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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.

Tears of shame
Three-time Olympic champion Marion Jones pleaded guilty to lying to US government investigators when she denied using performance-enhancing drugs, and subsequently announced her retirement from athletics.

Outside the courthouse, Jones broke down in tears as she apologised for her actions, saying she fully understands she has disappointed her friends, family and supporters.

"I have let them down. I have let my country down, and I have let myself down," she said.

Australia's CSIRO is holding up a new super fast home wireless system, claiming it holds key patents. It has refused to give guarantees it will not sue companies breaching its patents. This has caused the standard setting agency (IEEE) to delay confirming the new super fast Wi-Fi "N" standard. CSIRO successfully sued other Wi-Fi developers last year claiming they were in breach for earlier versions of Wi-Fi. Litigation is continuing with other developers.

According to one of the only first hand reports coming out of Burma the military systematically swept the grid-like streets of Rangoon over the weekend, hunting down groups of young protesters, beating them with long sticks and carrying them away.

The Herald's special correspondent reported blatant thuggery and beatings of protesters. The Herald also carries a rare photo of protesters being detained.

Inflation will rise to about 5 percent in Europe and the United States, said former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in an interview with a Dutch paper, published on Monday. Interest rates would have to rise towards 10 percent because of higher inflation, Greenspan told NRC Handelsblad. "The lower inflation of the last two decades will turn out to be a once-only event, the exception that confirms the rule," Greenspan was quoted as saying.

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.

AT&T is paying millions to be the exclusive United States provider of Apple’s much-hyped and glowingly reviewed gadget, the iPhone. It took 17-year-old George Hotz two months of work to undermine AT&T’s investment. Mr. Hotz, a resident of Glen Rock, N.J., published detailed instructions online this week that he says will let iPhone owners abandon AT&T’s service and use their phones on some competing cellular networks.

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."

Nine chief executive Eddie McGuire has stepped down from the top job, ending months of speculation.

The announcement, posted on the ninemsn website, came shortly before 9am today - when staff were also notified of the decision.

Nine said McGuire will move to an increased presence on air and the provision of creative and programming services, with the change taking effect from June 30.

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.

Qantas bid could have succeeded

Miscalculations by hungry hedge funds in a giant game of brinksmanship appear to be the key reason behind the apparent crash of an A$11 billion takeover offer for Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd , analysts said.

Qantas shares remained on hold Monday night after questions were raised if in fact the bid team had reached the required 50 per cent. A condition of accepting the offer was that it was all or nothing. This measn any seller who sold only part of their shares is in fact required to sell all their shares, which will leave the bid with over 60 per cent.