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Friday, 25 February 2011
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CANBERRA, Feb 14 AAP Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the government has a lot of hard work to do, after an opinion poll showed Labor's stocks on the wane. The federal coalition would easily win an election if one was held today, according to the latest Nielsen opinion poll published in Fairfax newspapers on Monday. The poll has the coalition holding a 54-46 per cent two-party preferred lead over Labor. Labor's primary vote stands at 32 per cent to the coalition's 46 per cent, with the Greens on 12 per cent. Ms Gillard said voters expected to see governments deliver on promises.
"We've got a lot of hard work to do," she told Sky News. The prime minister said the health deal she worked out with the premiers on Sunday delivered one of her key promises. Opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne said the polls showed the coalition was keeping the government accountable. But the opposition wasn't receiving kudos for its efforts from the Canberra press gallery. "The media pack in Canberra would like to even up the scales a bit," Mr Pyne told Melbourne Talk Radio on Monday. "They hate it when one side gets too far in front of the other, dare I say, unless it's the Labor Party."
SYDNEY, Feb 18 AAP Australians are embracing online shopping and it's our internet retailers who are reaping the benefits. eBay, the online auction site, says the sector is meeting the needs of the modern, timepoor consumer. The company's Australia and New Zealand managing director, Deborah Sharkey, has told a conference in Sydney the local sector is looking at double-digit growth in 2011. She rejected concerns that consumer spending is favouring offshore internet retailers. "I am thrilled at the thousands of Australian businesses who are already capitalising on this trend and evolving to meet the needs of the modern consumer," she said on Friday. "I look forward to watching their ranks swell over the next few months. "The statistics are clear, 10 million Australians are voting with their clicks and they're telling us that the future of retail is online." In 2010, the turnover of the top 2000 sellers on eBay was more than $120 million. The top seller generated turnover of more than $12.6 million, Ms Sharkey said. More Australians are buying online due to the strong Australian dollar exchange rate,
which is making offshore purchases cheaper than ever before. But it's not all roses for Australian retailers. On Thursday, local booksellers Borders and Angus & Robertson bookstores went into administration. Book retailers across the globe have been hit in recent years due to the rise of internet-based book sellers such as Amazon and electronic books. Aust ralian retailers, such as Ger r y Harvey, recently called for offshore internet purchases to be subject to GST, like goods sold in traditional stores. Ms Sharkey said on average Australian spends an hour and 40 minutes shopping online each week. Australia also had one of the the highest penetration of mobile smartphones in the world, with a quarter of Australians using their phone to shop. Every 15 seconds an Australian buys something using eBay's mobile phone app, she said. Ms Sharkey was speaking at an Online Retail Forum, which is being attended by senators Stephen Conroy and Nick Sherry. The event was packed with guests having to watch the proceedings via a webcast in an "overflow room" at the Westin Hotel in the CBD.
SYDNEY, Feb 17 AAP Where once there were fears for the future of vinyl, now the compact disc is flirting with extinction. In sales figures released by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) on Thursday, CD album sales fell by 16 per cent last year, slipping to 23.5 million from 28.1 million in 2009. Ten years ago CD album sales peaked at almost 50 million. Not even superstars like Lady Gaga and Kings Of Leon could halt the slide in 2010. Sales of the CD single format have also become almost obsolete, tumbling from 500,000 in 2009 to less than 30,000 last year. Industry chiefs offered a positive spin on the figures by insisting the decline has been balanced by a rise in digital sales. Downloaded albums increased by 45 per
cent and singles saw a 37 per cent jump in a sign consumers are turning to the internet for their music, and not always illegally. Dan Rosen, CEO of A R IA, said he expected continued growth in the digital revenues over the next 12 months. "Australians are consuming more music than ever before," he said in a statement. "Our goal as an industry is to make it easier for people to support the artists they love by embracing innovation and supporting new ways to sell music." Illegal downloading is still being blamed for an overall revenue drop of almost 14 per cent in the Australian record industry. Sony Music Entertainment chairman Denis Handlin said the major labels were working with the government and internet service providers to find solutions to music piracy.
CANBERRA, Feb 14 AAP A pregnant woman waited hours at a NSW public hospital before miscarrying her child, frightened and alone. Heather Green, 31, was bleeding and calling out for help as she miscarried at Blacktown Hospital last Wednesday, almost a full day after she first arrived. The incident has prompted an apology from the hospital and a promise from NSW Health Minister Carmel Tebbutt to look into it. Ms Green was crampi ng when she arrived at the hospital early on Tuesday evening for surgery to remove her unborn baby, which had earlier died in the womb. She wanted su rger y rather than miscarry naturally at home. But a proble m w it h t he hos pit a l's computer admission system saw her sent home at 4am on Wednesday and, when she returned later, she was told the operating theatre wasn't ready. She was waiting alone in a hospital
room on Wednesday afternoon when she began miscarrying. "I started screaming out help, I need some help ... is somebody there? I was shaking - I'm shaking now just thinking about it," Mrs Green told the Nine Network. "For me to have to get off the bed and find a doctor ... it's like a nightmare." T he G reen s have l o d ge d a for mal complaint. Ms Tebbutt said she takes the couple's concerns seriously and will respond once the hospital compiles its formal report. In a similar incident in 2007, Jana Horska waited for two hours at Sydney's Royal Nor t h Shore Hospit al b efore miscarrying in a toilet. Her partner Mark Dreyer blamed the NSW government for the latest incident, having pledged to improve public health. "It was all empty promises without any substance," he told Nine. "Nothing has changed."