The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 3

Tuesday, June 11, 1996 3 The Sydney Morning Herald Natuar' 'V 1 IS 1 1 i i ,1 6tlhrea.teii A i I VI Tension precedes NRMA board meeting ByjENI PORTER Business Editor Four months after the NRMA appointed its fourth chief executive in four years, the insurer and motorists' organisation faces another showdown at its next full board meeting on June 27. On the agenda are the thorny subjects of demutualisation and new chief Mr Malcolm Jones's five-week overseas trip. There is also expected to be further fallout from an alleged job-for-job deal between directors Mr Nick Whitlam and Mr Richard Talbot linked to Mr Whitlam's unsuccessful tilt for CEO. Some NRMA directors were so concerned about the alleged deal between Mr Whitlam and Mr Talbot they had statements tabled at the last main board meeting in early May. The president, Mr Don Mackay, claims the deal involved Mr Whitlam securing Mr Talbot's support for his becoming CEO in exchange for getting the unemployed Mr Talbot an NRMA-sponsored job and orchestrating the settling of Mr Talbot's litigation.

Any such job for Mr Talbot would have been subject to board approval. Mr Whitlam denies the settlement was part and parcel of his becoming CEO and says the Talbot job offer was suggested by Mr John Fuller, a partner in law firm Gadens Ridgeway, which ran Mr Talbot's litigation against the prospectus for 1994's aborted float. Other directors claim the Talbot job offer involved the NRMA paying him as a consultant on a five-year contract worth $120,000 a year. Mr Talbot denies doing any deals. He says there won't be talks on settling his litigation, including threats to sue directors involved with the aborted float, until the legal costs from the law suit over the prospectus are settled.

There is a dispute over the taxing of these costs. Mr Jones, who will return to Australia just before the meeting, can expect to be grilled about the trip. Mr Talbot and Mr Whitlam took Mr Jones to task about his going away on for five weeks one of which was agreed leave at an NRMA Insurance board meeting on May 23, the day before he left. Mr Talbot also wants a resolution he first proposed in February to be revisited "the board believes that NRMA operates best as a mutual and should remain as a But Mr Talbot is caught up in a much bigger fight that has developed since Mr Whitlam's campaigning to win board support for his tilt at the CEO's job. PAGE 25: Hard road ahead for new NRMA chief.

Pain in the necks Australia's only professional women wrestlers, "Action" Crawford, left, and "Indian Queen9' Kumari, come Rare pair prove there's no tender weeds pastoralism poses a continuing threat to biodiversity in rangeland environments." Introduced plants are also posing a major threat to the marine environment, says the report Japanese kelp probably arrived via a discharge of ship ballast water more than 121 million tonnes of ballast water is released annually and is spreading in southern waters. "This invader is spreading along the Tasmanian coast at a rate of between four and 40 kilometres per year." A specialist in introduced species and their impact on Australian ecosystems, Mr Tim Low, told the Herald that introduced pests were an "incredible and underrated environmental "We are taking the most destructive species from around the world, things like cane toads, mosquito fish and lantana, and we are distributing them to all the places they're capable of living," said Mr Low. Other key findings contained in the State of the Environment Report include: The budget for endangered species recovery plans $5.5 million is "grossly Australia's record of mammal species extinctions is the worst for any country. In the past two centuries, Australia has lost 10 of the original 144 marsupial species and eight of the 53 species of native rodents. More than 100 mammal species are considered endangered; Habitat modification, particularly removal of vegetation for agriculture, urban development and forestry, has been and still is the most significant cause of loss of biodiversity.

But the deputy director of the National Farmers' Federation, Mr Robert Hadler, said it was drawing a "long bow" to continue to blame farmers for biodiversity loss. "There's no doubf that clearing in the past had an impact oh Australian biodiversity," Mr Hadler said. "But Federal and State government initiatives are making sure that clearing is sustainable and will minimise the impact on the environment." He also said that while some introduced pastures caused unintended consequences, overall there had been a massive net benefit. By JAMES WOODFORD Environment Writer Australia's weed problem has become so vast that introduced plant species now make up 15 per cent of the nation's flora, threatening the future of every ecosystem, an unreleased report obtained by the Herald has warned. The document, the biodiversity chapter of the State of the Environment Report, was prepared for the Federal Government over two years by more than 60 leading scientists and paints a picture of a nation facing an ecological crisis caused by 200 years of mismanagement While huge numbers of Australia's unique fauna are facing extinction, other native species have escaped natural ecosystems and exploded in numbers.

An even greater problem has been the arrival of feral animals and noxious weeds, which have invaded almost all of the continent. So much rubbish has been dumped into coastal tips that seagull numbers are increasing by up to 13 per cent a year, says the report. And tourist demand for didgeridoos has become so great it is putting pressure on the mallee trees from which the instruments are made. The galah, which was formerly limited to river systems in the arid zone, has now colonised most of the continent, threatening other bird species, such as Carnaby's cockatoo, and killing trees by stripping them of bark. "Introduced plants are an acute and insufficiently appreciated ecological problem," says the report.

"Almost all of Australia's native vegetation has been, or is likely to be, invaded by exotic species that could result in changes to the structure, species composition, fire frequency and abundance of native communities." Most of these plants which have become weeds, are horticultural species," says the report. "Research agencies and pas-toralists have introduced, and continue to introduce, many exotic grasses in an attempt to make rangelands more profitable. Since 1947, 463 exotic plant species have been introduced as pasture. "Only 5 per cent of these have proved useful as fodder, yet 13 per cent have become problem By EMMA TOM When Amy "Action" Crawford or J. "Indian Queen" Kumari say they're wrestlers, people give them a funny look and say "mud?" When the two women say these people smile knowingly and say "ohhhh, jelly The double jeopardy of being a female wrestler is that once you've explained that yes, you do wrestle in a real ring, clothed, just as men do, then there's all the regular anti-wrestling flak to contend with.

"Whenever anyone brings up wrestling, they always say -V-- Championship Wrestling, are looking for women to learn wrestling and take part in weekly Friday night shows starting later this year. "We don't care how big or how small but they've got to be fit," he said. "They could make a lot of money if they learned to restle." The multi-million-dollar empires of Wrestlemania and Rock and Roll Wrestling were the Gladiators of the '80s -maximum grunt entertainment with an emphasis on tight pants, silly names and moves such as drop kicks, moonsaults, splashes, bodyslams and the deadly figure-four leg lock. official receipt of the insignia was up to her. The author Thomas Keneally commended Dr Scutt yesterday.

"I wasn't as principled as Jocelynne," he said when asked why he had agreed to become an Officer in the Order of Australia in 1983. He said his award was precious because it came from the Australian community but would have been "twice as cherishable" if it had come without the irrelevant reference to the monarchy. "At this stage of the debate I applaud her gesture because it shows that republicanism hasn't gone away," he said. The chairman of the Australian Republican Movement, Mr Malcolm Turnbull, said Dr there will be two "betting auditoriums" at Randwick and Rosehill racecourses which may open 24 hours on demand. At present, most NSW sporting punters either deal with one of about 20 legal interstate bookmakers, such as Northern Territory rivals Centrebet and SportsBet, or the illegal industry, which is believed to handle about $1 million a week in NSW during the rugby league season.

The Minister for Gaming and Racing, Mr Face, told State Parliament last week that legalised sports betting would add $1 No unhappy return for birthday But the alleged sport took a dive in popularity after scandals such as the 1991 revelation that a number of pro wrestlers, including the mega popular Hulk Hogan, used steroids. Even worse was to come during a recent Canadian court case, hen professional wrestler "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who had been charged with assault, testified that the matches were choreographed from start to finish. Nevertheless, the success of the Gladiators and the arrival of pay television have convinced many diehard wrestling enthusiasts that a revival is on its ay. Surprised Dr Scutt. Scutt "may well, by example, encourage a number of other people who have Australian honours to consider putting them on hold or putting them in suspension until such time as mm ma Li 01 to grips.

Photo by steven siewert gender "In America, audiences are back to where they were in the '80s and in Japan, women's wrestling is huge," Crawford said. "All we are trying to do is get the respect that comes with the sport in other countries." Crawford intends to move to the US for six months to further her wrestling training, whereas Kumari's goal is to star in Indian action movies. The two have wrestled each other twice this year and will face each other again on August 4 at Ingleburn RSL Club. Any woman interested in trying out as an opponent can call Andy Harpas on 015 926 505. honour they can be confered by an Australian head of The executive director of Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy, Mrs Kerry Jones, called yesterday for Dr Scutt to be stripped of her award.

"It's an insult to any Australian because she's refusing to take it under our current Government," Mrs Jones said. Dr Scutt said she was surprised at the controversy. "I struggled with it for a very long time," she said. "I remember sitting at my word processor and going over and over the dilemma to determine what to do." But the awards were not "wholly Australian" and she had acted in accordance with her conscience. 3 Rugby league Rugby union Cricket Soccer Aussie rules Athletics Swimming Overseas sport week in telephone sports bets on everything from rugby league and union to tennis, golf and the odd political election.

'fake'," Crawford said. "And I think 'fake'? What do they mean 'fake'. Yes, you have to learn how to fall over. But wrestling has changed since the early '80s. These days it's very much based on the Japanese, it's gone back to real wrestling." Crawford, a diversional therapist and wrestling manager from western Sydney, and Kumari, a kickboxing and boxing trainer from the inner city, are Australia's only two professional female wrestlers.

But not for long if Kumari's trainer, Andy "Animal" Harpas has anything to do with it. He and his son, who run Australian wish to collect the insignia at this stage, that is a matter for her. There is simply no provision for holding an appointment 'in trust'." He said Dr Scutt had been informed well in advance that she was being considered for an honour and asked whether she would be willing to receive it. "She responded in writing in the affirmative," he said, adding that it was not until Friday that she sent a facsimile message asking if the award might be held in trust to be presented by Australia's first president. Dr Scutt said yesterday that later on Friday, after sending the facsimile message, she had a telephone conversation with a Government House official who had accepted that the timing of parts, bookmakers in NSW will be restricted to serious sporting events only and not be allowed to take bets on elections, cockroach races and when Elvis will be found alive.

The State's first legal all-sport bookmakers are expected to begin operating by the end of the year. Any existing licensed bookmaker will be eligible to accept bets on other sporting events, but only at NSW racecourses on race days in person or over the phone. At this stage, there will be no English-style betting shops, but By CRAIG SKEHAN and SONYA SANDHAM Government House has refused a request by Dr Jocelynne Scutt to have her award of Officer in the Order of Australia given to her in the Queen's Birthday honours held in trust until Australia becomes a republic. Dr Scutt, a lawyer, feminist and republican, indicated she did not want to return the award. She told the Herald yesterday: "I do not intend to use the letters AO after my name until an Australian head of state has placed the symbol in my hand," The official secretary to the Governor-General, Mr Douglas Sturkey, said: "If she does not The betting is you'll soon be punting on all sports KILLER WEEDS THE MOST DANGEROUS HALF-DOZEN RU33ER VINE Vine: wetdry tropics Shrub: dry rainforest Smothers treesshrubs, shades out ground layer, threatens associated animals; forms impenetrable thickets in Queensland's Gulf river systems ELUE TKUNEERGIA Vine: Far North Queensland, tropical lowland rainforest Smothers native vegetation HYMENACKNE Semi-aquatic: wetlands, streams in wetdrysub tropics Potential to totally change tropical wetlands if not controlled PARA GRASS Seml-aquatfc: wetlands, streams in wetdrysub tropics Destroys bird breeding grounds, choking streams, replaces natives DITOU BUSH Shrub: range of coastal systems, from fordune to littoral rainforest Displaces native vegetation; unknown effect on animals ATHEL PINE Small tree: dryland river systems Displaces native trees; salinises soil; reduces animal resources Source: State of tte Environment Report Humpty Doo frog race US presidential, and local elections Host city for 2004 Olympics Academy Awards Darts Ian Baker-Finch missing the cut Overseas sport Local sport By MICHAEL KOSLOWSKI They may not be able to bet on the return of Elvis, but NSW punters this year should finally be able to have a legal wager on their favourite sporting event.

State Parliament this week is expected to pass amendments to the Gaming and Betting Act (1912), with the full support of the Coalition, which would allow betting on all sports and bring NSW into line with the rest of the country. But unlike some of their interstate and overseas counter About 20 per cent is from overseas customers, while NSW punters account for half $400,000 a week of local turnover. By the end of the year, many in the bookmaking industry believe there will be too many bagmen in Australia permitted to accept general sports bets. And the Northern Territory lads are talking tough, saying there's not enough room for all of them in the Australian market One bookie believes only half will survive. PAGE 8: What we spend.

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