Rogue police in Victoria

A driver wrongly identified as the first in the world to return a positive roadside drug test has won a major legal victory. A judge has ruled John De Jong, 41, can pursue a defamation lawsuit against Victoria Police. He is claiming substantial damages.

The Ballarat courier-driver was tested and identified during a police-organised media stunt on the first day a drug bus took to the road, in December 2004. Justice Bernard Bongiorno said his claims, if proved, would show police invited the media to attend and then said Mr De Jong had twice tested positive for illegal drugs.

An independent laboratory later cleared Mr De Jong -- a result confirmed by the police lab. Mr De Jong says police refused to apologise. Mr De Jong's lawyer Katalin Blond, of Slater & Gordon, said yesterday he was relieved. "John is very stressed by this still," she said. "By calling the media . . . by parading John before them, what else did they think would happen?"

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Aussie booze popular

Australia is exporting more wine, but prices have dropped. Australian wine exports grew 9 per cent in the year to the end of July, but average prices fell 8 per cent. The 743 million litres exported in the 12 months to July was valued at $2.79 billion, the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation says.

Sweden has developed taste buds for Australian cask wines and was the largest contributor to value growth -- up 33 per cent to $50 million. Exports to China also grew, but were offset by a 65 per cent drop in the average price a litre, to $1.64.

"The key driver of the price decline was an increased share of bulk wine in the mix," the corporation's July 2006 wine export approval report says. The report says 80 per cent of Australian wine shipped to China is bulk wine valued at $0.66 a litre.

The United Kingdom remains the number one destination for Australian wine. Despite a one per cent drop in volume and three per cent price slump, the market was valued at $958 million for the year to the end of July. The US ranks second with $899m, followed by Canada ($244m), New Zealand ($91m), Germany ($76m), Ireland ($55m) and Sweden ($50m).

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Logging on private land heavily restricted in NSW

Local timber industry workers and landowners have called on the NSW Government to get rid of its draft code of practice for private native forests. Around 500 people attended a protest rally in Grafton yesterday. Many have complained that there has been little public discussion on the code, and they want an extension to the submission period.

Sue Doust, of Timber Community Australia, says the code, if adopted in its current form, will cause big financial losses to landowners and the timber industry. "It is another harsh hit on the industry that I frankly don't believe the industry is going to be able to recover from anytime soon," she said. "Landowners will take full financial and legal responsibility for the logging arrangement on their property. "Now, if you're a mature landowner or an absentee landowner you're going to take one look at that and you're going to shut the door."

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Leftist nut silenced

Radio station ABC 774 has censored criticism of controversial ABC board member Keith Windschuttle. On the Sunday Arts program, host Helen Razer was interviewing film director Bob Weis about his documentary Women of the Sun - 25 Years Later, charting the stories of Aboriginal women. Razer noted the film compared his family's history as Holocaust survivors to the contemporary situation of Aborigines in Australia. Weis said he would like to make one more "conceptual leap", to which Razer replied "be my guest".

Indigenous actress Justine Saunders sat beside Weis and encouraged him as he said: "That while David Irving - the Holocaust denier - sits in prison . ", before he was cut off. Mr Weis said yesterday he uttered the words "the Australian Government", but that did not go to air. Razer hit the dump button, saying on air: "I can't possibly let you say that", before switching to pre-recorded audio.....

Weis yesterday revealed he was going to say: "That while David Irving - the Holocaust denier - sits in prison, the Australian Government put our chief Holocaust denier on the board of the ABC." Weis was alluding to Mr Windschuttle, the author of The Fabrication of Aboriginal History that claimed massacres of Tasmanian Aborigines had been exaggerated....

Local radio manager at ABC Victoria Steve Kyte yesterday said... "The program team felt the guest had said something potentially defamatory... We reserve the right to dump guests and callers for legal reasons."

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