Crikey

POLITICS AND ECONOMICS

Australia

Political lurks and perks

Troy Buswell defends chauffeur use from Perth to Bunbury - Treasurer Troy Buswell is being chauffeur-driven 500km to and from work - while the Government has ordered everyone else to slash their budgets. Mr Buswell enjoys the VIP treatment between his home in Busselton and Perth while a taxpayer-funded electoral car, which he could drive himself, sits idle at his office - Perth Sunday Times

Elections

Lib leader hits the town - Girl power hit Hindley St this weekend with a surprise late-night walk-through by Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond. And her tour won plenty of new-voter fans, including some who were not quite sure who they might be voting for - Adelaide Sunday Mail

Koperberg’s a great big ‘drama queen’ - Colleagues of the disillusioned former NSW rural fire chief claim he has spoken several times of quitting politics before the next election - Sydney Sunday Telegraph

Factional war over as top Liberals declare a truce - The leading Liberals at the centre of a spectacular factional falling-out have made a public show of peace. Young gun federal MP Alex Hawke and his former boss and backer David Clarke, a NSW upper house MP, have declared their relationship cordial but distant - Sydney Sun Herald

MPs skirt postal vote law - Some MPs are exploiting a loophole in electoral laws that allows them to distribute campaign material and build up voter profiles at a cost to the taxpayer of $1 million a year - Sydney Sun Herald

Unemployment

Rescue plan for axed Bridgestone workers - An emergency taskforce charged with finding jobs for 600 workers sacked by tyre maker Bridgestone is looking to the defence and mining industries as a saviour - Adelaide Sunday Mail

Aid

Rudd’s relief corps will be on standby - A registry of medical and other professionals willing to leave immediately to assist in regional disasters will be created by the Federal Government. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will announce the formation of the Office of the Deployable Civilian Capability at a meeting of the East Asia Summit in Thailand today - Sydney Sun Herald

BUSINESS

SuperGP deal struck with questionable A1GP company - The State Government signed a lucrative motor racing contract with an organisation whose parent company was financially crippled and had a history of unpaid bills - Brisbane Sunday Mail

F1 boss calls for late race - Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone wants more - he is demanding Melbourne’s F1 Grand Prix race be held even later than its new twilight format. The billionaire F1 chief is on a collision course with the Victorian Government over the start time of the Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne Sunday Herald Sun

ENVIRONMENT

Changes ‘lock in polluter paradise’ - Polluting coal-fired power plants and other heavy emitters would be protected from rises in emissions targets for at least a decade under Coalition amendments being considered by Labor - Melbourne Sunday Age

LIFE

Real estate

Rate rise tipped after ‘hot’ auctions - Melbourne’s auction market has posted its strongest performance in years, with the clearance rate and prices soaring, heightening fears the Reserve Bank will push the key official interest rate sharply higher on Melbourne Cup Day - Melbourne Sunday Age

Dogs

Police get hot over the collar - Drivers caught with unrestrained dogs risk fines of more than $400, with 170 people charged over the offence since the pet-related road rule was introduced in NSW in July - Sydney Sun Herald

The drink

Drug and alcohol tests on rise - Office staff are increasingly being subjected to random drug and alcohol tests as employers dish out equal treatment to blue- and white-collar workers as part of tough new substance abuse policies - Sydney Sun Herald

The drugs

A-list cocaine “ledger” revealed - The names of a senior NSW politician and a film star are in a cocaine dealer’s client notebook seized in a major drug bust - Sydney Sunday Telegraph