DATELINE
AUSTRALIA
MAIN
Such is China’s opacity that we may never
really know what went on concerning Stern Hu
THERE must be something about Asian
potentates, benevolent or otherwise, that gets those expatriate
corporate hormones racing to lavish love in spades on them
The Chinese are happy to call Australia
their true friend until we dare to question their unarguable rightness, says
Eric Ellis
Eric Ellis, who interviewed the
reclusive architect in 1992, considers the inspiration behind
his modernist milestone
What'll You Have, Mate?
Foster's hasn't achieved the success in wine
than it's had in beer. But if the brewer can pare its products, investors should
have reason to raise a glass
Australia: Swan is happy but not all Australians are as impressed
Australia: Out of pocket in the Outback
Pratt Fall
In a sorry end to a glittering career,
Australian cardboard-box king Richard Pratt was caught price-fixing
Humbled
but not off the Flight Path
A failed $9 billion takeover bid in May by
a private-equity group for Australian flag carrier Qantas— which would have been
the biggest deal in aviation history—seems to have humbled the airline’s
pugnacious CEO, Geoff Dixon
Ferry expensive journey
Kangaroo Island is in the thrall of an overpriced monopoly ferry service to and
from the South Australian mainland
The East is Rudd
Eric Ellis suggests potential slogans and policy
statements from new Labor leader and former Australian diplomat to Beijing,
Kevin Rudd
Allah’s Aussie
One man’s extraordinary journey from middle Australia into the heart of Indonesia’s Islamic world. Or was it into the heart of darkness?
A Hot Seat Down Under
Its a good thing Sol Trujillo secured one
of Australia's highest executive pay packages--about $8 million--when he signed
on last year as CEO of its biggest company, Telstra. At least he's being
handsomely compensated for the personal attacks he has weathered since joining
the government-controlled telephone company
Ship of fuels
The US fears a P&O terror takeover, but
Middle East petrodollars are welcome in Australia
A Fridge Full of Dollars
The Americans have put the mess back into
Mesopotamia, says an Iraqi-Australian economist after trying to help the
reconstruction of his birthplace
Let's Make a Deal
After 15 years on
the lam, with $1.5bn missing and facing 18 charges from one of the biggest
corporate scandals in Australian history, Abraham Goldberg finally wants to come
home
Macquarie's
latest quarry
Wizards of Oz, a bank in Australia makes a bid for
London’s stock exchange
"Asians Don't Hug"
Eric Ellis on the background to the hanging in
Singapore last week of an Australian drug-dealer
Dire Straits
If nothing else, the hanging of Nguyen Tuong Van has
shown up the Singapore government for its hypocrisy and barbarism
Hang Democracy, Let's Trade
Singaporeans don't like to be reminded they do business with Burmese narco-traffickers,
and admit they don't mind punishing the innocent to preserve law and order
In cold blood
Singapore seems determined to hang
Melbourne man Nguyen Tuong Van as an act of defiance in the face of
international criticism
On the run
Abe Goldberg has gone to ground since last week's
astonishing expose. Now Polish authorities are determined to see that justice is
done
Gotcha, Goldberg!
The one that got away:
When Melbourne rag trade magnate Abraham Goldberg disappeared, $1.5bn went
missing with him. How we tracked down Australia's biggest corporate fugitive
The Whingers of Oz
Eric Ellis on the weeping, xenophobic
hysteria in Australia over the conviction of Schapelle Corby for smuggling drugs
into Indonesia
Judgement in Denpasar
The Bali expats and intelligentsia are disgusted by
Australia’s racist reaction. The other 230 million Indonesians ask, “Schapelle
who?”
Foster's big bet on wine
Foster's may be Australian for beer, as the ads would have it, but CEO Trevor O’Hoy is intent on making the company Australian for wine
The trials of Schapelle
There are braying reporters, dozing judiciary members, colourful lawyers and
assorted hangers-on basking in the limelight and baking in the Indonesian heat.
Centre stage, an Australian woman's life is at stake
THE
TONGUES HAVE IT
The rise of the tribute band has closely followed John
Howard's conservative ascent. What price Kissteria's Gene Simmons clone as next
PM?
LOST HORIZONS
The hopes of a generation of Indonesians
were destroyed in the rubble of the Sari Club
CULTURAL CRINGE
This weekend's Bali bombing commemoration
has upset the island's Hindu elders, who say the gods will not be pleased
Voyage Around My Father
A son combs five continents to find the father he never
knew. The journey ends in heartbreak and happiness. Our correspondent Eric Ellis
is that son
Secret agent plan
Bob Lowry knows his way around Indonesia
Conoco Timor - A
battle in East Timor
East Timor, a nation that depends on foreign aid to
fill its coffers, is about to become a country that relies on one company to
fuel its economy
Bleating
Hearts
As the do-gooders move on, carpetbaggers
and corrupt locals are left to count the loot. Eric Ellis discovers that most
East Timorese are wondering what went wrong a year after independence
Oiling
The Wheels
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri explains Dili's position on
oil - and corruption
THE BALI BOMBINGS -
October 12, 2002
Allah's
Assassins *nominated
for 2003 Walkley Award, Asia-Pacific reporting
The Bali bombers were rootless young men
recruited from the dusty poverty of a village in West Java - their overseer a
worldly West Javanese, burning with Islamic zeal and with the contacts to
organise and bankroll their jihad. Eric Ellis retraces their steps as they moved
from village to town meeting the fixers, financiers and bombmakers, and finally
assembling and detonating the devices that would kill and maim so many in a Kuta
Beach tourist precinct.
Islamic-Military
complex
Indonesian forces have historically sought
ties with Islamic groups only to suit their purposes, as Eric Ellis reveals
Bombers and Bullets
The determination of authorities in
Indonesia to execute any convicted Bali bombers raises many questions about
Australia's role in the investigation, writes Eric Ellis in Jakarta
Bali's
Blood Wake
An elaborate purification ritual may have
exorcised some of Bali's demons, but the killers still to face justice there are
monsters on the loose. In Kuta, ERIC ELLIS talks to the policeman heading the
investigation and examines the secretive world of 'Indonesia's Arabs."
Bali's
Demons
As well as the lives of
many, the nightclub bombs destroyed any lingering illusions that Bali was a
tranquil haven somehow isolated from Indonesia's current malaise. Eric Ellis
reports from Kuta Beach.
Ground
Zero Kuta
As dawn broke on the chaos
that was Kuta Beach, Eric Ellis searched for survivors of Australia's worst
terrorist outrage
Indonesia
detains two over Bali terror attack
Terror
in Bali
Strangers who saw
paradise
Cleansing of foreign
evils a `good thing'
Nightmare
on dream island
Shock
of the Broome
Critic Robert Hughes
is due to face court again over his near-fatal car crash in Western Australia.
In the strange mix of culture and chaos that is Broome, Eric Ellis gauges the
mood of the town
Just
another bloody car crash, mate
SIA
Hits Turbulence
There are three certainties to life Down
Under: The beers will be cold, the beaches will be golden, and people will
grumble about air travel.
SingTel's
Trouble Down Under
Singapore Telecommunications CEO Lee Hsien
Yang isn't a natural gambler.
But in one of the biggest bets of his
career-a $7 billion bid for Aussie telephone company Optus-Lee has a lot staked
on the outcome: his job, Singapore's prestige, even an exacting father's
approval.
What's
Separating SingTel and Optus?
Canberra.
Australia's
government has to O.K. the $8 billion telecom takeover. Despite many objections,
chances are it will get the nod
A
Way to Stop the Aussie Dollar's Slide?
One prominent
businessman's bold proposition: Ditch the native currency and adopt America's
greenback
Who's
Gonna Gulp Down Foster's?
Since the Aussie brewer nabbed U.S. wine maker Beringer, it's in the takeover
crosshairs of any number of possible buyers
