Student Michael Shelley wins City to Surf

IT has been third time lucky for Gold Coast student Michael Shelley who has won the City2Surf in a time of 41:02 minutes. 

Striding down the home stretch to the finish line, Shelley was visibly relieved knowing that after three previous attempts, he had finally won the 14km race.

“It’s very exciting, it’s my third and I suppose it’s third time lucky,” he said.

Before the race, Shelley had spoken to his coach Dick Telford whose words of encouragement helped push him over the line.

“I was talking to my coach last night and he said just be confident in what you’ve done and just have a crack at it.”

After two previous encounters with the dreaded Heartbreak Hill, this year Shelley took it on knowing how to defeat the stamina killer.

“Just be a bit conservative up the (Heartbreak) hill this year than what you had in the past,” Shelley said.

“And it paid off when I got to the top because I could still run.”

Twenty-seven-year-old health consultant Ben St Lawrence came in second followed by 26-year-old high school teacher Clint Perrett.

Source  :  www.news.com.au

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Keep Australia Working’ marks 1000 jobs in first week

The Rudd Government’s partnership with business and community leaders to Keep Australia Working has secured more than 1000 jobs in its first week, Minister for Employment Participation, Senator Mark Arbib, announced today.

Senator Arbib today joined Local Jobs Champions Bill Kelty and Lindsay Fox at the third Keep Australia Working Forum at Casula, where he announced 240 jobs in Canterbury Bankstown and South Western Sydney Employment Priority Area.

The Australian Government is providing $3.7 million from the $650 million Jobs Fund for three Western Sydney Projects.

The 240 jobs in Western Sydney bring to more than 500 the positions funded through the Jobs Fund and come on top of the 250 jobs in South Eastern Melbourne and 23 jobs in Northern Tasmania announced at jobs forums earlier this week.

The private sector is also playing a significant role in boosting employment with Lindsay Fox announcing this week he would employ an extra 450 staff over the next two years at Linfox and Woolworths announcing 60 jobs for its new logistics centre in Launceston.

“The Rudd Government is doing everything possible to keep Australians working,” Senator Arbib said. 

“This week by working together – the Government and industry – we’ve managed to create or protect more than 1000 jobs.

“Not every week will be as successful as this week in keeping people in work. There will be ups and downs, because the global recession is far from over.

“But this week has shown what can be achieved by working together.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Employment Jason Clare said community leaders, business representatives and job service providers would today join Government to develop a regional employment strategy for Canterbury Bankstown and South Western Sydney.

“The Keep Australia Working forums allow the community to maximise the benefits of the Government’s Economic Stimulus Plan and Jobs Fund and develop localised responses to the impact of the global recession.

“We want to find job opportunities for local businesses and workers, particularly in areas like Western Sydney where unemployment is a growing problem.”

Mr Clare said Local Jobs Champions, Lindsay Fox and Bill Kelty, would bring their considerable experience and wisdom to the table.

“The Local Jobs Champions will help forum participants identify local skill and labour needs and develop directions for the future,” Mr Clare said.

“It’s great to have Lindsay Fox and Bill Kelty on board. Few people understand the Australian economy better than these blokes, they’ve been through it before. They’re travelling with us around the country helping areas hit hardest by the global recession.”

Today’s forum is the third in a series being rolled out in employment priority areas across Australia as recommended in the Keep Australia Working interim report presented last week to Deputy Prime Minister Gillard by Senator Arbib and Mr Clare.

There are now 20 employment priority areas around the country:

• Canterbury Bankstown and South Western Sydney (New South Wales)
• Illawarra (New South Wales)
• Richmond Tweed and Clarence Valley (New South Wales)
• Mid North Coast (New South Wales)
• Sydney West and Blue Mountains (New South Wales)
• Central Coast Hunter (New South Wales)
• South Eastern Melbourne (Victoria)
• North Western Melbourne (Victoria)
• Ballarat Bendigo (Central Victoria)
• North Eastern Victoria
• Ipswich Logan (Queensland)
• Cairns (Queensland)
• Townsville Thuringowa (Queensland)
• Caboolture Sunshine Coast (Queensland)
• Southern Wide Bay Burnett (Queensland)
• Bundaberg Hervey Bay (Queensland)
• Northern and Western Adelaide (South Australia)
• Port Augusta Whyalla Port Pirie (South Australia)
• South West Perth (Western Australia)
• North West/Northern Tasmania.

For more information on Keep Australia Working, visit http://www.deewr.gov.au/Employment/KeepAustraliaWorking/Pages/home.aspx

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Socceroos qualify for 2010 World Cup

AUSTRALIA have booked a ticket to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa with a scoreless draw against a determined Qatar at the Al Sadd Club in Doha.

Needing only a point to officially seal qualification, the Socceroos got the job done against a youthful Qatar side to ensure back-to-back World Cup appearances for the first time.

The home side proved tougher opposition than they had in three previous losses, but Australia could feel unlucky not to have won after Tim Cahill struck the post with a spectacular bicycle kick in the first half and Qatari keeper Qasem Burhan made several brilliant saves in the second.                                     
 
The win means the Socceroos cannot finish any lower than second in Asia’s Group A, with the top two teams earning qualification.

They joined Asian rivals Japan as the first two sides to qualify for next year’s tournament, after the Blue Samurai sealed their spot with a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan earlier on Saturday.

Hosts South Africa are exempt from qualifying.

Both sides made a tentative start in front of a small but vocal  Doha crowd, with the Socceroos content to keep possession in the hot and humid conditions.

Qatar’s star striker Sebastian Soria Quintana looked dangerous early on and had the first real chance of the half after getting in behind Chris Coyne, but he flashed his shot across the face of goal.

The Socceroos muscled their way back into the game before Cahill was denied one of the great goals by the woodwork in the 27th minute.

Josh Kennedy, who impressed up front, flicked on a Mark Bresciano free kick with his head, before Cahill found himself in space, controlled with his chest and drilled an overhead kick into the right upright.

Harry Kewell became increasingly menacing after switching to the right win, going close to scoring himself before creating another move which led to Vince Grella firing a volley just over the bar in the 33rd minute.

Qatar had two chances late in the half with Cahill blocking Quintana’s effort and Mark Schwarzer punching away an ambitions long shot from Ahmed Faris.

Australia stepped up their game early in the second half with a flash of chances within a 10-minute period.

The first came to an unlikely source in defender Chris Coyne, who had his shot cleared off the line after attempting to turn in a headed Cahill effort.

The impressive Everton midfielder was again another stunner when his powerful drive was brilliantly saved in the 57th minute by Burhan.

Burhan was called into action again to tip over a Kennedy shot from out wide and once more in the 63rd minute when Kewell collected a brilliant Grella ball, cut inside Ibrahim Majed and forced another great save by Burhan with his right foot.

Continued to threaten and fired across the face of goal in the 80th and although they didn’t get the goal they perhaps deserved, it meant little when the whistle blew to ensure another historic World Cup appearance.

The Socceroos now have matches against Bahrain and Japan at home to celebrate.

Source www.news.com.au

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Arthur Marshall selling his home in Mandaruh

FORMER politician and tennis ace Arthur Marshall is selling his Mandurah canal home to move back to the city. 

The one-time TV sports commentator and father of Channel 9 newsreader Dixie Marshall said his house of 10 years was “on the best block on the canal” because of its dual water views.

“From a canal’s point of view it is on what is called a T-junction. You look right, left and ahead and all you have are water views,” he said.

With an estuary to the west and the canal to the east, every room in the home has a water view.

Two studies, a bedroom and the open-plan lounge, dining and kitchen are on the ground floor.

Tall windows reach to the second storey, allowing breathtaking water views. A wide entertaining area leads to a private jetty.

There are three bedrooms upstairs, including the master with ensuite, walk-in robe and balcony overlooking the canal.

The other bedrooms have built-in robes and a shared main bathroom.

A lounge with a balcony makes it ideal for guests or a teenagers’ retreat.

“I asked the architect to make it feel like you were on a ship and when sitting in the lounge upstairs, it is just like it, with water everywhere,” Mr Marshall said.
The home has airconditioning, an alarm and double lock-up garage.

“One of the best things is the huge reserve next to the house,” Mr Marshall said. “Not only is it great to kick a footy with the grandkids and go for a walk, but it allows for plenty of visitor parking.”

72a Waterside Drive, Dudley Park
$1.95 million
Four-bedroom, two-bathroom canal home with water views, open-plan living area, upstairs lounge and private jetty.
Agent: Peter Lindsay 0429421942, Elders Real Estate Mandurah 95359111

www.news.com.au

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Buliding your dream home

When choosing your land and house package think carefully on how you live before choosing the right house for you.         

Make sure the floor plan fits the way you live.

Design your house for you and your life style, you’d be surprised at how many houses don’t fit the way people really live.

I remember when people actually used their living rooms and wouldn’t have dreamed of sitting in the kitchen, much less thinking of it as the centre of the house now 

But that’s exactly what’s happened over the last three decades.  Other changes have occurred too: home offices have become increasingly important, as have master bedrooms, en suites, activity rooms, alfresco’s and pools.

 Any well-designed house must be functional ,  people define their space needs as ‘informal and formal’ or ‘public and private’ rather than thinking of their plan as a series of rooms.

 So think about the way you really live, design your floor plan accordingly, and you’ll be taking the next step towards a well-designed house.

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Perth’s driest start to autumn on record

This is turning out to be Perth’s driest start to autumn on record, taking at least 47 days to exceed just five millimetres of rain.   

Before this year, the longest it had taken to exceed five millimetres in autumn was 46 days and that was in 1994.

The rest of this week will be bone dry for southwest WA, much the same as the last three weeks. But rain is just around the corner.

The next rain will arrive in Perth early next week when a high finally moves east from the Bight and allows a front to make an impact on the southwest of the state. This will signal the turning of the season. Showers initially will be light but are likely to become more frequent and heavier as the week wears on as more fronts extend further inland.

Showers will even penetrate to inland areas which have been extremely dry recently. Lake Grace in the Great Southern has not had a drop of rain so far this autumn, the driest start to the season in 96 years of records.

www.watoday.com.au

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