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In short a Man Booker winner
An author who pens stories the length of a sentence won this year's Man Booker International Prize. American writer Lydia Davis has written some short stories of conventional length but most range from one to three pages, while others are just a paragraph or a sentence long. Davis was picked from a short list of 10 names to win the fifth Man Booker International Prize, which is presented ...
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The houses that Ford built
Heyday: Ford's new factory at Broadmeadows in the 1950s. Mario Kontelj is 75 and lives in Bell Post Hill, Geelong. The house that he shares with his wife Ivanka is the house that Ford built; Kontelj worked hard at the car factory for 29 years while raising his three children and making a go of it as a first-wave migrant. He and his wife came from Slovenia in the 1950s straight to the ...
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Era of the Aussie car over
Australia's loss-making car industry is under threat and risks closure following Ford's move to end nearly 100 years of local manufacturing. The decision comes as Ford revealed fresh losses of $141 million and as the ACTU warned of up to 10,000 jobs being shed across the industry. The iconic Falcon brand will cease to exist. Despite receiving hefty government subsidies, the three ...
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The worst candidate for government help
Ford was always going to fold. Management expert Professor Roy Green served on the Prime Minister's manufacturing taskforce and her manufacturing leaders advisory group. He says it was the ''weak link'' in the Australian manufacturing chain - the only firm with plainly dismal prospects. Green believes in targeted government support to help Australian industry, but he ...
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Obesity increase prompts warning to govts
Governments are being urged to tackle the growing problem of obesity, as a new report finds increased number of Australian adults suffering from the condition. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Reform Council will on Friday release its fourth report on the National Healthcare Agreement, showing an improvement in some areas such as smoking rates, but other areas deteriorating. Adult ...
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Remembering Hazel the life of the party
Hazel Hawke, gone now, was long the life of the party; a saviour when the chips were down for her husband, Bob. During the 1990 election, a tight contest against Opposition Leader Andrew Peacock, Prime Minister Bob Hawke organised a mysterious treat for the travelling media. Flying across Australia, he arranged to have the VIP Boeing 707 land at Alice Springs. The reason, at least ostensibly? ...
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Educating asylum kids costs $55m
EDUCATING asylum seeker children will cost more than $55 million over four years amid a record number of minors arriving on ...
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Abbott a certainty Costello
EVEN if Tony Abbott were caught streaking naked down Collins Street in Melbourne the Coalition would probably still win the looming election, former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello ...
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Slipper still enjoying silver service
Disgraced MP and former Speaker of the House of Representatives in Parliament House, Peter Slipper, appeared in the local Magistrates Court in Canberra. He left in a Silver Service Taxi. Picture: Ramage ...
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$247m injected into kids mental heath
TEENAGERS at risk of poor grades, homelessness and jail because of severe mental health issues will get free, kid-friendly help with $247 million of ...
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Waiting for a doctor Youre not alone
ONE in four Australians are waiting more than 24 hours for an urgent appointment with a GP, and even more face an "unacceptable" wait for a ...
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The transformation of Hazel Hawke
She had the mixed blessing of being married to Bob Hawke, Labor's most successful prime minister and, for many of their years together, a hard drinker and womaniser who was rarely at home. She survived to become, during nearly nine years at the Lodge, perhaps the best loved of all prime minister's wives. This came from her charm, grace and intelligence. It also came from admiration for ...
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Book review Darwin scholar Peter Bowlers intellectually playful look at what if.
The University of Chicago Press At face value, the premise of this book - how evolutionary theory might have progressed if Charles Darwin had fallen overboard from the HMS Beagle before ...
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Adelaide restaurants breaching rules by stopping non-paying public using outdoor tables
ADELAIDE restaurants with footpath dining are using powers they do not have to stop the non-paying public from sitting down. Having bought outdoor dining permits, they are reserving tables for customers, but Adelaide City Council policy says footpaths belong to everyone and food businesses have no exclusive rights. "Outdoor dining areas remain public spaces," the policy ...
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South Australia car industry workers urged to plan futures after Fords announcement
THE automotive components industry in South Australia and the 10,000-plus workers it employs have three years to plan for a more secure future, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union says. While Ford's announcement marked a "black day for the Australian automotive industry", knee-jerk reactions were best avoided, AMWU's SA secretary John Camillo said. "For the ...
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Doctors say big South Australian projects show little regard for health
STATES show "scant regard for human health" by letting polluting projects with potentially deadly consequences to go ahead, doctors say. A report from Doctors for the Environment Australia points to the Port Augusta power station, the deferred Olympic Dam expansion and the Port Pirie lead smelter as examples of industrial developments approved without adequate checks. Environment ...
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Holden pleads for help as Ford closes shop in Australia
HOLDEN says it still plans to build cars in Adelaide until at least 2022 but warns "swift action" is needed from political leaders to ensure the Australian auto industry remains viable. The partial reassurance follows Ford's bombshell announcement that it will stop making cars at its two Victorian plants from 2016, ending 90 years of manufacturing in Australia. Holden vowed to ...
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Jetstar set to fly daily to Darwin from Adelaide
BUDGET airline Jetstar is launching a daily service between Adelaide and Darwin, adding an extra 1080 seats a week between the cities. From September 1, the new service will fly during daylight hours, replacing its four-day-a-week service that leaves in the middle of the night. The new schedule will link with international Jetstar flights to Bali and Singapore. It has been welcomed by the State ...
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Dubai jail term like a life sentence
The wife of Australian businessman Matthew Joyce says the 10-year jail sentence and $25 million fine handed down by a Dubai court is effectively a life term. Joyce was on Monday jailed and fined by the Dubai court for fraud stemming from a collapsed land deal. But the court cleared fellow Melbourne man Marcus Lee of wrongdoing, paving the way for him to return to Australia after four years ...
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Vic paraglider still lost after six days
POLICE will assess on Friday morning whether to continue to search for a paraglider missing of the southwestern coast of Victoria since ...
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CCTV shows men wanted over street robbery
Police said the woman, 22, was walking home in Simpson Street Auburn about 11.15pm on April 30 when she was approached by two men.The men knocked her to the ground and kicked her, before dragging her across the street.Locals ran out to help the woman and the men ran off with the woman's handbag.The victim's face and hands were cut in the attack.Police said CCTV footage showed two ...
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Driver killed after car runs into creek
Police said the man, 65, died when his car ran off the road at Tannymorel, in the Darling Downs south west of Brisbane, sometime on Thursday morning.The car was found in a creek off Tannymorel Road about 1pm (AEST).The driver, 67, was the only person in the car.He was found dead at the scene, police ...
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Sydney man killed after being hit by car
Police said the men, aged 85 and 59, were crossing Hampden Road at Atarmon about 7.45pm on Thursday when they were hit by the car.The 85-year-old died at the scene, police said.The younger man was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition.The driver of the car is being interviewed by ...
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NBN Co inks AUD9m deal for TransACT’s Canberra fibre network
NBN Co, the public-private company overseeing the construction and management of Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) has agreed to purchase TransACT's fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network in Canberra ...
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Governor-General remembers talented Hazel
The former wife of prime minister Bob Hawke died on Thursday from complications of dementia aged 83.The governor-general said Mrs Hawke was much loved, compassionate and possessed a "fierce intelligence".She contributed much to the community in a wide range of fields, and was rightly one of the most admired Australians in public life.Ms Bryce said she had a particularly fond moment of ...
Sydney Focus
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Sydney's scandalous toxic waste plan by government
A controversial waste relocation project in Sydney has created anger in a community with a lower income than the Sydney suburb from which the waste is being removed, with many suggesting a class-bias in the city government.
Hunter’s Hill is a predominantly wealthy suburb of Sydney with average house prices of around AUD $1.3 million and a harbour-side community made up predominantly of professionals, managers and other traditionally middle to high-income workers. Penrith, on the other hand, located just over 50 kilometres from Sydney’s CBD, is not as affluent, with average property values of around AUD $280,000. Read more
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