Wednesday 22nd January 1997
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One person died, three others are missing and over 40 homes went up in massive fire balls that consumed anything in their path.
Worst effected was Ferny Creek where the body was found in a house in Seabreeze Avenue, also bad were Upper Fern Tree Gully, One Tree Hill, Tremont and Upwey.... up to 500 people had to be evacuated as fires blazed around Melbourne with fire breaking out in densely populated areas just 17 kilometres east and south of the Central Business District at Blackburn and Moorabbin.
Temperatures reached 39.7 degrees celcius after the hottest Melbourne night on record since 1902.
2000 exhausted firefighters battled 75 recorded outbreaks - many of which were believed to have been deliberately lit by arsonists.
A space base in planned for Queensland's Cape York by a consortium of Korean, US and Australian investors.
It is planned to launch Russian designed Soyuz launch systems from the planned Asia-Pacific Space Centre at Temple Bay 140 kilometres east of Weipa.
Project leader, Sydney based International Resource Corporation (IRC), said that it had contracted two Russian organisations to design commercial launch facilities for Soyuz rockets - said to be world's most reliable.
IRC said that it had secured major Korean, US and Australian investors for the project.
The background document estimates that the project will create some 3,000 to 4,000 jobs and increase gross domestic product by Au$300 million per year.
The IRC document estimates that the global market for satellites, launch services and ground stations should be worth about Au$125 billion between now and the year 2004.
It is understood that IRC has an option on 1,700 sq kilometers of leasehold Crown land around Temple Bay.
But here lies the rot... now that a viable project has been developed you can bet your bottom dollar that the money grabbing lawyers with a new native title claim will be on the scene quicker than a pack of ants at a bar-b-que...
Now this is interesting, Father Frank Brennan (also a lawyer it would appear) said that pastoralists rights would be largely unaffected by the Wik decision.
"The real crunch comes not with the pastoralists but with the miners," said Fr Brennan. "What we have in the wake of the Wik is a situation... where a mining company even to explore a pastoral lease would have to determine whether there were native title holders and then negotiate with them."
Let us remember that the majority of mining exploration in Australia has occured on pastoral lease land.
This at a time when Prime Minister John Howard plans to meet with the state leaders to discuss the Wik decision and its effect on the states.
A meeting which has been attacked by some of the 250 Aboriginal leaders who met in Cairns yesterday. Northern Land Council chairman Galarrwuy Yunupingu accused the Prime Minister of trying to overshadow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission by scheduling his talk with the premiers on the same day.
"He has made no special effort to talk to Aboriginal people and he's made no signs of leadership at a time when we need a show of good leadership," Yunupingu said, "He is the leader of the Australian people and he needs to do the right thing and come up here to Cairns and talk to the people."
On the point of lack of leadership I totally agree with Yunupingu. Howard should have put the clampers on the whole issue of native title by now with legislation in the parliament overturning the crazy, legalistic, claims on pastoral land by Aborigines in the hands of money grabbing lawyers which is soaking our already desperate rural community dry. Wouldn't a native title claim over the inner city properties of one our large legal firms cause an interesting response from THAT fraternity....
I liked your article on native title. From what I hear from the mining
industry, multi billions of dollars worth of infrastructure development
expenditure (let alone the future income) for mining projects is in
jeopardy, particularly in Queensland. Also at stake are jobs, roads,
and prospects for the future for some remote aboriginal communities.
News leaking out from the industry suggests that Charlie Perkins has
already put his hand out for millions in relation to the Ernest Henry
mine. These are the guys which will benefit - not the remote
communities. The communities will still get to live in poverty, misery
and squalor, while their city-based "spokesmen" will continue to play
the aboriginal people like pawns in a game.
When is the government going to realise that this is not the right the
right path?? Is it "red-necked vituperation", or just that the truth
hurts?
Yours sincerely
This is in response to the comments by 'Kevin'. Kevin, the 'News of the
Day' is an Aussie's viewpoint on the current issues in Australia and abroad.
I must say that it also represents the views of the majority of 'real'
Australians. These are not Australians who have recently 'arrived' to reap
the benefits of genereations of sweat, toil and 2 World Wars, but the good
ol' Aussie who built the country and made it the great land it is today. It
is because of these Australians and their supposed 'red neck' views that
Australia is the cleanest, safest, and most politcially stable country in
the world. Aussie are outspoken, brash and say their minds, and the
majority don't jump on the latest 'politically correct' bandwagon - so Kev
old mate, why don't you just stay where you are, and leave Australia for the
Australians. This can also go for the rest of the world - as you have all
done a fairly good job of stuffing up this planet.
regards,
Keep it up,
That's my plain and simple message. If your view is even slightly
varied from the left leaning mainstream media, you will always get
people like kevin 21/1 "...vehicle of red-neck vituperation". I ask you
to remind him that we are not Yanks, we do not have rednecks here. They
belong in the US. Be proud of this land and our heritage, give all a
fair go, and do not unload in americanisms if you don't like them.
Subject: news of day
Brian White. Content-Identifier: Good ol' Kevin
Dave Campbell
Real Australian
7th boat of free settlers. Subject: Your Say
O'Connell has been made a director of PBL Enterprises the division responsible for the management of the Sydney Harbour Casino.
O'Connell will report directly to PBL Financial Director and Enterprises chief executive Nick Falloon. He is a former partner in the large Australian law firm Minter Ellison Morris Fletcher.
Freeman won a silver medal in the 400 metres at the Olympics last year. She was also nominated our Global Hero in July.
Once again beautiful in paradise.... have a great day!
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