Latest States and territories of Australia Stories
Babcock & Brown Power has sold its 100% interest in the Uranquinty power station to Origin Energy for an on completion value A$700 million. According to the company, it will receive net proceeds of A$159 million from the disposal which will be used to repay part of the outstanding BBPH bridge facility and accordingly reduces the amount of the proposed $360 million BBPH corporate debt facility. Len Gill, Chairman of BBP (Babcock & Brown Power) said: "The sale of Uranquinty, at a material...
While at the Bundaberg Base Hospital, Jayant Patel is alleged to have punctured vital organs during surgery, failed to detect obvious breast cancers and hernias, and tampered with patient notes to conceal his incompetence. Nurses were so alarmed by his surgical blunders that they hid patients from him as he roamed the wards in search of people to operate on. More than 20 formal complaints were made, but they went unheeded, and Queensland health authorities helped Dr Patel to flee the...
Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, unveiled plans Wednesday to sell some of its major electricity generators and retailers through a sale and public share offer. The privatization plan, through which the state hopes to raise about 10 billion Australian dollars, or $9.6 billion, faces fierce opposition from unions and members of the governing Labor Party. The plan aims to raise money for investments in roads, schools and hospitals. But the sell-off is facing an uncertain...
AXMIN Inc. (TSX VENTURE: AXM) is pleased to report the results of the Bankable Feasibility Study ("Feasibility Study") for its Passendro Gold Project in the Central African Republic ("CAR"). The first three years provide an average annual production of 223,000 ounces with an average cash cost of US$343/oz Au. This strong production profile coupled with a better than average exploration potential highlights the value of the Passendro Gold Project. The base case, using a gold price of US$750...
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Filming of a telemovie about the horrifying Australian outback murder of British tourist Peter Falconio has begun, with a former star of British soap opera "Coronation Street" to play Falconio's girlfriend, Joanne Lees. Australian truck driver Bradley John Murdoch was found guilty last December and later jailed for at least 28 years for the 2001 attack on Falconio and Lees. He has lodged an appeal against his conviction. Falconio's body has never been found. Lees was...
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - An eight-year-old aboriginal girl was feared killed in a crocodile attack as she collected water from a river in Australia's remote Arnhem Land region, police said on Sunday. "She was fishing with family and it is believed she went to the river's edge to collect water when she was taken by the croc," a police spokeswoman said. The attack happened on the Blythe River, between Maningrida and Ramingining, about 500 km (310 miles) east of Australia's northern city of...
CANBERRA -- A powerful cyclone with winds up to 300 kph (190 mph) menaced northern parts of Western Australia on Wednesday, less than two weeks after a storm devastated homes and crops on the other side of the country.Some oil and gas operations and key iron ore ports closed ahead of the arrival of Cyclone Glenda in an area known as "cyclone alley" because it is regularly swept by storms at this time of year.The storm, ranked in the most powerful grade for cyclones, category five,...
CANBERRA -- Two Australian fighter jets bombed and sank an impounded North Korean cargo ship on Thursday in what Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said was a strong message to Pyongyang about its involvement in drug running.The 4,000-tonne ship the Pong Su had been impounded since 2003, when it led the Australian navy on a 1,100 km (680 mile) chase off the southeastern coast after being spotted unloading part of a 150 kg (330 lb) shipment of heroin at a secluded beach.The ship came to a...
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Two Australian fighter jets bombed and sank an impounded North Korean cargo ship on Thursday in what Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said was a strong message to Pyongyang about its involvement in drug running. The 4,000-tonne ship the Pong Su had been impounded since 2003, when it led the Australian navy on a 1,100 km (680 mile) chase off the southeastern coast after being spotted unloading part of a 150 kg (330 lb) shipment of heroin at a secluded beach. The...
CANBERRA (Reuters) - A powerful cyclone hit Australia's far northeast early on Monday near the tropical city of Cairns, with winds of up to 290 kph (180 mph) uprooting trees, flattening crops and ripping off the roofs of houses. Tropical Cyclone Larry posed a "very serious threat to life and property" in the far north of Queensland state, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said, adding it had forced thousands of people to take shelter or evacuate. There were no immediate reports of...
Latest States and territories of Australia Reference Libraries
The quokka (Setonix brachyurus) is the sole member of its genus, Setonix, and is a marsupial in the macropod family. It is native to Australia, holding a fragmented range that includes coastal islands like Bald Island and Rottnest Island. There is a small population in continental Australia located in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve. On Rottnest Island, its preferred habitat includes areas in cultivated gardens to semiarid scrublands. The quokka was first discovered by Europeans, and in 1696,...
The Blue Bonnet (Northiella haematogaster) is a species of bird native to Australia. It is the only member of the genus Northiella. Its habitat includes open woodland, scrub, river forest, spinifex (a type of Australian grass), and farmlands. It is found throughout the eastern half of Australia, and a smaller race is found in the western Australian Nullarbor (flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country immediately north of the Great Australian Bight) region. This bird is about 10.6...
The eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris), is a species of honeyeater found in dry sclerophyll forest, scrub and heathland from the Cooktown area in North Queensland south through New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range, through Victoria and into the Flinders Ranges in eastern South Australia as well as throughout Tasmania. Adaptable, they can be found in urban gardens with sufficient vegetation to act as cover and a food source. It is around 6 inches long, and has a...
Gilbert's Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii), is an Australian marsupial that is critically endangered. It lives in a restricted area on the southwest coast of Western Australia.The potoroo was presumed extinct for 120 years before it was re-discovered in 1994 in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve. In efforts to protect the remaining population three potoroos (one male and two females) were relocated to Bald Island in August 2005 where they are free from predation. Since that time an additional four...
The Fairy Prion (Pachyptila turtur), is a small seabird found throughout the oceans and coastal areas in the Southern Hemisphere. Their colonies can be found on Chatham, Snares and Antipodes Islands of New Zealand, Bass Strait Islands of Australia, Falkland Islands, Marion Island, the Crozet Islands and Macquarie Island. The Fairy Prion is about 11 inches long. It has gray upper plumage, black-tipped tail, black "M" wing markings, and white below. Its diet consists mainly of plankton,...
