Tonight's late news brought to you by Hyundai Lanterra and MLC, where money matters.
Tens late news with George Denikian.
Heading the late news, thousands jam the centre of Sydney for the spectacle of the gay and lesbian Mardi Gras.
Healthcare costs in Australia are about to jump once again with higher insurance and nursing home fees.
And the Queen has OK'd plans to end centuries of tradition governing succession to the throne.
Good evening. First tonight, yet another wave of price hikes in healthcare is about to hit us.
Private health insurance and nursing home fees are set to rise tomorrow, as the Federal Government braces for another backlash.
Making the user pay for aged care hasn't won the Government any friends in the past, and the latest fees are no exception.
There's going to be huge resentment in the community, not just from the elderly, but from their kids.
New nursing home residents will pay up to $37 a day in extra charges, on top of the controversial $4,000 annual fee announced last year.
The group to suffer from these charges are the sickest and frailest of nursing home residents.
Community backlash forced an embarrassing back down for the Government over upfront accommodation bonds for the elderly.
The opposition wants the new charges ditched, saying they're confusing and a crippling aged care.
Not one extra cent is going to go to improve the quality of care in nursing homes. It's all being sent back to the Federal Treasury.
But it's not just nursing home fees that may cause problems for the Government.
The cost of private health insurance is also set to rise, with over a billion dollars in tax breaks failing to attract new fund members.
Well, you can't sell anything less than it costs you, and the fact is health insurance costs are going up because health care costs are going up.
The Government is considering new options to shore up private funds, including extending the Medicare levy surcharge and tax breaks for employers providing private cover.
Deborah Knight, 10 News.
British researchers have raised new concerns over vaccinating infants, but while they've linked one vaccine to autism, doctors warn parents not to reject immunisation.
Autism is a condition which affects one in every thousand people, severely hindering social development.
While it's still not known what causes it, a recent British study found a link between autism and childhood vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella.
But an Adelaide doctor who treats children with autism says there's not enough scientific evidence to back the claims.
For every parent I've seen who suggested there might be a link between the child's immunisation and the onset of autism, there have been several who've seen no link whatsoever.
Dr Otto's daughter Caitlin was diagnosed with autism at two and a half. She doesn't believe it was a result of vaccinations.
Dr Otto fears the British study will discourage parents from vaccinating their children.
The benefits are far, far outweigh the risks.
The British doctors behind the study can see vaccination is essential and only a small number of children are affected.
They say it's caused by a reaction to the vaccine which damages the bowel walls, allowing chemicals to enter the blood, affecting the brain.
There they might influence not only behaviour, day-to-day behaviour, but the development of the brain at a critical period during infancy.
But Dr Otto says it's possible some parents may blame vaccination when searching for reasons why their child is autistic.
Speaking from my own personal experience, I certainly looked for a reason, didn't find one.
Katrina Stapleton, 10 News.
Sydney Police are still hunting the killers of a fellow officer who was stabbed to death in an overnight attack.
Two off-duty officers were knifed after three men and a woman tried to sell them the drug, Ecstasy.
Off-duty constable Peter Forsythe was stabbed twice in the chest after producing his police badge.
The man, who'd allegedly offered Ecstasy, lunged with the knife after being shoved against a wall.
As the 28-year-old Forsythe fell, rookie constable Jason Semple, also off-duty, was stabbed in the stomach.
The ambulance officers were just incredible.
They just pounced on the situation and kept everybody back and they just frantically worked on both of the officers.
Peter Forsythe lived nearby and was married.
The children aged three and one.
He'd been heading home with his mates after touch football.
I think the loss of any life is tragic, particularly when it involves a police officer.
We're now providing welfare and counselling to his family.
A third officer gave chase but doubled back knowing his colleagues needed help.
A local then rang triple O.
The woman with the group had stopped running but was dragged away screaming.
The Olympic site for the 2000 Games is a block and a half from here and it's a really, really bad reflection on the community.
Police found this sedan with a window smashed.
The attackers may have tried to steal it.
It's thought the men were heading for a city council dance to sell Ecstasy unaware it closed early.
The shocking stabbing cast a new pall of gloom over the troubled New South Wales Police Service at a time when it's generally agreed morale is low.
Colleagues of the two policemen hurried to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to comfort relatives.
The coroner and his deputy later studied the crime scene for the inquest.
The state government late last year increased the penalties for assaulting police and carrying knives.
We've got to start thinking very carefully about the type of legislation that prohibits these things being carried.
Next stop for the Commissioner, the hospital.
Harry Potter, 10 News.
Australia's gay heartland is alive with an extravaganza of fireworks, floats and flesh for the 20th gay and lesbian Mardi Gras.
More than half a million spectators cheered the parade along Sydney's Oxford Street.
It was 20 years ago today they came out proudly to say they were gay.
The 1978ers who marched in the first Mardi Gras parade, many were arrested and lost their jobs when their names were published in the newspaper.
They had pride of place leading the 20th anniversary parade.
After an earlier peaceful protest, supporters of the Reverend Fred Nile were content to voice their protest with a large banner saying God Save Sydney.
But the smiles on the faces of those in the parade would seem to suggest they didn't think they needed saving.
Fred Nile, Pauline Hanson, the Absolutely Patsies, they were all there.
But it was a couple of new entries that really got the crowd going.
The first, uniformed members of the New South Wales Police.
The marchers representing the uniting church also got a big response.
But really sending the crowd wild were the Frankareenas doing the Macarena.
Police and ambulance praised a well behaved crowd and handled a small number of emergencies.
Angela Bishop, 10 News.
Coming up in the late news, the Queen agrees to end centuries of monarchist tradition.
And the first new roller for almost 20 years hiding a surprise under its bonnet.
Overseas the Queen has approved government plans to end sexual discrimination in the monarchy's succession.
Although it will take generations to have any effect, the House of Lords wants to end centuries of tradition and give first born females the same rights as males.
The coronation when Elizabeth II received the symbols of a 1200 year old institution.
But if she'd had a brother even one 20 years younger, he would have become monarch under the ancient succession rules,
which only allow a woman to reign if there are no male siblings.
Today's move means the Queen will go along with new government plans to give the sexes equal rights.
If legislation is passed and Prince William in due course were to marry, his heir would be his oldest child, irrespective of whether that child were a boy or a girl.
The Queen's biographer says it shows she's aware of the public desire for change, especially following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
You could say that it's in line with the message she gave just before Diana's funeral when she talked about learning lessons from Diana's life.
It's indicating very much her willingness to go with the times.
There might also be calls for the peerage as a whole to change because most titles favour men over women.
If the monarchy had always been run on the basis of sexual equality, Queen Victoria would have been succeeded by her daughter.
Buckingham Palace officials say they can't recall an occasion when the Queen has let her views be known on proposed legislation.
But obviously the future of the monarchy is central to the Queen's concerns.
But the prospect of sons and daughters having equal succession rights for the first time in British history is yet another sign of the modernisation of ancient traditions.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has denied trying to censor the memoirs of the last governor of Hong Kong.
Opposition British newspapers claim Chris Patton's book was rejected in case criticism of the Beijing regime threatened Murdoch's business interests in China.
Chris Patton's time as governor of Hong Kong until its handover last summer has made him strongly critical of Communist China.
His memoirs, sold to the publishers HarperCollins for £125,000, are thought to reflect that.
But this morning's Daily Telegraph claims Rupert Murdoch, HarperCollins' owner, personally vetoed the book's publication.
The story is also reported in other newspapers, but not in the Murdoch-owned Times.
Stuart Profitt, Chris Patton's editor at HarperCollins, is quoted as saying he thought the book the best and most lucidly written, the most intelligently written by a politician he'd read.
He's now quit, claiming he was ordered to tell Chris Patton the book wasn't good enough.
Rupert Murdoch has extensive business interests in Asia and would like more.
He's been trying to break into the vast Chinese market for several years.
Five years ago he dropped a BBC News channel from his Asian satellite service Star TV to avoid offending the Chinese authorities.
Critics say the Patton book has been dropped for the same reason.
It means that the integrity of the printed word takes second place to his business needs in China, and I think that is unforgivable.
In a statement, Mr Murdoch's company denied he'd wanted the book rewritten.
Rupert Murdoch at no time tried to change Patton's book and he didn't ask anyone to change it, the statement says.
But it adds, from the start, however, he expressed dissatisfaction about the decision to publish it, confirming what many suspected.
As for Chris Patton's book, which has now had a great deal of unexpected extra publicity, it'll now be published by a rival company, Macmillan.
Thousands of passengers have been left stranded by the latest financial crisis for Pan Am.
The corporation's two main airlines have filed for bankruptcy protection, with debts almost three times their assets.
They say they've simply run out of money.
The surprise announcement means scores of passengers are stuck with tickets no other airline would honour.
I told them at the counter, I said, I'll never fly, I said, don't go back in business because I'll never fly you again.
And on top of that, around 1,500 employees will lose their jobs.
The auction of items from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's Paris Home has been a resounding success for Sotheby's.
It grossed almost $50 million, three times the estimated value.
Like a sessile-beaten portrait of divorcee Wallace Simpson, estimated worth $10,000 to $15,000.
Yes, apologies there for the quality of that audio too in that report.
Well, the flagship of Britain's automotive industry has unveiled its first new model for almost 20 years.
Rolls-Royce is about to launch the Silver Serif, a British icon, but one with a surprise under its bonnet.
It's the first completely new model for 18 years and remarkably only the ninth in Rolls-Royce's 94-year history.
The Silver Serif will cost £155,000 and it's built to carry the most prestigious name in motoring into the 21st century.
The ride and handling are much firmer and more precise than on the previous model, the Silver Spirit.
There's new steering, suspension and brakes and the Silver Serif's got a top speed of 140 miles an hour.
This car retains all the classic styling and features which give Rolls-Royce that unique air of Britishness.
But buyers may soon have to accept that the manufacturer itself is no longer a British company and these cars are being produced under foreign ownership.
Because Rolls-Royce is up for sale at the factory that once built engines for Spitfires to fight the Germans, the Germans are now moving in.
BMW's designed the 5.4-litre V12 for the Silver Serif, Rolls' first ever foreign engine.
Rolls' parent company, Vickers, can't afford the huge investment to develop future models and other possible bidders are Mercedes and Volkswagen.
The new Silver Serif should put a gloss on Rolls as an attractive buy and soon one more of the last few British car makers may find its future in foreign hands.
When 10's late news continues, an 11th hour reprieve for Western Australia's hospital system and the public debu of a pair of toothy twins.
Perth's nurses dispute continues although a breakthrough today has averted immediate strike action.
The government has bowed to demands and agreed to reopen talks.
It was a private meeting called by the government concerned the public's health was at risk by nurses taking industrial action.
As of Thursday night we believe that we were starting to move into a critical period so we had no choice but to start taking action to prevent lives being put at risk.
Nurses protesting against work conditions and pay have closed one in five beds along with another three on every ward.
Plus they've cancelled all elective surgery.
However the nursing federation maintains their action has never put the public's health in jeopardy.
I think that goes without doubt that nurses primary commitment is to patients and the community and that whilst they will take a position in the struggle to achieve a single agreement
at the end of the day they would not put any individual at risk.
But today the commission ruled while nurses could continue to protest they were not to step up their action meaning rolling stoppages and 24 hour strikes are out of the question.
Both parties have agreed that all issues are up for negotiation.
Talks are set to begin on Tuesday. Minyon Henny, 10 News.
Employment Minister David Kemp has the tough task of selling the Federal Government's new privatised job finding service.
He defends the one stop shop approach to job placement when he meets the press here on 10. That's 8.30 in the morning right after Newsweek.
A group of people with seeing problems enjoyed a rare treat in Melbourne today.
Although they're legally blind they experienced the sensation of driving high powered cars at high speed.
Sand Down International Raceway was the venue for the unorthodox track meet.
All 150 drivers taking part are legally blind.
It was a case of having heard about it being held in Sydney so we decided we'd have a go at it down here.
Some have never been behind the wheel before, others are drivers who've lost their sight with age or through illness like 23 year old Andrea Nowdy who up until four years ago loved driving.
Getting behind the wheel and driving myself wasn't having somebody else drive me around. So frustrating having people driving me around all the time lately.
Using dual control cars 35 instructors provide the guidance needed to stay on track.
Start to bring the wheel around to the left for me, come off the accelerator, a little bit more left Andrea please, that's it, just hold it there, a little bit more, come off your brake Andrea please.
Start to turn the wheel to the right, straight in there, a little bit of accelerator thanks.
The Lions Club and Royal Automobile Club of Victoria are planning to make it an annual event.
James Suffoland, 10 News.
A Melbourne granny has proved the truth of the saying, you're never too old to take the plunge.
It was a belated Christmas present from her grandchildren that Jean Wilson opened today along with a parachute.
She fulfilled a long held wish and made her skydiving taboo at the ripe old age of 82.
Mrs Wilson made the 3000 metre dive without a hitch, despite efforts by some friends to talk her out of it. Well done Jean.
It was a case of seeing double at Perth Zoo today at celebrations for the birth of red panda twins.
The sisters made their public taboo after being given a clean bill of health.
Perth Zoo today unveiled this year's must have, the perfect twin set.
The pocket sized twin red panda cubs were born just before Christmas and they're giving zoo officials plenty to squeal about.
It's certainly a first for Perth Zoo.
Proud parents Rani and Rajak could barely contain themselves, their babies surviving against some pretty tough odds.
The mortality rate is fairly high in infants and that's mainly due to stresses on the female.
If the female for any reason is stressed then it's likely that she'll abandon the cubs or perhaps even kill them herself.
Not this pair, they're already in hot demand for breeding programs interstate.
In the Himalayan wilds red pandas share the woods with their better known cousin the giant panda.
It's hoped the breeding of these two little reds will help to conserve one of the world's most endangered animals.
Alison Blanksby, 10 News.
Still ahead, the latest weather details, a spectacular fiery start to Adelaide's Festival of the Arts and Bill Woods with Sports Tonight. Bill?
Yes George, tonight in an artistic edition AFL's Anset Cup, rugby league, Super 12 rugby, surfing and basketball.
A surprising loss for Pat Rafter plus Kari Webb shoots a course record at the Ladies Masters.
Down to the latest on what the weather's done and what's in store. Today brought a few showers to Cairns and Townsville.
Brisbane was fine with a top of 30. Showery, much cooler conditions in Sydney though. Cloudy for Canberra and Hobart.
Hazy and 20 in Melbourne. A fine day for Adelaide. Very hot conditions in Perth and cloud across the centre and the top end.
The satellite shows a big cloud mass across the Northern Territory and again in Queensland with more cover along the southeast.
On the synoptic chart, highs are dominating the southern regions while a low persists over the north.
Tomorrow we should see the showers continuing around Cairns and Townsville and beginning to stretch right down to Brisbane.
More drizzle expected in Sydney in both the early morning and evening with a forecast top of 24.
Canberra should be fine, 26. Fine and mild conditions in Hobart and Melbourne as well. Clear and 27 frat late.
Another sizzler though with a top of 41 for Perth and skies clearing across the centre with showers and thunderstorms expected around Darwin.
More pleasant weather greeted the start of the 1998 Adelaide Festival which is up and running after a spectacular launch.
30,000 people witnessed the opening of the Adelaide Festival with a spectacular but moving production of Flammar Flammar.
Elder Park was full as a cast of 2,000, including nearly 1,000 school children, took part in the fire ritual.
It was a stunning start to this year's festival and reinforced South Australia's tag as the arts capital of Australia.