AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Evening, Dec 10

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2006
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Evening, Dec 10
Evening Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1630


Bushfires Vic DSE (MELBOURNE)

Bushfire conditions are expected to worsen across Victoria .. as a cool and windy weather
change sweeps through the state some time before midnight.

The fires have raged through more than 270 thousand hectares .. threatening rural communities
across the state's north-east and east .. threatening more flare-ups as wind shifts arrive.

New fires have broken out in the state's south-west near Camperdown .. claiming one
house and threatening others .. as well as in Bright in the north-east Alpine district.

Fires are also bearing down on the rural district of Germantown near Bright and Waterford
in Gippsland .. and residents are warned to watch out for burning embers.

More than three thousand firefighters are working hard to hold containment lines ..

as temperatures hover around 40 degrees.



Labor Frontbench (CANBERRA)

Opposition leader KEVIN RUDD's announced the make-up of Labor's new-look front bench.

As part of the line up .. deputy leader JULIA GILLARD becomes shadow industrial relations
minister.

NICOLA ROXON is the new shadow Health Minister.

STEPHEN SMITH is shadow education and training minister .. ROBERT MCCELLAND is shadow
foreign affairs minister .. while JOEL FITZGIBBON takes on defence.

PETER GARRETT takes on climate change .. environment and heritage .. and the arts ..

replacing former environment spokesman ANTHONY ALBANESE .. who moves to water and infrastructure.

Mr ALBANESE's also been appointed manager of opposition business .. and KELVIN THOMPSON
becomes Labor's legal affairs spokesman.

WAYNE SWAN .. a strong backer of former leader KIM BEAZLEY .. retains the treasury
portfolio .. while CHRIS BOWEN becomes assistant treasury spokesman.



Labor Rudd Blame (BRISBANE)

MEANWHILE .. Mr RUDD has vowed to end the blame game between the states and commonwealth
over funding.

He and deputy JULIA GILLARD have started a 10-day listening tour of Australia in his
home town of Brisbane .. seeking policy ideas and introducing themselves to voters.

The new opposition leader says one of his priorities during the tour will be to convince
people he'll end blame-shifting between the states and commonwealth over funding.



US Shuttle Launch (CAPE CANAVERAL)

The US space shuttle Discovery's two rocket boosters successfully separated from the
orbiter today .. two minutes into its night launch towards the International Space Station.

Discovery's blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida .. on the first night
launch in four years.

The seven crew members are on a 12-day mission to rewire the International Space Station.



Deanejohns (PERTH)

The West Australian government says it'll reconsider the repatriation of Perth heroin
trafficker HOLLY DEANE-JOHNS if new information can support the move.

DEANE-JOHNS was sentenced in 2003 to 31 years in Thailand's notorious 'Bangkok Hilton'
prison .. after she was caught trying to send an envelope containing 10.4 grams of pure
heroin to Australia in 2000.



Climate Howard (CANBERRA)

Greens leader BOB BROWN says an inquiry announced by the Prime Minister into Australia's
possible involvement in a global emissions trading scheme .. is a sop to the coal industry.

Senator GREEN says by setting up a taskforce the government's avoiding the logical
first step of setting up a domestic carbon trading system .. and placing a carbon tax
on polluters to fund solar power.

JOHN HOWARD says he doesn't want Australia to squander its natural advantages of cheap
coal and plentiful uranium in the zeal to embrace new technologies.



Surf (SYDNEY)

New South Wales Police Minister JOHN WATKINS says the first anniversary of the Cronulla
riot has so far passed peacefully.

Police have stepped up patrols of Sydney's southern and eastern beaches this weekend
.. one year after racial violence broke out in North Cronulla on December 11.

Mr WATKINS says the only people running amok at Cronulla are the little nippers running
into the water .. exactly as it should be.



Hicks Ruddock (CANBERRA)

The Attorney-General PHILIP RUDDOCK says DAVID HICKS will face new charges as early
as next month .. after new regulations governing the military commission expected to try
him take effect.

Mr RUDDOCK says new US laws will take effect by January 17 .. meaning HICKS could face
charges within a few weeks of that date.




Tens of thousands of people in the central Philippines have been evacuated out of the
path of Typhoon Utor .. which has killed at least one person.




East Timor's government has banned exit visas to Syria .. amid concerns a vice syndicate
is trafficking women into prostitution in the Middle East.




Doctors from the NRMA CareFlight service say they'll walk off the job if the New South
Wales government follows through with a plan to hand the service to a Canadian multi-national
company.




The West Australian government says it'll trial cutting-edge technology .. to eradicate
acidic sludge thought to be killing fish in Perth's Swan River.



and in sport.....................



Motor V8 (PHILLIP ISLAND, Vic)

The V-8 Supercar series title will be decided in the race stewards room after a controversial
end to the 2006 season at Phillip Island.

Holden's RICK KELLY has provisionally won the title after he finished ahead of his
only challenger CRAIG LOWNDES in the final race.

KELLY and LOWNDES had entered the final race level on championship points.

But LOWNDES'S Triple Eight Racing team are set to protest the result after an early
incident with KELLY cost the Ford driver any chance at the title.

KELLY bumped LOWNDES from behind early in the 31-lap race, the Ford driver spinning
sidewards and being slammed into by another car.



ASHES VAUGHAN (PERTH)

MICHAEL VAUGHAN has ruled out a shock early return to the England side for the Ashes series.

England's sidelined skipper moved comfortably in the field on day one of the tour game
against Western Australia, but says he needs more game time to help him recuperate after
mid-year knee surgery.

VAUGHAN says he would need another three-day game to have been any chance to play in
the third Test, which starts on Thursday, or the fourth Test in Melbourne, starting Boxing
Day.



ASHES SURVEY (BRISBANE)

A survey has found Aussie men would be prepared to go without sex to win back cricket's
coveted Ashes.

Men's magazine Zoo Weekly's survey has revealed 41 per cent of the 20 thousand respondents
say they'd abstain from sex for a month .. if it meant Australia regained the Ashes from
England.



RULES INTERNATIONAL (MELBOURNE)

The AFL will try to broker a peace deal with Irish officials to salvage the future
of International Rules football after Ireland decided to scrap next year's series.

Ireland's Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) voted to cancel its planned 2007 trip to
Australia, angered by what it labelled Australian thuggery in last month's second Test
in Dublin.



SURFING WORLD (HONOLUA BAY, Hawaii)

LAYNE BEACHLEY will have to wait another day for her shot at a seventh world surfing
championship in Hawaii after organisers called a lay day in the Billabong Pro.

With the event at the quarter-final stage, BEACHLEY needs only to make the final to
end the challenge of defending champion CHELSEA GEORGESON.



ENDS ROUND-UP

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