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

pfat liii fer alti THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 1997 No. 49,738 FIRST PUBLISHED 1831 60 PAGES 80c Jana becomes the story as she goes to court Mope of rate cuit asCPI COLUMN THAT NAME again. Kevin Swann, of Tumut, says that on his US travels he has come across a number of commemorations of the role of a great Pole in the US War of Independence. On the battlefield of Saratoga, NY, is a memorial to Thaddeus Kosciuszko. A town in Attala County, Mississippi is Kosciusko, as is a county in Indiana, yet the monument at Saratoga, and another in Pennsylvania show the name with a His full name, says Kevin, was Tadeusz Andzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko.

Luckily, when, in 1840, Paul Strzelecki stood on our highest mountain and named it after his countryman, he used only the surname. And he didn't name it after his birthplace, Mereczowszczyzna. NOTHING better to do the only explanation we can find for the people who rang us about a Business for Sale yesterday, a Hobart hotel with an unusual entertainment area: plunges 1SF ft I- l' Jana Wendt arrives at the Industrial Relations Court yesterday she became nothing but a Davis, notifying Seven yesterday that he will begin legal action next week alleging misrepresentation against the network, asking for his contract to be varied or voided. Besides the presence of senior and junior barristers for both Ms Wendt and Channel Seven yesterday, other media organisations had their barristers' at the ready to fight the motion to have the matter dealt with in private. As it turned out, the confidentiality motion was dropped and the lawyers for the other media organisations trooped out.

Ms Wendt sat with her green pen poised over a notebook as her barrister, Mr John West, QC, argued that the matter be heard quickly. Ms Wendt's claim had nothing to do with money, he stressed, but rather that Channel Seven had used her good standing to advance its own commercial interests at her expense. "It was to be her program," he claimed. "One which was to be marketed to the viewing public as having the hallmark of quality namely According to Mr West, Channel Seven lured her from Channel Nine, where she had spent 13 years, by appealing to her professional standing "as a television journalist of the highest calibre" and by offering her a program which would be of a quality and calibre unmatched Photograph by QUENTIN JONES an incurable disease nor was she claiming financial hardship. Instead the judge suggested a private session in his chambers in one last attempt to settle the matter out of court, but he wanted someone from Seven who had the power to make a decision to be in attendance.

Mr Gary Rice, the network's managing director, was contacted, and it was agreed that at 10 am on February 13 the feuding parties would meet in private in the judge's chambers. This is not the first attempt at a conciliation. The parties spent three days in December and January unsuccessfully thrashing the matter out before Mr Trevor Morling, QC. Health insurers seek cost cuts Private health insurers are calling on the Federal Government to overhaul patient care by restricting a patient's choice of doctors, treatment and drugs in an effort to curb rising health costs. PAGE 3: Full report Elliott, Gillespie win tour berths Matthew Elliott and Jason Gillespie, both returning from injury, have been selected for the Australian cricket tour to South Africa.

They will join the 12 players in the current Test team. PAGE 50: Full report. Thin blue line gets thinner as Ryan dumps 12 By DIANE STOTT Australia's inflation rate has hit its lowest level since the recession, paving the way for another interest rate cut to combat persistently high unemployment Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday showed inflation rose just 0.2 per cent in the December quarter, for an annual rate of 1.5 per cent, the lowest for almost three years. With the Federal Government forecasting the unemployment rate remaining stuck at 8.5 per cent for at least the next six months, economists believe there is clearly room for the Reserve Bank to drop interest rates when the board meets next Tuesday. But most warned that the Reserve Bank would wait until the Australian Industrial Relations Commission decides on the "living wage" claim in late February or early March to make sure the commission keeps a lid on wages growth.

Mr Rory Robertson, an interest rate analyst with Bankers Trust, said the inflation figures confirmed the Reserve Bank's expectation of lower inflation, but "leaves the door open for another rate cut as early as next "But it is more likely the Reserve will hold its fire until the case for easing is stronger," he said. The cut was more likely in March or April after the release of wages growth figures on February 6, the ACTU wages claim had been decided and evidence confirmed that unemployment had not improved. The Reserve Bank is committed to keeping underlying inflation within a target range of 2 to 3 per cent over the course of the economic cycle. Yesterday's figures showed underlying inflation which excludes volatile components like housing and food rose 0.4 per cent in the December quarter. The annual rate was 2.1 per cent, down from 2.4 per cent in September.

Mr Robertson said that with underlying inflation at the lower end of the target range and likely to drop below 2 per cent later in the year, the Reserve Bank has room to move. Asked about the implications for interest rates, the Treasurer, Mr Costello, said: "The point I Malaysia a million By MARK BAKER Herald Correspondent in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia is preparing to expel an estimated one million illegal foreign workers after a national deadline for them to surrender expires at the weekend. Troops, police and civil defence volunteers are being mobilised to round up unregistered workers. By early this week only 800 "illegals" had responded to a last-minute amnesty offer. Under draconian new legislation, foreigners employed without valid work permits face canings, jail terms of up to five years, hefty fines or summary deportation.

The Government claims the purge is needed to combat a flood of illegal immigration over the past five years that is fuelling a rise in crime, lawlessness and immorality. But human rights activists say that unregistered workers mostly poor labourers from Bangladesh and Indonesia lured into the country by corrupt Malaysian syndicates are the victims of a racist smear campaign. Critics also accuse the Government of hypocrisy in turning against a vast unofficial workforce without which Malaysia could not have achieved its rapid economic modernisation in recent years. As part of the crackdown, teams of police and civil defence volunteers are being used to raid factories, plantations and con- Internet www.srnh.com.au HOME DELIVERY ISSN 0312-6315 (02)92823800 6 The key to survival is to accept that low rates of increase in prices aren't just a flash in the pan: they're here to a Mlls. have always made is the general point the right climate for low interest rates is a low inflation climate." He was also optimistic about wage rises remaining under control, in line with Treasury's forecasts that they will remain around 4.5 per cent for the rest of the financial year.

"What this means for wage earners is that they don't have to fight the losing battle where wages are chasing price increases," he said. Borrowers are the big beneficiaries from falling inflation, with cuts to interest rates shaving 7.8 per cent off their housing costs over the year to December, while tenants faced a 3.3 per cent rise in rents. But health costs grew almost four times the inflation rate, reflecting big increases in insurance premiums, medical fees and the cost of pharmaceuticals. Fruit and vegetable prices rose strongly in the December quarter. So did bread, but this was offset by falling lamb and beef prices.

Overall inflation has plummeted to 1.5 per cent from a high of 5.1 per cent just a year ago. At the same time the Reserve Bank has cut interest rates three times for a total drop of 1.5 percentage points. PAGE 4: Inflation falls -reports and analysis. PAGE 16: Editorial. PAGE 29: dives, shares rise; Max Walsh.

to expel 'illegals' if it tfe-'t for ill tte fofTiqizrs sanction sites where many foreign workers live in shanty settlements. Official teams are already raiding nightclubs, restaurants, shopping malls and petrol stations, where thousands of previously registered Bangladeshi attendants have been ordered to be laid off. Immigration authorities have also announced plans to mount house-to-house searches for foreign maids working without permits. Police and army units will be deployed from Monday to tighten security along the northern border with Thailand which has been the main entry point for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Burma and other parts of South Asia. Malaysia, which recently completed work on fencing a long section of the boundary, has stirred bilateral tensions by accusing Thailand of failing to co-operate in stemming border crossings.

The Inspector-General of Continued Page 10 IriTV Untol Tasmania- TOD Chen telle. IOP lUmaver ueir yaiucn. large function room. Keno room ning room i IN OUR soggy weather, it cheered Sonia Ades, of Rose Bay, to see a tableau in Double Bay yesterday. Around 3 pm, a man, carrying an umbrella, held up traffic to allow a duck and four ducklings to cross busy New South Head Road from Cross Street to Kiaora Lane.

GAD, if we could only mix metaphors like this! Peter Manning, a former head of ABC-TV news and current affairs, writing in Another Newspaper about the Mansfield report on the ABC: It is when Mansfield steps out in uncharted waters, after the quickest of learning curves, that he fumbles the ball THE TEAM of orange people orange clothes, orange accessories, orange make-up (Column 8, Friday) has been sighted all over the city, including, yesterday, at a cafe in Paddington. Rightly curious people who asked them what it's all about have been given some guff about "seeing things in an orange perspective" and the "positive feeling" of being orange. As they were seen in the city clutching orange-drink bottles, we suspect there's a crassly commercial aspect to it all. TOMORROW morning sees the final entry of the Fairstar into the harbour. The cruise liner, coming through the Heads at 7.30, will follow a naval tradition of flying a white paying-off pennant a yard for every year of service (39 years 3 feet, or 117 feet), plus a foot for every metre of the ship's length (182ft), a total of 299 feet or 91 metres.

FROM time to time we observe how apdy people's names match their jobs. We have, though, to observe how inapt is the name of a spokesman for the Australian Taxation Office Mr Cheetham. SOMETHING we didn't know -in 1988, Enzo Ferrari, maker of the legendary cars, died from cancer. He left provision in his will to supply the latest model Ferrari at cost price all over the world to groups raising money to fight cancer. That's why the NSW Cancer Council (9334 1900) has a Ferrari F355B, worth retail around $290,000, to raffle with 1,500 tickets at $300 each.

FEES AND CHARGES ARE PAYABLE. ADVANCE BANK AUSTRALIA LIMITED. ACN 002 9ii figurehead, her counsel said. by anything else on television. It was to be about weekly events "as seen through her eyes," Mr West said, but in the end she was nothing but a figurehead.

Tomorrow was suggested as a date for the hearing to start but Channel Seven's response indicated it was there to play it hard. Its counsel, Mr Stephen Rothman, SCj said they could not be ready. His team had 12 months of television material to go through in detail and 11 witness statements to compile. This would take at least six weeks. Justice Frank Marks said he could not see why Ms Wendt should jump the queue to get her matter moved up the court list as -she did not appear to be suffering Ken Moroney, is unclear.

Mr Ryan said yesterday that he was taking the service from an "unwieldy, top-heavy management structure" to a "slimmed-down and more responsive "This process is not without personal pain, but the public has entrusted me with rebuilding of our police service and I intend to honour that commitment," he said. Mr Ryan has the support of the Premier, Mr Carr, and the Police Minister, Mr Whelan. But the Opposition's spokesman, Mr Andrew Tink, said: "The public fully expected a 'day of the long knives', but the public fully expected corrupt officers to be targeted, not experienced officers." "In the absence of a police board, the police minister must justify why such a massive loss of experience is warranted to date this justification has not been forthcoming." The head of the Commissioned Police Officers' Association, Mr Don Freudenstein, said the purge was a "public relations Mr Geoff Schuberg's wife said yesterday that her husband was "in complete shock" and he did not wish to speak publicly, fearing it would harm his future employment prospects. The Commander of the Hunter District, Chief Superintendent Heinz Moeller, who was sacked on Tuesday, said the meeting with Mr Ryan and Ms Nixon was short and polite. "We sat down and he asked if I had considered my options and I said I had and that I wanted to be one of new regional commanders," Mr Moeller said.

"He said he was unable to help end of conversation." PAGE 2: How top police get the flick in style. By KATE McCLYMONT "She was to be the Number One personality at Channel Seven," said Jana Wendt's barrister. It was "no mere puff" but promised to her in her contract. That was as close to the contract as yesterday's proceedings got as the latest round in the tussle between Ms Wendt and Channel Seven unfolded before a room full of lawyers and journalists and the Numero Uno herself, fittingly attired in royal blue in the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW. Outside the commission, the dispute looks set to widen, with a senior reporter with the Witness program, Graham Carr's leafy legacy to children of the future By TONY STEPHENS Make no mistake, the Premier wanted it known deep in the peaceful forest that this was a historic day when the Australian people would set up a dialogue with the unborn grandchildren who would inhabit the land in 100 years' time.

"What we are doing is a very patriotic thing," Mr Carr said. "It is a gift to future generations, so that the unborn can sample the flavour of the old forests." Mr Carr was speaking at the official opening of the South East Forests National Park, the 100th national park in NSW and the 38th opened in the Labor Government's 20 months. He was talking about, rather than to, trees, but there was a certain emotion, even mysticism, in the forest. Mr Carr knows that few Australians can name political leaders of a century ago and that political lifespans fall short of those of the eucalypts in the forest, but he wants what he and others achieved yesterday to be remembered in 2097. The forests have been a major theme of his political career and yesterday marked what he called "a major land use decision where we drew new lines on the land use map of this The new park links together the Bemboka, Tantawangalo, Coolangubra and Genoa national parks through the reservation of a further 45,000 ha of former State forests, making a total of 90,000 ha.

There is now a 150 km-long conservation corridor along the coastal escarpment from west of Narooma to Victoria. Besides the diverse range of eucalypts and the platypus, the park protects a range of endangered species including the long- By GREG BEARUP Chief Police Reporter At least 12 of the State's most senior police have been effectively sacked by the Police Commissioner, Mr Ryan, in the past two days in the biggest single purge in the history of the NSW Police Service. With Assistant Commissioner Christine Nixon by his side, Mr Ryan summoned the officers to the Hyde Park Plaza Hotel and told them their positions had been abolished and they could reapply for more junior posts effectively they were sacked. Yesterday, die man who was to head the security planning for the Sydney Olympics, Assistant Commissioner Denis Gilligan, went home from work "in shock" after being told he was "no longer part of the Mr Gilligan led the NSW Police Service's contingent to the Games in Atlanta. The officer previously in charge of security planning, John Garvey, faced allegations of corruption in the Police Royal Commission and was forced out Only two of the 12 senior police executive employed under the previous commissioner, Mr Tony Lauer, remain.

They are Assistant Commissioners Jeff Jarratt and Christine Nixon. The Herald understands that four assistant commissioners have gone. They are Alf Peate, Geoff Schuberg, Bill Galvin, and Denis Gilligan. There are at least seven chief superintendents Bill Macintosh, Heinz Moeller, Darcy Cluff, Dave Care, Peter Coe, Ian Campbell and Cec Shears. The post of Assistant Commissioner in charge of Education and Training has been abolished and the future for the head of that unit, Assistant Commissioner 3m Bob Carr at Pipers Lookout, the 100th national park in NSW.

footed potoroo, yellow-bellied glider, white-footed dunnart, tiger quoll, sooty owl and koala. "One of the great conservation battles is over," the Premier said in triumph. "We have a chance of building up the finest national parks system in the world. Tourists are coming here to see the forests they can no longer see in Europe or many parts of Asia." The Carr Government, through its State forestry package, has moved logging to less controversial areas, planned a sustainable industry based on regrowth and plantations and for tourism to offset the lost jobs. The Premier pointed yesterday to a reasonable consensus between conservationists and the timber industry after a 20-year struggle and was confident that an additional 30,000 ha now being assessed would be added to the park.

Mr Gavin Hillier, of the Construction, Forestry, Mining Continued Page 8 PAGE 8: Forest war goes on. TOMORROW Sydney Humid with INSIDE ine cnance oi a tnunaery snower. NSW: Warm to very warm and humid. Showers and storms, chiefly inland. Coastal showers.

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