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London comes to the Gold Coast

Minister for Transport and Multicultural Affairs

The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

29/07/2011

A little bit of London comes to the Gold Coast

A revolutionary double-decker bus will be trialled on Gold Coast tourist bus routes in order to carry more passengers and boost awareness of public transport across the Gold Coast.

Transport Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk inspected the new locally-built bus - Australia's first low-floor twin steer, wheel chair accessible bus - at Southport this morning.

"Gold Coast tourists will be among the first to use this groundbreaking new double-decker bus which will run along the Gold Coast Highway between Tweed Heads and Southport ," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"The State Government has worked hard to support business and promote tourist growth and it's great we can transport tourists and commuters along the coast in world-class locally-made buses.

Ms Palaszczuk said the new double-decker would carry 96 seated passengers and run on route 700, run by Surfside Bus Lines.

"These new home grown double-decker buses are designed to be big on space, comfort and savings," she said.

"They not only carry more passengers than standard buses but also have the same footprint as a standard 12.5-metre-bus.

"They have comparable manoeuvrability compared to articulated buses thanks to an unprecedented engineering feat - two steering axles at the front and one fixed axle at the back."

"We expect to have the double-decker out on the road from mid August."

Megan Harkin, from Surfside's parent company Transit Australia Group (TAG), said Surfside was excited to be adding this Australian first to our fleet mix and also contributing to a greener public transport service.

"Our passengers and drivers will be impressed with the comfort and the quality finish of the product," Ms Harkin said.

"We have drivers lining up to be rostered to drive this remarkable vehicle."

The State Government, through TransLink, is funding the new double-decker bus at a cost of about $80,000 a year.

The bus is expected to operate on Route 700 between Tweed Heads and Southport starting mid-August.

External hard drives being sold by discount retailer ALDI have been found to contain computer virus

ALDI external hard drives available for sale as part of its "special
buys'' purchases have been found to contain a computer virus.

The Fission External 4-in-1 hard drive, DVD, USB and card reader
device was withdrawn from sale this morning.

The hard drive is supplied to ALDI by a company called Smart IT
Australia, described on its website as a global company which sells
electronics products to 10 countries.

The company also supplies support for ALDI electronics products
branded under the Tevion label.

ALDI is recommending consumers who have already purchased the hard
drive and connected it to their personal computers to use Kaspersky
anti-virus software or similar to scan computers and USB storage
devices to detect and remove the virus if present.

ALDI has also told customers that free anti virus checkers can be
downloaded at free.avg.com.

``A full re-format will remove the virus from the 4-in-1 Hard Drive,''
a statement from ALDI advises.

``Customers who have purchased the product can return it to the store
where they bought it to receive a full refund.''

Consumers can also contact the manufacturer's technical support
hotline on 1300 558 702.

More: www.couriermail.com.au

NRL: Additional team should come from south-east Queensland, clubs told Brad Walter

SOUTH-EAST Queensland appears likely to be home to a 17th NRL team
after club bosses were told it was the only area where a new side
would increase the value of the next television rights deal.

The news is a blow to the Central Coast Bears and other bid teams who
are vying to enter the NRL when officials decide to expand.

However, the advice of Colin Smith, of LEK Consulting, who has been
engaged by the NRL as a consultant on the next broadcast rights deal,
is a boost for the hopes of the recently launched Brisbane Bombers and
the Ipswich consortium.

Advertisement: Story continues below The newly established independent
commission, which is due to take over the running of the game from
November 1, would be expected to call for applications from other
interested bidders when and if they decide to expand the competition.

With officials having ruled out commencing formal negotiations for the
new broadcast deal to start in 2013 until the commission comes to
power, it is almost certain that no new team will be admitted before
2014 - and possibly not until 2017.

There is a view that Perth should be the first place the game expands
to, as the two-hour time difference would enable a live match to be
broadcast on the eastern seaboard at either 9.30pm Friday or Saturday
or 6pm Sunday.

NRL officials outlined three scenarios for the next television deal,
which ranged from $1 billion over five years to $1.4 billion. The
amount of the salary cap and club grant would depend on the value of
the television deal, with funding and player payments to increased to:

$1 billion TV deal:

- Salary cap: $5.1 billion

- Club grant: $5.6 million

$1.2 billion

- Cap $5.9 million

- Grant $6.45 million

$1.4 billion

- Cap: $6.6 million

- Grant: $7.2 million

Smith is understood to have told last Thursday's conference of NRL
club chief executives and chairmen that the only new team broadcasters
would pay more for in the next rights deal was one based in south-east
Queensland.

Club bosses were told that television executives believed
Queenslanders were ''peculiar'' in that they would support any
Queensland team - the Broncos, the Cowboys or the Titans - but not
teams from anywhere else.

That theory was the reason Channel Nine began televising two Friday
night games several season ago - one involving a Queensland team that
is broadcast live in Queensland each week.

However, officials want to scrap the second Friday night game and a
number of alternative time slots were discussed at last week's meeting
- including a return to a 3pm kick-off on Saturday afternoons.

From 2013, there could be Saturday games at 3pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

Also under consideration is a 6pm Sunday match, which has had mixed
success in AFL.

The Herald was told yesterday that all time slots were options when
talks with the broadcasters officially kick off. However, the clubs
insisted that they want fixed scheduling to be introduced from the
2013 season onwards and expect the negotiating team, which is yet to
be decided, to enter discussions on that basis.

Monday night football is here to stay, and could be on free-to-air
television for the first time in 2013 as it is attracts up to 400,000
viewers each week on Fox Sports.

Clubs expect to receive greater compensation from the next television
deal for hosting games on Monday nights than they currently get.

Officials are considering selling games on Friday nights, Saturdays,
Sundays and Monday nights to separate broadcasters.

State of Origin and Test football could also be sold separately to
premiership matches and the finals series.


Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/additional-team-should-come-from-southeast-queensland-clubs-told-20110725-1hx8v.html#ixzz1TAK3BPEq

Vice-regal clash with Brisbane airport security staff over Quentin Bryce setting off alarms

 
Governor General Quentin Bryce: set off alarm at airport security screening area.
 
SHE might be the Queen's representative in Australia but Quentin Bryce has discovered the job doesn't come with all the boss's perks.
 
The Governor-General was involved in a weekend security incident at Brisbane Airport after she went through a checkpoint without the usual clearance - something only the Queen and the Pope can do.
 
Ms Bryce was travelling privately when she set off alarms at Qantas's security screening area on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Courier-Mail has been told the female officer-in-charge of walk-throughs directed the Governor-General to go through the checkpoint again, leading to a hostile exchange between the officer and Ms Bryce's own security from Australian Federal Police.
 
Throughout the exchange Ms Bryce remained silent, according to airport sources.
 
She was then escorted from the screening area by the AFP agent while the female security guard was temporarily moved to "other duties" by her manager.
  
Transport Workers Union branch secretary Peter Biagini said it was "an absolute disgrace this employee was disciplined for enforcing the law".
 
The officer was reinstated to her position a short time later.
 
The Governor-General was later found by security in the Qantas' Chairman's Lounge where special clearance was given for her to fly.
 
A Qantas spokesman declined to comment on the incident but said the airline's policy was the same for all passengers.
 
She said all passengers must be cleared by security before boarding a Qantas flight.
 
The acting official secretary to the Governor-General, Mark Fraser, said Ms Bryce was travelling privately and Government House had no comment to make.
 
An AFP spokeswoman said Ms Bryce and AFP officers complied with all security requests.
 
"The AFP believes officers acted appropriately in this matter," she said.
 
Ms Bryce was Queensland's Governor before her federal appointment in 2008 and it is not her first travel controversy.
 
In 2009 her office came under fire for spending $700,000 on an 18-day African trip.
 
 
 
COMMENT: Why doesn't Jim Carden from the Brisbane Airport Corporation step in and show some testicular fortitude and sort out this mess.  After all, it's his Airport which is in the spotlight over this debacle.  Treating the Australian Governor-General like a potential terrorist is nothing short of outrageous.

Gold Coast council may help fund police helicopter while Brisbane still doesn't have one

The Gold Coast needs a police helicopter to fight crime and the
council might help fund it, Mayor Ron Clarke says.

Mr Clarke will today ask councillors to vote on a plan to partially
fund a six-month trial.

He says a police helicopter is needed, especially in light of the
recent wave of gun crime that's hurt the tourist strip's reputation.

But he says previous campaigns to secure one have failed.

"We've tried before and the state government has got other priorities
and can't afford it," he told ABC Radio.

"We believe it's so urgent. We need to get one up there."

Mr Clarke declined to say how much a police chopper service would
cost, but saw it as a necessary expense.

"It's going to cost money but it really is a priority, I believe."

The Gold Coast has been grappling with what Premier Anna Bligh has
called an uncharacteristic "wave of crime", including three fatal
shootings in less than two months.

The government has insisted police have adequate resources to deal
with the situation, including a new serious and violent crime squad.

But the police union has said more officers are desperately needed,
and has expressed fears innocent lives could be lost as organised
crime spills onto the streets.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/gold-coast-council-may-help-fund-police-helicopter-20110725-1hvxt.html#ixzz1T4VvwO6c

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