HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:30, Dec 21 = 2

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-2009
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:30, Dec 21 = 2

AUCKLAND - Two young Sydney men are lucky to be alive after a slip of the foot sent
them both careering 200 metres down a cliff in New Zealand's notorious Mount Cook National
Park. (NZ Fall)



AUCKLAND - Like a scene from The Shawshank Redemption, a Kiwi prisoner has cut his
way to freedom with an angle grinder, leaving police with the taunt: "Catch me if u can."

(NZ Note to come)



LONDON - Home and Away stalwart Ray Meagher is forecasting a return to the Australian
soap's core values in 2010. (UK Meagher)



CANBERRA - Terminal illness such as cancer can be cured by prayer, the head of the
Catholic Church in Australia says. (MacKillop Prayer)



BRISBANE - Qantas has announced it will increase services on its domestic routes as
a result of improved demand. (Qantas)

CANBERRA - The pilots' union will take legal action against Qantas in a bid to get
better pay and conditions for employees of its subsidiary company, JetConnect. (JetConnect)



CANBERRA - The government has denied reports that more asylum seekers are turning up
in northern waters ahead of January cyclones. (Boat)



CANBERRA - A little known Labor senator has confused Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd after
calling for Mr Abbott to clarify his position on Bible studies in schools. (Lundy)



CANBERRA - There are 71 recommendations to government in the first review of the Environment
Act, released on Monday.(Environment to come)



SYDNEY - Victoria's John Brumby has toppled South Australia's Mike Rann as the country's
most popular Labor premier and has retained a big lead over his Coalition opponents. (Premiers)



SYDNEY - NSW Premier Kristina Keneally and Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell comment
on the desalination plant. (Desal to come)



SYDNEY - A campaign that aims to crack down on the supply of alcohol to minors is needed
to change community attitudes towards drinking, police say. (Alcohol Wrap)



SYDNEY - An Italian national with a "total disregard" for road safety has been booked
for speeding three times in a day, police say. (Speeding)



SYDNEY - Protesters are sitting in a sacred tree on the NSW mid-north coast to prevent
it from being destroyed to make way for a highway upgrade. (Guardian)



SYDNEY - The Fred Hollows Foundation has denied a report that it lost $2 million in
investments that went bad in the global financial crisis. (Hollows)



SYDNEY - A family has been taken to hospital following a house fire in Sydney's north. (House)



MELBOURNE - The family of a Melbourne boy shot dead by police will boycott an inquest
into his death until they are satisfied "amateurish" investigations have improved. (Cassidy)



MELBOURNE - Bail application by man jailed for allegedly killing his three children
by driving them into a dam - conviction last week quashed and new trial ordered. (Farquharson
to come)



MELBOURNE - Family violence spiked dramatically during the Christmas holiday period
last year, new Victoria Police data shows. (Domestic)



MELBOURNE - It doesn't matter where you put your hands, how hard you push or whether
you've been shown how to do it. (Heart)



MELBOURNE - A Melbourne man has been slashed in the arm after a fight over a cigarette. (Slash)



BRISBANE - A second pre-inquest hearing into the death of Aboriginal man Mulrunji Doomadgee
in custody has been set for February. (Doomadgee to come)



BRISBANE - Swimming champion Susie O'Neil has taken up the challenge of inspiring Queenslanders
to do more exercise. (O'Neil to come)



BRISBANE - Farmers have delivered sacks of coal to the Queensland premier's office,
as they lobby for agricultural land to be protected from mining. (Mining to come)



BRISBANE - A woman was encouraging her son to speed when both were charged with dangerous
driving on a busy Gold Coast road, police say. (Mother)



BRISBANE - A man with a distinctive arm tattoo is being sought by police for assaulting
a taxi driver on the Gold Coast. (Taxi)



BRISBANE - Forty Queensland government staff have been told their jobs are "low priority",
but they will not be sacked, Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin says. (Primary)



BRISBANE - Airline passengers are urged to allow extra time for queuing as Brisbane
Airport heads into its busiest ever Christmas period. (Airport)



BRISBANE - A woman is in a critical condition after she was hit by two cars while crossing
a road south of Brisbane. (Hit)



BRISBANE - Police are appealing for witnesses to an assault on the Sunshine Coast that
has left a 52-year-old man in a serious condition. (Assault)



ADELAIDE - The husband of celebrated children's author Mem Fox had appeared in an Adelaide
court charged with child sex offences. (Fox to come)



ADELAIDE - South Australia has launched a new phone-based bushfire and emergency warning
system capable of sending up to 1,000 voice messages every minute and 300 texts every
second. (Alert)



ADELAIDE - A 46-year-old woman has been arrested and is expected to be charged with
murder after the death of a man on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula. (Woman)



PERTH - A 42-year-old West Australian woman has been charged with animal cruelty for
brutally killing a family's elderly dog. (Pet)



DARWIN - A man who was nearly eight times the legal blood alcohol limit was having
trouble standing when he was caught drink-driving, police say. (Drink)



KINGS CANYON, NT - Inguwa inturtai! Nuarta tharrala. (Xmas NT)

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KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY

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