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New water deal gets farmers approval
The Victorian Government's blueprint for water use
delivered certainty and security to farmers, the
State's peak agricultural body said today.
The "Our Water Our Future" paper unveiled
by the Government aimed to improve the State's water
supplies through a number of initiatives, including
an average increase of water prices by 5 per cent.
The package also secures water entitlements for farmers,
but 20 per cent of the traditional water supply available
for farmers to purchase will be re-directed into river
flows.
Victorian Farmers Federation president Paul Weller
said the package was a win for the environment and
the farmers.
"We are quite pleased that we have taken the
question away about whose the water is," said
Weller. "Secure water rights for farmers is important
for us so we can invest into the future."
As a trade-off for the reduction in farmers' water
entitlements, the Government will invest $35 million
in upgrading dams and irrigation channels.
Farmers will also be exempt from the 2 per cent rural
water price increase.
"There was a lot of negotiation that went into
that 20 per cent," Weller said.
"
It has taken the question away, the remaining 80 per
cent of the sales pool is ours."
Telstra plans 500 million euro debt issue
SYDNEY - Australia's Telstra Corp Ltd, said on Wednesday
it plans to borrow 500 million euro ($979.4 million)
in long-term debt from European institutional investors
as part of its new capital management programme.
Telstra's chief financial officer, John Stanhope and
Corporate Treasurer, Cliff Davis, will conduct a series
of investor presentations in London, Paris and Frankfurt
starting on July 2, it said.
BNP Paribas, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank will arrange
the roadshow and act as joint lead managers for the
proposed issue.
The announcement comes just days after Telstra unveiled
a three-year programme that would pay out A$1.5 billion
($1.7 billion) a year in special dividends or share
buybacks and increase its debt by about A$1 billion.
Ratings agencies Standard & Poor's, Moody's and
Fitch have reacted to the plan by cutting the company's
rating by one notch to A+/A1/A+ respectively.
The issue will relaunch Telstra in the international
capital markets after an absence of about two years
and establish a clear price for the company's debt
under its new structure, Stanhope said in a statement.
Proceeds will be used for general corporate funding
purposes and to refinance maturing long-term debt,
it said. Mark Vaile wants export grant scheme to continue
Trade Minister Mark Vaile today announced a review
of the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme.
“Last financial year the EMDG scheme gave nearly
4,000 Australian companies a much-needed boost into
international markets with funding of $150.4 million,” Vaile
said. “These companies generated exports worth
$5.5 billion and employed around 122,000 Australians.”
The EMDG Act 1997 provides the scheme with a sunset
clause, under which the last grants paid under the
current scheme would be made in 2006-07.
“In accordance with the legislation, I have
asked Austrade to review the scheme and to give me
a written report by June 2005, making recommendations
about the continuation of the scheme. Once I have received
the report I will table it in Parliament and the Government
will consider its response to the report’s recommendations.” stated
Vaile.
Austrade is now calling for public submissions to
the review, so I encourage all interested parties to
put in a submission.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for the business
community, particularly small and medium enterprises
that are trying to break into export markets, to make
their views about EMDG known and to suggest improvements
to the scheme.” says Vaile.
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