ABC NewsMail - Afternoon Edition

NewsMail Afternoon Edition Fri 11 Oct, 2013 Top Stories More Top Stories » Palmer under fire over secret Senate power deal By political reporter Jane Norman Clive Palmer is refusing to release the details of the agreement he signed with Australian Motoring Enthusiast senator-elect Ricky Muir to form a powerful voting bloc in the Senate. Mr Palmer yesterday revealed he had struck a deal with the senator-elect from Victoria, which looks set to give him a stranglehold on power in the Upper House from next July. The Greens and independent senator Nick Xenophon want Mr Palmer to make the deal between himself and Mr Muir public, saying voters deserve to know what the parties have agreed to. Mr Palmer has rejected the calls. "Why should we? This is an arrangement between two people, two parties, two organisations, and it's got a provision that the terms remain confidential," he said. More » Queensland's crime watchdog to get unprecedented powers 'High-value' suspects among alleged people smugglers arrested in Indonesia ASIC lashes 'ill-informed' media coverage of bribery probes Man who tricked prostitute into sex fights rape charge Sonny Bill Williams to stay with Roosters Earth-like planet detected in space graveyard More Analysis » Labor's experiment in democracy doesn't end here Any doubts about Labor's new leadership system, which gives branch members 50 per cent of the say in choosing the federal leader, have been comprehensively quashed even before the result is known. The election battle between Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese has shown that a mature, rational and sensible politics - which debates ideas, values and vision without degenerating into petty point scoring - is still possible. If the other parties take up the challenge of increased democracy, it might be possible to start transforming Australian politics from the vicious, negative, zero-sum game of recent years. More » Australia must walk the walk on nuclear weapons Australia's bond with Lebanon is under threat Abbott can't simply ride out the expenses furore Indigenous empowerment is being able to say no Australia's next top political spawn Why should we care about lives lost at sea? Taxpayers won't quickly forgive the expenses scandal We must never forget our sporting greats Why I won't celebrate the William Bugmy decision Just In More Just In » 'High-value' suspects among alleged people smugglers arrested in Indonesia By political reporter Jane Norman Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus says Indonesian police have arrested eight alleged people smugglers, including three so-called "high-value" targets who have arranged multiple journeys to Australia. More » Eels set to appoint Jason Taylor as coach Facebook to change search privacy setting ASIC chief slams critics of handling of bribery claims Policies explained: What does the Palmer United Party stand for? SBW staying with Roosters Fairfax axes print edition of BRW magazine Boat mooring invention helps save south-east Queensland's dugongs Man who tricked prostitute into sex fights rape charge Former Marist brother sentenced over indecent assault World More World » Earth-like planet detected in space graveyard Astronomers have carried out an autopsy on a distant, broken-apart planet which appears to have once had the right conditions for life. More » Ariel Castro may have died of auto-erotic asphyxiation Liberian warlord Charles Taylor to serve 50-year sentence in British jail Wall Street rallies on US Republican peace offering Obama, Republicans fail to agree on default deal What does Malala Yousafzai stand for? Business More Business » ASIC chief slams critics of handling of bribery claims Australia's corporate watchdog has slammed "ill-informed" media coverage of its role in foreign bribery investigations. ASIC has recently come under fire for a perceived failure to properly investigate alleged bribes paid by a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank and Leighton Holdings. Chairman Greg Medcraft used a speech in Melbourne to defend ASIC's work and refute media criticism of the regulator's "supposed slowness to act". He reiterated that bribery of foreign officials is mainly enforced by the Australian Federal Police. More » Obama, Republicans fail to agree on default deal Fairfax axes print edition of BRW magazine Westpac to buy Lloyds' Australian assets Stocks rally on hopes of US debt ceiling deal Wall Street rallies on US Republican peace offering Opposition says free trade deal with China unlikely WA businesses back Woolworths challenge to trading rules Politics More Politics » 'High-value' suspects among alleged people smugglers arrested in Indonesia By political reporter Jane Norman Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus says Indonesian police have arrested eight alleged people smugglers, including three so-called "high-value" targets who have arranged multiple journeys to Australia. More » Policies explained: What does the Palmer United Party stand for? Palmer under fire over secret Senate power deal Second Sydney airport site to be identified within months Ministers' spending revealed online by SA Government Sport More Sport » SBW staying with Roosters The Sydney Roosters have announced Sonny Bill Williams will be staying with the NRL premiers in 2014. More » Eels set to appoint Jason Taylor as coach Tendulkar to be remembered as one of the greats Osciek's Socceroos career at death's door in Paris Fardy to miss Bledisloe clash Yuvraj leads India to T20 victory over Australia Science and Technology More Science and Technology » Earth-like planet detected in space graveyard Astronomers have carried out an autopsy on a distant, broken-apart planet which appears to have once had the right conditions for life. More » Toilet breaks a factor in 3,000km solar car challenge Lonely planet without a star spotted outside solar system US shutdown hits Australian Antarctic research Karplus, Levitt, Warshel win Nobel chemistry prize Environment More Environment » Interactive: Explore the World Solar Challenge-winning car Use our interactive to find out more about the car which won this year's World Solar Challenge More » Toilet breaks a factor in 3,000km solar car challenge Record temperatures could hit as early as 2020 Russia says narcotics found on Greenpeace ship Six Fukushima workers doused with radioactive water About this email You received this email because you are subscribed to ABC News email alerts. This message was sent to you at starnewsposting@gmail.com Please add newslists@your.abc.net.au to your email address book to see images by default and stop the email being treated as spam. This email address is not monitored - Please don't reply to this email. 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