The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 6

THI MI TUESDAY 17 NOVEMBER 1992 Price war begins between Telecom and Optus Farmer recruited homieless, court told By LYN DUNLEVY, media reporter Only a day after Optus Communications switched on its discount long-llstance network, Telecom has claimed that many of its own call rates are cheaper than those offered by the new carrier. Optus released the details of its calling rate system last week, saying it would offer an average saving on long-distance and international calls of five per cent on Telecom rates. However, the head of Telecom's commercial and consumer divi Mr Bob Mansfield, said the network's Introduction had gone so well that Optus would switch the network on permanently for 90 per cent of customers In Melbourne and Sydney and 70 per cent of customers In Canberra. However, Mr Mansfield called on potential customers not to use the network until they were notified directly by Optus about the services and rates it offered. This information is expected to be delivered to customers before Christmas.

"dial 1" before they use long distance services. Telecom Intially resisted a number of proposals put forward by Austel for the ballot that would have divided up long-distance customers that either did not cast a vote, or did not register a preference between the two carriers. Telecom believed this would forcibly take away a substantial proportion of Its customer base. However, under the agreement reached with Optus on Thursday, users who do not cast a vote will stay as Telecom customers. their long-distance and International calls.

Telecom and Optus agreed last week on the broad outline for the ballot. Phone users will be called on to vote, area by area, as Optus services become available to them over a four-year period. The ballot will be supervised by the telecommunications regulatory authority, Austel, and is designed to make it easier for Optus to gain a fair share of the market. When customers nominate Optus as their preferred carrier they will no longer have to As part of its discount calling plan, Optus Is offering long-distance and international telephone users a single off-peak, or 60 per cent discount, rate over the weekend from 7 pm Friday to 7 am Monday. It is also offering a 33 per cent discount rate on international calls for the same period.

The discount price war between the two carters is certain to intensify in the lead-up to a ballot late next year in which Australia's phone user; will be called on to nominate whether they would prefer to use Telecom or Optus for sion, Mr Doug Campbell, said yesterday that between 6pm and 7pm and after 10 pm on week nights, Telecom rates were cheaper. Mr Campbell said flexiplans that offered up to 10 per cent discounts on all calls or extended cheaper calling hours for customers who paid a small monthly fee also made Telecom calls cheaper than those offered by Optus. Optus began accepting calls through its network on Sunday. The company's chief executive, i i Mr Campbell: Telecom calls will be cheaper than Optus Picture: Channel 9 A 1 1 ti 1 1 I It Rise in car sales led by imdestry big three -4 iJf 4 i ft i By TIM PEQLER, Magistrate's Court reporter Down-and-out men recruited to work on a world-renowned sheep stud were sexually propositioned by their male employer, the Gee-long Magistrate's Court was told yesterday. The court was also told that a part-time employee formerly from Melbourne's Gill Memorial hostel, shot and killed Darcy Wet-tenhall, 50, Janet Wettenhall, 81, and Guy Wettenhall, 23, at their Ceres family farm on 18 March this year.

Wayne Garry Walton, 24, of. Geelong, was committed to stand trial In the Geelong Supreme Court on three counts of murder. He reserved his plea. Mr Wayne Harriden, 36, said he had been at the Gill Memorial hostel when Mr Darcy Wettenhall approached him. Mr Harriden said, in a statement tendered to the court, that he and Mr Darcy Wettenhall arranged a job at the farm for him and the pair formed a secret sexual relationship.

He said Mr Darcy Wettenhall told Mr Harriden he loved him and said he was free to come and go from the farm and take money when he needed it. Mr Harriden said he moved from the farm in a bid to end the sexual relationship. He said he believed a subsequent employee, Mr Walton, might have also formed a sexual relationship with Mr Darcy Wettenhall because Mr Walton had also been homeless and recruited in a similar fashion. Cross-examined by Mr Daryl Wraith, for Mr Walton, Mr Harriden said he had no evidence of this alleged relationship. Mr Walton said In a police interview tendered to the court that Mr Darcy Wettenhall had propositioned him but nothing had taken place.

Mr Walton said he had borrowed a car from Mr Darcy Wettenhall. The pair had argued when the car was returned and Mr Walton breaking into a shed and taking a 12-gauge shotgun and other firearms. He told police he then "blew them killing Mr Darcy Wettenhall, Darcy's son Guy, and Darcy's cousin, Janet. Professor Stephen Cordner told the court a forensic examination of Mr Darcy Wettenhall's body had revealed it was infected with HIV antibodies but the disease had not progressed to the AIDS virus. Mr Mark Boyce, who shared a caravan with Mr Walton, said he never heard his co-tenant "say a bad thing" about Mr Darcy Wettenhall.

He said Mr Walton loved his work at the corriedale sheep stud. Mr David O'Donoghue, the magistrate sitting as coroner, found that Mr Walton had contributed to the the three deaths. Mr O'Donoghue said Mr Walton confronted Mr Darcy Wettenhall in the early hours of 18 March and shot him. Mr Guy Wettenhall and Mrs Janet Wettenhall were both shot dead after being awoken by the gunshots. Mr O'Donoghue said he would not make a ruling on the order of the deaths, believed to be crucial in determining inheritances and the future of the stud farm.

lit 4 By TIM COLEBATCH, Canberra Strong demand for Australia's big three cars has led the way in lifting new vehicle sales last month above last year's level for the fifth month in a row. The industry statistician, Paxus, reported yesterday that 45,809 new cars, jeeps and trucks were sold in October. That was a rise of 7.3 per cent on a year earlier, although still 16 per cent fewer than in October 1990. Over the first four months of the financial year, vehicle sales have sustained a 7.1 per cent increase, mounting from 175,409 to 187,834. Sales of new cars are up 5.3 per cent and sales of jeeps and trucks up 13 per cent.

The figures indicate that vehicle sales have turned the corner, but domestic manufacturers have experienced only mixed benefits. Almost three-quarters of the rise in car sales has been of imported cars. At least that was an improvement on the first six months of the year, when sales by domestic car producers fell by almost 10,000, or 7.3 per cent, while imports soared by 15,000, or 28 per cent. The share of car sales met by imports has dropped from 37 per cent in the first half of the year to 33 per cent so far in the second half. Among the shifts in consumer buying over the last four months: Luxury cars have jumped 22 per cent from a year earlier, from 10,181 to 12,391.

Leading the way were the Mazda MX5 and MX6 sports cars (2136 sales), the Honda Accord and Prelude (1686), the BMW 3-series (1332), and the various Mercedes models (1148). The three big Australian cars also boomed. The Falcon family (Including the luxury Fords) was up 18 per cent to 23,114, the Commodore family up 22 per cent to 23,321, and the Magna family up 20 per cent to 13,048. The fastest rise was recorded by the Magna's luxury version, the Mitsubishi Verada, whose sales more than doubled to 500 a month. But the Commodore has recorded the largest absolute rise, and in October it knocked the Falcon off its dais as Australia's top-selling car, outselling it by 5572 to 5145.

Previous Paxus figures show most sales of large cars are to business and government fleets, not private buyers. This suggests that the Federal Government's cut in sales tax from 20 to 15 per cent has stimulated buying from business more than individuals. By contrast, sales of the Toyota Camry and Corolla (including their Holden twins, the Apollo and Nova) declined slightly to 10,785 and 9377 respectively. The Ford Laser, by contrast, has lost almost 30 per cent of its market to Japanese and Korean imports such as the Mazda 121, Holden Barina and Hyundai Excel. The Laser sold only 6632 cars, just ahead of the Nissan Pulsar, on 5284 (down 25 per cent).

The Nissan Pintara and Ford Capri, the other Australian-made cars, lost more than half their sales, virtually dropping off the scoreboard. Paul Mallindcr, inside the Bendigo jail, was sentenced to 13 years for the shooting of Ms NesbiL "The individual who they charged with pulling the trigger was not me." Kay Nesbit is in fear of her life He talks of the Nesbit case in terms By MARTIN DALY charged with pulling the trigger was Gunman kills woman, flees Kay Nesbit turned up for a rare interview yesterday with a guard dog and wept as she spoke of her fear that the man jailed for shooting her could soon be free. "I feel like this is one of the worst times of my life. I do not feel safe. I feel like he Is getting his freedom and I'm losing mine." Ms Nesbit agreed to an interview with Channel 8's 'A Current Affair to respond to claims by Paul Terrance Mallinder that violence could be expected In prostitution, an area in which Ms Nesbit once worked.

Both interviews will go to air tonight. "All prostitutes are human beings," said Ms Nesbit. "I wasn't into any drugs or criminal elements I did my work. And nobody knew what I did." Ms Nesbit was shot after passing a message to Mallinder that his girlfriend did not want to see him. The shooting was described in court as a callous deed but Mallinder claims he has evidence to prove he is the of an armed robber who is shot while committing a robbery and seeks compensation.

"It's an occupational hazard if you are involved in areas like that," he says. Mallinder was convicted of shooting Ms Nesbit in September, 1985, causing Injuries that more than 39 operations have failed to rectify. Mallinder, serving 13 years with a non-parole period of II years for wounding Ms Nesbit with intent to cause grevious bodily harm, says he will prove his innocence. The Mallinder Interview was conducted unknown to authorities at Bendigo prison. The crew was there on another story, noticed Mallinder and asked him to talk on camera.

Ms Nesbit agreed to talk when told Mallinder had given an interview, according to Channel 9. Mallinder says he has sympathy for Ms Nesbit because of her injuries but says that he and his family are victims. "Sure they are shocking injuries but the individual who they allege and not me, he says. Asked how she felt on seeing Mallinder on screen, Ms Nesbit says: "I laughed. It was so stupid.

If he wasn't guilty, they would have found him not guilty. "He keeps saying, he never did it. And I know 100 per cent that it was him." Mallinder describes himself as a political prisoner and says he does not know who shot Ms Nesbit. He claims the case is "an orchestrated campaign by the Victorian police Ms Nesbit says she never goes anywhere without her dog for protection but she rejects any idea of other security. "I can't live like that.

I want to live free of having to look over my shoulder all the time," she says. "AH I have to do is learn to cope with It. I refuse to live in fear. I Just have to work out how to deal with it and at the moment I've got no idea. the Bellarlne Peninsula and the west coast.

He said police in Melbourne have also been put on alert (or the man and his vehicle. Police said the woman and the man had been involved in an argument in the Eastern Park before the shooting. The gunman chased the woman for about 200 metres before shooting her. Anyone with information should ring 865 5000 or the homicide squad on 865 2111. BRUCE TOBIN Police are hunting a man who chased a woman for about 200 metres before shooting her dead in Geelong yesterday.

Police said Lea Teuma, 45, of Corio, ran screaming for help to a house in Eastern Beach and was shot dead in the driveway. The gunman fled in a 1990 white Nissan Pintara, registration ECH 749. Detective Inspector Noel Anderson described the man as dangerous and said that he should not be. approached. He said police were searching 1 Ms Nesbit: "This is one the worst times." TPC plan to halve cost of conveyancing Victoria flags in national economic race Ykm hss mm By ALEX MESSINA The price charged by some Victorian solicitors for conveyancing of houses could halve if there was more competition, according to the Trades Practices Commission.

The chairman of the commission. Professor Allan Fels, releasing a discussion paper on conveyancing prices yesterday, said that the price of conveyancing in Victoria varied widely. A cursory phone survey at the end of last year had found that for a home worth $133,000, one big city firm would charge $850 and a small city firm $800. In Victoria only 10 per cent of the $200 million industry is handled by non-solicitors. (Prices charged by Victorian solicitors are not directly comparable to those in other states because charges are based on work done not the sale price of the house.) The claim that Victorian prices would delcine was denied by the Law Institute of Victoria.

The executive director, Mr Robert Cornall, said proposed changes would be unlikely to change prices because, since July, the Law Institute has allowed advertising. PAQE 17: Editorial. Another smaller suburban firm competing with a conveyancing company run by non-solicitors quoted $400. One conveyancing company contacted by 'The Age' yesterday said it charged a $260 flat rate and another said it charged $300 plus minor costs. Professor Fels said that the price of conveyancing Australia-wide, an $810 million industry, would reduce if restrictions that delivered an effective monopoly to solicitors were removed.

The discussion paper, 'The legal profession, conveyancing and the Trades Practices Act', proposes: Relaxing the licence system that says who can do conveyancing and replacing It with a certificate that do.es not stop anyone doing conveyancing but certifies only those who achieve a certain standard. Making solicitors' involvement optional. Removing restrictions on fee advertising by solicitors. The paper argues that these elements stop people entering the conveyancing market and hamper open competition, resulting in higher prices. ft I 1 Call for migrants to study Aboriginal culture people who wanted to take out citizen left a legacy of disadvantage and frus 4 fn i By CAROLINE MILBURN, community affairs reporter Mr Patrick Dodson, the chairman of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, called on the Federal Government yesterday to give Information about black history to migrants taking out Australian citizenship.

He said Ignorance among ethnic groups about Aboriginal people would be reduced If such information was Included In literature on the citizenship process. The presence of Aboriginal people in Australia before white settlement is not mentioned In the Federal Government's literature on citizenship, according to a spokesman for the Department of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs. The spokesman said that In the US ship were required to go to classes to learn about America's history, culture and process of government Mr Dodson's comments rekindle the debate over Australian citizenship that was started last week by the Federal Opposition Leader, Dr Hewson, who suggested that people should be able to recite the national anthem before they were allowed to take out citizenship. Mr Dodson said many ethnic groups were unaware of the reasons for Aboriginal dissatisfaction over land rights. "We have got to learn about the country and the people who make It up," he said.

"If you do not explain to newcomers to this country that there Is a history of race relations that has tration, they will not understand why people are hostile to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders." The chairman of the Federation of Ethnic Community Councils of Australia, Mr Carl Harbaum, welcomed the call to Include Information about Aboriginal history In the citizenship process. Mr Dodson, a former member of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths In Custody, was in Melbourne yesterday to speak about the reconciliation council's role to members of Melbourne'e ethnic communities. The council was set np In February by the Federal Government to educate Australians about Aboriginal history and culture. exaggerated the problem and misled the debate." In fact the change could lead to a greater specialisation, possibly in high-wage, advanced manufacturing and services. New sectors already have begun to emerge.

For instance Melbourne has 40 per cent of firms in the medical and scientific equipment industry, many of whom export more than 75 per cent of their output. High-tech industries would employ many professionals and para-professionals but fewer overall numbers than the traditional manufacturing labor force. National and state policy is needed to assist the decline of one group of manufacturing and facilitate the growth of others through training and by strengthening links between research and development, the report says. Victorian activity in transport, storage and communication rose in 1991 although its national share declined slightly. The Port of Melbourne handled 42 per cent of all traffic across the docks! moving as many containers as Sydney and Brisbane combined.

Thirty-five per cent of the nation's road freight still emanates from Victoria. Tourism could provide opportunities for youth employment. The sheer scale of this industry is beginning to change the national economy. Melbourne needs a bigger share but its performance has not been good, capturing only 17 per cent of total activity. Victorians make up 25.5 per cent of Australia's population, a decline of .9 of a per cent in 10 years.

Over the same period the state's share of national production fell two per cent but still exceeds 25 per cent. Last year Victoria had 24 per cent of the nation's non-residential construction, 33 per cent of manufacturing GDP, 32 per cent of manufacturing investment and 25 per cent of personal bankruptcies. Retail tales have declined over four yean to be lea than a quarter of the national whole and average weekly anUaes have fallea back to the level of the rest of the nation. Mr Dodsorv newcomers should learn about the land and its people. Ormond College head may be forced to quit By SIMON MANN New Esanda Flexible Income Debentures give more flexibility than a normal fixed term investment.

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An application form and prospectus are In March, after investigating allegations against Dr Gregory, the council issued a statement expressing "its full confidence in the master and the performance of his duties In the although it accepted that student complaints of sexual harassment had been made "In good An Equal Opportunity Board action against Dr Gregory and the council Is scheduled to begin next month. Dr Gregory could not be contacted for However, at a special meeting last week, a motion that the council continue to express its confidence in Dr Gregory was lost. The motion was proposed by the chairman, Mr Bill Rogers, who is also the chancellor of Monash University. Mr Rogers told the council that the vote, by secret ballot, was decisive. He is believed to have later told Dr Gregory of the council's change of heart Asked last week to comment on the position of the master, Mr Rogers said: "The council agreed that what transpired at that meeting would remain confidential." He expected the matter to be dealt with at the next council meeting, In about a fortnight Dr Gregory was charged with two counts of indecent assault relating to Incidents at an Informal college party late last year.

He was convicted on one of the charges, in which he was accused of fondling a student's breast, but later appealed successfully. The master of Melbourne University's Ormond College, Dr Alan Gregory, appears to have lost the support of the college council and may be forced to resign. Dr Gregory, who in September won a County Court appeal against a conviction for Indecent assault Involving a female student, had been stood down by the council until the end of the year. He Is In the second year of a five-year contract available from Esanda offices, ANZ branches, your financial adviser or bv calling 008 811 Ul free. I HMfl Application mull bt made on the form accompanying lh protptctua rcgiiurtd by lh Australian Swuritict Cemmiaaion.

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