HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 19:30, Aug 232011

AAP General News (Australia)
08-23-2011
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 19:30, Aug 232011

JAKARTA - A Melbourne man facing up to 12 years in jail after being caught in Bali
with just over $30 worth of methamphetamine has told a court he used the drug three to
four times a month to relieve stress and depression. (Indon Rawson)

BRISBANE - Bob Katter's gay brother has slammed his sibling's recent comments against
same-sex couples as hurtful and damaging. (Katter Brother)

BRISBANE - Federal MP Bob Katter won't stop using The Australian Party as an abbreviation
in public for his political party despite the Australian Electoral Commission rejecting
it. (Katter)

CANBERRA - Coalition support for a bill requiring labelling of food with palm oil risked
a $150 million penalty on business, Trade Minister Craig Emerson has warned parliament.

(Palm)

SYDNEY - NRL star Benji Marshall punched a man who told him Broncos player Darren Lockyer
was better than him, the alleged victim and two of his friends have told a magistrate.

(Marshall Wrap (pix available)

PERTH - Disgraced former West Australian premier-turned-lobbyist Brian Burke is appealing
his conviction for giving false evidence to the state's corruption watchdog. (Burke)

PERTH - Nearly two weeks after West Australian Premier Colin Barnett ruled out a cabinet
reshuffle, the Liberal leader has had a change of heart. (Barnett)

PERTH - A West Australian police officer has been charged with assault over an incident
in 2009 in which a woman was forced to the ground during the Spring in the Valley festival.

(Assault)

PERTH - A man behind a protest at the APEC summit in 2007, which resulted in more than
a dozen arrests, is organising another protest for the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting in Perth. (CHOGM)

PERTH - The redevelopment of Western Australia's premier rectangular stadium is a step
closer with the state government wrapping up negotiations with the local council. (Stadium
WA)

PERTH - West Australian teachers have rejected a 12 per cent pay rise that would make
them the highest paid in Australia because the government wants to have a separate agreement
for administrators. (Teachers WA)

BRISBANE - A north Queensland council plans to set up a partnership register that will
acknowledge gay, lesbian and transgender unions. (Marriage Cairns)

BRISBANE - Advertisements to stop people driving into floodwaters and encourage them
to stock their pantries are included in a $76 million campaign to prepare Queensland for
natural disasters. (Floods Inquiry Wrap)

BRISBANE - The Gold Coast City Council may reverse a decision to split from water retailer
Allconnex just as another council follows its lead. (Water Qld Wrap)

SYDNEY - Daily shootings continue to plague Sydney's west prompting fears an innocent
bystander may be killed, while victims and other witnesses remain too scared to assist
police. (Shots Wrap)

SYDNEY - Beleaguered NSW Environment Minister Robyn Parker has defended her handling
of Orica's Newcastle chemical leak, saying she was told "everything that should have been
done was being done". (Chemical)

SYDNEY - Seek chief executive Andrew Bassat says there are plenty of opportunities
for the company to expand rapidly overseas, but Australia still represents plenty of growth
potential. (Seek Wrap)

SYDNEY - Flight Centre is confident that low airfares and growth in its overseas operations
can boost profit this financial year. (Flight Centre Wrap)

SYDNEY - When it comes to tea, Kevin Rudd knows his leaves. The Foreign Affairs Minister
is the winner of the Twinings Australian Afternoon Tea Challenge. (Tea Rudd)

SYDNEY - A Muslim man allegedly describes a Jewish soldier as a "dirty animal" who
is "a thousand times worse" than a pig, in letters he sent to politicians and members
of the Jewish community. (Monis)

MELBOURNE - A Melbourne man found dead in a pool of blood in his backyard was known
to police. (Grey)

MELBOURNE - The union representing 160 electricians facing the sack at Victoria's desalination
plant threatened that the project would not be finished until 2013, a court has been told.

(Desal)

MELBOURNE - Former AFL player manager Ricky Nixon has allegedly been caught driving
while suspended. (Nixon)

MELBOURNE - A Victorian man accused of slitting another man's throat during a neighbourhood
brawl confessed his crimes to friends, a jury has heard. (Tunja Wrap)

MELBOURNE - A Melbourne man who strangled his de facto partner with a dressing gown
cord after she disturbed his sleeping dog has lost an appeal against his 14-year sentence.

(Sherna)

MELBOURNE - A study is under way on whether to reopen passenger train services between
Victoria's three biggest regional cities. (Rail Vic)

HOBART - A Melbourne man accused of murdering his housemate during a holiday in Tasmania
told police the night was a blur, but that he knew "someone got hurt", a Hobart court
has been told. (Assafiri Wrap)

CANBERRA - If Australian Greens leader Bob Brown gets his way, radio broadcaster Alan
Jones will have to apologise for comments made at an anti-Gillard government protest.

(Convoy)

CANBERRA - The federal government has unveiled a new training package designed to help
defence families cope with the stress and uncertainty caused by partners being posted
away for extended periods. (FamilySMART)

CANBERRA - Australia's prisons are filing up with older criminals, overloading prison
authorities with the same age-related health problems facing the community in general.

(Criminals )

ADELAIDE - Bad weather was not a factor in the crash of a helicopter near Lake Eyre
last week which killed three experienced ABC television newsmen, a report has found. (Helicopter

Wrap (takes in keyword Plane)

ADELAIDE - A "chilling, amoral" woman killed and dismembered an aged pensioner to steal
her house, an Adelaide court has been told. (Gavare)

ADELAIDE - Cars and trucks in Australia travelled almost 227 billion kilometres in
a single year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says. (Driving )

ENTERTAINMENT

SYDNEY - A former sparkie has won the top honour at this year's Australian Gourmet
Traveller Restaurant Guide Awards. (Marque)

SYDNEY - Children and teenagers looking to become the next Tina Arena or Dannii Minogue
can now audition for Ten's revamped Young Talent Time. (Talent)

AAP was

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY

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