PRIME MINI* STER_ COE 17
from the Press Office Summary of, " Newsv6* ice"
A meeting of combined railway unions this morning agreed on
a* 48-hour strike by Victorian trains, trains and buses. The
State transport minister told Parliament this afternoon the
Government would not allow the men to strike for two days and
then return to work to collect weekend penalty rates. He said
the strike could well last for a longer period than even the
unions realised, but he estimates a return to work on Monday.
' ANSW union'official Mr. Jim Walsh warned today that if the
Victorian transport minister carriesout any threats of longer
periods of no work for the strikers, the Australian Railways
Union might have to consider a blockade of Victoria in
retaliation next week. Trains from NSW would be halted at
the border, but preferably such action should be taken at
a national level, he said.
There has been strong trading in Ansett shares on the Sydney
and Melbourne stock exchanges today. A total of about 325,000
shares changed hands in this morning's trading. At the moment
about 6% of the shares are owned by Mr Rupert Murdoch, and a
further 14% by Mr Holmes a Court.
The Head of the new Australian Federal Police revealed today
he would like to have greater powers in fighting organised
crime in Australia,-including the right to tap the telephones
of suspects. Commissioner Sir Colin Woods, addressing the
National Press Club in Canberra, said he intended to make
the Federal police as accountable as possible in its operations.
The Federal Government this afternoon signed its controversial
fishing agr-eeient with Japan.. The signing took place in
Canberra between the Japanese Ambassador to Australia and
Mr Nixon. This afternoon questions were still being asked
in Parliament as to whether the agreement for Japanese long-line
tuna trawlers to operate inside Australia's 200-mile fishing
limit Contained adequate safeguards for black marlin and other
game fish.
A warning has been issued to people travelling to tropical
areas such as Papua-New Guinea and South East Asia to take
precautions against malaria. This follows news today of a
dramatic increase in the incidence of malaria in Queensland.
In the first nine months of this year 102 cases were reported.
People intending -to buy a new car in the United States have
been given something to think about. Authorities in Washington
have just finished carrying out safety tests on 20 new American
cars, and only seven of the models met the standard required.
The President of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission,
Sir John Moore, is to discuss the Federal Government's proposed
amendment to the country's industrial laws with the Federal
Government. This follows a meeting Sir John held in Sydney
today with-representatives of Australia's 25 Arbitration
Commissioners to discuss their objections to the proposed ./ 2
amendments which went before the Senate in Canberra this afternoon
for a second reading. Sir John this afternoon announced that he
would discuss the government's amendments with Mr Street, and
he issued a brief statement about the meeting they held:
" An informal discussion took place this afternoon
about the consultative provisions of the proposed
new legislation. Those present were a number of
senior presidential members of the Commission and
the executive of the Commissioner's Association.
As a result of this discussion, it was agreed that
the president would seek an opportunity to discuss
those provisions with the Minister."
The consultative provisions about which Sir John speaks are
the Government's plans that Commissioners must consult with
their deputy president before making or varying an award
dealing with wages or conditions. The 25 Commissioners have
complained about these and other provisions in two telex
messages they sent to Mr Street, the texts of which were
leaked to the media in Canberra this week. The Commissioners
also told the Minister that they were not happy with union
deregistration proposals in the amendments.
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