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Thursday 4th July 1996

International:

Skilled labor applicants will be increased by 4,000 per annum in an attempt to halt the imbalance of immigrants going straight onto the dole - currently at 34%!

The 10.8% cut in Australia's immigration intake was immediately condemned by the Opposition and ethnic groups.

The major points are:

• Total non-humanitarian intake cut by 9,000.
• Humanitarian and refugee category stable at 14,000.
• Family reunion numbers cut by 13,000.
• Family reunion applicants to be awarded points for speaking English.
• Stricter testing for spouse and fiance applications. All successful cases placed on two-year probationary visas.
• Only Australian citizens can sponsor people under the preferential family category.
• People restricted to sponsoring two spouses, at least five years apart, except under exceptional circumstances.
• Visas in the independent and concessional family categories and part of the preferential family category to be capped. This will not immediately affect spouses, dependent children or aged parents.

Political:

Mrs O'Donoghue said ATSIC and wider Aboriginal and Islander communities had felt under seige since the election of the Coalition Government. The relationship between the Government and the community had deteriorated she siad.

Mrs O'Donoghue and Mr Howard spent much of the meeting discussing the performance of Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Herron.

Business:

Separate Queensland laws to secure the Au$1.1 billion mine's tenure could become bogged down in the courts after Gulf Aborigines vowed to fight them to the end.

Two Aboriginal legal advisers said yesterday that any legal challenge to the move would have to break new ground on how to compensate for loss of hunting grounds and spiritual ties to the ground.

Century Zinc has made it clear that it needs security of title over the mine and a corridor for an associated pipeline to Karumba by September 30th to ensure that the project gioes ahead.

Sport:

A court battle was averted yesterday when the Australian Rugby League (ARL) gave an undertaking not to advertise or promote the rebel side as "Fiji".

Instead the ARL will refer to the Noel Cleal coached side as "National Rugby League Fiji", the name of a club cometition in Fiji supported by the ARL.

What a total mess the game has become!

Social:

The survey of 1,344 Year 11 and 12 students by psychiatry professor John Condon of Adelaide's Flinders University found that two-thirds of students surveyed believed that a couple came closer in their relationship during pregnancy.

They also believed that children would always turn out well if they had caring parents.

One-third said that they though that children would improve their relationship with their partner and they believed good parenting came naturally.

Dr Condon said the researchers were surprised at the high level of idealism.

On a more somber note the parents of one of the victims of the horrific Blackhawk helicopter accident last month Mr and Mrs Col Baker have been informed by the Defence Force that they would have to prove that they were "financially dependent" on their son before they received any compensation for his death.

Previously the Federal Government had said that relations of victims would receive at least Au$150,000 each.

Mrs Baker said that they were told in a callous and cold manner that they could sue the Federal Government if they wanted to pursue the matter.

Geez... one wonders which petty bureaucrat screwed this one up. He or she should be the one put on trial in the courts - not the grieving parents!

Personal trivia, from the global office:

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