Canadian gold mine set to be rejected

ROMANIA'S prime minister says a special parliamentary commission is set to reject a bill that would permit Europe's biggest open-cast gold mine.

Canada's Gabriel Resources has been waiting 14 years for approval for the controversial project, which would use cyanide to mine more than 300 tonnes of gold and 1500 tonnes of silver in the town of Rosia Montana in northwestern Romania.

The government of Prime Minister Victor Ponta originally sent a bill to Parliament to approve the project, but changed its mind after weeks of protests over environment concerns and criticism that Romania would earn too little from the deal.

"The ruling coalition intends to reject the project," Ponta said on Monday, adding that the government supported foreign investment in its natural resources.

The parliamentary commission is expected to vote Monday evening.

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Parliament to open with a bang

SMOKE, gunfire, oaths and speeches will mark the start of the 44th parliament when it meets in Canberra.

The events of the parliament's first sitting start on Tuesday morning with a Welcome to Country and indigenous smoking ceremony.

New politicians will be sworn in and the governor-general will address both houses to review the state of the nation and forecast the Abbott government's legislative program.

That program won't begin immediately, however, with legislation including bills for the repeal of the carbon tax expected to be introduced on Wednesday.

Instead, Tuesday's events will be largely ceremonial and procedural.

Bronwyn Bishop is expected to be elected Speaker of the House of Representatives and was spotted in the chamber last week preparing for that role.

Outside of Parliament House, new MP Clive Palmer will address the National Press Club during the lunchtime break in official proceedings.

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Aust urged to help modernise Indon defence

AUSTRALIA is being urged to support modernisation of Indonesia's military so that its capability is shaped in a way that suits our interests.

In a new Australian Strategic Policy Institute study, ASPI analyst Benjamin Schreer says that could include improving Indonesian capability to safeguard its exclusive economic zone.

Maritime surveillance could be shared with Australia providing data from its Jindalee Operational Radar Network which can cover almost all of Indonesia.

The study says Indonesia could share data from its new maritime surveillance systems and Australia could share use of the Cocos Islands for maritime surveillance and patrol operations.

Dr Schreer said a democratic, militarily more-outward-looking Indonesia was in Australia's strategic interest.

"The Australian government should seek to shape Indonesia's defence capability in a way that suits out interests," he said.

Dr Schreer said Indonesia had expressed ambitions for an expanded defence force in the past but the military, known as TNI, was far from reaching its plans.

In its 2010 Strategic Defence Plan, Indonesia unveiled plans for a navy of 274 ships and 12 submarines, a modernised air force including 10 fighter squadrons and a more agile army with tanks and attack helicopters - all by 2024.

Indonesian defence spending is increasing but remains modest - US$7.74 billion in 2012 or just 0.86 per cent of gross domestic product.

Plans to lift defence spending to 1.5 per cent of GDP by 2014 won't be realised.

Dr Schreer said bold declarations were made about procurement plans regardless of available funding, while equipment was acquired without the ability to keep it in service.

"Consequently for the forseeable future TNI will remain an imbalanced, mostly non-deployable force," he said.

Dr Schreer said Indonesia's air force plans were of particular interest, given Australia's strategic goal of maintaining RAAF superiority over regional air forces.

Over the next 20 years, Indonesia will incrementally improve capacity to patrol its airspace and provide transport within the archipelago.

"Yet, it's highly unlikely that the TNI-AU (air force) will pose any significant operational challenge for a state-of-the-art air force such as the RAAF any time soon," he said.

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Slack emails, ignored calls hurt business

ETIQUETTE queen June Dally-Watkins isn't the only one who's concerned about emails eroding that personal touch - business leaders awarding contracts feel the same way.

A failure to return phone calls, a poorly written email and not setting aside time to meet in person isn't just rude, it's also bad for business, a Galaxy Research survey commissioned by virtual office group Servcorp has found.

"Nothing says more clearly to a client or prospect that they are just another item on your to-do list than being too busy to return a voicemail or receiving a rushed typo-ridden email," Servcorp's chief operating officer Marcus Moufarrige says.

Some 78 per cent of the 457 business leaders surveyed say the failure to return calls can affect their decision on awarding a contract.

More than half (58 per cent) say poorly written emails with grammatical errors and typos may also affect their choice.

One-third of the leaders could hinge their decision on the failure to set aside time to meet in person.

Mr Moufarrige says it is worrying to see businesses prioritising their needs over those of their clients.

"Australian companies could be putting future growth prospects at risk by using technology in isolation," he said.

Ms Dally-Watkins, who is also a veteran business leader in the finishing school field, has long deplored the decline in face-to-face communication as technology compromises manners.

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Australia ranks 21st for organ donation

ORGAN donation in Australia is way behind the world leaders, according to international rankings that place the country at 21st.

Spain is the world leader, and France, the US, UK, Belgium and Norway are among the countries with higher proportions of donors than Australia.

The figures compiled by Sharelife Australia draw on international donor data published by the Council of Europe.

The data shows hundreds of Australians are missing out on life-saving transplants every year.

This is because a $151 million, four-year package announced by the federal government in 2008 has failed to achieve its goal of establishing Australia as a world leader.

There has been an improvement, says ShareLife spokesperson Sara Irvine, but Australia's progress is slower than many other countries.

Australia's rate of organ donation is half that of the leading countries, and 1000 more transplants could be performed a year if it reaches the level of the top five countries.

"We are still not in the top 20 nations and have long way to go," says ShareLife director Professor Allan Glanville, medical director of lung transplantation at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney.

"Organ donation saves lives, saves money and improves quality of life.

"You only need to talk to people who have been on kidney dialysis to see how well and productive they are after a kidney transplant.

"The Spanish model is very compassionate. It is supportive of families."

Family consent is needed, even if a person has opted in as a donor.

In Spain, skilled organ donation specialists speak to family members, which improves the chances of donation.

"They support families through what is an awful process."

Prof Glanville says there are good people doing good work in Australia.

"But we need to tweak the system so we are consistent from state to state."

He questions why South Australia and Victoria have 20 deceased organ donors per million of the population and NSW has 14.

"Australia needs to increase to 30 per million to be in line with the top four or five countries.

"Change takes time, but unless we improve we are failing in our duty of care to our patients.

"I have patients who are waiting for transplants and if they don't get a transplant they may well die."

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Indon VP sidesteps rows at Perth lecture

TENSE political relations between Australia and Indonesia have been put to one side as Indonesian Vice-President Boediono outlined his vision for the future of his country in a speech in Perth.

In a lecture hosted by his former University of Western Australia, Dr Boediono steered clear of any mention of boats or spies as he addressed the gathered dignitaries and students.

Instead, he outlined the need for Indonesia to continue the battle against corruption and the funding of education as the cornerstones of the development of democracy.

Dr Boediono's visit has been overshadowed by the political and diplomatic wrangling over the Abbott government's asylum seeker policy.

Just hours earlier, Minister Scott Morrison said there was "no rhyme or reason" to why Indonesian authorities would not take stricken asylum seekers back to their shores.

It had been revealed that in recent weeks Indonesia has allowed two boatloads of asylum seekers to be returned after their boats met trouble at sea.

But in two other cases the passengers were not allowed back and had to be taken by the Australian Navy to Christmas Island for processing.

In his lecture, Dr Boediono made no direct mention of the relationship between Australia and its nearest neighbour.

But he did admit his country was still battling with corruption as the number one enemy of the people, while also battling against the "distortions and noises" of an expanding democracy.

In an echo of debate in Australia, Dr Boediono said in his view there was needed a better quality of political candidate and more vigorous rules on the funding of political parties.

Dr Boediono was giving the 52nd Shannon Memorial Lecture to students of the university from which he graduated in 1967.

Before his lecture, Dr Boediono had a private meeting with state premier Colin Barnett, with another appointment to meet Indonesian students from UWA's business school later in the day.

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Daleks to invade Buckingham Palace

THE Daleks will descend on Buckingham Palace next week at a reception to mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

Doctors past and present will join the Countess of Wessex, wife of Prince Edward, for a special celebration of the BBC's long-running hit science fiction show.

The Time Lord's TARDIS will also journey to the royal residence, alongside other props such as costumes worn by the Doctors and a Dalek, the Doctor's arch enemy.

The BBC's Director General Lord Hall will join former Doctors' assistants, program writers and members of the production team at the palace next Monday.

The series celebrates its 50th birthday later this month with a TV drama about the early days of the show called An Adventure In Space And Time, followed by an anniversary episode on November 23 called The Day of the Doctor with the current Doctor, Matt Smith, as well as his predecessor David Tennant.

Smith's stint as the Time Lord ends this year when he will be replaced by Peter Capaldi, best known for his role as the spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC series The Thick of It.

The Countess will also meet young competition winners from two schools in south Wales where scenes from the 50th episode were filmed. The children will show off their winning drawings of "The Queen's TARDIS".

Doctor Who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest running science fiction series in the world. It began on 23 November 1963, starring William Hartnell as the Doctor and there have been 11 Doctors to date.

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Jackson's doctor released from jail

THE former doctor convicted of causing Michael Jackson's death has been released from jail.

Jail records confirmed Conrad Murray's release on Monday and the sheriff's office said he left a downtown Los Angeles jail at 12.01am (1800 AEDT).

The former cardiologist served less than two years in jail after being convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter for Jackson's June 2009 death.

The pop superstar died after receiving a lethal dose of the anaesthetic propofol, which Murray was giving Jackson as a sleep aid.

Murray's medical licences remain suspended or revoked in three states where he previously practised medicine.

Murray had been sentenced to serve four years behind bars, but a change in California law allowed his incarceration time to be significantly cut down.

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Investment outlook rests with govt

HOPES are fading that non-mining sections of the economy will be taking up the slack of a waning resources investment boom any time soon.

So an independent forecaster believes government infrastructure spending must be encouraged.

In its latest Investment Monitor, Deloitte Access Economics says for the first time in a decade the total value of investment projects at all stages of construction has now declined for three consecutive quarters.

"It is clear that the investment in the resources sector which has underpinned growth for the best part of a decade is fading," Deloitte Access Economics partner Stephen Smith said releasing the report on Tuesday.

"However, the composition of growth in the medium term - and in particular what the key driver of growth will be - remains less clear."

He said despite record low interest rates, retail spending continues to be soft with few signs of a revival, while non-residential building activity "remains on shaky ground".

The value of non-residential work commenced over the past year is at the lowest since the immediate aftermath of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, when the then Labor government rolled out the school building program in an effort to lift activity.

Mr Smith said public infrastructure spending can play an important part during an uncertain period of economic transition.

Tony Abbott has labelled himself as the 'infrastructure prime minister' and Treasurer Joe Hockey is pushing the funding of projects to the top of the government's agenda.

"In a phase in which business investment spending is looking increasingly shaky and support to economic activity is required, a more active public sector role in financing and supporting infrastructure projects should be welcomed," he said.

The forecaster's investment database showed the total value of projects decreased by $3.4 billion or 0.4 per cent in the September quarter to $873.7 billion, taking it 5.7 per cent lower than a year ago.

The value of definite projects - under construction or committed - slipped in value by 0.7 per cent to $464.7 billion, although this was a modest 0.6 per cent higher than a year earlier.

But while the value of planned projects - under consideration or possible - at $409 billion was little changed from the June quarter, this was 12 per cent down from September 2012.

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NSW trucks deregistered for tunnel delays

THREE trucks have had their registration suspended after becoming stuck in Sydney tunnels and causing lengthy traffic delays.

Their drivers are the first to be hit by state laws introduced in July.

Roads Minister Duncan Gay said one over-height truck drove into the Eastern Distributor last Friday.

It caused damage to the sprinkler system and more than two hours of delays on the busy road.

Mr Gay said the truck was deregistered for three months and the driver was being penalised for failing to stop.

Another two trucks have had their registrations suspended for 28 days after they closed the Sydney Harbour Tunnel for 20 minutes in separate incidents this month.

Mr Gay said there were $2200 fines and demerit points for truck drivers with over-height loads, but the message was not getting through.

"New laws were introduced in July this year which allow us to hit operators where it hurts and suspend a vehicle's registration for up to three months if it's driven into a tunnel when over-height," he said in a statement.

Mr Gay said the drivers who affected the harbour tunnel "ignored countless signs and warning devices" and had to be reversed out of the tunnel.

In yet another instance, a West Australian operator had his visiting rights in NSW revoked for three months for closing the Sydney Harbour Tunnel for 20 minutes last week.

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