Highlights of the AAP National wire at 19:30 Dec 29 = 2 Sydney

AAP General News (Australia)
12-29-1998
Highlights of the AAP National wire at 19:30 Dec 29 = 2 Sydney

SYDNEY - The New South Wales government today announced a customer complaints line for
tourists ahead of the Olympics which was immediately attacked as bad publicity by Victoria's
tourism minister. (OLY TOURISM)



SYDNEY - Australian banks and corporates were berated today for missing the chance to
become global big hitters through the advent of the single European currency. (EURO AUST)



SYDNE - Three Newcastle ambulance officers will be paid overtime rates on New Year's Eve
while their colleagues across the rest of the state receive ordinary pay for the busy shift.
(EVE AMBULANCE)



SYDNEY - Telecommunications company Powertel Ltd today announced it had started
construction of multi-million dollar fibre optic infrastructure which eventually will link
three Australian state capitals. (POWERTEL)



MELBOURNE - The impact of the Asian economic crisis on Victoria was revealed today in a
budget review which scaled down growth forecasts. (BUDGET VIC)



MELBOURNE - Firefighters travelled by boat to fight a bushfire on a Murray River island at
the Victorian border today. (BUSHFIRES VIC N/L)



MELBOURNE - Victorian Health Minister Rob Knowles today warned young people to avoid
abusing drugs and alcohol during the Christmas and New Year festive season. (EVE WARNING)



BRISBANE - Rough conditions along the Gold Coast kept lifesavers busy today with 42 people
dragged from the sea and one man hospitalised after a body-surfing collision, life guards
said. (SURF QLD)



BRISBANE - The Queensland government should resurrect plans to build a series of 200-bed
prisons in regional areas to house the state's exploding prison population and boost job
opportunities, the Opposition said today. (PRISON)



GOLD COAST - The countdown to the new millennium will get off to a spectacular start on the
Gold Coast with three separate fireworks displays on New Year's Eve. (EVE COAST)



PERTH - More than 45 years after the British ended atomic testing off Western Australia's
remote north-west coast, a threatened species of Hawksbill turtles has been discovered on the
Monte Bello group of islands. (TURTLES)



PERTH - A teenage parolee was today jailed for eight years after causing a fatal smash
during a drug and alcohol-fuelled car chase through Perth. (CLINCH)



ADELAIDE - Kidney donors would increasingly demand a procedure to remove the organ which
cuts down on pain, scarring and recovery time being used at an Adelaide hospital, a transplant
specialist said today. (KIDNEY)



ADELAIDE - A youth suicide hotline is appealing for more volunteers as it braces for a
surge of calls during the Christmas break. (SUICIDES SA)



ADELAIDE - While peanuts and fairy floss are the most common refreshments associated with
the circus, sipping wine under the Big Top is the latest image promoted by a wine brand and a
circus. (CIRCUS)



ADELAIDE - A significant Aboriginal landmark tree south of Adelaide is not expected to
survive a vandalism attack in which it was ringbarked and painted with racist graffiti. (TREE)



CANBERRA - Tossing a coin to decide whether a bar patron would have to pay for their drink
was illegal, ACT Attorney-General Gary Humphries said today. (LICENSEES)



AAP mo

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL (UPDATE 2 Sydney)

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