Highlights of the AAP National Wire at 15:30, Dec 30 =2 Sydney

AAP General News (Australia)
12-30-1998
Highlights of the AAP National Wire at 15:30, Dec 30 =2 Sydney

SYDNEY - The death of a country driver six days after he was injured when his car
overturned in Western Australia has taken the national road toll for the Christmas-New Year
period to 60. (TOLL NATIONAL)



SYDNEY - A newlywed couple's worried looks as they held hands while waiting to go through
Customs at Sydney airport led to the seizure of more than 1kg of cocaine hidden in the man's
shoes, a court heard today. (SHOES)



SYDNEY - Two people are dead following a possible murder suicide in which a woman was
stabbed and a car was driven off a cliff in Sydney last night. (CLIFF)



SYDNEY - The Labor Party lags the Coalition in all mainland states and among almost every
voter group, according to a new poll published today. (POLL)



SYDNEY - Wharfies employed by Patrick stevedores today were ordered to work over the New
Year after the company took action following union threats it would not provide labour.
(WATERFRONT EVE)



BRISBANE - One of the regular figures seen on the six o'clock news during Queensland's
Fitzgerald corruption inquiry in the late 1980s was "the big man", Hector Hapeta. (HAPETA)



BRISBANE - Police have arrested a 26-year-old labourer and charged him with the murder of
16-year-old north Queensland schoolgirl Rachel Antonio, whose body has never been found.
(RACHEL, N/L to come)



BRISBANE - The arrival by boat of 52 foreign nationals in the Northern Territory would test
the Howard government's commitment to the legal rights of asylum seekers, the Australian
Democrats said today. (IMMIGRANTS D/L)



BRISBANE - A monsoon trough in the Gulf of Carpentaria bringing flooding rains to the Top
End was being monitored by meteorologists in case it developed into a cyclone. (LOW)



BRISBANE - Queensland Rail (QR) would spend $240 million upgrading the track between
Rockhampton and Townsville as part of what the Beattie Government describes as Australia's
largest rail investment program. (RAIL)



GOLD COAST - An extra pair of eyes will be watching New Year's Eve revellers in Surfers
Paradise tomorrow, with the installation of a monitored safety camera system, a Gold Coast
City Council spokesman said today. (EVE COAST CAMERAS)



MELBOURNE - Firefighters are confident of controlling a bushfire that has burnt out a vast
tract of a fauna and flora reserve in Victoria's remote and semi-arid north-west. (BUSHFIRES
VIC D/L)



MELBOURNE - A youth concert, giant cabaret-style party and fireworks on the Yarra River
were to be part of Melbourne's warm-up for turn of the century celebrations this New Year's
Eve, the city council said today. (EVE VIC N/L)



MELBOURNE - Guilty Christmas bingers must not resort to skipping meals because they will
also miss essential vitamins and minerals, the Australian Food Council warned today. (XMAS
DIETERS)



PERTH - A drug-fuelled Christmas day riot in one of Western Australia's maximum security
jails would be thoroughly investigated by an independent inquirer, the Justice Ministry said
today. (RIOT)



PERTH - Smoking restrictions in Western Australia have been put off for a second time, with
Labour Relations Minister Cheryl Edwardes' announcement today that regulations will be
enforced in March next year. (SMOKING WA)



ADELAIDE - A nine-year-old boy was today being treated in an Adelaide hospital for
suspected meningococcal infection, the South Australian Human Services Department said.
(MENINGOCOCCAL SA)



ADELAIDE - The South Australian government today offered a $1,000 reward to catch those who
spray painted a racist slogan on and ringbarked a 300-year-old tree that is significant to
local Aborigines. (TREE)



ADELAIDE - Just as South Australians plan to test their luck at the Adelaide Casino on New
Year's Eve, casino workers have gone on strike for three days. (CASINO to come)

CANBERRA - Australia's peak body for science and technology, the Federation of Australian
Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS), today called on the government to sort out the
mess in universities as its new year resolution. (FASTS)



CANBERRA - More than $4 million would be provided over the next three years to help men
cope with family breakdowns, the federal government announced today. (MEN)



CANBERRA - Parents should check to see if they would benefit from changes to child support
laws effective from January 1, Family and Community Services Minister Jocelyn Newman said
today. (CHILD)



CANBERRA Australia risked an investment slow down next year as businesses waited to see
the impact of major changes including the GST, the Society of Certified Practising Accountants
warned today (ACCOUNTANTS to come)

CANBERRA - The number of people contracting Ross River virus is rising and were expected to
rise further over summer after falling for the past two years, a national journal states.
(ROSS RIVER)



AAP mo

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY

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