Crispin Hull

The Australian mining industry is worried over what it sees as a sudden change in the rules through the Mabo decision in June last year. The uncertainty is affecting present and future investment in Australia.

The industry’s advertising campaign a year ago illustrated the importance of mining to Australia. Recently, it contributed about $4.5 billion a year to government coffers. It spends $800 million a year in exploration and produces about $11,000 million in non-fuel minerals, aside from all the benefits in wages and community facilities.

Now, it says, changes to the rules on land tenure jeopardise that. Miners simply do not know where they stand on exploration and exploitation of minerals. Who owns the land and the minerals in it since Mabo? They want a return to certainty.
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The Leader of the ACT Opposition, Trevor Kaine, is to be given a “”please explain” message in the party room tomorrow.

Liberal MLA Kate Carnell said yesterday that Mr Kaine should be given the opportunity to explain to the party how comments threatening the pre-selection of Tony de Domenico appeared in the media.

She would ask for the explanation. “”And we will play it from there,” she said.
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THE Industry Commission has said ACT water charges would have to rise by 63 per cent if ACT Electricity and Water is to meet return rates high enough to meet future capital costs. It criticised pricing systems, like that in the ACT, which provide a “”free” basic allowance and charges for amounts used above that. It thought every litre should be charged as an efficiency and conservation measure.

At present ACT residents pay a basic allowance of $208 for up to the first 350 kilolitres and 56c for every kilolitre thereafter. Schools and churches pay 28c.

The chief executive of ACTEW, Dr Mike Sargeant, says he agrees with the commission. The Minister for Urban Services, Terry Connolly, has reservations.
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THE Attorney-General, Duncan Kerr, for the media “”to evaluate its performance in reporting criminal activities” following reportage of the recent kidnapping and siege near Grafton.

His concern is not misplaced. The “”performance” of some sections of the media in that case was precisely that _ a performance. It was not legitimate reporting in the public interest. Interviews with criminals and victims during the commission of a crime can rarely, if ever, be justified. Journalists are there to report events, not involve themselves in them. They should, obviously, help people in danger or immediate need if they find themselves in the position to do so. For example, upon arrival at a car accident, common decency says journalists, like anyone else, have as a first duty to save life over the duty to report events. They should call an ambulance, and in the case of crime, call the police. And when the professionals arrive, they should stand back and report.
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THE Minister for Industrial Relations, Wayne Berry, is quite right: the ACTEW-Electrical Trades Union enterprise agreement is “”a cosy little deal”. But isn’t that what enterprise bargaining is all about?

The cosiness is to be welcomed. Workers and management in individual enterprises come to an agreement for their mutual benefits without outside interference. Cosiness means a huddling together to exclude the outside cold. ACTEW likes the deal. It says it will save $500,000 a year. The ETU like the deal because its workers will get pay rises. Mr Berry does not like the deal because it does not conform with Government wages policy and does not conform to uniform government-wide working conditions and pay clauses.
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Outside it is a clean, sunny, Canberra day in the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. Inside it is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil: the empty coal-fire electricity-generation plant on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.

The powerhouse at Kingston has been out of place for eighty years, a symbol of the difference between towns seared with trade where buildings and industry are thrown up as the first priority wrecking the best positions and an intelligently planned town where work and home are placed to make life more pleasant and fruitful.

When Burley Griffin arrived in 1913, he took on look at the partially complete powerhouse near the bank of the Molonglo and despaired. What was the point of a plan if people were to put up industrial horrors wherever they like. He was set to go back to America in a huff, until he was offered the job to oversee the development of the city.
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The ACT Parliamentary Liberal Party is expected to chastise its leader, Trevor Kaine, at a meeting today (monday) for publicly rebuking the spokesman or rural affairs, Tony de Domenico.

However, a challenge to his leadership or a no-confidence motion appears out of the question.

Mr Kaine criticised Mr de Domenico for speaking out of his portfolio areas thereby upsetting other Liberal MLAs. Mr Kaine is expected to be asked to explain how his rebuke found its way into the media in an article in The Canberra Times on Friday.
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The ACT Government’s 50 per cent urban in-fill target was attacked last night as “”hopelessly unrealistic”.

Developer Bob Winnel said it was too low and not responsive to the market.

Only 15 to 20 per cent of what his company produced was traditional housing and it was the slowest to move.

He said there were too many restraints on in-fill and higher density.
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Permanent arrivals have fallen to their lowest since May, 1984, according to monthly figures issued yesterday.

In January there were 5460 permanent arrivals, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures issued yesterday. In January 1992 it was 8410. The January, 1993, figure was the lowest since the last recession.

However, the figures showed also a record number of overseas movements at 1,002,500. It was up 13 per cent more than January, 1992.
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The implied freedom of political communication in the Constitution should be used to protect the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, the chairman of the Australian Press Council, Professor David Flint, said yesterday.

Professor Flint gave four grounds upon which a journalist was justified in disclosing sources: if the source agreed; where the journalist was satisfied that the source had misled the journalist for personal gain; if there was a life-threatening situation; if somebody’s innocence of a crime was at issue.

However, the courts were demanding disclosure on what he thought we unjustified grounds.
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