The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 1

-ask A. No. 49,735 RRST PUBLISHED 1831 56 PAGES 80c Why Pistol Pete Giant holiday crossword Sampras is No. 1 SPORTING LIFE PAGE 10 u4 1 Don't apologise, PM tells Nod to Aboriginal flag part of the design for a new Australian The level of recognition of the Aboriginal flag was also high. As well, the poll found a much higher level of acceptance of the possibility of a new national flag than previous polls.

PAGE 5: Full report. "false and irrational attacks" on ethnic or minority groups. Mr Samuels said he was glad to be able to call Australia a multicultural society and that immigrants should be encouraged to "assert their own cultural values while abandoning relics of former In a speech to mark Australia Day, he said cultural differences were not a reason for hostility and free speech was a right that should not be abused. "Among the most precious liberties of our democratic system is the right to free speech," he said. "In our community there is no topic that cannot be the subject of rational discussion and, if need be, of vigorous disagreement" By CRAIG SKEHAN Australia should not be perpetually apologising for sins of the past because it had been a role model of tolerance since European settlement, the Prime Minister said yesterday.

His view contrasted with that of the Governor-General, Sir William Deane, who said in an Australia Day address that the nation would enter the next century diminished if genuine reconciliation was not achieved with its indigenous people. Mr Howard told a citizenship ceremony in South Australian that no other nation had absorbed immigrants in such a harmonious way. "It is a day to celebrate the miracle of being an Australian," he told the Marion City Council ceremony at Hallet Cove. "And it is most importantly the day to be immensely proud of the role model of tolerance and openness that Australia represents to the world, not only now in the late 1990s, but over the 200 years that have gone by since European settlement-" Mr Howard has in the past qualified his views on Australian racial tolerance and openness in terms of the post-World War II dumping of the White Australia policy. There were also attempts to distinguish the development of a tolerant society from the excesses of European settlement Mr Howard said yesterday COLUMN 8 A STORY of evil luck with a slightly happier finish.

Earlier this month, Paul and Gail Duncan, of Bateau Bay, had to rush their five-year-old daughter, Jessy, to Gosford Hospital for urgent tests. They stayed with her through the night, only to be told in the morning she had acute myeloid leukaemia. Just to add to their misery, a low-life had stolen their 10-year-old Commodore from the hospital carpark overnight When found, it had been vandalised and the engine burnt out JESSY is now in the New Children's Hospital at West-mead, for bone marrow and other tests. Paul works in quarries for ICI, and confesses he's been involved with his union in a dispute with the multinational company. But it's ICI that has given him a job where he can be near Westmead, the loan of a Falcon to replace his car, and financial help.

THE Antarctic Ocean rescues have put all our emergency services on their mettle. On Friday, three fire units, three ambulances and two police trucks answered a call to Kings Cross railway station. There they found a young boy had been riding the escalator. His shoelace was caught and his foot was jammed. A crowbar released him and he was taken to hospital with slight injuries.

THE CORNISH family, of Wah-roonga, were intrigued by last week's Pickles auction of government vehicles. Sold on behalf of the Department of Corrective Services was an example of how our prisons provide transport for all occasions a Toyota Tarago Getaway bus. SOMETHING for the nerds. Carl Lewis to give Redfern helping hand A majority of Australians would support the inclusion of elements of the Aboriginal flag in any new national flag. A nationwide Herald-AGB McNair Poll conducted last week showed that 66 per cent of voters would support "using the Aboriginal flag as that Australia's maintenance of democracy for all of this century should be reflected on by people who denigrated the nation's achievements and linked a "perpetual apology" to its identity.

Australia Day rain dance on the "appalling state of Aboriginal health a tragic story of sickness, suffering, dying and death of fellow "Both sides of our national Parliament have accepted the importance of genuine reconciliation between the Aboriginal peoples and Australians as a whole," he said. "We must achieve it by the year 2001. Otherwise well enter the second century of our nation as a diminished people. "We won't achieve it until we reach the stage of basic justice and decency where the life expectancy of an Aboriginal baby is at least comparable to that of a non-Aboriginal one." towards the finish line on Sydney Yesterday, he criticised the Australian media for the shallowness of its reporting of science, but he reserved his strongest comments for the ABC and some of its coverage of the debate on immunising children. "It's 200 years since the first smallpox injection and there's an international initiative to immunise children and yet in Australia the immunisation rate for children is only 53 per cent," he said.

Commenting on an ABC Oan-tum report in September last year which looked at the arguments against immunisation, he said: "Giving equal time to largely irrational activists as to medical experts was like giving equal time to murderers." Professor Doherty also urged greater autonomy and rationalisation among Australian universities. "Does each university ally to take it for a walk. Computerised pets have been around for a while "virtual" dogs or cats that are fed and cared for with the click of a computer mouse. Rieko Zanma, an essayist who writes about modern Japanese society, said: "Many in the younger generation want to have nice soft pets, but they don't want to clean up after them and do the other hard parts. "The Tamagocchi is not a living creature, so it gives them satisfaction on a very- 'virtual' level, which has been instilled in young people today." Widgets and gizmos have always been big sellers here, the smaller and cuter the better.

So the idea of raising a pet on a key-chain device is very appealing. The Washington Post, Reuter i By LOUISE EVANS The sultan of speed, Carl Lewis, will ease down a gear from his hectic farewell world tour tomorrow to join the Olympic silver medallist Cathy Freeman at a Redfern Park workshop for young Aboriginal athletes. Helping children reach their potential is a cause close to Lewis's heart and the nine-times Olympic gold medallist said he had time to spare during the last Flying visit Carl Lewis. day of his fleeting Sydney tour to dash to Redfern. Lewis is in Sydney to compete at the Optus Grand Prix athletics meeting today in what will be his first and last 100m race in Australia before he retires later this year.

He recalled how, during the United States Olympic trials, he had seen crowds of youngsters standing outside the Adanta Stadium listening to the action because they could not afford a ticket to watch their idols in the flesh. "We have to make ourselves available to young people," Lewis said. "We have to bring the young people in, to inspire them to perform. "We should allow them to interact with athletes they only see on television. To see they are human beings and hard working gives them a chance and a vision they could achieve the same sort of success." The 35-year-old Lewis pledged his support for the "-II Sir William also said Australians would need to be vigilant in defending the unifying achievements of multiculturalism.

"The essence of that multiculturalism is mutual respect and tolerance for all our different cultural, ethnic, national and religious backgrounds and lawful practices. "We must be vigilant to defend it And that's not so much because we're concerned about what others may expect or think of us. It's because our multiculturalism is decent, just and right" Meanwhile, the Governor of NSW, Mr Gordon Samuels, called last night for Australians to condemn people who abused the right of free speech by focusing Harbour yesterday. need an agriculture department? The need for rationalisation is obvious and there should be more movement between universities. "Some university vice-chancellors are like government bureaucrats.

Most of the university funding in Australia comes from the Federal Government and he who pays the piper calls the tune, doesn't he?" While saying he did not want to criticise people who worked hard and were poorly paid, he said it was "ridiculous" that all academics were paid the same. "Equality is fine, but a down-levelling society is a disaster. Everyone says 'equality', but science is not democratic -it's driven by people who build things and make them go." Other awards yesterday included: Australian Achievers: Profes Schools staff shortage alert Secondary schools across Australia face a severe shortage of mathematics and science teachers within the next five to six years, which might result in bigger classes and less qualified staff, says a report PAGE 3: Full report Safety fear as inspectors go The State's mining safety watchdog reeling from the Gretley disaster which claimed four lives, and unable to fill three key inspector positions for more than a year is now facing a raid for its inspectors from the Queensland Government PAGE 3: Full report Editorial ..92822822 Classrfled.92821122 Photograph by QUENTIN JONES Doherty lashes monarchy, media and mediocrity While Australia had stains and injustices in its past, and underprivilege remained, the "balance sheet" was extraordinarily positive, he said. Sir William's speech focused tall ships race through showers Republican Peter Doherty. erty, 56, was admitted to the Order of Australia and last year he and a colleague won the Nobel prize for Medicine.

Power Rangers. The chickens have become hard to find and can sell for up to $550. "It's not just high-school girls who are buying them, but primary school kids, office secretaries and middle-aged men," said a Bandai spokeswoman. It would be easy to dismiss the Tamagocchi as a peculiar Japanese quirk. But United States entrepreneurs and toy companies are watching closely.

They remember that other fads that started in Japan include the transistor radio, Power Rangers, Nintendo and the Sony Walkman. In this city of 30 million, there is barely enough room for the humans, let alone animals. Many people rent pets as weekend companions; others buy a dog or cat but leave it at the pet shop, visiting occasion TOMORROW Sydney Mostly fine INSIDE sor Martin Green, director of the Photovoltaics Special Research Centre at the University of NSW; Dame Phyllis Frost, for her contribution to community groups in Victoria; Professor Priscilla Kincaid-Smith, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne; author David Mal-ouf; and actress Ruth Cracknell. Maree Worthington, the nurse held captive in Sudan, received a certificate of courage. Redfern workshop while signing autographs with Freeman after the two caught up yesterday for the first time since the Atlanta Olympics five months ago.

Dressed in skin-tight black jeans and boots, with a gold earring, Lewis looked like a pop star but Freeman couldn't help but notice that the champion was looking old. "Everyone realises you are an old man now, you've got grey there," Freeman told Lewis, pointing to his short-cropped hair. As well as helping children, Lewis said he wanted to get into films perhaps comedy, like one of his favourite actors, Jerry Lewis. King Carl felt he was funny sometimes, too. It must be the name.

When he retires from athletics, he also wants to use his finely toned body to encourage, fat America to slim down. "I'm part of the largest group of people, age-wise, in the US the baby boomers," he said. "We are all aging together. If I can stay fit and stay in shape, people around my age can stay in shape and age with me." Lewis admitted that he was not in the same scintillating form that carried him to the supreme heights of athletics. Physically, he felt he could continue competing for another few years, but his mental strength had gone.

"Mentally, it is time to end," he said. "Even if you stay in shape and stay active your mind goes before the body." The celebrated Lewis legs, however, are still hot property and still stop traffic, most recently on an advertising billboard where he posed in red stilettos for a tyre company. The ever-humble Lewis believes his legs are even better than those of the US footballer Joe Namath, who was famous for doing a stocking advertisement Now that's what Lewis calls racy. JqpneSc $ttoojiV earns -b rMC a compel'' -Toy the size and shape of an egg. The game starts when an egg on the screen hatches and a chicken is born.

The owner then uses three tiny buttons to play with, feed and discipline the chicken, and clean up after it Unlike most video games that are over in a few minutes, AAP reports that a cafe owner in Cheltenham, England, who offers customers Internet access, has named his business Netscafe. Guess which multinational company is angry? Says the cafe owner, Paul Alexander: "They don't have a mandate on all 26 letters of the alphabet" CHATSWOOD Fitness, on Eastern Valley Way says Mary Shelley Clark, of East Lindfield lists these exhausting, but fitness-building activities on its front wall: AEROBICS CIRCUITS WEIGHTS CHILD-MINDING WHILE the BT Global Challenge boats are having a break in New Zealand, Rod Stevens, a crewman on Save the Children, flew to Sydney to see his family. Sailing is in his blood, so he took a windsurfer out from Palm Beach for a quiet sail on Pittwater. The windsurfer was too big, and soon he was being blown out into Broken Bay. Then the mast broke, and he was on his way, solo, to NZ, until the windsurfer hire operator rescued him.

Humbling for a round-the-world sailor. business with anyone else? The Australian Airline 901. Internet address: A Computer eggs crack the toy market By PAUL McGEOUGH The 1997 Australian of the Year, Professor Peter Doherty, argued yesterday for Australia to become a republic, criticised the slow rate of child immunisation, and expressed concern at egali-tarianism in our universities. Just hours before receiving the award from the Prime Minister, the United States-based professor said the relevance of the monarchy to Australia had ended with the fall of Singapore. "I don't see any reason for maintaining a situation in which the head of state of Australia is the Queen of England," he said.

"I live in a country where Americans pledge allegiance to their republic pledging allegiance to the Queen of England doesn't have the same resonance, does it?" On Saturday, Professor Doh- however, this one can go on for days. With proper care, the chicken grows. If the owner forgets to feed it, it sounds a loud "peep peep peep" of complaint If the chicken defecates and the owner doesn't clean up, it peeps even louder. can tickle it with the press of a button, or take its temperature and give it injections of "medicine" if it seems ill. Ignore the chicken, drop it on the subway, or neglect to tickle it often enough, and it will start to look sickly.

Eventually it will die. Game over. The implication: You loser. You can't even keep a fake chicken alive. More than 500,000 Tamagoc-chis have been sold since they were introduced two months ago by Bandai, the huge Japanese toymaker famous for its Or JH' By KEVIN SULLIVAN in Tokyo By dawn, a queue of nearly 2,000 people stretched about 400 metres through Tokyo's Ginza shopping district Hundreds of them had spent the night camped out on the footpath in the numbing midwinter cold.

When you want a virtual chicken badly enough, youTl endure anything. "It is my responsibility to nurture it and help it grow; if I do not its face will turn vicious and will become a gangster chicken, then it will die," Kwon Myong Mi, 33, said earnestly, explaining why she waited hours in line to pay $18 for a Tamagocchi, Japan's hottest new fad. The Tamagocchi, which translates as "cute little is a key-chain computer game about Internet www.smh.com.au HOME DELIVERY (02)92823800 ISSN 0312-6315 Work doesn't have to stop just because you're at the airport. At The Qantas Club there are faxes, work stations, meeting rooms, showers, refreshments, arid the latest newspapers and magazines. All in a relaxed, Ches? 36 Obituaries :....36 PHONE Weather today 19 to 24- sated showers although mainly fine.

Liverpool 18 to 25. friendly environment Why QXM 0098- Qantas Airways Limited A.CN. 009 661 do ana numia witn an expected uiassmea inaex 44 upimon maximum of 27. NSW: Humid. Agenda 9 Crosswords 19 Personal Notices 36 Showers orttiunderstorms, chiefly Amusements 16-18 Editorials 12 Sport 21-32 in the nortlveast and western Arts 10,11 $2 Lottery 6167......16 Stay in Touch 20 inland.

DETAILS Page 19. Business 33-35 Mails, ships 36 Television 20 Richmond 18 to 26. NSW: Showers in the east, increasing north of Sydney. Warm to hot in the west with late thunderstorms. Sunrise 6.11 am Sunset 8.04 pm.

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