Cup winner back on home turf

BROADMARSH-trained stayer Norsqui has arrived home in great shape after comfortably winning Monday's $400,000 Adelaide Cup.

The Walter McShane trained gelding handled the trip across the Bass Strait with aplomb and Tasmania's best two miler will now be set for the $500,000 Group One Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick on April 29.

"How he has travelled back is crucial to what happens in the near future as far as the Sydney Cup is concerned," McShane said today.

"I'm happy with the way he got off the truck and he looks as though he has travelled really well.

"In fact it surprises me at how well he does travel because he's such a light eater at the best of times and these long trips can take it out of them, especially lightly framed horses like him."

Shortly after Norsqui had arrived back on familiar soil at Broadmarsh he was in his paddock having a pick on his favourite grass.

Moments later his father (Matsqui) came strolling over to see what all the fuss was about.

Within seconds both horses were communicating as only horses can.

The long-term plan for Norsqui will be the 2013 Melbourne Cup -- providing all is well with the son of Matsqui.

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Jobless figures steady

TASMANIA'S unemployment rate stabilised at 7.1 per cent in February with the loss of 300 jobs for males offset by a gain of 200 jobs for females.

The number of people employed was stable at 232,800 in trend terms, although the number of unemployed dropped by 100 to 17,800, the Australian Bureau of Statics said.

But in the more volatile seasonally adjusted measure unemployment fell from 7.7 per cent to 6.6 per cent in Tasmania.

Nationally, unemployment was stable at 5.4 per cent.

The numbers come after fall in the ANZ job ad series but some improvement in retail trade figures in January.

Finance Minister Scott Bacon said the figures showed a more encouraging outlook for jobs in Tasmania.

"We need to continue to work with the private sector to grow jobs -- that is why we announced the Tasmanian Jobs Package which will bring forward $375m of new investment and support more than 3000 new jobs," Mr Bacon said.

He said many measures of the package had only just taken effect and their impact would not be reflected in the current figures.

Liberal Treasury spokesman Peter Gutwein said the state had lost 3000 fulltime jobs in the past 12 months.

"It's little wonder that Tasmania continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the nation," he said.

Victoria posted a big drop in its unemployment rate, to 5.5 per cent from 6.1 per cent, while in South Australia the rate declined to 5.8 per cent from 6.1 per cent.

In the Northern Territory it eased to 3.9 per cent from 4.0 per cent.

Unemployment rose in NSW to 5.2 per cent from 5.1 per cent, in Western Australia to 4.5 per cent from 4.1 per cent, and in Queensland to 5.8 per cent from 5.5 per cent.

In the ACT the rate rose to 4.6 per cent from 4.5 per cent.

nicholas.clark@news.com.au

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Best man found not guilty

A CLIFTON Beach man has walked free after being found not guilty of the manslaughter of his best friend at a buck's party.

Nathan James Carins, 30, was this afternoon acquitted by a jury in the Supreme Court in Hobart.

Mr Carins was driving a ute which flipped in a paddock at his home, killing Mr Cripps, who was travelling in the tray, on February 25 last year.

The jury's verdict was greeted with joy by a packed public gallery

Outside the court, Mr Carins thanked the two dozen friends and members of his own and Mr Cripps' family who had attended each day of his five-day trial.

They were wearing blue as a show of support and in memory of Luke.

Mr Carins was visibly relieved when the jury foreman announced the majority verdict after deliberating for just more than two hours.

Flanked by his supporters, he said he was pleased with the outcome.

"I certainly am. I'm happy to be able to spend more time with these people," he told reporters.

"I can't find words to thank them enough.

"If you can find words to explain how great these people are, then you're doing better than me."

"It's not about me, it's about Luke, and I don't really want to talk too much more about it."

Mr Cripps' mother Dawn said Luke's family had stood by his best mate because they knew he did not intend to hurt Luke.

"We knew this was a tragic, tragic accident. Nathan will have his own regrets for the rest of his life," she said.

"We love him dearly. He was Luke's best friend. We're so grateful for the outcome."

The Supreme Court heard Mr Carins had organised his best mate's buck's party, which started with a day visiting country pubs and a game of golf at Orford.

After the group returned for a barbecue at Mr Carins' home, the host went looking for a guest in his ute. Mr Cripps and another man were riding in the back tray.

As he drove into a paddock at the front of the property, the ute hit a rabbit hole and rolled.

Mr Cripps was trapped under the ute and died. He was due to be married the following week.

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Richard Davey dies at 74

Richard Davey on the set of The Ship That Never Was in 2009. Picture: CHRIS KIDD

ENTERTAINER extraordinaire Richard Davey -- hailed as an icon of Tasmanian tourism and the arts -- has died.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chairman Simon Currant said the actor and playwright, who was 74, died today after a battle with illness.

He said the value of Davey's contribution to tourism, particularly in Strahan on the state's West Coast, was nothing short of extraordinary.

"The Ship that Never Was is Australia's longest continually running theatre production and Richard was in Strahan in December to see it performed for the 5000th time," Mr Currant said in a statement this afternoon.

"Richard wrote and directed the play, and personally performed more than half the productions over the past two decades."

"In the early 90s he also reinvented the Sarah Island tour, bringing the remarkable history of the Macquarie Harbor penal settlement to life through an entertaining mix of history and drama.

"In rain, hail, sleet and shine, Richard conducted his tours and performed his plays, entertaining hundreds of thousands of visitors to Tasmania over the years."

Late last year, Davey was awarded the Tourism Champion Award at a state awards ceremony for his remarkable contribution to local tourism.

Mr Currant offered the industry's condolences to Davey's family and many friends.

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Second Glover win for Duff

A MOODY painting of a Launceston streetscape has won the 2013 Glover Prize People's Choice Award.

Launceston artist Leoni Duff today won the popular vote with her oil-on-canvas work Down on Cameron Street. She won the inaugural award in 2004.

Duff pocketed $3000 for the award, which was decided by patrons at the Glover exhibition in Evandale.

Ms Duff said the win was an encouraging sign that people had understood her work.

She said the stillness of the painting sought to convey the economic uncertainty in the city since the global financial crisis.

"While the meltdown occurred in 2008, there is a continual hovering menace that has not been dissolved," Ms Duff said.

"I have taken the familiar everyday icons of Cameron Street, in Launceston, the traditional financial end of town, and depicted them under moonlight.

"The solid things become uncertain as if all could be suddenly changed.

"The charm of our architecture and the ordinary nature of the street is infused with unsettling stillness; and the monstrous moonlit sky towers over us imposing a sense of how small and helpless we all are in reality."

Launceston Airport general manager Pam Graham said the organisation was proud to sponsor the award.

"Every year the standard of painting, depicting and interpreting Tasmania's rich and varied landscape, improves and offers those attending the exhibition unrivalled access to landscape painting in its many forms," she said.

About 700 children voted in the Children's Choice Award, opting for New Kid on the Block by former Glover Prize winner Michael McWilliams.

The Glover Prize, worth $40,000 and now in its tenth year, was won by Sydney artist Janet Laurence.

To check out all the finalists in this year's award, click here.

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Thieves hit former Hobart bank

BURGLARS have broken into the Murray St building at the centre of Hobart's red awning debate.

Police today appealed for information into the overnight break-in, with the offenders making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Detective Inspector David Plumpton said the building's tenants called police this morning after discovering the theft and associated damage.

"Entry was gained to the building overnight through an unlocked door. Upon gaining entry, offenders searched through a number of rooms, located varying amounts of cash and caused some damage while doing so," he said.

Forensics officers collected evidence earlier today, with police remaining at the former Savings Bank building for several hours.

Anyone with information on the break-in is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Former Liberal senator dies

FORMER Tasmanian Liberal senator Brian Archer has died at the age of 84.

Mr Archer was born in Calder, near Wynyard in North-West Tasmania, and worked as a real estate consultant and farmer before entering parliament. He served as a senator from 1975 until 1994.

He died on Sunday.

The Tasmanian Liberal Senate Team and the Federal Coalition today expressed their condolences to Mr Archer's wife Dorothy, children and grandchildren.

Mr Archer was appointed Shadow Special Minister of State and science spokesman when John Howard became Opposition Leader in September 1985. He held those positions until August 1987.

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Tassie horse wins Adelaide Cup

TASMANIAN galloper Norsqui has produced another giant-killing performance to win the $400,000 Adelaide Cup.

Trained at Broadmarsh by veteran horseman Walter McShane, Norsqui started at the attractive odds of $26 but proved too strong for the locals and a strong contingent of Victorian runners.

Bred and owned in Tasmania, Norsqui was unplaced in both the Launceston and Hobart Cups before heading interstate.

But the six-year-old gelding has a strong record of success on the road, including wins in last year's Mornington Cup and a support race at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day in 2011.

He finished third in last year's Adelaide Cup.

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Health insurers aim at hospitals

STANDARDS in some private hospitals around the nation are so bad that health insurers don't want to cover procedures done in them.

Private Healthcare Australia, representing the nation's health insurers, commissioned a leading academic to assess four years of data on as many as 600 private hospitals and apply gradings from "A-triple-plus" to "C-triple-minus".

Some Tasmanian facilities have been included in the report and 166 of the hospitals are in Victoria.

Insurers want to cut off "C-triple-minus" facilities, where operations are most likely to: INFECT patients with bacteria such as golden staph; LEAVE hospital patients in intensive care; or REQUIRE procedures to be redone.

The insurers want to release the research, arguing the community has a right to know.

However, they have decided to not publish it for fear of being sued by staff at the sub-standard hospitals.

The insurers also believe that if the research made public it would help them to make the case for refusing to pay shoddy facilities, or to pay less.

This, they say, would lead to lower premiums.

An operation that goes bad could end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"If we don't have to cover that, we don't have to ask as high a premium increase next year," said Dr Michael Armitage, CEO of the body which commissioned the research, Private Healthcare Australia (PHA), the official representative of the nation's health insurers.

Premiums have been rising at twice the rate of inflation for more than a decade.

Australian Medical Association Tasmanian president John Davis said with the report not being released, it was impossible to comment on its contents but said there was no reason for Tasmanians to be concerned.

"There is no reason to believe that private hospitals in Tasmania provide anything other than quality care," Dr Davis said.

"I expect all private hospitals here are accredited by their independent group, the ACHS (Australian Council on Healthcare Standards)."

The rapidly increasing cost of cover prompted News Limited to join forces with consumer network One Big Switch in the Big Health Insurance Switch campaign.

In just two weeks more than 60,000 people have joined the campaign by registering an interest in receiving a no-obligation discount health insurance offer.

Registration is free.

The PHA does not support the campaign.

Rather, Dr Armitage said, the "real gain" was in "fixing rats**t outcomes" that drive up costs.

"There are a whole lot [of hospitals] that are C-triple-minus," Dr Armitage said.

"And we just keep backing up the truck full of gold bars" to pay them.

Private hospitals perform about two-thirds of all elective surgery.

The unpublished hospital research was based on figures from 2004 to 2007 using the 25 million "data points" insurers gather each year.

The work was completed in 2009.

Since then the PHA has been fighting to get the findings into the public domain.

It lobbied politicians from both sides and even sought advice from the Privacy Commissioner.

Dr Armitage said the advice was that the PHA would be sued.

The battle to make the research public has taken the PHA so long that Dr Armitage said that even if it could now be released it would need to be done again to bring it up to date.

He would not release details of the research to News Limited.

Dr Armitage, who was South Australia's health minister until 2002, said private health insurers "are not utilised appropriately in helping the health system get over its problems".

"The real gain for the health system is in fixing rats**t outcomes. But governments of all persuasions won't let us off the leash."

Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) CEO Michael Roff said he was not aware of the insurers' research.

"If they have that data they've never shared it with the APHA or with any individual hospitals," Mr Roff said, adding that he was willing to see it.

Mr Roff also said there was "nothing to stop a private health insurer from not entering into a contract with one or more hospitals".

He wasn't aware of that having happened.

A spokesman for federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said her office would like to see the research.

Without seeing it, the minister was unable to comment.

Dr Armitage said the Productivity Commission had found private hospitals, on average, offered higher quality treatment than public.

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800 whales saved

TENSE: Heated clashes during the Japanese whaling season. Picture: Eliza Muirhead/Sea Shepherd Australia

MORE than 800 whales escaped the harpoon this season because of anti-whaling activists Sea Shepherd, its director Bob Brown said yesterday.

"This is the lowest whale kill in the 10 years that the Sea Shepherd has been operating and that's something to celebrate," Mr Brown said.

Sea Shepherd has claimed victory in the Southern Ocean as Japan's whaling fleet heads home with an estimated 75 whale carcasses on board, Sea Shepherd said.

Worsening weather conditions, disappearing plankton stocks and the whales heading north have combined for the worst season the Japanese fleet has had in the decade Sea Shepherd ships have patrolled the Southern Ocean, Mr Brown said.

The 2013 whaling season was marred by growing aggression on both sides, with claims and counter-claims of violence and harassment.

Mr Brown said Sea Shepherd was not optimistic the hearing on whaling at the International Court of Justice in The Hague would begin soon.

Australia's argument that Japan's whaling breached international obligations had been lodged with the ICJ since 2010, he said.

"We can't rely on that court case getting finalised by next season."

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has indicated that his Government will continue whaling for two more seasons, Mr Brown said.

"The Sea Shepherd will be even more effective if the Japanese return in future seasons.

"We've got more ships and we're more effective than ever before."

He said the assertion by Japan's fisheries minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, that eating whales was the same as Australians eating kangaroos was the first time the Japanese had not used science as an excuse for whaling.

"The Sea Shepherd does not condone killing whales in our homeland. Japan needs to restrict its actions to its own territorial waters."

Mr Brown said Sea Shepherd crews and former captain Paul Watson were placed under phenomenal pressure this season.

"Paul Watson is totally committed to protecting those whales and so are his crews."

The Sea Shepherd fleet Steve Irwin, Bob Barker, Sam Simon and Brigitte Bardot and their crews are expected to dock in Williamstown, Melbourne, on March 20.

jennifer.crawley@news.com.au

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