Australia keeps space dream alive with huge telescope investment

AUSTRALIAN scientists played their part in the first moon landing 40 years ago, using space tracking stations and the Parkes radio telescope to communicate with the Apollo 11 mission.

Corruption goes deeper than a few bad apples

JUST when it seemed that the Brumby Government was poised to sweep away the factional warlords named in the Ombudsman's report on Brimbank Council, an internal ALP document has drawn attention to the pervasiveness of the branch-stacking that gives the faction bosses their power. Last week Eric Dearricott, secretary of the tiny independents faction, attended ALP headquarters for "deadline renewal day" - the final day for payment of dues by rank-and-file members - and took notes on what he saw. His report tells of an array of practices that flout party rules designed to prevent branch stacking. It demonstrates that rules alone achieve nothing if the culture of the institution undermines them.

One Year On, Ponting Has Raised His Game - Now It's His Cheer Squad's Turn

RICKY PONTING has started 2009 with a fresh spirit. Certainly he seems more relaxed than during recent dust-ups when he found himself ducking and weaving off the field even as he hooked bumpers on it. Perhaps he senses that this team belongs to him, that he can put his imprint on it, that it is not too late to recover the livewire seen in his early years.

Through A Life Darkly

Ingmar Bergman's oeuvre finds tribute in a sumptuous homage to his career, writes Scott Murray. The Ingmar Bergman Archives Edited by Paul Duncan and Bengt Wanselius Taschen, $400

Player's Value Not Easy To Assess

JETS fans waiting impatiently for their club to unveil some high-profile imports are entitled to feel bemused about the club's negotiations with journeyman Jon Brady.

Editorial Life's A Beach - So Let's Keep It That Way

OUR region is blessed with a bountiful array of beautiful natural assets.

Village Feel With Resort Facilities

MORRIS and Betty Pollock describe their home of the past 13 months as a "premium resort" that enables them to retain their privacy while taking advantage of a huge array of facilities and services.

Rare Guests Make Winter Splash

A DIVERSE array of marine life is making a winter stopover in Lake Macquarie, including a manta ray and giant blue groper.

Mokbel To Challenge Charges

LESS than three days back in Melbourne, Tony Mokbel is expected to launch a legal challenge today against an array of allegations that include two gangland murder charges.

Olympic Repression

HIGHER, further, harsher - China is matching its investment in the physical infrastructure of the Olympics with a vast and extensive array of police power, aimed at preventing any dissident element unsettling the "harmonious" atmosphere of the games this August, or embarrassing the Communist Party leadership.