Doctors take knife to defence plan

Daniel Flitton, David Wroe A BACKLASH by doctors has forced the military to extend the handover time for the $1.3 billion privatisation of medical treatment for Australian troops.

Nauru detainees 'prepared to die'

David Wroe Hunger-striking asylum seekers on Nauru say they are prepared to die unless the Pacific island detention centre is closed and their refugee claims are processed in Australia.

AMA head warns over Defence health deal

David Wroe, Daniel Flitton THE Defence Personnel Minister, Warren Snowdon, has rejected doctors' claims that the health of military staff will be imperiled by a $1.3 billion outsourcing of medical care to Medibank Private.

Doctors baulk at defence health plan

David Wroe Defence healthcare in Australia is shrouded in doubt because doctors are shying away from a newly privatised health scheme.

Doctors shun Defence's new insurer

David Wroe, Daniel Flitton A DOCTORS revolt threatens to cripple military healthcare, with just one in 10 specialists so far signing on to a newly privatised medical scheme for the Defence Force.

Murray plan to launch a new wave of brawls

David Wroe, Tom Arup The Gillard government faces a fresh brawl with the eastern states over its Murray-Darling basin plan after yesterday placating South Australia with a $1.

Tasmania mining talks collapse

David Wroe Tasmania's Tarkine wilderness is set for a Franklin Dam-style showdown after talks between green groups and unions over disputed mining projects collapsed yesterday.

Huawei hits back at NBN deal rejection

David Wroe The local arm of Chinese telecom firm Huawei has hit back at its exclusion from the National Broadband Network by calling for independent cyber spying checks on all foreign-made technology used in...

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Huawei wants equal treatment for NBN suppliers

David Wroe Local arm of Chinese telecom firm hits back at exclusion from national broadband network.

Newman reverses ban on uranium

David Wroe Queensland government overturns decades-long ban as conservationists attack move as a broken promise.

Greens on mission to save iconic sites

David Wroe Christine Milne has said the mining boom amounts to 'liquidating the environment'.

Climate expert cool on backing forecast $29 carbon price

David Wroe The nation's top climate change bureaucrat has offered only a modest defence of the federal Treasury's widely disputed prediction of a $29 carbon price in 2015, describing it as ''not implausible''.

Reduced irrigation key to river quality

David Wroe The ailing Murray-Darling basin could get a bigger than expected injection of water after fresh modelling found the river system would be much better off if irrigation volumes were cut by more than...

Govt advertising campaign outlay jumps 20pc to $200m

David Wroe The federal government has spent more than $200 million on advertising campaigns in the past financial year, including nearly $37 million promoting the carbon price and its compensation and $17...

Businesses divided on energy target shift

David Wroe The debate over Australia's renewable energy target of 20 per cent by 2020 has intensified, with the Business Council of Australia joining calls to adjust the target amid fears it will unreasonably...

Joint Afghan patrols suspended over attack fears

David Wroe Australia suspends some joint patrols with Afghan soldiers amid fears the anti-Islam film that sparked violence across the world could heighten the risk of insider attacks.

Arctic sea ice retreats

David Wroe Less than a month after Arctic sea ice was found to have shrunk to its smallest area on record, new data shows the situation is worse than thought, with the ice retreating a further 600,000 square...

Allowing supertrawler chief at meeting legal: fishing agency

David Wroe Australia's fisheries authority has hit back at an ombudsman's finding that it broke the law by failing to exclude the supertrawler operator from an advisers' meeting in which fish quota decisions...

Trawler firm takes legal path, facing loss from ban

David Wroe, Lenore Taylor THE Australian operator of the controversial super trawler facing a two-year ban by the federal government has given the strongest indication yet it will take legal action, insisting it will not...

Risks of net gain

David Wroe, Nicky Phillips and Ben Cubby What makes the issue of a super trawler in our waters a powerful one is that - like coal-seam gas - it brings together groups that have traditionally been at odds with one another - in this case,...