ABC NewsMail - Afternoon Edition

NewsMail Afternoon Edition Wed 26 Mar, 2014 Top Stories More Top Stories » Government to sell Medibank Private through IPO By political correspondent Emma Griffiths The Federal Government has announced it will go ahead with the sale of Medibank Private. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has announced the health insurer will be sold through an initial public offering in the next financial year, 2014-15. He said the details were yet to be finalised, but that an independent scoping study had found no evidence that insurance premiums would increase as a result of the privatisation. The Government has previously said it wanted to sell Medibank Private at the "right time" to maximise the sale price, but Mr Cormann would not say how much he thought the insurer was worth. He said the Government wanted to ensure that Medibank customer service and staff did not suffer as a result of the sale, emphasising that it wanted employee entitlements to be retained. More » Warren Mundine labels Brandis bigotry comment 'bizarre' Relatives of MH370 victims watch as Parliament offers condolences Shorten backs mother-in-law's new dame title Pell says Church stance on Ellis case unfair 'from Christian point of view' Harry Kewell announces retirement after decorated Socceroos career More Analysis » The priority should be keeping bigotry at bay The Federal Attorney-General's remark that everyone has the right to be bigoted is not only problematic, but short-sighted and harmful.  Everyone does have the right to be bigoted and to harbour racist views in private, but there is a critical difference between that and acting on those views and causing harm to others. Freedom of speech should never mean giving one the freedom to abuse others on the basis of race. And with the mooted repeal of Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, the likelihood of that happening has just increased. More » Our long-term unemployment headache When talking tax, it pays to have the facts Knights of the Abbottlands sally forth Politics stands in the way of a full 18C repeal Andrew Bolt isn't a racist, but ... The dunghill origins of morality Manus Island negligence may have financial costs Australia's silence on Sri Lanka is deafening Hell hath no fury like an AFL system scorned Just In More Just In » Volume growth to drive mining and gas export earnings By Stephen Letts Export earnings from mining and energy are expected to continue growing, despite falling commodity prices. More » Government to sell Medibank Private through IPO Washington mudslide: before and after photos RBA boss expecting Australian growth to pick up Federal Court quashes AFP Corby warrants Store Santa accused of assaulting children Relatives of MH370 victims watch as Parliament offers condolences Harry Kewell: Australia's greatest footballer Shorten backs mother-in-law's new dame title Wife accused of disabled husband's death in house fire World More World » Washington mudslide: before and after photos Use our interactive images to see the scale of destruction left by the Washington state mudslide. More » Bomb threat shuts down Miami Open Jagger mourns girlfriend at private LA funeral Facebook plugs into virtual reality with $2.2b takeover British airmen march to commemorate The Great Escape MH370 search: 8 things you might not know about black boxes Business More Business » RBA boss expecting Australian growth to pick up By Simon Frazer Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has delivered an upbeat assessment of the Australian economy, but warned the central bank cannot do all the work to support growth. "The economy has been doing a bit better than much of our domestic commentary... would have you believe," he said. Mr Stevens also reiterated an earlier warning from the RBA that banks should not relax their lending standards for customers chasing quick profits in the housing sector. More » Facebook plugs into virtual reality with $2.2b takeover Myer-David Jones merger odds fall as shares diverge Australian stock market rallies on rising metal prices Politics More Politics » Shorten backs mother-in-law's new dame title By political reporter Latika Bourke Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says his mother-in-law Quentin Bryce is "worthy" of being made a dame, but the PM's decision to reinstate the title is like entering a "time warp". More » Abbott didn't ask Cabinet before reinstating knights and dames Warren Mundine labels Brandis bigotry comment 'bizarre' Mirabella secures new role in academia at Melbourne University New faces for fourth-term SA Labor Government Sport More Sport » Kewell to retire at season's end 18 years after making his professional debut, Harry Kewell will bring the curtain down on his career at season's end. More » McKinnon placed in induced coma Taylor worth keeping on the Gold Coast: Bailey Charlesworth to step down as Kookas coach after Comm Games Raiders lose Lee for season with foot injury Swallow re-signs with Gold Coast Science and Technology More Science and Technology » MH370 search: 8 things you might not know about black boxes MH370's black box isn't black, and time is running out to find it. Find out why. More » Researchers claim breakthrough in tackling HIV How a British satellite plotted MH370's route NASA camera used on Apollo Moon missions sells for $835k Malaysia Airlines disappearance highlights doubts over air traffic radar Environment More Environment » Tony Abbott's Tasmanian wilderness claim doesn't check out The Federal Government has applied to have 74,000 hectares of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area delisted by the United Nations. Prime Minister Tony Abbott says those areas should be removed because they are not "pristine forest". Fact Check examines his claim. More » UN climate change report card predicts Australia will get hotter Senate blocks carbon tax repeal legislation Scientists resign 'zombie' species to extinction Electric car devotees push for supercharged highway in WA 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. Manage your preferences | Unsubscribe | Contact Us   This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 700 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 © 2014 ABC | Conditions of Use | Privacy Policy | Discover other ABC Email newsletters