HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:30, Dec 23 = 2

AAP General News (Australia)
12-23-2009
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:30, Dec 23 = 2

AUCKLAND - Cycling starkers might be okay in New Zealand - but just make sure the cops
don't catch you without a helmet. (NZ Nude)



AUCKLAND - A news story about a Kiwi traffic cop who wrote down a woman's occupation
as "kitchen bitch" on her ticket was one of New Zealand's most read of 2009. (NZ Read)



AUCKLAND - Forget socks and soap. Lonely Kiwi guys are hoping Santa will deliver a
girlfriend down the chimney this Friday. (Xmas NZ)



MELBOURNE - Australians are expected to let their fingers do the talking at Christmas
with text messages set to soar to record heights. (Xmas Text Wrap)



SYDNEY - Christmas has come early at Sydney's Taronga Zoo, with hibiscus Christmas
trees decorated with grevillea flowers, and pine cones topped with peanut butter and grapes
on Wednesday's breakfast menu. (Xmas Zoo)



CANBERRA - More than 250 toys have been taken off shelves in a pre-Christmas safety
audit by the competition watchdog. (Toys)



CANBERRA - Parents buying gaming consoles this Christmas should take a close look at
their security features, police say. (Consoles)



CANBERRA - The federal government has released draft legislation that aims to ensure
fibre optic networks are laid in new residential and commercial developments around Australia.

(Broadband)



CANBERRA - The federal government has urged all states to follow Victoria's lead and
adopt more accessible building regulations. (Regulations)



CANBERRA - Many of the nation's volunteers say they are not thanked enough for their
time and service. (Volunteers)



CANBERRA - A brawl over aviation security has broken out between federal Transport
Minister Anthony Albanese and his opposition counterpart. (Aviation)



CANBERRA - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is being forced to reduce the emissions coming
from his parliament house office. (Office)



CANBERRA - The government's target of hiring 500 extra Australian Federal Police (AFP)
officers will only erode the force's effectiveness without a boost in resources, the opposition
says. (Police)



CANBERRA - Canberra's top cop has been promoted. (Phelan)



SYDNEY - NSW Premier Kristina Keneally has defended the state's green credentials,
but says more will be done to coax people out of their cars and onto public transport.

(Cars to come)



SYDNEY - A driver has been charged over a head-on smash south of Sydney which killed
five people from the same family earlier this month. (Collision)



SYDNEY - A Sydney man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly trying
to throw a female relative over the railing of shopping centre car park. (Shopper)



SYDNEY - Three men have been charged in connection with an alleged cross-border firearms
and drug distribution network. (Border)



SYDNEY - Forecasts for a strong Christmas trading period in NSW have been confirmed,
with shoppers spending up to an extra $12 million per day compared to last year, the state
government says. (Retail)



SYDNEY - A Sydney woman who left her toddler son locked inside a car in scorching temperatures
while she went shopping has admitted making a "stupid mistake", authorities say. (Toddler)



SYDNEY - Frontline bushfire fighters will not lose their pay entitlements for working
weekends and public holidays, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally says. (Parks)



SYDNEY - Workers with chainsaws, backed by police, have moved in to cut down a tree
sacred to local Aboriginal people on the NSW mid-north coast, with protesters expected
to be forcibly removed. (Guardian)



SYDNEY - Eight cases of deadly meningococcal disease have been reported in the past
month in NSW - three of them linked to the same Sydney high school formal. (Meningococcal)



MELBOURNE - An inquiry into the stabbing deaths of two patients at a Melbourne psychiatric
hospital has come up with seven recommendations, including a requirement that knife sets
be kept in drawers. (Embling)

Embling Wrap to come



MELBOURNE - Authorities have seized six dogs following an attack by two pit bull terriers
on a woman and her Jack Russell, and a 61 year-old good samaritan who intervened, in Melbourne's
northwest. (Bite Update)



MELBOURNE - A man has been charged with murder over a fatal stabbing at a Melbourne
block of housing commission units. (Stabbed 2nd Update)



MELBOURNE - A mother who drugged her daughter and left her to be molested and filmed
naked by her defacto partner has had her jail sentence more than doubled. (Mother)



MELBOURNE - A couple whose Marysville patisserie was destroyed in the Black Saturday
bushfires have had another setback with their new business hit by burglars overnight.

(Patisserie)



MELBOURNE - Thousands of photos taken by a religous minister on a humanitarian trip
to Uganda have been stolen. (Photos)



MELBOURNE - Ikea stores in Australia are recalling the Leopard model of high chairs
as part of a global recall following a number of incidents involving young children. (Sweden
Ikea Aust Update)



BRISBANE - A Queensland coroner has recommended no criminal charges be laid over the
deaths of three Aboriginal boys struck by a passenger train in 2006. (Duncan)



BRISBANE - Queensland Transport Minister Rachel Nolan has knocked back claims the government
planned to privatise the state's coal rail business before the last election. (Rail Qld
to come)



BRISBANE - Crime statistics for Brisbane's train network show mixed results. (Crime to come)



PERTH - A string of crossbow attacks on kangaroos in urban parklands in Western Australia
is being investigated by police and animal welfare authorities. (Kangaroo)



PERTH - A 44-year-old man has died after a fight with another man in the West Australian
Pilbara town of Karratha. (Fight)



ADELAIDE - Prisoners in a South Australian jail have been using fermented fruit pulp
to mix up a potent and illegal home brew. (Homebrew)



ADELAIDE - Simply changing 28,000 showerheads in South Australian homes has saved one
billion litres of water, the state government says. (Showerheads)

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KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY

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