Vic govt should consider sell-off: VECCI

THE Victorian government could sell off state-owned assets such as sporting grounds and public housing estates to fund key projects such as the East West Link road and Melbourne Metro rail tunnel, a business lobby group says.

The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) has also urged the coalition government to consider taking on more debt, as long as the state's triple-A credit rating is preserved.

Executive policy manager Steven Wojtkiw said new ways of financing infrastructure such as the East West Link and Melbourne Metro rail tunnel must be examined, including selling off under-used public land.

"It's really about exploring some new options or approaches to potentially raise some additional money for the government in what is a very tight fiscal context," he told AAP as VECCI launched its May budget submission.

"We've mentioned some of the sporting precincts. There is potentially also surplus public land that's yet to be released."

Mr Wojtkiw said one option would be the privatisation of public housing commission sites.

"That obviously brings with it some social and equity issues for the wider community to discuss," he said.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien has vowed he won't use his first budget to go on a "debt-fuelled spending binge", stressing the importance of maintaining the state's triple-A credit rating.

Mr Wojtkiw said there were plenty of examples of countries, including Singapore, Canada and Germany, that maintained solid credit ratings while lifting net debt.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wild winds and tornado hit Victoria

TEN people have been hospitalised after a tornado swept across Victoria's northeast and fierce winds lashed the rest of the state.

Roofs have been ripped off houses and buildings damaged as the tornado hit about 8pm (AEDT) on Thursday, an SES spokesman said.

The tornado swept along Murray river townships near Bundalong, Rutherglen and Yarrawonga.

The SES fielded 60 calls for help in the region with 10 people hospitalised for injuries.

It comes as strong winds felled trees and damaged buildings across Victoria.

The spokesman said the greatest trauma risk was from falling buildings and roofs.

"It becomes dangerous and deadly debris," he said.

While the weather appeared to be a tornado, authorities had not yet officially confirmed it, the spokesman said.

"It definitely has tornado-like patterns. Certainly that's what it looks like," he said.

He said powerlines in the area are likely to be down.

SES volunteers have responded to more than 750 calls across the state since midnight on Wednesday amid wind gusts exceeding 100km/h.

Strong winds had hit Healesville, Nunawading and outer eastern metropolitan Melbourne, but the damage has been widespread.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abbas tells Obama no talks without freeze

PALESTINIAN president Mahmoud Abbas has told US President Barack Obama there can be no talks with Israel without a freeze on settlement construction.

"A resumption of negotiations is not possible without an Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank and east Jerusalem," Abbas's political adviser Nimr Hammad quoted him as telling Obama during a two-and-a-half-hour meeting.

"Abbas, during his meeting with Obama, was very clear, telling him that settlement construction was an obstacle on the path to peace and to the resumption of talks, and that this was not possible without a settlement freeze," Hammad said.

Obama met Abbas in Ramallah in the West Bank on Thursday as part of a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The US president condemned Israel's ongoing settlement building as unhelpful to the pursuit of peace.

"We do not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive, to be appropriate, to be something that can advance the cause of peace," he said in a joint news conference with Abbas.

But Obama dodged a question about pushing for a freeze on settlement construction, simply saying: if each party "is constantly negotiating about what's required to get into talks in the first place, then we're never going to get to the broader issue, which is how do you eventually structure a state of Palestine."

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

US stocks drop on concerns about Europe

US stocks have opened lower on growing concerns about the European economy and the Cyprus crisis.

Five minutes into trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 64.29 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 14,447.44.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 7.46 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 1,551.25.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 20.15 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 3,234.04.

Markets were on edge over the continuing crisis in Cyprus, after the European Central Bank warned it may halt emergency funding for the tiny island-nation's banking system unless policy makers clinch a bailout deal by Monday.

A fall in the Markit eurozone purchasing managers index, to 46.5 in March from 47.9 in February, also reinforced the worries over the region's economy.

"The concern is that the downturn has gathered pace again," said Markit's chief economist Chris Williamson.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rosneft completes $54bn TNK-BP takeover

RUSSIA'S state oil giant Rosneft has completed a $US56 billion ($A54 billion) acquisition of the British and Russian stakes in the TNK-BP joint venture.

"Congratulations on the completion of this deal," President Vladimir Putin told Rosneft chief Igor Sechin at a special ceremony at the Kremlin chief's suburban Moscow residence.

"In my opinion, this was a very successful deal," news agencies quoted Putin as saying.

The takeover's terms allow BP to acquire up to 20 per cent of Rosneft's shares and give the British group an additional $US17 billion in cash.

Rosneft completed the all-cash acquisition of the Russian stake held by four Soviet-born tycoons earlier in the year.

The state-owned company says that TNK-BP's takeover makes Rosneft the world's largest public oil company by production and reserves.

TNK-BP - Russia's third-largest oil company - was hit by years of infighting between its British and Russian owners though it has generated around $US19 billion in dividends for BP since the company's formation in 2003.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Irish economy grows by 0.9% in 2012

IRELAND'S bailed-out economy grew by 0.9 per cent in 2012 but stagnated in the final quarter of last year, official figures show.

"Preliminary estimates indicate that GDP (gross domestic product) in volume terms increased by 0.9 per cent for the year 2012," said a statement from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Thursday.

"This is the second year in succession in which GDP showed an increase over the previous year following three years of declines ... during 2008 to 2010."

The annual figure was in line with the eurozone country's own government forecast.

The Irish economy meanwhile recorded zero growth in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with the previous three months, according to the CSO.

It managed to grow by 1.4 per cent in 2011 after it was rescued by an 85 billion euro ($A106 billion) bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union in late 2010.

Ireland, once known as the 'Celtic Tiger' economy for its double-digit growth spanning a decade from the mid-1990s, has contracted sharply in recent years, hit by soaring state debt, a property market meltdown, the global banking crisis and surging unemployment.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Double deckers return to Harbour Bridge

DOUBLE decker buses are set to return to the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the first time in 25 years.

The O'Farrell government said the two-storey buses would run regular services across the iconic structure to test whether they can be used to reduce traffic congestion.

The government says two double deckers will cross the bridge on route 270 between Terrey Hills and the CBD, with other routes to open in coming months.

Double decker buses are already operating along the North West T-Way in Sydney's outer suburbs.

Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said the tall buses were "one of a number of strategies being employed by the NSW government to improve services for customers".

"Double decker buses can carry around 110 passengers, twice the number that normal buses carry, and they take up less road and depot space," she said in a statement.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wild cyclonic weather to hit Lord Howe

A tropical cyclone is expected to cause extreme winds and surf on Lord Howe Island. Source: AAP

A TROPICAL cyclone is expected to pass close by Lord Howe Island on Friday morning, lashing the island with damaging winds and surf, the weather bureau says.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said on Thursday night that the category two cyclone was tracking south in the northern Tasman sea, and would pass to the east of the Pacific island on Friday morning.

On its website, BoM said the island off the NSW coast could expect "damaging surf, heavy swells and abnormally high tides" through the rest of Thursday and Friday.

This included wind gusts up to 150km/h until the early hours of Friday, it said.

BoM advised that the cyclone would weaken as it passed by the island.

It also said heavy rain caused by the cyclonic conditions would probably cause flash flooding overnight.

Residents and holidaymakers on Lord Howe Island were being warned to bunker down as the cyclone approaches.

Luke Hanson, the manager of the largest guest lodge on the island, said the conditions were "scary" as the cyclonic winds headed for the island.

"This cyclone's a direct hit, this will be the first time we've been whacked by a category two," Mr Hanson told AAP by phone.

"Everyone's a bit nervous, we've been getting all the guests settled, they've all had an early dinner and gone to bed, and they're just going to ride out the night.

"They don't come to Lord Howe Island in March thinking they're going to get hit by a cyclone."

He said residents had been strapping down outside furniture and sandbagging in preparation for the weather to worsen overnight.

Meanwhile, a high seas weather warning has been issued for Tropical Cyclone Tim, which is currently about 500km east northeast of Cairns.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Body of disabled boy found in WA

THE body of a 15-year-old intellectually disabled teenager has been found in rough terrain in Western Australia's Kimberley region.

The Aboriginal boy was reported missing on Wednesday morning in the vicinity of La Djadarr Bay, north of Broome, in difficult terrain and high temperatures.

Police said the teenager's body was found on Thursday afternoon.

They were not immediately able to provide further details, but said there were no suspicious circumstances in the boy's death.

A report was being prepared for the coroner.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

RBA plays down surge in jobs growth.

A RESERVE Bank of Australia official says the large surge in employment growth in February will not, by itself, have an impact on the interest rate outlook.

Total employment surged by 71,500 in February - the largest monthly increase since July 2000 and was much higher than the 8,000 increase the market was expecting.

The unemployment rate remained at 5.4 per cent for the third month in row, figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

RBA assistant governor (economic) Dr Christopher Kent said the employment data was surprising.

"Our forecast has been for a gradual edging higher in the unemployment rate," he said in a speech to the Australian Institute of Building at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Dr Kent was asked how many months of good jobs figures would mean an end to the interest rate reduction cycle.

"I don't have an exact number, it's going to be very hard to predict," he said.

"I would personally think we don't turn things around on the basis of one month's number, this figure could be a little overstated.

"You don't put too much on one month's number, the labour market is very important, it's not the full story."

The RBA has kept the cash rate steady at three per cent at its two board meetings in 2013 after cutting it four times in 2012.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More