Politics

John Howard has finally called the election. He has a big 16 seat majority and would need a swing of over 5 per cent to topple his government, but the polls all suggest there will be a change of Government come November 24. Only a miracle campaign would stop the inevitable demise of Howard and his Government after 12 years in power.

Has lost Cabinet supportEmbattled Prime Minister, John Howard, remains isolated - with no significant support from his colleagues and only fear of election annihilation from him fellow MP's saving his leadership ahead of the imminent election.

Labor leader Kevin Rudd faces a new assault over workplace flexibility in the wake of revelations his wife's company employs all her 800 staff under individual contracts and profited from finding jobs for workers to be employed under AWAs.

 

After agreeing to sell the domestic arm of her multi-million-dollar business to avoid claims of conflict of interest, Therese Rein revealed yesterday that her company did not use awards to pay her staff, preferring the flexibility of common-law agreements.

 

Although Mr Rudd has stressed that his wife's company never employed staff under Australian Workplace Agreements, it was revealed yesterday that the company had matched vacancies with jobseekers who were in some cases offered jobs under AWAs, which the Opposition Leader would ban if he is elected prime minister.

A COMPANY owned by Kevin Rudd's wife put workers on individual contracts that stripped them of key award conditions.

A common law contract, obtained by the Herald Sun, removed penalty rates, overtime and allowances for an extra 45c an hour.

Workplace Minister Joe Hockey said the contracts could be illegal and he would investigate the matter further.

"For a common law contract to remove conditions from an award would be unlawful but I need to get more information," he said today.

"There seems to be a lot of questions that need to be asked about this matter."

THE Government has launched its bid for a fifth term with a bold budget promising $31.5 billion in tax cuts focused on the "Howard battlers" and delivering a king hit to Labor by pledging almost $9 billion on education.

And in a big sweetener, $4 billion in one-off payments will be handed out before the election to voters - including the elderly, veterans, carers and low- and middle-income earners - as tax-free lump sums.

The elderly, for example, will receive $500 each to "share in the economic growth they helped create".

Child-care benefits will be increased by 10 per cent, child rebates brought forward and those on $58,000 or less will receive $1.1 billion in a one-off Government top-up to their superannuation.

PRIME Minister John Howard today denied a new "fairness test" for workers was a backdown ahead of this year's federal election, calling it "fine-tuning" instead.

Mr Howard will outline formal assurances that workers earning up to $75,000 per year who trade away penalty rates, shift allowances, holiday pay or overtime in AWAs will not be worse off.

Due to come into force next Monday night, the new test will apply to all Australian Workplace Agreements and collective agreements submitted to the renamed Workplace Authority.

"Now that compensation (for trading away allowances) could take monetary form ... it might take the form in some cases of people offered access to a car park," Mr Howard said on Southern Cross radio.

Howard says no to greenhouse targets

Prime Minister John Howard has criticised Labor's embrace of a 60 per cent cut in carbon emissions saying he will not support a target which has unknown economic impacts.

In an important political speech to try to regain support for the Government, Mr Howard set out some of his principles for the upcoming election contest in a speech dubbed "Australia Rising".

Highlighting his strong record in economic management Mr Howard criticised Mr Rudds embracing of "European" green house targets and capitulation to "union power" on industrial relations.

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Federal Opposition leader Kevin Rudd says media mogul Rupert Murdoch was "just being polite" when he appeared to endorse his bid to become prime minister.

Mr Murdoch and Mr Rudd had a one-hour private meeting at the News Corporation's New York headquarters yesterday and then had dinner together.

When asked after the meeting if Mr Rudd would make a good prime minister, Mr Murdoch replied "Oh, I'm sure''.

But Mr Rudd today shrugged off questions over whether he thought Mr Murdoch had endorsed him as future prime minister.

Prime Minister John Howard has backed embattled Sydney radio identity Alan Jones a day after he was found to have incited violence and vilified people of Middle Eastern descent in the days before race riots in Sydney.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) yesterday found Jones breached the Commercial Radio Code of Practice during his breakfast program between December 5 and 9, 2005.

The authority said the comments broke the code by being "likely to encourage violence or brutality" and "likely to vilify people ... of Middle Eastern background". 

The Australian Government did not request the controversial one-year gag imposed on David Hicks, says the man who negotiated the deal on behalf of the United States.

Brigadier-General Thomas Hemingway said the gag was his idea.

"I thought it appropriate, given all the rhetoric that was floating around, that it would be appropriate if he would agree not to talk to the press or other media for a while," he said.

General Hemingway is the legal adviser to the military tribunal convening authority, which can approve reductions in sentences.

He negotiated the deal with Major Michael Mori, Hicks' military defence counsel.

Australian detainee David Hicks has pleaded guilty at a military court at Guantanamo Bay to charges of providing material support for terrorism.

The 31-year-old Muslim convert was accused of attending al-Qaeda training camps and fighting with the Taleban. The plea means that Hicks, who has been at the camp for five years, will return to Australia to serve his sentence. Hicks is the first detainee at the detention camp to face terror charges under new US rules.

He was charged under the new Military Commissions Act, which human rights groups condemn. 'Earliest opportunity'Hicks appeared at the hearing wearing khaki prison fatigues and with hair down to his chest - grown, his lawyer said, to pull over his eyes at night to keep out the light and allow him to get to sleep.

New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma has claimed victory in the state election, promising that his Government will get back to work on Monday.

The latest counting shows his Labor Party has picked up 52 seats, with a general swing against the party of just over 4 per cent.

Liberal Leader Peter Debnam said in his concession speech it was the first swing against Labor since 1988.

The Liberals look set to win 20 seats and their Coalition partners, the Nationals, have taken 13 seats.

"I am moved and humbled by this result," Mr Iemma told supporters.

Disgraced former minister Santo Santoro last night announced his resignation from Parliament — just hours after Prime Minister John Howard became ensnared in the scandal over his share dealings.

Senator Santoro made his shock announcement in an emotional speech to the Senate at 10pm after speaking with Mr Howard earlier in the evening.

"I've advised the Prime Minister tonight, and I wish to advise the Senate, that I will shortly resign from this august institution," Senator Santoro said.

He will resign at the end of this two-week sitting, with the Liberal Party to choose a replacement from Queensland.

Former Federal Ageing minister, Santo Santoro, gave financial backing to a $41 million capital-raising by a Brisbane property developer two weeks after the group announced the roll-out of 10 retirement villages.

Senator Santoro admitted last week to acting as a sub-underwriter for capital raisings associated with 14 companies including Watpac, which in May last year announced it would develop 10 retirement villages "from North Queensland to Ballina" in NSW with investment bank Babcock & Brown.

The capital-raising, just four months after Senator Santoro's appointment to the ministry, was announced two weeks later. Watpac sought $41.2 million to fund its push into NSW and diversification into retirement villages.

Prime Minister John Howard's plane was forced to make an emergency landing in war-torn Iraq yesterday when the cabin of the RAAF aircraft filled with thick smoke during a top-secret visit to Baghdad.

As the smoking C-130 Hercules landed at an army base 300km south-east of Baghdad, troops rushed Mr Howard from the tarmac, fearing the transport plane might explode.

The Hercules, carrying 30 people, including military personnel and media, filled with smoke soon taking off from the Tallil air base. As it reached an altitude of 5000 feet, it turned around.

The pilot made a rapid descent as passengers, wearing emergency gas masks, braced themselves for the landing. By the time the Hercules came to a shuddering halt on the tarmac two minutes later, smoke had engulfed the cabin and was billowing from the plane.