The Northern Territory news Thu 22 May 2014
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2014-05-22
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English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
News Corp Australia
Darwin
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News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/250969
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/551895
PM labelled total creep for on-air wink SYDNEY: Tony Abbott was confronted yesterday as he tried to sell his tough Budget by an angry pensioner who said she must work on an adult sex line just to get by. The womans story was enough to make listeners sit up and take notice but it was the Prime Ministers reaction, caught on video, that is gaining more widespread attention. As caller Gloria introduced herself, saying, I work on an adult sex line to make ends meet, Mr Abbott winked and smiled in the direction of ABC Radio host Jon Faine (off camera). Government spokespeople said the PM winked merely to reassure Mr Faine that he was happy to take the call. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has criticised the PM, calling him a total creep. Rather than taking seriously her concerns of poverty and illness, he gave a wink and a smirk, and all I have to say to the Prime Minister on this is what a creep. What a total creep, she said. The woman, who said she was from Warburton, told Mr Abbott: Im a 67-year-old pensioner: three chronic incurable medical conditions, two life threatening. I just survive on around $400 a fortnight after I pay my rent. I work on an adult sex line to make ends meet. The woman went on to ask the Prime Minister what she should cut out. She said: Food, electricity, firewood, Christmas, birthday presents to my grandchildren? Or should we all just die and get out of your way? By JENNIFER RAJCA Call to rein in data debt MELBOURNE: The nations telecommunications ombudsman says theres a long way to go until bill shock is a thing of the past for customers. Excessive charges by telcos remain a problem in Australia and Ombudsman Simon Cohen has urged companies to be vigilant when dealing with financially strapped customers. There needs to be constant vigilance about the prospect of consumers using more data than is in their plan and telcos need to be able to respond quickly to those situations to actually stop consumers from getting into debt that they cant afford, he said. Police clash on Sydneys George St yesterday with student protesters angered over education budget cuts Picture: CRAIG GREENHILL Scuffles erupt at budget cut rallies MELBOURNE: Protesters angered by Federal Budget cuts clashed with police in Melbourne and Sydney yesterday. In Melbourne, protesters charged at a police line as they reached the steps of Parliament yesterday afternoon. There was a short scuffle, with officers holding back the demonstrators before they returned to peacefully protesting Federal Budget reforms. After the rally broke up, a group of 20 people staged a sitin outside Parliament House, blocking trams and traffic. They were ringed by dozens of uniformed and mounted police, who systematically removed the protesters one by one within an hour. Among them were a few underage students, some dressed in private school uniforms. At least 2000 people rallied outside the State Library in the protest, which was organised by the National Union of Students and the National Tertiary Education Union. Many then marched along Swanston and Bourke streets to Parliament House, chanting slogans including no cuts, no fees, no corporate universities and no ifs, no buts, no education cuts as they marched. A speaker at the rally said the protest would be the first in a series of rallies, sit-ins and civil disobediences as they vowed to fight the budget cuts. Thousands of protesters meanwhile brought Sydneys CBD to a standstill, with one activist arrested for picking up a flare. The man, aged in his 20s, was forcefully bundled to the ground by police and put in handcuffs as thousands of protesters marched from inner city Ultimo to Town Hall yesterday afternoon. The man picked up a lit orange flare off the ground and held it aloft before being swarmed by about six police officers, who pushed him against a wall and handcuffed him. Hundreds of angry protesters surrounded the group and chanted let him go, let him go before mounted police moved in and dispersed the crowd. The man was led away as protesters, mostly students from five different NSW universities, staged an impromptu sit-in at the junctions of George and Hay streets. National Union of Students president Deanna Taylor said the budget had been cruel. Its going to absolutely savage higher education in Australia, she told the crowd. By JAMIE DUNCAN and MILES GODFREY Shows KOd for count of Ten SYDNEY: Network Ten has swung the axe and chopped breakfast show Wake Up plus three news bulletins in what could be the start of wholesale changes to the network. About 150 staff are immediately affected by the cuts, with Ten announcing the start of a voluntary redundancy pro gram in news and operations. Ten CEO Hamish McLennan said Wake Up had not resonated with enough viewers to make it a viable program. The decision to axe the three news bulletins, particularly the late-night bulletin, also has major implications for staff and the station. THURSDAY MAY 22 2014 NATION 11 V1 - NTNE01Z01MA