15january2015
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THU 15 JANUARY 2015
Mediaportal Report
Communities 'should decide' on new air operators for Cape12 Jan 2015Torres News, Thursday Island QLD, General News, Mark Bousen And Matt Nicholls
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Queens on quest to support others15 Jan 2015North West Star, Mount Isa QLD , General News, BRONWYN WHEATCROFT
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Kempton on Skytrans15 Jan 2015Port Douglas & Mossman Gazette, Port Douglas QLD , General News
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PLAN TO MAKE INNER CITY SHINE15 Jan 2015Townsville Bulletin, Townsville QLD, General News, Anthony Templeton
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Confidence a concern15 Jan 2015Australian Financial Review, Australia, General News, Shaun Drummond
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COPYRIGHT This report and its contents are for the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only and may not beprovided to any third party by any means for any purpose without the express permission of iSentia and/or the relevantcopyright owner. For more information contact [email protected]
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Txt the editor15 Jan 2015Northern Territory News, Darwin, Letters
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Disabled get a raw deal at Brisbane Airport15 Jan 2015Queensland Times, Ipswich QLD , General News, Peter Chapman
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The NRL has welcomed support from the LNP and Labor for a new stadium in ...15 Jan 2015 6:30 AMABC North Queensland, Townsville, 06:30 News, Newsreader
Duration: 0 min 50 secs • ASR AUD 103 • QLD • Australia • Company Radio & TV • ID: V00060256616
The NRL has welcomed support from the LNP and Labor for a new stadium in Townsville, but won't reveal whether it will commit itsown funding for the project. Kevin Gill, Chairman, Townsville Enterprise, says the stadium needs commitment from other stakeholders.Tony Parsons, Townsville Councillor, has ruled out pledging any more money.
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Interviewees
Kevin Gill, Chairman, Townsville Enterprise|Tony Parsons, Townsville Councillor
OUTSMART THE AIRFARE MACHINE01 Feb 2015Australian Men's Fitness, National , General News, Mark Ellwood
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Communities 'should decide' onnew air operators for CapeBy Mark Bousen and Matt Nicholls
NPARC Mayor Bernard Charliesays communities should decide whoflies into their regions, not the StateGovernment.
"We own the airstrips, the infrastruc-ture, everything, but have no input intowho can fly into our communities. Weshould be the ones who determine whoflies here.
"The State makes the decision, andthey shouldn't be."
Mayor Charlie was commenting fol-lowing the collapse of carrier Skytranswhich serviced Bamaga, along withseveral other Cape York destinations,on Friday, January 2.
Mayor Charlie said there wereno flights into Bamaga on last Mon-day (January 5), leaving passengersstranded.
"The most-sensible solution toservicing Bamaga and the NPA is anextension of the QantasLink service toHorn Island.
"It is a natural extension of theCairns-Horn Island service, whichcould then fly onto Bamaga.
"I have been told by Council officersthat the Bamaga airstrip can handle theQ400 aircraft flying to Horn Island.
"The 'plane could then complete theloop and return to Cairns from Bamaga.That service would save everyone a lotof money; it's just a logical thing to do."
QantasLink said they didn't knowif the Bamaga Airport could handlethe Q400 aircraft, and would need toundertake a thorough investigationshould they decide the proceed in thatdirection.
However, the spokesperson believed
Rex Aviation would most probablyservice the route, along with some ofthe affected Cape York routes.
Torres Strait and NPA air charter andboat charters companies believe there isa window of opportunity for them withthe collapse of Skytrans.
They believe NPA-bound passengerswill have to fly to Horn Island and thenfind their way to the NPA through any ofthe several avenues available to them,such as charter aircraft, charter vesselsand Peddells Ferries.
"It will put a bit of pressure on us tomeet the extra demand if that courseeventuates."
Meanwhile, Aurukun Shire Councilchief executive Bernie McCarthyhas called for consistency from theQueensland government, pushing forthe Cape air routes to be regulated.
Mr McCarthy, who spoke to Regionaland Remote Newspapers from CairnsAirport, about to board a West Wingplane home, said it didn't make sensefor the Gulf and Western Queenslandroutes to be regulated and not the Cape.
"We just want some consistency,"he said.
Mr McCarthy joked that since theclosure of Skytrans, Aurukun residentswere in a better position.
"They are selling plane tickets for$189 with West Wing," he said.
"There's no better time for Aurukunresidents to get on a plane to Cairns."
When Skytrans was operating,tickets to Cairns would cost around$500 one-way.
Aurukun Mayor Dereck Walpo saida reliable airline carrier was vital toCoen, Bamaga, Aurukun, Lockhart
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Torres News, Thursday Island QLD12 Jan 2015, by Mark Bousen And Matt Nicholls
General News, page 1 - 529.00 cm²Regional - circulation 3,000 (M------)
ID 360982652 PAGE 1 of 2
River, Kowanyama and Pormupuraawduring the wet season to deliver mail,fresh food and medical supplies.
Coen resident Ann-Louise Mulley,who owns The Exchange Hotel, saidthe community was shell-shocked bySkytrans departure from the region.
"They didn't even tell the people onthe plane on Friday going out that therewould be no flight back," she said.
Continued on page 2
The grounding of Skytrans has created an opportunity for a new operator to take the airline's place.
Communities should decideContinued from page 1.
Ms Mulley said there were severalpregnant women in the communitywho were due to give birth shortlythat needed to attend hospitals outsideof the town.
Cook Shire Mayor Peter Scottsaid the anger in the north over thetreatment of Skytrans, which hedescribed as great corporate citizens,was palpable.
"When the decision was made
about the regulated routes, to give itto a NSW-based operation versus aQueensland Cairns-based operation,
all of us on the Cape reckoned thatstunk," he said.
"The Wilds (managing directorSimon Wild and family) have been uphere for many years and they're verygood community people.
"They've been major sponsors ofthe basketball - the (Cairns) Taipans- but also lots and lots of communitygroups and campaigns."
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Torres News, Thursday Island QLD12 Jan 2015, by Mark Bousen And Matt Nicholls
General News, page 1 - 529.00 cm²Regional - circulation 3,000 (M------)
ID 360982652 PAGE 2 of 2
Queens on questto support othersBy BRONWYN WHEATCROFT........................................................................
MOUNT Isa Rodeo Queen Questis about creating awareness andraising money for a charity cho-sen by each candidate.
Mount Isa Mines Rotary Rodeomanager Natalie Flecker saidwhen choosing Rodeo Queencontestants, they looked for up-
standing women within theMount Isa community.
“We look for a great role modelfor young aspiring Queen Questentrants, and people that aregoing to be able to promote andbe able to become ambassadors
for the Mount Isa rodeo,” shesaid.
“They set their own eventscalendars and we are reallylooking forward to the eventsthey have in store.”
For more information andevents updates see the Mount IsaRotary Rodeo Queen Quest Face-book page and The North WestStar.
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North West Star, Mount Isa QLD15 Jan 2015, by BRONWYN WHEATCROFT
General News, page 14 - 120.00 cm²Regional - circulation 2,375 (MTWTF--)
ID 361584478 PAGE 1 of 1
Kempton on SkytransI would like to put the record
straight on Skytrans airlines.Skytrans was in trouble as far back
as 2011 and an independent audit re-port in 2013 found material concernswith its viability.
Skytrans held a contract for thewestern Queensland routes whichwas extended for 12 months to give ittime to resolve its financial position.
The contract went to public tenderby TransLink which is Independent ofany Government influence.
The criterion for selection in-cluded quality of service, price and fi-nancial viability.
Skytrans did not win the tender.The LNP government did not take
the contract off Skytrans.Skytrans financial problems arose
from rising costs, over supply of seatsand a down turn in mining, reducingdemand.
Perhaps the final straw was thefalling Australian dollar which meantSkytans had to pay more for the
planes it leased.Skytrans pulled out of the Cape
routes they were not taken off themGavin, Michael and I offered all oursupport to Skytrans before and afterthe contact was lost.
I personally spent many hoursworking with Simon Wild and thecape communities trying to find a so-lution.
It is a tragedy the airline foldedand the staff lost jobs.
The LNP government moved inwithin two days and contracted West-wing to ensure services were contin-ued.
I am not aware that any patients orpassengers have been stranded inCairns over the past few weeks.
I am still working to ensure thereare reliable air services to the Capeand as many of the Skytrans peoplefind work as possible in this process.
It’s easy to blame the Governmentwithout knowing the facts.
David Kempton, Member for Cook
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Port Douglas & Mossman Gazette, Port Douglas QLD15 Jan 2015
General News, page 22 - 105.00 cm²Regional - circulation 4,350 (---T---)
ID 361569268 PAGE 1 of 1
ANTHONYTEMPLETON
THE Liberal National Party’s$150 million funding commit-ment to build a new CBD sta-dium has been welcomed byTownsville leaders – but only ifPremier Campbell Newmanmakes good on his promise to“make it happen”.
Mr Newman yesterday an-nounced $150 million for thestadium project and to removethe rail yards from the innercity, if the LNP is returned.
Under the plan, a re-electedNewman Government wouldnegotiate with Aurizon to pur-chase its rail yards in SouthTownsville and move them tothe Townsville State Develop-ment Area.
The priority developmentarea proposed for most of theland around Ross Creek wouldbe extended to include the railyards site.
Townsville Enterprisechairman Kevin Gill said hewas confident a re-electedLNP government would en-sure the stadium was built, de-spite a potential multi-million-dollar funding gap.
“The key message is thatthe Premier has committed tofunding and delivering the sta-dium project for Townsville,”he said. “The Premier madethe statement that this is stepone in a longer-term plan.”
Mr Gill said the LNP’s planwould provide a vision for thecity’s future growth and devel-opment.
“We cannot underestimate
the importance of the decisionto move the rail yards to theTownsville State DevelopmentArea,” he said. “This will openup valuable inner city land andpromote significant further de-velopment and generate jobsby encouraging new invest-ment in the area.”
North Queensland Cow-boys chief executive PeterJourdain said a new stadiumwas important to the club’slong-term future.
“This is great news for ourclub and gives us tremendoushope that this project will becompleted in the not-too-dis-tant future,” Mr Jourdain said.
“It’s especially gratifyingthat we now have bipartisansupport for the proposed stadi-um, which is part of widerurban renewal plans for inner-city Townsville.
“There’s no doubt that turn-ing these ideas into reality isimportant for the future of theCowboys, the city and NorthQueensland as a whole.”
Townsville City Council has
ruled out a major funding con-tribution for the stadium butsaid it would consider upgra-ding roads around the venue toprevent traffic bottlenecks.
Planning and DevelopmentCommittee chairman TonyParsons said the council wasn’tprepared to make a major fi-nancial contribution to the sta-dium.
“The clear message we have
got from the people of the cityis they don’t necessarily wantto use ratepayer funds to buildthe stadium,” he said.
“But we are more thanhappy to provide the infra-
structure outside of the projectto make sure it is viable.”
Labor candidate for Mund-ingburra, Coralee O’Rourke,said the LNP was trying tobribe voters into supporting its
privatisation plan with thepromise of the stadium.
“Only Labor can deliver thestadium and keep our assetsand the jobs that go withthem,” she said.
“That is why, last year wepromised $100 million for theCBD stadium. Our investmentin Townsville will kickstart aneconomy which has flatlinedunder the LNP.”
PLAN TO MAKE INNER CITY SHINEback
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Townsville Bulletin, Townsville QLD15 Jan 2015, by Anthony Templeton
General News, page 4 - 1,281.00 cm²Regional - circulation 22,122 (MTWTFS-)
ID 361576794 PAGE 1 of 3
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Townsville Bulletin, Townsville QLD15 Jan 2015, by Anthony Templeton
General News, page 4 - 1,281.00 cm²Regional - circulation 22,122 (MTWTFS-)
ID 361576794 PAGE 2 of 3
ALL YOURS: Premier Campbell Newman (left) announces the $150 million stadium funding plan yesterday and (below) Mr Newman and his team make a tour of the site for the proposed superstadium (bottom). Pictures: MEGAN TAYLOR
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Townsville Bulletin, Townsville QLD15 Jan 2015, by Anthony Templeton
General News, page 4 - 1,281.00 cm²Regional - circulation 22,122 (MTWTFS-)
ID 361576794 PAGE 3 of 3
Confidencea concernOutlook While CFOs largely welcome the dollar's drop, for manysectors the crystal ball for 2015 is murky, writes Shaun Drummond.
The mood of chief financialofficers at Australia's biggestcompanies has improved asthe dollar has fallen. But formany the prospects for 2015are confusing, tempered by
lower commodity prices and numerous fail-ures by the federal government to pass keyreforms, making investment deci-sions harder and weighing on con-sumer confidence.
The government's launch of another bigtax review, particularly what it does tostop company profit shifting, will alsothrust finance chiefs into centre of the politi-cal debate.
A year ago, Qantas Airways' now-outgo-ing chief financial officer Gareth Evans wasthe odd one out among a surge in confidenceamong finance chiefs following the electionof the Abbott government
He now stands out as one of the most opti-mistic. The price of oil has nearly halved insix months and the dollar now sits in what isa "perfect" range for Qantas at about US 80<t.
"What we're seeing now is a more benigncompetitive environment both domesticallyand internationally," he says. "Fuel pricesimpact all of our businesses and the capacitysituation is similarly benign and we're a ben-eficiary of a lower dollar for other reasons."
By capacity, he means international com-petitors were competing hard for Australiancustomers who were paying in high-valueAustralian dollars, which translated intobigger earnings for the airlines in their homecurrencies.
Mr Evans is moving up to head the inter-national division of Qantas Airways early in2015. He will be replaced by deputy CFOTino
LaSpina.About $1 billion of the $2.5 billion in costs
Qantas is cutting will come from its interna-tional division and he plans to pay downabout $1 billion in debt on his way to return-ing the network to profitability.
Many CFOs worry the impasse over partsof the federal budget is sapping businessconfidence, along with numerous otherchanges held up by a fractious Senate.
"One thing that continues to plague thewhole economy is [low levels of] con-sumer and business confidence," says Bend-igo and Adelaide Bank finance headRichard Fennell.
"The uncertainty around likely outcomesin Canberra - 1 don't think that's going tochange in 2015. This is going to be potentiallya year of muddling through."
AGL Energy chief financial officer BrettRedmond has similar concerns. "Managinguncertainty in federal government policy" is
his top concern in the year ahead. Added tothis is the sharp fall in the oil price, whichmay affect the price AGL gets for gas becauseprices for the two commodities are tied.
The uncertain interplay of the global anddomestic politics of climate change is halt-ing investments for AGL.
Add to that the fall in demand for energyas solar panels have multiplied and heavyindustry has wound down, means AGL hashad to diversify, including into solar panelsand buying coal-fired power stations.
"Is the [renewable energy target] going tochange and what are the details arounddirect action? If s very difficult to predict," hesays. "What is the bipartisan position if wewant to make another multi-billion dollarinvestment?"
While resources and energy are beingpummelled by global forces, manufacturingis finally getting a break with the drop inthe dollar.
Cochlear chief financial officer NevilleMitchell says this is a big help because mostof Cochlear's sales are outside Australia.
"Forex is a big issue that has changed overthe last 12 months. We sell into a 100 differentcountries so world events are important," hesays.
Mitchell is president of a group that repre-sents chief financial officers, Group of 100.
"Deregulation for our members is criti-cal," he says.
The G100 wants to play a central role inany tax changes from the government'sreview of the taxation system.
CFOs are responsible for corporate struc-tures designed to minimise tax. Govern-ments have painted this as morally wrong tohelp rein in big deficits. But Mitchell sayscountries are still competing for business byoffering tax concessions.
The G100 already got some change itwanted. The Coalition government refusedto implement Labor's plan to abolish the so-called 25-90 rule as part of a crackdown oncompanies loading up local subsidiarieswith debt to reduce their tax bills.
The group argued it would unfairly penal-ise Australian companies that have used theclause to reduce their cost of funding to helpexpand overseas.
"We understand the rhetoric on [taxclampdowns], but you have to be cautiousabout the detail and unintended conse-
quences to make sure Australian companiesremain competitive," he says.
Incitec Pivot is a manufacturer of explo-
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Australian Financial Review, Australia15 Jan 2015, by Shaun Drummond
General News, page 36 - 1,324.00 cm²National - circulation 62,455 (MTWTFS)
ID 361537447 PAGE 1 of 4
sives and fertiliser, with businesses in Aus-tralia and the United States. CFO FrankMicallef s customers are farmers and min-ers. Its US business Dyno Nobel, the largestexplosives maker, is doing well because gasand oil discoveries there have revived theindustry although the oil price dropcould hurt
As the resource sector cuts back, Micallefsaid productivity improvements started sev-eral years ago are even more important
"Business can drive productivity becauseit is essentially about the way work is done,"he says "However, government's role is togenerate policies to focus, on, and in somecases, restore, our competitive advantagesincluding energy, our skilled workforce andproximity to Asia."
He says the trade agreements with China,Japan and Korea will help. But the govern-ment needs to do more to remove bureauc-racy in shipping and infrastructure.
"Proposed reforms to the regulatory envi-ronment of Australian coastal shippingwould remove unnecessary bureaucraticburdens which put Australian manufactur-ing at a cost disadvantage to internationalcompetitors," he says.
"In infrastructure development signifi-cant inefficiencies arise from unnecessaryand arbitrary approvals and assessmentprocesses which are too time consuming,too costly and uncertain."
Macquarie Securities banking analystMike Wiblin says late last year that it is themost uncertain time for banks he has seensince the financial crisis in 2008.
The final report of the Murray inquiryinto financial services has at least showedwhat the path ahead may be, but inquirychief David Murray threw some curve balls.
One was that the banking system shouldset aside more capital to safeguard againstcrises. For Fennell at Bendigo Bank it couldmean he unexpectedly needs to raise capital.
Convincing the government and bankingregulator the bank is adequately capitalisedis top of his list for 2015.
Apart from that, though, the inquiryshould be positive if its second recommen-dation is implemented to raise the risk-weighted capital levels of the major banks.
FBA036
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Australian Financial Review, Australia15 Jan 2015, by Shaun Drummond
General News, page 36 - 1,324.00 cm²National - circulation 62,455 (MTWTFS)
ID 361537447 PAGE 2 of 4
Bullish: QantasCFOGareth Evans saysthe competitiveenvironment for theairline is far morebenign.PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Fennell says the most important singleproject is to get Bendigo to the sameadvanced standing on risk-weighted capitalthat the big banks enjoy, which means theytoo would be subject to the same new rules.
On average, the regionals hold around39 per cent risk-weighted capital againstmortgages compared with 18 per cent for thebig four banks so it should still be a benefit
Bendigo Bank had aimed to get the projectcompleted by the end of 2014 but Fennell isnow looking to the first half of 2015. Theinquiry's endorsement of calls to speed upthis process should help.
Like others, he says it appears volatility isback in financial markets as uncertaintyrises again, which could raise funding costs."It is not impacting on markets that impactbanks too much yet - but you want to makesure you have got your balance sheet
mixed," he says.Like most retail executives, Myer CFO
Mark Ashby stayed on over the Christmasbreak for the most critical period of the yearfor the industry.
"This is the fun time in retail -1 will behere enjoying the experience," he says.
ThefallinthedollarisseeingoffsomeofMyer's overseas competition. Just beforeChristmas he was seeing signs that the tour-ist centres of Gold Coast, Maroochydore andCairns were picking up as overseas touriststook advantage of the lower dollar. But its fallis a mixed blessing because a big chunk ofMyer's goods are produced overseas.
Retail sales have been disappointing over-all. Ashby says consumer confidence is stillmuted because people are worried abouttheirjobs.
The fall in oil prices is a plus, however, anda drop in interest rates, which is on the cardsfor early 2015, will be another. "People areworried about employment, but there issome good news on oil prices," he says,which means people have more money.
Technology is becoming Myer's singlebiggest cost and Ashby will continue toincrease this in 2015. Much of this is tied tothe growth of online shopping, which heexpects to reach about 10 per cent of saleslong term, like many global chains.
Of the $80 million Myer's annual capitalexpenditure, about 25 per cent is not on tech-nology. "I expect that to get up to around 40per cent" he says.
"A significant proportion of retailers'capex is now weighted towards tech-based solutions."
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Australian Financial Review, Australia15 Jan 2015, by Shaun Drummond
General News, page 36 - 1,324.00 cm²National - circulation 62,455 (MTWTFS)
ID 361537447 PAGE 3 of 4
For a CFO, speeding up delivery times tostores and to customers who buy online, isparamount To hold less inventory, Myerstocks the fabrics in its supply bases in HongKong and Shanghai to make the Myer-onlybrands, which are about 22 per cent ofits stock.
Corporate mergers are down from a yearago but big deals are back, according to thelatest data. Myer could have been one ofthose statistics but was gazumped by SouthAfrica's Woolworths in April after its secondattempt in six months to buy David Jones.
Ashby insists there's no other target onthe radar to take it up to their bulked-up rivalor tackle what he says is Myer's main com-petitors: the global chains that have movedinto Australia.
"Yes we compete with DJs, but the cross-shop is not that large," he says.
"Any deal has to be about growth, marketsegmentation, product ranges, getting scaleto reduce sourcing costs. We're alreadypretty big at $3 billion and we own Sass &Bide 100 per cent now.
"We have done everything we would havedone if we had done the merger."
Perth-based Navitas is one of the biggestlisted education businesses in Australia. Itsuffered a blow in mid 2014 when it lost acontract to supply student tuition services toMacquarie University. CFO Bryce Houghtonsays the company needs to find a replace-ment in Sydney this year.
Navitas has two-thirds of its business inAustralia, so the lower dollar helps. But gov-ernment regulatory changes and theirimpact on foreign students tend to be moreimportant
Houghton is waiting for the Senate toagree to deregulation tertiary education.The government's plan would give studentsat private colleges and government-fundeduniversities access to fee assistance. "Highereducation reforms and how that goes willdominate 2015 for us," he says.
"Commonwealth government-sup-ported place funding - we'd love to see thatThe change is to make it a level playing fieldand we are pretty confident it will get up insome format"
He says the plan to remove a 25 per centadministration fee for FEE-HELP willencourage more to study.
Navitas will continue to expand overseas."We have got a pretty ambitious program ofrolling out further colleges - the best way wecan create more value for shareholders is tosign up new partnership deals with univer-sity programs," he says.
"We have hired a new group generalmanager of strategy and business develop-ment. It is going to be a really interesting
period in the first half of 2015."Unlike the last time the dollar fell during
the financial crisis, cheap debt is now onoffer from banks and debt markets.
Houghton just upped Navitas's bankloans from $275 million to $400 million,increased the term to five years and addedanother bank - all for a cheaper price thanthe original debt This will be used for inter-nal investment and some will be availablefor acquisitions.
The uncertaintyaround likelyoutcomes inCanberra -1 don'tthink that's goingto change in 2015.Richard Fennell, Bendigoand Adelaide Bank
Clockwise from top left: Richard Fennell,Bendigo and Adelaide Bank; Mark Ashby,Myer; Frank Micallef, Incitec Pivot. PHOTOS:DAVID MARIUZ, LUIS ASCUIJOSHROBENSTONE
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Australian Financial Review, Australia15 Jan 2015, by Shaun Drummond
General News, page 36 - 1,324.00 cm²National - circulation 62,455 (MTWTFS)
ID 361537447 PAGE 4 of 4
ON AIRNORTH� Re: Airnorth. How good is the service on board! Those hosties are always a delight to fly with! I think it is a great friendly service! Rodger, Anula
� Airnorth is a full service airline so can’t be compared to Tiger or Jetstar. I think they’re a great airline to fly with, specially with comfy seats and leg room! Maverick
� Airnorth is local airline employing locals. Aircraft
repaired and maintained by local engineers at Darwin airport. Food/snacks and drinks provided on all flights. Lowering fares would prob mean lower standards and job cuts. Support the local airline and do the right thing. The more people booking through to Cairns yet getting off in Gove the more delays, food wastage and hassles for the LOCAL AIRLINE.
� Airnorth has the same going for the Darwin-Mt Isa-Gold Coast route. Check out prices
for 22nd January. Cheapest flight to Gold Coast is $269, cheapest to Mount Isa is $899! The plane stops in Isa and all passengers must disembark. What is the justification for this?!
ON OTHER THINGS� Lots of people upset with Channel 10 delaying cricket by 2 hours! Same should be said
about ABC with Asian Cup coverage! And it’s an international tournament! OGGY from Winnellie
� Why is it when Michael Clarke gets hit up with painkiller injections it’s not classed as
performance enhancing, although he wouldn’t have performed without it? Just curious. Shane, Palmy
� Having travelled thousands of km of this great country of ours we were excited to cross back over the Territory border. What a sight. On approaching Wycliffe Well the volume of rubbish was appalling. A sea of green cans littered the road with many mobs of people drinking in the streets. The same scenes were seen in Elliott and Mataranka.
� Watchdog, Brinkin. Darwin did not before have big African mahogany trees like it has now. Go to the nearby bush
and see what the natural look is. Cull the big trees. Anon
� Can’t they build an overpass over the train tracks in Alice? I’d hate to be waiting for an ambulance on the wrong side of the highway when a train passes through town ...
� Re: Taxi fares being cheap. Check the price of a minibus in Palmerston and you won’t believe what they charge at night ... about $30 to go 3 kilometres. Now that’s a rip-off. S.E. Woodroffe
��The young tradie and team from Northern Trade Solutions. If finding the baby’s gem puts a single beat of joy to the family’s saddened hearts, god bless all. Job well done. P.b
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Northern Territory News, Darwin15 Jan 2015
Letters, page 13 - 176.00 cm²Capital City Daily - circulation 14,613 (MTWTFS)
ID 361553837 PAGE 1 of 1
I SPOKE yesterdayabout bringing myelderly mother up tovisit my family inIpswich.Dealing with herinability to walk morethan a few pacesintroduced me intothe world of those who suffer the sameissues.While disability access areas andtoilets are now commonplace, you dodiscover where these facilities are wellbelow par.That was the case at Brisbanedomestic airport where access forpassengers with disabilities is poor tosay the least.Dropping a passenger off at theairport to get on a flight and pickingthem up is a disgrace.The airport in its wisdom providesno direct drop-off access to thedomestic terminal other than a smalldisabled parking area more than 200mfrom the front door of the terminal.It seems incredulous that you have tonavigate over two roads, while leavingyour car parked unattended.If you don’t have a disability stickeron your window and you can’t find anairport parking officer to explain yourreason for leaving the car unattendedyou risk getting a fine.The walk across is not covered and isfar from smooth. making the use of awalking frame difficult especially inwet weather.It seems that everyone knows aboutthe problems, yet Brisbane Airport hasdone nothing to fix it.
-Editor Peter Chapman
MY COMMENT
Disabled get araw deal atBrisbane Airport
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Queensland Times, Ipswich QLD15 Jan 2015, by Peter Chapman
General News, page 10 - 251.00 cm²Regional - circulation 8,418 (MTWTFS-)
ID 361518570 PAGE 1 of 1
by MARK ELLWOOD
Tomorrow > ,ice
OUTSMARTTHE AIRFARE
MACHINEEverything you need to know to score the
cheapest airline ticket possible.
VERYONE KNOWS THE SINKING FEELINGof sitting at a computer to book that last-minuteholiday. Inevitably you find yourself staring atthe airlines' sites or online offerings served upby comparison engines such as Expedia, Webjet,Skyscanner or Cheap Flights. Your choices areeach $500 more than you're willing to spend
visiting your grandparents or high-school mates - and you are nearlybanging your head against the keyboard. If only I'd booked this ticketsix months ago, you curse yourself.
But you'd be wrong.
Although certainly a factor in airfare pricing, the timing of your purchaseis far less important than you think. What's actually at play here is the fare-pricing model across the airlines, which is about as easy to understand as thestock market's most advanced high-speed trading networks.
Airline ticket prices are governed by supercomputers employing algorithmsthat take advantage of dynamic pricing, which means that costs are neverfixed. Instead, they rise and fall in response to demand and a host of otherfactors. Believe it or not, the very same seat on a given flight is typicallyoffered at around 20 different prices. On average, 92% of passengerssnag their ticket at some type of discount, although rarely the same one.
Why? Apparently this is the best way for airlines to maximise profitin a highly competitive industry, where every cent matters - butthat's another column.
I have some good news, however. Just as IBM's famous Jeopardy.'-playing (and, eventually, losing) mainframe "Watson" illustrateda few years ago, the machines - no matter how intelligent - aren'tperfect. And they don't always win. With a little extra knowledgeand groundwork on your part, you can outsmart the system andscore rock-bottom deals on a seat, whether you're booking it last-minute or several months in advance.
How? It's a lot easier than you think. All you have to do is sit back,relax, and let the airfare deals come to you.
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Australian Men's Fitness, National01 Feb 2015, by Mark Ellwood
General News, page 50 - 1,511.00 cm²Magazines Lifestyle - circulation 29,817 (Monthly)
ID 359413835 PAGE 1 of 2
Set your alerts
The internet is already doing thehard work for you. Sites such asflightcentre.com.au scour the web everyday for deals and post them to their sitesand social media feeds - so pay attention.You can choose your regular destinations- your hometown, holiday spots, Bali -and create email alerts for them. But besure to use every airport within drivingdistance as a possible departure point.
"It's a myth that the best fares are fromlarger airports," says Airfarewatchdog'sGeorge Hobica. For a few years,Melburnians were better flying to andfrom tiny Avalon rather than bustlingTullamarine - even factoring in a longertaxi ride to get there.
Also pay close attention to an airline'sofficial social media: @qantas, forinstance, offers occasional discounts, aswell as information such as delays or longqueues at Customs. "I scan Twitter everymorning looking for alerts," says RobJackson, a 28-year-old real estate agent andself-proclaimed airline nerd who arguablyspends more time at 30,000 feet than yourtypical professional pilot. "The key is thata lot of these fares are only available fora few hours until the airline's algorithmautomatically raises them."
Jackson also advises launching a feedon Twitter for the hashtag #fatfingerfares.In an industry where digital and analogsystems collide, airline employees whomanually input the fares generated bysupercomputers will often make errors -which travel nerds love to spot. Last year,United in the US accidentally offered afirst-class round trip from New York toHong Kong for US$33. If you'd booked it,you'd have saved about US$10,217 on theregular fare.
Feed the Frankenstein
Here's one kind of deal the airlines don'twant you to know about: Frankensteinfares, or what Kayak calls "hacker fares".These occur when you take two separateairlines and yoke them together to createa hybrid round trip called a "Frankentrip". Though it seems counterintuitive,buying two one-way tickets on differentcarriers - such as taking Virgin fromAdelaide to the Gold Coast, then usingJetstar to get back - can be cheaper thana round-trip on either. These are mostlyavailable on competitive, heavily flownroutes, but it's always worth searching forindividual legs of your trip across multipleairlines and doing the maths yourself.
THE BESTDEALSEMERGEBETWEENONEANDFOUR MONTHSBEFOREDEPARTURE.
Even if you do finda price you like, bearin mind the industrystandard of code-sharing. On a givenroute, two separatecompanies mighthave the authorityto sell the same seaton the same flight(for example, Delta,which now owns 49%of Virgin Atlantic,code-shares with theBritish carrier). Ifyou visit each of theairlines' websites toperform the samesearch, the results
may surprise you.Looking for a trans-Atlantic flight, I checked delta.com andvirgin-atlantic.com a few months ago fora Delta flight from New York to London -I had two browsers open simultaneously.The price difference for the exact sameseat was around $200. Bizarrely, Virginwas 20% cheaper.
Always roll solo whenpurchasing
Even if you aren't travelling alone, alwaysbook your seats individually. "It's a painin the arse, but it can lead to significantsavings if you divide your group intoindividual tickets," says Jeff Klee, CEOofcheapair.com. For this you can thanka glitch in the automated fare systems.
Say you're travelling with your girlfriendto visit her family and start searchingfor two seats. Remember those 20 orso different price categories on thatcomputer? Imagine there's one seat leftat the cheapest price, $150, but a dozenor more at the next-cheapest fare, $200.If you search for two tickets together, thecomputer can't divide the query; it ignoresthe single bargain seat and returns a quoteof $200 per person. Search individually,though, and you'll score a $150 offer forone and $200 for the other, saving $50.
Ignore the timing myth
Repeat after me: "There is no best time ofday or best day intheweekorbestweekofthe month to score the cheapest fares."
"There is no silver bullet," says Klee, whoclaims airlines open up ticket sales aroundII months before the departure date andthe prices yo-yo unpredictably all theway until the plane leaves the departure
gate. No matter what you read or hear, theprograms claiming to use historic airfaredata to predict when prices will rise or fallare virtually worthless. There are so manyvariables around those prices - weather,traffic, big sporting events - that resultswill skew wildly.
My bottom-line advice: the cheapestprices rarely surface around the timetickets are released. Your best bet is to startchecking for deals between oneandfourmonths ahead of the departure date.
Learn the tricks of last-minute booking
If something comes up and you have tobook in a hurry, consider redeeming anypoints you've earned exactly three daysbefore a flight takes off, which is whenairlines release seats they can't sell in theform of bargain points tickets.
Finally, consider a package of hotel andairfare combined. Though it defies logic,two nights in a hotel alongside a flightcould go for half the price of a last-minutestand-alone flight.
But remember, it's good practice tomonitor the airfare universe and let thedeals come to you. Rob Jackson didn't planon spending last New Year's Eve in Paris.Then he saw an alert posted by @theflightdeal on Twitter and couldn't help himself.
"For years I've heard, 'Oh, you'retravelling again,' as if it's an insult," he says." But I don't feel guilty splurging on anexpensive hotel when I paid peanuts toget there." •
MarkEllwood is the author ofBargain Fever: How to Shopin a Discounted World.
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Copyright Agency licensed copy(www.copyright.com.au)
Australian Men's Fitness, National01 Feb 2015, by Mark Ellwood
General News, page 50 - 1,511.00 cm²Magazines Lifestyle - circulation 29,817 (Monthly)
ID 359413835 PAGE 2 of 2