the kelly gang

Forty years ago, "13 bloody housewives" from Hunters Hill decided to take on the developers in an effort to save a patch of bush. They were shunned by neighbours and labelled communists but defied their critics to help instigate the world's first green ban. Helen Pitt meets the surviving "Battlers for Kelly's Bush".

Bell damage claim

AFL. A Melbourne footballer diagnosed with brain damage that has been linked to multiple concussions he sustained over a 66-match AFL career is seeking damages through the AFL Players' Association compensation claim procedures. Daniel Bell, the No.14 draft pick of 2002 who the Demons delisted last year, has lodged his claim after a neuropsychologist found his cognitive function had deteriorated significantly. Bell, 25, had planned to continue playing this year but has been strongly advised against it given the risk of further damage. If his compensation case is approved, he stands to be awarded 50 per cent of the base wage of his last contract. It is a sum of under $100,000, but a claim Bell has agonised over pursuing. "I still love the club and I don't want to put them out," he said. He stressed he is not claiming Demons' doctors mismanaged him.

Language tests should change: Libs

ENGLISH language tests were being used as a trade barrier to restrict temporary workers coming into Australia, the opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, said yesterday.

One hit too many: former AFL player seeks compensation for impact of head injuries

A RECENTLY retired AFL footballer is seeking compensation from his former club after he was diagnosed with brain damage linked to the multiple concussions he sustained during his career.

PM orders GST review to punish states that let economies stagnate

THE Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has ordered a review of the formula used to distribute the tens of billions of dollars raised by the GST.

Call to invest in infrastructure

AUSTRALIA should use the riches garnered from its resource-rich economy to counter its infrastructure backlog instead of establishing a sovereign wealth fund.

A cushion and a restraint, ours is a dollar for all seasons

Does the Australian dollar's meteoric rise to a post-float record of $US1.03 this week make you feel uneasy? The gut reaction of many people to a rise in the dollar is a combination of pride and fear.

Desal plant faces rorting accusation

RORTING on the Wonthaggi desalination project is rife, a paper will claim, while wages on the construction job are a third higher than a previous big project, EastLink.

ChemGenex offer spells a pretty pay day

US PHARMACEUTICAL giant Cephalon's $225 million offer yesterday for the locally listed ChemGenex was not only the closest thing to a sure bet for biotechnology watchers ��� it crystallised a nice pay day for management.

Imagine a tax system that penalised work

Among the negative effects of negative gearing are reduced housing affordability and supply, and reduced workforce participation.

Infrastructure is the issue: UBS

AUSTRALIA should use the proceeds from its resource-rich economy to counter its infrastructure backlog instead of establishing a sovereign wealth fund.

The biotech bets start to pay off

ChemGenex's chief Greg Collier stands to make $1.5m.

We're out of here, say hordes hankering for a state of satisfaction

PEOPLE are fleeing NSW at the rate of 50 packed cars a day. Figures show that NSW and South Australia are the only states experiencing significant net interstate emigration.

Papers may hold Balibo five clues

THE veil of secrecy obscuring what Australia knew about Indonesia��s 1975 invasion of East Timor has been pulled back a little, with a successful court challenge revealing never-before-seen details of secret intelligence briefings.

Events

Volunteers for the high life

Private rental too much for many families

SOARING rents in the private market have become too exorbitant for low-income workers across all capital cities in Australia.

Upheaval in Middle East a warning for developed economies

The growing convergence of politics and corporations is meat for conspiracy theorists and has political consequences.

Secrets of E Timor invasion to be revealed

THE veil of secrecy obscuring what Australia knew about Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor will be pulled back a little, after a successful court challenge against the censorship of secret intelligence briefings.

Welfare figures highest in decade

THE global financial crisis has left a bitter legacy with the number of people on welfare payments for more than a year rising to its highest level in a decade and by more than 100,000 people since late 2008.

Charities turn away needy Housing costs creating new poor

CHARITIES are turning away record numbers of needy people as they struggle to cope with the demand created by the housing affordability crisis.

Charities turning away needy

CHARITIES are turning away record numbers of needy people as they struggle to cope with the demand created by the housing affordability crisis.

Charities feel pressure as prices soar

STRUGGLING families are resorting to charities to cope with the escalating costs of essentials, including steep rises in government charges.

No longer the perk of yesteryear

DEPARTING MPs pocketing outsized pensions may dominate the headlines but, because of rule changes, the pension benefits for many of them are not much different to ordinary wage earners and will not be accessible until they turn 55.

Watson high and dry as NSW Labor suffers washout

ANNA Watson marked the first day after her election in Shellharbour visiting victims of last week's flood disaster at Barrack Point.

One small word, one giant leap for NSW

I voted for Clover Moore. I marked Clover "1" on my ballot paper even though in many ways my local member stands for the micro-managing, grimly earnest, nanny-state, tax-guzzling policies that I regard as the road to economic decline and social suffocation. As lord mayor of Sydney she has built the sort of monument to yourself you don't want. You could call it her monumental blunder: the $70 million network of bike lanes that run for kilometres through the cramped inner-city road system while remaining empty of cyclists in most places at most times. A classic victory of ideology over commonsense.

On education, the Baillieu government must do better

Schools are still in the dark about the Coalition's education agenda, writes Farrah Tomazin.

Power comes from other side of bridge

IN a seismic voter shift, the epicentre of power has just moved from Labor to the Liberals and from one side of Sydney Harbour to the other.

The Heckler

How many generals does it take to . . .

Great escape: Sydneysiders find better value

Fed up with high house prices? Some give up and head for more affordable capitals, writes Louise Schwartzkoff.

Enjoy oblivion, and your big fat pension

Don't cry for me, Argentina, the truth is I never left you. And so, as we farewell retiring NSW MPs today, we must not cry too hard. In a very real sense, they will never leave us; not in our hearts, nor in our wallets.

Making a sacred killing

Sportsmen deserve payment but must avoid slaying the golden goose.

Better no job at all than a bad one

It is heresy but here are the facts: it is better to be unemployed than to take a lousy job. The findings of impeccable research based on tracking 7000 Australians over seven years run counter to the maxim that any job is better than no job.

Sentenced to overtime

Are workplaces favouring families over singles? Kath Lockett investigates.

What glass ceiling?

IT has become one of the perennial myths, refreshed periodically by a very friendly study and embellished by women who forget that it was positive discrimination that put them on the gravy train.

Unfashionable side of Guggenheim's world

HUGO Boss, Estee Lauder, BMW, Conde Nast, Guggenheim. Which is the odd one out? The last is a leading international art museum, the others among its many corporate donors. All are luxury brands on the global market, symbols of a wealthy lifestyle and even wealthier taste.

Time to pester the pests

Parents have the power to wage war on junk-food ads.

$1.5 MILLION BLACK HOLE

KNIGHTS chairman Rob Tew admitted last night the club would need to "find additional funding" to cover a $1.5 million black hole next month if members voted against Nathan Tinkler's privatisation bid on March 31.

Clearing the air

How is the world reducing carbon emissions? In the first of a two-part series on tackling climate change, Adam Morton writes that progress is being made on some surprising fronts.

Illawarra loses a campaigner

ALLAN Richard Carriage, an elder of the Illawarra's Wadi Wadi people, died suddenly in Sydney on March 9.

LETTERS

Control and a new fight for civil rights

Charities slam equal-pay backflip

VICTORIA'S biggest charities and employers in the community sector have called on the Baillieu government to honour its promise to fund an equal pay case that could lead to much higher wages for tens of thousands of workers.

...AND ANOTHER THING

YET another backflip by Ted Baillieu on wages for industries that employ mainly women. Why should I be surprised? He is just another politician who will say and do anything to get into power and stuff the voters when he does. Pauline Ashton, Maribyrnong

Job ads reflect demand

New data suggests demand for labour will strengthen further this year and drive up wages.

topic's today

A FIERCE battle will be waged in the sky above the Hunter tomorrow as Aussie airmen vie for bragging rights over our Kiwi neighbours.

Letters

How much are our vulnerable worth?

The Premier owes Victorians an explanation

If promises are to be broken, we need to know the rationale.

Singer set to blitz vote

PORT-AU-PRINCE. Partial results suggest that singer Michel Martelly is on course for a landslide in quake-hit Haiti's remarkably peaceful presidential runoff election.

Even Heston's Duck looked like being shot

For restaurateurs who have done it tough, it can happen to the best of them. Heston Blumenthal ("I'm an absolute rubbish businessman") of The Fat Duck in the UK told diners at Tattersalls Club, Sydney, of the week he stared down the barrel of not being able to pay the wages.

Baillieu breaks second pay pledge

THE Baillieu government has moved to dump another costly election promise, warning of possible job cuts and reduced services if it had to fund a large pay rise as part of a landmark women's pay case for community workers.

Call for freeze on minimum wage rates

STRUGGLING independent supermarkets, restaurants, cafes and retailers have called for freezes in minimum wage rates because of tough trading conditions.

Pressure to boost teacher salaries

TEACHERS will put an incoming government under pressure to deliver significant salary increases as it faces a projected $1 billion budget blow-out in spending on education within two years.

Minimum wage rise

THE Australian Industry Group's full submission to Fair Work Australia on the minimum wage is now available and proposes that the national award minimum wage for adults be increased by $14 a week from July 1 this year.

YOUR LETTERS

Give workers a break THE usual suspects oppose the ACTU's claim for a rise in the minimum wage of $28 a week ("Minimum $28 pay rise push", Herald 19/3).

Sharks put the bite on Dragons

SHARKS 16 DRAGONS 10

New-found freedom or selling out to developers?

Anna Patty opined that the Department of Education and Training is implementing ideas based on a "manifesto for widespread cost savings" prepared by Boston Consulting Group ("Secret report administers a shock to the system", March 19-20). The proof? A trial in 47 schools that gives principals more control over the things that influence school improvement - staff, budget and assets.

Police wage pay dispute

ANOTHER rift is opening between the Baillieu government and the unions, with the Police Association accusing it of reneging on election promises over pay rises.

Uni students get a free ride for too long with their HECS debt

We pander to the snobbish middle-class at the expense of other school-leavers.

Push to limit rise

MINIMUM WAGE

BLUE BLOOD

The Real Madrid boss is football royalty, writes Graham Hunter, and Chelsea wants him back.

Secret cuts to schools

MORE than $1 billion in cuts has been targeted in a secret NSW Education Department blueprint that proposes closing more than 100 schools, axing 7500 teachers, selling surplus land and slashing the costs of programs for disadvantaged students.

Executive wages blow out health reform cost

EXECUTIVE wage bills will blow out by more than half under the federal health reforms, despite a commitment that the structural changes would not increase bureaucracy in the state.

The economist's law of relativity: prices make the world go around

Relative price changes add up to a shift in national resources, away from manufacturing to mining, writes Ross Gittins.

Yankee doodle diehards

The American Civil War was fought 150 years ago, but for many buffs it remains an enduring obsession.

When the price is right you're on the right track

If economists wore T-shirts what they'd say is PRICES MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND. Conventional economists are obsessed by prices. It took me ages to realise that economics isn't actually about the economy. It's about markets. So economists tend to ignore those parts of the economy that don't involve markets, such as the production and consumption of goods and services that go on inside households.

Thousands of teaching jobs on chopping block

NSW could shed as many as 7500 school teachers and 1500 support staff to save more than $750 million in recurrent costs.

Big increase sought for lowest paid

UNIONS will launch an aggressive bid to boost the wages of 1.4 million low-paid workers with the ACTU's minimum wage claim to range from $28 a week to $37.70.

LETTERS

Story one: a Sydney man, frustrated with the system, dumps a load of dirt on the Harbour Bridge. The overwhelming response from the media is fury; how could someone be so inconsiderate as to delay motorists?

Baillieu won't rule out budget cuts

TED Baillieu has refused to rule out further spending cuts amid warnings the state budget is facing "significant pressure" triggered by natural disasters, cost blowouts, rising wages and lower GST revenue.

Dairy farmers deserve a better deal

I am surprised there have not been any responses so far to Mark Davis's article about the cheek of dairy farmers daring to protest against Coles's cynical destruction of their industry in an effort to get more customers through their doors ("Milk wars overstated in an unholy alliance", March 12-13). Perhaps all the farmers are sunning themselves in Bali on their princely profits of $50,000 a year; perhaps, more likely, they are wondering just how many more knocks they can take before the whole milk market is totally destroyed.

Federal police fire 'beanbag' rounds

FEDERAL police have confirmed they shot "beanbag" rounds at Christmas Island detainees to quell protests.

Police fired 'bean bag' rounds and tear gas at detainees

AUSTRALIAN Federal Police have confirmed they shot "bean bag" rounds at Christmas Island detainees to quell protests there.

Nordic nations show the way to lift children out of poverty

If they can do it so can we, and taking action now will save a whole lot of grief later.

First timers' gloom

THE prospects for Melbourne's property market in 2011 remain positive, with recent data indicating a strengthening of Victoria's economic fundamentals. According to the latest Bureau of Statistics figures, full-time employment continues to grow significantly, the participation rate is at record levels and wages are rising.

Reduce the prize limit to stop problem gamblers

Adele Horin's column on problem gambling and pre-commitment ("Time to take a gamble on limits", March 12-13) is well-researched. But I fear she may have placed emphasis on the least cost-effective solution.

The milk shakedown: how much is froth?

You can��t judge a book by its cover, but can you judge food by its label? Ruth Williams investigates the marketing tactics used by big companies towoo you, the customer

Compare the value and close the gap

Do women receive equal pay for equal work? Four decades on from the landmark equal pay decision that was supposed to settle the matter, this question continues to open a can of worms.

Door open to wider clientele

A modified co-operative housing model could be the answer for people who thought the dream was over, writes Kate Robertson.

Fairtrade campaign aims to spread shopping goodwill

THEY would rather call it a "filmic petition" than an ad. Either way, the Fairtrade movement has launched its first global commercial through an Australian agency.

1960

The newly elected deputy leader of the federal opposition, Gough Whitlam, listened as Prime Minister Robert Menzies made one of his most sarcastic speeches for months, at the expense of Opposition Leader Arthur Calwell. When rising to speak, Whitlam started nervously but warmed to the occasion, accusing Menzies of "quoting only one authority, himself" and having done so "with loving care on many occasions". Whitlam had his own side of the house laughing and even government members were inclined to smile. Whitlam said that for months the government had campaigned on inflation, thereby putting improper pressure on the Arbitration Court, which had applied for an increase in the basic wage.

Beautiful one day, on the market the next

House prices crashing? Dublin? Las Vegas? No, try Noosa Heads, writes Adam Schwab.

Baillieu breaks promise that matters

AS POLICY promises go, this one was as clear and as significant as they come. "Victorian teachers will become the highest paid in Australia," Ted Baillieu stated long before he was premier. The promise was first made in 2008, so The Age made a point of checking the policy just before last year's election. Coalition education spokesman Martin Dixon, now Education Minister, confirmed the commitment. The day after his first cabinet meeting, however, Mr Baillieu said talk of such a pay rise reflected "a commentary that we made in the past". His government has now signalled it is likely to break the long-standing promise.

Baillieu's call to teachers

PREMIER Ted Baillieu has called for "good faith" negotiations over a new pay deal for teachers despite walking away from his election promise to make them the best paid in Australia.

Life lessons in a kitchen

IN ANY reality program, there's a fine line between opportunity and exploitation. But when your cast consists of people for whom one false move can mean a return to prison, the stakes are higher than ever.

Rival airlines fly different routes

I would love to have been a fly on the wall at recent meetings between Qantas' major institutional shareholder, Capital Group, and the pilots union boss, Barry Jackson.

Ready to take off, Qantas workers launch pay fight

THEY are the smiling face of Australia's biggest airline - baring the brunt of passengers' fury if a flight is cancelled or delayed.

Baillieu to renege on teacher pay

THE Baillieu government is poised to break a key election promise to make Victoria's government school teachers the best paid in the nation.

Sham contracts inquiry slammed

AN INQUIRY into sham contracting set up by the Labor-appointed head of the building industry watchdog has been accused of being "ideological" and involving a move away from a policing role of the industry to a "social policy" one.

Gender equality? It's more dream than reality

Too many Australian women still earn less than men.

All things being equal

When it comes to gender equality, Norway is way ahead of Australia. But even with progressive attitudes and legislation come unexpected problems. Roslyn Guy reports.

MASTERCHEF ADITYA BAJPAI

ADITYA "Eddie" Bajpai was born in the Himalayas in northern India. He was brought up in the Hindu Brahmin culture, which does not allow the eating of meat, onions or garlic.

O'Farrell quashes privatisation jibes

THE Coalition has guaranteed unions that it will not sell Sydney Water and will keep Sydney Ferries, RailCorp and State Transit in "public hands" as the state government continues its push to convince voters that Barry O'Farrell is planning widespread privatisation.

1922

At Hurstville, the Labor Premier for New South Wales, James Dooley, was asked why the government was not conducting a referendum on prohibition of alcohol. Mr Dooley replied: "Why don't you ask [opposition leader] Sir George Fuller why he is waiting for three years before he takes one? If Sir George Fuller said he would wait for 10 years, some people would be satisfied. Some people, who are conservative first and liquor reformers second, are using it as an attempt to injure the labour movement." When cheering subsided, Mr Dooley said: "The government takes the position that an impartial tribunal should first investigate the workings of prohibition in America."

PM should look to own choice if sanctity the issue

I am surprised that no one has raised the irony of the Prime Minister cohabiting with her partner outside of marriage (Letters, March 4). It is her right, of course, and a commonly made choice for many Australians - except for gay couples, whom she continues to deny the right to choose between co-habitation or marriage.

PICK OF THE DAY - WEDNESDAY MARCH 9

RATING: 2/5

Trust me, says watch-this-space Health Minister

David Davis is still coy about his plans to remedy the state's ailing health system, writes Jill Stark.

Democrat dilemma over anti-union bill

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker may begin sending notices to public-employee unions today warning them that members may be fired within 30 days.

TELEVISION

EROTIC TALES

BRIEFS

Set an award rate for surrogacy

PM plans push for UN role

JULIA Gillard will lunch with media magnate Rupert Murdoch and campaign hard for Australia's bid for the UN Security Council during her first trip to the US as Prime Minister.

There's a better devil to know

Financiers whose preoccupations are civic, not selfish, are needed, writes Terrence Keeley.