Hercules to make flypast over Sydney

A Hercules aircraft will fly over Sydney's CBD to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of the RAAF. Source: AAP

A HERCULES aircraft will make a flyover of Sydney's Martin Place to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The Department of Defence says the CBD flyover by the C-130 transport aircraft will take place at 11am (AEDT) on Wednesday.

The flyover will coincide with a service at the Cenotaph bringing together current air force members with veterans, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

The aircraft will approach the CBD from the eastern suburbs at a height at no less than 300 metres above the tops of buildings and later track down the Parramatta River before making its way out of Sydney to Richmond.

Formed in March 1921 at Point Cook in Victoria, the RAAF is the world's second oldest air force, coming after the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of continuous RAAF Hercules operations to the Middle East, making it the longest ever overseas deployment to have been conducted by the RAAF.

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Slap in the face for Australia's singing budgie

Kylie Minogue. Source: The Daily Telegraph

JOHN Farnham has been revealed as Australia's best singer by a panel of his peers but Australians were more interested in who had been left off the list.

Social media was alive with discussion this morning after the news that Farnham really was The Voice.

"Anyone who has seen John Farnham live will agree with this decision. You may not like the music, but his voice is incredible," Ben Hosking wrote to us via news.com.au Facebook.

But not all were convinced, cue Sarah Attwood. "Are you kidding me? We have such wonderful artists. Move on from Farnham Australia, he's done & dusted."

Meanwhile, Olivia Newton-John's placement at 36 drew criticism as did Tina Arena's spot at No.3.

More importantly, fans were perplexed by those who were left off. Kylie Minogue and Missy Higgins were notable absentees.

Minogue, who is arguably Australia’s most popular export, was overlooked by a panel of over 100 industry judges which included David Campbell, Tania Doko, Ricki-Lee Wilbur Wilde and Tim Campbell.

“That @kylieminogue isn't in list of top 50 Aussie singers is BS. She's our most successful female artist,” NSW Police Force media officer Troy Deighton tweeted us.

Minogue has sold more than 68 million albums worldwide, won a Grammy and even scored an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) from Queen Elizabeth II in 2008 "for services to music".

Last year she celebrated twenty-five years of recording and has been indicted into the ARIA Hall of Fame?

“Her "Anti-Tour" show was as live as you can get, her voice was flawless. No auto tune there,” tweeted @damianjh

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Businesses tighten purse strings

Businesses are limiting non-essential investments, avoiding the use of credit and cutting debts, a survey shows. Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

FEWER businesses expect to make large investments in the coming months, given the patchy performance of the economy.

Dun & Bradstreet's (D&B) National Business Expectations Survey says investment expectations among Australian businesses are fading.

The outlook for capital investment is at its lowest point since the September 2011 quarter.

Fewer executives are planning to make a capital investment in their business during the coming months.

Businesses are limiting non-essential investments, avoiding the use of extra credit and cutting debts.

"What we are seeing is a business community that is still wary, still looking for sustained improvement in the state of the economy," D&B corporate affairs director Danielle Woods said in a statement on Tuesday.

Overseas markets continued to generate mixed news, the effects of the global financial crisis still lingered, and businesses were adopting a wait-and-see approach before the federal election later this year, Ms Woods said.

Investment expectations are down significantly in the manufacturing sector, and retailers are also pessimistic.

D&B said only seven per cent of executives intended to seek funds to grow their businesses in the quarter ahead.

More than 40 per cent of businesses are taking advantage of low interest rates to reduce debt.

D&B's survey also showed a fall in the June quarter outlook for sales, selling prices, employment, inventories and profits.

Sales expectations were at their lowest point since March 2012 as consumers preferred to cut debt and save more rather than spend.

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Carr: Coalition should put politics aside

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr speaks to journalists after paying his respect at Bali bomb monument, background, in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) Source: AP

FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr has called on the Coalition to put politics aside and support the Malaysia people swap deal for the good of the nation.

Speaking in Indonesia ahead of a two-day Bali Process meeting on people smuggling Senator Carr said Tony Abbott should do more to work towards a solution on the asylum-seeker issue.

"What I want the opposition in Canberra to do is put Australia’s interests before politics," Senator Carr said.

"Enabling that Malaysia deal to proceed is something very specific that would be humane and honour Australia’s borders."

The government abandoned its Malaysia Solution after the High Court ruled it unlawful in 2011. It was never brought to parliament for a vote, however the Coalition have said they would oppose it.

Under the deal Australia was to send 800 asylum-seekers to Malaysia in return for accepting 4000 already processed refugees.

Senator Carr is attending the meeting in Bali along with Immigration Minister Brendan O’Connor and the head of the government’s people smuggling inquiry Angus Houston. He is co-chairing the forum with Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

Other countries, such as Afghanistan will also take part in the talks.

Australia is understood to be planning to ask Indonesia to do more to crack down on corrupt police who take bribes to enable the people smuggling trade.

Indonesia is expected to ask Australia to take more refugees through official channels to lighten their burden.

The issue of human trafficking and slavery will also be addressed at the meeting, including devising laws that would criminalise the practice.
 

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Cop trips on kerb, sues petrol station

BRITISH police chiefs have today expressed disappointment with one of their own officers after she sued a petrol station owner when she tripped on a kerb on his property during an emergency callout.

In what police fear could set a nationwide legal precedence, Constable Kelly Jones was first officer on the scene to respond to the emergency call but as she walked to the rear of the property she tripped on a high gutter of a car wash.

The break-in at the petrol station at Norfolk in east England was a false alarm but the 33-year-old constable later hired lawyers and has now begun legal action claiming she hurt her wrist and leg with the petrol station owner Steve Jones not taking steps to ensure she was “reasonably safe”.

She wants $A73,000 compensation from him for not having warning signs for the car wash gutter. The police union is funding her injury case which has caused public outrage and fears people could be put off calling police for help in future.

Norfolk Constabulary’s police chief Phil Gormley today said he was disappointed by the action and claimed the attitude was not representative of his force.

“This type of claim does not represent the approach and attitude of the overwhelming majority of our staff who understand and accept the risks inherent in policing and which they willingly confront to keep the public they serve safe,” he said.

“It is a disappointment that this is potentially undermined by a private compensation claim.”

Mr Jones said he was shocked by the action which he said would ruin him.

“You call the police and expect them to be on your side. I'm sure they are normally but not in this case,” he said.

He added the kerb was as visible as any other she would have steps over to get to his station and he actually helped her up when he saw her stumble and she didn’t look injured. She said she had to attend hospital for her injuries.

“How can anyone feel safe calling the cops if they size you up for compensation while they’re fighting crime,” he said.

British police officers are pocketing more than $30 million a year from launching private injury claims, encouraged by their union with an injury hotline.

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Union seeks uniform journalist shield laws

AUSTRALIA needs a consistent set of shield laws to protect journalists with confidential sources amid an unprecedented assault on press freedom, a media union says.

With at least five journalists across the country currently fighting court orders to reveal their sources or face contempt of court convictions, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) wants the Standing Council on Law and Justice representing attorneys-general across all jurisdictions to create uniform shield laws.

While some states have introduced such laws, many are riddled with inconsistencies and loopholes, and only a uniform approach will give journalists the protection they need to tell stories the public need to hear, MEAA director of media Paul Murphy said.

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Honeymoon over for mortgage holders

The Reserve is done cutting rates, members of our expert panel say.

MORTGAGE holders have enjoyed their last interest rate cut and should brace for rising rates in the coming year, according to News Limited's shadow Reserve Bank board.

No change is expected when the real Reserve Bank announces its monthly decision today at 2.30pm.

But a majority of our nine-member expert panel believe the Reserve is done cutting rates.

At 5.65 per cent, the discounted mortgage rate is at its lowest in half a century, excluding the Global Financial Crisis, as the Reserve Bank seeks to engineer a recovery in non-mining parts of the economy.

FOLLOW WHAT THE ECONOMISTS ARE SAYING TODAY ON TWITTER

It's working, according to the chief economist of HSBC Bank Australia, Paul Bloxham, who believes a pre-Christmas rate hike is on the cards, followed by another rise early in the New Year.

"Low interest rates are supporting the economy, including improvements in consumer sentiment and the housing market,'' Mr Bloxham said.

An economist for the Eureka Report, Adam Carr, thinks rates should be increased by a quarter of a percentage point today and by another full percentage point over the coming year.

"The Reserve Bank cut interest rates too aggressively last year. None of the dramas they, and others, said would happen, did. Instead the economy got stronger and the outlook is great.

''While there are no signs the inflation genie is out of the bottle, as the high Australian dollar keeps a lid on inflation and activity, economists increasingly think the need for ultra-low rates has passed.

"I think all we're doing is setting ourselves up for inflation down the track. We don't need rates this low," Mr Carr said.

A strong lift in house prices, recovery in global growth and recovery in consumer confidence has raised the risk that rates could rise a full percentage point in the coming year, according to the managing director of Market Economics, Stephen Koukoulas.

"Consumers appear poised to boost spending," he said.

Shadow RBA

And the mining boom is not over yet, according to the Airport Economist, Tim Harcourt.

Traveling in South Korea, Mr Harcourt sees signs of a pick up in Asian trade.

"I just visited POSCO the world's largest shipyard - and it is going gang busters - dare I say it 'Gangnam Style','' he said.

Mr Harcourt says fears about the impact of the Cyprus deposit tax are overblown.

"Australia exports more to Christmas Island than we do to Greece let alone Cyprus.''

But others are not so sanguine.

Shadow board member Stephen Kirchner, a research fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies, expects financial market turmoil will prompt further rate cuts of half a percentage point in the coming year.

"The imposition of capital controls and financial repression in Cyprus highlights the downside risks that remain in the euro zone,'' he said.

The chief Australian economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Saul Eslake, also thinks there's room to cut further.

Annette Beacher, an economist at TD Securities, believes the Reserve Bank must keep interest rate cuts on the table to keep pressure off the Australian dollar. "The Aussie dollar remains elevated and the Reserve Bank dropping its easing bias would only fuel further appreciation.

''A high dollar hurts activity in manufacturing and tourism, meaning lower rates may be needed to stimulate activity.

Controversial economist Steve Keen is standing by his call for interest rates to be cut by a full percentage point in the coming year to bring down the value of the Aussie dollar.

"We have to get the Aussie dollar down,'' he said.

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