The Australian
leads with a follow up feature on the bitter debate sparked by last Friday’s call from ALP president Warren Mundine for Aboriginal communities to adapt to the modern capitalist environment in order to survive, with senior indigenous leaders claiming he has gone too far. Also in the Oz, the news that John Howard will use the upcoming UN world leaders’ summit in New York to deliver a stern lecture to the US and Europe on the need for stricter control of aid distribution – pointing to Canberra’s recent interventions in the Asia-Pacific region as an example.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports on concerns from Australia’s Muslim community that the federal government’s proposed tough anti-terrorism laws will see them unfairly targeted for detention without charge, tagged with tracking devices and even interned – as expressed by Islamic leaders who met in Sydney yesterday on the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Also making SMH front page news is a report that an “Absolutely Fabulous generation” of ageing hipsters with strait-laced children is emerging across Australia, according to a study by marketing group Clemenger BBDO. And Australia’s hopes of retaining the Ashes, heading into the fifth day of the test, are fading.

Sydney’s Daily Telegraphleads with the police investigation into at least four drive-by shootings, all within 90 minutes of each other, in south-western Sydney last night. The Tele also reports on the death threats allegedly emailed to Australian cricketers during their current tour of England, and on the revelations that doctors working in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans euthenased critically ill patients rather than leaving them to die in agony while they evacuated.

The big news inThe Ageis the apparent al-Qaeda terror threat against Melbourne that emerged overnight, with a video aired in the United States in which a man named Melbourne and Los Angeles as al-Qaeda’s next targets. Victorian Premier Steve Bracks says he’s taking the threat seriously, but asks Victorians not to panic. Also in The Age, news that overweight people will be able to claim 85% of the cost of Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig weight-loss programs back on Medicare under a radical plan to tackle Australia’s worsening obesity crisis.

The Herald Sun relegates the Melbourne terror threat to page three and leads with a report on a bogus doctor who has conned senior bureaucrats, police and health professionals while working as a consultant to a state government committee that produced a code of practice for running safer dance parties.

The Courier-Mail leads with the latest Telstra news, that an 11th-hour promise of a $2 billion rural telecommunications fund has failed to convince Queensland Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce to back the T3 sale. And, in the wake of the New Orleans disaster, the paper reports that hundreds of Brisbane houses could be bought back from homeowners by the city’s council and state government, with a report on the city’s most flood-prone to be released today.

The Canberra Times also leads with the latest blow to the government’s Telstra plans. The paper also reports that the Defence Department’s personnel records system is vulnerable to abuse, with 10,000 operators having access to the records of department and services staff. The West Australianalso leads with Telstra, reporting that the latest Westpoll shows only 20% of West Australians want the telco sold off.

Adelaide’s Advertiser has AFL finals fever, reporting that Crows fans might face difficulties getting to Perth to watch their team take on West Coast on Saturday, with flights and buses limited and the RAA urging motorists to allow four days for the 2700km trip. While in Tassie, the Mercury leads with the news that increasing numbers of Tasmanian women are reporting difficulties and discrimination at work as employers ignore the rights and needs of parents and their children.