Woodside confident Browse will go ahead

Woodside boss Peter Coleman is confident the $45 billion Browse LNG gas project will go ahead. Source: AAP

WOODSIDE boss Peter Coleman is confident the $45 billion Browse LNG gas project will go ahead, despite the energy giant scrapping plans for a controversial onshore processing plant in Western Australia.

Woodside has scratched plans to build a processing plant at James Price Point in West Australia's north, saying it would not deliver the returns the company needed.

Woodside will now begin talks with its joint venture partners, which include Shell Australia, about alternatives.

Possibilities include using floating technologies to process the gas or building a pipeline to existing LNG facilities in WA's Pilbara region.

Another alternative is building a smaller onshore plant at proposed Browse LNG precinct near James Price Point.

Mr Coleman said the decision to dump the plan for James Price Point was a tough one, saying the project was subject to cost pressures.

"We do believe that Browse will get developed," he told reporters.

He said Woodside had been looking at other options to a processing plant at James Price Point, but said they were not nearly as mature as the original plan for the facility there.

However some of the alternatives that would be considered did have the potential for the early development of Browse.

"We've already come out and said things like floating technology, for example, is a technology that Woodside supports ... whether that's appropriate for a Browse development will need to be determined by the joint venture over time," Mr Coleman said.

He said Woodside did not have an alternative preference at this stage and needed to talk to its joint venture partners in the next few weeks to map out a plan.

Shell's Australian boss Ann Pickard reiterated that it believed its floating technology would be the fastest, most economic and best technical solution for processing gas from the Browse project.

"Floating LNG can bring significant long term, sustainable jobs to Western Australia, Australia, and the Kimberley, as well as providing employment and business opportunities for Kimberley indigenous people," Ms Pickard said in a statement.

Ms Pickard said Shell would work closely with the Browse joint venture and government to keep the Browse project on track.

But WA Premier Colin Barnett said it would be a tragedy and a missed opportunity if Browse gas project didn't wind up onshore at James Price Point.

Mr Barnett has long been adamant the gas should be processed onshore as this would ensure local jobs.

But he softened his tone on Friday, saying an offshore project would still bring benefits to WA.

"If the project goes ahead offshore ... it would still bring some benefits to WA," he said.

"It would be a tragedy and a missed opportunity if that gas did not come onshore."

Green groups and shareholders have applauded Woodside's decision to dump plans for the costly onshore liquefied natural gas plant.

Woodside shares were 90 cents, or 2.5 per cent, higher at $36.18 at 1135 AEST.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Holden to keep promised SA funds

HOLDEN appears set to keep a promised $50 million in South Australian government funding despite a decision to axe jobs at its local assembly plant.

Premier Jay Weatherill held talks with Holden boss Mike Devereux on Friday after the company this week said 400 jobs would go by August in response to falling demand for locally built vehicles and high costs.

Mr Weatherill said the government would review its support for Holden but maintained both parties were determined to ensure the company had a future in South Australia.

Mr Devereux said he believed the government's $50 million was still on the table, as part of a $275 million joint state-federal funding package to help the company develop two new cars from 2016 to 2022.

The state and the company will meet in the coming weeks to thrash out a new agreement.

"There's no doubt that we will be revisiting the nature of our contribution, just as we will be asking for the company to revisit the nature of its contribution to the people of South Australia," the premier said.

"We've never walked away from our agreement. We've, in all respects, honoured our side of this bargain.

"But the events of this week have materially changed those circumstances and we have to revisit that agreement."

Ahead of Friday's meeting, Mr Devereux likened the global auto industry to a team sport and said he played on "team Australia".

"My focus for today is to figure out what we need to make sure that team Australia plays the game to win," he said.

The meeting also came after former Ford boss Jac Nasser, now the chairman of BHP Billiton, said the end of vehicle manufacturing in Australia might be inevitable.

He said if one of the three remaining producers decided to quit the country, the loss of scale could result in a domino effect.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she didn't believe Australia's car industry was on its last legs, even though the future wasn't assured.

"The skills and innovation that come from the car industry matter to the one million Australians employed in manufacturing," she told reporters in Sydney.

"There's nothing we value more highly as a government than creating jobs."

Opposition industry spokeswoman Sophie Mirabella said the future prosperity of the automotive sector would not rest on what subsidies were provided but on how they were used.

She said the industry had a viable future that wouldn't be determined on the basis of handouts.

"I don't think it's about providing a greater dollar figure for subsidies," she told ABC radio.

"I think it's about using the existing funding in a much better way."

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Barnett shrugs off Johnson spray

A SPRAY from his former police minister on the first day of parliament doesn't worry West Australian Premier Colin Barnett one whit.

Former Liberal minister-turned backbencher Rob Johnson launched an extraordinary attack on Mr Barnett on Thursday after being pipped by fellow Liberal Michael Sutherland for the Speaker's role.

Mr Sutherland won 33 votes to 26 - which meant at least four Liberal or National members voted against party lines and the premier's chosen candidate.

Mr Johnson said during the recent state election campaign Mr Barnett had endorsed him for the Speaker's position.

So he let rip after losing out, saying his supporters had been "got to" and that the Liberal leader was dictatorial.

Despite starting off the political year on a controversial note, Mr Barnett said on Friday he was completely unfazed by the comments.

"How high do you think that rates on the stress level?" he asked journalists with a smile.

Mr Barnett admitted he was disappointed some people had voted for Mr Johnson.

"But I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over it," he said.

"What it did demonstrate, even if some people voted against the government nomination, the vote was still easily won."

Asked if Mr Johnson's criticism was just sour grapes or if there was truth in what he had said - including the premier being angry "a lot of the time" - Mr Barnett said: "I don't really know and I don't really care".

But Mr Johnson "absolutely" remained welcome in the party, he said.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW police seize guns and $1m of drugs

A POLICE search of a ute on the NSW mid-north coast has led to the seizure of almost $1 million worth of cannabis.

Guns and amphetamines were also found by officers who executed search warrants on two homes following the vehicle stop.

Police first found two large hessian bags containing 57 kilograms of cannabis when they stopped and searched a Toyota Hilux in Lorne on Tuesday evening.

The drugs had an estimated street value of $320,000.

Officers then raided a home in Lake Cathie on Wednesday, where they allegedly found 79 kilograms of cannabis, 96 grams of cannabis resin, 23 grams of amphetamine and four firearms.

The drugs have a combined street value of $600,000.

Another search warrant was executed on a home in Kempsey on Wednesday afternoon where 11kg of cannabis and eight cannabis plants were allegedly uncovered, with an estimated street value of $70,000.

Three men - aged 42, 53 and 67 - were arrested over the seizures and charged with numerous drug and weapons offences.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

NZ schoolgirl killed then house set alight

A CHRISTCHURCH schoolgirl had socks stuffed in her mouth and was strangled with a cord before her home was set alight, a New Zealand court has been told.

The trial of two men charged following the death of 13-year-old schoolgirl Jade Bayliss got under way in the High Court at Christchurch on Thursday.

Jeremy George Edward McLaughlin, 35, is accused of murdering Jade, burgling her family's Somerfield home, and then setting fire to the house on November 10, 2011.

McLaughlin's flatmate, Jolon Sweeney, 42, is charged with being an accessory after the fact to the burglary and arson.

Prosecutor Kathy Bell told the court that the Cashmere High School girl was strangled with a cord and had socks stuffed in her mouth, the Christchurch Court News website reports.

Her bedroom was largely untouched by fire and she hadn't inhaled smoke or carbon monoxide.

DNA taken from her fingernails strongly corresponded to McLaughlin's DNA, she said.

Jade's mother Patricia had earlier ended her relationship with McLaughlin.

However, Jade was home sick from school when McLaughlin returned to burgle the house.

Miss Bell said McLaughlin killed Jade and returned later with petrol to set fire to the house.

McLaughlin's lawyer, April Kelland, said he did not murder Jade, and that timing would be critical in the case. McLaughlin admits the burglary and arson charges.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tokyo stocks close 1.96% higher

TOKYO stocks have rallied further, with exporters the main beneficiaries as the dollar approaches the 100 yen mark.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended up 1.96 per cent, or 261.03 points, at 13,549.16. The Topix index of all first-section issues finished up 2.34 per cent, or 26.25 points, at 1,147.29.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Probe says North Korea behind cyber attack

AN investigation into a major cyber attack on South Korean banks and broadcasters last month says North Korea's military intelligence agency was responsible, officials say.

The probe into access records and the malicious codes used in the attack pointed to the North's military Reconnaissance General Bureau as the source, the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) said on Wednesday.

"It was a premeditated, well-planned cyber attack by North Korea", a KISA spokesman said.

"We've collected a lot of evidence to determine the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau led the attack, which had been prepared for at least eight months," he said.

A joint team of civilian and government experts traced the origin to six personal computers used in North Korea.

In order to spread malware in target computers, the hackers went through 49 different places in 10 countries including South Korea, the investigation found. The North had used 22 of the places in past attacks.

The March 20 attack completely shut down the networks of TV broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN, and halted financial services and crippled operations at three banks - Shinhan, NongHyup and Jeju.

It employed malware that can wipe the contents of a computer's hard disk as well as drives connected to the infected computer.

About 48,700 machines including PCs, automatic teller machines and server computers were damaged, KISA said.

The attack came days after North Korea had accused South Korea and the United States of being behind a "persistent and intensive" hacking assault that temporarily took a number of its official websites offline.

It also coincided with heightened military tensions on the Korean peninsula, following Pyongyang's nuclear test in February.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

ERA says 3 Deeps on schedule and budget

AUSTRALIA'S largest uranium producer Energy Resources of Australia says construction of its Ranger 3 Deeps project has begun and remains on schedule and within budget.

ERA, which is majority owned by Rio Tinto, expects to commence underground exploration drilling of the Ranger 3 Deeps exploration decline in the Northern Territory in the second quarter of 2013.

"The overall project presently remains on schedule and within budget," ERA said in its March 2013 Quarter Operations Review.

Exploration expenditure for the March 2013 quarter was $9 million compared to $17 million in the December 2012 quarter.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Malaysian election set for May 5

Malaysia's general election will be held on May 5, an electoral official says. Source: AAP

MALAYSIA'S general election will be held on May 5, an electoral official says, setting a long-awaited date for highly anticipated polls tipped to be the closest in the country's history.

Speaking a week after Prime Minister Najib Razak dissolved parliament, Election Commission chairman Aziz Yusof also said balloting would be preceded by a two-week official campaign period kicking off on April 20.

The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which has controlled Malaysia through coalition governments since independence in 1957, faces a formidable opposition that has gained ground with promises to end corruption, cronyism and authoritarian rule.

The opposition surged to its best showing ever in the 2008 vote, shattering the ruling regime's decades-old aura of invincibility.

Under UMNO, multi-ethnic Malaysia became a regional economic success story while enjoying relative harmony between majority ethnic Malays and its sizeable racial minorities.

Prime Minister Najib hopes to extend the government's unbeaten run in the polls by focusing on his steady economic stewardship and a torrent of cash handouts and other sweeteners to the public.

But the opposition has won support with pledges of a more open era, enjoying unprecedented freedom to get its message past state-controlled mainstream media via an uncensored internet.

Speculation over a polling date had reached fever pitch in the past two years but Najib set the stage on April 3 by dissolving parliament, which was due to automatically expire at the end of the month.

The UMNO-controlled Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition has romped to thumping majorities in every election so far, but lost its powerful two-thirds majority five years ago.

It now faces the fight of its life against the Pakatan Rakyat (People's Pact) opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

New dementia research centre launched

A new research centre for dementia will drive better care, says the federal minister for aged care. Source: AAP

FEDERAL Minister for Ageing Mark Butler has launched a new research centre for improving dementia care services, saying with one million Australians expected to suffer from the disease by 2050 it is "one of the greatest health challenges we've ever faced".

The $25 million National Health and Medical Research Council Partnership Centre is a collaboration between the government, Alzheimer's Australia and non-government aged care groups in NSW, Western Australia and South Australia.

Canberra has devoted just under $21 million to the project, which will operate out of different locations across Australia, with Mr Butler saying "we want to make sure the world's best research informs the world's best care and support".

"Together the team will undertake essential work that will help to improve the planning of aged care services, responsible medication management, quality use of medicines and the development of new models of respite care," Mr Butler said in a statement.

"The government is investing in this centre to help people living with cognitive decline remain in the community living productive lives for as long as possible, and for those who are unable to do so it will also improve their experience of living in residential aged care facilities."

Alzheimer's Australia chief Glenn Rees said the centre would drive changes by "making sure that research results in real changes in practice".

"Dementia is a major global health issue, and we are a long way from where we need to be in the development of new treatments and improving the quality of dementia care," Mr Rees said in a statement.

13.23 | 0 komentar | Read More