Today's Headlines
Saturday 11th May 1996
International:
Interest rates look even more likely to fall with Reserve Bank chief Bernie Fraser yesterday arguing that Australia had successfully
got inflation under control. In a speech delivered in Singapore Fraser rebuffed claims that Australia should lock-in low inflation by law like
New Zealand does.
Political:
Prime Minister John Howard won through with strong anti-gun lobby laws with the support of the nation but with dissention from the tiny minority group
that would allow the carnage, like the recent Port Arthur massacre to continue.
Howard met with the State Police Ministers and with their support was able to introduce some of the strictest gun control laws in the world.
The new laws adopted are:
Banned importation, ownership, sale, resale, transfer, possession, manufacture or use of:
- all military style and other self-loading centre fire rifles.
- all self-loading and pump action shot guns.
- all self-loading rim-fire guns.
All firearms to be registered as part of an integrated national licensing system.
A 12 month amnesty to hand in banned weapons.
Stringent storage requirements and compulsory safety training for first-time license applicants.
States and territories to introduce legislation as soon as possible.
Action to regulate mail order purchasing.
A guns buy-back scheme to be introduced, with funding to be determined in later talks.
Interesting isn't it that the Labor Party derided John Howard as a weak leader. Howard has tackled head-on the rorts in the Aboriginal funding area,
Keating didn't. Howard has now scored a major political victory over the gun lobby. I wonder what Keating would have done?
Business:
Work on Korea Zinc's Au$500 million smelter project at Townsville - one of a dozen major resource-based projects planned for
north Queensland could start before the end of the calendar year. Korea Zinc, which is one of the world's leading metal producers,
plans to buy zinc concentrate from north-west Queensland nased and other Australian mines for processing at a state of the art
smelter in Townsville.
Sport:
The Brisbane Bears, the wooden spoon holders in the Australian Football League,
for the last few years, have had a major turnaround winning more matches in their past six games this season than they did in their
1990 to 1993 collective campaigns!
The Bears have won five out of their first six matches and should perform very well tonight against Hawthorn.
A very successful morning in the big smoke yesterday. Last night we sailed on the Kookaburra
Queen with friends, Martin and Penny Cloete and Tony and Linda Woods. We have now started work on the web site of Queensland's biggest
company, Mt Isa Mines, and will be making a major announcement to the restaurant industry as well as to
winers and diners everywhere next week.
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