The Australian

leads with the news that Queensland’s $5.6 million inquiry into the Dr
Death malpractice scandal is likely to be shut down after a judge found
the bias of commissioner Tony Morris QC had tainted more than 50 days
of evidence. Malcolm Turnbull
explains his proposed tax reforms saying, “we should not impose taxes
at any level that is higher than it absolutely needs to be.” And
Victorian Speaker Judy Maddigan has imposed an extra level of decorum
on the state’s Legislative Assembly, clamping down on MPs accusing each
other of lying and handing NSW the undisputed honour of the rudest parliament in the country.


The Age leads with Telstra’s warning to the Howard Government that the
company’s value is being “destroyed” and that the share price could
plunge below $3 due to current regulations and administrative practices. The Age also reports that changes to the way Australian terror suspect
David Hicks will be tried by the Guantanamo Bay military commissions
have been welcomed by the Howard Government but dismissed by lawyers as inadequate and meaningless. And the traditional owners of Uluru have agreed to allocate $750,000 of
the $2 million collected annually from gate fees to the national park
to fight petrol sniffing.

The Sydney Morning Herald
leads with the factional divide within the NSW Libs which has been
“tearing” the party apart for at least two years, and distracting John
Brogden from the task of defeating the Labor Government. Foreign
minister Alexander Downer said Australia had a responsibility to supply uranium
to other countries, during the 2005 Sir Condor Laucke Oration, because
it was the holder of the world’s largest reserves and nuclear energy
was clean. And the international tracing and refugee service
of the Australian Red Cross has reunited a Hungarian woman with her
brother, now living in Australia, after they were separated in the
chaos of postwar Europe.

The Daily Telegraph
moves on from the state’s political woes and splashes the front
page with scenes of devastation from hurricane Katrina with the headline
“TRAPPED: Australian couple rides out monster storm.” According to
human resources company Drake International, salaries for office staff in Sydney
have dropped by almost $1000 to $44,623 a year on average, while
salaries rose in every other capital city. And less than a week before
the Ashes decider, star cricketer Shane Warne has been snapped out on the town in London at 3.30am.

The Herald Sun
splashes with “GHOST CITY” in reference to New Orleans which has all
but disintegrated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as the death toll is
expected to mushroom into the thousands. Meanwhile, Indonesian
police are investigating demands for large bribes to free Australian
model Michelle Leslie after a man impersonating Bali officials involved with the case attempted to solicited payments for her release.

The Courier-Mail
reports that former chief magistrate Di Fingleton will receive
$475,000 in compensation following her three-year ordeal and wrongful
jailing for six months – Fingleton will also become a magistrate at
Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast under the compensation deal. The Mercury
reports that a high-speed catamaran built by Hobart shipbuilder Incat
Australia is being used by the US Navy in the rescue and relief efforts
in Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Advertiser
splashes with Lion Nathan’s hostile takeover bid for South
Australia’s fifth-generation Coopers Brewery, which will recommend
shareholders reject the $352 million offer. The West Australian
says the state’s archaic liquor licensing laws and retail trading hours
are hurting Perth’s tourism potential according to the Perth Convention
Exhibition Centre. And the NT News
splashes with the 55-year-old German tourist who was ‘rushed through
court’ after killing a seven-year-old girl in a hit and run accident so
he could catch his flight home two days later.