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Thursday 4th July 1996

International:

The Federal Government will slash the migrant intake by 10,000 and crack down on shame marriages in a major shake-up of the immigration laws.

Skilled labor applicants will be increased by 4,000 per annum in an attempt to halt the imbalance of immigrants going straight onto the dole - currently at 34%!

The 10.8% cut in Australia's immigration intake was immediately condemned by the Opposition and ethnic groups.

The major points are:

Political:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) chairperson, Lois O'Donoghue yesterday warned the Prime Minister that his government was alienating moderate Aboriginal leaders.

Mrs O'Donoghue said ATSIC and wider Aboriginal and Islander communities had felt under seige since the election of the Coalition Government. The relationship between the Government and the community had deteriorated she siad.

Mrs O'Donoghue and Mr Howard spent much of the meeting discussing the performance of Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Herron.

Business:

The Federal Government's plan to protect the proposed Century Zinc mine from native title claims faces uncertainty in the Senate after the Opposition accused the Government of holding a gun to the head of Aborigines opposed to the project.

Separate Queensland laws to secure the Au$1.1 billion mine's tenure could become bogged down in the courts after Gulf Aborigines vowed to fight them to the end.

Two Aboriginal legal advisers said yesterday that any legal challenge to the move would have to break new ground on how to compensate for loss of hunting grounds and spiritual ties to the ground.

Century Zinc has made it clear that it needs security of title over the mine and a corridor for an associated pipeline to Karumba by September 30th to ensure that the project gioes ahead.

Sport:

The Super League aligned Fiji Rugby League has dropped legal action aimed at stopping tomorrow week's "international" involving the Bob Fulton coached Australians and a "rebel" Fijian side in Newcastle .

A court battle was averted yesterday when the Australian Rugby League (ARL) gave an undertaking not to advertise or promote the rebel side as "Fiji".

Instead the ARL will refer to the Noel Cleal coached side as "National Rugby League Fiji", the name of a club cometition in Fiji supported by the ARL.

What a total mess the game has become!

Social:

Teenagers have a starry eyed, idealistic view of pregnancy and parenthood, according to a new study.

The survey of 1,344 Year 11 and 12 students by psychiatry professor John Condon of Adelaide's Flinders University found that two-thirds of students surveyed believed that a couple came closer in their relationship during pregnancy.

They also believed that children would always turn out well if they had caring parents.

One-third said that they though that children would improve their relationship with their partner and they believed good parenting came naturally.

Dr Condon said the researchers were surprised at the high level of idealism.

On a more somber note the parents of one of the victims of the horrific Blackhawk helicopter accident last month Mr and Mrs Col Baker have been informed by the Defence Force that they would have to prove that they were "financially dependent" on their son before they received any compensation for his death.

Previously the Federal Government had said that relations of victims would receive at least Au$150,000 each.

Mrs Baker said that they were told in a callous and cold manner that they could sue the Federal Government if they wanted to pursue the matter.

Geez... one wonders which petty bureaucrat screwed this one up. He or she should be the one put on trial in the courts - not the grieving parents!

Personal trivia, from the global office:

Another cold start to the day. It is now overcast and looks like it could even drizzle today. Another one spent in the sanctity of the global office.


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