Sunday, 4 March 2001

Dream spread on the market, The Australian, 30 March, 2001.

Dream spread on the market: [1 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 30 Mar 2001: 41.
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Bill Burge, a famous Sydney lawyer also well known as a keen collector of contemporary Australian art, along with his wife Ann, poured a great deal of time, money and effort into Benditi. When their three children were growing up it was a much loved retreat from city life.
"Benditi is a very beautiful property," Mrs Burge said. "It was one of the things that attracted us. It has been sensitively cleared. I have never seen another property where there are such huge stands of blue gums left. Most of the ridge tops are still covered.
Agent Chris Meares of Meares and Associates, specialists in eastern seaboard rural properties, said: "Benditi is a very pretty property. There is no doubt that it is one of the best improved properties available at the moment.The owners have put a lot of thoughtful planning into it, including conservation and beautification."
COUNTRY MATTERS
BENDITI is a dream property, located in sheltered plateau country on the favoured eastern fall of the New England region at the headwaters of the Macleay River.
It has been with the Burge family of Centennial Park in Sydney for more than a quarter of a century, and was their favourite of the rural properties they have owned.
Bill Burge, a famous Sydney lawyer also well known as a keen collector of contemporary Australian art, along with his wife Ann, poured a great deal of time, money and effort into Benditi. When their three children were growing up it was a much loved retreat from city life.
Bill's death two years ago changed everything, and his widow Ann has decided to sell.
With cattle doing better than they have in years, interest is expected to be high in the 2088-hectare high-rainfall property.
"Benditi is a very beautiful property," Mrs Burge said. "It was one of the things that attracted us. It has been sensitively cleared. I have never seen another property where there are such huge stands of blue gums left. Most of the ridge tops are still covered.
"Bill was a particularly visual person, and we have planted about 80 different varieties of trees, including oaks, elms, ash, birch and liquidambar. They were very carefully planned to enhance the landscape and add autumn colour. They are just starting to mature. My husband could tell you about almost every tree there.
"Selling Benditi marks the end of an era. I do feel sad, well, philosophical about it. We had an awful lot of pleasure out of the place over the years."
Apart from its beauty, there is a practical side. Mrs Burge said there was no doubt the property was profitable, especially now.
Chief commodity specialist with the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics Terry Sheales said in contrast to the drastic lows of 1996-'97, when saleyard prices were an average of 152 cents a kilo dressed and the industry was in despair, the price is now 238 and the outlook positive.
He said while it was too early to tell whether Europe's foot-and- mouth crisis would impact positively on Australia, the low dollar was having a positive impact. With low numbers coming on the market as cattlemen in Australia and the US rebuilt their herds, prices were expected to stay high, at least in the short-term.
Agent Chris Meares of Meares and Associates, specialists in eastern seaboard rural properties, said: "Benditi is a very pretty property. There is no doubt that it is one of the best improved properties available at the moment.The owners have put a lot of thoughtful planning into it, including conservation and beautification."
Benditi features a four- bedroom homestead, currently used by the manager, a five-bedroom weatherboard with tennis court used by the owners, a three-bedroom brick guest cottage and a staff cottage.
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Friday, 2 March 2001

GIO Trust's sale opens farm doors, The Australian, 2 March, 2001.

GIO Trust's sale opens farm doors: [1 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 02 Mar 2001: 37.
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The AMP group of companies assumed management of the GIO Rural Trust in December 1999 and said the sale of its NSW properties was a strategic move to reweight the portfolio towards more liquid assets.
* Milchengowrie at Boggabri is a 7274ha irrigation cotton farm with Namoi River and Cox's Creek frontage. The Boggabri cotton gin is located on the western boundary. The country is generally flat with some of the best soils in NSW. Tenders close April 11.
Peter Crossing, a senior member of UBS Warburg's property team, said agricultural properties were businesses that did not fit into the listed property trust sector of mainly commercial, retail and industrial properties, which provided reasonable certainty of income. He said big rural properties like those being sold by GIO's Rural Trust rarely changed hands.
GIO Rural Trust has placed more than $35 million worth of rural properties on the market in a major shift in asset classes.
The AMP group of companies assumed management of the GIO Rural Trust in December 1999 and said the sale of its NSW properties was a strategic move to reweight the portfolio towards more liquid assets.
The sale is expected to raise significant interest among agricultural investors as it presents an opportunity to own developed Australian agricultural properties on some of NSW's most productive land.
The three prize properties are:
* Kerarbury at Darlington Point, a 6988-hectare citrus, rice and sheep property, is in the heart of the Riverina, close to Griffith and with Murrumbidgee River frontage. It goes to auction on April 4.
Most of the flat Riverina plains have been cleared for cropping and irrigation, leaving stands of wilga and grey box trees in low- lying areas and red gums along the Murrumbidgee River.
More than 2600ha is under flood and spray irrigation. Improvements include a modern grain-handling and drying facility, a substantial homestead and three other modern homes.
* Milchengowrie at Boggabri is a 7274ha irrigation cotton farm with Namoi River and Cox's Creek frontage. The Boggabri cotton gin is located on the western boundary. The country is generally flat with some of the best soils in NSW. Tenders close April 11.
* Cooplacurripa at Mt George in the Upper Manning River Valley is a 24,431ha property that goes to auction on April 4.
It is the largest cattle run in south-east Australia and is being sold with its 10,000 head of cattle.
Located at the headwaters of the Manning River north-east of Wingham, the property's topography varies from creek and river flats to undulating hills and timbered mountains. Cooplacurripa means running waters.
First settled in 1856, it has a large homestead, seven cottages, stables, sheds and 11 sets of cattle yards.
Peter Crossing, a senior member of UBS Warburg's property team, said agricultural properties were businesses that did not fit into the listed property trust sector of mainly commercial, retail and industrial properties, which provided reasonable certainty of income. He said big rural properties like those being sold by GIO's Rural Trust rarely changed hands.
"The rural sector is at a good stage, wool prices are up, cattle prices are up, cotton is doing well," he said. "There is likely to be a good deal of interest because of the buoyancy in the rural markets."
Richard Shields, institutional business executive with AMP Henderson Global Investors, said the company's investment objective was to manage any credit exposures.
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Monday, 26 February 2001

Inquiry on $1bn lawyer loans, The Australian, 26 February, 2001.

Inquiry on $1bn lawyer loans: [2 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 26 Feb 2001: 6.
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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission yesterday announced an investigation into the financial status of more than 100 solicitors' mortgage investment schemes after a rush of complaints about loans being defaulted.
ASIC chairman David Knott said the initial focus would be on "runout schemes" that did not make the transition to a tougher regulatory regime in 1999.
ASIC yesterday released a list of the runout mortgage schemes and a consumer information sheet, both available on its investor website.

YOU might think that going to your solicitor and investing in a solicitor-run mortgage scheme was a safe way to invest your money.
But thousands of mostly elderly investors are finding out that may not be the case.

 The Australian Securities and Investments Commission yesterday announced an investigation into the financial status of more than 100 solicitors' mortgage investment schemes after a rush of complaints about loans being defaulted.
The investigation is the largest the commission has conducted.
The schemes have investments of more than $1billion. Loans of more than $300million are in default.
For many years, solicitors and finance brokers have run investment schemes where groups of investors lent money to borrowers who mortgaged land as security.
In December 1999, new standards were set up to protect investors. By law, any scheme unable to meet the new standards must stop attracting investors and wind up its operations by October 31.
ASIC chairman David Knott said the initial focus would be on "runout schemes" that did not make the transition to a tougher regulatory regime in 1999.
"Since last year we have been building up a picture about the financial status of these schemes," he said. "It is clear that a number of them have serious default rates. We expect those defaults to become worse as the wind-up deadline in October approaches."
The commission yesterday announced that leading insolvency expert Tony Hodgson would head the inquiry.
"Our first priority is to obtain a better national database on the health status of these funds and to target our investigations to those schemes where investors face the greatest risk," Mr Knott said.
"It is not realistic to expect that investor losses will be recovered, but our intervention should provide opportunity to minimise these losses and maximise consumer redress."
ASIC yesterday released a list of the runout mortgage schemes and a consumer information sheet, both available on its investor website.
MORE TO THE STORY
www.fido.asic.gov.au.
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Friday, 23 February 2001

GIO Rural Property Trust, The Australian, 23 February, 2001.

One of my duties at this time was to do a rural property story once a week.





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Friday, 16 February 2001

Wool comeback boosts land value, The Australian, 16 February, 2001.

Wool comeback boosts land value - RURAL: [1 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 16 Feb 2001: 41.
Show highlighting
The chairman of the Wool Committee with NSW Farmers Duncan Fraser runs 7000 sheep on 10,000 hectares of flat saltbush plains on his property Narringa south-west of Hay in western NSW. He said the wool industry had gone through several low periods in the past decade, with recovery led by fine wools only beginning 18 months ago.
"Now the stockpile is down under half a million bales, which is really only the equivalent of five weeks through the auctions, wool buyers realise they have to pay more to get the wool they want."
"The wool prices are leading the values for prime wool producing properties," said Bob Sherwell, Victorian rural property specialist with Elders. "Eighteen months ago we couldn't get any interest in wool-producing properties. Prices weren't any good and people were reducing stock numbers.
COUNTRY MATTERS
SUDDENLY the description "wool property" is no longer the kiss of death.
Eighteen months ago the industry and its associated property market were in the doldrums and heading further south.
No longer. Confidence among the nation's woolgrowers continues to rise with improving prices and better demand from key overseas markets. Wool prices have jumped 6 per cent since the beginning of the year.
Australian Wool Innovation this month reported demand from Europe and China for wool was strong despite slowing economic conditions.
In Australia, wool prices, particularly in the middle-micron range, have climbed.
WoolStock Australia has reported that the Australian wool stockpile is under 500,000 bales after peaking at four million in the early 1990s.
The chairman of the Wool Committee with NSW Farmers Duncan Fraser runs 7000 sheep on 10,000 hectares of flat saltbush plains on his property Narringa south-west of Hay in western NSW. He said the wool industry had gone through several low periods in the past decade, with recovery led by fine wools only beginning 18 months ago.
"Because the industry was so down for so long there is caution about the price increases," he said. "But there is optimism that finally the supply and demand are coming back into balance.
"Now the stockpile is down under half a million bales, which is really only the equivalent of five weeks through the auctions, wool buyers realise they have to pay more to get the wool they want."
Mr Fraser said some woolgrowers dropped out of the industry altogether or changed enterprises. Properties with irrigation water from the Murrumbidgee were insulated from the wool crisis.
"Those who could get into rice did so," he said. "Everyone who could diversified into cattle or crops. But for those who stuck to sheep, they had to really pull their belts in. Those still going after 10 difficult years are fairly optimistic."
Land values were still only 70 per cent of what they were 10 to 12 years ago, when wool prices were at historic highs.
In western Victoria, renowned as a centre of fine wool production, property prices are starting to recover.
"The wool prices are leading the values for prime wool producing properties," said Bob Sherwell, Victorian rural property specialist with Elders. "Eighteen months ago we couldn't get any interest in wool-producing properties. Prices weren't any good and people were reducing stock numbers.
"Now the word wool is starting to be mentioned again. Most people buying rural properties these days look for a diversified property with more than one income stream."
Talgarno Park, at 760 hectares, is located at the foot of the Grampians in the Victoria Valley in the western part of the state. Giant red gum trees dot theproperty, which has magnificent views to the rugged ranges nearby. Elders expects the property the fetch around $850,000.
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Wednesday, 14 February 2001

Dairy farmers, The Australian, 14 February, 2001.


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Monday, 5 February 2001

Beseiged Fahey faces lung tumour surgery, The Australian, 5 February, 2001. Page One.

Asked to stake out John Fahey's house the night it became public knowledge he had been diagnosed with lung cancer was not one of those things any journalist wants to do, particularly because he was always popular with the press and mixed easily with reporters.
We expected to be told to bugger off when we knocked on the door of his house.
In fact, we were invited in and offered tea.
He knew me from around the traps and seemed rather relieved to escape the attentions of his desperately concerned family, at least for a moment.



Besieged Fahey faces lung tumour surgery: [2 Edition 1]

Ian Henderson, John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 05 Feb 2001: 1.

Abstract

FINANCE Minister John Fahey, one of John Howard's most senior cabinet ministers, is to undergo surgery for a suspected lung tumour.
Boundary changes since the 1998 poll have turned it into a notional Labor seat, and Mr Fahey is determined to move south to thesafer Coalition electorate of Hume -- held for the Liberals with a 7.1 per cent margin by Alby Schultz.
Mr Fahey remains determined to run for the Liberals in Hume. Nominations for preselection close on February 16, and the party is expected to choose its candidate between mid-March and mid-April.

Full Text

FINANCE Minister John Fahey, one of John Howard's most senior cabinet ministers, is to undergo surgery for a suspected lung tumour.
Mr Fahey -- recently at the centre of a storm over information technology outsourcing -- has been ordered to undergo an immediate operation to deal with the tumour.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Fahey, a long-time smoker, said he would enter a Sydney private hospital this week for the lung operation. "He will be absent from his portfolio duties for some weeks," the statement said.
The news comes on the eve of the resignation of veteran Liberal MP John Moore from his Queensland seat of Ryan, a move that will test the Government's standing with a difficult by-election.
After launching the Government's election push with his innovation blueprint and a swing through marginal seats in NSW and Victoria last week, Mr Howard will today host an all-day meeting of Coalition MPs and senators to kick off the first week of parliament in theelection year.
At that meeting, backbenchers are certain to air their grievances about petrol prices, the Government's stand on Business Activity Statements and its plans to tax trusts.
Mr Fahey's surgery comes as his struggle to retain a seat in parliament is intensifying.
The Finance Minister holds the seat of Macarthur, which is in the NSW Southern Highlands.
But boundary changes since the 1998 poll have turned it into a notional Labor seat, and Mr Fahey is determined to move south to thesafer Coalition electorate of Hume -- held for the Liberals with a 7.1 per cent margin by Alby Schultz.
But Mr Schultz has refused to stand aside for his senior colleague and is threatening to run as an Independent if he loses his party's endorsement.
Mr Fahey, 56, recovered last year from legionnaire's disease, which he contracted at a Liberal Party function in the Melbourne Aquarium.
Later in the year, he was diagnosed with shingles, an adult form of chicken pox, which he also overcame. It was during this time that further tests suggested a possible health problem with his lung.
Speaking at his home near Bowral last night, Mr Fahey said it had been a difficult year but he was upbeat, despite his latest health setback.
"I feel strong and robust, it is one of those things," he told The Australian.
"I have a few laps to run. It is not an easy time but I've spent a few days with my family and I am confident things will be all right. Trust in God; that is all you can do."
Mr Fahey remains determined to run for the Liberals in Hume. Nominations for preselection close on February 16, and the party is expected to choose its candidate between mid-March and mid-April.
Mr Moore was one of three ministers to step down from their posts last December to allow the Prime Minister to shake up his Government's senior ranks in preparation for the general election.
After a 25-year career in federal politics, Mr Moore made it clear he would not stay until the election -- widely tipped for October-November. He will resign today, and the resulting by- election in Ryan is expected to be held three weeks after the state election, on March 10.
Ryan, which Mr Moore held with a 9.5 per cent margin in 1998, is blue-ribbon Liberal heartland. But a by-election held in the wake of a bitter preselection contest, in the middle of the small business backlash over the BAS and with the Government facing an angry reaction to its plans to tax trusts, could see a strong swing to Labor.

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