Fewer Australians looking for a job

October 1st, 2009 JAKARTA - A second earthquake was recorded shortly before noon (AEST) today in Padang, Indonesia. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck 150 km south of the epicenter of last night's quake.

August 11th, 2009 MELBOURNE - At least nine Australians have been declared missing after the aircraft in which they were traveling disappeared in Papua New Guinea on Tuesday. The plane was scheduled to arrive at the small village of Efogi at 9.55 a.m.

July 20th, 2009 LONDON - A poll released on Monday by the Royal Commonwealth Society in London has found that more than three-quarters of Australians were far less attached to their membership of the Commonwealth than other developing countries, including India. Royal Commonwealth Society took the survey, after reviewing more than 6000 people who had gathered to mark the Commonwealth's 60th anniversary from seven Commonwealth member countries - Australia, Canada, Great Britain, India, Jamaica, Malaysia and South Africa.

July 20th, 2009 JAKARTA - Australian trade official Craig Senger was among those killed in last week's bomb attacks on two luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital, bringing the number of known foreign fatalities to five, the police and media reports said Monday. Three Australians and one Singaporean were among those killed in Friday morning's blasts, while a New Zealand business executive died of his injuries Friday.

July 13th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A new survey has revealed that nearly nine out of ten Australians feel an "unhealthy" amount of stress, and most feel that it is largely contributed by work. The Newspoll, commissioned by Lifeline Australia, revealed that finances, health, and personal relationships were also the other contributors to stress.

July 9th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A new survey has revealed that Japanese tourists are the best in the world, and French the worst. The Japanese retained the top prize, with hoteliers worldwide naming them the world's best tourists, ahead of the British and Canadians.

July 2nd, 2009 Gap widening between indigenous, other AustraliansSYDNEY — Children in Australia's Aboriginal communities are six times as likely to be abused or neglected than the country's non-indigenous children, a government report said Thursday. The report, meant to measure social and economic improvements among Australia's most disadvantaged minority, instead highlights the continuned — and in some cases growing — discrepancies between their lives and those of other Australians.

June 24th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australians are in two minds about multiculturalism, and a long-term survey has found that nine out of 10 Australians believe that racial prejudice exists in the country. They believe cultural diversity is good for the country but they're worried that cultural differences will stop everyone from getting along.

June 22nd, 2009 SYDNEY - One in four Australians have caught their partners cheating on them through a text message, according to a new survey. The survey commissioned by Telstra's State of the Nation has found that four in 10 Aussies send up to seven text messages a day, while one in three use texts to tell others about major events like births or promotions.

June 12th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A new survey has revealed that Australians find nurses as the most ethical and honest professionals, compared to car salesmen, newspaper journalists and advertising people. The survey by Roy Morgan Image of Professions found that 23 fields have fallen in the public's estimation, the largest fall ever recorded, while nurses topped the annual list by 89 percent for being the most honest and ethical.

June 11th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australians were Thursday mourning an irrevocable change to the scenery along the iconic Great Ocean Road tourist drive after the collapse of the handsome Loch Ard Gorge rock formation. Two rock pillars are what is left of the formerly majestic archway that countless sightseers have photographed.

May 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Sol Trujillo, former boss of telecommunications company Telstra, has said that being in Australia was like "stepping back in time" as it was a racist country. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, after a four-year stint as Telstra CEO which earnt him about 31 million dollars, Trujillo has been quick to pour scorn on the Rudd Government since leaving Australia 10 days ago.

May 7th, 2009 MELBOURNE - The leader of Sydney's radical Middle Eastern street gang - Asesinoz MC - has accused Australians of racism. The 29-year-old, who calls himself Sam "The Assassin", defended the Parramatta-based gang's violent image in its YouTube videos and MySpace site.

April 29th, 2009 CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced that his government will send 450 extra troops to beef up security in troubled Afghanistan. However, there will be no combat troops among the latest contingent.

March 12th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australians were warned of higher taxes to pay for the cash hand-outs they began receiving Thursday from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 42-billion-Australian-dollar ($26-billion) stimulus package. 'They've got to understand that the cheques that are going out now are borrowed money,' former treasurer Peter Costello said.