in the grip of a dry year, local councils are looking for different ways to help farmers who are "; S2[16]=" struggling to grow a crop this season.
      The Shire of Mullewa and the Shire of Chapman Valley will offer road works and "; S3[16]=" community project works to farmers, so they can generate an income.
      Mullewa president Nino Messina says the council has received extra funding "; S4[16]=" for road works and employing farmers makes sense.
      'The harvesting will come and farmers won't be able to do anything because they'll "; S5[16]=" have no crop to harvest,' he said.
      'It's an opportunity that will give farmers to hire some of their gear, some of "; S6[16]=" their trucks and graders and loaders, just to keep their mind busy and maybe build some roads for the shire.'.. "; R[17]="1195"; T[17]="Babies to save society"; A[17]="By ... Editor"; Dn[17]="20060730"; Dt[17]="Sunday 30 July 2006"; Acats[17]="a05a07a48"; B1[17]="      AUSTRALIA could face violence and social disruption if the fertility rate doesn't rise, Treasurer Peter Costello warned yesterday.... "; B2[17]=" "; B3[17]=" "; B4[17]=" "; B5[17]=" "; S1[17]="      AUSTRALIA could face violence and social disruption if the fertility rate doesn't rise, Treasurer Peter Costello warned yesterday.
      Intensifying "; S2[17]=" his plea for bigger families, Mr Costello ruled out immigration as a way to make up for the low number of births, which could soon "; S3[17]=" be exceeded by deaths.
      He said reliance on immigrants would mean 'the composition of our population would change' causing 'social dislocation'.
  "; S4[17]="     'There are some European countries that have moved into this situation and it has caused social division,' he said.
      'In "; S5[17]=" some of these countries there has been social disruption and violence.' The Treasurer was putting a harder edge to his previous, lighter plea for women "; S6[17]=" to have 'one for mum, one for dad, and one for the country'.
      'Procreate and cherish,' he said yesterday.
      "; S7[17]=" Mr Costello said Australia's fertility rate was 3.55 in 1961 but fell to 1.73 in in 2002-03.
      It has since risen to "; S8[17]=" 1.8, but the Treasurer said it needed to hit 2.1 for births to replace deaths.
      He said past immigration waves had happened "; S9[17]=" at times of significant natural population increases.
      'It was easier to keep the balance in population because immigrants were being absorbed into "; S10[17]=" a growing population led by fertility,' he said.
      'If we continue a long-term drop in fertility this will put more pressure on "; S11[17]=" our immigration program.
      'Increasing immigration to cover population decline will change the composition of our population and raise concerns of social dislocation.' "; S12[17]=" The Treasurer continued to reject the idea of 'guest workers', foreign labour on short-term visas, a system wanted by most Pacific nations.
      "; S13[17]=" European countries such as Germany have attempted similar schemes which had produced an underclass.
      Mr Costello said guest workers would be second-class "; S14[17]=" citizens vulnerable to exploitation: 'Guest workers become a society within a society.' The Treasurer said strategies to increase the fertility rate had to make having "; S15[17]=" babies more attractive for women who 'have the final say in the decision to have children'.
      One of the biggest problems was "; S16[17]=" births took women out of the workforce.
      'No matter how you sugar coat it, the reality for many women is that despite "; S17[17]=" the experience and skill they have, it can be difficult to pick up the threads of their career when they return,' he said... "; R[18]="1161"; T[18]="Study warns of log transport danger"; A[18]="By ... Editor"; Dn[18]="20060720"; Dt[18]="Thursday 20 July 2006"; Acats[18]="a09a39a48"; B1[18]="      Massive increases in log-truck traffic across Tasmania will contribute to increased fatalities if the Gunns Ltd pulp mill goes ahead, a study "; B2[18]="says... "; B3[18]=" "; B4[18]=" "; B5[18]=" "; S1[18]="      Massive increases in log-truck traffic across Tasmania will contribute to increased fatalities if the Gunns Ltd pulp mill goes ahead, a study "; S2[18]=" says.
      The research undertaken by GHD for Gunns concluded: 'There appears to be a consistent increase in the number of heavy-vehicle fatal "; S3[18]=" crashes over time if rail is not used to transport logs.' There were 51 log-truck crashes between 2000-2004 with a fatality rate of 11.8 "; S4[18]=" per cent.
      'Log trucks have slightly more crashes than would be expected from their proportion of traffic volume,' said the report, "; S5[18]=" included in the integrated impact statement into Gunns' proposed pulp mill.
      The study found that a 40 per cent increase in "; S6[18]=" log trucks on the East Tamar Highway would mean a truck passing every 2.9 minutes near the pulp mill.
      On parts "; S7[18]=" of the Tamar Valley wine route, there would be up to 492 trucks a day.
      GHD also found that there would "; S8[18]=" be substantial increases of log trucks on the Midland Highway near Launceston and on the Bass Highway east of the Murchison Highway.
      "; S9[18]=" The report estimated a 111 per cent increase in log trucks on the Glen Huon Rd if the mill was supplied totally by plantation "; S10[18]=" timber.
      While the study showed increased traffic, it concluded service levels would be adequate.
      The study showed a "; S11[18]=" massive increase in traffic both during the 26-month construction phase and during operations.
      During construction there would be up to 1035 "; S12[18]=" extra vehicles a day on the East Tamar Highway.
      At the turning into the proposed mill there would be 630m queues "; S13[18]=" and delays of three minutes.
      The Federal Government has allocated $63 million to improve the highway.
      Gunns "; S14[18]=" would prefer to use the rail system for wood coming from the North-West and the South.
      However, rail operator Pacific National has "; S15[18]=" yet to sign the $128 million federal/state rail rescue package.
      Under the deal, PN was due to buy $38 million worth "; S16[18]=" of rolling stock and locomotives.
      Gunns resource manager Calton Frame said the company hoped another operator would use the Tasmanian track "; S17[18]=" if PN pulled out.
      Industry sources believe rail cartage of logs is of marginal viability due to the need to transport "; S18[18]=" logs from logging coupes to railway sidings and then load them on a train.
      Gunns does not currently use rail for "; S19[18]=" log transport.
      GHD predicted a fatality rate of between 0.45 to 0.58 fatal crashes per annum depending on whether the mill "; S20[18]=" uses the rail system... "; R[19]="1150"; T[19]="Councils say water initiative hurting rates revenue"; A[19]="By ... Editor"; Dn[19]="20060720"; Dt[19]="Thursday 20 July 2006"; Acats[19]="a05a07a40a48"; B1[19]="      New South Wales local councils say they are facing a dramatic drop in rates revenue as a result of the National Water "; B2[19]="Initiative... "; B3[19]=" "; B4[19]=" "; B5[19]=" "; S1[19]="      New South Wales local councils say they are facing a dramatic drop in rates revenue as a result of the National Water "; S2[19]=" Initiative.
      Under the water reform process, land and water titles are being separated which is expected to cause a drop in rates "; S3[19]=" for irrigated land.
      Councils now have to come up with a new rating formula to make up the difference.
      "; S4[19]=" The Nationals' Member for Murrumbidgee, Adrian Piccoli, is calling on the State Government to give councils more time and more help to make the changes.
"; S5[19]="       'The Victorian Government has postponed the implementation of these new council rating structures by two years,' he said.
      'I've "; S6[19]=" written to the NSW Government asking them to do the same thing because my fear is here in NSW it'll be introduced, it'll be a "; S7[19]=" bit of a disaster, and we'll see legal action from some ratepayers who're going to challenge their rate assessments.'.. "; R[20]="1095"; T[20]="Rural communities count cost of fuel"; A[20]="By ... Editor"; Dn[20]="20060713"; Dt[20]="Thursday 13 July 2006"; Acats[20]="a07a36a48"; B1[20]="      Spiralling petrol prices are doing far more damage to the hip pockets of rural Australians than anything else.... "; B2[20]=" "; B3[20]=" "; B4[20]=" "; B5[20]=" "; S1[20]="      Spiralling petrol prices are doing far more damage to the hip pockets of rural Australians than anything else.
      As "; S2[20]=" city petrol prices again pushed through the $1.45-a-litre mark in Adelaide yesterday, a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows just how much country "; S3[20]=" people, who pay even more, are affected.
      Households in capital cities and urban centres of more than 100,000 people spend about "; S4[20]=" $930 a week on goods and services.
      Those in rural areas spend about $851 while residents in towns and small cities spend "; S5[20]=" $809 a week.
      What that money is spent on varies substantially on where you live.
      Residents in SA's "; S6[20]=" major urban areas spend $834 a week on goods and services.
      The most expensive bill is food and non-alcoholic beverages at "; S7[20]=" $138 a week, followed by housing at $128.
      Transport rates third at $126 a week.
      In rural SA, "; S8[20]=" residents spend $808 a week on goods and services and $90 goes to paying off the mortgage.
      Transport is the biggest expense "; S9[20]=" at $154 a week while $143 is spent on food and beverages.
      Kate Russell, 35, said petrol was her biggest expense "; S10[20]=" as she filled up her car at Port Lincoln.
      She commutes from Coomunga, 15km west of the city, six times a week "; S11[20]=" at a cost of $80.
      'I understand (that fuel transport costs increases the country price) but there are boats that come "; S12[20]=" in here all the time and I don't see why the expense should be so much greater,' she said.
      'I have had "; S13[20]=" to work through half my lunch break to earn more money in a working week to pay the bills.'.. "; R[21]="1066"; T[21]="Apple growers take advantage of Italian World Cup win"; A[21]="By ... Editor"; Dn[21]="20060710"; Dt[21]="Monday 10 July 2006"; Acats[21]="a18a48"; B1[21]="      Apple orchardists in central western New South Wales are already trying to take advantage of this morning's World Cup win by Italy.... "; B2[21]=" "; B3[21]=" "; B4[21]=" "; B5[21]=" "; S1[21]="      Apple orchardists in central western New South Wales are already trying to take advantage of this morning's World Cup win by Italy.
"; S2[21]="       Italian-born, but proud Australian orchardist Guy Gaeta says he is looking for white apples to blend with his fruit.
      "; S3[21]=" 'We have got red and green apples I suppose but unfortunately we haven't got any white ones,' he said.
      'No it will "; S4[21]=" be good, it's going to be great at the markets, like this Saturday when we get to the markets, like being a lot of Italians "; S5[21]=" there, like even on the weekend there was a lot of forklifts running around with Italian flags on, where a few weeks ago they were "; S6[21]=" all running around with the Socceroos flag on and all of a sudden they changed flags, which was good.'.. "; R[22]="1060"; T[22]="Another piece of hobbit puzzle"; A[22]="By ... Editor"; Dn[22]="20060710"; Dt[22]="Monday 10 July 2006"; Acats[22]="a48a93"; B1[22]="      Scientists remain divided on what the 'hobbit' was and how it arrived on a remote Indonesian island more than 18,000 years ago.... "; B2[22]=" "; B3[22]=" "; B4[22]=" "; B5[22]=" "; S1[22]="      Scientists remain divided on what the 'hobbit' was and how it arrived on a remote Indonesian island more than 18,000 years ago.
"; S2[22]="       But they are at least getting closer to ruling out what the controversial creature was not.
      It was not "; S3[22]=" a member of any known group of early humans, or 'hominids'.
      It was not a pygmy and not -- as sceptics such "; S4[22]=" as Indonesia's Teuku Jacob, Alan Thorne of the Australian National University and Robert Martin of the Field Museum in Chicago have argued -- a deformed "; S5[22]=" modern human.
      Instead, a team from the ANU and Sydney University believes the creature, found on the Indonesian island of Flores two "; S6[22]=" years ago, deserves its current status as a new species of human, Homo floresiensis.
      'The combination of cranial (skull) and postcranial (skeletal) "; S7[22]=" traits is unique,' ANU doctoral student Debbie Argue and her colleagues will report in the Journal of Human Evolution.
      According to Sydney "; S8[22]=" University team member Richard Wright, the hobbit most resembled Homo ergaster, a hominid that lived in Africa and possibly Europe nearly two million years ago.
"; S9[22]="       'It all makes sense to me,' said paleoanthropologist Peter Brown, of the University of New England in Armidale, northeast NSW.
    "; S10[22]="   Along with discovery team leader Mike Morewood of UNE and Indonesian archaeologists, Professor Brown described the hobbit in a Nature magazine paper that stunned "; S11[22]=" scientists worldwide in 2004.
      The debate led Ms Argue, Professor Wright and their colleagues to compare skeletal and cranial measurements of the "; S12[22]=" hobbit to those of modern humans, to people with a condition called microcephally and to chimpanzees, gorillas and hominids from Africa and Indonesia.
    "; S13[22]="   'We've established the ground rules,' said Professor Wright, who used a sophisticated technique called multivariate analysis to determine which individuals were alike and which "; S14[22]=" were not.
      'We now have a basis of proceeding beyond saying, 'I think it looks like a microcephallic' or 'I don't think "; S15[22]=" it looks like a microcephallic',' he said... "; R[23]="1026"; T[23]="Federalism isn't working: NSW farmers"; A[23]="By ... Editor"; Dn[23]="20060707"; Dt[23]="Friday 7 July 2006"; Acats[23]="a05a48"; B1[23]="      Australia's federal system is broken and needs urgent attention, a NSW Farmers' Association spokesman says.... "; B2[23]=" "; B3[23]=" "; B4[23]=" "; B5[23]=" "; S1[23]="      Australia's federal system is broken and needs urgent attention, a NSW Farmers' Association spokesman says.
      Association spokesman Mal Peters "; S2[23]=" said Australians were disenchanted with the existing three-tiered government structure and were paying the price for resisting reform.
      He backed a call "; S3[23]=" from Federal Treasurer Peter Costello to 'completely recast' federalism and seize full control of the economy from the states.
      'Australia is the "; S4[23]=" only economic power in the world that has not undertaken a reform of its government system and we are now starting to pay the price "; S5[23]=" of not doing so,' Mr Peters said in a statement... "; R[24]="1022"; T[24]="Ag students learn from region's diversity"; A[24]="By ... Editor"; Dn[24]="20060707"; Dt[24]="Friday 7 July 2006"; Acats[24]="a48a53"; B1[24]="      Post-graduate tropical agriculture students from Townsville's James Cook University have taken a first hand look at on-farm grain trials, intensive cattle feedlot "; B2[24]="and breeding operations and improved pasture technology on the Central Highlands... "; B3[24]=" "; B4[24]=" "; B5[24]=" "; S1[24]="      Post-graduate tropical agriculture students from Townsville's James Cook University have taken a first hand look at on-farm grain trials, intensive cattle feedlot "; S2[24]=" and breeding operations and improved pasture technology on the Central Highlands.
      Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries principal experimental officer at Emerald, "; S3[24]=" Maurie Conway, said that working in cooperation with JCU course coordinators Chris Gardiner and Associate Professor Ross Coventry, the tour gave the visiting students a "; S4[24]=" strong appreciation of the region's agricultural diversity.
      Mr Conway took the predominantly international group comprising three veterinarians together with animal, plant and "; S5[24]=" environmental science students to Australian Agricultural Company's huge Comet district Goonoo Feedlot enterprise where they also had an opportunity to discuss the adoption of butterfly "; S6[24]=" pea as a high protein cultivated leguminous pasture grazing option.
      Mr Conway said more than 200,000 hectares was sown to butterfly pea "; S7[24]=" throughout the Central Highlands and Dawson-Callide where it was used as a perennial pasture to finish slaughter cattle and as a cropping ley to revitalise "; S8[24]=" soil structure and fertility.
      At the Eden family's Gindie district farming and grazing property, Kilmore, the group also inspected the high protein, "; S9[24]=" drought tolerant, leguminous browse shrub, leucaena, planted on 6m row spacing with an inter-row pasture mix of Floren blue grass and bambatsi.
      "; S10[24]=" Kilmore also supports a feedlot that is currently grain finishing 250 cattle for the export market.
      Kilmore co-principal Shane Eden, a Central "; S11[24]=" Queensland Sustainable Farming Systems Project cooperator teamed with Mr Conway to outline the objectives of a farming trial aiming to determine the nitrogen mineralisation ability "; S12[24]=" across a range of brigalow and downs soils on the Central Highlands.
      'If we could predict how much nitrogen will become available "; S13[24]=" for the next crop through natural mineralisation, it will be possible to better predict how much nitrogen fertiliser to apply,' Mr Eden said.
    "; S14[24]="   'The trial aims to measure organic carbon and total nitrogen made available through natural mineralisation of our different soils and varying ages of cultivation.
"; S15[24]="       'For the farmer, being able to measure how much soil nitrogen is in the total pool and then being able to predict "; S16[24]=" how much nitrogen will become available to the crop through mineralisation could represent significant cost savings by more accurately targeting fertiliser requirements,' he said.
  "; S17[24]="     Commercial adoption of embryo technology to produce premium animals tailored for specialist feedlot markets also captured the students' attention during a visit to "; S18[24]=" Mike and Susie Schmidt's cattle breeding operation at Nardoo, 30km west of Emerald.
      Mike Schmidt initially based his cattle breeding enterprise on "; S19[24]=" Droughtmaster cattle he bred on a former black spear grass coastal property but the relocation to Nardoo's quality buffel grass pastures prompted the introduction of "; S20[24]=" Charolais bloodlines.
      The Schmidt family predominantly breed young cattle sold direct to feedlot finishers but the shift to a higher Charolais content "; S21[24]=" produced a heavyweight late maturing animal not ideally suited to required market specifications.
      Mike's daughter Carly, a qualified veterinarian, has used her "; S22[24]=" expertise with embryo transfer technology to introduce beef genetics such as the Senepol to produce cattle with the required maturity and performance attributes for their "; S23[24]=" end market.
      En route from Townville on June 19, the JCU group also visited Charters Towers, Hughenden, Winton, Longreach and Jericho with "; S24[24]=" a highlight being a tour of the DPI&F Rosebank Research Station (Longreach) for a Desmanthus legume pasture evaluation... "; R[25]="967"; T[25]="Extension of agriculture census to small farms welcomed"; A[25]="By ... Editor"; Dn[25]="20060621"; Dt[25]="Wednesday 21 June 2006"; Acats[25]="a48a51"; B1[25]="      The decision to include more of Australia's small farms in this year's agricultural census has been welcomed by authorities in coastal New "; B2[25]="South Wales... "; B3[25]=" "; B4[25]=" "; B5[25]=" "; S1[25]="      The decision to include more of Australia's small farms in this year's agricultural census has been welcomed by authorities in coastal New "; S2[25]=" South Wales.
      Australian Bureau of Statistic's surveys are in the mail this week, including 30,000 to hobby farms that generate as little "; S3[25]=" as $5,000 a year.
      John Williams, from the New South Wales Primary Industries Department, says it will give the first truly accurate "; S4[25]=" account of coastal farm production.
      'The average value of agricultural production on the coast is quite high, approaching $2,000 a hectare.
  "; S5[25]="     So in some of these areas where people are on semi-intensive and intensive industries associated with horticulture and the like, it could well "; S6[25]=" be that there is quite a significant value of agricultural production that is under-reported,' he said... "; R[26]="943"; T[26]="Farmers urged to fill out census forms"; A[26]="By ... Editor"; Dn[26]="20060619"; Dt[26]="Monday 19 June 2006"; Acats[26]="a04a05a48"; B1[26]="      Australia's first farm census in five years is expected to confirm the impact of drought on the nation's rural communities.... "; B2[26]=" "; B3[26]=" "; B4[26]=" "; B5[26]=" "; S1[26]="      Australia's first farm census in five years is expected to confirm the impact of drought on the nation's rural communities.
    "; S2[26]="   The Australian Bureau of Statistics has begun mailing out 190,000 census forms to primary producers across Australia.
      The census is "; S3[26]=" being launched today.
      Spokeswoman Karen Connaughtson says it is important farmers fill out the forms and return them as soon as possible.
"; S4[26]="       'It's only done once every five years, so it is important that we get a complete picture because it is a sort "; S5[26]=" of [a] stocktake of farming across Australia,' she said.
      'There's no financial information requested on the forms, we're asking details about production, "; S6[26]=" sheep numbers, cattle numbers and a few questions on water use, tree planting and natural resource management.'.. "; R[27]="882"; T[27]="Regional Victoria to Benefit from $851m Package"; A[27]="By ... Editor"; Dn[27]="20060609"; Dt[27]="Friday 9 June 2006"; Acats[27]="a05a07a48a65"; B1[27]="      Regional Victoria is set to benefit from an $851 million Bracks Government package of investments designed to support disadvantaged Victorians and create "; B2[27]="more opportunity... "; B3[27]=" "; B4[27]=" "; B5[27]=" "; S1[27]="      Regional Victoria is set to benefit from an $851 million Bracks Government package of investments designed to support disadvantaged Victorians and create "; S2[27]=" more opportunity.
      Briefing local councils on the A Fairer Victoria - Progress and Next Steps package, Deputy Premier and Minister for Victorian "; S3[27]=" Communities, John Thwaites, said funding had been targeted at regional areas in need of support.
      'While regional Victoria is thriving, we know "; S4[27]=" there are some areas facing tough challenges,' Mr Thwaites said.
      'We are seeing high levels of building activity, low unemployment and growth "; S5[27]=" in key industries, but we're also seeing some towns losing population and services, dealing with the challenges of ageing populations, and supporting communities where disadvantage "; S6[27]=" is entrenched.
      'That's why regional Victoria is a strong focus of our work to build a fairer Victoria.' Mr Thwaites said the "; S7[27]=" second instalment of A Fairer Victoria included the following programs for regional Victoria: ' LibraryLink: ten country libraries across Victoria will be electronically linked through "; S8[27]=" the LibraryLink service, which allows all libraries' books and resources be searched on the one site and items mailed to the nearest library; ' Youth "; S9[27]=" Transition: eight youth workers will be employed to help young people get back into study or work in Greater Geelong, Ballarat/Mooroobool/Golden Plains, Greater Bendigo/Mt Alexander/ "; S10[27]=" Central Goldfields and La Trobe/Baw Baw; ' Community transport: up to 30 more Flexible Transport Solutions projects across regional Victoria and outer metropolitan Melbourne to "; S11[27]=" help people make better use of existing transport resources such as school buses, taxis and volunteer drivers; ' Refugee nursing services: extra funding to extend "; S12[27]=" hours and availability of refugee nurses in regional areas with high refugee populations; ' Extension of no-interest loans scheme: the Bracks Government will, in partnership "; S13[27]=" with the National Bank, extend low interest loan schemes to 77 communities, many in regional areas; ' Heater rebate: extension of a rebate for installing "; S14[27]=" high efficiency gas heaters in homes in rural areas.
      'This is another way the Bracks Government is making Victoria a better place "; S15[27]=" to work, live and raise a family,' Mr Thwaites said.
      The $851 million package of investments in A Fairer Victoria is on "; S16[27]=" top of the $1.1 billion of investments in regional Victoria delivered in the recent State Budget, including: ' $318 million for transport initiatives for regional "; S17[27]=" Victoria including boosting country bus services, upgrading bus and rail facilities and the Wodonga rail by-pass; ' $160 million to secure water supplies in Bendigo, "; S18[27]=" Gippsland, Wimmera-Mallee, Murray Darling Basin and the Alpine resorts at Mt Buller and Mt Hotham; ' $53 million to benefit parents of the approximately 38,000 "; S19[27]=" students from provincial Victoria starting Prep or Year 7 who will receive the $300 School Start Bonus; ' $44.6 million for primary industries; ' $15.5 "; S20[27]=" million for training in areas of high regional demand and sharing in the statewide investment of $62 million for school and TAFE construction and equipment "; S21[27]=" and $32 million to build at least four new Technical Education Centres, including at Ballarat and Wangaratta; ' $12.3 million to boost community safety with "; S22[27]=" new facilities in rural and regional Victoria; ' $2.4 million to revitalise civic centres for the future growth of provincial transit cities in Ballarat, Bendigo "; S23[27]=" and Geelong.
      Mr Thwaites said the Bracks Government was confident that its strategic approach to breaking the cycle of disadvantage was working.
"; S24[27]="       'The evidence shows in lower child abuse reports, more children in kindergarten, higher Year 12 retention rates, record low class sizes and "; S25[27]=" a low crime rate,' he said.
      In addition the first year's investment in A Fairer Victoria is showing further results such as: "; S26[27]=" ' 8000 children in long day care also attending kindergarten programs; ' An extra 460 children with disabilities able to receive therapy and support; ' "; S27[27]=" 18,000 young people reconnected back into school, training or jobs; ' Increased reporting of family violence incidents with 73.2 per cent more charges laid by "; S28[27]=" police; ' 163 men being helped with anger management through Family Violence Courts orders to attend counselling; ' 300 newly-arrived refugee clients registered for specialist "; S29[27]=" nursing services in Shepparton, Warrnambool, Kensington, Werribee and Dandenong; ' more than 100 small towns are involved in a new wave of community building projects; "; S30[27]=" ' 88 community organisations given funding for upgrading computer equipment to help bridge the digital divide; ' Social housing stock increased by 70 homes and "; R[28]="878"; T[28]="Doctors call for more focus on bush health woes"; A[28]="By ... Editor"; Dn[28]="20060609"; Dt[28]="Friday 9 June 2006"; Acats[28]="a04a09a48"; B1[28]="      Rural doctors meeting on southern Queensland's western Downs this weekend are expected to warn the State Government not to 'rest on its "; B2[28]="laurels' and do more to address the health crisis in the bush... "; B3[28]=" "; B4[28]=" "; B5[28]=" "; S1[28]="      Rural doctors meeting on southern Queensland's western Downs this weekend are expected to warn the State Government not to 'rest on its "; S2[28]=" laurels' and do more to address the health crisis in the bush.
      The Rural Doctors Association of Queensland's annual conference begins in "; S3[28]=" Chinchilla today.
      Health Minister Stephen Robertson is expected to attend the meeting tomorrow.
      The association's Dr Michael Rice says "; S4[28]=" Mr Robertson has promised to hire extra rural GPs, but there is still more to be done.
      'So it's going to have "; S5[28]=" to be backed with additional ancillary services and probably extra training for nursing staff and the other staff that provide care to people in hospital "; S6[28]=" and as long as that's done it's going to work out well,' he said... "; R[29]="862"; T[29]="Growing Regions Conference"; A[29]="By ... Editor"; Dn[29]="20060608"; Dt[29]="Thursday 8 June 2006"; Acats[29]="a48a53"; B1[29]="      Hilton Brisbane, 25-27 July 2006 - Hosted by the Australian Government Department of Transport and Regional Services and sponsored by RIRDC.... "; B2[29]=" "; B3[29]=" "; B4[29]=" "; B5[29]=" "; S1[29]="      Hilton Brisbane, 25-27 July 2006 - Hosted by the Australian Government Department of Transport and Regional Services and sponsored by RIRDC.
  "; S2[29]="     The Growing Regions Conference is the premier international regional development conference for 2006 and will present a unique opportunity to discover how different "; S3[29]=" regions are addressing current, common issues across the world.
      It will offer those attending a chance to learn from sessions which place "; S4[29]=" a strong emphasis on innovative approaches to regional policy and research.
      For more details visit www.dotars.gov.au/regional/growingregions... "; R[30]="758"; T[30]="Town to branch out"; A[30]="By ... Editor"; Dn[30]="20060526"; Dt[30]="Friday 26 May 2006"; Acats[30]="a05a48"; B1[30]="      Outback ingenuity and 21st century science are combining to give Barcaldine's dying Tree of Knowledge a chance of a lucrative afterlife.... "; B2[30]=" "; B3[30]=" "; B4[30]=" "; B5[30]=" "; S1[30]="      Outback ingenuity and 21st century science are combining to give Barcaldine's dying Tree of Knowledge a chance of a lucrative afterlife.
  "; S2[30]="     A thriving clone of the 150-year-old ghost gum holds the key to a plan to create hundreds more of the trees - and "; S3[30]=" a bold new tourism venture which could be a saviour of the bush town.
      The historic Tree of Knowledge, revered as the "; S4[30]=" birthplace of the Australian Labor Party, is in critical condition with little chance of survival after it was poisoned by vandals recently.
      "; S5[30]=" There were fears its death would spark tough times for the town as 40,000 cashed-up tourists visit the tree annually.
      But local "; S6[30]=" councillors have concocted a scheme to ensure the spirit of the tree will live on forever and keep the tourist dollars flowing.
      "; S7[30]=" 'We cloned the tree several years ago and its identical twin is living in the grounds of the nearby Workers Heritage centre,' said Barcaldine Council "; S8[30]=" CEO Stuart Randle.
      'We want to take cuttings from that tree and graft them on to others, commercially producing hundreds of new "; S9[30]=" Trees of Knowledge.
      These new trees could then be sold to tourists.
      People would be able to buy their "; S10[30]=" own piece of history and the spirit of the Tree of Knowledge would live on.' The propagation plan, which is likely to be given the "; S11[30]=" green light at the council's Budget meeting in July, would cost about $50,000.
      A new greenhouse would be built in town and "; S12[30]=" Department of Primary Industries scientists, who have already indicated they are happy to help, would be brought on as advisers.
      It would "; S13[30]=" take about a year for trees to grow to a height at which they could be sold.
      The cloning plan has been "; S14[30]=" kept under wraps for several years but mayor Rob Chandler said it was now essential to preserve a part of history - and the town's "; S15[30]=" income from tourism.
      'It is the most photographed tree in the world and half the tourists we get come here just to "; S16[30]=" see it,' Cr Chandler said.
      Police from Longreach CIB say results from toxicology tests on the poisoned tree are due back later "; S17[30]=" this week.
      It is believed up to 40 litres of a chemical pollutant were splashed on the tree.
      The "; S18[30]=" tree was the meeting place for shearers during their unsuccessful strike of 1891, which played a crucial role in formation of the ALP... "; R[31]="713"; T[31]="Lets help youth stay in the bush"; A[31]="By ... Editor"; Dn[31]="20060518"; Dt[31]="Thursday 18 May 2006"; Acats[31]="a48a53"; B1[31]="      Stopping the constant flow of youth from the bush to the cities has been highlighted as a major priority on the Back "; B2[31]="to the Bush Outback expedition by Governor-General Michael Jeffery... "; B3[31]=" "; B4[31]=" "; B5[31]=" "; S1[31]="      Stopping the constant flow of youth from the bush to the cities has been highlighted as a major priority on the Back "; S2[31]=" to the Bush Outback expedition by Governor-General Michael Jeffery.
      On the first day of the Year of the Outback trip, from Adelaide "; S3[31]=" to Wilpena Pound yesterday, Mr Jeffery said he fully supported the year's Youth in Front theme.
      Mr Jeffery spent much of "; S4[31]=" the day travelling with Felicia Carboon, 22, a symbolic representative of the nation's youth.
      Miss Carboon, from Bendigo in Victoria, said "; S5[31]=" she had never dreamed she would get a chance to sit in the same vehicle as Mr Jeffery and discuss youth issues with him.
  "; S6[31]="     'One of the things I was talking to him about is that there is often not a lot to do in country "; S7[31]=" towns, but there are opportunities and they need to appreciate them,' Miss Carboon said.
      'I've lived in a country town all "; S8[31]=" my life and I love it, I won't be leaving anytime soon.' Miss Carboon said Lead On had helped a lot of young people "; S9[31]=" to find jobs in regional areas.
      Mr Jeffery said the aim of Year of the Outback's Youth in Front theme was "; S10[31]=" to retain and attract younger people to our regional centres and particularly females.
      'We need to encourage more young people to "; S11[31]=" stay in the country,' he said.
      'It's interesting to note that 85 per cent of Australians live within 50km of the "; S12[31]=" coast and 65 per cent of that lot live in the capital cities.' Mr Jeffery said he wanted to get the message through to "; S13[31]=" urban communities that there are great things to see and a great life to be had in regional areas.
      At the "; S14[31]=" Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden at Port Augusta, Mr Jeffery said the centre had great potential and encouraged doctors, dentists and tradesmen to go there "; S15[31]=" for work.
      He is joining up with Year of the Outback chairman Bruce Campbell to promote rural and regional Australia on "; S16[31]=" the Outback trip which takes in Adelaide to Birdsville on its first leg.
      Mr Campbell said Year of the Outback was "; S17[31]=" involved in a number of measures to try and help determine a brighter future for young people in inland areas.
      It included "; S18[31]=" involvement in youth events around the country including the federal Rural Youth Council.
      'There's a desperate need for youth in the "; S19[31]=" bush to take up family enterprises and careers,' Mr Campbell said.
      'It's hard because so much of what they read is "; S20[31]=" negative, but there are wonderful opportunities.' Mr Campbell said cities were being strained to the limits and encouraged more people to look at the "; S21[31]=" country and see the opportunities for youth... "; R[32]="711"; T[32]="Simulated baby program gets good results with teens : RACP Congress"; A[32]="By ... Editor"; Dn[32]="20060518"; Dt[32]="Thursday 18 May 2006"; Acats[32]="a09a48a49a53"; B1[32]="      New research has found health programs involving infant simulators can change the attitudes of young people regarding safe sex and teen pregnancy.... "; B2[32]=" "; B3[32]=" "; B4[32]=" "; B5[32]=" "; S1[32]="      New research has found health programs involving infant simulators can change the attitudes of young people regarding safe sex and teen pregnancy.
"; S2[32]="       The research is being presented by Dr Bret Hart and colleagues, from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Western Australia, to "; S3[32]=" The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) Scientific Congress in Cairns today.
      'Despite the fact that thousands of these infant simulators are "; S4[32]=" being used in high schools around the world, there has been no research to conclusively demonstrate that there is a difference in pregnancy rates between "; S5[32]=" teenagers managing an infant simulator and those who haven't,' Dr Hart said.
      The Virtual Infant Parenting Program (VIPP) aims to give young "; S6[32]=" people the experience of test driving a simulated baby and experiential learning about pre-conceptual health, pregnancy, childbirth and caring for a baby.
      "; S7[32]=" School health nurses implement the six day program with up to 7 students.
      'Who would spend half a million dollars on a "; S8[32]=" car without trying it out first? This is about how much it costs to raise a child, and yet many young people today venture on "; S9[32]=" the road to parenthood without realising the personal, financial and emotional responsibilities involved and the necessary changes to lifestyle.' It will take a few "; S10[32]=" more years to gather all the results, but so far 2830 year 9-10 female students participated from 58 schools and reported the following pre-intervention information "; S11[32]=" on their beliefs and behaviour: 45% strongly agreed that they would never have sex without using contraception but, of the 16% that said they had "; S12[32]=" had sex, only 55% used contraception.
      'We are not just looking for a difference in rate of pregnancy but other potential "; S13[32]=" benefits from the education package, including the facilitators role of the school health nurse and GP awareness and access For example, is smoking reduced, PND "; S14[32]=" & SIDS prevented, and are immunisation rates increased or child abuse and injuries reduced?' Dr Hart said.
      When asked what they would "; S15[32]=" consider to be the ideal age for them to have a baby, program students indicated that they would like to have a child later in "; S16[32]=" life when compared to their responses prior to the program.
      So far, there have been no reported differences between pre and post "; S17[32]=" attitudes and behaviours towards smoking, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption and sexual behaviour.
      Preliminary results indicate that those participants contemplating teenage "; S18[32]=" parenthood had positive changes in knowledge, attitude and behaviours after completing VIPP.
      This is a good sign particularly for those students who "; S19[32]=" are engaging in potentially health harming behaviours... "; R[33]="634"; T[33]="Country women held back by inequality"; A[33]="By ... Editor"; Dn[33]="20060324"; Dt[33]="Friday 24 March 2006"; Acats[33]="a05a48a49a53"; B1[33]="      An apprenticeship program for rural girls is needed to lift low female employment in the country, a key welfare group says.... "; B2[33]=" "; B3[33]=" "; B4[33]=" "; B5[33]=" "; S1[33]="      An apprenticeship program for rural girls is needed to lift low female employment in the country, a key welfare group says.
  "; S2[33]="     Mission Australia's Rural and Regional Australia: Change, Challenge and Capacity report highlights the need for new training programs specifically for young country women.
"; S3[33]="       It has proposed the development of the rural girls apprenticeship program in conjunction with industry and government.
      "; S4[33]=" Mission Australia's South Australian manager, Mark Herselman, said there would be an outcry if many of the same levels of disadvantage and inequality were prevalent "; S5[33]=" in metropolitan areas.
      'We're finding young women, particularly with young children, suffer from a lack of services in the country,' he "; S6[33]=" said.
      'Young women tend to be more bonded to local areas because of their families.' Mr Herselman said disadvantages facing young "; S7[33]=" women included the lack of women's health services and education facilities.
      Mission Australia's national manager of research and policy, Anne Hampshire, "; S8[33]=" said 36 per cent of Australians live in rural and regional areas in a great diversity of communities.
      'They have shown "; S9[33]=" incredible resilience to the dramatic economic and social changes of the past two decades, but some have still fallen behind metropolitan Australia,' Ms Hampshire said.
"; S10[33]="       She said the inequality in regional Australia needed to be tackled.
      'Most people would agree that an "; S11[33]=" Australia without a thriving and vibrant rural and regional population would be a soulless place,' she said.
      The report's key recommendations include: "; S12[33]=" the need for a special national rural mental health strategy and greater use of mobile outreach and information technology-based service delivery.
      "; S13[33]=" South Australian Farmers Federation chief executive Carol Vincent said she supported Mission Australia's approach.
      'We are putting together a range of "; S14[33]=" strategies to help improve services in regional areas,' Ms Vincent said.
      'Mental health is something we feel very strongly about, along "; S15[33]=" with succession planning, because the human relationship side is causing a lot of distress to farm families.'.. "; R[34]="597"; T[34]="Rural hurdles to education"; A[34]="By ... Editor"; Dn[34]="20060307"; Dt[34]="Tuesday 7 March 2006"; Acats[34]="a48a53"; B1[34]="      Children living in rural and remote Australia are the 'silent victims of the drought', whose access to education is restricted by their "; B2[34]="isolation and financial circumstances... "; B3[34]=" "; B4[34]=" "; B5[34]=" "; S1[34]="      Children living in rural and remote Australia are the 'silent victims of the drought', whose access to education is restricted by their "; S2[34]=" isolation and financial circumstances.
      These young Australians face numerous hurdles in their education - from primary through to tertiary, according to a "; S3[34]=" new report highlighting the impact of the drought on students.
      The paper reveals that students are missing school to help with farm "; S4[34]=" work, turning up to school hungry, and being forced by financial pressures to drop out of university.
      'At all levels there are "; S5[34]=" barriers that shouldn't be there for rural and remote areas,' said the report's co-author, Professor Margaret Alston, of NSW's Charles Sturt University.
      "; S6[34]=" 'It's very serious, because we are looking for skilled labour in rural areas, but we're putting barriers in the way of kids getting an education.' "; S7[34]=" The paper was based on a survey of 21 boarding schools and interviews with several hundred people in seven remote communities in the mainland eastern "; S8[34]=" states, including Cohuna and Kerang in Victoria... "; R[35]="562"; T[35]="Drought towns turn to effluent"; A[35]="By ... Editor"; Dn[35]="20060302"; Dt[35]="Thursday 2 March 2006"; Acats[35]="a09a40a42a48"; B1[35]="      Australians could be drinking recycled effluent within three years.... "; B2[35]=" "; B3[35]=" "; B4[35]=" "; B5[35]=" "; S1[35]="      Australians could be drinking recycled effluent within three years.
      John Howard is on the verge of agreeing to the "; S2[35]=" partial funding for a $70 million Toowoomba project to recycle wastewater in an effort to solve the Queensland city's dire water shortage.
      "; S3[35]=" If the controversial project received the go-ahead, construction could be completed in 18months, Toowoomba Mayor Di Thorley said.
      The town has "; S4[35]=" been on water restrictions for more than a decade.
      A combination of recycling and demand management was the only solution, Ms "; S5[35]=" Thorley said.
      Toowoomba is seeking $24million in federal funding through the $1.6 billion Water Smart Australia program, which is administered by "; S6[35]=" the National Water Commission.
      The commission has given the Prime Minister its recommendation on the funding decision.
      "; S7[35]=" Chairman and CEO Ken Matthews told The Australian the country should be 'at the cutting edge of delivering economic, safe and healthy recycled water'.
  "; S8[35]="     The commission has also received a proposal for a similar recycling scheme for the parched NSW southern highlands city of Goulburn.
  "; S9[35]="     Goulburn's council is about to embark on a public education program critical to it receiving public and financial support for its sewage "; S10[35]=" recycling plans.
      Goulburn-Mulwaree Mayor Paul Stephenson said the commission was supportive of his call for $11 million in funding.
    "; S11[35]="   'We hope to have the system up and running in four years.' Both town systems would use reverse osmosis to treat the "; S12[35]=" wastewater, the same technology that is used to desalinate water.
      The National Water Commission, the CSIRO, and parliamentary secretary with special "; S13[35]=" responsibility for water Malcolm Turnbull believe it is safe to drinkproperly treated sewage.
      However, they also agree that anysuccessful recycling system needs "; S14[35]=" to be backed by the local community.
      And in Toowoomba the community is divided on the issue.
      "; S15[35]=" Some of the locals, who are desperate for a solution to their water woes, are not quite ready to accept recycling.
      "; S16[35]=" But others appear perfectly happy to drink recycled wastewater, as is already done in other countries across the globe such as Japan, the US, Britain "; S17[35]=" and Singapore.
      Residents for and against the plant are generating their own petitions.
      Industry, Tourism and Resources Minister "; S18[35]=" Ian Macfarlane, who is Toowoomba's local member, says the proposal has divided the community and could taint the city's tourism image.
      "; S19[35]=" 'People are not comfortable with this,' Mr Macfarlane said.
      'I would like to see other options considered, and a regional approach "; S20[35]=" to the issue.' Mr Turnbull said he was comfortable drinking recycled water.
      'The key point about safety is that reverse "; S21[35]=" osmosis will remove any molecules larger than the water molecule (including salts),' he said.
      'It follows therefore that the pathogens, drugs "; S22[35]=" etc of which concern is had will be removed by reverse osmosis.' Western Australia is looking at options for treating sewage for drinking... "; R[36]="527"; T[36]="Remote kids now swimming in good health"; A[36]="By ... Editor"; Dn[36]="20060224"; Dt[36]="Friday 24 February 2006"; Acats[36]="a09a48"; B1[36]="      Swimming pools at some of the nation's most remote Aboriginal communities are bringing dramatic health benefits for the children, slashing rates of "; B2[36]="disease and infection... "; B3[36]=" "; B4[36]=" "; B5[36]=" "; S1[36]="      Swimming pools at some of the nation's most remote Aboriginal communities are bringing dramatic health benefits for the children, slashing rates of "; S2[36]=" disease and infection.
      Former Australian of the Year Fiona Stanley joined Olympic swimming legend Shane Gould yesterday to unveil the results of "; S3[36]=" a world-first health study.
      The six-year study provides evidence to support the anecdotal belief that installing pools - described by experts "; S4[36]=" as giant saline solutions - in isolated indigenous communities will cut rates of ear, skin and respiratory disease and reduce the associated use of antibiotics.
"; S5[36]="       At the West Australian community of Jigalong on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert - where temperatures can soar above "; S6[36]=" 50C for days on end - the swimming pool has become a hive of social activity for the locals.
      It is "; S7[36]=" used as an incentive to boost attendance rates at the school and is linked to a drop in petty misbehaviour and an increase in the "; S8[36]=" happiness of otherwise bored children.
      But more startling are the proven health benefits of the pool, described by many in the "; S9[36]=" project as a 'little oasis' in the middle of the desert in the harsh east Pilbara region.
      The study by the "; S10[36]=" Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has shown that since the pool opened in 2000, respiratory disease has been cut by 63per cent and antibiotic "; S11[36]=" prescription is down 41per cent.
      Using six-monthly assessments of all children at the transient community, along with medical records from the "; S12[36]=" health clinic, the research reveals rates of skin disease have fallen 51per cent and the incidence of ear disease has dropped 44per cent.
    "; S13[36]="   At a community swimming carnival yesterday, Professor Stanley, Telethon Institute director, praised the benefits of the pool.
      'There was "; S14[36]=" not a lot of evidence about swimming pools and the impact on kids' health,' she said.
      'It's the first study of its "; S15[36]=" kind in the world, as I understand it.
      The impact is so pronounced that even with the small number of children involved, "; S16[36]=" it is really significant.' Describing the pool as a massive saline solution, Professor Stanley said chlorinated water helped clear the airways and nasal passages "; S17[36]=" without spreading infection.
      She said the statistics justified a push for the state Government to consider expanding the number of swimming "; S18[36]=" pools in remote communities, adding that the most important result was the reduction in the children's number of skin sores.
      Pediatrician "; S19[36]=" Desiree Silva said cutting rates of infection in children had resulted in a benefit of reducing disease among infants in their households... "; R[37]="525"; T[37]="Forestry driven by professionalism"; A[37]="By ... Editor"; Dn[37]="20060224"; Dt[37]="Friday 24 February 2006"; Acats[37]="a04a39a48"; B1[37]="      Forestry driven by professionalism in a way never encountered in his past life as a shearer, says Bombala plantation forest manager, Andrew "; B2[37]="Power, 31... "; B3[37]=" "; B4[37]=" "; B5[37]=" "; S1[37]="      Forestry driven by professionalism in a way never encountered in his past life as a shearer, says Bombala plantation forest manager, Andrew "; S2[37]=" Power, 31.
      Andrew says that 'once upon a time people came to Bombala to retire … that's changing now as people are "; S3[37]=" coming here for careers and contract work'.
      'When I first started with Willmott Forests, I didn't see a career path ahead "; S4[37]=" of me and, even though I had leadership ambitions, I didn't look that far ahead back then,' Andrew says.
      'I started with "; S5[37]=" the company in April 1998 and will have been with the company eight years this year.
      'I left school in 1991 and "; S6[37]=" was a shearer for seven years and did other rural work like fencing around the Bombala region.
      'I got some casual work "; S7[37]=" planting pines for Willmott Forests in 1995 and this was my introduction to the company.' Andrew says that, in 1998, the company advertised for full "; S8[37]=" time staff and he applied and was offered a job.
      'The company was growing and it seemed like a good opportunity to "; S9[37]=" get in on the ground floor, even though I took a pay cut at the time,' he says.
      'Locally the company employs "; S10[37]=" 120 to 130 people directly.
      Plus there are lots of contractors who work for us throughout the year.
      'I "; S11[37]=" began as a field worker and moved on to being a crew leader and then on to being works coordinator.
      'I also "; S12[37]=" had the chance to study at the same time and I got an Advanced Diploma in Forestry from the University of Melbourne campus at Creswick "; S13[37]=" in central Victoria.
      'I wouldn't mind doing a degree, but I'm very busy.
      I really enjoy the job right "; S14[37]=" now.' Andrew was interviewed as part of this month's Timber Communities Australia (TCA) Summer 2006 Outreach program to build on popular support for the regional "; S15[37]=" timber industry.
      'Summer 2006 Outreach is a chance, in times of continuing change, to underscore the critical importance of forest industries to "; S16[37]=" the sustainable growth of regional communities,' according to TCA national director Jill Lewis.
      The outreach program will include a tour of southern "; S17[37]=" NSW by independent ANU Research Fellow Jacki Schirmer talking to local government councils, community groups and media.
      Andrew Power says his role "; S18[37]=" with the company is to coordinate all the work on the ground 'including the dozers and controlling costs so that we work within budgets in "; S19[37]=" preparing new properties for plantations'.
      'Forestry is a very professional industry compared with rural industries when I think back on my days "; S20[37]=" as a shearer,' he says.
      'Things like fencing off buffer zones along water courses and occupational health and safety issues.
    "; S21[37]="   'I came from a rural background.
      My family were farmers and my mum still owns land.
      While I "; S22[37]=" enjoyed shearing, I still didn't want to be doing it at age 65.
      If it wasn't for Willmott Forests, I wouldn't be "; S23[37]=" where I am now.
      I've moved up in the company fairly quickly and I can make a career out of this.' Andrew "; S24[37]=" says the plantation timber industry also brings benefits to the community as a whole.
      'Locally Willmott Forests sponsors the rugby league football "; S25[37]=" down to the Under 7s,' he says.
      'Our company fire units played a critical role in the 2003 fires.
      "; S26[37]=" 'On and off for six or seven weeks, the company supplied full crews.' Andrew is married to Tracy and they have three sons.
    "; S27[37]="   Jake, 8, and Mitchell, 6, are at Bombala Public School and Sam, 4, is at pre-school.
      Tracy is a hairdresser in "; S28[37]=" Bombala.
      Andrew is a galloping front rower with the Bombala Blue Heelers Group 16 first grade rugby league side... "; R[38]="457"; T[38]="New Report busts Myth about Farm Salaries"; A[38]="By ... Editor"; Dn[38]="20060222"; Dt[38]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[38]="a04a05a06a07a48a51"; B1[38]="      A long-held perception that staff working on Australian farms are underpaid has been busted by new research, which shows farm salaries are "; B2[38]="competitive compared to other Australian industries... "; B3[38]=" "; B4[38]=" "; B5[38]=" "; S1[38]="      A long-held perception that staff working on Australian farms are underpaid has been busted by new research, which shows farm salaries are "; S2[38]=" competitive compared to other Australian industries.
      The Holmes Sackett & Associates' FarmStaff 2006 report has found that while higher paying jobs can "; S3[38]=" be found in other industries, on average the total package value of salaries received on farms is competitive.
      FarmStaff 2006 is the "; S4[38]=" result of independent employee research and a comprehensive salary survey of 150 farm businesses in every state of Australia.
      Undertaken in 2005, "; S5[38]=" it analyses salaries and conditions for employees from operational to management level.
      Report author Sandy McEachern says a contributing factor to the "; S6[38]=" perceived salary discrepancy is that the total salary package value is not transparent.
      'A large portion of the package is made up "; S7[38]=" of non-cash benefits,' Mr McEachern says.
      'When grossed up to their pre-tax values these benefits - such as housing or fuel - "; S8[38]=" constitute upwards of 20% of the total value of the package.' Work environment and lifestyle are primarily why farm employees choose to work in the "; S9[38]=" industry but long-hours and salary are a common dislike.
      'However, despite the hours and perceived salary discrepancies in the industry, non-monetary elements "; S10[38]=" of working on agriculture were cited by farm employees as very important to improving working conditions and staying in a job,' he says.
    "; S11[38]="   'Making a job easier was a common response - in essence things like better planning and communication by employers and safe and reliable equipment.' "; S12[38]=" Now available for employers to purchase, FarmStaff 2006 is a response to a need for in-depth, relevant employment information and tools within the agricultural employment "; S13[38]=" market.
      'It drills down into what employees are actually being paid, how they are paid and what they like and dislike about "; S14[38]=" their job, enabling direct comparison between job titles within the sector and between industries,' Mr McEachern says.
      Mr McEachern says there are "; S15[38]=" three things that employers are seeking help with in regards to hiring employees:
      * How do I attract good employees
  "; S16[38]="     * How can I reward employees
      * How can I motivate them to perform better 'FarmStaff 2006 provides a "; S17[38]=" methodology for finding, rewarding and keeping employees,' he says.
      'It includes Holmes Sackett & Associates' unique and industry-specific Manager Salary Calculator and "; S18[38]=" a Total Salary Package Calculator to actually determine packages for individual farm employees, which is available on-line at the Holmes Sackett website.' The FarmStaff 2006 "; S19[38]=" report also found :
      * The cropping industry paid higher salaries as compared to livestock and mixed livestock cropping businesses.
  "; S20[38]="     * The perceived problem of having an aging population of farm managers.. "; R[39]="362"; T[39]="New impetus for land rights claims"; A[39]="By ... Editor"; Dn[39]="20060222"; Dt[39]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[39]="a04a48"; B1[39]="      Last month s native title determination in the Wimmera does not change history for the Yorta Yorta people.
      But "; B2[39]="it signals a new optimism for future claimants, writes Ann Arnold... "; B3[39]=" "; B4[39]=" "; B5[39]=" "; S1[39]="      Last month's native title determination in the Wimmera does not change history for the Yorta Yorta people.
      But it "; S2[39]=" signals a new optimism for future claimants, writes Ann Arnold.
      HENRY Atkinson was a supervisor for General Electric for 21 years, and "; S3[39]=" owns his own home in eastern Melbourne.
      He also worked for Mercedes-Benz, and an air-conditioning company.
      But back in "; S4[39]=" the early 1940s he spent his early childhood living out of the Murray River forest, near Echuca.
      His family had, with a "; S5[39]=" large group of people, walked off the Cummeragunja Mission, in protest at the management of the time.
      For some years they survived "; S6[39]=" on fish, turtles, emus, crayfish, swan eggs, wild honey and nardoo seeds.
      Atkinson still speaks of the spiritual beliefs of his Yorta "; S7[39]=" Yorta culture.
      'Biami, the creator, sent down an old woman to look for food, and she created the landscape with her digging "; S8[39]=" stick.' The rainbow serpent followed and created the curves and deep holes of the Murray River.
      There's also 'Nubanbool, a man/creature-type animal', "; S9[39]=" and other figures his parents told him about.
      Now involved with the repatriation of ancestral remains from around the world, this gentle "; S10[39]=" man is adamant that 'until those skeletal remains are back within the country they were born on, their spirits will wander'.
      Many "; S11[39]=" of Atkinson's fellow native title claimants in the now infamous Yorta Yorta case of the late 1990s - the first full test of native title "; S12[39]=" after Mabo - share his hybrid identity of urban, contemporary lifestyles and an intrinsic link to the past and their land.
      When "; S13[39]=" it came to proving their connections and continued traditions, however, under the terms of native title law, they failed.
      In the Federal "; S14[39]=" Court Justice Howard Olney found that 'when the tide of history has washed away any real acknowledgement of traditional law and any real observance of "; S15[39]=" traditional customs, the foundation of native title has disappeared'.
      The 'tide of history' phrase came originally from the High Court Mabo judgement.
"; S16[39]="       It is a phrase that stung the claimants and continues to be challenged by other observers, who see in it both an "; S17[39]=" implicit denial that cultures evolve, and the suggestion that history moves neatly through discrete chapters.
      Last month's Federal Court decision that native "; S18[39]=" title did exist in the Wimmera - albeit in a significantly smaller area than was originally claimed - was an overt reply to the Yorta "; S19[39]=" Yorta decision.
      Justice Ron Merkel referred several times to the 'tide of history', mirroring Justice Olney by stating that 'the tide of "; S20[39]=" history has not 'washed away' any real acknowledgement of traditional laws and any real observance of traditional customs by the applicants'... "; R[40]="359"; T[40]="Farmers rebuild their lives"; A[40]="By ... Editor"; Dn[40]="20060222"; Dt[40]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[40]="a04a48"; B1[40]="      Farmer Lawrence Low lost a lifetime of work and memories in the Black Tuesday bushfires..... "; B2[40]=" "; B3[40]=" "; B4[40]=" "; B5[40]=" "; S1[40]="      Farmer Lawrence Low lost a lifetime of work and memories in the Black Tuesday bushfires.
      A farmer for more "; S2[40]=" than 50 years, he has endured the emotions of working the land - but nothing could prepare him for the devastation after the bushfire tore "; S3[40]=" through his 1000 ha property.
      His family lost their home, tractors, machinery and more than 2500 top-quality Merinos.
      "; S4[40]=" Mr Low's farm, bought by his grandfather in 1926, was one of 10 homes razed in the small farming town of White Flat, about 25 "; S5[40]=" km north of Port Lincoln.
      The community was literally wiped from existence.
      Instead of spending the summer farming "; S6[40]=" his property, Mr Low - who has lived on the property all of his life - is fixing fences and trying to rebuild his shattered "; S7[40]=" life.
      As the first anniversary of the tragedy approaches, Mr Low, 66, and his wife Yvonne refuse to live in their farmhouse "; S8[40]=" - still shaken by memories of the fire.
      They now live in Port Lincoln and he travels daily to the farm.
"; S9[40]="       'It was frightening,' Mr Low said about the fire.
      'The whole farm burnt and virtually all of the fencing "; S10[40]=" was destroyed.
      'Afterwards, all that was left was just the frames of the buildings.
      Everything was ash.' In honour "; S11[40]=" of lives lost and the efforts of survivors to overcome the tragedy, The Advertiser is reflecting on the bushfires in a series of stories leading "; S12[40]=" up to Wednesday's anniversary.
      The blaze, which swept across Lower Eyre Peninsula on January 10 and 11, claimed nine lives and destroyed "; S13[40]=" about 90 homes, 370 sheds or commercial buildings, 35 vehicles, 6300 km of fencing and more than 46,000 head of livestock.
      It "; S14[40]=" has taken its toll emotionally, even on Mr Low's trusty sheepdog Scotty.
      Mr Low has managed to rebuild a couple of his "; S15[40]=" sheds, but there is another two years' work to get the farm back in working order.
      Wednesday's ceremony at Wangary's Oval, at "; S16[40]=" 11am, will also acknowledge the efforts of all who worked to save homes and farming land.
      Natalie Borlase - whose mother Judith "; S17[40]=" Griffin and children Star, 3, and Jack, 2, died in a vehicle at the family farm in Wanilla - will speak... "; R[41]="347"; T[41]="Backpacker Harvest scheme bearing fruit"; A[41]="By ... Editor"; Dn[41]="20060222"; Dt[41]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[41]="a04a06a48"; B1[41]="      Italian backpacker Daria Bove represents the solution to Australia s temporary pockets of labour shortages..... "; B2[41]=" "; B3[41]=" "; B4[41]=" "; B5[41]=" "; S1[41]="      Italian backpacker Daria Bove represents the solution to Australia's temporary pockets of labour shortages.
      Slogging it out on a "; S2[41]=" gooseberry and lychee farm at Newrybar in the Byron Bay hinterland in northern NSW yesterday, she is one of more than 500 visitors who have "; S3[41]=" applied for a 12-month extension to their year-long working holiday visa under a new federal government scheme.
      Under the scheme, which was "; S4[41]=" introduced on November 1, visitors who work in the harvest industry for three months or longer can apply for the extension.
      "; S5[41]=" Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said the enthusiastic response to the scheme was great news for farmers, who find it difficult to employ enough fruitpickers for "; S6[41]=" their harvests.
      'The changes to the visa provide a big incentive to people to get out and pick crops,' she said.
  "; S7[41]="     'Hundreds of backpackers from throughout the world will pick fruit to stay longer in Australia.' The National Farmers Federation has argued that broader "; S8[41]=" economic changes in Australia have thinned the ranks of people prepared to work as seasonal fruit and vegetable pickers, leading to chronic shortages.
    "; S9[41]="   NFF industrial officer Denita Wawn said Australia had become 'more highly educated and highly skilled, which is great for the economy, (but) we're finding "; S10[41]=" that it's actually having a negative impact on the economy at the lower-level type jobs'.
      Ms Bove's employer, farmer Robin Amos, had "; S11[41]=" reservations about the scheme.
      'It's better than nothing,' she said.
      'We are getting extra people to work out in "; S12[41]=" the fields, but many of them aren't staying long enough.' Ms Amos said she would like to see a scheme where backpackers were encouraged to "; S13[41]=" stay on a for a reasonable period of time before they were granted the extension.
      'Under the scheme they have to "; S14[41]=" work in the industry for three months, but it seems they can move around as much as they like,' he said.
      'We've "; S15[41]=" had people who only stayed for a week.
      It takes two or three days to properly prepare people for fruitpicking, and there's "; S16[41]=" a lot of paperwork involved.
      'If they're only going to stay a week they hardly get up to speed as fruitpickers before "; S17[41]=" they shoot through.'.. "; R[42]="340"; T[42]="Common ground and private practice -- thinking about property"; A[42]="By ... Editor"; Dn[42]="20060222"; Dt[42]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[42]="a07a48a50a72"; B1[42]="      A new report presenting leading edge thinking about property rights and responsibilities..... "; B2[42]=" "; B3[42]=" "; B4[42]=" "; B5[42]=" "; S1[42]="      A new report presenting leading edge thinking about property rights and responsibilities.
      While industry, community and government have all "; S2[42]=" expressed a broad commitment to greater sustainability of the Australian landscape, as yet there is little agreement on a reform agenda to achieve this goal.
"; S3[42]="       One of the topics where debate is most fierce concerns property rights and responsibilities.
      In an effort to "; S4[42]=" encourage and inform debate about the rights and responsibilities of property owners in managing land and water, Land & Water Australia has released a new "; S5[42]=" report Property: rights and responsibilities, current Australian thinking.
      This collection of eight research papers represents the leading edge of Australian thinking on "; S6[42]=" property rights.
      Topics range from a discussion of private property and common myths in the property rights debate, to analyses of legal "; S7[42]=" and economic approaches, economic perspectives of water entitlements, and social justice considerations.
      Land & Water Australia Chair Ms Bobbie Brazil said that "; S8[42]=" improving understanding of property rights among communities, industries and policy makers is critical in moving forward on some of the most intractable environmental challenges in "; S9[42]=" Australia.
      'This is a complex issue, and rarely is this sort of information presented in a comprehensive and accessible way.
    "; S10[42]="   We have a responsibility to find appropriate and workable solutions, to make sure that we get it right,' she said.
      "; S11[42]=" The Property report has been produced under Land & Water Australia's Social and Institutional Research Program.
      Click here for an electronic copy.
"; S12[42]="       Hard copies can be obtained from Canprint on 1800 776616 quoting product code PR020440... "; R[43]="327"; T[43]="First and only Aboriginal owned and operated vineyard."; A[43]="By ... Editor"; Dn[43]="20060222"; Dt[43]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[43]="a04a13a48a51"; B1[43]="      Craig Cromelin s strong, stumpy fingers have planted wheat, had a go at carpentry and landscaping, and raised a pretty good crop "; B2[43]="of vegies from the rich, red, loamy, clay soil of Murrin Bridge, near Lake Cargelligo, in the rugged back country of NSW... "; B3[43]=" "; B4[43]=" "; B5[43]=" "; S1[43]="      Craig Cromelin's strong, stumpy fingers have planted wheat, had a go at carpentry and landscaping, and raised a pretty good crop of "; S2[43]=" vegies from the rich, red, loamy, clay soil of Murrin Bridge, near Lake Cargelligo, in the rugged back country of NSW.
      In "; S3[43]=" fact, during the 1990s he worked his way through every TAFE course involving manual labour offered to the men of the Murrin Bridge Aboriginal community "; S4[43]=" except one - viticulture.' Blackfellas don't do that sort of stuff,' he told the Griffith-based TAFE horticulturist, Pat Calabria.
      But Calabria insisted.
"; S5[43]="       And so Cromelin, who had never tasted wine before, became a viticulturist and in doing so put Murrin Bridge on the Australian "; S6[43]=" wine map as the first and only Aboriginal owned and operated vineyard.
      Along the way, he also gave the Murrin Bridge community, "; S7[43]=" population 150, something valuable.' Aboriginals have been looked upon as not being able to stick with things and see things through,' he says.
    "; S8[43]="   'We even used to stereotype ourselves.
      We used to think we couldn't do it and now we know anything is possible.' "; S9[43]=" On his first visit to Melbourne, Cromelin is basking in the wine and food-infused atmosphere of the European in Spring Street, contemplating a time when "; S10[43]=" his Murrin Bridge chardonnay and shiraz will be seen in bars and restaurants around the country.
      He dares to dream of even "; S11[43]=" bigger things: a place in the Prime Minister's cellar.' I gave a bottle to the Prime Minister when he was visiting out our way during "; S12[43]=" the drought,' he says.
      'I don't know what he thought of it.' And the wine? Like any one of the 2000-odd wine "; S13[43]=" producers in this country, Cromelin has seen good and bad times from a small beginning in 1998.
      With no money to buy "; S14[43]=" vines, members of the community drove to Pat Calabria's vineyard in Griffith, took cuttings and established a nursery.
      They eventually planted 7000 "; S15[43]=" vines - a mix of chardonnay, shiraz and semillon.' It taught us skills and it saved a lot of money, a hell of a lot "; S16[43]=" of money,' says Cromelin, one of five Murrin Bridge residents who gained a diploma in viticulture for their work.
      By 2001, the "; S17[43]=" community had its first vintage, a mere 1.8 tonnes.
      It was a start but how did they want it made? What was "; S18[43]=" going to be the Murrin Bridge style? Enter Domenic Piromalli from Piromit Wines, Griffith.'.. "; R[44]="312"; T[44]="Footprints from the Ice Age"; A[44]="By ... Editor"; Dn[44]="20060222"; Dt[44]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[44]="a42a48"; B1[44]="      Hundreds of human footprints dating back to about 20,000BC - the oldest in Australia and the largest collection of its kind in "; B2[44]="the world - have been discovered in Mungo National Park in western NSW... "; B3[44]=" "; B4[44]=" "; B5[44]=" "; S1[44]="      Hundreds of human footprints dating back to about 20,000BC - the oldest in Australia and the largest collection of its kind in "; S2[44]=" the world - have been discovered in Mungo National Park in western NSW.
      They were left by children, adolescents and adults at "; S3[44]=" the height of the last ice age as they ran and walked across a moist clay area near the Willandra Lakes.
      Some "; S4[44]=" people appear to have been hunting, with one very tall man sprinting at about 20kmh.
      The first footprint was spotted by Mary "; S5[44]=" Pappin Junior, of the Mutthi Mutthi people, two years ago and more than 450 more have been uncovered by a team led by Steve Webb "; S6[44]=" of Bond University.
      Professor Webb said the find provided a unique glimpse into the lives of those who lived in the arid "; S7[44]=" inland.
      'It brings these people to life in a way no other archaeological evidence can.
      You can see how "; S8[44]=" the mud squelched between their toes.' The traditional custodians of the area, members of the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area Three Traditional Tribal Groups "; S9[44]=" Elders Corporation, said they were very excited by the find.
      Ms Pappin, a Mutthi Mutthi elder, said walking alongside the footprints was "; S10[44]=" like 'walking with a family group today.
      They're the same people'.
      She believed the prints had been revealed from "; S11[44]=" under the sand dunes 'to let the rest of the world know how clever our people really were, living and surviving in their environment'.
  "; S12[44]="     Roy Kennedy, a Ngiyampaa elder, said the area had been a special meeting place for his tribe since the Dreamtime.
      "; S13[44]=" 'It was an oasis in the desert.' About 20,000 years ago the now dry lakes would have contained fish, mussels and crayfish.
      "; S14[44]=" The team estimated the height of the people from their foot size, and their speed from the distance between paces.
      Professor Webb "; S15[44]=" has also recently excavated two 17,000-year-old skeletal remains found about six kilometres away.
      'They were athletic and very strong and fit.
  "; S16[44]="     I assume some of the men on this site were very similar,' he said.
      Dave Johnston, chairman of the elders "; S17[44]=" corporation, said the site was closed to the public to preserve it, and the elders were developing a management, conservation and tourism plan.
    "; S18[44]="   The team, including Matthew Cupper of the University of Melbourne and Richard Robins of the University of New England, have published results on 124 "; S19[44]=" footprints online ahead of print publication in the Journal of Human Evolution.
      Summary:
      * 457 footprints, made by "; S20[44]=" adults and children, found in Mungo National Park.
     
      * Footprints 19,000-23,000 years old... "; R[45]="269"; T[45]="Preparedness for an Emergency Animal Disease Outbreak"; A[45]="By ... RIRDC Publication No 05/131"; Dn[45]="20060222"; Dt[45]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[45]="a04a33a48a85"; B1[45]="      For a nation like Australia, which exports around 80% of its total agricultural production, and where the processed food industry is the "; B2[45]="largest employer in regional areas, the risk of a major outbreak of an Emergency Animal Disease (EAD), such as Foot-and-Mouth, is a major concern... "; B3[45]=" "; B4[45]=" "; B5[45]=" "; S1[45]="      For a nation like Australia, which exports around 80% of its total agricultural production, and where the processed food industry is the "; S2[45]=" largest employer in regional areas, the risk of a major outbreak of an Emergency Animal Disease (EAD), such as Foot-and-Mouth, is a major concern.
  "; S3[45]="     An outbreak of such a disease would devastate Australia's livestock industry, cause severe financial hardship, result in considerable social disruption for whole communities "; S4[45]=" and threaten the national economy.
      While there are national strategy plans in place to quickly and effectively deal with an outbreak, there "; S5[45]=" is some uncertainty as to how communities will cope if a crisis occurs.
      The purpose of this research was to assess the "; S6[45]=" level of preparedness at the individual farmer and small community level for a possible emergency animal disease outbreak and identify those social factors that facilitate "; S7[45]=" or inhibit the implementation and maintenance of disease control plans.
      The research also assessed the potential social impact of an EAD outbreak "; S8[45]=" upon small rural communities.
      The research comprised three independent studies.
      First, on a visit to Devon and Cornwall in "; S9[45]=" July 2004, information was gathered on the social impact of the 2001 Foot-and-Mouth epidemic three years on and on the current level of biosecurity on "; S10[45]=" UK farms.
      Interviews with farmers and support service personnel revealed that the most significant consequences of the FMD outbreak was the poor "; S11[45]=" communication between government and local communities, the social isolation of farm families and the social divisions that occurred within some communities.
      Community "; S12[45]=" recovery was instigated through church and volunteer community groups that emerged to provide a coordinated, comprehensive network of support for the farming community.
    "; S13[45]="   Despite the catastrophic consequences of the FMD outbreak, there was a level of complacency about biosecurity amongst UK farmers.
      Most "; S14[45]=" tended to believe that responsibility for biosecurity lay with those government agencies responsible for quarantine measures and should another FMD outbreak eventuate, there was little "; S15[45]=" that farmers could do about it.
      Second, a mail survey of 3000 Australian livestock producers across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria "; S16[45]=" assessed their level of knowledge about emergency animal diseases.
      The study revealed a high level of concern about the threat of disease "; S17[45]=" outbreak amongst producers.
      Most sourced information about emergency animal diseases from newspapers and radios.
      However, should an outbreak occur, "; S18[45]=" farmers would first seek advice from their local Department of Primary Industry, RLPB officers or local vet people they know and trust within their local "; S19[45]=" community.
      Furthermore, if producers found unusual symptoms in their stock they would first report it to their local vet.
      "; S20[45]=" Few would use the emergency disease hotline.
      Few respondents were aware of biosecurity plans at the community level.. "; R[46]="268"; T[46]="Facts and fixes for safer farms"; A[46]="By ... Editor"; Dn[46]="20060222"; Dt[46]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[46]="a05a09a48"; B1[46]="      Death and injury rates on Australian farms are unacceptably high, and action must be taken to improve farm safety, Parliamentary Secretary for "; B2[46]="Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Senator Richard Colbeck said last week... "; B3[46]=" "; B4[46]=" "; B5[46]=" "; S1[46]="      Death and injury rates on Australian farms are unacceptably high, and action must be taken to improve farm safety, Parliamentary Secretary for "; S2[46]=" Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Senator Richard Colbeck said last week.
      Senator Colbeck was launching a new series of seven booklets, the Facts "; S3[46]=" and Figures on Farm Health and Safety Series, along with two manuals on managing safety risks for horticulture and beef cattle production, from the Farm "; S4[46]=" Health and Safety Joint Research Venture.
      'The Facts and Figures on Farm Health and Safety Series of booklets provide a snapshot of "; S5[46]=" data on deaths and injuries across a number of rural industries.
      The 825 accidental deaths on farms between 1999 and 2002 represent "; S6[46]=" 825 tragedies to Australian families, tragedies that were quite possibly avoidable,' he said.
      'In addition to the personal pain and grief that "; S7[46]=" these deaths and injuries cause, they represent significant losses in production to the $30 billion contribution that Australian rural industries contribute to the economy.' 'In "; S8[46]=" many cases the injuries and fatalities described in these booklets can be easily prevented through the use of simple safety equipment and techniques, and Managing "; S9[46]=" Horticulture Production Safety and Managing Beef Cattle Production Safety provide detailed guidelines for implementing health and safety risk management processes for those industries,' Senator Colbeck "; S10[46]=" said.
      'The farm is a unique work environment, often placing family homes alongside workplaces using heavy machinery, vehicles, and other potential hazards "; S11[46]=" like livestock and water storage.
      'The overlap between home and work life is an important part of the rural lifestyle, but it "; S12[46]=" involves serious dangers: every year around 30 children are killed in accidents on Australian farms, and most of them are under the age of four,' "; S13[46]=" Senator Colbeck said.
      The Farm Health and Safety Joint Research Venture is a collaboration between Research and Development Corporations and Companies, managed "; S14[46]=" by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.
      The seven booklets and the two manuals are available from the Rural Industries R&D "; S15[46]=" Corporation.
      Additional material, including guidelines for implementing safer practices in other rural industries, can be found on the FarmSafe website: www.farmsafe.org.au.. "; R[47]="247"; T[47]="Doctors ideas for healthier population"; A[47]="By ... Editor"; Dn[47]="20060222"; Dt[47]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[47]="a09a48"; B1[47]="      AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today the Federal Government has a unique opportunity with the 2006-07 Federal Budget to introduce simple "; B2[47]="and affordable initiatives to equip the health system to cater to the health needs of an ageing population and the most disadvantaged in the community, "; B3[47]="including Indigenous Australians... "; B4[47]=" "; B5[47]=" "; S1[47]="      AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today the Federal Government has a unique opportunity with the 2006-07 Federal Budget to introduce simple "; S2[47]=" and affordable initiatives to equip the health system to cater to the health needs of an ageing population and the most disadvantaged in the community, "; S3[47]=" including Indigenous Australians.
      The AMA lodged its submission on 11 November, in keeping with the deadline set by Treasurer Peter Costello.
  "; S4[47]="     Dr Haikerwal said that building on the strengths of the Australian health system is a priority and would be a responsible investment of "; S5[47]=" some of the Government's $13.5 billion budget surplus.
      'Spending on health must be looked upon as an investment in the future and "; S6[47]=" prosperity of the nation, not a cost,' Dr Haikerwal said.
      'Australia is facing some interesting challenges in the years ahead as we "; S7[47]=" seek to reconcile available health resources with high and rising expectations, an ageing population, and a growing burden of chronic disease.
      'We "; S8[47]=" need to make strategic new investments in the health workforce and health programs that will lift our performance in preventative health, make our national health "; S9[47]=" spending more effective, and improve the health of all Australians.
      'The AMA has identified obesity as a national crisis and is calling "; S10[47]=" for a National Nutrition Centre to provide a focus for policy, research and education in the battle against obesity, especially in younger Australians.
    "; S11[47]="   'We have also highlighted the need for considerable increased funding in the areas of mental health and Indigenous health, and for our public hospitals.
"; S12[47]="       'The other key area for action is the medical workforce and our submission sets out specific affordable initiatives to train, retain and "; S13[47]=" support doctors and their practices.
      'We hope the Government will seriously consider our budget submission in the interests of providing better health "; S14[47]=" services for patients and communities for the long term,' Dr Haikerwal said.
      The AMA Federal Budget Submission 2006-07 is available on the "; S15[47]=" AMA website at http://www.ama.com.au.. "; R[48]="226"; T[48]="Rural doctor plan rejected"; A[48]="By ... Editor"; Dn[48]="20060222"; Dt[48]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[48]="a05a06a09a48"; B1[48]="      MEDICARE provider numbers would be redistributed along geographic lines, with communities given greater say over the future of the public health system, "; B2[48]="under a NSW Government plan to address the doctor shortage in rural and remote Australia... "; B3[48]=" "; B4[48]=" "; B5[48]=" "; S1[48]="      MEDICARE provider numbers would be redistributed along geographic lines, with communities given greater say over the future of the public health system, "; S2[48]=" under a NSW Government plan to address the doctor shortage in rural and remote Australia.
      At a health ministers' meeting today in "; S3[48]=" Adelaide, NSW Health Minister John Hatzistergos will call on the commonwealth to tie provider numbers to postcodes in an effort to draw doctors out of "; S4[48]=" over-serviced inner-urban areas.
      Mr Hatzistergos said yesterday that he wanted to ensure 'the community who pays for the system owns the system'.
"; S5[48]="       'It seems ridiculous that people who pay for the medical system have a card which doesn't transact a service,' he said.
  "; S6[48]="     'This is about giving the community ownership of the system.
      The community would take ownership of provider numbers which practitioners "; S7[48]=" would access.' But a spokeswoman for federal Health Minister Tony Abbott - who will use the meeting to assess the states' preparedness for any bird "; S8[48]=" flu outbreak - rejected the proposal.
      Mr Abbott's spokeswoman said the commonwealth could not force people to work and live in certain "; S9[48]=" areas.
      However, she said overseas-trained doctors were dispatched to areas of need and students bonded to regions with workforce shortages as governments "; S10[48]=" sought to develop broader and more realistic training networks.
      Australian Medical Association president Mukesh Haikerwal said Mr Hatzistergos's proposal was 'backward thinking'.
"; S11[48]="       Dr Haikerwal, who is working on the AMA's wishlist for rural and remote medicine, urged governments to instead consider HECS reimbursements, grants "; S12[48]=" and other incentives.
      'People need to be encouraged and enticed to go to rural areas, not forced to go there by such "; S13[48]=" draconian measures that make rural areas sound worse than they really are,' he said... "; R[49]="215"; T[49]="Honour for food label campaigner"; A[49]="By ... Editor"; Dn[49]="20060222"; Dt[49]="Wednesday 22 February 2006"; Acats[49]="a04a05a10a17a18a48a54"; B1[49]="      A Farmer who led a tractor convoy to the nation s political centre to save the Tasmanian vegetable industry has been named "; B2[49]="the state s Australian of the Year... "; B3[49]=" "; B4[49]=" "; B5[49]=" "; S1[49]="      A Farmer who led a tractor convoy to the nation's political centre to save the Tasmanian vegetable industry has been named the "; S2[49]=" state's Australian of the Year.
      Richard Bovill gained national backing in July with his Fair Dinkum Food Campaign.
      From "; S3[49]=" Don, near Devonport in the state's north, he proved impossible to ignore when he arrived in Canberra with 2000 people demanding clearer labelling of food "; S4[49]=" to support Australian growers.
      Warren Pearson, national director of the National Australia Day Council, said Mr Bovill's drive and leadership made him "; S5[49]=" an inspirational Australian.
      'The Fair Dinkum Food Campaign Richard led voiced the issues facing the Australian farming community and, as a result, "; S6[49]=" put the issue of country-of-origin labelling on the national agenda,' he said.
      Mr Bovill was presented with the honour at Hobart's Henry "; S7[49]=" Jones Art Hotel last night.
      He will return to the lawns of Canberra's Parliament House to compete in the national awards on "; S8[49]=" January 25... ";