Fears births will be brought forward

Sydney Morning Herald - Sunday 19th May, 2013

His concern this time is that births will be brought forward. ''Frankly, I think this is worse,'' he said. ''The delay increased birth weights, and I recall one study that showed that could be beneficial. But in this case, we are likely to suffer from earlier births, meaning lower birth weights.'' Asked at the National Press Club on Wednesday whether he ...

Business supports more tax on goods as Coalition puts GST on table for review

Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

PREMIER Campbell Newman has stopped short of joining a growing push to consider an increase in the goods and services tax under a Tony Abbott-led government. NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell yesterday called for a "fair dinkum" discussion about the GST because he said inefficient state taxes were harming investment and employment. Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey had fanned the debate when ...

Queensland is No.1 in drugs arrests

Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

QUEENSLAND is earning the title of Australia's drug capital, with more arrests than any other state and the second-highest number of drug seizures. The Australian Crime Commission's annual Illicit Drug Data Report, set to be released publicly today, shows Queensland had more cannabis and steroid seizures than any other state and nearly a third of the nation's cocaine. The ACC's ...

Northern weather in wacky way as cycle of wet and dry more unpredictable

Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

NORTH Queensland graziers who missed the monsoon rain had better get used to erratic weather patterns. Scientists have analysed more than 80 years of data and found that the seasonal cycle of wet and dry is becoming more unpredictable. Duke and Princeton university engineers in the US warn this could have dire consequences for agriculture and tropical economies, describing the trend in northern ...

Doctor anxious after his horses in virus scare

Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

SEVEN people exposed to lyssavirus from an infected horse at a Darling Downs equestrian complex have been offered rabies vaccinations. It is the first time lyssavirus has been found in a horse and the first time that infection occurred from insect-eating microbats rather than the much larger flying foxes. Queensland Health staff have been at Highborne Farm near Allora on the Darling Downs over ...

Kids care should be outsourced says Queenslands child protection chief Commissioner Tim Carmody

Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

QUEENSLAND'S child protection chief says the State Government should be stripped of its role in placing children and become an oversight body. Commissioner Tim Carmody, who headed the child protection inquiry, says self regulation is risky and the Department of Child Safety should explain its decisions in allowing some children in care to remain in placements where they have experienced ...

Family of transgender woman 21 forced to move from Queensland regional area due to lack of support

Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

A SCHOOL principal and her family are moving to Brisbane because her transgender child, 21, cannot get sympathetic help from allied health professionals in their regional area. The mother said that 18 months ago their child, who was born a boy, revealed she had felt she was a girl since the age of 14. The mother said it was "a great relief" to her and her husband when she told them why ...

Five year tests fall short older drivers now face annual medical test

Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

QUEENSLAND'S oldest drivers will have to pass annual medicals to stay on the road under licensing changes being introduced by the Newman Government. Transport Minister Scott Emerson yesterday unveiled the changes recommended by an expert panel, which include an overhaul of the Q-Safe driving test, to be phased in over two years from mid-2014. He said the requirement that medical certificates ...

Boy critical after carnival ride accident

ABC Australia - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Highfields 4352 A five-year-old boy is fighting for his life in hospital after being thrown from a carnival ride at a school fete in south-east Queensland.Paramedics say the boy suffered serious head injuries and suspected fractures in the incident at Highfields, just north of Toowoomba.Emergency services were called to the Mary MacKillop Catholic School fete on Highfields Road just before 2pm ...

Corruption link angers Warner

Brisbane Times - Sunday 19th May, 2013

An early morning text message from a friend in Australia is believed to have sparked the Twitter tirade from David Warner that has resulted in the opener being reported by Cricket Australia for an alleged breach of the body's code of behaviour. Warner was enraged after a friend sent a picture of ...

Plane lands safely at Archerfield Airport after emergency call reporting landing gear failure

Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

A PLANE carrying two people has landed safely at Archerfield Airport after rescue crews rushed to the landing strip prepared for an emergency landing. The plane put out an earlier emergency call that it was having problems with its landing gear as it approached Archerfield Airport. An emergency services spokeswoman said the light plane carrying a pilot and passenger would try to land at the ...

Carlton forward Jarrad Waite will be fit to play against Brisbane Lions

Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

CARLTON coach Mick Malthouse says star forward Jarrad Waite will be fit to play against Brisbane next week, despite being subbed in the Blues three-goal win over Port Adelaide. Malthouse and Waite confirmed he was not injured after being subbed at three-quarter time to allow Troy Menzel make his debut. Murphy the star as Blues switch off Power The Blues were 33 points up but had to fight hard in ...

Warner incensed after image linked him to IPL corruption

Brisbane Times - Sunday 19th May, 2013

An early morning text message from a friend in Australia is believed to have sparked the Twitter tirade from David Warner that has resulted in the opener being reported by Cricket Australia for an alleged breach of the body's code of behaviour. Warner was enraged after a friend sent a picture of ...

Tapping our inner-Greek till last light

Brisbane Times - Sunday 19th May, 2013

View all 17 photos Tens of thousands of people have enjoyed the weather, fine food, wine and dance at the 2013 Paniyiri at Brisbane’s Musgrave Park this weekend. 
As the last of the autumn sun began to lose its warmth yesterday there was still sizeable crowd in Musgrave Park in front of the Greek Club at South Brisbane. It included those who are part and parcel of Brisbane’s ...

Join our Eurovision 2013 live blog

Sydney Morning Herald - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Maybe you tuned in to The Voice, only to discover it wasn't on? Or perhaps you've been waiting all year for tonight? Either way, join us for the Sunday night broadcast of the 2013 Eurovision grand final as live from 7.30pm (AEST). Spoiler-free but sarcasm-heavy, this is the place to read along while you love the song-fest madness and comment on the goings on. One rule: If you give away ...

Westpac cuts fixed home loan rates

Brisbane Times - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Westpac has fired the latest salvo in the fixed-rate home loan wars as lenders battle for new borrowers following the Reserve Bank's cash rate cut. The bank dropped its one-year fixed rate home loans to 4.79 per cent, while its Bank of Melbourne and St George divisions lowered their one to five-year fixed rates to below 5 per cent. "It's a further continuation of injecting more ...

Stolen car driven by teen kills father Mal Osborne 58 in horrific crash at Beenleigh on his way to work

Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

WORKMATES have paid tribute to the man who was tragically killed in a high-speed car crash in Brisbane's south yesterday. Mal Osborne, 58, was driving to work about 8am Saturday when a white Holden Commodore veered onto the wrong side of Milne Rd in Beenleigh and crashed head-on with his car. The Commodore had been stolen from a Beenleigh house on Friday night and was being driven by a ...

Cash needed for remote area doctors

Brisbane Times - Sunday 19th May, 2013

The Royal Flying Doctor Service has blamed the federal government for a shortage of doctors in remote areas, saying they are not stumping up enough cash to lure doctors to where they are needed most. The bonuses doctors get for working in very remote areas are too similar to the bonuses for working in coastal regional cities such as Townsville, according to Anita Hansen, RFDS deputy general ...

Cooper out Folau in Wallabies squad for Lions

West Australian - Sunday 19th May, 2013

SYDNEY (AFP) - Maverick playmaker Quade Cooper was left out of a 25-man Wallaby squad but code-hopper Israel Folau was chosen on Sunday after just 11 Super Rugby matches for next month's series against the British and Irish Lions.Cooper was passed over for James O'Connor at fly-half when coach Robbie Deans announced his initial squad with a further six names to be added shortly before ...

Four opt for bat virus vaccine

News.com.au - Saturday 18th May, 2013

AT LEAST four people who came into contact with a horse infected with the bat-borne lyssavirus in Queensland have chosen to undergo preventative ...

Probe ordered after cattle perish without water

ABC Australia - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Ayr 4807 Queensland Agriculture Minister John McVeigh says he is disgusted that 46 cattle have died from thirst at a government-run research station in the state's north.The heifers were found dead at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's Swans Lagoon facility near Ayr earlier this month.They had been left in a holding paddock with no water after a muster at the ...

Rolf Harris first show since arrest

Brisbane Times - Saturday 18th May, 2013

ROLF Harris made an odd choice for a final encore, considering. "This was the first verse that he wrote," he said by way of introduction to Lead ...