AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, Feb 18

AAP General News (Australia)
02-18-2009
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, Feb 18
Midday Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1130


US Stimulus Sign (DENVER)

US President BARACK OBAMA has signed into law his 787 billion dollar ($A1.2 trillion)
stimulus bill aimed at creating millions of jobs and boosting consumer spending.

The most far-reaching US economic legislation in years aims to reverse America's economic
freefall .. pumping money into infrastructure projects .. health care .. renewable energy
development and conservation.

And in his first major military decision .. OBAMA has approved the deployment of 17
thousand more troops to Afghanistan.

He says there's no more solemn duty as president than to send armed forces into harm's
way .. but they're needed to stabilise a deteriorating situation.

Bushfires Vic Killed (CANBERRA)

The Canberra firefighter who died in Victoria's bushfires last night was a professional
fireman with a young family.

The 58-year-old was killed at Cambarville .. east of Melbourne .. when a tree fell
on him .. the first firefighter to die in the ferocious fires that have claimed at least
200 lives.

ACT Emergency Services Commissioner GREGOR MANSON says the man was a full-time member
of the ACT Fire Brigade .. which makes the accident even more extraordinary.

Back on the frontline .. the fire at Wilsons Promontory on Victoria's southernmost
tip was whipped up by strong winds yesterday and is still causing crews the most concern
today.

Four fires are burning out of control across the state .. including the northern and
southern sections of the 220 thousand hectare Kilmore Murrindindi complex fires and the
Churchill and Bunyip fires .. but there's no current threat to communities.



Bushfires Vic Macklin (CANBERRA)

Centrelink has paid out almost 13 million dollars in emergency payments to victims
of the Victorian bushfires.

The agency was criticised last week for delaying payments to those who were unable
to provide sufficient forms of identification.

Federal Families and Community Services Minister JENNY MACKLIN says they're now swinging
into income recovery subsidies for people who can't work while they try to rebuild their
lives.

She says Centrelink's also being kept busy providing income support to victims of the
north Queensland floods .. and is looking at what assistance may be needed for flooding
victims in northern NSW.



Rain NSW/Floods (SYDNEY/BRISBANE)

The heavy rain's finally easing in the north of Queensland and New South Wales .. but
whole communities remain stranded.

In NSW .. Premier NATHAN REES says severely flooded areas on the state's mid-north
coast could join rain-sodden Bourke in being declared natural disaster zones.

The SES says more than four thousand people are still isolated by floodwaters along
the Bellinger River .. and Emergency Services Minister STEVE WHAN's touring the area to
assess the situation.

In Queensland .. the Australian Defence Force is having another go at delivering a
water purification system to the flooded Gulf of Carpentaria community of Karumba today.

Karumba's surviving on bottled water and a limited town water supply after the main
water pipeline burst six days ago.

And there'll be fodder drops worth up to three million dollars for thousands of cattle
stranded in the Gulf .. with the flood zone between Croydon and Normanton a priority.

Workplace Unions (SYDNEY)

Unions will call for amendments to the Fair Work Bill at a Senate hearing being held
in Sydney today.

Unions NSW secretary MARK LENNON has welcomed the bill that'll rewrite Australia's
industrial laws and supercede the Howard government's controversial Work Choices.

But he wants it amended so not all workers are required to be part of the national
system .. at the cost of conditions like access to arbitration in a dispute with an employer.



RBA Edey (SYDNEY)

A senior Reserve Bank official says the impact of the global recession on Australia
will be worse than the downturn of the early 1990s.

Assistant governor of economics MALCOLM EDEY says economic weakness in Australia's
major trading partners like Japan means the local economy is more linked to the financial
crisis.

He's told an economic conference in Sydney .. 2009 is shaping up to the global economy's
most difficult year since World War Two .. but Australia's better placed than other countries
to ride out the crisis because our financial system's in better shape.



US Auto GM (DETROIT)

Holden's US parent company General Motors says it may need up to 30 billion dollars
in US government loans .. as it implements a survival plan that includes cutting 47 thousand
jobs and closing five more US factories.

GM has submitted the dire plan to the US Treasury Department .. to explain how the
Detroit carmaker will become viable and repay its loans.

US Schneider (LOS ANGELES)

In America .. two homeless men have pleaded guilty to the horrific San Diego beach
bashing of Aussie surfer ROBERT SCHNEIDER a year ago.

The attack left the 21-year-old with severe burns .. a fractured skull .. broken wrist
and cuts to his face and body.

After plea deals .. DAMIAN MAPLE and FRANCISCO ANTONIO MONTOYA will serve 14 years
and two years in jail respectively .. when they could have been behind bars for life.

in Finance ..




At 11.15am (AEDT), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was DOWN 94.1 points at 3,370.2 while
the broader All Ordinaries Index FELL 86.1 points to 3,326.1.

The Australian dollar was at 63.79 US cents, DOWN from Tuesday's local close of 64.14 cents.

It was at 50.63 euro cents, DOWN from 50.75 euro cents on Tuesday.

The spot price of gold in Sydney was $US968.10, UP $US8.95 from $US959.15 per fine
ounce on Tuesday.



in Sport ..

League Tigers (SYDNEY)

NRL boss DAVID GALLOP has put the brakes on Wests Tigers star BENJI MARSHALL's hopes
of playing rugby union in Japan.

GALLOP says the NRL will not allow MARSHALL to play in Japan without finalising a new
deal with the Tigers and then re-signing for the club when he returned early next year.

MARSHALL is off contract at the end of the season and had hoped to supplement his income
with a lucrative spell in Japan in the 2009 and 2010 offseasons.

GALLOP says he can't see how it would be in league's best interests to allow a star
player to play for one of the sport's competitors.



Shield Tas (HOBART)

Western Australia have added eight runs without losing a wicket to lead Tasmania by
131 runs on day three of the Sheffield Shield match at Bellerive Oval.

Overnight batsmen STEVE MAGOFFIN is on 18 with JOSH MANGAN on 11 -- WA are 8-105.

Tiger CHRIS DUVAL has taken four wickets.



ENDS MIDDAY ROUND-UP

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